Wow, something's wrong with me. What, oh, what could it be?
A D.Gray-Man obsession.
This one-shot came up completely out of nowhere. Even some of the things that happen in it are a bit random. But since it's mine, I love it; especially Lavi. It started a bit Kanda-centric, but that was a total accident. It's still a bit Kanda-centric, but I've toned it down a bit. I hope you guys like this! Remember now, there's no excorcist anything in this one-shot; just four friends hanging together. That may sound a bit boring, but give it a chance, okay? It's possible to put this story into a "real world" setting, but it can be put in the manga too. No major spoilers either.
I'm just barely into the 100's on the manga, so don't spoil anything for me, okay? Hope it's good, and don't forget to review when you're done! Thank you!
"Hey, Kanda! Wanna play cards?"
It was such an innocent day, such a no-nonsense day. Everything was just perfect; a cool breeze, fresh air, and the grand outdoors. Nothing could go wrong.
"Bakanda! I'm talking to you!"
Except that.
Kanda sighed. If only he could go back to sleep. Sleep was where peace was; sleep was quiet, uneventful, boring. Sleep was his only protection against his moronic comrades.
Balancing his weight on the hammock, Kanda sat upright and kicked his bare feet over the edge. The ground below felt soft on his skin, and the long black threads of his hair flew in the wind. Even the sun felt warmer than usual that autumn day, but these delightful gifts from Mother Nature couldn't rescue Kanda from the persistent Lavi.
The redhead stuck his nose two inches from Kanda's face, and when the ninja finally opened his tired eyes, the hammock flew.
"Gah!" Kanda wound up limb over limb, his chin buried in dirt and his ego infinitely bruised. Of course, Lavi ended up on the ground too, laughing loud enough for alternate realities to hear.
"Haha! Oh, jeez, no more Kanda! Hehe!"
"Um, Lavi? What'd you do to Kanda?"
Done with his laughing fit, Lavi's eyes welled up in a puppy pout. "Allen! You can't just assume it's my fault." Kneeling under the hammock and pointing at Kanda's dizzy expression, he said, "Look at the poor guy! He's gone crazy from lack of speech. Someone get a doctor!"
Unfortunately for Lavi, he was about a foot too close to the disaster zone. Kanda grabbed a fistful of scarf and dragged the redhead off the ground, blistering hate in his eyes. "I. Will. Kill. You!"
"Agh! Help me!"
"Come on guys, we're here to relax! Let's not start by choking each other," called Lenalee. She squeezed the small blue coat her brother had given her, and started laying out the food. Allen, a few feet away, shook out the picnic blanket before setting it on the grassy mound. Brown and crimson colored leaves escaped the neighboring trees, only to settle on top of the blanket. Lenalee smiled as Allen tried desperately to get rid of them, but after the first few were gone, even more flew down to him. One got stuck in his pale gray hair. It was definitely a losing battle.
"Yeah, Yuu, you heard the lady," said Lavi.
"What'd I tell you about calling me by my first name, redheaded sprite?!" yelled Kanda, tightening his grip on Lavi's custom scarf. This time Lavi wasn't fazed.
"Okay, seriously, let go now. I'm starving!" he said, grinning ear to ear. Kanda heaved a heavy breath and dropped the blissful Lavi, but he was still ticked. He wiped away the crumbled dust on his black sweater – which was faintly brown now – and tied back his waist-length hair. On top of getting woken by the worst alarm clock in history, he was still tired.
"What do we have?" asked Lavi as he plopped down. Allen was still trying to fend off the leaves, and Lenalee had organized a small buffet of edible snacks at the center of the blanket.
"Mostly sushi and truffles," she said, gesturing at the train of food, "but brother made us a few cookies, too." Reaching into the wicker basket, Lenalee grabbed the last bit of sweets – a plate of steaming, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Lavi's eyes popped out of his head.
"Gimme!"
"Wait your turn, Lavi!" yelled Lenalee. She covered the plate with a napkin to keep the bugs away, and set it on the opposite side of Lavi, next to Allen. "Honestly, you and food are not a good combination. Dessert is for last, remember?"
"Then why's Allen eating them?"
"Huh?" She turned her head in Allen's direction, and even though he had been fighting leaves a second ago, he had mischievously stolen the largest cookie in the bunch. He was munching in complete bliss.
"Allen!"
"Allen's not here right now," he sputtered through chocolate crumbs.
"Soooo…that means I get one now, right?" said Lavi. His arm reached toward the cookies but Lenalee smacked it before he could get to them. "Ow! Lenalee! Why'd you do that?"
"Serves you right, Lavi," she said.
"Come on! Just one?"
Amidst the sugar-obsessed lunacy, Kanda took the last corner of the blanket for himself. Folding his legs comfortably together, he decided to not to intrude on this little party. After all, morons were always safer when watched from afar.
Kanda loosened the faded blue scarf around his neck and poked his index finger through a small hole in his jeans. Smooth skin was underneath, toned from years of training. He twisted one of the material's loose strings around his finger and ripped it out. After untangling it, the string blew into the air, marking the beginning of its journey. I'll have to fix that hole soon, he thought.
Even then, the gang was still fighting over sweets, so Kanda decided to make up for lost time. He sat back on his tailbone, his legs pulled up to his chest, and his arms wrapped around them. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and meditated.
Allen Walker – the exchange student from Britain; strong willed, considerate, bean sprout.
Lavi – the kid with no last name and no history; quick-witted, annoying, dyed hair.
Lenalee Lee – a woman wasting her time with idiots; gentle, smart, and wasting her time with idiots.
"Che," he mumbled.
Was that really all he could think of? Surely there were more insults than that. Kanda prided himself on having such a large vocabulary. I'm being too kind, he thought. Maybe I can think of more if I look at them…
So he opened his eyes.
And there was Lavi.
"Bakanda, don't space out on us like that!"
"Whoa!" And Kanda flew backwards for the second time that day – that hour, in fact.
Lenalee's motherly instinct kicked in and she rushed to the ninja's side. "Lavi! How many times are you planning on scaring Kanda today?"
"Oh, about half a dozen, I'd say."
After his eyes rolled around a few times, Kanda finally came too. "Dammit, you stupid little…!"
"Oh crap!"
Off they went, scrambling after each other like a house cat and the resident mouse. Grunts and laughter ensued as they used every trick in the book to capture or escape from each other. While they ran, the dark green bandana wrapped around Lavi's head flew off. Neither of them seemed to notice, but Allen did. In his cozy little mind, now covered in chocolate from that last cookie, he imagined the little bandana growing wings. It certainly looked like it was flying. Reality upset his daydream as the small bundle of cloth disappeared over the hill.
"I wonder if I should go get it," Allen said under his breath.
"I'll come with you, if you like," said Lenalee.
"No, that's alright. Lavi will notice sooner or later."
"Heh, yeah." After popping a rice ball in her mouth, Lenalee reached up and pulled out her two hair bands, letting her black hair come tumbling down. "Do you think they'll ever stop?"
"Those two?" asked Allen, pointing towards Lavi and Kanda. The redhead had very curiously managed to get himself halfway up the tree the hammock was tied to, and the ninja was threatening him from below. "I doubt it - they always fight. We know they're not exactly the best of friends."
"Neither are Kanda and you."
"Well, no, I guess not."
"But we still hang out together, right?"
"Yeah, of course," said Allen.
Lenalee smiled as she spoke, "I think, somewhere deep inside Kanda, he really truly cares for us. He may not show it, but he's happy to have friends. You think so?"
"Y-yeah." I don't understand where you're going with this, Lenalee.
"Good." She smiled at Allen, and he smiled back – albeit still confused. Sometimes, it was hard for Allen to understand what Lenalee's words meant; especially if it something out of the blue. But, as a good friend should, he listened to her. He listened carefully, because he wanted her to be happy. Wouldn't anyone want their best friends to be happy?
"Look!" shouted Lenalee. "The sunset's getting ready to start!"
"Ow!"
"Eh, Lavi?" said Allen. The bumped and bruised redhead had crashed onto his side, nearly missing the food and basket. He was grabbing his arm but nothing seemed to be broken. He pushed away a lock of crimson hair with his free hand and grinned.
"Kanda's a bit tough, ain't he?" Lavi said through gritted teeth.
A serene Kanda sauntered over to the group, adjusting his scarf. A new hole had appeared, not in his jeans, but in his sweater. Calmly – and completely serious – he said, "You're gonna pay for that, kid."
Lavi gave an exasperated thumbs up. "Can do, Bakanda! Ye-ow!"
"QUIT CALLING ME THAT!!"
"Come on you two, come sit with us!" said Lenalee. She scooted farther over to leave room for Kanda and Lavi on the blanket, and sat next to Allen. Kanda, being the unloving creature that he was, sat furthest away on the edge of the grass. Still bandana-less and licking his wounds, Lavi took the middle.
Together, the four of them spread their limbs over the checkerboard blanket, relaxing to the best of their ability. A light wind was still blowing over their faces, creating whistling sounds for their ears to enjoy. Autumn leaves swept by in all different colors, casting their brilliance into the sky, and being surpassed by the vast sunset. Oranges of sparkling hues and reds from the darkest of crimson painted the horizon. The North Star made a guest appearance, peaking out from behind a cloud.
Lenalee sighed at the beauty. She'd planned this outing for the four of them a long while ago. She remembered how hesitant Kanda had been, while Lavi and Allen were all for it. She remembered preparing all the food. And she remembered wishing so badly for a wonderful sunset.
She'd gotten her wish.
It made her so happy. Just being there with her friends – that was all anyone could ask for.
Trying to get into a more comfortable position, Lenalee stretched her arms out behind her. Just as she was leaning back, she felt someone's fingers on hers. On her left side…
Allen.
She didn't look down. It'd only embarrass him. Her cheeks felt hot as she quietly laced her hand around his. He did the same.
Who has the power to hold the whole world in their palm at once?
Someone grabbed her other hand.
Lavi?
Butterflies rose in her stomach. Lenalee was so confused.
"Enjoy this, guys," started Lavi. His hand fell on top of hers while Allen's fingers tightened. "This is a special moment, for all of us. Let's not waste it."
"Let go of me," grunted Kanda.
"Jeez, way to ruin it," said Lavi.
"Che."
"He's right," Lenalee said. Hesitantly she took Lavi's hand in hers. "We shouldn't waste a special moment like this. How often do we get to do this, anyway?"
To possess eternity, possess love, perfect balance?
Allen and Lavi nodded. Kanda ignored them, propping his head on his folded knees. This was just another ordinary sunset to him. Being with people didn't make it any different. At least, that's what he kept telling himself.
"This is so perfect," mumbled Allen. Lenalee smile, forcing away her blush. She felt Lavi squeeze her hand even harder...
Then let go.
He took his hand away from hers, only to cross his arms a few seconds later. "It is," he said.
Lenalee didn't dare look up. Lavi, why did you...?
But Lenalee couldn't think, because Allen was still holding her hand.
Now, forevermore, it was possible.
A/N: Hope that was to everyone's liking! That last bit (the italics) was a poem I made up just for this story. And I like the Allen/Lena pairing, but I added Lavi in just for fans of that pairing. Like I said, just a cute little one-shot.
And for those who don't know, 'Bakanda' was a nickname Allen gave Kanda. Basically, it means 'stupid Kanda'.
Please review for me! Thank you!