Allen and Lavi stared at Kou Lon's handiwork. They had been ordered, quite explicitly, to fix the hole in the wall caused by the Akuma that had been hiding in the bawdyhouse when she was discovered.

"...So..." Allen asked uncertainly, "How do we fix this?"

Lavi continued to stare. "I have no idea."

"Do we have any wood?"

"No."

"...Where would we get some?"

"No idea."

They continued staring.

"How about nails, do we have any of those?" Allen asked.

Lavi responded by holding out his open palm, revealing three nails. "We've got these."

"Three. We have three nails. To fix a hole in the wall taller than I am."

"Yup."

"Helpful."

They continued to stare. The hole stared back, menacingly. The wind picked up, and rain started blowing through the gaping wound in the wall, spraying at the pair.

"Shit."

--

Kanda sheathed his sword in the bamboo confines of the umbrella silently, trying not to wince at Nan'Uei's agonized scream.

"Xian'Ou! XIAN'OU!"The Chinese man wailed, cradling his brother's rapidly decaying body in his arms. Black stars spread from the bullet wound in his chest, instantly petrifying the skin they touched, before his whole body was a brittle black husk. Unable to support its own weight, it dissolved into a fine powdered dust, running through Nan'Uei's fingers like sand.

Kanda turned away.

"XIAN'OU!"

--

Eventually, the two managed to find an old sail, abandoned near the ports because of a large tear across the top. It was large, and heavy, and the three nails hardly held it up, bending under the weight.

Allen and Lavi didn't care.

They were soaking wet, and Allen's arms were sore from holding the heavy water-soaked sail above his head long enough for Lavi to be able to nail it in place.

Lady Cho surveyed their work with a raised eyebrow. "This is just terrible."

"You gave us three nails and said 'have at it'; what were you expecting, Notre Dame?"

"Fair enough, I suppose, though I don't know what a Notre Dame is."

"A Cathedral in Paris."

"I don't know what either of those are, either, so just stop fishing."

She cast a critical eye over the pair, tsk-ing in dismay. "You three have been wearing the same clothes since you got here. Can I assume you lacked the foresight to bring any spare clothing?"

Allen sighed, swiping a damp lock of hair behind his ear. "Yeah."

She shook her head. "Come on. I'll get you idiots some spare, dry clothes."

"We'd be grateful."

She led them to the third floor, where she ushered them into a room that looked like someone's abandoned personal quarters. She tossed them some towels, telling them she'd be back in a moment.

When she did return, she threw a bundle of cloth at Lavi, told Allen that something in the closet should fit him, and left.

Lavi unfolded the cloth, revealing a large red dress. He gawked for a moment.

"Dios Mia, Jesus and Maria! This must have been Mahoja's."

"Hay-soos and who? Wait, wasn't Mahoja that gigantic woman we met when came here the first time?"

"I never thought I'd say this, but... This dress is way too fucking big. It'll never fit."

"It might be too long, but it should still fit better than anything else in this place." Allen said as he pulled out a mandarin-style dress that looked like the easiest article of clothing to put on in the closet. Lavi had already begun undressing, shucking off his wet top and beginning to unclasp his waterbra.

Allen took off his socks, and reached to undo the lace on the back of his dress. "AH! Shit."

Lavi, dropping his bra to the floor, glanced at Allen. "What's wrong?"

"The muscle under my right arm is still sore from holding up that stupid sail. My left is fine, but I can barely move the right."

"Sorry that took so long, but the damned thing was being uncooperative."

"It's fine," Allen said, "You can pay me back by helping me out of this dress. Can't reach it myself." He said, glancing over his shoulder somewhat shyly.

Lavi swallowed thickly.

--

Kanda led Nan'Uei into his house, steadying the half-hysterical man's shaking shoulders.

He didn't know what to do. Kanda had never had to comfort anyone before, and no idea how to calm Nan'Uei. All he could do was be there, and hope that having another person by him would be enough to calm Nan'Uei, even a little.

He wasn't certain if it was working, but Nan'Uei had at least stopped screaming, which was enough for now.

Nan'Uei stepped away from Kanda, heading towards a cupboard. "I-I think I'll make some tea. Would you like any tea, Yuuko?" he asked quickly without looking at Kanda. He reached shaking hands into the cabinet to pull out a tea kettle and two cups, but his hands were unsteady, and he dropped the first cup before even being able to place it on the stove. It crashed into the ground, breaking into small ceramic shards, but Nan'Uei didn't bother even glancing down at it when it fell, instead reaching for a second.

Kanda grabbed his hand, stilling it before he could break any more dishes, and gently leg him away from the pantry. Nan'Uei still refused to look at him, though, and had started apologizing for his clumsiness.

Kanda did the only thing he could think of that would distract Nan'Uei; he kissed him.

"Yuuko, w-what are you doing?" Nan'Uei asked nervously, drawing back just a little.

Kanda stared at him dead in the eyes and coolly said, "You have to calm down. It's going to be all right. Everything is going to be all right, so please, just calm down for a moment."

Nan'Uei stared at him for a moment, eyes full of chaotic emotion, and then dove forward, kissing Kanda deeply.

--

Lavi approached Allen cautiously, noting to himself the faint scent of sweat radiating from his dampened skin. It was oddly alluring. He placed a hand on Allen's shoulder, but retracted it when he felt the skin under his hand shiver at the contact.

"Are you all right?"

"Y-yeah," Allen replied, grateful his back was to Lavi so the other wouldn't be able to see his face flush. "I'm just still cold. I'll be fine once I'm in some dry clothing," he lied, internally berating himself for his reaction to the simple gesture of Lavi's warm hand on his skin.

"Alright, Lavi said, and reached down to the small of Allen's back to grab hold of the lace holding his dress closed.

He pulled the ribbon gently, slowly untying the corseted back. He could feel Allen's skin radiating renewed warmth, and the sensation caused Lavi's own body to respond in kind, flushing at the feel of Allen's heated skin. His hands started shaking just a little as he felt the warmth, the heat; circulate between them, their bodies heating each other.

Lavi slowly untied the last bit of ribbon, and the dress fell off Allen's shoulders, poling around his waist where his arms held the fabric to his body, preventing it from falling to the ground.

He could hear quick, heavy breaths escaping Allen's tantalizing slightly parted lips from over his shoulder.

Lavi found himself unable to resist the temptation of Allen's piquant scent any longer, buried his face in the crook of Allen's shoulder, inhaling deeply.

Allen gasped sharply at Lavi's action, barely managing to stay upright when he felt his knees weaken.

"T-thanks, Lavi," he stuttered weakly, "Could you turn around now so I can finish changing?"

Lavi lifted his head, but his hands remained planted on Allen's shoulders. "What's wrong, Allen?" He whispered, "Why so shy all of the sudden?"

He felt Allen's body tense under his hands, and looked over Allen's shaking shoulders, eyes trailing the lean curve of his torso down to the very visible bodily reaction caused by Lavi's touch which he was so desperately trying to hide.

"Ah. I see," Lavi whispered breathily into Allen's ear.

"Lavi, please just…"

"Let go, Allen." The soft words echoed into the younger's ear, and he felt them throughout his body.

"W-what?"

"Drop the dress. I want to see it. To see you."

Almost against his will, Allen's hands slowly loosened his grip on the dress, before letting go entirely to let the damp fabric pool around his feet. He turned around slowly to face Lavi, stepping away from his almost-embrace to better the view.

Lavi's breath hitched in his throat at the sight.

"Oh, god. I was right."

Allen looked at Lavi shyly through half-lidded eyes. "Right about what?"

"I just knew you'd be gorgeous."

Allen averted his gaze, turning away from Lavi shyly. "You've thought about what I'd look like naked, Lavi?"

Suddenly feeling a little trapped, Lavi only managed an awkward, "Uh…"

Allen turned back to him, resolution in his eyes. "Well, fair's fair, Lavi."

"Huh?"

"Fair's fair. You got to see me, didn't you? That means it's my turn."

Lavi blinked in surprise for a moment before a sly grin graced his features.

"Fair is fair, I suppose."

--