There were a hundred overused adjectives to describe the room.

Dark. Empty. Damp. Isolated. Alone.

A different set of vocabulary ran through his head.

Betrayed. Unwanted. Somber. Dejected. Colorless.

This was Allen Walker's reality.

Allen stared across the room at the now large golem that he had become rather fond of. Timcanpy was there from the start. In a way, it was Allen's second do over. When his time with Mana came to an end, Cross Marian entered the picture. Timcanpy was a constant in Allen's hectic and unpredictable life. While it had little capability in the way of holding a conversation, the golem was more than efficient with what it had.

Timcanpy was currently secured to the cobble stone ground by large restraints that buzzed with blue electricity of some kind. No doubt it was the orders doing. Timcanpy's teeth were clenched, biting back the urge to fight their captor's hold. Any attempt was futile, and the golem learned this quickly.

Allen grimaced at the obvious struggle of his friend. Timcanpy was only in this hellhole because the golem had defended Allen. The boy was thankful beyond belief, but at the same time a part of him wished his friend had turned their head the other way. Selflessness was not only a strength in character, but also a persistent flaw.

Allen closed his eyes, leaning completely back against the wall he was already propping himself on. Letting his body slouch and bringing his knees closer to his chest, he held his bound left arm closer to his sternum. If nothing else, Link was a master of the CROW Binding technique. Allen laughed softly at the thought.

'Link gets the job done, I suppose,' Allen thought morbidly, and causally joked to himself in his own head.

"Well Tim, I guess it's you and me. Like old times." Allen's words echoed slightly in the empty space he would probably call home for a while. The golem grunted in response, making the boy give a small smile.

"I thought you would agree." Opening his eyes, the darkness in the room became real again. When eyes are closed, the person chooses to close out the light. The lack of light with open eyes was something else. It was empty, void of sunlight, even artificial color. The ex-exorcist now realized how true this was. Something as simple as a candle, firelight, anything but the dark of a shadow was out of reach. Impossible.

Allen's mind wandered aimlessly, coming back to settle on the Ark. The white room, the pristine piano amidst a large open space. He could almost be describing the very space he filled now, with the exception of color and the musical instrument. Both were lonely. Allen could recall and picture the very lines and symbols he and Mana created all those years past. Though now that he looked back, were they really theirs?

Allen hummed a quiet melody. He couldn't open the Ark. He already knew that. The order, no doubt had made sure of this. Lvellie had specially requested this to be a necessity. There was not a shred of doubt in the boy's mind.

The words were not something he would forget for a long time. They were ingrained into his memory. Whether this was a good thing, or unfortunate, Allen could not be sure. Had he given it thought before now, he would have figured such a thing as lyrics and piano notes could never be considered an unfortunate thing. But where had they led him?

Softly, the boy's melody morphed into words.

"Soshite bouya wa nemuri ni tsuita,

Ikizuku hai no naka no honoo hitatsu,

Futatsu to

Ukabu fukurami itoshii yokogao

Daichi ni taruru ikusen no

Yume, yume..."

He let the last note linger, then falter, lost in the echo of the cell.

"I've seen you open the Ark a hundred times, but I didn't know it had words." Allen sat up instantly startled out of his trance like state. Someone was in the room with him. The door had to have made noise. It was noisy as hell when you moved the hinges even a little. It wasn't the first thing on the higher ups list to fix. Allen stayed quiet. He realized he was afraid to speak; afraid of who stood in the dark with him. Friend, or enemy? Did he know the difference?

"Yume. Dream. " The person spoke. "It's an interesting concept. We dream when we sleep, but it's an illusion of sorts. It's not real." Footsteps moved closer towards the boy. He unconsciously moved further into the stone wall. With no windows, it was practically pitch black in the room with the exception of the blue electricity in Timcanpy's restraints.

"When we are awake, others tell us to follow our dreams. I don't know if it's that easy. You can't just make something you want become real. No one tells us how." The voice paused, then said:

"What is your dream, Allen?" The boy stopped cowering away from the figure. They said his name. Not 'noah.' Not 'the Fourteenth.' Allen. Their tone was void of uncertainty and detest.

'I'm so stupid.' Allen knew this person. He trusted this person. They had never wronged him, nor betrayed him once. And he felt he had done the same in return.

"Lavi. Why are you here?" He hadn't meant for it to be anything but a simple question, but came out almost forceful. Lavi laughed at this.

"I don't need a reason to come see a friend do I? Besides, I don't care what they say." Lavi moved and sat by Allen on the stone floor. Allen looked away from Lavi.

"How did you even get in here? Isn't the door under lock and key?" Allen questioned, the bitterness gone from his voice. Instead, there was a hint of…there wasn't a word for what Lavi heard, besides 'empty.'

"Yeah, Lvellie is pretty strict about who gets through the door. But you forget, I'm a Bookman. We're resourceful," the older boy explained, his usual playfulness and a little bit of over confidence showing through his words.

"So, what is your dream Allen."

"You were serious about that?" Allen asked, surprised. He hadn't taken the other seriously.

"You bet I am. You tell me yours, and I'll tell you mine." The younger boy nodded silently in agreement, answering,

"It used to seem so silly. Almost childish. But I would have to say," Allen pondered for the right words, "A family. Nothing perfect, just people who I can trust and who can trust me."

"Now I'll tell you mine," Lavi started.

"My dream is to make connections, memories with you, Lenalee, Komui. Heck, even Kanda!" They both laughed a little. Lavi continued.

"Everyone. And I want to be able to become a Bookman like the Old Panda one day too, without constantly worrying about the stupid code of Bookman that forbid us from becoming attached to other people."

Lavi had never really opened up to the others really. Allen thought this, but realized he hadn't much either.

"I think I made my dream real." Allen said, "But I think I lost it. What's most pathetic is the fact that I don't even know."

"The Black Order?" the other asked, receiving a nod.

"I thought that I would always have a family here; with you, Lenalee, Jerry, Kanda, Miranda, Komui, even Fou and Bak. Everyone."

"I don't know if I would say that," Lavi said in reply.

"How do you mean?" Allen turned towards his friend's direction.

"I like to think that everything will be sorted out soon. If not soon, then later. But this whole predicament that we're all in, I don't believe it will last forever. And Allen?"

The younger met the other's eyes as best he could in the dark.

"We haven't given up yet. Not all of us. We're still behind you, ready to help you when the opportunity presents itself. You're still 'Allen Walker.' Don't let anyone tell you different." Lavi was solemn. He spoke sincerely.

"Thank you." Allen was on the brink of letting go of all existent hope that maybe he could still be himself. The usagi had reinstalled this simple fact again for him.

"Anytime, Allen. Anytime." Lavi stood, stretching a bit in the process.

"I hate to say it, but I should probably get going before Lvellie figures out that I lied to his face about coming in here for other reasons." Before closing the door behind him, Lavi stopped; "I promise we will figure this mess out. We will. So just hold on a little longer. You're not alone."

The door shut gently, and a click signifying the lock falling in place could be heard. Allen was alone with Timcanpy again. But it wasn't the same as before. He still couldn't help but doubt that anything would get better or return to the way it was. For now however, the boy had more hope than he did before.

And that was enough for the time being.

He closed the door behind him and waited for the dreaded click of the prison door locking into place. The boy sighed heavily, letting his back fall against the stone wall by the cell entrance.

"Damn it," Lavi muttered under his breath. He was a Bookman. This wasn't who he was. Well, it was who he wanted to be, if he was allowed. Was it even possible to have friends and not have ties to others?

Since Lavi first came to the Black Order, he had met so many amazing people.

Lenelee had been the first to welcome him and offer her routine coffee. Of course he accepted. She made the chief's personality more bearable, keeping Komui somewhat in check.

Kanda was something else. He greeted Lavi, if you could use the word to describe the samurai's grunt of detest and lovely view of the boy's back as he walked away.

Even Miranda's arrival at the order had been memorable in its own way. She took her time becoming more and more lost as she went. Nonetheless, the woman had grown less timid, though she still had room to grow in the way of her self-esteem.

Allen's was by far the least enjoyable. Being accused of being an akuma, nearly having his head dismembered upon arrival and Hevlaska's inspection, there were no words. Lavi had only heard the stories and retelling of the exorcist's arrival.

The day Lavi stood in the doorway of the small make-shift hospital room of Allen Walker was purely out of curiosity. The boy didn't look like anything special at the time, and even now if he were being honest.

Lavi made his first impression, and had decided, though unaware at the time, that this bandaged child of fifteen ("Almost fifteen" according to Allen) was someone of interest to the hammer wielding teen. Curiosity had gotten the better of him.

Lavi began his trek back up the steps that would lead him to his and Bookman's room they shared.

What would Bookman say? As a Bookman in training himself, he already knew what was expected of him. No ties. Nothing that could hold Lavi back from making a crucial decision in which he shouldn't have an ounce of hesitancy.

Give or take twenty minutes, a matter of dragging his feet and treading slowly, lost in his thoughts, he made it back to the room, carefully and slowly opening the arched wood door. It didn't creak for once, thank god. Bookman slept lightly most of the time and tonight Lavi had been lucky. Unwrapping his red scarf and unbuttoning his uniform top, Lavi decided to sleep in his pants.

'The Old Panda never sleeps this hard,' Lavi smiled to himself. 'Maybe I can get some sleep myself.'

Lying down, Lavi removed his hammer from his waist holster. Placing the Innocence on the small nightstand by the bed, Lavi soon found he could not sleep.

Admitting it was futile he flipped onto his back. Here he was, thinking of sleep in a bed, (a real bed), and his friend was sleeping (if he could even fall asleep) on a stone cobble floor. The room was damp.

Lavi was observant if nothing else. The cells of the European Branch were nowhere close to being fit for slumber. Maybe for criminals, but not comrades. Lavi yawned, the image of his white-haired companion on his mind.

The sun filtering through the large dome window woke the boy. Sitting up slowly, Lavi turned his head to grab his hammer out of habit, placing it in its usual spot and stood. He normally laid in bed for a few minutes before getting up. However, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in the back of his mind. Hearing his own stomach complain, it was decided. It was breakfast.

Entering the main hall, the wait for food was relatively short. Lavi stood behind the last person in line.

The line moved quickly. Soon Lavi was next to order.

"I would like to order white rice and dango. Two plates of it if you don't mind." This gathered Lavi's attention. Dango, and two plates? It was nowhere close to the vast amount he would have ordered, but it was Allen's favorite.

"Got a big stomach today, Link?" The blond haired man turned, facing Lavi. Lavi smirked.

"Oh, it's you." Link sounded as excited as ever. Which wasn't much.

"This isn't for me. Walker refuses to eat anyone else's food, so I'm bringing him some of Jerry's cooking," Link explained as if stating a mere fact.

"I'll take it for you. I have nothing better to do," Lavi offered.

"If you want to. I don't really care either way, as long as the food doesn't go to waste." A moment later, Jerry produced the plates full of food.

"Here you are! White rice and dango. Enjoy!" Jerry smiled and continued with the next order. Lavi had stepped out of line and was already grabbing the bowl and plate.

"Here are the keys," Link placed them in Lavi's outstretched hand.

"Thanks Link." The two parted ways. Lavi slowly made his way to the cell door he knew well.

'Link cares more than he wants to say,' Lavi thought to himself. 'He's not so bad.'

Lavi knocked gently on the door. It was more of his way of alerting Allen before he just opened the door and barged in. Lavi was greeted by Allen's small frame in the same spot he had been since Lavi left the night before.

The boy's posture was giving way, leaving him more in a fetal position. Allen's eyes were half open, half conscious. Lavi managed to close the door behind him, more for privacy than anything.

"Who's here?" Allen mumbled.

"Just a food delivery and company," Lavi moved to the wall and sat by his friend.

"Here. Eat up! And it's Jerry's food, so you know it's good." Allen sat up a little straighter hearing this.

"I am a little hungry," Allen caved, his stomach speaking for him. Lavi set the bowl of rice and plate of Dango by Allen.

Lavi said nothing as he and Allen sat in comfortable silence. Lavi was content with the idea and knowing that his friend was eating. Allen had always been small, but even in the dim lighting of the room, he could see the boy's thinning figure.

Allen had dug in with his usual gusto after taking a few cautious spoonfuls.

"Is it good? Link was going to bring it to you but I offered. He said you weren't eating much. But now I see the trick was Jerry's good old home cooking," Lavi chuckled to himself. Allen gave a small smile, but a real one at least.

"Well, nothing beats Jerry's talent in a kitchen. That's for sure," he sat the empty dishes together, stacking them carefully.

"I've gotten better at eating and balancing one handed to say the least." Lavi's grin fell. How could he smile right now. How could anyone smile and joke about being confined the way the order had Allen and Timcanpy?

"What do you think about going outside tomorrow? Just for a bit?" Lavi proposed. Allen was surprised, barely able to restrain from showing the eagerness in his face.

"Can you really make that happen? I mean, what about Le-"

"Don't worry about him, okay? Leave it to me," the boy quickly interjected. Yes Lavi would figure something out. He wasn't a Bookman for nothing.

"I always wanted to just wander, really see the small things. Our missions just never gave us time for any of that." Allen resettled into the wall, slouching again.

"I find the small details often are the most compelling. Always observing, you pick up on things others miss. The body language others aren't seeing, a fake smile, a lie," Lavi breathed. "But I also get to see the real picture. And if the real thing isn't perfect or beautiful, I would rather know than go on deceiving myself."

"Do you see the real me?" Lavi hadn't expected the question. But he wouldn't leave his friend hanging.

"I see someone who wants to protect their friends. I see someone who wants answers. I also see someone who is satisfied at the end of the day even if all they accomplished was making one more person smile, one less person cry, and one less spirit trapped in a place they won't find peace. I see pain that no one else sees because their mask is practically flawless. I see," Lavi turned to face Allen's turned head, staring at the wall, eyes focused on more than the stone.

"The one I care a lot for. I think a little too much." Lavi gripped Allen's limp hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I'll come back tomorrow. You can count on that." Lavi stood, first gathering the dishes. Allen believed every word.

And once again, the red head departed hesitantly. The familiar lock of the door echoing in the emptiness of the stone hallway. On both sides of the door, silent emotion covered their cheeks, and Tim's complaints were hard to ignore.

If you enjoyed chapter one of Yume, feel free to review. I enjoy hearing what you think! Thank you for reading. Stay awesome, and stay you. :)