Demon's Kiss

Time moves onward

The next few months passed in a blur of work, school and life. Allen worked after school on Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays. He worked every Saturday and every other Sunday. He did his best to keep Fridays open for Lavi. Tuesdays the red haired pirate would come over to hang out. Typically this meant they did their homework together.
That was until Lavi got an internship. He began to work everyday after school. Including Fridays. They would try to schedule dinner at least together but an unpaid internship in a high paced law office didn’t really leave much free time. The only time they were seeing each other was the Sundays Allen had off.
Kanda on the other hand was always around. The quite teen appeared to have a similar schedule as Allen. One Tuesday night Allen finished his homework early. Kanda was doing some martial arts moves in the living room. Allen watched the graceful way he moved.
“Could you teach me somethings?” he asked. “I mean, if Cross…” Kanda paused at the mention of the masters name. It irritated the well disciplined samurai that some low life was making this kid call him master.
“Do you want to learn self defense?” he asked.
“Yeah, I just don’t want to…” Allen looked away.
“Go get out of those jeans.” Kanda said. Allen took his things to his room. He changed into some lose fitting jogging pants. When he returned Kanda made him start with stretches. After about twenty minutes he had Allen stand up to face him. They went through a few basic moves.
An hour later Allen was able to do a sequence of moves that, if his opponent didn’t know anything about self defense, would at least get him away. Kanda was sure it would shock Cross, but not for long.
“How about we do this every Tuesday?” he offered. Allen smiled.
“I would like that.” Kanda nodded.
“I didn’t get a chance to shop yet. Why don’t you shower first. We can go grab something to eat.” He offered. Allen agreed hurrying of to shower. Once Kanda was cleaned, with lose fitting pants and a long sleeved t shirt on he slipped on his winter trench coat. Allen wore jeans and a similar lighter weight coat.
“You never wear jeans.” He pointed out as he locked the door behind them. Kanda led the way downstairs.
“It restricts my movements too much.” He said. Never one to talk a lot Allen was happy when he could get even the smallest answer out of the guy. As long as it wasn’t a che or tsk. They walked in silence to another diner, not the one Allen worked at.
“Do you know how to drive?” Kanda suddenly asked. Allen laughed.
“No. Lavi refuses to teach me. He says I shouldn’t learn since I get lost in a bathroom stall.” He chuckled.
“But you have a GPS on your phone.” Kanda pointed out holding the door to the restaurant for his roommate. Allen shrugged.
“I think he likes driving me around.” He grinned.
“Or he just likes controlling where you can go.” Kanda muttered. Allen frowned.
“Lavi isn’t like that.” He defended his boyfriend. Kanda took them to a table, surprisingly in the window of the restaurant. He sat facing the door.
“He may not even be consciously aware that he is doing it. People are beasts of routine. Its something you guys got into.” Kanda stated. He had put his motorcycle up in a storage facility. He now drove a small blue Chevy. It was old and battered, but it ran and the frame was intact, according to him.
“Let's see you're not working Friday. I can get Tidal to cover my class. How about I take you down to get your permit. I can teach you to drive.” He offered. This surprised the other boy. Most of the time they fought over the fact that Kanda refused to call Allen by his name. Bean sprout of short stack where his preferred names for the boy. He liked stupid rabbit or dumb bunny for Lavi. In hindsight it was only Lenalee he called by name.
“I would like that. Can you show me how to use the GPS too?” he asked.
“Sure thing Moyashi.” Kanda smirked. It just meant bean sprout but in Japanese. Allen glared at him.
“Stop it.” He said mildly. Kanda laughed. It was a sound Allen didn’t hear often but when he did it brought a grin to his face.
“I'll buy. Order whatever you want.” Kanda offered knowing full well how much his companion could eat. “I’m serious. You're too small.” Allen was cautious but Kanda added several items to his order he was sure the other would try to pay him back.
Kanda sat back after finishing his own meal. As usual he didn’t say much. He watched the teen across from him eat. After a bit of silence he stood. Allen assumed he was going to use the bathroom. The boy ignored him as he ate. Kanda smirked. He walked up to the cashier.
“Add on a lemon cheesecake.” He told her.
“Two pieces?”
“No the whole thing.” Her eyes grew round. She glanced at the thin boy at the table. “Just do it!” Kanda growled. “And not to go.” He warned glaring at her. She put in the request. He paid before rejoining his dinning partner. A movement out the window caught his attention
A tall man in a black coat was standing there. Intensely he watched the scared white haired boy. The side of his face not covered with a mask curled into a sneer. His black gloved hands balled into fists and relaxed repeatedly as he studied the teen happily eating.
When Kanda retook his seat the man’s cold eyes flashed to him. For one moment they locked their gazes. Then the man spun away, his trench coat flying out around his legs. His red hair catching the wind. Kanda's eyes narrowed. He had seen a white mask covering part of the tall man’s face. Kanda's shrewd eyes caught the bulk of the weapon under the coat as well. He didn’t need to ask who this was. The false master had come upon his territory. Kanda looked over to the boy across from him.
“How’s the cheesecake?” he asked. He refused to tell him what he saw. Allen smiled up at him.
“Its so good.” He laughed. For someone who ate so much, the kid was at least neat about it. Not a mark on his face, no crumbs floated around or dirtied the table. This was something Kanda liked about him.
“How much do I owe you?” Allen broke into his thoughts by asking. When Kanda glared at him, he smiled. “I saw you paid already.” He added. Kanda stood.
“Nothing. I told you its on me." He pushed in the chair. “Let's go home, Allen.” The teen paused in standing up. He blinked at Kanda, slowly straitening his bent body.
“What's wrong?” he demanded. Kanda glared.
“Stupid little short stack get moving!” He hissed. Allen didn’t move at first. Kanda want to smack himself for calling him by his given name. Its what tipped him off. They walked out the door. Allen pulling his coat tighter around him.
“You need a warmer coat. Winter's here get cold.” He eyed him. Allen only nodded. He hated talking about necessities like clothing. As Allen walked looking ahead at the lights, Kanda's eyes darted around them.
He didn’t see the man again but he knew he was out there watching them. Instead of going straight home. Kanda distracted the boy with some shopping. He took Allen to a thrift shop to find him warmer clothes.
While there he sent a text out to a few friends. He saw them stealthy converge on their location. Each one watching for the tall man. As the streets filled up with faces he knew, Kanda got a cloak for Allen. It had a hood.
“The wind is making your ears red.” He commented pulling the hood over the white hair. The teen already had gloves on to cover his scars. Kanda pulled his own hood up. Now they blended in with the night. He led Allen home through the darker parts of the streets. The only people he saw were drunk, high or those helping him. The tall man was no longer around.
With luck Kanda had managed to keep the man from following them back to the apartment. Either way he knew he would need more security for the boy in his care. He sent a text thanking everyone for their help.
“We saw your guy. He was on the roof of the thrift shop just after you went in there.”  Nine texted back. “Tried following him but he caught on. Hard to stay hidden on roofs. Lost him on third. Opposite direction from your place at least.” She added. Kanda once more thanked her.
Mostly a loner, he did know people. Many wouldn’t consider him a friend but they knew they could count on him when needed. He knew they would help him when asked. Reaching out to Tidal would mean the old coot would get his over large nose in his business again. Yet he needed to protect Allen.
‘Tidal I need your help.’  He texted. He got the response he expected. They would meet after school the next day. Unusual for him, he invited Allen to watch a movie with him when he returned to the living room. They argued for nearly an hour over what to watch. Finally settling on a new action flick. Kanda kept the lights off.
Sitting in the lone easy chair, Kanda had a view of the window and front door. It also left the long couch to Allen. The younger teen stretched out crossing his feet. He rolled on his side with one hand tucked under his cheek. His phone sat tucked halfway under his stomach. It never lit up although Kanda knew he had texted Lavi several times during the night.
When the movie ended Kanda watched Allen get up stretch and head to his room. He paused with one hand on the handle of the door. The scarred face turned back to him. “Thank you Kanda.” He said he wiped the white hair out of his face. “Tonight, was a nice evening. I’m glad you spent it with me.”
Kanda simply tsked at him. He thought he turned away before the other could see the slight coloring to his cheeks. When Allen snickered, he knew the teen had seen the blush. At least he didn’t see the smile that touched his lips over the thought of the boy being happy for the evening.
Kanda looked out the windows. There was no sign of anyone in the parking lot or trees around the house. He locked all the windows then made sure the door was locked before heading to his own room.
Once in his room he pulled out the only inheritance he ever received, a sword. The sword had a history in his family or so he was told. No one knew what it was. Until the day he unscathed it to use in a fight. The sword held magic in it. Its blade never dulled. Its fire never went out. Kanda placed it beside him in bed. He would use the sword Mugen to protect the kid from anyone who threatened him he vowed on the shining blade. His eyes closed.