Hey guys! So, it was my birthday yesterday, so I had a sleepover and this just came to me at some point around midnight. Yes, I ship RoadxLenalee a bit (I prefer RoadxNeah or RoadxAllen if I'm shipping with Road), but anyways. So, I decided to make the Black Order one family, the Lee, just because. This is an AU. I think that's all... Oh, yes, Road, my lovely muse, if you would be so kind?

Road: Ankhesa doesn't own DGM or the characters therein.

Ankhesa: Thank you, oh you're need over in another fic; go on now. On with the story!

Never Leave

~Noah Manor~

The halls were decked in black; the chandeliers were left half lit, throwing the entrance hall and the parlor into a world of gray half shadows. The usually festive, joy-filled mansion was shrouded with a thick veil of grief and despair. People milled about in the hall and parlor, paying their last respects to the deceased. Someone was playing a piano melody softly in the background. A few people were talking quietly amongst themselves about the man in the black coffin. The man of whom they whispered's dark hair was wavy and fell across his forehead, concealing his unusual cross-shaped scars; his once liquid gold eyes were closed to the sorrows around him, his skin an ashen gray.

His family, the Noah family, gathered to one side of the viewing parlor. Their patriarch, an earl of the realm, sat in his chair, overlooking the rest. Only he, and the always stoic Lulubell, appeared unaffected by his relation's sudden death. The rest of the family, known by all for their lavish parties and vast wealth, appeared much more distraught at the loss of their own. The twins wept on each others' shoulder; The Lord Sheryl sobbed uncontrollably into his gray handkerchief; his brother, also a lord, Tyki, with tears streaming down his own face, rested a hand on Sheryl's shoulder in a vain attempt to console his brother. Skinn, a minor count, stood nearer the Earl than the rest, his face tear-stained. Wisely and Road, Sheryl's teenaged children, stood together, nearer the coffin, neither said a word. They stood gazing at their deceased uncle, hands intertwined.

A soft knock was heard at the door of the parlor. Road and Wisely looked up from their beloved uncle. Four people of the Lee family* stood in the doorway. Gasps were echoed across the parlor and entrance hall as the visitors recognized the new comers; the Lees and the Noahs had never gotten along even in the best of times.

"What are you doing here? Have you come to mock us in our sorrows?~" the Earl questioned the quartet with suspicion. He had never trusted them, nor would he ever trust them. His dislike and distrust had spread through his family, permeating it like plague. Additionally, he had made it very clear they were not to associate with the Earl's family. Ever. The long-haired male in the Lee group shot the Earl a nasty glare. Breaking away from her family, the pig-tailed Asian girl walked boldly over to the coffin. The other three, a red-headed male with an eye patch, the tall Asian man with long hair and a nasty disposition, and a white-haired male with a peculiar scar, watched their sister with awe and trepidation. The Noahs were not know for their tolerance of their family, especially when they had shown up uninvited. The Noahs watched the girl with evident distaste, yet none of them made a move to stop her progression to the coffin's side. Lenalee stopped at the side of the coffin across from Wisely and Road; she did not make eye contact with either of them. She did not say a word to them. She gazed down at the body of the musician of the Noah family with sorrow in her eyes. She knew the pain of losing one you loved much better than the rest of her family; she knew it would be hard for the Noahs in the coming months. She knew of the feud between the Lees and the Noahs. She knew that she should have stayed as far away from this dangerous family as she could get. But she also knew she could never do that. She could never abandon Road. Especially not now.

Still remaining silent, she raised her eyes from Neah's lifeless form to finally acknowledge the Noahs. She turned first to the Earl and the knot of family around him, merely nodding towards them. Wisely watched her curiously, why would one of the Lees behave in such a manner so inconsistent with what he had always been told? Lenalee turned away from the Noahs, facing Wisely and Road. Looking at this strange girl, Wisely saw the sorrows and tears staining her face. Road said nothing as she released Wisely from her grip to stand beside Lenalee. The taller girl drew the Noah into her arms. Road allowed herself to be pulled into the tight embrace, wrapping her own arms around the older girl's waist. Lenalee stroked Road's hair, whispering in her ear. Road relaxed in the embrace, she let her tears fall more freely as she clung to Lenalee, seemingly for dear life.

"Promise me you'll never leave..."

"Never."

Aw, so yay! I've finished something! As usual, please R&R!

Love and Starbucks (without which I don't think the insanity that somehow inspired this fic would have been possible), Ankhesa