I feel like I've waited too long to update again, and I'm really sorry about that! But I have college starting in about three days, as well as working on my future NaNo project. However, I'm going to work around all of this and continue updating for you guys, so you're not all "What's gonna happen to Tyki?" or "Give us MOAR YULLEN!" Just saying. XD

Anyway, if any of you are brave enough to read the M rated stuff on here, I've just posted the first part of a two-shot Kanda/Lavi kink. *shameless self promotion* Also, I've just started a FictionPress account, with the same username as there is on here. If you're at all interested in my egocentric, unrightly gay characters from my series, go check me out! …eh, after I load something up on there. I have to finish typing one of them up. *is shot*

And without further ado . . .

Rating: T, as usual, for Kanda's slight cursing and the adorable sexy Yullen moments.

Dislcaimer: D. Gray-Man is the sole property of Katsura Hoshino

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Only a week had passed since the lovebirds had left the Order. Only a week, and Lavi was bored out of his mind. It only took him about two hours to find out that Lenalee was avoiding him with every last bit of her strength. Once she heard that Allen and Kanda had left, she grew enraged, to the point where Komui had to physically stop her from tearing apart the Order. To Lavi, who found it easy to read people, this was odd; even if Lenalee was being controlled by someone, she was still herself.

The redhead left her alone for that first week, figuring that she needed time to rethink her actions. He knew that Komui had to stop her from going after Allen and Kanda several times, and that now it was nearly impossible to leave Headquarters thanks to the boarded up gate. However, the pigtailed girl had finally calmed down somewhat; she had taken to sitting at meals with them, even though all she did was glare down at her plate like something was about to sprout from it. Lavi did not try talking to her if she looked like she was in a foul mood, nor did he attempt to force himself on her. She would open up on her own time, and Lavi knew she was strong. Eventually, she would regain her sanity. She would remember him, he was sure. But until then, all he was able to do was sit and wait. Sure, it was hard to do, but if the situation had been swapped, she would have done the same for him.

On the seventh night after Allen and Kanda's departure, Lavi was tiredly walking back to his room after a grueling day of rearranging the millions of books in the library. His arms were sore; it was an obvious sign that he hadn't fought in a very long time. As he traipsed down the long, dark hall, he contemplated finding a new weapon to fight with. Even if it wasn't his beloved Innocence, he'd feel better if he were able to do some sort of fighting. Like this, without any sort of attacking utensil, he felt helpless. If their secret opponent showed up, he could do nothing to stop it. They were unprotected.

Lavi's shoulders slumped down tiredly, his step faltering until his heavy boots dragged across the floor. He really missed Allen and Kanda, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. Everything was so much more fun with them; the way they constantly argued even though it was quite obvious that they both liked each other. The way that Allen's face would light up like a bright red beacon every time the ex-Bookman mentioned the samurai's name. Heck, Lavi even missed Mugen's presence at his neck. There was nothing going on otherwise. It was the whole reason Lavi was still alive. If he'd known that everything would be so quiet, so . . . lonely after the war, he would have let the Noah kill him.

And he knew, there was no reason for him to be alive, not really. There was no reason for him to remain with the nearly dead Order. He had no Innocence anymore, and so he couldn't harm any of the remaining Noah with a normal weapon, nor could he take down an akuma. No, Allen and Kanda were the only ones who could still fight. Their Innocence was still intact, making them the only real threat to their invisible enemies—

Wait.

Lavi's booted feet started a too loud clatter in the empty hall, the sound echoing in unison from the frantic breathing that started to emit from his mouth. He was such an idiot! To think that he hadn't noticed this before . . . if the old panda had still been alive, Lavi would have been slaughtered for looking over this.

Allen and Kanda were the only remaining powerful fighting forces left in the Order. Lenalee, whom had seemingly lost all memories of even her beloved older brother, still remembered Allen and Kanda. And Allen had told him that time, after the two lovers had come pelting down the hall, that the Chinese Exorcist had indeed been spying on them in the training room. If all of these connections were put together, then that meant . . .

Whoever was on the other side of sending Lenalee over, supposedly Road Camelot, had known that no one else was capable of fighting. And if sending an awkward Lenalee could get them away from the Order and her "spying", then that meant the Order was open for a full-scaled attack! They could be taken down in minutes, with no one able to oppose their enemy like this.

They had to get out of here, and go into hiding. And, as much as Lavi hated even thinking of this, they had to get away from Lenalee. If the girl followed them, it didn't matter where they went to hide. This was troublesome, annoying . . . he had to tell Komui, before anything else happened. He had to—

Wham.

The force of running into the solid object just in front of him sent Lavi tumbling to the floor. Swiftly he scrambled up, apologizing without really looking up. "Ah, I'm sorry, I'm just in a bit of a hurry—"

"It's okay, Lavi. Don't worry about it."

Lavi froze, eyes finally flickering over to the figure standing there. Oh God, this wasn't good . . .

Lenalee smiled sweetly, her eyes glittering with a disguised emotion as she straightened the clothes Lavi had just rumpled.

.

"So hungry," I moaned faintly, draping my body overtop of Kanda's as my stomach growled angrily at me. After five days on this hellhole of a ship, all the food we'd bought was gone, and this ship was anything but fancy. Their portions of food for each meal were certainly small, and it just so happened that they refused to give out seconds. I felt guilty about it, too; Kanda always gave up part of his meal so I could have a little more. Even if he wouldn't admit it, he was hungry too.

"Shut up and conserve energy, Moyashi," Kanda spat back, one of his arms circling around my waist. With a soft sigh, I momentarily pressed my lips against his cheek and slumped my entire weight against him.

"How long are we going to stay on this ship?" I complained.

"It depends on the weather, you idiot. And since we haven't been getting much wind, it's taking longer than usual. We could have been there by next week, but if the weather stays the way it has been, it'll take us a couple months to get to China."

"Ngh . . . I can't go that long with this kind of food." I held up my left arm; it was trembling slightly, as though the Innocence were begging for a sort of sustenance.

"If it takes that long, they're going to stop in a port next week for supplies."

"Thank God." I lowered the shaking arm and cuddled my face into Kanda's chest; this couch really was quite comfortable, I had to admit. Even if the only one laying on it was my Japanese boyfriend . . . "How do you learn all this?"

"Che. Unlike you, I'm not afraid to ask people about my partner's needs."

"You wouldn't do that before," I giggled softly, pulling my face up to stare at him.

"Of course not." A slight pink blush rose to his cheeks, complimenting his olive skin wonderfully. "Before you weren't my priority. Now I . . . um . . ."

"Now you have a lover to take care of," I finished for him, knowing he was too chicken to say it himself. "How sweet. See, that's why I like you, Kanda. Even if you won't say it to my face."

"Shut up."

"Neh, Kanda, I'm bored." I let my head thump down against him, earning a soft gasp in reply. "How long are we going to stay below decks? I want to see the ocean."

"You can see it through the porthole." Kanda gestured vaguely behind him to the round window.

"That's not enough. I want to go up there, Kanda, please? Come with me?"

"Go by yourself."

"Ah, but that's no fun, I want to look with you!" I slammed both hands down on his chest and pushed my body upright until I was sitting on him and proceeded to glare at his nonchalant face. "Kanda. Is this because you're scared of falling off the side?"

Instantly the body beneath my stiffened. I knew it; even though I'd promised, he still didn't want to risk it. And, for some reason, that made my heart hurt.

"Do you not trust me?" I breathed. "I said I wouldn't let you die. So why can't you accept that?"

"Because I . . ."

"What?"

"It's nothing." Kanda raised his arms and pushed me off of him and onto the floor. He raised his body from the couch and threw his jacket on, taking his time in fastening it around him. I stared in complete confusion at him, confused by his jerky actions and still wondering why the hell he had shoved me away from him.

"Moyashi."

"Eh?"

"Are you coming or not?" He stuck one socked foot into his boot, eyes locked on my bewildered face. That bastard, toying with me again.

"Kanda—"

"It's not that I don't trust you," he said suddenly, bending down to meet me face to face. "You have to give me time to get over my own fears. I know you'll protect me; you have before, and there's no way I can doubt it. But even so, I don't like standing so near death."

I raised an eyebrow, trying to make a joke out of the serious moment. "The side of the boat symbolizes death?"

"The water, baka!" he retorted, one fist bonking down on my head forcefully.

"Thanks, Kanda," I laughed quietly as I pulled myself upright. "Even if you don't want to, it makes me happy that you'll do it."

"Che. Just hurry up before I change my mind."

"I'm coming!"

.

"Lenalee," Lavi managed to gasp out, hardly managing to conceal the suspicion he had of her at this point. "What are you going out here? It's late, you should be in bed . . ."

"But if that's the point, shouldn't you be in bed too?"

"Ah, I was straightening up the library and started reading a book. I lost track of the time."

"I see." The Chinese girl smiled, and there was no hint of maliciousness in that gesture; it was purely something the old Lenalee would have done. Lavi felt himself relaxing even as he saw it. "What were you doing running that fast, though?"

"Ah . . . exercising." There was no way Lavi could tell her he'd been going to see Komui. She would have instantly known he'd figured something out. "I just figured that since Allen and Kanda aren't here, I'd better make sure I'm in shape. You never know what kind of robbers might come after us, you know?" Robbers? How stupid. But then, it was the best excuse the former Bookman could come up with.

"Has that happened before?" she asked curiously, cocking her head to one side.

"Nah, but . . . we're pretty vulnerable here, ya know?" Lavi smiled back, making sure he seemed convincing. "I mean, without Allen and Lavi, we can't really protect ourselves from outsiders. The rest of us can't use our Innocence, or we don't have it any more."

"Oh." She looked down at the floor. "Hey . . . Lavi?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry I can't remember you, or my brother. I know you must have meant a lot to me before the war ended, and I feel bad that all I can do is run from you. So . . . will you try to help me remember?"

Lavi could tell, in that moment, that this was not Road or anyone else trying to manipulate the girl into getting closer to him. This was purely something that Lenalee wanted, as a girl that was hurting from her blank past. And so he smiled again and nodded firmly, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder. "I'll do everything I can to get the old Lenalee back."

"Thank you, Lavi." Lenalee took a few steps past him before turning back. "I'm going to go to bed now, but I hope we can talk tomorrow. Is that alright?"

"Yes, fine," he replied before heading once again for Komui's office. Really, he was so confused. And the only thing he could think about at this stage was that it was going to be very hard to fight this war a second time.

And he was going to do it, no matter what, with Lenalee Lee on their side.

.

I had to admit . . . it was kind of cute seeing Kanda when he was scared. As mean as it was, I couldn't stop my inner self from doing a jig when the older man practically ripped my hand from my side and into his, fingers squeezing out a death grip. Kanda was terrified.

Luckily for him, I wasn't so amused that I didn't take his jerky actions into consideration. I reached up with my free hand and pulled his face down so I could kiss him firmly, ignoring the gapes and stares from the other passengers on the top deck. "You know, if you relax a little, you might actually enjoy this."

"Talk to me again in half an hour, Moyashi," he retorted shakily.

"You're not going to be sick, are you?"

"Keep staying stuff like that and I will . . . all over you."

"Silly Kanda." I squeezed his hand back and pulled him over to an empty deck chair, willing him to sit down in it. "If you don't want to go to the edge, that's fine. It's enough that you came up here with me."

"Don't take too long." The Japanese Exorcist reluctantly sat back in the chair, cobalt eyes locked on our hands as I pulled away.

"I'll only look for a couple minutes." I planted one last kiss on his cheek and then walked off to the railing edge.

The ocean, as usual, seemed too big. It reminded me too much of the fact that I was only one small person in the giant world, and that even if I'd saved this world from total destruction at the hands of the Earl, no one would ever know that Allen Walker was their savior. There was no sign of land anywhere near us; all I could see was a vibrant blue that was nearly the same color as Kanda's eyes. As tiny as it made me feel, I loved it. The smell, the breeze that whipped through my hair, the fresh air that sailed through my lungs . . . I loved all of it. It upset me that Kanda was too frightened to see it for himself, but I wasn't about to force him to come. After all, what kind of a lover would I be if I did that?

I wondered idly how Lavi and Lenalee were doing. I still felt guilty for leaving them in preference for the mission, but otherwise, we'd probably just be spied on the entire time. We needed to avoid detection from the enemy at all costs. Besides, Lavi was brilliant despite having dropped the title of Bookman. If anyone could snap Lenalee out of her "trance", it was him. I'd just have to trust his judgment if we wanted this issue to be solved.

Strong arms wrapping around my waist brought me back from my momentary thoughts, and I turned around to find Kanda standing there, his expression chiseled from stone. "Kanda, why—"

"I came up here to see the ocean with you, not sit down like a freaking bum. Got that, Moyashi?"

I grinned excitedly and placed my hands on top of the ones that were gripping my middle. It was Kanda's way of saying he wanted to conquer his fears. That, or he was too afraid of me falling over the rail to leave me alone. The latter sounded like the more likely reason . . .

"Ne, Kanda, isn't it pretty?" I asked, turning back to the sea. "It's all big and endless. It makes you feel small."

"Not really," he muttered softly.

"Eh?"

"It's like this: the sea may be huge compared to us, but we're only one boat in that large sea. There aren't a million boats floating around out here." Kanda sucked in a deep breath, arms tightening around me. "This sea is huge. There are only about fifty people on this ship of ours, and there aren't any other ships in sight. So think about it this way: in this entire sea, there are only fifty people. That doesn't make us small. It makes us important."

"Kanda," I giggled, whirling around to grin up at him. "And all this time Lavi was sure you didn't have a brain in that thick skull of yours. I knew you were smart."

"What . . . the hell does Lavi say about me?"

"You must be clueless if you don't know what Lavi says about you. Aren't you his best friend?"

"I am not that baka usagi's best friend."

"Don't deny it, Kanda; lying doesn't fit you about as much as cursing does." I reached up and tweaked his perfectly sculpted nose. "Come on, let's go back down. You still seem pretty tense; I don't want you to get scared."

"It's . . . not as bad as I thought it would be," he admitted. "The rail is pretty high, so it's not easy to fall off."

"That's my Kanda, sucking up to the scary stuff." I pulled him away from the rail. "Let's go, it's almost dinner time. I feel like I'm about to faint."

"If you say your stomach is yelling 'feed me' one more time . . ."

"I won't, because it's not. It's yelling 'I'm dying!'"

"Moyashi, I'm about to strangle you."

"How will you get over your fear of death then?"

". . . shut up."

.

"I see," Komui sighed, leaning over the cluttered desk to stare solemnly at Lavi. "Your theory is sound, and it's highly likely that our mystery enemy will try to attack us. I must admit, I'm glad your logic has remained with the Order."

"I feel stupid for not realizing it before. But . . . after a few minutes ago, I don't think we should take any drastic measures yet." The redhead leaned back against the couch, biting his lip as he recalled the run in with Lenalee. Komui would understand, he was sure.

"Oh?"

"Lenalee may not be as out of it as we think. I want . . . a week. One week, to see if I can make her remember the rest of us. I think I can do it."

"One week, Lavi," Komui agreed, lifting up a nearly blank piece of paper to stare at it. "And then we'll leave . . . and we'll leave my sister behind if you can't do it, as much as I don't want to."

"Thanks, Komui." Lavi smiled weakly as he stood to leave. He knew the Chief was hesitant about this, but he wasn't about to give up on someone he'd thought he loved for so long.

He'd make sure Lenalee regained her senses.

.

"Ne, Tyki, I'm really bored. How about we play a game?" Road giggled, staring down at a fully asleep Lenalee through her dreams.

"What kind of a game this time?"

"A big one. How about we send some Akumas to play with the helpless Exorcists? I really want to watch some action."

"Isn't it a little early for that?" the swirling mist sighed.

"Nah. After all, we aren't working under the Earl any more. We can put this script to work as soon as we want. So what do you think, Uncle Tyki? Should we start the first act?"

"Well . . . we might as well."

"Oh goodie!" the Lolita laughed. "Finally we can have some fun. It's been too long."

"Way too long," Tyki whispered maliciously.

.

Phew! Okay, gang, you asked for longer chapters, and so longer chapters you have! Actually, this is a little shorter than I had originally planned out, but that's because I hadn't updated so long I felt guilty and wanted to get this up as soon as possible.

Okay, two questions. One: what do you think of some Lucky? I've had a couple requests for it, but I haven't asked the majority of the readers. Second question (and this is only if like, EVERYONE agrees to it): is anyone a fan of hard yaoi? If practically everyone agrees to it, I'll change the rating to M and . . . uh . . . add some fruits . . . but if you don't want it, PLEASE don't be afraid to be the one person that says no. That's all it will take.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and reviews are always nice! Thanks for reading!

~Shadow