A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait :) But here it is, finally - the 4th Chapter of "The day Allen lost his appetite"! Only one more chapter left after this, by the way - I hope I won't disappoint you with how I ended this story...
For those who are interested in reading more of my stuff, I've just recently accepted the "100 Themes Challenge" that I am sure you've probably heard about already, and I've already written the first oneshot (though it's not up yet). I'm planning on uploading the themes here as a collection of oneshots that will mostly center around Lavi and/or Allen, so if you're interested, I hope you'll take a look when it's uploaded! :)
Also, there's a redheaded plotbunny hopping around in my head right now, so I might start a longer multichapter story in the near future :3

And now, on with the chapter! Enjoy :)

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When Allen didn't answer immediately, Lavi leaned towards him, causing his uneasy feeling to intensify. When they were just a few inches apart, the redhead spoke again, his voice merely a whisper.

"It's you."

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. C H A P T E R 4 .

Allen couldn't comprehend what he had just heard. Him? Was that one of the redhead's usual jokes? The white-haired boy leaned back, away from Lavi, and laughed awkwardly.

"M-me? You're kidding, right? You shouldn't joke about this stuff, it's-"

"I'm not kidding, Allen, I mean it. I love you."

That effectively shut up Allen's ramblings. He really didn't know what to say to that. Lavi loved him? Thoughts were swirling around in his head and he felt a major headache coming on. Lavi loved him. Lavi loved him. Him. Allen stared blankly ahead, wondering how he felt about that.

Lavi, on the other hand, didn't take the silence all too well. But he was used to hiding his emotions behind a mask, so he tried to do just that.

Allen's train of thought was interrupted though as he remembered with a start that he would need to answer fast if he wanted to prevent the rabbit from hurting. He hurried to say something, missing out on the part where he was supposed to formulate a coherent sentence before saying it out loud.

"Uh... " was all he managed to utter, but it was enough to get Lavi's attention. For a brief moment, the white-haired boy could make out a flicker of hope in the other's eyes. He decided to just go with the truth, since anything else wouldn't have been fair to the redhead.

"I... don't really know what to say. It never crossed my mind before. I mean, you are my best friend, and... I guess I just need time to think about it."

"Okay" was the simple reply and Lavi turned away from Allen, leaning against the backrest with his arms placed behind his head and his eye closed, looking as if he was comfortable. Physically, he probably was, but Allen didn't think that the redhead was emotionally comfortable right now. Still, it was obvious to him that Lavi wanted to give him space and thus tried to act as if Allen wasn't sitting next to him, sorting out his feelings.

The white-haired boy decided that he didn't want to make the redhead wait for longer than necessary, and was determined to find out what exactly he thought of the confession. He was.. surprised, of course, and naturally he found it quite weird – after all, it was his best friend who just confessed to him. He hadn't known that Lavi was gay – or bi for that matter – since for as long as Allen knew him, he had always yelled "STRIKE!" at the sight of a beautiful woman. That could have been an act, though, Allen supposed. After all it wasn't exactly a good idea to tell people from a religious organization that is overseen by the Vatican that you're gay – it's quite unlikely that the pope would be happy about that. He didn't know how tolerant the Order was towards gay people, but although he supposed that no one in the Order would tell the Vatican about it, there were still the Vatican's spies and he didn't think it would be possible to hide it from them for long if it was out in the open otherwise. If the two of them would really start a relationship, they'd have to hide it from most people, too, he realized.

Allen himself had never really spent a thought on his sexuality. It just never came up, to put it bluntly, he had had better things to do, other things on his mind. However, now that he was confronted with a confession, and from another male at that, he didn't exactly have the option of not thinking about it anymore.

He could easily admit to himself that he liked Lavi. A lot. But did those feelings exceed friendship? Allen didn't know. What did it mean to love somebody? It wasn't easy to define. He had heard people say that love means to truly treasure a person, to want them near you at all times, to miss them when they're not with you, to want to be there for that person, to know their flaws and cherish them regardless, to feel the desire to be close to him or her, both emotionally and physically.

Now that he thought about it, the fact that Lavi confessed his love to him made the white-haired boy blush as he truly realized what it actually implied. He felt happy that the rabbit cared for him so much, and he was aware that if he asked himself if those feelings applied to him as well, he could answer 'yes' for everything except the physical part – this, he just didn't know. He hesitantly allowed himself to imagine how it would feel to be kissed by the gorgeous redhead. The white-haired exorcist wasn't disgusted by the thought at all, but he just couldn't imagine how it would feel. He didn't have any experience whatsoever, after all.

Allen nervously glanced at the redhead, who was still acting as if he was alone in the room. Fondness bubbled up inside him at the sight. He didn't think he would be able to keep it together like this if he was in the rabbit's place right now, but Lavi gave him space to think and endured the wait in silence.

Allen frowned. Should I just.. ask? But it's so embarrassing! Damn.. c'mon Allen, he's probably a thousand times more uncomfortable than you... how else do you want to find out?

The white-haired boy sighed, butterflies pretty much wreaking havoc inside his stomach, and spoke up.

"Uh, Lavi?" At least my voice isn't quivering or something.

"Mh?" Lavi cracked his eye open and looked at him.

"Could you... I-I mean, could I try something?" Okay, nevermind.

"Huh? Uh.. sure, I guess..?" he answered, eyebrow raised. "What is it?"

"Er... could you close your eye?"

"Sure," the redhead said and did as he was told. "And now what?"

"Just wait, please..."

Here it goes... Allen stood up from where he was sitting on the couch and silently walked over to where his friend sat, hands cold and shaking due to his nervousness. He carefully placed his left hand on the backrest next to Lavi's head and his left knee to the redhead's left on the couch. Just as carefully, he placed his other knee on the part of the couch between Lavi's slightly spread legs so that he was kneeling in front of the redhead. A blush rose in his cheeks at the suggestive position – he hoped that his weight on the couch so close to him didn't make the rabbit think strange things. Actually, this whole situation is strange, Allen had to admit.

He took a deep but shaky breath. Okay, here goes nothing...

And with that thought in mind and his heart throbbing wildly, Allen leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to Lavi's.

A/N: Yup, again with the cliffhanger. I'm sorry! xD It just came out that way. q.q
See you next chapter :)