Silver lining.
Lavi sat at the kitchen table in slight shock as Allen stuffed his face with pizza and cleared the boxes one by one.
"Geez, you sure can put it away..." Lavi cringed, watching the teen lick tomato sauce off his thumb.
"I dunno, I've always had a large appetite." He responded, wiping his face clean with a napkin.
Lavi stared at the mountain of empty pizza boxes that stacked nearly high enough to reach the ceiling.
"Thank you..."
Lavi turned his head to the teen curiously, "hmm what for? If it's for the pizza then it's no-"
"I mean for everything."
Lavi's mouth formed a small 'o' before he smiled and uttered a warm, "you're welcome."
Allen got up and stretched, stifling a polite yawn.
"So I guess you wanna shower now, huh?"
Allen nodded sheepishly and Lavi directed him to the bathroom, offering him a towel and a change of clothes. Showering at his teacher's place was a weird experience, but he put aside his thoughts and feelings to get through it. A few moments later he came out of the shower and dried off before eyeing the set of clothes that Lavi gave him. Allen picked up the first article of clothing, which was a large white t-shirt and slipped it on. It hung loosely off to one side, exposing his shoulder. It was also a bit short to have on by itself, reaching a littler further than the tops of his thighs. He reached for the other piece of clothing and tried in vain to keep the baggy grey sweatpants up. It was so loose that if he let go of the hem they would fall down. Allen frowned and did an awkward shuffle into the room Lavi was in, as well as holding up the pants.
"L-Lavi -oof!" Allen fell very ungracefully to the floor.
Lavi smirked and walked over to him, offering a hand. Allen looked uncomfortable in this embarrassed state but took Lavi's offer, getting back on his feet he explained the situation.
"Hmm..." the red head pondered. "Sorry Allen, I don't have anything smaller than that to sleep in. Infact I sleep in my boxers." Lavi shamelessly explained.
This is a predicament... these pants won't stay up, I didn't bring any clean boxers of my own and DAMN STRAIGHT I'm not gonna sleep in Lavi's underwear. With a slightly flushed face Allen slipped off the ultra baggy sweats and decided he'd have to suck it up and sleep in the white shirt alone.
Lavi eyed him curiously as he peeled off the sweat pants and folded them neatly on a nearby chair.
"You're gonna sleep in only that?" Lavi asked incredulously.
Allen nodded slowly, blushing madly and fidgeting. He kept unconsciously pulling the shirt down, which made Lavi all the more amused.
"Well someone's bold..." Lavi teased.
Allen was about to tell him off but his head was throbbing really badly from his injury and he really just wanted to sleep, so he let the comment slide. Lavi pouted, saddened that the usually easily embarrassed teen let his teasing go unacknowledged.
"Fine sour-puss It's already 10:00 p.m anyway. I have to plan a lesson and you've got to listen to that lesson in the morning." Lavi said in a 'listen-up-kiddo" sort of way.
"Yes Dad." Allen snorted, following Lavi up the stairs to what Allen assumed was a bedroom. "For the last time Allen, I'm only 22." Lavi scowled, directing the younger to the plushy white bed then walking back down the stairs, leaving Allen alone.
Allen plopped down on the bed, sinking into the softness and eyeing the spacious room cautiously. Is it just me or does being in someone else's bedroom really put you on edge? The room was a creamy white color and modestly furnished. To Allen though, the best part was the soft welcoming bed.
A moment later Lavi emerged from the shower, rubbing his damp red hair with a fluffy white towel. Allen looked at him curiously at first, wondering why he still had his eye patch on... then immediately blushed and looked away when his eyes trailed down. Lavi was dripping wet and shirtless. He had a well toned body for an English teacher and Allen briefly wondered if he worked out, before Lavi caught his eyes.
Realizing that Allen had been staring, Lavi smirked. "Like what you see?" He asked flirtatiously.
Allen turned away with a firm disapproving look. Lavi laughed and Allen soon realized that what he said about sleeping in just his boxers was true. He had looked away for so long that he didn't even notice when Lavi crept into the bed beside him. When he did notice, a small yelp escaped his lips.
"Wa-Wait you're sleeping here?!" Allen gasped. Lavi shot him a look that seemed to say, "Are-you-serious?" Seeing the teen's flustered expression he sighed then raised a disbelieving eyebrow.
"Allen if you hadn't noticed, this is a one bedroom..."
The boy quickly stared down at the bed, gripping the sheets tightly before turning away from Lavi. Anywhere that wasn't the red head was okay to look! Lavi followed Allen's gaze and saw the full body mirror that faced the bed on Allen's Side.
Lavi smirked at the teen's small stature in the mirror.
"It's no wonder you get bullied, you're pretty short moyashi~" Lavi said in a light hearted tone, even though he wasplenty upset at whoever hurt the boy, he chose his usual coping method which was to laugh it off. Lavi soon realized that he heard no witty response and looked to Allen. The boy had been quiet for a long time. A moment later Allen laid down, shuddering at the painful memories the word "moyashi" could bring.
Lavi was dumbstruck. What, was that the word of the day or something? Lavi half expected the furniture to come alive and light up, cheering like a little kid's show.
He almost said that to Allen until he noticed the pained expression on the teen's face and decided against it. Allen was wrapped up in a blanket of bad memories. The air was tense and melancholy until Allen felt someone's warm breath ghost over his ear. He immediately blushed and let out a sharp gasp. He then turned disbelievingly to a grinning red head.
Allen was so shocked right now he couldn't even open his mouth, let alone protest! So he just let Lavi do what he wanted. The red head put his arms around Allen and held him to his side. They were facing each other and Lavi had his arms firmly around Allen's small frame, thus forcing them to be extremely close to each other, chest to chest. Allen blushed brightly but remained calm on the outside, on the inside he was freaking out and asking questions like rapid-fire.
What's he doing?! Where will this lead? Why am I acting so calm right now? Is he going to stop? Wait... What.. He realized that their was a flicker of disappointment in his thoughts and he pinched his non injured cheek.
"Ow..." He whispered and Lavi's grip loosened a bit. Worried that he was smothering him, the red head stopped. After a moment of silence in which the only thing audible was Allen's heart beat, Lavi started rubbing the other's back in a circular motion to try lulling him to sleep. At first Allen grumbled about being treated like a child but he eventually grew silent and they both fell into a blissful sleep.
