The door slammed shut and Kanda collapsed against it. His legs didn't want to hold him up anymore, so he slid down until his butt hit the floor.
The mere fact that it affected him was so much more than he could stand. His body was betraying him and that was not okay. A rattling breath shook out from inside his chest, crawling out of his throat.
He really needed to calm down. Freaking out wasn't something that had ever actually happened to him and it was making him incredibly tired, as well as just a tiny bit uncomfortable.
Despite his newfound exhaustion, he really did need to take a shower. But his mind wouldn't stop tossing and turning inside his head. Tossing and turning for Lavi, specifically.
He growled and thumped his head hard against the wall behind him. With taught muscles, he stiffly stood up, kicking his suitcase out of the way, minding his precious katana, of course.
Since he wasn't really good at dealing with his emotions, he automatically defaulted to anger. He didn't like thinking about it so he mostly just punched a few things really hard. It usually helped.
He stormed over to the bathroom and glared at his reflection in the mirror. "Tsk." In order to prevent himself from breaking it, he grabbed all the towels off the rack threw them on the ground.
In a childish fit, he may or may not have stomped the towels into oblivion.
Maybe. Who can say?
The only thing he did know was that now he needed to burn off some steam. He was so wound up he couldn't even possibly think of going to sleep anymore.
"What a fucking joke." He grumbled to himself disparagingly. "A goddamn laugh." He yanked his shirt over his head and chucked it in the general direction of the bed. He could practically hear Lavi poking fun at him for being such a 'grumpy pants' or something equally as idiotic.
And there he goes again thinking about Lavi.
"I'm the fucking idiot." A muffled thump sounded as the bed was pushed forcefully against the wall. The tacky little lamp on the bedside table rattled with the force of it. It would've fallen if Kanda hadn't grabbed that and shoved it against the wall too. "I just can't believe-." He paused when he got a better look at the lamp.
Bright red shade with an emerald green base.
Oh god he was so fucked.
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Lavi wasn't one to lose his cool.
No matter how heated things got or how intense, he'd always remain calm and collected, just like his Gramps taught him. Due to this fact, he was always mediating between two rival parties, no matter who it was. He was never actually any good at it though; he mostly just stood there with a goofy grin on his face and watched. He never really understood why people would trust him enough to do so, seeing as he sometimes ended up making things worse than they were to start with…
The point here being that he'd never felt such an overwhelming urge to hit something in his life.
So he did, after Kanda left. His fist crashed into the tree so hard, he thought he might've sprained his wrist. He shook it out when he pulled back with a hiss.
His temper never rose so it didn't take much for him to level out and rein it in. And honestly he wasn't mad at anyone but himself. He was angry because he couldn't control himself and he let his feeling take hold of him.
That was unacceptable.
He realized that he had to go apologize or Kanda would most likely beat the living shit out of him. Okay, well Kanda would probably beat the shit out of him either way, but he might as well try to…
So Kanda probably would hurt him more if he tried to say he was sorry…
Lavi chuckled and slapped a hand across his forehead. There was no pleasing that guy and he genuinely loved it. Call him a masochist, but he really liked the grumpy man.
"God I like him." His eye widened when he accidentally said that out loud. He covered his mouth and looked around, making sure no one heard that. Which was stupid but he couldn't help it, just like he couldn't help the blush dusting his cheeks.
In spite of a potential beating, he did want to go see Kanda and apologize to him…
Oh who was he kidding? He just wanted to go up there, pull him out in the hall and kiss him so hard, he wouldn't be capable of talking for the next couple days.
Just the thought made him smile wider and blush harder. A feeling of hope surged up within him, hope that maybe this trip would be just a little bit better than he thought.
He'd been standing there for quite a while, the cold seeping through his clothes. So with high hopes he made sure to get his stuff out of the car, before practically skipping into the hotel.
However, before he could reach it, he heard a loud smashing sound. He almost jumped out of his skin, it scared him so much.
The object that fell was followed by some muffled cursing and a – was that a lamp shade?
He watched it float down to the ground dumbfounded. It was bright red. It landed right on top of a pile of green porcelain shards. And if he wasn't mistaken, that voice he heard was Kanda's.
Yep, he was fucked.
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Allen probably shouldn't hate the fact that his boss and that annoying redhead were gone. Because they were annoying. At least together they were. The only word he could think of to describe Kanda would be…
Asshole. Obviously. And maybe a little bit of dick.
But Allen was missing those two dearly right about now. One of the reasons being the huge pile of paperwork on his desk glaring menacingly at him. Or rather, Kanda's desk, which he had currently – and secretly – taken hostage. He couldn't help but admire all of his nice office space…
What a jerk for keeping it all to himself.
For this week and only this week would he be able to occupy this wonderful throne – ahem – room. Well perhaps it would be longer than a week thanks to his lovely map skills.
If those idiots could actually decipher that thing then he might as well run for president of the United States.
Why would he extend the trip if he hated them being gone, you ask? The answer to that question is quite not simple.
To expand upon that so-called 'not simple,' you must understand that even Allen hasn't been told much on the subject. There are people higher up than him, higher up than Kanda, people who aren't necessarily in business but have plenty of power to wield over those who are. The more you ascend, the messier it gets and the harder it is to explain.
All Allen knew was that something bad was supposed to happen this week, something concerning a certain pair, and he was told to avoid it. He managed it with the help of Tyki, as well as a few unnamed others. He could only hope they hadn't killed each other by now and made all of their hard work futile.
When his phone began to buzz, his hand shot out to make a grab for it, hoping it was Tim.
Of course, shear disappointment clogged his mind when he saw it was some executive who he really didn't feel like talking to. But he really didn't feel like talking to anyone right then.
Wow he was starting to sound like Kanda.
That thought made him feel a tiny bit sick.
Tim Canpy was still missing and Allen was missing him even more. It was kind of hard not to, since they'd known each other all their lives and Allen had helped him communicate with others due to his condition.
When they were children, Tim wasn't exactly what one would call 'social' if one could even call him social now. His weird teeth and closed off personality drove people away. Allen was there to be a sort of mediator for him, not to mention holding his hand when the elementary school teachers would shoot him disgusted looks. Adults could be worse than children, sometimes. They were so cruel just because they didn't know how to deal with something different.
There was one teacher – a nice old Italian lady by the name of Mrs. Randinelli – who would hand Tim tissues when it got to be too much. She stayed with them after school one day. He couldn't quite remember why, but he did remember that day being the first Tim gave him a genuine smile.
It got better in high school. Which isn't something that most people say, but it was kind of true. But only for Tim. Allen, on the other hand, began to grey. It wasn't that bad at first, but then it seemed that a head full of downy white hair had sprouted up overnight. Apparently he had poor follicles or something.
It was more a personal issue than anything, seeing as he already had a reputation as the school's nicest guy. And Tim really grew into his looks. Girls would 'subtly' watch him from behind their lockers. The brooding, silent type was a huge thing back then, and maybe even now.
Weird.
Things were looking up for the duo until Allen realized that Tim was hiding something. He wouldn't tell Allen and he told Allen everything. Of course it wasn't that hard to figure out when he came to school wearing purpling bruises on his face. The claims that he ran into doors were obviously impossible to believe – not to mention horrible excuses.
Tim's father was a drunk ever since his mother had passed. He would take out his frustrations on Tim through his fists and foul language. Allen knew that his friend probably just stood there and took it. There was nothing else he could've done.
Allen invited Tim to stay at the house he lived in with his father Mana. There was a bit of reluctance when he agreed, almost like he didn't want to leave the man to his own devices.
Allen's house was rather small, but homey all the same. Tim volunteered to sleep out in the living room on the couch. In the middle of the night, he would retreat to Allen's bed and tell him about the nightmares he was having. Tim's so-called condition wasn't exactly that; it was more of an excuse not to talk. But Allen was one of few who'd heard his voice.
It wasn't anyone's fault when it happened. Just a drunk swerving too far off the road. A crash.
Tim blamed himself for not being there. He locked himself away in Allen's room after the funeral. The white-haired boy would sit outside and speak to him through the door. He would talk about nothing in particular, sometimes even just about the weather.
Tim eventually came out, not taking but five seconds to seek Allen's warmth. He didn't want to face the world and he understood that.
Things went even farther downhill when Allen's last remaining family was taken from him by a simple kitchen fire that devoured his home and gave him a scar. The two of them were lost for a while, but an angel saved them.
If a drunk, smoking, narcissistic, asshole dickhead could be considered an angel.
But Cross Marion did take the two of them under his wing and they owed him everything. With his expertise, Allen soon escalated up the business ladder and was one of the top competitors for the high-ranking jobs this new world provided them with. Somehow, he ended up at one of the top car companies, working under yet another huge asshole, but then, so was Tim.
The fact that they had stuck through all of that shit together was incredible to think about. Tim was his lifeline, the only person he could talk to about anything. And now he was gone.
"Shit." Allen cursed, wiping away the tears that were forming at the corners of his eyes. He only wished he could take back what he'd done. He hadn't meant to do it. Or maybe he hadn't realized how much of an impact it would have on his friend.
The vase had belonged to his mother, it was the only thing he had of hers. Allen had been so furious – now he couldn't even remember what about – and the stupid thing had been right there.
Tim had watched, horrified as the last connection to his dead mother had smashed into a thousand pieces.
"I'm so fucking stupid." Allen cried. "What is wrong with me?"
He hadn't seen Tim since that day.
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As still as he sat, he could feel a drop of sweat roll down his naked back. He made no move, though. He breathed in. And he breathed out.
When Kanda opened his eyes it took him a split second to locate all his targets and an even splitter second to swiftly lash out at the first one. He ducked under an imaginary sword and pretended to deflect it as he came upon the next poor sucker and cut him up too.
The last two taunted him with their soft weakness, and he didn't appreciate that at all, letting Mugen destroy them without a second glance.
It really wasn't much of a workout but it helped nonetheless. He glanced disgustedly at the random piles of chopped up towel scattered about. The blade of his sword was sharp enough to slice through them without ripping the tops from where they attached to the fan.
They spun slowly, yet deliberately.
He'd been practicing a little while before he'd come up with the brilliant plan to lay waste to all the poor towels. Though now that he actually had a clearer head and dirtier body, he realized he needed those towels to take a shower…
He couldn't help the stream of curses that flew from his mouth as he stormed over to the phone and yelled at the unfortunate lady working at the front desk that night. Kanda found he didn't give two shits as he slammed the device down. The only thing he could do now was silently fume to himself until he got some actual service in this goddamn place.
He stomped back over to the mess he'd made and began kicking the pieces into some semblance of an order. Thinking back on it twice, he decided to put them all in the closet so no one would find out until they were long gone.
Oh that's right, he still had to drive in a car with Lavi for a week…
Oops, there goes his temper.
Just when he thought he was finally calming down, that stupid redhead jumped up out of nowhere. Kanda's blood was boiling by the time a knock came at his door, signaling the arrival of his towels.
"About fucking time." He mumbled. He flung the door open wide with a menacing look on his face. The maid positively jumped when she saw him, practically naked, save his tight ass workout pants. Her face turned completely red and she thrust the towels at him, avoiding his eyes. Kanda found the energy to smirk as she scurried away with a quiet, "Goodnight."
He closed the door and went to drop them off in the bathroom. But Kanda was very picky, and when he saw that there wasn't a washcloth in his hands, he felt the need to rip off some heads.
He made to go out and chase down that incompetent maid, but as soon as he opened it again, he almost barreled over… fuck.
Lavi stared at him with wide eyes. He'd managed to stop Kanda from running him over in his angry state by placing a hand on his chest. His bare and sweaty chest. The dark-haired man could feel the coolness of Lavi's fingers seeping into his skin.
"What are you doing here?" He said defensively, clenching his fists and trying to shrink into the door. The memory of Lavi kissing him popped up, but he quickly shushed it and fought back a blush.
Of course the redhead didn't hear him, because he was too busy staring in awe.
"Yuu…" He breathed and all of a sudden Kanda wanted to disappear.
He could guess what was about to happen. He just wasn't sure whether he wanted it or not yet.
The hand on his chest began to move, softly dragging down until it was gripping his waist. The thumb rubbed circles into his side. Kanda was stuck like a deer in the headlights, gazing into Lavi's green eye, unable to do anything. His anger had faded by now and he was waiting for Lavi to make the first move.
"Yuu…" He repeated as if the name would fade away if it wasn't spoken. The redhead hesitantly reached up to brush a piece of hair out of Kanda's flushed face. Kanda wasn't sure whether he wanted to cut off that hand or run away.
"Please don't take this the wrong way…" Lavi started softly. He used his arm to wrap around Kanda's waist and pull him close until they were pressed together tightly. "But you're beautiful." He nuzzled his nose into the shorter man's neck. Kanda gasped quietly at the sensation and internally scolded himself for reacting so much.
It was hard not to react when Lavi's lips traveled up the indentations in his skin, barely ghosting over it. They were so close it was painful. It hurt Kanda. It hurt so bad it felt good.
Lavi's mouth was dangerously nearing his own when it hit him.
"I'm not fucking beautiful." He growled. His leg almost acted of its own accord when it kneed Lavi hard in the groin. "I'm a fucking guy and guys aren't pretty, dipshit!" The redhead wheezed, hitting the floor hard.
"I t-told you not to take it… that wrong w-way!" Lavi looked like he was about to throw up. Kanda smirked. Must be painful.
"See you tomorrow." He said with finality and slammed the door closed behind him. He waited a few minutes before he heard a muffled, "Goodnight" and the tell-tale click of another door closing.
His heart was in his head and everywhere else in his body. The only thing he could hear was its accelerated beat and Lavi's voice echoing in his brain.
How was he supposed to sleep in this condition?
In fact he couldn't, so he needed to occupy himself. Well now that he finally had the resources he'd take a shower. A very cold shower.
"I really am fucked."
He really was.
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Hey look I'm back after five million years of being a slow-ass updater. Woohoo!
Anyway, sorry about the abrupt cut-off where a steamy make-out session was supposed to happen, we're getting to that soon.
I hope Allen and Tim's story wasn't too depressing. And can you please tell me if I should make them a legit pairing or is that too weird?
Review and I promise I'll update faster next time!