AN: No matter what place, what time, what life or what universe, their paths would cross. They would not always get the chance to fall in love, or even talk, but they would meet each other for at least one, precious moment.
Welcome to my collection of AllenxLenalee AU One-Shots! Some will be longer, some will be shorter, but part of my soul has been invested in this ship, so I will write with that part of it.
There will also probably be more angst than fluff in this.
Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man.
I. Sky Pirate/Steampunk AU: A Bird With Heavy Wings (Part 1)
Allen felt the pounding in his head, and immediately he wondered whether Lavi managed to convince him to have another drinking contest, even if he swore he'd never do it again after what happened last time.
He made a move to rest his forehead in his palm, but that's where he encountered his first difficulty. His hands couldn't move more than a few inches, and his arms were uncomfortably pressed to his sides.
He heard a voice in the distance, and all of a sudden he was soaking wet, covered in freezing cold water. The shock ran through his body, causing his eyes to shoot open.
He was about yell out an instinctive 'Don't call me beansprout!", but luckily he realized in time that the long-haired Asian in front of him was not Kanda.
"Where am I?" He asked defensively, taking in the unknown environment.
The long-haired Asian, a young woman of about his age, stood in front of him with her arms crossed. She had a frown plastered on her face, and her foot tapped against the floor boards in rhythmic annoyance.
A cowering man stood behind her, close to the door.
"Nice to know you're finally awake, sleeping beauty." She greeted him with an edge to her voice, but not ignoring his question. "Where do you think you are?"
Allen closed his eyes, trying to remember what happened last… but all of it was a bit fuzzy. He opened his eyes again, looking at the girl who had meanwhile stemmed her arms an her hips, letting her uniform fall freely down her sid- wait, uniform?
That dark blue uniform, how didn't he see it earlier? His gaze travelled to the patch that displayed an officers ranking, and he quickly deduced that he was in the presence of a captain.
He gulped. He was alone in a small room, tied to a chair in front of an annoyed female who just happened to be a captain of the Holy Celestial Forces.
"Oops." He muttered dumbly.
Lenalee was pissed off beyond pretty much anything. The crew members cowered before her and this bloody moron had the audacity to answer her with a mere 'oops'. After all the trouble she went through beating the shit out of him and dragging his unconscious body back to the ship, his answer was 'oops'.
She knew she was supposed to stay calm, but this situation was so unbearable that she didn't really have a choice.
"That's all you have to say?" She inquired darkly, not even trying to keep her emotions in check.
After taking his own sweet time to wake up, she had every right to bathe him in the negativity that build up around her while he was peacefully napping.
"Should there be more to say?" The white-haired man asked helplessly, tilting his head to the side and chuckling nervously.
She took a deep breath, counted to ten and slowly breathed out again. Not really much better.
"You're one of Redbeard's men, right?" She inquired instead with a surprisingly steady tone that didn't sound too much like she was about to murder somebody.
The man looked confused, and a few seconds later he answered with an unsure "I guess?".
But Lenalee had an inkling as to why he was confused. The Holy Celestial Forces and the Church didn't know Redbeard's real name, but all eyewitnesses agreed on the man's willowing crimson beard, earning himself said codename amongst them.
"Then I'm sure you don't mind sharing his location with us, right?" She made clear that it wasn't a question, threateningly looming over him.
He gave her a nervous smile. "Trust me, that's what we'd like to know."
This girl was radiating as much bloodlust as Kanda after Lavi braided his hair.
Allen shrunk back into the chair as she grew closer, her purple eyes glaring him down. She wanted to know where Master Cross was?
"Trust me, that's what we'd like to know." He answered her truthfully, giving her the best apologetic smile he could muster under her inquiring gaze.
Her eyes narrowed at him, then she straightened herself up again and turned to the man standing by the door.
"Leave us." She commanded, and the man immediately broke out in sweat.
"B-But Captain Lee! I c-" He stuttered.
"Don't make me repeat myself." She said in an eerily calm and cold voice.
The man whimpered and ran out of the room.
After turning back she trained her eyes on an area below Allen's face. Then she reached out and pushed his collar out of the way.
It took her gloved hand brushing against his collarbone for him to fully realize what was going on, but when he did and jerked back in the chair, it was already too late.
He could see by the expression on her face that she had seen it, and that she knew exactly what it meant.
"You're an Enchanter." She stated simply, some of her previous anger replaced with surprise and shock.
He opened his mouth, but it felt dry. He cursed in his mind at his carelessness, not only had he been caught but he managed to reveal his special abilities in the process.
But he was confused by her reaction. Most people always grew afraid, and backed off, or they would start panicking or something.
But she just stood there, eyebrows deeper than they should probably ever be on a woman's face and in deep thought.
God, Master Cross and Lavi were rubbing off on him.
But it was also an opportunity for him to study her rather peculiar attire. The only thing that tied her to the Holy Celestial Forces was her uniform jacket, the rest of her uniform had been altered significantly.
Her boots were extremely intricate and prominent, followed by the knee-high socks and athletic shorts… the complete opposite of what all the other soldiers he had encountered before wore.
They usually opted for heavier fabric, more protective cuts and heavy weaponry, which in his opinion was rather nonsensical in aerial battles, but her outfit was definitely chosen for agility and mobility, not defence, pure offense.
Ignoring the fact that he was openly staring at her legs, a glimmer of a memory came back to him, they were on a passenger ship, and she landed a kick on him… a humanly impossible strong kick.
Enchanters are feared… The man who looked like he was about to die just from being in the same room as her!
He looked up at her, revelation gleaming in his eyes. "You're one too."
Her eyes widened involuntarily at the sound of his conclusion. How had he figured out?
"I remember… a bit… from the ship…" He carefully explained.
She nodded slowly, her eyes still trained on the various markings across his shoulder, markings eerily similar to the ones that covered her legs.
Her face remained in its scowl, but a soft feeling of relief flooded her. There were others like her.
She shooed away the voice in her head that reminded her of the constant pain those markings caused her, and knowing that others suffered similarly still brought a speck of warmth and compassion to the heart she had carefully kept under control.
But they were a necessary sacrifice to bring her closer to her goal. The Holy Celestial Forces were a necessary evil for that goal.
"How many more Enchanters are under Redbeard's control?" She asked him, not indulging him further in his discovery of their similarities.
The question caught him off guard, and the white-haired boy put on a pensive look before looking to the side. "I'm the only one."
Liar.
"And if I find that hard to believe?" She whispered, having moved in close enough to force him to look her in the eyes by grabbing his chin.
His blue-grey eyes stared into hers with a hint of worry and caution, but her gesture had caused the man's long fringe to shift to the side, revealing what surrounded his left eye.
She nearly laughed out loud. Nearly.
How had nobody seen it before? Seriously?
The upside-down star shape stared back at her, and with her conscience gnawing at the back of her mind, her gloved fingers brushed against his white fringe, moving the strands back in position to cover his eye.
She coughed awkwardly, trying to forget the image the curse mark had burned into her mind. She was well acquainted with them, she was a church official after all.
And she knew the kind of crimes one must commit to receive one.
"Don't make me repeat myself, how many more are there?" Her voice was awfully steady, and he realized she was doing her best to keep her poker-face on.
But Allen's heart was still racing from their proximity, the way she had tenderly put his bangs over his cursed eye again without saying a single word, only holding a horrified, pained, pitying look in her purple eyes.
But the horror wasn't directed at him. For that, and the fact that she hadn't touched upon the subject, he was eternally grateful.
"I'm not the only one." He finally answered, unable to lie to her after she had done something that meant more to him than she could ever imagine.
His mind flashed to the time he had received the curse mark, the pain and the ominous chanting, and the fear. The overwhelming fear.
The first time he had encountered an officer of the Holy Celestial Forces who had laughed at him condescendingly.
The judgemental looks after being thrown out of the orphanage onto the streets.
And now her, sincerely avoiding the subject.
"I already figured that out, idiot." She spoke with forced upbeat-ness. "A number would be great."
"I don't think the number would mean a lot to you." Allen answered seriously. There were quite a few Enchanters on his ship, all with a wide variety of abilities. The number itself really wouldn't help her in any ways.
"Trust me, it'd be enough." She answered quietly.
To be honest, she sounded more like a little girl than a Captain of feared Church armies.
And all of a sudden, he couldn't help but wonder whether she felt lonely. Were there other Enchanters in the Forces? Or was she the only one?
"I don't know the exact number," he replied slowly, yet earnestly, "But there are at least ten, including me."
She didn't even attempt to hide her sharp intake of air.
"Ten. At least ten." She muttered to herself. Lenalee was honestly unsure of what to do or say next.
She glanced back at the man. "You sure?"
He nodded. She gritted her teeth in displeasure, the events of a few moments ago nearly forgotten. At least ten. Currently, she was the only Enchanter the Holy Forces had. Of course the CROWs were on their side, but she had no idea what kind of abilities these Enchanters had, be it offensive, defensive, high mobility, low mobility, support or pure damage.
The echoes of agonized screams of the children who couldn't bear the markings crossed her mind in addition to Suman's crying face, telling her he couldn't take this life anymore.
Ten. The number made her thoughts run wild. The enemy force had at least ten people like her.
Ten people who went through the same process she did.
Ten Enchanters.
Leverrier was not going to like this.
Her silence irked him, to be honest, but it was quickly broken by an uproar outside of their doors. She seemed to pick up on it, turning to the door while letting out an irritated growl.
A few seconds later, the window behind him shattered and an obnoxious battle cry of 'PAAAASTAAAA!' filled the small cabin as a redhead with an eyepatch gracefully landed on the ground in a heroic pose.
"Allen!" He cried out gleefully, having spotted his white-haired friend. His green eyes landed on the girl standing in front of him a split-second later, and his demeanour changed immediately.
"Well, hellooooo there, beautiful." The intruder practically purred at her, making her step back in slight disgust.
"This is really not the time for that!" Allen shouted at Lavi. "And why the fuck did you mention my name? And what is 'Pasta' supposed to mean?!"
"Well, I'm sorry, but you've had fun with the pretty girl for the past few hours, it's my turn now." Lavi pouted. "And you always respond to food, I thought it'd be a sure-fire way of tracking you down!"
"What am I, a dog?! And don't assume I'm any bit like Master Cross or you!""
Lavi never got the chance to respond to that question once Lenelee's sole made contact with his back, making him fall forward on all fours.
"Explain." She ordered sternly, glaring at him while her boot pressed further into his back.
The redhead chuckled. "As much as I love the attention of fine ladies such as yourself, I am afraid my dear beansprout here is right. This isn't the time for this."
He voluntarily let himself drop on his stomach, rolling over and pulling a giant hammer out, intercepting her well-aimed kick.
In a fluid and graceful movement, she retracted her leg and circled the man, and Lavi only barely managed to block her leg with his hammer.
"Allen! Help appreciated!" he hissed at the figure in the chair.
Only, the white-haired man wasn't in the chair anymore, rope cut cleanly and lying on the ground.
Shocked by the sudden turn of events, Lenalee momentarily took her eyes of the flirtatious redhead – a fatal mistake which ended with her being socked in the stomach by an overly large hammer, catapulting her into the wall on the other side of the room.
Letting a short groan of pain escape her lips, she activated the markings covering her legs, hissing at the sudden pain she would probably never get used to.
Effortlessly, she pushed herself of the wall, closing in on the two male pirates with superhuman speed, hitting both of them with a well-timed roundhouse kick.
Their bodies broke through the frail wooden wall and landed in the hallway, where currently only pure chaos ensued.
It seemed Redbeard's men had infiltrated their ship. Seeing the helpless crew members trying to fight against the pirates, she growled angrily before reluctantly moving in to rescue them.
Those two Enchanters would have to wait.
Watching her move through the rowdy mass was captivating, that is the only way Allen could describe it. It was as if she was dancing by herself, and the other men just happened to be standing there.
Momentarily , he forgot that those men were his comrades, and just saw her like a bird, effortlessly floating over them with an ethereal lightness and ease.
Except that the weight of her soul seemed to weigh her down.
She must really be lonely. The thought crossed Allen's mind as he began to see the parallels between her and Kanda, highly skilled with no social life. And those pained eyes.
She was a public Enchanter, there was no way she could have many friends with the Church…
"You should stop staring." Lavi's voice interrupted his thoughts. "That's what got you captured in the first place."
"What?" Allen asked dumbly, not having heard the entire question.
"You know, passenger ship, tracking down Timothy 'cause he ran off again, the little brat. You also just stared at her and she completely wiped the floor with you."
Allen bashfully looked away from Lavi, hiding the slight pink tinge on his cheeks.
Lenalee heard the unfamiliar horn fill the air and in an instant, all enemy fighters began retreating. In the chaos she spotted two male figures, one white-haired, the other red-haired.
She pushed through the masses, pursuing them. They noticed her, and just as she was about to jump over the hole in the ground to reach them, The white-haired man, Allen, if she recalled correctly, pulled out his hand, revealing a set of claws. He cleanly sliced through the support pillars of the ceiling and his partner smashed the surrounding pillars with his size-changing hammer.
She could only hold her arms over her head as everything collapsed around her. As soon as the rumbling stopped, she pushed the broken planks aside, reaching daylight sooner than expected, Poking her head out of the rubble, ignoring the various scratches on her face and arms, she found that Allen was still standing there.
Allen heard Lavi call his name, but he hesitantly stopped to turn back to the young woman. "I'm really sorry." He told her earnestly. "You seem like an intelligent person… Please remember that things aren't always as they seem."
With those words, he turned around and ran after his comrade, ignoring the rage-filled screams echoing after him as the green-haired girl tried to break through the barricade of broken planks and furniture.
Lenalee angrily slammed her fist against one of the broken walls of the airship. She had been so close. So goddamn close.
A nurse tried to bandage her scratched up arms from where her uniform tore and remove the splinters lodged in her fingers and exposed skin, but she couldn't care less.
The image of Leverrier giving her that haughty look already loomed in her mind, making her punch the wall a second time for good measure. Ignoring the cracks left in the already broken down wall, she cursed under her breath.
The plan had been simple. She would have interrogated him and brought him back to Headquarters, and they wouldn't have had a choice but to promote her. He was one of Redbeard's Enchanters, for goodness' sake. She would have almost caught a second one as well.
She cursed her duty to protect the crew members.
Then she would have finally gotten the clearance level for those files.
The files that would reveal exactly what happened to Komui all those years ago.
AN: There will be a second part to this, but I can't confirm when yet.
That aside, if you have particular AU prompts you'd like me to do, let me know via review or PM. Please don't ask for HighSchoolAU, that's my absolute last resort given the overabundance of HS fics on this site already.
If you liked it or found any mistakes, feel free to point it out or leave a review (or both?)
~Emi