#stumble stride

“Tch.” Kanda simply scowled and looked away even as he lay sprawled on his back on the training room floor. Composed though he still seemed to be, Allen figured that was just his way of looking defeated.

“Ya sure did, bean sprout.”

“Don’t call me that, Lavi.”

“Will you get the fuck off already?”

“Suck it, Kanda.”

“Save that for bed time, guys.” Lavi winked at the pair, who were now united in glaring at him. “Hey, didn’t you have a bet going ‘bout what happens to the loser?”

“I didn’t lose.”

“Whatever, Kanda. Doesn’t look like that from here.”

“Shut up, bean sprout,” Kanda answered simply, pushing up and sliding out of his partner’s slackened grip.

“One day, Kanda,” Allen began, dusting off as he stood up, “I promise you you’re going to—”

“Yeah so what kinda bet was it again, Allen?”

“Huh?” Allen returned his attention to Lavi and the disturbingly wide grin he had on at the present moment. “The usual, I guess. Shaving off the hair.”

“Of course! This time it wasn't a draw, and you weren't interrupted either. Sorry Yuu, guess now Allen’s finally gotten his way, he gets to hack off that long, shiny mane of yours…”

“Wait, that’s—” Allen started without even realizing what he was saying.

“That’s what, Allen?”

“N-nothing,” he answered, blanching as a certain realization began to dawn on him.

“Tch.” Kanda whipped his upturned nose away in scorn. Some loosened wisps of hair flew over his shoulder to follow it, falling over his face.

Allen gulped and swiped his palms on his pants nervously.

I won…

***

Allen admired the bluish lustre of the strands flowing down the back of the chair where Kanda was seated. He twirled some across one palm and watched it glide back into place, sighing.

“No need to keep waiting for the damn rabbit. Just get on with it.”

“W-well, Lavi would be awfully disappointed if we—”

“Quit stalling.”

“I’m not stalling! I just…” cannot go through with this.

“Would you stop fucking doing that!”

Unconsciously, Allen had apparently begun playing with Kanda’s hair again.

“S-sorry,” he replied sheepishly. Then he trailed fingertips lightly down Kanda’s arms, underneath them, and up his back. There, a certain cool, familiar curtain rose over the backs of his too-warm fingers. “It’s just…”

“What?” Kanda prompted, grabbing Allen’s wrists firmly, but without malice, as they finally reached his shoulders.

“It’s… your hair…”

“And…?”

“I…”

Kanda gave Allen a look that he supposed was meant to be challenging, but which he found incredibly seductive instead. “Well?”

“Please don’t look at me like that,” Allen asked softly, hyper-conscious of how close they were as a result of his arms being held in a loop behind his boyfriend’s back. Normally he’d enjoy a little teasing, but under the current circumstances, this was akin to torture.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re daring me to…”

“And what if I am?” Kanda murmured, lips drawing closer to Allen’s as he leaned forward.

What the—?

“Okay okay okay, I can’t, alright? I love your beautiful bloody hair, alright?”

Kanda smirked and let go just as Lavi burst into the room; Lenalee hot on his heels. Allen stumbled back a bit, confused.

“Not too late, are we? Oh good, the big chop’s not done yet!” Lavi confirmed gleefully.

“Bean sprout chickened out.” Kanda crossed his arms over his chest, smirking.

Blushing up a storm, and still more affected by the past few minutes’ contact than he’d like to admit with others in the room, Allen beelined for the nearby window.

“See, Yuu? Just as I thought!”

“Boys, don’t you think this has gone far enough? I mean poor Allen…” Lenalee appealed.

“Tch. This has gone on for too long already. I’ll do it.”

And with a blindingly fast and fluid motion, the swordsman used his beloved Mugen to lop off almost all of his hair.

“Noooooo!!!! Kanda, how could you? You weren’t supposed to— Oh my God!”

Lost hair lay still and fanned out on the floor; a casualty of war.

***

Allen spent much of the rest of the day mourning in silence and solitude, and trying to make sense of the tragedy that had transpired, until he found Kanda again at the dinner table…

“You let me win? You… you… you ass! As if I even needed your help!” Allen cried, but his attentions were diverted toward glancing up and down the back of Kanda’s neck.

“It was the rabbit’s idea,” his interlocutor calmly pointed out. “So that spar doesn’t count.”

“Chill. No harm done, right? That luscious hair’s all there isn’t it, Allen?”

And so it was. Because evidently, much like with his injuries, Kanda’s hair grew back miraculously fast— and thick, and perfect— within hours.

“You set me up. You set me up!” Allen repeated, outraged. “I’m going to murder you both…”

Lenalee rolled her eyes. “See, I told you that was too cruel, guys.”

“Murder us? You can’t even harm a hair on Yuu’s head!”

“Don’t use that name, idiot rabbit!”

"The red-faced guy who just flew past? Yep."

"Why was he hopping like that? Was that a limp? I hope he and Kanda weren't fighting again…" The clipboard previously held firmly to her chest dropped loose at her side.

"It might be a little more complicated than a 'fight,' from what I can tell." All Lavi had to go on were first impressions, but his eye was keener than most. "I expect they'll be back to normal in a minute, though…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" She narrowed her eyes. "Spill it, Lavi."

Mugen drawn, a wrathful Kanda stumbled through the hallway now, evoking all the warmth and calm of a rain of hailstones. "IDIOT BEAN SPROUT, COME BACK HERE!"

"Now there, that was almost normal."

"Uh huh," Lenalee sighed. "I bet you think I didn't notice."

Lavi's eyebrows perked up with interest.

"His clothes. They were too short— in the arms and legs."

"Yes. Yes they were. Very good eye, Miss Lenalee Lee."

She poked a playful, accusing finger at her counterpart's chin; "Don't you underestimate me, Lavi Bookman… Junior."

***

Finally managing to reach his room, Allen sighed in relief.

Now what the bloody hell am I supposed to do with these clothes?

"Goddamnit, Beansprout!" Kanda was closing in fast. Well at least they could do something about the situation now.

"Shut it, Idiot Kanda!" He shouted through his door. "If you do, I'll let you in here to change clothes, okay?"

Oh what am I thinking, it’s Kanda! He'll just— Allen opened the door just in time to block Kanda's slash at it with his left arm. "What do you think you're doing to my door?"

"Give back my clothes!"

"Didn't I just tell you to shut up and I would do that? Oh never mind, just get inside, will you?"

He made room for Kanda to enter. Thankfully, he finally resheathed Mugen at this point.

"The hell are you doing wearing my stuff?"

"Obviously I couldn't see what I was putting on when the light went out in the baths, you git!"

"It's your fault it went out in the first place!"

"Your sword cut the lantern apart."

"You pushed my arm that way."

"Okay it's both of us at fault, all right? Now take your clothes and go!"

"You… have to get out of them first… loser…" Kanda grumbled at the floor.

"Gladly… so get out of mine… y-you ass."

"Tch. As if you need to ask!"

Without further words, they turned backs to each other and began to undress. Once Allen was down to nothing but Kanda's dress shirt; Kanda only left trying to peel Allen's pant legs off again, Allen couldn't help looking (again), only to find Kanda staring right back.

Kanda smirked, eyes darting below and back up to Allen's eyes again. "My shirt is like a dress on you, bean sprout."

"Says the guy who's all bent over, trying to pull off my trousers." His face reddened in his horror at what he said. "And I told you downstairs, it's ALLEN!"

Though not the best idea at the time, the young Exorcist lunged in a fit of embarrassment and frustration, pinning his rival to the floor with his own pair of pants. Yet Allen had barely a moment to relish this triumph before he was flipped right over; arms now bound with Kanda's shirtsleeves. Allen gulped a little as he realized he was liking this position a little more than he probably should. Yet he also noticed the intensity of Kanda's stare and the way it kept wandering all over his body. He swallowed hard while Kanda chewed at his own lip.

Kanda biting his lip?

***