Ch 8

_______________________Beds were made for Jumping__________________________

Allen could never, never get up at five. It was impossible. What sane man would leave the warm and cozy place, a bed full of dreams and lavender scent willingly? Only a total and unmitigated fool! Or Kanda. Well, that is utterly different. He got up at five to meditate. Then he cooked; the chopping sounds suggestive and daunting, and presto! Japanese food. Then he was gone for an hour, returning sweaty, panting, with the bangs soaked and sticky. The boy never knew where he was gone so he constructed different theories, ranging from Gym to prostitutes. He never verified them, however; the man was too intimidating.

And now was one of those five o'clock deals.

The knife hit the cutting board with ferocity, chips of wood jumped up, the herbs were trembling, becoming a squash, and Kanda was swearing at the washing machine who had the impertinence to die on him. Tch, that stupid excrement-worthy contraption was used two times! Two freaking times! And now, Zero! Straight line! No beeps! Kaput! Aghhhhh!!!!

He punched it, then really regretted his deed. His fist was bleeding while the machine stared at him, smiling with a huge dent. That's it. He murderously grinned, then kicked it. Thus molesting his toes he turned the poor machine on, masticating the clothes. Heh, the Russian method of repairing worked. Hn, now the stupid thing will know better. He turned around with triumph grabbing the knife when he heard a thump. He turned around exasperatedly, thinking that the fridge rebelled.

Busted.

Allen slowly retreated, closing the fridge. He was biting into a chicken leg when Kanda caught his eyes. Huge, gray, they were now filled with a strange glint of fear, hunger and surprise. Still chewing the leg he backed away, slowly sliding to the door. Kanda watched him intently, shocked. The door closed with a soft click.

"Huh?"

_____

"Next time, just come in and eat!" The brat was red with embarrassment, his head low and silent. "Where did you get such pathetic habits? Tch." Allen's murmur was indecipherable. His head top was again lowered, the words so many times repeated were in the air again.

"I-I'm sorry…" Tch. This was getting nowhere. Something has to be done.

"You know what, damn brat?" Intrigued, the damn brat raised his face, pale eyes penetrating Kanda's dark blue.

"You will get up every morning with me," Allen furrowed his brows in protest. "Not a word, brat. Democracy is an illusion."

This will do. For now. Now another problem arrived. That brat was still occupying his guest room. He had to give him a room. Tch. The apartment had five rooms. Crap, the living room was no good. It didn't have windows. Kanda bit his thumb, cogitating deeply on the material affairs. Tch, this was bad. The nail was gone, stuck between his teeth. He spit the tip, absentmindedly chewing his lip now.

The large room in the back had a balcony, tch, too many windows… Suddenly he stopped, an idea visiting his gray mass. His work room. It wasn't too big; it had a large window, two closets. He frowned. It didn't have air conditioning and he would have to move out. Oh well, he could use the window infested back room.

A bed… Hn, a small bed…Crap, his was huge. He tiredly made a mental note: buy bed, buy air conditioner. And a few bed sets. And pillows. And, agh, what the hell does a child need?

Lavi knows. At least he is useful sometimes. The abhorred number was dialed, a rabbit was called, and a redhead was in Kanda's room now, trying to braid his hair. He failed, spitting a tooth out.

"Why didja call me Yuu-chan~? Ow owowowow!!!! It hurts, ya know!!" He indignantly released his ear from Kanda's vicious grip.

"Yes, I know. That's why I'm doing this. Now, spill. Did you do what I asked?" Lavi frowned, looking sideways.

"It's not so simple. I tried to get in, but they 'ave a code, ya know. Even with my brains…" he sighed, defeated.

"What kind of code?" The brunet approached the door, closing it. Allen was in the living room, the TV word-roamed with an addictive noise. The sounds were far now, partially muffled by the door.

"Jus' some straight lines wit' circles in'em. It's so stupid I can' even guess how to approach it." Kanda slowly pulled out Allen's yesterday drawing.

"Like this?" The redhead nodded, drinking the chocolate with small sips. Then he fell, the yummy liquid murdering the carpet. Tch. Why did he put WHITE carpets in the kitchen?!?

"Where didja get this?!?" Lavi yelled as if he were threatened with castration. "It's exactly the same!!!! Only these lines are missing and the circle is smaller!!!" He ripped the seriously freaked out paper from Kanda's hand and started poking it in excitement, making holes.

"Any bastard who knows how to write or read this is the World's Bestest Hacker!!!!!" He dramatically raised his arms, together with the voice.

"It's best, not bestest. And not necessarily."

"Necessarily? Wha' do ya mean?" Kanda pointed at the paper.

"That man, Mana, apparently taught Allen the code, without his knowledge. The boy is now priceless, and sooner or later they will search for him. For now, just copy the cod-"

"There ain't need for that, Yuu. I remember it as clearly as I remember ya in the college shower!!!"

He spat another tooth.

-------

"Get up, kid, we're leaving." Allen obediently got up and paced to the bags.

"Where?" He couldn't control his curiosity. The response was instant and laconic.

"Downtown." Allen sighted and dropped his head. He didn't like to go out. The stares and glares bothered him.

"Kanda-san…Do I have to go? I will inconve-" kanda threw a heavy glare.

"I give you ten seconds. If you're not dressed by then, you'll be out in pajamas." Allen unenthusiastically dawdled into the living room. Yeah…It was hard to reason with Kanda. More like impossible. Yeah… he slid into the new jeans, feeling their hard texture against his skin with some excitement. New jeans. These were his first jeans bought especially for him. Nobody wore them before. Nobody!!! It's not so bad…

"Are you done, brat?" Kanda was in the doorway, tapping his foot. God, the annoying brat was slow…

"Y-yeah, almost, Kanda-san. I can't find a T-shirt…" The next three seconds he was outside, in a black T-shirt. Kanda's T-shirt. It was…big. It hung on him like a dress, touching his knees. Way too big, more like humongous, gargantesque-

"Mom, look, a monster!" Allen froze, then turned his head. A young woman and a little girl, her daughter, were pointing at a poster. The girl squealed.

"I wanna seeit! I wanna seeit!! MOM I wanna-"

"Oh, come on, this is a horror movie! Do you want to be scared at night? Do you? But of course you don't," the woman spoke softly, with a smile, hugging the girly from behind. "You don't want to be scared, do you?" She touched the girl's little turned up nose with her own. "We don't want to be scared, don't we?" The boy's mouth tasted acidic. He looked at his new shoes, black Nikes. This doesn't compare, does it?

"Oi, bean sprout. Why the hell are you frozen in that place?" Allen stiffed, looking away. He blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the few dewdrops that fell on his eyelashes.

"I..I'm ..um, coming!" He stumbled clumsily, his shoulder hitting somebody. The floor was hard.

"Hey, idiot, watch where you're going!"

"Yeah, watch it, watch it!" Allen got up, shaking his head. His knees were surely bleeding. His unable hand was dangling like a piece of rope. The skin on the palm of the good one was scratched, a few scarlet drops marking the point of impact. Oh well, he had seen worse.

He finally stood up, and the second moment backed away. The person he hit was staring at him with hatred, yellow eyes glinting madly. He was blond and approximately the same age as the boy. Next to him was another one, looking creepy with a fur hood and provocative clothing. Allen gulped. He could sense every nerve in his body tingling.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry…" He murmured, at loss of some reaction. He shouldn't apologize; he was the one who fell… Right?

"Brat, what are you doing?" Kanda was behind him, irritated. This little bastard took so long just to walk! "What's going on here?" He frowned, seeing two unfamiliar faces that were close to the boy. The blond jumped aside, hiding behind the furhooded creature.

"That's not your business, mister!" He sneered, demonstrating a sharp set of teeth.

"This swine here hit my little brother! Yeah, he did!!" The Furhood smirked defiantly, conceitedly swinging his hips.

"He did, he did!!" The yellow started skipping around his brother, frightening in his grotesqueness.

"See? Now pay up, if you don't wanna be in jail, little turd!" Allen twitched. This 'joke' was going too far.

"H-hey, I didn-" Kanda shut his zeal down, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I'm his lawyer, freak. Where is yours?" The 'Freak' narrowed his eyes while the yellow one stopped jumping.

"W-Wha?" He backed away, snarling. In a few seconds they dissipated among the crowd. Allen blinked. That was fast.

"You're bleeding. Tch. What am I going to do with you?" Kanda's large, warm hand covered his own, pulling him awake. The man walked rapidly, dragging Allen behind. The warmth of the hand was incredible. A simple, honest hand. The boy raised the tempo of his paces, almost skipping in delight. He didn't mind the crowd anymore, nor the staring. A hand that will hold his own was enough.

____

"A –a-a-a bed?!? I have to choose a BED?"

"Are you deaf? I said: I give you three minutes, choose a bed. Is that so difficult to understand?"

"But I don't need a bed. I can sleep on the sofa!" Kanda rolled his eyes with disgust.

"That is my LIVING ROOM! You're supposed to LIVE there, not hibernate! Two minutes!" Kanda looked away, crossing his arms. Why is this so hard to understand?

"I…see." Allen poked his fingers. A wild blush invaded his cheeks.

"Can I have…this one?" He readily pointed at a small bed, white and simple. Kanda inspected it.

"Try it." Allen shook his head.

"There is no need for something like that. It's goo-" The next second he was tossed on the said bed, bouncing up and down.

"K-kanda-san!" The next second he was in paradise. Ah, it was sooooooooft!!!!! Soft and good smelling! Wah!!

"Well, what do you say?" Kanda was sitting on it too, slightly jiggling the structure. A pair of brilliant eyes gleefully pleaded.

"Can we take it? Please?" He even put his palms together and bowed, then hugged his head, receiving a smack.

"Don't beg. There is a difference between asking and begging." Kanda got up, looking for the personnel of the store. Allen relaxed on the mattress, closing his eyes. Happiness bubbled in him like a hot spring, making him squirm.

"Get up, we're done here." Allen readily jumped down, excited for their new acquisition. Then he stopped, frowning.

"Kanda-san, why are you buying me a bed?" Kanda stopped in his track, tilting his head.

"What are beds used for, dolt?" Tch. the damn brat was hopeless.

"But what will you do with it after?" Kanda slowly inhaled, counting up to ten in his mind. He had to control the irritation that filled him.

"After WHAT?"

"After I leave." Allen was inspecting his toes. Kanda looked at him gravely.

"That doesn't concern you. Now stop thinking worthless things and let's go." He held his hand out, inviting the boy to take it. Allen slowly took it, clasping the thumb. He was safe having that warmth over his palm. Mana offered his hand only once: when he found him. This man held him twice this day already. Allen slowly walked by Kanda's side. The warmth made him wonderfully content and happy. He was now happier than when he found those greasy fifty bucks. No, he was now even happier than the time when Mana picked him up. No, that doesn't even compare.

He was just utterly happy.

"What's wrong, brat?" Kanda stopped brusquely, turning around. Allen bumped in his stomach. "..nothing. I am just really happy," he muffled, his face glued to the man's abdomen.

"I have never walked like this, holding a hand." To the brunet's surprise and embarrassment the brat propped his head in Kanda's stomach, hiding his face in the black sweater. "I wish i could stay like this forever..." Kanda's eyes softened. He placed a large palm on the boy's suddenly remembered Tiedoll's old, wrinkled face, eyes sparkling with tears. Maybe he felt the same wamth in the chest, than presently strangled him, leaving no room for thoughts or action. Just emotion.

"We have to go if you don't want to be trampled."

"Mmm...Ok..." Allen slowly backed away, giving the man some space. "Can we go home now?" Kanda nodded, taking the boy's hand.

"Let's go home, brat."

Home. He never wanted to go home before. Not until now.

______

Is this me, or the story is getting weirder by the second? I can't wait to send Allen to school. There is fun stuff in there: bullying, teachers, money extorsion, stupid teens, sex-obsessed teens, other teens... This is going to be fun...