Oh my dear good lord-- or whatever it is that I believe in --this took a god awful long time to get out. I've been working on DGM Big Bang, only to call it off just a week ago. D: I realized that I couldn't work on that and this at the same time, so I had to give up one of them. And I chose DGM BB.

I apologize to my readers for waiting so long for this chapter to come out! It's here now! You can stop beating your pillow and pretending it's my head! |D

This is also unbeta'd. Do expect some typos and crap like that until I'm unlazy enough to read through it again.

Warning: Teenagers, Kanda, apple-peeling, and a kiss! That's right! We're actually getting somewhere!

Rating: K, K+. I don't think there's much cursing in this chapter. Just a kiss (with plot involved)~

Disclaimer: Caramel popcorn is delicious. I wish I had some while watching Alien 3 a few days ago on the PC... Oh, um, I don't own D Gray-Man. Capiche? Capiche.

Enjoy~

An Apple and My Eye

Almost a week had passed since the brunette was confined to this tower known as The Black Order, and he really wasn't fond of the nostalgia that came with this overstayed 'vacation'. Unfortunately, he was unable to leave until both Lavi and Kanda woke up so the three of them could give a detailed report of what the hell happened in Roanapur.

Frederico had given his account and was now being transferred to another Church in France after the two Exorcists—and the girl, the Akuma –practically destroyed the one he and Allen were stationed in previously. Needless to say, Allen had no place to go as well—and neither did the other dozen or so failed experiments formerly living comfortably in the church's basement.

It was going to be a bitch to relocate all of them, most definitely.

"..What exactly are you doing, Allen?"

The boy looked up, pausing in his current task. He supposed that she learned his name from his argument with Leverrier a while ago, in addition to the nurses and other staff chasing him around calling his name. He did note that she didn't use it with a tone of familiarity, though.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Um, you're.. peeling an apple?"

"Bingo," he muttered, resuming the removal of rind from the delicious fruit known as Malus domestica, more commonly known as the Fuji apple. Trust the Order to have the best produce and foods while half of the outside world was struggling to keep their crops from being devoured by parasites and destroyed by global warming. "But, unfortunately, you don't get a prize."

Linali Li pulled up a chair next to Kanda's bed, situating her seat across from Allen's. She had originally thought he was a stuck up brat, what with the way he addressed others, but he was polite when it was necessary.. and he did have some semblance of etiquette. The way he avoided everyone in the building, though, especially the Exorcists who had a day off to recuperate and only wanted to ask about what happened at the church, gave off an aura of 'I am superior to all of you lousy bunch of dogs' that Linali did not like at all.

And, well, after the past week or so of Allen's sneaking out of the hospital wing he was confined to, being booted out of Leverrier's little office numerous times, sulking around in general, and frequent visits to Kanda's room in the infirmary to see if he was awake yet (sometimes in the middle of the night, which was always creepy to deal with), Linali had only one thing to say.

I still think he's a selfish brat.

In fact, if Allen had red hair and green eyes and was just a few inches taller, he'd be almost like Lavi.

The only difference being that Lavi was still unconscious from numerous other Akuma-inflicted injuries and Allen was running around causing trouble. And they weren't sure if either of them would be able to see out of their respective injured eyes any time soon.

Even half blind, the boy continued to methodically peel the fruit, occasionally throwing glances at Kanda's sleeping face. The latter's chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, breathing slowly and evenly, softly. They had taken him off the ventilator a few days ago when he could breathe on his own again. He was still hooked up to the EKG, though, and the regular beeping was audible in the background.

Allen had managed to get out of his hospital robes again, though he couldn't wear the church garb that he was brought here in—they were torn and bloody and had already been thrown out. Dressed as he was in a black button-up, a decorative t-shirt, and jeans, he looked every bit the modern teenager of the year 2042.

Linali herself was in a double-layered skirt with zebra-striped stockings and the top half of her Exorcist uniform. It was the most difficult part to put on and take off, so she rarely removed it aside from showering and sleeping. She had suggested simpler outfits to the Science Department, but they seemed to make a hobby of designing elaborate uniforms for their precious Exorcists.

"Shouldn't you be visiting red? He's already awake."

She started, not expecting Allen to speak up as he was focusing on his peeling and starting to cut out the first slice. Why was he eating here, anyway?

"I already did. Kanda's supposed to wake up today, so I—" she paused, staring thoughtfully at the slice of apple landing in the blade. He was still cutting more slices, but hadn't touched first. Why? "..Are you cutting that for Kanda?"

"What—No!" Allen answered quickly, too quickly, looking as though Linali had just said the most stupidest and shocking thing ever. He turned away, stuffing a slice into his mouth as he continued slicing. "Why would I do that for this idiot? Crazy women.."

Despite his hair obscuring her view, Linali saw the light pink coloring on his cheeks as he chewed and muttered.

She smiled.

Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

"Stop smiling at me like that. It's creepy."

Or.. not.

"..So the rumors are true—you really don't like Exorcists."

"Oh, great, now they're spreading rumors about me," Allen grumbled, carefully cutting another piece of apple. "No, I don't like Exorcists. In fact, I hate them."

Linali sucked in a breath at the sheer intensity of his words, the pure animosity crackling behind them, lacking any hesitation or doubt. He really did hate them so.

"..But why? Why do you hate us?"

"Why did you join The Black Order?" He asked, as though that would answer her question.

It didn't.

She had no idea what he meant by that question, nor did she see how her answer had anything to do with it.

"I.. because I want to help. I want to save people from being killed by the Akuma."

She wanted to be of some use to this life, to leave some kind of mark that others in the past hadn't been able to. Her brother was already doing so much, getting dangerously close to these creatures known as Light Matter—and they were docile enough. She absolutely forbade Komui to get near the Dark Matter. That stuff could be left to people like Cross Marian who had nothing better to do in their life and with their lives.

"I want to help this world I live in."

To right the wrongs of those who lived before her.

Allen paused again, the hand holding the fruit knife trembling and shaking as it clenched the handle tightly.

They were fighting for the wrong reason, was how he saw it.

"Then you're just a stupid, ignorant idiot."

Linali frowned.

"You can possible hate us because of our purpose."

"But I do. I hate you, I hate Exorcists, I hate this whole bloody organization!"

She couldn't understand, not when Allen bothered sitting next to Kanda's bed with a plate of untouched apple slices on his lap. He hated Exorcists, hated the Order, and yet he wasn't really being forced to stay here—or was he? Was it true that there was something about Kanda that Allen wanted, just as Leverrier had stated? Or did he mean to tell Kanda about the fact that he had no parents? Or ask him whether or not he had any?

"..Are you waiting for him to wake up?" She asked, a bit timidly due to Allen's outburst.

The boy paused, briefly wanting to say 'hell no', if not for the fact that he was doing exactly that as he sat in this chair next to the Exorcist's bed. He had a bad habit of being a hypocrite sometimes.

"No, I'm waiting for him to croak." He rolled his eyes. Obviously he was waiting for Kanda to regain consciousness. Why else would he waste time cutting an apple next to his bed? Room service? "Of course I am."

"But why?"

"Nothing that concerns you."

"I'm his friend. I deserve to know."

Allen looked up with a sneer. As much as he hated these people, they were at least amusing for some things. Nice way to pass the time while waiting for someone who was supposed to have died to wake up.

"You think he feels the same way?"

I woke with a start, taking in a deep mouthful of air as though I hadn't breathed a single breath in forever. I was partially aware of the two voices on either side of the bed, one genuinely worried, the other bitingly sarcastic, and both with a hint of relief. Even after opening my eyes, I saw only a dim gray instead of the bright white of the hospital ceiling I should've been in.

An electrocardiogram beeped steadily in the background, the high pitched sound cutting into my senses and bringing them back to life from their week long (or however many days it was) slumber. My limbs were still numb, tingling as the feeling returned slowly.

"-nda… Kanda!"

The cloth flew off, blinding light and a flurry of colors forcing my hand to come up and shied my eyes from the intrusion. Fiery sparks fired off along my arm, drawing a pained wince as I rolled over in an attempt to get away from the light.

"Nice job, you blinded him."

"I didn't do anything!"

"You pulled it off, duh. "

"But he can't see anything if his eyes are covered."

"Yeah, and now he can't see anything, period."

"Well, I never—"

"Children!"

I squinted, shading my eyes from the light, and watched Matron attempt to shoo them out of the room despite their protests. Linali, after a worried look, departed easily. Allen, on the other hand, had a bit more luck resisting the woman's wrath.

"I need to talk to him."

"That can wait until after he's had his checkup."

"No, it can't, I need to see him now!"

"And what, pray tell, is so urgent that you cannot wait even a few minutes to tell him?"

"Because, if I wait, Leverrier will get to him first."

Matron fell silent. I wondered what he could've meant by that. Leverrier was always resent at times like this, right after I woke up from hospitalization. He made it his first priority to go through my damage reports and statistics after every mission, even those from which I returned relatively unscathed.

I never inquired about it, of course. The Inspector would do what he wanted; he was far more powerful than was healthy. But, thankfully, he wasn't the most powerful one in this organization. He rarely lost an argument, always had an excuse ready for his actions, something that had helped him keep his position for years despite crossing the line numerous times.

A cunning cutthroat of a man; no wonder he was the one at the head of the experiment.

"..Very well, then," Matron admitted in a slightly defeated tone. The light seemed to have dimmed a bit, though not by much. "So long as you don't dawdle around—"

She looked over and saw how I was still shading my eyes from the glow of the fluorescent lighting. Since when had they become so bright?

"..Kanda, what's wrong?"

"The light…"

Even after they were dimmed, it was still rather bright. It didn't hurt as much, though, so I found no reason to complain.

"Better?"

"A bit."

The door opened suddenly. I couldn't see it with my back turned to the door, but I could see that Allen's still casual posture told me it wasn't Leverrier. It was another nurse.

"Inspector Leverrier wishes to speak with Mister Kanda, Matron."

How did he know I was awake..?

"Must've heard it from the girl.." Allen muttered, as though in reply to my silent inquiry. "Tell him he's already seeing someone. And bring a caramel latté while you're at it. I haven't had one of those in forever."

The nurse, hardly older than a teenager, paused and started fidgeting with her hands.

"..Would you like whipped cream with that?"

Allen blinked at her blush before going light pink himself.

"I- I was.. just kidding about the latté, really."

"Ah."

She flushed even more and scurried away, hands clenching her dress as she went to tell Leverrier to 'get lost'. Matron shook her head with a sigh.

"Teenagers…" After a moment, the elderly woman came around to my bedside. "How are you feeling, Kanda?"

"..Could be better."

"Of course." She sighed again, and then went about taking my pulse, checking my temperature, and other standard medical checkups. It only took a few minutes like usual, but it felt much longer.

Perhaps it was because of Allen's lingering stares, his watchful gaze following Matron's every move and trying to get a glimpse at the recorded data. It wasn't like an invasion of privacy—or at least, I didn't think it was. His curiosity was a bit strange, though. Why would he want to know so much about someone he hardly knew or cared about?

"Well, everything seems to be in order… no abnormalities that I can discern. We may have to run you through the scanner just to make sure, but that can wait for later. If you feel anything out of place, get a nurse, okay, Kanda?"

I nodded briefly, watching as Matron took her leave. The door closed with a soft click, echoing faintly in the hallway beyond my temporary hospital room.

"Apple?"

I raised an eyebrow at the proffered plate of sliced fruit. To be honest, I would've preferred soba—it was easier on my stomach after intense hospitalization sessions, such as the recent one. But I guess Allen wouldn't have bothered to bring a place of buckwheat noodles up here just for me.

"If you're not going to take any, I'll eat 'em all."

I still hesitated. Slowly, I reached over and took one from the plate. Allen flashed a smile and leaned back, popping two pieces into his mouth right off the bat.

Eat them all? More like inhale them.

Crisp and sweet, just the right amount of crunch, the perfect texture, enough flavor to be noticed, but never enough to overwhelm the senses—a magnificent thing, the Fuji apple.

"..Leverrier's planning something," he began softly, out of nowhere. "I don't know what, but it has to do with you, no doubt."

"He's always planning something, it's not that surprising," I replied, shrugging. I would've been shocked if he wasn't planning anything in that shrewd brain of his.

I did, however, wonder how Allen knew. Leverrier was hardly one to indulge others in his plans for anything. He was much too secretive and spontaneous for that. The fact that Allen and Leverrier seemed to hate each other was the one thing that ruled out the possibility that one of them was working for the other.

"..Whatever he offers, turn him down."

I raised my head, giving him a questioning sort of look.

"Why?"

"Say you don't want to, refuse, whatever. Just do it, don't agree with whatever he's saying." He rolled his shoulders in a sort of a shrug, scarfing down two more slices and holding a third one in his hand.

"You expect me to do it just because you're telling me to? Che, idiot."

I wasn't some kind of mindless drone who followed any order that was issued, far from it. I was a humanoid weapon that would only obey specific instructions from certain people, and that was the one thing that separated me from a cold, metal robot.

Allen fell silent, absently chewing as he stared in my direction. I gave him a wary glance before realizing that it wasn't just my direction that he was looking in.

It was me.

..Why the hell is the staring at me?

"What the hell are you looking at?"

"Just.. nothing. Nothing at all."

"Then why are you still here? I thought you hated this place."

He looked away, leaving his chin in the palm of his peach-flesh hand.

"They wanted a statement but don't trust me enough to give it by myself. So I'm stuck here until you wake up, sleeping beauty."

"Then who are you supposed to be? Prince Charming?"

Allen rolled his eyes with an expression of exasperation, though I could see a hint of a smile.

"More like the fairy that makes sure you didn't die after getting shot in the chest. Twice."

I scoffed. Though he did fit that role better than the Prince, I would never admit to needing help or someone's blessing and prayers to keep my alive. I had science in my veins to do that.

"..Unless, of course, you'd rather I be the one to wake you up with a kiss."

I wasn't expecting that—I should have, seeing as he'd dropped one of those lines just over a week ago –but something about his smile told me he wasn't joking like last time. Last time was the first we'd spoken to each other in years, and I still didn't understand why he said it. I don't think I ever will.

"--What is it with you and kissing?"

He gave a sly grin, most definitely hiding something behind those muddy eyes of his. A sharp look at the door, concentrating on something I couldn't hear—

Footsteps.

"You're making this rather difficult for me, Yuu."

His words were unusually loud, compared to our previous low-volume 'conversation'. At that level, it would quite possibly..

..Carry out past the closed door.

Before I could ask what he meant, why he was suddenly using my given name—how he even knew my first name –his hand shot out and grabbed a handful of the hospital gown I was wearing. I was pulled forward roughly, jerked up from my position of leaning back against a raised bed and a stack of pillows, and my hands went up to brace myself for the eventual collision.

But it never came. Our faces stopped mere centimeters from each other, his breath a warm puff against my skin. A puddle of chocolate, gleaming with specks of gold and bright amber; from up close, I could almost see the patterns of his iris, light brown lines and darker waves, a sort of hazelnut gradient outward from the pupil. His eyelashes and mine quivered as we fought to keep from instinctively closing our eyes.

"..Swallow it."

Those were the last two words I heard before his mouth pressed dry and warm against my own, before something small and hard was pushed between my lips, between my teeth. His tongue followed, guiding the object until I swallowed involuntarily, feeling the pill slip down my throat.

What the hell is he doing?!

I made to pull away and ask him, before anyone could come through the door and see, but his arms had somehow made their way around my neck. His weight shifted, crawling closer even as I scrambled to back up. At length, his eyes finally closed, his body pressing closer in a more intimate movement. It was a strange sensation, this connection between us. If I hadn't known better, I might've thought it was real.

Perhaps it was, but perhaps it was just.. something else. Something I wasn't familiar with.

Something unknown.

As the door slammed open and Leverrier stormed in, mouth curled into a snarl and eyes furious, I noted one thing.

..He tastes like apples.