I shamelessly admit that I had fun with this one. The moment I saw this was the theme, I got excited as my head filled with ideas. This is just my type of thing and I like to think that I'm good at it. With that said, I hope you all cry. Have fun.


Day 2: Misfortune

Lavi's head shot to the side when he heard multiple pairs of footsteps rushing towards where he and Bookman stood at a railing, gazing down at the coffins on the floor below with weeping people hanging over their dead friends. The voices of doctors and nurses could be heard, telling someone to get back into bed because he wasn't well enough to be up and about. It was them saying Allen's name a few times that actually captured the junior bookman's attention in the first place. Allen and the doctors that followed him came around the corner and the redheaded exorcist left his senior's side midsentence to take the few steps between the railing and the scared and angry Allen.

"No, let go of me!" the white haired teenager yelled when Lavi's hands grabbed his shoulders.

"Allen- Allen, calm down." he held him back with a bit of effort. As Allen was a fast healer, though not nearly as fast as Kanda, he had regained enough strength to put up a good fight but Lavi was winning as he was uninjured.

"Let go of me Lavi, I have to see!" he screamed, the tears in his eyes ringing clearly in his voice. A part of him wanted to ignore the younger's pleas and drag him back to bed so he could focus on healing but another part knew it this was just something Allen had to do. With a heavy side, he decided to do both.

"Fine." he lifted the other male's smaller frame into his arms and he began to protest though he quieted when Lavi didn't start toward the infirmary but turned to step up to the railing instead so the white haired boy could gaze down at what was happening below. Allen's blue eyes widened and tears spilled over them, his breath ceasing as he took in the horrific sight below. "Now that you've seen, it's back to bed for you." as he finally turned around to take him back to bed, he almost expected Allen to start struggling again but instead he just clung to Lavi, his fist tightly holding onto his shirt as if he were dying and the redhead were the only light in the darkness.

Placing the younger male down on his hospital bed, the doctors that had followed them back thanked Lavi and started to hook the other back up to the waiting monitors but when the redhead tried to move away, Allen clung tighter to him so he couldn't leave him. He sighed sadly, smiled, and stayed.

"Has he eaten since he's been back?" the nurses shook their heads, saying that he wasn't supposed to be eating yet but Lavi rolled his eyes. "Allen," he started as he stroked the boy's hair. "I'm gonna go get you some food, I'll be right back okay? I know you probably don't feel like eating right now but I know you're hungry, because you're a parasite type, you always are right?" he laughed to himself, hoping maybe to get a smile or at least a nod out of Allen but he only slowly let him go. "Alright is there anything in particular you want?" no response. Lavi sighed and told the nurse that objected to this that he had to eat and that if he was well enough to be walking, even though he wasn't supposed to be, then he was okay to eat at least a little.

He left, wondering what he should get Allen… he knew all of his favorite dishes but he figured he would only bring him one and if he finished that then he would bring him more… he should probably bring him something soft just in case the nurses were right. Since food was his specialty, he could ask Jerry what would be best for him right now.

"Oh is he alright?" Jerry asked, his panicked voice full of concern when Lavi informed him that he was in the infirmary. "I was wondering why that cutie hadn't been to see me!" he turned his back to start working on something. "I'm going to whip him up the best bowl of soup ever; it'll get him right up out of bed!"

"Alright but just one serving." Lavi reminded him, thinking that was easier than he thought it was going to be. Soup, why hadn't he thought of that? It didn't take Jerry long to fix Allen's meal and hand it over to Lavi, telling him to send the boy his love which the redhead promised to do as he left, throwing a thanks over his shoulder.

Upon entering Allen's room, he found it was empty of the boy and filled with panicked nurses claiming that he had left again and they couldn't find him. There were quite a few places he could think the cursed boy would have gone but considering that he was weak, didn't want to be found, and was upset… that left only one place he would be.

"I just checked and he's not in his room!" another person shouted as they rushed in.

"Don't worry, I know where his and I'll take care of him." the staff objected to that. "He obviously doesn't want to be here so he'll just wander off again right?" they went silent. "He'll be fine." he promised as he turned around and left. He sighed and shook his head, thinking how bothersome this boy was sometimes. The walk back to his own room seemed longer than it was but it was all made worth it when he was greeted by the sight of Allen lying on his bed. "I figured you might be in here." he called as he closed the door behind him. The two had been seeing each other for some time now and Lavi quickly learned that the other took comfort being near him so sneaking into his room when he was upset became a regular occurrence. Clearing a space off the bedside table, he placed the soup down and informed the other male that it was there and he nodded, mumbling a small thank you. "Jerry sends his love." the white haired boy didn't respond to that. With a sigh, Lavi started to rid his bed of all the book and paperwork that had built up so he could lie next to Allen who curled up to him. The redhead kissed his head and told him everything was okay.

"So many people died Lavi." he cried, burying his face into Lavi's chest.

"It happens, people die every day." the junior bookman told him solemnly, wrapping his arms around him.

"I was there and I still couldn't save them…"

"Stop blaming yourself," the redhead lectured. "You're not the one that killed them."

"But I couldn't save them- I couldn't do anything!" the boy exclaimed, angry tears flowing from his eyes.

"Knock it off Allen! They died and that's that, the only thing you can do now is help those left behind." instead of the understanding silence that signaled that the younger of the two realized that Lavi was right, he pushed away and sat up to stare hard down at his boyfriend.

"You sound like you don't even care!"

"That's because I don't!" he yelled back, causing the other's eyes to widen in shock at the too blunt statement. "In this situation you are my only concern Allen." he sat up as well, his voice still holding anger in it though he wasn't yelling anymore. "The people who died are being taken care of so I'm not concerned about it; I've been through enough wars and enough death to feel nothing. But you matter to me and you were injured so I'm taking care of you. It's as simple as that." there were fresh tears in the other's eyes by the time he was done talking.

"As simple as that…?" his slim frame began to tremble in his anger. "It's as simple as that?" he shouted as he raised his head once more. "Those are people Lavi! People with families and lives-"

"I know that but what will getting all depressed do now, huh?" the redhead interrupted and gained that silence from Allen that he preferred in situations such as this. "They knew the dangers of their job before they joined and they still decided to do this because it's a noble cause- what you do is something worth dying for! Their families and their lives is what they gave their lives to protect so don't disgrace that." for a long while they sat in silence which became uncomfortable the longer they were in it.

"I'm sorry Lavi, you're right." Allen finally spoke and the other let out a relieved breath before smiling and reaching a hand to stroke his lover's cheek.

"It's fine, now why don't you-" he stopped when the exorcist backed away from his touch.

"Still… how could you say that you don't care?" the boy questioned sadly, his eyes fixed on the mattress below them. All of this was really wearing on Lavi's nerves; he didn't like talking about this sort of stuff. He just wanted Allen to cuddle up with him and go to sleep though he should probably eat his soup first.

"I've been through this so many times that none of it matters. I'm a bookman, we don't have hearts; I've told you all this before." he answered with a light shrug. "Now why don't you get some sleep? Or maybe you feel up to eating?"

"No." Allen said as he slid off of the bed to wander toward the door. "I think I'll just go back to my own room for now."

"Oh… okay… do you want me to take you?" Lavi questioned with perhaps more urgency than he wanted, climbing from the bed to take a few steps toward the other but stopped when he raised his hand.

"Thank you but I can make it on my own." and with that he was gone. Lavi stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do because Allen was pissed at him, that much was clear. Then in a fit of rage, he kicked over the nearest pile of books and grabbed his jacket before storming out of his room. If Allen wanted him to care then fine, he would care. He would do what apparently every 'caring' person would do and that was go grieve over the corpses of people he didn't know. But as he drew closer to the main hall… he just couldn't do it. He couldn't pretend to care because he just didn't and he was just too angry right now. Angry at Allen for taking everything he said the wrong way and not understanding and being so stubborn and caring too much about everything… but in the end, he just couldn't be angry with Allen because everything he did- everything about him only made Lavi love him more. So he chose to be angry with himself. Angry for the way he reacted and what he said, angry just to be angry. He knew he would roll his eyes at himself later for being a hypocrite but for now he didn't care. What did angry 'caring' people do? Only one word popped into his head. Revenge. He already knew this was a bad idea but again, he chose to ignore his rational mind in favor of siding with his wild emotions just this once... he chose to ignore everything Bookman had taught him.

When he set off for the exit, his golem sprang from the inside of his jacket as if to question what he was doing and his answer was to take it into his hand and crush it with all his strength as he walked on, leaving a heap of metal in his wake.

… … …

Allen didn't feel bad at all for walking out on his boyfriend like that, knowing that his heart was in the right place and they would talk about it tomorrow. He knew that Lavi was a bookman and what he had been through as such… the amount of death he's been forced to see… he knew about the thick wall that Lavi had to put up around his heart was to protect himself. Convincing himself that he didn't care about those who died was probably the only way he could survive but it made him think… would the bookman do the same if he were to die? Pretend like they hadn't shared loved and that he thought nothing of him?

"I'm a bookman, we don't have hearts."

He knew it was just an expression but it only strengthened the painful thought that Lavi would think of him as nothing more than ink on paper if he were to die. He wanted to believe that his boyfriend would never do that to him even if he was dead but… there were times that he honestly wasn't sure.

"Lavi?" Lenalee called as she rushed in, panting as if she had been running for awhile. "Oh… I thought Lavi might be in here with you."

"No… last I saw him he was in his room." Allen stated with a raised brow, wondering what was wrong. The girl turned back to the doorway where Bookman stood, shaking his head.

"I have already checked and he's not there." he said with his usual monotone voice. Before he could ask what was going on, Lenalee's purple eyes turned back to him to fill him in.

"Lavi went missing a few hours ago and the last that was seen of him was recorded on his golem… which he kind of smashed." she smiled worriedly, knowing what was going to happen now.

"I'm going to look for him." Allen panicked, starting to get out of bed but was held down by Lenalee.

"I promise you we'll find him, Allen. You need to stay in bed." she lectured but the boy only shook his head.

"You don't understand Lenalee, we fought and now he's gone! It's my fault! I have to find him!" he was on the verge of tears but the girl still wouldn't let him up, not noticing when Bookman took off with the new information.

"Then I'll bring him right to you as soon as we find him." she wasn't letting up so hesitantly, he stopped struggling.

"…you'll bring him right to me?" she smiled and nodded. "Then go find him." she took off without compliant and once she was gone, he only waited minutes to follow.

He had made it out of Headquarters without being seen and once he was in the clear, he wandered into the nearest town but Lavi had not been sighted so he traveled farther, going town to town until three towns over he heard a man covered in bandages screeching about a redhead in a black coat.

"Excuse me." the exorcist called politely, trying to hide his limp as much as possible as the excess walking had really began to make it show. "Would you mind telling me what happened?"

"Some punk comes here screaming about akuma and it was upsetting the town so I stepped up to shut him up…" he folded his arms, clearly upset. "As you can see, the fight didn't exactly go in my favor." Lavi beat him up?

"Wait… are we talking about the same man?" Allen wondered more to himself. "Red-orange hair, green headband, and an eye patch?"

"Yeah that's him." the man nodded, seeming to be angered just thinking about him again. "At the end of it he whipped out this really big hammer that just seemed to appear out of nowhere but he stopped before he did anything with it and then it shrunk. I don't know how he did it, everyone else in town is saying it's magic but I don't buy that shit."

"What stopped him from attacking?"

"Hell if I know." the man shrugged before scratching at his head. "He said I wasn't worth anymore of his time and headed east. Sorry kid, that's all I know."

"Thank you very much." the boy stated before taking off toward the east in a run, trying to ignore the pain in his entire body. He knew this was his body's way of getting payback for not healing properly but he couldn't afford to care right now. Lavi was out hunting akuma on his own and getting into fights with humans, that could never be good. If he kept going on the way he was... he might draw in some very unwanted attention. But… maybe that's what he was trying to do. The thought chilled him.

"He was muttering." someone said, stopping Allen in his tracks. "You've been asking around about the man with the hammer, right?" he nodded so she continued. "He was muttering to himself but I heard him, said something like 'he wouldn't want me to' as he stormed off toward the mountains. If that helps." she started to walk away. 'He wouldn't want me to'? Was he talking about Allen?

"It does, thank you." the cursed exorcist called after the girl who just waved over her shoulder before he turned and starting running again.

Just as he was really starting to tire, he heard loud explosions and falling trees. It was Lavi, he knew it! He was in the middle of a battle and needed help! Allen pushed himself farther, ignoring his aching body's scream for rest.

"Lavi!" he called as soon as he saw the other's fiery hair. Lavi turned to see him, his visible eye wide with surprise. Taking the moment of confusion, the multiple level two akuma the redhead was fighting attacked and Lavi's hammer ended up out of his hands. Before he knew what was happening, Allen found himself face to face with an akuma with drills for arms one of which was swirling down to him. He yelled at his body to move out of the way but pain and fear had his limbs trembling so much the shock was all he was using to stay upright. He was badly injured which he hadn't recovered from and he hasn't eaten in quite awhile… he had no energy at all. He couldn't move.

Someone shouted his name before there was a sickening sound that echoed in his head followed by a foreign sound of pain as he watched the world fall sideways as he was shoved off of his feet. At first, he thought he had been impaled by the akuma but he felt no additional pain besides the from the fall although he did feel a warm liquid seeping into his clothing but something told him that it wasn't his blood. He focused on the protective arms wrapped around him and tilted his head to see Lavi on top of him, a deep gash running diagonally across his back that spilled large amounts of blood onto them both.

"Lavi!" he screamed, pressing his hands onto the wound but it was so large… his hands couldn't fit over all of it and he was too weak to apply much pressure.

"…I'm sorry… All..en." the redhead rasped out as he tried to move off of the boy since he was too weak to push him off but it seemed he was too weak now as well. He tried to grab Allen and leap out of the way but the drill still got him… at least his lover was unharmed.

"Don't talk." he commanded, trying to keep pressure on the terrible wound under his hands but he could still feel more blood rushing out of it and it was starting to get hard to see passed all his tears. The redhead above him tried to mumble something else but had no breath. "Lavi!" he screamed again, trying to keep him awake because he knew… he knew that if he fell asleep… if he lost consciousness now, he wouldn't wake up. He couldn't lose Lavi- not Lavi! "Please don't leave me Lavi, I need you!" the words were so familiar to him as he had spoken them to Mana has he lay dying in front of him as well. "Please don't go Lavi- please don't die! I love you!" no matter how much he screamed and shook him, he never said anything back and his limp body never moved.

Allen heard the akuma attack again and panicked, trying to find a way out of the situation when black needles suddenly stabbed into its body, causing it to explode. There was a blur going between akuma which would explode in bright flashes of orange. He blinked to clear his eyes a little, finally able to see that it was Lenalee destroying the akuma. But what about those needles he had seen?

"Let me have a look at him." Bookman rushed as he knelt beside the two of them, pulling Lavi's body onto his lap so the trapped exorcist could breathe easier.

"Is he…" he couldn't continue, staring up at Bookman's sorrowful eyes as his fingers moved away from the redhead's neck. More tears spilled from Allen's eyes as the old man lifted the corpse into a sort of hug. The fifteen year old let out a pained and angry scream to mask the sound of his heart breaking. This was his fault… so maybe he deserved this unbearable pain he felt swelling up inside? Without Lavi… what was he supposed to do now?

… … …

No one touched him, no one spoke to him, no one even approached him as he sat beside the black coffin, half leaning into it to rest his head on the body's chest. Bookman had been there for awhile but he disappeared after some time. Even when everyone else had gone, Allen remained. He lay with Lavi all day and night, never moving as he stared blankly at nothing. No one really knew what happened. Lenalee informed everyone that the two had fought before Lavi went missing and when they found them, it seemed as though the junior bookman had died saving Allen. No one knew anything passed that because Allen wouldn't talk and they didn't dare ask him.

They wouldn't know just how much he blamed himself for his lover's death… how much he wanted to hate himself. But he's been starting to feel numb to it. He now understood how Lavi was able to say that he didn't care about the dead, understood that wall he had put around his heart in order to keep living. He wondered how many times Lavi had watched someone he cared about die before he said 'no more' and decided to stop caring so he didn't have to go through this anymore. But he still loved Allen… did that make him special? He wished he could ask him.

"Their families and their lives is what they gave their lives to protect…"

"Does that make me your family? Your life?" he waited as if for an answer and though it never physically came, it did in his heart.

"Don't disgrace that."
"What will getting all depressed do now, huh?"

Of course he was right… so he wouldn't sit here and mope around any longer. He would get up and continue on, just like he always did.

Giving Lavi's cold lips one last kiss, Allen stood, ignoring the ache in his stiff body from staying in the same position for so long and the protest of his legs that were no longer used to standing or walking. He stared down at his dead lover for just a few minutes longer before he finally turned to leave him but stopped when he could have sworn he heard Lavi calling his name. But he didn't turn back around because he knew what he would see. He would see Lavi resting in the coffin just has he had been since he was placed there. Nothing would be different. Lavi was dead. He died protecting Allen. Those were facts.

"I love you Allen."

Lavi's voice whispered in his ear and whatever strength he had been using not to cry withered away but it only took him a few moments to once again compose himself again, throwing a quick glance backwards just to be one hundred percent sure that nothing had changed before making his exit.

No matter what difficulties lay ahead of him, he always had to keep going though the reason was sometimes forgotten to him. All he knew was that it didn't end here. Even with Lavi gone, he would find a way to keep going. He would carry on with Lavi's heart merged into one with his own, both completing their broken partners. With this he could go on… with this he would survive.

"Never stop. Always keep walking."