Title: Dream a Little Bigger
Fandom: D. Gray-man
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Lavi (with hints of Allen/Lavi)
Genre: Gen
Rating: G
Summary: Lavi builds his world one day at a time.
Notes: To get over the writer's block. I wanted to write gratuitous porn. It became this instead. Title taken shamelessly from 'Inception'.
On any given day Lavi gives himself up to dreaming.
He starts small. Mondays are for wandering around the Order halls and gardens, memorizing little things he never thought to memorize (his mind just takes them in indiscriminately, with no conscious effort). He likes the scent of the Medical Wing after an influx of patients, the scent so deeply linked to healing and a recovering life. He likes the sound of the cafeteria when it's lunch time, clink of pottery, dishes stacked high, some absurdly high when a certain Exorcist chooses to have his meals.
Tuesdays are for listening. He stops by the lab when he wants to, when Reever is taking a break and they find out how each other's life has been. Reever positively mothers them. Lavi relaxes before he realizes it and soon he finds he has to leave, he cannot afford to drown so deeply in one conversation just yet. He flits around, often nodding at the Finders and making sure Lenalee is safe under Kanda's care – if he were brave enough he might venture close to Link, find out a little about what Central is up to. He's often rewarded with Allen trying to invite him to cards.
Wednesdays he talks. He offers little bits of insight, little things that make Miranda lose the nervous line in her forehead (little things that make Miranda sit straighter to lose herself in knowledge and trivia). He tells Jeryy about a new recipe he read somewhere. He puts in a pointer or two if he can to Johnny about the uniforms. When he can find Komui without Lveille present he mentions Lenalee, says she misses her brother. When he sees Allen writing on his documents with an air of misery hanging about him Lavi grabs a book, sits down, and starts quoting what he finds funny, upsetting Link but more importantly making Allen laugh till the words twist and zig-zag and Link despairs.
Thursdays he creates. He joins Krory in the gardens and mimics his careful way of digging into the soil, putting a seed in and patting the soil back. He trims the weeds and admires the flowers Krory has brought to bloom. He makes tea, brings a pot of it to the meditating room and cajoles Kanda into sharing a quiet moment of warm tea and calm. If Jeryy doesn't mind he helps make a pie and keeps the crumbly, misshapen pastry on a plate, warm under foil. During tea he presents the pie to a very hungry teenager, watching as Link studies the pie carefully and the Very Hungry Teenager just inhales it down.
Fridays have a way of making him explore. He tries to find new things, things even he didn't memorize. He finds the little nook Marie likes to play in, the sound of the harp unbearably beautiful. Hevlaska waves her strong limbs around and Lavi realizes, with a smile, that they sway like the willow by a river, a place he saw twenty six wars ago. If he's careful and quiet enough, he learns that Bookman, training with Kanda and fighting for hair ties, smiles in a way he never does with Lavi. With delight he learns if he tickles Allen just so, Allen laughs and cries and never does wriggle free, even though he can if he really wants to.
When Saturdays roll around Lavi lets himself imagine. He thinks about what it'll be like when the war is over. He thinks of them all having a big party, even Central joining in. He hopes Bookman will be alive maybe a few more years so he can just keep learning but never have to hold the mantle of Bookman. He imagines sunny days lasting for a long time. He thinks of capturing this one sunny afternoon, the last as the weather starts to chill and sharpen. He imagines all of them free, he imagines Allen free, no longer The Destroyer of Time but Allen Walker, Teenager. He imagines them all alive.
Sundays Lavi trains – he dreams that one day he can do everything, Mondays to Saturdays, in the everyday of his life.
