• After they no longer heard the clacking of Komui’s strangely new-looking shoes, Mel took her hand off of Lavi, who immediately gasped a bit for cool, fresh air. “Careful next time!” he yelled, collapsing against Mel’s thumb.
    “S-sorry,” she said, gently rubbing his back with her little finger. He seemed so fragile, and she thought about how much stress his body could take at height. What’s more, she wondered if he could still activate and use his innocence.
    She took Komui’s words into consideration and smiled. “Hey, Allen, would you like to go get some food from the cafeteria for us three?”
    Allen perked up. “Breakfast? Really?” After Mel had nodded he smiled. “Thanks! I’ll be right back… though I’ll need some help carrying it all.” He took off his cloak and began walking towards the door. “I’ll ask Lenalee or someone like that for help. You just stay here with Lavi.”
    The door slammed shut as he ran out of the room, and Lavi looked at the Italian exorcist above him. “Now what?” he asked.
    She pressed a finger to her mouth, and then got an idea. “How about a nice hot bath?” she asked, smiling genuinely.
    Lavi was confused. “Wouldn’t that mean I’d have to take all of my clothes off?”
    “Well, yes, I suppose so. I could find something that’s the right size for you, too, so you won’t drown in the bathtub. Speaking of which,” she said, pondering again, “I should probably take a bath, too, while I’m at it. I haven’t had one since yesterday afternoon.”
    Lavi fell dead silent at those words, quietly thinking to himself. Maybe he’d actually…
    “I’d have to use something to cloud the water for the both of us, though, just so that neither of us get a funny idea or two.” Mel smiled. “I mean, you’re not the only one with those kinds of thoughts on their mind.”
    Lavi blushed a little and sighed. “What’ll I use to dry myself off?”
    “I can use the medical scissors to cut a towel small enough for you.” She looked outside at the birds, which tweeted happily in the warm light of a late winter’s morning. “So that’s what you saw first when you woke up, wasn’t it?”

    Allen walked down the hallway, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. He couldn’t quite remember the last time he had done so, nor did he actually recall any time where he had the choice to begin with. But now he noticed things that were quite odd; the walls were covered in very old art; the stairs were very steep and very small. He then caught a very strong scent- coffee.
    He turned the corner to see Lenalee, who was on her usual duty delivering the morning coffee to the Science Division. The white-haired exorcist smiled at her, and she smiled back and began walking towards him. Her facial expression melted into something very distressed, and she sighed as she approached Allen. “Any luck in finding him?”
    “Surprisingly, yes,” Allen said, enjoying the moment as Lenalee’s face brightened and she seemed to get excited. “Well, where is he?”
    “He’s up in the hospital ward, but I don’t think he wants anyone else to see him right now.”
    “Well,” Lenalee asked curiously, “why not?”
    Allen grinned a little bit and sighed. “Let’s just say… with the state he’s in right now… he’d be embarrassed if anyone else knew what happened last night.”
    “Oh,” Lenalee said, understanding that Lavi should probably have his privacy. “So, is he alone up there?”
    “Oh, no. Mel’s watching him and making sure he doesn’t hurt himself. That would be…” he snickered, “a BIG problem…”
    “W-why are you chuckling like that? Is something about it funny?”
    Allen ran off towards the cafeteria. “I’ll explain later, ‘kay? I have to go get food for Mel, Lavi and I.” Before he turned a corner in the hallway, he yelled to her. “See ya later, Lenalee!”

    Lavi steadily lowered himself into his makeshift bathtub- a teacup- and sighed in relief. The bath was just perfect- it was clouded by a sweet-smelling mix of vanilla, lavender and eucalyptus, and it was very warm, as though he were in a spa. He smiled.
    Mel finished filling the bathtub with water and smiled over to the tiny exorcist, who was splashing a little bit in the teacup that was carefully placed on the floor near the tub’s base. She then smiled, closing the curtain around the tub and slowly lowering herself in, the hot water soothing her body and making her feel more comfortable. She poured a large amount of the clouding fluid and smiled, and then, when she could no longer she her body, reached down to pick up the teacup AND its saucer, along with Lavi.
    Lavi felt himself being carefully lifted over to a small, tray like thing that held soap, shampoo, a newspaper and a few other miscellaneous objects, including a small towel for him to dry off with.
    “So,” Mel asked, with a sly grin on her face, “what were you doing in my bra this morning?”
    “Oh…” Lavi blushed deeply, wondering why she had chosen such an awkward first question. “Well, I was a little frightened by Andrei shooting at the door handle.”
    “Really?” she asked, the doubt very relevant in her eyes. “Last time I checked, frightened and cold did not have the same meaning.”
    “I was not being a pervert, ok!?” Lavi yelled in frustration. “The combination of Andrei’s frightening height along with the fact that there was a DRAFT in the room doesn’t account for that, got it?”
    Mel laughed a little. “You’re so cute when you’re angry, y’know that?”
    “Huh?” Lavi said, blushing hard enough that the blood felt like it was rushing to his skull. “W-what do you mean?”
    “Well, maybe now I just see a side of you that was harder to see- the top of your head.”
    “Hey!” Lavi yelled, grabbing the towel for himself and standing up. He wrapped it around his waist and stepped out of his tub, walking over to the edge of the tub-tray to scold Mel. “Just because I’m…”
    Mel burst into more laughter. “It’s funny when you do that, it really is! You have no idea that I’m just messing with you! It’s so adorable!”
    Lavi looked at her. “Really, are you some sort of psycho?”
    “No, not at all. I just love to watch human emotions at work. It intrigues me.”

    Allen finished ordered everything her was going to need. “Thank you, Jeryy!”
    “No problem, cutie pie!” he cooed back.
    Allen looked around the dining hall, noticing that there weren’t many people around. He sighed. Had it really been THAT late?
    Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the sight of long black hair, and he turned, causing his skin to prickle as his eyes fell upon Kanda.
    Kanda stared at him and, with his mouth half full of soba noodles, grumbled, “What do you want, beansprout?”
    Allen ignored the crude nickname and forced a smile. “We found Lavi.”
    “Oh, just grand…” Kanda continued slurping up soba quickly.
    “Hey, could I have some of-“
    “NO!” Kanda barked. “Why didn’t Lavi come down here for food, if you’ve found him?”
    Allen was shocked to see Kanda taking any interest in Lavi. “Well,” he said, rubbing the back of his head, “there were a few complications…”
    “Like, what?”
    “Oh, you wouldn’t believe me. Hey, could you help me? I need to take dishes upstairs for Mel, Lavi and I and I really need-“
    “NO.”
    “C’mon, Kanda! PLEEEEEEEAAAA-“
    “I SAID NO!”
    “I bet you’d like to see what happened to Lavi, wouldn’t you?” Allen inferred slyly. “It’s actually quite hilarious what happened… I bet YOU’D even laugh.”
    Kanda glared at him. “Good Luck with that! There is nothing that he could ever do to make me laugh…”