A/N: I just felt like warning you right from the get go that a box of tissues might be in order for this chapter. Also there's something within this chapter that Lavi says that am sure it will make you go "omg" I wonder if you guys can find it.

Thanks to: RhiannonWolf, CrimsonChains, msdragonwings, 99DenmonChick99, Masked-Flame, LightMyBulb, Nekozawa-sempai, and pandy334. Also a big thanks to all my readers out there.

Don't forget them tissues!

Onwards to the story!

Enjoy~

XxXxoooxXxX

The cold was sucking the strength from his limbs, to the point that if he wasn't tied to a pole he would have collapsed already. His shivering had become more violent as the time passed. Numbness was setting into his limbs and his head drooped down, chin almost touching his chest as he didn't have enough strength to keep it up. The snow continued to come down and he could feel the icy flakes settle on his already freezing body.

I can't sleep; if I do I'll die. He thought, struggling to keep himself conscious.

Maybe I'd get to see Mana again. No, Mana wouldn't want me to give up without a fight. Allen tried to cheer himself up in his bleak and hopeless situation.

He tried to move his hands to see if he could loosen his bonds. It was a no go since his limbs didn't want to cooperate anymore.

Damn it! Damn it, I can't die here like a tied up animal. Allen thought angrily. I can't die without seeing Lavi's face again.

The young man was slowly losing his will to keep on fighting as the bitter cold continued to sap what little strength he had left. However, even thought the situation seemed bleak and hopeless, Allen continued to fight I hopes that he would get to see Lavi again. Even though the rest of his body was slowly succumbing to the deadly touch of the biting cold.

God knows how long he spent tied up against that cold pole, with snow piling on his exposed body and on the verge of death. A warm touch came to his icy skin as his head was gently tilted back. He heard muffled voices near him, and he struggled through the haze of his dying body to understand what was being said.

"Oh god, oh my god," he recognized Lavi's voice.

"Is he still alive?" Lenalee's voice reached him.

A touch came to his pulse as Lavi, who he assumed was standing in front of him, checked for a heartbeat.

"Barely, he's cold as ice." Lavi responded.

"Damn bean sprout." Kanda's voice floated to him as well.

Someone untied his bonds and he weakly stumbled forwards without the only thing keeping him upright. He was gently caught and held gingerly against a warm body. His gag and blindfold were also removed, and the youth struggled to open his eyes and look around. Everything was all blurry and fuzzy, and it made him feel afraid.

"Allen, can you hear me?" Lavi asked.

The youth looked up at the blur of red that was Lavi and struggled to formulate words. In the end his now blue-ish lips trembled slightly, so he just gave a partial nod.

"God Allen," the redhead murmured.

Another touch came to his face from a different pair of hands. His head was none too gently turned this way and that, and a light was shined in his eyes.

"Lavi, this kid is dying. He is hypothermic, very much so considering how long he's been like this." Kanda grumbled.

"His pulse is very weak too," the redhead said softly.

"The hospital is too far from here to take him there and an ambulance would take too long. He'd die before any help comes to him." Lenalee said.

"Let's take him back to my house since our neighborhood is only a few minutes from here. I'll give Gramps an emergency call," said Lavi.

Allen felt himself being gently picked up by a pair of strong arms and he snuggled closer to the source of warmth.

"Lavi, you shouldn't be lifting things with your injuries!" Lenalee scolded.

"Lenalee, Allen is dying. We don't have time for this crap," the redhead replied harshly.

"Fine, fine. Kanda you take Lavi's truck and drive them. I'll follow you," the Chinese girl commanded.

"Why do I have to do any favors for this stupid rabbit and his stupid friend?" the Japanese man growled.

"Kanda," she said warningly.

"Tch," the raven-haired man grunted.

The semi-conscious Allen felt his friend struggling along with the added weight, and buried his face in the other's warm chest. Silence fell over them as Lavi and Kanda climbed into the redhead's truck, the keys still being in the ignition of the unlocked truck. After Lavi got settled, Kanda drove of and he grabbed a blanket off the floor of his truck. Quickly wrapping it around Allen's shivering form to add warmth.

"Stay with me little buddy. Talk to me Allen," said Lavi.

The youth turned his head so he was looking up at his friend even though everything was a little blurry, and struggled to formulate words.

"Where'd…you…go?" the young man said slowly.

"I'm sorry Allen; I really should have known it was a trap. I shouldn't have told you to get inside the car," the elder man said sadly, hugging Allen closer to his body to lend him more warmth.

"Tyki…horrible." Allen mumbled.

"I know Allen," the redhead whispered.

Lavi shifted Allen in a way that he could use both his hands, and took his phone out. Dialing his grandfather's number and waited for Bookman to pick up. With the other hand he gently stroked the youth's face, frowning at the coldness of his skin. Kanda was barreling recklessly down the streets, his excuse being that he didn't want to deal with Lavi if Allen died.

"Hey Gramps, are you busy?" Lavi spoke into the receiver.

Things were silent as the redhead listened to his grandfather babble on the other line.

"It's an emergency Gramps. Allen, he's not doing so great. Yuu says he's dying from hypothermia," the redhead said hurriedly.

"I swear you stupid rabbit; I will kill you one day." Kanda growled.

Lavi went silent again as he listened to his grandfather babble away quickly on the other line.

"Alright Gramps, see you then. I'll leave the front door unlocked. Yeah I'll keep him warm." Lavi said and hung up.

"Lavi…" the younger male mumbled.

"What is it Allen?" the redhead asked, gently rewrapping his arms around the youth.

"Cold 'n tired," the snowy-haired male said.

"I know, don't fall asleep yet though. Gramps will make you feel better soon," the elder man said.

"I thought your grandfather wasn't a doctor." Kanda said quietly, pulling into the street his so called friend lived in.

"He's not an official doctor, but he knows enough to rival one," the redhead said.

Allen remained quiet as he continued to violently shiver in the redhead's grasp, and soon enough Kanda pulled into Lavi's garage.

"I'll be at Lenalee's you stupid rabbit. Call her not me or I will strangle you," the Japanese man grumbled, getting out of the car and tossing Lavi his keys.

The redhead gently settled Allen in the seat he previously had occupied and went to close the garage and open the door. Once that was done he came back for Allen and locked his car. He went upstairs to his bedroom with the youth in his arms, and placed him in his bed. He bundled the younger man in a few layers of warm blankets, and went downstairs when he was satisfied. He unlocked his front door and took off his coat, and placed his keys and wallet in the living room before heading back to his room. Crawling onto the bed and laying down next to the bundled up Allen, hugging the youth close to his body.

Impatiently he grabbed his phone and called his grandfather again, too worried about Allen to not hurry Bookman.

"Hey Gramps, it's me again. Just wondering where you were."

Lavi had to take the phone away from his ear as Bookman shouted something at him.

"Okay, okay see you in a minute," he grumbled and hung up.

The redhead found Allen looking at him once he hung up his phone, and Lavi gave his friend a small smile as he ran a hand through the youth's hair.

"You're going to be okay, I promise," the elder man whispered.

Allen reached an arm out of his blanket cocoon, and placed a shaking hand against Lavi's cheek. The redhead watched the younger man with a half lidded eye.

"S'good…to see…your face…again." Allen slurred sleepily.

The redhead gave a saddened smile as he watched his young friend. The youth softly ran a shaking finger over Lavi's warm lips. The elder male placed a gentle kiss on the pad of Allen's finger. The snowy-haired man dropped his arm and huddled deeper into his cocoon, looking passively at his redheaded friend.

The front door opened and the redhead breathed a sigh of relief at the sound. Moments later Bookman came barging into the room, lugging several things. Lavi slid off the bed and went over to help his grandfather.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice Gramps," he said.

"What exactly happened for him to get this way?" Bookman asked, going quickly to Allen's side.

"The cruel act of a heartless bully," the redhead grumbled.

The elderly man let the subject go and went about taking a look at Allen's condition, in which he deemed that the youth wasn't in good condition.

"So, can you save him Gramps?" Lavi asked impatiently.

"He's still within our reach. He should be fine once we get him all warmed up." Bookman replied.

Allen ended up getting wrapped in an electric heating blanket and another blanket draped over it. An oxygen mask delivering warm oxygen was placed on him, helping to warm him up inside. The snowy-haired male blinked wearily as he looked at both Bookman and Lavi. He was really tired from this entire ordeal and just wanted to get some sleep.

"Gramps, is it safe for him to sleep?" the redhead asked.

"It should be fine for him to sleep for a bit, since he's starting to show signs of improvement," the elderly man responded.

"You hear that Allen?" Lavi said with relief in his voice.

"Lavi, I want you to stay with him in case anything happens." Bookman said.

"Sure Gramps," the man replied.

There was a strange knowing glint in his grandfather's eyes, and it made him feel slightly uneasy. Bookman patted his grandson's arm before he turned and left the room. Lavi stared after his grandfather and shook his head, turning to walk back to the bed and he sat cross-legged besides Allen. The youth had closed his eyes and succumbed to sleep fairly quickly.

"Poor thing, he must have been exhausted," the redhead murmured to himself.

The elder male laid down on the bed, and watched Allen sleep with a passive expression. Watching the other sleep made Lavi feel sleepy and he rested his head against the pillow, rather than on his arm. He shut his eye and fell into a light doze for several minutes. A bad feeling in the pit of his stomach made him crack open his eye again. He looked over at Allen and inspected the younger male closely for a moment. His eye widened as soon as he realized that the other was no longer breathing. The youth's chest was no longer gently rising and falling and the oxygen mask wasn't fogging up with his warm exhales, despite the oxygen being delivered.

"Allen? Allen!" Lavi called, shaking the unresponsive male quickly.

Allen continued to remain unresponsive to the redhead's calls, and fear wrapped itself around Lavi's heart.

"Gramps! GRAMPS!" the man screamed frantically.

The redhead got onto his hands and a knees over the younger's body, calling his name over and over as his emerald iris searched Allen's ashen face. The door to his room swung open and Bookman rushed in.

"What is it Lavi?" the elderly man questioned.

"Allen's not breathing. I only dozed off for a few minutes and this happens," the redhead said, looking at his grandfather with a panicked gaze.

Bookman went over to Allen's side and checked him over frowning at the results.

"Lavi, he needs CPR. I have no other way to bring him back," he said.

Lavi's heart clenched at his grandfather's words, and he gave Allen a sad look.

"Quickly, quickly Lavi. We're losing him as we speak; there is no time to stall. You know how to do CPR right?" Bookman urged.

"Yes, but why me?" the redhead asked.

"I imagine that you wouldn't want me to do it," the elderly man said knowingly.

"Understood." Lavi murmured.

The redhead took the oxygen mask from Allen's face, and unwrapped the blankets from his still body, unbuttoning the youth's shirt as well. He gently tilted his friend's chin back, pinching Allen's nose shut. Taking a breath he laced his mouth over Allen's slightly open one, and breathed into him. Quickly placing his hands over the young man's chest and pushed down quickly. Lavi stopped for a moment to check if Allen was breathing, and he wasn't still. The elder male repeated the cycle four times with diminishing hope, but by the fifth time the youth was once again breathing.

The redhead breathed a sigh of relief and placed the oxygen mask back over his friend's face, and slumped back down on the bed. Bookman went about checking Allen again and rewrapping him in the protective layer of warmth.

The elderly man nodded to his grandson and once again left the room, leaving both males alone once more. Lavi scooted over closer to Allen and laid his cheek against the soft white hair of his friend. The younger's hair smelled like vanilla, the redhead vaguely noted.

"Allen, keep fighting buddy. Don't give up," the elder male whispered.

"Don't leave me alone," he murmured, tears running down his cheek and into the other's hair.

"I love you…."

Allen came back to the world of the living a couple days later. The young male groaned as he opened his eyes, no longer feeling the coldness he had felt when he'd been rescued. He in fact felt comfortably warm, but still felt a bit weak from his ordeal. He took this time to look around, and a small frown came to his face as he recognized Lavi's home.

"Lavi?" he croaked.

No one answered him and Allen shifted trying to sit up. A groan came from somewhere next to him, and the young man turned to look at the source of the groan. He was mildly surprised to see Lavi's sleeping form close by. Gingerly he shook the redhead to rouse him from sleep.

Lavi blinked his eyes open and looked at Allen, a small grateful smile playing on his face.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" the elder man asked gently.

"Better, I guess," the younger man replied.

"That's good," the redhead said.

Lavi sat up and stretched, reaching over to his nightstand for something. Allen watched him intently; there was something that seemed off about the man. The redhead produced a half empty pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Taking one from the pack he lit it and took a drag, exhaling slowly.

"You're smoking again," the snowy-haired youth said pointedly.

"So I am," the other responded.

"Lavi, what happened to me?" the younger questioned, he didn't remember everything clearly.

"You almost died in my arms." Lavi said, exhaling a puff of smoke.

Allen became silently as he looked calmly at his friend, placing a hand against his leg. The younger male knew there was more to it than that but he let it go for Lavi's sake.

"I'm sorry Lavi" the young man murmured.

"Don't apologize Allen, you don't need to," the redhead said.

The younger male sat up in bed, testing his strength to stay upright on his own. Satisfied that he wasn't so weak, and sat cross-legged in front of his friend watching the smoke fan out as Lavi smoked. He lowered his gaze to his folded legs, not helping but to feel guilty.

"Hey, don't make that face. None of this is your fault, you didn't do anything wrong," the redhead said, lifting his friend's chin up.

The younger turned his head away from his friend, getting his thoughts in order. Maybe if he didn't look at Lavi, he could talk to him about what was going on with Tyki.

"Allen?" the elder male questioned.

"Lavi, would you be mad at me if I was keeping something from you?" the snowy-haired male asked.

"I could never be mad at you little buddy, but why have you been keeping stuff from me?" Lavi said, trying to get the other to look at him.

Allen took a deep breath and slowly turned to look at his redheaded friend.

"Tyki's been hurting me for some time." Allen said slowly.

As soon as those words left his mouth, he felt as if a weigh had been lifted off his shoulders. He sat there looking uneasily at Lavi, as the elder male studied him carefully.

"Why didn't you tell me Allen? You know you can talk to me about anything. Or don't you trust me?" the redhead spoke in low tones.

"I do, I do trust you, but I was scared, that if I told you Tyki would hurt you again," the youth murmured.

Lavi placed a hand on Allen's knee and looked at his young friend with a saddened expression.

"It would only hurt me more if I lost you Allen. Injuries can heal, but the dead cant come back," the redhead said.

"I'm so sorry Lavi," he said in a small voice.

"Just don't keep these kinds of things to yourself. I'm here for you, to help you." Lavi said ruffling his friend's hair.

"Thank you." Allen whispered.

The redhead smiled at him and shifted slightly on the bed. The snowy-haired male noticed that Lavi's healing limbs were trembling.

"Lavi, are you in pain?" the youth asked with a frown.

"I'm fine," the other replied.

"You haven't been taking care of yourself, have you?" Allen said, taking a hold of Lavi's injured arm.

Gently he took off the brace and inspected the shaking limb.

"Allen, its fine," the redhead breathed.

The younger male said nothing as he began to firmly yet softly massage Lavi's arm. The elder watched his companion through a half lidded eye, and ended up having to look away from Allen as the youth worked his nimble fingers over his arm. He feared that he was slowly losing control the longer he watched his young friend.

"Better?" Allen asked as he replaced the brace.

Lavi nodded slightly still not looking at Allen, and the youth began to work on his leg.

Once the younger male was done, Lavi stretched himself with a yawn.

"What would you say to a shopping trip, Allen?" he asked.

"Depends, what for?" the other questioned.

"Well Christmas is coming up soon, and I always hold a big party. Isn't it your birthday as well? " the redhead said.

"Lavi, I don't think this is the time to be thinking about partying, not with the Tyki thing. Besides, my birthday isn't a big deal," the young male replied.

"It's the perfect time for a party! De-stress and have some fun." Lavi exclaimed.

"I guess its fine. I'm driving though if you want to go shopping," said Allen.

"C'mon! Let's go!" the redhead said cheerily.

It was good to see Lavi back to his energetic self, but something was still off about him. The youth couldn't really put a finger on it, and it bugged him. Both went ahead and bundled up, Allen having to borrow one of Lavi's coats since his was still nowhere to be found. Much to Allen's dismay he didn't get to drive, because the redhead had deemed him as still recovering when he almost collapsed on the floor.

Slowly Allen cheered up at Lavi's crazy antics in the party stores. Finally they ended up at the grocery store to get foodstuffs for the party.

"Allen can you get these items for me?" the elder man asked, handing him a small list.

"Sure," the younger male replied.

The snowy-haired youth went off down the aisles, leaving Lavi looking at beer and other alcoholic drinks for the party. He didn't exactly feel in danger in a public place, but he didn't feel safe away from the perky redhead either. As he was looking over certain items, he felt as if he was being watched. He ignored it and continued on his search; however the feeling of a nasty presence made him look up. He immediately regretted doing so, because he spotted Tyki standing nearby. Resisting the urge to scream bloody murder, he dropped the bag he had been holding and ran for it. Tyki almost immediately gave chase and Allen could hear the other man's footsteps quickly approaching.

The younger man, who was still recovering from his near death experience at the hands of the very same person that was chasing after him, suddenly collapsed as his weaned limbs gave in from the sudden exertion. Driven by fear and adrenaline Allen staggered to his feet and ran again before Tyki could get a hold of him. Heading to where he has last left Lavi, relieved that the elder man was still there. The younger make slammed into the redhead, making the other stumble a bit.

"Whoa, whoa. Where's the fire Allen?" the elder exclaimed righting himself.

The younger male was suddenly yanked back as Tyki wrapped a hand around his throat. Holding Allen close to his body, giving the other's throat a light squeeze in warning.

"We meet again, Bunny." Tyki said in a dangerous tone.

XxXxoooxXxX

A/N: oh boy, oh boy, things are heating up here aren't they? And Tyki sure does love to torture them both….what a twisted guy.

Hope you enjoyed and I'd love to hear what you have to say. Keep 'em lovely reviews comin'!