HI! I've been absent a while and I haven't been updating my stories recently. The reason is because I underwent issues with my laptop and it took a while to fix but now it's better than ever! I'll continue to update Houdini and Christmas Jingles soon, but for now here's a short story I though of months ago and had been collecting dust in my files. To express my apologies, have a feels roller coaster.
Warnings: Major fluffiness, mentions of Child!Allen's sufferings, and feelings (lots of it)
Mending a Broken Child
"Sooo Yu-chan. You ready?"
"Does it even matter?"
"Aw come on, there's nothing to be nervous about~"
Kanda glares at Lavi from the passenger's seat. "I never said I was nervous!"
The redhead shrugged as he turned a section through the streets of London. "Well whatever's eating ya, best to get it out of your system before we hit our destination."
The Japanese man clicks his tongue. "You know damn well what my problem is. Lenalee goes on a business trip with her brother, saying it won't take any longer than two weeks. She stays for over a month, without a word from her about why she's even late. And just when I was beginning to think something horrible must've happened-"
"Can I just cut in right there to say you are absolutely adorable when you worry over your girlfriend like that?"
"Do it again and you'll end up losing your other eye."
"Ouch. My feelings."
"As I was saying," Kanda continues. "Just when I think something horrible happened, she calls, couldn't stop apologizing for ten minutes before explaining her situation." He pauses, as if he couldn't bring himself to say it, nor could he believe it. "She adopted a kid."
"A rather cute kid might I add-"
"Behind my back. And do you know what's worse?" Lavi winces at the venom laced in the ravenhead's voice. "That I'm apparently the last person to know about this."
"I wouldn't say you're the last person-"
"I'm supposed to be the first to know about stuff like this!" Kanda snaps. "Not only that, but we're supposed to discuss this beforehand! Not once in our relationship did she ever bring up the prospect of kids! If she wanted one so bad, why did it take her till now to tell me, and right when it's far too late to voice my opinion in any of it? And we're not even fucking married yet! Not until, Komui stops being a bitch about me dating her for like what, three years? So why does she want kids now? And I still don't understand why I have to fucking move to fucking London because of this!"
Lavi lets Kanda continue his rant until he huffs from all the energy he used to say what he needed to say. Feelings he held back the moment Lenalee told him the news and continued to grow the moment he left Japan.
"You good now buddy?" He took Kanda's scoff as an affirmative. "Alright, then allow me to clarify a few things. The kid isn't fully adopted yet. The legal papers are in Cross's hands so the kid is technically his. Also, none of this was really planned. It just… happened."
"What do you mean?"
"You know Cross called Komui to meet him here so they could discuss his findings on the Noah case?"
"What of it?"
"Well, he couldn't find much. Actually, the only lead he had found was a body and a kid who he thought was dead by the mere sight of him."
Kanda jerked up and faced Lavi, surprise etched on his features. Lavi didn't need to look at him to tell.
"By the time Lenalee and Komui arrived, the kid was still in the hospital. His condition was… well, indescribable, and the body turned out to be his father. The first two weeks was spent trying to question him, but the poor thing wouldn't even eat, let alone talk to anyone. Lenalee took it upon herself to care for him when she didn't have to. At first it was to gain his trust, but I guess it soon became more than that."
Lavi sighed and continued. "It wasn't easy though. Komui told me there were times she cried in her room after changing the child's bandages."
At this, Kanda's fists clenched, an automatic action whenever there's something that made Lenalee upset.
"Is it that bad?" he finds himself asking.
"Apparently. Any movement or contact with certain parts of his body causes him pain. So it's not hard to imagine how a child would react to having to redress his wounds."
It wasn't hard at all, and Kanda could imagine Lenalee trying to hold back her feelings as she tries to calm a crying, screaming child while treating him as gently as she could. Kanda felt the urge of wanting to be there with her so she wouldn't face it alone. He sighed and rubbed his face.
"Why couldn't she tell me any of this?"
"Knowing her, she probably didn't want you to worry."
"Che. Well that obviously didn't work."
"Aww Yuu, if I weren't driving right now, I would hug you~"
Kanda deeply regretted leaving Mugen in the trunk with his luggage. Before he could throttle him, light scratching and a faint meow was heard in the back seat.
It appears Alma is up, and is probably hungry from the long trip.
"How much farther?" he asks.
"We're getting close. That house up ahead."
"Which one? They're all the same!" Not to mention they all appeared mushed together to look like one building.
"Right… here!" Lavi pull up to the front of one particular house. A washed up brown color like the others. "Well actually we're parked in front of mine and Gramps' house. Lenalee's is the blue door next to mine, and the yellow one next to hers is Komui's!"
Kanda had a feeling he'll get lost with such petty information. All these houses look way too similar it's making his head spin.
"Meow!"
The Japanese man groaned and reached behind him. "I know, I know. Hold on." He unlatched the small gate trapping the animal and opened it. The Cheetoh leaped out from its prison and Kanda carried him to his lap. "We're here now so I'll give you food soon."
Alma seemed to like that response and leaned into Kanda's fingers scratching his ears.
The two men stepped out the vehicle right when the blue door opened and out came the siblings Komui Lee and Lenalee Lee.
"Kanda!" Lenalee bounced over and leaped to hug him, a surprising action that almost made him drop Alma. She kisses him on the cheek. "I missed you so much!"
"Hn." He returns the gesture on her forehead.
"Meoowrr."
"Of course I didn't forget you Alma!" She giggles and gives the cat a smooch.
Despite the woman's upbeat behavior, it's hard not to notice the heavy rings under her eyes from lack of sleep.
"I'm sure you're tired and hungry from the long trip over here," Komui also looked a bit worn out, but kept his smile. "If you want, you can head inside and rest. Dinner is almost ready. Lavi and I can carry your bags inside."
"I'm fine. It's this guy that's complaining." Kanda hands the big cat to Komui. The Chinese man holds him clumsily, not expecting it. "Tend to his needs. I can handle my stuff."
Komui saw no point in arguing and shrugged, taking the cat inside. While they unloaded Lavi's car, Kanda's keen senses noticed a curtain move from a second story window of Lenalee's house. He turned to see a flash of silver before it quickly disappeared. He then turned to Lenalee to see she was also staring at that very window, her violet eyes filled with sadness.
"Oi." She jumped when he called to her, almost as if she were somewhere else. Her eyes left the window and she forced a small smile.
"Sorry," she says.
Lavi had long since left carrying one luggage in each hand. So it was just the two of them.
"I'm sorry," Lenalee says again, eyes to the floor. "I didn't mean to keep this from you. It's just that, Allen… he's been through too much because of the Noah. They took everything from him and he has nothing to return to. He's… He's not fully adopted yet. I didn't want to go that far without your consent, so Cross signed the documents. I didn't do it because I know you're not a huge fan with kids and we never talked about it and we're not even-"
"You're rambling," he states, calmly, and Lenalee's lips clamp shut. She still has her head down which doesn't sit well with him. He forces her chin up with his thumb and finger so she wouldn't hide. "Do you think I'm mad at you?"
Her silence makes him sigh and lean so their foreheads would touch.
"Lenalee, the only reason I'm upset is not because of the whole adoption thing. I'm upset because you'd think I wouldn't understand. I know you wouldn't do this without reason and I appreciate you considering my dislike for snotty brats, but if it comes down to it I'd rather prefer being there for you than have you go through it on your own." He traces a finger under her heavy eyes. "You know that whole commitment thing with couples and teamwork? Yeah, thanks for making me feel useless."
Lenalee snorts a little laugh and buries her face in the man's strong chest, arms around his waist in a hug. "Sorry, I guess I didn't want you disliking Allen before you got a chance to meet him. He's a real sweetie when he opens up."
Kanda circles his arms around her and pulls her close. "We'll see about that."
The woman pouts up at him. "I'm serious. Be nice to him."
He rolls his eyes. "Yes mom."
She wrenches free and gives a half-hearted punch. He retaliates by pinching and pulling her cheeks. As she was about to voice her protest, Kanda steals her lips with his. It does the trick as she melts instantly, leaning in to lengthen the first form of intimate contact they had in over a month.
Only to be disturbed by a familiar sound of a camera flash. Heads turn to Lavi, who looked to be trying real hard to contain his squeals while he holds up his phone. Growling, Kanda grabs for Mugen in the trunk and Lavi bolts. From there it was a cat and mouse chase, Lavi running for his life while laughing hysterically and Kanda not too far behind threatening the different ways he'll skewer the readhead.
Before giving either of them a piece of her mind, Lenalee noticed the curtains move again. A small boy peeked out the window enough for one to see his snow white hair; one silver eye looking down at the chaos while the other is covered in bandages. The silver eye showed caution, fear, and hints of curiosity which could only be aimed at Kanda. When said man caught Lavi by the throat, raw fear showed and Allen shrank back until Lenalee could no longer see him.
Seeing the poor boy like this always made her heart ache. Other than herself, Komui, Lavi, Bookman, and even Cross, Allen has grown weary and fearful of other people and the death of his father as well as everything he went through left a permanent scar to his mental psyche. She knew getting him to trust Kanda isn't going to be easy, but at the very least Allen knows who he is and what he means to her. And with all the stories she told to him about her boyfriend, Allen seemed in awe, both in fear and in fascination. Lenalee had a feeling it's because he admires Kanda's strength and his willingness to fight whatever comes his way despite losing so much in the beginning.
Lenalee hopes Kanda wouldn't be too upset to know she told the child a little of his past. It's for Allen to understand how similar they are.
Hopefully, Allen would look up to Kanda one day, to desire that same strength and no longer feel helpless. Hopefully, Allen would ask Kanda to teach him.
In the past, it is known that the man lacks temperament and patience when it comes to children, but now he is willing to at least try with Allen. He won't be perfect, but Lenalee will be there to guide him just like Kanda will be there to assist her when changing the boy's bandages.
It'll be hard, but they'll pull through in the end.
AN: Sooo I was planning on leaving this as a oneshot BUT if you want I can add an extra chapter which talks about the aftermath. That depends on if you really want it though.
Anyway, thank you for your patience. Despite getting my laptop up and working again, my life is still pretty busy, but I'll try to update my stories a soon as possible!
