"Lena, I worry about her." Komui says, his voice rather muffled since he had thought it a good idea to use his desk as a pillow.
"We all do brother." Lenalee replies from her spot near the door.
"Keep an eye on her will you? I have this odd feeling she'll disappear." Komui says.
"Faster damn it!" Allen yells, ducking under Kanda's katana. She was pushing herself too hard, and she knew it. Forever forcing her innocence to more fully meld with her, it was wearing on her. She had to be better, she had to be. She had nothing else but fighting.
"Fuck you." Kanda mutters, but he picks up the pace. The exercise was something he and Allen had come up with, Allen dancing around the blade in a predetermined pattern, and Kanda fighting. It was a good exercise all told, Allen forcing themselves to be faster and more agile and Kanda practicing with his innocence.
Then, Allen stumbles. Kanda stops short, Mugen's edge right at Allen's throat. It surprised him really, Allen wasn't someone who stumbles, he wasn't someone who really showed weakness. Like Kanda, and that was part of what annoyed Kanda, as he got to know the man better. He was the same, had that same darkness, though Allen's was noticeably worse. But Allen never showed that weakness, smiling still in a picture of innocence.
Allen looks down at the blade, grimacing slightly. "I think its time we stopped. Tea?"
Kanda nods, and deactivates Mugen. They climb up the stairs to the kitchen, where Allen puts the kettle on the stove.
Allen knew exactly how Kanda liked his tea, being that she made it every single weekday when he stopped by the café. One spoon of sugar in green tea. She hands the teacup over to Kanda, who was sitting at the table. Then she made her own, Earl Grey with two spoons of honey.
"I have to go out later on. Ask Lavi if he'd like to come along please?" Allen says after a while, sipping her tea silently.
"Why should I?" Kanda growls out.
"Because Lenalee said I wasn't allowed to go gambling anymore alone. And you're too much of a jerk to take with." Allen smirks faintly, she knew this would just egg Kanda on. And frankly, even if Kanda was a jerk he was trustworthy.
"And you really think it's a good idea to take the fucking rabbit?" Kanda says in disbelief. Frankly Lavi was the last person you wanted around in that sort of situation if something happened.
"I can't exactly take you can I?" Allen says, feigning annoyance.
"Fine. I'll fucking go with you." Kanda growls out after a while. "Where exactly are you going anyway?"
"Eh, it's a different place than last time, so don't worry. Gotta take a break from that place for a bit." Allen admits, she had tried going back but apparently some people held a grudge for a while. "Make sure you wear something nice though."
So this was the kind of place Beansprout was going to. Speaking of the beansprout, he was dressed infuriatingly nice. Kanda had just put on his suit, the one his parents forced him into when they wanted him to come along to one of their parties.
But Allen, apparently beansprout was fabulous at this sort of thing. Gloves, vest, jacket- the works. He had braided that white hair of his neatly, in what Kanda thought was called a French braid? He didn't know, he wasn't a chick and it wasn't his deal. And frankly, Kanda was jealous. Even though he'd never admit it. He just glared at everyone, walking a few steps behind the beansprout, who managed to give off the air that he belonged here. No one questioned him at all.
He strides to the tables where several games of poker were being played. Allen and Kanda had already talked this through; Kanda was to stay out of the way unless the beansprout needed him. Kanda was fine with this arrangement, he wasn't too fond of places like this, full of wealthy people with too much cash to spend and waste. He takes a place by the wall, close enough to the tables to see but far enough where he wasn't considered a spectator.
He watches Allen's hands carefully, and notes that the beansprout was in fact cheating. He was good at it though, Kanda only caught it because he was used to the guy's quick movements. Kanda didn't really understand how the beansprout was able to keep those cards up his sleeve without them falling out.
There, the signal. Someone was getting mad, Kanda walks up and starts yelling at Allen, who had already collected his earnings. Kanda sees the problem, an overweight man with ugly scowl on his face who was talking to some people standing behind him. Allen tucks the money away, and Kanda throws the first punch.
He misses of course, but it didn't exactly look that way. A guard quickly drags them apart and throws both of them on the street. Allen grins widely. Kanda, having not been able to actually punch him earlier takes his chance now, a solid hit to the chest.
This leads to an actual brawl on the sidewalk, and since they were actually rather evenly matched there wasn't a clear winner when Allen finally managed to squirm her way from under Kanda. "Fuck you too." She says, slightly amused. He'd handled the club well, but honestly the man who'd tried to start a scene worried her.
She wasn't sure if he'd try to come after her or not, she'd gotten a good fifteen grand off him, too. It'd be a shame to lose it considering she had sharks to pay off. She walks gingerly to the car they had parked a few blocks away, Kanda following a ways behind her. They had to be careful; if they saw the two of them together someone might figure something out.
She was a few steps from the car when a hand covered her mouth. Oh. So she was right. Something cold against her head makes her want to roll her eyes. A gun, really? So the guy had been pretty important, to have underlings willing to go after card players who won too much with a gun.
Kanda, about twenty feet away was in a similar situation, and when Allen manages to squirm out of the man's grasp and disarm him (stupid man didn't even have the gun loaded, thought the threat of it would be enough.) he was already free, his assaulter unconscious on the ground.
They both get into the car, Kanda driving and Allen laughing wildly. "I knew the guy was a prick, didn't know he was that stuck up though." She gasps out between laughs. The adrenalin from it all was really affecting her, she somehow loved the high though.
Kanda was angry, mainly at the beansprout and the fact that he was laughing. "What the fuck was that?" He growls out, in reference to the gun.
"Oh. It wasn't loaded." Allen says, his voice calm.
"Fuck you." Kanda grumbles, he didn't exactly want to admit he had been worried in that split second the gun was against Allen's head.
Allen shrugs, and sits back in the seat, looking out the window. Somehow he ends up asleep by the time Kanda pulls into his driveway. Not wanting to deal with him anymore, Kanda just scoops beansprout up and carries him inside, dumping him on his bed unceremoniously. He looked like an angel, his white hair mussed and eyes closed. Most of all he looked innocent, in the way he didn't when his eyes were open. On some impulse Kanda sets a soft kiss on his forehead before walking out to sleep on the couch.
She could smell the sweet smoke from the fire nearby, opening her eyes slightly she finds it had burned down to glowing embers. Sitting she tucks her knees in, wrapping her arms around them and settling her head atop them.
The embers start flaring slightly, and Allen sees Mana. He was smiling at her, the way he used to when they had enough money for ice cream. Then the face morphs, into a couple she didn't quite recognize but she felt she should. The woman with her ginger hair, and the man with his dark brown- both were smiling at her, their eyes kind and loving.
"Allen. Its almost time to wake up dear." A voice calls out, echoing though the whole of her dreamland deep into her bones. She glances over at the horizon, and is startled by the slight reddening, false dawn.
She woke in the morning uncomfortable. She had apparently been dumped onto her bed fully clothed, she even had her boots on. Groaning she winces as she opens her eyes, the night before rushing back. Hurriedly she pats down her jacket, and sighs with relief when she feels the thick fold of bills.
Removing her clothing she walks to the bathroom in her towel, and lets it fall as she stares at herself in the mirror. It was disgusting really, all her scars. A particularly large one going from her shoulder, in between her breasts and down to her stomach- it was ragged and difficult to look at.
There were others. Small silver indents in her skin, circular and deep. Others were just plain healed slashes. Each and every one would ache on a rainy day, especially the large one. She learned to work through it though.
She really didn't look feminine. Not at all, all muscle and broad shoulders- like the gymnasts she'd seen on TV.
For some reason she felt tears well up in her eyes, and she steps into the shower before she lets them fall.
Two weeks later.
"So you want me to get Allen out of the house for the day?" Lavi asks Lenalee. The two were watching Allen and Kanda train with their innocence. Allen surprisingly kept stopping Kanda outright every five minutes or so to lecture him on not activating it on his comrades, which Kanda had been doing since he got the innocence. It was rather funny in its own way, Allen explaining to Kanda as if he was a toddler that innocence used up the bearer's own energy, parasitic innocence or crystallized- and to use it on a whim was childish. Kanda's sullen expression was also priceless in its own way, since on some level he must know that Allen was right.
"Yes, we need her out of the house so we can move in her early birthday present." Lenalee replies. Handing Lavi the book of runes that he'd have to memorize she continues, "Can't exactly move a piano in without her noticing."
"Wait, when's Allen's birthday?" Lavi flips through the book, wondering just how Lenalee and Allen had memorized all these, and this was only the beginners copy! There were apparently four other books past this, and then five more that were simply optional.
"She celebrates it on Christmas day. She doesn't actually know when her birthday is." Lenalee sighs softly, it really was a shame- she felt so bad for not being able to be with her best friend on her birthday but some things you just couldn't change.
"Why Christmas?" Lavi asks, it seemed odd to celebrate a birthday on Christmas if you didn't know when it was, most of the people he heard of in that situation just celebrated it on New Years.
"It's when she was adopted by Mana." That's all Lenalee dares say, as Allen and Kanda were walking towards them, both wearing glares toward the other person that probably would have killed anyone else they were directed to.
Allen had deactivated her innocence, which had been evolving of late. So that deformed arm of hers could transform into a gun at will, or anything else she might want. Kanda's was a katana, like Lenalee's own innocence, it was formed by the bearer's blood- thus the reason why Allen had been lecturing him constantly.
"You guys can head home now you know." Allen says softly, her eyes (which always struck Lenalee as odd, as they were a metallic silver and seemed entirely too old to possibly be a part of Allen.) failing to mask her exhaustion. She'd been working with Kanda every moment she could outside of work and her other jobs for the past three weeks and it was wearing on her, especially after that last particular mission. Lenalee felt bad, maybe it would've been better if they had switched out as planned.
"Alright Allen, don't overwork yourself K?" Lenalee gives Allen a hug, then playfully whacks the book in her hand on Kanda's head. "Allen is right about the innocence you know." Kanda just grumbles and looks away.
He was annoyed, like really annoyed at everything. And not his normal sullen annoyance at stupidity but the full out rage induced annoyance that lasted weeks. Kanda always stayed after practice. The fucking rabbit would leave, and would no doubt take Lenalee to their place and giggle with her like a pair of teenagers talking about dicks.
Allen smiles grimly and climbs up the stairs to the kitchen, waving Lenalee and Lavi off. "You want some tea?" He asks quietly once they were out of earshot. Kanda watches his face intently, not even sure why he was doing so. It was so odd, each blink of the eye he made entranced him and that only served to annoy him further.
His thoughts go back to that one kiss, on the forehead- but it was still a kiss. Why the fuck had he done that anyway? But then his thoughts carry him back to Allen's sleeping face and render him silent. Fuck the fucking beansprout. Fuck him. Kanda hated him with every fiber of his being but somehow he was still here, standing across the room from Allen.
"Tch." Allen knew him too well, the same routine after each of their practice sessions. It wasn't Kanda's fault he was completely incapable of making his own fucking tea, or making his own food besides soba for that matter. Also, Kanda would never admit it but Allen was extremely good at making said tea, Kanda sits on the couch and scoops up the cat while Allen puts the water on to boil, and takes out the delicate teacups he had insisted upon picking up at a thrift store.
Handing the steaming cup of tea to Kanda, Allen takes his own place in front of the keyboard, which he had set up on a stand. He always played after practice sessions, and well that was part of the reason Kanda tended to stay longer- he was good. And Kanda liked to play along. Today it was Pachelbel's Cannon, then Anna's Theme. Kanda takes sips of his tea in between breaks on the violin. He'd have to change out the strings soon, he'd been playing it more than he had in years. Maybe he should pick up a better pair, if only they weren't so expensive…
Kanda watches him, his head bent in concentration, every once and a while he'd take a sip from the cup on the floor. His white hair falling over his face and his eyes closed, fingers dancing across the keys. It was easy to watch, Kanda didn't need to see what he was doing to play. His fingers found their own way across the strings, his bow bending to his will. Much like Allen, Kanda knew he could play without looking, but apparently he just preferred to play like that.
Sometimes Kanda wondered if he shouldn't be a concert pianist. He was good enough, more than good enough, he supposed it must be something like his own situation with the violin though. After a while Allen stands, heads up the stairs.
Kanda opens the door of the bathroom, and really wasn't expecting Allen to be there already, naked. She (Yes she, she had a distinct lack of testicles) was covered in so many scars, more scars than he'd seen on anyone. He feels his face growing hot, god damn that fucking beansprout!
Turning around her eyes betray her shock, then grow cold. "What the fuck are you doing here Kanda?"
Wonderful place to leave off eh? Sorry its a day late.
Haven't been in a good place of late
Aariah out