Author's note: Yes, I know, it's not even Halloween yet, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone! I'm not exactly happy with the ending, but I was dead out of ideas. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! There's a lovely bit of Lavi and Kanda fluffiness at the end, and I would like to add that I have NEVER written Jerry in a fanfic before, so I'm sorry if he's a bit OOC. Anyways, this is where I sign off!

"JINGLE BELLS, BATMAN SMELLS, ROBIN LAID AN EGG—"

"Shut UP already, Rabbit!" shouted Kanda, hands clamped firmly over his ears. "You aren't even singing it right!"

Lavi pouted. "You take the fun out of livin', Yuu!" he said, sticking out his lower lip and ignoring the expected 'Don't call me that!' hurled in his direction like a rock. "You're only pissed because Komui's makin' you help with the decorations this year."

"Speaking of decorations!" Lenalee dropped another box on top of the three Kanda was already carrying. "Take these upstairs, Kanda. Lavi, I need your help with the garland by the door."

"Wasn't Moyashi doing that?" grumbled Kanda.

Lenalee winced. "He nailed his hand to the wall." She was silent for a moment, as though listening for something. Then Lavi and Kanda heard it. Screams in the distance. "Komui's fixing his hand as we speak."

"Idiot," sighed Kanda.

"Who, Komui or Allen?" asked Lavi.

"Both," Kanda replied, dropping the boxes on a chair. "I'll be in my room. I'm sick of playing elf for your amusement."

Lavi pouted. "But Yuu—!"

"Forget it, Lavi," Lenalee said, shaking her head. "We don't really need his help anyways."

"That's not the point!" whined Lavi. "On Halloween, he stayed in his room, on Thanksgiving, he stayed in his room AGAIN, and you're gonna still let him do that for CHRISTMAS?"

Lenalee shrugged. "What can we do? I don't know about you, but I like my head attached to my shoulders, thank you very much."

"Well, so do I, but I doubt he'd actually kill us if we… I dunno… encouraged him to join in the festivities." Lavi winked mischievously.

"I don't think I like where this is going…" Lenalee sighed, picking up the boxes. "I don't think anyone in the Order has managed to get Kanda to do what they want."

Lavi grinned widely. "Well, then I'll be setting some sort of world record then, won't I?"

Lenalee winced. "Just don't die, Lavi. Bookman'll kill you."

"Speaking of which, where is Panda-jiji anyways? I haven't seen him all day. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing…" he added as an afterthought.

"He's in the library dusting the books. He wouldn't trust anyone else with the older volumes, and it needs cleaned before anyone decorates in there."

"Never again," came a disgruntled voice from behind them. Lavi jumped about a foot in the air before realizing it was only Allen speaking, and not Bookman. "I am sick of being Komui's guinea pig!"

Lenalee arched an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Allen?"

"Your brother's crazy, that's what! How much coffee has he had today?!" Allen shook his head. "Nevermind that. He made a new robot and decided I was the test subject!"

Lavi laughed. "It couldn't've been that bad, Moyashi!" he snickered.

"Can we just forget the nickname for now, Lavi?" sighed Allen. "Right now, I don't want to think about anything that'll remind me of Kanda."

Lenalee set the boxes back down. "What did he do this time?" she asked in resignation.

"No, no, wait! Let me guess!" interrupted Lavi. "He said something rude, and you were already in a bad mood from Komui's robot, so you two started fighting, and from the looks of it, he knocked you down the stairs."

Allen blinked. "Your powers of observation never cease to amaze me."

"Why thank you!" Lavi said with a mock bow.

Lenalee giggled. "Anyways, you two, how about you help me with the tree in niisan's office, then we can all work on the garland by the third floor?"

"Sounds good to me!" agreed Lavi.

"Just as long as I don't have to use any nails, it's fine."

"Great!" cheered Lenalee. "Allen, help me with these boxes."

-----

"Almost… almooossstt… There! Perfect!" With a flourish, Jerry added a smiley face to the last gingerbread man on the tray. "5,691 gingerbread men, 53 gingerbread houses, 200 batches of peanut butter cookies, 200 batches of chocolate-chip cookies, ten trays of bell-shaped sugar cookies, and twenty-five gallons of hot cocoa!" He did an awkward twirly dance, slipping slightly on the spilt vegetable oil coating the floor. "Now, to make room on the counter…" He glanced at the countertop, and winced. Mountains and mountains of sweets covered every surface. Even the sink was full of cutting boards covered with cookies. "Well, maybe the Order will renovate my kitchen for Christmas!" he exclaimed cheerily.

"Or maybe they'll just eat all the cookies and leave you to clean up the mess," came a sarcastic voice from somewhere behind him. "Just like last year."

Jerry immediately brightened. "I haven't seen you all day!" he exclaimed to Kanda. "Would you like some cookies?"

"No," Kanda said bluntly. "I'm only in here because no one else is."

"Why not stay in your room? I don't know anyone gutsy enough to go in there," Jerry suggested, wiping some flour off the side of the oven.

Kanda glared. "Have you even met Lavi? Closed doors and locks mean nothing to that damn rabbit."

"That could be a problem," Jerry agreed. "He is a persistent one."

"Putting it bluntly."

Jerry rinsed his rag in the only empty side of the sink and began cleaning up the vegetable oil. "What did you get him for Christmas this year?"

Kanda blinked in confusion. "I never do the gift exchange. You know that."

"You should get him something though. He's awfully fond of you."

"Maybe I'll get him a gag and a roll of duct tape."

Jerry laughed. "That's not what I meant. I think it would be a gift to everyone if you joined in the fun this year." He immediately felt himself wilting under Kanda's furious glare. "Well, maybe not with that attitude," he added, eyes flickering towards Mugen.

"What I don't understand," he said sharply, "is why everyone makes such a big deal out of this holiday. It's not even—"

Whatever Kanda was going to say was silenced by a sudden shriek of "LENALEE!!" Kanda rolled his eyes. "Here we go again…" he muttered.

"Oh no! It sounds like someone's hurt!" exclaimed Jerry in his special way that Kanda simply couldn't stand. "Come on!" Kanda shook his head and followed as Jerry grabbed a tray of cookies and hurried out the door.

-----

"I'm fine, really," Lenalee insisted, futilely trying to pull her hand away from Komui. "It doesn't even hurt anymore."

"You're bleeding!" wailed Komui, nursing Lenalee's left hand next to his heart. "Nooo!!!"

"What happened?" asked Allen, kneeling beside Komui and Lenalee.

Lenalee sighed. "I got a paper cut from the wrapping paper. I'm fine."

"Blood! Germs! Infection!" shrieked Komui. "We don't know where that wrapping paper has been!"

Lavi groaned. "It was under my bed," he said in exasperation.

"THE HORROR!! SOMEONE GET THE ANTISEPTIC!" Komui howled. "SHE'S GONNA GO INTO SHOCK! SEPSIS! BLOOD POISONING!"

"What's with all the goddamn noise?!" exclaimed Kanda, wincing as Komui sobbed in despair.

Lenalee finally wrenched her hand away from her brother. "I got a paper cut, and he" she pointed at Komui, "is being a drama queen."

"A paper cut?!" exclaimed Jerry. "On Christmas Eve? What horrible luck! Here, have a sugar cookie! It's just as sweet as you!"

Lenalee blushed. "Thank you, Jerry," she said, gratefully accepting a thickly-frosted bell from the plate. "My favorites!"

"Who else wants one?"

Everyone in the room raised their hands… except Kanda. "One for you…" Jerry said, passing out the cookies. "and one for you… and one for you, cutie… here's one for you… Oh, we have an extra! Who wants it?"

Everyone in the room glared at Kanda.

"What?" he said defensively. "I didn't do anything."

"You are eating that cookie, Yuu," Lavi said firmly.

"I most certainly am not!"

"So help me god, I will force it down your throat if I have to," Lavi said, grinning. "You wouldn't want that."

Kanda glared. "Assuming I don't slice your head off and feed it to Moyashi, that is."

"Empty threats," Lavi sang teasingly. "We all know you'd never kill me." No sooner had the words left his mouth, Kanda clubbed him across the head with the pommel of his sword. Lavi fell to the floor in a dead faint.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that," hissed Kanda, storming out of the room.

Allen blinked. "What's eating him? Is it his time of the month or something?"

"I CAN STILL HEAR YOU, MOYASHI!"

"IT'S ALLEN, YOU ARSE!"

"Allen-kun?" Miranda tip-toed into the room, looking quite harassed. "I… I'm really sorry… but I…"

There was a loud exclamation of pain from the hallway, followed by several unprintable curses.

"That sounded like Kanda…" mused Lenalee. "What happened, Miranda?"

Miranda wrung her hands anxiously. "I… I accidentally dropped a box of glass ornaments," she wailed. "The… the crystal ones. I'm so, so sorry! I didn't mean to! There's glass everywhere! Where's the broom? Or… or can we fix them?"

Allen laughed. "So Kanda just stepped on broken glass?" he snickered. "Ahh, justice!"

"He… he kind of startled me when I was carrying the box. He's certainly been in better moods…" she whispered the last part, as though fearful Kanda would appear at that moment and slice her into little cubes.

Lavi stirred in the corner. "Owww…" he groaned, rubbing his head. "He didn't have to hit me that hard!"

"Lavi, find a broom—Niisan, let go already! I'm fine!—for Miranda." said Lenalee, tugging her hand away from Komui again. "And I'll clean up the blood."

"Blood?" Lavi asked curiously. "Yuu didn't attack Miranda, did he?"

Allen stifled his laughs momentarily. "No, she attacked him. Indirectly, but still…" he started laughing again.

"He stepped on broken ornaments," Jerry explained, picking up the last cookie and handing it to Miranda. "This is for you!"

Miranda's eyes widened happily. "Thank you so much! It looks delicious!" She took a small bite. "Ooh, and it tastes even better! These are amazing!"

"Well, stop by the kitchen any time you want more! I have more cookies than we could ever need!" He paused. "Then again, I have a ghoul hiding in there."

Lavi arched an eyebrow. "Yuu?"

"Right you are, cutie!" said Jerry with a nod. "He thinks no one will look for him there."

Lavi snickered. "Unimaginative as always, Yuu," he giggled to himself. "Well, we'd better get back to work. C'mon, clumsy!" He nudged Miranda. "I'll help you sweep that mess up."

-----

Kanda glanced around the kitchen. Maybe it wasn't the best place to hide, seeing as the Rabbit and the walking appetite would probably come in for more cookies sooner or later, but everywhere else was even more risky. Everyone was hanging up garland and cranberries and candles and Christmas trees in every other room, so at the moment, the kitchen seemed to be the safest place to hide.

The only problem was, when—not if, but when—Rabbit and Moyashi came back for snacks, he would definitely be discovered. The only place he could hide in that event was in the cupboard under the sink, but resorting to such measures was far beneath him.

"Still gonna keep me company, then?" Jerry said as he re-entered the room and saw Kanda sitting on the floor in the corner.

"Che," muttered Kanda, glaring at the first thing that caught his eye. In this case, it was a bottle of bleach.

"Well, since you're in here, do you want to help me decorate more of these cookies?" Jerry asked, trying to make small-talk. Kanda simply turned his glare to Jerry, who shrugged. "Thought you might be bored."

Kanda shook his head. "'Bored' and 'annoyed' are two very different things," he said sharply. "Though 'annoyed' probably isn't the right word. 'Pissed off' is better."

"Here, eat this cookie, and I'll give you a place where no one will bother you," offered Jerry, tossing Kanda a chocolate-chip cookie.

The Japanese exorcist glared. "No one will bother me? You swear?"

"I swear it on my favorite skillet!" Jerry affirmed, placing one hand across his heart.

"That's reassuring," grumbled Kanda, nibbling on the cookie. "Alright, where is this place?"

Jerry shrugged. "The library. I'm sure Bookman won't bother you. Unless you mess with the old books in there, that is. He won't let anyone in to decorate until he's done cleaning and protecting the books."

Kanda smirked. Why hadn't he thought of it before? "Alright. I'll go down there." He finished the last of the cookie, wincing at the extreme sweetness as he swallowed. "One more thing, though," he added as he walked toward the door. "If you tell anybody where I am, I will destroy this kitchen and all who inhabit it." Jerry paled. "Including your precious skillet."

"NOO! Not my baby!" Kanda rolled his eyes and slammed the door.

-----

Bookman had just finished dusting the extensive collection of encyclopedias when he heard the door slam. "If you bring one more box of garland in here, I swear by all that is holy, I'll—" he was cut off in mid-rant as he realized his visitor was not carrying anything that could possibly damage the books. "Oh, it's just you. I thought you were that insufferably annoying—"

"Rabbit?" offered Kanda.

"Him, yes," agreed Bookman. "Why are you here?"

Kanda shrugged. "Avoiding the rush," he said lightly, setting Mugen on the floor beside him.

"Hiding," corrected Bookman as he began dusting the dictionaries. "Make yourself useful and put those books back." He indicated a cart of reference books with his feather-duster. "Third and fourth shelves, over there."

For a moment, Kanda thought of refusing, but instead sighed. He didn't have anything better to do, anyways. "Why do you keep these things?" he asked, holding up several old dictionaries. "They're outdated. Most of the words in this one aren't even used anymore," he added flipping through a 1743 Japanese dictionary. "Oh, here's one. You might hear this in an old poem from the 1300's."

"In the unlikely event that someone might actually read one of those poems, they might want to know what those words mean, wouldn't you agree?"

Kanda sighed and slid the dictionary back onto its shelf. "I don't even know half the words in that book."

"Maybe if you read more, you would have a bigger vocabulary," Bookman said snidely.

"Watch it," snarled Kanda. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

Bookman chuckled softly. "No one respects their elders anymore," he said, shaking his head.

"Well, maybe if certain elders didn't make it so difficult, more people would." He flipped through a thick volume of French verbs. "How old is this one? Ah, 1736."

"Vous parle français?" Bookman asked offhandedly, not looking up from the rows of dictionaries.

"What?" Kanda shut the book with a snap and placed it back on the shelf.

"Apparently not. I asked if you spoke French."

Kanda blinked. "Oh. Well, I do know a little. Nothing polite, but it's still French."

"You should learn more languages," suggested Bookman. "You would be able to go on more missions by yourself if you do."

"I know bits and pieces of a lot of languages," Kanda said, stuffing a few more books on the shelf. "Enough to get around, anyways."

Bookman shook his head. "Telling someone that you hope a bug eats their balls is not a good way to communicate."

"Well, manners don't work on some people. Like that stupid Rabbit."

"It was just a suggestion," Bookman said calmly. "Besides, it wouldn't be too hard for you. You picked up on English rather quickly."

Kanda shrugged. "After hearing it morning, noon and night, it gets a bit easier."

There was a sudden CRASH from the entrance of the library, and Kanda instinctively dove behind a bookshelf. "Oi! Panda-jiji!" called Lavi from the doorway. "Was that vase worth anything?"

"It was a priceless artifact from Ancient Greece," growled Bookman through clenched teeth. "Now either make yourself useful or get out before you ruin something else!"

"Hey, I'm sorry!" pouted Lavi, dodging a bottle of beeswax aimed for his head. "I just wanted to ask… You haven't seen Yuu around here by any chance, have ya? Cuz I can't find him anywhere."

Bookman resumed dusting the books. "If you're trying to force him into celebrating with everyone else this year, then he's probably hiding."

"Yeah, I guessed that much!" retorted Lavi in exasperation. "He's been hiding ever since Lenalee and I tried to get him to help with the decorations! I mean, seriously! He's good at making himself scarce, but he's never been this good! I've looked everywhere!"

"If you aren't going do anything besides whine, then get out! I've got enough to do without listening to you complain!"

Lavi sighed, frowning. "Fine. I'll just look somewhere else." As he left, something caught his eye. A smirk lit up his face as he realized what it was, and he hurried out of the library with a new idea hatching in his brain.

-----

"Did you find him?" Allen looked up from the strings of cranberries the minute Lavi walked up the stairs.

"I didn't see him, but I know he's in the library," Lavi answered, sitting on the top step and helping Allen wind the cranberries around the garland. "I saw his sword by one of the tables. He couldn't've been far away."

Lenalee sighed. "Why am I not surprised?" she said, shaking her head. "I hope Bookman is almost done in there. It's two-thirty already, and I don't want anyone falling off a ladder in the middle of a dust-induced coughing fit."

Lavi absently rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know if I'm still feeling that bump from last year or if the pain's just from when Yuu knocked me out."

"Are you sure we should do this?" asked Miranda nervously, crouching on the step below Allen. "I mean, he's angry enough as it is. This can't end well."

Lavi flashed her a peace sign. "Hey, don't worry about it! I've got it all under control! He thinks I don't know where he is. That gives us an edge on him."

"Maybe we should just… I dunno… leave him alone so he doesn't… um… maim or kill us?" suggested Miranda. "I like having all my limbs."

"Did you see what he did to me earlier?" Lavi asked patiently. Miranda shook her head. "Well, all he did was knock me out. He only stabs at me when he knows I can dodge. He won't draw blood."

Miranda didn't seem convinced. "How can you be sure?" she asked.

Lenalee stepped in. "A few months before you came to the Order, there was a nasty incident with Kanda and a Finder named Jem. Nothing fatal, and we managed to re-attach Jem's finger and fix his nose, but after that, niisan made a new rule that I think only applies to Kanda."

"What was it?" breathed Miranda, paling at the though of Kanda slicing someone's fingers off.

"If he gets into a fight, no matter what the circumstances, he has to clean up all the blood." Miranda swayed on the spot.

"And what if he feels that slicing OUR fingers off is worth the scrubbing?!" she shrieked. "What if he finally goes through with one of those gruesome threats of his?!"

Lavi shrugged. "What if you were a guy?"

The randomness of Lavi's question jerked Miranda out of her panic. "What?" she asked. "What do you mean?"

"You're a woman," Lavi said reassuringly. "Yuu won't hurt women. Sure, he'll scare them and make them cry and insult them the same way he does anyone else around here, but he won't physically hurt them unless they get in his way."

"He's a sexist jerk," translated Lenalee, seeing Miranda's confused expression.

Miranda turned back to Lavi and Allen. "But what about you two?" she asked shakily. "He'd maim you for life!"

Allen laughed. "That arse can't hurt us, Miranda," he said. "He can try, but Lavi and I will have him tied up with these cranberries before he can move."

Miranda finally laughed. "Well, that is a funny mental image," she said weakly.

"Alright, it's done, Lenalee!" exclaimed Allen triumphantly, holding up the garland. "Ready to hang it up?"

"Ooh, I'll do it!" offered Lavi eagerly. "Why don't you grab us some more cookies from the kitchen?"

Allen's stomach growled. "I think I'll do that," he said, hurrying out the door. "Do you want me to grab 'it' from upstairs while I'm over there?"

"But of course!" smirked Lavi. "And if ya run into Yuu, don't let him see it, or our whole plan'll be ruined."

-----

"More coffee!" ordered Komui, sliding his mug across the desk.

Reever sighed. "Don't you think you've had enough already?" he asked, filling up the bunny mug nonetheless. "That's the fifth pot today."

"Nonsense!" Komui exclaimed. "Lenalee only makes this kind of coffee during Christmas! I'm going to enjoy it while I can!" He grabbed the coffee cup from Reever and drained half of its contents in one long gulp. "See, she puts peppermint and chocolate in it! Seriously, tell me it's not delicious!"

"I'm not saying it isn't delicious, I just think you're drinking too much of it," insisted Reever. "You're bouncing off the walls like a rabid chipmunk."

"That is a gross exaggeration, and you know it!" Komui pouted. "Now where did that box of candles run off to…?" he began rummaging through a pile of Christmas decorations that had replaced the mountains of paperwork usually covering his desk. "It was so nice of Lenalee to file my papers, wasn't it?" he said dreamily. "No paperwork this whole holiday season!"

Another one of Komui's numerous office slaves popped his head up from under a pile of candy canes. "The candles are on the chair by the door. And don't trip over the tree."

Komui tip-toed across the room, hopping over boxes of glass ornaments and poinsettias until he reached the door. "Wow! You guys sure are busy in here!" Allen commented as he slid past Komui. "We're almost done with the main floor, so that just leaves the fifth floor hallway leading past Lenalee's room, the library, and… well, here."

"Excellent!" exclaimed Komui. "Some of the Finders said they'd take care of the library, and we've already got some people working on the fifth floor. I think we should finish by about four-thirty!"

"If you stop procrastinating and get to work, we might!" someone called from behind the Christmas tree.

"I've got the candles! Let's hurry up and finish, everyone!" He grabbed the box and stumbled back over to the tree, leaving a very confused Allen in his wake.

Reever shook his head. "He changes subjects when caught off-guard. That, and he's had about five whole pots of coffee today."

"I'll remind Lenalee to switch it to decaf," Allen said, wincing. "Uh, by the way, I'm looking for a box Komui said he had for me. It's about the size of my hand, and it has a really distinct evergreen smell to it."

Reever thought for a moment. Then his eyes widened. "Oh, yeah, I know what you mean. One moment…" he shoved a few boxes aside and finally held up a grubby little package wrapped in brown paper. "Is this it?"

Allen nodded eagerly. "That's it! Well, good luck in here!"

"We'll need it," Reever said, shaking his head as Komui made a dive for the coffeepot.

-----

"There. Finished." Kanda wiped the dust off his left hand as he shoved the last book onto the shelf with his right. Bookman set his feather duster down and slowly examined the books lined up on the shelves.

"Galileo, Gassendi… very good," Bookman said monotonously. "I've finished cleaning, so you know people will be in here to decorate soon."

Kanda frowned. "What are the chances that he's given up looking for me?"

"Slim to none."

"Shit." Kanda snatched Mugen off the floor and glanced around the library. "Where's the one place he won't go?"

Bookman shrugged. "You could always leave for awhile. You're not exactly a prisoner here, you know."

A figurative lightbulb flashed above Kanda's head. "That could work," he said thoughtfully. He was just about to leave when two people peered into the library. One of them seemed slightly irked, and the other one almost fainted the moment she saw him.

"Bookman, are you done in here yet?" asked Lenalee brightly, masking her impatience. "I don't want anyone choking on dust this year. Heaven forbid they knock a bookshelf over again!"

Bookman nodded. "I just finished. Please try not to damage anything permanently."

Lenalee simply laughed. "Don't worry; we aren't letting Allen and Lavi in here this year."

Miranda's laugh sounded more like a whimper. "We put Lavi to work hanging the… um… garland…" she whispered, casting a terrified glance at Mugen. "He'll be… um… out of your way… oh god…"

"What's your problem?" snapped Kanda suddenly. "You keep looking at me like I'm going to slaughter you."

"Are you?" Miranda asked without thinking. She clapped a hand over her mouth in fright.

Kanda almost laughed, but disguised it with a cough. "I have no reason to. Why?"

"N-no reason!" Miranda all but screamed, ducking behind Lenalee, who nudged her in the ribs.

"Probably because you scared the daylights out of her earlier!" scolded Lenalee. "I know you hate Christmas, but you don't have to take it out on everyone else!"

"What?!" exclaimed Kanda, confused. "I haven't even looked at her today, much less tried to scare her! And if everyone would quit forcing the Christmas party down my throat, maybe I wouldn't be so pissed off!"

Lenalee threw her hands up in exasperation. "Fine! I give up! You are IMPOSSIBLE!" She stormed out of the library, dragging Miranda behind her. Kanda rolled his eyes and left in the opposite direction, probably towards the roof.

"You're giving up on the plan?" asked Miranda, aghast.

Lenalee shook her head. "Of course not. That was just to get him off our trails. Now, I get to show off my wonderful lock-picking skills to you!" She pulled a hairpin out of her hair and straightened it.

This time, it was Miranda's turn to grin. "I'm sure your burglary skills are unrivaled, but I bet I can open the door in less than half the time."

"How?" asked Lenalee, confused.

Miranda held up a key. "Lavi copied the Order's master key. I… um… swiped it from his jacket."

"Genius," breathed Lenalee. "You are a genius, Miranda! C'mon, let's hurry!"

-----

"Allen, cutie!" exclaimed Jerry, dropping his rag and running to greet the younger boy. "Cookies?"

Allen laughed happily. "You read my mind sometimes. Yeah, Lavi sent me to get some. Decorating sure makes you hungry!"

"I can imagine! What kind would you like? No, wait, don't tell me! Here's some chocolate chip, peanut butter, and I know Lenalee likes the sugar cookies, so I'll throw some of those in there… oh! How about some fresh gingerbread?"

Allen was in cookie heaven as he bit off a gingerbread man's head. Bliss. "These are so delicious!" he all but sobbed, wolfing down the rest of the cookie. "Oh, by the way, Kanda hasn't been up here, has he?"

Jerry paled. "N-no…" he stammered, unconsciously clutching his skillet to his chest. "I haven't seen him since he left the kitchen about… two hours ago."

"He was in the library somewhere when Lavi went down there, but I'm not sure if he's left yet," Allen continued, slightly confused at Jerry's reaction. "Why are you hugging the frying pan?"

Jerry glanced around cautiously. "He said he'd destroy the kitchen if I told anyone where he was going," he whispered.

Allen rolled his eyes. "I swear, that guy…" he muttered. "I don't even think I want to know what's going on inside his head."

With a sigh, Jerry passed Allen a tray of cookies. "I don't care what he's thinking as long as he doesn't hurt my precious skillets!"

"Thanks for the cookies!" called Allen as he left. "I'll see you later on tonight!"

-----

Lavi stood on a stepladder in the doorway, hanging up the last of the garland in the entrance to the main living area. "Hey, Lavi! I got the cookies!" called Allen as he entered the sitting room. "Oh, and I got this." He tossed the grubby package to Lavi, who caught it easily with one hand. "What I don't get," he said through a mouthful of cookies, "is why I had to ask Komui to get it instead of you."

"Komui isn't stupid," Lavi said, rolling his eyes. "He's told me countless times not to annoy people—mainly Yuu-chan—and he would see right through me if I asked for this."

"Why not Lenalee?"

Lavi giggled. "Can you imagine the look on Komui's face if Lenalee was asking?"

Allen laughed too. "I'd pay to see that! Hey, speaking of Lenalee, where did she and Miranda get to?"

"They're putting Phase 1 of our plan into action! It requires a delicate feminine touch."

"So we're really doing this?" Allen asked, swallowing the cookie. "You're sure it'll work?"

Lavi slapped Allen on the back. "C'mon, give me some credit! I know Yuu better than anyone here! He'll play right into my hands!"

"You do realize we'll have to sleep with an eye open for at least six months after this, right?" confirmed Allen. "Are you sure this is worth it?"

Lavi's uncovered eye gleamed. "Positive," he said, grinning as he finally opened the grubby little box. "He won't be able to do anything about it." Humming an unidentifiable tune under his breath, Lavi hung the tiny decoration from the garland above the door. "Well, not today, at least."

Allen shivered apprehensively as Lavi eyed his masterpiece. He had often heard the phrase about playing with fire, and remembered it whenever he got into odd situations with Lavi and Kanda. "You're like a wildfire, you know?" Allen said before he could stop himself.

"Huh?" Lavi jumped down from the stepladder. "That's a weird thing to say."

With a shrug, Allen leaned back on one of the couches. "Yeah, I suppose," he said, laughing slightly. "It's the only word I can think of to describe you, though."

"Wildfire? How does that describe me?"

"Quick, unpredictable… destructive…" he added with a grin. "And everyone around you gets burned."

Lavi grinned. "You forgot dangerous," he said slyly.

"No," Allen said simply. "That's what I meant by 'everyone around you gets burned'."

Laughing slightly, Lavi joined Allen on the sofa, kicking his feet into the British exorcist's lap. "You don't think this is a good idea either, do you?" he said with a smile.

"It sounds amusing in theory, but I don't want Kanda to murder me on our next mission," Allen sighed. "He was just getting to the point where we could be in the same room together and not want to beat each other senseless."

"You know what word describes you best?" asked Lavi suddenly.

"Moyashi?" said Allen sarcastically.

Lavi snickered. "Well, yeah, but that's not the one I was thinking of."

"Well, then, what is it?"

"You remind me of one of those tiny creeks you see in desert areas."

Allen raised an eyebrow curiously. "Alright, I'll bite. Why?"

"Calm, gentle, easily moved." Lavi shrugged. "You're the peaceful type. Even though Yuu's pissing you off on an hourly basis, you want to avoid tension with him in the long run."

"What's wrong with that?" asked Allen curiously.

Lavi grinned. "I never said there was anything wrong with it," he commented lightly. "You're his polar opposite."

"Who, Kanda?"

"Who else?" They were silent for a moment, except for the occasional crunch of cookies. "You're good with the descriptions," Lavi said suddenly. "How would you describe him?"

"He's an asshole," laughed Allen. "And about fifty other equally rude words spring to mind, now that I think about it."

Both snickered, but then Lavi finally regained his composure. "Seriously, though. Other than the fact that he's rude, arrogant, downright mean, and impossibly stubborn and violent, how would you describe him?"

Allen though for a moment. "I'd say… embers," he finally said with a shrug. "Always smoldering, and safe as long as you keep your distance. If you mess around, you might get a few sparks sent your way, but heaven help you if you throw any fuel on the flames."

"Describes him perfectly," sighed Lavi. "Ooh, let me try Miranda!"

"Okay, have at it!"

"Mouse!" exclaimed Lavi joyfully. "Squeaky, timid, tends to hide, but has very sharp teeth when she's cornered!"

Allen giggled. "Okay, Lenalee… I'd say she's a rabbit!"

Lavi lost it. He rolled around on the floor, clutching his sides as he laughed as loud as his lungs would let him. About five minutes later, after Lavi had officially run out of air, he climbed back onto the couch. "Okay, why is she a rabbit?"

"Have you ever seen those rabbits that smack the ground with their hind legs?" Lavi nodded, grinning widely. "There's that, and she always seems to be hopping, skipping and jumping everywhere she goes."

"How about Komui?" pressed Lavi. "I wonder if coffee could describe him…"

"No, I'd say Komui is thunder."

"I was thinking a sloth, actually…"

Allen rolled his eyes. "Thunder. Loud, but harmless. Always follows lightning. And if anyone's lightning, it's Lenalee."

Lavi chewed his lip thoughtfully. "Makes sense." He glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Miranda and Lenalee should be back any minute now…" he said, left eye following the second hand.

-----

"Miranda! Quiet!" hissed Lenalee, as Miranda stumbled over the hem of her dress.

"I'm sorry!" she whispered apologetically, tip-toeing next to her partner-in-crime. "Here, I'll get the door open." Praying that the key would work, she slid it in the keyhole and turned. Smooth as one of Jerry's cream pies, the door swung open.

Lenalee giggled softly. "Perfect! C'mon, let's go!"

Miranda stood in the doorway, feeling an ominous chill creep up her spine. "Are you sure he won't hurt women?" she asked for the umpteenth time.

"He won't even know it was us, Miranda! Now c'mon!" Miranda slowly followed Lenalee, as though she were mounting the steps to the gallows. Kanda's room. The one place she did not want to be, especially with him in one of the worst moods he'd been in all week.

"I'm gonna die I'm gonna die I'm gonna die…" whispered Miranda desperately as she crept into the room. "Can we just get it and go? Please?"

"Not just yet," Lenalee replied. "I've never been in here before. I wanna have a look around!"

Miranda wailed softly in despair. "If he finds us in here, he'll kill us, women or no!"

"Shh!" Lenalee began poking through the drawers. "Let's see, clothes, knives, bloody rag… Boring!" She shut the bottom drawer and sat on the bed. "Now, if I was Kanda, where would I hide something I didn't want anyone to see?"

Miranda closed the door behind her. "Did you check under his mattress?" she asked.

"Brilliant!" Lenalee exclaimed. "Oops, sorry," she said, lowering her voice. "Let's check." She swiftly tugged the mattress aside, and stared at what lay beneath it.

"It looks like a letter," whispered Miranda. "Ooh, now I'm curious!" She picked up the faded envelope, turning it over in her hands. "It doesn't say who it's to."

Lenalee nudged Miranda in the ribs. "Well? Open it!" She did, but her eager expression faded the minute she laid eyes on the writing. "Miranda? What's wrong?"

"I can't read this," she whispered, passing the letter to Lenalee. "Can you?"

Lenalee shook her head. "Figures. It's in Japanese. I recognize a bit of it, though. That's Kanda's name, so it looks like the letter's to him." She slid the letter back into its envelope, then put both into her pocket. "I'll ask Lavi to translate it for us."

"Wait, you're taking it?!" hissed Miranda. "This is crazy! He'll notice it's gone!"

"And he'll blame Lavi," replied Lenalee calmly. "See?" She held up a note scratched on a crumpled piece of paper. Lavi's hasty, yet neat, handwriting read:

Yuu-

I have your door, and I'm not giving it back.

Tough luck!

Lavi

Miranda shook her head. "I hope this works. I really, really do."

Lenalee pulled out a pair of hammers. "Well, let's get the door. Lavi said to hide it under his bed. He'll never look there."

After about five minutes of tugging, prying and cursing, through their combined effort, Lenalee and Miranda managed to remove Kanda's door from its hinges. "Okay, stuff it under the bed! Quick!" Miranda began guiding the side of the door under Kanda's bed, but then something caught her eye. "Have a look at this," she whispered, pulling out a small box. "This might be what you were looking for!"

"What's in it?" asked Lenalee softly, crouching beside Miranda.

"I don't know… It's locked!"

Lenalee grinned. "Well, it's a good thing I learned to pick locks, then, isn't it?" She slid her pin into the keyhole, and in thirty seconds, the lock was open. "Easy as pie!"

Miranda picked up the box. "Let's see what's inside," she breathed.

They opened the lid, and their hopeful smiles immediately dropped. "More letters?" groaned Lenalee, pulling out several sheets of paper. "This is his deep, dark secret?!"

"It doesn't look like any of them are finished, though," observed Miranda. "And look! They're all to the same person."

"Well of course they're all to Kanda! Why else would he get them if they weren't his?" sighed Lenalee, annoyed.

Miranda shook her head. "These aren't to Kanda," she replied. "They're from him."

Lenalee's eyes widened. "A secret lover or a crush, you think?"

"I don't know! Let's see what Lavi can tell us!"

With a grin, Lenalee punched Miranda playfully on the arm. "That's the spirit! Now help me move the door, and we can go find Lavi!"

-----

Kanda shivered. The sun had already set, and the wind was picking up. And here he was, perched on the roof like some damn gargoyle, freezing his ass off. All because of Moyashi and the retarded Rabbit. All because of this stupid holiday.

He pulled his coat tighter around himself, hoping to keep some of his body heat from being swept away. A particularly cold gust enveloped him, and Kanda felt something even colder prick at his face. At first, he thought it was just the wind, but then he saw the flakes shimmering in the moonlight.

Snow.

Kanda jumped from his seat on the windowsill and landed with a soft thump on the lower part of the roof. Maybe the roof wasn't the best place to be during a snowstorm. Then again…

Glancing back behind him, Kanda sighed. It was definitely more peaceful outside than it was inside, and the party was probably going to start any moment. Finally, he turned back around and sat against the stone chimney. He would wait until he was sure the party had started, then return to his room where no one would bother him.

As he listened to the wind whistling around the rooftop, he caught the sounds of laughter from far below. Girlish laughter. They were probably hanging a wreath or something, the same as everyone else had been doing all day.

Kanda felt his thoughts turn to Lavi. A sudden surge of anger was expected, and Kanda was not disappointed. Lavi had always been annoying ever since they first met, and every day, it seemed as though he was playing a game of 'what can I do to piss Kanda off today?' And every time he found something else Kanda hated, he made sure to keep doing it on a daily basis.

Lavi had only seemed repentant for being annoying once. Granted, it was the first time Kanda had tried to properly decapitate the apprentice Bookman, but something about the look on his face afterward suggested that he thought it was all a game.

Perhaps he still did.

Perhaps he thought Kanda's retaliations were part of their game. Lavi had apologized, of course, on that one occasion, but after a month, it was the same as before.

The giggling had stopped. 'Party must've started,' Kanda thought to himself, brushing the snow off himself. 'It's about time.' He slid in through the nearest window, and was relieved to find himself back in the now-empty library. For a second, he considered staying put until he was sure everyone was at the Order's stupid party, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind he couldn't ignore.

He crept out the door and drew his sword as he reached the corner, using the blade as a mirror. The way was clear. Re-sheathing Mugen, he hurried down the hall. The nagging feeling was really starting to bother him, and he still couldn't figure out why. Something was wrong.

As he reached the third floor hallway, he suddenly realized what was wrong. One door was missing from the dimly lit corridor, and Kanda had no doubt as to which door it was. "Fuck," he growled as he caught sight of the note on his bed. "USAGI!!"

-----

Lenalee burst through the sitting room door, all but diving onto the couch across from Lavi and Allen. "Well, we did it!" she said gleefully, as Miranda sat beside her. "We hid the door, just like you said. AND…" she pulled out a wad of letters from her pocket. "we found these under his bed."

"You were snooping through his things?!" exclaimed Allen in shock. "Can I see?"

Lenalee sighed. "They're all in Japanese, so we were hoping Lavi could translate them for us."

Lavi started slightly. "Um, yeah, sure. Where did you say you found these?"

"That one you're holding was hidden under his mattress, and the rest were in a box under his bed." replied Lenalee. "Well? What's it say?"

Allen peered over Lavi's shoulder as the red-head scanned the page. "It's an apology note," he said, surprised, then began reading aloud, "I know I can be annoying and a right pain in the ass, as I have often been told by countless people. I guess I didn't think I bothered you so much, and I just wanted to—" Lavi flinched and glanced behind him.

"You can read Japanese?" he asked, surprised.

Allen shrugged. "Well enough," he replied. "Let me see it."

"No!" Lavi exclaimed a bit too quickly. "I mean… we shouldn't be reading these."

"You got to read it!" pouted Allen, still barely concealing a smile. "It's our turn! I wanna see the rest."

"Yeah!" agreed Lenalee. "I wanna hear what it says! Here, Allen, we think Kanda wrote these ones." She passed him the ten slightly crumpled letters, and Lavi paled considerably.

"W-wait!" he stuttered. "Allen!"

Allen glanced through the pages, smile fading slightly with each word. Most were short and awkward, as though Kanda hadn't been sure of how to phrase his thoughts. The theme of the letters was becoming obvious, though, and even if Allen hadn't picked up on what Kanda was trying to say, the last letter would have cleared everything up.

The last page was written in English, the same shaky handwriting Kanda still used to that day. The paper's only sentence stood out in black ink against the slightly torn page:

I forgive you.

"Lavi?" asked Allen softly.

No reply.

"Lavi?" Lavi glanced up from the page in his hands, not meeting Allen's eyes. "Did you write that letter?"

Lavi's left eye flickered back toward the page. "Yes," he said softly. "Back when Yuu and I first met."

Allen dropped the letters on Lavi's lap. "Read them."

The red-head didn't move. Allen nudged him again, and Lavi picked up the first letter.

"You are easily the most annoying, irritating, irksome, exasperating and infuriating creature to ever cross my path. If I ever have the displeasure of seeing you hideous face again, so help me God, I'll—" Lavi stopped speaking as the letter ended. "Huh. Pleasant." Lavi set the first page down and started on the second.

"So you've realized you're annoying. Congratulations. Maybe now you'll give me some peace and leave me the hell alone. Why don't you do something useful for once and stay far away from—"

Lavi dropped the second letter and scanned the third. "This one's pretty much the same. I'm annoying, I need to sew my mouth shut with a curved needle, blah blah blah…" He did the same with the fourth, fifth and sixth. "Wait a minute…" he re-read the seventh. "Even though you are easily the most infuriating person I have ever met in my life, I admit that I might have overreacted. Then again, some of your antics could drive even the sanest person to the edge of reason—"

Lenalee smiled and tugged Miranda to join them. "I thought he hated you, Lavi," she whispered, and Miranda nodded in agreement.

"Well, he did say I need to stitch my mouth shut," Lavi winced, picking up the eighth page.

"What does that one say?" asked Miranda, unable to mask her curiosity any longer.

Lavi quickly read through the page. "I've told you to shut your mouth almost every time you open it. I think the reason you don't listen is because you know I don't want you to. Strangely enough, I think I would miss your incessant racket every waking moment of the day and night—"

He picked up the ninth page.

"Lavi,

You didn't have to apologize. I know you'll keep doing what you do, and I'll keep doing the same. I like things the way they are, and I—" The next few lines were sloppily scribbled out. "In a way, I don't want you to stop—" Again, more lines were crossed out.

"Is it really that hard to say, Yuu," mumbled Lavi, picking up the tenth and final letter.

Lenalee and Miranda read over his shoulder. "Apparently not," answered Lenalee softly, as Lavi read the single sentence.

"I forgive you," Lavi whispered. "This puts a huge hitch in our plan, you know?"

Lenalee blinked. "It does?"

Lavi nodded. "Apparently, this was the last thing he wanted me to see, and if he realizes you took it out of his room, well… This could be awkward."

Miranda and Allen nodded, as Lavi stuffed the letters into his pocket. Just then there was loud cry of "LENALEE!!!"

"Must be party time," Lenalee said with a sigh. Komui burst through the door and crashed into her, squeezing the oxygen out of her lungs.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS, LENALEE!!" he exclaimed loudly. "Wanna open your present?"

"But the gift exchange isn't until later," protested Lenalee, gasping for air as Komui let her go. "Can't you wait?"

"No!" protested Komui. "You need to open this one early!"

Allen nudged Lenalee with his elbow. "Go on! Open it!" he urged.

Lenalee giggled. "Okay, okay, fine!" she gratefully accepted the bright red package from her brother. "What is it?"

"Open it and find out!"

With an excited grin, Lenalee hastily tore off the wrapping paper. Inside was… "Oh my god…" she breathed. "Niisan, thank you so much!"

"What is it?" asked Miranda and Lavi simultaneously.

With a graceful flourish, Lenalee held up a long, red velvet dress with gold lace trim and intricate white beadwork across the breast. "It's the dress I was looking at in Florence! I was going to get it for myself, but I was too busy with other things, and I never got the chance!"

"Go put it on!" urged Komui. "I wanna see if it fits!"

Lenalee didn't need to be told twice. She hurried out of the room, dress clutched close to her chest and laughing is sheer joy. "So I assume you finally finished decorating the office?" Allen asked, grinning.

Komui winced. "Sort of. I was forbidden from touching decorations after I tried to get Koumlin VI to hang up some ornaments."

Lavi smirked. "How'd that one work for ya?"

"Well, everyone managed to get down from the chandelier without any major injuries, though we think Reever might have broken his ankle."

"What about Yuu-chan?" asked Lavi. "Have you seen him?"

Komui thought for a moment. "Bookman mentioned something about him hiding on the roof. We probably won't see him for the rest of the night."

Lavi snickered, and Allen nudged him in the ribs. "ANYways," Allen continued. "Is the party about to start?"

"Everyone should be here at any moment," said Komui. "In fact, here come some people now!"

The first people to arrive were a small group of Finders, each carrying a few boxes, which they deposited by the large tree in the corner. "Jem!" greeted Komui, recognizing one of them. "How's the finger?"

"Not funny," Jem grumbled. "Where is Kanda, anyways? I haven't had the misfortune of seeing him today."

"Hiding somewhere," commented Lavi. "We tried to get him to join us today, but things kinda didn't work out."

Jem shrugged. "Oh well," he said apathetically. "Less injuries for the rest of us."

"Kanda isn't the only hazard to our health around here," grumbled Reever, as he limped in with a few of his friends from the office. "Certain people," he glared at Komui, "are never to be trusted with simple decorating tasks again!"

The Finders nodded knowingly. "Koumlin," mumbled one of them. "Which one are we on now? Four?"

"We'll be on seven after I scrap that thing," Reever corrected.

A few more Exorcists and Finders filtered into the room, followed by Jerry and a few more kitchen slaves, arms laden with cookies and various other Christmas sweets. "Who wants cookies?" Jerry sang out merrily. "There's more than enough for everyone!"

"Cookies!" exclaimed Allen gleefully.

Miranda sighed. "So, what are we doing for the party?"

"I have no idea," admitted Lavi. "I've always been away for Christmas, so I've never been here for the party."

Komui decided to explain. "We have the gift exchange, we're all going to decorate the tree over there, Lenalee offered to play us some music on the piano, we're going to play games—"

"Niisan?" Lenalee re-entered the room, eyes wide as she glanced around. "Um, we have a problem."

"What did Kanda do this time?" shouted one of the Finders from beside the fireplace. Several of his friends laughed.

Lenalee shook her head. "I don't think it was Kanda," she said hastily. "Jerry, did you have something in the oven?"

"Yes, a turkey," he said. Then he paled. "Why?"

"Because something's burning, and there's a lot of smoke out there!"

"MY KITCHEN!" wailed Jerry, sprinting out of the room. A few of the Finders and Exorcists followed him, leaving the once-crowded room half empty. About thirty people now occupied the sitting room, half of which were complimenting Lenalee extensively on her dress.

"Poor Jerry," sighed Allen. "I hope his kitchen is okay."

Lavi snickered. "He'll probably manage to save the kitchen and STILL find a way to salvage the turkey. This is Jerry we're talking about." He smirked. "Jerry is magical."

"No, these cookies are magical," corrected Allen.

Miranda sighed wistfully as she picked up a sugar cookie. "I really shouldn't eat this…" she mumbled.

Allen gasped. "Why not? They're amazing!"

"But I don't have your metabolism! The only way I can grow now is sideways!"

Lavi patted Miranda on the back. "No one has his metabolism," he reassured her. "Indulge! You can drop the weight running up and down the stairs later."

Miranda smiled. "What the heck!" she said, and shoved the cookie into her mouth.

"Now there's some holiday spirit!" cheered Jem from across the room.

Suddenly, a few Finders went dead quiet. Lavi didn't notice at first, seeing as he was yammering a mile per minute about the history of water or something equally random, but then Allen poked him in the shoulder. "Uh, is it just me, or did it just get really cold in here?" he asked.

Lavi grinned. "Hi, Yuu-chan!" he said cheerily, waving to the infuriated figure in the doorway. "Come to join us?"

"You know damn well why I'm here, Usagi," he snarled as Lavi skipped across the room to greet him.

"Uh-oh. You didn't call me 'Rabbit'," observed Lavi playfully. "You must be pretty angry, huh, Yuu-chan?"

"Tell me where you put it, or I beat you into a bloody pulp even Bookman can't recognize, you annoying piece of MMPH!" He was cut off as Lavi suddenly pulled him into a deep, sloppy kiss. Kanda's eyes widened as he froze. There was a collective gasp from the sitting room, as over half of the Finders and a few of the Exorcists took a giant step back. Allen and Lenalee gaped openly, and Miranda scampered to hide behind Komui.

Lavi pulled back, grinning like a cat that had eaten the canary… and gotten away with it. Kanda's face was white with rage, and his eyes burned like the embers Allen had so rightly compared him to.

"What… the… FUCK?!" roared Kanda, shoving Lavi back a few steps. "What do think you're doing, you—"

"Mistletoe." Lavi pointed at the tiny bundle of ribbons, leaves and berries he had placed in the doorway earlier. "You know the tradition, right?"

Jem winced. "Does Lavi have a death wish or something?" he whispered to Toma, who simply shook his head in disbelief.

"That does it!" Kanda grabbed Lavi by the arm with bruising force, dragging him out of the room and into the now-deserted hallway.

"Ow! Yuu, that hurts!" whined Lavi pathetically.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Kanda hissed, finally letting go of Lavi's arm. "Do you want me to kill you? Are you trying to piss me off? Because guess what? You've been doing it since I met you!"

Lavi blinked. "You don't mean that."

"YES I DO!" he shouted. "YOU'RE ANNOYING! GET THAT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL!"

"I know," said Lavi simply. "You tell me that every time I pull stunts like this."

"Then, why…?" Kanda asked, confused. "If you know I hate it, why do you keep doing this?"

Lavi grinned. "I know it annoys you, but you don't hate it." His grin dropped. "I know you don't."

"What makes you say that?"

"Lenalee told me that Panda-jiji suggested that you sneak away from the Order to get away from everything. But you didn't."

"I didn't want to. You're bugging me today, and I knew you'd do it when I got back. There wasn't any point."

Lavi blinked suspiciously. "And how do you know I'd bother you when you got back?"

"Because it's what you do!" retorted Kanda. "You couldn't go for one day without irritating me until I snap!"

The red-head was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, Yuu," he said softly. "Really, I am."

"No you aren't! You apologize now, but first thing tomorrow, you'll be tailing me like a lost puppy again!"

Lavi rolled his eyes. "If you're referring to the last time I actually apologized, I thought that when you didn't say anything, you just didn't really care."

"And what would make this time any different?"

"These." Lavi reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled papers.

Kanda's eyes widened. "You…" he stammered. "WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!"

"Do you forgive me?"

"What?"

"Well, it looks like that's what it took you ten letter fragments to try to say. Do you?" He risked taking a step towards the infuriated swordsman.

Kanda shook his head in disbelief. "You honestly think I'll forgive that?" he snapped.

Lavi nodded, grinning. "Of course." He leaned forward, once again closing the space between them. Kanda froze again, but Lavi took the lack of sharp metal piercing his stomach to be a good thing. "Because I don't think you'd have it any other way," he added, pulling back slightly.

"Damnit," Kanda swore under his breath, but the venom had left his voice. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know," Lavi admitted. "So you aren't gonna kill me?"

"I never said that, Rabbit," replied Kanda, shaking his head. "You're still an annoying, infuriating little snoop who has no respect for personal boundaries."

Lavi gasped in mock offence. "Kanda Yuu, that was a vile thing to say; I insist you take it back!"

Kanda rolled his eyes. "You know it's true."

"Mmm, I guess so." He grinned wider. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

"Eventually," he admitted. "Maybe if you give me my door back."

Lavi snickered. "It's under your bed. I knew you'd check my room first, then Allen's, and then Lenalee's. Did you check Miranda's room?"

"I did, actually."

"Good thing I didn't hide it in there, then. So am I forgiven now?"

Kanda sighed in defeat. "If I find the door, then yes."

"Good!" chirped Lavi, pressing one final kiss to Kanda's lips. "So are you gonna stay for the party?"

"Not a chance in hell," he replied. "And why do you keep doing that?"

Lavi tilted his head slightly. "Doing what?"

"Kissing me."

"Uh…" Lavi shrugged. "I don't know. Because I want to." His left eye sparkled. "I like it."

Kanda frowned, then did something even the spontaneous Lavi didn't expect. He leaned in and captured Lavi's mouth with his, a replay of the moment under the mistletoe. Lavi's visible eye slid shut as he kissed back, sighing lightly.

Then, as suddenly as it happened, it was over, and Kanda left, leaving Lavi in a confused daze as he gingerly pressed his first two fingers to his lips. "Lavi?" came Lenalee's voice from the doorway. "Are you still alive?"

Lavi jumped slightly. "Uh, y-yeah," he said. "Yeah, I'm alive."

There was a loud sigh of relief from the sitting room. "Man, you've got balls!" exclaimed Jem loudly. "You must be the only person on earth who can get away with that shit!"

"I know," Lavi said with a trademark grin as he re-entered the room to join Allen, Miranda and Lenalee. "He wouldn't kill me, anyways."

"Not yet, anyways," Allen said. "Give him time. I give you until next month."

Lavi just smiled.

Ending note: Well, that's it! I hope you liked it, and if you have any advice for keeping these guys in character, please drop me a line! I'd be happy to hear from you.