Kanda collapsed against the trunk of a nearby tree, fighting to get his panting under control. He wiped his moist forehead with a sweep of his arm, brushing off the sweat that formed little chilled beads on his pale skin. Mugen was planted in the ground beside him, hilt-up.

He heard snow crunching beneath black boots, and then Lavi plopped down next to him, Odzuchi Kodzuchi joining Mugen on the ground.

"Aah … what a workout! You sure are good, Yu-chan. If we'd been really fighting, I'd be dead for sure!" He rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck, and let out a long sigh. "Mmm, I'm sore all over! You got some good hits in!"

Kanda had his dark eyes closed, seemingly ignoring the redhead, as usual. However, on the contrary, he was hyper-aware of the mischievous Bookman junior and his body, tracking it with his senses. He was also very much conscious of his own body, and how it was reacting to the redhead's closeness.

His heart was racing, even long after he had calmed his breath from the strenuous workout he had just partaken in. His fingers and toes were tingling, and he had an increasing sense of anticipation and excitement—but for what, he wasn't quite sure. Though he knew that whenever he found out, it would be life changing.

A tanned hand reached out to shift a yellow-green bandana back into place, its owner unaware of the suddenly open midnight eyes that followed his every move. Unaware that, centimeters from his body, a heart was beating for him.

Kanda wasn't sure what he wanted, at that moment. It seemed to him that he had two clear paths before him, and he had to choose between them—to remain the Yu Kanda that everyone knew; cold, distant, unfriendly, and unfeeling. It would mean remaining frozen, alone, and lonely. It would mean protesting Lavi's close proximity now, pushing him away like he pushed everyone away.

Or, by contrast, he could be a brand new Yu, the Yu he always imagined he could be—empathetic, mischievous, and more than a little bit affectionate. It would mean denying himself the opportunity to pull away, denying his loneliness, denying his mouth his bitter, defensive quips. It would mean reaching out a slender hand, and touching Lavi. Bringing him closer. Making him his.

"Mmm—WHA?! Y-Yu-chan, what are ya doing?"

Kanda's movements hiccupped; he realized in surprise that while he had been thinking about how to act next, his body had unconsciously decided for him. As he had been thinking about that pale hand and the tanned skin it would explore, his own, real hand had been obliging.

Kanda's fingers hovered over Lavi's cheekbone, which had been traced by said digits only moments before, deciding if he really wanted to ruin his image in the usagi's eyes.

And then it was decided. With much more force than was necessary, Kanda grabbed the front of Lavi's exorcist coat and brought him bodily to the ground.

"Uuuaa!"

Lavi's head hit the frozen ground in a flurry of snow, and before he could blink the stars out of his single mossy eye, a tickling sensation made his nose twitch and a body draped over his heavily, snuggling into him warmly. Lavi's eye widened nearly to the point of popping out of its socket. Was … this really Kanda? Was it really Kanda's body warming him now, inside and out? Was it Kanda's thin, pretty face buried in his neck, making the blood rush to his cheeks with every warm breath exhaled from those pale lips? Was it Kanda's silky black hair that spread over him like a blanket, a rogue strand tickling his face under his nose?

"K-Kanda …" Was he dreaming? He had pictured this exact scene for so long now … was his mind just indulging him once again?

Kanda's low voice filled his ears, making them vibrate pleasantly with its closeness and it's timbre.

"It's cold out … I'm freezing. You're warm …" Lavi nearly choked on his suddenly-wealthy stores of saliva when Kanda's face nuzzled further into his neck, breath setting his skin on fire. He was frozen underneath the Japanese exorcist, unable to respond to the wonderful, unexpected turn-of-events.

Buried in tan skin, two thin lips curled into a frown. This wasn't going as he had hoped … Lavi had yet to make a move, or even say anything, past his name. But somehow, hearing not his first name, but his family name coming from Lavi's mouth hurt him more than he thought it would, and he began to pull back, somewhat put-out, and more than a little angry at himself for acting the fool for no reason. But what was done was done, so he might as well save the situation while he could—maybe pass it over as a selfish thing, as a way to use Lavi for his own devices and certainly nothing more. An insulting comment was already on his lips when suddenly Lavi, realizing that Kanda was leaving him, quickly wrapped a strong arm around Kanda's narrow waist, keeping that sinfully alluring body close to his.

Kanda let the sense of triumph wash over him, staring down at a determined emerald eye from his leaning position over the redhead, and said, "I know that you are not touching me …" His hidden mischievous side had taken him over, and he deliberately let his hair cascade prettily right onto Lavi's face.

Shaking the hair from his face (but not before inhaling slowly and deliberately, taking in the wonderful smell of flowery shampoo combined with Kanda's natural scent) and reveling in this new side of his Japanese friend, Lavi let out one of his famous wide grins and replied, "So says the guy who pinned me to the ground and shoved his face in my throat!"

Kanda hummed playfully, and then let Lavi's arm force him back down over the Bookman's body, head coming to rest on his shoulder comfortably. Kanda's fingers started playing with the hem of Lavi's orange scarf idly.

"Point taken. Very well, usagi, you can touch me any way you like," Kanda said dismissively, but on the inside his heart practically surged in anticipation. What would become of those words? What would they inspire? Would Lavi take it the way Kanda hoped he'd take it—as an invitation to ravage him?

Lavi was once again stunned into paralysis. Was Kanda aware of how suggestive he sounded? Hell, was he even aware of himself at all?

Lavi observed his unexpected blanket intensely, reverting, however briefly, to his Bookman Junior personality: thirsty for knowledge, uncaring about anything except what he wanted to know. And right now, he wanted to know what the hell Kanda was thinking.

More importantly, what was his next move? If he interpreted Kanda's last sentence as some kind of permission, he could think of so many ways to take advantage of this situation … his face flushed at the thoughts that swarmed through his head, giving him perhaps too many ideas…

What did he have to lose? Here Kanda was, practically laying on top of him, with his fingers playing about on his chest, telling him to touch him. Who the hell would be stupid enough to say "no" to the beautiful Japanese man?!

And if he got run through with Mugen, at least he would die happy.

With that last thought, Lavi cleared his mind of all thoughts but the ones of Kanda, and tightened his arm around the exorcist's waist.

"Any way I like, eh? Someone's awful friendly today … you might regret those words later, Yu-chan!"

Lavi winced when Kanda gave a particularly harsh yank on the end of his scarf, choking him slightly. "I never say anything less than what I mean," he said, fingers suddenly letting go of their orange plaything and moving lower, finding more interesting things to touch. "And yes, you're right, I am feeling a little companionable today …"

Lavi's mind stalled when he felt fingers brushing exposed skin right above the hem of his black trousers, creating an entire metropolis of goose pimples on his stomach and pelvic region, complete with a suburb area around his arms. Just one little touch and his brain was sent packing … Lavi couldn't wait to find out what else could be created from those thin, graceful fingers…or what he himself might be able to accomplish …

"I don't think that this situation fits under the "companion" category, Yu-chan," Lavi drawled, and Kanda didn't miss the huskiness that had overshadowed the Bookman Junior's usually light tone. A little in bravado, and a little in retribution for constantly calling him "Yu-chan", Kanda dipped his fingers below Lavi's belt line, shallow enough not to be violating, but deep enough to get his point across.

Stars exploded in Lavi's eye, depriving him of all coherent thought. Reacting only by instinct, by feeling, he dragged the compliant samurai further up over his body, and dug his free hand harshly into black silken tresses, running them through is fingers, nearly pulling them out of Kanda's head in unchecked want. Kanda let out a little grunt of discomfort, but it only spurred the hormonal chronicler on, and before he could further react to Lavi's sudden aggressiveness the said redhead violently flipped their bodies over, driving Kanda into a snow bank and pinning him there with his weight. Kanda let out a surprised squeak (an undignified noise of weakness he was immediately angry at himself for letting out) and stared up at Lavi with apprehension in his eyes. Suddenly, control of the situation had shifted to the other party, and Kanda didn't know how he felt about that, noting the uncontrollable lust in the man's one eye.

Lavi had lost the ability to keep his emotions in check a long time ago; now he was just a victim to them himself, along with Kanda. And really, a voice said through the haze of want that had blocked off most of his intelligence, it's all Kanda's fault for starting this in the first place, practically begging to be violated and looking so goddamn hot … the redhead felt he could no longer be held accountable for his actions.

He looked into Kanda's midnight eyes, and when he saw the impossible—the samurai's eyes glazed over with helplessness, passion, and no small amount of lust himself—Lavi threw all caution to the wind and claimed the beautiful, pale lips below him with one fell swoop.

Kanda, to his immense shock, responded immediately and passionately, bringing a hand up from Lavi's waist to play with his red fringe instead, while his tongue danced a tango with its counterpart. Lavi moaned into the kiss, feeling so hot that he felt the very snow beneath him melting.

Things were progressing far too quickly for either man to even acknowledge what they were doing—Lavi had stopped being gentle and was now attacking Kanda's lips, tongue, chin, and neck like an animal; sucking and biting and licking his way around Kanda's flushed visage violently. Kanda had meanwhile gotten Lavi's coat nearly all the way off; just one obstinate button stood in the way between Kanda and Lavi's bare chest, and Kanda found himself growling fiercely at it in frustration. He was about to just pop it off when Lavi noticed his plight, and—without removing his mouth from Kanda's collar bone—shrugged his coat off his shoulders himself, and threw it haphazardly behind him.

And then there it was, Lavi's chest in all it's honeyed glory, revealing so many wonderful things that Kanda could play with that the black-haired samurai didn't know where to start.

He felt nimble fingers groping at his own exorcist jacket, and, following Lavi's lead, shed the article of clothing in a heartbeat.

Now they were chest-to-chest, snow-skin-heat-skin-snow, one big sandwich of hot and cold and passion and lust, both so caught up in this fantasy world that they didn't even notice their bodies getting numb from the snow —how could they feel cold, when inside and out they felt so goddamn hot …?

Kanda's thin hands rubbed up and down the skin that had been presented to him, stopping occasionally to explore the other boy's nipples and revel in the way they instantly pebbled with one small touch… Lavi's tongue was working overtime now, finding such a wide plain of creamy skin to taste and touch and hoard that he could barely pace himself.

Kanda, continuing to let out miniscule moans of encouragement at the redhead's pleasurable teasing, grew bored with just touching and started grabbing, pulling every piece of the scribe away he could, wanting it all for himself. The first piece of Lavi that was a victim to Kanda's selfishness was his beloved orange scarf—Kanda viciously tore it away from Lavi's slender neck, and proceeded to wrap it around his own exposed throat.

It got Lavi's attention. Stopping what he was doing, he looked at his scarf, already at home around a different body, and let out a whiney "Heeeeyy …"

Kanda looked at Lavi vindictively, clutching his newest acquisition in possessiveness. A biting comment was on his tongue, a bold statement that would tell the redheaded Bookman junior that he would far from need it, when Kanda got through with him.

However, before Lavi's whining could be interrupted, a sudden piercing call resounded through the forest, making a flock of crows jump up from their branches in trees around the clearing and take to the sky in alarm.

"Kaaaanda!! Laaaviii!! Where are yooouu?"

The said pair of teens froze, looking at each other with impossibly wide eyes, a scene that would be nearly comical, if it wasn't for the nature of the situation. They were like little children who got caught with their hands in the cookie jar; only they had their hands on each other—something that could be mighty embarrassing for the both of them, if they were seen.

"It's … the moyashi …"

Kanda shoved Lavi off him in panic, perhaps a little harder than he had meant to, but really—now was not the time to get all stiff. They had to move, if not to save both their dignities, then at least Kanda's.

Frantic, Kanda turned over to pat the ground around him ("where the fuck is my coat?!") and Lavi was left sitting in a stupor on the ground, just watching the black-haired samurai as he attempted to put his appearance back in order.

Kanda had just done up the last button of his soggy jacket ("damn, that's cold!") when he noticed that Lavi had not moved an inch, still sitting bare-chested on the snowy ground and still watching him stupidly with that one green eye.

"What are you doing, baka usagi?! Get your damn coat on! The moyashi will find his way here soon enough—he always manages to conveniently wander in on the people who most want to remain hidden … it's irritating." As he had spoken, he had jogged over to retrieve the redhead's jacket himself, and proceeded to throw it haphazardly at Lavi. He then started fussing over his own appearance again, calming his formerly-aroused pants into his usual, quiet inhalations.

Lavi stared down at his jacket, lost in thought. "No …"

Kanda froze, one hand clutching a fistful of his hair for a ponytail, and then he slowly turned to frown at the one-eyed scribe. "Excuse me?"

"Kaaaaandaaaaaaa!! Laaaaaaviiiii!! Come ooouuuuttt!! This isn't funny!!"

Lavi threw aside his jacket in disgust, and within seconds he had jolted up and stalked over to Kanda. The long-haired exorcist barely had enough time to let out a startled breath before Lavi had seized his arm and dragged him into the Bookman's waiting embrace.

"What? Let go, baka usagi!" Kanda struggled fiercely, but Lavi was holding on for dear life, leaving not an inch for Kana to move.

"No! I won't allow it! I won't allow you to just … brush me off, like that! I won't!" He was sounding for all the world like a spoiled little child, but he didn't care. He wasn't going to let Kanda just walk away from him … not after what he started …

Kanda had half a mind to bite the redhead. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

Lavi's mossy eye seemed to peer into Kanda's very soul. "What will happen when we leave this clearing with Allen?" He asked seriously, and the tone quality of the junior's voice made him stop his struggles. Lavi sounded so … grim.

"Nothing. We'll follow him back to the Order, that's all," the samurai eventually replied, even-toned.

He was startled when Lavi started shouting, right in his ear. "Exactly! You'll be that antisocial prick you've gotten everyone else to think you are, and this whole thing will be a bother. I'll just be the 'stupid rabbit' again and you'll go back to hating me and I'll never see this side of you again!"

Kanda bowed his head, his fringe bangs hiding his face. "Usagi … shut up …"

"Do you expect me to just sit here and let it happen?!"

"Shut up …!"

"If this was just some sick game to you, a way to get leverage over me or blackmail or—hell, I dunno—for your own goddamn amusement, I swear I'll will shove Odzuchi Kodzuchi's handle right up your ass and extend it as far as it can go! You'll be a fucking scarecrow when I'm done with you!! I'll—!!"

"SHUT UP!"

Kanda had had enough. Did Lavi really think so badly of him as to accuse him of falsity? Did he really believe that Kanda's emotions, bared in a moment of weakness for the redhead, weren't true? Did he believe Kanda so spiteful and vindictive that he would use this situation as leverage?!

Seeing red, Kanda decided to shut Lavi up the only way that would simultaneously make himself feel better and prove Lavi wrong.

Fisting his hands in Lavi's red hair, he slammed his mouth down on Lavi's own gasping mouth, teeth knocking together so hard he could taste blood in his mouth afterword, coating his tongue and Lavi's tongue and sliding down their chins and for some disgusting, disturbing reason it made the kiss far more intoxicating and euphoric than the their first had been.

"Get this through your fucking head, Rabbit," Kanda growled through their mouths, somehow never letting up the intensity of the kiss; "I never say anything less than I mean. Got it?"

Lavi felt all his anger leave him at once. He smiled, and this time it was easy to let the samurai go. Because, in his heart and in his mind, he knew that this was only the beginning.

"Yeah, okay."

"LAVI! BAKANDA! I'M HUNGRY! COME OUT ALREADY SO I CAN GO EEEEAT!!"

The yelling was close by. Hurriedly, Lavi dressed himself, and Kanda started attempting to fix his fiery red hair, which was no doubt standing on end.

"Shit," Kanda cursed as he looked at the pair of them. Faces beat red, sweaty, and all-around looking like hell. "The moyashi is dumb, right? He won't notice."

Lavi didn't have time to reply before Allen burst into their clearing. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you. Why didn't you answer me?"

Lavi opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Kanda stalked over to his weapon, sheathed it, and proceeded to shove past an angry Allen. "Che. Whatever."

Lavi patted Allen's head. "Sorry Allen! I guess Kanda and I got caught up with our sparring and didn't hear you. What did you need?"

Allen looked suspiciously between the two of them. Lavi barely kept from flinching. "Komui has an assignment for the two of you. He wants to see you in his office as soon as possible," he explained, and fell into step beside Lavi as he began to follow Kanda back to the castle.

"Tell the bastard to come get us himself, if he wants us," came Kanda's gruff response from ahead.

Allen turned his narrowed silver eyes to the samurai and was going to make a biting remark, when suddenly something very out-of-place, something very orange, caught his attention.

"Kanda, are you wearing Lavi's scarf?"

…Shit.