The snow was crunching underneath his shoes as Kanda picked up his pace, the promise of warmth and pleasant company willing him to reach his destination faster. The Order had not been a welcoming place to begin with, but now, with Allen gone and most of their comrades and higher ups being in a foul mood, it was worse than he cared to remember.

As he was nearing the worn down house, he noticed a slight shift in the shadows near its entrance. He squinted, but couldn't make out the outline of the person standing there, so his hand reached up to grip the tilt of his weapon that had been resting on his back.

"That better be you, Beansprout, because I am in no mood for a fight."

"Now that's something, Ba-Kanda. I thought that you got off on fighting with everyone."

Allen's cheeky response was complimented by him stepping out of the shadows. He sounded a lot more cheerful than he looked with his dirty clothes and slightly thinner frame than the last time they had seen each other. Still, the smile on his face was enough to draw a quiet "Tch." and a light smirk from his lips.

"Are you saying that about me or yourself? Because, you're the one always trying to pick a fight, Sprout."

They both kept walking toward each other until they were separated by only a few feet, their gazes shifting and taking in how the other had changed in a months' time.

Allen couldn't help but frown, when he noticed the new uniform Kanda was wearing. Not that he had started to hate his old comrades or their dedication to a higher cause, but knowing that Kanda had been freed… Knowing that –he- had freed him, only for the man to be imprisoned by the Order once more was infuriating. The feeling didn't lessen, when he remembered that Kanda had only accepted this, so he could help him. It made a coil of guilt wind up inside of his stomach, just like it had done every other night that he had spent sleeplessly turning around in his makeshift bed.

Kanda on the other hand was slightly disturbed by the way Allen's cheeks seemed to have sunk in and his gloveless fingers seemed to be more blueish than pale. Reaching up to shake his fingers through his slightly knotted ponytail, he nodded his head in a final greeting.

"I brought food." Kanda shook his rather large backpack for emphasis and started to take steps to walk past Allen.

"I have a comb." Allen shot back, deciding that Kanda's scrutinizing one-over deserved an appropriate response. Emotional reunions were definitely not something they were good at, at least when it came to each other. Still, the offer of company and food made him smile as he turned around to walk besides Kanda and let him inside.

The place looked just like he had left it, maybe slightly messier and with a larger make shift bed next to the fire in the middle of the room. The closet doors were opened to let the heat form the fire keep the few shirts and pants dry and not let them get mouldy, and Allen's coat had been thrown over one of the doors for the same purpose. A few candles were lit – one in each corner of the room, to not let the shadows grow too dark and long, exposing the shabby looking walls. It really was a miracle that this place still was standing, but they both were thankful for it.

Allen went over to the fire and made sure that it was still going strong before sitting down on his bed and pulling his knees up to his chin. It was awkward between them, when they didn't have to keep up the pretence of always being angry with each other. And even though they had a mutual understanding of doing what they could to help one another, Kanda being here, now, after having been freed was a burden that he could not shake.

Kanda made sure that the door was boarded up before he followed Allen to the fire. Kneeling down, he took off his backpack and took out a few pastries and large sandwiches that he had gotten in the last town that still had people living there. The pastries were passed over to Allen along with one of the sandwiches, which the teen took gladly – never one to refuse free food, especially now, when he, well they, would have to work hard to supplement themselves.

"Are you sure they won't find us this time?"

"Komui sent me on a mission to Russia. The finder died and there was no one left to monitor me." They would be safe here for a while, Kanda was sure.

Allen looked down and said a quiet prayer for the finder and everyone else who had lost their lives, when he was not able to do anything to protect them. After munching down two of the pastries Allen looked up again. "..How's Johnny?"

"He is monitored and not allowed to leave his quarters. They have been rather lenient with him." Which were to say that the scientist hadn't been tortured, at least not to his knowledge.

That brought a small smile to Allen's face. As much as he had been worried about Kanda's safety, he knew that the stern man would survive. Johnny on the other hand was more fragile with a heart of gold and Allen would not be able to ever forgive himself for putting him in harm's way. "I'm glad."

They didn't talk much after that. With Kanda being comfortable with silence as par usual and Allen not really knowing what to say when idle chitchat wasn't welcomed, a quiet overtook them. It was a comfortable kind of quiet though, and when they both settled down for the night on the makeshift bed, the warmth shared between them made them both feel satisfied even in the condition they were in.

It was no surprise, really, to find Allen spooning up against Kanda's back in the morning, so deep in his sleep that saliva seemed to be making its way to the back of Kanda's neck.