me trying to get into the dynamics of the ot4
flipping rocks
this is one of those rare missions where she, allen, lavi and kanda are sent off together.
there's too much horsing around with these four, bookman has told her brother, too much 'fun'. she's never missed the pointed look he sends to lavi; she doesn't think allen and kanda miss it either.
it's always glaringly obvious that the combination of the four of them is a last resort; if they interact at headquarters, well, that can't be helped… but a mission… lenalee is just glad she's here with them now.
not counting her brother, these three are her favorite guys.
they're somewhere in italy; their destination, she knows, is sicily but their train has broken down at a small station. so they sit and wait for the next one, the bench long enough to carry them all. allen has fallen asleep with his back against lavi's side while she sits in between him and kanda.
"we can just walk," kanda suggests, too gruff to be a suggestion at all.
"yeah, but," lavi replies, never looking up from his book. he never worries about them reading the secretive homework bookman gives him; they've learned to pretend the books are never there. "what if the train passes by while we walk?"
"then, we continue walking."
lavi sighs in mock exasperation. it grows quiet save for allen's soft snores. lenalee stares at the top of the houses across from where they sit, the vague winding of the narrow streets and the occasional moving dot of the people living their normal lives.
"can we eat when we get there?" she asks, distracted. "we can't be expected to fight akuma or gather clues on empty stomachs."
kanda, to her right, scoffs but lavi, to her left, perks up.
"you'd like pasta, kanda," she comments, turning to look at him. "it's almost like soba."
"hell no," kanda shakes his head, sparing her a glance before closing his eyes, arms crossed in front of his chest. "too saucy."
"you'd think, with that attitude," lavi snickers, "that you'd eat a lot of sauce."
"your humor is shit."
lenalee leans back and tries to stifle her snickers behind her hand and she's managing just fine, until kanda leans over and raises his middle finger at lavi, who's scratching the skin just below his eyepatch with… his middle finger's nail, so it's obvious he's 'slyly' flipping kanda off.
"stop being babies," she finally says, shifting in her seat, shoving them both to their respective sides. "stop egging him on, lavi, you know how irritable kanda gets when he's not killing anyone."
"listen," kanda hisses.
then, after another moment of silence: "we should just walk."
"look here," lavi quickly retorts, "if you're going to carry allen, then, let's do it. if you're not, then, i'd suggest you stop suggesting things."
"you carry him, he's sleeping on you already."
"allen's heavy, man. haven't you seen the amount of food he vacuums up?"
kanda sighs, irritated, and looks away, crossing a leg over the other, eyes glaring at the defenseless train tracks in front of them.
they all stay like that for a while; allen still sleeping and lavi still reading while kanda broods himself into a quiet sort of indifference and observes their surroundings just like lenalee does.
it's nice, she thinks, being here. this moment–it's nice. these boys with her, the sun high and bright and the breeze soft and more warm than cool. lenalee sighs and snuggles up in between kanda and lavi, raising her legs up so her heels press against the edge of the bench, knees bent and her stockings pinching her skin.
the train comes with a loud roar and she watches as kanda is finally pleased, standing up and beginning to lead them in.
"wait," lavi just about whines, his only visible green eye wide as he turns to look at allen. "this guy's still sleeping! he's like a rock–who the hell wouldn't wake up at the sound of a train?!"
"allow me," kanda whispers and, if she didn't know him any better, she'd assume he's snickering.
kanda approaches lavi and allen, takes allen by the front of his exorcist jacket and, with force, throws him into the train after making his aim. allen lands with a crash and the three rush to jump inside before the train begins to move.
"HEY!" allen screeches, sitting up from the ground and groaning when lavi disposes of his pack over him. "what the hell?!"
"you sleep like a rock," lavi stresses. "yuu helped."
"call me that again, and i'll kill you," kanda drawls, taking his seat and letting mugen rest in between his legs. lenalee sits down next to him, a wide smile on her lips as allen rubs his shoulder and glares at both boys.
"no one's ever gentle around here," he mumbles, "or polite. or nice. or anything."
"hey, i'm still here," lenalee pouts.
"yeah, but you let them treat me like this, lena," allen pouts back. "and now i'm even hungry. hey, we should eat when we get there. i can go for some pasta."
lenalee and lavi turn to kanda who's staring out the window just as he lets out a long, quiet sigh of suffering.