Waterfall

AN: okay, I've been having some trouble writing just about anything lately, but this is a present fic for DGM-Yaoi-Lover. Hope you like it my dear! :D

Happy birthday!!! –Heart- angst is a great present yeah?

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Allen Walker was gone. No one had seen it coming, not a single warning, not even for the one closest to him. According to Koumi it had been an easy mission, nothing out of the ordinary, no Noah sightings, no massing of akuma, just a simple possible innocence retrieval mission. Allen had been working hard, going on mission after exhausting mission and Koumi had figured the boy wouldn't have agreed to a break so instead it was an easy mission that shouldn't have taken more than a week, despite Koumi slotting two and a half weeks for Allen to be away from home. He was supposed to stay in the quiet town for the entire time, even if he collected the innocence, to make sure that there would be no suspicious activity while relaxing after all of his hard work.

The finder said that Allen had arrived in high spirits early that morning, dropped his things off at the hotel that had been prepared for him, ate a hearty meal and left to go investigate the innocence.

That was the last anyone saw of him.

When the finder finally contacted the order to report Allen missing it had been a shock to everyone. It was another month before the rumours started.

"I bet he turned Noah like the general said he would... he's a traitor."

"He ran away from the order, that's what he did. No question about it... the horror of war must have been too much for a kid like him..."

"He probably killed himself, the coward."

"Maybe he has a secret lover and they ran away together..."

"What if he was kidnapped and brainwashed by the Noah?"

Talk of Allen Walker was always on someone's lips, theories, ideas, grief, anything. He was the biggest topic of discussion there was, and that pissed Lavi off to no end. No one should talk about his lover like that; no one at the order should have doubted him. Everyone in that dark tower knew that Allen Walker was the strongest exorcist the order had ever seen. He wouldn't run away.

That meant he was dead or captured by the enemy.

Lavi really didn't know what to think, or how to feel. Emotions weren't really his strong point, Allen had been the to help him understand the emotions that bubbled up in his heart, and now Lavi was on his own, coping with the grief of his lover gone missing. Allen had become more to him that ink on a page. Allen had been the one to free the bookman's heart from its casing of ice, the one who showed him the warmth of love for the first time in his life. Allen had changed him, made him a better person just by loving him, just by understanding him, just by accepting him.

The ink on the paper in front of him in that dusty old library was so much harder to concentrate on when his heart was yearning for someone he may very well never see again.

"Lavi..." the redhead looked up from the book he was bent over, surprised to see Lenalee there so late at night. The library had become the second home Allen's room had been once, Lavi spent hours there alone trying to purge Allen from his mind enough to get some sleep, even if it hurt to try and forget someone so dear, even if it was only for a moment.

"Ah, Hello Lenalee... is something wrong?" The girl's expression grew even more worried and she slid into the seat in front of his at the cluttered table. Lavi had always had the suspicion that Lenalee saw through his and Allen's facade of being no more than close friends. The girl just had a knack for guessing things about other people that were always accurate.

"Lavi... are you... okay?" Lenalee paused, obviously searching for something else to say, "Ever since Allen... went missing you've... you've been different... more distant... I'm worried about you." The concern in her eyes reflected in the dim light of the musty room struck Lavi harder than he had expected, as if the barrier he had put up around himself had completely vanished with Allen.

There was a long silence as the green eyed teen stared in surprise at the Chinese exorcist, before his eyes dropped to the table, hoping the emotion wouldn't be spotted in the candle light.

"I'm fine Lenalee. Don't worry about me." her small hands clenched into fists and she shook her head.

"I don't believe you Lavi. Please tell me... I want to help you..." the corners of Lavi's mouth twitched up in a smile, a bitter shadow of his regular smile. His smoky green of his eye didn't look up at the well meaning exorcist.

"The only way you could help me is to bring Allen back home." Her eyes widen visibly and Lavi could almost hear the gears clicking into place in her mind as she made the connection between her suspicions and Lavi's words. She had obviously not been expecting for Lavi to come clean with so little prodding and it took her a long moment to get over her shock.

"Oh Lavi..."

"Please don't." He whispered, looking anywhere but her eyes, "I don't want pity." They sat in silence for a while, Lenalee searching for the best way to comfort the hurting teen before her, Lavi just enjoying some human company after avoiding it for so long for fear of breaking down.

"You didn't come here just to see me." Lavi broke the heavy silence, looking up at Lenalee for the first time since he indirectly told her of his pain, "What is it you need?" Lenalee was obviously uneasy with the way Lavi was acting, the lack of the smile that was bright enough to light up a room, the relaxed demeanour, the gentle eyes; they were all gone, leaving an angry, hurting teenager with none of the lively spark in his only eye that had always characterized him before. That eye almost made her think of when he had snapped in the ark, and attacked his own lover without a second thought.

"Brother sent me to find you... but I'll tell him you're not feeling well, you don't have to go on a mission-"

"Its fine Lenalee," he smiled reassuringly, putting on the mask she was familiar with for her sake, "I'm sick of being cooped up in the library anyway. I'll see you later yeah?" he stood and Lenalee looked slightly alarmed from the nearly seamless transition from broken to care free in Lavi, but he didn't pay her any mind as he made his way out of the library, allowing his thoughts to wander as he walked down the cold grey hallways of the only home he had ever really known.

The walk was quiet and uneventful and when he entered Koumi's office the paperwork was in tall, neat piles, all done or almost done. It was a shock for Lavi to see the floor of that room, but when he caught a glimpse of a file with Allen's picture on it, he realised how much the white haired boy affected everyone.

"Hello Lavi. Please sit." The scientist gestured to the ugly couch in front of his desk with a tired smile, his energy level much lower than usual. Lavi silently obeyed and watched the man expectantly, waiting for the assignment that would give him a break from being reminded of Allen every time he walked down the hall to his room.

"As you know Allen went missing two months ago." Koumi could tell he instantly had Lavi's full attention by the way the boy tensed and leaned forward with a serious expression on his face, "And since then I have sent several finders and a science department member out to the mission site to see if we can find him, but until recently there were no other leads on Allen or the innocence. We still have nothing on Allen, but there is a new lead on the innocence and I want you to go look into it."

There was a long silence as Lavi processed the information and he swallowed thickly before he answered, "Why me? Shouldn't you be sending someone like Kanda? Lenalee would be all over this too..." Koumi smiled gently.

"You're the best at gathering information Lavi, what with bookman away at the moment. I need someone to get the facts before diving headlong into the fight if there is one. Plus, Allen was your best friend. It only seems right that you go." Part of Lavi wanted to scream that Allen was more than his best friend, but he kept himself in check.

"When do I leave?"

"Well I was hoping right now."

----

Lavi stepped off the train and breathed in the clean air of the open station looking around for the finder. Koumi had done well, choosing this place for Allen to relax. It was almost the physical embodiment of Allen's personality in nature. Snow was falling lightly from pale clouds, and children ran around, bundled in many layers of warm clothing as they played without a care. The adults walked at a relaxed pace, smiling to each other and striking up conversations as they made their way to whatever their destination may have been. It was a warm, comforting place and Lavi sighed, wishing the memories of nights spent with Allen in his arms weren't brought up.

"Sir Lavi!" a slender girl in a finder's uniform darted through the crowd to him, smiling warmly in welcome, "My name is Vivian, and I'm going to be the finder accompanying you!" Lavi smiled and wasted no time in asking her for the details of the innocence and where it was supposed to be found. They made their way to an inn and went into the room prepared for Lavi, making small talk.

"Alright, now... will you tell me about the innocence?" it had annoyed Lavi slightly, having her refuse to talk in the open about the mission. She seemed to be new to the order and still held the paranoia that all new members had.

"Of course sir Lavi!" she settled herself in the chair and smiled, pulling out a notebook and flipping through it, "There is a legend in this town, concerning an old cave in the woods to the east...Inside the rocks of the forest there is a spring, which nothing of this world can touch. If a man can find his way through the maze of the cave and reach this holy place, he and his descendants will be blessed by the power of God."

The young woman tapped her chin thoughtfully, "That's the gist of it anyway... there are a bunch of stories about people who went in there and came back, or didn't come back... but that is where the innocence is most likely to be located. Do you want me to show you there? Or do you want to talk to some of the townspeople first?"

"Show me there; let me take a look around. If I don't find anything I'll talk to some of the locals." Normally Lavi would have tracked down all of the finders sources, and then found some of his own, but he didn't want to linger in that place. The girl looked a little taken back but she smiled anyway and nodded.

"Alright then, let's get going." They both stood and walked out into the town again, the finder chatting cheerfully while Lavi pretended to listen to her. The bright village was bustling even though it was small, and Lavi felt more at ease than he had in a while, even if he could almost see Allen walking down the streets, smiling as he admired its simple beauty.

They made their way to the edge of the town and stepped into the darker woods. The path was pretty overgrown and uneven but the snow was lighter so they didn't have too much of a problem getting to the icicle lined mouth of a cave at the base of a steep cliff.

"So this is it?" Vivian nodded and Lavi knocked the ice away, pausing as he listened, "What's that rumbling?"

"The locals say it's the beast that guards the spring, but my scientific guess would be either an underground river of some sort or just the earth moving around."

"Right... well if I'm not out by tomorrow night, you should probably call Koumi." The woman nodded and handed him an oil lamp.

"Be careful... it's like a natural maze in there..."

Lavi grinned, waving off her concern as he stepped through the mouth of the cave, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

----

"I fucking hate caves..." Lavi grumbled, holding up the oil lamp to try and illuminate the dark place better. He had been wandering around alone for the past three hours at least, having left Vivian outside the cave in case there were some unexpected enemies. Fighting akuma in such a cramped space would be hard enough as it was, without the extra trouble of having to protect someone.

The cave was dark and cold and Lavi was getting seriously annoyed at the draft that seemed to go right through his coat. He was thankful for his photographic memory, because he would have no problem getting out of the place, but it still wasn't very pleasant to be walking around in a cave in the middle of winter. The rumbling sound had gotten louder the further into the cave he got and the dampness in the air was indication that the finder had probably been right when she guessed that an underground river ran through there.

A dim light was shining from around a corner some distance ahead of Lavi in the naturally made corridor and he hurried towards it, hoping it was either the innocence or some kind of proof that there wasn't any innocence there so he could go home. Blinking at the sudden brightness as Lavi shielded his eyes and looked up for the source of the light, not paying attention to the floor.

It was a large cavern, and what Lavi had originally thought to be some natural light seemed to originate from a ledge high above the floor. Water trickled over the glowing object and Lavi sighed in relief, glad that he would be able to leave as soon as he got out of the cave. The innocence seemed to have been acting as a damn of some sort, letting only a small stream of water cascade from the hole eaten out by the water in the cave wall and over the ledge. It was strange to see moving water in the middle of winter, but Lavi just put it down to the innocence being present. Lavi's eyes dropped to the unnaturally smooth pond that the water fell into and widened, spotting a figure at the base of the waterfall.

Allen Walker was sitting on the surface of the deep pool beneath the waterfall, his normally bright sliver eyes closed as the water rolled down his body. His face was serene and blank, peaceful, and though he was surrounded by water he didn't look wet in the slightest. The white cloth that he was wearing instead of his exorcist uniform floated on top of the water, moving around as if the breeze was playing with it and his hands were clasped together in his lap. He was still and motionless, like a perfectly carved statue.

"Allen..." there was no response from the younger boy and the oil lamp clattered to the stone floor as Lavi's hand went slack.

"Allen!" Lavi ran forward, not even thinking about it as his foot made contact with the water but didn't go through. All he could see was Allen's perfect form, unmoving and still. The water rippled slightly with eat footstep but Lavi still didn't go through. Part of his mind wondered how it was possible for someone like him to walk on water but he didn't really care.

"Allen!" he reached the white haired boy and dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around the unconscious boy, ignoring the water that instantly drenched his uniform. There was a flash of light and before Lavi could even blink, both he and Allen broke through the surface of the pool beneath them, dropping down into the deep water like stones. Allen's body was limp in his arms and Lavi's heart started pounding with fear. He held the boy close with one arm, reaching down to his leg and retrieving his innocence from its holster.

'Shin!' they shot out of the water and to the rock shoreline. Lavi gently laid the boy down and checked his breathing. It was shaky from inhaling some water but after a moment Allen's breath became even and Lavi sighed in relief. They were both soaked and freezing but they were alive. Allen was alive and that was all that mattered at the moment.

"H-hey, Allen?" the redheaded teen shook the boy gently, "Hey Allen, wake up." Silver eyelashes fluttered and they warm grey of Allen's eyes came into view as he blinked sleepily at the older boy.

"La-vi?" his voice cracked almost painfully, as if it hadn't been used in a very long time.

"Yeah... it's me..." he leaned forward as he wrapped his arms around the small body, lifting him up enough to kiss gently. The boy was surprised but after a moment he responded, his hands coming up to cling to Lavi's shirt weakly.

"What... are you doing here?" Allen's voice was still a little raspy but it sounded better as Lavi pulled back, smiling tenderly.

"You went missing. What do you remember last?" his hammer calloused hand came up and gently brushed away the damp white strands out of Allen's eyes as the boys eyebrows furrowed.

"I... was lost in the cave..." Lavi chuckled lightly, amused by Allen's lack of direction but didn't stop the boy as he spoke, "When I came across here... I knew that the light up there was the innocence so I was trying to figure out a way to get to it... I remember taking off my shoes and coat but when I went to dive in, the waterfall... just grabbed me or something.... I suddenly got really tired and I just... fell asleep... how long have I been missing?" Allen had always been one to wake slowly and Lavi couldn't stop himself from kissing his face as he held the boy.

"About two months..."

"T-Two months?!" Allen snapped awake and tried to sit up, "how could I have been here for that long?" Lavi kept Allen from jumping up by tightening his grip on the teen and burying his face in the boy's shoulder.

"The innocence must have had you in some kind of... suspended animation or something..." he muttered against the wet fabric, breathing in the soft scent of Allen's skin. The relief of being able to hold the slender boy in his arms again was too much for Lavi to handle after being on edge for so long and he couldn't stop his emotions from getting the better of him. The tears that had been in the corners of his eyes since he had spotted Allen floating on top of the water like an angel fell and he held the boy tightly.

"Lavi..." the redheaded teen was shaking against Allen and he could feel the warmth of salty tears soaking into his already damp apparel.

"S-sorry..." Lavi pulled back, wiping his eye hastily as he smiled sheepishly at the boy in front of him, "I just... I thought you were gone for good this time and it's stupid for me to g-get all worked up but-" a pale finger stopped Lavi's lips and he looked up into the smiling face of his lover almost shyly.

"I'm here, Lavi. I'm not going anywhere. It's okay to have worried about me, but I'm here now. Let's get the innocence and go home. I think I've been out here for long enough..." Lavi smiled back and pulled Allen into another bone crushing hug.

"I love you Allen..." the mismatched arms came up and wrapped themselves around Lavi and they sat there for a long time, just holding each other.

"I love you too."

—FIN—

AN: not entirely happy with the ending but I really like the rest of this even if I did make Lavi somewhat OOC. D: I'm not good at his character in this kind of this thing but this good! ^^

Hope you like it!

PLEASE REVIEW~!