This chapter turned into more filler than I had intended, but it also works as a bit for some of that slice of life stuff you sometimes see. Just roll with it, that's my motto.

"A person's actions will tell you everything you need to know."- Allen

"Time has a way of showing us what is really important." - Kanda

"You develop a bond that comes from spending too much time together." - Both

(Allen)

As Allen sat in his seat, watching Kanda eating, a new question came to mind. Was he allowed to have some, too? One might assume so when considering that he was the one that made the eggs and his labor therefore entitled him to something. But knowing Kanda, the blind man would easily deny him that perceived if said man felt like it.

The young college student did shove something edible into his mouth before he left home, he was sure, although he couldn't remember for the life of him what it was because his mind was somewhere else completely at the time. That didn't mean he wasn't hungry now.

Unlike most people (who are calm, rational human beings), Kanda had a high chance of truly flipping out on him should he make the wrong decision. But Allen was really hungry especially with the smell of the food being such a good lure.

"Kanda?" Allen started out somewhat reluctantly. When he received no answer, he tried again more firmly. "Kanda." Still, he received no answer. However, his grip on the fork he had been using to pick up some scrambled eggs visibly tightened, a testament to the blind man's growing irritation.

Allen Walker reluctantly felt irritation well up inside of him. He knew, even with his limited dealings with Yu Kanda and his limited knowledge of the man, that it was useless getting frustrated in his presence. It was easy, sure, but not practical. Still, he couldn't help but want to blow up at the other man for how childish he was being.

Just because he had been offended by what Allen had (admittedly insultingly) said, it did not give him the right to just ignore everything Allen said afterwards. Well. He would not allow the man to snub his attempts at rectifying the situation. He was going to talk it out with Kanda even if he had to rip a conversation out of him.

(Kanda)

This was a bad idea. This was a bad idea. This was a very bad idea. Kanda basically chanted in his head.

The thought had crossed his mind plenty of times since the other day that he had no idea what he had been doing inviting this guy into his home.

He hits on me, then he follows me home and, to top it all off, he starts treating me like an invalid when he hasn't even been here for an hour yet! I was wrong; he isn't any better than the others, although less stupid, but more socially inept.

"Kanda?"

God. He's talking again. Hasn't he done enough? Will he just leave after breakfast or do I need to hammer it in more that he is no longer wanted here?

"Kanda." Just ignore it and maybe he'll stop. Oh, really, who am I kidding?

"Kanda!" At this, Kanda jerked in surprise, but not because of the sudden almost yelling of his name. It was because of the hand that, at the same time, found it's way on top of his own which he just now realized was gripping his utensil unnecessarily strongly.

Not liking being touched, Kanda reflexively tried to shake off the other man's hand from his own, but the guy seemed to have other ideas. Allen Walker was holding onto his hand (which was still holding onto the fork albeit more loosely) with an almost suffocating grip that the raven had a hard time associating with the seemingly easy going and often thickheaded man Kanda had thought he was.

"Let go." KIanda gruffed out, no longer caring about his unofficial vow of silence. All he wanted in the moment was for Walker to get his stupid hand off of him. It wasn't like he was ignoring the guy in particular, anyway. He just wanted to be left alone so it wouldn't hurt anymore. The young man immediately steered away from those thoughts; they had never helped him before.

"Kanda, we are going to talk about this. You're being childish." The voice that Yu Kanda had learned to associate with Allen Walker was stern and reprimanding, but it could easily be seen that those two emotions were trying to mask an inordinate amount of resolve. Kanda ignored the last one.

I'm being childish?! I'm being childish?! Who does this jerk think he is?! "You were the one that opened your idiotic mouth and spewed forth such an insultingly ignorant concept!"

"And I apologized for that! I thought we were over this . . ."

"We did not get over anything because that you can't do this job." Kanda snarked back.

"Hey! I'm trying!" Allen cried, feeling like he was starting to lose control of his emotions; Kanda really had a way of doing that to him.

"That doesn't change the fact that you don't know anything about what I have to go through!" Kanda cried back just as loudly.

"…." Suddenly, as if put in a trance, a wave of calm washed over him after he heard that. The next words to come out of Allen's mouth were quiet and calm.

"Then why don't you teach me?"

The words hung in the air for a while, the two men letting their implications fully sink in. Allen felt himself grow nervous as the silence stretched, knowing that his statement could elicit either a favorable or an unfavorable reaction. To pass the time (and also in a bid to keep control of his anxieties), Allen turned his attention to something that was quickly becoming a favorite pastime of his; analyzing Kanda.

To the casual observer, the asian man would seem to be feeling rather neutral because of the current blank look upon his features, but he was not a casual observer. Damn, that sounded creepy, now that he thought about it. Still, ignoring that, Allen could tell that the other man was thinking hard on his words.

"Fine." Kanda answered out of nowhere. It was hard to detect because Kanda seemed seemed to naturally sound pissed off all the time, but the man seemed to give his answer without the usual bite in his tone.

"We're going to the store after we finish eating." Kanda then said as if making an effort to ignore their previous arguments (to which Allen was immensely grateful).

"The store?" Allen inquired, confusedly. "But didn't I see you go shopping twice already in the last couple of days?"

"You did." Kanda answered, easily. The annoyance in the man's voice was still there, but he now seemed to be putting an effort into putting a lid on it. "My father," Here, he paused at father, his voice trailing off before picking up again. "Has been pushing me into going out more often and that really means to the store. He's even got me doing the family shopping so we need to go to the grocery store."

"Oh." Was all Alen replied, suddenly, awkwardly finding his mind unable to find anything else to day. "Um . . . which one?"

Great, Walker. Great. Allen mentally reprimanded himself. Way to make things even more awkward.

Unexpectedly (or, perhaps, semi-expectedly because of his recent efforts to behave), Kanda ignored the obvious opening to heckle Allen about his interpersonal follies. Instead, he simply replied to the question.

"It doesn't matter which. Wherever we go will have the same items."

"But different prices." Allen added, but abruptly shut up with the do you really think I need to worry about high prices look. The white haired young man couldn't quite decide if he'd actually asked a stupid question or if it was just the effect Kanda had on him acting up again.

"Well?" Kanda asked, impatiently, after a moment.

"Well, what?" Allen inquired.

"Are you going to eat? You better stuff something in your mouth before we go; I'm not going to stomach listening to you complain that you're hungry because you didn't take the chance to eat anything when you had the chance."

If Allen Walker had been able to focus on Kanda's barbs about his eating (or lack thereof), then he probably would have been irritated and indignant over it. As it were, he was much more shocked by the fact that the raven had actually offered him food. For normal people, making sure other people are eating would be a definite sign of caring and, while that was clearly not the case with Kanda, Allen liked to think that his love interest was starting to show concern for him.

Though Allen Walker was shocked by this latest show of almost altruism, he decided that he didn't need to be told twice and soon snapped out of his stupor, going straight for the plates of food. Taking a page out of Kanda's apparent book on how to eat, he spooned up some fluffy, yellow scrambled eggs. With his other hand, Allen picked up a slice of crispy toast and then began to layer the eggs on top of it. The college student absently thought that he had never tried to eat scrambled eggs and toast this way before taking a large bite.

The unlikely duo left the house a little before nine a.m. Kanda had told him that he was always in a foul mood when having to leave the house and especially when going shopping. Grateful for the rare warning, Allen worked to keep the overall atmosphere between them light. During the walk, he also decided to study the list Kanda had passed him of grocery items given to him that morning by his father before he went off to work.

This time, there was no conversation in the slightest on the way to the store. Allen Walker got the feeling that Kanda wanted it that way (although, curiously, the aforementioned person hadn't said or done anything to insinuate such). Though there was no talking on the way, the walk to the grocery store was surprisingly short. That was probably because it was so close to Kanda and his father's place of residence.

"We're here, Kanda." Allen remarked, carefully, as they drew closer to the glass doors of the supermarket. Kanda made a small nod of acknowledgment and said nothing else.

Allen, again, wasn't sure if that was an indication that he had made the right move or if Kanda was just continuing to make more of an effort in reigning in his temper. Additionally, before he also seemed to have impossibly high expectations on how someone should conduct themselves before he would blow up (and dammit if Allen didn't feel disappointed in himself for not meeting each and every one of those expectations).

Not certain which one it was, the silver haired young man could only hope for the best as he cautiously, yet respectfully, slipped his hand into his companion's with the intention to guide said companion safely (and helpfully) through the doorway. This time he received the smallest of squeezes to his hand, which was far more reassuring than the head nod. Allen got a warm feeling in his chest, helping him to decide with far more certainty that he was doing the right thing.

Together, they entered the store, zeroing in on where they could get the items they needed. Allen in particular was doing this, knowing full well that Kanda could in no way be pleased with being there. He could actually empathize with his love interest to the point where he could actually feel his irritation rising as if in tandem with his companion's.

A cursory glance told Allen that the first item on the list Kanda showed him would be in the dairy isle. The guiding hand within Kanda's migrated to the man's elbow and, with familiarity that came with more time spent together, quickly led the man to the dairy section. A sneer took over Kanda's face when Allen told him exactly what they were looking for.

A sardonic smile tipped the corners of Allen's lips. Ah, I will never be able to forget the all-out tantrum that this will become. The silver haired young man thought, amusedly.

Apparently, it would seem the ever stoic and reserved Kanda hated (actually completely abhorred) dairy and dairy products that weren't butter. That especially went for milk and cheese. It would seem that the man had been caught off guard when Allen informed him that there was dairy on the list and that they were in the dairy section.

An all-out adult tantrum occurred.

Kanda commenced yelling expletives regarding his "lying, deceiving father" and trying to grab lactose containing products off of the shelves in order to throw them. Only his reflexes allowed Allen to grab onto the man's wrists before he could do any collateral damage. However, he should have known by the man's appearance that he worked out because the blind man was starting to easily overpower him. It was all Allen could do to keep Kanda from completely overtaking him and grabbing something while he tried to verbally calm the man.

"Kanda! Wait!" Allen wheezed out with his exertion. "Anything you break, we have to pay for!"

"I don't care!" He gruffed out. "Bastard deserves to pay for it!"

"Kanda!"

"Didn't even tell me he expected me to touch these disgusting things . . ." Kanda mumbled to himself.

"Wait!" Allen had a eureka moment. "If touching is the problem then I'll look for and grab these items. You can get something else like . . . the crackers! Why don't you go get those while I'm here?" The college student reasoned, hoping that this solution would ease Kanda's distress.

Kanda slowly stilled his wildly thrashing limbs before finally calming the rest of himself. "Fine." His usual quiet yet decisive voice spoke.

Allen, unused to and not suspecting the sudden change in mood nor the acquiescence and was slow on the draw when releasing the other man's wrists. Of course, there was also the little voice in the back of his head that randomly decided to speak out saying that he liked maintaining whatever physical contact he could get with Kanda and that that might have played a role in his reluctance to let go. However, that voice was readily silenced by Allen's more conscious mind which said that this wasn't the time for fantasizing.

Without another word about the issue, Kanda turned on his heel and left the isle to find someone working in the store who could take him to where the crackers were. Allen just stood there staring at the area where Kanda had previously been standing, pondering on what he had done to find himself saddled with someone who was so clearly bipolar and slightly crazy. He also thought about the fact that he was enjoying it far too much.

And it's just cheese. Allen thought to himself, confused and exasperated (whether more with himself or Kanda, he wasn't sure). Though, when Allen saw what kind of cheese Kanda's father wanted, his much hated blue cheese, the college student began to think that Kanda hadn't had that much of an overreaction, after all. Allen grabbed the cheese and some milk and put them in a cart.

It was just as he was contemplating whether he should go looking for Kanda and reunite in the crackers or continue getting the items on the list when something happened. A burst of emotion so strong, so unexpected, so inexplicable that it let a bolt of painful shock through Allen's body and causing him to let out a yelp of surprise. The full force of emotions came out of nowhere and yet they seemed so natural, it was hard to explain.

Fear, upset, anger, panic. While not the first time that this sort of strange empathetic behavior had happened to him since meeting Kanda, it was the first time the college student had been particularly aware that these feelings were not his own but someone else's. This was the first time he was truly, consciously aware of picking up on another's distress. This was the first time that he knew that these emotions were Kanda's.

With this almost unconscious realization came an emotion akin to sheer terror that could really only be described as suddenly being doused with ice cold water and feeling the wet coldness seep through flesh and bone. Kanda was scared and panicking; Kanda was in trouble. With an almost inhuman burst speed, Allen Walker tore off down the aisle, following the irate feeling that he felt sure was leading him to Kanda's current location.

Instead of being led to the snack aisle (which held those damnable crackers), like Allen had expected, he was instead driven in the opposite direction. A while down that way, he found himself making a sharp turn towards the ice cream aisle and straight through it. Allen finally found himself stopping in front of the back wall of the store and, more specifically, a door that had a sign saying it was only for employees. Allen paused, wondering if he should go in, but when he felt the panicked feelings swell again, he thrust aside his doubts and threw open the door.

The sight that greeted Allen Walker made his blood boil. A guy who looked to be about in his mid twenties who was wearing a uniform from the grocery store had Kanda pushed up against the wall, hands on either side of the blind man trapping him in. Kanda's face showed a strange mix of anger, uncomfortableness and fear that Allen reasoned only Kanda could pull off and make it seem completely natural.

"What. Is going on here?" Allen asked, his voice sharp and deadly quiet.

The other man didn't give him so much as a glance as he answered. "The sale on lunch meats is by the fruit."

There was something about that complete dismissal while he was obviously harassing a customer that set Allen off. A second later found the creepy employee on the ground having been hit with a nearby crate by an irate college student. Without words, Allen firmly but gently grabbed Kanda's hand, pulled him away from the wall and back out the door.

"Come on, Kanda." Allen said irately. "Let's get our groceries and leave."

Kanda could only nod dumbly, his eyes wide, as he allowed himself to be pulled along by his "babysitter".