One thing they're both good at is running away.
Kanda runs away first. Allen had expected for that to happen, but that doesn't stop him from staying up late in bed, reading glasses on, eyes seeing none of the words in front of him. He keeps a cup of tea on the little table next to the bed as he nurses the small hope that Kanda will come back in any minute and snap at him for letting the tea get cold. So of course the one night that Kanda does come back is the same night that Allen falls sleep, head on his pillow and nose stuck in the air, book tumbled from his hands.
Kanda sighs quietly and removes the glasses. Gets into bed. Sleeps.
Allen wakes up to the sound of the fan in the kitchen and soft piano music playing. He scrambles to see Kanda standing in shorts, frying bacon to the sound of the radio on the counter. His hair is tied up and his eyes are dark, but Allen feels nothing less than a rush of affection. The little anger that he had hidden inside of his heart is completely eradicated by the sight of the sunlight streaming in from the window and Kanda turning to look at him, saying, "Get the plates out, I'm almost done."
They eat bacon with rice, wilted cabbage, and leftover beansprouts from the refrigerator. They do not bring up Kanda's vanishing act. Allen convinces Kanda to call a sick day, never mind that he had contacted the employer the day Kanda left and found out that Kanda had quit his job and neglected to pick up his last paycheck. The two of them sit together on the couch and watch brain-numbing cartoons before Kanda drops his head onto Allen's shoulder and closes his eyes.
There are dark shadows Allen has never seen before. He doesn't know what to do. He is lost.
So Allen runs away.
Not immediately, of course. He waits a week until Kanda has settled back in the house, pouring over job applications while furrowing his brow. That is how he leaves Kanda-sitting at the dining table, furrowing his brow. He runs away and it is a most glorious feeling, running down the sidewalk and feeling the wind brush his pale hair back. He breathes heavily, stops. Turns around in a circle.
Keeps walking.
Allen comes back on a Monday. Kanda stares up at him, chopsticks only an inch away from his mouth. He is in the middle of dinner, a simple meal of salmon, rice, and pickled vegetables. There is a rice grain on the corner of his mouth and he is so beautiful that Allen leans in and fondly kisses the rice grain.
"I'm home," he says.
"Hmph," is Kanda's reply. "Didn't know you even left." He sets the chopsticks down and levels a glare at Allen, his words inconsistent with the smoldering fury in the fine lines of his face.
Allen notices for the first time that Kanda has set the table for two.
He smiles. Kanda huffs.
"Welcome back."