A/N: This is an uber long chapter, but we hope you enjoy it! ^_^
White Demon, Red Scribe, Black Nightmare
A D Gray-Man and Assassins Creed Revelations Crossover
Lavi yawned and stretched out across the floor of the library, still holding onto one of the pillows he'd snuck in with him to get comfortable. He wasn't sure how many hours it had been since he'd turned in for the night after Kanda had stormed off, but it had to be morning.
He'd thought about returning to his own private place, but wanted to be absolutely sure first that Allen was going to be okay. Besides, his own medical knowledge might come in handy, since Kanda obviously wasn't a doctor himself outside of treating basic wounds. In that way, at least, Lavi might still be useful and earn his keep.
Getting up, he cleaned himself up a bit and untangled his messy mane of red hair. He'd thought about cutting it more than once, since it was more trouble to manage, but he'd been told he looked nice with his hair that way by someone once, after he'd complained about it. For some reason, that mattered to him, and he'd just let it go.
Even so... it might be starting to get to the point of ridiculous. He could probably stand to trim a few inches, at least.
Neither Allen nor Kanda showed up downstairs, though he hadn't expected as much yet.
Some time ticked by, and still nothing, so he decided to go about making something to bring the white-haired man for breakfast-in-bed, still utilizing the same herbs as yesterday and making another Yarrow-Perennial-Foxglove tea. Medicinal properties aside, it would probably also raise the man's mood, and the more content Allen was, the more likely he would be to stay put properly and let himself heal.
Just as Lavi was making his way to the stairs, the two foreign doctors entered the hall, the shorter one tentatively looking around - most probably looking for someone he knew. They stood by the door and it looked as if they were arguing in whispers, still hesitating to come in. The blond man snapped something back at the other, making him sigh and shake his head unhappily. Noticing the redhead by the stairs, the older man stepped further with his hands clasped in front of him and bowed.
"Excuse me," he spoke in his thick accent, "we are looking for lord Kanda. Have you seen him by any chance?" The phrase seemed a little bit too trained and artificial.
Lavi blinked.
"Lord Kanda?" he repeated. "That title's a little excessive, isn't it?" After a moment, he shook it off. "Anyway, no, sorry. If he's woken up yet, I haven't seen him." There was a possibility he could have slept in really late himself and missed him somehow, but the redhead doubted as much. "Maybe he's visiting Allen or something already up in his room?"
The old man tilted his head slightly, visibly at loss of words. "Well... is it? I am not sure about the western titles..."
"Speaking about Allen," the blond doctor stepped in, relieving the other man of Lavi's attention. "I brought his medicine. Kanda told me that he would pick it up but since he's not here..." He trailed off with a pregnant pause, waiting for Lavi to finish the thought, maybe lead them to the patient...
"I was just about to go to Allen's room," Lavi shrugged, picking up the tray of food he'd made for Allen. "So you can always follow me and see if Kanda's there. And if not, you could always just give it straight to Allen." He turned to lead the way.
Bak nodded and followed, going back to a snappy whispered conversation in Chinese with his colleague. Lavi caught more of what they were saying than perhaps he was meant to, the two arguing over how the proper way to address Kanda would be and how formal or informal was okay. Of course, you didn't have to speak Chinese to catch Kanda's name in there, so even if he hadn't known the rest, he would have figured out who they were speaking of.
When they arrived at the door, Wong skillfully stepped in front of Lavi and Bak, offering to open the door for him with another brief bow. Lavi opened his mouth to warn Wong of knocking first, but he was distracted by Bak before the words could escape his lips.
"So, you're a close friend of Allen's?" the short doctor asked with a slightly nervous but polite smile. As if the man wasn't sure how to behave around strangers. He was about to continue but once he turned his head to look inside the room, his smile along with his whole body froze.
"Shàngdì de ài!" the man screeched, turning all red. He covered his eyes and spun around. "What indecency!"
Mystery solved.
Kanda was indeed in Allen's room but the state he was in was quite surprising, even for someone who hasn't known him very long.
He and Allen were snuggled in the bed half naked, with the blanket carelessly kicked off and their limbs tangled to the point where it was hard to tell which belonged to whom. Kanda laid with his bare, muscled back facing the doorway, his hair down and flowing off the bed - the dark tips almost touching the floor, softly snoring into Allen's ear while Allen himself had his injured arm slacked over Kanda's hip, hand resting on the man's ass.
The white-haired assassin's head shot up at Bak's scream, his eyes still fogged by the sleep. He really did look funny, in a cute, childish kind of way with his cheek red and creased from the sleep. He groaned in annoyance and rested his forehead on Kanda's shoulder for a moment, then sliding off to lie down again and press his face against Kanda's chest.
Allen slowly dragged his palm over Kanda's sides and drummed his fingers to wake the man up.
Of course, as soon as he awoke, the temperature in the room significantly dropped. He slowly turned onto his back and glared at the violators by the door from under his black bangs.
Lavi had been half-expecting Kanda to immediately come charging out. It took a little while longer than he expected for the man to rouse and start snapping, but he had known it would start raining down as soon as the raven-haired man was awake.
"What's the meaning of this?!"
Lavi smirked and squeezed by Wong and Bak with the tray of food, casting them a sidelong glance.
"You were supposed to knock first," he told them gently, at the same time making it a point to announce it wasn't his fault. He didn't exactly have much favor with Kanda already as it was, after all.
No point in waiting to enter now, seeing as they'd already managed to disturb both the beauty and the beast.
"Anyway! Rise and shine, 'sprout! I brought ya breakfast!" Bak and Wong could handle announcing their own business, and deal with Kanda's anger, since they had been the ones to piss him off in the first place this time.
Allen groaned on the bed again, announcing his unwillingness to get up. He buried his head into the pillow, visibly unhappy with the lack of Kanda's warm chest and curled himself into a ball.
Kanda meanwhile sat up and dragged a hand across his face to get rid of the last traces of sleep. He grabbed the blanket with his other one and threw it on Allen, murmuring something that was most probably "don't catch a cold" or something in that sense.
He stood up from the bed and glared first at Lavi who strolled in with the tray - which provided another excuse for Kanda to dislike the man, then at the doctors. Or more like at Bak beause of his screechy voice and antics.
Big deal, finding two men asleep in bed - it's not like the one time that Tiedoll walked in on them. That time was something the old man surely hasn't forgotten yet.
"Calm down," Kanda grumbled with a yawn, his anger still surprisingly subdued. "Go check on him and stop blushing like a little virgin."
Bak spluttered and harrumphed, walking in and putting a parcell on the bed. He proceeded to gently prod Allen, trying to make him uncurl so he could check on his wounds.
Kanda watched him for a brief while but then yawned again, this time more grouchily as if he remembered to be pissed off and grabbing his shirt from the floor, putting it on. With an elegant sweep of his hand, he combed through his long hair, gathering it and twisting it into a messy bun on the base of his neck.
"I don't remember inviting you in," he snapped at Lavi, eyeing the tray with evident hatred.
"I don't remember asking permission," Lavi returned automatically, not really caring that Kanda wanted to have an attitude. It wasn't as if he wasn't bound to have one anyway. He couldn't help but notice Kanda glaring at the tray he brought as if the man wanted to light it on fire. "And as far as I recall, it's Allen's room anyway, so pretty sure that decision is his."
Maybe he was getting a little cheeky with that statement, but he wasn't about to let Kanda deter him. Somehow he doubted the other man would have even the knowledge base, much less the forethought, toward making breakfast specifically with herbs that would help Allen recover better and faster in mind. They'd both be more thankful for it in the end, even if they didn't realize it or what he was doing.
Well... Allen might be thankful, the same way he was thankful for all food. Kanda probably never would though.
"It's technically Kanda's room," Allen commented, earning himself a scolding from Bak, who was trying to listen to his breathing. "I just moved in."
"Details, details," Lavi waved off. Which was his way of disregarding Kanda's sense of victory when Allen chimed in about it.
Kanda's face lit up - if one could call it that - with a mean, victorious suck-it-up smile. "Watch your tongue, rabbit, you might lose it otherwise."
"I'd like to see you try. Us rabbits bite." He smirked at that, almost tempted to throw some lewd joke in about that, but thought better of it. Kanda already had the wrong idea. Best not to give him any more incentive to believe it. "Anyway, the 'sprouts gotta eat, if he wants to keep up his strength and get better!" he smiled at Allen cheerily, suddenly seeming to forget Kanda entirely. "I made that same tea from yesterday, but the food's a bit different." Still, he had made something specifically with garlic, chives, and hyssop. Being so well-traveled also gave him a rather broad knowledge base of different kinds of foods he could make, without running out of ideas for something new to keep Allen's tastes satisfied. "It's got tons of fresh garlic on it again though! Hopefully you're not tired of that already. I know you said you liked that part especially."
"Be quiet, all of you!" Bak interrupted. "I'm trying to work." That only reduced the two men to a glaring competition.
Kanda hated to admit it, but the redhead was right. Allen needed sustenance, and he needed a lot of it, and by the looks and smell of it, it seemed like a proper food for him to eat. The tea, too.
Of course, he would never say it out loud. Instead of that, he scoffed again and spun around, watching Bak's interaction with Allen.
"Thank you," Bak shot back, shaking his head. "Oh, and by the way, how is your injury, Kanda?"
The man idly scratched his tattooed left pectoral. "Long since healed. Not even a scar left."
Bak cocked a brow at him, his eye flickering between Kanda's eyes and his left breast. Wong stepped forward, fully intending to inspect the healed wound until Kanda shooed him away in annoyance, snapping something in that language again.
"Kanda-dono!" Whatever it was he said, it sure as hell seemed to upset the old man.
"Be nice," Allen placated him. "And thank you, Lavi!" He chirped, visibly perking up at the idea of breakfast. He dug in as soon as the tray was within reach, nodding to Bak who recited dos and don'ts concerning the medicine.
Lavi wasn't really paying a lot of attention to Kanda, more focused on Allen as Wong fussed over the other man, but he caught at least a good portion of it anyway. He smiled again as Allen took the food from him happily.
"You're welcome," he returned.
"And get dressed, for heaven's sake! So indecent," Bak complained suddenly, standing up and shaking his finger at Kanda who stared him in boredom, purposely not making any move to comply. "Seriously, the youth today..." the doctor grumbled.
"You're not much older than I am." Kanda commented dully.
"But much better-mannered!"
"Better mannered, most definitely," Lavi agreed idly, smirking. "But you can't compete with all that earlier image of adorably cuddly-huggy action," Lavi teased, wrapping his arms around himself and rotating back and forth to add to the taunt, entirely shameless. "Like a bundle o' fluffy kittens purring away in a cat-nap!"
Kanda wasn't exactly someone he would refer to as 'cute' or 'cuddly' in any seriousness - physically good-looking, maybe, but definitely not comparable to a kitten - but unluckily for Kanda and luckily for anyone who had a sense of humor and wasn't terribly worried about self-preservation, the reaction was bound to be pure gold.
Because he was sure Kanda didn't consider himself, nor wanted to be referred to, as "cute and cuddly like a kitten", either.
Kanda's growl echoed in the room and Lavi could have sworn he saw the man blush - of all things to do... blush?
Even as he grabbed his sword and coat, angrily marching outside and murmuring murder under his nose, he still couldn't hide the red coloring his cheeks.
And Lavi was not the only one to notice.
Bak stared at the doorway where Kanda's back disappeared and blinked several times. Allen sighed unhappily on the bed, staring in that direction, too.
"Good job, Lavi," the assassin piped in. "Not only have I just lost my bed-warmer, but you even managed to give him an even better reason to hate you and murder you at the next possible occasion. I am not going to stop him then." he warned, giving Lavi a very disapointed stare.
Lavi couldn't help but laugh, shrugging dismissively at Allen's warning.
"Aw, I'm sorry I made you lose your bed-warmer, unless o' course, you're taking replacements," this of course being a joke more than a serious offer. "And at least if I die, it'll be a smile on my face! Lavi Bookman: 2, Yuu Kanda: 0." He made it a point to advertise the score loud enough that hopefully Kanda would hear it, even from outside the room. It all really depended on how far he'd gone and how quickly.
The comment about the substitute heater made Bak bulge his eyes at him in outrage, and when he yelled the score, a faint "fuck you" echoed from the stairs.
If Kanda's reaction to his teasing and banter hadn't been comedy gold, then Bak's reaction to his joke about playing space-heater was certainly worth it.
Lavi's only answer to Kanda's shouted profanity was more laughter, before turning his attention back to the immediate occupants of the room. It wasn't as if there was much more entertainment to be reaped off of someone who was making it a point not to be present anymore anyway.
My, how absolutely easy it was to get people to pull great reactions. Could they make it any easier?
All Allen could do was stuff his mouth full of food and watch Lavi with the slightly disappointed stare. He still thought that the man lacked a proper sense of self-preservation and evidently didn't know Kanda good enough to tell when he's stepping over the line. Allen seriously considered stepping aside next time the two clash - on one side curious, on the other to see how long Lavi would last.
"Interesting reaction," Bak mused, still staring at the doorway. "I certainly didn't expect him to get all shy."
Allen shrugged again. "Miracles do happen." And a miracle is going to happen if Lavi stays in tact for the next week.
"Makes me kinda jealous," the doctor whispered wistfully, a dreamy look on his face. Bak's comment was one Lavi didn't expect and he couldn't help but tilt his head at the man curiously, still shamelessly wearing a shit-eating grin.
"Oh? How so?" Seemed an odd thing to be jealous of, if he was on the same page as Bak was. But maybe they were thinking of different things.
Bak huffed and his shoulder sagged. "Nah, it's nothing really. Only a man standing in the way of my love," he announced dramatically.
Allen choked suddenly and quickly drank the tea to clean his throat. "Eh?"
It made the doctor the doctor chuckle. "It has been a long time since I heard about her last. A shame really."
"I didn't know you had a love interest."
"Don't be silly, Allen. Everyone's got a love interest somewhere! Well... most everyone anyway." Lavi glanced at Bak with a smile, only really mildly curious and playing into being social. "So, what? Girl you like already has a boyfriend or something?"
"More like an over-protective homicidal brother who threatens anyone who gets close to her. Poor girl will end up all alone like this." Another wistful sigh. "Not that I'm ever going to give up! Not as long as my name is Bak Chan!"
"My, my, you're really the fighter, Bak," Allen commented with a smile. How sweet was that - seeing Bak get all motivated and passionate over a woman.
Lavi was watching Bak more intently than was probably strictly necessary as the Chinese man talked about the person of his desires, focusing hard on something.
"I knew your name sounded familiar from somewhere!" he burst out suddenly, his face lighting up with green eye going wide, snapping a finger in realization. "You're the head of the prestigious Chan family in far Eastern China!"
He abruptly covered his mouth with one palm, snorting barely suppressed laughter... which didn't stay suppressed for long, the redhead buckling over and guffawing borderline hysterically.
"I've heard of you! You're-! You're that guy! The one that-" he had to pause as laughter took over too much to continue, leaning on the wall for support with tears forming in his eye and face turning red. "You... you're that..." he paused and made air quotations with his fingers. "...that `stalker` that he won't let anywhere near Lenalee!"
He burst back into uncontrollable, breathless giggles, clutching his sides and sliding down the wall to rest his head on his knees as he tried to control himself.
Bak stared and stared and stared, and Allen mentally wondered just what was going on. Then suddenly the man's face broke out in hives, sending Wong into fits of panic.
"Wh-wh-what are you talking about? What stalker? Me? How-how do you...?" Bak stuttered in embarrassment, much to Allen's amusement. "A stalker! She's going to think I'm a stalker!"
"Oh my, now you broke Bak too?" Allen piped in. "You're on fire today, Lavi."
"W-what can I say?" Lavi laughed, still having trouble reigning his composure back in. "I have talent!" His sides were aching and he'd laughed so hard he made himself start coughing somewhat. "Oh god, help, I think I'm dying," he wheezed, a few stray giggles still bubbling up.
And the redhead still wearing a shamelessly wide smile. He wiped tears out of his eye with a gloved palm, still huffing humorously.
"Good, you can spare Kanda the dirty work," Allen shot back, drinking his tea. "Hm?"
"I cannot! I cannot live like this!"
"Bak-sama, please!" Wong fanned his face while the doctor recited his soliloquy.
Allen sighed yet again, sipping the tea. Kanda was off god knows where, Lavi was losing it, and Bak broke out in some mysterious shy-hives. "I'm surrounded by idiots," he quietly murmured. "Unbelievable. Shame on all of you."
He wondered silently, how this day could get any worse. Of course, the day was far from over.
"No," Lavi stated suddenly, sobering, in a tone as if he'd just made some important, final declaration in an argument that could not and would not be challenged, looking completely straight-face serious at Allen. "No, no, no. Unless you've personally met him, you don't understand! You think Yuu is being paranoid about me? You haven't seen real paranoia. This is Komui Lee. There are Russian grizzly bear mothers less protective of their cubs than this man is of his sister."
He waved his finger pointedly at Allen, as if scolding a small child that didn't know the full implications of some sort of mistake they'd made.
"You so much as breathe the wrong way toward or close enough around her, and you will wake up the next morning, castrated, having no recollection of having actually gone to sleep the night before. Now imagine trying to so much as put a hand on her in any manner he deems questionable, or wanting to hook up with her. He may very well kill you. Ignoring mercy. Entirely. And assuming anything happened to him, guaranteed, he'd find a way to come back from the grave, and haunt away every suitor in existence. Never, and I mean, never underestimate this man, in regards to exactly how far he will go to deter anyone from potentially posing anything he deems a threat to her. I promise you, this guy could give Yuu chills if he thought the guy might be getting funny ideas around her."
Allen hummed in thought, putting a finger to his lips, playing the unaffected child.
"I think Kanda might know him." He looked at Bak. "He was raised by your family, right?"
Bak stopped his ignored soliloquy and stared at the white-haired man. "Oh yeah, I think they might have met at some point."
"Anyway," Allen continued, looking at Lavi again and smiling sweetly. "I think I wouldn't have any problem with him at all."
"That's because you're a cheat," Lavi teased Allen, before glancing at Bak curiously, the bit about Kanda being raised by the Chan's piquing his interest. "Anyway, speaking of which, where is Yuu from, exactly? And that language he speaks? I tried asking him, but as you can probably guess, he wasn't exactly in a divulging mood." And now seemed the perfect time to ask.
It had seemed like an innocent enough question, but apparently Lavi was wrong on that matter. He could almost feel the tension that it suddenly brought, and not just from one person, but both Bak and Allen.
"Oh, Kanda? Uhm..." Bak looked incredibly uncomfortable with the change of topic. "He is from Nihon. Um, that is... Japan. But my family took him in when he was a child, so I guess he's more from China than Japan," Bak clarified. He looked as if he wanted to continue, but the sudden and very surprising stare Allen turned on him made him shut up.
"And I think you've said enough," the assassin commented, putting down his already empty cup of tea. "Thank you for the breakfast, Lavi." He smiled sweetly, discreetly hinting that the conversation concerning Kanda is over.
Lavi couldn't help but glance between them uncertainly, acute curiosity nagging at him, but he knew better than to press with the looks Allen was giving and tone. Whatever nerve he'd hit, it was something touchy, and as prying as he was, personal backstories weren't something he delved too deeply into unless it was important enough to know for his job's sake, or unless he was invited to hear.
"Nihon," he hummed, letting the name roll off the tongue. It wasn't as if the topic of the actual place was off-limits, as far as he could tell. Just the topic of Kanda himself. "This may come as a surprise, but I don't think I've heard of it. Where is this place, exactly?"
"East of China. We call it the Land of Rising Sun. A very beautiful country, but has quite strict rules and rulers. A few wars raging there at the moment, I think. Has been a while since I've been there last myself," Bak said, now completely calmed down and slightly more comfortable with where the topic has turned. Allen, too, seemed a little calmer than before, even though he was yawning already.
"Huh. I've never been far enough east, I guess. 'didn't know there was a country further out beyond China. Must not be very big," he mused, noticing how drastically the atmosphere changed. He'd have to remember that from now on. Inquiring about Kanda's origins was a big no-no.
He couldn't help but wonder why, but he knew well just how horrible of a place the world could be towards people. Pasts filled with things better left buried were far from uncommon. Whatever it was, maybe it offered some explanation as to why the man seemed like such a volatile, bitter person.
But it really wasn't his business, any more than his own past was the business of anyone besides himself and his mentor. Even Allen wasn't privy to his personal history, outside of the time they spent together and the few stories he told of exciting misadventures that there was no harm in talking about.
"It is a considerably small country, actually. Very easy to miss." Bak stood up and dusted himself off. Now that he was calmed and hive-less, and Wong over his panic attack, they judged it was time to leave."We would love to stay longer, but I'm afraid I have more patients to attend to."
"Alright, Lavi nodded. "Well at any rate, it was good talking to you." He smiled and watched them go, before moving to sit closer to the bed, resting his head against the edge of it. " 'guess that just leaves us until Yuu pulls the tail from between his legs and comes back," he joked, snickering faintly. And to think, all it had taken was comparing him to a cuddly kitten!
That earned him a hit on the head. Lavi yelped and ducked, holding it. It had been a while since anyone decked him like that - not since he last saw Bookman, actually.
"Seriously now, you're unbelievable!" Allen scolded grouchily with a pouty lip. "I know you like to tease and prank people, but you are taking it too far with Kanda. Do you have a death wish or something? Because Kanda can easily take care of that." He moved further up on the bed so he could lean his back aganst the wall and crossed his arms on his chest. "He is not one to give a warning before he draws his sword - keep that in mind. And one more thing!" Allen frowned then but he looked more like a sulky boy than a frowning man. "Learn to knock before you enter!"
"Hey, it's not like it's anything personal!" he protested, pouting at Allen childishly. "Just cuz you like him doesn't mean he gets any special treatment from me, any more than you or the old Panda does. It ain't my fault he doesn't have a sense of humor!" He huffed audibly and shifted to sit more comfortably, folding his arm under his head against the edge of the bed like a cushion. "And anyway, I already know to knock. It was Bak and that other guy that barged in without doing so. I had nothin' to do with that."
Allen stuck out his tongue.
"If you lose a limb, don't come to me crying. He killed men for lesser things, so heads up. Anyway, do you have anything interesting to read for me?" Until Kanda returns, but he didn't say that out loud. "I get bored in the evenings."
Lavi perked at the unexpected request, smiling broadly. Scaring away Kanda for a little while with his teasing came with some extra benefits, at least.
"Yeah, sure, I can read you something. Anything specific you want me to find? Y'know like, folk tales or mythology or epic adventure? Or maybe..." he struck a Shakespearian dramatic, swooning pose, putting on a comedic deep voice in hopes of earning a laugh with his antics. "Daring tales of melodrama and romance!"
Allen tried very hard to keep his sour face, but he couldn't help but laugh at Lavi's antics. He regretted it a second later as he started to cough, which made his whole body jerk in spikes of pain. Even though he held up a hand, gesturing to Lavi that he was alright.
"I'm fine, no worries." He laughed, but it was visible that it took some effort to put up a smile onto his face. "I think I would like to hear some legends this time. Got anything interesting?"
"I think I can find something," Lavi hummed, trying not to look too concerned over Allen. Mainly because he was sure it would only end in annoyance on both their parts. He figured that keeping their minds occupied with entertainment would be far better medicine than disbelief and doting, when it came to his friend and the circumstances, at least.
He nodded and stood, going to find something, and wasn't long in returning.
"As it just so happens," he announced his return flamboyantly, toting along a book with an err of triumph. "I have just the thing! The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine." He held the book up for display. "Quite a popular read, if I recall correctly. Saints, dragons... exciting stuff like that." He smirked as he flipped it open, poised and ready to go on a dramatic tirade of overzealous reading. "And I will try not to kill you with laughter, but I make no such definitive promises. I have talent, after all." He offered up a playful wink.
Lavi read the text in more the manner of a farce than the seriousness it was originally meant to be taken in, acting things out at times and others letting his voice do all of the portrayal with pouring as much gusto into it as he thought necessary and perhaps then-some. Allen tried not to laugh too much after Lavi started reading the tales, but it proved harder and harder with every chapter since Lavi put extra effort into intonation and impressions. He wasn't a religious person, so maybe his perspective made the legends seem more like bedtime stories than what it was supposed to be. By the third story he had to ask Lavi for a break during which he tried to catch his breath both from laughing and the pain he felt.
Not that he really minded. It made him forget his troubles even if it was only temporal. He almost forgot how he loved listening to Lavi's reading and it made him feel nostalgic. It steered his thoughts back to the times when he was younger and much more carefree.
A few times Lavi had to pause himself, the laughter becoming contagious, before he could continue. Allen's laughing was like music to his ears, and he deeply enjoyed that Allen was having so much fun watching his performance. At some point he had slightly more of an audience than just Allen from a couple of stray passersby going about other business.
God how he'd missed this.
Another story was read, and another one. The following was much calmer than the previous ones and soon enough, Allen was too exhausted from laughing and was lost in the dreamland, leaving Lavi silently murmuring words that were not really written in the text.
Lavi read for a bit longer, not really even paying attention to if he was reading the text right at this point. After he was absolutely certain Allen was sound asleep, he finally stopped, quietly closing the book.
Kanda still wasn't back, so he didn't see a need to make himself scarce quite yet, instead taking a seat near the bed and leaning his head against the edge, simply listening to Allen's soft and somewhat labored breathing, up until the point he nodded off himself.
Kanda was making his way back to the den after a day filled with listening to the news and rumors about the city his men gathered over the time, disposing of potential threats that could interfere with the current state of peace that was established between the Byzantines and the assassins, and checking on the other dens' supplies and possible missions that could earn them a little bit of money.
He couldn't say that he was entirely pleased to learn that the idea of peace was the one-eyed rabbit's idea, but he had to admit that it saved him a lot of work and complications.
Everything seemed to be in order.
Well... almost everything.
For some mysterious reason - whether it was because his men have become lazy and inefficient, or because or something else - they still couldn't get a hold of the bastard wannabe priest from Italy that was after the Apple.
Kanda felt like killing someone after he learned that their target vanished from the city's surface. But he made sure the assassins know what would happen to them if they won't remedy this little flaw as soon as possible.
Looks like Kanda will have to remind his men that the holiday is over.
He arrived to the den at night, exhausted and a little agitated but not too badly. Tiedoll was, of course, already downstairs, pattering about how he should rest more and do this and not do that and yadda yadda yadda, which made Kanda take a sharp ninety-degree turn to the right just as he entered the hallway and go upstairs. The only thing that made him feel a little bit better was the fact that he didn't find the bookman anywhere downstairs.
His moment of satisfaction at the lack of annoying rabbits was, however, short lived, since he found the redhead fast asleep on the floor next to his bed where Allen slept.
The nerve...
He drew his sword with dooming slowness, pressing the tip against the intruders neck and hissing "Out!" through his clenched teeth. He knew the bookman was already awake. It was his pretending to be asleep that offended him most.
"Do you threaten all your house guests?" Lavi muttered, cracking his eye open faintly and swatting the tip of the sword aside nonchalantly, as if he wasn't worried at all about Kanda's threat. "Or am I just that special?"
He had heard the man return - it was sort of hard to miss - and the other men downstairs talking to him, but hadn't bothered paying it much mind. He happened to like where he was half-laying comfortably, and more importantly, where he could keep tabs on Allen and make sure he didn't relapse, since Bak had left hours ago. Not to mention Kanda had taken his sweet time in even checking in. Honestly, he was going to leave so long that Allen could've had a sudden decline or complication in his shaky health, and then get pissed that someone else was keeping an eye on the guy? Gratitude obviously wasn't a concept he was familiar with.
He yawned widely and straightened up, stretching his arms skyward until his back popped softly, rubbing the tiredness out of his eye.
"You could really take some lessons on manners from Allen, like politely asking people to leave instead of brandishing a sword at every chance you can find an excuse for."
"Shut your mouth and get out!" Kanda whispered harshly, but not really paying attention to him. He frowned at Allen instead, sheathing his sword and shoving Lavi away so he had the access to the bed. "That's weird," he mumbled, pressing the back of his fingers against Allen's cheek. It wasn't usual for him to sleep through something like this. He was usually up by the time someone opened the door, but now...
His temperature was normal, so Kanda guessed he was only tired.
"You're still here?!" He growled as he turned around to face the other man. "Out!" he ordered again, brushing past Lavi. "Tiedoll wanted to speak to you." Did he? Kanda heard him mention his name when he came so he guessed he did. At least he had a good excuse to make him leave the room.
Lavi only held up his hands in defeat, shrugging.
"Fine, 'not like I have all that much reason to hang around anyway." As if anyone would want to when the man was being so sour.
Really though, how had someone like him and Allen ended up together? Sure, he had some redeeming qualities. He certainly wasn't short on blessings when it came to physical looks, but that wasn't enough to snare Allen's long-term attention alone. He was skilled in combat, certainly, but so were a lot of other people. And personality? Abrasive was putting it nicely, and so far he'd seen both men butt heads like rams in springtime more than get along, a glimpse of cuddle time not withstanding.
He really wasn't looking to pick up more trouble at the moment though, so he complied with Kanda's wishes easily, idly massaging his neck as he followed.
"And I'm surprised Teidol snagged you into playing messenger-boy. What did he want with me, exactly?"
Kanda stayed silent, mentally thinking about some reply but having a hard time coming up with one.
"Ask him, not me." That was not a kind of sassy reply he wanted to give, but it could have been worse. The main point was to get him out.
And anyway, they needed to discuss how to proceed with Apollo. If Lavi was really as good as his men and Tiedoll say then he would give him a chance to demonstrate his skills. Maybe he could lure the read-haired man out so he could see for himself how good Lavi was when push came to shove.
Finally, both that red-haired bookman and the Nightmare were out of the way. It took them long enough.
Demir had hoped to catch Allen alone while that Kanda person was running around town, entirely gone from the den, but no such luck since the bookman had staked out the bedroom and kept company. Even though it appeared as if they'd both fallen asleep for a time, he wasn't fool enough to sneak in and think his presence would go unnoticed by the redhead, so he'd been forced to wait while the guy put on a whole stage-show and then camped out for a nap, and then for the Nightmare to escort him out.
No telling how long they'd be gone, so he'd either have to sneak in now or await another day.
The window was an easy access point, and he almost had to laugh at how poorly thought their security truly was, if he could manage to do that. He made it a point to shut the door before approaching the sleeping White Demon, flicking a flower beneath his nose where the petals tickled it.
"Wakey, wakey~ my withered flower~" he hummed aloud. "It's rude to keep people waiting."
Allen stirred, only swatting the offending fragrant thing under his nose, but when he cracked one eye open and saw the person leaning above him, he sat up, almost yelping out in fright.
His hand reflexively shot up to the man's throat, only to freeze halfway because he realized he put his blades down and stashed them in his chest.
A low, pained groan escaped his throat afterwards and he wrapped his arms around his abdomen. Not a good move.
He glared at Demir from under his bangs, gritting his teeth.
"How the hell did you get in?!" And how the hell didn't I hear you coming? Allen realized he was in much more trouble than he would have liked. His body still refused to cooperate and he had no weapon on him. He only had the Apple of Eden hidden in the corner under his pillow, and he wasn't very keen on using it anytime soon.
Demir chuckled and straightened up, nodding towards the window. "Your security in the front is tight, but there's always a back door if you know how to find it." Amusement played across his face, though he made no moves toward the other, instead only twirling the flower back and forth between his index and thumb idly. "As you may well be aware, our last meeting was more brief than I had wanted, since your leak had you tailed to our meeting place, so I never received the payment you promised. Naturally, I've come to collect." His voice turned somewhat husky, though more as a taunt than anything. "You promised me a demonstration, after all, my little flower~"
The tone made Allen shiver, and just as he was about to answer, the door flew open - almost falling off their hinges - revealing a very livid looking Kanda, with his sword drawn and prepared to kill.
A nightmare indeed.
"You have five seconds to move away from that bed, explain yourself, and say your last words." His whole body was dead calm but he could feel his heart pump the blood though his veins quicker than was usual. It was a mistake to leave Allen alone in the room.
Kanda glanced out of the window briefly.
His men have grown lazy. They have allowed someone to slip into the den - now, of all the times, when the sprout was unable to fight.
"Aw, and here we were having so much fun," Demir hummed in a toying tone, smiling and seeming to have even less concern for Kanda's threatening demeanor than Lavi typically did. "But of course, the shining knight had to come riding in and ruin it. Oh well." He sighed and tossed the flower in Allen's direction, hopping out onto the window sill. "Perhaps another time then. I do so lament the idea of disembowelment. Don't forget, you owe me for my services, and I expect it to be paid in full, little flower."
He gave Allen a sly wink before swiftly making his exit, as if he'd never been there.
Kanda ran to the window in hope of beheading the man before he could get out of reach, but it only resulted in his sword getting wedged in the window frame, missing its target. Kanda bellowed in anger, quickly taking a dagger out of his belt, hurling it at the fleeing man, but he was not sure whether he hit or not.
He ripped the sword out of the poor, demolished wood and turned to face Allen, who had his lips pursed and eyes set on the flower.
"Before you start ripping the furniture apart," the white haired man started, finally looking up, "he was-"
Kanda silenced him with a raised finger. His eyes flickered to the flower Allen held and a second later he snatched it away, crushing it in his palm.
"Keep that thought," he said, running downstairs.
Allen could hear him bark orders at the assassins, first in English, then in Japanese - and he honestly felt bad for the men directly under Kanda's order. He was not a man to take mistakes lightly. Punishments tended to be severe.
Kanda's angry shouts were soon replaced by the sound of hurried steps of the assassins who scrambled away to hunt Demir down in fear of Kanda deciding to take his fury out on them instead of the tresspaser.
A short while later, the black haired man was back upstairs, his sword already sheated but his hand still twitchy. He walked to the window and looked out as if expecting - or rather, hoping - that the man would return.
"Go on," he said and Allen heard the obvious effort Kanda put into keeping his voice even.
"He was the man who sold us the name of my hunter."
"And the price?" Kanda interrupted him.
Allen sighed. "The price was a demonstration of the Apple's power."
"You told him about it? Have you completely lost your mind?!" Kanda was losing his hardly feigned composure with every spoken word.
"He wanted me to show him how it worked, he didn't want it. He trades information, not goods."
"What if someone else pays him more? That bastard could have easily set him on you!"
"He can't be bought like that!" Now was Allen's turn to raise his voice.
"EVERYBODY CAN BE BOUGHT!" Kanda shouted, startling Allen as he slammed his fist against the broken window frame. "They bought me, too," he added, almost in a whisper. A tense silence fell in the room. They stared at each other, reading their emotions in each others' eyes - ones filled with remorse, others with sadness.
When Kanda ran off again, Lavi got curious, inching his way up towards his room and aware that Kanda was threatening someone. Of course, that someone wasn't Allen, and he was able to place the voice relatively easily.
He was also getting the sneaking suspicion that it was time to make himself scarce for a while, not leaving the den entirely, simply finding a spot where he'd be out of sight and mind while Kanda went about barking off orders and basically screaming the house down about ineptitude and hypothetical scenarios that could have happened, even though they didn't.
For once, the man was showing a truly scary side, and Lavi was simply glad to have the forethought to stay out of his way for once.
He was tentative when he poked his head out just in time to see Kanda disappearing again up the stairs and followed silently, not quite daring enough to let his presence be known but neither was he lacking enough courage to stay away entirely, hanging just out of sight and merely listening.
So much chaos over just one man.
But that's all it ever takes, really. And especially now, when they had just had their run in with Apollo. Technically that made it two men, because likely Kanda wouldn't be so touchy about Demir if not for the threat that Apollo posed.
He winced as Kanda's voice raised to a deafening pitch, even from outside the room. It sounded like the argument we escalating, not deflating, though he wasn't entirely sure that getting involved would help any, and not simply blow things up further. He wasn't exactly very trusted either, at least not in Kanda's eyes.
Taking in and blowing out a long breath silently, he poked into the room and decided he might as well at least try to find a way to help, playing off nonchalance.
"That Demir's still as ballsy as ever, I see," he hummed, pretending not to have noticed all the shouting, even though it was entirely impossible to miss. Kanda had quite a powerful voice, even when he wasn't yelling at the top of his lungs. "Anyway, as sensitive as the current circumstances are, trying to breathe fire and roaring at everyone with ear drums left to hear it isn't really going to help anyone."
"Lavi," Allen breathed, his voice carrying a feint undertone of warning.
Kanda stood silent with his teeth clenched, slowly sliding his hand down the frame to let the blood drip on the floor instead on his clothes.
The atmosphere in the room was indeed heavy. Allen looked slightly guilty and Kanda as if he couldn't decide between worrying and going on a killing spree. Under closer inspection, it was evident that he was leaning more towards the latter than the former after Lavi made an appearance again. He dully stared ahead, suddenly completely calm and relaxed.
Tiedoll was, once again, the one to ease the tension.
Putting a hand on Lavi's shoulder, he spoke. "I think it would be good if Lavi returned to his own place for the night," he suggested, much to Allen's surprise.
"What? Why? Isn't he safer here?"
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Lavi murmured under his breath, wearing a small, humorless smile, discreetly nodding towards Kanda for Allen to see. "It may, in fact, be more hazardous to my health here than on my own, even were trouble to find me."
He hadn't been planning on trying to tease Kanda, given how short his temper was at the moment compared to his usual level of tolerance - even though that wasn't saying much, in all truth - but it seemed he didn't have to. Just being there at all was enough to fray nerves right now better left to settle.
"Anyway, I was already planning on heading to my own place, after having given it a couple days. With how active the assassins are running around right now, I probably don't have to worry too much about Apollo. I imagine he's not daring enough to show his face again just yet." He nodded reassurance at the white-haired man. "Besides, I much prefer having my own bed. The floor's really not a good place to sleep, bad for the back and all that. I'll bring you breakfast again when I come by in the morning, ya? 'make something tasty for you to enjoy."
"Oh," Allen nodded, slightly confused. "Okay then, be careful on your way back." He sounded a little bit like kicked puppy.
"Yeah," Kanda murmured, slowly turning his head towards Lavi. "Very careful." The calm, almost friendly tone he used was a slightly unsettling and made Allen throw a frown his way.
"I will," he assured. "And same to you. Anyway, 'night all! Sleep well tonight," Lavi offered up in parting with a slight wave back over his shoulder, turning to leave, before Kanda decided he'd make for a good object to take out his fury on.
Kanda waited only until Lavi stepped out of the room until he slammed it closed. He returned to the window and repeated the action but this time using less force to keep the glass from shattering.
Allen squirmed in the bed, not knowing what to do. It was evident that Kanda was still very pissed off and it was hard to come up with something that would calm him down. Maybe if they tried to talk it over...
"Kanda I-"
"Shut up," the man said, but even though his voice sounded much calmer, his eyes told a completely different story. He watched him squirm on the bed like a hawk, and Allen had the feeling that he was suspicious of something.
That is, until Kanda unstrapped his sword from his waist and propped it next to the bed. Next thing to come off was his coat, but by the time it came off and hit the floor, Kanda was already kneeling between Allen's legs, one hand pressed against the man's jaw steering him to lie down.
Oh... Allen thought, well, I guess it could have been much worse.
He bit Kanda's lip, forcing him to draw back slightly. "Not in shape," he commented silently, but otherwise did nothing to push the man away.
"I'm aware." Kanda paused, "but the den is now completely empty."
"Tiedoll-"
"He knows better than to stay close to my room at night."
So the night turned out better than expected for Allen in the end. Kanda was very careful with what he was doing and even though Allen would not call it 'gentle'(because `Kanda` and ´gentle´ just didn't fit into one sentence in any context whatsoever), he couldn't say that it was not one of the best night he ever spent with the man.