AN: I know it's only January, but it's a little too cold for my tastes (I live in Canada, haha), so it's always nice to be a bit escapist and relive those days in the summer heat, if only for a bit.

This is AU, written originally for the dgray_exchange community at Livejournal, for Iruruu. To explain this universe just a bit, the story sets place in England, something like the early 20 century (think women with hourglass figures, long, frilly dresses and elaborate bonnets, only less conservative). Rhode is the adopted daughter of her well-to-do uncle Sheryl so she's used to having a silver spoon in her mouth. This Rhode is post-Ark Rhode, kinda more girly, a little more polite, and kinder. But I did try to keep her cruel side too. And her stubborness. Hopefully it worked.

Allen is still an orphan. He was adopted once by Mana, and Mana is still related somewhat to Rhode. But Mana died and Allen was sent back to the orphanage. Kanda and Lavi are at the orphanage too and are like brothers to Allen. (A thought that I couldn't work into this story: Kanda and Lavi are 17, just a year before they are officially adults and can leave the orphanage. They planed to adopt Allen.) Allen is also as gentlemanly as ever, required by his class and such. But that starts to change as the story progresses.

Anyway, yes, background info is fun. Have fun reading this.

A Summer Fairytale

i. Iced tea and Lemonade

Rhode smiled indulgently at the clear blue sky and the unexpectedly cool breeze that swept a scent of roses and salt through the air. Summer was her favourite time of the year: no school, staying up as late as she wants and best of all- the warmth. Humming a happy tune, she flipped through her sketchbook and leaned back into her chair. A maid walked by shortly after she settled into the chair and delivered a glass of iced tea, placing the cup- complete with straw and a colourful cocktail umbrella- on the table with a soft 'clink'. She bowed and walked away.

That was when he appeared.

Or rather, he lumbered, carrying a hose over his right shoulder, a small bin in one hand, and gardening shears and gloves in the other. Rhode watched as he dropped his apparatuses haphazardly on the ground with a small smile, watched as he wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand before sticking them into the old leather gloves. He grabbed the shears from its place on the green lawn and began attacking an overgrown rosebush, pausing a moment to finger the velvet petals of a pink blossom with a forlorn expression. Tucking a stray strand of silver-white hair behind his ears, he continued his assault on the poor unsuspecting bush.

The boy-man (Rhode was sure he was only a couple years older than she) took her breath away. She grinned excitedly, grabbed a pencil she kept nearby and began to draw. So absorbed was she in her sketch that she didn't notice the boy walking over to her until he was only an arm's length away, grinning as bright as the midday sun. Beads of sweat speckled his forehead, strands of his odd-coloured hair matted to his neck and cheeks, there was dirt on his white shirt and Rhode has never seen anyone more dashing. She looked up from her sketchbook with a quizzical expression.

"Did you want something?"

He rubbed his right leg with his left, and laughed- shy and awkward. "My apologies for ignoring the young lady of this house for so long." He said, while holding out his left hand. In there was a rose from the bush he was tending, powder pink and slightly rumpled by the heat and being held. "I glimpsed you drawing from behind, and realized I never greeted you."

"The flower?" She asked, interrupting him before he had another opportunity to continue his explanation. Frankly, she didn't care. Frankly, she wanted him to stop using the formal language necessary between employee and employer. Frankly, she wanted him to come closer.

He blushed, and then cleared his throat. "For you, m'lady. Please allow me to put this in your hair."He leaned towards her, and Rhode had to remind herself to breathe. She stiffened when she felt his fingers through her short, raven locks, feeling his fingers tuck the rose in a concealed hairpin. "My name's Allen, by the way. I'll be working as a gardener for the summer." His voice was soft, and as smooth as silk; when he finished his task, he stepped back, and smiled. "The colour suits you." A painful pause, and Rhode continued to stare, shocked- she's convinced her body believes it doesn't need oxygen to function because she just can't breath. He bows, and excuses himself to the rest of the bushes.

Lemons. He smells like lemons. Rhode can breathe again, but all she can smell is his scent, and she realizes her iced tea is now warm.

ii. Sandcastles in the sky

Rhode lives for lazy summer afternoons, when the sun is the brightest and hottest and the air is thick with humidity. But by the sea, it's a bit more forgiving, and that's where Rhode was the first day she sees Allen outside of the garden.

"Your uncle has a really good throwing arm." He observes, holding an orange Frisbee in his hand. Rhode laughs and takes the toy, suddenly conscious of her body.

"Uncle Tyki used to play baseball," she explained. He was wearing a long sleeved white shirt again, unbuttoned to reveal smooth, pale skin and muscles. He was wearing a pair of blue shorts, and was bare feet. Two other boys were with him, one with long black hair and the other with red.

"Aren't you a cutey! 'sprout, you gonna 'troduce us?" The redhead asked, winking at her- though his other eye was hidden by an eye patch so he might as well have been blinking- and waving at Rhode.

"Stupid Rabbit, stop being such a flirt." The one with long hair (tied in a ponytail) said, his gaze never leaving the ocean. The redhead laughed, and stood up.

Rolling his eyes, Allen pointed the redhead wearing a green t-shirt. "Right so, Rhode, this is Lavi," then he turned and pointed at the boy sitting on a red checkered blanket, "and he's Kanda."

Rhode waved, and turned back to Allen. "Friends?"

"Yeah, sort of. We're from the same orphanage."

She nodded, remembering that Allen mentioned being abandoned by his parents when he was young. There's an uncomfortable silence that falls between the four, and Rhode remembers the plastic toy in her hand. "Well, I'll see you later." She declares to the three boys, but her eyes are focused on Allen. They bid her farewell, and she runs towards her impatiently waving uncle as gracefully and beautifully as she can manage, smiling secretly when she saw Allen's head turn to watch her go.

Later, Tyki announces his exhaustion, heading towards a shaded spot where Rhode's father and twin cousins sat. She declines the invitation to rest, and eagerly scans the beach for a sign of Allen. She finds him sitting alone before the shoreline, knees held towards his chest.

"Allen!" She shouts with no reservations. There's a hint of ecstatic glee in her voice, and her smile is as bright as a gem. He turns towards her and waves, beckoning her to sit by his side. She takes her place where Allen had indicated and the intoxicating scent of lemons and something uniquely Allen engulfs her- she sighs contentedly. "Where are your friends?"

"They have an evening job at a hotel nearby."

She nods, and the two sat in comfortable silence, listening to the soft 'slosh' of the waves or the call of the gulls. It was Allen who broke the silence.

"Should you be so close? There's still a class difference between us, even if I'm not working right now."

"Oh yes, of course. But there's nothing wrong with a lady talking to her servant. So Servant, how has your day been?" Rhode answers playfully. They had the same conversation long ago, but Rhode had concluded that she's the lady of the family and can do whatever she damn well wants- regardless of social norms.

"I'm not joking, Rhode." His words were heavy in the air, discussions he had with Lavi and Kanda still fresh in his mind.

Rhode understands instantly. "You're really close with them, aren't you?" Her voice was flat, and there was no expression on her face.

"We're like brothers. They adopted me into their group and watched out for me- in their own weird ways."

"I won't let anything happen, even if people start talking about us." Rhode declares quickly with conviction. She watches as Allen picks up a nearby rock and throws it towards the ocean; the two watched as the rock hops three times before disappearing into the sparkling depths.

Her words did nothing to alleviate Allen's unease, and he frowned deeper. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea."

Rhode glared at him, hurt and angry. To let class differences get in between their friendship was unforgivable. She picked up a rock and threw it hard into the water, smiled vindictively when she heard the loud 'plop' of the rock falling to its death in the icy deep blue, like what she'll do if anyone was to come between them.

For the first time in her life, she wished her fortune away.

iii. Thunder at my doorstep

They were back in the garden.

Allen doesn't know it, but Rhode has been in contact with Lavi when she travels out of the estate. (Losing the maid was a chore, but still fun when the creative redhead was with her.) She's learned a lot about Allen that would otherwise be impossible- the gaps that Allen left out in his stories giant voids that Rhode just couldn't stop thinking about. She's learned that Allen was adopted by a man named Mana (who happened to be related to Rhode's now deceased third uncle), but was brought back to the orphanage when Mana died of an unknown cause. She learned that Allen had never liked wearing short sleeves, terrified at what the public would say about his "hideously deformed arm", his left arm that was always a bit lame.

Rhode also has a lot of pictures of Allen; quick sketches drawn in the spur of the moment, watercolours of him under the clear blue sky; detailed, penned outlines of him watering the shrubs- he was always alone in the pictures; Rhode dares not draw herself in, for fear of what that means, and what her family (particularly Uncle Tyki) would say.

The air was particularly humid that day, heavy and thick. He was sweating profusely under his powder blue shirt, and pants and Rhode had the sudden urge to dump a nearby bucket of cool water over his head. So she does, laughing as she did. At the sight of Allen's drippy head, she laughed harder and suddenly found herself with a wet front and a smirking Allen.

"Oh, you're a dead man, Allen."

She lunged at him with a cupped handful of water, but he was ready for her and dodged gracefully away from the assault, the crystal clear ribbon landing on the ground with a clumsy 'slosh'. Rhode growled childishly, Allen laughed and that's when Rhode took the opportunity to jump- she landed on top of the boy, who fell to the ground with a flump.

For a second that lasted an eternity, they laid there, breathing heavily in unison. Then there was a rumble in the distance and suddenly both of them were wet, sheets of rain making the world a hazy gray blur.

"It's raining."

"Really? I didn't notice." Rhode replied sarcastically. She lifted herself up from the ground and frowned at the muddy sight of her skirt. Allen was up next to her, having been unpinned, and motioned to seek refuge in a nearby gazebo. "Since your house is too far away." Was his reason, but Rhode didn't notice, her attention was focused at Allen's hand around hers.

They were still wet, but at least they had a dry spot to sit, and under the gazebo, the rain made a pitter-patter sound. Rhode grinned- it was like their own private orchestra and she sighed. Allen was next to her, staring into the gray. "I'm hungry," was his only comment and Rhode laughed teasingly.

"You're always hungry."

"Yes but, now I have to work longer, which means I eat later."

"I can try sneaking you something." Rhode suggested, and then shivered when the sky was illuminated with a sudden flash of yellow.

"Cold? Or were you scared?" Allen asked, a mocking tone lacing his last words.

"Cold." Rhode answered, and realized that Allen was already shifting closer to her cold wet body. An arm wrapped around her shoulders protectively and she instantly felt warmed- if not by their shared body heat than by the gesture. She leaned in and was glad that he didn't move away. His chest was hard and warm and Rhode was lulled to sleep by the sounds of his heartbeat and their private symphony.

She wouldn't remember how she got back to her room later that night, but she could swear that there was at one point a pair of lips on hers. And the idea of drawing pictures of her and Allen together were unexpectedly appealing.

iv. The end

Five summers ago, Rhode met Allen.

A year ago, Rhode finally convinced her overprotective father and uncle that she was old enough to decide what she wants out of life. They weren't backwards enough to force her into a marriage to a well-to-do family, "As long as you're happy," was Sheryl's last words to her when she left the house wearing a white dress and a powder pink rose in her hair. She kissed him on the cheek and squeezed his hand, assuring him with a smile and determination in her eyes that this was everything- and more- of what she wanted in life.

She still misses the life of being waited upon, but then she remembers that her so-called 'love of her life' (she's not a romantic, those words still leave her eyes rolling) is living with her and her world has since then been summer everyday.

AN: Actually, my backstory from the pre-story AN still works. Allen and his wife (haha, Rhode is domesticated, wtf?) are living with Kanda and Ravi. Where they will have loads of mock fights and games and teasing galore. It's such a happy ending, it makes me sick.

Comments are always appreciated!