So, after a while, I'm finally back in action. I'm working on the next chapter of Set in Stone and I'm also working on a few new stories. This is one I've had in the drawer for a while, but I never got around to posting it. It's going to be a light little three-shot with Lavi and Kanda, of course. The next chapter might be out next week, or it might be out next month. I have no idea. This is one of the stories that I'm just going to write when I feel like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, I only own the plot.

And, without further ado, I present:

Truth or Dare
Part One
The Truth

Yuu Kanda was not one for petty party games. He'd rather sit in his room and stare at a blank wall than take part in something like what Komui had planned. For some odd reason, though, he wasn't sitting in his room staring at a blank wall. He was down in the cafeteria, sitting between Allen and Lavi, wishing he were in his room, staring at a blank wall.

He wasn't even sure why he agreed to join in the 'festivities.' Then again, he hadn't even agreed to do this. It had taken Daisya, Marie, and Tiedoll to drag him down from his room. They had plopped him down between the Stomach and the Rabbit to keep him from leaving. And, so far, it had worked.

Lavi was clinging to his arm so much so that Kanda wished he had grabbed Mugen. Oh, how he wanted to club that annoying carrot-head. Regardless, Kanda gritted his teeth and closed his eyes to keep them from visibly twitching.

This was nothing new for Kanda, but it still managed to set him off every year. Since Kanda had joined the Black Order, Komui had held this 'exorcist slumber party' in the cafeteria. All of the Exorcists in the Order were invited, but nobody else. (Except Reever, but Kanda had the feeling that Komui included him for his own special reasons.) Every year, it was the same. Kanda was forced to join them and, as of two years ago, he had to sit next to that infernal rabbit.

Yuu Kanda wasn't even sure why Lavi attended this every year. Half of the time, he wasn't even living with the Order; he was traveling with Bookman. To Kanda, Lavi was as confusing as they got. He always acted so obscenely hyper, but, other times, he was so depressing. Those days, he was just a bummer to be around. Nevertheless, Lavi always managed to find Kanda and cling to him. It seemed that Lavi was always holding back tears when that would happen, on the days when he was less-than-hyper. Kanda had long since convinced himself that the only reason he let Lavi cling was because he felt sorry for the teenager. It wasn't as if he actually liked it. No, he couldn't stand Lavi clinging. At least, that's what Kanda had convinced himself.

Regardless, he was here, again, only with Moyashi, too. Yet another person that Kanda couldn't stand. At least it was only Lavi that was clinging. Kanda thought that he would have to spear that white-haired annoying little creep through the throat.

"So… A-ha! Let's play truth or dare!" The black haired supervisor exclaimed, suddenly, popping up from his seat. "Wait, oh, wait! We need to move all of the tables~! I'll call in Komur-"

"NO!" Was the general outburst from the exorcists. Reever pulled on Komui's shirttail and made him sit back down. Komui blushed and crossed his arms indignantly. Several exorcists, however, stood up and started pushing the tables out to clear the center of the room. Kanda stood and helped, not one for making others work when he could. The Stomach and Rabbit just popped up, then sat back down on the cold floor. Kanda let out an indignant 'Che' and sat down next to Lavi, once again. The rabbit didn't latch himself to Kanda's arm again. Yuu felt strangely naked without his usual extra appendage(s). But, the thought escaped his mind as soon as it entered.

"Alright, alright, now, we start!" Komui cried, launching a fist into the air. "Allen-kun!" Kanda flinched as the white-haired idiot next to him replied with a loud 'DARE!' Then, Lavi had to make it ten times worse (read: better) by looping his arm through Kanda's. As Komui rattled off some obscene dare, Kanda let himself relax marginally onto Lavi's shoulder. From the corner of his eye Kanda saw Lavi smirk. He dismissed the expression and tried to focus back on the game. Allen had disappeared from his other side and Kanda really didn't want to know where he had gone.

Within the next minute, Allen was back in the cafeteria and seated next to Kanda, a wide grin on his face and a light pink blush on his cheeks. Kanda glanced at Komui, whose mouth was wide open, along with his eyes. The longhaired exorcist immediately turned his attention to Lenalee, who was blushing about five thousand shades of red. Komui cleared his throat.

"Right, Allen-kun… It's… Your turn…" Komui said, dazed, and slightly confused. Moyashi grew a large grin on his face that made Kanda feel a little scared. Not that he would say anything. A wave of terror washed over the eighteen-year-old as the grin was pointed towards him.

"Truth," Kanda replied quickly, not willing to take the chance if whatever dare the stupid runt might have had planned. Much to his dismay, the grin only grew wider.

"Bakanda, you once said that you did like somebody in the Order," Allen began, setting the scene. "Who, pray tell, would that be?" Kanda froze, his mind grappling for some sort of leverage. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again, flabbergasted. He chanced a glance at the one he liked the most. The red head was looking at him with his one visible eyebrow raised. Kanda immediately turned his attention to the suddenly very interesting floor. Everybody's eyes were on him, he felt them burning into his skull.

"The Rabbit," was his reply. It was apparently too quiet for Allen.

"What was that?" He asked, a smug smirk on his face, finding it very satisfying to see the swordsman squirm. But Lavi had heard him. Nothing could've made this situation worse. Except for maybe Kanda, himself.

"I said: The Rabbit," he said louder. Kanda didn't dare look at the object of his affections, nor anybody else in the large room. He threw Allen a death glare, standing quickly and leaving the room, his long black hair swinging as he stalked out. Yuu Kanda stayed in his room for the rest of the night.

And the next day.

And the day after that.

And the day after that.

Several times, Lenalee knocked on his door to make sure he was still alive.

He didn't eat.

He didn't sleep.

He acted so… Un-Kanda-like.

He stared out his window into the dark abyss that was the night sky, lamenting over himself and wishing he had resisted Marie and Tiedoll and Daisya just a little bit more. Then, maybe he wouldn't be a ball of confused emotions that were rather new to him. He'd never felt so wronged. He'd never felt so frustrated. Yuu Kanda had never felt so scared in his life.

During that time, Lavi hadn't exactly had it very easy. After Kanda's somewhat awkward confession, Lavi had withdrawn into himself. After about five minutes, he had retreated to his own room. His mind was not with the rest of his body.

Yuu Kanda, the same Yuu Kanda that drew a sword to him on his first day at the Order, liked him. Like, like-liked him. For some reason, Lavi couldn't wrap his head around that one. It wasn't a bad thing, he was sure of that. But, it also wasn't a good thing. They were both disciples of God. And Yuu liked another man. Truth be told, Lavi did, too. He'd always been afraid to say anything, knowing he'd be shunned or decapitated.

Lavi stayed in his room the rest of that night.

And the next day.

And the day after that.

And the day after that.

Several times, Lenalee knocked on his door to make sure he was still alive.

He didn't eat.

He didn't sleep.

He acted so… Un-Lavi-like.

The red haired teenager sat on his bed, staring blankly at his door. He'd formulated so many things to say. But they were things he couldn't say. Not the way he'd wanted to at least. Then again, Lavi could hardly get up the guts to go and knock on Kanda's door, let alone spill his guts to his secret crush.

Taking a deep breath, Lavi finally decided to get this over with. It had been long enough since he had seen Kanda's face, and Lavi was missing clinging to Kanda's thin arms. The Bookman's successor stood and strode to his door, placing hand on the shiny brass knob. Under any normal circumstances, Lavi would've giggled at the thought. But these weren't normal circumstances. Lavi closed his eyes. He heaved a heavy sigh and turned the doorknob, walking out into the hall.

Lavi couldn't have been sure how bad he looked, but he knew that it wasn't pleasant. His bandana was laying on the floor of his room; his bangs flopped carelessly into his eye. In place of his normal exorcist uniform, he wore a plain black shirt and pants with no shoes. And he was sure those were wrinkly.

Lavi had to concentrate on breathing as he trudged down the hall to Kanda's room. He could hear a stray exorcist or finder whispering something involving him and Kanda. But, Lavi ignored them and stopped in front of The Door.

Hands shaking, heart thumping, Lavi raised his hand to knock. He gulped. Just as he was about to lower his fist, said door flew open. The blue-haired swordsman looked up slightly at Lavi and immediately stepped back into his room, shoving the door shut behind him. Lavi acted on instinct, slamming a hand out onto the door to keep it from closing.

"Kanda," he said, surprised at how strong his voice sounded after three days of dormancy. "We need to talk." The eye that Lavi could see from behind Kanda's wooden barricade widened, then returned to its original size. The opposite force on the door caused by Kanda was released and Lavi slipped into the dimly lit room, letting the door click shut behind him.

From what Bookman's successor could see, Kanda was worse off than Lavi. His normally shiny blue hair – kept in a ponytail on most occasions – was lack-luster and hanging limply around his thin shoulders. Although it had been but three days, Kanda's face was sallow and his cheeks and eyes were sunken. Lavi's eyebrows creased in concern.

"What do you want?" Kanda asked. Lavi could tell that he was trying to sound sharp and rough, but he was failing at that. (Quite miserably.) Kanda's voice was too quiet, though, to leave a lasting impression. Lavi wasn't sure why he did what he did, but he had done it, nonetheless. The red head walked up to the slightly shorter swordsman and wrapped his arms around Kanda's torso. "…Lavi?" He asked, confused. Lavi didn't move or make any effort to answer. Kanda relaxed and sighed.

"Yuu-kun…" Lavi started. He'd had everything planned out in his head, but, now that he was actually here, he couldn't get any of it out. "I…" Lavi sighed and let his head drop onto Kanda's shoulder. Lavi felt a pair of thin arms drape over his shoulders and a face pressed against his neck. Lavi tensed as he felt something wet on his neck. Yuu Kanda never cried. But, then, what…? Lavi's heart sunk as he heard Kanda's breath hitch and his shoulders shake. "Yuu…" He started, tightening his grip around the shorter. "Yuu, don't cry, please."

"I'm not crying," came a choked reply. Lavi smiled.

"Of course not," he returned, not able to hide the smile in his voice. Lavi pushed Kanda back for a second, holding him at arm's length. His smile dropped at the sight of tear trails on Kanda's cheeks. "Yuu, please, don't cry. I like you, too! And, I know I could've avoided all of this earlier, if had just told you. But, I was confused. And I needed time to think, but, Kanda, I really, really, do like you! And –" Lavi was silenced (as it goes in every cliché) by a kiss. It was short and sweet, but it flustered Lavi beyond belief.

"I'm not crying," Kanda said, stubbornly, though it was blatantly obvious that he was. A grin spread across Lavi's face and he tackled the blushing Kanda in a hug. They landed on the bed with Lavi latched onto Kanda's frame. The swordsman smirked, but cleared his throat. "Rabbit…" He began, warningly. Lavi looked up from Kanda's shoulder and grinned. For the first time in a while (a long while), Yuu Kanda smiled.

"We'll have to thank Allen," Lavi mused, letting his head fall back on Kanda's shoulder.

"Uh, why?" Kanda huffed.

"Because. Without him, I never would've known that you like me back~!" Lavi exclaimed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Che." Was Kanda's only reply. Lavi's grin grew wider and he rolled off of Kanda to lay next to him.

"Yuu-kun. We smell."

"Che."

"Let's go take a shower."

"Hn."

"Will you come take a shower?"

"Yeah."

"With me?"

"…"

"Please?"

"Che."

"Yuuuuuuu-kunn!"

"… Fine."

"On second thought. Maybe we shouldn't. I mean -"

"No."

"No, what?"

Lavi took on the expression of a deer in headlights as Kanda wrapped his arms around Lavi's arm. Lavi looked down and smiled at the light blush on Kanda's cheeks.

"I want to."

"You want to what?" Lavi felt like he was talking to a five-year-old.

"… Don't make me say it."

"You want to take a shower with me."

"Nnn." Lavi felt Kanda nod against the red head's arm.

"You're cute."

"Che."

"Well, you are!"

"Well, shut up," Kanda returned, glaring murderously up at the redhead. Lavi just smiled and shook his head.

"Temper, temper, Yuu-kun," he said, rolling his eyes. He gauged Kanda's reaction to his use of 'Yuu-kun' and was rather pleased with the results. Rather than yell at him and call him a 'baka usagi', Kanda was blushing a light shade of red. Lavi still couldn't get over it. Yuu Kanda – the stoic tree-up-his-ass swordsman – was blushing because of him. Lavi never thought he'd see the day.