Me: 'I've written something else for once this time. Instead of Yullen, I decided to write Laven. I read some oneshots for Lavenweek and they were so cute that they inspired me to write one myself, though it's not for one of the daily themes. So I sat down and wrote a pretty long oneshot for a change.'

Allen: *grumbles* 'Why do you keep hooking me up with other characters?'

Me: 'Because it's cute. Anyway, I hope you like it and please leave some reviews if you do. Comments about what I could do better are also really welcome, as always. Have fun reading'

Lavi was exhausted. He had been working with Bookman from early in the morning to the middle of the night with nearly no breaks at all. Now it was pitch black outside and a thin but drenching rain was falling out of the sky and soaking everything it touched. That made everything worse. For some reason Bookman had decided they would camp this time, so they would miss less, because they would be just inches away from the events they had decided to record.

However, the old man had somehow succeeded in claiming the caravan for himself alone, ditching Lavi outside in a two-person tent with an airbed to sleep on. It would be protected from the rain, but damp and cold inside. Not really a comfortable place to spend the night on. The exhaustion could be considered a form of luck though, as it would make him able to sleep through all of it without any trouble.

He ran through the depressing weather to his tent and quickly unzipped the door. After slipping under the flysheet, he quickly closed it again and sighed of relief now that he was out of the rain's reach. He let his flashlight travel through the room, revealing a bunch of insects that had also sought out some shelter for the water that was dripping out of heaven. He couldn't blame them. If he had been a fly or spider he would have done the same, but he would be lying if he'd say he wasn't really happy that his inner tent was closed either, keeping them all out of his humble bedroom.

His right hand quickly found the next zipper and pulled it down in a small hole, just big enough for him to fit in. He dropped the flashlight on his bed and stepped inside with his right foot. Only then he realized something wasn't right.

Something snow white shone in the light like the moon itself had hid in his tent. But this wasn't a floating piece of rock.

Lavi looked closer and realized they were strands of hair. Only then he noticed the dark body curled up next to it, in the corner of the room. Someone was lying in his tent and Lavi had no idea who this old man could be. It definitely wasn't the panda.

He froze for a moment to take it all in and only started to move again when a little thing flew past to the flashlight. More insects were coming in, so he carefully stepped inside and shut the zipper again. Meanwhile he kept his boot close, which contained a little knife. The job of a Bookman wasn't easy and the old man always told him to keep a weapon at hand just in case. You never knew when someone you were recording would turn against you.

He sat down on his bed, which was strangely enough still unoccupied, to get a closer look at his unexpected visitor. It was only then that the person moved.

The man sighed and turned around, planting his face right into the light, making Lavi realize he had made a mistake. This was just a young boy, despite of the strange haircolor. A dark-red mark was drawn all over his left eye and cheek, up to his forehead, where a few strands seemed to hide something that looked like a pentagram.

The boy mumbled and moved an arm up to his face to block out the light. Then his eyes finally opened and formed a sleepy expression, like he was just waking up.

Lavi observed a little longer, until he was really sure the boy was awake, then felt himself growing determined to get some answers.

'Who are you. What are you doing in my tent?'

The boy shot up suddenly, seemingly wide awake and looked at him in shock. Then he quickly turned his gaze to the ground and looked just as embarrassed as he should, invading someone else's tent.

'I… I'm sorry,' he stammered, shoulders hunched as if he expected Lavi to attack him. 'I didn't mean to… I wanted to leave before someone came but I fell asleep.' Then a chill seemingly ran over his spine, because he shivered strongly.

Lavi wasn't feeling better at that explanation at all. 'You are still invading someone else's tent. Even if you would leave before I returned.'

If possible the boy's cheeks turned even redder. 'I'm sorry. I just couldn't find any other place to hide for the rain.'

Only then Lavi realized his guest was soaked. Water still leaked out of his clothes on the ground and the white strands stuck to his head like he had been swimming minutes ago.

'So, are you going to tell me who you are or should I just kick you out?' Not that this boy seemed really threatening to him. But the sight of his tent getting wet on the inside too and the exhaustion had made him grumpy and unreasonable. He probably wouldn't do anything to the boy, but he just wanted to get some answers now and not the senseless excuses the boy spouted now.

'Oh right,' he yawned but his silver eyes finally seemed clear enough to be fully conscious. 'I'm sorry. I'm Allen Walker. But I'll leave now. I'm really sorry.'

He prepared to get up, but Lavi grabbed his hand and forced him back down. 'You're not leaving yet. I first want to hear why exactly you are here.' Maybe he could get some useful information from this Allen. Though he didn't look like someone from these surroundings.

The boy looked at him in surprise, but settled down obediently. The fear had receded a little now that he seemed to have realized Lavi wouldn't hurt him and he just made himself comfortable, pulling his knees against his chest and wrapping his arms around them to keep himself as warm as he could.

'I'm traveling around with my master,' Allen told him finally, 'but I lost him in a city to the west. So I went to look for him, but he took all our money and belongings, so when it started to rain I didn't have any other choice than to search for cover. However, I couldn't find anything here. The few farms here are burnt down, roofless or have hostile owners. So after I looked everywhere and saw this tent I just thought I could spend a few moments here to rest before going out again. I didn't realize I fell asleep until you came in.' He admitted in a sigh.

Lavi let his eye dart over the boy again. He really looked drenched and cold. Now that the blush of embarrassment had decreased, his pale skin was showing his poor condition. His lips even looked slightly purple in this light. He couldn't send this kid out in the rain again. There indeed wasn't any other place to hide and it would definitely become the end of him. Though he did it with reluctance, he decided to share the tent with Allen until the rain would subside and it would grow warmer.

'Sounds like you've had a hard time,' Lavi declared casually, 'It's okay, Allen, you can stay for now.'

Allen looked at the boy with growing surprise. At first he had expected him to indeed literally kick him out of the tent, but in the end he was just allowed to even stay?! It was the last he had expected after fleeing from farmers with dangerously pointy weapons or aggressive guard dogs. He didn't say anything at first and just kept staring at the stranger to look for any signs that he had misunderstood, but there weren't any.

'You're probably freezing. You should at least get some dry clothes,' the other stated, while he bent over a pile of bags with all kinds of stuff in it. Most of it seemed to consist of books, but when Allen looked better, he realized there were clothes in between them too.

'I think they will be too big for you,' the redhead pulled a shirt and a pants out from the others and put them down on the bed, 'but they should keep you warm.'

'Th… Thanks,' Allen stammered when Lavi offered him a towel to dry his hair before it would soak the new clothes as well.

They sat for a while in silence while Allen dried the white strands. Then the redhead reached the clothes out to him and Allen accepted them hesitantly, suddenly feeling really embarrassed. He couldn't change here. He didn't feel comfortable at all by showing a stranger his left arm. But wouldn't it be rude to say that? They were both boys after all, usually it wouldn't be that much of a problem.

Allen looked at the clothes in his hands, then back up at the other boy. He hesitated some more before he sighed.

'Is there a problem?' Lavi asked, looking at him with confusion. 'It's okay if you don't feel comfortable with wearing other people's clothes. I just thought you'd be cold.'

'It's not…' Allen shuffled around uncomfortably. 'Can you, maybe, just…' He looked at himself then at the back of the tent.

Instead of feeling offended, the other smiled, suddenly seeming to understand. 'Aahh, you want me to turn around. Fine enough. But just don't stab me in the back, will ya.'

Allen's eyes widened of surprise at the joke, then he smiled back. 'I wouldn't dare to. Who else would give me a place to stay and dry clothes.'

Lavi winked, or maybe just blinked, it was hard to say with just one eye and then turned around to face the canvas.

Allen acted as quickly as he could. He pulled his shirt over his head, then dried his chest with a quick movement of the towel. He covered his left arm immediately with the other clothes again and hid his hand inside the long sleeve. Then he changed into the far too big pants, that covered his cold feet as well.

'I'm done,' he declared, throwing his clothes into the wet corner he had fallen asleep earlier. He scooted to a drier place on the ground, carefully avoiding the bed, because he felt like he should at least take a bit of the redhead's privacy in consideration.

'So, what's your name?' Allen asked to break the awkward silence that had formed now that they had taken care of the important things.

'Lavi,' the other answered as he lay down on his bed, resting on his elbow. He seemed entirely relaxed now that he had told Allen to stay and that made the white-haired boy feel calmer as well. He finally felt a bit better with dry clothes, though the night was still cold, and folded his legs in a comfortable position.

'It must be a weird night for you too, Lavi,' Allen stated guiltily, trying to suppress a yawn of sleepiness.

'That's for sure,' the redhead agreed. 'I definitely didn't expect to find a stranger in my tent.' He yawned as well and Allen couldn't help but mimic it after all. 'It's really cold too. If I wasn't so tired I'd probably haven't slept at all this night anyway.'

'It is,' Allen agreed, unpleasantly conscious of the dampness seeping from his hair into his neck and the rest of his body. He placed his right hand in between the strands and the skin but it didn't help much, because it was just as cold as the rest.

'Here, this should help.' Lavi pulled the scarf from his own neck and threw it those few centimeters to the boy.

Allen caught it and looked up in surprise. 'But what about you? Aren't you cold as well?'

'I have a blanket,' the redhead answered with a grin while he grabbed it from underneath him and wriggled himself under it. 'I'll be warm enough here.'

Allen smiled back and draped the soft scarf around his neck. It was long enough to bury part of his face in it as well and he sighed in relief when his breath immediately warmed his chin and nose. The scarf was really soft and gave off a faint scent. He inhaled it many times, but it was impossible to identify it. It smelled like it had been in many different places and bore tracks of scents from everywhere. When he breathed in again and closed his eyes he could nearly picture all the travels he had made with is master or Mana. Hmm… Mana… Somehow the generosity of Lavi made him think of the man who had adopted him.

He opened his eyes to keep the image from his father from forming in his head and make him feel sad. He had to think of something else.

'Are you a traveler?' he asked instead. Suddenly really interested in Lavi's life.

The redhead looked up in surprise, then scratched the back of his head, where he also seemed to notice the bandana and let it slide off to his neck. 'Is it that obvious?'

'Not really,' Allen responded. 'I just wondered. I've been traveling around a lot too, so I guess it takes one to know one.'

'I figured. I've never seen someone with your hair before.'

Allen blushed at the mention of the unnatural color and quickly buried his face deeper into the scarf.

'Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you.'

'It's nothing,' Allen answered, trying to get himself back together. 'I'm used to people looking at it.'

'I could have known, I'm sorry.'

A silence fell again and they both looked around nervously to avoid each other's gazes. It stayed like that for some time, until the heaviness of the silence finally subsided a little. Allen felt his eyelids dropping and next to him Lavi also laid his whole body down. Sleep was filling the room and they would absolutely have given in to it if the huge interruption of the thunder hadn't awakened them. The flash was so bright that it even hurt behind their eyelids and not even three seconds after, the sound traveled through the sky and vibrated the insides of their ears. They both jolted up in surprise and looked around for the source of the sound before they realized it had just been an outburst of nature.

Then Lavi burst out in laughter and Allen frowned in confusion.

'What's so funny?'

The redhead had to wait until it had died down to a chuckle to respond. 'You should have seen your face, Allen, you looked like a murderer had entered our tent or something.'

'Well, you looked deadly scared yourself as well,' the boy answered grumpily, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Apparently a new spark crossed the sky, because the tent was lit entirely again, showing even the tiniest details in the darkest corners. Then the loud impact made Allen flinch, but to his satisfaction Lavi did the same.

Allen smirked at him to show him he saw and Lavi grinned back.

'Well, Allen, seems like you won't be able to leave yet. Though the lightning might warm you up if you get hit by it.'

The boy grimaced at the idea, especially when the slight rain turned to a downpour and the wind started yanking at the tent. 'I think I'd rather be cold and dry.'

Lavi rolled onto his back and gazed at the ceiling of the tent as if he could see the harsh weather outside through the canvas.

'Someone's really mad up above,' Allen uttered, looking up as well.

'Or really determined to keep us together,' Lavi joked back. 'Maybe he wants us to bond.'

Allen chuckled and Lavi did the same.

'Who knows,' the boy responded, not knowing what else to say. 'Let's hope he'll lead me back to my master as well then.'

'Maybe he did. Maybe I've seen your master. What does he look like?'

Lavi's sudden changes from jokes to serious matters confused Allen a bit, but he decided to just play along as best as he could.

'He has long red hair and wears a black coat with golden ornaments.' That seemed the most notable details of his master's looks.

Lavi's eye got clouded with memories while he seemed to try to remember if he saw someone like that.

At first Allen thought the redhead was falling asleep again when it took minutes, because it couldn't possibly take so much time to remember such a thing. Like you had so many memories of just a few days, but then the boy's eye cleared again and he looked back at Allen.

'I think I saw someone like that in the forest here. I can't really explain where, but I know the exact place, so I can show you tomorrow.'

Allen's eyes widened in surprise then he smiled at the boy who had already helped him so much. 'Thank you. It would be a great help if you could bring me there.'

'No problem, buddy, I'll do that tomorrow.' Lavi winked and send him a wide grin. 'See, you're really here on purpose. Good that I didn't kick you out after all.'

Allen blinked slowly in gratitude and looked back up. 'Then let's thank the person in the sky for soaking my clothes, letting me nearly catch a cold and locking me up in a tent,' he answered cynically.

'Especially with such an idiotic redhead,' Lavi continued, poking the white-haired boy in the stomach.

Allen flinched in surprise, then poked the redhead back. 'Be careful, or I'll kick you out.'

'You'd better not even try,' the other responded with a naughty smile. 'I won't stop poking you for the next six hours.'

'Oh really? You think you can still poke me when you get blown away by the wind and hit by lightning?' Allen was surprised of his lighthearted reactions himself, but it made him feel so good that he didn't hold back, not as long as the redhead seemed to respond well to it either.

'Just watch!'

And suddenly he launched himself at Allen and started poking him in the stomach and sides. The boy laughed and writhed underneath him, trying to push the redhead back, but somehow Lavi managed to avoid most of his attacks while he kept pricking him everywhere.

Then the redhead pinned him to the ground, placing his knees on the boy's arms and sitting down on his stomach to hold him still.

'I'll get you back for talking like that while you're the intruder.' He pulled something long out of his pocket and removed some kind of a cap of the upper side of it. 'Take this!'

Allen yelled and tried to resist when something cold hit his face. It traced lines over his cheeks and forehead and suddenly he realized what Lavi was doing. He kicked his legs in the air while laughter made him unable to fight the other off. Meanwhile the other boy was doodling scribbles all over his face with a marker, leaving no space blank.

In the end Lavi managed to finish his work and put the marker away again before crawling back to his bed, where he fell down, still twitching of laughter himself.

'That's a huge improvement, Allen, you look beautiful.'

That hadn't been a smart thing to say, because it made the other determined to get payback. He now pulled the marker out himself and started attacking Lavi with it, who ducked quickly, ending up under the boy's stomach.

Then Allen felt the redhead getting up again, only still under him. His legs got grabbed and tossed over so he was forced into a rollover, hitting the canvas with his feet. He quickly redrew them when he felt the water leak from the fly sheet through the tent in his clothes and turned around, facing Lavi again, still holding his weapon.

Lavi had taken one out for himself as well and was holding his pillow like a shield and weapon at the same time.

'Come here and I'll show you how mad I am at you for trespassing my beautiful bedroom!'

'Beautiful?' Allen hissed back playfully. 'The stable with pigs I once stayed at even looked better and at least bigger.'

'Staying at a piggery? What does that make you?' Lavi shot back, picking up a sock from a bag and throwing it to Allen.

'You little brat!'

The boy jumped forward, ready to ink the other's face, but the pillow met him halfway and a leg pushed his own aside so he lost balance and fell down to the ground. Allen yelped in surprise, not suspecting someone else to have fighting skills that would rival his own, but it got muffled by the cushion in his face.

He wriggled and swung the marker around, feeling satisfaction fill him when it hit something and Lavi gave a shout of surprise. That made him even more determined to swing it all over the other boy and scribble just as many black lines on him as he would probably have on his head.

They kept playfighting like that until Allen nearly choked in the pillow and Lavi finally gave up and pulled back. When the white-haired boy's view finally cleared again he could see why, because the redhead was covered in even more ink than him, leaving his whole chest and face black. Even his bandana had caught some of the attacks.

Lavi looked all red in the face, but the everlasting grin still played on his lips when he let himself fall back on his bed, panting. Allen fell down on the ground next to him. Smiling widely as well.

'I haven't had so much fun ever since I traveled with my father,' he declared when he had finally caught his breath. 'That was great.'

Lavi turned around to send him a smirk. 'You didn't give me that idea at all. Sounds like you needed it, though.'

Allen chuckled and let his eyes dart to the ceiling again, where the rain still drummed regularly.

'Hey, Allen, is your arm okay?'

Lavi had pushed himself up to his elbows and was looking at the left hand that had somehow managed to stick out of the sleeve by the playfight.

The boy quickly the sleeve back with his right arm and looked away, feeling all happiness and relaxation turn in embarrassment and stress.

'It's fine. It's supposed to look like that.'

'It is?' Lavi sent him one last look, then let himself fall back on bed. 'That's a relief. For a moment I thought it was blood.'

Allen looked back and noticed the redhead wasn't staring at his arm anymore at all. Most people would try to keep catching glances of it, because it looked so weird. The way the redhead treated it made him feel comfortable, as if it wasn't that weird at all.

He felt himself relax again and sighed. With his body and mind returning to a calm state, the exhaustion came back as a huge wave as well.

'Hey, Allen,' Lavi muttered before being interrupted by his own yawn, 'let's sleep. I'm exhausted.'

'Yeah,' Allen yawned as well, 'me too.'

Lavi turned around on his bed to face him. 'So, are you going to sleep on the ground? Isn't that hard?'

Allen looked back and smiled sleepily. 'I'll be fine. I'm used to it.'

'No, I'm not going to let a guest stay on the floor. I'm better educated than that.'

'But I'm a trespasser.'

'And I let you stay.' Lavi insisted. He scouted to the side of the bed. 'Come, it's cold anyway. We'll be warmer if we huddle together.'

For a moment Allen wondered if he was joking, but the redhead looked deadly serious.

'Are you sure?'

'Pretty much. Now come here before I decide to kick you out anyway.'

Allen crawled onto the bed carefully and lay down as much to the edge as possible. He was aware of Lavi so close to him. Of the warmth radiating from him, or the eye that observed him. The redhead's breath tickled the skin on his cheek, that probably was still covered in scribbles.

'Come on, Allen, don't be shy. You can't be lying comfortably like that. At least use the whole bed.' Lavi grabbed his arm and pulled him closer until they were lying against each other, but somehow the boy didn't feel like his personal space was being invaded at all.

Instead the warmth of the other felt soothing and he relaxed completely, letting his muscles get some rest and share their warmth with the redhead as well.

'That's better,' Lavi told him. 'We probably won't irritate each other anyway, because we'll just fall asleep immediately.'

'Then why couldn't I just sleep on the ground if I would have fallen asleep anyway?' Allen asked, but there was no grumpy undertone in his voice at all.

Lavi smiled at him. 'Because your back would probably have hurt like hell when you'd wake up and I'd have to wait all the time when walking you through the forest.'

Allen chuckled and closed his eyes. 'Good point.'

They both fell quiet again, but this time it wasn't a heavy silence at all. Instead they both felt really calm and sunk deep into the darkness of sleep. They didn't feel cold for the rest of the night at all.

Allen moaned softly when bright light was pulling him out of his happy dreams. It seeped through his eyelids inevitably and burned itself into his mind. He mumbled to his master to turn off the lights and turned around, draping his arm around his blanket. His master had returned really late this night if he came home now.

It was only then that he realized he heard a chuckle and he opened his eyes. A shirt was all he could see and he frowned. What he was holding wasn't a blanket. In fact, that was still even lying on him. The thing in front of him was the back of a person. A boy who was desperately trying to hold in his laugh.

'Easy tiger,' Lavi joked, nearly choking in laughter, 'you don't want to turn me on.'

Allen felt all his blood rush to his head immediately and quickly pulled his arm off, stammering an incomprehensible apology.

'Ahh, come on, Allen, don't stop now. It was just getting cosy.' Lavi had stopped chuckling but Allen still heard the little trace of laughter in his voice.

'Why don't you make it cosy then?' Allen snapped back, grumpy from embarrassment.

Lavi chuckled. 'You want me to?'

'You're horrible. I'm almost getting the feeling that you asked me on the bed on purpose.'

'Maybe I did,' Lavi turned around and wriggled with his eyebrows almost comically. 'You're so cute when you're embarrassed. It's funny to see you try to deal with it.'

'Shut up,' Allen grumbled, turning around to stare at the canvas and hide the red blush on his cheeks. The redhead had been joking before, but these were really embarrassing. He hadn't expected anything like this.

'Hmm, then don't you want me to show you the place I saw your master?'

The boy pressed his lips together and froze for a moment, then he gave up anyway and turned around after all. 'Just show me then.'

Lavi shot him a victorious smile because he had managed to turn him around again. 'First we'll need breakfast.'

The mention of that word alone immediately made Allen's stomach wake up as well and rumble loudly. He blushed and hid his face in the scarf.

The redhead burst out in laughter again. 'Seems like I'm not the only one who'll need it. I don't think I've ever heard a stomach make so much noise before.'

Allen turned even redder, but the other got up already and crawled to the exit. He looked around to the boy, then smiled. 'I won't be able to get much for you, but I'll get some food from the old man. He doesn't know you stayed here yet.'

He unzipped the door and stepped outside, closing it again behind him.

'See you in a few minutes, Allen.' Then he disappeared as he passed through the second opening as well.

The boy waited for some time, trying to forget the hunger, which would obviously not be soothed soon. He tossed and turned on the bed a bit, until his face was buried in the pillow, which had turned all black from all the ink on their faces. He chuckled at the idea of Lavi walking around outside with it, then breathed in deeply and noticed both of their scents already clung to the fabric.

The zipper sounded again and when Allen turned around, Lavi came in again with a whole bread and a package of cheese in his hands.

'I hit the jackpot I guess,' he declared, smiling broadly while throwing the bread to Allen. 'Eat as much as you want. The panda just went out shopping and will take back enough to feed us some days.'

The boy immediately cheered up and pulled two pieces out of the bag and accepted a slice of cheese from the redhead.

They dug in happily, leaving most of the bread to Allen to gobble down. Lavi just looked at him in surprise and amusement while the bites got swallowed one after another.

'You've got quite the appetite,' Lavi declared when they got up again and Allen would finally be able to leave as well.

They left the tent and Allen breathed in deeply when the cold air hit his nose. The rain had made it smell good and fresh and he sighed happily. His pants were sliding over the ground now though, as gravity pulled the long pipes down.

Lavi saw it too and looked down on him, towering at least a head above him. He observed Allen for a moment with a frown, then smirked. 'I knew you weren't tall, but I didn't expect you to be this short.'

Allen opened his mouth in indignation. 'I'm not short! You're just a giant!' he snapped back, feeling offended. Never before had someone joked about that. He wasn't that small at all!

Lavi chuckled. 'Don't let it get to you, shorty, the old man is even half your size.'

'I'm not short!' Allen elbowed the other in the stomach who gasped for air.

However that did stop the teasing. Instead Lavi just casually suggested that he would fold the pipes so they wouldn't get all dirty from dragging through the mud.

The boy did so and they were finally ready to leave. But one thing was still bothering Allen.

'If we leave like this I won't be able to change back in my own clothes anymore. It would mean I can't give these back to you.'

Lavi waved the excuse away. 'It's alright Allen, your clothes are still soaked. I wouldn't want you to catch a cold after staying the whole night after all. I'll be fine. I have enough clothes.'

'You really don't mind?'

'No, not at all. The panda might get a bit mad though.' But even with that said the redhead kept smiling.

'Who's that 'panda' you keep talking about?' Allen had been wondering quite some time now, but never bothered to ask. Now was the perfect moment though.

Lavi laughed apologetically and scratched the back of his head where the bandana had already been put back in place. 'Oh, that's what I call my grandpa. We travel around together.'

'Sounds good,' Allen sighed, thinking of his days with Mana. 'He's probably a lot better of a traveling companion than my master.'

'Don't know about that,' Lavi stated. 'He can be pretty demanding.'

Allen sighed and felt himself growing sick. 'No-one can be as demanding as my master.'

He let his head hang down, but raised it again when a hand touched his shoulder.

'You'll be fine. You're cute enough to find people to help you.'

Allen pulled up a brow cynically but didn't protest, knowing it wouldn't do much good anyway.

'Ok, we need to go this way.' Lavi lead them away from the tent in the forest in between the trees. Allen didn't see a path and his alarm bells immediately started ringing because his own sense of direction was horrible.

'Lavi, are you sure you'll find the way back if you just walk randomly like this?'

'I am. I have a really good memory. Even if I wouldn't know where I am then I would still get back because all turns I took are all here.' He tapped on his forehead. 'Don't worry, Allen. You'll be safe with me.'

Not that Allen worried about that. In worst case scenario he'd still have his anti-akuma weapon to defend them.

They strolled through the woods and Lavi sometimes pointed at certain leaves or insects and told Allen a few things about them to break the silence. The boy was impressed by all the knowledge the redhead possessed. It was like he knew something about everything, even the most unusual or normal things. Saying he had a good memory obviously hadn't been an exaggeration.

'Look, and there's the clearing I told you about. We're nearly there.'

Allen craned out his neck but couldn't see what the other was talking about. 'Which direction is it?'

'Right in front of you.' Lavi looked at him at the corner of his eye, then smirked. 'Oh right, you can't see it because you're so short.'

'Seriously, stop calling me that!' Allen shot the other a really angry glare now.

The redhead laughed, but his eye softened. 'Fine, I won't anymore. You know what, I have a better idea.' He came to a halt. 'Do you have a good sense of balance?'

Allen looked at him in confusion but nodded. 'Why?'

'Just keep standing there and put your legs further apart from each other.'

The boy did as he was told, but was getting an ominous feeling. Lavi walked around him until he stood at his back.

Suddenly Allen realized Lavi had ducked and had stuck his head between his legs, then the redhead's body raised again and Allen's legs were caught on the strong shoulders.

He yelped in surprise when the other raised him high in the air on his shoulders, holding him at his ankles.

'Now you know what it is like to be a giant, Allen,' the redhead teased from under him.

The boy was too surprised to say anything for a few seconds and just looked around him. Everything seemed different from up here.

'Do you like the view, Allen?' Lavi asked, looking up. 'Can you see it now?'

Allen just sent a smile as answer, then tried to catch a glimpse of the clearing.

'Yeah, I can see it. I even see the little rabbits at the back of it.'

'Welcome in the world of the big people, Allen,' Lavi teased when he started walking again. 'Now you know what you're missing.'

'Shut up, idiot. Like you can see those rabbits.'

'I can, I have supereyes.'

'Liar,' the boy shot back, chuckling.

'Ahh, Allen, you're so mean,' the other whined in a teasing way. 'It's all your fault I can't see them. Your weight is pushing me down so I'm getting shorter.'

'Serves you right. I don't like you looking down on me like that. Especially because you're obviously more childish than me.'

'Pfft, I'm pretty sure I'm older than you.'

'Are not.'

They kept bickering like that, chuckling from time to time until they had passed the clearing. Then they fell silent and Allen just looked around, stroking the red hair under him absent mindedly.

Lavi was a good carrier. He took in account that Allen was a lot higher than him and tried to avoid branches from hitting him. Whenever there was no other way he would warn the boy on his shoulders and give him the time to duck or hold the branch while they passed.

'Seems like we reached the spot. Let's get you down from there, before you get too full of yourself.'

Lavi wanted to duck, but Allen told him to wait and grabbed a branch.

'Just duck and walk back, I'll be fine.'

The redhead did as he was told and the boy ended up hanging on the branch until he let go and landed on both his feet.

'That was fun,' he admitted, looking around to find any signs his master passed here.

'He was standing here,' Lavi explained. 'And he was going that way.' He pointed east. 'I have no idea what he did after, but he had a woman with him, so I guess he'd head to the closest village. It's around a two hour walk to there.'

Allen nodded. 'Then that's where I'll go.'

'Will you be fine?'

The boy looked back and smiled reassuringly. 'I'll be fine. I've lost my master many times before. I'll find him.'

Lavi didn't look like that really assured him at all, but he didn't protest.

'I guess this is good bye then,' he stated with a bit of regret instead.

Allen's eyes widened at that realization.

'I'll have to get back to the panda.' Lavi explained softly. 'I can't stay away for too long. Will you really be okay?'

'I'll be fine, Lavi. Thanks for helping me.' Allen couldn't help but feel his insides cramp slightly. He didn't want to leave this boy. They hadn't been together for long, actually even just a few hours. Never before had he thought such a strong bond could form in such a short amount of time.

'…' They both didn't know what to say. They just looked in each other's eyes in silence, wondering if they would ever see each other again.

'We'll meet again,' Lavi stated in the end.

'How do you know? We're both travelers.'

'Exactly. I'll make sure we do.' The redhead smiled broadly. 'It was fun spending time with you.'

'It was,' Allen agreed, 'though you could have cut me some slack sometimes. Especially in the morning. It wasn't my fault I was all groggy.'

Lavi laughed. 'Oh no, it's far too much fun to tease you. You know, I just have to do it one more time before we part. I just have to give you that cute embarrassed face you get at those times.'

'You won't be able to. I won't let you surprise me any…'

His words were cut off when a mouth touched his. He froze in shock while Lavi kissed him softly and let his tongue slide over Allen's lips, stroking them gently. Just before the boy could react in any way, the other pulled back and petted the white strands.

'That's what I'm talking about,' Lavi smiled at the boy who blushed uncontrollably in confusion and embarrassment. He chuckled. Then gave a last quick kiss on the red forehead.

'Take care of yourself, Allen, and learn to deal with a bit of teasing. I expect some back from you next time.' He turned around and walked back the way they came.

'Wait!'

Allen didn't know why he called out to the redhead. Actually, he didn't understand anything anymore. His head felt light and dizzy and his mind was a chaos of confusion. What he did know was that he didn't like the other to leave like this, without saying anything.

Lavi turned around with an expectant glance in his eye.

'Better prepare yourself for some teasing next time!' Allen shouted out to his own surprise. 'Because next time I'll make you blush from embarrassment!'

Lavi laughed out loud. 'I'll look forward to it!'

Satisfied, though still a bit confused, and somehow overly happy, Allen turned around himself now too. They parted at the same time, but turned around to make eye contact every few meters until they were no longer in sight and there would just be the memory to respond to it.

They would meet again, but what they didn't know was that it would be sooner than they thought to fight together as exorcists.