A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I've been gone for…an incredibly long time. Recently, I just got a job and then I have college work on top of it- needless to say, I've had a very limited amount of free time. But! I'm still working on Feline Felicity. Expect a couple chapters from that when I update again! This one just kinda came to mind and I couldn't get it out of my head, so wa-la~! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything D. Gray-man, but god I wish I did!
A dreary moon shone dimly through the parted gray clouds. It was a cold night – colder than most. If the little white flecks of snow – scratch that – the current blizzard roaring outside of the church-structured, towering black order wasn't proof enough, Lenalee didn't know what was. But, there was even a crazier part to this whole horrible weather scenario, one that made her slightly question her sanity. Why in the world was she outside in nothing but a thin jacket and her exorcist uniform? Why indeed.
Don't worry, Lavi, her crazy but dear friend had told her as he skillfully balanced a spoon on his nose. They'll be fineee. You know how those two are.
If there were any two people in the world that were absolutely not fine together, it'd be those two. And that is exactly what scared her so much, especially after having those two no-shows late the 2nd day in a row from their simple retrieval mission. Honestly, they can even make that seem difficult.
So here she was, in the middle of the night, in a spring jacket she picked up quickly from her bedroom floor. She couldn't help it. Her anxiety had kept her awake, playing back horrible scenarios inside her mind over and over again. She decided the only way to hush it was to give it a slap in the face. Make that a very cold, hard slap in the face.
Lenalee brought up her frozen hands, cupping them and blowing hot air from her mouth. She gazed over the horizon into the prickly pine forest below. The frost had coated them in what looked like frosted powder, creating a surreal, story book sort of winter wonderland, though she could barely appreciate it thanks to the below zero temperature.
Suddenly, a screeching noise erupted from the trees, causing bats scattering in all directions. Lenalee was on her feet in a heartbeat, scanning the treetops as a hawk would search for her prey. God, she hoped it wasn't an akuma attack this late at night. Concentrating while sleep-deprived wasn't exactly her best skill, and unfortunately she's had plenty of those experiences.
Sending a silent prayer hoping it was just an animal in distress, however horrible that may sound, she leapt into the air. The sudden feeling of weightlessness overwhelmed her before warmth spread throughout her legs, kicking themselves into action. In less than a few second, she was at the borderline of the forest, snow hitting her face like no tomorrow and giving her, most likely, permanent frostbite.
She shifted towards a sudden ruffling sound, almost like something rubbing up against a bush. The hair on the back of her neck bristled, and that wasn't just because of the cold. She crept toward the nearest tree, awaiting the creature to come out so she could ambush it. She picked at the frozen bark in anticipation as the twig snapping grew louder and louder. Another muffled scream and she was crouched in battle position, ready to leap at the monster that dared to attack her home.
What she didn't expect was a notorious white-haired exorcist seemingly thrown into the opening, landing face first into a snow bank, butt high up in the air.
Her heart leapt, "Allen!"
Not a second later, he was up on his feet, glaring at the forest. His face and, no doubt, ears must have been filled with snow for he didn't even turn to look in her direction. Lenalee couldn't help but appreciate how adorable the way his eyebrows scrunched up whenever he was mad, not that she would ever admit it. For some time now, she knew that her feelings for Allen and the rest of her friends were somewhat different - she just couldn't place the word. Only recently had she understood that she had developed a, her brother forbid, 'crush' on him.
Sadly, that is something that she would have to keep to herself. Times were tough, a war rages on, and exorcists were being pulled back and forth. There is no hope in wishing for a future that will most likely never come true. Still, she loved him, and everyone else at the order, with all her heart. She would undoubtedly put herself before them on the battlefield.
However, if they happened to fight amongst themselves, she would gladly give them a nice little reminder that they were on the same side.
"Damn it, BaKanda! Get out here so I can cut off all your hair and sell it to some girl that needs it!"
"What did you say? Like you could even reach it, Beansprout!"
Kanda strutted out of the wood with a slightly agitated Howard Link following leisurely behind. He marched up nose to nose with Allen as Link put a hand to his face, letting out a sigh as if to say, here we go again. Clenching his fist, Allen puffed out his chest, rising to his full height. Impressively, he only missed Kanda by a couple of inches, yet the Japanese exorcist failed to recognize this fact.
"Tch. Once a Beansprout, always a beansprout."
"The name's Allen, idiot! Or is your vocabulary so small, you could hardly carry more words in that thick skull of yours?!"
Kanda growled, hand inching toward Mugen. "Watch it, Beansprout."
Lenalee had just about enough of this pointless argument. Before those two knuckleheads could activate their innocence, she sped into the clearing at supersonic speed. Placing a hand on both of their chests, she peeled them away from each other. Their expressions were pricelessly surprised as both rear-ends planted themselves into the snow, followed by a groan from each.
Stomping both boots into the snow, Lenalee let out a huff, "Seriously, is fighting all you guys ever do?" She glared down at both of them, though her heart jumped at Allen's astonished expression.
"L-Lenalee!"
"Tch." Kanda said as he rose from the snow, giving Lenalee an irritated glare in the process.
Link let out a sigh, "Thank God. I had just about enough of those two's meaningless rounds. You have my thanks, Lenalee Lee."
"Don't mention it." She said a little stiffly. Honestly, those two even got her a little heated. Their fighting must be getting contagious. "Now I see what in the world took you guys so long."
"It sure as hell wasn't my fault." Kanda grumbled, giving Allen another fuming glare, which he gladly returned just as fiercely. Tch-ing, he strut off in the direction of the order, his fuming aura burning footprints into the snow.
"Well, that's at least one problem down." Link said. He glanced between Allen and Lenalee, his expression reaching a conclusion, "I'll follow him and inform the head of our late arrival." He said pointedly at Allen, who flinched and muttered something under his breath.
He glanced at Lenalee, "Be sure to be back soon. We don't want Komui doing anything –ah, unspeakable." And with that, he turned in the direction of Kanda's steaming footprints, coat fluttering in the blizzardly breeze.
After he was gone, Lenalee turned her gaze down at Allen. He looked slightly drained, his eyes baggy from undoubtedly sleep deprivation. They must have had a few quirks on sleeping arrangements, she'd imagined.
But that all changed when she stretched down a hand to his level. He looked slightly surprised, but then a brilliant smile bloomed on his face as he grasped her bare hand with his warm, gloved one. In one sudden yank, he was up on his feet, grinning at her and keeping her hand securely in his own. Her head cocked up slightly, attempting to maintain their gaze. She remembered when they used to be the same height and how it was always so easy for her to speak without breaking eye contact because she was always eye level with him. But now, she has to strain her head up, just like she always had with her brother, Kanda, and Lavi. It's strange having to do that with Allen for a change.
"-Ah, I'm a little late, but I made it back Lenalee." That was their thing. They would always say 'I'm back' to each other after returning from a mission. She guessed old habits die hard, but she was hardly complaining.
His eyes opened to reveal beautiful, silver orbs. The moonlight hardly compared to them. Lenalee coughed into her palm, "Honestly Allen, you guys had me scared to death! You wouldn't have imagined the scenarios my brain racks up when you both were gone-"
"You weren't dreaming again, were you Lenalee?" The serious tone caught her off guard for a second before he continued, "So that's why you're out here in-"
He looked at her. No, she meant really looked at her. Up and down. It was as if he noticing what she was wearing for the first time. Lenalee was glad the cold snow had already nipped at her face, she felt as though her skin was on fire.
Realization spread throughout his features. He let go of her hand and for a moment Lenalee was sorely disappointed, before he grasped both her shoulders.
They stood absolutely still for a moment, before Allen spoke up, "Lenalee, you're shivering."
"No, I'm fine." She said stubbornly. But her body failed to vouch for her as another shudder rose throughout her body.
"No, you're not." Allen looked around for a few seconds before taking off his trench coat. Suddenly, Lenalee felt a hundred times warmer as a coat was draped over her shoulders and snuggly pulled around the front.
That was Allen for you, putting others before himself since the day he was born. Her heart tugged as she glanced at him in nothing but his exorcist uniform.
"Oh, thank you Allen…" she mumbled quietly, her voice trembling. She felt like she just turned into Miranda, "but you should be the one wearing-"
"I'm fine, Lenalee. Really," he spun in a circle, hands outstretched and snowflakes whipping his hair. Lenalee couldn't help but let loose a giggle at the little lie, "warm as a bug in a-"
A snowflake landed on his nose, causing him to twitch furiously, going cross-eyed in the process. Lenalee couldn't help it. A laugh erupted from her, and she had to catch herself before falling in the snow. She missed the absolute bliss in Allen's expression before he joined in the laughter, forgetting the fact that they were laughing at his own silliness. It had been awhile since they laughed this hard, after all.
Lenalee, too happy to care, leaned against his shoulder as the laughter began to die down. She looked into his silver eyes, missing the way they brightened when she hooked an arm through his.
"Alright, we better get back to the order. We're gonna be a couple of exorcist-pops if we stay out here any longer." She tugged his arm slightly, and with an unnoticed blush by her, he complied. Laughter danced in his eyes as he grasped one of her hands in his own.
"Yeah," he said, "but I'd rather be an exorcist-pop than whatever Komui would turn me into."
Shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand, their laughter danced through the wind as they made their way towards the looming dark order. True, Lenalee probably would never voice her feelings, but these little moments made up for every lost bit of it.
A/N: Thank you for reading! Please review and tell me what you think! :D