and this is empyrean
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Or anything, tbh.
Characters: Allen, Lenalee, Kanda, Lavi. Includes Allen/Lenalee.
Summary: Each man builds his own heaven on earth, and Allen is no exception.
[and this is empyrean]
Starring: Allen/Lenalee
Each man dreams his own heaven
(The Book of Lost Things)
i. Allen desires heaven.
He dreams of a bountiful land, of mornings when the sun climbs over the eastern mountains and dances through the maze of clouds, of clear lakes and silver fish swimming merrily, of red sunsets with subtexts of pink and purple and the scent of food wafting through the cool evening air.
This is heaven. This is where money doesn't exist, where debts are left uncollected, when perfection is the name of the game.
He dreams of heaven, only to wake in the deepest time of the night, the smell of wine and women hanging stale about the room.
:::
ii. Heaven is easy to find.
Heaven is a dream-world, woven of the thread of hope and the yarn of idealism.
It's easy to find – only, it's sort-of-almost-maybe hidden deep behind the curtain of sleep.
:::
iii. Allen starts to build his own heaven.
It's strange, but one day he wakes to the sound of Kanda and Lavi squabbling outside his room, and the sunlight streams through the barred windows and he can hear the sounds of the morning – the crowing of the cocks, the clatter in the kitchens, the muffled sounds from the baths…
He stops to smell the roses.
iv. Heaven's made of sugar, spice, and everything nice.
Heaven should have good food, Allen thinks, as he spoons spoonful after spoonful of curry down his throat.
And – heaven should have angels like Reever and Johnny and Tapp –
He hopes.
One needs friends even in the land of the gods.
:::
v. Heaven is this and that –
Kanda and Lavi are in another fight when Allen next bumps into them. He separates them.
Kanda swears.
Lavi hugs Allen.
And this is enough, for now. Three good friends, side by side, backs together as they stand up straight with weapons in their hands.
:::
vi. Heaven has an angel dubbed Love.
The first time he sees her is when a razor-sharp sword sits centimetres from the tip of his nose, an angry swordsman glaring down at him. He doesn't get much time to stare because, really, when someone saves your life, it's only polite to smile and thank them and count your blessings.
But Lenalee's pretty, he'll grant her that.
Eyes like pools glittering under the setting sun, hair like a midnight river, and cheeks painted the colour of primroses – she's pretty and he likes her at first sight.
But no, it's just like-like and not like-love, and that's how things go.
The days pass by like centuries – and then he's lost in a forest in the east of the world. A man advances, his skin dark and his eyes molten gold, and now, Allen's dead.
Or so he thinks.
From across the oceans he hears her voice calling to him, and he tries to find his way back.
When he awakes it's her he thinks of first.
He's in love.
Love is a dark whirlpool, with murky waters that eat up the stars in the night sky. It leaves only misery and darkness (without form) in its wake… he almost despairs.
Then he sees her again, in Edo, that mystical land of the son of heaven, where trees grow tall into the night, crowned with sweet-smelling flowers.
She's even prettier than before, her cascading hair cut by the vicious claws of the Akuma, but to him, they speak volumes about her strength and her courage.
She's an angel –
–She's his angel of love.
:::
vii. So now we have heaven on earth:
They are all safely back in the Order.
Allen wakes to the chirping of birds, sunlight streaming gently into his room.
It's a blessing to be awake, he thinks, it's a blessing to be alive at all, when so many have gone down the old, oft-travelled path into the unknown darkness.
He remembers Lenalee and Lavi and Kanda and Bookman and Miranda, all battered but alive… he remembers the taste of happiness – like the feel of moonlight against his broken skin.
So this is how heaven is. It's really just a construct of our dreams and wills, and maybe, just maybe, he can build his own heaven on earth.
:::
viii. And now we sit back and enjoy the fruits of the realm of godly men.
The first thing Allen does in the morning is enter the cafeteria and order a worthy breakfast.
Bacon and eggs, bread and sausages, potatoes and ham, cheese drizzled over pancakes, waffles with honey, tea and coffee, rice dumplings and fish porridge. Jerry beams at him.
Then he visits the scientists, who are hard at work. He winks at 65, beams at Johnny, and then goes over to talk to Reever.
Congratulations, Reever says, on getting back alive. And on increasing your synchronisation rate.
Allen nods. I did it for all of you. All my friends.
And they smile.
Then he finds Lavi in the library, sleeping and drooling on old parchment, dreaming of forgotten things and hidden wisdom like dragons wilting in water.
He prods Lavi and then Bookman's apprentice awakes, yawning.
They spend a happy hour discussing their friends and teasing each other. Lavi's the one who gives them a reason to smile, doofus that he pretends to be.
After lunch, Allen spars with Kanda in the training area, where he tries to master the art of using a sword and fails miserably and instead takes to cheating to boost his chances.
Kanda swears and drops his own sword, and they fight like a bunch of children, with nothing but their hands and legs.
You dipshit, Kanda growls, hair tie lost in the fray.
You bloody jerk, Allen replies with equal enthusiasm, a bump forming on his head.
When all is said and done, though, Allen smiles. Kanda is cold as ice in winter, but he's also strong. He's trustworthy, and with him around, they never need fear the enemies that lurk in the deep, hidden places.
He spends the evening with Lenalee, walking through the garden.
The sun smiles crimson in the west, floating through the sky toward the darkness at the end of the world. It's strangely peaceful, among the flowers and the little creeping plants, their leaves all folded and ready for sleep.
Allen reaches for Lenalee's hands.
In that instant, fireworks dazzle his eyes, and he can hardly breathe.
I love you, he says to Lenalee. She hugs him.
His heart goes thumpthump – and now, Allen can see the silver pinpoint of the beautiful, satellite-white Venus skirting the threads of crimson, weaving her way into the greyness that follows behind the setting sun.
This is heaven, he thinks, if only for a short while.
A/N: I just love that quote from The Book of Lost Things. It's so poignant and pretty, somehow!
I hope you enjoyed this – and reviews/comments would be nice (: