Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man.
A/n: After that one episode where Lenalee hugs him to keep him from going anywhere...my crack pairing senses just went blaring, man...
It's weird. When I try to write something serious, it usually ends up really short, and that sucks...!! Although, this ended up alot longer than I had originally expected, so YAY!!
Cross is a bit OOC here, but...I figure he has at least the moral capacity to talk nice to a cute, young girl like Lenalee, right?
It was the first time they ever truly spoke together, both of them sitting up against a wall in the hallway, and he immediately offered her a cigarette.
"No...I'm sorry...I...I don't smoke..."
He shrugged in defeat, this enigmatic, scarlet-haired man. The man who was Allen Walker's master, and probably the most irresponsible person Lenalee had ever met in her entire life. General Cross Marian. A powerful, yet frightening figure, one who may have the power to turn the tide of war against the Akuma and the Millennium Earl. He was also a compulsive gambler, an alcoholic, and a womanizer, but those traits were usually looked past for the sake of his usefulness in the Order.
"You look like the kind of girl who could really use a smoke right now," he muttered in that heavy voice of his. His breath reeked of beer.
Lenalee shook her head gently side to side. "Smoking...it's bad for your health..."
"Yeah? Well...smoking helps calm the nerves. It makes you relax. Someone as jumpy and sensitive as you...having a good smoke might do you some good..." Cross replied, watching as several exorcists walked past him, their eyes glued to the bone-like mask on the right side of his face.
"No thank you..."
"Come on...no one will ever find out. I promise I won't tell your brother," Cross smirked.
For some reason, Lenalee found herself smiling at this strange man. "...Are you TRYING to get me to do drugs?" she asked jokingly.
Cross was silent for a moment, and then he threw his head back as he let out a hearty laugh. "Ah ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha...oh boy...you saw right through me, huh? You're good, girl...you're good...I like that! Ha ha ha ha!!"
Lenalee forced a tiny grin, although she had to admit she felt a bit nervous; she didn't expect for her little joke to actually be true.
"Anyway," Cross immediately brushed off that last comment, "Let's talk about something else, since you seem so reluctant to go back into your brother's office to see Mr. Toothbrush-Moustache...how about you answer me this: do you have a boyfriend?"
Lenalee's entire face began to glow upon reaction to Cross' sudden, personal question. "E...Eh? Why...Why would you ask something like that?!"
"It seems that my worthless apprentice and his little eye-patch friend have both taken a liking to you, young lady. So has that equally worthless young man. I think his name was Chaoji or something. It's a very stupid name. Back to what I was saying, though...are you currently seeing anyone?"
Although she didn't really know Cross that well (this was their first time actually having a conversation together, after all), Lenalee saw no reason to keep the truth hidden, especially since it was no big deal in the first place. "No...I'm not seeing anyone at the moment...and that's not really something I've ever given much consideration lately...maybe after this war has come to an end...maybe...I'll start to consider it..."
"It's best to find someone you like BEFORE you die, so you can at least say, at the end of your life, that you had someone you loved with all of your heart..." Cross spoke up as he slipped a single cigarette in between his lips. He had a far-off look in his eyes; was he thinking about Anita, possibly?
Lenalee buried her knees further into her chest. "I...I...there's no way I could do something like that...just the thought of it...loving someone as more than a friend, or a comrade...it makes me so uncomfortable..."
"What about kissing someone on the lips? Have you ever done that before?"
"N-No...never..."
Grinning, Cross slowly pulled out his cigarette by holding it in between his fingers, and he flicked it carelessly off to the side. "You know...you're just the type of girl I like...if you're willing, I can teach you...free of charge, of course!"
"Huh?"
"C'mere, you!!"
With incredible speed, Cross had pulled Lenalee into a tight hug.
"W...What're you doing?" Lenalee screeched.
"Heh heh..." Cross leaned in close, his hot breath brushing against Lenalee's skin, "I'm gonna teach you exactly what you need to do to be a good kisser..."
"WHA-"
The black-haired girl's eyes nearly bulged out of her head as her lips crashed against the older man's. He tasted of alcohol, cigarette ashes and something else Lenalee did not recognize. This was definitely not how Lenalee had imagined her first kiss to be, either. A shiver crawled up her spine as Cross' tongue slid into her mouth. His gloved hands dug into her back, pressing against her soft, pale skin. She didn't know whether to feel happy or sad at that moment. It was her very first kiss...
"M...M...MASTER!!!!!!"
Cross tore himself away from Lenalee, and glanced upwards to see Allen Walker and Lavi glaring down back at him. Flames of rage could be literally seen radiating off of their bodies. Demonic horns had even sprouted from Allen's skull, and his eyes were glowing bright neon-red. Lavi had a similar appearance, but of course this was all just for show.
Cross' lips curled upwards into a wry smirk. "Well...speak of the devil..."
"YOU...YOU...YOU..."
"Yes, my worthless apprentice? What seems to be the problem?"
"...FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO LENALEE?!!! THAT'S A 16-YEAR-OLD GIRL YOU'RE FORCING TO MAKE OUT WITH YOU, YOU PERVERTED BASTARD!!!" Allen screamed, immediately activating his Innocence to teach some long-awaited lessons to his former master.
"..." Shrugging his shoulders, Cross just went back to kissing Lenalee again.
"LISTEN TO ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU FOR ONCE, DAMMIT!!!"
"I'm just teaching her for future reference-"
"THAT'S TOTALLY BESIDE THE POINT!!! YOU SICKEN ME MORE AND MORE EVERYTIME I SEE YOU!!"
"Ho ho ho ho...same here, you USELESS THING."
As Cross and his "apprentice" continued to argue fruitlessly, Lavi grabbed Lenalee by the arm and pulled her up to her feet and out of the older man's grasp. Lenalee was still a bit dazed from that sudden kiss. Her heart was pounding heavily against her rib cage.
"Hey, Lenalee...you...are you okay? Did that bastard touch you in your...special place?" Lavi asked, giving her a gentle shake.
Lenalee blinked twice, snapping out of her stupor. "Oh...oh! Y-Yes...yes, I'm fine, Lavi...he didn't...touch me anywhere inappropriately..."
"Oh, thank god..." Lavi let out a sigh of relief. "If he did, we'd have to have him arrested, and to do that, we would have to inform your brother...and all hell would break loose,"
"Heh heh...you have such a vivid imagination, Lavi..."
Lavi looked to the right, and saw that Allen was now chasing Cross down the hallway at top speed, screaming for him to stop and get his just desserts for once in his life. The General could have easily taken Allen down, but it seemed he enjoyed teasing his "worthless apprentice" this way. Lavi sighed yet again.
"Come on, Lenalee," Lavi said, taking the girl's hand, "Let's just head over to the cafeteria or something...I'm sure Allen will be back there soon...just...just forget what happened here, okay? It'll all be alright..."
"O...Okay..."
As Lenalee allowed Lavi to drag her away in the opposite direction of Cross and Allen, she couldn't help but stare off into the distance. She had a feeling of...longing...in her chest. She could still taste Cross' mouth on her lips. There was no way she could ever forget something like this.
'That was...my first kiss...'