Warnings for this story: Strong language, child-abuse, depression, mentions of rape (and even though I won't write scenes with it, I would probably rate this a T+ story, if it existed). I have warned you again. :)

Disclaimer: See introduction ~

Chapter 1

It had been a few days since he had gotten proper sleep, and that had made him tired and grumpy. He didn't know why he wasn't able to sleep normal and relaxing like he used to, but he supposed it had something to do with Lavi and his carelessness.

They had been given an assignment in chemistry a few days back, which was supposed to be handed in the next day and Kanda and Lavi were no where near finished. That was all thanks to Lavi's "it'll-be-alright" attitude and his will to do absolutely nothing. Out of all people, Kanda had to be paired with him.

This had to be the reason for his insomnia. Maybe if he locked Lavi in a cage, threw the cage on a random ship that was leaving for some unknown country, his life would be peaceful. But that was just wish-thinking. After all, if he was caught, he would have to life his life in prison, and that was not on Kanda's list. But really, Lavi was annoying, and Kanda was really glad that he hadn't followed him home today. He was just too tired to deal with that shit, and he needed time alone.

When he came home, the first thing he did was to lay day own the couch and rest. He could feel rage boiling within his chest at the thought of the project and at Lavi, and he did his best to relax, taking deep breaths and thinking of random things. However, just as he felt himself calm down, the doorbell rang.

"Fuck, is ten minutes of peace too much to ask?"

It seemed like people liked to bother him because of his short fuse, which of course, only made the fuse shorter.

He stood up and stomped over to the door. He tried to calm himself down before he opened, but if the one behind that door was Lavi…Lavi would be no more.

The bell rung again just as he was going to open the door, which annoyed him. What happened to patience?

He opened the door, and was surprised when he saw someone at his door that he had never seen or talked to before. It was a young man, or actually, it was a boy, 14 or 15 years old, who was standing on his doorstep. He had clothes, that when Kanda took a closer look, were rather shabby and looked a bit worn out. Either that, or the kid was simply too thin to fill the clothes. He was very small after all, probably a head and a half shorter than Kanda.

But what stood out the most about this kid, was his white hair. If Kanda hadn't seen his face, he would have mistaken him for an old man. Usually, this would have made a person ugly, but Kanda had to admit, that it didn't seem to work on this kid. His face was childish, and looked soft, and if Kanda hadn't known better, he would have mistaken him for a girl. Still, there was something off about him.

Kanda had never before seen such lifeless and empty eyes. Even the big smile on the child's face couldn't hide that.

"I'm sorry for intruding, but could you tell me where 302 is? It seems like some of the numbers have fallen off some doors."

He even sounded cheerful, but his eyes were just as empty as the eyes of a porcelain doll.

"Why do you want to know?" Kanda asked with feigned interest.

"Um, I'm moving in and I'll probably be staying a while, so…"

Kanda was mildly surprised at this, and it probably showed on his face, since a delicate blush bloomed on the kid's cheeks.

"Is something wrong?"

Kanda turned back into scowling as he registered the boy's question. Why the heck would something be wrong? He had only asked him a question. Seriously, this kid had problems.

"No, and 302 is up the stairs and to the left. It's right above me."

The boy nodded and muttered a "thanks", picked up a suitcase Kanda hadn't noticed until now and proceeded to the stairs. Kanda went back into his apartment, and threw off the shoes he hadn't bothered to when he had come home a few moments ago. He was so tired, and he still had that assignment to do.

"Goddammit!"

---

The next morning, Kanda woke to the sound of his alarm clock. He was a light sleeper, and had no problems with getting up in the morning. This also made him very energetic, and was a plus for someone with such training addict as he had. He never bragged, but that didn't mean other people had gotten to know his talent for sport. Since sixth grade, Kanda had been offered positions in different sport clubs, but he had always thanked no. He liked training, but he preferred to do it alone, something that had led him to kendo. He had trained kendo since the end of sixth grade, and he still went training twice a week. He always looked forward to his kendo practices, but thanks to Lavi, it was hard to focus on the coming Saturday and Kendo training because of the assignment. Kanda took school seriously, because he knew he had to if he wanted something out of his life.

He got up and got dressed quickly. His breakfast was always simple. Despite having been told many times before by his annoying foster father that breakfast was the most important meal Kanda never bothered to make such a big deal out of it (mostly because it was his foster father that had told him to eat properly). So just like any other day, Kanda ate bread, and drank a glass of milk. He did his best not to think about the assignment or any other Lavi-related business.

It took him only ten minutes to walk to school, and he was always early, even if not by much. Kanda liked his routines, and though Lavi always called him a "perfectionist", Kanda couldn't care less.

Kanda walked past a group of students and down the corridor to his classroom. He really hoped Lavi for once had decided to come early. Kanda had stayed up late last night, working on the assignment, but even though he had written 5-6 pages, it was far from enough. He knew, that Lavi always managed to finish his part right before they had to hand in, and that somehow he would always manage to write it just as perfectly as Kanda (who most probably had spent twice as much time on writing as Lavi), but Kanda simply hated the idiot's way of doing things, especially when he could never be sure if Lavi had been able to finish.

But, confirming Kanda's "theory-about-idiots", Lavi was sitting on their usual table in their chemistry classroom with a small pile of papers in front of him.

"That better be for the assignment, or you will be my next subject for testing."

Lavi looked up from his doodling on the desk and grinned.

"Morning sunshine, and yes, they are for the assignment. I told you there was nothing to worry about."

"I never worry, psycho."

Kanda slumped down next to Lavi, punching him in the arm on the way. Punching Lavi somehow always lifted his mood.

"Ouch! What was that for, Yu-chan, I didn't even say anything."

"You just did, and don't call me that."

"Until I see you smile, a tinsy winsy one is enough, I'll call you Yu as much as I like. Really Yu-chan, it's all up to you."

"What the fuck does that have to do with anything?"

"You never smile, you always scowl. Like this, see?" Lavi grimaced, looking like he was chewing a lemon. "You should smile, Yu-chan. It would do you good, trust me, I know how this works."

Kanda gritted his teeth, his hands clenching and un-clenching as the red-head said his name. He was just about to deck Lavi and throw him out the window as the door opened and rest of the class walked in.

Damn, he would have to wait after class.

---

"I told you I don't want you in my apartment, go away."

"But Yu-chan, it's finally weekend, and it's the perfect time to deepen bonds between people. Not that we have to go any deeper, we're already madly in love as it is-"

"Shut the fuck up, fucking idiot. Don't ever mention me and you in the same sentence again, I can't stand the pain."

"Aw, you're so mean."

"Um…"

The third voice went unnoticed by the two quarrelling men.

"You're asking for it, you're so fucking annoying."

"E-excu-"

"I'm not, you simply lack the ability to see my greatness, which is strange, because that ability is very common."

"Shut the fuck up."

"Excuse me!"

He had been on his way home when Lavi suddenly joined him and begun intruding his personal space. The red headed bastard was just like a bacteria, never really leaving once it had first gotten stuck, and no matter how much Kanda insulted him, he would never go away. He hadn't been able to get rid of him today either, and now they were standing outside his apartment while Kanda checked his bag for the keys. They were chatting normally until a third person joined in the conversation. Kanda didn't recognize the voice at once, and even though he was a little irritated at the moment, he turned to see who it was.

He was slightly surprised, again, as he laid his eyes on the white-haired boy from yesterday. The boy was wearing different clothes than he had been wearing yesterday, these seemed more fitting, and he was carrying a bag full of groceries in his right hand.

Lavi was even more surprised than Kanda, and he looked at the smaller boy with a big grin on his face.

"Oh, I'm sorry miss, are we in the way?"

Lavi walked out of the way, but the kid only looked at him, his mouth slightly agape.

"I'm not a girl." He said, irritation clear in his voice.

Lavi looked even more surprised, if that was possible, and Kanda smirked inwardly as Lavi began to stutter.

"B-but, your voice…and face."

"Well, sorry about that, it's not like I chose to be born this way", The boy snapped as he stomped past them and up the stairs. They could clearly hear the sound of the door smacking in place, a little sharper than usual. Lavi was blushing, his eyes still on the place where the white-haired kid had been standing a few moments ago.

"A-a boy? It was a boy? Yu, who was that?"

Kanda finally found his keys at the bottom of his bag, and found it very tempting to point and laugh at Lavi when he saw his face. He would have done it, had he been anyone but Yu Kanda.

"Apparently my new neighbour now quit using my fucking name and get in."

He heard Lavi following him and the door closing.

"Yu, who was that?"

"I won't repeat myself, shithead."

"Yeah, yeah, he's your neighbor and all, but what's his name?"

Kanda took two beer bottles out from his fridge and sat down at the small table.

"How am I supposed to know, he moved in yesterday."

Lavi joined him and grabbed a beer. He was no longer blushing, rather, he was wearing his trademark grin.

"Man, he's cute, probably 14 years old by the looks of it."

Kanda didn't say anything, though that didn't stop Lavi from blabbering out his thoughts. It was always like this, Lavi talking, and Kanda trying to ignore.

"Are you really sure it was a boy? He was a real doll, with his white hair, his height, his soft looking skin-"

"You sound like a love stricken girl and it's fucking annoying. Shut up!"

Lavi laughed.

"If I were, you would hardly have the right to blame me, Yu-chan. Or could it be that you're jealous? Aw, that's so cute-"

With a simple hand movement, the beer cork hit Lavi's forehead with a thud, causing him to whine and cover his head in defence.

"Alright, alright. Geez, you really need to learn how to control that temper of yours."

Though, Lavi knew that would never happen. Kanda would remain the way he was now for the rest of his life. He would probably mature, one way or another, and Lavi was really looking forward to that day, but he still had the feeling Kanda would always remain the bastard that he was. Not that he complained, teasing Kanda was the only thing that made school fun, and even though Kanda knew that just as well as Lavi, he would always react to his teasing.

"Get a life." Kanda retorted, gulping down more beer.

"Right back at ya." Lavi smirked. "-and that's why you will be joining me at the club tonight. It's the only way to enjoy life." Lavi exclaimed happily, enjoying the way the beer got stuck in Kanda's throat as he said this. Really, playing with Kanda was more fun than anything.

"No fucking way. I'm not going to waste this night, or any other night of my life, listening to crappy techno shit and suffer from the company of drunkards. If you want me to enjoy life, then get the fuck out of it."

"Nope, sorry Yu-chan. We are going, or I'll be calling Tiedoll and telling him that you're being anti-social."

Kanda's face showed utter horror, before it turned to disbelief.

"You don't have his number, so don't try to pull shit like that on me."

"How do you know I don't? If you don't believe me, I can call him now."

"…You don't have his number."

Lavi grinned. "I'll show you." He pulled his cell out from his pocket and typed in a number, smiling at Kanda as he waited for the call to go through. He had looked everywhere for Tiedoll's number, just so he could use it in a situation like this. It seemed like the only thing Kanda really dreaded was his caring foster father.

"Hello?"

"Ah, hello Tiedoll, this is Lavi, I'm Kanda's friend."

"Lavi-kun, so nice to hear from you, how are you, and how is my dear son? I haven't heard from him in ages, he never picks up the phone. He's such a naughty boy, but he's so adorabl-"

The phone was snapped out of his hand, and before Lavi could even wave his phone goodbye it was flying out the window, leaving a panting and angry Kanda in its wake. Still, Lavi didn't mourn over the loss of his cell as he took out a new one from his other pocket and showed it to Kanda, grinning like mad.

"No matter how many times you come at me, I'll always strike back, Yu-chan. It's better to give up and we'll all be happy."

"Fuck you!"

---

That night, Kanda came home in a foul mood. He had given in to Lavi's threats and joined him at the club, and as he had predicted, the club was full of crappy music, in addition to being over-crowded. Kanda hated crowded places more than anything, and couldn't fathom why others didn't.

They had met Lenalee at the club, a girl one year younger than them they knew very well, as Kanda explained it, and she and Lavi had joined another gang for the rest of the night. Kanda had been unwilling when Lavi had invited him to join them, and had after two torturously slow hours been able to get away and out of the club. He would never let Lavi trick him again, at least not if it doomed him to spend time at the club.

He fumbled, looking for his keys for the second time that day and cursed as he didn't find them. Why the heck were they always so hard to find? It's not like there was that much space in his pockets.

He must have been looking for a while when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. For some reason he knew exactly who it was and wasn't even surprised when he heard that light, soft voice that belonged to none other than the white-haired kid who lived at the floor above him.

"Hi!"

It was a soft greeting, and Kanda wondered why he even bothered to answer. But there was something that made him interested in the weird boy, though he had no idea why. He grunted in response, but looked up at the boy. The boy wasn't smiling like the first time they had met, which made him seem more dead than anything.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" He asked as he continued to look for his keys. God damn where was that fucking keychain?

The boy snorted, insulted.

"I'm 16, I don't need people telling me when to go to bed."

Kanda looked up, mock surprise in his eyes as he smirked at the boy.

"You look like you're fucking 13. Seriously kid, do you even know what puberty is?"

"Yes, in fact I do, I just haven't gotten that far yet."

"I can hear that."

The boy gritted his teeth, and Kanda could swear he saw steam coming out of the boy's ears. He finally understood why Lavi loved to tease him. Watching the boy's reactions was more enjoyable then he could have ever imagined, especially when he noticed the rosy blush decorating the child's face.

"Bastard, who are you to talk, you girly-haired man."

If there was one thing Kanda hated, then it was people commenting his hair, even if it was nice comments.

"Shut the fuck up, you fucking brat. If you say that again, I'll break your neck."

His strong yell clouded with anger could have scared away even the worms in the ground, if they had feeling that is.

Kanda was good at that, good at making unwanted things go away.

That stupid brat was no different, what the fuck did he-was he shaking?

There was no doubt, even though there wasn't much light, Kanda could see that the boy was shaking. Kanda was taken off guard by this. They had had a perfectly normal chat and now the kid was shaking with…fear? It had to be fear. The boy's eyes were wide and glassy, and looked very much like a dear caught in the headlights. What the heck was wrong with this kid?

"Hey, what's-"

But before Kanda had the chance to say anything else, the child turned hurriedly and ran up the stairs and a few seconds later Kanda heard the slamming of a door.

What the hell had just happened?

Kanda you meanie. Allen was just being cute, and you couldn't handle it. You insensible man. -sighs dramatically-

I always find the first chapters the hardest to write, so I'm not really satisfied with this chapter. Yet, I always seem to overreact, so I hope it wasn't that much of a let down to any of you.

Review? :)