Firstly, I do apologise for any errors you might/have already come across in this fic. I have a really bad habit of not editing my work :( sorry.

Anyway, thanks for all the wonderful reviews and thank you for taking your time out to read this story of mine ^_^ and thanks to the people who gave me some suggestions for my one-shots.

Kanda's eyes opened a crack and then shut as soon as he saw the blinding white light. He tried to open them again and realised the light was coming from the huge window he could see. It was probably late afternoon.

He was lying in a bed with crisp white sheets. These surroundings were familiar and, sure enough, he saw the rest of the Black Order's medical wing as he gazed around the spacious chamber he was in.

In a chair beside his bed was a familiar little redhead. Kanda felt a smile tugging at his lips as he gazed at the child snoozing with his arms resting at the edge of the bed. He was all right. Kanda sighed heavily with relief and sat up.

His upper left arm was bandaged but he could still see the tattoo protruding out the bottom, past his elbow. He scoffed. It would grow even more now. A broken leg was a lot to heal and his curse/blessing wasn't as strong as it had been before so he'd be stuck in this stupid place for a good few days. Just great.

But the important thing, he told himself again, was that his charge was safe. He reached out a hand and ruffled the boy's hair. But he retracted his hand when the child mumbled something and began to stir. A tiny fist rubbed the sleep from the single eye as Lavi sat up. He was instantly wide awake as he saw that Kanda was up. "Pa-papa!"

"Hey, kid," Kanda said softly.

As Lavi continued to stare, his green eye became glassy, until a tear dropped and rolled down his cheek. He fell forward onto the bed and burrowed his head in the covers. Kanda frowned and reached out to lift the child up and sat him down in his lap. "What's the matter?" he asked.

Lavi snuggled as close as he could. "Papa get hurt…because of Lavi…" he mumbled miserably.

Kanda's lip twitched upwards at the corners and he patted the child's head. "Don't worry about this. It's all right."

"B-but…it hurt?" Lavi looked up sombrely.

Kanda smoothed back strands of red hair and shook his head. "Doesn't hurt at all." That wasn't entirely a lie; he couldn't feel his right ankle and foot.

The green eye suddenly became brighter. "R-really?"

"Yeah, and I'll get better in no time."

"Lavi…glad…" the little boy murmured as a smile curved his lips.

Kanda felt…comforted by this little presence, knowing that he'd saved the boy from certain harm. How terrible it would have been if Kanda hadn't saved him! Kanda wouldn't have been able to live with such a guilty conscience! He tightened his arms around his charge, feeling the full effect of his relief. Thank goodness he's all right, he thought. He felt so content to sit with the child like this. Until…

"Papa?"

"Hmm?"

"Lavi need wee-wee."

Kanda tried hard not to smack a palm against his forehead. Yeah, better in no time, huh? He thought dismally. Well, lies had a tendency to come back and haunt you. "Um…why don't you ask that nurse over there?" he asked, hoping that, for once, the little boy would allow someone else near, as he pointed at the farther end of the chamber towards the nurses' station.

"B-but, papa!" Lavi protested, looking up at Kanda with a teary-eyed gaze. "Lavi really need wee-wee!"

"I can't get up!"

"But papa said it all right!"

"But it's not all right!" the man sighed. "Look, Lavi, for just two days, can you let someone else take care of you? Please?" He didn't know why he was looking at the child pleadingly, silently willing him to understand. The boy was only a child, after all, and the effect of the chemical which had made him this way would prevent him from trusting wholeheartedly in someone else.

But, much to Kanda's surprise, Lavi looked away after a while and, shifting off of Kanda's lap, he slid down the bed. "Ok, Lavi look for Lenalee." He didn't look back up at Kanda though.

Kanda sighed as he watched the boy walk out of the chamber, totally ignored by the nurse sitting behind the station engrossed in her work. The dark-haired man flopped back onto the bed as the infant disappeared from his view. Being a parent was so taxing.

He had been lying there staring up at the ceiling for twenty minutes, hoping that by some miracle he'd get some sleep, when he began to worry. Lavi hadn't returned yet. Where was he? He hadn't gotten himself lost, had he? What was Kanda going to do?!

He sat up and lifted the blanket off and made to swing his legs out of bed. It worked for the most part but his right leg felt stiff due to his foot. How was he going to stand?! The foot was totally numb!

But he had to manage. If he limped all the way to the nurses' station, he could ask the nurse to give him a crutch. But the nurse looked up a second later and when she saw that he was trying to get up, she immediately rushed over.

"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed.

"What does it look like?" he snorted. "I'm leaving this place."

"You can't do that! The head nurse specified that you weren't to leave for a week!"

A week?! Kanda thought, outraged. He wasn't going to stay in this stinking place for a week! As if! He glared at the nurse. "That won't happen. I heal quick."

Although a little intimidated by the glare, the nurse stood her ground. "W-well, you haven't healed yet! And until we get you sorted, you're not to leave!"

Getting more and more aggravated, Kanda's glare intensified. "You can't force me to stay here." He stood up, willing himself not to waver as some of his weight went to his injured leg. His teetered for a second but he was quick to right himself and breathed a sigh of relief.

"B-But…the head nurse can! She'll be here any moment!" the nurse said desperately. "Mr. Kanda, please lie down!"

"No, I won't." Kanda started to limp away. It was hard walking on just one foot. Quite a few times, he felt like he was going to fall over so he held onto whatever was at his side. He was getting agitated, because he didn't like being rendered so useless like this. Goddamn it! He was Yu Kanda and Yu Kanda did not have these petty problems! But his curse wasn't as strong as it had once been…or, rather, it didn't have enough of his lifespan to use up to make him better…

As he got more irritated, the tighter his scowl became. And, unfortunately for the pleading nurse, she was the only one in the vicinity for him to unleash his anger on.

"Mr. Kanda, please…"
"Shut the fuck up!" he growled. He didn't really like to yell at females but his anger had boiled over. It was taking him ridiculously long to get to that fucking door! Why did it feel like everything existed merely for the sake of testing his patience?! He turned his head to glare at the nurse. Her self-preservation instincts kicked in as she took an automatic step back. "If you can stand there lecturing me, I'm sure you could be of some help and get me a pair of crutches or something!" he snapped.

"Y-yes sir…" she said hastily as she turned and fled, looking like she was going to cry at any moment.

He waited impatiently as she went to dig out a pair of crutches. He had to find Lavi quickly. God only knew where that runt had gone! And if he could get out of this shithole, then he was going to take that opportunity!

"H-here you go, sir…" the nurse said nervously as she returned and handed over a pair of props.

"Thanks," he grunted as he took them from her and limbed out of the room, now at a much faster pace. Right, now to locate Lavi and see what the hell was taking him so long.

It only occurred to him that Lenalee and the others would be with the child when he rounded the corridor which would lead him to the cafeteria and saw the group of former Exorcists emerging. It must have been teatime now. And, in Allen's arms was the child, looking a little dismal but at least not crying. Kanda breathed a sigh of relief. The boy was in safe hands.

"Kanda! You're out already!" Lenalee exclaimed as she spotted him limping over. "Are you okay?"

"Papa!" Lavi cried, instantly looking happier. He wiggled out of Allen's grasp and slid down to the floor and ran to Kanda.

"I'm fine." Kanda said absently as he looked down at the little boy clutching onto his leg. "What took you so long? I thought you got lost!"

"But…papa said Lavi get looked after by someone else." Lavi mumbled.

"Yeah, I did say that but I didn't mean you had to completely disappear from my sight! Don't worry me like that!" Kanda took in a deep breath and let it whoosh out.

Lavi suddenly smiled and looked down at the floor. "Sorry, papa."

Kanda sighed again and lowered a hand to ruffle the boy's hair. "It's all right."

But as he took his eyes off the little boy, he realised he had an audience. Miranda, Krory, Lenalee, and Allen were all looking at him strangely. "Wh-what?" he sputtered, trying to summon up indignation at being stared at so shamelessly but being unable to do so. He felt so relieved.

"N-nothing!" Lenalee said quickly as she smiled. "So, how come they let you out so early? I mean…you don't heal as quickly as you used to so I thought the head nurse would keep you in there for a good few days."

He scoffed. "She wasn't there."

Understanding dawned on the girl's face. "Oh, I see. You escaped."

"Like the criminal that you are." Allen added. "We should go alert the head nurse right aw…! OW! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" Lenalee removed the heel of her boot from his foot, rolling her eyes as she did so.

Kanda cocked an eyebrow. It was rare for Lenalee to abuse the bean sprout out in the open. But it did serve that idiot right for taking the piss. Kanda harrumphed and turned away. "Well, we'll be going now; it'll be a mission and a half trying to get away from that old woman. C'mon, Lavi."

"Papa and Lavi on a mission?" Lavi said excitedly as he toddled after Kanda.

"Yeah, the objective is to hide from the scary head nurse." Kanda snorted. "So be quick about it and hide when I tell you. I don't want you giving me away, you hear me?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good."

Lenalee and the others watched on as the duo walked away.

"He really doesn't seem like the Kanda I first met when I joined the Black Order." Miranda mused.

"Indeed. But, like the rest of us, he's been through a lot." Krory added.

"And, even though he'd choose to ignore it, Lavi was there to help him along the way." Lenalee smiled.

"Tch, what is wrong with you people? Is this a congregation celebrating their friendship or something? You can all do that in about fifty years' time when we're all old and wrinkly and about to hit the grave." Allen scoffed, though he couldn't fight off the smile pulling at his lips. There was just certain…serenity in watching the man walk away so calmly with his child…oops, his best friend.

"Yu Kanda, come out of there this minute!"

"Oh, shit!" Kanda swore as the banging on his door continued. He looked over at Lavi. The child had just gone to sleep a while ago but he was starting to stir with all the noise. Kanda was sure the kid was worn out; he'd not been his usual energetic self ever since they'd come back to Kanda's room, instead he'd chosen to motionlessly sit in Kanda's lap, where he'd drifted off before long.

The man heaved a sigh and, reaching for his crutches, he pulled himself up and hobbled towards the door. "Will you please keep it down?" Kanda said with irritation as he faced the livid old woman in a white habit standing before his door. "There's a kid trying to sleep in there."

The head nurse appeared not to have heard his words as she fixed him with a stern look, though she did tone her voice down. "What do you think you're doing out of the infirmary when you're injured, young man?"

Kanda sighed. "I'm not going back to that place."

"We shall see about that." And, like she'd always done when her patients disobeyed her orders, she took him by the ear and began dragging him away.

"H-hey! I have a kid to look after! You can't do this to me!" he protested, hissing as his numb foot took his weight and he was slid painfully along the floor.

"One of your other friends will take him in." the head nurse said.

"You don't understand! He'll cry if I'm not there! And then he'll probably end up searching all over the place and he'll get lost and nobody would know where to look!"

The old woman heaved a sigh and stopped, letting go of his ear as she did so. "All right. If you go back to the infirmary, I will bring the child to you, all right?"

He stood up, glare in place as he tried hard not to fall again. Stupid old woman, barging in and treating him in such a disrespectful manner! Nevertheless, he didn't speak his thoughts out loud; who knew what she could do?! "Fine. Just…be careful…" he felt his breath whooshing out of him as he imagined what it'd be like if Lavi woke up to find himself in the arms of someone other than Kanda. If it were Lenalee, it'd be okay. In fact, Lenalee should stay in the hospital wing too, just in case Lavi proved too much of a handful for Kanda in this state.

He was snapped out of his musings as the head nurse spoke again, already walking past him. "All right. Anything else?"

"Ask Lenalee to come down too."

"I shall do so. Now, straight to the infirmary with you, young man."

"Yes, ma'am." he mumbled grudgingly as he started to limp away. When he looked back, the woman was turning into his room. He wondered if he should bolt…but it would be futile since she'd be able to find him and, anyway, if she was going to bring Lavi along to the medical wing, Kanda had to be there so the child would be at ease.

He sighed in defeat and lumbered on. Stupid people and their stupid tendencies to get on his nerves…

Back in the medical wing, he spotted the same nurse from earlier sitting at her desk. When she saw him walk in, she immediately bowed her head and resumed her work. Kanda scoffed and went to the bed at the end and sat himself down.

Two minutes passed and the head nurse returned too, with Lenalee hot on her heels carrying baby Lavi. Lavi looked like he'd been crying but he stopped when he saw Kanda. Lenalee set him down on his feet and he ran to Kanda's bed. "Papa! Why papa back here?"

"I had no choice." Kanda grumbled as he picked the boy up to set him down on the bed.

"Papa? Mission failed?" Lavi asked, looking up earnestly.

Kanda frowned, wondering what he was on about before the words of earlier sank in. "Oh. Yeah, it failed."

"Oh." the child looked sad.

Kanda smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "But don't worry. It's no big." He then looked over at Lenalee. "I…um…I was wondering if you might do me a favour…" the words sounded strange on his lips. He didn't often ask for help and it was absurd to do so over such a small thing.

"What is it?" Lenalee asked with a smile.

He kept his gaze trained on Lavi, trying not to let his embarrassment show. "Can you…drop by a few times a day…while I'm stuck here? J-just to…ya know…take care of Lavi and all."

Lenalee smiled grew. "Sure! I'd love to!" She looked at Lavi. "If Lavi's okay with that."

"Lavi?" Kanda urged.

"It okay." Lavi mumbled before crawling into Kanda's lap and burrowing his face in Kanda's shirt.

"Good." Kanda breathed a sigh of relief. This kid was so unpredictable sometimes. And it would be such a chore taking care of him like this. Stupid slowed healing process!

"All right. So, do you need anything now?" Lenalee asked.

"No. He went to the bathroom before, right?"

"Yeah."

"Did he have anything to eat?"

"Yup. He had three glasses of milk at teatime, with a whole plate of biscuits…and he said he didn't feel like eating!"

Kanda looked down at the little boy. "You little glutton. Three glasses of milk and a whole plate of biscuits, huh?"

"Lavi was hungry." Lavi replied defensively.

"Whatever. You were always a glutton."

"Lavi not a glutton!"

"Sure you're not."

"Lavi not!"

"If you say so, kid."

"Papa!"

"What? Don't yell at me, boy."

Lavi burrowed his face into Kanda's shirt again. "Sorry, papa."

Kanda smiled another odd half-smile as he patted the boy's head softly. "That's all right. You wanna get some sleep now? You're still tired, aren't you?" Lavi nodded.

A while later, Lenalee departed and Kanda laid Lavi down on the bed. He removed the child's shoes and then pulled the blanket up to Lavi's chin. Lavi stirred a little and rolled over onto his side. "Pa…pa…" he murmured.

He's so attached, Kanda thought as his expression softened and a smile stretched across his lips. Idiot.

Lavi shifted to lie on his back again and his features distorted, as if he was going to start crying. "Pa…pa…" he became restless, tossing and turning. "Papa…! Papa…hurt. Lavi…Lavi fault…"

Kanda sighed. Another nightmare, except it was a little different. Usually, the child only mumbled things like "don't leave" or "Lavi sad". The accident must have had a bigger impact than Kanda had first thought. He looked sombrely down at the child and stroked back strands of red hair away from the little face.

The restlessness continued so, sighing again, he laid himself down beside the boy. He put a hand on the red head, holding the child close, and whispered soothing words into Lavi's ear. "It's okay, Lavi. I'm all right…so get to sleep. It's not your fault…I'm right here." He didn't know whether the boy could hear him or not but it seemed to work; Lavi's restlessness gradually died down and he went back to sleeping soundly, though he clutched a bunch of Kanda's hair tightly in one little fist.

"Pa…pa…"

Kanda exhaled wearily and slumped back onto the pillow, careful not to get too far from the baby when his hair got tugged. It was so draining trying to be so openly kind. But he had to be like that otherwise he'd feel guilty. Besides, he'd not thought for one second that Lavi had been at fault for Kanda's current situation so he didn't want Lavi to suffer over that. Lavi was just a kid; he should be happy, with that vibrant smile on his face.

He turned over to look at the face of the child, mere centimetres away from his, and raised a cautious hand up to run the back of one finger along Lavi's cheek. "…Biscuit…" Lavi mumbled, shifting his head a little so he leaned more into the soft touch. A bit of drool ran out the corner of his mouth. A chuckle rose in Kanda's throat. What, does he think my hand's a biscuit? Idiot. He thought. But he didn't laugh. He'd probably wake the boy up and he didn't want to do that.

He's…he's really cute, he thought with an amused smile.

And this chapter marks the gradual change in Kanda, I suppose...? Damn, I don't know how the hell I'm going to reach the end objective of this story without making Kanda seem very, very OOC _