A/N: It's my very first Yullen Week entry, y'all! And my first (nearly) completed AU! This fic's really been flying off my keyboard, I love it so.
**Apologies to those waiting on updates to Heaven & Hell!** orz
I had this story idea I really loved and it fit a bunch of the YW themes, so I started on it at the beginning of December. I'm just finishing up the last chapter for this one now! I'll definitely be back to writing for H&H very soon, and will post the next chapter as soon as I can!
I hope you can all enjoy reading this story as much as I have, writing it.
Peeking out his apartment window, Allen is nervous as hell… but he already decided he was going to do this. He has, after all, taken great pains to choose just the right ensemble to wear out this evening. He's neat and presentable but not formal, coordinated but not too metro. He has on his clean-style, logo-less I'm-no-conformist-but-I-don't-like-to-stick-out-either black and white ringer tee, fashionably factory-worn jeans, and classic look-at-me!-I'm-a-playful-and-fun-guy! red high tops. He also was especially careful with his hair; each and every strand set with painstaking perfection.
Lavi had assured him the girl was beautiful but also really nice, and smart too— it was a little intimidating how "perfect" she sounded, but now that he's psyched himself up for the challenge of possibly being her match, he's ready.
Well. More or less.
He hopes to impress her, but that isn't all his meticulousness is about.
"Promise?"
"I promise— a-and… and I'll always put EVERYTHING into everything I do, a-and I'll—"
"Shhh Allen, don't worry. You don't have to do that much. Just keep—"
"But I will! You'll see." Horror. "No, I mean—"
"Allen, never forget I'm proud of you. No matter what, always proud." Laboured breaths. "I'm so sorry I won't be here to see you grow up— my one and only regret."
"I… love you, Mana. So don't worry, I'll never stop. I'll always keep walking…"
"Such a fine… young man… you're growing to be…"
A couple of impatient honks blare out and Allen becomes aware a vehicle has pulled up right before his eyes— The big, shiny black truck he was told of. Quick once over in the mirror and cursory sniff test ('Good, just body spray.'). All clear.
Lavi's head pokes out from the passenger side— "Allllen~ We're he~re~!"
He slides his window further open and shouts back: "Be right the~re~!"
His heart is pounding as he finally reaches the spotless truck, with its tinted windows. Inside, sitting only a couple of metres away on the back seat he'll momentarily be climbing into, is the girl Lavi insisted he should meet, but he can't see her yet— he only sees his own face reflected in the darkened glass— one last physical barrier in the way.
"Don't wear the 'Mana mask,' Allen—"
Cross' words. Why must they always float into mind when he's about meet someone new? No matter. Nothing wrong with having some manners. Nothing wrong with faking it a little, till you make it. It's how he's gotten through life, till now. It works.
"Hey, how's it going?" Lavi reaches his arm out the window to demand his embarrassingly childish 'secret' handshake. Allen indulges him, of course. (He doesn't want to give the impression he takes himself too seriously, after all.) "Okay dude, get in. Yuu's gonna blow a gasket over here if we stay put for too many more seconds."
An irritated voice emerges from within: "You know not to call me that, Baka-Usagi."
Alright, Allen Walker. Show time.
He opens up the rear door and— before his eyes have even adjusted enough for his brain to make sense of what's inside— he's wearing his calculatedly charming smile.
ॐ ॐ ॐ
Kanda doesn't do dates. That should go double for double dates.
But then, here he is, pulling up to some jerk's place to pick up the last of their so-called 'party of four.' More like 'party' of one couple plus two third wheels. Or maybe third and fourth wheels? Goddamnit, whatever.
It's a dysfunctional setup, no matter how you look at it.
"Allllen~ We're he~re~!" The rabbit's in shotgun, being his usual loud self.
Lenalee's a quiet and unobtrusive ball of nerves in the back.
He isn't doing this for the reason that Usagi wants. Fuck that. He's here for Lenalee, and Lenalee only.
See, any guy who wants to try to date Lenalee has to be hidden from her demented older brother. They've been over this, and Kanda will never get why it should matter so much to her, but 'sneaking around,' as she puts it, has always caused the girl some serious guilt. By age twenty-two, you'd think she'd grow out of neurotic BS like that, but this hangup of hers isn't showing any signs of going away. Kanda offered to knock some sense into the guy on more than one occasion, but Lenalee would have none of it.
Instead, she was always pleading with Kanda to tell her what he thinks of the guys she dates— usually by being the surrogate big brother who just so happens to be lounging around nearby when a date comes to pick her up. At her insistence, he'd watch her chat with them, and appraise their behaviour. (Actually, some guys were such obvious creeps he'd bounce them out right away.)
But this time? This time he has to tag along like a goddamn chaperone. In this day and age. This was what he got for allowing that idiot rabbit to meet her once while visiting his bookstore and bistro.
He should have known the two of them would hit it right off, giggling away while one used Kanda's given name in public, and the other shared her infuriating stories about him as a little boy. She smiled a lot while they talked, and even asked about him a few times since then. Since the rabbit was doing the same, Kanda finally just gave her the guy's number so they could do all their girly gossiping on their own. At least, he thought, that might mean less of the rabbit creeping on him.
Well, in theory. In actuality however, the young business owner clearly isn't planning on getting off his back(side) anytime soon. Same as ever, the bastard is as committed as Kanda isn't to the idea of them continuing to be 'friends with benefits.'
The 'benefits' part is fine, but the rest of that idea sucks ass, as far as Kanda's concerned. He likes sex, and why shouldn't he? But he has no need for all the messy attachments everyone else always seems to want to bring in and complicate things with. "Friends" can far too easily mutate into "boyfriends."
Boyfriends… are not something Kanda wants to have to think about.
At the same time, however, Kanda Yuu isn't about to pay for sex, or start meeting random guys in public restrooms or some shit, so doing it with Lavi isn't the worst option out there. At least, it works for now. But God help the guy if he ever tries getting all lovey-dovey. (Or if he dares to call himself Kanda's "fuck bunny" again.)
Kanda drums his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently, sending an inquiring side glance at the passenger side idiot.
"Look— he's just coming out the door there. Keep your pants on… well, for now—" Kanda is about to threaten the redhead when he calls out the window again: "Hey, how's it going?"
Great, now he's reaching his arm out the window. "Tch."
"Kanda," Lenalee starts, "Please, be nice."
He sighs aloud, as if to somehow repel the plea itself. "As long as this guy behaves, keeps out of my face, and minds his own business, I'm not getting involved."
She should know that's the best she can hope for.
"Okay dude, get in. Yuu's gonna blow a gasket over here if we stay put for too many more seconds."
The fuck? "You know not to call me that, Baka-Usagi."
Now a pale, skinny kid begins to step into the car, dopey grin plastered across his face. Kanda had heard about the freakish white hair and strange facial mark, but is this clown really supposed to be twenty-one years old? Tch, whatever. Least he's not twice her age like that 'Bak' creep was. Kanda plants his eyes firmly on the road ahead— even though the truck's still stopped.
"Hey," the brat says softly, apparently as his opening greeting to Lenalee.
"Hi," she answers back, not-so-softly.
"So you're Lenalee— It's so great to meet you!"
"Same here… Allen."
"Umm… you look nice."
"Thanks."
Kanda just about gags on the nervous expressions he sees in the rearview mirror. "We ready to go?"
"You must be… Kanda? Allen Walker—" Like hell is Kanda taking that hand the kid's offering. And that sickening artificial smile… "I've heard so much about you from Lavi. It's nice to finally be able to put a f—"
He starts the truck to drown the boy's words out… but that arm is still there. The blatantly fraudulent simper, however, has morphed into something a little more honest— still there, yet slightly strained. Indignant. Not that he gives a fuck but at least the kid has some backbone.
However, Kanda Yuu doesn't give in so easily. After making eye contact with the brat through the rearview to establish his intent, he lets out his most dismissive "Tch," and with that, checks his side mirror and turns out into traffic. (All he knows is that wherever they're going is on the far end of town, but that book-loving idiot is admittedly a genius when it comes to navigating the way to new places, so Kanda will let him handle directions.)
He takes great satisfaction in the confused furrowing of snowy-white brows, and slowly retracting hand.
"Aww, don't mind Yuu, Allen—"
"I said don't call me that!"
"He's just got his own unique way of sayin' hello."
"That's funny, Lavi. Somehow I got the distinct impression he wasn't saying anything to me at all," Allen quipped, sending a pointed glare back at Kanda through the mirror.
"I'm sorry, that's just how he is," Lenalee sighs. "Also, I think I might have put him in a bad mood earlier—"
"Nah, I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with you, Lena-babe. Right Yuu?"
"Baka-Usagi," Kanda calmly begins as a warm hand sweeps up his denim-covered thigh. "Get your hands off me before I personally remove them from both of us."
"He even threatens his own partner with bodily harm? Charming, that."
This Walker brat, with his stupid accent and needling attitude— He already seems to be asking for it. Almost as badly as the redhead seated to the right. For now, Kanda shoots him a dirty look, and of course, the kid would be all immature and stick out his tongue back. Kanda rolls his eyes and returns attention to the road, once again.
"Kanda can be kind of… impenetrable… but he really is a really good person, on the inside. We've known each other since childhood, so I should know."
"Right, just like the lovely lady said, Allen."
"Anyways," begins the one who has already become the most annoying ever date of Lenalee's he's ever encountered, "Where are we going?"
"I'm so excited!"
Usagi excited? This can't be good.
"Allen, you've got a weakness for mitarashi dango from your time in Japan, right?" Lavi prompts. So that brat's been to Japan too?
Out of the corner of his eye, Kanda catches Walker nodding yes and grinning. "Maybe… a little."
Dango? Seriously? Can this brat get any more childish?
But wait, if there's dango, then that means—
"Well Yuu here's a bit of a soba addict, himself. Lena and I are pretty easy, so we decided to go to that new Japanese specialty restaurant and entertainment paradise, "Shouyu and Dashi." You know, the one that opened a few months back? With the huge garden, practically on the edge of town?"
"Cool! It's a little out of the way, so I still haven't made it to that one—"
"Well, we've got a ride today!"
Kanda throws a scowl in the rabbit's general direction.
"Do you drive, yourself, Allen?" Lenalee asks.
This should be interesting.
"Sort of. I'm a fine driver, but given a choice I prefer to leave my car at home."
"Allen's got this way of going on auto-pilot and losing track of where he's going. Happens all the time, it's so hilarious!"
"Laviii," Walker whines like a total baby.
"Once he was supposed to pick me up from the airport. My plane was delayed, so thankfully he was right there waiting for me— good thing 'cause I was totally exhausted— but when we headed out, instead of taking me home, he drove me to his place instead! An' I was so tired myself I didn't even notice till we got there. Gotta wonder if he was trying to tell me something there…"
Brat's got a hand over his face now, and this is classic Usagi. Only that idiot would humiliate someone so thoroughly while he's on the very date he, himself set up for them. Priceless. Kanda is almost sorry for the kid. But not quite. "Heh…"
"Something funny, Grumpy?"
"Yeah, you are… Goofy."
"Arrrghhh, Lavi, how do you put up with him?"
It seems Kanda's retort hit the mark!
"Never mind him, Allen," Lenalee mediates as usual. "I'm a terrible driver, myself. Can't parallel park to save my life!"
"I'm sure you're not that bad. Wait, you haven't killed anybody, right?"
That single joke sparks up a nightmarish memory.
"I… killed him."
"No. You. Didn't, Kanda. You know it was that group of… of bigoted bastards—"
Lenalee, swearing.
"I could have stopped them. They could've been the ones bleeding into the gutter. There was no reason I shouldn't have been there! It was me. I let Alma die."
Guilt, rage, despair, sickness—
"No one is blaming you, Kanda. Please don't do this to yourself. Alma wouldn't want—"
Running. Creating distance.
"Kanda, wait, listen to me!"
Car door slams shut.
Panicked cry: "It wasn't your fault!"
A hand lands on Kanda's shoulder. "Earth to Yuu? You're gonna miss the turn-off, dude…" The navigator points the way with his free hand.
"What? Fuck!" He manages to slow slightly and swerve to the right lane at the last second.
"Hmph. Seems someone had no place laughing at me, earlier."
Smartass brat.
From here, Kanda decides to tune out the chatter. He only follows directions from the "navi" —wordlessly and mindful of their surroundings. Arrival at their destination comes far more smoothly.
He pulls into a parking stall on the shadowed side of the large complex. As promised, there's also a very large Japanese garden nearby. Staring out that way, the thought comes to mind he could ditch everybody else for a while— let them dine together without him. Then he can take his time walking inside the walls of that garden until it's time to leave. Of course, the sun will have set by then, and it'll be dark. Perfect.
"The darkness surrounding you is so deep, I can't see how to pull you out of it—"
Marie's gentle voice regrounds him. Damnit, he promised Lenalee…
"We're here. Everybody out."
**UPDATE** March 9 2013:
I've put a poll up on my profile page. I'm hoping you'll please tell me how YOU decide on what stories to read. Results will be viewable (except for any PMs I receive) once I close it. I will also make a special announcement about future plans on my profile at that time.