The author disclaims ownership of everything except the (currently lacking) plot and the OCs

Chapter Nine- Uninvited Guest

Allen was feeling very pleased with himself. He was back home after nearly a fortnight stranded without a body inside the Ark's piano room, shared a wonderful welcome back with Kanda, not only in the room he'd created in the Ark, but in their bedroom, a common room or two, the showers and a broom cupboard that they had recently discovered and put to good use. Frequently. Best of all, he was finding rather easy to keep his secret from every one who questioned him. By pretending he remembered nothing about the experience, he was able to field the inquiries easily. Of course, having Kanda at his shoulder, scowling at anybody who approached them kept most people away anyway.

He stretched lazily and rolled over to face Kanda who still had his eyes closed, his breathing deep and even. Allen lay watching him sleep for a while, relishing in the rarity of the moment. Having Kanda at his side made him happier than he could say, but deep down he was worried. Worried that Kanda was regretting his decision to stay silent about Allen's transformation. Kanda denied anything of the sort, of course, and looked both angry an upset whenever Allen brought the subject up, or lapsed into a pensive silence, sometimes talking things over with the other side of his personality through the mental link, or else turning the thoughts over with his mind closed to everything else.

As he lay there thinking, the sun began to creep through the curtains. It was barely six in the morning, but at the height of summer, dawn came earlier than Allen would have liked. He ha been back four days now, but still Komui had insisted that he take it easy, and had managed to get the head nurse on side to enforce the order. The creepy tall woman had threatened Allen with various methods of restraint, each more cruel and unusual than the one before unless he promised to stay away from any form of training and got plenty of bed rest. That last thought made him chuckle to himself- resting was the last thing he'd been doing in bed lately. Only the fact that he didn't want to end up confined in isolation in the infirmary kept Allen obeying his orders. Not that he'd be able to use the training room- Komui hadn't got round to replacing the equipment that Kanda had shredded last week.

What really had Allen concerned about all this was the fact he was getting used to sleeping in late, despite sun's best efforts to wake him at the early hour he was used to. He was also having a bad influence on Kanda. It was rare that Allen was awake before him. Kanda had regimentally woken at five am for years, even before Allen knew him, and though sometimes he would stay in bed past this time, it was very unusual that he slept any later. Not that Allen was complaining, far from it in fact.

Allen snuggled deeper under the sheet covering them, scowling grumpily when his new position put the sliver of early morning sunlight across his face. With a brief guilty look at Kanda, who hadn't stirred, Allen closed hi eyes and concentrated on the curtain. It slid shut, closing the gap and blocking out the offending light. Allen had discovered he was able to make objects move on the outside of the Ark two days ago, and so far had managed to keep the ability from everyone even Kanda. Especially Kanda. Allen didn't like this latest manifestation of his Noah powers, no matter how handy they were, but he had discovered early on that not exercising his powers throughout the day brought on a headache that made it feel like someone was scooping his brain out via his ears. Needless to say, it hurt. A lot.

He noticed Kanda's breathing was less regular, signalling he was waking up. Allen watched his return to consciousness, absently playing with a stray lock of dark hair that was lying across Kanda's bare shoulder. Deep blue eyes opened slowly, blinking to bring the room into focus.

Allen smiled softly at him. "Good morning."

Kanda grunted, his standard response in the morning.

Allen wound the hair round his fingers, not for the first time marvelling at its fineness. By all rights, hair this long shouldn't be in such a good condition, but somehow Kanda managed it perfectly. Said man watched him sleepily. It was still early, and the room was warm, and Allen's fingers brushing through his hair was extremely relaxing. "What time is it?" he mumbled, leaning into the fingers now smoothing hair away from his temple soothingly.

"Half six" Allen murmured quietly, scooting closer across the bed and tucking his head under Kanda's chin, his arm snaking over Kanda's shoulder and his hand carding through the unbound hair flowing down his back.

"You're giving me bad habits." Kanda closed his eyes. "It's been years since I haven't at least been out of bed by now."

Allen grinned, though he knew Kanda couldn't see the expression. "It's not a bad habit" he said before planting a kiss on the skin in front of his face. "And I could really get used to this." He kissed him again.

Laughing quietly at the ticklish sensation Allen running his tongue along his collarbone caused he said "that's what I'm afraid of. You'd lie around doing nothing but eating if you had your way." He ignored Allen's muffled denial, poking a rigid finger into the hard planes of Allen's stomach, making him wriggled, trying to escape the unexpected onslaught. "You'll get fat, and then what would I do with you?"

"I don't think I can get fat" Allen said in a slightly whiny voice. "And it's not my fault I'm not allowed to get back to training! Even you're afraid of the head nurse."

"Tch. Am not" Kanda denied

"Are too."

"Am not."

You are! You're such a liar!" laughed Allen pushing Kanda onto his back and leaning over him.

Kanda pulled him closer. "Maybe a little" he whispered. "I swear, if it wasn't for the fact your eye doesn't react to her presence I'd swear she was an Akuma" he added, making Allen laugh harder. "Maybe she's some super powerful Akuma that can fool my eye."

"Idiot" Kanda said fondly, giving him a kiss that was supposed to be quick and chaste but escalated into a hungry passionate tongue war. Kanda suddenly stiffened (mind from the gutter!), his eyes flying wide open and his eyebrows meeting in a sharp frown. Allen sensed the change and opened his eyes, looking at him questioningly. Kanda was not looking at him, but over his shoulder, giving whatever he saw there a blazing glare that would send any normal sane person running. Which meant either Lavi was in the room or…

"Hello Allen Walker." The voice was familiar, though it lacked the melodious quality it had carried the last time he had heard it.

Allen quickly turned over his eyes widened in surprise. "Lanel? What are you doing here?"

"I don't care why he's here, he's leaving, now" Kanda growled.

"Lanel, why are you here?"

"Ix have been banished by my people."

"Banished? Why? For helping me?"

"Indeed. The Grand council felt I overstepped my bounds. I am to stay on Earth for one lunar cycle until the council decide on my full punishment." The angel looked quite deranged as he ranted, pacing back and forth at the foot of the bed, apparently oblivious to the fact that his audience was two naked men lying in their bed. "They have stripped me of my powers!" he cried, tugging at his hair in agitation. "The Grand Councilwoman, Yegofelamef, Quine, my own sister! She took my powers from me and sent me to this backwater world!" He made an odd choking noise as though he was withholding a sob.

"I feel for you, I really do" said Kanda sarcastically, sitting up, the sheet pooling at his waist "but why are you here?"

Lanel stared at him as though noticing he was there for the first time. "Where else would I be?"

"Not here" Kanda replied shortly, crossing his arms across his chest and deepening his frown.

"I promised that if I got into trouble for my actions I would hold you responsible" the angel addressed Allen before resuming his pacing. "I do not know the intricacies of your world" he continued, cutting off Allen's protest. "I cannot go out among the general populous of Earth, I am too conspicuous. The way he said it made Allen fell like his intelligence was being questioned, because it was fairly obvious that a nearly seven foot tall androgynous stick with green hair and purple eyes would stand out in the drab world beyond the Orders gates. "Therefore I must remain here until my powers return and I can change my appearance."

"Not here." Kanda pressed; obviously annoyed his morning fun had been interrupted. "GO and find someone else to annoy."

"Wait" said Allen thinking quickly. "How are we going to explain his presence?"

"I don't care" grouched Kanda.

"I do! I can't introduce him without revealing that I do remember what happened in the Ark!"

Lanel watched the exchange interestedly. "You have not told your superiors about the remote connection?"

"Remote connection?"

"How I connected to the Ark without being inside it" Allen explained with a dismissive wave of his hand. "And no, I haven't told anybody."

"Why?"

"I'm having a hard enough time myself!" Allen snapped, throwing his arms into the air and falling back onto the pillows with a soft 'flump'.

"So how are you going to explain him?" Kanda asked, pointing at the angel.

"He'll have to stay here until we can think of something" Allen paused thoughtfully, a look of internal concentration on his face. Kanda scowled, Allen was obviously talking things over with the Noah. "We can't really explain how he arrived without raising suspicion either." He scrubbed his face with his hands. "I don't know what to do."

"Hmm." Kanda eyed him closely. Their perfect morning had rapidly gone downhill, and it wasn't even half seven yet.

"Bookman" Allen said suddenly.

"Pardon?" Kanda looked confused at this sudden apparent change in subject.

"We can talk to Bookman, he can help us decide what to do, and he doesn't have to tell anyone about it."

Kanda was looking at him as though he'd grown an extra head. "Bookman? Are you out of your mind? You know the old man records everything that goes on here!"

"Well it is going to out eventually" Allen began "he might even know something that could help us." He turned to Lanel. "Have the Avira had contact with the Bookman clan before?"

The angel frowned thoughtfully. "It is possible. I have only been the guardian of Earth for one hundred and thirty four years, 5 months and seventeen days, in Earth reckoning at any rate, but it could have happened under the last guardian." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair in a very human gesture of frustration. "I do not remember reading anything in Norvo's records, but the old guardian was a little absent minded at the best of times, so the fact there is no record does not mean a meeting did not take place." He threw Allen a dirty look. "Now I have been banished I have no way of checking."

"So, what do you think?" Allen asked Kanda

"I think you have forgotten one very important detail."

"Oh?"

"Lavi."

"Ah, yes, Lavi could be a problem" Allen agreed.

"What is a Lavi?" asked the confused angel.

"Lavi is Bookman's apprentice" Allen explained.

"And why would that be a problem? Isn't the Bookman Junior bound by the same rules as other members of the clan?"

"Technically yes" agreed Allen "but Lavi's more exorcist than Bookman these days…" he trailed off, looking at Kanda for help.

"What Moyashi is trying to say is that for a Bookman, the Usagi has an inordinately large mouth and a little less discretion than one would think." Kanda snorted "And he has access to old Bookman's logs."

"I see."

"I still think it's the best plan. Maybe we can get Bookman to not record anything until I eventually do tell everyone. Or at least keep those logs from Lavi for a while."

"Would it not be easier to tell everyone now?" asked Lanel, obviously confused by Allen's stubbornness. Kanda made a noise which might have been one of amusement. Allen scowled- Kanda was actually agreeing with the angel on this one.

"I'm not ready to have everyone know yet, I've told you that. I need to know I can answer their questions and not make them anymore suspicious of me than they already are." Allen clenched his fists, gathering a handful of the bed sheet in his hands.

"What are you talking about?"

"You think I don't know what they're all thinking? They want to know how I called the Ark, they want to know if I've been hiding the ability from them. They don't trust me, and I can't say I blame them. I don't even trust myself." Allen relaxed his fists and began fussing with the creases his grip had created. Kanda grasped his hands, holding them still in one of his, using the other to turn Allen's downcast face so he could look into his eyes. He didn't try to argue with Allen, what he'd said was true and the younger man certainly wouldn't appreciate lies, no matter how comforting they were. "We'll go and see Bookman then. There's just one problem…"

Allen's eyebrows twitched in a miniscule frown. "What?"

"We need to get dressed and he can't leave the room…"

Lanel had ended up sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed with the bed sheet over his head, something he found extremely humiliating. "I could have closed my eyes you know" he said grouchily, crossing his arms and legs and sitting up stiffly.

Kanda snorted as he finished buttoning his shirt and tied back his hair. Allen rearranged his collar. "Sorry Lanel, but you are not one of the select few allowed to see Yuu naked."

Kanda blinked "Select few? Who IS allowed?"

Allen tapped the side of his nose with a finger annoyingly. "That's for me to know and you to worry about" he laughed.

With a roll of his eyes, Kanda gave Allen a smack over the back of his head and yanked the sheet off Lanel. "How are we going to do this?"

"What do you mean?"

"He can't leave the room, can he? So do you want to go and fetch Bookman and bring him straight here or talk to him somewhere else first?"

Allen consulted the clock, "It's only eight, do you think they'll be in the library yet?"

"They?"

"Lavi will be with him."

"How do you know?"

"That's just my luck" grinned Allen sheepishly. "You'll have to distract him."

"Why me?" If it had been anyone other than Kanda, those two words could have been described as a whine.

"Because all you'll have to do is let him see you, he'll shout your name, and then you pretend to have forgotten whatever it was you were doing in favour of trying to kill him. No one will suspect a thing."

The saddest thing was that was very true. Kanda had been violently attacking Lavi since their very first encounter.

Eventually Kanda agreed with Allen's plan- he'd distract Lavi long enough for Allen to kidnap (geezer nap? PANDA nap?) the old man. It was a perfect strategy in Kanda's not so humble opinion, except for one flaw. "I suppose I'm not allowed to really hurt Lavi am I?"