Hitomi: Nope, this has nothing to do with Unravel's plot. True, it has the intended pairing I have in mind, but nothing relating to the plot or anything.

…Of course, I might be lying. *SHOT* There's an inkling of such, but nothing more. Like I said, it doesn't have to do with the plot of Unravel… It's more like an alternative scenario, like what would happen if this occurred instead of that. I'm not telling you what I plan for Unravel as it's spoilers for that, but it has a little something to do with it.

Disclaimer: I do not own D . Gray-Man, Hoshinou Katsura-sensei does. The only thing(s) I do own in here would be my OC(s).

The Price of Freedom

[Even if we have exchanged our existences for liberation,

We have no regrets, living our lives the way we did

Because we were so happy being together.]

They threw everything away for the sake of each other. They threw all of it away because, with things being against them these days, how were they supposed to find happiness together if people wouldn't just leave them be to make their own decisions? How were they supposed to find happiness together if people around them didn't realize they didn't want to fit in the mold of their expectations, of their own, selfish desires? How were they supposed to find happiness together if they weren't allowed to live the lives the way they always wanted to, as long as they were happy living it?

He threw away his obligations of the clan, his end of the bargain. Even though that wasn't the way things were supposed to be, it couldn't be helped if he began to see that emotion was all around, especially with the ones he considers as his comrades. He began to feel a lot of things, even though it was prohibited, even though he was to strictly told countless times not give into it. If he became the successor, what was the point of living his dream if he couldn't get what he wanted? But now, he had broken his promise all because he wanted his freedom; the freedom to be himself, to truly feel without stifling—suffocating—it all inside.

She didn't want to lose something precious to her, not again. Ever since she got into that place—the place she considers a second home now—three years ago, she started to feel, to learn, to experience things she never had before. Emotions were a hindrance in her previous profession, so she was slowly being educated about it. At times, it would be frustrating not to know certain sentiments because of having not felt them yet or not remembering on being familiar with it at all. She wanted to know… She wanted to know so much on what it was like to truly be human…

Love was the one emotion she was never, truly felt familiar with; the one she never felt in her life, but she unconsciously longed for it. The strongest meaning of love—unconditional love—was the one she searched for the most… And all along, it had been there when it came to her partner.

Running away wasn't the best of decisions, but it was the only option they had. Discussion wouldn't have worked and neither would—obviously—physical force. Revolt wouldn't have lasted for long either; they would just be torn apart from each other's sides, possibly on permanent grounds, which was against on what they truly wanted.

So, how else would you have shown you were serious? This was how. At least it wouldn't go on an idealistic route. Running away like this was practically screaming for elopement to happen.

But, that would never happen; at least, not yet. As much as they had escaped their cages of responsibility, they still had an obligation to it, being Exorcists. The war between Exorcists and the Millennium Earl with his Noah family was still at large, so their duty was still on the line.

Although, having thought about it, the male would make a joke like, "Well, now that we had broken away from the Black Order, but still kept our Innocence, you think we should be branded as Rogue Exorcists?"

To which the female would reply lightly with a snort, "It's rather fitting, actually. We're two runaway Exorcists who had fled from Black Order H.Q., but we still have our Innocence to protect ourselves with, be it from Akuma, Noah, or anything that would threaten to harm us."

"You know… I never thought you'd be into rule breaking." He commented with a thoughtful hum, having known her well to the point she was an open book to him. "After all, with the way you were raised before becoming an Exorcist, I thought you respected your superiors and followed the rules."

"While that may be true, this is one of the few things I am against." She replied curtly, a tightlipped frown on her face. "I refuse to fulfill my duties, not when I don't know whether you're safe or not, if you're healthy or not, if you're happy or not. I… I can't… And I will not until I make sure you're alive and well. Your happiness is… Very important to me, even moreso than my own."

To think she'd said that with such a straight, serious face… Only showed her sincerity in her words. In realization to what she had just admitted, embarrassment painted her cheeks in bright red.

He wore a shocked face of his own when hearing those words, but it slowly melted into a warm smile; then, a gentle squeeze to her hand and a forehead kiss.

"W-What?" She spoke again in a bashful manner, averting her eyes from him as her blush darkened. "I'm just saying how I feel honestly…"

"I know," he replied softly with a chuckle, squeezing her hand again as he interlaced their fingers together. "You don't need to tell me what I already know. It's just that…"

"Just what?"

"Your honesty… Is one of the many things I love about you, that's all."

She said nothing after that, the color on her face as red as ever, but she gave him a tender squeeze of his own hand.

And so, they continued traveling, not knowing where to, but they enjoyed the thrill of an adventure.

* * *

After some time, they had found a place in a small town. Quaint, serene, and by the seashore, they finally found a place to always stay by each other's sides. Though they both vowed to protect this place from Akuma, they still had to make their living in other ways. With the boy's vast knowledge, he became a teacher for the town's children while the girl's unrelenting efforts in her cooking (having been taught by a certain chef back in H.Q.) had her open up her own café. All the while, as they earned their hard work's payment, they lived together side by side.

Things were blissful like this and they couldn't have been any happier.

However, as the circumstances were, things wouldn't last like this forever.

* * *

In a matter of months, the Akuma started invading the community during nightfall and their undying vow of the Exorcists was still kept. With all of their strength, they intended to protect the town as much as they could. Figuring it would be best if they had split up, so they wouldn't be caught at once by the Earl's creations, they did. Besides, they still had their golems to check up on each other's conditions; his was from the Black Order's, hers was created by his own hands with the help of the Science Dept.

She ran to the port, by the seaside, while he dashed away in the town center. Their battle with the Akuma waged on. When the Akuma assaulted them with all they had, the Exorcists retaliated with unrestrained power. The boy slammed the monstrosities down with his giant hammer, sometimes summoning spell seals of the elements to aid him. The girl always relied on her own emotions to conjure her own elements, all the while giving the monsters one devastating blow after another with her glowing, leather covered fists. The emotion of sadness would've invoked water to her aid, but she didn't have anything to be sad about; that was why hanging around the harbor was easier for her as she summoned the waters surrounding her to manipulate to her will.

It was steadily growing darker, but neither of them wavered nor did they mind. For him, perhaps being in the clan had given him some sort of training to fight in darkness. As for her, as a former assassin, she lived to kill in the shadows.

Ice formed on her fists now as she unleashed unmerciful Hell on the Earl's toys. Her body was exhausted, but she was already used to pushing herself to the limit. But having destroyed so many Akuma, and being so tired, she didn't have the time to protect herself. The dark night was stained with red blood as bullets embedded into her flesh, in one arm and one leg, and she had let out an agonizing scream. Losing balance, lying helplessly on the wooden bridge as red stained brown, she gave a quick order to her golem to fetch her partner.

With that, the flying, gray ball followed its mistress's orders.

In another part of town, not too far off, he had wondered if he had imagined that cry. He wasn't having so much of a hard time with the Akuma—really, with his giant hammer, it was like the fray suddenly turned into a baseball field—but dread was pooling in his stomach, wondering if she was all right. The area was clear of Akuma, so he had tried to connect to her golem with his own, but she had made no reply. He felt afraid, very afraid for her.

Suddenly, with a whizzing sound and a hit at the back of the head later, a winged, gray sphere wouldn't stop flying around his head frantically. Initial puzzlement exploding into alarm, the golem took the lead and he ran after it, emotions getting a hold of him as countless scenarios of the girl entered his mind so vividly.

When they arrived at the docks, the boy had found his female partner lying there, no Akuma in sight. Running over there, he knelt by her side immediately, inspecting on her injuries. From where the bullets hit, there was the familiar, crystallizing sheen of ice that had stopped the bleeding. Perhaps she used her Innocence to do this before she went unconscious (unconscious, yes, because she was still breathing, even if it sounded shallow). However, her skin was slowly growing black, and he already knew the inevitable.

To his astonishment, the girl's eyes fluttered opened moments later. Seeing the familiar face of her male partner above her, she slowly sat up, wincing as she did. Even so, it made him uneasy to see her move around like that when she sustained such wounds. Without a word, he picked her up in his arms bridal style, walked over to the front of the harbor, and sat down again sideways .With her still being cradled in his arms, he let his own body lean against one of the pillars of the seaport. No words were exchanged between them as he held her close to him; she knew why it was like this, so she just wanted to cherish this last memory with him.

They stayed like that for hours, watching the sky from above, and enjoying each other's company. Hearing each intake of air, their bodies and flesh warm to the touch, feeling and hearing their heartbeats… Such unstained innocence, such unquestionable intimacy…

A little while longer and daybreak would hit, the girl's breath growing softer and softer in hearing as time passed by.

Then, the boy heard the splitting of wood and felt sudden warmth from his back, followed by a piercing pain. Looking down, he saw that his clothes were stained with blood—his blood—as a blade cut through. His one eye looking over his shoulder, he swore when he saw a lone Akuma present and very much alive. As he was torn between the decisions of letting the girl go and summoning his hammer to obliterate it or to let it take his life, the choice was made for him as a wave of seawater engulfed it whole and left no trace of it.

Averting his eyes up front, he saw that—weakly—the girl's black and white clad hands had called for the water's help. Seeing the red and the black on his body now, her eyes flicked to his pain stricken face, giving an apologetic look as if she was the one who inflicted the pain on him. Shaking his head slowly, he gave her a warm smile, ruffling her hair as if to tell her that it was all right and she shouldn't blame herself.

He let go of her from his arms a moment, only for her to settle down into his lap and let her body face his, her head placed on his chest as she heard his slow heartbeat, her arms entangled around his neck and her hands finding his hair. His arms snaked themselves around her waist, pulling her closer to him, hands caressing her short hair and back.

They waited for the unavoidable, knowing fully well in their minds that there was no turning back.

As the sky slowly turned from dark to light, black pentacles had spread all over their bodies. At a side view, seeing the first crack of light show itself, the boy coaxed the girl in his arms to sit up in his lap. As she did so, both of his hands moved to take her face into his hold. At this, she looked up at him, locking eye contact.

Green met blue-gray.

There was no regret of living their lives, no sadness on things having turned out like this, no fear of death on their faces. Even as the black pentacles reached their faces, such sentiments weren't there.

There was real happiness, pure love, on their expressions.

Still feeling the warmth of her face in his hands, the boy lowered his face to close the distance between them, his lips meeting her own. The kiss was chaste, pure, holding so much meaning to their sentiments than words could ever express.

Pulling away, with softened expressions and affectionate smiles as their foreheads touched, their last words spoken in loving whispers.

"I love you, Rue."

"I love you too, Lavi."

As their names left the others' lips, they disappeared into ashes, swept away into the wind and carried to the radiant, red dawn of the sky.

Hitomi: TT_TT Yes, I know, it's heartbreaking, isn't it? *hides* And PLEASE, don't kill me for it. I was actually tempted to write something dark for a while, so here it is. I'm not even sure what compelled to write it. Perhaps this is because I haven't even written the dark sides of Unravel yet or I haven't written anything as sad as this for a long time. Guess that meant I had to go practice writing in the negative genres (angst, drama, tragedy, hurt/comfort [I've yet to write in that genre, though]) to see if I had lost my touch or not.

Of course, I'm sure it made you guys cry – or, at least, feel sad. Me, I was feeling so fervent about it, typing furiously, wanting to know how it would end (truthfully, I had a vague sense of the scenario, but I was really in the dark on this one). At least it's not a freakin' totally tragic ending… It was bittersweet since Lavi and Rue died in each other's arms, after all. There's no way I would make it as tragic as one of them losing the other; then, going back to the Order to tell everyone else about it! That'd break my heart if I did that…

Especially when I already know, deep down inside, the Lavi x Rue pairing are going to suffer in Unravel sooner or later. Yes, I know I am being evil to my own pairing, but I can't give them a happy ending on a silver platter without making them suffer first… Of course, we all know they're both going to do something about that.

I hope you guys really enjoyed it, though! Review~ I would really love to hear feedback!