A/N: Hello~

In this chapter we have a lot of Kanda swearing. Also to clarify, Allen and Lenalee are dating (this chapter is set mainly on the date) so to all those Allen x Lenalee haters, I DON'T CARE. Personally I don't really like the pairing, I'd rather have Allen with Kanda or Lavi, but it's better than being with Road. _

And because I forgot to put this in the last chapter: DISCLAIMER~ I do not in any way, OWN DGM or ANY of the characters. All I own is one shitty laptop and my messed up brain.

C – H – A – P – T – E – R

T - W - O

(Kanda POV)

"…and then Master was all like, 'where were you boy? I needed you last night you little piece of shit!' so I told him, 'I'm sorry Master…'"

I closed my eyes, pressing my fingers to my face. Did the Moyashi have to be so damn loud?! I sighed, looked back down at my uneaten sandwich. Why had I agreed to go with Lenalee and Moyashi on their little 'date'? Oh right because Komui had threatened me into it. Che.

"Kanda isn't that horrible? Mr. Cross was so mean to Allen last night! I should tell brother to have a word with him. Shouldn't I, Kanda? Kanda?!" I looked up, glare firmly in place, though it wasn't as full of malice as the ones I directed at the Moyashi and Usagi were.

"That brat deserved it." I went back to staring at the grainy bread, sneering. How could people eat this piece of shit?

"Kanda!" I winced when Lenalee raised her voice.

"Che, I don't see how it's my fucking business," I answered, tentatively taking a bite of the sandwich. Disgusting. Tasteless, dry yet at the same time unbelievably soggy.

"You should care Kanda! Allen's your friend," I started choking on my mouthful. The Moyashi? Friend?!

"Len-" Allen started to say, looking nervous.

"That baby is not my friend," I set fist down (a little too hard), glaring at Lenalee. Lenalee looked agast.

"Kanda, Allen isn't-"

"Here's your order sir," Lenalee was so lucky she was saved by the waitress bringing over Allen's long awaited food.

"Ah thank you, ma'am," Allen said, giving her that horribly cheesy smile. Lenalee sighed, picking up a fork and stealing some of Allen's chicken pot pie before it was devoured by the black hole.

"I shounk chu ber onze diaft," Allen attempted to say around the club sandwich.

"That's disgusting, Moyashi, don't fucking talk with your mouth open," I picked up a napkin, spreading it across my hand and holding it in front of my face to keep it from being splattered.

"The name's Allen, BaKanda! And Lenalee, I thought you said you were on a diet?" Allen huffed, getting ready to swallow the second sandwich whole.

She sniffed, taking another bite of the pie. "I am, see?" Allen blinked confused. I had to admit whatever logic Lenalee was working by wasn't getting to us. Watching Allen eat was making me feel sick. If I had soba I'd at least have something to focus on, but no restaurants don't serve soba or anything near that. Homework was out, it was in danger of being peppered by food particles as Allen attempted to keep talking around his food. What the hell happened to being a courteous gentleman?

I turned in my booth chair, staring out the foggy window. Winter was settling in faster than I could ever remember it doing. Only mid fall and parkas were being brought out. I suppressed a sigh, watching the people outside hurry to and fro. Across the street was a little book shop café Lavi constantly drug me too on days like this. Whenever the weather took a nasty turn I found myself being drug to that stuffy place, crammed between piles of books with a nice cup of homemade green tea. I would never tell him but I enjoyed our trips there.

That Baka Usagi… Something was wrong with him. I'd started to notice that his smile was becoming fake whenever I was around, his expression always guarded though he never hesitated to attack me. Dark purple bags were forming under his eyes, though that could be from his waiting till the last second to do his homework. And yesterday he'd called me by my last name – something Lavi never did.

I felt a headache coming from all the complicated thoughts. Yet I couldn't just brush the troublesome thoughts away like I usually did. I couldn't just leave Lavi alone if something really was wrong, that idiot never knew when to ask for help. But it was just like Lavi to be pretending, so just when everyone got all worried he'd yell, 'Joking' and write it off as a prank… I growled, clenching my fist. What did he want me to think? Was I suppose to get worried over his sorry ass or just ignore it?

Something – more like someone – caught my eye in the window. Walking briskly, barely looking as they crossed the street, the person seemed to me in a hurry to get…somewhere. As they drew closer, my frown deepened. With his head down, his shaggy fiery hair fell into his face, hiding the glittering eye and eye patch. His ever present orange scarf was pulled up against the biting cold, covering his nose and mouth. I was about to reach out and tap the glass to get his attention when Lavi turned, opening the door, letting a blast of cold air. He shivered slightly, rubbing his bare hands as he cast a look around the shop.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," Lavi marched over, that grin lighting up his face. For a moment I relaxed, he was being genuine and then – "Eh?! Yu-chan too?! Wow Lenalee what did you do to get him to come?" – it froze, the smile and glittering eyes becoming hard. I clenched my jaw, narrowing my eyes as Lavi took the seat next to me.

"I didn't do anything, brother got him to come," Lenalee said smiling happily. Lavi laughed, unwinding his scarf.

"No wonder he's here. 'Ello Allen," Lavi moved on, imitating Allen's accent as he greeted him. Moyashi waved, not pausing in stuffing his face.

"You aren't going to eat that are you, Yu-chan?" Lavi was suddenly leaning forward, his face close to mine. I blinked, all my thoughts about how to get Lavi to fess up halted.

"Tch no. Take it." Lavi grinned, this one somewhat real, as he took my sandwich shoving it in. He ate almost as pig like as Moyashi did. Really maybe I should start calling them both pigs…

I followed a few steps behind Lenalee and Allen. Lavi walked next to me, whistling some overly cheery tune as we pretended not to be with the dating couple. Allen was totally oblivious to Lenalee's irritation, too caught up playing 'gentleman'. And I… was beginning to get bored and cold of walking around.

"Let's go there!" Lenalee suddenly exclaimed, pointing at an inside amusement park. "I bet it will be warm!"

"Man I haven't been to this one forever!" Lavi bounced forward, jumping in between Allen and Lenalee to link arms with them. From my point of few it almost looked as if we were trying to break them up, not supervise. Still glaring at everyone, I followed them to the entry, handing over the entry fee. The three leading idiots looked like kids as their eyes widened, staring at the huge inside roller coasters.

"THAT ONE!" Lenalee yelled, dragging the other two toward a tall contraption with seats all in a row. Whatever it did I didn't want to find out. I wondered over to "Whack – a – Mole", glaring at the rubber black mallet.

"Want to play?" I spared a glance at the man working the booth, "That will be two tickets."

"Tch." I handed him the two blue tickets, picking up the mallet.

"You know the rules right? Well then start!" he pressed some button and a mole popped up right in the middle. At first everything went slow, then at an almost unnoticeable pace began to pick up.

"Che. There." I set the mallet back down, some of my anger released on the stupid moles. If only they had been rabbits or bean sprouts…

"Uh well… Here's your…prize?" the man visibly gulped, taking down a giant fluffy red bunny that was supposed to be cute but instead looked plain ugly. I glared at the man, hoping he was joking. "Or do you want the dog…?"

"Che, I'll take it." I grabbed the rabbit, turning around and stalking away.

"Aw, Yu-chan's got a rabbit! You look so adorable holding that toy!" With one hand I reached for Mugen, swearing under my breath when I remembered I'd left it at home. Now I had to dirty my hands when I killed the Usagi.

"Aren't you suppose to be with Lenalee and Allen? I thought we were watching them?" I growled, hoping that the idiot hadn't lost them. Komui would kill us if his 'precious Lenalee got lost'.

"Oh they are in line. I just don't do well on rides that go up and down really fast," Lavi laughed, scratching the back of his head, "So I figured I'd go see what Yu-chan was doing."

"Really? And why did you think that I'd want your company?" I glared, looking for something I could vent my anger on. That shooting game looked like it could work…

"Because Yu is caring around a big fluffy red bunny-wunny!" Lavi reached forward, poking me in the forehead. Bunny-wunny? My mind did an instant replay. What the hell was that?!

"Hey Yu-chan, come play this with me!" Lavi waved me over, grinning like the baka he was. I sighed, hoisting the bunny up into my arms. Why do stuffed animals have to weigh so fucking much?!

"Are you serious?" I stared at the bright neon words. 'Dance Dance Revolution – the Ultimate'? There was no way I was going to do that.

"Come on Yu-chan, please?" Lavi pouted, clasping his hands under his chin. "Just one round?"

"Tch. Aren't we suppose to be finding Lenalee and Allen? Komui-"

"I won't call Yu Yu-chan!" Lavi begged. I paused, weighing the situation.

"For how long?"

"Today!"

"Che, I think I see Moyashi."

"Tomorrow too!"

"Yeah that's Lenalee…"

"The whole week!"

"Fine. But if you slip up once I'm going to force this fucking rabbit down your throat," I set the rabbit down next to the platform (why was I still carrying it around?) and stepped up, rolling my shoulders in order to get ready.

Lavi quickly went through the controls, that stupid grin fixed on his face. At least it wasn't fake and his eyes were full of happiness not empty. "Baka, don't pick that song-" I glared at Lavi as he picked the one song on the menu I hated…

As the impossible, annoying, beat started Lavi flashed me another grin. "Come on, you are too good at all the other songs. At least give me a chance!"

I glared, tapping the left arrow. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you love me!" Lavi mirrored my movement, and soon both of us were moving quickly in order to keep up. Out of the corner of my eye I watched as people started gathering, Allen and Lenalee cheering in the front. Of course, because Lavi had picked that song and on expert we were now center stage; I was so going to kill him after this.

"Whew, I thought I was going to lose this time for sure," Lavi said, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. Our perfect scores flashed on the screen, before it declared it a tie.

"Che, you would have lost if I wasn't so distracted by people taking pictures." I gave the crowd a furious glare, watching as people hurried off just now remembering where they were supposed to be.

"Aw, you…" I shot a look at Lavi, trying to judge if he was already breaking our contract. "You're just jealous of my amazing skills!"

"Wow Kanda I didn't know you played DDR," Allen piped up, walking over with cotton candy stuck all over his face.

"I don't fucking brat." I ignored their whining and retrieved my coat. Lenalee and Allen went over to Lavi, raving about how well we'd done. Tch, they were all idiots. Allen had said something that caused Lavi to through back his head in mirth, his teeth flashing in the light. I frowned, glaring down at the rabbit. No I was not sulking because Lavi was able to laugh freely with others. I. Was. Not.

I felt the pocket of my jeans vibrate. For a moment I paused in confusion, trying to process what would be causing it. Cell phone. Right.

"What?" I snapped open the phone, not bothering to look who it was.

"Kanda? This is Bookman." I relaxed slightly; it wasn't the idiot old man or the other two. "Is Lavi with you?"

"Yeah," I paused, glancing over at the laughing trio. Why hadn't the Bookman call Lavi's phone.

"That idiot seems to have forgotten his phone again. Could you pass on a message?"

"You don't want to talk to him?" I threw another glance at Lavi.

"No. Just tell him I'll be checking up on his logs." The Bookman's tone stayed the same, curt, monotone, revealing nothing.

"Fine, is that all?" I glared down at the floor, the Usagi's annoying laugh ringing in my ears.

"I suppose. Good by Kanda." With that the Bookman hung up, leaving no room for a reply.

"Who was that?" Lavi jumped on me, flinging his arms around my neck. On instinct I shoved him away with the arm holding the cell phone.

"Bookman." Lavi quickly dropped his arms, taking a hasty step back. Allen and Lenalee had wondered off to a stand selling drinks; no longer interested in us.

"Ah… I guess I left my phone at home then?" He chuckled nervously, patting his pockets. "Oops." The smile had grown to its breaking point. There was no life in his eye, no glint that gave away he was up to something. It was just a dull green front.

"He said he'd be checking on your logs," I said quietly, studding his face. Damn it what was he keeping from me?

Lavi's head snapped up, his eye growing large. "He did?!" Just as quickly as he'd looked he glanced away, turning his back to me. "Heh, should have known he wouldn't stick to the agreed meeting date."

My frown deepened. "La-"

"Oi, Kanda! Lavi! Do you guys want anything to drink?" Stupid Moyashi. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Moyashi.

Lavi ran off to the stand, his expression back to normal. It was as if the little moment between us hadn't even taken place.

"Little moment? Che." I shoved my cell phone back in my pocket, picked up the rabbit and followed after. What was I playing at?

"Ne, I'm full. Komui sure does have a good cook, right?" Lavi glanced at me; his hands linked behind his head in his signature pose.

"Che. I guess." We walked toward my car parked on the curb near the Lee's house. Neither of us said much as I unlocked the car*, getting ready to get in.

"Hey, do you think it will snow soon?" Lavi had paused a few steps away from the car, his head tilted up to look at the dark sky. I glanced up, shivering slightly as the temperature continued to drop. The dark clouds covering the moon looked promising enough, and there was that slight cold taste in the air.

"Who knows? Just get in so we can go." I got in, slamming the door behind me. I didn't wait for Lavi as I started up the car, fiddling with dials. Lavi slid in, closing his door behind him much softer.

"Music?" He asked, reaching toward the radio.

"Tch." I slid my seat belt on, taping my foot against the gas as I impatiently waited for Lavi to settle down.

For awhile the drive was pretty silent save for Lavi's singing (I had to admit when he wasn't drunk he had a pretty good voice) and the low purr of the car.

"Can I stay at your place tonight?" Lavi asked suddenly, turning the radio down. I shot him a look out of the corner of my eye. We were only a block away from his house now.

"Does it have to do with the Bookman?" I asked, slowing down as a late night couple hurried across the crosswalk.

I saw a half smile quirk his lips. "You read me too well. Yeah, I don't really feeling like facing the old man."

"Slacker," I glanced out the side mirror in order to hide my own half smile.

"Hey! Says who?! I do my work, everything's always turned in on time!" Lavi twisted in his seat, his face in full pout mood.

I held up my hand, using my fingers to count, "Except for that one time, and that time, oh and then there was-"

"Alright, alright, alright, I get it." He turned around. "But seriously, can I?"

I mentally sighed. I let him stay and I was going to be in for a late night. I kicked him out of the car and I'd feel guilty of making him face whatever it was he was going to face.

"Fine, but when I say I'm going to bed you better shut the hell up," I growled, driving past his apartment. I saw Lavi shoot a quick glance at the building, tensing up until we'd driven out of sight.

"Thanks Kanda," he muttered as we got out. I pretended to ignore him as I stalked toward the lobby, turning a deaf ear as he yelled for me to wait. "Jeeze, it's not going to kill you to wait five seconds for me to catch up," he said, pretending to be out of breath when he finally caught up to me.

"Che. That's five seconds more I have to be in your presence," I said, pushing the up button.

"Eh? Yu" - I held up the rabbit threateningly – "you don't to be so cold," he pouted as we stepped into the elevator. I sighed, closing my eyes and leaning against the mirrored walls as we rode up to floor eleven. There were only three other flats beside mine on the floor - out of them I was the only full time tenant – so I had it relatively to myself. It was nice not to put up with rambunctious neighbors when I wanted to meditate. Then of course there was always that old man calling and sobbing over the phone, along with the occasional unwanted visit from Usagi or one of my adoptive brothers.

Lavi followed me quietly into the flat. I tried to keep my frown from deepening, but it was hard with him acting so out of character. I had all my sharp remarks lined up on the tip of my tongue and here Lavi was doing nothing. Che.

"Are my stuff from last time still here?" he asked, taking a seat on the sofa. I moved toward the kitchen after hesitating for a moment.

"Yeah, all where you left them." I grabbed two beers before joining him back in the living room.

Lavi nodded his thanks as he took the already opened can. We raised the cans in a silent cheers and took a swig. "That hits the spot. A nice light beer from" – he paused glancing at the label – "your drinking German beer now?" I saw the mild curiosity in his eye, pleased to see he was coming around finally.

"Tch, so what if I am?" I took another swig, letting the light fizzy taste roll over my tongue before swallowing. After awhile, I began to relax. Lavi wasn't doing anything stupid, just sitting there uncharacteristically silent, drinking away. There had been a few times in the past when I'd seen him like this – once when Allen disappeared for a month, when Lenalee injured her legs, and occasionally after meetings with Bookman. As different as it was for Lavi, it was oddly comfortable. More real in away.

"I hardly ever see you with your hair down," Lavi commented idly, leaning back against the sofa. He pulled down his bandana, as if to emphasize 'letting your hair down'.

"It gets in the way," I muttered, resting my head back too. Today was starting to catch up with me, I could feel the headache forming.

I hadn't realized I'd closed my eyes until I felt something tugging at my hair. Instantly my body went tense and I was about to spring away –

"Sorry, just try to relax." Lavi's voice murmured in my ear as slipped the hair tie out. Slowly, under Lavi's working fingers, I began to relax, leaning back. I felt him sift on the sofa, bringing his legs under him so he could apply more pressure on my tense muscles.

"Ah…" I winced, jerking away from him when he pressed rather painfully above my shoulder blade.

"Sorry, sorry…" Lavi chuckled a little, "It would be easier if you weren't leaning back into the couch ya know." I left out a breath, shifting around until my back was facing him. "There we go!"

Once again Lavi's hands began to smooth out all the tense, knotted muscles, working out all the kinks I'd gotten from practicing. My mind began to drift, jumping from fighting techniques to memories.

Images of Lavi's happy, brilliant smile flashed across my closed eyelids. As he continued to work, I remembered times we'd spent skipping school, hanging out in the dusty bookstore, in his attic, the park, anywhere we thought we wouldn't get caught… The times I'd found him sleeping on the floor, head cushioned on books he'd been translating, or just plain napping in the middle of class. The way he had leaned against the walking bridge in the park during the New Year's celebration, despite the cold he'd been perfectly fine in just a ski jacket and jeans. How the fireworks had lit up his eye, giving new light to the sparkle he always had. And when he turned to look at me, that smile lighting up his face in away the fireworks, the sun, nothing could.

"Does that feel better?" Lavi's voice sounded in my ear, his breath tickling the curve. I jerked away, feeling my face flush. "Kanda?"

I turned away, clenching my jaw. "I'm going to bed. I'll set up a mattress if you want to use the bathroom first. You should be able to find everything in there – nothings moved." I didn't wait for an answer, just stormed over to my room. Maybe slamming the door behind me was a little harsh.

I stood poised next to the door until I heard the bathroom door click shut. Groaning, I leaned back, letting my head hit the door rather hard. Damn it, just damn it. I wasn't sure how much longer I could last. Having Lavi massage my back like that had brought up a topic I wasn't quite ready to breach with myself.

"Kanda, where'd you put my toothbrush! You know the one with strawberry's and bunnies?"

I sighed, pushing away from the door to go get the mattress, yelling over my shoulder as I went. "Same place, dumbass. Top drawer!"

Some things never change.

*Kanda's Car: In the last chapter I never said anything about what kind of car. It was just "the car". I'd really a name to the car, so if you have any ideas please let me know. Something sporty, yet still classical? All I could think of was Mustangs and Hondas…

OH YEA! About the whole DDR scene, I don't know really. It just popped into my mind and I started thinking: 'I bet Kanda's a secret DDR lover. I bet he's really good at it' *evil thoughs* So that's where that came from.

And yes, I did my research – drinking age in Canada (where the story takes place) is 18. So I'm going to put Kanda's and Lavi's ages at around 19-20ish? Sound good? I mean they are in a university after all… Do the math to figure out everyone else's ages (or just use Wiki).

A/N: Meh, I'm not very pleased with this chapter at all. For some reason I just couldn't get into Kanda's point of view. T_T Personally, it felt rushed and just not well put together, but I dunno. What do you all think? There may be a few other characters introduced later (Tyki for sure, along with Daisya, Noise Marie, and Miranda – I just love her clumsiness!), are there any that you just have to see? As always, please review, comment, critique, but please no flaming ---for the record I haven't edit this yet, its late and I don't feel like doing it. So please point out any mistakes!

Nakemiin, Blue