AN: Part two of December 22nd. Kanda and Allen argue and challenge each other. Lena threatens Kanda. Lavi gives Allen good advice.
Chapter 11 ~ You Can Do This
The loud slam of a door interrupted the sparks flying between "BaKanda" and "Moyashi." Cross staggered into the kitchen; his clothes rumpled, shirt buttoned incorrectly, sunglasses over his eyes, and a cigarette dangling loosely from his lips.
"Oi, Brat! Fetch me a coffee. I need to cut this hangover off before it kicks in."
"Still drunk, eh, you alcoholic slut?"
"Hmph, sadly not for long. I can feel the change setting in. Now fix my drink and flirt with your pretty boy later."
Kanda glared at Cross. Lavi and Lena cringed at the look, knowing that it promised a world of torment to its intended recipient. Cross merely snickered and patted him on the shoulder.
"Cute, kid. Give yourself a decade or two of living in the real world and you might actually be threatening."
The next thing Cross knew he was on the floor, blinking up at Kanda and holding a hand to his bleeding lip. Kanda stood perfectly still. He had moved so quickly that nobody actually saw the punch he landed on Cross.
"Don't you fucking dare pretend like you know anything about how I've lived. I've survived more Hell than your pathetic, alcohol riddled mind can ever comprehend."
"You insolent little fool. How dare you behave this way in my house!"
"Che, I was under the impression this is the Moyashi's house."
"Technically it is my house, and the name is Allen, BaKanda. I tolerate Cross as he's supposed to be my guardian. It's more like I'm raising him, though."
Allen sighed and handed Cross a bag of ice wrapped in a towel.
"I can't drink this! Where's my coffee?"
"It's for your face. You want coffee, get it yourself you lazy arse hat."
Cross opened his mouth as if to reply but thought better of it when he cast a glance in Kanda's direction and saw the glare directed his way. He held the ice to his face as he climbed up from the floor. He made his own coffee and began to leave.
"By the way, Cross, Tyki left a message for you. You 'owe' him and he 'fully intends to collect.' You may want to clean yourself up a bit and try to apologize to him for last night. He strikes me as the type you'd regret screwing over."
"Fun…I'll be going then. Nice hit, by the way, pretty boy. And Allen, don't do anything I wouldn't do. You guys enjoy yourselves." Cross smirked and walked off to go clean up before trying to talk to Tyki.
Allen sighed and turned to face the other three.
"So, my idea was that we all hang out and watch movies. I've got a home theatre system and all types of movies. I know it's not creative but it allows us to sit around here and get to know one another better."
"We're in!" Lavi and Lena answered at the same time.
"Che, why not?"
"Excellent! I'll lead the way."
Allen smiled and gently placed his hand on Kanda's arm. The older teen looked nervous but did not back away. He allowed Allen to guide him down a hallway, Lavi and Lena following behind them.
They entered a fairly spacious room. A large screen faced a couple of loveseats covered with very soft cushions. Speakers were mounted on the walls. A computer and a projector sat on a desk at the back of the room. Allen led the others to the desk and brought a list up.
"So we have romance, comedy, animated, action, horror…pick a genre and we can go through the movies available."
Lavi and Lena wanted something that would give Allen and Kanda a chance to get close. They knew Kanda never showed fear during horror movies but Allen's reaction was unknown. They also knew Kanda would complain about romance, comedy, or animation, which only left action or horror. Nodding to each other, Lena opened her mouth to answer.
"Horror. I bet you're a chicken, Moyashi."
Lena looked at Kanda and smiled with pride. He kept making this easier for her and Lavi.
"As if a movie could frighten me, BaKanda. I too have endured more Hell than most people realize."
"Really? What happened to you? Run out of coffee on a Monday morning?"
Allen said nothing, but the anger and pain that flashed in his eyes made Kanda wish he had not taken his teasing quite so far.
"Che. Just pick the 'scariest' movie you have and we'll see which one of us gets frightened first."
"And what does the loser have to do?"
"Oh, are we turning this into a real competition?"
"And why not? Is it because you know you're going to lose?"
"In your dreams, sprout. You'll be cowering against me, begging for protection before you even realize it."
"'Cowering' and 'begging,' hmm? You're a confident one, aren't you? In that case, how about the loser has to do whatever the winner wants for the rest of your visit?"
"Um, guys? Isn't that maybe just a teeny bit over-the-top? How about for the rest of the day instead?" Lavi felt like he had to intervene. Allen and Kanda were taking this challenge too far.
"Too easy. How about for all day tomorrow?" Lena suggested.
"No way. Moyashi thinks he can beat me and he's offered to do whatever I want him to for the rest of our time here if he loses. You know I never lose. I say we stick with his original suggestion."
"I agree, but it's because I never lose. Prepare to be my little bitch, Ba – Kan – Da."
"Oh, hell – we should record this, Lena."
"Shh, at least they're getting together on their own this way." Lena whispered in his ear.
"Okay, in order to make this challenge completely fair, I request that Lavi and Lena select the movie. That way you cannot accuse me of cheating when I win."
"Fine. They won't go easy on either of us. They know I always want a fair fight."
"Yay! What's the most horrific thing you have, Al? Let's find out, Lena."
Lavi and Lena browsed through the list of horror films on Allen's computer. They argued over a few before they settled on one.
While Lavi and Lena chose a movie, Allen and Kanda taunted each other.
"I bet you're afraid of the dark, Mo – ya – shi."
"And you probably need your daddy to tuck you in every night after he checks for the closet monster, Ba - Kan - Da."
"I never had a 'daddy.' Tiedoll tried tucking me in once, but I threatened to kill him."
"I'm not sure if you're joking about that part or not, but I still know you're going to lose." Allen sat on one of the loveseats.
"No! You will lose." Kanda scowled as he stood in front of Allen.
"Well sit down, Mr. Confidence. You gotta be close to me so you can cling to me when you get terrified." Allen patted the seat beside him.
"Che. I'm gonna take a piss. Don't worry. I'll be back so you can hide behind me when things get too scary for you to deal with."
Kanda shot a look at Lena and she immediately recognized it. She excused herself to get some sodas for everybody and followed Kanda out of the room.
"Fuck! What was I thinking? I can't do this! What the hell am I thinking? He's freaking hypnotizing me or some shit! I can't back outta this now. Why didn't you stop me, Lena? If I lose, he's gonna make me his…um, well, I think you can imagine what he'll want from me. I can't get involved with the Moyashi. I can't do it! I've gotta stay single! I'm not good enough to date him. I'm not ready. I'm not – shit! I just can't handle this! Tell them I fell suddenly, horribly, violently ill. Tell them Tiedoll needed me. Break the projector somehow. Whatever the fuck you can do, just do something."
A sharp slap resounded in the room. Kanda's eyes grew wide in shock as he raised a hand to touch the reddening mark on his cheek.
"Kanda Yuu, man the fuck up! I am sick and tired of this moping around 'stay single' 'not good enough' 'never dating again' bull shit! This is not who you are. You're a talented, intelligent, gorgeous, confident, arrogant, pushy, proud sonovabitch and I love you for it. I want my Yuu-brother back! And it's not just me – 'Mui and Reever, Lavi, Tiedoll and Alice – we all want you to come back to us. The old Kanda Yuu would be all over that hot little opportunity presenting himself."
"No I wouldn't. I'd have to tease him a little bit, make him work for it. He's just so sure of himself. It's like he thinks he's got me wrapped around his finger."
"So do it! Go in there and show him."
"But I can't! Don't you think I want to go back to the way things used to be? That I wish I still acted like I did back then? But I'm not that person anymore…I can't be that person. You know what that did to me. What I was going through when I had such confidence. It was fake, a total lie."
"No, Kanda. I don't mean then, and you know it! That wasn't confidence. I meant after you left Alma but before that disaster took place. You stood up for yourself and weren't afraid of what others thought. That's the Kanda that I want back, the one you need back."
"It's not that simple, Lena. I can't change the past. The 'disaster' happened, and it changed me. I'm ruined. I can't be that Kanda again. I can't let myself fall for another guy like I did then, leaving Alma and then letting him back into my life. How can I trust someone after that?"
"Allen is not Alma! It's not fair to him to not even give him a chance. Yes, you made a mistake when you went back to Alma, but we all make mistakes. You've tortured yourself enough over it, Kanda. It's time to set yourself free. Give into your feelings and see what happens. Allen is a sweetheart. I know we just met him but I can feel it when I look into his eyes. He's honest and caring, and he's hurting too…I know it can't be the same pain as yours but it is pain. Please, Kanda, I can't explain it any better than this but try, if not for yourself, do it for me. It's not gonna be like Alma. I swear it! If I'm wrong, blame me – take it out on me!"
"Lenalee Lee! I could never do that to you. You've been there for me since we were little, even sticking with me through the worst of my bull shit. I've drug you through Hell and you never gave up on me."
"Then you just made my case for me."
"How so?"
"You said it yourself – I've never given up on you. I believe in you and right now I believe that you can do this. You can go in there and enjoy your time with Allen and see where it leads. You don't believe it, but you deserve to be loved. I'm not going to just sit by and watch you pass up what could be the most amazing guy you'll ever know. Now go in there and fucking flirt with that adorable 'Moyashi.' I'm gonna kick your ass if you don't listen this time!"
"I can't promise anything. You're demanding that I reprogram the way I've been living for the past six months."
"So you don't have to make a move on him, but you can respond to what he does. Don't push him away. You overanalyze everything. Don't think; just feel."
"Che."
"Do it, or I'll have Lavi 'help' you out with Allen."
"Shit, okay. Just give me a few minutes to calm down. I'll be right there. Now go get the sodas you said you were going to get."
"Okay, and Kanda?"
"Hnn?"
"Thank you."
"Um, Lavi, do you think Kanda is okay? He's been gone quite a while."
"Oh, no worries. Yuu gets sidetracked sometimes but he'll be back. He can't resist a challenge. Lena prob'ly roped him into helpin' her."
"If you say so."
"You really like him, dontcha?"
"Well, I know we barely met but there's just something about him. He's like a force of nature. I can't explain it. I'm drawn to him, completely pulled towards him. I can't stop myself and I don't want to. But I get the feeling that he's afraid of me – no, not really me but something…of the chance of he and I getting together perhaps? Why would he fear that? He seems to be interested in me. Or am I misinterpreting things?"
"No, you're right. Amazingly, perfectly right. He's got issues. I can't explain them; it's not my place to tell. He does like you though. He wouldn't be acting like this if he didn't. Just be patient. Kanda will sort things out for himself. Act as you want to, not overly pushy, but you can be forward with flirting. It'd probably even encourage him a little. He'll come around when he's accepted it himself."
"I hope you're right."
"Of course I am. A Bookman always knows."
"What's a Bookman?"
"Oh, it's my family name…we're just awesome like that."
"Ah, I see…Well, I'm going to excuse myself for a few moments. I need to compose myself, digest the information that he truly is interested and that I actually do have a chance. Honestly, I need to talk myself into flirting with him more. This is new territory for me. I've always believed nobody would ever be genuinely interested in me."
"Why not?"
"I'm...different. Just some weird, scarred music geek. Nothing to hold anyone's fancy unless they happen to be attracted to the name Walker."
"Someone's cynical."
"Yeah, well, someone has reason to be. I'm sorry...that was harsh. I'm just touchy about family issues and the lack of care I've received from others in my past."
"Can't blame ya there. Your dad surprised me. Neah is always so nice back home."
"I'd rather not get into that right now. I need to focus on Kanda. I need to break through whatever barrier it is that he's trying to maintain and let him know how I feel. That I'm not going to hurt him like he was obviously hurt in the past. I've been hurt too and I want to help him heal, as I want him to help me heal."
"You really can sense things about him. You can do this, Al...If anyone can break through to him, it's you."
