All Lenalee had left to do was a few finishing touches. Good, she thought as she pinned back her hair. We should be a little early, actually. Before she stepped out of the room, she made sure to stop and check the mirror to make sure that she hadn't missed anything too obvious.
Looking herself over, Lenalee was confident that her disguise would pass. No one would look at her twice, she told herself; with her hair done up in curls and her formal ball gown, she'd look like just another party guest. The low sweep of her skirt even hid her Dark Boots completely from view. With one short, satisfied nod, Lenalee stepped out into the hallway.
And almost straight into Allen, who was leaving his room across the hall at the same moment.
"Oh!" he said. "Sorry, Lenalee. I wasn't paying attention."
"You look nice, Allen."
"R-really?" Allen's gloved hand fluttered up around his neck, pulling the bow he'd tied there tighter. "Oh! Of course, you, too, Lenalee. But I…did I use this right?" He gestured to the bottle in his other hand.
Whatever way they had looked at it, Allen's natural hair would have drawn far too much attention, as he couldn't wear a hood or a hat for the entire ball. They'd managed to find some temporary dye to turn his hair brown, though.
"It looks fine," Lenalee told him. His hair was so light that it must have been easy to dye. "But let me look."
Allen spun around, letting Lenalee check every side of his head. "Ah," she said, "Hold on, you missed a spot back here. Can't have you going with white streaks, can we?"
They retreated back into Allen's room, where he sat down in front of the mirror so Lenalee could help him with his hair. She was quick and businesslike. We'll still be on time. Just have to tell the driver to go a little faster.
"There!" Lenalee said as she washed the drops of dye off her hands. "All done."
Lenalee immediately started for the door, but for a moment, Allen didn't move. He raised a hand and brushed it against his left eye. "Should I have…covered the scar, too? Somehow?"
"It's all right, Allen. It's fine." She did her best to keep from sounding rushed and offered Allen a reassuring smile. "Now come on. I'm sure everyone's waiting for us."
Lenalee was relieved to see Kanda sprawled across one of the couches, apparently ready. That was before she noticed that he was still dressed in his exorcist's uniform.
"Kanda!" she scolded. "What are you doing? We have to go!"
"I'm ready," he said, rising and grabbing his sword. Lenalee just stared at him for a moment, wondering if this was really happening.
"Do you…have ball clothes on under your coat?" Lenalee said, praying that it would be true even though she was sure it wasn't.
"I don't need to go in. You can call me in if you need me."
"But why?"
Kanda raised his chin in a show of defiance. "I won't go in there without my weapon. You said so yourself, they wouldn't let me in without a sword."
"Nice try, Yuu. We all know that you just don't wanna have to act civilized," came another voice from behind them. "His attitude might get us kicked out."
Lavi. Maybe he was ready, at least. Lenalee turned back to glance at him, then froze, dumbstruck.
How are we ever going to make it on time? she thought faintly.
Lavi was dressed, true, but not in a manner that would be appropriate for a ball. His jacket hung open, his shirt wasn't fully buttoned, and his tie hung loose around his neck. He had apparently decided that his usual scarf and earrings would be fine, as well. Seeing Lenalee staring at him slack jawed, he asked, "What? What's the matter?"
A wave of hopelessness, the thought that this mission was basically over, threatened to overwhelm Lenalee. But she pushed it back and steeled her resolve.
They could do this, she told herself.
"Allen, you take care of Lavi," she said, her tone decisive.
Allen nodded and moved back towards Lavi, ignoring his cries of "What? What's wrong with me?"
Lenalee turned to Kanda. "Come on, please? Just get dressed. You'll do fine in the party."
Kanda's frown deepened, and he turned away from Lenalee's pleading gaze. He muttered something indistinct about his weapon again.
"Please, Kanda?" Lenalee continued. "Just in case. That's all I'm asking."
For a moment, Kanda remained silent. Then, finally, "Fine." Relief swelled up in Lenalee's chest. She thanked him as he shed his coat and picked up the formal jacket that he had apparently tossed across a chair rather than wearing.
Lenalee turned to check Allen's progress while Kanda pulled on his clothes.
"Come on, Allen, there's nothing wrong with my outfit!" Lavi yelled, holding Allen back with one arm. It seemed like Allen had managed to convince him to button his shirt and jacket, at least, but he was being stubborn with the scarf. Allen was trying to physically pull it off Lavi's neck, but to no avail.
"Lavi—" Lenalee started, but she was cut off when Kanda called her name from behind her.
"What is it?"
"Is the tie necessary?" Kanda asked. Lenalee let her gaze drop to Kanda's neck, where she saw, rather than neat tie, a mass of knotted-up fabric. How did he even…?
Apparently Lavi and Allen had caught sight of the state of Kanda's tie, as well, because Lavi started laughing.
"You can't tie a tie, Kanda?" Allen asked, failing miserably at keeping himself from smirking.
Kanda's eyes narrowed. "Shut your mouths, you morons!" he yelled. But Lavi kept giggling, and now Allen was starting too.
That was about when Lenalee realized that this was hopeless.
Kanda stormed around her, heading for the place where Lavi and Allen were still wrestling. As soon as he threw his fist at Allen, it turned into a full-out brawl. The three of them fell to the floor in a heap of flailing limbs and tearing clothes. Lavi hadn't stopped laughing, and now Kanda was screaming insults at them both. Lenalee thought she could hear Allen, trying to tell the other two that this wasn't the time, but his words went to waste. Allen's hair dye was now smeared across his face, and everyone else's too.
But instead of feeling hopeless again, this time Lenalee smiled. She laughed at the absurdity of it all, at her now-pointless efforts, at the frivolous fight now happening at her feet. Really, looking back on it, she couldn't see how she had expected this to go smoothly. After all, Lenalee knew these people. They were were her family, hopeless though they might be.
A/N: Who-hoo, my first one-shot! It was originally posted on tumblr, but I figured I'd put it here, too. Hope you enjoyed the story!