A/N: I just wanted to say thanks again to all of you who left a review, I really appreciate the feedback! I'd be thankful if you'd continue leaving reviews so I can improve my writing :)
Sadly, I still don't own D. Gray-man. :/
Anyway, on with the chapter! :)

. C H A P T E R 2 .

Since it was around dinnertime, the dining-hall was bustling. If the hall wasn't so huge, Allen was sure it would've been more than crowded. As it was, most people were already seated or on their way to one of the tables, and not even all the tables were occupied.

As he neared the kitchen, a tall, pink haired man emerged from behind the counter and enveloped Allen in a tight hug that smelled of culinary herbs.

"Allen-kun!~" he exclaimed happily, "Good evening and welcome home, cutie!"

"Nice to.. see you again.. " Allen squeezed out, before he added "Jerry-san... can't... breathe..."

"Oh, sorry, dear!~" Jerry said and let go of him, and, having lifted him off the ground before, set him back down.

Allen didn't say anything for his head was spinning from the temporary lack of oxygen and he first had to focus on breathing normally again. This gave the Order's cook the chance to continue talking.

"What would you like to eat today, cutie? I'm all ears!"

By the time Jerry had finished his saying that, Allen had recovered enough to reply in a complete sentence. "To be honest, I don't know. Somehow I don't feel so well.."

That caused the cook to look visibly shocked and crestfallen. He always loved to cook for Allen since he was a parasitic type, which in other words meant that he needed a ridiculous amount of food to be satisfied. It seemed to be a pleasure for Jerry to ensure that Allen's stomach was always full. In turn, the object of Jerry's adoration himself thought of the pink haired man as the best cook in the world. That Allen did not show any interest in eating Jerry's cooking was unprecedented, unthinkable even.

When Allen saw the cook's expression, he inwardly scolded himself for not paying enough attention to refrain from saying that he didn't feel well. There was no way Jerry would not make a big fuss over his 'condition'.

"Oh my, you're not sick, are you, dear? Have you been to the medical ward yet? Are you sure you're not hungry? Actually, this is the first time today that I see you here in the cafeteria, so you can't not be hungry!"

Allen suppressed a sigh. And this is exactly why I always claim to be fine no matter what's wrong with me.

"There's no need to worry, Jerry. It's not a big deal.. I just don't have much of an appetite right now. I'm sure I'll be back to normal in no time.. For now, I think I'll just have some mitarashi dango as an appetizer?" Allen hoped that Jerry would think that he had made the last part sound like a question because he wanted to indirectly ask the cook to make it for him, and not because he wasn't sure if he would be able to eat even a single bite of his favorite food right now.

The prospect of making food – even a considerably smaller amount of food than usual – for Allen seemed to lighten the cook's mood immediately. To Allen's relief, the pink haired man understood his previous 'question' the way he wanted him to.

"Of course, I'll prepare them for you immediately, dear! Just sit down for now and your food will be there in no time!~" And with that, Jerry disappeared in the kitchen.

Sighing again, Allen looked around for the nearest empty table and sat down on the bench that belonged to it, not in the mood for company at the moment. The short time he had to wait was spent thinking while blankly staring ahead.

Allen flinched when a plate filled with a miniature mountain of mitarashi dango was placed in front of him, emitting a clanking sound as it came in contact with the wooden table. He turned his head and found himself face to face with Johnny.

"Good evening, Allen-kun!" the scientist greeted him. Then he gestured to the plate. "Jerry-san asked me to hand this to you when I went over to him to place my order.. this is your dessert, I assume?"

Allen forced himself to snap out of it and properly focus on his reply instead, so he managed to remind himself that admitting not to feel well was out of the question if he wanted to avoid causing everyone to worry. I guess a white lie is in order, huh...

"Yeah.. something like that...," he laughed weakly. "So, how's the science department doing?" he added quickly to change the topic. Keeping the disheveled-looking man who had grown to be his friend talking was a good excuse to refrain from eating.

"Oh, same as ever, you know.. huge workload, little sleep, and Komui is... well, Komui." Johnny laughed and Allen couldn't help but smile at him.

"I hope he's not making too much trouble again.. If he is, just ask and Lenalee and I will do something about it, okay?" Allen's smile grew forced as he remembered the last time Lenalee and him had destroyed the man's latest Komurin. Komui just never learns..

"Thank you, Allen-kun. You exorcists are always such a great help to everyone. I'm envious! That's why everyone from the science division is doing their best for you, to make your work easier!"

Again, Allen smiled warmly at the man. Johnny really had a heart of gold.

"Johnny-kun! I've finished preparing your order! ~ " Jerry's booming voice echoed through the dining-hall.

"Coming!" said scientist yelled back before turning to Allen. "I'll be off now, then. The others are waiting for their food!"

And with that, Johnny hurried over to the cook, who had prepared two large bags filled to the brim with food for him. After he had received them, thanking Jerry as he did so, he hurried out of the door.

When Allen could not see him anymore from where he was sitting, he turned to look at the plate in front of him. The mitarashi dango looked mouth-watering as always and smelled really delicious, but for some reason his stomach didn't react to it at all. It bothers me so much that I don't even feel like eating my favorite dish.. Man, this is annoying... He took a dango and popped the small ball into his mouth before he could change his mind about it. Slowly chewing, he tried to savor the taste, hoping that he would get hungry once he started eating it. To no avail, it seemed, because he didn't feel in the least bit inclined to continue eating after he had swallowed.

Sighing, Allen pushed the plate away from himself and continued blankly staring ahead in thought. He wondered how Lavi had taken the news and if he was alright. Just as the white-haired exorcist came to the conclusion that staring at his food thinking about everything didn't help at all and that it would be best to just go find Lavi and talk to him instead of worrying pointlessly, the object of his musings entered the dining-hall. Since Allen was still deep in thought, he didn't notice Lavi until he was standing right next to him and waving a gloved hand in front of his face. Allen sweatdropped.

"Hey there, beansprout! What are ya sitting here spacin' out for?" the redhead asked, grinning. He stopped waving and casually leaned against the table next to Allen.

Allen closely examined Lavi's expression for a moment. The smile seemed genuine. Wasn't he sad?

'A bookman has no need for a heart.'

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." he smiled back.

"You sure?" Lavi wasn't convinced. "You're acting strange."

"Of course I'm sure!" Allen defended himself, still forcing a smile. He felt bad for lying to his best friend. For a moment he thought he saw Lavi's eyes darkening with concern, but...

'A bookman has no need for a heart.'

Allen shook his head violently to clear it.

"Allen... " The serious tone in Lavi's voice made the smaller exorcist throw a confused glance in his direction. Why does he seem so concerned? He should be depressed because of his own current situation, not worrying about me... And besides...

'A bookman has no need for a heart.'

"What? I told you, I'm fine!"

"Stop it."

"I mean it Lavi, I'm fi-" Lavi grabbed Allen by the collar and pulled him closer. He growled dangerously.

"I said... stop. it! I don't even need to rely on my observation skills to see that you're anything but fine! So stop lying to me for crying out loud and tell me what the hell is wrong with you!" While the first part was said in a low growl, Lavi's voice grew louder with every word and the last part of the sentence was nearly shouted. Allen flinched and suddenly became aware that they were gathering a small audience. He sweatdropped again, feeling uncomfortable.

"Uhh..."

Lavi looked around, scratched his head in embarrassment and laughed weakly. He let go of Allen's collar and grabbed his arm instead, pulling him out of the cafeteria at lightning speed.

"H-Hey! Where are you taking me?" Allen was clearly not amused that he was being dragged around by the red-haired rabbit. However, his question remained unanswered until they reached a door that, although looking similar to all the other doors in the Order, was located in a less frequented part of it and seemed to be the redhead's destination.

Lavi threw open the door and revealed a slightly dusty, lounge-like room with several couches and coffee tables as well as a few bookshelves. Albeit looking a little worn out, the furniture seemed to be fully functional. Allen wondered since when it was vacant and why the people of the Order had stopped using it.

Lavi seemed to have guessed what he was thinking about, for as he closed the door behind them he said "This was once the Order's lounge, but as you can see it is a lot smaller than the one we use now and the new one is also more conveniently located than this one, so they stopped using it at some point. I like to come here when I want to have some peace and quiet."

Allen nodded; That made sense. He turned around to face the redhead who was still standing behind him and effectively blocking the exit by leaning against the closed door. "Why did you bring me here?"

He could already guess why, but he still thought he had to ask. If anything, that would get them back to topic. If the red-haired exorcist was so intent on finding out what was wrong with him, Allen could also make use of this opportunity to ask him about his demotion instead.

"Why, to have you tell me what's wrong with you in private, of course!" Lavi smirked, which in turn caused Allen to smirk evilly.

"Oh, really. And how exactly are you going to accomplish that?"

He saw the redhead's eyes gleam mischievously and briefly thought that he didn't have an escape route since the rabbit was blocking the only exit. Said exorcist's grin widened even more – it was obvious that he too was aware of Allen's predicament.

"Don't worry, dear, I have something in mind.." And with that, Lavi pounced on his best friend and began tickling him without mercy.

A/N: So Lavi and Allen finally met, but instead of Allen asking Lavi if he's okay, it seems it's going to be the other way round. What do you think of Lavi's method of making Allen tell him what's wrong? :D