The storm had been going on for three hours at least. The lone figure staring out the window in the silhouetted

black tower had lost count of how many times the lightning had broken the night. The quick flashes lit up his

white hair, making it almost iridescent, like a pearl. Allen (for it could be no one other) stared out into the solid

wall of black. Rain beat against the window's glass like some kind of deranged beast. Thunder dominated the

night, causing the entire room to shake at its might. Allen took no notice of any of this however. His mind was

elsewhere, in a conversation he had had earlier with Lavi….

3 hours earlier in cafeteria….

"Hey, Allen! ALLEN!"

Allen, who had up until that moment been eating, looked up with a mitarashi dango kebab hanging out of his

mouth. There was Lavi, waving his arm hugely over his head like a school girl. Allen swallowed what was left of

his food and spat out the stick just as Lavi strutted over. His trademark mischievous smirk was plastered across

his face. Without missing a beat, Lavi wrapped both arms around Allen's neck playfully.

"Hey Allen, what's up?"

"The ceiling." He said tartly. "Let go."

"Aw, lighten up Allen," he said, playing with one of Allen's ivory bangs.

"You know ya love it."

"Not even in your dreams, Lavi. Now get off."

In truth, Allen wasn't sure that last statement was completely true. Lavi's arms felt warm around his neck, and

his fiery red hair was tickling Allen's cheek. But before he could further reflect on the feeling, Lavi withdrew his

arms and meshed his fingers behind his head.

"Man Allen, you've been such a stick in the mud lately", he sighed

"Really?" Allen asked, somewhat surprised.

Lavi nodded. "Yeah, for real. You've been a real grouch these past few weeks. Something wrong?"

Allen made sure he turned away before answering.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just tired I guess…"

Lavi was silent for a moment. Then he put a hand on Allen's shoulder and said:

"Well alright then. See ya later"

Without turning around Allen said, "See you later."

Lavi kept his hand there for a moment, and then pulled it away. Allen listened as Lavi's footstep's quickly faded

away. He waited until they had completely gone before releasing the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been

holding. That statement hadn't been true either. Lately whenever Lavi was around, Allen always felt really tight

in his chest. It was caused by even the slightest of things. A small glance, an accidental bump in the hallway,

anything was enough to make him almost….breathless. It wasn't a bad feeling though. It was warm, soft…. and

extremely confusing.

Allen groaned and twisted his hands through his hair. Why was he feeling this way? It's obviously wrong to feel

that way about another man, right? He closed his eyes and

LAVI

Lavi marched briskly down the empty hallway, extremely annoyed. He gritted his teeth in frustration. Allen was

one of best exorcists in the job. He was strong, brave, and smart. When it really came down to it, Lavi wasn't

sure he would want anyone else (besides the old panda) by his side in a fight. But really, sometimes Allen could

be amazingly thick. It was enough to drive him mad sometimes… Lavi stopped. He sighed and leaned against the

hard stone wall. He slowly slid down the wall into a sitting position. He closed his eyes and leaned his head

against the wall.

"Damn," he thought. "Why does he have to be so damn gorgeous?"

Everything about that guy drove Lavi batty.