Ok, this is the 2nd to last chapter. I'm kind of sad, but I love the way the story ends - I think you guys will too.

Thanks for reading this so far - I hope it makes you smile.

Lost? Ask for Directions

"Any idea what time it is?"

Kanda leveled him a look. "Late."

As much as Allen despaired, he couldn't really argue with that.

No matter the exact time, they'd been out in the water what felt like forever, bobbing about in the ocean waves like a pair of… well, abandoned sailors. The sun had moved from a 150 degree angle in the sky to almost 180, rays of golds, pinks, and purples spreading into a cerulean dome, traces of stars appearing at the other end.

The cruise ship was long gone. There was no land in sight.

In other words, they were screwed.

But at least Kanda was talking to him. Which was… good.

"Why… d… t?"

"What?"

Kanda scowled as another waved lapped at his neck, pony tail trailing in the water behind him. Allen could just make out his face with the setting sun at Kanda's back, most of his features in shadow. "Why did you do it?"

It took Allen a beat to figure out he was talking about the botched rescue attempt. "You can't swim."

That scowl, if possible, grew more pronounced, shadows increasing beneath his cheeks. "How the hell do you know that?"

To say, or not to say?

One look at Kanda's dark eyes, and Allen knew he wasn't letting it go. "I, uh, saw you and… uh, that one time you were in the river around camp." The Brit didn't have to name the other person Kanda had been swimming with. They both knew there was only one person the dark-haired foreigner refused to talk about.

Kanda's eyes actually lost their glaring annoyance long enough to widen in surprise. Then he looked away, either finding something interesting on the horizon or not wanting Allen to see his face.

"Besides," the Brit continued, trying to lighten the mood. Or, as much as he could with the two of them recently adrift at sea, starving, and probably hours away from being eaten by sharks, "I'd hate for all of those expensive beauty products I bought to go to waste."

…And the scowl was back.

"Tsk. All you do is complain."

"All you do is make me buy stuff."

"If you wouldn't keep losing shit, you wouldn't be buying it," The other snapped.

"I thought we agreed that wasn't my fault."

"Who agreed? Tim?"

"God, you're cranky when you're hungry."

"Says the bottomless pit. You eat half the shit we buy."

"At least I leave you half."

"So, what, Tim and I each get a quarter?"

Allen opened his mouth to argue, but… well, that was actually a valid point.

And that was when Allen saw it.

At first, he figured it was a trick of his salt-eyed gaze. Only with some serious staring did he make out the dark mass towards the right.

"Bakanda."

"What," the other growled, trying and failing to spit all the sea water from his mouth.

"Do you see that?"

Sure enough, he did.

"Land," Allen announced with a sudden wave of relief.

Finally. Now his nightmares (day-mares?) of being eaten alive by some voracious sea creatures of the dark-eyed variety could be put to rest. And, hey, they wouldn't have to resort to cannibalism to survive until they were rescued (they didn't have straws and Allen was more than certain Kanda would win that fight).

Things were looking up.

It was with some intense leg-kicking, paddling, and helpful sea currents that the duo found themselves trudging through ocean waves and towards the plot of land. Just as the sky was fading into purples as the sun almost vanished beyond the horizon, Allen could feel sand beneath his feet. The real work was walking through the neck-deep water and towards the shore, first crawling out of the water at chest-height, knee-height, and then water splashing around their ankles as the duo finally – finally – surfaced from the waves.

Allen was so tired he almost face-planted right there in the sand. Actually, wait, he did do that, but gracefully. Sort of. Kanda wasn't far behind him.

For however long until the sun went down, the only sounds on the beach were the waves and heavy panting as the two adults tried to catch their breath.

"Where the hell are we?" Allen finally croaked out, gaining enough strength to flop back onto his back.

The stars were out. Which was kind of pretty – there were a lot more of them then he could see around Portland. And, hey, bonus, there was a full moon. Which was great because it was darker than shit without it.

"No idea," a deep voice at his left finally answered.

Then, suddenly struck with an idea, Allen bolted upright. Only to nearly throw up with how nauseous it made him.

He flinched when cool skin landed on his forehead. "We're dehydrated," came Kanda's low murmur. "And sunburned from being in the water."

Allen was barely paying attention, his idea taking up too much of his concentration. "Do you think we're on a deserted island?"

"We are not on a deserted island," Kanda snapped.

"But what if we are?"

"We aren't."

"Bakanda."

A small tsk was his only answer. Once the Brit's head cleared, he could see the other only a few feet away from him, cheek bones almost glowing in the moonlight. His ponytail was still perfect as always – Kanda Physics in action.

"We'll look in the morning."

"For what?"

"Other people," Kanda growled, impatience getting the better of him.

"I'm hungry."

"No shit."

"There's got to be food here, right? I mean, I don't really want to eat you. You're, like, my best friend. Well, best frenemy? We haven't put a label on it, or anything, but that's – "

"Moyashi. Calm down."

And, as if that command sapped his remaining strength, Allen suddenly felt a pounding headache in his temples. Like a huge pressure was building. With a groan, his face fell into his hands, but even massaging his forehead didn't work.

Minutes or hours later, Allen finally looked up only to find Kanda digging out a moat in the sand. The moat encircled a small pile of wood, presumably collected from the palm and cypress forest at their backs.

"What are you doing?"

"Starting a fire."

"Why? It's not even cold."

He couldn't see the glare in the near-darkness but Allen could feel it. "It's also dark."

"Yeah, well, I'd also like to do some sleeping and I'm not sure that's going to help."

The next thing Allen felt was a heavy piece of sneaker collide with his chest. The Brit had a sneaking suspicion it was meant for his head, but either Kanda's aim was getting worse it was too dark to see his target.

A few seconds later, the Japanese man crouched down beside his small pile of driftwood. Over the smashing of the waves, the sound of metal striking metal could be heard. Allen, suffering through the dizziness, scooted over to the other's side in time to see a spark come forth, finally landing on a single twig.

Kanda, with practiced ease, cupped his hands around the flame and started blowing. Soon, the little flame spread down the twig and to the rest of the dry wood.

"How'd you do that?"

"You saw me do it."

"I meant, Bakanda, how'd you know how to do that?"

A small beat of silence before he answered. "I go camping."

"And you take Golem with you? Jeez, no wonder that cat doesn't like to travel. What'd you do, pitch a tent and everything?" A sly smirk. "Or do you prefer all naturale? The leaves in your hair, dirt against your backs-"

"Finish that sentence and you're going back in the ocean."

An audible click as Allen's teeth clamped together.

The light mood was quickly sobered as he thought about Kanda's cat. Well, not Kanda's cat, but it reminded him of Tim, which reminded him the dog was still stuck on the cruise liner. Alone.

Actually, probably not alone anymore. The cruise ship would have docked hours ago. Lenalee would have arrived to pick them up, only to realize no one was there. Tim would find her. Probably. And then they'd send out the coast guard, looking for her two best friends.

Would they find them? When Allen and Kanda were stuck on some island, god knew where?

There couldn't be a lot of islands around Florida, right? Sure, he'd heard about the mangrove forests, but there weren't any mangroves around. How many plots of land could there be?

"Do you think we're going to be stuck here for a while? Like, a while, a while?" Allen asked, taking his soggy tennis shoes off and placing them by the fire.

Kanda, next to him, was looking stoic as always. His face was half aglow in the firelight before them, shadows over his eyes and neck, ponytail catching some in the breeze.

"Maybe."

"…'Maybe'? That's the best you got?"

Finally Kanda looked at him, putting even more of his expression in shadow. "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, something… I mean, you always have a plan! Why the hell do I have to do everything?"

"I thought we already established that you never do."

"What? Have a plan, or do anything?"

"Both." Then, before Allen could snap something back, Kanda continued in that deep lecture-y voice of his, "Tomorrow we'll build the fire up. It's too dark to look for more wood without getting hurt. While I do that, you'll look for some fresh water. There's got to be some somewhere in this place."

"…and then?"

"We wait."

"For what?"

"Someone to find us."

It wasn't the best of plans. Hell, it really didn't even count as a plan. But… it was better than nothing. And the way Kanda said it – determined, final, and leaving no room for argument – somehow made Allen calm down. Or as much as he could with a pounding headache, parched throat, and empty stomach.

It was going to be fine. Everything would work out. Somehow.

And it was there, feeling that he wasn't really alone, that Allen finally laid back in the sand to make use of the no-longer dark night.

But, well, he couldn't really get comfortable. Which was weird because he was freaking exhausted. Although the sand was seriously hard. And it was mostly his head that just…

Allen glanced at Kanda, still cross-legged beside the fire. Then at the sand. Then Kanda.

All it took was a little scooting before Allen had his head in Kanda's lap.

The Japanese man froze when the white-haired adult plopped down.

Allen was too tired and really didn't feel like moving, no matter how the Japanese man felt about it. And, as the seconds passed with the crackling fire, Kanda finally relaxed. His almost-dry jeans made a surprisingly good pillow beneath Allen's head. And even with the firelight in his face, the Brit fell asleep almost instantly.

XXXXX

By the time morning came around, the sun was rising. Allen noticed his clothes were dry at the same time his eyes popped open to see the fire was out. But even hungry, he didn't really want to move, mostly because he had a really nice pillow against his sunburned face. A pillow that was comfortable and warm. And… moving. Up, down. Up, down.

Kanda's chest. He was sleeping on Kanda's chest.

What the hell.

He didn't remember waking up or moving in the night. So… Kanda must have done that, right? Which kind of made sense – talk about awkward, sleeping with Allen perched on his thighs.

Anyway. Time to move.

Allen did, using all his willpower to suppress a grown as all the dizziness from the night before returned with a vengeance. Blinking through fuzzy morning drowsiness, he had just enough time to take in the brilliant Florida sunrise – the sky and ocean filled with pink and yellow as the sun peaked up over the ocean.

Kanda was still asleep.

It was the first time Allen had actually seen him sleeping on the whole trip. Actually, probably for the first time ever. As an early riser, the Japanese man had always been up before Allen. Now, in sleep, the permanent furrows above his nose were gone, frown usually residing on his mouth smoothed to peacefully parted lips.

It had been a while since Allen had seen him look like that.

The Brit, no longer thinking about the magnificent sunrise, sat there for an undetermined amount of time staring at the other sleeping.

That is, until Kanda finally woke up.

It didn't really occur to him that he'd been caught staring until Kanda… smiled. Or what passed as a smile for him, lips flat and not frowning. "Moyashi."

"Uh…"

"Your hair looks like shit."

What?

Allen ran rapid hands through ivory spikes that, Ok, might have felt like he'd stuck a finger in a light socket. Not to mention he'd lost his hair tie at some point. "Sorry, Bakanda, I forgot to pack a mirror before jumping over to save your ass."

The Japanese man smirked before rising with a flourish, dusting sand off his dark shirt and jeans like they hadn't spent the night sleeping together on the beach.

Allen paused long enough to slip his sneakers on before following into the forest.

"Bakanda."

"What."

"Come with me to find the water."

Kanda, who was in the midst of gathering his dried wood, didn't even look up. "No."

"Come on, this forest is thick." Proving his point, Allen batted away a palm-from the size of a dinner plate with his wrist. "Just come with me."

"I'm getting firewood. You're finding water."

"What do you want me to carry it in? My mouth? Drink something and then look for wood."

"Fuck off."

Allen grabbed his arm before the other could walk off. A very thick, muscly arm, actually. "If you're as dehydrated as me, let's just go together."

Kanda tsked before an armful of firewood was dumped in Allen's arms. "We're bringing it with us."

"Why?" Allen whined, but took the firewood anyway. "It's, like, heavy, and I'm hungry."

"I'm not leaving it behind," the other growled, in the midst of navigating a bush up ahead.

"Oh, what, you had a hard time finding wood in a forest? Now's not really the time to be environmentally conscious, Bakanda."

"Dry wood is hard to find in the tropics. And like you are," the other snapped back, sapphire eyes glancing back over his back. A very toned back, actually, the shirt still clinging to him in places. "Who was more worried about littering fines than polluting the roadside?"

"Says the guy chucking beef sticks at crocodiles."

"Alligators," the other snapped.

Shit, he was right. "Same basic principle. Feeding native carnivores is a big no-no wherever you are."

"We're alive. Shut up."

"Sure, but for how long? What if that's… did you hear that?"

Kanda had froze too, having also obviously heard the rustling noise to their left. He was frowning in that direction, as if trying to decide if it was worth investigating.

"Probably a rabbit."

"A rabbit? In the tropics? How long have you been in Canada?"

"Long enough to know how to start a fire."

Ugh. "But maybe that's… there it was again."

Kanda rolled his eyes, parting the foliage before marching off towards the suspicious rustling noise. "Where are you going?"

"To investigate."

"But what if it's dangerous? If you die, I'll be stuck carrying this wood by myself."

Kanda snorted. "Afraid of the R.O.U.S.'s?"

"Rodents of unusual size? I don't think they exist. I'm just worried you'll trip on that enormous ego of yours."

"Go take another swim in the ocean and drown," Kanda growled.

"I've had enough water for one day, thanks."

The glare Kanda shot him suggested Allen reconsider. And for a moment, he almost did – Kanda could fall into quicksand for all he cared. See if he helped.

Only before any of them could make good on their threats, the noise started to get louder. It wasn't constant, but the occasional movement. Like whatever it was, it was coming closer. And it sounded large.

Finally, the bushes and cypress trees parted before the pair, revealing a trail head.

…

A trail head?

No, that was definitely man-made – wide enough for two pairs of boots and pruned from any weeds.

That was when they looked up to meet the eyes of a very surprised hiker.

"Well, at least we know the island's not deserted," Allen finally croaked out.

XXXXX

"Allen! Kanda! I'm so glad you're alright!"

The white-haired adult barely had time to see the owner of the voice before he and Kanda were tackled in a bear hug. Or maybe tackled by an actual bear – it was hard to see with the sudden spots clouding his vision.

"Lenalee. Air," he wheezed.

"Oh, right. Sorry," she jumped back, sheepish, but had yet to take her arms off their shoulders.

She was looking at them like… well, like she never thought they'd see each other again. Which… ok, maybe with Allen's survival skills, that was fair.

The Brit found himself grinning in turn at Lenalee's familiar deep eyes. In her evergreen tanktop and shorts, she was dressed for the warm humid day, light jacket slung over her shoulders. He couldn't help noticing that Lenalee looked surprisingly weary for someone whose wedding day was tomorrow - something in the circles beneath her eyes and the slight hunch to her shoulders.

"Hey, lil' buddy! Surprised we found you two at all," Lavi said, wide grin on his face as he ruffled Allen's ocean-dried hair. "Kind of expected Yuu to kill you first."

Yeah, me too. "Is Tim Ok?"

Lavi's single green eye was still smiling at his two friends, hands in his jeans pockets. "He's back at the venue. Fo's keeping an eye on him."

After almost twenty-four hours waiting to see him, Allen supposed he could wait a little more.

Once they'd run into the hiker and the Brit had blurted out a rushed explanation for their presence in the middle of the forest, the hiker had gladly shared some of his water before showing them both the way back.

It turns out, they'd washed ashore on the far side of Biscayne National Park. Which was only forty minutes from Key Largo by car.

After getting back to the town, Allen had insisted on checking them both into a hospital in case they were suffering from any kind of heat stroke. At which point he managed to call Lenalee and update her on the situation. Twenty minutes of crying later, she hung up and promised to meet them at the hopsital. Both men were given a clean bill of health shortly after.

And that was how Allen and Kanda found themselves in the back seat of Lavi's rental jeep, puttering down the coastline at 8 in the morning.

"All your stuff's at the hotel," Lavi explained from the driver's seat. The jeep was open-cab, cool ocean air grabbing at their faces and forcing everyone to shout to be heard. "Got to warn ya, Tiedoll burst into tears when we broke the news 'bout you bein' found. You owe Marie a thanks or else he'd be the one driving you back."

Kanda, if possible, might have looked even more relieved then when they'd learned they weren't stranded forever. A grunt was still his only acknowledgement.

"How'd the bachelor party go?" Allen asked.

Lavi shrugged. "Didn't really end up having one."

Oh. Of course not. They were too busy worrying about Allen and Kanda.

Then the jeep stopped at a red light, giving the redhead a moment to glance back at Allen through long strands of ruby hair. "Wouldn't have been the same without you two there, know what I'm sayin'?"

And looking at the smiling, relieved faces of his friends and Kanda's expressionless face…

Yeah. Yeah, he did.

"And the rest of the wedding planning?" Allen asked.

Lenalee and Lavi exchanged a glance that was pretty telling. Kanda and Allen shared a look of their own before the white-haired adult asked, "What happened?"

The redhead took Lenalee's hand over the seat rest, engagement ring glinting in the sunlight as their hands entwined. "There've been some… disagreements over the food," he explained in a typical peace-keeping tone.

"Not just the food," the Chinese woman sighed. "The dress, the music, the honeymoon. Everything we try to do takes an act of congress. I just want to get married and live with you," she murmured to her fiancé. "The wedding's supposed to be for us."

Lavi gave her a soft smile, squeezing her hand briefly. "I know."

Sensing they didn't want to talk about it anymore and Allen too tired to keep a proper conversation, the rest of the ride fell into a lapse of comfortable silence.

At the hotel, Lenalee made sure the two got settled into their room while Lavi took care of the phone calls downstairs. She seemed to sense they were both tired and worn-out, promising to get some food delivered while the two took a much-needed shower.

Actually, looking at one of the two double beds, Allen thought a nap sounded a lot better.

Kanda saved him from making the decision by wordlessly claiming the bathroom for himself. And there was only one, since the two of them were sharing a room.

Nature of the beast, really – as the last ones to arrive, they got last pick of the room layout. Allen knew he should have a problem with the sleeping situation, but after the last three days of the two almost literally being joined at the hip (Lord knew Kanda's car was small enough), it didn't feel as irritating as he expected.

And after putting both of their phones onto charge and reclining on the bed, he soon realized the view was even better.

Hearing the bathroom door open, steam wafting into the main room, Allen started talking to the ceiling. "So I'm thinking since we'll be there at-"

Until he looked up. Because… "What are you doing?"

It was a valid question. Considering Kanda had just stepped out of the bathroom. In a towel.

Only a towel.

Which was doing a pretty shit job hiding anything above mid-thigh. Poorly tied around Kanda's waist, the white piece of fabric left everything above and below in plain view. That same strong chest, taught stomach, and firm thighs.

"I forgot my clothes."

No shit.

Allen tore his gaze away from that slim body long enough to see the set of neatly folded items at the foot of the neighboring bed. Kanda stared at them, apparently considering something as his dark hair, freed from his usual pony tail, trailed water down his right shoulder. The left side of his neck was exposed to the air. A very smooth neck that was probably soft and tasted better than all the lollipops Allen had ever consumed. Of which there were a lot, by the way.

His perusal continued down the mostly-dry chest. Surprisingly attention-grabbing, even in profile, mostly because Kanda was just so… slim.

He was distracted from any further ogling by a knock on the hotel door. Since it was obvious the half-naked Kanda wasn't about to answer, Allen managed to drag his eyes away from tinted skin long enough to walk straight and actually work the door handle. Even if it took him three tries.

"Allen Walker?" The man asked, bags of something smelling good in his hands.

The Brit had to clear his throat before it would work. "Yeah."

The delivery man handed over the three large sacks of food.

Lenalee knew him well.

After finding some cash (if a little crinkly from the sea water), Allen gave the man his wanted tip before carting the delicious aromas back into the room.

Kanda, thank god, was fully dressed, seated at the table with a flat expression on his face. Which, now that Allen wasn't distracted, allowed him to focus on the piping-hot food gifted by the blessing that was Lenalee.

It was an assortment of meats and starches flavored with local island seasonings and sauces like coconut shrimp and teriyaki chicken (which Kanda reminded him was Japanese, not Floridian, but whatever Bakanda, it was made here, wasn't it?) that tasted like absolute heaven.

They'd consumed practically all of it, by which point Allen started noticing the tacky feeling of the dried salts on his skin. He was just polishing off some sweet potato fries when Kanda's phone chimed.

"What is it?" Allen asked, expecting some kind of message from Lenalee or maybe Tiedoll.

Kanda scowled at his screen. "A schedule change."

"For what?"

"My job in Montreal," he snapped with a look that clearly said it was none of Allen's business.

The Brit was only half paying attention.

Because… well, Kanda was right, it wasn't any of his business. But also because… two days from then, Kanda would be going back to Canada.

The last time Allen had been thinking about this, there was the cruise ship to distract him. Now, there was none of that. Nothing to keep him from thinking about the man – now maybe… something – who'd be gone in two days.

And just last night, Allen was prepared to spend the rest of their lives together on a deserted island.

Talk about whiplash.

Which was probably the only excuse Allen had for the words he said next.

"Are we still going to see each other after the wedding?"

Kanda might have frozen at the question but since he was so still to begin with, it was hard to tell. "I don't mean like 'see you at Lavi's Christmas party'. I mean like… hang out. Like we used to."

Like they used to in high school. Before…

Before Alma Karma died.

Kanda didn't say anything. And Allen, deciding it was better to have lived and died by Kanda's temper than not lived at all, ended up going, fuck it, before meeting Kanda's gaze.

"God, as much as you piss me off most of the time, I missed you. Hell, I miss you. And I really don't want to go back to only talking once a year."

Kanda was looking at him, at least, but those dark eyes were completely unreadable. He still had that standard brow wrinkle which said jack shit because he always looked like that.

And if that didn't just piss Allen off.

"There, I said it, you idiotic prick. Surprise. Fine. Great. Good talk. I need a shower."

With that proclamation, the Brit shoved his chair back and stormed into the bathroom.

It was only once the door was closed and he was standing beneath the hot spray that Allen let the disappointment hit him.

And damn if it didn't make him even more nauseous than the sea water.

EVERY TIME I hear or see Alma Karma's name I get Karma Chameleon stuck in my head (which is probably why his name isn't in this much XD). And yes, the circumstances of Alma's demise were left intentionally vague - this is more about Kanda and Allen than moving on from the past and it's just... sad and I don't like making people sad.

Sorry at the lack of bachelor-shenanigans. I wanted everyone to get arrested (haha) but I also wanted to roll into the ending, so... maybe next time *waggles eyebrows*

Let me know what you guys think in the comments! The last chapter will be out soon. And now onto YouTube for some Culture Club...