Title: Erase
Pairing: Lavi x Miranda. It needs more love. Seriously, guys.
Contains: Very mild violence/tragedy/angst/romance
Rating: T to be safe
Dedicated to: Amber because she agreed that this was a totally amazing pairing. XD
Author's Notes: This is the first ever D. Gray Man fanfiction I've written. I think I got Miranda in character, but I can't shake the feeling that Lavi is slightly off. But I guess I'll let you be the judge. Don't go too hard on me, okay? Also, first time I've written a heterosexual piece in quite a while. I kind of missed it. XD To any of my suscribers/readers that are waiting for an update on Blood Types (A Death Note fiction for the ones who aren't familiar with the title), it's coming. When? I'm not sure. I hit a block with it. This story is slightly AU because it's set in the future of , and there's character death. I don't like the second paragraph much, but you can skim that one. It's everything after that paragraph that's important. xD I couldn't think of anything else. I feel like that paragraph is so Final Destination though. XD So yeah. Nonetheless, enjoy.

Nobody had expected it. Nobody could. One didn't expect to be attacked by a Level Four in the middle of battling two Level Twos because once couldn't expect anything in a battle with Akuma. And nobody expected Lavi to go down.

It had happened so fast. And it wasn't directly due to the Akuma. No, the Akuma had its attention focused on Kanda, or had it been Lenalee? Miranda couldn't remember. All she knew was that the strike had caused debris from the near by building to go flying. That had been all she needed to see. But it didn't stop there. Lavi had been in the path of the flying debris. And Lavi had been hit, which was nothing new. As exorcists, they were always hit with something. But this, this was too much. This had hit the one spot not protected by the uniform. The sheet metal had slid by, and if Miranda hadn't been watching, she wouldn't have believed it! It slid right across his neck. It slit his throat, and it had been fatal. And in one split second, Miranda's Innocence was activated. She immediately used Time Recovery, creating the bubble in time around Lavi. And for a split second, the accident didn't just happen, except it had. And outside the bubble, the battle between the other four Exorcists and the Akuma waged on.

"Lavi," Miranda's voice whispered, choked and distraught.

Green eyes looked upwards, almost in disbelief. He knew he had been hit, and he knew was supposed to be dead at the moment. So why wasn't he? Oh, that's right. Miranda's Innocence. Almost immediately, Lavi's attention went to Miranda. It had been her. Her Innocence. It was the only thing keeping him here right now. Just like it had been the only thing that had kept Anita-sama alive for those brief moments. He only had moments left.

"Miranda," he managed to choke out, eyes focusing on the brunette.

Miranda looked down at him, her wide eyes glassed over with unshed tears. It would be over soon, and she couldn't believe that when she could no longer keep her Innocence activated, Lavi would be gone. That thought alone made her want to keep it activated forever. To keep Lavi around would be worth overworking herself. It would be worth almost dying herself.

"Miranda, you're going to hurt yourself. Just let it go," whispered Lavi, his own voice sounding hopeless. He knew what was coming, and he didn't want to hurt Miranda in the process. But Miranda was persistent, and the Innocence remained activated.

"Miranda. They'll need you more than me," the red head pointed towards their fighting comrades. "They'll need you to help make the journey back to the Order easier. Yuu-chan is angry enough without injuries."

It was a lame attempt at a joke (Lavi was famous for joking), and the female Exorcist just shook her head. She wasn't ready to let go yet. She couldn't save Anita and the rest of the crew, but she could try to save Lavi. And even if she couldn't save him, because deep down she knew she couldn't, she could at least give him a few moments. But this wasn't entirely about Lavi. No, deep down Miranda wanted to keep him around for their friends, for him, and for herself. She didn't want to let go.

She blinked a few times. A trail of tears began to pour down her cheeks in a slow but steady stream. A hand reached up and wiped at him. Miranda was surprised to see Lavi wiping away her tears. But that was all she had to see. Immediately, the girl reached out and clung to her companion, holding him tight and crying on his shoulder. Lavi's arms wrapped slowly around her, one hand smoothing down unruly curls of brown hair.

"Don't cry," whispered the Bookman, holding her tighter, "Just go out there and keep fighting."

It was hard to hold the crying girl because he wasn't supposed to be attached to people. Bookmen were just observers. Gramps had told him that time and time again. Only it had never really sunk in. Because Lavi had gotten attached. He had gotten attached the first time she hugged him. It was unexpected but not unwanted. And he had grown to love her.

A soft voice whispered in his ear, "I don't want to go out there. I don't want to fight. What's the point? I can't save the ones I love. I can't do anything ri---"

"Stop, Miranda. Listen to me."

A green eye came to meet brown ones. Tears still flowed down the girl's cheeks, and a few stray ones were starting to come from Lavi's eye. "You're so much more than what you give yourself credit for. You've been so helpful since you joined the Order." A sad smile spread across the boy's face, "You're one hell of a girl. Pretty too."

Despite her tears, a smile came across her face. It was a very small one, and it was overcast by the tears that wouldn't stop falling from her eyes. Never in her life had she felt worthy, nor had she ever felt beautiful. Lavi's words filled her heart with a new feeling, one that seemed to make the sadness even more evident. For once somebody saw her as beautiful. She should have been happy, but the somebody was dying. Or was he already dead? She didn't know. It was all the same once she was no longer able to keep her Innocence activated, and there was no telling when that moment would come.

Miranda could feel herself growing tired. The Innocence was slowly draining her, but she didn't mind. She knew she should go get the others. At least give them time to say good bye. Something like that would be the right thing to do. But she couldn't make her legs move, and she didn't have the strength to do so anyway. Besides, a distraction like this would give the Level Four instant access to take them all out.

"I feel like a failure," the female Exorcist whispered, her voice faint and full of sadness. "I wish there was something more I could do. I'm worthless. I'm not like them. They can fight the Akuma..." Miranda was rambling again, going on about how she's a failure. And Lavi didn't want to hear it. Because she wasn't a failure. Really, she wasn't. She was strong, she was useful, she was beautiful. And she was entirely too hard on herself. And he wanted her to stop talking. So he did the first thing that came to mind.

Dying lips pressed chastely to quivering ones, and all went silent. Brown eyes went wide, while a green one seemed to stare back with an almost content stare. But neither of them, for a split second in time, were unhappy, and all inside the time bubble was silent. Until Lavi spoke, "You really shouldn't be so hard on yourself."

There were a million things Miranda wanted to say, but when she opened her mouth, none of them came out. Lavi just seemed to keep staring at her, with some unreadable smile, and she felt her heart break. She opened her mouth to speak again, only to find that the words wouldn't come. When words failed, she resorted to the only other thing she could think of. She tried to kiss him back.

Only it was Miranda, so the kiss was clumsy. And when Lavi tried to kiss back because he would never pass up a kiss with such an amazing girl, it took a few seconds to actually get anywhere. But the clumsiness faded, and all that remained was two Exorcists, each clinging to something fleeting.

And Miranda was losing her energy. She had been awake far too long as it was, and holding Time Recovery was beginning to grow harder. But she didn't want to let go. No, she couldn't let go. She had to hold it for a while longer. Because he kissed her, and she kissed him. And that meant that there was a chance that he could love her. Nobody had ever loved her before, and Lavi was her first kiss. All she wanted to do was make this moment last forever. She knew she couldn't.

"You're getting tired," he whispered.

Miranda had her head on his shoulder, arms loosely around the redhead's waist. He held her close, running his fingers through her hair, savoring the last moments he had. The last moments they had.

A sad, hopeless sounding voice replied, "I don't care."

"You have to care."

"Why?"

Lavi's voice was more than a whisper now. He pulled her to arms length, eyes meeting. "Because you're going to overwork yourself. And if you overwork yourself, you're going to pass out. And if you pass out, that Akuma out there," he made it a point to point to the Level Four, "is going to kill you. It's too late for me," it pained him to say that, but he had accepted the truth, "But you, you have so much you can do. You're strong, Miranda. Beautiful and strong. And you have to save your strength for your friends. For our friends because they're still living. And they need you."

Miranda stared down at the ground, flattered and upset by his words. "But Lavi."

"No buts. Deactivate it. Save yourself, save them."

She didn't want to do it, so she hesitated. She remained how she was, her shoulders in Lavi's grasp and the rest of her slouching, defeated. "Do it," he repeated, his voice more like pleading than demanding. He was worried about her, about them. And when she did nothing, because really, she was on the verge of breakdown, Lavi's voice grew angry.

"Miranda, just deactivate it! I'm doing this for you," angry tears streamed down his cheek as he rose to his feet, "If you don't, I'll run outside this bubble. I swear, I'll get so far you'll never find me. Because I don't want you to die too! Realize, I'm begging you for yourself and for our friends."

And when she did nothing, Lavi tried to make his point. He reached for his hammer and got ready to run. Not because he wanted to, but because he loved her enough to do it. But he didn't have the time to run because almost instantly, arms were around his waist,and he could hear choked sobs. Not cries, but out right sobs. And he looked down to see Miranda clung to his waist, pleading in between sobs for him not to go.

"I-I'll do it," she finally choked out. She removed her arms from his waist and stood, preparing to deactivate her Innocence.

"Wait!" Lavi's hand was on her arm. Her gaze shot upwards. Lavi was standing right in front of her. "Before you do it, I just want you to know something."

Miranda stared up at him, eyes still watering. She was about to ask him just what it was he needed her to know, but she didn't have the time. His lips were pressed against hers once more. One final kiss. It lasted only a few seconds, but she would remember it for the rest of her life time. And as he pulled away, hands gently grasping hers, he looked her in the eyes. "I love you."

And when the battle finally ended, and the rest of the group had time to notice that Miranda and Lavi were missing, they were shocked by the scene they came across. A very tired Miranda sobbing and clinging to a lifeless Lavi. And all they could hear was her whispering, "I love you too," in between sobs.

And that was it. Lavi was gone. Nobody had expected it. Nobody could. But Miranda would continue fighting, the rest of the group would continue fighting. Because that was how it had to be. That's how Lavi would have wanted it. Time would ease the hurt, and time would erase some of the painful parts, the parts nobody really wanted to remember anyway. But time couldn't erase Lavi. Even though he was long gone. Nothing could really bring him back. Because nobody, including Miranda, could erase death.

Ending Notes: Uhm, if by some chance in hell, you're crying now, I'm sorry. TAT Seriously though, did I write a dying Lavi okay? And please don't yell at me for killing Lavi! It hurt me write.