Author's Note: I want to point out that any commentary that is made in here regarding gay sex being an abomination or a perversion is a reflection of the time period in which this takes place -- the Victorian Age -- and is not a reflection of my own views. So please do not be angry me or take offense. Also, I know that the anime makes Allen's new arm black, but I prefer to think of it as a very dark red. That's probably just me looking at too many fanarts, but the concept of his skin being completely black just weirds me out -- makes me think of necrosis.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of "D.Gray-man" or its characters. It all belongs to the brilliant Katsura Hoshino-sensei. I'm just playing in the sandbox of this beautiful and complex world.

Warning: Some coarse language. Some crazy mock-latin too, for what it's worth. Spoilers if you only watch the anime. Softcore yaoi/shounen-ai. Sexual interactions. If boys kissing and having sex with each other squicks you, read no further and use your "back" button!

"Nothing is serious to me, I live for what will be, I can always be a dreamer.
So trust your heart, don't fall apart, you'll see, at your journey's end you will find a friend in me."
-- The Moody Blues, "Highway"

"Angelus"
Part Three: The Flames of Love

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet," Lavi muttered, "dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat."

"Huh?" Allen's head snapped up from where he was concentrating on a report. The redhead was sitting cross-legged on Allen's bed, a clipboard in hand, working on something. His forehead was wrinkled with concentration. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Don't 'nothing' me! What'd you say?"

"I said 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet--'"

"I heard that much; what does that mean?"

"It's gibberish; it doesn't have a meaning."

"Then why'd you say it?"

"To make sure I got the word order right." Lavi looked up at him and pointed at the report in his lap. "It's me exacting a little bit of revenge on Jiiji for making me do his report for him."

"It sounded Latin." Allen knew he was stalling now with his own report, but he liked talking with Lavi.

"It's supposed to. But trust me, Allen; I know basic Latin, and that's just pure nonsense. You can ask Komui if you think I'm yanking your chain, you know."

"I believe you, Lavi, I'm just... not understanding why you'd throw that in your report."

"T'ain't my report. It's Jiiji's. This is payback for making me write it for him. He said that if I'm not going to be his successor, I get to be his secretary while he hunts for a replacement. It's his justification for not wiping my memories of stuff I know that I shouldn't if I'm not going to be a bookman anymore."

Allen was just turning back to his report when the last sentence got his attention; "Wait, what?"

"What?"

"Wipe your memories?"

"I know way too much, you know; particularly about the Noah family. Only the Bookman himself is supposed to know about that kind of thing. So I'll be Jiiji's correspondent here in the Black Order after he leaves and goes back to his duties as the Bookman."

"But... he'd normally wipe your memories? How?"

"Hypnotism. The memories'd still be there, but I'd lose any interest in recalling them. There are often side-effects of that, of course. If he did that, I might forget about you, as well. That's why I'm doing this crap for him, so that he doesn't do that. I don't want to lose you." He said it all so matter-of-factly, but it sent chills down Allen's spine. "However, I can get a wee bit of revenge here and there, since he's being a jerk about it."

Allen put his pen down and stood up. The sound of the chair moving back and Allen standing up got Lavi's attention, and he looked up. Allen approached him, climbed onto the bed, and put his arms around Lavi.

"What's the matter, Allen?"

"What you just said... I don't know why, but it scared me silly." Allen pressed his cheek against Lavi's shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut. "I don't want to lose you either."

Lavi set aside the paperwork he was working on, and pulled Allen into his lap. "I'm not going anywhere. I have to be Jiiji's lapdog for a while, I suppose, but I don't think he'll do that to me, partly because it'd upset you too much. You're the one that he respects the most, I think, Allen. But don't worry. Like I said, it's not going to happen."

For a moment, Allen indulged his desire to be intimate with his beloved, snuggling against him. "I'm glad. I don't know what I'd do without you now."

"Now, now, no getting maudlin on me. That's not the Allen Walker I know and love."

Allen laughed and rolled himself out of Lavi's lap, landing rather ungracefully on the floor. Lavi looked at him with amusement; "Nice. Stick the landing next time and I'll give you a passing score."

Allen stuck his tongue out. "I'd like to see you do better!" He scrambled to his feet. Then, with a sigh, he sat down at the desk and resumed working on his report. Lavi picked up his clipboard and resumed his work as well.

It was going on four months since the incident in the French hotel that had advanced their friendship into romance. At least, that's what Allen guessed; he wasn't certain, since time seemed to meld together occasionally. Either way, the two of them had been conducting a furtive, secretive courtship of a sort for a while now, though they could still hardly truly call themselves lovers, for all that they had each risked their lives -- and nearly died in the process -- for each other.

It was frustrating that Lavi was still refusing all of Allen's advances to take their relationship to a much more intimate level. It seemed as though his staunch refusal to allow sexual contact was fanning the flames of the erotic dreams that plagued Allen almost every single night. He was pretty certain that if they didn't consummate this soon, he'd go crazy.

Shaking his head vigorously, Allen returned to his paperwork. He really needed to get this done. Then maybe Komui would leave him alone for a while.

He could at least hope...

Lavi, for his part, was struggling with his own desires and impulses. For the past couple of weeks now he'd been suffering from some amazingly erotic and explicit dreams that usually consisted of himself and Allen doing nothing but... well... the best word to describe it had to be "fucking." He was glad that he and Allen had separate rooms now that they were home in the Black Order, since his bodily reactions to these dreams was rather embarrassing. It was bad enough that he still shared his room with Bookman, who he was certain was watching his every move.

Last night, in particular, the old panda had asked Lavi (right as the redhead was taking a drink, no less!) point blank if he was having sex with Allen Walker yet. Lavi had sputtered in disbelief at such presumption, and had ended up swallowing wrong and had choked. When Lavi had asked him if he seriously believed Lavi to be a pedophile who would stoop that low with a minor, Bookman had smacked him. Hard.

"Young idiot, his age is not much of a barrier to you. For one thing, as long as you are here in the Black Order, he is considered an adult because he is an Exorcist, and one who has reached Critical point at that." The old man glared at Lavi. "And for another, sex of that sort is considered a perversion anyway, so whether you're a pedophile or a pervert, there's no difference. And perhaps someone should remind you that you're little more than a child yourself. If you're feeling sorry for yourself because he's three years younger than you, it's your own damned fault for falling in love with him in the first place."

Lavi shook his head to clear his thoughts. Not right now, dammit!

He returned his attention to the report he was finishing, deciding to randomly throw in a few extra mock-latin lipsum into the mix, just to see if Panda-jiiji paid attention. He was willing to bet that Bookman would only glance peripherally over the report before signing it and sending it on.

He heard a strange cracking sound and then Allen uttered an expletive. He looked up. "What happened?"

"Pen broke," Allen grumbled, wiping ink quickly away from his report. "I guess I shouldn't use my left hand for this; it's not as tactile as it used to be before I lost and regained it."

"Must be handy, being ambidextrous."

"Mm, sometimes." Allen shrugged as he blotted up the ink and then hunted in his desk drawer for another pen. "Well, at least I only ruined a couple of sentences. That shouldn't be too hard to redo."

"There, I'm done with mine. How about you? How much longer you got?" Lavi snapped the clipboard's clip shut over the coversheet for the report.

"Hmm, not much further. Do me a favor, Lavi, and activate your hammer. I need to see if I can judge your synchronization rate. I was so far off the mark with Catherine's that they think I don't know what I'm doing. You've visited Hevlaska recently, right?"

"Yeah, I did, and yes, she gave me a ratio. My only qualm with this is... uh... do you have to document it? It's kinda embarrassing how low my rate is. It's dropped since I used Maximum Invocation."

"I'm only going to record it if I get it right. Or even close enough." Allen twisted sideways in the chair and turned his attention to Lavi, who drew his anti-Akuma weapon and activated it. The hammer grew to a decent size in his hand; the Innocence within it caused it to glow a soft green.

A series of numbers appeared in Allen's head, seeming to surround the point where Lavi's hand gripped the handle of the hammer. It was hard to pick one, but finally Allen grabbed the one that seemed to hover nearest to Lavi's hand. "Sixty-five."

"What the hell?" Lavi blinked. "Seriously?"

"Did I get it?"

"Hell no. Seventy-two point three, thank you very much. I can still unlock the second level of my Innocence."

"Dammit! What am I doing wrong? This is so bloody annoying!"

"Perhaps you should go ask Hevlaska what you're doing wrong," Lavi said as he holstered the hammer and got up off Allen's bed. "I'm gonna go hand off this report to Jiiji and then I'm going to stop by the cafeteria. What do you want me to bring back for you?"

"A couple of sandwiches should tide me over until dinner time. Damn, no wonder they won't acknowledge me as a gensui. Not that it matters, I'm not necessarily eager for it, but bloody damn I hate not being able to do this right. I should be able to. Why can't I?"

"Right. Okay. Don't rip your hair out over that report, Allen. I like your hair the way it is."

Allen chuckled and returned to writing this stupid report.

The door scraped open.

"Oi, Allen, think fast!"

A paper-wrapped sandwich flew through the air. Allen snatched it out of the air without even turning around.

"And again." Another one. "And again!" Yet another one. "Last one!" Timcanpy grabbed this one.

"Hey, Tim, I got one for you, that's Allen's!"

The golem dropped the sandwich onto the desk, flitting eagerly in the air. Allen turned this time, watching as Lavi handed the golem an unwrapped sandwich. Tim grabbed the sandwich with its little paws and started chowing down.

"That thing's appetite is amazing; almost as amazing as yours, Allen."

"Mmph?" Allen had already tucked into one of the sandwiches tossed to him, and muttered around the mouthful. "Mmph-hmm."

"Heh," Lavi chuckled. "Well, I'll be in my room if you need me. I'm feeling really run down right now. I hate doing Jiiji's reports."

Allen swallowed quickly and turned around; "You're welcome to stay here, you know. You're really not bothering me at all; I like your company!"

"I know, but I'm knackered. If you need me, you know where to find me."

Lavi hastily exited the room, moving to the stairwell and taking the steps two and three at a time. He wasn't as tired as he put on; he just wanted to some privacy. No, scratch that -- he needed some privacy.

As he barged into the room he shared with Panda-jiiji, he reached for the dresser, and was clobbered by a pair of tiny fists.

"Next time write a real report, slacker!" The old man snapped angrily. "Not some bullshit report full of lipsum and random commentary."

"Ow, dammit!" Lavi ducked his head. "Then write your own, I can't read your mind!"

"No, not when your brain is centered in your nether regions lately!"

Lavi gave his surrogate father a grumpy look. "Look, Jiiji, I need to take a shower. If you need me to rewrite it, I'll do it afterwards." He pushed the old man aside and grabbed a change of clothes from his dresser, and a towel from the tiny linen closet.

"Clean up after yourself this time, kid," Bookman said acidly as Lavi headed toward the washroom. "If you're going to use the shower for that purpose, at least clean up after yourself." He gave Lavi a piercing look. "I still say you should just get it over with. This hesitation is only making you muddleheaded."

Lavi looked away to disguise his blush of embarrassment. He slammed the washroom door behind him, stripped out of his uniform, and stepped into the shower stall. He was so agitated that he forgot to take off his eyepatch and headband until he was already being deluged by lukewarm water. Ah well, what did it matter? He wasn't really here for hygienic purposes. He was here for alleviation. This was the only acceptable way to ease the discomfort in his groin.

Allen stepped out of his shower stall and wrapped his towel around himself. His hair dripped into his eyes. Timcanpy had been riding on his head the whole time, and had helped him scrub his scalp. The golem loved the feel of hot water running over its body, and it liked to knead its little paws in Allen's hair. And since Tim did a better job of detangling the mess of hair better than Allen's bizarrely-jointed left hand, he let the golem do as it pleased.

He squeezed the water out of his hair and after toweling his body off, he shooed Tim out of his hair and scrubbed it with the towel. Then he shook his head vigorously, rather like a dog after a bath. He reached for his undergarments and slipped them on, then stepped out of his washroom, tossing the towel down the hamper chute.

He pulled his pajamas from his dresser and dressed quickly. He was just turning the sheets on his bed down when Timcanpy began whirling around his head in what seemed like agitation.

"Tim?"

The golem began flying in a gleeful pattern, circling near the door. Allen had no sooner deduced that the golem was in fact happy, not upset, when there a knock at the door. For a moment Allen feared that meant that his Shishou was nearby, but decided he'd done nothing wrong; he shouldn't fear Cross-gensui so much now.

"Come in," Allen called, fluffing his pillow.

The door opened, and for a moment Allen's stomach dropped through the floor at the sight of red hair. But it was short, spiky and unruly red hair, not long, wavy, glossy red hair.

"Is something wrong, Lavi?" Allen's concern spiked. Lavi had a very distressed look on his face. It had been a couple of hours now since he'd taken his leave of Allen rather abruptly, and now he looked upset.

"Is it all right if I spend the night with you, Allen?"

"Of course it's okay, Lavi, don't be silly!" Allen grabbed onto Lavi's arm and pulled him into the room. "You're always welcome here, you know! What happened?"

"Jiiji and I just got assigned a mission that could get ugly." Lavi engulfed Allen in his arms, squeezing tightly, as though afraid of letting go. "I don't know why, but it has me scared senseless. I hate Rome."

"Rome?"

"Yes, Rome. The Eternal City. It scares the teeth out of me. I can't even explain why."

Allen embraced him and hugged him reassuringly. "I've been to Rome a number of times. It's okay. Just stay away from the Vatican if you don't want to have your brain broken with mind-numbing idiocy. What kind of mission is it anyway? Innocence? It seems like Marie would be better to send to Rome if that's the case."

"No, it's not exactly Innocence itself; more like a possible Rosetta Stone sort of thing. A possible key to decoding the Cube. Since Jiiji and I are the only Exorcists capable of reading Latin and ancient Greek, we're both being sent down to retrieve it. But the thing is, supposedly the place is crawling with Noah. And me with my low synch rate. It's not bad enough that this is Rome, which I dislike anyway. We're probably going right into the hornets' nest."

Allen gripped Lavi's shoulders; "If there's Noah there, you shouldn't be going with just Bookman -- you need someone stronger with you! I'll go talk to Komui-san, I think I should go with y--"

"Oh hell no, Allen," Lavi retorted, constricting his grip. "You're not going anywhere. That's my only consolation -- that you won't be dealing with them. I'm counting on you being safe and sound for me to return to. You've done enough. Besides, we're meeting up with Cross or Sokaro -- whoever gets there first -- just outside Rome, so we're going to have a gensui with us. But that doesn't make it any easier, leaving here. Leaving you. That's why I want to spend tonight with you. Because I have no idea how long I'll be gone..." There was a delay as Lavi sucked in a shaky breath and spoke almost inaudibly, "...or even if I'll be coming back."

"I won't let you go like that!" Allen said fiercely. "Not with that attitude of yours, anyway. I'll fight tooth and nail, but I won't let you go into a mission with such a nihilistic outlook! I'll give you a reason to stay alive and come home! If you don't come back, I'll chase after you and drag you back!"

Lavi chuckled tiredly. "That's one of the things I love about you, Allen. You're just so optimistic. The Vatican is demanding that you open the Ark to let Jiiji and I pass through, to pick up that thing quickly, but... amazingly enough, Jiiji refused to travel through it. I didn't have to say a word. I have no idea if he's figured something out, but he says he will not use that thing again, except under extremely dire circumstances, of which this is not." There was a moment of silence before Lavi spoke again; "If he did figure something out, Allen, I want you to know that I didn't tell him. I haven't told anyone."

"I believe you," Allen said reassuringly. "Bookman didn't get to his position by being ignorant, right?"

"Heh," the redhead snorted. "Jiiji is one of the best of the clan, probably in the history of the clan. I just hope he can find someone he sees as suitable as my replacement." He then stumbled a bit. "Gah. Damn I'm tired. Sorry."

"Come on, I was just getting ready for bed anyway. Take your boots off and get into the bed. I'll keep you safe and comfortable for tonight." Allen gave him a gentle push onto the bed. He busied himself with tidying up the stacks of paperwork and books everywhere. Lavi tiredly shucked his boots from his feet and draped his uniform jacket over the bedpost at the foot. Then he climbed into the bed, which was large enough for two to share intimately though it was snugged against the wall, and promptly curled up against the wall. He pulled his headband down to cover his eyes.

It made Allen's heart ache to see Lavi so distressed. It also made him feel bad that he was planning to use Lavi's vulnerability to his own advantage. He loosened the drawstring on his pants struggling to keep some level of control on the heat building in his groin. He wasn't sure if he'd succeed, but this was likely his best chance, and if Lavi was that distressed about not surviving this mission... Allen shook his head. Lavi was a survivor. He'd make it through the mission just fine.

Lavi must have sensed something was different, because he pulled up the headband just as Allen turned out all but the light on the nightstand next to the bed. "Allen? What are you doing?"

"Coming to bed, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"You have a funny look on your face."

Allen hiked a leg up onto the mattress and sat down, sidling his hip up against Lavi's. He placed a hand on Lavi's chest. "Lavi... right here and now, I need you. I know you like to throw my age into my face, but... dammit, I need you right now. I've needed you for a long time, and it's only getting worse. I don't know if I'll be able to stand it while you're gone if we don't..."

"Allen -- " Lavi's voice was husky and throaty. "Allen -- this isn't..."

"I want to make love to you, Lavi," Allen said softly. "I've wanted to for a long time now, and each night it just gets harder and harder."

"Each... what?" Lavi blinked. He was definitely alarmed, but if the color in his cheeks was any indication, Allen was definitely getting somewhere with him.

"I dream about you," Allen said simply. "Every. Single. Night. And it's getting harder and harder to endure."

"You... you do too? Are they... are they really explicit? Your dreams?"

"Achingly so. I'd swear that they're real, except when I wake up, I'm alone. And the scenery is usually different."

Lavi looked away from him, turning his attention the grey stone wall. Allen could almost smell the indecision. This was a crucial fork in the road, so to speak. He held his breath.

"Are you sure you're ready for this, Allen?" Lavi finally said. "Once we cross that line, there's no going back." He sat up, drawing his knees up to his chest and draping his arms across his knees; he rested his forehead against his arms. "I... I don't want to ruin everything, Allen. You're far too dear to me. I'd rather be celibate my entire life than ruin this."

"You won't hurt me, Lavi," Allen scoffed gently, reaching out to run his fingers through the dark russet hair. "I'm pretty tough, you know. I've suffered some pretty hideous injuries, and I'm okay. I don't think you're capable of inflicting that kind of pain on me. You won't scare me off that easily. And don't think that if you manage to resist me tonight that I'll back down. I'm going to get you in the sack, damn you! Don't make me go ask Catherine or Cloud-gensui advice on how to seduce a guy!"

Lavi chuckled softly, peeking over his knees at Allen with a coy grin. "You little...argh! I think I deserve an award for resisting your charms this long. Goddamn, I should be getting sleep, but... very well, you little tease, come here." He grabbed Allen by the arm and pulled him sharply toward himself; Allen collided with him and the two of them tumbled into a heap. Allen quickly found himself flipped onto his back, with Lavi leaning over him, scrutinizing him.

"First things first, ditch the clothing," Lavi muttered.

Allen laughed as the two of them tugged on each other's shirts at the same time. "This isn't going to work, you know! Maybe we should take off our own clothes and try that technique some other time when we have time to refine it?"

"Ah, um, good idea... you know, you're kinda weirding me out, with how much logic you're using here, Allen!"

Allen just sort of shrugged as he pulled his shirt off; Lavi shucked his own and tossed it rather carelessly across the other bedpost. However, when Allen moved to remove the rest of his clothes, Lavi forestalled him.

"No. We're going to do this slowly. We're going to do this the right way, or at least what feels like the right way; since this is our first time, we really shouldn't rush it."

"Just don't you back out on me!" Allen said in a fierce whisper. "I won't forgive you if you keep cockblocking me!"

This time Lavi's chuckle came from deep in his throat, a soft, thrumming and indulgent laugh. He was propped up on one elbow, looking down at Allen with a most voracious look in his kelly-green eye. It was almost unnerving how thick his desire was. The vigor of his outgoing and forceful personality gave Allen pause for a bit. He wasn't about to let Lavi dominate this whole event, but for now, he was content to let his lover dictate things.

Lavi leaned down and captured Allen's mouth possessively. His tongue snaked forth, probing exploratively. He held onto Allen's mouth until the younger Exorcist broke away, gasping for breath.

"Stop trying to smother me, dammit! You've done that before!" Allen cuffed Lavi in the chest very gently. In response, the redhead arched his neck and nipped at Allen's throat. With his fingers, he traced the patterns of dark red skin that adorned Allen's left shoulder, where the Innocence arm was fused with his human arm. The skin was considerably darker than the curse mark over his left eye, but it was in fact a very deep red, though in many lights it looked almost black. And despite the fact that the left hand was not quite as dexterous as the right hand, the skin of the entire arm was still very much alive with nerves, nerves that reacted instantly to being caressed.

"Any time you want me to stop, just say it," Lavi said, the tip of his tongue brushing against Allen's jugular. "I can't promise I'll stop right away, so you'll have to be insistent."

"I don't want you to stop, Lavi," Allen said, trying very hard not to moan. "Not until sunrise."

"Not until sunrise," Lavi agreed, his voice sounding feral in the thickness of his emotions.

Not until sunrise, huh? Didn't quite work out that way, though it's not his fault. Allen smirked to himself as he buried his nose in Lavi's hair, inhaling his scent as though he couldn't get enough of it. The half-light of the moon cascaded through the window, bathing the two of them in its blue-white gaze. Allen was reclining against his pillow, with Lavi cradled in his arms; Lavi was sound asleep, and in his exhaustion, he was almost snoring.

They had made love for just over an hour before exhaustion had prevented Lavi from being able to do anything more. He had drowsily apologized several times before nodding off. Allen's whole body felt heavy and lethargic (and some areas felt a bit sore), but he refused to sleep; he wanted to savor every last moment with his lover.

That had certainly been an eye-opening experience, to say the least. Mind blowing, if one got right down to it. No matter how much he'd envisioned it, the real thing was so completely different. It had been awkward, uncomfortable, and at times almost painful. Not to mention messy! And yet... it had been an exquisite kind of discomfort. It hadn't been comfortable at the moment it was happening, but the delayed reactions afterwards had left him weak-limbed with satiation.

It had been even weirder feeling when they had switched roles. Allen knew that there was nothing natural about what he was doing, but he'd felt as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

Nothing... nothing natural?

The church is full of bullshit, pure and undiluted, he thought savagely, his grip on Lavi tightening for a moment. If it's heretical for me to love him this way, then they can keep their dogmas. They're already calling me a traitor and a heretic for saving everyone. They can just go... ugh.

That train of thought startled Allen a little bit. He didn't usually harbor such animosity towards anyone, but the Vatican had put him through the wringer.

Lavi shifted in his sleep and murmured. Allen stroked his lover's cheek, soaking up this peaceful afterglow like a sponge; it was going to have to last him who knew how long.

A shiver ran down his spine. Lavi was uncharacteristically spooked by this mission. And now that he thought about it, he remembered that Lavi had always gotten quiet whenever someone talked about Rome. Any other large city, and he could join the conversation enthusiastically. He could rhapsodize about the beauty of Madrid and Barcelona, the aura of mystique of Cairo and Alexandria, the intoxicating history and majesty of Athens, the sensory overload of London and Paris, the rigid but friendly people of Berlin... but Rome had always been the one big city he would never talk about. He'd only talk about the Vatican as though it was an entity, not a location. Allen had even gotten Kanda to talk about Rome before, in so much as anyone could get the reticent Kanda to talk about anything.

What was it about Rome that scared him so much? Allen couldn't recall anyone who didn't at least respect Rome for its rich history and its part in the shaping of the world. Cloud Nine had expressed a distinct dislike for the city itself just because of its chaotic nucleus, preferring the rigid organization of Roman-built cities like London. Cloud-gensui just hated chaos; she had commented that Rome could be a beautiful city if it weren't so damned random. Tiedoll-gensui adored Rome because of its beauty -- he claimed he could always find an artistic muse when he was there.

Come to think of it, Lavi wasn't always afraid of Rome. Very early into their partnership and friendship, when they'd been hunting for Cross-gensui, some evenings Lavi would regale Allen with stories of his adventures as a bookman (Allen still wasn't sure how much of what he'd said was truth and how much was fabrication for the sake of the story), and Rome had been featured a few times.

So why was he suddenly so frightened of Rome that being assigned a mission there had sent him diving into Allen's arms in distress? Lavi was normally so stoic when it came to distress. He was very open and freely expressive of his happier emotions, but when it came to things that pained him, he buried them, saying that such emotions and such reactions didn't jive with the persona of "Lavi" that he wore. Allen was willing to grant Lavi the benefit of the doubt that falling in love had upended much of his rigid internal structure with his persona. But even then, he shouldn't be this frightened of a mission. He'd been in dire straits and mortal danger a number of times. And he'd be working with a gensui -- Cross had Maria's shielding abilities, and Sokaro had inhuman speed and strength. Both gensui would defend (probably, at least; Allen certainly hoped they would) Lavi with every fiber of their abilities. And Lavi himself was no pushover. Even without his Innocence, he was a force to be reckoned with. He'd held his own against Noah before.

Come to think of it, Lavi had never once expressed fear of actually dying on this mission, only of not returning.

Allen ran a hand down Lavi's chest, as if to memorize every single muscle, every curve and knot of sinew. Even every minute scar and blemish on his torso was to be savored and treasured. Even the light dusting of copper-colored hair down the center of his chest... all was precious and dear to Allen.

Rome: the Eternal City. It scares me. I can't even explain why... I have no idea how long I'll be gone, or even if I'll be coming back.

What had Lavi meant?

Stay tuned for "Angelus : Part Four : Water in the Earth"

After-word and notes:
The very first paragraph is actual nonsense. "Lorem Ipsum" is called "dummy text" in the graphics design world. It's supposed to represent real text so as not to be distracting, but it is only there to show how text flows around graphical elements in a graphic design. I always set up my stories with that first line of "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet" so that the formatting will work and I don't have to go all hair-ripping. "Lorem Ipsum" is mock-latin (also known as "lipsum") and has no direct translation. I got the wild-hair idea to have Lavi randomly spout it just to keep Allen guessing. It just seems like something Lavi would do.

Hope the lime was to everyone's satisfaction. And this likely won't be the only instance of sex, either. After all, they're both young and very much in love -- I imagine they won't be able to keep their hands off each other when given half a chance. I apologize at the shortness of this chapter, but it just felt DONE. Don't worry, there's more to come. I think I have enough material to keep going for up to seven total chapters. Depending on how things play out, anyway.