Chapter 1: Shock

A loud knock at the front door woke Allen from his sleep. Without opening his eyes, he knew who the visitor was but he did not want to get out of bed. He tried nudging his partner awake but either it didn't work or Link was good at pretending to be asleep.

"Link, get the door, will ya?" Allen muttered through his pillow. Link was still asleep, too deep in his REM cycle to hear him. Allen sighed, he could never wake Link up to get the door on mornings. He would have to do it himself.

"You're making me apple pie for the entire week for this," he mumbled, half asleep.

He hesitated for a moment, thinking that there was no one at the door only for the echoing of wood being pounded to resonate through the apartment. Throwing off the covers, he slowly left the warmth of his bed and exposing himself to the cold room. It had been -12 Celsius for the past three days. The heater was broken; he would have to get it fixed. The only true warmth he felt emnated from Link when they shared the bed for the night. Finding his phone, he checked the time. It was barely 5:30 am, too early to be up. Putting on a thick wool robe, Allen slowly made his way towards the door. He should have put on some socks at least; the floor was like ice. He would have gone back for them but the incessant knocking of the door bothered him to no end.

"Who is it?" he asked, only as a formality. His eyes were still partially closed despite the cold having him alert.

"Who do you think you beansprout?" The voice on the other side of the door sounded irritated with having to wait.

"Dammit," he said quietly to himself, "Why him...this early in the morning..."

"Hurry up; I'm freezing my ass off here."

"Alright, alright," Allen chirped, clearly becoming irritated. The metal door knob was too cold for skin contact so he had to wrap his hand in his t-shirt to open it. Kanda stood on the other side of the door, still having to look down to meet his eyes due to the height difference. He walked passed Allen into the apartment he and Link shared. It wasn't much to look at. The small apartment was painted a dull, light shade of grey. Some of the paint was beginning to fade and peel off from years of neglect. Allen was not allowed to make changes unless the landlord authorized them and he guessed he would have to wait another two months for the decision. The small kitchen and dining room were connected with one another and gave almost little room to manuvre. The even smaller living area was occupied by a couch, tv and books. He had never seen inside the bathroom but was sure it was the same as all the other rooms: cramped. The faint rustle of sheets in the other room gave the indication that Link was now awake.

"Oh, he's still here?" Kanda scoffed.

"Well, we are together so of course he'd be here," Allen replied tonelessly.

Link walked up to the two of them, not at all bothered by the cold it seemed since he was only clad in his pyjama bottoms. He placed an arm around Allen's shoulders, pulling him in. Even now with his bare chest exposed to the elements, Link radiated heat. Allen had been shivering and was grateful for the warmth. He knew what was coming, every visit was like a finely tuned play of words. Some days, he wished Link wouldn't stoke the fire.

"Well hello there Kanda," Link yawned, "also answering your question, I am still here. Why wouldn't I be here? After all, don't we always strive to be close to the ones we love?"

"Shut your mouth asshole, I wasn't talking to you. I'm only here to talk to the beansprout," Kanda spat.

"It's Allen"

"What?"

"It's Allen, not beansprout and I'd advise that while you're a guest in OUR apartment, you'd show him some respect," Link pulled Allen closer to emphasise the point.

"You know what, I don't need this today," Kanda turned ready to walk out of the door he had entered not five minutes ago.

"Well, if you had told him how you feel then maybe you'd be in my place...no?"

Link smiled as Kanda stopped in his tracks. They both had strong feelings for Allen but Link was the one who fessed up first without knowing that Allen felt the same way. Kanda always thought that he would be the decided winner in this, having knownand worked with Allen for a longer period. That it would be him who would be with him always. But she was too shy, too proud to tell Allen his feelings. Deep inside him, he knew it had cost him. It seemed to him that Allen and Link had grown even closer than before and that they were content with living in this tiny, cramped space they called home.

"Do you remember Lavi?" Kanda asked.

"Lavi?" Allen perked up, "Yeah, I remember him! How is he? Haven't heard from him in a long time"

"He's in the hospital, tried to hang himself."

Before Allen, Kanda's only male friend came in the form of a red haired boy named Lavi. He was known for always wearing a scarf and an eyepatch over his right eye for reasons he didn't speak about. Though Kanda found him annoying, they became best of friends spending many nights in Lavi's room talking. They shared experiences, hopes, dreams and personal issues which did not come easily for Kanda. This shared trust had led Kanda to confide his feelings about Allen in Lavi. The ginger haired boy encouraged him to tell Allen but Kanda hadn't listened to him. He was to idiotic to listen. In turn, it was Kanda who had advised Lavi when he found himself between a rock and a hard place.

Lavi had been in love with a German woman named Miranda for the past four months. He tried to convince his grandfather that this was the girl for him, that his feelings were real. Bookman was a stubborn old man who believed in the art and tradition of arranged marriages and had even arranged for Lavi to meet with a Chinese girl named Meiling. When Lavi objected to this, his grandfather gave him two choices; Miranda or his love and blessing. It was in Kanda's room that Lavi cried for three days straight. In the end, he had chosen Miranda. She was a fragile thing and she was easily frightened but when around Lavi, she seemed to flourish. In the year Kanda had seen them together, Miranda's will had grown stronger but her health had waned. The last time he saw Lavi was at her funeral. His grandfather had come to claim him once more and Lavi left without so much as a word. He periodically called from time to time to just talk to Kanda but he mostly didn't say much, just exchanging pleasantries and a few details about his life before having to rush off to run errands with Bookman.

"Kanda?" Allen waved a hand in front his face, bringing him back to reality. Why was he even here? Did he really want to see this through?

"Che." Kanda tried to move past Allen when he felt someone grab onto his ponytail and pull him back. Allen closed the door and the two of them dragged Kanda to the couch. They stood above him, arms folded and watched him. Allen knew something was wrong. Link was just helping his lover. Kanda didn't look at either of them. He just stared at the floor. Allen dropped to his knees, lifting Kanda's chin and looked at him directly in the eyes.

"I never thought I'd hear this…I think you should go see him. He regarded you as his best friend…"

"I've already tried. He's not taking visitors. Bookman's orders." Kanda got up slowly, opened the door left without looking at Allen or Link. They didn't try to stop him this time. He needed his space and they sensed it. Link helped Allen off the floor.

"It's a cold Saturday, isn't it?" he asked. Link just nodded.

"I'll make you some pie later. Let's go back to sleep, shall we?" Link had begun to notice the cold,pores raising to help preserve the warmth of his skin. Allen nodded and followed him to the bedroom. He crawled back under the covers but the bed had gone cold. It was going to take a while for it to warm up. Link wrapped his arms around Allen and drew him close. Allen was always grateful for the warmth that Link gave him. He hadn't known Lavi too well but he had regarded him as a friend.

"I can't think of why he would try to hang himself, you know?" he whispered.

Link leaned in close to him, pulled him tighter and gently kissed his forehead. He hadn't known Lavi as well as Allen but he knew him to be a friendly sort of person. Never down in spirits and always willing to lend a hand.

"We'll try to see him later today if you want," he said, the words half muffled by Allen's could say nothing but just nod in agreement