"Let not the piece of virtue which is set

Betwixt us, as the cement of our love

To keep it builded, be the ram to batter

The fortress of it. For better might we

Have loved without this mean, if on both parts

This not be cherished."

-Octavius Ceasar; Act III; Scene II

When the Black Order Acknowledges Theater

Disclaimer: I don't own -man…

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: Antony and Cleopatra (part two) (We wouldn't know)

There is a loud banging on Lavi's door. "What the hell have you been putting into my nephew's mind you damn bunny!" was the furious yell. And you could also hear the "Lavi! I can't believe you said such things to Akagi!" with it. Along with loud murmurs of "Wasn't he on the mission with you?". Of course, even without these voices, it would be plainly obvious to Lavi who the hell it was banging on his door, because no one else ever banged at his door so furiously, usually it was a frantic banging. This one was… how do you say... irate? .Kanda.

"Calm down you two. It's as if you don't remember any of the outrageous things I did during our mission..." Lavi opens the door, Kanda's arm is raised up to bang the door and Allen's is raised up to knock. Lavi raises an eyebrow and laughs at their silence "How could I have possibly taught him those things in my own absence?"

"You're a rabbit, that's how." Kanda says through gritted teeth

Lavi's eyebrow doesn't go down, he smirks and says "That's just silly Yuu, what particular trait of a rabbit would have helped me do that?"

Allen is just slapping his beet red face, muttering curses. Kanda rolls his eyes and replies "Rabbits are stupid, that's what."

"Right... I don't see how that would have helped me..." Lavi suppresses a laugh

"Don't worry about them Lavi, they just don't want to think I figured it out myself so they blame you."Akagi says with a snort "As if things aren't obvious..."

"As if things aren't OBVIOUS..."Lavi repeats and he glances at Allen

And this time there is no word of disagreement from Kanda, they all look at Allen. "What the hell! You're turning against me?" and he's looking at Kanda, expression appalled.

"Well..." Kanda says "...You ARE usually loud..."

Allen takes blushing to a whole new level "W-Well... That's YOUR fault!"

Kanda shrugs, Akagi snorts, and Lavi is laughing hysterically. "You know what's funny?" Lavi's holding his stomach, he almost can't breath from the laughter, it's a miracle he's even speaking

"What?" and although Allen IS annoyed, it's Kanda who seems to be MOST annoyed at this.

"Well..." Lavi continues to laugh "That Allen's usually loud is BRAND NEW INFORMATION to me..." and he laughs hysterically

Kanda and Allen stare dumbfounded, both looking irked. "Thing is, I think he was referring to your public display of affection back at the cafeteria." says Akagi "But I though he of all people would know that you're loud Allen." and then he faces the pair, grin on his face.

The two grit their teeth, one turns lightly pink and the other a deep, deep beet red. Curses are muttered, and Lavi might have to get another eye patch.

…………………………….

When they're alone, in a quiet place, conversation actually makes sense. Neither of them ever end up shouting, they certainly fair better in solitude. Their favorite place is probably that corner in the library.

"You talk in you sleep sometimes" Kanda flinches at that statement, but his eyes don't leave his book

"You've heard me?" and Kanda tries to sound unconcerned "…what did I say?"

"Well… Actually… it's what Akagi tells me" Allen is fiddling with a pen "But I've been trying to hear…"

"Don't waste you time…" Kanda says "I don't usually dream… The boy was just lucky…"

"Hmmm…." Allen looks interested "But when you DO dream, what is it about?"

"…hnh… there's rarely ever a recurring topic…" and he flips another page of his book

"…Ok… What was your last dream about?" Allen smiles hopefully, Kanda usually got annoyed at this point

The swordsman stilled "…my last dream?"

To this Allen raised an eyebrow "Hmm… I've stumbled upon something interesting haven't I?"

"Not… really…" says Kanda "But it was a dream which I really didn't how to make out…But it was a relatively dull dream…"

"But you thought your answer over…" Allen sports a Cheshire cat smile "…something's up"

"There you go again, putting your nose into other people's business…" Kanda sighs "…as mundane as the dream was, I like to keep the events in my sub-consciousness private…"

"I don't think I ever heard you talk so much just to keep something secret…" the smile retains "…something is REALLY up."

…………………………..

"Luckily…" Lavi says "They only managed to hit my cheek" he laughs "But they seemed content about it, I'm safe…. For now I guess"

Lenalee gives him ice for his swollen right cheek. "What happened anyway?"

"Well, I found out that Allen's usually loud, and I laughed about it." Lavi winces as he presses the ice pack onto his cheek

"You laughed?" Lenalee raises an eyebrow

"They thought I was referring to THAT when I said Allen was being obvious about their relationship" he laughs "You should have SEEN Yuu's face"

"It's weird that you can find Kanda's irked face hilarious…" Lenalee laughs

"It's weird that I'm the only one who does, Yuu's hilarious when he falters!" and they both laugh

There's a moment of silence.

"So… what do you think of Antony and Cleopatra so far?"

"Huh?" Lavi looks thoughtful "Well I haven't really thought about it too much yet… But it's definitely funnier than any of the other plays we've read, the comedies included…"

"I think Cleopatra's ramblings are really amusing… She's quite the character"

Lavi laughs "Much like you"

"Ah…" says Lenalee "You think so?" a nod "Thanks!" and they both laugh

"Marc Antony's kinda rash isn't he…" Lavi says "I'm sure Yuu's disappointed…"

"Oh I've heard from Allen…" and she looks amused "… Kanda looked horrified after he read Marc Antony's first two lines…" she laughs "We can all assume that he was thoroughly disappointed there and then… But Allen's still trying to force him to read it…"

Lavi shakes his head laughing "Well Yuu will always be Yuu… Good luck to Allen…"

"I don't think Marc Antony was at all bad though, he's not as grand a character as Cleopatra, but he has this air of superiority… He's definitely better than all the other Shakespearean army men… he might be the greatest even…" it's obvious she thinks highly of the character

"Well… Even in history books, Marc Antony was a great man…" says Lavi

"Much like you" Lenalee says with a smile

Lavi laughs "No way like me"

……………………………

"Do what you like, I'm still not telling you what the dream was about…" says Kanda

"…and why not?" Allen's voice is demanding "It could be an important dream, sometimes dreams tell the future…"

"What a horrible future that dream showed then." Kanda tone was annoyed but his eyes haven't left his book

"Well not all dreams are good, I've had horrible dreams myself. My master giving me more bills to pay, Jerry loosing the ability to cook, my master hitting me with a giant mallet, the cafeteria being destroyed—"

"Ok in short all of your dreams can only be about two things?" Kanda snapped, he closes his book rather loudly, and his eyes are on Allen

"NO" Allen looks utterly insulted "I dream about other things too… In fact in my last dream—" Allen cuts himself short with a gasp "…i—in my last dream… I… uhm…"

Kanda looks like he's almost laughing "In you last dream?"

"Well it was about you…" Allen said bluntly

Kanda looked even more amused "Really? What kind of dream was it?"

"Not THAT kinda dream!" Allen exclaimed "Pervert…" he added under his breath

"Well then what kind of dream?"

"You kind of…. Uhm…" Allen looked away "…died…not of old age too…"

Kanda suddenly looked stoic "Hnh… and what was your part in the dream…"

"I cried…" Allen said, turning a bit pink

"When was that? When did you have the dream…" Kanda's gaze is intense, uncanny for him

"A few days after our mission in Romania…" Allen looks surprised at Kanda's sudden change of mood but then…

Kanda snorts "Romania huh… That explains a lot…"

Allen pouts "And what does that mean?"

"Hnh…" he snorts again, but his expression shifts to melancholic "…your dream might not be so farfetched…"

……………………………

With a loud thunk, a copy of the play 'Antony and Cleopatra' was placed in front of the ever violent Japanese exorcist. "READ" and Allen Walker's command was firm, and it resonated across the library. Kanda Yuu rolls his eyes.

"You see, he's still trying…" Lenalee whispers to Lavi, and the bookman apprentice chuckles.

……………………………

(a/n: I know, I know, the chapter's short. But I actually just want this to end at the thirtieth part exactly… so I want to reserve some of the events for later chapters… I've been having a writers block lately… but the reason why I haven't updated in a while isn't that, rather, two weeks ago, I celebrated my birthday, and the week after that I got sick D: …. Anyway… It's almost over… bear with me xD)