Archive of Our Own ^beta

The Best Laid Plans

Allen could have sworn his room didn't have this much to pack. After all, he had basically the clothes on his back to his name. Not that he was complaining. They were pretty nice clothes. His back didn't deserve them.

Yet, he had just finished collecting an entire stack of random books – none of which he recalled checking out from the library. He tossed the latest hefty volume onto the bed. It appeared to be entirely in French.

"Liiiink," Allen whined, swiping an arm across his forehead as he collapsed against the edge of the mattress, "Why have you been leaving books in the room? Now they've all got to be returned at once!"

Link glanced over from his post by the door and took a sip of tea. "Those are not mine."

"Sure they aren't," Allen deadpanned. He gestured in aggravation at the framed artwork on his wall. "I suppose the ghost inhabiting my creepily appropriate painting went for some light reading, then." He shoved and sorted through the stack, identifying the most damning book to end the argument. Grinning widely, he held it aloft.

"What's this, hm? Advanced Patisserie? Funny, I wonder who might be interested in such a particular book."

Link's eyes widened just a fraction, and he set down the tea in favor of the book. "I assure you, this book is not mine," he said, cracking it open to a marked page containing a center spread of fruit tarts. The paper marking it bore a single phrase: Levellie's Request, 29 September.

His eyes grew huge, then glued themselves to the page. "Not possible. This is for tomorrow. Forgetting an official request is unacceptable. Perhaps the Branch Chief delivered this for me."

Bouncing to his feet, Allen gathered up the rest of the stack. His eyes flicked to the very absorbed Inspector Link and back. "I'll just… return these others, then, if that's all right."

Surely I can't be this lucky. I haven't had a moment apart from my appointed guardian for weeks, and now…

A hum of agreement was all he got as Link turned the page and focused on the details of a recipe, his brow furrowed in an alarming amount of concentration. That was more than enough. Allen sidled out the door with his near-toppling load of literary tonnage and wobbled up the passageway as quickly as possible before Link could change his mind. If his luck held, he wondered if he might just disappear for a while.

Then again, there was the issue of dinner before long—

"Been hittin' the books, Al?"

The sudden voice startled him into dropping a couple of books. Lavi strolled over from a cross-passage, laughing lightly as he scooped up the fallen items. "Seriously, you look like you could use a hand."

"Actually, yeah. Were you headed to the library?"

"I'm always headed to the library," Lavi laughed. He pulled several volumes from the stack and led the way down the corridor. "I practically live there. For all I know I was born in one. No, wait, scratch that – definitely born in a brothel. That's a fact."

"Likely story," Allen quipped. "That sounds a little too fitting. You were probably born in a boring hospital, or on an even more boring farm. I'll bet you were so bored that you ran away to become a Bookman."

Lavi wore the look of a kicked puppy, shoulders slumping. "You don't believe me?"

Smirking back, Allen teased, "If you'd been born in a brothel, I doubt you'd've left."

"Yeah, well, maybe I have better taste than you assume," Lavi said slyly. He steered them down another passageway. "And I wasn't lying. Brothels aren't exactly a welcoming place for kids. They sold me off and I ended up with Bookman, so good riddance to the place. Where were you born, anyway? A boring row house?"

Stunned silent, Allen swallowed the lump in his throat. There was no lilt of jest in what Lavi had said, and it hit a little too close to home. Still, he had sort of started it.

"I don't know," he said, his voice barely audible but seeming to carry down the empty hall, echoes returning to him as ghostly whispers. "Somewhere in the vicinity of a particular circus, I suppose. I was… sold to them. Or so the ringmaster said. Anyway, yeah – good riddance."

Another few beats of heavy silence passed, and Lavi huffed in frustration. "Well, shit."

"What's wrong?" Allen looked around, but for all he could tell, they were right on course for the library as intended.

Lavi smacked his forehead onto the top of his book stack, stopping in his tracks. "I just never know when to quit, y'know? I keep asking questions until people get uncomfortable or upset or depressed and I've killed the conversation."

"You didn't kill anything," Allen tried. He nudged Lavi's shoulder with his own. "There are more skeletons in my closet than I have room for, some of which I know nothing about myself, so you're bound to trip over a few."

"Hm, I believe it." Turning to meet his gaze, Lavi's eye seemed to take on another dimension – a fathomless, unknown depth. Allen squirmed under the scrutinizing attention in that stare but could not find the words to wriggle out of it.

The grounding sensation of his cramped fingers under the weight of books steadied him. Allen plastered on another smile. "Were you going to ask me something?"

"Maybe," Lavi replied. He cracked a smile and plopped his stack of books to the ground, taking a few more from Allen's. "Look, your left arm's not fully healed yet, is it? You should only be carrying what you can hold with one arm." He hefted the larger stack from the ground and soldiered on, motioning with his head for Allen to follow.

"It's practically healed," Allen said under his breath, bristling with annoyance over his now negligible stack tucked under one arm, and more so over his own inexplicable awkwardness.

This was Lavi, for god's sake.

Smooth, Walker. Not living up to your gentlemanly reputation these days, are you?

Allen jogged ahead to get the library door. Inside, The room was chaos incarnate, books and boxes stacked all over and Finders swarming everywhere among the shelves in the great packing effort.

"After you," he said, briefly dipping his head toward Lavi and trying to move past the rocky start.

Chuckling, Lavi just balanced the books against his right cheek and arm, reaching out to tip Allen's chin up with his free hand. He smiled an impish, knowing smile.

"Ya don't have to try so hard, Al."

"Wha—? I'm just— You've got most of the books!" Allen spluttered, painfully aware of the heat consuming his face. He snatched half the load from Lavi, gathered his wits and backed away with a tight grin.

"I don't need special treatment, thank you."

"Seriously, Allen?" Lavi laughed. "I carry a shit-ton of Gramps' books every day. It's nothing special, I swear."

"Oh, well that's a relief," Allen said drily as he turned to escape.

He took barely two steps before tripping over a half-filled box, sending his books flying in a cascade of flapping pages. His momentum was enough to roll him head over feet into the end of a bookshelf. He lay where he fell with a pathetic groan, corners of the fallen books poking into his injured side.

Lavi was right, damn it – his left arm had a ways to go. His whole self had a ways to go, after all they'd been through. The Order's attack was mere weeks behind them.

Allen opened his eyes to see Lavi crouched down and staring in concern.

"Dude… Are you all right? And I mean that in like, every way possible."

"Just leave me here to die now, okay?" Allen groaned. He curled in on himself and attempted to block out the small collection of Finders who had also circled around.

"Uh, I'm gonna go with no," Lavi deadpanned. "The only reason I haven't moved you yet is for medical safety reasons. Can you feel your legs?"

"I wish I couldn't."

"Does it feel like any part of your spine is damaged?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Did you hit your head?" Lavi paused, considering. "Bite your tongue? Break any bones?"

"Weren't you just going on about asking too many questions?" Allen whined, further blocking reality with his arms over his head. "Also, no, no, and no."

"Up we go, then!"

Lavi hooked his arms under Allen's and hauled him – carefully but quickly – to his feet. He patted Allen's shoulders and directed him through a series of limb movements. Allen complied out of sheer guilt over his own stupidity.

Just when he thought the situation could not possibly get worse, Kanda emerged from between the nearest rows of shelves, radiating his judgmental-asshole vibes across at least a ten-meter radius.

"Hiya, Yuu!" Lavi piped up, either oblivious to the aura or in patented denial.

Personally, Allen categorized Lavi's responses to the hazard that was Yuu Kanda as a threat gauge. If he'd learned one thing from recent events, it was that Lavi was nowhere near as easy to beat as he let on, and he was well attuned to just how far he could get away with pushing Kanda.

"Take it down a notch, rabbit," Kanda snapped, ponytail lashing out at he turned to the greeting. He glanced over at Allen and cracked a devious smirk. "Looks like the beansprout's more of a radish, today."

"I am no variety of vegetable," Allen growled, all too aware of the way his embarrassment showed on his face. He stared down the fallen books and flexed his left hand. "Fairly sure my pride's been bruised worse than the rest of me."

"No harm done, then," Lavi declared with a grin, surreptitiously glancing over his shoulder. Allen followed his line of sight and spotted Link storming the library entrance, clearly on a manhunt and probably reconsidering his earlier slip in diligence. Allen's spirits managed to sink even further.

Lavi leaned in to whisper, "You sure you didn't twist your ankle or somethin'?"

"No… Why?"

"Want me to get you out of here, or do you wanna go back to the guard dog?"

Allen considered this reasoning for a split second. How much worse could it get?

'Central-style interrogation' worse.

"Door number one, please."

Lavi saluted Kanda. "That's our cue." He turned, squatted, and gestured to his back. "Hop on, Allen."

Smothering a chorus of protests in his head, Allen clambered on. No sooner had he hooked his arms around Lavi's neck did they take off at a near-sprint through the maze of people and boxes, blowing past Link as Lavi announced, "Medical emergency! Make a hole!"

Allen craned his neck back after they turned down the passage, spotting Kanda and Link just outside the library in some sort of stand-off.

This struck Allen as odd.

"Lavi," Allen asked, "What exactly was Kanda doing in the library?"

"He's just… bored," Lavi huffed, rounding the next corner and making a beeline for the elevator. "Can't talk… and run… sorry."

"Where are we going?"

"Away."

"Lavi, I can walk," Allen grumbled. "Just put me down and we'll both be faster!"

It seemed that Lavi was set on ignoring the request, until they stepped onto the elevator. At that point, he rapidly smashed several buttons on the controls, lowered Allen to his feet and plopped down in a sprawl, breathing hard and mopping his face with his bandanna. "You're heavier than I remember."

"Oh no, growth spurts strike again," Allen said, rolling his eyes. The elevator lurched into motion and began to descend. "Where are we headed, exactly?"

"Dinner," Lavi explained with a tired smile. "You're hungry by now, I'd imagine."

Allen shrugged. His stomach rumbled in agreement. "More of a constant state. But no matter what you're up to, I guarantee the first place Inspector Link will look for me is the cafeteria."

Resting his elbows on his knees, Lavi propped his face in his hands and smirked. "Okay, one, Link is 100% headed to the medical ward right now. That's gonna be around a twenty minute delay, accounting for travel, interference from the nurses, and actual discovery that you're not there. And two, I never said we're going to the cafeteria."

The whole situation reeked of a plan. Allen thought back to the books – the random books that Link swore were not his. The pastry book on prominent display, with Levellie's note inside. Lavi's appearance, then Kanda's.

Eyes narrowed, Allen immediately questioned, "Did you calculate my wipe-out in the library, Bookman Junior?"

"Ouch, not the full name," Lavi said, trying to pout but snorting instead, which made for a funny, half-baked expression. "But no, that just gave us a convincing cover to improvise. You weren't supposed to get hurt. I was gonna smuggle you out of the library the back way – Kanda was there to run defense no matter what."

"The library has a secret back way?"

"It's not exactly well-known, even to long-time Exorcists," Lavi added. "How many people do ya think go sneaking in and out of libraries?"

Allen pasted on a shit-eating grin. "Just one gigantic nerd, to my knowledge."

"Um, I think you mean two gigantic nerds. I'm still the apprentice nerd in training," Lavi corrected.

"The sort of apprentice nerd who's gone and cooked up a jailbreak scheme?" Allen charged.

Lavi just laughed. He held a hand to his chest. "Can't take the credit myself, sorry. I've labored under the inspiration of a true mastermind."

"Bookman?"

"Nah, the old panda doesn't exactly do shenanigans."

The elevator groaned and slowed to a stop. Lavi pushed to his feet and dusted himself off.

The floor at which they had arrived appeared to be completely deserted. It was cluttered with large chunks of rubble, twisted metal and debris. The lights were all out, since the power had been cut from electrical hazards. When Allen looked up, he could see the missing pieces of one or two floors above from the battle that had raged with the Level 4.

"Why are we here?" he wondered aloud, eyes still turned up and focused on a dangling strip of torn-away railing. He tried very hard not to think about the invading akuma responsible, about its horribly degraded soul or the mocking laughter ringing in his ears. Allen shivered in spite of himself.

Before he could spiral further, Lavi slung an arm across his shoulders and ushered him off the elevator platform. The physical contact was more grounding than anything else in moments like that. Not that he would ever admit it.

"We needed a rendezvous point that Spots wouldn't go checking. Just trust me, 'kay?"

Allen nodded, but his arm still ached with pains both real and phantom from the exertion of that battle. Of course he'd pushed it too far, back then. Nothing else mattered besides saving his friends and his home.

Even if it meant losing his home in the end, anyway.

Keep it together, Walker.

On the heels of that thought, he shifted focus to the warm body adjacent and wrapped an arm around Lavi's back, loath to disconnect. They silently picked their way past the debris, heading toward a particularly large cluster of floor pieces that appeared to block the entire rest of the floor. As they rounded one of the chunks, Allen spotted the tell-tale bluish glow of Innocence activating in the semi-darkness.

It took a moment for his eyes to calibrate – Lenalee's quiet laugh reached his ears at the same time he recognized the Dark Boots for what they were.

"Lenalee?" Allen said. "You too—?"

She reached out and ruffled his hair. "I'm a little surprised you made it this far," she said, her focus shifting to Lavi instead. Her always-sincere smile was just visible, hands clasped behind her back.

Lavi scoffed and squeezed his arm around Allen a little tighter. "O ye of little faith. The good inspector didn't account for tangling with a Bookman in the mix."

Before Allen could fully process the unexpected flutter in his stomach or make up his mind about squeezing back, he was released from the hold and nudged toward Lenalee. A whirring sound from the tower's central shaft caught their attention – the elevator was being called back up for use.

Lavi grinned and took a small bow. "Catch ya later. Duty calls."

"Wait, how will you—?"

Before he could finish, Lenalee grabbed onto Allen's arm like she'd accepted a relay baton. She fired off a salute at Lavi. "Good luck. Maybe someday Central will learn that Exorcists are twice as relentless as anything they can throw at us."

Lavi turned and strolled off into the shadows, while Lenalee pulled Allen closer to the massive pile of debris. "Lena, where exactly are we going?"

"Just hang on," was all she said, offering another smile of reassurance, and Allen complied. Of course he trusted Lenalee – he felt more apprehensive about whatever Lavi was headed back into.

He had no time to dwell on that, though, as Lenalee launched them up and over the blockage with such ease she might as well have been skipping a crack in the sidewalk. They landed lightly on the other side, and she deactivated her boots. Allen was surprised to see light coming from a passage ahead on what otherwise appeared to be a thoroughly wrecked and abandoned level.

Leading him along by the arm into the light, Lenalee turned and asked, "You're hungry, right, Allen?"

Allen blinked back owlishly for a second, then smiled at the familiar question. "I think you know the answer to that."

Giggling, she rolled her eyes and said, "Silly me. Well, dinner will be served shortly. We're almost there."

"Where is there?" Allen asked, trying not to sound exasperated. He recognized the efforts at diversion for what they were, but what was the harm in letting him in on the secret?

"You'll see. Aha! Here we are." Lenalee bounced up to an unmarked door on the right side of the passage and knocked four times.

The door cracked open to reveal large round glasses peering up at them. Johnny's smile just about broke his face.

"You made it!" he exclaimed, throwing up his arms. He rolled back from the door in his wheelchair, only for other arms to latch on and drag both Lenalee and Allen into the fluorescent lighting of a crowded and noisy room. Several members of the Science Section immediately converged upon Allen, all shouting excitedly over each other. His hand was shaken or his back slapped about a dozen times before he could focus enough to pick out all of their faces.

"You really saved our asses!"

"Those idiots from Central don't know what they're talking about!"

"We all thought this plan was nuts, but here you are!"

Allen couldn't help smiling in spite of the rush of anxiety from being put on the spot. He fixed Johnny with a knowing look. "I suppose you're the mastermind of this little heist, then?"

Still grinning broadly, Johnny shook his head. "We're all in on it, but no." He gestured across the cluttered and half-packed room to where a large lab table had been set apart, a hodgepodge of chairs collected around it like a dining set.

Almost every inch of the table was covered with trays of food.

As Allen collected his jaw, swallowing back the rush of saliva at such a sight, Johnny wheeled his way toward the table with a jerk of his head for them to follow. The others gave Allen a gentle push ahead.

"Our team's been bringing up food to-go pretty much every day while we pack this mountain of equipment," Johnny explained. "Working through meals and all – you know how it is. We just called in an extra-special order from Jerry today."

Someone planted Allen in a cushy rolling chair at the head of the table, and everyone else started to take seats as well. Lenalee stood to his left, absolutely glowing with pride as she reached down to give Johnny a hug and fussed about making his plate for him. Paper plates and utensils were passed around, and everyone chatted happily but did not touch the food. Rob started in on an elaborate tale of the latest questionable invention of Komui's that had put up a fight during the packing endeavor.

At that moment, Section Chief Reever appeared at Allen's right side with a large paper plate and a string of questions about which foods Allen wanted first. Reever wore a weary but heartfelt smile, the permanent bags heavy under his eyes, and for whatever reason that squeezed a little too hard on Allen's heart.

He felt the tears welling up and scrubbed at his burning eyes.

The tiniest bit of pressure bled off from those weeks of shoving it down, from countless days and sleepless nights of keeping himself together.

Allen counted and breathed and fought the familiar battle for composure, but it was a very long minute, several gentle pats, and a slight shake from Lenalee later that he got a hold of himself with a loud sniff.

Reever remained in place, an understanding hand planted on Allen's shoulder. "All right then, Allen. The food's going to get cold, so you'd better tell me what you want, got it?"

"Thanks," Allen sniffed again, nodding with a shaky smile. He took a quick look at the spread on the table and tossed out a few different requests, but as Reever began to gather the items, Allen had to ask the same burning question.

"Were you the one behind all of this, Reever?"

Reever smirked and shrugged. "Sorry, you've got the wrong guy. Just glad to be a part. We've all wanted to do something special to say thank you for a while now, but things got pretty crazy when they announced the move. We also assumed you would prefer to not be under guard for it."

"That was the biggest catch," Lenalee huffed. She set Johnny's prepared plate in front of him and fisted her hands, glaring off into the distance. "Just about everyone had given up on prying the inspector from your side."

Allen secretly wondered if Link, wherever he was, felt the flames of Lenalee's wrath.

"Just about?" Allen piped up. He tilted his head and smiled sweetly at Lenalee, recalling her fierce words and even fiercer hatred for Central. "This was your plan, wasn't it?"

Lenalee lowered her gaze, tucking her choppy hair behind one ear self-consciously. For a moment, they both stared down at the heaping plate Reever placed in front of Allen.

"No, it wasn't me," she sighed at length. Allen covered his surprise by digging in to the food, but Lenalee kept trying to explain herself, arms crossed in frustration. "It should've been. I was only able to contribute pieces to the plan to foil Inspector Link."

"Meddling CROW had it coming," Kanda announced, slamming the door behind him as he stormed across to the table. He didn't wait for any proper greeting before spotting the soba and making himself a plate.

Allen watched, narrow-eyed with his mouth full of dango, as Kanda joined the crew. He considered his shrinking list of suspects. Surely, Allen had thought, someone from the Science Section was the most likely mastermind Lavi had alluded to, but Johnny and Reever were both out. The other members had expressed gratitude, they just didn't know him well enough to be so invested. Setting aside the Science Section, both Lavi and Kanda had been players in the initial stage to remove him from Link's observation, before he was handed off to Lenalee.

He hadn't actually asked Kanda at any point. It seemed ludicrous to consider.

Aloud, Allen muttered, "Oh, surely you weren't the one behind this…"

"Not a chance, idiot beansprout," Kanda replied anyway, having apparently gathered enough context. "I don't have time to waste on elaborate schemes. I pitched in some muscle to spite Levellie's little stooge, though."

Maybe I'm not thinking broadly enough. Or highly enough?

Not a chance in hell it was Master, and he's long gone to Central anyway. The other generals don't really know me, either.

What if it was all the way up with Komui?

Allen continued to ponder this, grazing on the food heaped in front of him, all but oblivious to the non-stop amiable conversation around him. The Branch Chief had shown his fair share of concern for Allen over his time at the Order, and he could have even acted at Lenalee's request in this case. Still, Komui was extremely busy with the Headquarters move and under close scrutiny from Central on top of it all. It was hard to picture him being capable of such a trivial project in the midst of that.

He could not definitively be ruled out, however.

"Y'know, heavy thinking during meals'll give you indigestion." Lavi plopped into the seat at Allen's right, all smiles in spite of his breathless, sweaty state. He tugged his bandanna up to sweep back the red hair stuck to his face. "Havin' a good time, yet?"

Allen stared. "Did you sprint all the way here?"

"Maybe," Lavi said with a shrug. "Couldn't miss the party."

"We just got started," Allen countered, brow furrowed in confusion as he stuffed half a hamburger into his mouth. "Wha's the rush?"

Lavi sank further into the chair and deflated with a long breath, his eye drifting to the door and back. "Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the guard dog's onto us. He's stopped following Timcanpy. It's only a matter of time before he tracks us here."

Allen swallowed the bite so fast his eyes watered. He looked around in a sudden search for his golem, only to realize he had no recollection of Timcanpy being with him for any of the day's adventure.

Fixing his focus back on Lavi, Allen asked, "Tim is in on the plan, too?"

"Tim is indispensibleto the plan," Lavi explained, clasping his hands behind his head. "He's the perfect candidate for misdirection."

"But that means someone had to be conspiring, undetected, with my golem!"

"Yeah, about that," Lavi began, clearly trying and failing to tame his smirk. "Even if Tim wasn't already kind of a 'golem about town,' he's not a fan of this observation gig any more than the rest of us. Let's just say he's made his displeasure known."

"How?" Allen asked, mystified.

Lavi rubbed at his head and winced. "He's pretty damn gifted in nonverbal communication. When he first munched on my reports, I thought he was just tooling around. Then it escalated to blunt force. And a few not-so-loving bites."

"But when did he go about whining to other people?" Allen huffed. "He's always with me!"

Lavi cocked his head. "Is he, though? You're positive he doesn't ever just flutter off and bug everyone else when you're asleep, or just not paying attention? Like… exactly what he's been doing this whole morning?"

"Oh," Allen said slowly, realizing that he couldn't recall the last time he'd seen Timcampy after leaving his room. "I… I guess I just hadn't noticed."

"No surprise there," Kanda interjected, stabbing his chopsticks at Allen. "You've been a fucking space cadet since the Ark."

"Kanda!" Lenalee and Johnny both protested at once.

"Damn, Yuu," Lavi muttered. "That's cold."

Allen stuffed the entire rest of the hamburger in his mouth and lounged back in his chair, studying the swordsman as he chewed. Mulling over the perfect comeback until he swallowed.

Allen's mouth drew up into a sugary grin. "Your concern is just so touching."

A visible shudder ran over Kanda, his wrathful aura building in the air, and Lavi pushed up to lean over the table between them, reaching for the pork buns.

"Geez, I 'm starving. Think I forgot to eat breakfast today."

Allen cut his eyes over. "You're almost never up for breakfast."

"That and it's dinnertime, stupid rabbit," Kanda added.

Lenalee jumped in, hand propped on her hip as she fixed Lavi with a concerned look that bordered on a glare. "Did you skip lunch too?"

"Aw, cut me some slack!" Lavi whined. He fell back into his chair with a bun in each hand, tearing a bite out of the first with his teeth. "The old panda's been working me to the bone! You guys have any idea how much shit just the two of us have to pack?"

He set down the bun and held up his hands. Little bandages decorated his palms and a couple of fingers.

"What, you cut your hands shaving?" Kanda sniped.

"Papercuts, Yuu, papercuts!" Lavi huffed, hands falling to his lap in disbelief.

"You could've just asked us for help," Lenalee admonished. She batted her sad eyes in such a way that Allen could practically feel the transfer of guilt onto Lavi's shoulders.

Allen raised his left hand. "She's right. Pretty sure this thing is impervious to paper."

Lavi snorted, raising his right hand in a peace sign. "Only if you play scissors."

"Ungrateful heathen," Allen scoffed. He unconsciously made a fist. "Your luck can't hold indefinitely, even at the lamest game ever invented."

Smiling smugly, Lavi leaned his head into one hand and drawled, "You're really not gonna let me have this one, are you?"

"Someday I will pry victory from your cold, papercut hands," Allen promised with a bright smile. He popped another stick of dango into his mouth.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Johnny exclaimed, nearly leaping up from the wheelchair. "I heard the new Headquarters has a killer game room. You've all gotta promise me a round of chess. Or five. We should hold a tournament!"

Reever shook his head, chuckling, and clapped a hand on Johnny's shoulder. "Maybe slow down that plan a few steps. We'll have to set up the labs before even thinking about some kind of game tournament."

"It doesn't have to be chess," Johnny pouted.

"Aren't you more excited to set up your new room?" Lenalee redirected, clasping her hands together. "Those rooms have huge windows! No more jail-cell bars, thank you."

"You're the only one of us with any actual stuff in their room," Kanda muttered.

Lavi's mouth dropped open. "What gives! I literally just got finished talking about the mountain of shit we're packing!"

"Set it on fire already," Kanda retorted with a shrug. "Problem solved."

As the energetic bickering and discussion continued, Allen felt his body slowly begin to go numb. His hearing narrowed to a distant pinpoint, far back at the opposite end of a tunnel from the rest of the room. He felt so detached from these plans – unable to share everyone's excitement to make a new space their own, sometime in the uncertain future. What could he possibly add to the conversation?

All he could envision was the insignificant transportation of his body, clothes to his name hopefully intact, from one Central-controlled trap to another. The air in the room suddenly felt stifling, choking, and it was getting hard to breathe.

Standing stiffly, Allen swallowed against the tightness in his throat and pushed up from his chair. "Thank you for the dinner, everyone. Please excuse me."

How am I supposed to make plans? How can I be sure of anything at all?

Allen gave a curt bow, hurried across the room and rushed out the door, turning blindly down the passage without considering which direction might be the right way back. Not that it mattered. Allen figured if he wandered around enough, Inspector Link would find him eventually.

Or maybe Timcanpy would find him first. At least then, he wouldn't be completely alone with his thoughts for too long. Venting to Tim was better than nothing.

If only his stupid Master hadn't run off to Central with all the answers. Or any answers, period.

Allen let his frustrations carry him along through unfamiliar passages until he was far from the lighted area of the half-demolished level and picking his way through rubble again. The elevator had not descended yet. He briefly considered trying to call up an Ark gate, but just thinking about that strange and inexplicable ability made him cringe.

He didn't particularly care for the empty, silent, white-washed city inside, either. It had the eerie feel of a tomb.

Finally, Allen stopped. He gazed out across the gray darkness of nondescript piles until his focus landed on the smashed remains of a Finder's shield lamp. He pressed his back against a large upturned chunk of what was once part of the floor and slid down.

Allen closed his eyes, threaded his hands into his hair and thought about sinking right through the cracks. Falling all the way down to the lowest level and landing in one of the canal boats. Perhaps he could float away unnoticed…

The crunch of loose debris underfoot alerted him to another presence. Allen's eyes snapped open wide, wider still at the sight of Lavi right in front of him. The taller boy leaned down uncomfortably close, his head weaving around as if inspecting for injuries. He prodded at Allen's right ankle.

"Did ya trip again?"

Allen scrubbed a hand down his face, snapping as he stood, "No, I did not."

"So you just… squatted here in the dark, like a gargoyle?"

"It isn't that dark."

"Allen, come on," Lavi groaned. He dropped his arms in exasperation. "You ran out on your own party – granted, Yuu was being an ass – and now you're moping in a pile of destruction. I think I have a right to be concerned."

"Oh, yes, everyone is so concerned about me right now," Allen spat, flinging his arms wide. "They ought to be, after all. I am somehow even more of a freak than before – a true achievement, really. I'm probably a danger to myself and others, and I still have no fucking clue what is going on!"

"Hey, if it helps, none of us have any fucking clue either," Lavi sighed.

Allen stared down at his mismatched hands, both of which were shaking. He exhaled a long, unsteady breath. "I can't process… any of this."

"Thought so." Lavi took hold of his hands and rubbed circles into his palms. "I figure you're fed up with interrogation. If it's okay with you, how about letting me drive for a little while to get you back on track? That was my last question, promise."

Nodding, Allen focused on the soothing pressure in his palms and tried to push back the dark thoughts creeping just behind his eyelids. The sound of distant whirring caught their attention. They both looked toward the noise to where the elevator was about to stop on the level.

"Uh oh, here comes the party crasher." Lavi released one hand and pulled Allen along by the other without further comment, stumbling through the mess and into a different passage than before. The series of erratic turns left Allen disoriented – he was just about to ask where they were headed when they hit a dead end.

The only thing there was a small, hatch-like door with warning labels posted all over it. Most of them were intense-looking symbols clearly meant to ward people away, but one label was readable: it said "MAINTENANCE USE ONLY."

"I've never seen a door like this," Allen puffed, winded.

Lavi bent over with his hands on his knees and took a moment to catch his breath. Straightening up, he remarked, "Well, they're not exactly advertised."

He placed his hands on the large wheel mechanism, gripped tight, and wrenched it around a quarter turn. "Ugh, this one's prob'ly got some rust. I could use a hand."

Allen jumped on it and got the wheel around another quarter-turn. They alternated on rotations until the wheel had fully loosened and the door unsealed with an audible whoosh. Lavi climbed through the small doorway and motioned for Allen to follow.

Inside the narrow space, it was drafty, cold and dark. Allen looked up at the exposed wiring above, where dead bulbs hung at intervals. Power to most of the level had been thoroughly disrupted by the damage, and here was no exception. A couple of paces to the left of the entrance, a service ladder ran up the wall and through the ceiling.

Lavi pulled him toward the ladder. "Hold onto this. I'll close the door."

Allen watched the light disappear as the door sealed shut. The whole space was pitch black. He felt rather than saw Lavi reach the ladder, the hand on his back gently nudging him forward.

"Go on," Lavi directed. "It's a bit of a climb, sorry."

Allen hesitated. "But I don't know where we're going. Shouldn't you lead?"

"We're going up until I say stop," Lavi laughed.

"Don't s'pose I have much of a choice."

Lavi ruffled his hair. "Hey, you do. I just promised not to ask any more questions. At any point you can tell me to take you back to your room and fuck off."

Allen considered his options. He was tired and his left arm was still sore, but he couldn't deny wanting to see where this adventure was headed. Besides that, willingly walking back into 24/7 observation was not in his nature. If life had taught him one thing, it was a deep and enduring hatred of captivity.

"Fair enough," Allen said, pushing off the floor and into the climb. He could not see anything but didn't need to – the cold metal rungs were even and stable. There was no sound in the passage except the slight echo of their boots on each step. Well, that and Lavi making a light but distinct knock on the floor every time they passed through a level.

"Are you keeping a count?" Allen asked after the first couple of instances. "On that note, how did you find out about this maintenance space at all?"

"The library," Lavi said.

Allen stopped in his tracks, his eyeroll lost to the darkness. "Seriously? Komui hides weird experiments all over the place here and routinely blocks off areas. Why on earth would he just leave detailed schematics of Headquarters lying around where anyone could check them out?"

"Fine, I lied," Lavi chuckled. "He had the schematic on his desk one time when he called us in for a briefing, so I did what I do best and committed it to memory. Figured it'd come in handy."

"Just in case you ever needed to sneak away from Bookman?" Allen laughed.

"I dunno," Lavi replied, his tone turning a darker shade. "Maybe just in case the church ever decided to execute a hostile takeover on my friends. A real shocker, that one."

"You… weren't surprised?"

Sighing, Lavi moved up a rung and pushed at Allen's boot to urge him on. "Cards on the table, Allen, very few things surprise me."

They emerged through the next floor panel into the brightness of exposed bulbs. Allen raised an arm to shield his eyes from the sudden light in the cramped space. He shivered, feeling equal parts chilled by the dry air and off-kilter from Lavi's responses. Where was his friend's famous carefree attitude?

Allen was almost afraid of what face he might see when he looked back down.

But Lavi flashed his signature grin, as if nothing out of the ordinary had left his mouth seconds before.

Allen shook himself and pushed upward again before he could let his uncertainty slip. He blinked hard, trying to focus on the climb as he grabbed for the next rung with his right hand.

His numb fingertips barely brushed the metal and missed. His left arm strained at the imbalance and gave way, both arms pinwheeling as he careened backward.

"Whoa there, gotcha!"

Lavi propped him up on the ladder, one hand against Allen's back and his other hand clamped onto Allen's right. Wide eyes darting over, Allen realized Lavi had moved so fast that he now stood aside, on the floor of the level.

"Coulda just told me you needed a break," Lavi said. Behind the clear concern, his eye held that penetrating intensity again, and Allen dodged his gaze.

"No, I-I'm fine…" He tried to paint on another smile, but his shaky focus landed on their hands instead, on the steady grip of ink-stained fingers wrapped around his.

He remembered holding onto them before.

Prying them free from the handle of a flaming hammer.

Only to lose his grip when it mattered most.

My hands are such traitors. What are they even saving anymore?

"Earth to Allen! Hey, snap out of it—"

Lavi pulled him, stumbling, off the ladder. Allen let it happen, like a puppet with broken strings, utterly out of control.

He landed against Lavi and was wrapped in near suffocating warmth. Allen pressed his nose into the threadbare fabric of that familiar green shirt and breathed. Belatedly, he gathered his wits enough to return the embrace.

"Damn, you're a human popsicle," Lavi said with a brittle laugh. He rubbed at Allen's back. "It's not that cold in here – are you getting sick?"

Allen shook his head, face still buried in Lavi's shirt. For once, he felt comfortable and safe, the rarest of luxuries in his life.

"You just needed a hug?"

Allen nodded. That was close enough to the truth. No need to unload an entire rant about how his existence was spiraling into oblivion because nothing made sense anymore. This moment felt like coming back down to solid ground, and that solid ground smelled like candles and parchment and Christmas trees. He could stay here for hours, maybe all day. Maybe longer.

"Listen, Allen," Lavi murmured close to his ear, "As much as I'd absolutely love to keep you here like this and freak out Spots when he catches up, I'd rather he not catch up."

They both remained silent for several seconds. Straining to hear, Allen's ears caught a very distant, metallic tapping somewhere below.

Sighing, Allen mumbled, "Well, fuck 'im. I guess you're right."

"Yeah," Lavi laughed. "Sorry to disappoint."

With a final deep breath in and out, Allen nodded again. Slowly, the hold around him loosened and he let his arms fall away. Lavi cocked his head, narrowed his eye and pressed the back of his hand against Allen's cheek.

"Still cold." He unwound the orange scarf from around his neck and wound it securely around Allen's neck until it covered half his face as well. Standing back, Lavi grinned at his handiwork and ruffled Allen's hair.

"There. Bundled and adorable."

"Shut up." Allen glared and reached out, yanking the bandanna down so that Lavi's messy hair spilled all over. Lavi just raked a hand through it and smiled back like the devil himself. If the devil also sported a lovely collection of freckles.

"Aw c'mon, you look good in orange."

"Yeah, well, you—"

Look even better in orange? Smell amazing? Ugh.

The failed retort died in his throat. Allen grumbled in frustration as he spun on his heel and practically leaped back onto the ladder. At least his cheeks were warm.

And they stayed warm, burning even. That infernal scarf smelled just like Lavi's shirt, which was both a comfort and a tribulation through the rest of the climb. Every step echoed words to the phrase ringing in his ears.

What

the

hell

is

wrong

with

me?

Well, what else in addition to everything Allen already knew was wrong. This stomach-in-knots-face-on-fire wrongness was probably an improvement.

The rungs finally ran out. Allen climbed into the narrow space of what had to be the highest floor of the tower – or at least the highest floor that the maintenance passage could access. Lavi clambered out after him, flexing his hands from the climb and shimmying past Allen to lead the way. They followed the curve of the wall until they reached another hatch-like door, this time on the outer wall.

Lavi unsealed the door and pushed it open with a blast of fresh, crisp air. They both stepped out onto the railed balcony beyond. Most of the tower lay below, with what appeared to be only a couple of floors remaining above. Allen spotted an exposed maintenance ladder running up the rest of the tower's height.

Snagging Allen's sleeve, Lavi pointed to the ladder as well. "From what I saw on the schematics, they didn't have enough room for the maintenance space to go all the way up the last part of the tower. No need for us to go there, though. This is our stop."

He turned and swept an arm out toward the vast forest surrounding the precipice of Headquarters, the leaves a swath of fire in autumn. Pockets of low-hanging clouds scattered through the treetops were tinged with yellow and pink under the muted sunset.

Allen approached the railing with wide eyes, drinking it all in. A far cry from the sinking ruins below, he felt as though he could lift off this balcony and fly away on the wind.

Maybe he could be free. Maybe there was a chance to figure everything out.

Lavi joined him at the railing and bumped his shoulder against Allen's.

"Thought you could use a better perspective," Lavi said. "It's super depressing inside."

"Yeah," Allen breathed. His thoughts turned to the Order, to what had become of his home, and he realized the building's wrecked interior wasn't the real problem. That wreckage was just a tangible reminder.

A reminder of the wreckage inside himself. Out here, though, as with every other time he stood in the face of nature, the shipwreck that was Allen shrank down to a tiny imperfection on the world – one of a billion imperfections, all capable of being refined and restored.

He turned back to his partner in crime. Lavi knew exactly what he needed.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Allen asked, pulling the scarf away from his face. He blinked at Lavi in something near awe. "This whole scheme, from the start…"

Lavi snorted. "Took ya long enough. But hey, I really did draw my inspiration from another mastermind. In the words of Sun Tsu, 'All warfare is based on deception.'"

"Guess I just realized I've spent the most time with you," Allen admitted, his eyes tracking away.

"Not that I'm complaining, but that wasn't the original plan," Lavi admitted. He gestured at the door behind them. "You were s'posed to hang with your whole support group, Al. I didn't figure on you running from the party. And Tim was s'posed to keep Spots on a wild goose chase for quite a while to make that happen. This little climb was just the escape route, along with a finishing touch."

Allen smiled softly. "Thank you. It's beautiful up here."

Lavi cleared his throat and rubbed at the back of his neck. "A-actually, I didn't mean the view right now, per se."

"You didn't?" Allen asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well if it's somehow even better than this, by all means. Let's have it."

"I mean, I-I can't exactly be the judge, y'know, on that," Lavi stammered, his face darkening enough to obscure the freckles. He slumped, stuffed his hands into his pockets and chewed his lip. "This is gonna sound so stupid."

Allen pulled at Lavi's arms until he could free his hands, holding onto them both. "All your other ideas today have been spot-on. What's there to worry about?"

"Passing geese?" Lavi said with a nervous chuckle. He wouldn't meet Allen's gaze at first, his eye scanning the horizon instead. When it snapped back, the intensity was breathtaking. Flames of the dying sun reflected within, a sliver of green remaining at the edges of his iris like a deep, dark forest.

Allen couldn't stop staring. He tried to zoom out – the wind whipped Lavi's hair into a dancing flame, and his uncertain smile was both rare and real.

Lavi took a deep breath. "Look, I brought you up here to— to scream off the tower. Y'know, just—" He flung both arms out toward the sunset. "Let it all go. Ultimate catharsis."

"You want me to… scream off the tower?" Allen questioned, each word slow and deliberate and ridiculous to his ears. The laugh bubbling up inside him nearly choked off his voice. He raised a hand to stifle it.

"Shit," Lavi groaned, deflating. "Told you it was gonna sound stupid."

Finally the laughter burst free. Allen snorted into the back of his hand, stomach spasming, and doubled over with uncontrollable giggles.

Lavi was not lying. That much was undeniable.

"Damn it, Allen," Lavi laughed in spite of his clear embarrassment, shaking his hysterical friend by the shoulders. "I'm serious about this. I mean, once you get a hold of yourself and like, breathe."

Allen took a few breaths, tears of laughter pricking his eyes, and snatched the front of Lavi's shirt to steady himself. "Ha, it sounds like a good way to get us caught," he refuted with a short, breathless chuckle.

Lavi just shrugged. "Foregone conclusion. Spots is onto us. You might as well take this opportunity while you've got it, Al. Shout it out."

"You do realize how embarrassing that sounds."

"Just pretend you're yelling at a bunch of akuma," Lavi suggested. "Or your master. Whatever works best."

"Please don't mention Master," Allen groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And I don't need scream therapy, thank you. Or a therapist."

Lavi pulled a face. He choked out, "Highly debatable, Al. For real, I'm tempted to punch the stupid little glasses off General Cross's face the next time I see him. Sorry."

"What for?" Allen laughed, propping himself against the rail. "That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me, you gorgeous idiot."

"Gorgeous?" Lavi's eye went wide. He stared back in red-faced bafflement for a long moment before he cracked a tiny smirk. "You think I'm gorgeous?"

Whoops.

Allen floundered for a few seconds, words dying in his throat as he failed to save himself. He turtled down inside the large orange scarf with a groan. Lavi's smirk just got wider.

"I'm sure plenty of others would agree," Allen muttered.

"That's really somethin', coming from the guy half the Order's low-key crushing on," Lavi laughed.

"Half the Order?" Allen squeaked.

"Did I stutter?"

"Lavi," Allen cried, shoving him back with pitiful force. He covered his whole flaming face with Lavi's scarf. "You've got to be joking."

"Kinda wish I was," Lavi added with a shrug. He turned to lean on the railing again, raking his hair back and propping his face in one hand. "You really don't have to take my suggestion, by the way. Didn't mean to be pushy."

Allen reluctantly emerged from the scarf, steeled his nerves, and scooted closer to Lavi. He took hold of Lavi's free hand where it rested on the railing, lightly tracing the scraped knuckles and bandaged fingers there before he gripped it tight. Lavi froze, a deer in the headlights.

Allen flashed him a smile before he turned, took a deep breath, and screamed out into the open air with all his might.

It was, admittedly, a liberating sensation.

Lavi stared down at his hand and back up to Allen in disbelief. "Okay, that… might've woken the neighbors."

Allen rolled his eyes. "What neighbors? It was your bright idea."

"Kudos on the delivery," Lavi laughed, the slightest bitter note to the sound. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly through his nose, his expression softening to one of quiet resignation.

He smiled over at Allen in a way that could only be described as helpless.

Allen smirked back, one eyebrow perched. "Shall we take bets on the inspector's response time?"

Lavi chuckled once, shaking his head, and had just opened his mouth to speak when the hatch behind them flew wide.

Inspector Link leaped through the door into an attack pose, clearly aiming to incapacitate any possible threat. He froze, paper seal at the ready, and blinked in confusion at the sight of them.

The stun quickly melted into a pinched frown. He stood straight and brushed down his uniform, flashes of very real concern behind his glare as he glanced between Allen and the railing.

"Walker," he clipped, "I demand an explanation for this."

Allen blinked, took a quick assessment of precipitous drop below, and decided the concern was fair. He had screamed like a banshee.

"Sorry, I got lost," Allen said. "Lavi found me." He gave a final squeeze to Lavi's hand and let him go with a parting smile.

"See you later."