#dgrayrarepair

[faeriexqueen]

Soil

Written for D.Gray-Man Rare Pair Week 2023. (Thanks for hosting, @dgrayrarepair!) Day 2 (Tues 10/24): Smell — Foul | Fragrant | Pungent | Decayed | Perfume/Cologne Title: Soil. Fandom: D. Gray-Man. Pairings: Cross Marian/Tyki Mikk, Cross Marian/Neah D. Campbell. Rated: Explicit. Words: 7K+. Tags: Modern AU, Supernatural Elements, Grief, Alcoholism, Death, Mythology, Golems, Lemons (Please see AO3 for full list of tags and warnings). Chapters: 1/1. Summary: It was like a specter was before him. A perfect imitation of his should-be-dead boyfriend. Excerpt:

‘…Neah?’ His thoughts abruptly halted, Cross freezing. He had been readying himself for an intruder — someone unfamiliar, foreign. However, it was like a specter was before him. A perfect imitation of his should-be-dead boyfriend. ‘No.’ Denial was swift to clasp at Cross, reminding him that Neah was dead — had been dead for more than a month, buried deep in the ground. Gone. Neah was gone— The stranger’s eyes glinted — amber gold, just like Neah’s. Cross struggled to look away, even as the stranger smiled at him. “Sorry, did I startle you?”

Read on AO3.

[bisexual-bookman]

So, It’s a Date?

Fandom: D.Gray-man

Pairing: Tyki Mikk/Kanda Yu

Tags: Mutual Pining, Fluff, Fake/Pretend Relationship

Summery: Tyki had a family dinner to attend. Family dinners meant dealing with his brother. Being single at a family dinner meant having to deal with Sheril's nagging. So, Tyki needed to find someone to play the role of his partner to deter his brother, letting Tyki enjoy the night for once. There didn't even have to be any feelings involved...right?

Enter Kanda.

Read on Ao3

“Look Kanda, it’s just for one night.”

At the sharp look from the other male, Tyki heaved a weary sigh. He was getting desperate. Dinner with his family was bad enough as it is, but dinner with his brother constantly nagging him about when he was going to settle down was worse.

Which is where Kanda came in.

“Look, you don’t even need to talk to anyone. I will do all the talking; I’ll make up our story and answer questions. You just need to come, introduce yourself to my family, then stay by my side and drink some champagne. That’s all.”

“No.”

Tyki groaned at the gruff reply. He took a slow drag of his cigarette as he stared out at the busy street in front of him.

The five of them, Lavi, Kanda, Allen, Lenalee and himself, were at a new restaurant that had popped up a month ago. Well, if you could even call it a restaurant. Advertising pizza, beer and arcade games, Tyki had initially turned down the offer when Lavi had invited him out, citing that he was too old to spend a night out playing arcade games. Lavi though, frustratingly observant and with the added bonus of having known Tyki since high school, knew just what to say to get Tyki to come.

“Ya know, Yu-chan… he’ll be there.”

And just like that Tyki had jumped on the chance. It wasn’t actually as bad as he originally thought. He thought the addition of arcade games would make it too cheesy, but it actually…wasn’t. It reminded Tyki of his younger days when he would loiter around the local strip mall that didn’t exist anymore –Tyki tried to not think about how that showed how much time had passed, how much older he was getting– causing a disturbance at the measly arcade there until he and his friends got kicked out. They would wind up at the park, bootlegged alcohol in hand and sheer determination from Tyki to avoid going home to Sheril and his nagging. Now that he was older he knew that it came from a good place, from Sheril’s worry over him, but that didn’t make it any less aggravating.

Especially when it had shifted from staying out too late, to getting married and starting a family.

Which is what let him to the current situation he was in.

He stole a glance at Kanda out of the corner of his eye. It wasn’t often that Tyki got an uninterrupted view of the attractive man and he was going to take full advantage of it. His eyes traced over the strong edge of his jaw; the straight line of his nose, the way the streetlights cast shadows over his face and made his already-sharp cheekbones more pronounced, as if Tyki would get cut if he touched them.

His fingers twitched around his cigarette. God, how he wanted to touch them.

Kanda’s eyes were half lidded as he stared out at the street. Though his furrowed brow, paired with his relaxed shoulders, showed he was deep in though rather than upset. It was something that Tyki had noticed over the years of… observation he had done on the other man.

“Why don’t you take Lena?”

Kanda’s quiet yet gruff words broke the silence. Tyki quickly looked away, hastily shoving his cigarette in his mouth as he thought of a good excuse.

“Are you kidding me? I’d rather like to live to a ripe old age, thank you very much.”

Kanda gave a quiet snort, the sound mixed between amusement and acknowledgment.

“Look, I can’t take Allen. That would be too…weird.” Kanda nodded in agreement at that. Taking your sort-of cousin to a family dinner with the excuse that you were dating? That would not end well.

“Plus, it would defeat the whole reason. I might as well just go alone at that point. Sheril already knows and has met Lavi. I have also drilled into him that there is absolutely no way in hell that the two of us would ever date. Great friend, bad boyfriend.” Tyki wrinkled his nose at the mere thought of being in a romantic relationship with the red-head. The chaos that surrounds him would send Tyki to an early grave.

“And as I said before, I’d rather not die by the hands of Komui.”

“Don’t you have other friends that you could take?”

“Yeah, but I’d rather not get into a discussion about how dysfunctional my family is.”

Kanda gave another nod of acknowledgment. If anyone understood Tyki’s dilemma with his family, it would be Kanda. He turned his head to stare at Tyki with those intense blue eyes. Tyki often thought that they reminded him of the ocean. Sometimes they were eerily still, not belying a thing that the man was thinking, other times they would be raging; so full of emotion that Tyki felt as if he was a boat caught in the middle of a storm waiting to be capsized and drown in the deep, violent waters. Now though they were calm, contemplative. Deciding whether to go along with Tyki’s absurd plan or tell him to suck it.

Not that he’d mind sucking Kanda.

Tyki turned away from Kanda, staring with dead eyes out at the street as he nearly sighed out loud at the direction his thoughts had gone.  

God, this crush was getting ridiculous.

Blowing out a cloud of smoke, he was surprised to hear Kanda neither agree with the plan, nor tell him off.

“Can I have a drag of that?”

Tyki looked over, unphased that Kanda had asked. To others it seemed he lived a perfectly healthy lifestyle, but Tyki was one of the few privy to this bad habit Kanda had.

Nodding, Tyki handed over the half-gone cigarette. His eyes followed the movement of Kanda’s lips as they wrapped around the filter, lungs expanding as he took a deep breath. Watched those thin lips part in a gorgeous “o” shape as he blew out a cloud of smoke, before shoving the cigarette back between his lips.

The same cigarette that had been in Tyki’s mouth.

A jolt like lightening went through him as he realized that they were having an indirect kiss. Tyki could feel his hands tremble as his stomach tied itself in knots, heart racing and blood pumping; Tyki nearly slapped himself. What was he, a sixteen-year-old girl with their first crush? Getting all giddy because of an indirect kiss. He really did need to do something about this crush, he was just being pathetic at this point.

“I’ll go.”

Tyki stared at Kanda in disbelief. He didn’t notice Kanda’s outstretched hand giving Tyki back his smoke.

“Really?” Tyki tried not to let the giddy happiness that was currently thrumming through his veins show.

Kanda nodded, nudging Tyki’s arm to take his cigarette. Hastily Tyki grabbed it, shoving it back in his mouth to cover up the grin that wanted to break out.

“I’m going back inside before Dumb or Dumber comes out. Text me the details.”

Tyki nodded, still at a loss for words. He watched as Kanda turned sharply, hair swinging behind him as he stalked back into the building.

He had to stomp his foot against the ground to prevent himself from dancing with excitement.

--

It had only been an hour and Kanda already wanted to leave.

The place was far too crowded, full of pretentious people dressed in outrageously expensive clothes trying to one up each other with how much money they had. Add on to that how obnoxious Sheril was being, and Kanda was either going to break something or someone.

There were only two benefits to being here. The first was the live music. A nice low jazz sound, which was quiet enough to not overpower conversations, yet loud enough that Kanda could concentrate on it and not on the conversations around him, making it slightly easier to resist the urge to murder someone.

The second was Tyki.

He watched Tyki across the room. The taller man had run off to get another drink for the both of them, but got stopped on his way back by an older woman that was talking to him quite animatedly. Tyki, ever the gentleman, had stopped to indulge the woman. And Kanda, who rarely had the chance to stare at Tyki without him knowing, took full advantage.

His eyes traced along Tyki’s broad shoulders and down his back, able to see the way his muscles moved as he gestured and shifted his weight. Not everyone would be able to see it through the layers of his suit, but Kanda had spent enough time tracing Tyki’s back with his eyes as if he was staring at bare skin. Skin which Kanda had been lucky enough to see one summer. He could feel his ears burn as he remembered the memory.

Kanda jerked as he was brought back to the present, realizing that he was blatantly staring at Tyki’s ass. It wasn’t his fault that Tyki had a great ass, one that made Kanda want to grab a handful of it just to see what sound he would make. Would he groan? Maybe gasp or maybe––

Kanda shook his head as he groaned in exasperation. He massaged a finger over the bridge of his nose, trying to ignore the way his cheeks had warmed at his train of thought.

Kanda closed his eyes and took a deep breath to centre himself. After counting to ten he opened his eyes, turning to look again at Tyki.

He couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but he could see Tyki smile at the woman’s words. Even though the grin wasn’t directed at him, Kanda still felt his heart flutter. He watched Tyki’s frame shake as he laughed, able to hear the rich sound even over the din of conversations.

Tyki turned then, gesturing him over with a hand that was full with a champagne glass. Kanda hesitated slightly, seeing that the woman had turned to look at him as well, knowing that he was going to be drawn into yet another conversation.

With a sigh of resignation Kanda schooled his features into a non-murderous expression. Well, as best he could, given the circumstances.

Approaching the pair, Kanda came to a stop next to Tyki. He tried his best to not react as Tyki placed his hand on the small of Kanda’s back and pulled him closer. Judging by the woman’s expression, he failed spectacularly.

“Beautiful,” Tyki started. Kanda could feel his heart begin to race at the nickname that Tyki had sprung on him at the beginning of the night. ‘It’s just an act, it’s just an act,’ Kanda repeated in his head like a mantra.

“This is Mrs. Arnoult. Her husband is a long-time business partner of Sheryl’s. Mrs. Arnoult, this is my boyfriend Kanda.”

Kanda extended his hand trying not to let on how giddy he was to be called Tyki’s boyfriend. ‘This isn’t real. It is an act.’ Kanda repeated a little more forcefully in his head.

Mrs. Arnoult clasped his hand and gave it a firm shake, the lines around her eyes crinkling as she smiled at him and Tyki.

“Now now, Tyki, you’ve known me long enough, you don’t need to call me Mrs. Arnoult anymore!” She laid a hand overtop of Kanda’s, patting it in the same affectionate way that Tiedoll did. Kanda nearly curled his lip in distaste. It must be an old person thing.

“And now neither does your boyfriend. Call me Ida. Sheryl was right my dear, your family isn’t running out of pretty faces anytime soon, is it?” She exclaimed with a laugh, finally letting go of Kanda’s hand. He quickly retracted it, reaching for the glass of champagne that Tyki had so she wouldn’t have a chance to do it again. He saw Tyki grimace slightly as he took a sip of the beverage. No doubt he was thinking about how Sheryl had run off as soon as Tyki had introduced Kanda, telling everyone that his darling little brother was dating an “exceptionally attractive” man. Kanda took another sip of his drink to hide his scowl. Sheryl and Tiedoll were too similar in Kanda’s eyes, though he guessed that’s what made him a good contender for this ruse.

Tyki laughed, the sound being an equal mix of strained and exasperated that had Kanda quietly snorting to himself in amusement.

“Yes, my brother is quite...chatty isn’t he?” Tyki said, pausing slightly to find a better word than “obnoxious”, which he probably wanted to say.

Kanda droned out the conversation at that point. Tyki kept good on his word and carried the conversation, Kanda only having to interject intermittedly with a quiet noise of agreement or nod. This let him focus solely on the path that Tyki’s hand was taking.

At some point during the conversation, Tyki had moved his hand from the small of Kanda’s back and started slowly running it up and down. He hadn’t said anything, silently enjoying it and ignoring the bitter taste in his mouth at the realization that he wouldn’t get this again.

After a few runs up and down his back, Tyki’s hand had stopped at the base of his neck. Fingers wrapped around the junction of Kanda’s neck and shoulder, Tyki’s thumb rubbed circles on the patch of skin between the top of his suit and his hairline. Kanda gave an involuntary shiver at the act, Tyki’s thumb tickling the fine hairs there. His thumb travelled behind Kanda’s ear, massaging there for a while before settling on the adjacent side of Kanda’s neck from the rest of his fingers.

Tyki’s hand settled there for few seconds while Kanda willed himself to ignore the warm weight on the back of his neck. His thoughts quickly ground to a halt as Tyki’s hand gave the back of his neck a firm squeeze.

That was oddly… possessive.

Kanda could feel a bubble of heat start to expand in his stomach at the action. It grew larger as Tyki repeated the action. Kanda could see himself, face down in pillows, Tyki’s hand gripping the back of his neck as his body weight pressed down on Kanda’s back, his deep voice whispering obscene things into Kanda’s ears.

Kanda promptly choked on his champagne.

He quickly waved off Tyki and Ida’s concerned looks as he smothered a cough into his hand.

God, this shit was getting old.

Taking in a deep breath and holding back another cough, Kanda heard Tyki give an excuse ‘sorry, Ida, he can get a bit antsy around large crowds’ before he wrapped a hand around Kanda’s waist silently leading him outside to a nearby balcony.

He led them to the railing that overlooked the vast garden of the Kamelot household, perfectly prim and proper for the party that was going on behind them. The sound was distant to Kanda, to which he realized that the two of them were the only ones outside. He could feel his ears burn at the realization and the fact that Tyki’s hand hadn’t left Kanda’s space, moving to rub soothing circles up and down his back as Kanda tried to clear the last of the champagne from his lungs.

Tyki’s hand curled around Kanda’s shoulder bringing him closer to the taller man’s body. Kanda could feel the body heat coming off of Tyki, could smell his cologne. Kanda took in a deep breath, coughing as his sore throat worked, and could pick up the scent of nicotine as well.

Maybe he should ask Tyki for a cigarette. Maybe that would help still the shakes in his hands from being so close to the other man.

“You okay?”

Kanda nodded, refusing to meet the other’s eye as he felt Tyki’s thumb rub circles on his bicep.

“Sorry, I know how much you hate crowds and unnecessary conversations.”

Kanda shrugged. He could feel his ears heat up the longer he stayed in the other man’s space. Kanda clutched his champagne glass tighter, pulling at his bangs with his other hand.

“If you’re anxious we can leave,” Tyki said, tone soft.

Kanda shook his head. He didn’t want to be the reason that they left early.

“I’m not anxious.” Kanda said. He tried for his tone to be hard. No room left for discussion. But instead, it came out with no bite attached. Soft.

God, he was pathetic.

“Really? You always tug at your bangs when you’re nervous.” Tyki said, tone surprised. Kanda froze. He suddenly became very aware of his hand, of the fingers that were grasping at the fine strands of his hair. He looked at Tyki in surprise.

“I do?”

Tyki nodded, his surprised expression clearing from his face. His features were set in an unreadable expression. He placed his glass on the railing, hand coming up to gently tug Kanda’s away from his hair.

“You do. It’s something I’ve, uh, noticed over the years.”

What.

Something that he’s noticed?

That either means that Kanda did that more often than he realized, or that Tyki watched him. A lot.

Kanda tore his hand out of Tyki’s grasp, clutching the glass between his hands to help ground him as thoughts whirled through his mind.

Maybe those touches inside… the hand at his back, on his neck, his elbow; the sudden nickname that flowed off Tyki’s tongue all too easily. The almost genuine eagerness to introduce him to his family, all this paired with the sudden knowledge that Tyki watched him, looked at him, a lot.

Maybe…this could be real.

No.

Kanda glared at a point on the ground. This isn’t real.

“What do you mean this isn’t real?” Tyki’s voice, so soft and rich, so mellow that Kanda almost enjoyed listening to it. Something that he would never voice out loud, even on his deathbed.

Kanda startled, not realizing he had voiced his though out loud. He looked up slightly at Tyki. His face was still expressionless, but his eyes were rife with emotion. Too many for Kanda to name, some he refused to.

Tyki gently pried the glass from Kanda’s hands, placing it with his on the railing. Raising both his hands, Tyki cupped Kanda’s face gently. His thumbs stroked Kanda’s cheekbones, fingers playing along his neck.

“What if we could make it real, Beautiful? What would you say to that?”

Hands clenching and unclenching at his side Kanda stared at Tyki. If we could make it real? Did that mean…

Tyki’s expression was serious. More serious than Kanda had ever seen him before.

Kanda didn’t even have to think about what he would say, since he wouldn’t say anything.

Tipping his head up, careful not to dislodge Tyki’s hands on his face, Kanda pressed their lips together. There was no hesitation from Tyki, as if that was what he expected Kanda to do. Kanda tried not to dwell too much on the fact that Tyki apparently knew him very well, instead focusing on Tyki’s warm, soft lips against his.

The kiss was chaste, lips moving against each other. They were focused on finally feeling the other’s lips on theirs after so many years of longing, rather than any arousal. That was until Kanda felt Tyki’s tongue swipe against his lower lip. It sent his blood pumping and a heat bubbling in his stomach.

Kanda pulled away quickly, not wanting for Tyki’s family to find them making out. Tyki chuckled, hands sliding down Kanda’s neck, over his shoulders and down his arms until Kanda’s hands were grasping Tyki’s.

One of Tyki’s thumbs stroked along Kanda’s knuckles as he placed a light kiss on Kanda’s forehead.

“It would probably be a bad idea if my family found us making out, huh?” Tyki said. Kanda steadily ignored the fact that Tyki had voiced his own thoughts, instead just nodding along in agreement.

“Let’s get back inside, hmm? We’ll have a few more drinks than we can head out?” Tyki said, gently pulling on Kanda’s hand. Kanda nodded again. He couldn’t speak right now, not after what just happened. He had too many emotions running through him, too many that he never dealt with. A good meditation session when he got home was just what he needed, Kanda decided, as Tyki led him by the hand back to the party.

--

Two weeks later and they were back at the restaurant where it had all began. Walking up to the building, Tyki and Kanda could see their friends waiting outside. Tyki had Kanda’s hand in his grip, thumb stroking the inside of Kanda’s wrist.

Lavi was the first to see them, grinning at their arrival before noticing their clasped hands. A huge smile erupted on his face, fist shooting out to lightly punch against Allen’s shoulder effectively drawing Allen’s attention from his conversation with Lenalee.

Tyki could hear Kanda groan beside him as the other three watched them approach, equally happy grins on all their faces.

“So, you two are finally together!” Lavi said brightly. Allen and Lavi had matching grins while Lenalee clapped excitedly to herself. Tyki sighed tiredly.

“Yes we ar–“The whole sentence finally registered in Tyki’s head. “What do you mean finally?”

Lavi laughed, waving his hand in a noncommittal gesture.

“Please, you two have been pining after each other for so long I think the dinosaurs came back.” Lavi said, voice heavy with exasperation. Allen and Lenalee made noises of agreement.

“In fact,” Lavi continued, swinging an arm around Allen’s shoulders. “Al and I were gonna help you two out, play matchmaker, ya know?”

“But somebody,” Lavi emphasised the word, shooting a mock glare at Lenalee, “Said that we shouldn’t get involved and should ‘let nature take its course.’” Lavi said, fingers making air quotes. Lenalee let out a huff of irritation, glaring up at the redhead.

“I wasn’t going to let you two interfere! Remember the last time you two tried–“

“Wait, wait, wait,” Tyki interrupted, “did all of you know about this?” Tyki gestured between him and Kanda, who had an interesting mix between irritated and surprised on his face. “Before us?”

The three of them nodded.

“We’ve known for a while.”

“How long have I known you, Tyki? How could I not know.”

“It wasn’t hard to figure out. You two are really obvious.”

Tyki looked at the three of them in disbelief. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kanda rubbing the bridge of his nose in irritation. Tyki quickly shook his head, gesturing lamely to the entrance of the building.

“How about we just go inside now.”

“I agree.” Kanda ground out, swiftly walking through the doors of the restaurant, pulling Tyki along by the hand that was still firmly in his grasp. Tyki followed, firmly ignoring the snickers behind him.

[aoimitsu]

Monster in the Moonlight

Prompt- Vampires

Rated M for Kanda's foul mouth.

Tyki Mikk, Kanda Yuu

SUMMARY: Kanda had not drank blood in a while, and stumbles upon his next victim in an alleyway. Under the moonlight, Tyki offers a proposal- "I can give you my blood...in exhange for your company." The deal seems simple enough, and Kanda thinks it would be stupid to let the chance go by...but the encounter leaves Kanda wondering who the real monster actually is.

[choayako]

D.gray-Man rarepair week ► Allen/Kanda/Lavi/Lenalee (ot4) [ Day 3: White ]

When you lose sight of your path, listen for the destination in your heart.

[daisyachain]

This is completely unedited and moderately incoherent, but here we are! DGM rarepair week, day 2

Black | Mysterious | Sophisticated | Powerful | Emptiness | Void | Darkness

Fandom: D.Gray-Man Rating: T-ish for violence, gore, nonexistent plot and Kanda being emotionally insensitive Pairings: Edit: I left it unclear to fit the mysterious prompt but it’s Kanda/Daisya

Total Words: 3.7k

Allen, Johnny, and Kanda are on the world’s worst roadtrip chasing after the Noah and some answers in a timeline parallel to this latest arc, when they run into a rather unwelcome guest. This is somewhat of a rehash of what happened with Alma, but it serves to highlight just how similar the two characters are, and it was mostly a 'what if' scenario.

A church bell faintly rolled the hour, though it didn’t feel like they’d been out for so long.

Johnny had insisted they stop for dinner, saying he wasn’t going to be dealing with both Allen and Kanda on an empty stomach. They all knew it was bullshit, and that he just wanted to them to take care of themselves, so no one complained.

The food in the town’s inn had been the usual, solid stuff, nothing to write home about, but something that would get you through a good couple of hours of chasing down the ultimate source of evil in the world and hoping they didn’t find you first. Then, they’d hit the road again, and coming up on…was it two hours later? Three? Allen had been sure it was closer to two, but it was too dark to check the watch by torchlight, but they’d set out just past the hour. The bell was slow, but Allen decided to count.

One.

It was a sleepy part of the country, even here, and they walked down a broad dusty avenue through the centre, to the central square. It was starting to get cold, and even the light from one or two streetlamps was sucked into the black night, which showed no sign of stars.

Two.

Allen and Johnny fell back behind Kanda, who was quiet for once. No snapping at them to hurry up, or slow down, or stop damn well talking amongst themselves.

Three.

“We’ve made some good time,” said Johnny beside him. “See? It was good that we stopped. Otherwise we’d just be miserable and hungry, now.”

Four.

“You’re right, Johnny.” Allen smiled at him in reassurance, to make sure he didn’t worry. He knew that he was nervous about him, how quiet he was now.

Five.

“Awful quiet, though, for a town this big.”

“Hmm.”

Six.

Allen’s eyes narrowed, doing a quick check-over of the shops and houses on either side. No akuma in sight. There were lights on, and some moving shadows, the roar of voices and the chink of plates from inside, but…

Seven.

“Speaking of which, it looks like we’re the only ones out travelling tonight.”

“I guess everyone else already got in.”

“Yeah.”

Eight.

In front of them, Kanda had been slowing down his pace, and now he fell into step beside Allen.

“Can you activate your Innocence without showing it?” he murmured, far to calm to be the usual Kanda.

“Of course,” Allen whispered in retort. “What’s going on?”

Nine. That should have been the last bell, unless he’d completely messed up with the counting.

“Just take care of Johnny if shit goes down, and find somewhere to hide.”

“Hey, I can fight—”

The last chime didn’t go away. It held, and Allen could swear it started to resonate. And grow louder.

“Shut up!” hissed Kanda, suddenly furious.

“What do you mean? What’s going on?”

And louder, with a tone that set Allen’s teeth on edge.

“Just do what I tell you, and do it now!”

The world shattered in Allen’s ears as he and Johnny went flying from Kanda’s shove.

“Ugh—”

Allen jumped to his feet, Innocence at the ready, then paused. Kanda had pushed them — thrown them — into a wooden shop door, and now Allen could see why: the street’s windows had exploded in a storm of broken glass. The light was dim here, but every last bit of it glittered off the shrapnel that covered the streets, and…

“Kanda! You all right?”

“Get inside!”

He’d been clever enough to shield himself with his coat, but cuts still covered Kanda’s face.

“What about you?” Johnny shouted out from beside him, more winded than he was.

But Allen had already grabbed him by the collar and kicked open the door, loose from the first time they’d slammed into it.

“He’ll be fine,” he said, letting go and shutting the door behind them, searching for a bolt. “I don’t know how, but he knows what’s going on.”

The building hadn’t been used in a few days at least, but it looked to be a shop — Allen took a quick look to make sure the merchandise wasn’t breakable, then swept it on to the floor and dragged a few tables closer to the door. Then, leaving just enough room to sneak out, he dashed back to the window to have a look outside.

“Allen? What’s — do you have any idea what’s going on?” Jonny was shaking just a bit, and he couldn’t blame him. What had Kanda known?

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I know anything more than you,” he said, craning his neck a bit. Damn — Kanda was looking away, but whatever he was staring at was firmly out of view.

“What’s our plan, then? I can make a pretty good barricade if you give me a few minutes.”

“Yeah, that’d be good.”

What had Kanda meant with all that mysterious stuff? Protect Johnny had seemed to be the gist of it. Allen glanced over — the guy seemed to be on it already, checking over the tables for where the joints were.

“Got it. I’ll get to work—”

“Wait — I’ll go outside and guard the door, and you can cover up the windows from the inside.”

Whether it was an akuma, Innocence, or God forbid a Noah, it was able to do some damage with the shattered glass.

“And you’re sure you’ll be fine?”

“Of course! Kanda hates losing, so he’d never let anything happen.” Allen gave what he hoped was a cheery wink, and stepped outside.

“Good luck!”

The door shut quietly behind him, and he looked out on to the glass-strewn street. Each of the half-timber houses seemed to loom crookedly over the scene, gables seeming far away in the darkness. Overhead, clouds gathered to form the grey-tinged blackness that had settled on them like treacle, thick and numbing. The glass panes of the lamps had shattered, leaving wrought-iron thorns sticking up into the night.

“Come on!” A playful voice rang out, sounding just slightly to metallic for a young man. “You know it’s me, so just say my name.”

Allen’s eyes focused on the situation in front of him, each taking in a different set of information. Oh, shit.

His right saw Kanda standing stock still, sword drawn but by his side, everything else blending into a tall and coal-black figure, just outlined against the slate sky.

The left saw his opponent more clearly, perched up on one of the rooftops like some sort of cat, hanging over the side — a level 3, with the kind of concentrated agony that reached back into Allen’s mind and gave him a toothache last year, and two weeks into the future. Just pure, concentrated pain, and a very loud laugh to drown it out.

“You’re dead.” Kanda’s voice hung low, grinding along like metal on a whetting stone.

“Nope!” The akuma seemed to be amused by this, bouncing up and down, and then unfolding its limbs for a hop down to the ground, flipping up and over as it did.

“I mean,” said Kanda, quieter now, “You’re going to die.”

Even Allen felt the words slide down his throat like ice. There was no heat in Kanda’s anger, if it could be called anger.

The akuma’s spiked teeth just pulled back into a smile.

Like most level 3s it was something of man, something of machine, but this one was also a bit more animal. Two long and sturdy legs, striped vertically around the knees stuck out from a shroud that covered the torso and the arms, and most of the face as well. There was a spring in its movement and a laughter in its — not its voice, but the sound that came from it.

Its hood obscured everything but the mouth running gash-like across its face.

And now, with the body glowing slightly, Allen could see a large red splotch on its cloak, just on the left side of its chest.

“You would never kill me—”

Mugen stabbed into the space where its chest had been, and swept a path under where its legs had stood.

But in that sliver of a second it had let itself fall backwards and roll, springing out of it as if this was all going to plan. What did it mean, Kanda would never kill it? What the hell was it?

“—and it won’t be for lack of tryin’.”

“Shut up.”

Kanda swung the sword again, sending out a wave of pests, but the level 3 was getting bored.

“You should know me better than that, Kanda! Besides, aren’t you wondering why I’m here? I should have been burned and buried!”

It dodged the attack and then held its hands about stomach height, balled together, then drew them apart — this was it! There was the noise of a bell, getting louder and louder—

There was an explosion, and the house the level 3 had perched on collapsed in on itself, forming a new pile of rubble.

“Wanna dance? If you just say you remember who I am,” it continued, cajoling now, “I’ll tell you who it was, you know, that called me back.”

Kanda just strode slowly towards it as it twirled, and extended an arm theatrically out of its cloak. Maybe it had been an actor, when its soul had belonged to a human, or a some other type of entertainer.

“Die.”

Another spirit attack, far too slow to catch the akuma. It seemed to have forgotten that it was here to hunt Allen, for the moment. He probably should have been relieved.

BOOM

Another thundering noise, scattered here and there with the bright sparks of shattering glass, sounded as the akuma collapsed a building on to where Kanda had been standing.

“Just say my name,” the thing said, and each word rang out louder, backed by the chime of a bell. “Do it. Do it!”

It flitted around Kanda, throwing up clouds of debris with its abilities, and working up a cloud — yes, Allen realized, it was trying to cut him off.

He was about to reconsider, and run in to help, when suddenly the noise stopped. Not just the sound of the bell, but the scuffling on feet on the ground, and the muffled sounds of heavy breathing.

“Shut. Up.”

Kanda had unleashed a barrage of black ghosts, seething in a circle around him to eat away the dust.

“You were nothing to me then.”

He stared blankly at the thing that had stopped to listen, frozen in its place.

“And you are nothing now.”

Mugen’s blade withdrew, and reformed, levelled at the akuma’s throat.

Over the course of seconds, his spirits disappeared, fading back into darkness. Somehow, Allen felt as if he were watching a play, some scripted performance play out. Both the fighters made sure to have time to throw insults back and forth, and stand still in the newfound silence of the night.

Yes, it was silent. But just a moment later, Allen heard it break — clumsily. Nothing dramatic about it.

There was just the soft, then louder, shameful and strangled sound of crying.

It carried on, quiet sobbing at first, then a wail, and then just seconds later it crescendoed into a scream — into two words, ripped out from the akuma’s lungs.

“I know!”

It took a blind leap at Kanda, swinging a fist instead of shooting bullets or creating its explosions.

“It was my little sister!” It shouted.

Allen placed the words in his mind alongside the others that this thing had spoken, trying to piece together what it wanted. Was it like Eliade, whose shattered memories changed and rearranged themselves?

Kanda, meanwhile, had caught its blow easily, and redirected it into a throw — and yet, this akuma must have had some training in its life. It twisted and managed to kick out at Kanda’s kneecap, sending them both tumbling. Was Kanda really humouring it that much?

“You bastards tried to hide it from her, didn’t you? But she’s so much fucking smarter than you! Takes after her brother, don'tcha think?The fight wore on, each of the akuma’s blows meeting perfect blocks, but now it honestly fought. The moment Kanda was close to something — aaaugh! Chunks of wood and plaster, stone and brick ripped out from the structures on that side.

"And I looked for you. I found you. I followed you all, through everything, I stayed with you, when I was still level 1. And you know what?”

A swift hip throw slammed it down on a wood spar that shoved through its chest with a sickening sound. Still, it managed to escape the chokehold, pulling out the spar, and held it up like a club.

“You didn’t miss me!” it yelled, punctuating each phrase with a swing. “You didn’t even remember me! I waited so fucking long, just to hear you say something, but…”

Its voice faded suddenly, snuffed out by a burst of effort. Finally it got past Kanda’s oddly loose defenses, scoring a blow that landed with a hollow noise on the back of his skull.

“…you never even said my name.”

Without the sound of battle to cloud it, Allen heard again the scratched voice of a boy about to cry.

A boy that now collapsed over Kanda, pinning him down…shit. Kanda was beaten. Now it was his job to get that obnoxious bastard out of this mess.

Was he really that tired? Was it a Noah? Or, to Allen’s sneaking suspicion was he just playing along?

He took a couple of deep breaths, and tensed his muscles, ready for the fight. It would be over quickly, even with that explosion ability.

“Innocence—”

“Stay the fuck out of this, Walker!”

Kanda yelled — screamed — him down before he’d even pulled out a Crown Clown, but Allen just had to trust him. After that business with Alma, he should have learned his lesson.

“Just hurry up, all right?” he yelled back into the street.

Kanda still lay there, at the akuma’s mercy, the spar hovering over where his throat must have been.

“Grab Johnny, and backtrack. I’ll end it.”

Allen let himself spend another moment in complete confusion, then nodded to himself.

He did not look back.

…

Kanda watched the two of them go. Allen was too much of a fucking goody-two-shoes to be trusted.

Besides, it wasn’t hard to keep the akuma at bay. No bullets, no ability, it was still trying to stick him through the throat with nothing more than brute strength. He had the edge. It had a hole in its chest.

For most of the fight, he hadn’t been able to see its face, between how fast they were moving and the hood’s shadow. He hadn’t wanted to see.

It was clear as fucking crystal that this wasn’t a fake.

But now, he couldn’t deny it any more. Not as human as Alma, no, but a level 3 that looked too real. The mechanical semblance of a face was twisted into an expression he recognized.

“Get off me.”

“Shut up,” it croaked.

Kanda wondered if those were somehow real tears, or just some clever mechanism.

It shouldn’t have mattered. This smartass akuma was still just as weak as any other. It didn’t have the skill to beat him, even without the sloppy blows and missed openings.

But…

“That’s my line, dumbass.”

“I said, shut up!”

The akuma punctuated the sentence with strikes that Kanda could have blocked. He’d heal up soon enough.

There was something boiling up in him that he had no name for. The feeling when old man Zhu told him the truth. When he saw Marie and Lena standing there, and knew that they understood him, and how much he had wanted to die, and knew he’d dragged himself back into a miserable life out of nothing but guilt.

Gently, just a bit at first, then more fully, Kanda smiled, and lifted a hand to the thing’s cheek, brushing aside what looked like tears.

“Daisya.”

It took little effort to then snap what might have been its neck and kick it off, then slam it into the ground to reverse their positions. The blood that trickled out of a cut on his cheek flowed, and took Mugen’s form.

Now Kanda knelt over that mechanical body, and pushed the hood fully away, exposing the face to what little light there was. The tattoos beneath its eyes were now holes in the metallic outer shell, and the bandages that stuck in Kanda’s memory were merely painted on. Hollow, a shell full of meaning but empty inside. But the scars and mottled, uneven skin were the same as ever, and the one rusted earring left over from an impulsive act at age 7 and a stubborn need to be cool that had stayed into their teens.

The careless collection of features was still set in an expression Kanda had rarely seen up close before, unlike the grin his mind painted over this face. It looked disgusting.

“After all that talking, I thought you’d have something to say now.”

The akuma finally snapped out of it, and rolled its eyes at him.

“You could at least let me get my head on straight, first.”

It reached its arms up to about ear level when Kanda released them, and set it in place, broken bones — no, components — healing with a crackling noise.

“That’s disgusting.”

One of the cold hands reached up to brush the bangs out of his eyes, but he didn’t flinch.

“Your face is disgusting.”

“So your sister called you back. Did you kill her?”

“Nope. Didn’t have much use for a body. She’s a good kid, you know. Oh, wait, of course you do. You’re the one who told her I fucking kicked it, ‘cos you guys didn’t care enough to come get me. You heard it, didn’t you? I had my golem on during all of it, so you shoulda had a good bunch of screaming in your ear. Must’ve been fun for Marie! He mentioned me, you know. He remembered.”

Kanda kept Mugen hovering over the akuma’s throat, steady at about an inch away. His expression was flat.

“I heard you, and the Noah.”

“That fuckin’ hat-wearing bastard. I’d thank you for kicking his ass like a dutiful teammate, but you only did that when Lena got involved. Hah! Don’t think I heard anything from her, either, but she’s always hung up on one thing or another, so I’m just going to say that she still remembers me. You can trust her, like that.”

The thing grinned up at him. “So, you gonna kill me now? Or poke another hole in me?”

“You haven’t even gotten to the point, yet.”

“Didn’t I?”

“Nope.”

“Damn.”

If this conversation had been when they were thirteen, and gangly, and sharing tiny straw mattresses between the two of them and whoever else was on the mission, it would have been funny.

Now, it just gave Kanda the cold comfort of knowing that whatever else, this thing did have Daisya’s memories.

“Spit it out.”

“Okay, okay.” The akuma sighed. “We were kind of family, at the Order, you know?”

“Yeah.”

“Seven years, we were together. But, did you ever love me?”

Seven years of night trains and cover identities, tattered uniforms and stolen hair ties, ripping up the sheets to bandage wounds and carrying Daisya in the rain, for three days because the akuma were circling and his leg was broken and badly healed with Kanda’s blood.

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“You didn’t cry, didn’t mourn, I don’t think you noticed it. Marie did, but you never even said my name.”

Travelling for days on end, stopping only for akuma and the occasional hour of sleep, staring at a girl in a tourist town with sharp eyes and messy brown hair, buying a trinket and leaving the next day. Tracking Cross’ inscrutable movements through snow and wind with barely a word passed between them. No quarter in battle against Tyki, or against Bolic.

“Maybe.”

It started crying again, but with a smile on its face.

“It hurts, you know. I remember pretty damn clearly, I still thought you’d save me. I still thought you’d at least, I don’t know, try.”

Age fourteen, tearing a slit down his wrist, letting the blood drip on to a broken body hoping that it would be enough to heal whatever this was. Age eighteen, boots skidding on the cobblestones as they ran, seeing the body just as light dawned. Take care of him. It was a dead body, but the words had still needed to be said. Protect him, where I failed.

“…”

There had been some kind of response lined up, but the words choked out in his throat.

Age sixteen, in the snow, grinning at a dumb joke and holding hands, waiting for the train.

He shifted position, coming to kneel beside the akuma, and not over it, smiling despite himself.

“Kanda?”

Not again. He sat the akuma’s battered body up, wrapping an arm around its shoulders, and leaned back, against a pile of rubble.

No one would ever see him in the darkness. No one would ever hear him in the void. They was fifteen again, stupid and still somehow naive enough to give a damn.

“I’ll save you this time, Daisya.”

“So, does this mean…”

“I did.”

…

Kanda didn’t show up until the next day. Johnny asked about it, worried, but Allen knew better.

That night belonged to Kanda.

[kitty-bandit]

Fandom: D.Gray-man Rating: T Pairing: Cross x Miranda x Tyki Words: 5.7K Tags: Modern AU; Bridal Shop AU; Pregnancy; Miscommunications; Fluff; Happy Ending Description:

Written for @dgrayrarepair week, Day 1. Prompts (Fluff): Childhood Friends | Fake Dating | Soulmates | Pregnancy | Mutual Pining

A sequel to the my Three's a Crowd series. Can be read as stand alone, but I highly suggest reading the first 2 fics.

Excerpt:

“Don’t fucking ‘hey’ me, you asshole. What the fuck is this?”

Cross’ belligerent tone shook him from the shock that had gripped him for minutes now. With a roll of his eyes, he replied, “What does it fucking look like, dumbass?”

“I know what it looks like,” Cross snapped back. There was a pause, then a heavy sigh. “Is this for real? Are you playing some kind of prank on me? ‘Cause this shit isn’t funny.”

“You think I would make this up just to fuck with you?” Tyki growled back over the phone. He set the test on the edge of the sink, trying not to grind his teeth down to nubs. “I found it hidden in the bathroom just now. It has to be Miranda’s, right?”

Another silence spilled between them. Tyki heard shuffling on the other end of the line, and another heavy breath left Cross’ lips. “Not unless you have something you’d like to confess.”

Read on AO3.

[kin-s-art]

For @dgrayrarepair Day 2 – Moon Cold | Night | Mysterious | Ocean

Reblogs are appreciated.

Buy me a Ko-fi if you like m art!

[raioseucliffe-cheney]

Chrysanthemum

@dgrayrarepair - my only entry for this year’s RarePair Week

As he‘s watching Lenalee grow up right in front of his eyes while working for the Black Order, he has from time to time these moments, where he reflects on his decisions he had made, when his only family had been taken forcefully away from him.

~~*~~*~~*~~

Everything changed for him when his little sister had turned four years old. A cold winter was still clinging on to the city of Wuhan, where they live. Currently his focus is on college after he passed school successfully. Their parents are known for their kind way. His father works for the mayor while his mother works downstairs in a little shop selling self-made dumplings. Besides, he is now in the age to look out for the perfect bride to found his own family. As only son of the Lee family he does understand the importance of him moving on in his life.

But honestly, he is unsure if someone would ever want a man who is only interested in all kind of science. Even though he agrees the first woman his parents choose to be the right one, he spends most of his time in the science building as assistant for his professors. Within his first semester his grades are only A+ as in his previous years in school and one of his professors asks him if he doesn‘t want to study science in a renown university like Cambridge or Oxford. He is for sure a brilliant ghost, but the reason he hasn‘t left the country already is Lenalee.

Because, every time he returns from school he sees her smiling face. She is next to his parents quite important and only a disaster would force him to leave this city at all. On his free days he helps his mother by looking after his sister while doing his homework at the same time. Mostly he tends to take her to one of the parks, where she is able to run around and play with children in her age. Little does he know about a hidden danger lurking nearby. It is a time, where doesn‘t know anything about Exorcists, Innocence and Akuma. It is a peaceful time in Wuhan. Only until the day, everything started to change for Lenalee and for him.

~~*~~*~~*~~

The spring festival is only three days away and Xiaoyu, his science partner is currently taking a walk with him and Lenalee as the catastrophe inside the town hall happens. Their mother and some other people from their street were asked to cook for the festival. No one knew at all what danger is lurking inside these walls for them. Therefore he isn‘t thinking much about stopping by with Lenalee since his little sister is going to be fast asleep once their parents come back home. His science partner had already headed home herself, so unknowingly he and Lenalee are on their way to a death zone. Something is for sure wrong as they arrive at the town hall and no buzzling crowd is to be seen. Actually, that is for him unusual, since there are always a lot of people here for the festivities. „Stay close to me“ is he only saying to Lenalee, picking her up as he enters now the town hall only to see ash piles where ever he directs his eyes at.

Whats absolute strange for him is the fact, there are still bags, shoes, clothing and even accessories like rings close to these piles of ash. For a moment he has to gulp, then a thought crosses his mind. Could they be from a human being? But in order to burn a corpse, great heat is needed. So he can assure himself this isn‘t the ash of a cremated body in the first place. Still, it‘s eery and strange to find more piles of ash as he heads with Lenalee in his arms towards the mayor‘s office and right there he has to gulp. Maybe it hasn‘t been such a good idea to bring his little sister to this place at all. Because as he notices her pressing closer against him, a strange creature followed by some more come out of the mayor‘s office and quickly he finds themselves to be surrounded.

Right now he has to protect Lenalee. But he has no clue at all how, besides he doesn‘t know anything about the creatures starting to fire right at them. As he closes his eyes, a melody appears and right as he opens his eyes again, there are two men taking care of the creatures. The one man has long bright red hair while the other one is for sure aged. „Lenalee, stay here“ is he only saying towards his little sister as she jumps now out of his arms, running straight to the red-haired man while the firing of these creatures still go on. Right in this moment an object glowing in green flies right to Lenalee and allows her to evade one of the bullets aimed at her. He is left speechless. Whatever these men wield to fight the creatures, it also seems to protect Lenalee and him.

~~*~~*~~*~~

After this incident a man calling himself Malcolm C. Lvellie appears in front of their shared home. From the red-haired man he had only learned, their parents have been killed by Akuma and that his little sister will most likely join the ranks of being an Exorcist. So, in order to take care of her he dropped college. In his eyes all Lenalee needs right now is the last piece of family left she has right now. „She won‘t go with you at all“ are his words directed at the stranger, trying simply to keep her save from anyone planning to harm his precious little sister. „But I was informed she‘s compatible“ is he hearing right now, while showing how serious he is about protecting what is left of his family. No way he‘s going to let her stay at a forgein place with people she doesn‘t know at all. „Then you are informed wrong. Lenalee has nothing to do with the Akuma at the town hall“ is he now saying, crossing his arms and right now he‘s more relieved about the fact, that his sister is right now over at the house of his former science partner in college.

Debating with Lvellie brings him nothing at all. As the man finally disappears all he thinks about is Lenalee being safe. But in this moment he knows nothing about CROW and them abducting his little sister so she would become an Exorcist just as the red-haired man had warned him before. Heading over to Xiaoyu‘s place, he‘s shocked to find her unconscious and no trace of his sister at all. Therefore his mind is set. He‘s going to follow Lenalee where ever she might be in this moment.

~~*~~*~~*~~

„I promise to never let her alone. I am eager to give my live in order to assure Lenalee stays unharmed“ is he saying at the family grave as he places some white Chrysanthemums at the gravestone. His friends from school, who know how close he is with Lenalee and even Xiaoyu suggested him to take on the offer to study in England, so that he one day could join the Black Order. But first, he feels like getting allowance of his ancestors to leave. As the rain drops are falling down he‘s slowly rising, gazing at what lays six feet deep buried, then he turns around to pack his things and go to England

[letspleasuretogether]

Do you or do you know of someone who has a list with all the dates of all the DGM events?

Hi Anon,

I don’t think there’s one specific post or person who has every DGM event written down. I think the problem with that is a lot of events die off after a year or so. People move on from the fandom or just disappear from tumblr altogether.

That said, I do know a lot of events that will be taking place this coming year, so I’ll list out everything that I know will be happening/happened in 2017 and has a great likelihood of happening in 2018.

@dgraymanbigbang — A new event that I’m personally hosting. It’s a long event (February-September) where fic writers and fanartists collaborate to create new works.  

@dgm-valentine — A gift exchange much like Secret Santa. Sign up now before it’s too late! Gifts will be given on Valentine’s day (or thereabouts).

@laviyuu-week — Definitely on! Prompts are up! Dates are March 26th - April 1st.

@linkllen-week — Likely on! I haven’t heard anything to the contrary. Usually occurs mid-April.

@yulma-week — Definitely on! No prompts yet, but will be hosted sometime in May.

@laven-week — Probably on. I haven’t heard otherwise. Normally hosted Mid-August (around Lavi’s birthday).

@dgrayrarepair — For all your Rare Pair needs! Another event that I personally host. It will happen this year at the end of October/beginning of November.

@pokerpairweek — On, as far as I know! Check out this one in mid/late November!

And as you can see, we have this lovely diverse group of blogs dedicated to Secret Santa exchanges. I think this exemplifies how weeks can die and change hands so easily.

@dgmsecretsanta

@dgmsecretsanta2016

@dgmsecretsanta2k17

If there are any other blogs/events out there that haven’t been listed, please feel free to reblog and add your event to the list! I want to try and follow all the current event blogs, if I can!

[nea-writes]

content creating and posting

With the new dgm update (raws here!) and all the ship weeks coming up (poker pair by @pokerpairweek and rarepair by @dgrayrarepair​, remind me if I’m forgetting any lol) I thought this would be a good reminder for posting writing and responding to it.

I don’t mean how to post fic. Post however you want! Whether on ffn, or ao3, wattpad, or tumblr, or liking here, or even through threads/screenshots on twitter! I think sharing your writing by any means is amazing! 

What I do mean is sharing your writing at all. Everyone starts somewhere, and I also think that making anyone ever feel bad for sharing their work (art or fic or whatever content they create!) because its not to your liking or standard of quality is the shittiest thing you can do. I’m not touching on those hot topics regarding controversial work, but in general, the beginners and even the long-time writers. Have respect for content creators.

My stance on creating and posting work is this: every bit of work adds to the experience. Without your ideas, your take on it, your view, your observations, your perspective, the fandom would be a little less for it. Especially in one like dgm, where the updates are months (or years!) in between! Fanwork is what keeps us going and ready for the next night. 

In regards to responding to content... I’ve posted about it before and at this point, I’m a little tired of mentioning it, but it deserves its own discussion: please acknowledge the work creators make. Acknowledging, as in liking, reblogging, commenting, reviewing, replying, or including in the tags your thoughts! I can’t stress enough how much I (and others, I’m sure) look forward to a response on what they make! 

What I really want to say is, dgm has been great so far in my experience as a writer, and I want to give newcomers, or people who have finally decided to share their surely amazing work, that same experience! For writers or artists of any kind!

[faeriexqueen]

Slumber

Written for D.Gray-Man Rare Pair Week 2023. (Thanks for hosting, @dgrayrarepair!) Day 1 (Mon 10/23): Sight — Color | Black & White | Bright | Dark | Blind Title: Slumber. Fandom: D. Gray-Man. Pairings: Tyki Mikk/Alma Karma. Rated: Explicit. Words: 6.5K+. Tags: Fantasy, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Beauty and the Beast elements, Curses, Arranged Marriage, Somnophilia, Non-Con, Lemon, Royalty, Nobility, Jealousy, Possessive Behavior, Past!Yulma (Please see AO3 for full list of tags and warnings). Chapters: 1/1. Summary: If there was anything Joyd hated, it was sharing. Excerpt:

A month had passed since the wedding ceremony. It didn’t take long for Tyki to adjust, the Noah slipping into a routine rather swiftly. After being bound to a prince — now his spouse — he had been freed from a curse, one born of the continuous use of dark magic that his family had become so dependent on. That unsettling grip of his own inner darkness, periodically driving him from within until it became so strong that he couldn’t control it anymore. His inner Noah. Joyd.

Read on AO3.

[faeriexqueen]

Caress

Very late submission for D.Gray-Man Rare Pair Week 2023. (Thanks for hosting, @dgrayrarepair!) Day 3 (Wed 10/25): Touch — Rough| Gentle | Pain | Pleasure | Scars Title: Caress. Fandom: D. Gray-Man. Pairings: Tyki Mikk/Alma Karma. Rated: Explicit. Words: 8.7K+. Tags: Fantasy, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Beauty and the Beast elements, Curses, Arranged Marriage, Lemon, Royalty, Nobility, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Past! Non-Con, Romance, Eventual Romance, Intimacy (Please see AO3 for full list of tags and warnings). Chapters: 1/1. Summary: He should have known to be wary. After all, Tyki was a Noah — someone to be feared. Someone to be cautious of. But, his touch was so gentle. And Alma wanted to badly to be touched. Excerpt:

Fingers brushed against his cheek, Alma looking up. He was somewhat confused, not because Tyki was caressing him — but because Tyki’s touch was so gentle. Tender.  It was nothing like how his touches had been before.

Read on AO3.

[faeriexqueen]

PSA for those reading “Songbirds in Winter"

Hello, all! For those of you following my fic, Songbirds in Winter, I’ve made the decision to go on an update/posting hiatus until the end of November 2023. It feels weird to be doing this since I usually try to avoid hiatuses (anyone who knows me knows I like to update consistently when possible). However, as those of you reading/who have talked to me about this already know, this is probably going to be the longest story I’ve ever worked on. I’ve posted the first 18 chapters, but only written up to 25 — I’m anticipating it’s going to be close to 40 chapters total. I really don’t want to rush this story. It means a lot to me and is one of my favorites I’ve worked on yet, and I want to take my time fine-tuning the second act of this story to really do it justice. I’ve been trying to keep up, but I think between my own personal things coming up and working full-time, I need to take a break from posting as I work on this story. Hopefully, I’ll be able to use the next few months (and NaNoWriMo) to get ahead and make a solid dent in this story. I’ll also be participating in @dgrayrarepair’s RarePair Week 2023 event, so I’ll have some smaller fics to post in the meantime. ^^ I really appreciate those of you reading and hope the wait will be worth it. More will definitely be on the way soon, and I’m excited to be sharing the end of this story. <3

[bisexual-bookman]

In a Stranger’s Home

Fandom: D.Gray-man

Pairing: Tyki Mikk/Kanda Yu

Tags: Royalty AU, Angst, Forced Marriage, Unrequited Love, slight Tyki/Lavi

Summery: "He could feel another crack slice through his heart. He was shaking, his vision blurring as he felt his eyes burn. He drew in a deep breath, trying to calm himself as his chest felt like it was being crushed… crushed between two boulders until he would be on the ground broken and bleeding, the hurt leaking out of him for all to see."

Read on AO3

“But your majesty–“

Kanda slammed the door closed to his suite, effectively cutting off the voice of his advisor. Of course, that didn’t stop the tenacious man, the advisor’s insufferable knocking following Kanda as he paced the length of the obscenely large room. Only with a vase being thrown at the door and a shout from Kanda to go the fuck away did the advisor finally leave.

Finally, Kanda was alone.

He paced the length of the room, his footsteps heavy. For once, the grace that had been instilled in him since he was born was thrown aside due to the turmoil of emotions inside of him. Betrayal was first and foremost, the bitter emotion making him feel sick to his stomach. His insides twisted painfully, making him want to throw up the meal he had just eaten.

Anger was a harsh second.

He could feel his heart beating painfully, his blood pumping throughout his body. It made his movements aggressive, wanting to do nothing more than to walk up to that bastard, to both of them, and punch them in their stupid faces. Hurt them the way he was hurting.

Kanda’s agitated pace slowed; his footsteps were not as heavy but the sharp twists at the end of his line belayed his residual anger.

Hurt.

It was making him clench his jaw painfully, teeth grinding so as not to spout the pathetic things he wanted to say: how could you do this? I thought you were better than this. I’m your husband aren’t I?

How could you hurt me like this?

Kanda abruptly stopped. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out a weary, bone-deep sigh.

Deep down he knew it would end like this. Their marriage was nothing more than a political gain for both their kingdoms. War was constantly on Tyki’s borders and Kanda’s kingdom had one of the best armies. Tyki’s kingdom was much larger, more space for agriculture, therefore able to feed Kanda’s citizens and armies. It was a mutually beneficial agreement.

No feelings attached.

God, how he wished there was no feelings involved.

Kanda reached up to give a light tug to his bangs, an unconscious movement that was the only tell of his anxiety and troubled mind. Walking over to the large-windowed doors, Kanda pushed them open, stepping out on to the balcony.

Leaning against the railing he breathed in the fresh ocean air, so unlike his own kingdom’s polluted air; it was filled with smoke and exhaust and dying embers floating up into the always grey tinged sky. Here, you could see for miles… could see the entirety of the surrounding city, even to the fields beyond that, and the glittering of the ocean on the horizon. You didn’t have to peer through smokestacks, see nothing but mountains or have the constant ringing of the blacksmiths in the background.

Kanda ran his hand along the warm, smooth stone of the balcony railing, so unlike the cold and harsh stone that made up his kingdom’s palace. Even where they lived was different. They were different.

Maybe too different.

A harsh noise left Kanda as his hands tightened, the skin across his knuckles turning white.  

Their marriage might have been arranged, forced, but the feelings Kanda held now for the tall, dark-haired man were not.  

Tyki, at first, had irritated him to no end; the other man’s generally cool and uninterested attitude towards everything, how he was so informal with his subordinates, even to his citizens, his lax attitude towards the constantly looming war on his borders…. It all drove him mad.

But as they had started spending more time together –much to Kanda’s initial dismay– Kanda had noticed that it was all just a façade the other man put up.

His indifferent demeanor was to cover up how hurt he was that his kingdom was suffering, to bury down his anger over being handed a kingdom on the brink of war, while his brother ruled an idyllic kingdom.

His informality came from a wish of wanting to help his citizens. A show that they could trust him, see him as a person that they could come to with their problems rather than an imposing, untouchable figure.

The war was the worst of them all, keeping him up to the early hours of the morning, unable to sleep from the constant worry over whether his kingdom would survive, if his people would survive. Kanda had lost count of the number of times he had awoken in the middle of the night, feeling the loss of Tyki’s presence in bed, his side of the bed cool to the touch. Kanda would find him on the balcony overlooking his city, face draw tight with anxiety and worry, only to hastily throw up his indifferent mask when he heard Kanda’s quiet footsteps.

Seeing the other side of Tyki, the one he rarely showed people, caused the small bud of affection Kanda felt in his heart slowly bloom to a breath-stopping feeling of love.

It was a feeling that he thought Tyki reciprocated. It was something they hadn’t talked about, Kanda having a hard enough time understanding his own feelings in his head, let alone vocalizing them. He found that Tyki was the same. Someone who valued actions over words, so when Tyki attitude towards Kanda shifted from apathy to all of a sudden showering him with gifts-

“This is a journal from an acclaimed General. I thought it might help you in your war room.”

“I brought these plants back from my visit with my brother. Look, the colour of the flowers, I thought it would match well with the others in our room.”

“I’m glad the outfit I ordered from the tailor looks so good on you. I figured that the colour would make the blue more noticeable in your eyes.”

“Here, it’s a new sheath I requested for your sword. I had them engrave red lotuses on it. Those are your favourite, right?”

Paired with the subtle touches – a large hand on the small of his back during a party, a whisper of a touch brushing hair out of his face, a knee pressed against his during council meetings, a warm hand on his hip as they slept-

It all made it seem as though there were mutual feelings.

But now…

Now Kanda wasn’t so sure.

Tyki pressing someone up against the wall, fingers combing through a shock of red hair as their lips locked together, mutual sounds of pleasure coming from the pair as a leg curled around Tyki’s hips pulling him in closer, closer–

Kanda’s fists thumped against the stone of the railing, the dull throb of pain barely noticed through the fog of anger and hurt that settled over him. He could feel another crack slice through his heart. He was shaking, his vision blurring as he felt his eyes burn. He drew in a deep breath, trying to calm himself as his chest felt like it was being crushed… crushed between two boulders until he would be on the ground broken and bleeding, the hurt leaking out of him for all to see.

“Kanda?”

The intense feelings only increased with the sound of Tyki’s voice calling from inside their room. Kanda closed his eyes, sucking in a deep breath trying –by God was he trying– to prevent Tyki from seeing him this way.

“Kanda, are you in here?”

That thought gave Kanda pause. Tyki didn’t deserve to see him this way. If Tyki really did feel nothing for Kanda –a thought that nearly send him into another fit of gasping breaths– then Kanda would only show Tyki what he wished for the other man to see. Tyki didn’t need to be privy to Kanda’s thoughts, his feelings, his heart.

“Oh, there you are. Are you okay? One of the vases is in pieces near the door.”

Kanda took a deep breath. The feeling of being crushed didn’t lessen, the boulders on his chest still weighing down on him. But now, now they wouldn’t hurt him. Now he would use them to keep Tyki away, use them as a barrier to prevent the man from ever getting close again.

Kanda’s shoulders relaxed. He forced his pained expression away. He stared ahead with an emotionless face, save for his customary scowl.

Yes, he decided as he turned to face the oblivious man, he would play a good husband. Do his part as the kingdom’s military leader, be there during council meetings and assemblies with other kingdoms.

He could wait.

Wait, to see just how he could hurt Tyki. Hurt him til he was the one laying on the floor gasping for breath; tears in his eyes and doubts in his mind, wondering what he had done to deserve such pain.

[faeriexqueen]

I finished my fic for the DGM Rare Pair Week, and dear god it’s 12.2K.

[kitty-bandit]

Fandom: D.Gray-man Rating: E Pairing: Neah x Link; Unrequited Link x Allen Words: 2.1K Tags: Canon Divergent; Non-Con/Rape, Angst; Vomiting Description:

Written for @dgrayrarepair week, Day 5. Prompts (Spicy): Death | Rape/Non-Con/Dub-Con | Incest | Torture | Mind Fuck

Excerpt:

A sudden chill crawled up his spine, leaving his hair to stand on end. He paused, hands on the table as he held his breath and waited for a response. He knew he needed to move, to turn around and confirm his suspicions, but his body was frozen—seized with fear.

Not again. He didn’t want to go through this again.

Allen hummed to himself, a haughty noise that filled the air with tension. He shifted in his chair, the old wood creaking in protest. “Where are we now, little Crow?”

Not Allen—he wasn’t Allen anymore. Link swallowed thickly, unmoving.

Read on AO3.