Warnings: OOCness, English is not my first language, inconsistent tenses, not beta'd, vague sexual thoughts, this is a self-indulgent fic, like everything I've ever written
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.
A/N: okay so i wanted to write something about popular romance/fanfic tropes and this happened
i had a really good feeling about this when i started writing it but it went downhill somewhere. oh well, what's done is done ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I.
Allen was on his way home from classes when he spotted a restaurant offering an eat-all-you-can buffet, and he, being the glutton that he was, peeked into the restaurant's window to see the people lining up along the smorgasbord. He's an expert at saving money and can afford to treat himself once in a while, but just as he was about to enter inside, he the chalkboard outside saying Couples get freebies and discount!
It was a new restaurant in town and they were probably trying out gimmicks to get customers, and Allen was never one to pass up on a chance to save money. And because he was single, the only thing Allen could think of to secure the discount and the freebie was to ask one of his friends to pretend to be his significant other. Not an honest move, but even Allen, a gentleman on most days, cheated at poker.
He was scrolling through his contacts—"How about Lenalee? I hope Lavi wouldn't mind…"—when as luck would have it, he saw someone he knew coming from afar. And Allen couldn't possibly mistake that person for someone else; there weren't many long-haired men that Allen knew.
And that man was walking down the street with his black, tight-fitting turtleneck, which was doing very little to hide his washboard abs.
The man was oblivious to the appreciative glances men and women alike threw him, and only when did their eyes lock that Allen realised that he had been staring.
Well. Those abs weren't gonna stare at themselves.
When their eyes met, the man scrunched his brows and scowled, then quickly did a 180 and walked away. His long coat swished, making the movement more dramatic.
Allen chased after him. He was hungry and he wanted that discount now.
"Kanda, wait!" he called after the man, but Kanda ignored him and continued to walk away.
It was a street with people around so Kanda couldn't run away from him, and after a few strides, Allen caught up and grabbed his arm.
"What?" Kanda snarled, shaking Allen off.
Allen had to stop thinking how pretty Kanda looked even when angry.
"Kanda, you came at just the right moment," Allen said with grin that made Kanda suspicious.
"Whatever it is you want to drag me into, I'm not up for it," Kanda replied before continuing on his way to wherever Allen wasn't.
"Aw, don't be like that," Allen said, walking after him. "You're gonna benefit from this one too."
Kanda glared at Allen for a few seconds, but apparently it was longer than a few seconds because someone hissed "Get a room and stop blocking the way!" before rushing off to where they were going.
Kanda rolled his eyes and said, "Nothing you ever do benefits me. Remember Vegas?"
Allen swallowed. Vegas was fun. It was Kanda's fault that he's unable to have fun. So what if they were chased by men who may or may not be in the mafia? It was their boss's fault for being such an easy mark in poker. And they had a good workout running for kilometres.
"You were in on it, if you can remember," Allen answered. "You were enamoured by that guy's ornamental dagger."
Kanda, as always, was reluctant to go anywhere with Allen and their other two friends Lavi and Lenalee, but Lavi insisted on going to Vegas last summer. And he wouldn't go to Vegas without Allen the card shark.
And it wasn't as if they were victimising reputable people. Allen only cheated at poker when playing with degenerates, and certain kinds of degenerates had a habit of betting really nice things, like a rare book that had Lavi salivating.
"Shut up. It wasn't just ornamental; it was also sharp. And the guy said that it had killed a circus clown in the 1800s. It was the perfect tool to slit your throat."
Allen bit his lip. He was not going to get turned on in the middle of the street.
"Now, now," Allen said, grabbing Kanda by the arm and steering him towards the restaurant. "See that resto over there? They have a buffet with cuisines all around the world, and I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend so we could get freebies and a discount."
Kanda whirled to face him. "Pretend to be your what?"
"Boyfriend. Because they have a couples-only discount."
"And why the fuck would I do that? Can't you just get Lena or Lavi?"
"I'm hungry and you're already here. Besides, they have unlimited soba and tempura."
When Kanda's eyes widened ever so infinitesimally, Allen knew that he had him hook, line, and sinker.
Never mind that Allen didn't know if they really had unlimited soba and tempura. But international cuisine, right?
Kanda thought that it was a bad idea to go with Allen, but everything became a bad idea when Allen Walker was involved. Like that time in Vegas when Kanda only tagged along because Lenalee had a vice grip on him.
He regretted going with them. Allen wasn't just a card shark; he was also a conman in the making. He had that fake gentleman thing going on and he was charming and, well, if Kanda was going to be honest with himself—which he rarely was—Allen didn't look bad. His strange appearance usually broke the ice, only that Allen broke way too many ices.
No matter what Lavi said, Kanda was not jealous of Allen flirting with everyone.
Still, the call of unlimited soba and tempura was too alluring to ignore, and before he knew it, they were at the entrance of the restaurant.
"Welcome to Jerry's!" the maitre said. "Table for two?"
"Yes please," Allen replied.
"I'm assuming that you'll be availing the couples discount?" asked the maitre.
Allen nodded and Kanda winced. What is it with people always mistaking them for a couple?
"This way, please," the maitre said as she led them to the register.
"I'll handle this," Allen said, taking his wallet out.
As if. He wouldn't let Allen do him favour, because then he'll owe him one, so he took his card out and slid it to the cashier. "No, I'll pay."
Allen gave him a saccharine smile. It was so cloying Kanda wanted to puke. "No, darling, I'll pay. You paid last time, remember?"
Kanda gritted his teeth. He would not owe this bastard a free meal.
He shoved Allen's hand out of the way and handed his card to the cashier, and the cashier, looking amused, took it.
Kanda smirked. Now Allen owed him a free meal.
He thought that Allen would be pissed at being one-upped, but instead, he looked pleased, fluttering eyelashes and all.
Allen didn't look pretty, goddammit.
"What?" Kanda said as the cashier handed his card back to him. He was getting pissed because his manoeuvre didn't annoy Allen as expected.
As the maitre led a table that was, to Allen's delight, near the smorgasbord, Allen said, "Thanks for the free meal, babe. I'll pay next time"
They sat down. From the looks of it, Allen had no intention of paying Kanda back with money or a meal.
Kanda scowled. Damn this bastard.
"Plates and utensils are to your left, and drinks are over there," the maitre said. "There is a three-hour time limit and freebies will be given at the end of your meal, so please a flag a server down. And remember, leftovers will be charged. Have fun!"
As soon as the maitre left, Allen dashed towards the food.
II.
Kanda thought that he couldn't eat anymore. The soba at this restaurant was best he had ever tasted, and he couldn't count the number of times he went back and forth for more. He still had room for more but he didn't want to feel bloated—not to mention how many hours he's gonna spend at the gym to burn all those calories—so he just sat there and waited until Allen had his fill.
Which was probably not the wisest decision, because it was common knowledge among Allen's acquaintances that he had a bottomless pit.
"Bean sprout, stop," Kanda said. They had been in the restaurant for three hours and Allen just kept going at it, much to the amazement of the staff and other diners.
"It's unlimited," Allen said around a mouthful of dango.
"The three hours are up," Kanda said. And as if on cue, a server approached them with two bags of what appeared to be the freebies mentioned.
"Time is up, gents," the server said. He handed them a bag each and said, "We have one last freebie for those who avail our couples discount. You can choose between a big slice of cake or a large glass of milkshake."
Kanda, ever the hater of sweets, said, "We're fine," at the same time Allen said, "Milkshake, please! Thank you!"
The server looked at both of them, unsure of what to do.
"Don't mind him," Allen said. "We'll have the milkshake, please."
"No more. You've eaten way too much," Kanda said. "I'm disgusted just by looking at you."
"Then don't look at me," Allen said. Then he turned to the server and said, "Milkshake, please."
"Sure thing," said the server. He had a gooey smile on his face.
"What?" Kanda snarled.
"Oh, nothing, sir. You just remind me of my parents. They're always bickering but they've been married for twenty years."
Kanda was about to say something disparaging when the server said, "What flavour would you like? We have vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, and Oreo."
"Strawberry, please. Thank you," Allen replied.
"One large strawberry milkshake coming right up," the server said before leaving.
Kanda glared at Allen. Then, after a while, he told him, "You're going to finish that milkshake all by yourself."
"Who said I wanted to share with you?" was Allen's immediate reply.
Kanda snorted as he stood up. "I'm done here. I'm leaving."
"No you can't, sir," the server, now back with the milkshake, said. He placed the milkshake on the table, and Kanda grimaced at the heart-shaped straw.
"You have to drink the milkshake if you want a discount for your next visit," the server said.
"I don't want—" Kanda said, only to be interrupted when Allen said, "Unlimited soba, darling."
Well. Okay. Kanda didn't want to look like an idiot who can be bribed with soba, but when the soba was as good as this, Kanda's willing to compromise.
"Fine," said Kanda, sitting down.
"You have to let me take a photo of the two of you sipping the milkshake at the same time, because you need to present that for your next visit," the server explained.
"That's unnecessary," Kanda protested. Even if he did see several couples drinking milkshakes from heart-shaped straws or feeding each other cake while their photos were being taken by the staff.
"It's just protocol, sir," said the server. "We have had incidents in the past where the couple cheats by throwing the milkshake away or just letting one of them drink the milkshake. It is, after all, a couples discount, so I trust that you'll have no problem sharing a milkshake with your significant other?"
Kanda had a lot of problems all right. First, he hated sweets, and second, share it with the bean sprout? Through a heart-shaped straw? At the same time? This situation was discomfiting Kanda. Did he really love soba that much?
Kanda grunted. There was no question about it—he loved soba that much.
Resigning to his fate, he faced his adversary—not so much the large glass of milkshake, but the beaming behind sprout behind it. Like Kanda made the sun rise just because he's gonna share a milkshake with him.
Kanda did not like how that smile unsettled his stomach. Maybe he was just too full.
"Drink up, sirs," the server said as he held out an Instax.
When Kanda and Allen leaned forward to take a sip, the server snapped their photo…
…and from his peripheral vision, Kanda saw Miranda Lotto, his foster brother's wife, with wide eyes and a hand that was surely covering an agape mouth.
And to make the matters worse, she was with his foster brother.
Kanda's face fell.
III.
Oblivious to Kanda's plight, the server wrote something at the back of the photo and handed and then handed it to Allen. "The discount code is at the back of the photo. Please present it the next time you dine here. Thank you and have a good day!"
Allen took notice of Kanda's face just now. "What's wrong?"
Kanda said nothing. He was a deer in the headlights.
Allen followed Kanda's gaze, and his face lit up when he saw Miranda and her husband Marie approaching them.
Miranda looked ready to burst into tears.
"Is there something wrong, Miranda?" Allen asked.
Miranda sobbed and flung herself at Allen. "I'm just so happy for the two of you!"
"Err, I'm sorry?" Allen asked.
"The two of you," Marie said. He cast a teary but happy glance at his foster brother, clasped his hands, and added, "I wouldn't have known if Miranda didn't say it. I'm so happy for the two of you, Kanda. It took you long enough, but you're finally here."
Miranda and Marie being at the buffet made sense; they were a married couple enjoying a couples discount. However, what Miranda and Marie were saying didn't make sense. Why would they be happy seeing the two of them eating together?
Unless...
Miranda released Allen from her hug. She dabbed the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and said, "When did the two of you start dating?"
"We're not—" Kanda said, but he was silenced with a glare from Allen that seemingly said Don't blow our cover, asswipe!
"Our father will be ecstatic to hear about this," Marie said, clapping Kanda's shoulder.
"Don't you dare tell him," Kanda seethed. Their old man already had misguided ideas about Kanda's non-existent affections for Allen. If he hears about this, Kanda will never hear the end of it.
"Oh," Marie said, happy look on his face replaced by a pensive one. "Are you two keeping it a secret for now?"
"We can keep a secret," Miranda said. Kanda doubted that. Miranda had a tendency to stutter and be clumsy when nervous, and she gets nervous A Lot.
Kanda opened his mouth to say something but immediately clamped it shut when he saw Allen still glaring at him. He opened his mouth one more time and whispered, "We're not dating. We're not here on a date. Bean spout persuaded me to pretend to be his boyfriend for the couples discount."
"Yeah, sorry to get your hopes up," Allen said in a low voice. He smiled sheepishly and added, "We didn't mean to fool you."
Marie nodded sagely and gave them a knowing smile. "If you say so, Kanda, Allen. We promise we won't tell anyone."
Well, that knowing smile sure didn't know anything. Or it thought of the wrong things.
"Really, we're not dating," Allen said.
Miranda nodded. "We'll keep it a secret. We promise."
"Like I said, we're not—" Kanda said, his voice beginning to rise.
"Well, we'll leave you two to finish your milkshake," Marie said, taking Miranda by the hand. "Try the cake next time. It's amazing."
Kanda wanted to say that there won't be a next time, at least not with Allen, but his foster brother and his wife were already walking away.
He glowered at Allen. "Now look at what you did!"
"Well, you went along with it," Allen said all too innocently. "Was it worth the soba?"
Kanda, who was putting his coat on, faltered.
The soba was worth the humiliation he's suffered today.
Kanda turned away, and when he didn't reply, he heard Allen say smugly, "I knew it."
IV.
Kanda was itching to get out of the restaurant. The soba may be divine, but he wasn't sure how more could he take being in a place filled with couples while he pretended to be Allen's boyfriend.
He wasn't sure what he hated more—the couply atmosphere or Allen Walker, the reason for this whole misunderstanding.
They were at the door. It was unnecessary to open the door yourself because the security guard already did it for them, but Kanda, out of habit, held his hand out to push the door open...
...and in doing so he accidentally touched Allen's hand, which was also poised to open the door.
The touch sent sparks to Kanda's body and they sprang apart. The maitre who greeted them only hours earlier was giving them aww, you two are so cute looks.
Kanda put his hands in his pockets while Allen cradled his hand to his chest as if the touch burned it.
It might as well did. Kanda felt the same.
He didn't want to think about how nice it felt.
"Thanks for dining with us!" the maitre called after them.
Kanda fisted his hand in his pocket. He can still feel the jolts of electricity that accidental contact made. It was like that time a few weeks ago when they almost—
Okay, he's not gonna think about that. Just like he hadn't been thinking about that incident. Nope. Not at all. Definitely not.
V.
They walked in silence for some minutes. Allen was initially on his way home from classes when he saw the buffet, and judging from the direction Kanda was walking when he accosted him, he just came back from classes too. So they were walking in the same direction, and it was awkward because neither of them had said a word. Why would it be awkward in the first place? It wasn't like they accidentally kissed or something.
Allen winced. They may not have almost accidentally kissed this time, but they had an accidental almost-kiss a few weeks back. Their bickering was on its way to becoming an actual fight, and in the face of heated words, they got into each other's spaces and only realised that their faces were mere centimetres apart when they felt each other's breath on their faces.
They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before simultaneously stepping back.
The incident went unmentioned the next day, but Allen sure did replay it in his head over and over again.
They've known each other for five years now, and their initial mutual animosity had evolved into grudging tolerance, and now, they had... this. Whatever this was between them. If Allen had a penny for every time people mistook them for a couple this past year alone, he could pay his legal guardian's debts and still have a couple thousand of pounds left over.
Their shoulders brushed and Allen relished the contact. It was still some ways before their paths diverged, and he thought that maybe, just maybe, he can allow himself this luxury of walking side by side with a quiet Kanda.
They stopped by a pedestrian lane. They stood still along with the other pedestrians for a few seconds until the light overhead went green. It was a busy crossing and close to hundred people were waiting to get to their destinations. Some rushed past them, some walked leisurely, some were making angry calls on their phones. Allen and Kanda were among the ones who walked without a hurry, their shoulders bumping every time they stepped. Kanda was close enough that if Allen wanted it, he could reach out and take his hand.
But he didn't, because Kanda was the one who reached out first.
Allen's heart was beating a mile a minute in those nanoseconds that Kanda was reaching out to him, and to his great relief and disappointment, Kanda didn't hold Allen's hand; he held the sleeve of Allen's jacket and steered him towards...
"Hey, where are we going?" Allen asked. It wasn't the way to their dorms.
"Park," Kanda answered.
"Why? What are we gonna do there?" Allen said. Kanda was still holding on to Allen's sleeve.
"Burn calories, dipshit," Kanda said. The words were harsh but his tone wasn't.
"Huh? I don't have my gym clothes with me."
"Walking burns calories too."
"You're asking me to go on a walk with you at the park to burn calories?"
"I'm not asking you, I'm taking you to the park whether you like it or not."
Allen looked at Kanda. There was a faint blush on his cheeks, but Allen was a hundred per cent certain that it was just his eyes playing tricks on him.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're taking me out on date," Allen said. It was a risky statement, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"It's not a date! We're going to burn calories!"
"But why with me? Can't you just walk alone?"
Kanda faced him and flicked his forehead with his free hand; his other hand was still holding Allen's sleeve. "Shut up."
He didn't offer any explanation after that. He just dragged Allen with, and Allen went along willingly.
Whatever this nameless thing between them was, Allen was sure that Kanda felt it too.
VI.
Kanda didn't know what possessed him to do it. Yeah, they accidentally touched hands, and yes, they almost kissed a few weeks back, and yes, Kanda almost reached out for his hand but he chickened out so held his sleeve instead, but that didn't mean that he had to drag the bean sprout to the park with him. He could have taken a walk all on his own, but...
Why indeed? Why would he drag Allen—quite literally—to the park with him? He was just on his way home from classes when he saw the bean sprout, and now they were at the park taking a walk on what felt like a date.
Not that it was a date, because it wasn't. The moment they stepped out of that restaurant, they stopped pretending to be boyfriends, yet why did it seem like they were acting more couply during the time they spent after the buffet? There were so many questions on Kanda's mind and no answers.
Well, that was wrong. There was one answer, but Kanda would rather die than entertain the thought.
He saw Allen pull his phone out of his pocket. A mitarashii dango strap dangled there, and Kanda was filled with... some fluffy feeling every time he saw it.
He went back to Japan with his foster family last Christmas. Lenalee urged him to give Allen a gift, and that strap was what Kanda gave him. It had always been attached to Allen's phone since then.
"Will you look at that," Allen said, eyes still on his phone.
"What?" Kanda prompted.
Allen held his phone aloft. It was a photo of the display case of a patisserie. "Lenalee sent me this. Look at all those sweets! I wanna eat them all."
"We just ate our fill and you're already thinking about eating more?" Kanda said. Honestly, he shouldn't be surprised. He couldn't remember a time when Allen Walker got full. "And in case you haven't noticed, we're trying to burn calories here."
Allen smiled. Kanda didn't know what that smile was for, but it hid secrets. Like Allen knew something and he wouldn't tell Kanda about it.
Kanda huffed and resumed walking.
They were walking along the lake where people were riding rented rowboats. Kanda was still contemplating the saneness of his actions today when a group of kids ran past them. One kid nearly collided into Allen, but Allen sidestepped before any accident happened and kid ran after his playmates. But as Allen was moving away, he tripped on rock, and he would have fallen face first onto the ground had Kanda not been there to catch him.
"And you were supposed to be the circus kid," Kanda said. He was holding Allen upright by his shoulders.
Allen made no move to release himself from Kanda's hold. Truth to be told, Kanda quite liked having him there.
"The child caught me by surprise," Allen replied.
They were staring at each other's eyes—they seemed to be doing that a lot these days—and would do so for some minutes longer until a group of middle-aged women walked past them and told one another variations of what a cute couple they made.
They didn't spring apart like an hour earlier when their hands accidentally touched. Instead, they pulled apart slowly, eyes still boring into one another, before reluctantly looking ahead and continuing their walk.
The most natural thing now would be to hold Allen's hand, but because Kanda was Kanda, he didn't.
VII.
They barely walked a metre when Allen gave a horrified gasp.
"What is it?" Kanda asked.
Allen was looking around in a frenzy. He was crouching on the ground, feeling around with his hands and overturning stones.
He looked like a dog digging for something.
"What is it?" Kanda repeated.
Allen looked at him with an anguished expression. "It's gone."
"What? What's gone?"
Allen showed him his phone. "The strap. It's gone."
"The strap? The dango strap?" Kanda clarified.
"It's gone."
"It's just a strap," Kanda said, and boy was that the wrong thing to say.
"It's not just a strap!" Allen said in a raised voice. The other people in the trail gave them a wide berth, not wanting to get caught up in two strangers' argument.
"I bought it in a 100-yen shop," Kanda said in low voice, trying to calm Allen down. "There's nothing special about it."
"Nothing spe... You really don't understand it, do you?"
The pained look on Allen's face puzzled Kanda.
Allen faced away from him. "You gave it to me. That's why I treasure it."
Before Kanda could reply, Allen was already backtracking trail, so Kanda followed him. He mimicked Allen and crouched, looking on the ground for the lost strap.
"If you really want one so bad I'll buy you another," Kanda said.
"It's not the same," Allen said with a forlorn look. "It's like saying you'll just make another baby when your other baby died."
Okay, quite the extreme comparison, but it was evidence of how important that strap was to Allen.
That funny feeling in his stomach was back, and he couldn't blame soba this time.
They moved along the trail with people looking funnily at them. After fifteen minutes of searching with no results, Kanda was about to suggest that they give up when Allen announced that he found it.
"Where?" Kanda said.
Allen pointed towards the strap. It was on a piece of flat wood floating on the lake.
"How'd it get there?" Kanda asked no one in particular.
"Must be from when those kids ran by us," Allen replied, already looking for a way to retrieve it.
The lake was surrounded by safety rails that could fit Allen's arm. Allen took a long twig from the ground to attempt to get his strap back, but he was unable to reach it. The wood floated away minutely, and while the strap showed no signs of moving, Allen was scared to lose sight of it.
"We need to rent a boat," Allen said so resolutely that Kanda was unable to say It's just a strap or couldn't you just ask a caretaker for help?
What he did instead was nod his head, and then he took Allen by the wrist and led him to the boat rentals.
Kanda enjoyed spending time alone in nature to meditate. It was so calm and peaceful that his predilection for violence got reduced, but only for a small amount.
He liked to think that he was alone in the lake, alone in the boat that he was rowing, instead of having Allen barking orders at him and moving frantically that boat almost capsized twice.
"Why am I the one rowing anyway?" Kanda complained as he rowed.
"Because I'm on the lookout for the strap," Allen replied.
"Why can't I be on the lookout?"
"Because it's my strap and it's my responsibility. There, when you reach that spot, row very gently because I don't want the wood to float away."
Kanda rolled his eyes but did as he was commanded.
It wasn't even a birthday or Christmas gift for Allen. Kanda bought it as an afterthought to shut Lenalee up just so he could say he bought a souvenir for Allen. Kanda's intent for giving the strap to Allen was not the best, but to see the bean sprout focused on that spot where the strap fell and giving Kanda rowing directions single-mindedly... Kanda had to admit that the funny feeling in his stomach worsened—it wasn't just an uncomfortable rumbling; his stomach was doing backflips now.
He rowed the boat as gently as he can, not wanting to disturb the area around the wood. Still, tiny waves couldn't be avoided and the wood moved, but only for a few centimetres. And in a few minutes, Allen was fishing the strap out with a victorious cry and he faced Kanda with that blinding smile of his that the backflips in Kanda's stomach turned into a herd of stomping elephants.
"I got it back!" Allen said, blinding smile still on his face.
"You did," Kanda replied levelly so as not betray his emotions. "Congratulations."
"Thanks for rowing the boat."
Kanda grunted.
And that should have been the end of it—Kanda should have rowed back, got off the boat, continued his walk with the bean sprout, and then went home. But the universe had it out for him, because when he looked up, he saw Marie and Miranda looking back at them.
Well, not Marie because he was blind, but his head was turned towards their direction.
"Son of a bitch," Kanda muttered.
"Hmm? What?" Allen said, and then he turned around to where Kanda was looking.
He waved a hand to Marie and Miranda and they waved back. Seconds later, Kanda's phone was ringing, and sure enough, it was Marie calling him.
"I thought you said you weren't on a date," Marie said. They could have talked without a phone but that required shouting, and they didn't want strangers looking at them.
"We're not," Kanda replied.
Kanda could see Marie giving him that same knowing smile earlier.
"You know, rowboat dates are considered to be a classic," Marie said.
"We're not on a date!" Marie insisted.
"What?" Allen chimed in as he reattached the dango strap to his phone. "Do they still think we're on a date?"
"Unfortunately," Kanda answered.
"Well," Marie said, "Miranda and I are going to go home. You two have fun on your date."
"For the last time, we're not on a date!" Kanda argued.
Marie gave them one last smile and Miranda waved them goodbye, and then they were on their merry way home.
Kanda began rowing them back to the dock, and even if he's trying really hard to not do it, this whole thing reminded him of that scene from The Little Mermaid where Ariel and Prince Eric were on a rowboat.
(And how did he know about that scene? Two words: Lavi Bookman.)
Sure, rowboat rides have a tendency to be romantic and he was riding with a guy whose hand he wanted to hold, but he's drawing the line there—there would be no musical numbers about kissing the boy or something.
That thought reminded him of that almost kiss, making Kanda jerk, which caused the boat to rock.
"Careful there," Allen said.
Kanda raised the oars to him. He was pissed because of that unbidden thought entering his mind. "How about you row?"
Allen took the oars. "Jeez, how did you get crabby so instantly?"
Kanda answered with a glare.
They were almost at the dock when another rowboat bumped against them. The other rowboat's bow bumped against the side where Allen sat, and the force wasn't strong enough for Kanda, who sat opposite Allen, to be thrown off the boat, but it was strong enough to make Allen fall overboard with a loud splash.
In the next second, Allen wasn't with him anymore; he was falling down to the bottom of the lake.
VIII.
"Oh my God, we're so sorry, we're so sorry!" the occupants of the boat—four women—that bumped into them said.
The commotion had the park staff rowing towards them, and one of them was holding an inner tube. The four women kept on apologising but Kanda couldn't hear anything but white noise.
It's like his heart stopped beating. He knew that Allen could swim so there was no reason for him to be scared, but to see him topple into the water like that...
Suddenly, there was a head of white surfacing into the water. Kanda's eyes met Allen's and Kanda released a breath he didn't know he was holding.
The park staff was upon them in seconds and they extended a hand to pull Allen out of the lake, but Allen ignored those hands in favour of Kanda's outstretched hand. Kanda pulled him up into their boat, and the momentum had Allen tumbling into Kanda's chest. Kanda's immediate reaction was to wrap his arms around Allen and glare at the women who bumped into the boat.
"We're really sorry!" one of the women said. "I don't know how to row, and—"
"Then why do you have the oars if you don't know how to row?" Kanda snapped.
"It's okay," Allen told Kanda with a light squeeze on his arm. He then turned to the ladies and said, "It's okay. I'm okay. I'm not angry."
"We're really sorry," another lady said. "We didn't mean to."
"I know you didn't," Allen said, giving them his famous gentlemanly smile.
A park staff handed him a towel and Allen dried his hair with it and then draped it over his shoulders. Kanda rowed towards the dock, not minding that Allen was still sitting so close to him.
When they were off the boat, Allen was immediately ushered into the clinic where a physician made sure that he really was fine, and when he was given the clear, they led him to a shower and was provided fresh clothes to change into.
Allen was wearing a shirt and sweatpants that bore the park's logo. He was also given a cheap pair of slippers, the kind that no one would miss when it went missing, and was two times his size.
They were exiting the park; neither of them was in the mood to continue their walk. And it may be May already but the wind still had its chills, and with his wet jacket in the plastic bag he was carrying, Allen was shivering.
But not for a minute longer; he felt something warm cover his shoulders.
He glanced at Kanda and saw that that tight-fitting turtleneck was actually a tight-fitting sleeveless turtleneck, and Allen gawked at Kanda's biceps before saying, "Why are you lending your coat to me?"
"Because you're shivering," Kanda replied.
"You're gonna get cold."
"My dorm is close."
Allen took the coat off and held it to Kanda. "Take it back. I don't want you to get sick."
Kanda put the coat back on Allen's shoulders. "Idiot. You're the one who fell in the lake. Come to my dorm. I have a jacket there you can borrow, and then you can go home."
"But you're gonna get cold."
Kanda cluck his tongue. "Take the damned jacket, bean sprout."
And so Allen did without any more counterargument. Besides, it smelled heavenly.
Kanda was taller than him by three inches. He was also physically bigger; whereas Allen was lean and slender, Kanda had broader shoulders and well-defined muscles in all the right places, as evidenced by the lingering looks people sent his way. So Allen wore the coat over his shoulders instead of wearing it, the hem trailing on the ground. He'd look like an even bigger idiot if he wore a coat that obviously didn't fit him well.
He pulled the coat tighter and breathed in that unique Kanda smell and allowed himself a small smile.
IX.
The jacket was three times his size.
Some people tend to wear hoodies a size larger, and Kanda was one of those people. The jacket was too big for Allen and he looked like a clown, but he didn't mind because one, he was an actual clown, and two, Kanda's jacket, duh.
And it wasn't just any jacket—it was Kanda's jacket from the fencing club.
See, Kanda's really good with swords, and part of what makes him popular, besides his physique and pretty face, was his fencing prowess. He's been part of the uni's fencing association since his freshman years, and he would have been captain if it weren't for his temper. But he was skilful enough to garner awards here and there, and the fencing association wouldn't have won those inter-university competitions without him.
Needless to say, wearing Kanda's fencing club jacket—which was a bomber jacket with Kanda's surname and the fencing club logo on the back—was the dream of many women (and men). One could only stare at Kanda in admiration as he walked from classes to the gym wearing that jacket.
So honestly speaking, Allen was gloating inside because who else besides Kanda got to wear this jacket? None. None of those people who had a crush on Kanda—only Allen.
The jacket was fresh from the washer so that Kanda scent wasn't there, but it was still Kanda's jacket that dwarfed and warmed him. His wet clothes were still on the plastic bag, waiting to be washed at the laundromat near his dorm.
"You look like an idiot," Kanda said. "I'm sure that Lavi has a jacket somewhere here that's closer to your size."
"No, no!" Allen said maybe too quickly. "This is fine. It's fine."
Kanda narrowed his eyes. "The jacket looks like it's trying to swallow you."
"I don't mind," Allen replied. I don't mind it swallowing me. Or you swallowing me. Or. Um.
Wearing Kanda's much-coveted jacket filled him with pride. Kanda had plenty of other jackets and coats, yet this was the one he gave him. And Allen didn't want to jump into conclusions and be heartbroken along the way, but maybe, just maybe, Kanda liked him too.
"Well, I'm gonna go home now," Allen said as he inched towards the door. He was reluctant to leave. "Thanks for lending me your jacket. I'll return this tomorrow."
Kanda grunted. He was about to open the door for Allen when the door, well, opened.
"...so maybe we should call him and—Hey, Yuu-chan. Oh hi, Allen. Is that Kanda's jacket?" Lavi, Kanda's roommate, greeted.
"That is Kanda's jacket," Lenalee, Lavi's girlfriend and a close friend of both Kanda and Allen, said.
It wasn't uncommon for Lenalee to be in their dorm room, especially when Kanda was out and Lavi was alone. She was as good as Kanda's little sister and Lavi didn't mind it when the two bonded by themselves in their dorm.
It wasn't uncommon for Allen to be in their room either; he was their mutual friend after all. But these days, when Lavi comes home and finds Allen sitting on the floor next to Kanda's bed, Lavi gives Kanda these smiles which looked too much like those smiles Marie has been giving him lately.
But still, it wasn't all that rare to see Allen in their dorm, so Kanda didn't know why Lavi and Lenalee were giving him those smirks.
"So it's true, then," Lenalee said. "You secretive bastards."
"What's true?" Allen asked. The sight of Allen wearing his jacket made Kanda's trousers a little tighter.
Shit.
"Oh, like you don't know," said Lenalee. "The jacket only confirms it."
Allen made a confused noise and Lenalee enclosed him in a hug "I'm so happy for you."
"Why do people keep telling us that today?" Allen said, awkwardly patting Lenalee on the back.
"We're all friends here, Al," Lavi said. "And from the looks of it, you've had a wonderful date with my best friend."
"I'm not your best friend and we didn't go on a date," Kanda said. He saw Lenalee whisper something in Allen's ear before she released him, making Allen blush.
"The pictures say otherwise," Lavi said in a singsong tone.
"What pictures?" Kanda and Allen said at the same time.
The only picture Kanda could think of was the one from the buffet, which Allen pocketed before leaving. But Lavi had no way of knowing about it unless...
At the look of realisation dawning on both Kanda and Allen's faces, Lavi grinned and brandished his phone. First, there was a photo of Allen and Kanda sharing that milkshake with a heart-shaped straw, and then Lavi swiped the screen to show them a photo of the two of them on a boat ride.
The photos were taken from a distance so you couldn't see their expressions, but it was clearly and Allen and Kanda doing what might be considered as things that a couple does on a date.
And, well, they really did look like a couple.
X.
"Whom did you get these from? Marie or Miranda?" Kanda asked, his tone edging on dangerous.
"Don't be mad," Lenalee said, trying to calm Kanda down before his temper got the better of him. "I called Miranda to have a chat, and she sounded so happy so I asked her what's going on. She didn't tell me at first because she said she wanted to keep it a secret and I didn't pry, but later on she let slip that she hopes that the two of you will be happy. And she kept apologising and told me not to tell you that she told me that you two are finally an item. So don't be angry. She really tried to keep it a secret."
"Why'd you two want to keep it a secret, though?" Lavi said, his eyes scanning Allen and Kanda. "You know that we wouldn't mind. Hell, Daisya put up a betting pool about when the two of you are gonna get together."
"Daisya did what?" Kanda said, his angry temper seeping into his voice. Daisya was another one of Kanda's foster brothers, and his penchant for pranks made him good friends with the mischievous Lavi.
"Betting pool, Yuu-chan," said Lavi. "You were on a date, right? Did someone bet on this week?"
"We weren't on a date," Kanda replied. He looked at Allen for confirmation and he nodded.
"Then what's this all about the milkshake and the rowboat?" Lavi asked.
"I asked Kanda to pretend to be my boyfriend because there was a couples discount at the restaurant," Allen explained. "The milkshake was a freebie, but they needed to take a picture of us sipping it together for a discount for our next visit. As for the boat ride, the dango strap on my phone broke and fell into the lake, so I made Kanda row the boat while I fished it out."
"...So it wasn't a date?" Lenalee said.
"It's not," Kanda said resolutely, as if his words make it true.
Lavi looked at Kanda as if he was the stupidest person he's ever met. "It's not? Really?"
"Come on, Kanda," Lenalee said exasperatedly. "Surely you would have noticed it by now."
"Noticed what?" Kanda said.
At the genuine bewilderment on Kanda's face—though his tone was harsh—Lavi and Lenalee shared a look.
"Don't tell me you that you haven't noticed it, Allen," Lenalee said.
Kanda turned to Allen, and when Allen looked away, Kanda felt like the whole universe knew something that he didn't.
Maybe it did.
Kanda honestly didn't know what they were talking about. Sure, he wanted to hold Allen's hand—and maybe do even more than that—but it didn't mean that he had a clue about this thing the whole universe was keeping from him.
"Oi, bean sprout," Kanda said. "What are these two talking about?"
Allen didn't say anything. Instead, he just stared at Kanda, teary grey eyes and too-big jacket on him and all.
"Lena, let's go," Lavi said.
Kanda didn't look at them. He continued to look at Allen, and he heard the door close a few seconds later.
"What are they talking about?" Kanda asked.
"Do you really not know?" Allen replied, almost imploringly. It was times like this when his emotions were running on high that Allen's accent crept in. "I mean, don't you feel it too? When you lent me this jacket and your coat, when you basically hugged me after I fell on the lake, when you were leading me by my wrist or sleeve, when our hands accidentally touched, when we almost kissed? Don't you feel it?"
"I..." Kanda said. Of course he felt it. He might even know what it was. He just didn't want to give in to it.
He touched Allen's face gingerly with one hand, and Allen covered that hand with his. Kanda brushed the teardrops that were about to fall from Allen's eyes, and in a low voice, he said, "There is something that I feel." Allen leaned in to the touch, but his eyes widened when Kanda withdrew his hand. "But I'm not sure if I want to feel it."
Kanda took a step back. His chest constricted at the sight of Allen's pained face. Allen turned his head away. He wrung his hands, and when he looked up, Kanda almost buckled at the fury on his face.
"All right, then," Allen said too calmly. His British accent was back full-force, and Kanda knew that he was beyond angry and disappointed. "I'll take my leave. Goodbye, Kanda."
Allen walked to the door and Kanda wanted to stop him, but there was something that pinned Kanda to the spot, something akin to fear.
Allen opened the door, but before he crossed the threshold, he said softly without looking at him, "For what's it worth, I had fun today."
And then he was gone.
XI.
Allen should have thought of taking Kanda's jacket off before he left, but he was too angry, too disappointed to think of anything else. He even forgot the plastic bag that contained his clothes, and so walked towards his dorm with crappy slippers, the park's shirt and sweatpants, and Kanda's jacket.
And because it was such a big deal who wore that jacket—it shouldn't be, but it was—and because apparently, the whole universe except Kanda felt and knew it, Allen didn't miss the knowing smirks that were thrown his way. His face was in a neutral expression so none of them could have know what happened, but when he was leaving Kanda's dorm building and as he entered his, he heard You two are finally together, huh? and Congratulations! and Took you look enough! or variations thereof directed at him.
Which was like pouring salt into the wound.
When he reached his room, he immediately slumped into the bed and buried his face on his pillows. He wanted to take Kanda's jacket off, but he couldn't, didn't want to, because even if Kanda was an ass, he still felt something for him.
"How was your day?" Johnny, his roommate, asked. He was on his table tinkering with machine parts.
Johnny had always been gentle and considerate and Allen had become good friends with him. There was no point in lying to him; Johnny would always know when something is wrong.
But he'd also try his damnedest to make Allen feel better and Allen just wanted to be alone right now, so without facing Johnny, he said, "Terrible. And I'd appreciate some space right now."
There was a moment of silence and then Johnny replied, "I understand. I hope you feel better soon, Allen."
"Me too," said Allen. And that was the end of that conversation.
Allen had been lying on his bed for an hour with only the soft clinks of metal against metal when someone knocked on their door.
"I'll get it," Johnny said.
Allen heard the door open. He didn't hear words exchanged, but he heard the door open wider, then heard it close. He heard footsteps—two people?—entering the room, and he heard the scraping of Johnny's chair against the floor.
Allen assumed that it was one of Johnny's friends, but when a weight settled on the foot of his bed, Allen looked up and immediately sat up when he saw Kanda.
"What are you doing here?" Allen said with the barest hint of animosity.
Johnny was putting the machine parts in a box. "I'll leave you two alone."
"There's no need for that," Kanda said, standing up. He grabbed Allen by the arm and hauled him out of his bed. "We're leaving."
Allen shook him off. "Who said I'm going with you?"
"I did," Kanda answered.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
"Yes you are. Come on."
"I said I'm not going."
And to prove his point, Allen lied down on his bed, only to be manhandled into a standing position by Kanda.
"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Allen shouted.
"Uh, guys," Johnny, still holding the box, said. "I can leave."
"No, we're leaving," Kanda said at the same time Allen said, "No, Kanda's just leaving."
"I said I'm not coming with you," Allen said, "so you can go."
Kanda stepped towards Allen. Allen held his ground and glared at Kanda until the other was standing a mere inch away from him, the tips of their noses almost touching.
"I can leave," Johnny said, shifting his weight from one foot to another. He was getting uncomfortable.
"You stay there," Kanda and Allen said in unison without taking their eyes off one another.
Kanda was the first one to break the staring contest. He took Allen's left hand—which was clenched into a fist—and then pried the fingers open one by one, until his hand was unclenched. He took that hand into his and wove their fingers together, and then looked back into Allen's eyes and said, "Let's go."
Allen was too stunned to say otherwise. All that he could register was the feeling of his hand intertwined with Kanda's and the too-big jacket still on his back.
They left the room wordlessly hand-in-hand. When they met fellow students along the way to wherever Kanda was taking him, he heard the same congratulatory statements from before, and Allen wondered if Kanda allowed himself to feel what he felt.
Kanda took him to the park.
At nighttime, there were only few people around and the boat rental was closed, so aside from the occasional chirping and footfall, it was silent. At one point, Kanda tucked their hands into his coat's pocket, and Allen wished that Kanda couldn't hear how fast his heart was beating.
They had been walking in the park for about half an hour when Allen finally decided to say something.
"So? What's this all about?"
Kanda was still holding his hand.
Allen didn't want to let it go.
Kanda led Allen towards the railing surrounding the lake. He leaned on it, his free hand bracing the handrail. Allen looked at him but his expression was unreadable.
"Kanda?" Allen said.
Kanda was looking up and Allen followed his gaze. He was staring at the moon.
Kanda transferred his gaze to Allen. He looked him in the eyes and said, "The moon is beautiful, don't you think?"
Allen looked at the moon. It was bright, it was big, it was blue, and it was beautiful, and it was the kind of thing that oversaw trysts and confessions between lovers. "I suppose. Though I don't think you're the type to say such things."
Apparently Allen said the wrong thing, because Kanda's expectant look fell into a disappointed though understanding look.
Allen felt like he was missing something.
Kanda looked at the moon again. "The moon is beautiful. I just needed to say it."
Allen examined Kanda's face. He was staring intently and intensely at the moon, and a few moments later, that gaze landed on Allen, and he couldn't help but blush at the intensity of Kanda's stare.
"O-okay," Allen said. "It's beautiful. I don't there ever was a time when the moon wasn't."
At that statement, Kanda's face softened as if Allen said something right. He never saw Kanda look like that, like Allen was the only thing in the world that mattered.
Allen used his free hand to caress Kanda's face; their other hands were still entwined. Kanda leaned into the touch and placed a feather-light kiss on Allen's palm, and Allen continued touching his face, let his fingertips dance across Kanda's eyelids and nose and cheeks and lips. Allen let his thumb linger on Kanda's lips, and with their left hands still interlocked, Kanda's right hand pulled Allen closer by his waist.
When their lips touched, there were no fireworks or butterflies; there was just the soft fluttering of eyelashes, the warm hand on the small of Allen's back, that left hand that was still clutching his, and the moon above them, its light illuminating the lake.
It wasn't a torrid affair that involved tongues; it was a simple pressing of the lips, chaste, even. It wasn't movie-worthy; it might be even considered by some to be unremarkable. And it wasn't grandiose or explosive, but it felt like the first gasp of air after drowning, like the rising sun after a turbulent night, like coming home after a long day or a long time apart.
They broke apart, and they both had a small smile on their lips and a twinkle in their eyes.
The moon shone upon them, and for now, no words were needed; their soft laughs and interlocked fingers would suffice.
At first, Allen didn't want this day to end because he was enjoying his not-date with Kanda, and then he couldn't wait for the day the end because Kanda was being Kanda. Now, he couldn't wait for tomorrow, when words would affirm actions. But for now, he stayed in that moment, where the beautiful moon watched over them as they expressed in chaste kisses and shy touches what words couldn't.
i.
When Kanda came back to his dorm from classes the next day, Lavi greeted him with a shit-eating grin.
He was still feeling giddy from the night before—not that he'd let it show on his face—when he and Allen kissed for the first time. They went home after walking for another half an hour, Allen still wearing Kanda's jacket.
Kanda might give that jacket to him. He loved how it looked on him, loved how his surname was emblazoned on Allen's back.
They met up for lunch earlier—Allen was still wearing the jacket—and judging from the looks on everyone's faces, it appeared that they all got the message and Allen Walker and Kanda Yuu were off the market.
"So, Yuu-chan," Lavi said. He was still grinning like a lunatic. "Word travels fast, and it looks like you're not in denial anymore."
Kanda plopped down on his bed and took his phone out. There were messages from Lenalee and his foster family, but there was a message from Allen too, so that was what he opened first.
Master showed up earlier, Allen's message said. He was talking about his legal guardian who worked for the CIA. He took some documents from me and took off not long after, but at least I got to see Tim if only for a short while!
Tim was his master's golden retriever, and Allen loved that dog more than anything else in the world, possibly even more than Kanda. They weren't at that stage yet, but surely they were at its beginnings.
"And apparently," Lavi drawled, "the moon was beautiful that night, eh?"
Kanda didn't say anything.
"You can't keep ignoring me, Yuu-chan."
"Stop calling me that, stupid rabbit."
"That was so smooth and classy of you."
"...I don't know what you're talking about."
Lavi tutted. "You can't fool me, Yuu-chan."
"Stop calling me that!"
"In case you've forgotten, I'm a history major—and I had some classes on classic literature from around the world—and I know exactly what you were trying to say."
Who was Kanda trying to fool? Of course Lavi would know. Lavi, who acted like an idiot, but was actually a genius who was running for summa cum laude.
"Was the moon really beautiful last night?" Lavi asked in a serious tone.
That made Kanda look up. A serious Lavi demanded one's full attention.
"Yeah," Kanda said. "It was beautiful. And it is now. It might be daytime but the moon's still out there."
Lavi smiled. Not the grin that was readily available for everyone or the smile that he reserves just for Lenalee, but a soft smile, as if he's proud of Kanda. "You should tell him that. And not the metaphor—the literal one."
Kanda looked away from him. There would be time in the future to say those words clearly, but metaphors would suffice when their relationship was still in its early stages.
"Someday," Kanda said, then he turned his back on Lavi.
He received another message from Allen. It was a photo of the two of them last night. Allen was grinning like he was having the best time in his entire life, and Kanda was surprised by the small and fond smile he had on his face.
Behind them, the moon gleamed, and Allen's caption was the moon really was beautiful.
And because Kanda's back was facing Lavi, he allowed himself to smile.
Yes, the moon was beautiful. It was, it is, and it always will be.
A/N: for those who don't know, "the moon is beautiful, don't you think?" (and variations of it) is a euphemism in japanese for "i love you" :3
(also florence + the machine reference because i frigging love them)
(i came up with the title literal seconds before posting this hahahaha)