A/N: Yeah, got a 2030 on my SATs on my first try and my mom is still upset that I didn't score higher. On a better note, I did finish this chapter against all odds. I'm still pressed for time and I'm writing whenever I have time so please be patient for future chapters. Meanwhile please enjoy.
Disclaimer: I went to Japan and tried bargaining with Hoshino-sensei but no dice.
Chapter 4: The Home Territory
The first thing Allen heard in the morning was bell-like giggling. He turned around in his comfy, warm bed and pulled the covers around him tighter. It was much too early to be woken up in his opinion and if he wanted to sleep for five more minutes before dealing with his bastard for a master then damn it all, he would sleep for five more minutes. He heard shushing noises, more giggling, and someone say, "Little master and miss, I don't think you should-", and then the next moment he felt as if his insides had exploded and he shouted out in pain. He arms shot out of the covers and waved frantically around, trying to bat away the source of pain but it was met with more giggling.
Allen's silver eyes flew open and he saw two smiling faces peering up at him. Lenalee and Lavi sat on his stomach, laughing merrily as a distressed Marie looked from Allen to the twins in a helpless gesture.
For a moment, Allen was disoriented. Seeing two little children confused him but it was a welcome sight compared to his master with a hammer in his hands. He shuddered lightly and twitched.
Right, Allen remembered, Master sold me off to be a nanny of all things!
His stomach throbbed painfully, reminding him of the current situation. The twins looked at him expectantly, patting the sheets covering his bruised abdomen with barely contained impatience.
Oh God, Allen winced, I think they just popped my stomach and my kidneys.
He let out a groan and tried to sit up but their combined weight was too heavy for Allen to lift himself up. Lenalee and Lavi, taking the hint, tumbled off to the side with little "oof!' sounds and bounced on the sides excitedly.
"Good morning, Allen!" Lenalee chirped, beaming at him. "Time to get up!" She stood up on the bed but wobbled as the bed shifted and fell back down, tumbling into Lavi.
"Wakey wakey, Allen-nanny!" Lavi crowed and jumped up and down on his bed.
"G-Good morning," Allen wheezed, still breathless from being jumped on. He offered them a small, wobbly smile and patted their heads. Lenalee and Lavi glowed under the attention.
"I'm sorry Mister Walker," Marie said apologetically as he watched from Allen's door. "The little master and miss wanted to come along to wake you up but I didn't realize they were going to use that sort of wake up call. Are you alright? Should I get the children to come out and wait for you while you freshen up?"
"I'm quite alright," Allen smiled, pulling the covers off and getting up from the bed. He pulled Lenalee up into his arms when Lenalee made little whimper noises and thrust up her hands to be carried. He knelt down and allowed Lavi to clamber onto his back. "So what are you two up to today?"
"We want to play with Allen-nanny!" Lavi cheered as he swung around precariously. Allen held the underside of Lavi's knees to support him. "Yu-papa is at work and he said that we should jump on your stomach to wake you up! He said you would really like that!"
Allen's left eye twitched. Kanda, you bastard.
He sighed tiredly and blew a strand of wayward hair out of his face.
"How about you two wait outside while I dress up?" Allen asked gently, setting Lenalee down and lowering Lavi down as well. "Then I'll make you guys breakfast."
"Yay!" both twins shouted as they skipped around Allen. "Pancakes!"
"That won't be necessary," Marie replied, "The cook has already made raisin bread with quince jam, broiled fish stuffed with cod fish eggs, and radish and egg casserole."
The twins stopped mid-skip. "Eww..." Lenalee and Lavi shuddered in revulsion.
"I don't wanna eat radish," Lavi whined, sticking out his tongue and scrunching his face up. "Radish is icky."
"I don't like fishy eggs," Lenalee pouted with the same face as her brother.
Allen laughed. He wasn't picky with foods and the casserole sounded appealing but he knew that children had a higher sense of taste than adults and they wouldn't enjoy the foods.
"How about this?" Allen responded, kneeling down to their level and looked at the twins with bright silver eyes. "If you guys eat your share of breakfast today, then I will take you out for ice cream later."
"Ice cream?" Lenalee and Lavi repeated, staring up at him with excitement. Their eyes sparkled with the promised treat and they nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, ice cream!"
They jumped up and down, twirling each other in circles shouting 'Ice cream! Ice cream!' every few seconds.
"Now, hurry on out so I can get changed," Allen chuckled and stood up, leading them by the hand out of the bedroom.
"M-Mister Walker," Marie began, seeing that the situation had spiraled out of control. "The children are not allowed to leave the mansion!"
"Eh?" Allen blinked. "Why not?"
Lenalee stopped and guiltily stared up at Allen.
"Daddy said it's dangerous for Lavi and me to go out with anyone other than Daddy or Marie," Lenalee explained in a meek voice. Her cheeks reddened and she stared at her shoes as if awaiting a scolding. "He said that there are evil people out there who don't like children. He said they will take us away from Daddy."
Allen shot Marie a questioning gaze.
"As a doting father, Master Kanda treasures his children and their safety is his utmost priority," Marie explained with a helpless look.
"That is a problem," Allen acknowledged with a thoughtful tilt of his head. "Then why don't we ask Mr. Marie if he would be able to join us on our adventure to the ice cream shop?"
Both Lenalee and Lavi shot up and their eyes turned bright as they turned to Marie who flinched.
"Yeah!" Lavi chirped. "Marie, do you want to come with us?"
Lenalee joined her brother. "Please come with us?" she said cutely, violet eyes shining innocuously.
"I-I must insist, Master Lavi," Marie said carefully. "We must ask the Master Kanda before we do anything."
"Oh," Lavi wilted and sulked. His face was turning bright red and his arms crossed his chest in a huff. Allen could tell that he was on the verge of a temper tantrum.
"But I want to go outside with Allen!" Lenalee pouted. Her large violet eyes stared up at Allen pleadingly. Allen felt sweat coat the back of his neck.
"H-How about this?" Allen stuttered nervously. "When your father gets back, we'll ask him if we can go somewhere special!"
"Like the beach?" Lavi asked skeptically. Allen nodded brightly.
"The beach sounds like a great idea," Allen affirmed. "But you have to promise to be very good today so I can tell your father about it. That way he will be more willing to let us go."
"Really?" Lenalee questioned.
"Really," Allen repeated with a firm tilt of his head.
"Yay!" Lenalee and Lavi squealed.
Both twins skipped out of the room before chasing each other down the halls in a race to the kitchens. Allen turned to Marie who shook his head in resignation.
"I have to say, Mister Walker," Marie chided gently. "You must not promise things that you cannot follow through on. Master Kanda will not be happy that you promised to take them to the beach when he returns."
"I know," Allen laughed softly, brushing back the silver strands of his hair with one hand. "But when I look into those sweet faces, I feel like I can't help but want to give them everything. Surely, the Master Kanda and you yourself must know what it is like?"
Marie smiled back in reply.
Kanda sighed, looking at the piles of papers in the "in" box beside him. They needed to be read and stamped for approval before the day was done and judging by the pile, he would have to work through lunch in order to finish on time. Not that he brought any lunch because he knew that this would happen.
Spotting a photograph on his desk of his beloved children though, brought a tiny smile to his lips. He would finish as soon as possible so he could go home in time to see his children off to bed. He pulled the next sheet from the stack and began to diligently work again.
A light caught his vision and he noticed that his intercom was flashing. He pressed the button.
"What is it?" Kanda asked.
"K-Kanda-san, y-you have a guest," Miranda, his secretary, stuttered on the intercom, "I-I'm sorry! P-Please f-forgive me!" she wailed before the line clicked on her end.
What the hell is she sorry for? Kanda thought with a raised eyebrow as the machine began to buzz.
He reached over to press the intercom off but the double doors of his office opened and in came a lithe figure, strutting across in black stiletto heels to his desk. She had long blonde hair tied in a low ponytail and her black pants suit screamed of wealth and refined taste. Her eyes were shielded with black designer sunglasses but Kanda knew they were a cold, steely gold.
Instantly his eyes sharpened and he stood up abruptly, slamming his hands against his desk and scattering the papers onto the floor. Years of oppressed anger and malice resurfaced, turning his vision red.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Kanda shouted, fists balling at his sides. "Get the fuck out. Now."
"Kanda," Lulubell greeted with a sniff. He winced as his name slid like a slithering snake out of her mouth. "Is that how you greet your ex-wife when she comes for a friendly visit?" she patronized in a lilting tone.
"What do you want?" Kanda growled. "And how the hell did you get past my secretary?"
Lulubell crossed her arms and looked off to the side in disdain.
"She isn't the most suited for her job," Lulubell remarked lightly, boredly examining her nails for any default. "She looked positively stricken when she saw me."
"I would suggest you stop insulting my employees and get the fuck out of here before I personally kick you out," Kanda snapped, pointing to the door.
"But dear," Lulubell cooed in a sickening sweet way. She sauntered up to his desk and perched on the edge, leaning forward seductively. Her suit jacket slid a little open, leaving nothing to the imagination.
Kanda backed away. He knew what she was after and it made his stomach curl in disgust at the means she was using to get it.
"Don't fucking use that disgusting name!" Kanda snarled. "Get out and crawl back to your bastard of a boytoy."
"I'll have you know that the Fourteenth is a mafia member," she commented with an air of superiority. "He is famous and wealthy." She put on a saucy smile and leaned in until her cherry red lips almost touched the shell of his ear. "But he is nothing compared to you."
Kanda smiled arrogantly and roughly shoved her away. Lulubell slipped off his desk and stood up gracefully.
"You're here because you found out that I bought out his company," Kanda smirked cruelly, knowing that he had the upper hand now. "You want money and you decided to come to me to get it."
Lulubell's lips thinned. That was exactly why she had come. Not that she wanted Kanda to know about her intentions so blatantly. Now that her current lover had run out of money, she had to find other means to fuel her wealthy lifestyle. She had heard how her ex-husband was climbing to the top of the financial ladder with his inventions and decided to pay him a visit.
Unfortunately, she could tell that her tricks were not working on him.
"Don't be like that, love," she purred, her slim fingers tracing the shirt that did nothing to hide the toned body underneath.
"Kanda-san, you have another visitor, two actually," Miranda's voice came from the intercom. "They're... Wait, stop!"
Kanda let out a string of colorful curses in his head; he had left the machine on. To his horror, he heard the sound of familiar pattering footsteps coming into the room.
Oh God, not now, he thought as his insides turned cold and a bit of panic cracked his steely demeanor. Damn it all, not now.
"Daddy!" "Yu-papa!"
"Oh dear," Marie murmured, staring at a small square box wrapped with dark blue cloth sitting on the kitchen table.
"What is it?" Allen asked, wiping Lenalee's face of mushy radish. He turned to Lavi and helped him cut up his casserole. Spearing one piece on the small fork, he handed it to Lavi who stuffed it into his mouth and beamed at Allen. Allen grinned back and resumed cutting up Lavi's breakfast.
"Master Kanda has forgotten his bento again," Marie sighed. He unwrapped the lunch box and proceeded to the trash bin to dispose of it but Allen stopped him abruptly.
"Food is not to be wasted!" Allen shouted in dismay before shutting up abruptly when three pairs of eyes turned to him in confusion. Having everyone's attention on him suddenly made him turned bright pink and he bowed his head, busying himself by fussing over Lenalee and Lavi. "I'm sorry for the outburst," Allen muttered, the tips of his ears still burning.
Living with Cross and being constantly in debt had taught Allen the value of things. He had constantly gone without food for days at a time, working and paying off the debts his master had gathered, and when he did have enough money to buy anything, he made sure to carefully spend it.
"What does 'wasted' mean?" Lenalee asked innocently.
"Wasted means that no one wants it and it goes in the trash," Allen explained carefully, wiping her cheeks of food. "It is very bad because food is meant to be eaten."
Lenalee and Lavi gasped, breakfast forgotten.
"But Daddy is never bad!" Lenalee exclaimed.
"Yu-papa is super nice and he would never do something evil!" Lavi proclaimed passionately, little fists balled in front of him.
"We have to bring it to him and make sure he eats it!" Lenalee said quickly. Lavi turned to her and nodded.
"We should do exactly that," Allen piped up.
"Eh?" both children and Marie looked at Allen who nodded fervently.
"Let's go visit your father and take it to him," Allen suggested. "I'm sure he'll be hungry without his lunch." He turned to Marie. "If it's not too much trouble for you to take us there," Allen started but Marie stopped him with a hand and an understanding smile.
"It sounds like a good idea," Marie agreed. "After all, you did promise to take the children somewhere today and I'm sure the Master Kanda would like to see his children after a long day of work."
"Then it's settled," Allen said with an air of finality. "We can make lunch and go eat with your father today."
Both children cheered and gave Marie and Allen their widest grins.
"I want spaghetti!" Lenalee shouted, her hands shooting up in the air. She ripped her bib off and ran into the kitchens where the chef was.
"Silly!" Lavi giggled, following after her. "We had spaghetti yesterday! I want cherry pie!"
The skyscraper building was large and modernly designed with large tinted glass panes and concrete making up most of the exterior. On the top was the sign "Mugen Co." with a pink lotus insignia emblazoned to the side. Allen could see that Kanda was an important person, bastard or not. The thought made him twitch.
Damn rich bastards, Allen thought as he helped Lenalee and Lavi out of their booster seats. Marie came out from the driver's side and helped Allen set the children down.
"Here are your lunches," Marie nodded, handing Allen a large stack of bentos (most of it being Allen's portions). "Master Kanda's office is on the 30th floor. Ask for Miranda Lotto, his secretary to show you in. I'm sure the little master and miss know their way around so just follow them when you're lost."
"Thank you," Allen said and let out a breath in relief. He was horrible with directions.
"Give me Yu-papa's!" Lavi reached up, his fists curling and uncurling impatiently. He stopped when Allen knelt down to his height and gave him a scolding look.
"Lavi, what's the magic word?" Allen reminded gently. Lavi looked confused for a moment before it hit him and his green eyes lighting up.
"Oops!" Lavi clapped a hand over his mouth before looking sheepishly at Marie, "Give me Yu-papa's lunch, please?"
Marie chuckled and gave Lavi the bento wrapped in dark blue cloth. Lavi smiled and clutched the bento to his chest.
"Thanks!" he chirped. Lenalee stood beside him, holding the hem of her blue overall dress patiently. She remained quiet, her large round violet eyes staring up at Allen.
"I will pick you up when Master Kanda comes back from work," Marie announced. "If you decide not to stay, then ask Master Kanda to give me a call."
"Thank you," Allen nodded and smiled as Marie waved at them and drove the car back to the mansion.
"Daddy works here," Lenalee whispered, pointing up at the building. "He works at the very tippy top!"
"It's really high up!" Lavi nodded sagely. "We pretend we're airplanes, above the clouds!"
He began circling around Allen, making airplane noises as he ran around. Allen laughed and held out his hands to hold onto Lavi's and Lenalee's.
"Let go before lunch time is over," Allen said. He tensed, seeing the buff security guard at the entrance.
"I don't think we can go in this way," Allen mumbled, hesitating. Lenalee ignored this comment and pulled Allen along insistently.
"It's okay," Lenalee whispered reassuringly. When Allen saw the sincere and seraphic face directed at him, he couldn't help but smile back.
"Lenalee, Lavi," the guard greeted noticing the small children pulling Allen's hand into the building. To Allen's immense relief, he relaxed the hand on his holster. "And this must be your new nanny."
"My name is Allen Walker," he introduced, bowing down quickly. "Pleased to meet you!"
"He's super nice!" Lavi proclaimed, tugging insistently at Allen's hand. "You don't have to lock him out."
At that comment, Allen's head turned sharply to Lavi who grinned innocently in return.
Allen entered, holding Lenalee's hand as if she were his life support. His eyes widened at the sheer enormity of the office. The reception area alone could've held fifty people with the sheer amount of sleek, black couches and glass coffee tables scattered on the white marble floor.
Lavi trotted beside his sister, carrying the bento in his small arms. He seemed to take a certain pride in carrying the box as if it were a trophy to show the staff. Everyone in the company: accountants, office workers, and VIP members greeted the twins with indulgent smiles and nodded in acknowledgment to him. Allen guessed that this was a frequent occurrence at the amount of people who cooed and fawned over the children.
They took the elevator to the 30th floor and the noises of the ringing phones, incomprehensible murmurs, and business meeting going on fell behind them. The only things on the 40th floor were a desk where the secretary, a nervous-looking women in her mid-30s, sat, a security guard who stared at them with sharp, cold eyes as they passed, and a few chairs and tables scattered around.
She seemed to calm noticeably when she saw the twins trotting behind his legs.
"So what brings you here?" Miranda asked, smiling at the twins who squirmed restlessly by Allen's side. She waved at the array of toys on her desks and nodded encouragingly at the twins.
"We came to bring a lunch box to Kanda," Allen explained. Lavi nodded and nudged the bento box onto the desk. He and Lenalee climbed to the top of the waiting chairs in front of her desk and began to play with the small toys on her desk.
"I'll alert him," Miranda said but a nervous frown set on her thin lips, "Kanda-san has another visitor right now."
"Thank you," Allen smiled. "We can wait."
She leaned over and pressed a button on the sleek black machine.
"Kanda-san, you have another visitor, two actually," Miranda spoke into the machine. "They're... W-Wait, s-stop!" she shouted in panic as Lenalee and Lavi made a run for the door. Allen jumped and quickly turned to Miranda.
"I'm sorry but I have to go," Allen said apologetically and ran after the twins. He caught them as they burst through the door.
"Daddy!" Lenalee squealed.
"Yu-papa!" Lavi greeted at the same time, waving around the bento. Allen stopped right behind them, clutching their shirts before they could run off again.
"Lenalee, Lavi!" Allen admonished lightly. "You shouldn't burst through the door without knocking first."
Suddenly, the atmosphere dropped a few degrees as the children suddenly went still in his arms and the noise had quieted significantly. Allen looked up and made a small sound that could have passed as a gulp and a gasp. Kanda was standing—leaning, almost—with a strikingly beautiful woman all over him. His face turned bright red when Kanda shot him a glare that would have killed him right on the spot if he were any lesser being.
"I'm sorry," Allen mumbled, keeping his head down. "I did not know we were interrupting something. We'll be going now."
"That won't be necessary," the woman said in a voice that reminded Allen of honey mixed with champagne, sweet with a hint of alcohol poisoning. "I am just about to leave."
Lenalee and Lavi crowded around Allen, quivering in fear when they saw Lulubell.
"Children," Lulubell smiled, leaning near Lenalee. "I haven't seen your faces in such a long time."
Lenalee whimpered and curled herself against Allen's legs.
Noticing the gesture, Allen's eyes turned steely and he knelt down rapidly to pick up the children into his arms. Lenalee and Lavi didn't mind the abrupt change as they clung onto his vest. The box of bentos laid forgotten at his feet as he held the kids protectively in his arms. Something about this woman seemed off to him and the twins didn't seem to like her.
The mere gesture seemed to set her off, Allen noticed. Her red nails clenched into fists and her equally red lips pressed in a thin line. She reached out a hand to touch Lenalee who yelped and pressed her face against Allen's neck. Lavi glared at her as best he could.
"I'll be taking my leave now," Lulubell replied in a cold voice that sent tiny darts into Allen's stomach. Her shoes clicked primly as she brushed passed Allen, hitting him in the shoulder spitefully.
The door shut quietly behind him. His eyes darted to Kanda who looked just about ready to send him to an early and painful death.
"What are you doing here?" Kanda growled, barely suppressing his previous anger. He put a palm over his face, breathing in deeply and letting it out to calm himself down. His children did not need to see him upset and least of all, in front of the annoying beansprout.
"Umm... bringing you lunch?" Allen explained in an almost sheepish tone, his eyes straying toward the bentos on the ground.
"Out of all the days to pick," Kanda hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.
He looked up though and saw tears in Lenalee's eyes and Lavi's reddening face. Kanda made to walk over to her but Allen beat him to it.
"What's wrong, Lenalee?" Allen asked gently, bouncing both children in his arms.
Lenalee pointed to the door and let out a sniffle. Allen frowned, understanding her fears right away.
"Hush, Lenalee," Allen whispered softly, pulling her tighter to his chest. Lenalee made small whimpering noises from the back of her throat and gripped his shirt in between her clenched fists. "Hush. The lady is gone now."
Lenalee shook her head and cried quietly into Allen's shoulder. Allen turned to Lavi and he could tell that the green-eyed boy was on the verge of crying too. Allen made a helpless face before he spotted the bento boxes on the ground.
"Hey, want to see a trick?" Allen asked. Lenalee and Lavi stopped crying, tears still in their eyes as they looked at him in surprise and wonder. "Watch this."
Allen maneuvered the toe of his shoe under the boxes and with a deft flick of his foot, he catapulted the boxes and landed them neatly in a stack on his head. At once, Lavi's face broke out into a grin.
"Cool!" Lavi clapped in awe and pointed to the bento he had dropped on the ground. "Do it again with Yu-papa's lunch box!"
Allen turned to Lenalee and saw a tiny smile making its way on her cherubic face.
Allen flicked the box onto his foot but instead of catapulting it straight onto his head, it landed on the ball of his foot behind him. Giving them a sly grin, he quickly dipped low, earning a whoop of laughter from the twins, and kicked it on top of the stack on his head.
The twins clapped and cheered as Allen laughed gaily.
Allen made his way to the couch lined up against one of the walls where Kanda quietly pulled Lenalee and Lavi away from him. Allen reached up and took the stack of boxes on his head. He set them down on the glass coffee table and began unwrapping them one by one, checking to see if they were still intact.
"Daddy!" Lenalee greeted, latching onto him, "We came here to bring you lunch!"
"I asked Jerry to make us lunch too so we can eat with Yu-papa too!" Lavi said, his chest puffing up proudly.
"You didn't need to come," Kanda sighed, allowing both of his children to wrap their arms around his neck. "And you didn't have to bring the beansprout," he emphasized, shooting daggers at him.
Allen's eye twitched.
"My name is Allen!" he snapped automatically, glaring at his boss with equal venom. "It would do you good to memorize your employee's name."
"I don't need to remember a beansprout's name," Kanda retorted smartly.
Lenalee and Lavi watched this exchange with confusion. They didn't understand why their daddy kept calling their super nice nanny a beansprout.
"Daddy?" Lenalle piped up, "What's a beansprout?"
"A beansprout is a small, white skinny thing," Kanda explained, watching as Allen flinched with every word. "It's a vegetable. A puny, tiny vegetable."
"Hey!" Allen shouted indignantly. "I am not a small, tiny, or skinny and I'm definitely not a thing!"
Lenalee and Lavi stuck out their tongues; they didn't like vegetables. This answer though, confused then even more.
"Ne, Yu-papa," Lavi asked cutely. "Then why do you call Allen-nanny beansprout?"
"Yeah, Kanda," Allen taunted, smirking victoriously with the knowledge that Kanda would never say anything negative to his children. "Why do you call me beansprout?"
Kanda's eyes darted from the twins to Allen, alternatively glaring at the nanny who looked at him smugly and mentally cursing as he frantically searched inside his brain for an answer.
"It's a nickname," Kanda explained in a tight voice. Allen snorted as he uncovered the food and pulled out the cutlery that was packed in with it.
"Like sugarplum?" Lenalee asked innocently, wide violet eyes gleaming. Allen choked and nearly banged his head into the glass table. He wondered where she had heard that from but enjoyed Kanda's reddening, pained face with sadistic pleasure.
"Like honey bunch?" Lavi put in."Or pumpkin or cuppycake? Or snoogum boogums?"
Allen couldn't help it, he really couldn't. His head slammed on the table and his shoulders shook with the force of trying to hold back the round of laughter that threatened to bubble. Lenalee and Lavi watched him with confusion while Kanda continued glaring threateningly at him.
"I-Ignore me," Allen waved his hand, his voice muffled because his head was still firmly attached to the table.
"Is it like sweetie pie?" Lenalee wondered, staring at her father for confirmation.
"Oh!" Lavi shouted helpfully. "Maybe it's like gumdrop!"
"Yes, exactly like that," Kanda gritted his teeth. Allen held his sides and clapped a hand to lips to smother his laughter. Luckily, Lenalee and Lavi didn't notice and they seemed satisfied with the answer.
The twins squirmed in Kanda's arms and made whining sounds to be let down. Automatically, Kanda set them down and followed them as they trotted over to the table.
"Beansprout-nanny!" Lavi shouted, clapping the table. Allen jumped, the spoons and forks in his hands clattering on the table noisily.
"W-What?" Allen squeaked.
"If Yu-papa gets to call Allen-nanny beansprout then I want to call Allen-nanny beansprout too!" Lavi piped up.
"You should," Kanda smirked indulgently, "I'm sure your nanny would love that name, wouldn't he?"
"Allen is fine," he countered. He smiled, tight and forced. "Really, children. Allen is perfectly fine."
"Eh?" Lenalee frowned. "But Daddy gets to call you a special name. And we want to be special to beansprout-nanny too!"
"Yeah," Lavi added, "We want beansprout-nanny to love us just as much as Yu-papa loves you!"
At this Kanda made a face as if the mere thought of showing any affection toward Allen was repugnant.
Allen looked helplessly at the children. They pouted and looked back with hopeful eyes that made Allen want to kick himself.
"You… can call me beansprout," Allen sighed.
"Yay!" they both chorused, dancing around Kanda and Allen. "Beansprout-nanny! Beansprout-nanny!"
Kanda smirked in a self-satisfied way that made Allen want to stick his tongue out childishly.
Damn you, Kanda Yu, Allen glowered at the man in front of him. Damn you to hell.
Continue?
A/N: Love it? Hate it? Like it?
Please review!
On another note, five virtual cookies if you can guess where Lenalee and Lavi got their cute nicknames from. Kudos and hugs to the people who guess that Lulubell was Lenalee and Lavi's mother. How that works out? That will be explained in the future.