A/N: Wow! So many reviews in such a short time, it's so overwhelming! 8DD thank you to all who reviewed! Your words encouraged me so much! -The simple joys of an amateur like me-

Here it is! The next update! Once again, reviews are highly encouraged! My most favorite number is actually 117, but I think it's impossible for me to get that much reviews. So I'll settle for 50 reviews till the next update. OwO Hehe. (This gives me an excuse to have some time with myself and not update too quickly).

LOL, I forgot to put the disclaimer in the previous two chapters. o__o I hope no one will sue me. O_O

I forgot to state that this one occurs after Allen reached the Critical Breaker thing. 8DD Though, let's pretend that Howard Link never appeared, shall we? 8DD

Disclaimer: I –unfortunately- do not own D . Gray - man (if I did, I'd make a YULLEN pairing for real).

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Chapter 3

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That sudden moan that came out of Kanda's lips paralyzed Allen with shock. Never in his life would the cursed boy have expected the hotheaded samurai to release such a … such a disturbingly sexy sound. And god, the way it came out of Kanda was a huge turn-on.

Wait.

What?

Allen blinked, then a split second he suddenly jumped away from Kanda, his face brimming up with the color of blood. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a second. Allen's face turned into an incomprehensible expression as the poor boy tried to straighten out his thoughts. I. Did. Not. Just. Think. Of. That. His mind hissed in defiance, clinging on to every strand of sanity it could find. Allen Walker couldn't believe it. It was pretty disgusting to think that way.

I'm not gay! I'm not gay! Goddamn it, just because Kanda's half-naked in front of me doesn't mean that I—

"Beansprout?"

The voice snapped the boy back to his senses, and now Allen realized how long he had been standing there, his mouth ajar, with a dumbfounded expression. "Uhm…yes?"

Kanda frowned at this reply, and turned his head towards Allen. Normally, when he called Allen "beansprout," no matter how dire the current circumstances may be, the boy would always find the time to remind him that his name was Allen. Che. Not that Kanda really cared about listening to him. For the samurai, beansprout was just beansprout. Period.

But was that it?

The samurai blinked as that sudden random question entered his head. Was that it? Of course that's all to it. That beansprout is nothing else to me but a fellow exorcist, and for now, my personal assistant who gives really damn good massages—

Again, the longhaired boy blinked, realizing that his trail of thought was going haywire. So instead of thinking, Kanda just decided to ask Allen what was wrong. That boy suddenly froze and jumped away, for heaven's sake. There has to be something wrong.

"What's wrong, beansprout? You're not continuing your job," he asked with a raised brow, not wanting the other boy to see the mixture of curiosity and slight concern that was ravaging inside him at that moment. Kanda couldn't see anything wrong. They weren't talking, so it was impossible for him to have said something that had offended the younger dude. Allen was silently soaping and massaging him, while Kanda was… Kanda was…

For a fraction of a second, Kanda's eyes widened.

Finally, for the first time in that minute, Kanda became aware of that involuntary sound he released the instant Allen brushed against one of the most sensitive points in his body.

Oh, shit. The samurai felt a bit of panic, somehow understanding why Allen had reacted in such a way. Any man who would make another man moan inside a bathroom where both of them were nearly naked was something disconcerting to the extreme. It wouldn't be strange if the beansprout had misread the situation.

"Uhm, nothing," Allen finally replied, interrupting Kanda's train of thought. Allen kept his eyes averted and made sure that he was looking at anything except Kanda. He'd better stop thinking about lewd things or else it'll just ruin his reputation of being heterosexual. As if there weren't enough gay men in the Order already. Allen was sure that he was just misreading the situation or something. This is nuts, Allen thought. I shouldn't act as embarrassed as this. And Kanda didn't seem to notice either, so everything's fine. No need to panic or have am-I-gay? moments.

Taking a deep breath, Allen pulled himself together and managed to fix his eyes on Kanda once more. "And whatever, Kanda. It's not part of my job to be your masseuse, you know," he added, rolling his eyes. "For the last time, the name's Allen. Stop being such an airheaded jerk."

Kanda outwardly grunted, but deep inside he released a huge sigh of relief. Finally, things were back to normal. It seemed that his unexpected moan was unheard, and that it wasn't the one that was bothering the beansprout. Whatever the issue was, it didn't concern Kanda, so it was none of his business. Period.

Okay, maybe not. Kanda was still curious. It wasn't actually every day that someone like Allen Walker would suddenly freeze and jump away like he had just seen a cockroach.

Hmm, was that it, then? A cockroach? Well, that was pretty stupid, but not at all unlikely. In places like the Black Order, the main funds go to the laboratories. The higher-ups aren't actually concerned about the public bathrooms, or pest control. As long as those roaches don't start gnawing at important documents, they're free to continue feeding on used tissue paper.

"Che, beansprout. You should have said that you were afraid of cockroaches beforehand. You saw one, didn't you? That's why you suddenly jumped away in fright," Kanda sneered, planning to tease the younger exorcist. And just as he expected, the boy's face turned into a bright shade of red. Inwardly, Kanda laughed. He somewhat liked to see that abashed expression on Allen's face.

"What the hell are you saying, ba-Kanda!" Allen exclaimed, madly blushing in embarrassment. Though he hadn't really seen a cockroach, he couldn't deny that he was a little frightened of those annoying little critters. Ironic, yes, since he battled akuma a million times bigger and stronger, but what creeped Allen out was those insects' ability to get absolutely anywhere. Under your bed, in your clothes, undergarments, ears, mouth – Allen released a conspicuous shudder as he imagined black creepy crawlies going in and out of his ear as he slept. Akuma can't get into his boxers. Roaches can. Eek.

"Aha, so I'm correct," Kanda smirked, noticing that shudder. He didn't really think that someone as strong as Allen would be scared of such small things. However, it was undeniable that such a fact made everything all the more amusing. "Too bad, Allen. You should have been cursed with an eye that could detect those roaches too," he added, and then pretended to glance down. "Because there's one near your foot right now."

Apparently, that was the wrong prank to play.

For Allen automatically jumped away from where he was standing, unfortunately however, he jumped towards the wrong direction.

And just to be really specific, it was the ultimately wrong direction.

Without knowing where he was going, Allen yelped, and dived towards Kanda's direction, making the older exorcist lose his balance and slip, knocking both of them on the tiled floor with Allen lying on top. An annoyed growl came out of Kanda, who was well pissed off by the pain his backside received. He didn't expect that sort of reaction, nor did he expect Allen to be lying on top of him in a steamy bathroom, with their half-naked bodies pressed against each other.

"Damn it, beansprout!" he hissed. "You didn't need to react that absurdly! It's just a fuckin' roach for heaven's sake!"

"You're a jerk, and you know that, huh, Kanda?" Allen snapped back, angrily pounding on Kanda's muscular chest. His face was still red, though there was a mixture of indignant embarrassment with it. "Don't scare me like that! I hate roaches! I totally hate them! And I hate you too for using them against me, stupid, stupid, ba-Kanda!" He knew he was acting really childish at the moment, but Allen didn't care that much. Roaches made him finally snap, and with the pressure of all the internal embarrassment and sexuality issues he was having, Allen can't hold back. He needed to release some of the stress somehow. And the cockroach happened to be the only excuse he had.

"Shut the hell up, and get off me, beansprout!" Kanda growled, averting his eyes from Allen's angry expression. He didn't mean to anger the boy like that. He didn't mean it at all.

But he'd rather go through hell than apologize for it.

Allen wanted to punch the lights out of Kanda – he knew he easily could – but before he could even land a hit, voices from the other side of the bathroom's door began to enter his ears. The whole complexity of the situation suddenly dawned upon the white-haired boy, like an unceremonious epiphany that knocked him back to his senses.

Four important facts, almost as grim as the Ten Commandments, registered into his mind.

Fact no. 1: He and Kanda were half-naked together.

Fact no. 2: Kanda was lying on the floor, and Allen was sitting on top of him, straddling his waist.

Fact no. 3: This position sent a message that clearly reeked of lewd origins.

Fact no. 4: And that was bad.

As the doorknob turned, both Allen and Kanda knew that they wouldn't be able to get out of this position without raising any suspicions. Having run out of options, Allen finally turned back to his initial plan, putting aside all the possible consequences that might result from it later on. This was his only chance of preserving both his dignity and his reputation.

As the first person stepped inside, Allen tightened his fist, and swung his arm as hard as he could.

The sound of flesh meeting flesh with a couple of bones cracking made the entering finders stop in their tracks.

"What is going on he—"

"You goddamn bastard! You idiot! You fucking bastard!" Allen hollered as loudly as he could, giving Kanda another punch, but this time softer and less damaging. The samurai stared at him in shock and disbelief not knowing what was happening to the other exorcist. "I'll kill you! I'll really kill you, you fucking bastard! Idiot! Kanda, you jerk!"

"Stop him! Gerald, go and call Komui! Mike, help me restrain him!" one of the finders shouted and immediately ran towards Allen, restraining his arms from moving. This was exactly what Allen wanted him to do, yet he tried struggling, to add a more realistic effect. "Let go of me! Let me teach this asshole a lesson! Going so far as to insult Mana like that! I'll kill you! I'll kill you, Kanda!"

Kanda just stared at Allen as the other finder helped him up. He was completely clueless about Allen's accusation, and he started wondering whether the roaches had driven him crazy. But despite that, Kanda didn't answer back, or tried to defend his self. There was that familiar glint in the boy's eyes; that sparkle that only manifests itself whenever Allen was playing out a shrewd plan. Though Kanda didn't quite get it yet, it seemed important enough to Allen, so he didn't do anything that might thwart it. He just kept his mouth shut, and allowed the finder to nurse his swollen cheek.

Allen was relieved that Kanda hadn't reacted to what he did. If he denied it, it would immediately raise suspicion, and the finders might think that there wasn't really a brawl after all. They might start forming something more illicit in mind.

The boy knew that he'd have to apologize and explain everything to Kanda later on, but in truth, Allen felt pretty good about that punch. He finally got the revenge he wanted, even if the motives weren't actually parallel with it.

As Allen was dragged out of the bathroom, he gave Kanda a glanced and mouthed one small word:

Sorry.

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A knock snapped him out of dreamland again, and Kanda annoyingly guessed who it was.

"Get in here, beansprout," he hissed, feeling a bit pissed about the stinging sensation in his still swollen cheek. "You've got some explaining to do."

Allen opened the door and walked into the room, closing and locking it behind him, in case unwanted visitors busted in. He'd learned to become careful, primarily because it seemed to him that taking care of a handicapped Kanda placed him in different positions with rather suggestive perverted themes.

Sitting down on the solitary chair in the room, Allen crossed his arms over his chest and gave Kanda an apologizing look, though he didn't appear to be completely apologetic. A bit accomplished, actually. "Look, I'm sorry about punching you and throwing a retarded tantrum in the bathroom, but it was the only way I could think of to save our reputations," he started.

"Save our reputations?" Kanda asked an eyebrow raised as his curiosity was pricked by such a strange statement. "How's that? I don't see how punching me would place us in the 'stable and non-violent' category," he scoffed.

The white-haired boy averted his gray eyes with matching sarcasm. "We were never meant to be in such a category, Kanda. You should be well aware of that," he snorted. "Anyway, if you hadn't noticed, our position in the bathroom was very…disturbing." The last word barely came out of Allen's mouth but Kanda's superb hearing managed to catch the other boy's voice.

The moment the word "disturbing" registered in his mind, Kanda finally realized the significance of what Allen had done. Despite the pain of his right cheek, Kanda felt really relieved and quite grateful towards the boy's quick thinking. If it weren't for his fast actions, an AllenxKanda homosexual relationship would be the prime of gossip throughout the day, no, the year maybe. Or even worse, this could even be placed in the Order's database of exorcist, and last for eternity.

"Well, good thinking for once, beansprout," Kanda smirked, not quite the person who would say, "thank you" easily. "You punched me so you wouldn't be marked as gay. That's nice," he drawled, planning to annoy the boy once again. Well, albeit the fact that Allen did it to save their reputations, Kanda still wanted revenge for the brutal punches he received. He wouldn't be contented until he made things even between them. "Are you sure you aren't gay, though? You seemed to enjoy straddling me all the time. Not just once, but twice," he mentioned, hinting back on that scenario in the train. "Though on the second time, you were actually lucky enough to catch me almost naked."

At those words, that previous scarlet hue on Allen's face returned, reviving his appearance as a tomato. The face the boy was showing was just too funny, that Kanda couldn't help but remain smirking. Oh, how he liked tormenting the curse boy this way! It was strangely so fun to see his face take in the same color as blood.

"Shut up, Kanda!" Allen hissed in great irritation as he tried to hide his blushing face. "Shut up for once, and act grateful! Ugh! I really can't stand you, damn it! I even got a temporary probation from the kitchen because of what I did! And it was for both our sakes, you ungrateful jerk!" He angrily stood up and stomped his way towards the door. He'd had enough of this treatment. "I'm leaving. Go find yourself another personal assistant."

"Wait, beansprout."

"Whatever, Kanda. I've made up my mind. I'm leaving. Period."

"Now, wait a minute."

"I'm not waiting. I'm sick of your –"

Allen never got to finish his sentence. The words, pending in his mouth, were cut off by a jolt of pain that coursed through his body as something hard collided against his head. And that certain hard object happened to be Kanda's forehead, which seemed to be as hard as stone.

"Agh!" he gasped, the impact making a bit dizzy. Allen leaned on the door for support, clutching the throbbing region of his head. He glared at Kanda, though his expression was a hybrid of pain and aggravation, though which was more dominant, Kanda couldn't quite figure out. "Damn it, Kanda! What was that for?"

"For acting all stupid and emotional, beansprout," Kanda replied, pressing his forehead against the cold wall in order to stop the swelling. "You're taking things too seriously, you know that? That was a freaking joke, for heaven's sake. I had to get back at you for punching me so hard somehow."

"But I had to punch you that hard to make everything more realistic!" Allen whined, hiding the fact that he really did enjoy punching Kanda.

"I'm a warrior, beansprout," Kanda blatantly answered, obvious disbelief in his voice. "I've been punched many times in my life. I know when a punch has real passion in it or not. Yours did, and even if your motive was different, I could tell from the force, that you enjoyed it. So don't tell me that it wasn't personal, because I know the truth."

Allen frowned. He didn't think Kanda would find out that way. "Well, it's really your fault in the first place anyway," Allen stubbornly stated, marching back to his chair as he crossed his arms over his chest, and allowed a small pout to decorate his adolescent face. "If you hadn't teased me about the cockroaches, then I wouldn't have jumped on you, and we wouldn't have ended up in that position, and I wouldn't have punched you to save our reputations and –"

"You were the one who froze and jumped away from me without any particular reason, beansprout," Kanda cut him off, feeling tired of his ranting. "Why did you?"

Another spasm of red washed across Allen's face, and he averted his eyes. "It doesn't concern you, Kanda, so mind your own business," Allen lied, keeping his eyes away. Having eye contact while lying, especially when in the presence of someone as observant as Kanda, wouldn't make the lie very effective. He'd easily be caught.

"Whatever," Kanda sighed, and walked back to his bed, lying face down on the sheets. "I'm tired, beansprout. And I'm not hungry, so no need to bring me dinner later on. These arms are as heavy as lead, if they hadn't been so important to be, I would have had them cut off," he muttered, his face reverting back into a scowl again as he turned his head to face away from Allen.

Allen stared at Kanda's form, his anger and irritation subsiding, as he once again felt sympathy for the longhaired exorcist. He once knew what it was like to lose an arm – courtesy of Tyki Mikk too – and Allen was well aware of how hard it was. When he lost that one arm, Allen had already felt pretty devastated and quite hopeless, but thankfully, he still had another arm to save him from the total depression.

Kanda didn't have another arm to use. He lost both. He had lost more than what Allen had lost. And yet, here he was, still struggling enough, having even the humor to tease and mess with Allen's life (not that Allen felt happy about that). What he was doing wasn't an easy thing, and so, despite their differences, Allen felt great respect for Kanda. If there were just something he could do to bring Kanda's arms back to normal, he'd do it. Maybe if this had happened in the ark, then Allen might have done something about it. But then, the white-haired boy was already aware that this was something out of his domain.

The only thing Allen can actually do was to stay with Kanda. They may not be close, but all the ventures they had faced together, saving each other's lives, placed at least a sense of camaraderie between them. And Allen never abandoned his friends. No matter how much of a bastard that person is.

"Hey, Kanda?"

"Hm?" Kanda grunted, mildly irritated at the interruption. He was halfway into dreamland and Allen's voice just had to ruin it.

"Would you like another massage?" Allen asked, turning his face away as the color pink appeared on his cheeks. If this were one of the few things he could do to make Kanda feel better in these moments of difficulty, then Allen would do it.

A heavy silence descended between the two, but was soon shattered by Kanda's voice.

"Are you sure you're not gay?" Kanda asked, still facing away from Allen, yet Allen could almost hear the smirk in the other man's voice.

The blush deepened, but Allen didn't want to think that Kanda managed to tease him once again. So instead of overreacting, Allen just played cool and released an exasperated sigh. "Yes or no? Just answer the damn question, Kanda."

"Fine, yes then," Kanda replied, smirking silently. Even without facing Allen, he could already imagine that blush that he had induced upon the boy's face. "Don't even dare touching things you shouldn't touch," he warned him, his voice taking a lower, more threatening tone. Allen released another sigh, and Kanda could almost visualize the boy rolling his eyeballs.

"I wouldn't, Kanda. I'm not a pervert like you," Allen retorted, and after those words, Kanda suddenly felt a pair of hands moving over the fabric of his shirt. A small, contented sigh escaped his lips, and Kanda relaxed his limbs, allowing himself to once again, surrender to the enchanting spell of Allen's hands.

Allen moved his hands across Kanda's back, firmly stroking upwards from the lower back all the way up to the neck, then circling around and back to his lower back region. Allen couldn't say why he enjoyed giving massages now, more than did before when he was still young. Long ago, he often abhorred having to work as a masseuse, since he almost always ended up with ugly or hot-tempered clients who would beat him if they weren't satisfied.

But massaging Kanda was different. Whenever Allen could feel Kanda's body relaxing and reacting to his touch, he felt a strange kind of jubilance. He really liked it when he touched Kanda like this. Tracing the well-defined muscles through the perfect contours of his flawless body –

"Beansprout."

Allen snapped out of his thoughts and gave Kanda a curious look. He had presumed that the samurai had been long asleep.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Thanks."

At that, Allen's hands momentarily stopped, his gray eyes widening ever so slightly. The cursed boy couldn't believe his ears. Kanda was actually thanking him? That ungrateful jerk? Whoa. This was definitely the weirdest part of the day.

"Uhm, you're welcome," Allen muttered, not knowing what else to say. A small smile appeared on the young boy's face, though, a smile that depicted sincere contentment and happiness. It felt so nice to hear such a word come out of Kanda's lips, especially when it was directed towards him. Allen almost thought that all his efforts in helping Kanda had been useless, but now, after hearing those words, the white-haired exorcist began to think otherwise.

He continued with his massage, and when Kanda didn't reply after the next ten minutes, Allen finally stopped, and sat at the side of Kanda's bed, gazing at the other boy's sleeping face.

He looked a lot more peaceful when he was asleep, and definitely a lot less intimidating. His brows were still pulled into a small frown, but Allen presumed that Kanda's frown was something that already represented his entire existence, and without it, Kanda would be unrecognizable. The younger boy sat there silently, his body rocking slowly on the chair as he continued staring at Kanda's face. Once again, Kanda was beautiful. Allen couldn't deny it. No, he can't. That would be the biggest lie he would be making in his entire life.

His grey eyes traced the fine features of Kanda's face; his straight and handsome nose, those delicate lashes, and manly thick eyebrows. Allen noticed how Kanda's lips were partly opened, and soon enough, he found his eyes drawn to that particular area.

He was drawn to it, allured by how soft and inviting they looked. Unknowingly, Allen slowly started to lean towards Kanda's face, his eyes affixed on the other boy's lips, entrapped by a mysterious kind of enchantment he did not know of.

Slowly, slowly, he lowered himself down, until his face was barely an inch away from Kanda's. He could feel Kanda's breath against his skin, his steady warm breath that gently caressed Allen's face. With that, the temptation grew, and Allen could no longer find a way to stop his self. Excruciatingly slowly, as if his body wanted to torment him with suspense, his head lowered itself down, ever so slightly every second, bringing him nearer and nearer to that luscious piece of heaven…

"Beansprout."

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A/N: Why do I love juicy cliffhangers? I don't know. 8DD Maybe I'm born to make them. –insert evil laugh here-

Note: The bathroom in the Order is somewhat like the shower rooms in school gyms where everyone is exposed. So people going through the door would immediately naked people. OwO Though, if the heater is on, the steam might be thick enough to hide a couple of…you know. 8DD

And it's funny to see how all Allen's struggle about his sexuality were all in vain. =))

Reviews, my darlings. 8DD