Gravity of Souls

A/N: Hi, guys. Thanks to those of you who have reviewed. This is getting to be my favorite story, for obvious reasons. But in any case, I guess I should let you know a little about the chapter? Again, written while listening to the Hackers Soundtrack, and a little bit of Dir en Grey (just because) before tossing in the D. Gray-Man music because…well, that’s what I’m writing for…meh. Anyway. There’s a bit of half-angsty-ness, some awkwardness, and…wait a minute. Why am I telling you this? Just read!



Oh. And just so you know, this is finished, I’m just posting it once every four or five days. This is the second to last chapter, so I hope it doesn’t disappoint.



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“Gravity of Souls”



Part III: Loss of Blood



“Ugh…” Rabi groaned. His head…it was hurting. Not as badly as it had the night before, since the pain had dulled, but it was still not comfortable. When he opened his eyes, he saw pale skin. He was staring at Kanda’s stomach. It took him a long moment to get his bearings, and realize that he was pressed against the other man’s chest. Very carefully, he raised his head, peeling his face off of that strange black mark on fair skin. Looking up, he saw Kanda’s head leaning against the wall of the alley, his eyes closed. He was asleep.



When he tried sitting up on his own, he found that he couldn’t. Kanda was holding him. It was probably the most awkward moment of his life. Rabi tried, but was unable to remove Kanda’s arms, and strangely enough, his attempts did nothing to wake the usually light sleeper. In the graying dawn, he was left to examine Kanda once again. There had never been a moment when he was so close to his fellow exorcist, and the bodily contact was strange. Though he wanted to squirm out of the iron-hard grip he was in, he kept himself in check, merely taking in the appearance of the other.



The rain had plastered black hair to the sides of Kanda’s face, and his usual ponytail had worked its way undone, letting his hair fall messily over his shoulders and stick to his neck. Had he not known that his friend would try to murder him for it, he would venture to say that Kanda was quite beautiful. Aesthetically, he was nearly perfect. The light did no justice to his flawless skin. Rabi had seen Kanda in the early morning many times, but he appeared to best advantage in the light that came just after the sun peeked up past the horizon. Smiling, he remembered the way his friend seemed to glow, the light catching those little specks of silver in his eyes, causing everyone nearby to be in complete awe of him.



It didn’t seem quite so awkward now, being like this with Kanda. Rabi’s ability to scrutinize, analyze, and categorize every small detail of anything he saw sent his brain into overdrive, and he noticed everything. Every hair out of place, and every movement of Kanda’s eyes behind his eyelids, it was all committed to memory. He was so close to him, detail was so sharp, that it was mesmerizing. And then, Kanda’s eyes opened. Only when a soft gasp came from his friend did he realize just how close he had gotten to him.



Those dark eyes were quickly clearing of the sleepy haze that appeared in them, and Kanda looked at him in confusion. “Rabi…what are you doing?” Oh, God. Awkward…so very awkward…



“I…you wouldn’t let…go.” Rabi tugged at Kanda’s arms, and the half-awake man blinked at him for a long moment. “Yuu-chan, can you let go, please?” His request was granted after a long moment, during which he could feel the other man’s heartbeat speeding. The awkwardness apparently was mutual. “The sun’s almost up,” he said unnecessarily. “What do you propose we do?”



Kanda looked around. His face flinched. “We can’t move around during daylight. As soon as we can, let’s find a hidey-hole.” Rabi stood, found himself woozy, and sat back down. “I told you last night. I’m not carrying you.”



Rabi looked over his shoulder at Kanda. His face was composed, but there was something…different in his eyes, and in the way he was standing. That dark gaze twitched from his face to the fresh bandage on his head, and he stood with one foot forward, as if…Kanda had not been about to catch him, had he? Smiling to himself as he faced the back of the alley again, he wondered when his companion had become a mother hen. He could remember a time when Kanda would have just let him fall flat on his face and then proceed to snigger at him shamelessly.



He wouldn’t say anything about it, though. Rabi knew better. He had ended up on the wrong end of Kanda’s sword only once, and had no wish to repeat that incident. “Okay,” he grunted as he stood slowly, “Let’s go, Yuu-chan.”



“If you didn’t already have a massive head-wound, I’d give you one.” The usual grumbling didn’t seem to have its accustomed venom, in spite of this being Kanda’s least favorite part of the day. They ducked out of the alley into a back street, and moved quietly in the shadows. Somehow, Rabi managed to avoid tumbling over any garbage cans, which was mostly due to Kanda. The surly man had a firm grip on his arm most of the time, which he said was to keep the redhead from slowing him down.



At length, they came to a very decrepit building that looked as if it would fall down around their ears. Kanda found it inviting. When Rabi asked him why they were going to be staying there, he said it was because no one would go there. It turned out to be true. There was broken glass everywhere, and the roof was sagging in dangerously. They went to the very back of the building, into the warehouse office.



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Kanda settled himself onto the floor after sweeping it clean with an old rag he found. From his pocket, he took a small packet wrapped in wax paper. The contents were divided unequally, and the larger piece of jerky given to Rabi. “I don’t want you passing out again,” was all he said before he tore off a strip to chew on. It was salty, and tasted faintly of soy sauce. Kanda leaned his head back against the wall, chewing thoughtfully, trying to make sense of the things going on in his head.



Rabi was very quiet, which was unusual for him. No poking, prodding, or annoying banter came from the flame-haired man’s mouth, and Kanda was beginning to be unnerved by it. Furtive glances told him that his friend was awake, and lucid, but he still had to wonder. Perhaps he had lost too much blood? Holding his jerky in one hand, he scooted closer to Rabi. With his free hand, he felt at the part of forehead that wasn’t bandaged. He didn’t seem to have a fever. A concussion, perhaps? No, he would have shown symptoms of that beforehand.



Moving his hand to Rabi’s cheek, he noticed that the man had stopped chewing, and was trying to look at him without really looking at him. His cheek felt warmer than his forehead. Then again, how was he supposed to get an accurate temperature if all he had was an inch-wide strip of skin to touch? Resolving to figure out what was wrong with Rabi as soon as may be, he stuffed the jerky into his pocket and reached up to untie the bandage.



The first thing he did was check that the gash was not bleeding anymore. It wasn’t, so that was good. He had some poultice to put on that, now that it was dry. His hands might be desensitized by the cold weather that now blanketed the town, so he pressed his forehead against Rabi’s.



“Ah…what…” stammered the injured exorcist around the little bit of jerky in his mouth.



“I’m checking you for a fever.” Kanda’s voice was flat and empirical, showing no hint of the thoughts that were racing through his mind. The implications of illness were not those he wanted to think on. Rabi needed to be healthy. Their lives might very well depend upon it. Besides, he was being far too silent. It wasn’t that Kanda did not appreciate the quiet. No, he just was unused to having such stillness in Rabi’s presence.



Rabi squirmed, and Kanda grasped his head between his hands. “Keep still, or I’ll tie you up.” That made the other man become still quite quickly. Finally, he pulled away, sitting on his feet, looking puzzled. “You don’t have a fever.”



Resuming his chewing, Rabi said in a bland tone, “I could have told you that, Yuu-chan. You could have asked before you invaded my personal space.” Kanda raised an eyebrow at that. The concept of personal space was not something he thought Rabi understood. Right along with tact, and discretion. Though, he did not say anything about it. He just sat there watching Rabi eating, his eyes narrowed and trying to decipher the silence between them. This was giving him a headache. Interpersonal relations had never been his strong point, and it always seemed worse where this man was concerned. Their personalities clashed from day one. From conversation to battle tactics, they went about things in very different ways. Sighing, he took his jerky from his pocket and bit down, worrying at the tough meat with his teeth until a chunk came away in his mouth.



Having fed himself, Kanda pulled a small jar from his other pocket. Unscrewing the cap, he leaned toward Rabi again, this time dabbing some of the acrid poultice into the wound. A hiss of discomfort let him know that it was working. Concentrating on the application process, he bent close to the other man’s face, his eyes fixed on the gash that would certainly scar.



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Rabi watched Kanda putting a foul-smelling concoction onto his wound. His eyes were fixed and determined, but his mouth was just barely open, as if he were concentrating very, very hard. It was apparent that the dark-eyed man had some knowledge of medical dealings, since he habitually treated his own wounds, but it was different when he cared for someone else. One hand rested on Rabi’s right cheek, keeping his head still. The other dabbed cool globs of whatever that stuff was onto his scalp, and smeared them over the wound until Kanda was satisfied. Rabi blinked slowly, feeling strange. It was an almost dizzy sensation that started in his stomach and traveled up to his head.



When the bandage was replaced, he felt Kanda’s hands working, and a pleasant kind of warmth began to suffuse his body. He didn’t really notice when the other man finished binding his wound, because his eyes had slid shut, lulled by gentle hands.



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Nodding, he surveyed his work with satisfaction. It was one of the better bandages he’d made. Kanda then noticed something odd about Rabi’s face. A contented smile rested on his lips, and his eyes were closed as he leaned into Kanda’s right hand, which still rested against his cheek. He looked like a small boy just then…innocent. Rabi must have been getting sleepy again, he decided.



Seating himself, Kanda pulled Rabi closer and arranged them the way they had been the previous night. Gently pushing the shock of red hair onto his chest, he said, “Sleep, now.”



“Not tired…” Rabi whined, trying to sit up.



Kanda chuckled, but held him where he was. “Liar. You lost a lot of blood last night. You’re not going anywhere.” After another bout of squirming, Kanda felt Rabi relax. “Go to sleep, idiot.” He thought he heard Rabi blow a wet raspberry against his coat. Kanda’s eyes rolled. Forcing his eyes to close, he let his mind drift. Off into nothingness, he began floating, becoming almost completely detached from his body. Vaguely, he could feel his heartbeat, his breathing, and Rabi’s body pressed against his. He could almost make out the light murmurs that the other man was making, but it was like a low hum, lulling him to sleep. The last thing he remembered was feeling a warm hand on his stomach.



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“Thank you, Yuu-chan…for helping me.” Rabi knew Kanda wouldn’t acknowledge his gratitude, but he needed to say it. In former days, he was certain that the other exorcist would have dragged him along, but in nowhere near so gentle a way. And this version of Kanda…the one that he had gotten used to touching him…was a welcome change. Instead of hard hands slapping him away when he became too annoying, gentle fingers tended his wounds, careful arms enfolded him, and he buried his face into Kanda’s chest. He did not sleep, but only listened to the beating of the heart under his ear.



It was slow and sure, and told him that Kanda slept. He slept calmly, with no evil dreams to frighten him screaming into the waking world. Rabi smiled, letting his palm rest on the naked skin of his friend’s stomach. “Sweet dreams, Yuu-chan,” he murmured.



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A/N: I hope you liked it. Kanda is being uncooperative, but you can tell he cares, yes?