Chapter 3:

Timcanpy

-oOo-

"I'm so sorry."

The words rang out in Allen's ear, but he didn't know what he should feel toward them. The only thought that occurred to him was that he should be out there trying to find his puppy. So it was no surprise that after all was said and done he began trying to exit the apartment- in nothing but Kanda's borrowed sweatshirt and boxers. The long haired man- the most coherent of the three standing around- pulled Allen back by the collar of his shirt.

The boy struggled for a moment. "Let go of me, Kanda." His struggle continued in vain as Kanda snaked an arm around his waist, and he knew he would not be able to leave the apartment like he wanted to.

"Put some clothes on, you idiot bean."

Honestly, Allen didn't think it was necessary to wear anything more than what he currently had on. Every second wasted was another moment that Tim would be out there somewhere alone, and possibly in danger. But Kanda wouldn't let up, and he grudgingly threw on the sweatpants that he had originally left in the bathroom and grabbed his jacket on the rack at the door. He once again tried to just run off, nowhere in particular, to search but Kanda had managed to get both him and Lenalee into his van.

That was how they began their search in the middle of the night. The vehicle shrouded in silence. They were driving toward the area of Lenalee's neighbourhood since that was where she had been taking Timcanpy for a walk. Kanda gave her a look for walking the dog so late. She said it was something to do because her brother was working overtime. They had made it back safely to her place, so that had not even been the real issue.

When she was distracted looking for the house keys, Tim had managed to break free from her hold and escaped into the night. She had tried to ran after him but the lack of light due to the breaks in street lamps had made it difficult. Eventually Tim had darted into some bushes and though she had tried searching blindly around the area for a while, she had had no luck. That had brought her to Allen's -well technically Kanda's doorstep- hoping and thinking that maybe the dog had simply returned to its owner. She'd said as much.

"I thought that he would come back to you, Allen. Or maybe, if he got lost he would find you instead of me."

That made Allen think. And he banged his palm against the dashboard like an idea had physically struck him. "Kanda!" In hindsight the boy should have probably spoken in a less panicked voice, or given directions with the exclamation of the older man's name. Possibly a combination of both. But he didn't and Kanda ground to a halt- smashing down on the brakes causing them to jolt forward in their seats- the seatbelts locking, forcing them to ricochet back against the chair backs. Lenalee hadn't been buckled in, but her reflexes were quick enough to use her hands as a brace to keep from going in between the two front seats. She groaned. Kanda cursed.

"What the hell was that, Moyashi." He didn't actually want a response. Not really. Allen gave one anyway.

"Turn around." Kanda didn't move the vehicle. "I think I know where Tim is." Kanda just kept looking at him through narrowed eyes, but the man finally sighed and did what the white haired youth had suggested.

Allen heard the click and looked into the rearview mirror to see that Lenalee had learnt her lesson, taken precaution, and buckled her seatbelt. When they were on the move again, Allen didn't keep them in suspense by only giving directions. Instead he told Kanda to head to his old house- which was no longer a house after the fire- and then gave directions at places he thought would get them there faster.

When they had pulled up to the location, Kanda had almost passed it by for two reasons- one, it was dark enough that everything generally looked different than it did in its morning light and two, the fact that the house was no longer standing made it hard to register that they had actually arrived. He began to slow the vehicle, but before making a complete stop and parking, Allen had already begun unbuckling his seatbelt and was hopping out of the vehicle.

"Tim!" He called into the night, hoping the pup would hear him and come running.

Lenalee soon joined him, yelling "Timcanpy."

Allen didn't stay stationery. He moved about the debris while calling out. His chest felt tight moving through the rubble. Seeing, and walking through "doorways" that no longer held doors or were surrounded by walls. He could still map out where each room was meant to be. He walked through the front door, turning left for the kitchen. Melted bowls and cups stuck to the charred wood. Broken bottle splinters lay scattered along the floor. He then made his way through the living room- more broken glass. Cross always liked propping onto the couch, his legs lapped over the handle, a glass of wine in hand. The shattered glass next to what used to be the side table held part of the label intact. Allen felt a pang in his chest. He didn't linger to dwell on it.

The next area Allen found his feet leading him to was his bedroom. There was a dizzying effect that washed over him and made him sway on his feet. His bedroom had been on the second floor, he hadn't gone up a flight, but there his bedroom was- on the first floor. There was the headboard of his bed. The covers- or what was left of them- were black. Blacker than the night sky above them now. Allen couldn't remember if he had actually had black sheets or if whatever colour had previously been there had been burnt and charred to what they were now. Beside his bed was a photo of Allen, Lenalee, Lavi, and Kanda- the first three smiling as Kanda stared off into the distance, a frown on his lips. They were all in their high school uniforms. It was so long ago.

Allen touched where the phantom desk would be, with the picture that no longer was. In the desk drawer under a book had been a picture- for Allen's eyes only. One of him- a smile that was all teeth, and cheeks glowing in a flush of pink- and Kanda, an arm alongside the back of the bench they were sitting on and by extension Allen as well. The white haired teen had sort of been leaning into the older male. His hand stretching out to something in the distance- which Allen remembered being his new camera that he'd been using to take pictures of everything. It was handy for self photos because there was a screen on both sides. He also remembered the slightly widened look of the older's eyes. It was the result of a kiss to his cheek, the same kiss that had brightened Allen's face. The look on Kanda had surprisingly given him a calmer visage. Less severe than his usual grimace and all in all the atmosphere was a happy, soothing one. There was no desk to look into. The wood indistinguishable from all the rest he'd been trudging through. Lots of charred bits and pieces and he knew without looking that the picture was gone. That made another pang in his chest and he had to stop himself from bending down to look for things that were not there.

Lenalee's voice rang out again. Or rather, Allen's mind cleared up from the muddle of nostalgia he'd been experiencing so he was able to hear her once again. He renewed his own cries. He had managed a few steps toward what he could only guess was Cross' room when something moved somewhere to his left. Given the circumstances a shift shouldn't have alerted him- not really. They were amidst a graveyard of debris. Things were bound to shift with all the interference of them moving around. Or simply from the weight of itself. But Allen looked anyway, alerted by the sound that rang out in the middle of the night.

He kept staring at the pile, then began moving toward it. The rubble pile shifted again- more violently as if something was about to erupt from within. Something did.

Timcanpy came bolting out, rushing toward Allen. The boy fell to his knees to allow the pup to jump upon him. He was met with pitying whines and whimpers. The dog's usually golden brown fur was matted and covered in dirt and soot, and everything else expected of being hidden beneath burnt remains. Allen hugged the pup to him, the thought of his clothes being stained with the same things not even crossing his mind. He must have made a sound when he had first seen Tim, because Lenalee's calls had stopped and she was a lot closer to where Allen himself was. Kanda was walking over from a direction different from where his vehicle was parked, and the younger teen figured maybe he had been searching too.

Allen put the pup back on the floor and looked it in its big, round, chocolate brown eyes. The phrase puppy dog eyes never rang truer, but Allen was resolute and fixed his hands firmly on his hips.

"Tim." He began. His voice reproaching. Timcanpy already seemed to know what was coming as he hung his head. "You shouldn't have ran away from Lenalee. What you did had us worried sick. She's the one that has to look after you right now, so you shouldn't do things to bother her. Let's get you back home."

He tried to pick Tim up but the puppy lifted its head and bit him on his blackened hand. It was a warning bite, and it hurt. Timcanpy didn't let go of his hand, puppy eyes not looking angry but...saddened? Allen understood almost immediately. Timcanpy didn't want to go home, because the broken remains out the house they were in was their home.

The white haired teen looked at the pile of rubble that Tim had been under only moments ago. Like with Allen's room, he could make out the headboard- or pieces of it- to what used to be Cross' bed. He knew that the days when Cross stayed at home, and hadn't been drinking in the living room, Tim would be curled upon Cross' bed as the man sat there with a hand on the pup's head, not really petting but the pup enjoyed it nonetheless. A drink or smoke to his lips. It was one of those rare affectionate moments that reminded Allen that the older redhead was capable of regular human emotions.

He sighed and put his unaffected hand on the puppy's head. "Tim-" If animals could cry- cry the way humans could- Allen imagined he would see tears running down the pup's face. "We can't stay here. I know you miss Master but, there's nothing here for us anymore." Timcanpy whimpered relinquishing his hold on Allen's hand. The boy quickly gathered the pup into his arms once more, hugging it to him. Tim didn't try biting him again even as Allen began leaving the house remains.

He and Lenalee shared a look. Her eyes saying "I'm sorry," but he just shook his head. It was no one's fault. With the revelation of the night, Allen was sure even if Tim had stayed with him at Kanda's, at one point or another the pup would have run off just as it had did that night.

Allen heard the click of a door closing and saw that Kanda had re-entered the vehicle, starting up the engine while he was at it. That got Lenalee and Allen in the vehicle as well, the latter sitting in the back seats instead. Having Tim missing even for a short time, and the stress of worrying and searching took its toll on the teen and he drifted off to sleep, not really knowing it had happened.

He only knew he had fallen asleep when he had woken up to the vehicle stopping. They were back at Kanda's apartment. Allen looked around the backseat beside himself where Lenalee had been sitting as well to see the girl not present. A bubble of panic swelled in him because if she was not there, then that meant he had slept through seeing Tim off. But when his eyes had swept the vicinity he was made aware of the fluffy blanket draped across his lap and looked to see that it was actually Timcanpy asleep on him. A yawn escaped him, as he lifted the pup and got out of the vehicle, Kanda had just existed it himself.

"Is Lenalee here?" The edges of his voice were coloured in the remnants of sleep.

"Why would she be." It wasn't a question. But the question of why Tim was still with him at the moment was bouncing around in his mind. Not that he minded but…

"Um...what about Tim? I mean, I thought you didn't want him here…."

"And I don't." Blunt as ever. "But I also don't want your bitching and whining either." He gave the younger a sidelong glance.

Allen was still really tired. Maybe that was why he just smiled and said, "Thank you, Kanda." And maybe it was the mixture of tiredness and the memory of the picture from the house that made him place an unsuspecting chaste kiss upon Kanda's cheek. When the older man's eyes widened just a fraction, it made Allen smile more. The nonchalant 'tch' had him grinning.

When they had gotten upstairs, Kanda took a shower. After he was done, so did Allen before he also sat Tim in the tub to get his fur clean. Thankfully the pup enjoyed water and so Allen found himself laughing as Tim shook and hopped in the tub, splashing water onto him. When Tim was appropriately clean Allen lifted him out and began towelling him off. He told Tim to sit, as he got around to cleaning up the bathroom making sure there was no dirt or fur traces left about- as well as the water that had gotten onto the floor. By the time Allen opened the bathroom door, Tim pranced out in the bedroom. Allen looked up to see Kanda eyeing the dog suspiciously as if any moment he would start chewing on things or peeing in corners, and generally latching on to things that weren't his own. A sheepish smile stretched Allen's lips.

He got into bed with Tim on his lap, ruffling his fur and petting him head. When Tim rolled over, it was a clear sign to start a belly rub, and Allen complied. Kanda just sat there, not even trying to hide the look of disdain on his face, a book that Allen couldn't see the name of, held in his lap. Tim got off of Allen's lap and started traipsing along the edges of the queen sized bed.

Kanda's head turned and tracked the pup's every movement. He looked ready to say something at any moment, lips parting to get the words out. Allen placed a hand on the older man's cheek and gently turned his face to his own. Now the man seemed ready to say something else, maybe it was the ways the light reflected and shifted in his eyes that Allen knew, but he didn't let those words come out either. He leant forward into the other, pressing their lips firmly together. It was brief and soft before Allen moved back with a small smile. "Really. Thanks, Yu."

He didn't get to stay away for long. Kanda snaked an arm around his slender hips, pulling him closer to be slightly pressed against Kanda's side. He hummed in appreciation as their lips met again and again, moving sensually- one against the other. Allen twisted his body to meet the kiss easier, and parted his lips- Kanda's tongue darting inside.

And then another tongue licked the side of his face.

Allen pulled back a bit startled, Kanda doing the same while uttering an expletive. Timcanpy pawed at Allen, and then the boy laughed receiving many more affectionate licks upon his hand and face. A few catching his mouth. Allen cooed as if it were the most normal thing in the world as he renewed the pats and rubs to Tim with vigor. Kanda looked disgusted.

"That mutt is not sleeping on this bed."

"Aww." Allen continued cooing at the pup. "Someone's jealous he's not getting lovely puppy kisses."

"Screw that. Brush your damn teeth."

Allen stared off into space looking at the ceiling. "No." He spoke as Timcanpy continued to lick his face, also now playfully biting at his fingers periodically. "That way I don't have to worry about about being sexually harassed as I sleep."

"Who said anything about having to kiss you."

Allen looked a bit put out. "Jesus. You're such a creep. Is this what I'll have to deal with every night? Maybe I should just sleep on the couch."

"Don't you ever shut up?"

"Only if you make me." And he instantly realised the error in his words especially with the way Kanda's eyes narrowed like he was thinking of all the ways such a thing was possible. He doubled back quickly. "No."

Kanda clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth. "It's almost freakin' midnight, Moyashi. Put the mutt on the floor or you can both bond outside."

The younger boy huffed and in a moment of petulance, he stuck his tongue out at his lover. At that very moment Tim gave another lick at Allen's face and the pup's tongue swiped at his own. He made a face when it happened, but Kanda- never one to fear showing his disapproval for things he didn't like- looked beyond disgusted as if he would gag at any moment.

Before Allen was able to put Timcanpy down on the floor onto a couch cushion that he had placed there previously, the pup wriggled out of his hold bounding over Kanda's outstretched legs, and going toward the side table. The teen stretched half his body over the older man in order to reach the pup, and saw what had gained his attention. Cross' mask still sat atop the desk surface from where he had left it before they had gone out to search for Tim.

He plucked it from the night stand and Tim's eyes followed wherever it went. He moved it from side to side seeing the pup's head turn with each action to keep track. When he was tired of it he picked his pup up in one hand and kept the mask in the other, before placing them both on the cushion. Tim lay his head beside the object and curled protectively around it as if it were a favourite toy. Something precious. Allen turned over to lay on his stomach, his body close to the edge of the bed so that he could easily stretch his hand down to pat the pup's head and back.

Somewhere along the way, Allen once again managed to fall asleep without knowing when. When he had woken up the bedside clock showed that he had only been unconscious for about an hour and a half. There was a numbing feeling in his arm, the one he had been dangling off the ledge, and the longer he was awake, the pins and needle feeling tingled his skin. He also took in the fact that he had changed positions sometime during the short rest- now settled against Kanda's side, the man's arm below him. He wondered if Kanda had brought him closer or if he himself had moved to seek his lover's warmth.

One thing- well two things he did know was that Kanda would possibly experience the lovely pins and needles feeling in the morning. The other thing was that he hadn't actually brushed his teeth before bed, not that it had really mattered anymore, but-

He padded his way to the bathroom, quickly brushing his teeth before making his way back to bed. Kanda hadn't moved an inch. He reclaimed his spot in the man's arms and found himself simply staring at the man's face for an indescribable amount of time. It could have been a few minutes, maybe only mere seconds. Time began to wear him down and this time he felt as sleep coloured the edges of his mind. He placed a chaste kiss on Kanda's lips and let his eyes draw shut.

A/N: So I'm still not sure what I feel for chapter 3. I was iffy about it before but the longer it's up, I really find myself not particularly liking it. Maybe I'll rewrite it sometime later or edit out some stuff. Like maybe the intimacy in particular happened too soon. That's my biggest issue.