MitarashiiDango- Ah, the 14th isn't strong enough to take over yet, unless Allen's really, really out of it, so luckily Kanda got there just in time! Yay! And yeah, someone stabbed Allen, but he'll get over it.
Myaeve- Lol, 'like a fat kid loves cake'. That actually gave me the giggles for a moment! And you think the next chapter's going to be epic? No pressure then, huh?
sweetkakes35- Joe is thirteen (and a half). And yeah, I left it there, but that's mainly because I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO WRITE NOW! *searches for inspiration* hmmm
ramenluv- Your guess is as good as mine as to what happens next… honestly I only have a vague idea… I'll have to see what appears on my pages when I am on the bus to work…
InfinityOnTheRun- Yeah, as you may have already noticed, I'm waiting to find out what happens too!
marufu-chan- I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. I thought it was about time that Kanda and Allen actually saw each other again. Not that Allen did much seeing by the end…
Lizeth- You know exactly what I'm going to say… How could you?! (You were so right- I hate that!)
Tarshil- Yay! Applause! *Inner narcissist bows*. Yeah, I hate really pathetic Allen as well. Seriously, he's the hero, he shouldn't be quite so weak as he is sometimes portrayed. Your marrow tingles? I'm pretty sure you should get that seen to! Lol. Thanks for the review as always!
CrimsonKitsune333- I'm glad you're still into the story. And of course Kanda cares, albeit in a rather rough and abrupt way. His own brand of tough-love!
knux33- Okay yeah, the likelihood of Kanda and Allen meeting up was extremely high, and very predictable, but creating twists has never been my strong point and we were all desperate for a bit of Yullen, weren't we?
Kanda-is-all-I-want- You're not the only one, the stress of keeping them apart was killing me slowly!
a1y-puff- I'm glad you liked the reunion, and even more glad that you like Joe! I'm trying not to be too biased, but I do end up getting rather attached to certain OCs, and you can always tell which ones they are, cos I don't kill them! Joe's big break is coming soon, but after that, who knows?
SeikaDragon- aha! Wait no more! Thanks for the review!
Tana Walker- I'm glad you thought so! Thanks for reviewing!
Addenza- the wait is over! I'm so happy that you liked the chapter!
MiniBloodyMurder- Ah, that's one of life's great mysteries! Or not, since it explains how Joe arrived so quickly in this chapter!
edenforest1- I'm glad the suspense isn't really killing you… offing the readers isn't what I had in mind when I started writing…
XxMissyRandomxX- Well, once I've got a chapter done, I can't wait to upload it! I'm so happy that you like my OCs. I really like Joe too, so he'll probably stay alive for now!
MiniBloodyMurder- Young love- the best kind. Not that I'd know anything about that- the closest thing I get to love is the feeling I get when presented with a warm chocolate fudge cake and ice cream.
Princess of Oblivion- Wow, all in one go? That's some dedication!
eMi to mAo 374- I'm glad you remembered me, and even more glad that you came back for more! I'm trying my hardest to keep to weekly updates, but while I'm still away from Uni (and doing re-sits and trying to find somewhere to live) it's all up in the air at the moment.
glon morski- I'm sorry that the chapter disappointed you. It wasn't my intention to make Allen seem weak, however, do remember that he has been living rough for a couple of months now and is not completely up to his usual standards! And Kanda didn't really save him- he only scared the man off a bit- it's not like Allen would have died. Joe would have come to his senses and done something eventually!
At last, plot advancement! (sort of) I'm pleased that most people seemed to enjoy the last chapter, it was fun to write.
So on we go… I actually had nothing planned for this chapter when I'd finished the last one. I had been so caught up with getting chapter 10 done that I hadn't thought much beyond it, so that's why this took a little longer to come out.
On a side note, the fantastic fanart by a1y-puff is now on Deviantart, so go now and look at it! NOW! The link is on my profile. Of course, don't forget to come back and read the chapter, yeah?
Joe had never considered himself to be a coward. He'd been through a lot in his short life, after all, but when he had reached the street that his and Allen's front door was located, gasping for breath and clutching the money that had been won on that night's poker game, he could honestly admit to being frightened.
After he had left the bar, taking the winnings out of harms way as usual, he knew at once that something was wrong. He'd only gone a few streets when the sound of a brawl coming from the pub he'd just left reached his ears and he had paused indecisively for a moment, wondering what William would want him to do.
Eventually he had settled on getting the money hidden away at home- William would not be too happy if he found out that Joe had managed to lose the cash because he was dawdling on the way back to their room.
He had dutifully hidden the stash away under the loose floorboard under the bed before taking a seat on the damp mattress and settling down to wait.
Being the typical teen he was, patience was not his forte and after five minutes he was getting bored. Leaning out of the window, he could see out over the slums, and in the closest alleys he watched a few people scurrying about. A trio of men hurried along the road below him, whispering together in harsh voices, gesticulating fiercely. It was dark, but the lights coming from one of the lower floors washed over their faces and with a jolt of alarm that swooped through his stomach, Joe recognised one of the figures as one of the two men that William had been playing against earlier. Whatever their business in the area did not bode well, and the sickening feeling increased. William was still out there somewhere, and with these men also on the streets, most likely out for revenge, he could be in danger.
Not sure what exactly a small skinny person such as himself could do to be of help, but determined to so something, Joe dashed down the stairs, slipping silently past the men, catching snatches of their conversation as he clung to the shadows.
"This is ridiculous…"
"…Jean-Francois has no idea…"
"…never find him…"
"Like a rat's maze…wandering forever."
Joe wondered just what was going on. Jean-François was a well known name on these streets; he was a gang-lord, controlling several businesses and many people, controlling things from afar like a spider in the middle of its web. If indeed William's nightly cheating had landed him on the wrong side of this man…
Shaking his head, he questioned if William even knew about this man. Sure the older boy was nice and all, and had been a great help, but he seemed rather… oblivious at times.
He sneaked past the men, still hugging the wall so as to remain hidden. He'd only gone a little further, only a few streets away from home when he heard a callous voice speak up, echoing down the narrow alleyway, distorted by the distance.
"Not so tough now, are you boy?"
Joe sped up, caring little that his boots were thudding against the cobbles, creating far too much noise for him to remain inconspicuous. He saw the familiar figure of his roommate slouched uncomfortably on his side and ran across the intervening space with little thought for the man that had done this, tears already forming in his eyes as he skidded to a halt next to William and fell to his knees. "Oh God, William! There's so much blood!"
He could only cry more when William looked up at him and offered a weak grin, obviously in pain but trying to reassure the boy all the same. Joe turned and glared at the man who had done this, but to his surprise he had bigger things to worry about.
0o0o0o0o0
It hadn't taken Kanda long to half-carry, half-drag Allen back to his room, following the youngest of the trio as Joe led the way through the maze-like alleyways.
After finally negotiating the stairs, Allen was deposited on the bed, a little roughly considering his condition, by a now thoroughly pissed off Kanda Yuu.
He turned to the boy who was hovering just inside the doorway a little uncertainly. "Make yourself useful and start a fire, we need hot water."
"Pardon?" the boy blinked in response. "I don't understand English."
Kanda rolled his eyes. "I don't fucking speak French, idiot. Just light a Goddamn fire, damn brat!" he gestured towards the fireplace, glad that the boy finally understood what he wanted.
While Joe busied himself with the fire, Kanda turned his attention to Allen, who was regarding him rather hazily from where he'd been dumped, his eyes glazed and unfocused. Kanda didn't know quite what to make of this youth with dark hair and brown eyes that looked at him with an expression he was used to seeing on someone a lot paler. "Stupid idiot" he said, crossing his arms and staring down at the pathetic sight on the bed.
Allen blinked slowly as though it was taking a while for the words to process. Once they had, he attempted a frown that was a little lopsided and only half formed. He wet his lips slowly, before speaking in a cracked hoarse whisper. "What are you doing here?"
Wordlessly Kanda pulled the innocence cube from his pocket, turning it over in his hands, before tucking it back out of sight.
Allen laughed roughly. "Just my luck they'd send you." He closed his eyes and shivered, wrapping his arms around himself and drawing his legs closer to his chest, his right hand still clamped over the wound on his back.
It appeared that Joe had more common sense than Kanda had given him credit for, because a few minutes later the exorcist was presented with a small bowl of steaming hot water with a cloth draped over the edge. Joe scuttled back as soon as he'd given Kanda the water, watching him closely.
Feeling slightly perturbed by the blatant observation, Kanda silently took the water and began bullying Allen out of his shirt. Allen however, was feeling rather cold at the moment, and therefore had no desire to relinquish his clothing to anyone, no matter how insistent they were being.
Inevitably, Allen eventually got tired of fighting and Kanda got fed up of playing tug of war with the sprout, and there was a sound of tearing material and the now useless shirt was flung aside in several pieces.
Allen's dark eyes glared at the other man who stood over him smugly before sighing in defeat and rolling onto his stomach to give Kanda a better view of the injury.
Kanda wrung out the cloth and peeled away the glove that had stuck to Allen's skin with drying blood, and scrubbed over the wound that was still bleeding sluggishly, although it was no where near as bad as Kanda had first thought. He was also quite capable of ignoring the winces of pain and the almost silent noises that the rough treatment was drawing out of the younger boy.
Joe sat down next to the bed, an expression of amused confusion on his face, watching as Kanda finished cleaning the wound. Although he could not understand the words, he could tell that they knew each other quite well, and thus was not too worried about the fact that the elder was not being particularly gentle.
"I've had worse paper-cuts" Kanda announced, pulling Allen upright and handing him a gauze pad that he'd extracted from his pocket as he wrapped a bandage around Allen's body almost absently.
Allen snorted a laugh, felling much better than he had only minutes before. Putting this down to the fact that he had stopped bleeding and telling himself that it had nothing to do with the man currently leaning close enough to his body that he could feel his body heat and smell whatever Kanda used to wash his hair (and damn, he should ask for tips, because now he was up close, Allen could see how well looked after it was, despite the fact that it was longer than his own). He spared Joe a reassuring smile. "It's just a scratch."
"I was so worried" Joe whispered, shuffling with embarrassment. "I thought you were going to die! I'm so glad you're okay." His eyes flicked to Kanda who had finally sat back and was once again wringing out the washcloth, apparently completely ignoring everyone. "Who's he?"
"An old friend" Allen said after a moment of wondering whether friendship was the correct term for his and Kanda's relationship. Before he could say anything else however, a firm grip on his chin forced him to turn back to face Kanda who then proceeded to attack Allen's face with the damp cloth. "Hey!" he protested as Kanda scrubbed over the left side of his face with a little more force than simply wiping the skin required.
He's very rude" Joe commented lightly as he watched the exchange.
"Very" Allen agreed with a wry laugh.
Kanda eventually put the cloth aside and studied Allen's face critically. For some reason, looking at Allen who didn't look like himself unsettled him, and he felt much better now that he'd uncovered the curse mark again.
Allen saw Joe staring at his face and automatically lifted his hand to touch his left cheek, forgetting in that moment that he was half-naked- exposing his innocence arm, which Joe had only seen from the wrist down, and his scarred torso at the same time.
For some reason the French teen started blushing slightly and averted his eyes when Allen caught his gaze, which Allen found extremely strange. "It's just an old scar, I like to keep it covered" Allen said with a small smile. "It's hard to blend in like this" he added, knowing that of all the explanations he could give for hiding the mark, the young thief would appreciate the need to remain inconspicuous the most.
"Who's the brat?" Kanda asked, reminding them that he was still there.
"This is Joe, I saved him from some Akuma and he fed me" Allen said.
Kanda rolled his eyes. "You took in a street orphan because he fed you?"
Allen scowled, sensing that somewhere in all this Kanda was going to lecture him about being stupid and naïve.
"Are you stupid? Seriously, how naïve can you get?" Ah, there it was, lecture time. "He could have killed you in your sleep!"
"Your concern has been noted" joked Allen lightly, which shut Kanda up immediately.
"Joe, this is Kanda, by the way" he said, remembering to finish the introductions. Don't worry about him, he's alright really."
"It's such a shame- he's really pretty, but he has a foul temper, doesn't he?" Joe said, cocking his head to one side. "When I first saw him, I almost thought he was a girl."
Allen choked, turning bright red as he tried not to laugh.
Kanda, who could tell that they'd been talking about him, and probably weren't saying anything nice, slowly drew Mugen from its sheath, making sure the other two heard the rasping of metal on metal that promised pain if they continued to mock him.
Allen held up his hands defensively, wincing as the motion pulled at the wound. "I was just telling Joe who you were" he explained, hoping it would be enough to placate the irate man. Mugen slid home with a whispery hiss and Allen relaxed, he really didn't want another injury to deal with.
"So, why are you still here?" he asked Kanda, who had retreated a few feet and was sitting on the floor. Kanda's gaze flicked to Joe for a moment, eyes flashing suspiciously.
"He doesn't speak English Kanda" Allen sighed, but when Kanda stubbornly remained silent, closing his eyes and sitting up straighter as though trying to show that he would not be swayed, he turned to Joe with an apologetic expression. "I'm starving, and I don't think we've got enough in for the three of us. Can you go out? You can use the cash from last night or your own brand of currency."
Joe nodded, glancing out through the window he'd left open the night before at the sky, turning grey with pre-dawn light. He'd have no trouble getting food at this time. He dove under the bed and emerged with one of the smaller money bags. "Won't be long" he said with a wave. Allen responded in kind, though the motion hurt his side and he had to quickly lower his arm. "No rush, though" he told the boy as Joe slipped through the door. The next instant Allen was on the floor next to Kanda. "So, what's been going on?"
Kanda opened an eye and glared at him, taking in his shivering body covered in goose bumps and eyelids that threatened to close at any moment.
"Che, stupid bean sprout. Get back to bed before you pass out again."
"I do that a lot, huh" Allen said with a dark tinged smile.
"Yes," Kanda agreed simply. "Now back to bed before I force you there myself."
There was silence for a moment as they both seemed to realise how Kanda's sentence could be interpreted, looking at each other as they wondered what was going through the other's head at that point. Then they both glanced away at the same time and the moment was gone. Allen stood and collected a clean shirt, slipping it on and sitting back down on the bed obediently. "So?"
At first he thought that Kanda wasn't going to say anything, but after a couple of minutes where they sat in silence- certainly not a comfortable one, though it was by no means awkward either, Kanda shifted a little and sighed almost inaudibly.
"I don't think anyone at the order truly believes that you ran away without good cause, but the inspector's keeping quiet about the real reason."
"That's hardly surprising" Allen said thoughtfully, though internally he was marvelling at the fact that this was quite possibly the longest conversation they'd had that didn't involve throwing insults. He must have been making faces, because Kanda happened to glance at him and frown. "What?" the older man growled irritably.
Allen smiled, the first true one in a long time. "I was just thinking that you can be nice when you want to be- it's strange actually talking to you instead of arguing."
"Che" Kanda grumbled, crossing his arms. "You're just being less annoying than usual."
"Hey!" Allen complained. "I'm no-" and here he stopped, recognising that their 'nice' conversation was about to degenerate into a childish 'am not/are too' type of argument.
However, the fact that he had cut himself off did not go unnoticed. "See?" Kanda said with a smirk. "Less annoying."
Allen grit his teeth, tempted to punch Kanda in the face and be done with it, but he managed to curb that particular urge. For now. "As I was saying, it's not surprising that Link's withholding information from the exorcists- they could face a mutiny if word got out."
Kanda made a noise that could have been agreement, though he said: "It's not Link, it's Leverrier."
"Doesn't that come down to the same thing?" Allen asked in confusion.
"Che" Kanda scoffed, and gestured to the golem that was fluttering anxiously around Allen's head like a satellite. Timcampy had been hidden away inside Allen's bag since Allen had first moved in with Nelly, and hadn't been allowed out since. A golden golem, after all, was a sure-fire way of identifying Allen for who, and what, he was.
"Didn't you wonder why this thing was with you?" Kanda asked scornfully.
"Komui said he'd found Tim in his office after a meeting with Link. I thought-"
"Che" Kanda said again. It was hard to tell, but it seemed like he was enjoying proving how much of an idiot Allen was. "The inspector let it go on purpose; he's the one that's really behind your escape."
Allen gaped at him stupidly. "L…Link was? I don't understand."
"You wouldn't." It appeared that Kanda wasn't going to say anything else on the matter, whether to just annoy Allen or because he didn't know anything more Allen wasn't sure, (he hoped it was the latter- he rather liked this side of Kanda), so he decided to change the subject.
"So, if you'd already collected the innocence from the Eiffel Tower, what were you doing in the alleys?" he asked, honestly curious, but if he had hoped to embarrass Kanda in any way, he was disappointed; as the man's facial expression didn't change one iota, though his answer did manage to stun Allen into silence. "Looking for you" Kanda replied simply and Allen floundered for a minute, not having expected such an answer.
"Uh- why?" he asked when he'd recovered from the shock.
"Damned if I know" Kanda muttered, uncrossing his legs and getting his feet. "Marie recognised you" he said abruptly, running a hand over his ponytail distractedly. Then he suddenly changed tack. "The damn Usagi was worried about you."
"I see" Allen said slowly. "Lavi was worried about me."
Kanda glared at him suspiciously, but couldn't read Allen's bland expression to tell whether he was being made fun of. He suddenly wished he hadn't said anything, sensing that Allen saw through his feeble excuses as easily as he had always seen through Allen's own.
A silence fell over the duo, neither knowing quite what to say.
Allen lay down with a small whimper of fatigue and pain, his eyelids drooping as soon as his head hit the pillow. He was paying for putting off the rest his body needed to heal. The injury may not have been too serious, but he would still need to take it easy for a couple of days.
"Go to sleep" Kanda ordered unnecessarily, since Allen was more than halfway there already.
"Mm" Allen replied agreeably with a restrained yawn.
Kanda came to stand at the bedside, looking down at Allen with an odd expression on his face. He couldn't quite understand why he was here. Although he had always threatened leave team-mates behind on missions, he knew he wouldn't have done really, though technically Allen was no longer a team-mate, but this… this was completely different. This felt almost as though he actually cared, which of course was utterly preposterous.
'And if you see the sprout, don't forget to tell him that you love him!'
Oh, hell no.
Kanda glanced back down at the now sleeping ex-exorcist, a sharp frown creasing his forehead. Lavi was an idiot, it was best to ignore everything that came out of his overly large mouth.
0o0o0o0o0
Joe was careful to be quiet when he returned, knowing that William was bound to be asleep and unsure what the new man… Kanda, was it? would do if he was woken up. He slipped silently into the room, a skill his lifestyle had demanded he learn, and placed the groceries to one side before turning to the other occupants of the room.
As he suspected William was asleep, and so was his friend. Joe wondered about the new man for a moment. William had introduced him as a friend, but there seemed something more to it than that… an understanding of each other that went deeper than just friendship.
Of course, walking back in and finding the older man sitting at the bedside, sword clutched between crossed arms and head resting on William's hand where it draped off the side of the bed was an indication of trust between the two- he knew that William hadn't slept in his presence for a few days when they first moved in together, before tiredness had won out over caution.
He had noticed that Kanda hadn't once called William 'William'. He might not have understood what was being said, but he could recognise a name well enough amid the jumble of English, and Kanda had definitely called William 'Allen' when they had met in the alley. Though after that, neither name had been mentioned at all.
It was all very confusing.
Double checking that both men were asleep, Joe turned his attention to his clothing. He hadn't noticed in the dark, but there were a couple of patches of blood marking the material of his shirt. Another furtive glance later, and he had undone the buttons and cast the shirt aside, immediately turning to fetch a clean one and put the dirty one somewhere to wash. When his eyes lifted from the shirt he was about to put on, they met a pair of incredulous dark ones framed with black hair.
"What the hell?" Kanda said loudly, face blank of any expression, which was his version of shock.
"Wussgoinon?" Allen said, sitting up with a jerk that stretched the wound and made him wince.
"Why don't you ask your little boyfriend over there" Kanda pointed at Joe accusatorily.
Joe flinched and clutched the shirt closer, but the damage had already been done.
"Or should I say, your little girlfriend?"