Not owning it.

--

'Nm...' Allen murmured in his sleep. Lavi sighed and looked down at the boy he'd been carrying for the last hour. His single eye traced over the visible skin not covered by the coat he had wrapped him in, taking in all the bruises, cuts and marks.
He felt really light, as well.
Lavi had carried the boy a few times on missions after he got knocked out something, and this was the lightest he'd ever been. It was odd for a normal human to lose that much weight after only a few days without food, but Allen was a parasite, and he would probably die after only a week with no food. So, Tykki had been starving him, and...

'Yu...' Lavi swallowed, the samurai walking next to him looking at him in annoyance at the sudden return of his first name, 'He's beat up like this, I found him naked on a bed, and there are hand cuffs around his hands and feet...'

'Yeah...' Kanda nodded, 'I know what it means, Rabbit.'

Lavi sighed again and they settled into silence. Lavi desperately wanted Allen to wake up, but at the same time he was afraid of his fears being confirmed. He really really hoped he was wrong, that the Noah family wasn't THAT evil as to rape an innocent boy, but then, they weren't exactly known for their morals...
It was then the redhead noticed Allen was shivering, despite being held close to his warm body. Lavi looked up at the sky; the sun was setting.

'I wanna get Allen to a hotel. It's too cold out here and we don't have any spare clothes with us. It wouldn't be good for him if we spent the night.'

'Well he's gonna have to cope,' Kanda said flatly, 'We're miles away from the nearest town.'

'That's why I'm gonna carry us there on my hammer.'

The bookman stopped and gently moved Allen so he was holding him to his chest with one arm. With his now free hand he got his hammer from his holster, activated it and stuck the giant head in the ground. He looked at the samurai expectantly.

'Help me carry Allen, I can't hold him and fly at the same time.'

'Che, be damned if I ever get on that thing.'

'Come on Yu, just because you get airsick easily-'

'I don't get airsick. I'm just not going to trust my life to a stupid rabbit and a giant hammer. Ia'm going to look for the Noah guy.'

'Allen has just been through hell.' Lavi said seriously, 'And I know you probably don't care but I do, and if you want to go looking for the Noah then fine, but after we get him to a safe place. Now please help me with him.'

Kanda hesitated for a moment then muttered something about going soft and Lavi owing him one, then stood on the hammer head and held on. Lavi commanded it to extend, and they shot up toward the sky. After the handle started getting horizontal in direction, they sat down side-saddle and Lavi passed the unconscious boy to Kanda so he could concentrate on flying straight.

--

About forty-five minutes later, they landed outside a town. They walked through the almost empty street until they found a motel, and after checking in Kanda went to find a phone to call Komui while Lavi laid Allen on the bed and got out the first aid kit. He then started to wash the caked blood from the unconscious exorcist's skin.
There were shallow grazes on his back, and painful looking bite marks on his collar bone. Marks on his neck revealed someone had tried to strange him, and deep gouges on his chest suggested they'd tried to claw out his heart or something. After bandaging his torso and tended to the less serious wounds, he looked at the remainder of the handcuffs around his ankles and wrists. They had created deep painful looking cuts.
He pulled a hair pin from his pocket and picked at the locks until they clicked open, then threw them aside to bandage the wounds they had created. After all that was done, he dressed Allen in the pyjamas the maid had brought up for them, and put him under the covers. As he did, the boy cried out and threw an arm out to push him away. Lavi yelped in surprise and caught it before it could collide with his head.

'S-Stop!' although Allen's eyes were closed there was tears running down his face, 'Leave me alone!'

'Allen, it's me!' Lavi held him still, cupping the boy's cheek to wipe the tears away with his thumb, 'You're safe, don't worry.'

'Lavi..' Allen sobbed, 'I-I... I'm... Dying...'

'You're not dying.' Lavi told him calmly, stroking his soft white hair comfortingly, 'You're ok now. Now come on, open your eyes and look at me.'

'I-I can't...'

'Why not?'

'Cos if I open my eyes...' he moved so he rested his head in Lavi's lap, trembling somewhat, 'You'll be gone and I'll be back in that room...'

'I won't be gone. This isn't a dream. Now come on, open you're eyes. I'll still be here.'

Allen nodded, and slowly opened his eyes, looking up at the redhead with damp eyes. Lavi smiled weakly and put his arms around him.

'See? Still here.'

'Hm...' Allen nodded and his eyes slid shut again. Lavi made the move to get up, but Allen grabbed the end of his shirt weakly.

'Lavi... Do you mind... Sharing a bed?'

Lavi blinked, mildly surprised by the request, and then grinned.

'Nah,' he answered, 'but first I gotta go talk to Yu-Chan, ok? I'll be right back.'

Allen nodded, and let Lavi get up. The white-haired boy settled under the covers on his pillow, warm for the first time in days. He was tired; dead tired, but he fought off sleep, until a few minutes later he heard the door open and the light switch off, and the bed creak as Lavi got in under the covers next to him. He rolled over and snuggled up to Lavi's chest. He was safe.

--

Review!