((A/N: Wow. Due to the still increasing popularity of my '25 Days of Yuuletide' fic, I decided to continue with a New Years fic, titled 'Minutes Until Midnight'. When that one did pretty well, I decided that I wanted to do a Valentine's Day fic, but due to exams and school I wasn't able to. Then I decided to do this White Day fic, which ended up being a day late due to doctor's appointments _" I think Lavi and Kanda must be sick of me writing them or something… Anyways! Here's my third installment of the Holiday series! Enjoy!))

White Day Worries

"Lavi…" Lenalee sighed, resting her head against the future Bookman's door. "Please come outside…"

"Why?" his voice came muffled through the wood.

"I'm worried about you… You haven't left your room for anything other than missions in over a month."

"I've left!" he protested. "I went to the cafeteria like… yesterday?"

"That was last week, Lavi."

"Whatever. It doesn't matter. Just go away."

"Fine, then. I'm coming in."

"No! Don't break down the door!" Lavi protested.

"Relax." Lenalee giggled as the door swung open. "I learned how to pick locks on my last mission!"

"Who the hell taught you that?"

"Allen, but that's not important right now. I'm here to talk to you about this rut you've been in."

"I'm fine."

"Bullshit—eek!" the Chinese girl clapped her hands over her mouth in shock. "I'm sorry for cursing, but you're lying!"

Lavi chuckled, causing Lenalee's eyes to narrow in anger.

"Do I need to go get the Bookman?"

The redhead paled at this and shook his head vigorously.

"I didn't think so. So tell me what's going on."

After a moment, he replied quietly. "Valentine's day."

"…is a holiday we celebrate in February. It's March now, so what's your point?"

"…we didn't celebrate it."

"Oh?" Lenalee paused as his words sunk in. "Oh… Lavi, I'm sorry…"

The boy shrugged. "It is what it is."

"Well… did you get him anything?"

"Of course. I know he doesn't like sweet things, so I asked Jerry to help me make not-sweet-chocolates. I think they turned out pretty good… and he seemed to like them…"

Lenalee broke into a huge smile.

"…what?"

"Oh, Lavi… I think I know what's going on?"

"Well could you inform me?"

"Nope. That would ruin the surprise!"

"…huh?"

"Don't worry about it so much, okay?" Lenalee smiled reassuringly. "I promise everything's gonna turn out just fine."

"If you say so." Lavi shrugged with a sigh. "I guess I'd better go to the library and talk to the old panda… Do you think he'll kill me?"

"It's a possibility. You should come with me to dinner first." She moved toward the door. "That way, if you do die, you'll die full of Jerry's good cooking."

"Anything to put off going back to Bookman." Lavi smiled half-heartedly. "Let's go."

All it took was a single bite of Jerry's pasta dish to make Lavi grateful that Lenalee had made him go to dinner.

"I'd forgotten how good this stuff is…" Lavi said around a mouthful of food.

"That's what happens when you stop eating for a few weeks." Lenalee scolded him.

"I ate!" he protested. "It was just… bread. And water. Nothing wrong with that."

"Man cannot live on bread alone." Allen quipped as he joined them at the table. There was a big smile on his face, as usual, and an even bigger serving of food on his tray.

"Allen… do me a favor. Don't ever change." Lavi smiled at him. "Not that you ever do, but still."

"Hey! I change!" he protested. "Like… today I just stretched instead of doing acrobatics for my work-out. See! Change!"

Lavi and Lenalee exchanged glances, both fighting the urge to laugh.

"Of course you change, Allen. He didn't mean to imply that he thought you were boring…"

"Trust me, Beansprout. You are far from boring." Lavi added. As soon as he realized the nickname he used, his good mood vanished. Lenalee noticed the shift and immediately took over the conversation.

"Did you hear? Brother is planning on having the Exorcists and Finders pass weekly tests of endurance and strength to ensure that we're all capable of going on missions. Don't you think that's a good idea, Allen?"

"I think it will be difficult to properly test the members of the Black Order. After all, most of us are at our best when we have to improvise…"

The two continued to chat about the latest development of the Science Department while Lavi nibbled on his dinner. All conversation came to a halt as soon as a certain male joined their table.

"Yo." Kanda greeted everyone as he placed his tray next to Lavi's.

"Welcome home, Kanda. How was your mission?" Lenalee smiled.

"Annoying, as always. I swear this akuma get more obnoxious every mission. They never shut up." He rolled his eyes. "I'm just glad to be back here where I can get a decent meal."

"I'll bet it was hard to get soba in France, huh?" she teased.

"Soba isn't all I eat!" he retorted before realizing what was on his tray. "…but it is one of the few foods I can stand." The samurai admitted.

"That's what I thought." Lenalee replied smugly.

"If you eat anything other than soba, is your body able to handle it?" Allen asked with a seemingly innocent grin. "I mean, does your body even have the ability to digest anything other than soba now since that's all you ever eat?"

"Shut the hell up, you damn beansprout. I'll cut you in two!" Kanda snapped.

"Only if I get to cut off your girly hair!"

As they continued to bicker, in an amiable matter for the two, Lavi picked up his tray and stood up.

"Where are you going, Lavi?" Lenalee asked. Kanda immediately shifted to focus on the redhead, frowning in confusion.

"Bookman needs me. I've been gone long enough as it is. I'll see you guys at breakfast tomorrow." Lavi replied, not looking anyone in the eye as his gaze remained locked on his half-eaten food.

"You're actually going back to Bookman without being forced? What's wrong?" Allen asked incredulously.

"Are you sick?" Kanda added, sarcastic tone just barely masking his underlying concern.

"I'm fine. Later." Lavi quickly walked away, depositing his tray before leaving the room.

Allen and Lenalee exchanged concerned glances before they both focused on Kanda.

"Alright, Kanda. What happened?" Lenalee was the first to break the slightly uncomfortable silence.

"Nothing happened!"

"Bullshit—eek! I need to stop doing that." She shook her head. "Anyways, what's going on with you and Lavi? I've never seen him so depressed, not since we were children at least."

"…I don't know."

"How can you not know?" Allen asked with a confused frown.

"I don't know, okay? Leave it alone!" Kanda snapped.

"Well whatever it is, Kanda, you need to fix it." Lenalee quickly intervened before the two began to fight. "Ask him what's wrong. You two are good for each other, and I hate seeing either of you sad."

"…fine."

"Good. Now that we've settled that, you should go after him. Your soba can wait."

"But—"

"Go!" she said sternly.

"Che. Whatever." Kanda rolled his eyes, but picked up his tray anyway. "Later Lenalee, Beansprout."

As Kanda walked away, Allen sighed.

"They'll be okay, won't they Lenalee?"

"Of course. They have to be." Lenalee nodded confidently.

"Lavi, wait!" Kanda called out, his voice echoing through the empty corridor. The redhead ignored him and instead quickened his pace to further avoid the samurai.

"Dammit, why won't you talk to me?"

"Go away, Yu!" Lavi shouted as he broke into a run.

"No!" Kanda retorted, running after the other. Although Lavi had a head start, Kanda was faster than him and was more than capable of catching and tackling the future Bookman to the ground. The dark-haired male flipped the other so he was lying on his back as he straddled him, dark hair falling into Lavi's face.

"Get off me!" Lavi protested, raising his hands to beat on Kanda's chest.

"No. Not until we talk." Kanda quickly grabbed his hands, pinning them down on either side of his head.

Lavi turned to rest his cheek on the floor. "Fine, Kanda. What do you want?"

"Oh? So it's Kanda now?" he raised an eyebrow. "When did that happen?"

"I don't know… awhile ago?"

"Why?"

"It's nothing."

"Like hell it's nothing! Dammit, Lavi. Talk to me." Kanda took a deep breath. "…please."

Lavi moved his head so he was facing Kanda. "Why does this bother you so much?"

"Because I love you, dammit. I'm not just going to sit here and let you be unhappy, especially when I know it's something I did. Just… Tell me what I can do to fix things. Lavi, I don't want to lose you." His hands slowly released the redhead's fists, moving to cup his face instead.

"Yu…" Lavi sighed. "I just want to know why we didn't celebrate Valentine's Day. I know it sounds stupid, but that's supposed to be a couple's thing and—"

"Wait." Kanda interrupted. "That's why you're upset?"

"Well, yeah—"

A smirk formed on the samurai's lips. "Lavi…" he slowly rose to his feet and began rummaging through his pockets before producing a small parcel. It was only a few inches wide, made of brown paper that was wrapped with a thin white ribbon. Kanda held out a hand to help Lavi up, then handed him the tiny package. His dark blue eyes remained fixated on the future Bookman as he slowly tore open the brown paper. He let out a little gasp as he saw its contents: a smooth white stone hanging from a white satin ribbon.

"Wha—"

"It's been in my family for generations." Kanda's gaze lowered to the floor as he shifted uncomfortably. "It's a tradition to give it to your eldest child on their first White Day, who will in turn give it to their husband or wife for their first White Day as being married. Since our situation is… unique, I thought it would be fitting."

"Wait… White Day?"

"…It's a holiday celebrated in my culture. When one receives gifts for Valentine's Day, they are to reciprocate on White's Day, which takes place exactly one month after the first holiday." Kanda explained. "I thought you knew about it…"

"Wait…. So you've been planning this since then?"

"Of course."

"…and I thought you stopped caring about me." Lavi said quietly. "I'm sorry for doubting you, Yu."

"I'm sorry for ever giving you any reason to doubt me. I should have been mindful of the culture gap—"

"Kanda. I'm the future Bookman. I should have known about White Day." Lavi frowned. "But, this… this is… amazing. Yu… Thank you."

The samurai finally lifted his head to meet Lavi's gaze, a small smile on his lips. "I knew that you were the only one who I would give this to. You are my everything, Lavi."

"Yu…" Lavi took a few tentative steps forward. "I love you. I always have, ever since we were little, and I know that I always will. I'm so glad you're mine and I'm even more glad that I'm yours."

The distance between them closed quickly as both moved forward, arms moving to wrap around each other as their lips met. Where their first kiss had been firm and short, this kiss was softly passionate, and seemed to drag on for an eternity. As they pulled away, each with a small smile on their face, they knew that they had found something important.

They'd found love.

FIN

((A/N: Oh my bacon. I know I didn't finish this in time, and I'm really sorry. Also, I'm sorry that it seemed like Kanda was a little OOC. I kind of wanted to show him as having matured. After all, he and Lavi have been together for three months now, according to this fic's universe. Their relationship had to soften Kanda a little bit. Anyways, thank you for reading! Next in this universe: Kanda's birthday ^_^ ))