Author's Note: I debated on whether or not to write this fic, and decided to go ahead and give it a shot. It was inspired by a number of things: first of all, the Lavi/Kanda doujins "La Famille" and "La Famille 2" gave me the initial desire to attempt a fic of this kind; the wonderful art gallery of my favorite Lavi/Allen fanartist Kain (of the doujin circle SCOOP) includes a series of sketches showing older Allen and Lavi with a couple of adorable little kids, Ralph and Misha. In fact, the banner for this fic uses one of Kain's images because it's just that adorable. I'm kind of dedicating this story to Kain (even though she'll likely never see it) because her art is so inspirational to me; the final inspiration is what gave this fic its cheesy title: a cutesy little ditty of a song by the Moody Blues, written by Ray Thomas for his grandson, called "My Little Lovely" that is on the Moodies' 1999 album "Strange Times"
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of "D.Gray-man" or its characters. It all belongs to the brilliant Katsura Hoshino-sensei. I'm just playing in the sandbox of this beautiful and complex world.
Warning: I am not responsible for any diabetic seizures, tooth decay or cavities. This fic is completely sugar-laden. And I don't mean in that hyper OMGCRACK kind of way -- I mean that it is so syrupy-sweet, you may end up throwing up, if you're not already covered in ants because of the sugar. Sorry. (Well, not really. 8D)
"Ripples are like dreams, searching for the shore; poured together, make oceans roar; night visions make spirits soar. So choose one wisely."
-- The Moody Blues, "My Little Lovely"
"My Little Lovely"
Allen Walker was getting pissed off. This equation was not cooperating with him. Stupid mathematics! Why did it have to adhere to such rigid rules and theories? The fact that he kept getting a different figure each time he ran the data through the formula was starting to really grate on his already-stressed nerves.
It was bad enough that Lavi was late getting back from his mission; whenever that idiot was this late, he was usually hurt. Allen was doing his best to not fret, but the fact that Lavi was about six hours later than he'd said he would be when he'd contacted Allen early in the morning... well, it just bothered him.
"Daddy?" A tiny voice warbled sleepily from nearby. Allen turned in his chair.
"What are you doing up, Peter?"
The little boy was standing in the doorway to the bedroom that he shared with his sister; he clutched the ragged stuffed chicken that he liked to sleep with. His eyes were lined with big, heavy tears that he was trying to prevent from falling.
"I had another scary dream, Daddy."
Allen let out a sigh and set his work aside, beckoning his son over with a pat to his knee. As the little boy climbed up into his lap and snuggled against him, Allen wrapped his arms around the tiny body and held him close. "It's okay, Peter. What was this dream about?"
"I don't really remember. It was just scary. Lots of monsters. Daddy, why isn't Papa home yet?"
"I don't know, honey." Allen closed his eyes and throttled down a wave of nausea at the thought of Lavi not returning from this mission. His arms tightened momentarily around his son.
Peter was about six years old and had come into Allen and Lavi's lives four years or so ago when the boy had been found by Lavi, abandoned and frightened, in a small village in Scotland. Local villagers had reported that the boy's parents had disappeared rather suddenly, and no sign of them was ever found. So, Lavi had taken the boy with him back to Headquarters and he and Allen had informally adopted him, adding him to their family. The boy had an unusual mark on his left shoulder blade, and there were some suspicions that he might be a parasitic conformer, though if he was, his Innocence was completely dormant. Hevlaska couldn't confirm one way or another whether the boy was compatible with Innocence and if there was any Innocence within his body.
Two years earlier Allen had been the one to discover a tiny baby, no more than a few months old, if even that old, in the streets of a run-down village just outside of London. The baby had been surrounded by the ash remains of victims of Akuma blood-virus poisoning, leading Allen to conclude that she was in fact an orphan, that her parents had died trying to protect her. Allen had searched the entire village and had found no other survivors; this had led him to speculate that even the baby had been infected by the virus, but had somehow survived. Since only a parasitic conformer of Innocence could do that alone, this of course raised the question of if the baby was a potential host for Innocence, and an eventual Exorcist. Consequently, Allen had taken the baby girl with him back to Headquarters, and Hevlaska had confirmed that the infant seemed to have parasitic-Innocence blood, though the Innocence was not mature yet and was thus dormant. With no clue as to the baby's identity, and with the presumption that her parents were dead, Allen had adopted the little girl on the spot, naming her Amanda in honor of one of the most important people in his own life.
Becoming a parent like that had been an eye-opening -- and heart-opening -- experience for Allen; he finally understood just why his father Mana had always called him "the best Christmas present I ever received." Lavi had initially been a bit wary of little Mandy, but it hadn't taken long at all for the little girl to have both of her adoptive fathers wrapped around her tiny fingers. Adding Peter to the family two years after Mandy was found had just increased the love and joy that this small, mismatched family shared. They had recently acquired this larger suite to accommodate the family; with Allen now being the highest-ranking gensui in the Black Order, it was only fitting that his living quarters be larger. It was still a little small and cramped for a family of four, but with both Allen and Lavi still active in the Black Order -- Lavi was on the brink of reaching Critical Point, but seemed uninterested in actually reaching it -- and therefore still subject to regular missions, it was actually rather rare for all four of them to be cooped up at once.
The Millennium Earl was still at large, and the Black Order seemed no closer to defeating him than it had ever been; however, the Black Order was still surviving and holding its own against the Earl's forces. The past ten years had not been easy, by any stretch of the imagination, but they were holding fast. About eight years ago, the old man who had been known to Allen as the Bookman had retired, passing his title to another, and had returned to the Black Order Headquarters on invitation from Lavi, to spend the rest of his days there. Unfortunately, he didn't live much longer. Only a few months after surrendering the title of Bookman, the old man had passed away in his sleep, a peaceful death of old age. Lavi, who had viewed the old man as a surrogate parent for most of his life, had been almost inconsolable for nearly a week after his passing.
Fast forward eight years to now, and one could hardly recognize Lavi based on how emotionally weak he'd been back then. Either Allen had been a stabilizing influence on him, or having a family had done it, but whatever the cause, Lavi was now emotionally one of the most stable Exorcists. He didn't get emotionally invested in his missions, thanks to his Bookman training, but he could still connect with people all over the world. He was a liaison for the Black Order and the clan of bookmen; in fact, his current mission was to meet up with the newly appointed Bookman (since the previous one, the successor to Lavi's beloved "Panda-jiiji," had died of illness) and re-establish diplomatic relations.
Unfortunately, even though this wasn't even supposed to be a dangerous mission, Lavi was late getting home. He'd called mid-morning and had informed Allen that he expected to be home by nightfall. Now it was more than six hours after the sun had set, and Lavi was still not home.
Mandy was currently dozing on the sofa near the door to the suite. She never slept well when Lavi was gone on missions, and when he was late getting back, she refused to go to bed. Allen hadn't felt like arguing with her or forcing her to go to bed, so he'd just let her curl up on the sofa. She had remarkable hearing anyway, so as soon as Lavi got to the floor their suite was located on, she'd hear his footsteps and would be awake and ready to greet him.
The clock chimed briefly as it struck two.
Lavi, you asshole, where the hell are you? Your family is worried sick about you! Allen stroked his son's auburn hair. It was amusing that Peter had reddish tones in his hair, though it was more brown than it was red. If Peter had had green eyes, he might've been taken for Lavi's natural son, instead of adoptive. But the boy had intense brown eyes, not bright green.
"I wish you and Papa didn't have to go away so much," Peter muttered. "I don't like it when you're gone either, Daddy."
Allen had no response to that.
As it turned out, he didn't need one.
Mandy jerked upright on the sofa, her facial expression overjoyed. She scrambled off the sofa. "Papa! I hear Papa!"
By the time the door opened, both children were crowding it, ecstatically greeting Lavi.
"Goodness! Come on, you guys, can I at least get all the way in the door before you attack me like that? Honestly!" The tall redhead laughed as the kids ambushed him and clung to his legs. "I'm stiff and tired, and I'm covered in road dirt."
"They've been worried sick about you," Allen said mildly. "I must admit I was worried as well."
"Eh? Yeah, I tried to contact you to tell you that I was being delayed, since the carriage blew an axle," Lavi crouched down and gathered both children into his arms, hugging them enthusiastically, "but the wireless golem I had with me stopped transmitting. Don't even know why. So I had to hoof it to the nearest way-station."
"A six hour delay is pretty severe -- you could have gotten to a phone and called, couldn't you?"
"Not in the middle of nowhere, no."
"Papa, you smell funny," Mandy said, wrinkling her nose.
"I probably smell like horse," Lavi chuckled, ruffling her hair. "I had to buy one on the Order's credit in order to get home, since they were estimating it'd be a good two days before the carriage was fixed. Why they couldn't send for another one, I don't know. But, Komui's good and pissed off at me. That horse didn't come cheap." The redhead then squeezed both the children and kissed each of them on the forehead. "I am covered in road dirt, horse sweat and my own sweat as a matter of fact; I'm going to go take a quick shower. You kids are up way past your bedtime; go get into bed, and when I'm done, I'll come tuck you in."
Both kids looked unhappy with the command and looked over at Allen questioningly.
Allen schooled his expression to complete firmness; "He's right; I was lenient because I knew you were worried about him, but now that he's home safe and sound, you need to go to bed." He stood up from the table and came over to the children, patting them both on the head. "Come on, I'll tuck you in as well."
"I don't think I'll be going anywhere for a couple of weeks anyway," Lavi added, looking at Allen. "That Bookman is a complete idiot; he wants three weeks to consider the alliance details." Patting the kids on the head, he added, "That means I'll be home for a while. So just be good and go to bed. I promise I'll come tuck you both in. I just need to get this stink washed off me."
Allen herded the two children into their bedroom while Lavi took himself into the washroom to shower. The children both climbed obediently into their bed (they had to share a double, since the Order only furnished this suite with double beds, and the room wasn't big enough for two beds) and settled in. Allen gave each of them a kiss on the forehead as they snuggled down into the bedding to await Lavi's turn to tuck them in.
"Daddy?" Mandy queried softly.
"What is it, sweetie?"
"Are you going to be leaving us soon? It seems like we never have both of you home for very long. I always have nightmares when one of you is gone." Mandy always spoke with uncommon formality and correctness for her age, and unlike Peter, she was a somber, quiet child who kept to herself. Peter was outgoing and loved to play with other Order members (since there really weren't any children around the Order building except for the two of them, Peter's playmates were all adults, but often times were adults who had children of their own and who enjoyed playing with a little boy like him) while Mandy was more of a wallflower. Nevertheless, Mandy was highly intelligent and seemed to pick things up very quickly, especially language. She almost never made grammatical mistakes, an unusual thing for a child her age.
"I don't anticipate going anywhere, honey, but there's always the possibility." Allen sat down on the edge of the bed, taking her little hand in his to comfort her. "Still, I'm the only gensui in the building right now, and they like to keep at least one stationed here nowadays, so I don't imagine I'll be assigned anything unless something really, really important comes up. Believe me, honey, it's been hard on me too, having your Papa gone so much. I worry about him just as much as you do."
"I know. I just hate it when one of you is gone. I have nightmares. When you are both home, I can sleep without any interruption. I wish I understood why."
"Don't worry about it so much, sweetie. You're far too young to be worrying about such heady stuff."
"The water is no longer running," Mandy said as she perked up a bit.
"Clever," Lavi said from the doorway. "That's my little girl all right." He was wearing a long white bathrobe, and his shoulder-length red hair was swept back away from his face. His nonfunctioning right eye was at the moment not covered by his usual eyepatch, since he tended to take it off when showering. The eye was mostly closed (apparently it wasn't able to close all the way due to some nerve damage many years ago) and it gave the appearance of winking.
Allen felt his blood warm up -- in more ways than one -- at the sight of his long-time lover standing indolently in the doorway, garbed in only a bathrobe. It also warmed his heart to see the mutual adoration between the tall redhead and both of the children. He had worried in the beginning that Lavi might not be very responsible as a parent, or that the redhead might be standoffish. Allen had been raised by an adoptive father who had lavished him with loving discipline; Lavi had been raised by nameless bookmen, and educated by the head of the clan.
But Lavi had taken to parenthood with a flourish. His entire life was now geared around the raising and educating of these two children; being an Exorcist was a distant second in priority to that of his family.
Of course, there was a downside to being so family oriented, while maintaining activity within the Black Order: their sex life was almost non-existent. They pretty much didn't have time for sex anymore. Well, they could usually sneak in a little fooling around and perhaps some fellatio here and there, but genuine lovemaking was pretty much out of the question -- it just took too long. Especially when the kids were at an inquisitive age, and with Mandy's exceptional hearing... That area, The Talk, was territory neither of them was ready to explore just yet.
Lavi came over to the bed and hugged Peter, giving the little boy a kiss as well, before moving around the bed to duplicate the affection for Mandy. Allen quietly removed himself from the room, deciding to leave the kids to have some time alone with their other father. For the past year, Lavi had been the one who had been away from home a lot. Allen had only had one mission that had taken more than 48 hours in the past eight months now.
"Papa, can you tell us a story to help us sleep?"
"Yeah, Papa, tell us a story! You tell the best stories!"
"Oh, all right, but just a short one. I'll remind you kids that I'm really tired; I was all-out to be home as soon as I could. Let's see..."
Allen smiled to himself. He had a feeling he knew what story it'd be, if Lavi was tired and wanted to fulfill his obligation to the kids.
"Ah, I got it. See, there once was this beansprout..."
Chuckling to himself that he'd called it, Allen went back to the table to resume his number-crunching. He really wanted to get this done soon. He could hear Lavi's voice, droning away in an attempt to lull the kids into sleep.
After a few minutes, there was silence from that end of the suite, and Lavi stepped out of the kids' bedroom, shutting the door quietly. Allen looked up. Lavi put a hand against the door, his face softened by affection. "They're such great kids, aren't they? We are so lucky to have them."
"Aren't we? We really are blessed to have them in our lives."
"What are you working on? I figured you'd be waiting just outside the door to pounce me as soon as I got done with them." Lavi came over to see what had Allen's attention.
"Don't I just wish?" Allen responded with a laugh. "Nah, I'm trying to help the Science department with their research. They're trying to develop a golem that can confirm the presence or absence of Innocence. There seems to be a flaw in this formula though."
Lavi leaned over his lover deliberately, pressing against him, as he peered at the paperwork on the table. If this was a distraction technique... it was working. Despite the smell of soaps and shampoo, Allen could still pick up Lavi's distinct scent, and his insides just turned to jelly. There was an uncomfortable silence as Lavi looked over the formula, before grabbing the pencil from Allen's hand, making a couple of adjustments to the basic structure. "It's mostly correct, but you're right, there's a flaw; looks like it's the syntax, mostly. There, try that."
Allen tested a couple of figures. He looked up at his lover. "That, my dear, is annoying. How is it that you're so damned smart?"
Lavi chuckled and kissed Allen's temple; "Panda-jiiji had a reason for picking me as his successor. And, if we hadn't met you, I'd be the Bookman now." He nibbled at Allen's ear affectionately. "But I think that I like this alternative, seeing as things are definitely getting weird in the world."
"Well, now that that's done, I can go to bed," Allen said in satisfaction. "Which is good, because I am really tired."
"Mm, so am I; I'm looking forward to a comfortable bed and even more comfortable bedmate," Lavi said as he stretched. "I've missed you, Allen. I missed the kids too, of course, but I missed having you beside me to keep me warm at night." He put his arms around Allen and pulled him close.
"C'mon, my love, let's go to bed. Now that you're home, I feel like I could sleep for two days straight."
Their bed was immaculately made up; Lavi shot a glance sideways at Allen. "Have you slept in it at all while I was gone?"
"Of course I did. I just flipped the mattress today and changed the bedding, is all."
"Ahh." Lavi pulled on his pajamas and then pulled the bed-covers back, settling himself down on the mattress with a sigh.
"What time do you think you need to be up, to give your report to Komui-san?"
"I don't need to. I've already given my report to the Supervisor. I took care of all that kind of crap before I came here. I wanted to be able to come in the door, hug my kids and then go to bed. So, even as tired as I was, I stopped and gave Komui a full report, and I turned in the defective golem. Even saw Catherine and had a chance to chat with her a bit. Sounds like her husband isn't going to last much longer, which is a pity."
"Lavi!" Allen paused while turning down the sheets on his side of the bed; his jaw was unhinged in disbelief.
"What?"
"We've been worried about you, and you took your sweet time letting us know you were back? You could have wired up to us at least! Peter has been up three different times tonight with nightmares!"
"Had I known you were that worried, I would have. I didn't think it was that big of a deal. But seeing how upset the kids were, given how they greeted me, I felt bad right away."
As they both settled into the mattress, Lavi pulled Allen close to him; "I really have missed you, Allen. That new Bookman has an assistant whose voice is almost exactly like yours; it was creepy and it made things awkward, because whenever he addressed me, part of me wanted to ask him why he was bothering with an honorific."
"Oh, by the way, since you didn't come straight here, did you hear the news?" Allen snuggled against his lover, inhaling deeply and savoring Lavi's scent.
"Uh, talk about vague! News about what?"
"About a couple of our long-time nakama."
"Oh, you mean Kro-chan and Miranda? I heard he finally popped her the question."
"Heh, yeah he did. That was certainly a long time coming; did you hear why he did though?"
"Eh? He had an ulterior motive? That's not like the Kro-chan I know!"
"That's not what I meant!" Allen laughed. "He just needed a little push, I think, to take that final step. And that final push showed up while you were gone."
"Oh?"
"Imagine another little Krory running around. Maybe a girl this time? With really big eyes. You know, Miranda's eyes."
"Ah! Are you serious? Oh that's great! They're both great with kids, as we've seen. So they're going to have one of their own? That's amazing!"
"Naturally too, I might add. Not adoption."
"Well, duh. Allen, I'm the smart one here, remember?"
"Hey! Don't start insulting me within an hour of you getting home!"
"Oh, sorry. I'll wait another hour to start laying the insults on you, then."
"Gah, Lavi. You never change." Allen nestled his head on Lavi's chest. "And I'm rather grateful for that, if you want to know."
Lavi flipped out the light on the nightstand, plunging them into warm, comfortable darkness. "I've been gone so much, I don't know that I ever heard exactly how Kro-chan started to come around to Miranda."
"I'm not sure either, to be honest. I just know they have been getting closer over the years, and about six months or so ago they moved in together. And now they're going to be getting married and having a baby."
"I wonder at what point Kro-chan finally let go of Eliade?"
"I don't know that he's ever 'let go' as you say; I think it's more of a matter of him and Miranda coming to terms with the fact that Eliade is as much a part of him as his Innocence is, and that he'll never love anyone quite the same as he did her, but that doesn't mean he can't love someone else just as much. After all, love isn't about being the only one in someone's heart."
"True, very true. Though in some cases, that goes with the territory." Lavi pressed a kiss into Allen's hair, twining the fingers of one hand into the silken white strands. "Wow, your hair is getting pretty long. Feels like it's down to your shoulder-blades."
There was no response from Allen; Lavi pressed his hand to the side of Allen's throat, measuring his breathing. When he determined, based on his respiration, that Allen had fallen asleep, he smiled to himself in the darkness and kissed Allen's hair once more. "Good night, my beloved beansprout." And love of my life, he added mentally. You and the kids are all I need. I swear I could never love another so much as I love you. It scares me to think about what I'll do when you're gone.
Lavi awoke to an added weight on his chest and torso. Glancing down, he saw not white hair but a mixture of auburn and sable. He rolled his head to the side to see Allen's back to him; the morning sunlight was peeking through the blinds, and based on Allen's silhouette, the young gensui was exhausted and still sound asleep. He wasn't being badgered by two rambunctious six-year-olds.
"Okay, kids, what are you doing on our bed?"
"Making sure you both are here," Mandy said practically. Peter crawled into the space between Allen and Lavi and curled up, making himself at home.
"Now when have I ever been dishonest with you kids about being home? Honestly! Give your Papa some credit here!" He grasped Mandy in a gentle headlock and noogied her. "I'm going to have to give you some monkey-bumps, eh, little monkey? I swear we should've named you Saru!"
Mandy squealed with glee and wrestled with her father's arm.
There was a strange, somewhat loud grinding noise.
"Daddy!" Mandy giggled. "Your stomach is complaining again!"
"So it is," Allen said mildly, rolling over carefully so as not to squish Peter. "I guess I'd better do something about it."
"Some things never change," Lavi said with a laugh. "Your stomach, for one. Well, let's get dressed and go to the cafeteria. I'm sure Jerry's got something on the menu to appeal to you kids." Lavi shooed the children off the bed. "Come on, get off the bed. Go get dressed!"
As the two children skipped out of the room, Lavi sighed. "Gah, I wish I had that kind of energy."
"They're just children, Lavi, they're supposed to be full of energy. And you often do have that kind of energy, you know."
"Yeah, I know. Gah. I was hoping to lounge a bit. Silly me, for thinking I'd get some time alone with you. I should've known better."
"They're liable to be clingy for a little while. They were both really spooked the whole time you were gone. They've both been having nightmares every single night. They won't tell me what the nightmares are about, but I'm starting to think they were visions of you dying a horrific death, because both of them would ask me about you insistently after waking up from those nightmares." Allen stretched and stood up. "I had vague dreams too, that sort of frightened me in context, but I can never recall them in any kind of detail when I wake up."
"Hmm," Lavi murmured as he rummaged in the dresser for his spare uniform, since his other one was soiled and torn. As he extracted his uniform from the dresser and the wardrobe, Allen pulled his own from the wardrobe and started getting dressed, plaiting his hair to keep it out of his face.
The two of them were barely dressed when the kids came barreling back in, scurrying around them in excitement. Lavi crouched down and scooped both of them into his arms, grumbling good-naturedly about their weight. Allen just watched them in the mirror as he adjusted the various embellishments on his uniform. He personally loved his gensui uniform. He wasn't necessarily a clothes-horse, but he had a decent sartorial sense, and this particular uniform appealed to him. When he finished with the large star-cross brooch, positioned near his heart, he turned around, his greatcoat flaring out elegantly as he did so; a little touch of drama, he figured, didn't hurt. "Well, are we ready?"
"I think so," Lavi said, putting both kids down. "Shall we go?"
The family all linked hands and left the apartment suite together. Some of the cleaning crew of the Order were on that level, tending to one of the other gensui suites, and they smiled and waved at the young white-haired gensui and his family. Lavi heard one of the cleaners commenting on how cute the whole family was together.
They stepped onto the elevator and rode down to the ground floor. Peter and Mandy were full of energy and joy now that both of their parents were home. Lavi just draped an arm across Allen's shoulders and enjoyed the ambience of his family.
As they emerged on the ground floor and headed for the cafeteria, another gold-trimmed Exorcist came into sight, his long black hair swaying in the breeze of his movement. The sour-faced gensui was right in their path, and they were right in his; an encounter was unavoidable, much as the gensui would prefer otherwise.
"Yuu!" Lavi greeted his long-time friend. "Long time no see!"
"Kanda, you're back early," Allen said as a greeting. Kanda Yuu had become a gensui about five years ago. Despite the fact that he and Lavi were the same age, the Japanese swordsman looked much older. He looked like he was pushing forty, rather than thirty. However, he was as hard-edged as he had ever been, and he eyed the family with thinly-veiled contempt, though there was also a faint glimmer of respect as well. Only Kanda could pull that combination off.
"Of course I am," the gensui said in a surly manner. "I'm always faster than either of you two idiots. Now move."
"Yada yada yada," Lavi mocked gently.
Kanda just pushed past them, heading for the stairs. Lavi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.
"Let it go, Lavi," Allen said benignly. "You know how Kanda is."
"You're telling me this," Lavi chuckled. "I've known Yuu a lot longer than you have, Allen. He doesn't offend me anymore. I got over that a long time ago."
As they entered into the cafeteria, Peter and Mandy automatically and obediently stopped their antics and conducted themselves in an orderly fashion. That was something that Lavi had demanded from the very beginning with both of them: when in the presence of others of the Order, especially during meals, they were to be on their best behavior. There were no exceptions. And so, when in the cafeteria, the children behaved themselves, minding their manners. As a reward, after meals, one or both parents would take them outside (or to one of the atria in the building, if the weather was really foul) and let them play for a short while.
"Lavi! You're back!" A voice caroled from nearby as another of their long-time nakama, Lenalee Lee, emerged from the stairway and jogged over to them. She threw her arms around Lavi and gave him a big sisterly hug. "I'm so glad! Allen-kun was starting to worry."
"Hey!" Allen retorted. "I was only getting worried when he was late!"
"You keep telling yourself that, Allen-kun," she laughed in response. "You were worried. You kept bugging Nii-san for an update!"
"Good morning, Lenalee-oneechan," Mandy tugged on Lenalee's sleeve to get her attention. Lenalee was like an aunt to the kids, and on the extremely rare occasions that both Allen and Lavi were assigned on missions, she took care of them both with her brother, the Chief Supervisor, Komui Lee.
Lenalee hugged them both, ruffling Peter's unruly hair. "Peter, you look more and more like Lavi every day, I swear. I think you're related to him!"
"Ouch!" Another familiar voice sounded sharply as Arystar Krory banged his forehead on a low door jamb. The force with which he hit his head apparently knocked him over, because he was on his back, rubbing his forehead by the time the others located where the noise had come from.
His fiancee, Miranda Lotto, was kneeling beside him, trying not to laugh at his misfortune. "Dear, you need to watch where you're going too, not just where I'm going."
"Sorry."
"Kro-chan, you klutz," Lavi called over with a laugh. "That doorway hasn't changed in twelve years, you know. Or were you walking on a cloud, and thus didn't see it?"
"Shut up, Lavi," the baron snapped peevishly as he clambered to his feet. "I see you are back and as ornery as ever."
"Of course I am. I heard your good news. Congratulations, both of you."
Miranda smiled radiantly and spontaneously hugged him. "Thank you, Lavi-san."
Lavi did the most unthinkable thing, considering who was right next to him: he caught Miranda's face in his hands and gave her a firm, thorough kiss on the lips. The woman was so startled, she didn't resist. When he released her, she stepped back, her eyes huge and round with shock.
"W-what was th-that for, L-Lavi-san?" She stammered. Her fiance looked like he was about to blow a gasket.
"Well, I thought I'd start my day off right..." SLAM! Two fists hit the redhead at the same moment, from opposite directions, as two jealous lovers both smote him simultaneously. "... black and blue. Best way to start the day, " Lavi wheezed. "Best part of waking up is Allen's fist in your stomach and Kro-chan's in your back."
"I... think I'll pass on that," Miranda said with a nervous smile. She hesitantly touched her fiance's arm. "Dear, don't hit him too hard. You're pretty strong."
"Lavi," the baron snarled. "Fair warning: do that again, and you're a dead man."
"Ditto," Allen growled, glaring likewise at Lavi. "Only, in my case, you'll only wish you were dead."
"Come on, you guys, you know I didn't mean anything by it."
"Then don't do it!" Krory and Allen both snapped at the same moment.
As Krory and Miranda moved off to find a table, Allen confronted Lavi; "What the hell, Lavi? You are incorrigible."
"I was just horsing around, Allen. Don't get so mad. You know you're the only one in my heart."
"That's not the point!" Allen grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close, hissing in his ear; "You get to explain that one to the kids." He jerked a thumb down at the two children, gazing up at them both with blank expressions. "And, don't you ever do that again like that. Warn me at least!"
"I'll go get us a table. You order, since the majority of the food will be for you," Lavi said as a way of skirting the issue. "C'mon, kids, let's go get us a table."
"I love him dearly, but there are times he just pisses me off!" Allen just shook his head as Lavi and the children headed for a table.
"Well, that's what a relationship is about, right? The good and the bad," Lenalee said philosophically. "And Lavi's very good at pissing people off."
"You got that one right!"
"It rained like all hell yesterday, and today it's dry as a bone," Lavi said, shielding his eyes as he looked up at the sun. "What the hell, weather? Bi-polar much?"
"Papa, are you going to play with us?" Mandy inquired. She and Peter had kept to their usual routine of being on their best behavior through breakfast, and were taking advantage of their reward of playtime outside.
"Hmm." The redhead eyed his lover, weighing his options.
"I think you should play with your kids," Lenalee said, surprising them both by appearing. "They've really missed you, Lavi."
"I wasn't gone that freakin' long, what the hell? And it wasn't a dangerous mission! The most dangerous thing I encountered was I saw some highwaymen casing the joint at a relay station, but they left us alone."
"Well, I know that there are a lot of people who don't trust the current Bookman," Lenalee reasoned. "And the Earl isn't exactly in retreat."
Peter and Mandy each latched onto an arm, begging their Papa to join them in play. It didn't take much convincing -- despite being on the leeward side of thirty years of age, Lavi was really just a kid at heart.
As they romped off, Allen sank onto a nearby rock. "Gah, I am still so tired. I have to admit I couldn't sleep very well while he was gone. Is that really weird?"
"Not really," Lenalee said gently, sitting down beside him. "You two have been together a long time."
"Yeah," Allen ran his hands through the stray hairs that had come out of the braid. "Can you believe it's been ten years already?"
"It seems really surreal, doesn't it?"
"It's even weirder when you think about how long the Bookman we knew has been dead." Allen pulled the braid loose and tried to redo it, but his fingers fumbled with it, until finally Lenalee batted his hands away.
"I'll do it, Allen-kun. You're lousy at braids, I notice. Mandy-chan's hair always looks sloppy when you braid it."
"Yeah, well, it's not like I'm big on that kind of thing!"
They fell into a companionable silence as she worked the tangles out of his hair and plaited it. They both watched Lavi and the children playing.
"They're really good kids, Allen-kun. You and Lavi are good parents to them."
"You sound surprised."
"I'm not surprised, I'm appreciative!" She swatted him gently. "I just gave you a compliment, you ingrate!"
"Sorry, sorry. Thank you, Lenalee."
She patted the newly-finished braid. "There. Much better."
"I wonder if we'll be able to finish this war before the kids are old enough to invoke?" Allen mused, his mind already wandering. "I really, really don't want them to become Exorcists; I'd rather eliminate the need for Exorcists, than see them subjected to this lifestyle. It's really different as a parent than as a friend, Lenalee. It really is."
"We don't even know if Peter is compatible, you know," Lenalee reminded him gently. "There's no evidence either way yet."
"I know. But I just have this gut feeling they both are. Maybe I'm projecting, but..."
Silence lapsed between them as they focused their attention on the three playing. Lavi was letting the kids tackle him. It was a ridiculously heart-melting sight, to see how much the children adored him, and how much he adored them. And it was also quite amusing to watch him trying to move with two six-year-olds hanging off of him.
"Such a beautiful day."
Allen and Lenalee both turned to see Miranda, Krory and another Exorcist emerging from the side door. The other Exorcist was Catherine Beauchamp (formerly Catherine Dessaseaux, before her marriage) a nurse-turned-Exorcist whose Innocence enabled her to heal other Exorcists of akuma blood-virus and other blood-related illnesses, diseases and injuries. The irony of her Innocence's power was that it couldn't heal the one person she wanted most in the world to heal: her husband, Pascal, who was dying slowly of leukemia. Not only could the Innocence not cure a disease like leukemia, but she couldn't even use it to ease his pain because he was not a conformer; the Innocence rejected him sharply. It only worked on other Exorcists.
The last Allen had heard of Pascal's condition, he wasn't expected to live more than a few months, and could die at any time sooner than that. His condition was deteriorating very quickly. Thus, it was unusual to see Catherine out and about like this, given that she was usually constantly at his side.
Catherine and Miranda were very close; the nurse was probably Miranda's best friend. Allen rather fervently hoped that even when Pascal finally died, Catherine wouldn't be too horribly lost without him, as long as she had her friends who needed her, and Miranda would be needing her more and more as the months passed. Perhaps the timing of Miranda's pregnancy was a little gift from above.
"Okay, that's about all I can do," Lavi panted as he dragged the children with him up to where Allen and Lenalee were sitting. "Whew! They are getting so heavy!"
"They're growing, Lavi," Allen chuckled. "What did you expect?"
Mandy bounded right up to Allen and climbed into his lap. Peter, on the other hand, skipped over to Miranda and Krory, hoping for some attention from his parents' friends. Krory picked the boy up. "How are you today, little man?"
"Papa's home!"
"Such a pity, that," Krory said with a grin to the redhead. "It was nice and quiet while he was gone."
Lavi stuck his tongue out at the Romanian. "Translation: BORING!"
"Some of us like a peaceful life," Krory retorted.
"Like you even know what that is!"
Krory just shook his head in resignation. "Before Eliade came into the picture, my life was pretty quiet. Lonesome, but quiet. And that's the last I'm going to say on the subject." He shifted, physically putting Miranda between him and Lavi. Normally the baron and the former bookman got on swimmingly, but during their last mission, they had had a massive falling out, and things were still tense between them. Lavi had gotten over it, but it was clear that Krory was still upset about the argument.
Hoisting Mandy up off his lap, Allen stood up, shifting the girl to his hip with practiced ease. She adjusted posture and leaned against him, content with the world for the moment. He hugged her, stroking her sable hair as he did. Then he handed her off to Lavi. "I'm afraid that I have work to do. This diversion has been delightful, but I have to get some things done."
Allen and Lavi shared a brief, tender kiss before the gensui moved off toward the large spiral building. Mandy just put her arms around her Papa's neck and hugged him.
Catherine sank down to sit on a small bench and heaved a sigh. "I don't know how much longer I can handle this. I feel terrible for saying this, but I wish it was over already."
Miranda sat down next to her and hugged her, at a loss for words.
Lavi frowned briefly. "How much longer do you think Pascal has?"
"I don't know. A week? A month? Not much longer. He's so weak that he sleeps most of the time. He's barely even aware of me. But I know he's in pain. His liver and kidneys are pretty much done for." She sighed heavily. "And I'm out of ideas. I just hate seeing him suffer like that, dying by inches. We euthanize animals when they are fatally injured, but we cannot give humans the same courtesy."
It was left unspoken amongst them that after Pascal died, Catherine would most likely be put on a very strict watch, to ensure that her grief at her husband's death didn't attract the Earl's attention.
Krory set Peter down and moved over to a tree, putting a hand against it silently. Peter trundled back over to Lavi and clung to his leg.
Lavi wanted to ask the baron some questions, just to lighten the mood, but given the frosty reception he'd gotten today from Krory, he opted to keep his mouth shut. It saddened him that things were so strained between them, given how instrumental the baron had been in the very earliest stages of Lavi and Allen's romance. However, if things followed previous precedents, Krory would get over his anger and hurt eventually and forgive Lavi, and things would go back to normal.
Lenalee stood up and walked over to the bench, sitting down on the other side of Catherine and embracing her. "We're here for you, Catherine. We always will be."
"Yeah, I know. Listen to me, moping around and being depressing, when Miranda and Krory-san should be celebrating. I'm sorry, you two. Don't mind me."
"Nonsense, Catherine," Krory said, turning to face them. "Your pain is palpable. I do not think Miranda and I could rightly 'celebrate' anyway, given how much of a pall your situation casts on things now."
"Please don't let my situation affect your happiness!"
"He wasn't saying that, Catherine," Miranda said quickly.
"Of course not," Krory said with a wave of his hand. "What I meant was that we would feel uncomfortable celebrating with things so dire for you."
"Death is part of life, Catherine; you know that as well as any of us, and probably better than most," Lavi said gently. "And we all know how much you love him. Just be there for him, and keep him in your heart. That way he can watch over you after he passes on. I firmly believe that Jiiji is watching over me from wherever he is. And I hope to be able to use that same technique for whenever Allen goes."
"Why is it that everyone assumes he'll die before you, anyway? I hear so many of you talking like it's a foregone conclusion, and he's three years younger than you."
"He is a parasitic-type conformer," Krory said gravely. "We do not live as long as you equipment-types. In his case in particular, as opposed to mine, he has had his Innocence for as long as he can remember, so it has been feeding on his life-force for most of his life. I have only had mine for about eleven years or so."
"Catherine, haven't you looked at Allen-kun lately?" Lenalee inquired. "He's already showing signs of his aging. He's only, what, twenty-five? And he already looks older than any of us."
"Well, he does have white hair."
"That's not what she means," Lavi said. "Look at him closely some time. Allen and Yuu both look much older than they are. Which is strange in Yuu's case, since he's an equipment-type. But he does have that tricked-out tattoo."
Catherine looked uncomfortable and stood up quickly. "I think I should be getting back to Pascal. I will see you all later. Probably at dinner." She put in a hasty retreat.
"Miranda, you're looking a little green around the gills," Lenalee pointed out.
"Sorry, Lenalee-chan," Miranda said softly. "I just feel really queasy right now." She rummaged through a small pouch belted at her waist and pulled out a tiny package of gingernuts. "These things are the only things keeping my meals down these days, sadly." She smiled weakly.
Krory looked uncomfortable.
Finally Lavi patted Peter on the head. "Come on, kids, I think it's about time for some more lessons. I imagine your Daddy hasn't had as much time to help you as he'd like. He's been so busy these past few months. Let's go up to the library and get started, huh?" He set Mandy down. "You're getting heavy, doll. My arm's almost asleep!" He then gathered their hands in his, looking down at each of them with a big grin. "Right! Let's go."
As the three headed for the building, Lenalee giggled. "They're so cute, aren't they?"
"What is he teaching them?" Krory's brow was furrowed in confusion. "They seem awfully young for any kind of schooling."
"He's teaching them how to read. They're certainly not too young to start. Nii-san started with me when I was about five."
"Ah." The baron looked over at Miranda quietly, and Lenalee sensed a change in atmosphere.
"I think I'm going to go see if Nii-san needs anything," she said quickly. "I'll see you two later."
About half way up the path to the building she turned and looked back at the two. Miranda had left the bench and was now standing beside her fiance, who now had his arms around her. Turning again to the building, she saw as Lavi and the two children disappeared into the doorway. It made her happy knowing that four of her nakama were this happy, though seeing Catherine's pain made it all a little less glorious.
As she entered into the building, she heard an explosion and looked up to see one of her brother's random creations getting loose and taking off across the balconies.
"Oh, Nii-san, what am I going to do with you?" she grumbled, activating her Dark Boots to give her a boost so that she could quickly deal with this catastrophe in the making. In ten years, her brother hadn't changed at all, except to be slightly more diabolical in his schemes.
Still, it was comforting to know that even though the world was getting crazier and scarier, and much more dangerous as the time wore on, some things never changed. She hoped that when she found someone with whom to settle down and start a family, as some her nakama had done, that things would to some degree still be the same.
No sooner had she gotten to the level where the robot was rampaging, than a giant hammer smashed the robot to pieces.
"Lenalee, please do something with that idiot brother of yours!" Lavi said peevishly.
Though he looked different, Lavi really hadn't changed much. Allen was still fundamentally the same Allen he had always been, if a bit more mature than before. In fact, most of her nakama hadn't changed much. They'd all gotten older -- and Kanda had mellowed a tiny bit, though it took someone close to him like Lenalee to notice that -- but they all still fought against Akuma and the Earl with the same vigor as always.
Priorities and views on life might have changed, but all the Exorcists maintained their desire to defeat the Earl and grant humanity its own future without the Earl's machinations, and everyone would band together in a heartbeat to protect the Black Order.
The ravages of time were harsh, but they were not all-encompassing.
So maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all.