Disclaimers: I don't own D. Gray-man. I'm just using the characters for my entertainment! Enjoy!
Notes: This fic is AU. Lavi has both eyes and Allen has no scar and a normal arm. I also made up birthdays for them even though they official ones, as it was appropriate to the story. :D
Chapter 6
It had been a few hours since the pair had fallen asleep in each other's embrace, and Lavi was sleeping rather well until Allen shot upright in bed, flinging his arm against the headboard in the process, and dashed off the bed and to the bathroom.
'Great...Here we go again…' Lavi sighed as the bathroom light came on and the sound of dry heaves filled his room moments later.
Pushing the blanket off his body, Lavi slowly eased out of bed, slightly off balance from only being half awake, and headed to his bathroom, finding Allen on his knees in front of the porcelain god, his eyes glazed over and his breathing coming in pants with an occasional dry heave as he leaned quickly back over the toilet.
Lavi kneeled down beside him, running a hand up and down the teen's sweat dampened back. "Feel better?"
Allen turned his flushed face to the redhead, shaking his head slightly as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Are you at least done for now?"
The silver haired teen moved to stand, wobbling slightly and his eyes going cross for a moment, having stood too fast. Lavi then stood too and wrapped an arm around Allen's back and helped him to the sink so he could rinse his mouth and wash his hands. Once that was done, Lavi tucked Allen back in bed and returned to the bathroom to flush the toilet and turn out the light.
Lavi sat down beside the sick teen, rewetting the cold washcloth and placing it on Allen's sweaty forehead. "Sorry that you feel so shitty," Lavi smiled sympathetically as he brushed Allen's bangs from his face.
"Sorry you have to baby me like this," was the sleepy response as Allen smiled tiredly up at him. "I don't usually get sick, but when I do, all hell breaks loose."
"No kidding."
Allen yawned, snuggling deeper into the mattress before looking worriedly at Lavi. "Did you feed Miya today?"
"Uh…" the redhead began, averting his gaze and scratching his cheek. "Now that you mention it, no."
"Lavi!" the teen whined in disbelief. Apparently upchucking made him feel better than he realized.
"Actually, I haven't seen the runt all day."
"You don't think she got outside, do you?" Allen gasped as he sat up much too fast, landing his back against the headboard rather harshly as his body fought gravity.
"It's a slim chance, but possible," Lavi sighed.
"Could you please look for her, Lavi?" the teen pleaded as he held the washcloth to his forehead.
Lavi didn't really want to leave Allen's side, but that face was simply too adorable to deny, what with that pout and flushed cheeks. With that face, Allen could've asked him for something completely outrageous, like a waterbed fish tank, and Lavi would've left right then and there to get him one.
With a sigh, he hoisted himself off the mattress and headed down the hall, flicking on various lights and checking under and behind furniture. He had even checked the living room, kitchen, and laundry closet twice over before checking the bathroom, but not sign of her.
As he flicked off the bathroom light and entered his bedroom, running a hand through his slightly mused hair he prepared himself for the inevitable tears the Allen would surely shed. But in a vain attempt to reassure him, he said, "I haven't checked this room yet."
Turning on his bedside lamp, he peered under the bed and beside and behind the nightstands. Still nothing. He even checked under his beanbag chair that sat abandoned in the corner of the room.
Lavi could see Allen's face starting to tighten and tears welling up in the corners of his eyes as he turned to face the room's other occupant. "Please don't cry," the redhead begged as he sat next to Allen, pulling the teen to his chest and tossing the washcloth aside. Allen was more than happy to return the embrace as he tightly wrapped his arms around Lavi's waist, nuzzling his cheek against his chest.
"I have no clue where she could've gotten to."
"Are you sure you've checked everywhere?" Allen sniffed as he pulled his head up to look the redhead in the eye.
Lavi simply nodded, staring deeply into those pale gray eyes.
"Liar."
"I'm not lying, Allen. I've check everything twice at least!"
A small smile flitted across Allen's lips as he licked a tear away from his upper lip. "There's at least one place I didn't see you look."
"Where?" Lavi asked rebelliously, to which Allen lifted his arm and pointed to the closed closet door. "Like she would possibly be in there…" he mumbled as he reluctantly released the silver haired teen and went to his closet, wrenching one of the sliding doors to the side, glaring down as Miya came prancing out with a piece of torn paper in her mouth.
"You little shit!" Lavi growled as he took in the sight of a rather nasty mess she had made, that being torn and shredded paper and boxes along with a pile or two from not being able to get to her litter box.
Of course, she paid him no mind as she simply jumped onto the bed, rubbing against the sickly Allen.
"Just close the door; I'll clean it up in the morning," Allen pleaded in an attempt to calm Lavi down. "What matters right now is that our little one is safe, right? And you need to get back to sleep so you're not so grumpy tomorrow…"
"I'm not going near that bed until she's out of this room," Lavi huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as their eyes locked.
"Don't be so childish," Allen laughed as he cradled Miya against his chest.
The redhead didn't budge from his spot, giving Allen a withering look.
"Fine!" Allen sighed as he got off the bed, wobbling a bit.
"Where are you going?" Lavi then inquired as the teen stalked past him down the hall.
"To feed her," Allen stated simply over his shoulder.
'I knew I shouldn't have given in when he wanted to keep her…' he thought with a sigh as he finally uncrossed his arms and closed the closet door. 'Our little one…'
Within minutes, Lavi had returned to the haven of his bed, buried under his blanket, facing away from Allen's side of the bed and clicking off his lamp. It was just as the light clicked out that Allen reentered the room, shutting the door and leaning back against it.
"What's wrong?"
The teen's gray eyes were locked to the floor. "Maybe I should sleep in my own room tonight."
"What brought this on?" Lavi laughed somewhat as he sat up, wishing the teen would look at him. "I know you're upset about what just happened and all, and I'm sorry I reacted that way! I really am! It's just been a rough day and I didn't mean to take it out on you."
"It's…it's not right for me to be taking advantage of you like this. I should only be here when you invite me over instead of coming over when I please. I know that when you have friends over you're not going to want a young kid like me hanging around," Allen sniffed. "I've had a lot of time to think today while you were out. "And the biggest reason is," he began, swallowing the lump in his throat, his watery eyes hesitantly meeting Lavi's worried olive ones. "We're two young male adults sharing a bed. That's not normal; even I know that much from being homeschooled."
Inside, Lavi felt like he had just been stabbed and had the knife twisted before it was ripped out, but he tried not to let it show.
"If that's the way you feel, then okay; I can't control your life, so do what makes you happy," the red head shrugged, trying to sound indifferent despite his pain. He didn't want to trap Allen or make him feel uncomfortable. "I've told you before that I don't mind you being in my bed with me. So what brought this on so suddenly after weeks of sleeping in here together?"
He couldn't lie to Lavi, but he didn't want to tell him either; running would just make it more awkward and hard for himself. But deep down, he knew he had to tell Lavi the truth.
Slowly pushing himself away from the door and walking to the bed, he crawled to the middle of it and stared Lavi squarely in the eyes, completely and totally scared. Completely and irrevocably vulnerable. He worried his bottom lip for a few minutes, open his mouth as if to speak, chickening out and closing it, trying his best to keep eye contact with the patient Lavi.
"I've been feeling things lately; emotions and sensations I've never felt before. I've always read that these feelings are supposed to be associated with someone of the opposite sex, not the same. I wanted to spend a bit of time alone to get over these feelings because I knew you wouldn't approve…"
Lavi chuckled as he ghosted his hand over Allen's cheek, sitting up completely to face Allen.
"Allen, it's perfectly fine for you to feel this way. Love has no boundaries, so whoever you fall for is who you fall for, plain and simple. Fuck those narrow and close-minded assholes that say love and marriage should be between only a man and woman."
"But you don't feel the same way, that's why…" he murmured, his eyes welling up again as he began to shift his body away from Lavi, stopping when Lavi's fingers wrapped around his wrist.
"I'm not going to look at you any differently; you are you and always will be the gentle, caring, adorable smartass that I know. And above all else right now, you're still sick and need tending to. We'll talk about this more tomorrow when you're feeling better and I've had some sleep," he grinned wickedly as he suddenly tossed his blanket aside, leaping on top of and pinning Allen to the bed beneath him.
If he knew Lavi felt the same way, he wouldn't have pouted and turned his gaze away from Lavi, hovering inches above him. He really wished he could've just gone home and thought this through before he had to say anything.
"Goodnight, Lavi," he whispered, shutting his eyes tightly as tears leaked down his face, tensing his trapped hands into fists, wishing that Lavi would just leave him to his thoughts.
Frowning is his defeat at an ill-mannered attempt to cheer Allen up and get his mind off such rubbish thoughts, he released Allen's wrists and rolled back to his side of the bed that suddenly seemed colder than it ever had before.
"And you're wrong, Allen. I do feel the same way. I do like you, a lot," he smiled sadly as he gently ran a hand through the silver locks on the back of Allen's head; the teen had since rolled to face away from him. "Just get some rest and we'll talk tomorrow."