Allen Walker lifted a mug of tea to his lips, watching the light bleed out of the sky in brilliant streaks of orange and red. An unavoidable sense of urgency filled his bones with the sinking of the sun- an old instinct that never left him despite the need for it being long past. He pressed his back against the wall as a reminder, leaning his head against the cool glass. The physical presence of shelter and something warm in his belly helped, but he'd come to expect the worry that gnawed at him. He closed his eyes and let the tension seep out of him. He pressed the lip of his mug to his own lips as he considered going to the cafeteria for a second dinner.
The sound of a door opening came from beside him and Allen opened one eye a sliver, turning head just enough to catch sight of Lavi closing the door behind himself with a little kick. Three books were tucked under one of his arms, and his nose was buried in a fourth, making Allen wonder briefly how he'd managed to open the door so easily. The redhead put down the books on the bedside table without looking up and walked over to the bed, flopping down.
"Not even a hello for me anymore?" Allen asked, amused.
"Mhmm, just a second, babe. I just want to finish…" Lavi trailed off and Allen got up from his window seat. He drained the rest of his drink as he crossed the room, putting his mug beside Lavi's books. The other scooted to the side on the bed to give Allen room, smiling a little when he felt the dip of Allen's weight on the mattress.
"Do you think they'd approve a request for a bigger bed?" Allen grumbled as Lavi finally tore his eyes away from the page.
"I dunno. Depends on the reason." Lavi said as he wrapped an arm around Allen, pulling him close. The book was laid to the side, teetering on the flat top of one of the bed frame's posts.
"So, wanting more room in bed when a giant, eye-patched redhead haunts it probably wouldn't be considered a good reason, huh?"
"Probably not. Also, I'm not sure I'd consider this haunting? I'm more of a lurker, really."
Allen laughed and pressed a kiss onto Lavi's cheek, "Oh, my mistake."
"It's like you don't even know me at all, Allen."
Lavi smiled, pressing their foreheads together as they became more entwined on the bed. The chill that filled the whole building during the winter vanished when they were so close. Lavi's hand slid up and down Allen's back slowly, glancing up at the window as the wind picked up.
"Mmn, how late can you stay?" Allen asked as he glanced up, catching Lavi's eye.
"I can spent the night, if you'll have me. Gramps is going easy on me this week." Lavi's hand drifted from tracing senseless patterns on Allen's back up to cupping his face. A mischievous gleam in Lavi's eye made Allen smile coyly.
"All night, you say?"
"Mhmm, but go easy on me. I've gotta keep up appearances you know."
"I'm fairly certain that everyone knows you're ridiculous so I'm not sure what appearances you'd need to keep up after that."
Lavi looked scandalized, wrapping his arms around Allen neck and pulling him to his chest, "Mean! Allen is so mean to me!"
Allen laughed and squirmed, trying to get free of Lavi's melodramatic hold, which seemed to make him hold on tighter.
"Lavi, I will leave a mark if you don't sto- augh!" The redhead's knuckles found their way to the top of Allen's skull and he laughed, wriggling against the bigger teen.
"I live for revenge." Lavi purred, still gently giving the boy in his arms a noogie.
"Okay, okay I conceed!" Allen laughed, swatting at Lavi.
Lavi took that as invitation to roll on top of Allen, looking smug, "It is I who has made the great Allen Walker give in! I am the greatest fighter of all time."
"I'm not sure I would consider it much of a fight." Allen said. He let his hand drift down Lavi's sides and rest on his hips, watching the redhead consider the statement.
"Maybe, but I still won."
Allen laughed and leaned up, kissing Lavi's chin before flopping back down on the bed, "Sure."
They looked at each other, eyes soft and playful. Lavi took Allen's left hand and pulled the glove off to lace their fingers together. It was something he did often; Allen wondered how much of it was Lavi trying to comfort himself and how much was Lavi trying to comfort himself.
"You cold?" Lavi asked, fiddling with Allen's fingers.
"Not really. You're my personal bedwarmer, so."
They lapsed into silence again, curling into each other more tightly. The fading light from the window laid over them heavily, throwing the shadows of the fluffy snowflakes into the room as they drifted down outside. Allen shifted and leaned down, pulling his blanket over the two of them and sighed.
"What are you huffing and puffing about?" Lavi asked, his voice a rumble in the muted room.
"Well… I just. This is nice and… It means a lot to me." Allen said, his eyes getting a little distant as he tucked a stray chunk of Lavi's hair behind his ear.
Lavi chuckled and leaned his head down, kissing Allen's lips gently before pulling back and looking at the boy fondly, "You're always so negative when you're positive, Allen."
"What do you mean?"
"You say stuff like that… like you're ready to lose everything in a moment," Lavi looked down a bit then moved forward, leaning their foreheads together, "I'm not going anywhere. You're not going anywhere. It's going to be okay."
"... Yeah…"
Lavi kissed him again and Allen sighed through his nose and slid his hands up from Lavi's hips, sneaking them under his loose shirt. It was easy to lapse into gentle kisses and hands tracing each other's bodies. It was easy to use it to forget there was anything else they had to think about.
And yet, Allen always found his mind wandering. Lavi's lips and hands demanded Allen's attention but he couldn't help but to think back to their beginnings. Their first kiss had been a nightmare, Allen thought distantly as he parted his lips. Lavi took the invitation for what it was and deepened the kiss, pressing himself closer to Allen. They parted after a moment, lips shiny and eyes warm.
"Whatcha thinkin' about, beansprout." Lavi said, leaning his chin in his palm and playing with a strand of Allen's hair.
"Mn, our first kiss."
Lavi blinked in surprise, then groaned, "Why would you think about that?"
"Well, it was a day kind of like today when it happened, I suppose." Lavi rolled off the smaller boy, tired of holding himself up to keep from crushing Allen.
"I guess."
"It was cute, you know." Allen said, rolling onto his side to face Lavi again.
"See, you say that but you are wrong. You went in for a peck and I went full on open mouthed on you. Poor beansprout. Got all eaten up."
"I'm going to kick you off my bed, junior."
Lavi laughed and snuggled his face close to Allen's, batting his big green eye at the unimpressed face of his lover, "No you wouldn't! I'm too cute."
"Ehhh…"
"I'm going to break up with you if you keep being so mean to me."
Allen laughed and that and threw an arm over Lavi, kissing his nose again, "Yeah, sure."
Lavi wrinkled his nose as he pulled Allen onto him, grinning at him after he was settled. He ran his hands up and down Allen's side and lowered a heavy eyelid. Lavi pulled Allen down and pressed their lips together, making Allen shiver. There was a certain kind of tenderness that Lavi always treated him to when they were close. His hands glided over Allen's cheek and shoulder like he was appraising spun glass. Lavi's other hand found Allen's ass and squeezed, making the boy jump.
"Mnn, I can't stay mad at you, Al." Lavi whispered against his lips, other hand coming down to copy the first.
"Is that so."
"Mhm, you're my favourite." Lavi hummed, patting Allen's backside like a drum.
"You're horrible."
They kissed again briefly, but Allen pulled away, moving down and grazing his lips over Lavi's neck. He felt the redhead's pulse quicken under his skin and bit down lightly. Lavi gasped, arching against Allen and grasping his shirt.
"Jeez! Don't leave a mark Allen."
Allen hummed against his skin, letting go and kissing the spot, "Or what? You wear a scarf all the time anyway."
"Point taken. However, that is not under scarf territory." Lavi said, looking at Allen meaningfully. The innocent smile on Allen's face was not comforting him at all.
"I mean it, Allen."
"I'm not sure what you mean, actually." Allen mumbled, kissing Lavi's neck again.
"You do too."
Allen laughed softly at the pout in Lavi's voice, moving back to straddle his hips comfortably, "Uh huh…"
Lavi tilted his head, looking up at Allen and reaching up to start undoing the buttons of his shirt. Allen smirked a little and undid his necktie and tossing it aside, not watching as it fluttered down. Lavi slid his hands coyly over Allen's belt then traced them up his chest, lingering over every scar.
His thumb grazed a nipple and Allen jumped, tipping his head back, "Mnn! Your fingers are cold."
"Well this damn castle is an icebox." Lavi mumbled, pushing his hips up a bit and pinching at Allen's nipples again to watch him squirm.
"Mhmm… so. I'm thinking you're staying the night tonight…" Allen started, looking down at Lavi.
"Uh huh."
"And it seems that we've been fooling around a bt."
"Uh huuuh…"
"Did you want to fool around a little further?"
Lavi laughed, sitting up and holding Allen in his lap, "Y'could just ask if I want to fuck, dear. The answer is yes just about every time."
Allen snorted, flicking Lavi's nose. He pressed his lips lazily against Lavi's then pushed him down. Lavi raised a mischievous eyebrow.
"I guess Kanda wasn't so far off, calling you a rabbit huh."
"You've made that joke like four times since we started dating, Allen."
"Well. Stop living up to it then."
"Ah yes, my mistake." Lavi laughed, letting Allen take his wrists and hold them against the bed. Allen hummed and shifted, taking in his lover with a keen eye. He wanted to remember what Lavi looked like when he was splayed out on the bed under him. His green eye was heavily lidded but sharp under the gleam; He was watching Allen, waiting for him to make his move.
"I love seeing you like this." Allen breathed, unable to tear his eyes away.
"I love being like this."
They grinned at each other and leaned into each other. Their lips melted together, and Allen shivered at the heat that swirled in his belly. Lavi shifted his hands and Allen held them down more firmly, pressing their bodies close and deepening the kiss.
A knock at the door made them both jump and Allen sat up in surprise, letting Lavi hands go. They looked at each other then at the door.
"Who would that be?" Lavi whispered.
"I have no idea, I wasn't expecting anyone." Allen whispered back, quickly doing the buttons of his shirt up and sliding off Lavi. The redhead looked grumpy, sitting up on the bed.
"You could just ignore it. Pretend to be asleep-" Allen bumped the bedframe and the book Lavi had balanced there came down with a loud thud, "Or not, I guess."
"Just stay there, Lavi." Allen smiled, patting his shoulder and going over to the door. He glanced at Lavi, frowning as he adjusted himself and opened the door a little, looking out.
"Oh, sorry Allen, did I wake you?" Lenalee asked, holding a file to her chest.
"Ah, um, no, I was just uh, laying down but I wasn't asleep yet. What did you need?"
She raised an eyebrow and smiled a little, "Well, Komui wanted me to tell you that you need to come to a meeting tomorrow at nine am. Is that okay?"
"Well if he's telling, I suppose it doesn't matter if it's okay or not." Allen said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Lenalee smiled sympathetically and they both looked down for a moment.
"I could ask him to do later in the day if you want. It's just you two, I think."
"That might be good, 'cause he's probably gonna be up late tonight, Lena-lady." Allen felt his spine stiffen as Lavi leaned his chin on Allen's shoulder and looped an arm around his waist. Lenalee and Allen both went red at the tone of Lavi's voice.
"O-Oh! I'm sorry, I um, I didn't realize you were here Lavi, um, I…"
Allen dragged his hand down his face, elbowing Lavi lightly, "It's fine, Lenalee."
"What time did you want to reschedule to, Allen?"
"Oh, he'll probably be good around three. We're gonna be up really late." Allen turned, pushing Lavi back into the room with a face as red as his lover's hair.
"Lavi, I swear to god."
"He's incorrigible, huh?" Lenalee said as Lavi laughed, flopping on the bed again. Pink still lingered on her cheeks but she'd relaxed, looking amused.
"Just the worst. And he's sleeping on the floor if he keeps it up," Allen tossed over his shoulder, earning a playful wave from the man lounging on his bed, "But, yes, nine is fine tomorrow, I can make it."
"I'll let him know. Keep that trouble maker in line, yes?" She laughed, stepping back to head on her way.
"I'm not sure I can, but I will try."
"Try to get some sleep tonight." She said meaningfully.
"Oh, I will."
This prompted a barrage of whines from Lavi as Allen closed and locked the door. He crossed the room and climbed back onto the bed.
"You know, we could get into trouble if you're not more careful with that bragging."
"It's just Lenalee, she knows already."
"Yeah, but what if someone else was in the hall?"
Lavi stroked Allen's face, smiling gently, "Don't worry so much."
Allen smiled and pressed their foreheads together, sighing softly. They laid there for a few moments, listening to the wind howl outside. Something nibbled at the back of Allen's mind; something thorny and cold. Something that lingered in his reflection.
Lavi kissed him and Allen pushed everything else back, content to lose himself to someone he loved for a night. The morning would bring what it would.
