AN: I learned about (s)exposition from Game of Thrones. That's why there's so much smex in this fic. Yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Thanks for the continued support, guys! I know a story like this doesn't necessarily have broad appeal, so it means a lot :)

Darkest Before the Dawn

No matter how he tossed and turned, he just couldn't seem to get comfortable. There was a bit of material that wouldn't get away from his neck, and his hair was caught somewhere. He shifted, pulling his hair out form under him with a tug of his head and attempted to lay on his side, due to the hardness of the floor.

Tyki watched as Kanda seemed to grumble in his sleep. making tiny adjustments. He'd certainly tested his luck in getting here. But, as always, there was nowhere else he'd rather be than reclining on his side and gazing at his beloved, who was on the edge of waking. The ground was a tad uncomfortable, though.

The grouchiness seemed to be rising within the sleeping exorcist. Even his breathing seemed annoyed, as he shifted an arm up to serve as his pillow, and his other one followed. His eyes attempted to crack open to mere slits, and he raised a hand to rub them into waking.

It was cute. He looked like a languorous cat as he yawned and rolled on his back. And he still hasn't noticed, Tyki observed with glee. Next came the stretch, which was usually one of Tyki's favorite parts of Kanda's waking routine. Unfortunately, today he wouldn't be able to watch the object of his affection extend his arms to either side and then over his head, drawing out his muscles tightly and defining his core in the process before rising from his slumber.

Kanda blearily lowered his hands, then stretched from his shoulders outwards, only to find unexpected resistance at each wrist, halting the motion. Something soft brushed his fingertips. What? His eyes flew open. Each wrist was encircled by black fuzzy rings. Komui's dead, he decided, as he recognized those handcuffs. In an instantaneous fit of rage, he growled and yanked his wrists apart, disregarding the skin he scraped off when the metal underneath the fluff rubbed through. Fucking novelty goods. The linking chain broke first, and he swiveled to face the one person he knew would be there.

"Slow down, Kanda-kun," Tyki drawled, yanking on a chain that was connected through a ring on the ceiling, and down through a bolt on the floor, locking his end into place. Kanda's face nearly slammed against the ground as his senses told him that his neck was on the other end of that chain, and he reflexively pushed up against it. But it was too late; the only thing he was exerting pressure against now was his neck, and if he pushed any harder, the only thing that would snap would be something vital to his status among the living.

As Tyki strolled around him, making no sound at all, he hastily realized that he had maneuvered onto all fours in his efforts to escape, and it was a truly disadvantageous position. At the moment, he was sure he resembled a bowing dog, but there was really no invulnerable position with his neck connected to the ground.

He flipped onto his back, desperately trying to complete the motion before the Noah reached him. At the very least, he could kick upward this way. Or, if he was very lucky, the idiot would come close enough for him to land a punch. He mentally readied himself to activate his Innocence the second the opportunity arrived.

Something waved out of the corner of his eye. Blackness fluttered against Tyki's leg as he waved something on a stick. Tyki approached from the side, extending the feathers to brush against Kanda's ribs. Blue eyes narrowed. He wasn't ticklish, or amused. He rotated away, only to have Tyki raise a sardonic brow and follow. He did it again, then rolled his eyes. Having his bare ass wiggling across the cold linoleum floor wasn't his idea of fun, and it was sure as hell not dignified.

Wait. Bare? He looked down at himself, feeling his jaw go slack. Black leather straps. Everywhere. They wound around his chest and abdomen, and formed cuffs around his thighs and ankles. Steel attachment rings were everywhere, and yet somehow with all the accoutrement, nothing salient was covered.

"This isn't my usual, but I thought that since you were interested, I'd give it a shot."

What the fuck? Trying to keep himself from covering up his goods, he forced himself not to squirm, or feel exposed. He glared. "I'm not interested." This was going to be awkward as fuck when beansprout and friends realized he was missing and came looking for him.

Tyki tilted his head, golden eyes amused. "Denial? Is this what you kids are into these days?" Another swipe of the feathers against bare skin, which had the same effect on Kanda as a red flag on a bull. He jerked upwards to snarl and nearly strangled himself on the collar before remembering.

"But all these boxes were labeled 'To Kanda Yuu, 3 Komui.' The one you broke was even under your bed, like you were just waiting for me to find it."

It explained the room. They were in the depths of the science department, in one of the extra labs that Komui used to store random junk. Tyki probably had nothing better to do than flit around headquarters searching for ways and places to molest him.

That feathered nuisance was really pissing him off.

"Are you still going to say that they weren't for me?" Good humor radiated from the Noah, as he continued stroking him lightly with the unnamed thing. Kanda decided against telling him that there was a difference between something being intended for use on someone, and having that someone use it on another instead. It wasn't worth the effort, and the suave asshole would probably turn that against him somehow.

It felt like a small animal was brushing up against him. "Will you bloody stop that? What do you have me here for, anyway?" The last came out a bit more exasperated than resentful, since they both knew the answer. The whole Order and all the Akuma knew the answer.

"You're impatient!" Tyki was delighted. "We can certainly move on," he gestured at random Innocence infused toys, courtesy of the soon to be deceased scientist. He looked so happy that he could kiss Kanda, tossing the feathers casually to the side to lean in conspiratorially, only to back away before making contact.

Kanda's eyes narrowed as Tyki went to select a different item. If there was anything predictable about this maniac, it was his penchant for taking any possible opportunity to touch him intrusively at any given opportunity. So why hadn't he just done something violating?

Tyki examined a rather flimsy looking cat o'nine tails. He swung, testing the light leather against his palm with all the force of a damp cloth. No, that was crap. He took some canes from the corner of the box, swinging them against his calf to gauge the force. Better. But first... He stuck two canes into his boot, holding a bar with two securing ends on either side with some straps and approaching Kanda.

He snapped the bar into place between Kanda's legs, forcing them to remain spread. He longed to stroke the exorcist, exposed as he was, but he couldn't, so he backed away, snapping the cane a few more times before landing his first blow.

Kanda jerked in reaction and glared. The pain was negligible, but Tyki only looked pleased, and struck with more force, travelling up and down the insides of his thighs, leaving a growing number of red marks. The staccato rhythm grew more erratic, increasing in tempo as Tyki started hitting the same spots more frequently, harder until the area grew redder and welts began to rise.

He began to squirm, reflexively attempting to escape the blows, which were targeting ever more sensitive areas. His ass clenched, causing the bastard to laugh, stroking the tip of the cane in the cleft and prodding him as the blood rushed to his face.

"Is that the best you can do?" Yuu Kanda wasn't the type to count his blessings. He moved a hand to eye level so that he could examine his fingernails, even going so far as to nibble on one in the midst of his evaluation.

The cane swished down again, feeling like his skin was splitting under it, but only evoking a mere grunt from the exorcist on his knees.

Tyki frowned. He really needed to have a word with Komui about the quality of his toys. Surely there was more in the box. Ah, yes.

"Kanda, dear," he crooned. "I have a feeling that humiliation might work even better on you than pain." He squatted down in front of Kanda, so that he could show him the next device.

Kanda raised a contemptuous eyebrow. It was just a black strap, who the fuck cared? This whole event was bloody embarrassing anyway.

Tyki flipped it, showing him the other side. "How about this?"

Blue eyes widened. The other side was studded, but that didn't concern him. The metal was slightly pointed, but it didn't even look particularly piercing. The problem was the arrangement: each stud formed the shape of a letter, and those four letters spelled slut.

The Noah correctly interpreted the thundercast expression and moved behind, applying his new toy with relish. With each smack that reverberated through the room, Kanda could feel those nubs indenting his skin through the forceful impact, and his mind couldn't help but attempt to trace the wash of pain, seeing the word slut stamped across his skin every time the strap landed.

The idea was slowly breaking his mind; he groaned at the impact, thudding against his ribs and knocking the air out, slamming against his left ass cheek and surely leaving a perfect imprint. He imagined his body reddened and bruised and labeled and snarled.

The tip of his cock brushed the ground as he buckled slightly before catching himself. He shuddered, sensitive as he realized that he was hard and milky droplets were forming as he shook under the blows.

Golden eyes bored into him as a dark-skinned arm held the studs upwards, running the strap lengthwise against the head of his cock, each steel bit rubbing roughly against the tip. An elongated growl turned into a moan deep in his throat, and Tyki looked like he wanted to fill that open mouth.

Instead, he knelt down next to him and swatted hard at the underside of his shaft, hitting it upwards and against his pelvis, filling his sight with a white smile as he stiffened and strained anew against his restraints, eventually mewling and bucking before throwing his lower half sideways, hoping to knock Tyki off balance.

To his surprise, he landed hard on his hip, and Tyki remained in place. Not even the hand holding the strap was tangible, and his eyes narrowed in satisfaction, even huffing a bit in victory.

"You can't touch me." Kanda stated. The potion had worked, and if it weren't for these custom toys...

"...No." Komui was really at the top of both of their shit lists, at the moment.

"I was wondering why you were behaving differently. This isn't your usual style, asshole."

Tyki produced another item in response, looking slightly ticked at being called on his inadequacy. A large, flared cone with a stem and a widened base came into Kanda's field of vision.

"I was trying things your way, you know. You keep complaining about how I'm unconventionally sociopathic, so I thought I would take it easy on you." He advanced with the point of the object trailing across his ass. "But if you want me to go harder, it would be my pleasure."

"Don't you think that size is a bit ambitious?" Kanda was unapologetic, but seeing what Tyki considered insertable was causing him some apprehension. He didn't bother to inform the Noah that conventional sociopathy was neither desirable or achievable, since, knowing his family, they probably had a definition for it.

"Don't be ridiculous, you've had me in you, after all," He waved the object in front of his face. "This is just a bit bigger. You can easily handle more if you relax."

"Sure think a lot of yourself, don't you." He braced himself unobtrusively, keeping his breathing even so that he would betray nothing. There was no way he was going to lie back and think of Edo.

Tyki felt the grin stretching his face. "I like it when you fight me, my dear Kanda." He went slowly as the tip entered, allowing the exorcist to feel as though he had a chance of winning. He didn't. Not when it was a matter of arm strength against a tiny ring of muscles prone to breakage. He waited for Kanda to tighten further before inexorably moving in again, wishing he could physicaly feel the way the exorcist trembled from the prolonged internal effort, though seeing it was almost as satisfying.

The object entered steadily, and Kanda's entire body shook as internal walls gave way and the feeling of intrusion intensified, and Tyki rubbed a toy over his dripping cock. No, no, no. He pushed himself against the plug, trying to close himself off to it, but the pressure kept building, and he kept widening against his will. The feeling of his muscles stretching and giving way along with the roughness against his abused genitals was starting to overtake him, and he panted desperately, unwilling to concede the fight.

The damn Noah was so close, yet impossible to hit as he devoured the visual of his favorite victim losing control, caught in his own helplessness. He longed to lick the sweat off those straining muscles, to sink his teeth deep into hard flesh and taste his skin, running his tongue over the trapped piece of Kanda and and sucking until he'd claimed every inch of the exorcist.

Kanda's eyes were beginning to glaze over. Each motion increased the friction against his cock,and he fought the compulsion to thrust against ridged surface, rubbing against it as his cheeks were spread wider from above. His left hand was straying downwards, a fist forming around the base of his erection as the need for added stimulation became nearly unbearable. His ass was almost to the widest point of the flared cone and he seemed on the edge of collapsing in surrender when Tyki suddenly stopped, listening.

Voices came from the other side of the door, followed by a tentative tapping.

"There's light in this room, and no one works down here."

"Kanda, are you in there?" The rattle of metal, and Komui blaming something on Reever.

Kanda was ready to slam his face into the floor, repetitively. Any moment now, Komui would find the correct key and open it. The scratching at the doorknob meant that that the search was already in progress.

He panicked, fighting back a whimper between his rock hard erection and the idiots on the other side of the door. This was so far off the list of ways he would tolerate being seen that it was beyond comprehension. He looked at Tyki in shock, his mind starting to go numb.

"Ah," Tyki rested on his ankles next to him. "If you say "please," I'll at least remove it before they come in." His long fingers stroked the area around the base of the plug, causing Kanda's eyes to begin glazing over again. "But you'll have to make up your mind quickly."

Kanda gritted his teeth. No choice. "Please." He ground out, a low utterance Tyki could feel in his bones. A drop gathered and dripped from the tip of his head onto the floor, and he forced his hand off of his shaft and leveraged his palms beneath his shoulders, trying not to think about how his ass was in the air while his face was pressed against the tiles. "Pull."

The lock clicked, and the press of Finders caused the door to burst open, accompanied by what sounded suspiciously like a strangled moan. The Finders entered and lined up on either side, many of them reddening and averting their eyes.

The doorway was clear, and fluorescent lights perfectly illuminated the scene inside. Komui stood framed within it, with Allen a step behind. Both looked absolutely poleaxed by the tableau, freezing in place as though they could become invisible if they stayed still enough.

Only their eyeballs turned in their respective sockets, rotating to view Tyki, setting something that looked to Allen like a rubber three-dimensional spade down onto a stainless steel caddy, and Kanda, on all fours, bracing his head against the ground and looking absolutely mortified, back curved protectively to cradle a softening erection.

The slut-stamped exorcist twisted his head at such an uncomfortable angle that Allen winced, yet he somehow managed to prompt them into action with an aloof expression that said, if you're done being braindead zombies maybe you could fucking move. And the rage behind those eyes burned so hot with every second someone didn't free him that no one dared to approach.

"We're here!" Komui announced belatedly, pretending that everything and everyone was just peachy. His nervous laugh did nothing to erase the previous minute of silent discomfort, but it tried valiantly. "Allen, won't you be ever so helpful and free Kanda over there?" As he spoke, he edged further away with each syllable, averting his eyes from a dripping, disheveled Kanda and the prominent bulge at odds with Tyki's nonchalant expression. "Thanks so much!"

Allen shuffled over to Kanda, trying his best not to make eye contact, or eye-body contact, or any contact at all. "Why me..." he wailed under his breath, while activating his Innocence to crush the various instances of securing hardware without overtly brushing against Kanda's bruised skin. "Why me why me why me..."

"Hey, Moyashi, do you mind hurrying and shutting the hell up?" The angry man beneath him growled. At least his cock had settled in the time it took for the retarded glutton to free him. Allen could feel the vibrations against his leg, since he had to kneel far too close to the man to snap some of the connections.

"I'm trying, I'm trying," he soothed, while reaching for the last one and still averting his eyes. "There, that's -"

Kanda surged up, eager to be vertical after being constrained for so long. The blood had probably pooled in his brain by now, and he felt a hell of a head rush as he sat up abruptly. He bumped into something white, but didn't care, giving it a shove before standing up and huffing in displeasure. He wouldn't ask for pants. No, that was below him. Below the man that was still standing with part of a harness on his upper chest. His face heated as he now realized the primary reason for that; images of him being carried by his scruff like a rambunctious puppy while Tyki glided through the hall practically melted the leather straps off of him in his rage, minimally aware that it was his own angry hand tossing the scraps to the floor.

Only to be realize that he was now standing naked in a room full of people, with a rather visible reaction pointing at a 65 degree angle.

Tyki caught his eye and shot him a look, taking in his heightened embarrassment. "Looks like I was right," he mouthed across the room. Light laughter, as Tyki backed away again to watch from the other corner.

"Well, well, Kanda, when I infused all this stuff, I thought you'd want to use them, not have them used on you," Komui mused, while keeping a sane distance away from the samurai. "If I'd known, I might have made them stronger..."

"Infused, hm? That's what I thought when I could touch them, but nothing else," Tyki responded, as Kanda fought his inconvenient desire. As an afterthought, the Noah added, "I'm not exactly weak, you know."

"Yes, but Kanda is, shall we say, noncompliant?" Komui explained. "I'll have them for you next time, Mr. Mikk."

Kanda's eye ticked, his brow knit and his scowl grew. There was so much he needed to do right now: retrieve Mugen, exterminate Tyki, smash Komui into oblivion along with all the witnesses, and get some clothes on.

It didn't improve his mood to notice that now Lavi was also in the room for some reason, standing next to the old Bookman. Probably for record-keeping or something. Whatever. At the very least the idiot rabbit was more intelligent than that fucking beansprout, so he strode over there, ignoring the way his parts swung freely. If he stopped to think for even a second, he would become uncomfortable to the point that he might spontaneously implode.

Lavi's green eye looked like it was ready to pop out of his skull, but he still pasted on his trademark grin in self-defense. His right hand dug into the bag at his side while his expression remained unchanged in order to try and appease the dangerous beast known as Yuu, in the buff. Luckily, he'd been getting ready for a mission, and they were about the same size.

He tossed the clothing towards the scarred swordsman to stop the predatory advancing, snapping him out of his rage as he blinked in surprise at the fabric in his hands. Swiftly pulling some pants on and slipping a jacket around his shoulders, Kanda seemed to think that blinking at Lavi conveyed his thanks. Then he activated his Innocence, sheathing Mugen, to the other exorcists' surprise.

Kanda walked over to Tyki, who was still watching, amused, tracking his movements appreciatively. He slipped his hand into the Noah's, ignoring a few stifled gasps and tugged him towards the door, knowing he would follow willingly. The ache in his ass reminded him that the fucker had a lot to answer for.

"Lavi, Allen."

The two looked at each other and fell into line behind the unofficial couple out the door, both looking rather stunned at the use of their proper names.

Tyki appeared to float through the hallways, though whether that was with joy, at holding Kanda's hand, or due to the effects of the potion, no one was certain.

Along the way, Lavi could have sworn he heard Allen mutter something about not wanting to die. He patted Allen's shoulder reassuringly, not entirely confident Kanda wasn't leading them all outside to commit a multiple homicide.

"Don't worry! We all die sometime," he said, pitching his voice so that only Allen would hear.

"Well, I don't want to die because Kanda's a pervert," the cursed exorcist muttered darkly.

There was no response from the irate exorcist in the lead, though Tyki winced as the grip on his hand tightened steadily.

When they exited the headquarters into an open field, Kanda suddenly released Tyki and shoved him forward roughly, surprising him enough to cause him to stumble before catching himself gracefully.

The blue-haired exorcist walked back to where Allen and Lavi were gaping at the waiting Noah. He looked at Allen blandly. "Shoot him."

Allen opened his mouth to protest, then decided to simply comply, based on the expression he saw. He used his level one attack that he hadn't used in ages; after all, it wasn't as though this was a serious fight. His friend just wanted the pleasure of using the Noah as target practice.

Clutching at the edges of the coat a bit convulsively against the night wind and the blue strands of hair whipping around him, he inclined his head towards Lavi without bothering to look at him. "It's whack-a-mole time, rabbit."

Lavi cackled, producing his hammer and causing it to grow, grow, grow. He swung it lightly, smashing it into the ground wherever Tyki landed, chasing him across the field with his Innocence, together with Allen.

Every time Tyki would come near, they would deactivate, causing the Noah to float harmlessly through them, landing on the other side.

Kanda's tension slowly drained out of him with every acrobatic twist and flip Tyki was forced to execute, as he practically flew around the clearing to evade the dual onslaught of Innocence. He felt untouchable. That is, until one of the blasts caught Tyki at close range, and the explosion of Innocence knocked Allen back, causing him to stumble into Kanda, whose arms came up reflexively to catch him as he collided against him.

Regaining his balance, Allen looked up to come face to chest with Kanda, and the realization that his arms were clutching his mock-nemesis, who still had no shirt. He blushed a bright red, stammering his apology while trying to disengage himself.

"Ah, Kanda... Um, sorry, I'm so -"

But Kanda wasn't looking at him.

Halfway across the field, Tyki had observed their interaction intently. His gaze intensified as Allen looked up and began stammering, wrapped in his lover's arms, and he took in the slight anticipation in Kanda's demeanor as their eyes met.

"It's fine." Kanda said absently to the white-haired exorcist.

The change in the ill-tempered swordsman was slightly terrifying to Allen. He could almost see the man smirk as he said his next line.

"Are you..." Shit, what's the opposite of mentally deficient? "...well?" he managed civilly, creeping Allen out further, until he realized that Tyki seemed genuinely ticked off, for once.

Lavi, accustomed to using his observational skills, caught on immediately. "Aw, Yuu," he pouted. "You never catch me like that, and I thought we were the best of friends..." He blinked at Allen, cluing him in. Or winked, whatever.

Allen's blush seemed to be receding, now that he had managed to stop inadvertently touching Kanda all over. He smiled at Kanda, playing his role perfectly. "Thank you. That was so sudden, I'm glad you were there to save me."

He looked up adoringly, and Lavi nearly choked on his own laughter. Kanda looked uncomfortably vindictive. "Of course," he replied. "I've told you before, if you get into something you can't handle, you can expect me to come running in to protect your ass."

Allen's eyebrow twitched, remembering exactly when Kanda had said the precise opposite. "Oh, really, BaKanda, because I seem to remember coming to your rescue more than a few times." Sparks began to fly.

Tyki's skin grew even darker and the stigmata trailed further across his skin as the three continued their little game, the previous one forgotten. When both males placed a hand on either side on Kanda's shoulders and leaned in, giggling insanely while Kanda's face showed a mixture of veiled amusement and murder, he clenched his fists.

Obviously, his pet needed more discipline. And he would provide it, wouldn't he?