FIVE

Needless to say, the drive back from their failed assignment was one of the most intense and uncomfortable Allen had ever been in. He sat in the front seat of the van nervously, watching Lenalee drive from the corner of his eye. She normally wasn't a fan of driving the tech van, but she had deemed Kanda unfit to drive. He had a habit of making bad decisions when he was really angry, yet putting him in the back with Lavi wasn't that much of a smooth choice either.

Both men sat as far away from one another as possible, arms crossed, looking anywhere but at each other.

"You smell like beer," Kanda mumbled grouchily, sniffing the air around him.

Lavi gawked at the Japanese man. "Gee, Sam, I sure wonder why!" Pulling his shirt away from his stomach, he gazed down at the large stain down the front.

"You're a fucking punk, that's why!" Kanda snapped, narrowing his dark eyes.

"Shut up! Both of you!" Lenalee yelled, glaring at both men through the rear-view mirror. Her small hands were gripping the steering wheel with a little too much force. "Stop complaining, Lavi. It's just a shirt. You have spare shirts back at the station."

Lavi, who absolutely hated getting chewed out by his best lady-friend, shut his mouth and looked down at the floor with a hint of shame in his green eye.

Her dark eyes flickered to Kanda. "Kanda, just...just go home." Raking her fingers through her long hair, she sighed. "As a matter of fact, all of you can go home."

As they pulled into the precinct parking lot, a heavy silence fell upon the four.

Opening the van door, Allen slid out of the the passenger seat, his shoes hitting the concrete with a dull thud. Lenalee did the same, while Kanda and Lavi hopped out the back of the van.

Kanda immediately stalked straight to his car, slamming the door as he got in. Tires screeched as he pulled out of the parking lot.

Walking up to Allen, Lavi ruffled his white hair. "Don't worry," he said soothingly. "he doesn't have days this bad very often."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I was worried about," the British man replied sarcastically, smiling weakly.

Lavi grinned, shouldering the shorter man lightly as they walked into the station. "Oh, how I love the British."

oOoOo

After they returned to the station, Lavi had wandered off somewhere, leaving Allen to hunt him down. Having looked mostly everywhere, the only place left was the bathroom.

"Lavi?" Allen called out as he opened the bathroom door. "Are you in here?" Turning the corner, he was surprised to see the redhead half-naked, standing at the sink. He was washing his stained shirt in the sink, leaving him in nothing but a pair of black jeans.

"You're at work, for heaven's sake. Put some clothes on," the British man deadpanned.

Red eyebrows waggled. "Don't act like you weren't enjoying the visual buffet that is before you." Lavi smirked as he turned off the faucet and began wringing out his shirt.

"Don't be stupid," Allen replied, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Whatever, Al." Pushing the bathroom door open, he walked into the public of the station shamelessly. Allen followed him, simultaneously astonished and intrigued.

Glancing around him, he realized no one was paying any mind to Lavi's shirtlessness. Was this normal?

Lenalee looked up from the papers on her desk, catching eye of her redhead co-worker and sighed. "Lavi, please put a shirt on."

"I can't find one, Lenaleach!" the one-eyed man whined.

Rubbing her temples, Lenalee sighed. "Go look in the locker room."

Lavi snapped his fingers, realization flashing on his face. "Oh, yeah! Thanks, Lenalee," he said, hurrying down the hall to the locker room. Lenalee returned to the paperwork on her desk, looking very tired and stressed.

"What's wrong, Lenalee?" Allen asked quietly, hoping not to frustrate her anymore.

"It's nothing, Al. I just have all this paperwork to do..." She suddenly smacked her forehead in exasperation. "And I have to go talk to Anita with Kanda and Lavi tomorrow!" Grabbing a fistful of her dark hair, she groaned. "I can't get this all done by then."

Allen coughed into his fist lightly. "Well, Lenalee, if you want, I could go with Lavi and Kanda instead."

Lenalee's face lit up at the idea. She grabbed Allen's hand and held it to her heart. "Oh my gosh, Allen, that would be so awesome of you! Are you sure?"

The white-haired man chuckled. "It's no problem at all."

"Thank you so much!" the Chinese girl smiled. "You probably won't have to do much, I think Kanda and Lavi have it handled."

"Hopefully." Allen grinned sheepishly. Lenalee gave him a wink, then returned the work ahead of her. The British man waved her a quick goodbye, then made his way out the door to catch a cab.

oOoOo

Walking through the doors of the precinct, Allen was confident in his assignment that day. All he had on his plate was an easy day tagging along with Lavi and Kanda. He smiled to himself as he looked forward to the simple task.

The white-haired man walked up to his desk, passing Kanda along the way.

"Why the hell do you keep coming back here, anyway?" the Japanese man grumbled, looking away from him.

Allen paused as he turned around slowly. Staring at the older man blankly, he shook his head. "Sometimes, I think there's something seriously wrong up there," he commented, tapping his head with his finger for emphasis.

"Shut the fuck up," Kanda retorted, crossing his arms across his chest. Leaning back in his chair, the dark-haired man silently thanked the sky above that he would get the day away from the annoying brat. Maybe someone up there did love him.

That thought quickly flew out the window when Allen's next words left his mouth. "Will I get to meet Anita, too?" he asked as he laid his jacket over the back of his chair.

Kanda frowned, his eyebrows furrowing. "What are you talking about?"

Allen blinked. "Lenalee didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what, brat?" the Japanese man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm taking her place today because she's-"

"Fuckin' great!" Kanda interrupted furiously, earning the attention of some of his nearby co-workers. "Just when I thought I could get away from that stupid, annoying face of yours."

"It's not a bloody picnic for me either, jerk!" Allen retorted, slightly embarrassed. He had learned to never take anything Kanda says to heart, but to his surprise, he was a little offended at how someone could detest being with him that much.

Sighing heavily, Kanda leaned back in his chair again. "You and your dumb British face and your dumb, fucked up accent. I've known you for like, three fuckin' days and I can't stand you already," he replied, rather lazily.

"I don't understand what I ever did to you," Allen commented, looking away from him.

"How about walking in here in the first place?" the Japanese man grumbled as he grabbed his blazer off the back of his chair and pulled it on.

"Don't be such an arse," Allen huffed, rolling his gray eyes passionately. He sat with his elbows rested on the desk, watching the older man opposite of him.

"Oh my god, just stop talking," the Japanese man growled, scowling.

"It seems to me that you're always the one who's talking. I think you pick fights with me because you're lonely. Are you lonely, Kanda?" Allen asked innocently, resting his chin in his upturned palms.

"I'm not fucking lonely," Kanda muttered. "Wait, why do you even care?"

"Oh, I'm just watching out for that jolly ol' companion of mine," Allen replied with fake sincerity, even though it seemed Kanda couldn't tell the difference.

"I'm not your 'jolly ol' companion'," The dark-haired man replied, glaring at the younger man.

Lavi walked up to his desk, grinning. "You guys are still alive? I thought that if I left for, like, a minute, I would come back to find at least one of you mutilated or something."

"Shut it, Red. Are we going or what?" Kanda asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, yeah, hold up." Lavi grabbed a key from his key chain and unlocked the top drawer of his desk.

Allen watched as the redhead pulled out his gun and slipped it into the holster around his waist. He faintly wondered if the day would ever come where he would watch Lavi use that weapon.

The one-eyed man's voice broke Allen's thoughts. "Hey, Al, stop daydreamin'. Let's go!"

Nodding, the British man shrugged his own jacket on and followed his partners out the door.

oOoOo

Sliding out of the back seat, Allen looked up to see a tall, tall building before him. "Anita is in there?" he asked, pointing at the front doors.

Lavi hummed in acknowledgment. "Mm-hmm."

"She owns it," Kanda replied curtly. They walked across the (dead) parking lot and up to the large doors. Allen strained his eyes in an attempt to see through the dark glass. "What exactly is this pla-"

The word died out before leaving his mouth. Kanda had pushed the door open, and the once quiet building immediately sprung to life. Rows and rows of lottery machines lined the middle of the large room, with bright neon lights shining overhead.

Kanda and Lavi had continued walking, obviously not finding the casino as interesting as Allen was. The white-haired man hurried to catch up to his partners.

"Anita owns a casino?" Allen asked with disbelief. He watched the people sitting at the slots as he walked by, mostly old women and men in mid-life crises.

The British man began wandering deeper into the casino floor. In the back, card tables sat, dealers throwing out cards with expertise to the unlucky players oblivious to the fact that their chance in winning was close to 10,000 to 1.

Allen quickly remembered the purpose for his trip here. "So, where do we find Miss Anita?" he asked. When no answer came, he turned around, only to be met with open air. "Guys?"

He spun around in a quick circle. "Lavi? Kanda? Wait, why would I want to find Kanda?" He made a face, dismissing the idea from his head. The gray-eyed man chuckled to himself, realizing the situation he had just put himself in. "Oh, joy. This should be a bloody fun adventure."

With nothing more to lose, Allen ventured further, glancing at the various table games being played around him. Immediately, a small, round table nested in the back corner of the room caught his eye.

A very pale man with limp, black and white hair sat hunched in a chair, wearing nothing but his boxers. Around him sat three other men, all with cards in their hands.

Allen's heart went out to the man, and he cautiously walked up to the table. "Erm... Pardon me, sir, but it seems you've gotten yourself in quite a predicament."

Sniffling, the black-haired man pushed his hair out of his eyes. "...Yes."

"It looks like you were gambling," Allen commented, surveying the table in front of him. "That's how you lost your clothes?"

"...Yes." Looking down at his trembling hands, the man frowned. "I don't even know how to play...poker."

Allen clapped his hands together, making the pale man next to him jump at the noise. "Ah, sir. If it's poker you're playing, allow me to win your clothes back for you.

The tanned-skin man sitting across the table laid his cards down. "Reckless, aren't we?"

Allen looked up, his attention drawn to the sensual voice that rang in his ears. The man had dark, wavy hair and had a pair of round glasses on his face. Judging from his accent, Allen guessed he was Portuguese.

"Reckless?" The white-haired man smirked, sitting down in a chair and began shuffling the deck of cards. "No, sir, it's skill."

The Portuguese man smiled a white grin, leaning back in his char. "All right, boy. Let's see what you've got."

oOoOo

"A royal flush?" the three men, now wearing only their boxers, exclaimed as they laid their eyes on the cards Allen placed on the table.

Smiling innocently, the British man grabbed the pile of clothes from the floor. "Well, gentlemen, it seems I have won. Now, my friend and I..." Blinking, Allen turned to the man beside him. "I didn't catch your name."

Wiping his nose, he smiled. "Arystar Krory, the third."

Allen nodded, handing Krory his clothes. "Yes, Krory and I shall be leaving now."

"Wait, boy," the wavy-haired man said as he put his clothes back on. "I call a rematch."

"Err, well... I really must be going now. You see, I have-"

"Yeah, it's cool. When am I going to get to see you again?" he asked, grinning.

"I'm not exactly sure, sir."

"Please," Gazing intently at Allen over the rims of his glasses, he smirked. "Call me Tyki."

Suddenly feeling a tad bit uncomfortable with the look Tyki was giving him, Allen smiled weakly. "Um, okay. Goodbye, Tyki."

Krory followed the British man as he walked away from the table. "I want to thank you again, Mr. Walker. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up," he said, chuckling nervously.

"Oh, nothing to worry about, Krory. I don't think I'm able to walk away from a game of poker," Allen replied, smiling.

"How did you get so good at it?" the taller man asked admiringly.

"Err... I've just had a lot of practice," Allen replied, the smile on his face faltering for a quick second.

As they walked out of the rows of slot machines, Allen spotted Kanda and Lavi from across the floor. Smiling weakly, he sighed with relief. Who knows the trouble he would have gotten into if he had really lost them.

They turned around, and the white-haired man waved.

"Those are your friends?" Krory asked.

"You could say that," the British man replied, watching as Lavi ran towards him. "I'll be seeing you around, Krory."

The pale man nodded, smiling as he walked off.

"Allen!" Lavi cried melodramatically, immediately throwing his arms around the smaller man. "I was so scared! I thought I had lost you!"

He patted the redhead on the back lightly. "Lavi...I was gone for a matter of-" He glanced at the watch on his wrist. "-twenty minutes."

"That doesn't matter!" Lavi sniffled. "You could have been gone for five minutes and I wouldn't have missed your British ass any less."

"Oh my god, shut up," Kanda groaned from behind them.

Allen smirked, pulling away from the one-eyed man. "Kanda, did you miss me too?"

The Japanese man glared down at Allen. "You seriously want to be punched in the mouth, don't you?"

Allen coughed and tried for an innocent look. "Why, of course not." Flashing a smile, he looked back and forth between his two partners. "Now, if you gentlemen are all finished here, we should be off, no?"

Returning the smile, Lavi walked next to Allen as they made their way towards the main doors.

Kanda reluctantly followed the two, shoving his fists in his pockets. "Cheeky brat."

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