Alright, just so we're clear: I do NOT support Lavi x Kanda, and nowhere in this fic will there be evidence to the contrary. Lavi is being Lavi, and there is no sexual or romantic interest between the two. Jeez, I'm rather repulsed by that pairing. Lavi is way too happy and cool for Kanda

"Hey, Lenalee!" I called, waving to her from across the cafeteria.

She waved back with a smile and made her way around the tables to mine, sitting down gracefully beside me. All she had for lunch was a bowl of rice, and she gave my many platters of food a bemused glance.

"Are you sure you can really eat all of that?" she said doubtfully.

"You've seen me eat!" I laughed. "I'm a Parasitic-type, so of course I'm going to eat a bunch."

She giggled.

"True enough."

Five minutes later, she didn't doubt my ability to scarf down enough food to feed a baby killer whale any more.

"Were those all yours?" asked Lavi in amazement, appearing out of nowhere like he always did. I nodded and dabbed at my mouth with a napkin.

"Wow, man, you can pack it away," he chuckled. "Well, if you're done, Komui—well, Reever, technically—gave us all the day off!"

"You're serious?!" I exclaimed, leaping to me feet.

"Nope!" Lavi laughed. I glowered at him. "Komui's got his next assignment for all of us."

"Where is it?" I sighed, stacking up my empty plates. A day off sounded really nice right about now, but I should have known better than to think Komui would ever give three Exorcists the same day off.

"Paris, France," said Lavi excitedly. "The City of Love. Our flight leaves at eight tonight."

"Actually, Lavi, it's the City of Light," said Lenalee, pushing the remaining rice in her bowl around with her chopsticks. "City of Love is a common misconception."

"Whatever, it's still gonna be awesome!" Lavi sighed. "And we've got Toma as our Finder this time around."

"Great!" I said happily, beginning to stack up my numerous plates. "I missed working with Toma. The last time I was with him we were stuck with Kanda."

I shuddered, thinking of the moody, borderline-homicidal Exorcist. He was possibly one of the most miserable human beings to be around in the entire world.

Lavi chuckled and reached back to scratch the back of his head. I narrowed my eyes. Did he look…a little anxious?

"Come on, Allen. Yuu isn't really so bad when you get to know him," said the apprentice Bookman. "He's just a little…rough around the edges."

"Yeah, well, Kanda's made it perfectly clear that he doesn't want to get to know me, and I don't want to push myself where I'm not invited," I said with a derisive snort. "I'm just glad I haven't been put on any missions with him recently. Maybe Komui's finally taking pity on me."

Lavi's smile was extremely forced, and I could see his right eye twitching slightly.

"Lavi, what is it?" Lenalee asked, seeing the boy's very obvious discomfort.

"Well…ahah…y'see…" Lavi mumbled.

I heaved a loud sigh.

"Kanda's coming with us, isn't he?" I guessed.

Lavi deflated, his hand falling back to his side.

"I—yeah, he's coming," he gave in.

"That's right, and you'd better not get in my way, Bean Sprout," growled a low, resonant voice.

I didn't even bother to turn around and see who it was. I knew already it was the tall, perpetually scowling Equipment Exorcist. You know, the one with the long, iridescent black hair that looked blue sometimes, and the sword strapped to his side?

"That's your problem, Kanda," I sighed. "You don't know how to work on a team. Everyone else had just better not bother you."

"I don't need a lecture from a cursed little boy," sneered the swordsman.

"Hey! Cool it, Kanda," said Lenalee sharply.

I stood abruptly, not because of Kanda's words, but because I found that I was really tempted to continue arguing with him, and that wouldn't get us anywhere productive.

"I'm going to go to my room," I told Lavi and Lenalee. "I'll catch up with you guys a little later, okay?"

Lenalee and Lavi both blinked in surprise.

"Y-yeah, okay," she said, tone confused.

I heard Lavi reprimand Kanda behind me as I walked away.

"C'mon, Yuu, not cool—"

His words were cut off abruptly and followed by a loud crash. It was probably Kanda sending Lavi flying into one of the walls, or maybe just a table, for calling him by his real name.

"Don't call me that," Kanda snapped.

Hypocrite, I thought to myself.

I didn't hate Kanda. Far from it. But I didn't particularly like him either. He was such an angry, moody person, that it was hard to stay upbeat around him. It was almost impossible to work with him as a team because of that thing he said earlier: "Don't get in my way." He really wouldn't let anyone work with him, that's just how he was.

"Plus," I muttered. "He calls me Bean Sprout."

My room wasn't far from the cafeteria, and I made it there quickly. The plain white door stuck a little, like it always did, but I easily pushed it open, stepping into my room and letting it swing quietly shut behind me. It was nothing fancy, my room. Plain white walls, thick carpet, a small desk and wooden chair, and a twin bed with gray blankets. There was still that poster of the creepy-looking guy standing in front of a dark moon by my bed. Other than that, the walls were bare. I had kept the area pretty neat for the most part, largely due to the fact that I didn't spend a whole lot of time in my room, but I had left my own little touches here and there. One of my socks that had no partner was lying at the foot of my bed. A throw blanket had been added to my boring bedclothes, woven with brightly colored thread. Lenalee had given it to me. There was also a rectangular silver picture frame on the windowsill. The photo in it was of Lavi, Lenalee, and myself on our last mission together. We'd been in Venice, Italy, and had taken it on a gondola. You could see other little boats in the background. I was in the middle, with Lavi on my left and Lenalee on my right. Lavi had one arm slung across my shoulders, and was holding up two fingers on his other hand, grinning like a maniac. Lenalee was smiling cutely, her hands clasped behind her.

I loved those two. They were the first real friends I had ever had, and I didn't know what I would do without them. We'd all come from similar pasts, and they didn't look strangely at my left arm, the way so many others had. They understood it, and accepted it. I had only felt that way twice before: with my adopted father, Mana, and my mentor General Marian Cross. And honestly, Cross scared me. The only thing that worried me was that, like both Cross and Mana, I might lose Lavi and Lenalee the same way.

A quiet knock pulled me from my train of thought.

"Allen?" It was Lenalee. "Can I come in?"

"Sure. The door's open!" I called to her, setting the picture frame back on the window sill.

I heard the creaking noise as the door was swung open, followed by soft, muffled footsteps on the carpet.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, fine," I said, surprised. "Why?"

She clasped her hands in front of her and shifted her weight from foot to foot.

"I don't know…You just seemed kind of upset when you left."

My lips curved up in a smile.

"Nah, Lenalee, I'm fine. I've learned to just ignore Kanda," I told her with a chuckle. She gave a small smile.

"That's good," she answered.

Then she just stood there, not saying anything, still shuffling her feet. The silence grew increasingly awkward, and I got the feeling that there was something else Lenalee wanted to say, but she wasn't quite sure how to say it. I crossed the short distance between us, and set my hands on her shoulders. She looked up at me quickly, startled, and saw me smiling gently.

"Lenalee, you can tell me anything you want," I told her. "I promise."

She smiled, and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by my bedroom door flying open once more and slamming into the wall.

"My darling Lenalee!" Komui squealed, barreling toward us. "Don't let those nasty boys get out of line while you're go—"

I really didn't see what happened, but I could guess. One minute Komui was sprinting for his little sister, the next he was twitching on the ground. I had never even seen or heard Lenalee activate her Dark Boots, or even seen her kick, but she had undoubtedly sent a powerful kick to her older brother's head. With a heavy sigh, Lenalee pulled Komui up by an arm and pulled it around her neck.

"I'll talk to you later then, Allen. Okay?" she said, and hauled the scientist out of my room.

"O…kay," I answered, confused.

I shook off my bemusement and turned to my wardrobe. It shouldn't be a terribly long trip, but I should still pack for the worst. Since we would have Kanda in tow, the worst case scenario would probably happen.