AN: SO SO SO SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING! I was sick for a while, then my family went to Nebraska to meet up with my dad. Then- *gets hit in the face by rotten tomato* Okay, yeah, it doesn't matter, I'm here now. This one is going to be extremely OOC for a lot of the characters, including Hevlaska (I think), Jerry, Komui, and Kanda. I'm not sure on Hevvie, cuz' I've only seen her a few times on screen. Thanks for sticking around with me for the first few chapters, guys! For one of my anonymous requests for romance, I decided that this one would be mainly fluff. And I added a little LaviLena as a side pairing.

Thanks to all of my reviewers and readers, especially SisBloodCarnivalOtaku. Your reviews make me laugh every time!

And kudos to Hanashi o suru for being the first to guess who Allen was meeting. (It's Hevlaska, for you out there who didn't know)

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

ON WITH THE SHOW!


Allen walked two steps behind Komui as the scientist led him down a maze of hallways. They came to a large door with intricate designs engraved in the wood. Komui pushed firmly against the door and it creaked open ominously.

Allen peeked into the adjacent room. The shadows concealed most everything. All he could make out with the meager light was a square of metal. Railings sprung from the sides, and a small rectangular box rose to about chest height. It tilted away from him, and he couldn't make out any details beyond that. Komui's glasses glinted devilishly as he tilted his head.

'Oh, god, what did I get myself into?' The boy though anxiously.

"Ahem. Are we gonna just stand here like pussies afraid of the dark, or are we gonna get on with this?" Kanda demanded from behind the two. The spectacled man chuckled and strode inside. Allen hesitated, only to be pushed forward by Kanda.

"Che. Scaredy neko." Allen grumbled to himself and walked forward reluctantly. Kanda followed. They walked up to the metal square. Komui stood on top of it, one hand resting on the railing.

"Hey, come on up you two!" Allen walked around the thing, looking for a place to mount, when his foot hit an edge and he stumbled. A loose tile, dislodged by his foot, was sent over the edge and plummeted downwards. He cried out in fear and wrapped his arms tightly around the metal bars.

Komui glanced over. "Oops, watch your step!"

Thunk!

The tile's collision echoed up after a long eight seconds. Allen sweatdropped and looked at Komui. The purple-haired man tipped his head slightly and looked at him questioningly.

"How deep is this?" Allen's voice trembled as he spoke.

Biting his fingernail, Komui thought hard. "I don't actually know. It might be to the center of the earth for all we know, truthfully. But of course, that's impossible," he added at Allen's incredulous look. "We would be able to see the light from the lava at the center of the earth, and feel the heat. And we would be burned alive by the time we got to where we are going."

Allen was not comforted.

Kanda reached over the railing and snatched Allen's collar. With little effort, he lifted the boy from his precarious situation and into his own strong arms.

"Wha- hey, Kanda! Put me down!" Allen struggled slightly as the bluenette cradled him like a child. Kanda smirked at him.

"And why should I do that, Moyashi?" Allen growled at the nickname. He shoved harder at Kanda's chest, knocking himself out of the firm grasp and onto the metal ground. His head clanked against the hard surface.

"Ooowww…"

Komui looked down disinterestedly. "Are you two finished? I don't suggest you keep Hevlaska waiting; she's a very important…person."

"Yeah Moyashi, for once I agree with the idiot. Hurry up so we can get this over with."

Komui nodded in agreement. "Wait, who are you calling an idiot?" He cried out. Allen scrambled to his feet and Komui hunched over the boxy rectangle, which Allen could now see had multiple buttons and joysticks protruding from it. The mad scientist gleefully laughed, one hand poised over a large red button. His spectacles glinted, obscuring his eyes, and Allen got the sudden feeling that something bad was going to happen.

Komui smashed his hand down on the button, and the platform was thrown into action. It plummeted downward, faster than if it were free-falling. Komui put his hands in the air like a child on a rollercoaster, and Kanda stood indifferently as the machine sparked dangerously. Allen, on the other hand, was huddled in the corner of the platform, hugging the railings like they were a lifeline.

Komui cackled and pressed more buttons, eventually slowing the monstrosity to a stop. Allen immediately stood and tottered off of it, falling to his knees and emptying his stomach of its contents.

The other two calmly exited the machine and stood by as Allen heaved. Kanda felt a slight urge to help, but was deterred by the terrible sounds the younger boy was making. The two men waited a moment for Allen to compose himself.

Wiping his mouth, he stood and the three started walking towards another huge abyss. Allen couldn't see the other side of the chasm; the light barely shone at all here. There was a faint glow emitting from the depths, though. Allen wondered at the light.

A strange, glowing creature rose up from the abyss, snakelike tentacles waving about. Instead of eyes, there were projections layered over its forehead. Below a small nose was a dark, feminine mouth. The thing towered high above the three people.

"Whoa." The whitette said pathetically. He gasped as one tentacle reached out towards him. It wrapped itself around his waist and lifted him high into the air. Allen didn't struggle, as one would think natural. Instead, he relaxed into the hold.

"Hello, Allen Walker. My name is Hevlaska." The monster said in a decidedly female voice. Komui chuckled slightly as he explained.

"Hevlaska is an exorcist, just like you or Kanda. Except her job isn't to fight akuma, it's to keep the Innocence safe. She's just going to check your synchronization levels with your Innocence."

Hevlaska brought him closer to her massive forehead, touching his gently. A bright light emitted from the point of contact, and Allen let out a small gasp.

Kanda watched with slight apprehension as the light faded out and Hevlaska hadn't said any sync ratings. The large being pulled away from Allen in shock. She moved Allen quickly but carefully back down to the ground.

The boy stepped out of her hold and looked up at her, confused. Komui mimicked him, asking, "What's wrong? What's his sync level?"

Hevlaska bit her lip and hesitated. "Komui… this boy doesn't have a sync rate." The beret-wearing Supervisor inhaled sharply.

"What do you mean 'he doesn't have a sync rate'? He's got Innocence; he's got to have a rate!"

"I meant what I said; there is no synchronization rate for Allen Walker. It's like his Innocence doesn't even exist," she said wonderingly, "but it's right there in his arm."

Komui put his chin in his hand and hummed. Allen shifted back to Kanda's side and took the taller male's hand in his. He felt his companion stiffen for a moment before squeezing his fingers gently. Allen smiled.

"So, baka scientist, what do you think happened? Can the kid be an exorcist?" Kanda prodded.

"I'm not sure. Do we even know if he can invoke? If he can't, he wouldn't be much help in a fight. He would be more like dead weight." Allen cringed at the thought of being dead weight and hung his head slightly. Kanda noticed this and nearly decapitated the beret-wearing idiot. Komui caught his slip-up and quickly attempted to correct himself.

"Not that you would ever be dead weight, I was just speaking hypothetically, like if you couldn't invoke!" He stopped for a moment. "You can invoke, right?" Allen thought for a moment, then nodded.

"You mean I can make my arm change, right? Yeah, I can do that. But," he added as an afterthought, "Is it supposed to hurt?"

Komui frowned at the boy. "What do you mean, it hurts? When you invoke?" Allen nodded.

"It's like a bajillion hot pokers stuck in my skin. It's mostly bearable, but I didn't think that was natural." Komui shook his head.

"No, it's not. I'm going to run a few experiments on your Innocence, if that's all right with you?"

Allen nodded eagerly. "Yeah, of course! Anything to help me become an exorcist!" Kanda looked on disbelievingly as the three retraced their path to the main hallway. Allen was bouncing on the balls of his feet, nearly pushing the scientist back to his office in his haste.

'I wonder if he knows what he's getting himself into, becoming a weapon of God.' Kanda thought as the three arrived at the imposing doorway.

"Alright, Kanda, I think you should go back to your room now. I don't want there to be any distractions while I am running these experiments."

Kanda opened his mouth to argue, but saw the no-nonsense look on the scientist's face. It was one of the rare moments when he was deadly serious.

"Che. Whatever, do what you want. I'm going to take a nap." He stalked off, turning around the corner and out of sight.

Komui smiled down at Allen, who was wistfully staring at the spot Kanda disappeared from. The whitette sighed and smiled politely as the older man escorted him through the large doors to his office.

Komui led him over to a silver examining table, motioning for him to sit down on it. Allen heaved his small body off of the floor and on top of the uncomfortable surface. The spectacled man waded through some of the mounds of paperwork on the floor and reached for a gigantic drill hung on the wall behind his desk.

Apprehensively, Allen cleared his throat. Once he had the other's attention, he started to speak. "What kind of experiments are you going to do, exactly? That doesn't look like a very scientific tool."

An evil glint across Komui's glasses obscured his eyes from sight. "Why, of course it's a scientific tool! What person doesn't own a scientific drill that can puncture titanium and make its way through three feet of solid steel in five minutes?"

Gulp

"Besides, it's only to open up your Innocence arm so that I can dig around with some of my smaller tools…" He pointed to an array of small scalpels and lethal-looking knives. Next to these were several syringes with extra-long needles.

Allen felt the blood drain out of his face, and his breath hitched in his throat. Komui brandished the drill, which was spinning rapidly. His mouth twitched up into a sadistic smile.

Kanda heard the screams from Allen long before he made it to his room. He scowled at the finders who raised their heads at the sudden commotion. "What the hell are you looking at?! Get outta here, before I introduce you to Mugen." His hand drifted towards the hilt of his sword, but the finders were already long gone.


"Finally, some peace and quiet." He continued walking until he found himself at the entrance to the cafeteria. 'Well, might as well have some food before hitting the hay.'

He walked into the room, vaulted ceilings making every step echo louder in the large room. The fancy windows cast different colored patterns onto the tables, making everything sort of shimmery. Kanda strode over to the small window, where Jerry leaned over the countertop to look him in the eyes.

"So, who's that new kid I've been hearing about? I can't help but overhear that he was in pretty bad shape when he got here!" The dark-skinned man flicked his purple braids over his shoulder, waiting expectantly for an answer.

"Che, he's just some kid with Innocence. Nothing special about him." Kanda felt somewhat guilty about saying this, but he knew that if Jerry knew the half of what had actually happened to Allen, he would be too busy sobbing to make his soba.

The enthusiastic chef was done with Kanda's order and pushing it into his hands before Kanda could count to ten.

"I made a little extra this time, since I noticed you just got back from a mission a while ago. You haven't been down here since then, and I figured you were especially hungry! Bye-bye, Kanda!" Jerry called out in his sing-songy voice as Kanda walked away. The blue-haired man smirked on the inside, not revealing any emotion on his face.

'That idiot is pretty damn observant, isn't he? Plus, he makes the best soba in Europe.'

Kanda sat down at an empty table, ignoring the snippets of conversation floating around him. No one dared to sit next to him, for they all knew about his volatile temper and skill with a sword. He didn't mind. In fact, he appreciated the silence.

He broke his chopsticks apart, muttering a quick 'Itadakimasu' before digging in.

After he finished his meal, Kanda dumped his empty plate in the pile and left the room. He made his way to his room, pushing open the door.

There, lying on his bed, in his room, was that idiot beansprout. The fool was snoring lightly, wrapped up in the dark comforter and drooling slightly on his pillow. And it was possibly the cutest thing Kanda had ever seen.

"Che, you idiot." He moved to stand over the boy and gently wiped the drool from his chin. "Oh man, I can't believe I'm actually doing this." Kanda scooted the boy over to the far side of the bed and started to disrobe. First came the sword, which he placed against the wall. Then the jacket. Next, he unwrapped the bandages from around his chest. He sat on the edge of the bed to unlace his shoes and pulled them off smoothly.

Left in only his pants, Kanda turned back to the boy in his bed. He lifted the covers high enough to climb in underneath them, watching with genuine interest as gooseflesh erupted all along Allen's arms and stomach. The boy's hand rested lax against the smooth skin of his chest, and the other was shoved under the pillow.

Kanda clambered into his bed, avoiding contact with the kid. After a few minutes, when Allen rolled over and pulled the majority of the blankets to the other side, he gave in.

Kanda slid over to Allen's half of the bed and gently rolled the boy over. He nearly gasped at how cold his skin was. The bluenette sighed as he pulled Allen into a somewhat spooning position. Allen cuddled himself into the source of warmth that heated his body so well, nuzzling his face into Kanda's arm.

The older's eyes widened marginally as Allen moved closer into his chest, and wrapped his strong arms firmly around the chilled boy. He drifted off to sleep, holding Allen closer than anyone had gotten in a long time.


The sun peeked over the windowsill, shining brightly into Kanda's eyes. He blinked, ducking his head out of the path of the light. He found himself nose-to-nose with an awakened Allen. They stared at each other from this close proximity for a long minute, before Allen glanced away.

Kanda noticed how foggy the whitette's gaze was, and tilted his companion's chin up. Allen was forced to look Kanda in the eyes again, allowing the older to get a better view of the moony orbs.

"Are you feeling okay? You don't look too well," he murmured gently. Allen shook his head.

"I'm fine, thank you." Allen pushed firmly against Kanda's chest, trying to free himself, to no avail. Kanda only tightened his grip, pinning Allen's arms.

"Hold on, let me check." He leaned his head forward, touching Allen's forehead with his own. "Jeezus, you are absolutely not fine! You're burning up!" he said exasperatedly "What the hell did Komui do to you yesterday?" Allen's brow furrowed, like he was thinking hard.

"Um, he used a big drill thingy and a lot of needles. He was looking for a defect in my Innocence, I think." Kanda sighed and stood, pulling his exorcist jacket on over his bare chest. He didn't bother with the bandages, leaving them in a pile on the floor, as he bundled Allen into his arms.

"He-hey, what are you doing? Put me down!" Kanda shook his head.

"No way, Beansprout. I'm taking you to the infirmary to find out what the hell that idiot scientist did to you, and then I'm gonna go rip his head off." Allen nodded absently before slipping off to sleep again.

Kanda managed to open the door and slip undetected into the empty hallway. He started walking slowly down the hallway to the infirmary, keeping his strides even, so as to not disturb Allen too much.

He came across Lenalee just as he was reaching the door he wanted. She rushed forward to open the door for him, not recognizing exactly what he was carrying. She smiled politely before spotting the head of white hair peeking out of the crook of Kanda's arm.

"Oh my goodness, Allen! Is he alright? What's wrong with him?" She asked frantically. Kanda pushed his way through the entrance before answering.

"I…found him this morning in the halls." 'I can't tell her we slept in the same bed, she'll have a heyday.'

"He has a major fever, and he doesn't stay awake for very long at a time. I know your brother ran some tests on him yesterday, I figure that's what caused this. A bad reaction, maybe." Lenalee nodded.

"I'm gonna go have a little chat with Nii-san; you don't have to worry about it." She said, anticipating his intentions. The girl left, green pigtails bouncing angrily.

Kanda got the attention of a nurse doing morning rounds, and set Allen down on a white hospital bed. The white sheets crinkled under his slight weight, making Kanda cringe. He took one final look at the scarred form in front of him before turning on his heel and marching out of the room.

Ugh, he couldn't stand sick people. Always begging for help, spreading their nasty germs everywhere and sneezing and coughing all day long. They were the epitome of helplessness, something Kanda wanted to avoid at all costs. He went back to his room, snatching Mugen from where it rested against the wall. He slung the strap over his shoulders, and left once more.

He started towards the training hall, then thought better of it. He instead turned towards the cafeteria, where he knew the Baka Usagi would be at this time. He was in the mood for some rabbit stew.

Kanda didn't even make it to the cafeteria doors before he could both see and hear the Usagi bounding towards him, arms outstretched and crocodile tears comically streaming down his face. An instant before long arms wrapped themselves around Kanda, the samurai unsheathed his katana and shoved the tip into Lavi's face.

"Don't come any closer if you want to keep your carrot top in place." Lavi held up his hands in a non-threatening manner and stepped back.

"Sorry, Yuu! But what do you have against physical contact? It's a part of life essential to proper emotional development," he said slyly. "Which you have obviously not had enough of."

Kanda ground his teeth. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. "Shut the fuck up. I'm not in the mood to deal with idiots today."

Lavi immediately sobered. "Is it about Allen? Lenalee told me he wasn't in such good shape this morning." He sighed, leaning against the wall. Kanda blinked, somewhat confused. The attitude change had seemingly aged Lavi ten years. Lines appeared in his young face and his eyes darkened, gaining an experienced look.

Kanda forced his face back into neutrality, saying, "Che, that idiot is fine. He's just a wimp who can't take a fever."

The redhead looked up, pushing himself off of the wall, anger flashing in his eyes. "Lenalee also said that when she went back to check up on Allen a few minutes ago, that the nurse said he had a temperature of 103.4. People can die with a temp like that!"

Kanda stared at the teen. "Y-you're kidding! There's no way he was that warm when I woke up, and that was just an hour ago! How could his fever go up so much in such a short time?!"

Lavi started to answer. "I don't know, bu- wait, did you say 'when you woke up'? What do you mean by that?" Kanda felt his face flush as Lavi wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "What did you do to the bean last night?"

"Nothing! I didn't do anything to him; he was sleeping in my bed when I found him!"

Lavi 'ooh'ed quietly. "So, what did you do when you found him?"

"I moved him over and I slept in my bed. If I find out you told a soul about this, you might just not wake up one morning." Kanda glowered at the rabbit in front of him, who was smothering his chortles with a hand.

Lavi composed himself, the amused twinkle back in his aura. "Cross my heart and hope to die, Yuu." He tilted his head as Kanda didn't react to his given name. "Yuu? What's wrong?"

Kanda shook his head. "I'm actually worried about that little idiot. I don't know what he did to get himself so sick. And what if his heart thingamajigger acts up while he's got a fever like that?" The teen sighed and plopped his head in his hands. "I just don't want him to die, that's all."

Lavi stared in awe as the stoic samurai finally opened up to him. He resisted the urge to do a happy dance, and equipped himself with a more solemn demeanor. "Don't act this way, Kanda. It doesn't suit you. You know that Allen's made of tougher stuff than this illness, whatever it is, can knock down. He's gonna pull through, mark my words. And have a little faith, you jackass," he said jokingly. "Allen wouldn't like to see anybody this down for him, especially not you." Kanda looked up questioningly. Lavi grinned back at him. "I can tell already, that kid loves you."

Lavi turned on his heel and walked out, leaving Kanda to sift through his feelings at the sudden revelation. The long-haired male sighed heavily.

'What's with all the sighing lately? It's like ever since I met Beansprout, I can't go ten minutes without doing that!' Kanda shook his head and went through the doors to the cafeteria. He walked up to Jerry's window glumly, eliciting an 'aawww…' from the purple-haired chef.

"What's with the long face, Kanda? It's not a very good look on you, ya know. You should go back to glaring, you wear it better."

Kanda gave Jerry a halfhearted scowl, glancing up at him. He pushed his shoulders back and stood straighter, brushing strands of blue hair from his ponytail back into their rightful positions. While his overall demeanor was back to normal, he still couldn't bring himself to yell at anyone.

"Just give me something for a sick person," he huffed. "Chicken broth is good for that, right?"

Jerry nodded sympathetically. "So, who's the poor soul who got sick in the middle of spring?" Kanda let his shoulders slump slightly.

"That new kid you were asking about earlier, Allen. I don't know what's wrong with him, but he has a really high fever." Jerry put a hand to his chin and leaned out of the window to lock gazes with the grumpy teen.

"This Allen, I haven't met him yet. What can you tell me about him?" Kanda chuckled darkly.

"Let me put it this way. He told me his life story, then made me promise not to tell anyone the bad parts. So I can't breathe a word of it to anyone without breaking that promise." Kanda thought for a moment. "No, I can't really say anything about him; it's not my business to tell. But Lavi said that he loves me."

Jerry gasped quickly, hand flying to his mouth. "Oh, dear! May I ask a question?" Kanda nodded absently. "Alright then dear, do you love him back?"

Kanda immediately stared at the charismatic man. "What do you mean, do I love him? What kind of question is that, I've only known the kid for four days!" Jerry smiled knowingly.

"Kanda, if you love somebody, it doesn't matter how long you've known them. It could be love at first sight, for all it matters! I'm just asking if you have feelings for Allen as well."

The teenager thought for a long moment before his eyes softened slightly. "Yes, I think I do have feelings for him. I'm not sure what they are exactly, but they're there!" He was beginning to get a bit excited. "Ahem, Jerry?"

"Yes?" Kanda looked pointedly at the bowl of broth in Jerry's hands that appeared sometime during their conversation.

"I think the broth is getting cold."

"OH MY GOODNESS I AM SO SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO I SWEAR!"


Allen woke in a hazy fog. His brain was muddled, and the only thing he knew was that there was a soft pressure on his right, human hand. He was hot and cold at the same time, and his muscles ached with every movement. He forced his eyelids open.

Immediately, he heard excited voices. One was definitely Lenalee; he could see her blurry green pigtails flying around her form as she turned to someone out of his sight.

Allen tried to push himself into a sitting position, but a multitude of hands kept his back firmly against the sheets. He fought them for a moment, but let exhaustion overtake his muscles. He felt a cool hand against his forehead and cringed away from the chill.

"Allen, you shouldn't sleep yet. Your fever still hasn't broken." Allen automatically turned his heat towards the male voice. 'Kanda? No, that was way too high to be Kanda. Lavi, Maybe?'

"Wh…where's…Kanda?" He forced out. Almost before he said it, footsteps clattered across the room and Allen felt hot breath on his cheek.

"I'm right here, Beansprout." Allen faced the source of the voice and smiled weakly.

"So, why are you here? I expected you to be yelling at some poor finder or trying to chop off Lavi's head." He chuckled a little. Kanda grimaced.

"No, I'm staying right here by you. No worries." He slid his arm under Allen's shoulders and helped him to sit up somewhat. "Here, you need something to eat. I got you some broth." He grabbed a bowl from the bedside table. Allen could see faint wisps of steam rising from the liquid inside it.

"M'kay." Allen opened his mouth just enough for Kanda to slip the lip of the bowl between his teeth.

Lenalee smiled at the sight of Kanda being so protective and crept backwards slowly, trying not to draw attention to her. Reaching the door, she exited as quickly as she could manage. She turned to go back to her room and ran headlong into Lavi.

"Woah! Sorry there, Lenalady! You alright?" The redhead caught her arms, keeping her upright.

"Yea, I'm alright. Sorry, that was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going." She grinned sheepishly. Lavi smiled over his shoulder as he passed her, walking to the infirmary door.

"No problem, Lena! I'm just gonna pop in on Allen-chan quick before I leave for my next mission." Lenalee shook her head alarmed.

"Don't go in there!"

Lavi stopped, confused. "What, why not?" Lenalee blushed.

"Um…Kanda is sorta…getting a little bit mushy with Allen. I don't think he'd take too lightly to you interrupting him in the middle of this." Lavi snorted.

"Hah! That's a good one! Kanda, getting mushy? Oh, man, you really have a sense of humor today, doncha?!" Lavi laughed, holding his stomach. Lenalee clenched her fists, anger growing as Lavi laughed at her.

"You stupid idiot!" She hissed. "Keep your voice down, you're going to interrupt them! I'm being serious, now we should leave!"

Lavi stopped laughing abruptly. "Jeez, you're actually serious." He put his hands behind his head. "Alright, I guess we should get outta here, huh?"

Lenalee smiled at his lax position. "Yea, let's go grab some grub before you leave on that mission of yours." They started walking down the hallway, and Lavi tentatively put his arm around her waist, keeping his hand well out of the danger zones. She, in turn, latched firmly onto his upper arm, going so far as to rest her head against his shoulder.


When Allen had finally finished the last of the broth, Kanda kept the boy propped up against him, partially sitting on the hospital bedside. Allen's eyes drooped sleepily and he pressed his face into the crook of Kanda's neck, where the muscles stretched and knotted with every movement. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, Kanda's fingers drifting lazily through snow-white, silky locks.

"Kanda?" Allen said blearily. Kanda tilted his head to the side to get a better angle.

"Yeah, Moyashi? What's up?" Allen frowned.

"I's no' Moyashi… m' name's Allen, BaKanda. It's only two syllables, get it through your thick skull." He glared the best that he could in his half-conscious state.

The samurai had to stifle a chuckle at the face the child was pulling. His eyebrows were lazily pulled together, but his eyes stayed half-lidded. His nose was pointed upward, lips puckered. It looked more like a failed attempt at puppy-dog eyes than a would-be intimidating glare.

"Dun' laugh, I's not funny." Allen said, pushing his face farther into Kanda's neck.

"Hey, Moyashi, that tickles! Cut it out, you goof!" He put his hand on Allen's forehead to push the younger into a slightly less compromising position, and noticed his temperature. "Che, you're still warm. Wait here, I'm gonna go see if I can find you some antibiotics."

Kanda slipped off of the bed, carefully lowering Allen's head back onto the pillows. He crept quietly to the restroom and found a bottle of fever-reducers in the cabinet over the sink. He gripped the bottle firmly as he went back into the main room, only to find Allen had already returned to dreamland.

"Che, you lightweight. Can't even stay awake for two minutes." He looked down at the boy, whose limbs were already askew in his slumber, and yawned. "Man, I guess I'm more tired than I thought. Last night was the first real night of rest I've had in a long time, I guess. It probably wouldn't hurt to sneak in a few hours."

He gently moved Moyashi to the other side of the bed, much like the night before. He slid in beside the sleeping beauty and watched his eyes flicker under the lids. When he started to panic from an apparent nightmare, Kanda quickly wrapped his arms around the thin frame. He raised Allen's head and moved it to rest on his bicep, putting his chin on top of the white hair. Allen calmed and settled back into a comfortable slumber.

He drifted off, dreaming of pure white beansprouts and dark blue cats.


AN: Kinda random at the end, but at least it wasn't a nightmare. Tee-hee! Don't kill me for making Jerry be a therapist here, 'kay? It could be his second job if he wanted. So, press that pretty button down below and tell me what you thought!

Words: 5,100 Yippee!