Till Death Do Us Part
Sketch One: First Sight
Disclaimer: We do not own D. Gray - Man. The term 'Ally Baby' does not belong to us either.
A/N: Enjoy!
Flashback-
Fingers danced across the fingerboard easily, and the violin's song began with an elegant upwards bow, softly first then louder and louder. A crescendo.
And then the smooth phrases of a wind instrument began, and a symphony sprouted from its voice.
The bowing continued as the music flowed, ebbed and blended, swirling in an imaginary fountain.
Now the world of sadness did not matter, and although it was just the other party's assignment, he couldn't have asked for better.
He had never played his flute with a violin in a duet before.
And now, it was a wondrous feeling.
Exhilarated, the adrenaline levels in his body flew off the charts, and he felt the swelling impression of repose as the music continued to pour from his instrument.
He was lucky to have his neighbour as his partner.
End Flashback-
Her eyes widened.
"This is beautiful."
It was just three simple words that sprouted from her mouth.
But they held so much meaning.
Lenalee had probably never been more at a loss for words than then.
Her friend chuckled and grinned.
"Is that all you can think of to say?"
She poked her in the arm.
"Addie will be offended."
Said person sighed.
"No, I won't. I just think you shouldn't be spreading lies about my attitude."
"Ouch, Ad. You didn't have to go out of your way to say that," the girl chuckled a second time.
"Hn."
Lenalee, however, was deaf to their words, as the music penetrated her soul.
She closed her eyes as relaxation sank into her, a surging sensation of calm.
"Ad, who was on the flute?"
Adorina turned to face her friend.
"I was playing with a neighbour. A school assignment."
"Which neighbour?"
"He lives right next door to us," Astaline piped up.
Her sister nodded her head in acknowledgement.
"We've been living side by side as neighbours for about three years."
"I see. This is so stunningly magnificent…"
"Well, that choice of words was a bit better. I still say it's understated though."
Lenalee ignored her a second time.
"Addie, could you do me a huge favour?"
-
"Wait, wait, wait. So let me get this straight…"
The redhead took a deep breath as Allen watched him, amused.
"There's a girl in your school that studies piano, that's you and your twin sister's piano classmate who wants to learn how to play the flute from Al here after hearing your theory duet assignment from last term which she thought was awesomely beautiful?"
"Uh… In that many words, yes. Though you could've just cut those last two words to just 'good'."
"Your humble nature never fails to astound me, friend."
Adorina peered at Lavi over the rims of her glasses disbelievingly.
"Rightt."
Allen blinked, currently being the more sensible of the two eighteen year-olds.
"Who is she?"
"Well," the brunette began, tapping her chin with a long, thin finger, "my easily summarised version of her appearance would be about 168 centimetres tall, slim, long black hair, big purple eyes, pretty…"
"Wait," Lavi cut in.
Adjusting her glasses, Adorina gave him a questioning look.
"Are you talking about Lenalee Lee?"
She seemed surprised that the redhead knew her friend's name.
"Yep."
The redhead's single emerald eye goggled.
"THE Lenalee Lee?!"
"Uhh… If I'm not mistaken there's only one Lenalee Lee in our school, so…"
"HOLYSHITGODDAMMITAL, YOUARESOLUCKY!"
The boy's face was a picture of confusion.
"Eh?"
"She's the one who won the piano nationals last year! And she's really-"
He earned a smack in the face before the word could exit his mouth.
"O-Ow…"
"L-Lavi?!"
"You've been looking at the yearbooks in our room, haven't you?"
Lavi was speechless.
Actually, he couldn't speak, even if he could find the appropriate words to answer.
He was out cold.
The person guilty of his concussion simply dusted her hands, proceeding to sip her tea, smirking.
"Right. So, Astal's coming over with her. Then you guys can talk. The two of us have to leave for tuition at about…" she glanced at her watch, "two thirty."
She nodded her head.
"Ten minutes."
"Alright."
Just then, an approaching figure caught Allen's eye and he looked up, seeing someone approaching them.
"Hey, Ad. That's her, isn't it?"
The girl paused, turning around as she set her mug of tea on the marble tabletop.
Following Allen's gaze, she spotted Lenalee as well.
Astaline was by her side. Spotting her sister, she waved, and Adorina responded with a simple raise of her hand.
She turned back to Allen and began to sip at her tea once again.
"Yep. Hey, wake that stupid rabbit up, will you Al? He looks a bit unsightly when he's knocked out."
Said white-haired teenager chuckled and proceeded to whisper into Lavi's ear.
Adorina could only guess what was being said.
Lavi jumped up with a start, slamming his head into the low lamp above where they were seated.
"OW-"
"Shut it, Lavi. We don't want people to stare."
-
"Right, Allen, Lavi, this is Lenalee Lee. Lenalee, this is Allen Walker and Lavi Bookman."
"It's nice to meet you."
Allen smiled at the girl who had just spoken.
"It's very nice to meet you too."
Astaline huffed.
"Okay, not that we want to leave, but we have to go. We don't want our tuition teacher to get angry again…"
Adorina threw her sling bag over her shoulder.
"Yeah. So, you guys get acquainted, and keep us posted."
By now, Astaline had already reached the entrance of Starbucks.
"We'll see you guys later, and Lenalee, we'll see you at school."
She flashed them a brilliant smile, before pulling aside the glass doors of the entrance.
-
"So… Your name is Lenalee?"
Lenalee gulped.
"Well, yes-"
"AH! THIS IS SO AWESOME! TO FINALLY MEET YOU!"
"Uh…?"
She was surprised.
An odd pair.
A polite gentlemanly figure, and a rude, overly excited 'boy' figure seemed to be the best of friends.
Not to mention their appearances.
A white-haired boy, with a long mark, scar, tattoo, whatever it was, running down the left side of his face from a pentacle above his left eye, and a redhead who wore an eye patch (who wears eye patches like that in this era? Was he a pirate?) over his right eye.
Truly odd, in her opinion.
But who was the one teaching her how to play the flute?
The twins had forgotten to mention that.
"You idiot. You're not supposed to interrupt people like that."
Lenalee raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry about him. He's just very… excited about meeting you."
Oh. So that must mean he was the one teaching her the flute.
But he didn't look it.
Someone so playful, and enthusiastic.
Playing such a soft melody?
Then again, looks were deceiving.
She watched as Allen smacked Lavi in the back with a sickening slap.
Narrowing her eyebrows, she tried to figure out why Allen was here when Lavi would be the one discussing with her the times and places they would meet for her flute lessons.
Was this supposed 'gentleman' just another flirt who got excited when they heard about her?
(A/N: What does this tell us about Lavi here? HAHA.)
"Oh."
She turned to Allen.
"Uhm, may I ask you a question, Walker-san? What exactly are you doing here?"
(A/N: Isn't she blunt?)
Said eighteen year-old blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"If Bookman-san is teaching me flute, then what are you doing here?"
Allen blanched, eyes widening, and Lavi burst out laughing.
"No, no, see, Al here is the one teaching ya how to play the flute, princess! I'm just here because we agreed to meet Addie-chan here together. And please, it's disgraceful for ya to call me by that name. Just call me Lavi!"
"W-What?"
Lenalee turned pink.
Uh oh.
Now he was never going to teach her how to play the flute.
A horrible failure at first impressions.
"I-I'm so sorry!"
Her eyes squeezed shut in embarrassment, bracing herself for the angry retort of the white-haired boy.
"Ah, it's alright, Lee-san. And, please, call me Allen."
She opened her eyes to see the pale-faced boy smiling at her.
She was truly surprised.
"A-Ah… Then, please, you too. Call me Lenalee."
At the boy's expression, Lenalee giggled. He seemed unused to calling people by their first names moments after meeting them.
"R-Right, Lee-sa… I mean, L-Lenalee."
Lavi guffawed loudly.
"You guys are funny."
Allen and Lenalee looked at him at the same time, raising an eyebrow each.
"You too."
"GEHK!?"
Lavi's ear was now at Lenalee's mercy.
"Don't. Call. Me. Princess."
And then it was Allen's turn to laugh.
-
It had started drizzling the moment they'd left Starbucks.
"Ally baby, you dig her."
Said person jumped at the sound of the rarely used nickname.
"Excuse me?"
"You like the Princess."
"Princess?"
"You know, Lena-chan."
"Oh."
Allen thought for a moment, hands in his pockets now.
"Well, she's nice. You like her too, don't you?"
Lavi chuckled.
"No, no. You like her, don't you?"
The white-haired boy's face didn't even redden in the slightest at the mention of being infatuated with someone they had only just met today.
But Lavi caught sight of the blush that crept up his neck, snaking up above his collar. He smirked.
Allen shrugged and tugged the damp scarf around his neck higher, his chin poking out.
He huffed, his breath emerging in a cloud of steam.
"I have no intention of falling in love with anyone, and that means Lee-san too."
"Aw, you're mean, calling her by such a formal title even though she's told you not to."
"Well you're calling her 'Princess' even though she told you not to as well. And the accent? Hm?"
The redhead laughed, a merry sound.
"Guilty as charged."
Allen half-smiled, his shoulders shrugging upwards before slumping back to a hunch.
They continued to stroll back to the apartment, the rain getting heavier with each step.
-
"Thanks for dropping me off, Kanda."
"Mm."
"Yuu, you need to speak more. You'll drive people away like that."
Kanda refrained from letting his mouth curve upwards.
Lenalee caught the tips of his ears going red.
She giggled.
"Tch."
She smiled.
Ah, the only person who made Kanda smile.
It was strange, though.
(She knew something more was going on. She was just too afraid to ask.)
Tyki smiled apologetically at her.
She returned the smile.
"See you around, Tyki."
Said person smiled once more, and raised his hand in silent farewell.
She got out of the vehicle, and with a wave, her classmate was disappearing down the road.
A tiny droplet of water landed on the tip of her nose.
She blinked.
"Rain?"
She held out a hand.
A few more tiny droplets landed in her palm.
"Oh."
Suddenly, quietly, a subtle memory flashed in her mind.
Dancing in the rain.
The girl's expression softened and she studied the grey skies.
The skies poured down on her shoulders harder, caressing her back gently, rhythmically.
'Everything has its own rhythm. To know music, to truly understand it, you must remember. Understand, Lenalee?'
"Yes, mother."
The whisper was barely audible to she herself.
She smiled.
Her mother had loved the rain.
Now standing in a heavy downpour, Lenalee pondered.
Did people always cry in the rain?
The back of her hands swept under her eyes for a split second, unnoticeable to the untrained eye.
Seriously, she was getting too old for this.
She began to search her bag frantically.
"Where's my umbrella…?"
-
"Ahh, my coat's all drenched again," Lavi whined.
Allen laughed.
"You can have the fan tonight then."
The redhead, chuckled, grinned.
"Aww, no. You're a helluva lot skinnier and a helluva lot paler than I am. You take the fan."
The white haired boy simply smiled.
He would definitely put Lavi's coat in front of the fan after he'd fallen asleep.
"Right."
Lavi shook his head vigorously like a dog, trying to get the water out of his hair. He paced over to the couch, worn bunny slippers now fitted on his feet.
"You'll get the floor wet, Lav. You know how it starts to stink when you do that…"
"What's for dinner?"
Allen, in turn, rolled his eyes and removed his boots, moving towards the kitchen as he pulled his semi-drenched socks off almost-frostbitten-pale feet.
Stooping over, he pulled the door of the refrigerator open, revealing its measly quantity of contents.
"There's still a bit of cream soup left. Eggs, and some chicken ham I bought last week."
"Ah."
"Oh, and bread too."
"Hm. What say you we eat the soup tonight? I've got school tomorrow, so we'll need the ham, bread and eggs tomorrow. Besides, hot liquid is always nice on days like this."
"Alright. No objections."
Then, something seemed to dawn on the boy.
"Oh. I just remembered. I'm getting my pay tomorrow, so I'll drop by the department store for some groceries."
He removed the tin of cream soup from the refrigerator, placing it on the small table in their tiny under-sized kitchen. Reaching into a cabinet, he pulled out a small pot and a kettle.
"Speaking of which, how long more is school going to continue? Travis misses his redheaded part-time bartender you know," he joked, spilling tap water into the kettle.
"Aha, Ally-baby, you flatter me too much. He has you already, doesn't he? And school's set to close on the fourteenth."
Said teenager did not look up.
He poured the contents of the tin can into the pot, fetching a small, worn, plastic ladle from a loose drawer.
"December?"
The redhead nodded.
"Another two weeks or so. Graduation ceremony's on… " Lavi trailed off, counting the dates on his fingers.
Allen wandered how Lavi could stand doing that when he was already eighteen.
He continued stirring.
"Friday."
"Do you want me to come?"
"Ahh… Smell's good."
Allen decided to let the subject change pass.
It probably meant Lavi didn't want him to come.
"Mmm. The job interview?"
"Week after school ends."
"Have you got your portfolio ready?"
"Yes, Mom."
"Fine."
Allen rolled his eyes once more, pausing in his cooking.
He glanced outside.
Thunder flashed, and almost immediately, a loud crash resounded after.
Neither of the eighteen year-olds flinched. Neither moved a muscle.
"Eye of the storm?"
"Mm."
Normalcy resumed.
Allen's stirring motions recommenced.
"It's getting colder. There'll be snow soon."
"Yep. Ahh… Where did you put the shovel?"
"We have a shovel?"
Allen turned, stepping backwards to see Lavi spread out all over the worn couch, a book over his face.
"Don't we?"
"No. We don't."
Allen blinked.
"Sit up, Lav. It's not good for your eyesight to read like that."
The redhead's voice was a mumble.
The white-haired boy sighed.
"What did you use last winter, then?" he queried.
The redhead waved it off.
"My fingers after the cardboard of some old box got too soggy to shovel snow off the stoop."
A peace-sign popped up.
Allen's jaw dropped in awe and disbelief.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to attempt to contract frostbite?! Do you want medical bills on our doorstep?"
His roommate couldn't hold in his amusement any longer, and burst out laughing.
"I was kidding, Ally baby! I used a shovel, and I know where it is. It's in the cupboard next to the shoe cabinet."
Lavi sniggered, and grinned.
"You're so cute when you're angry."
The boy sighed as Lavi's titters grew louder and he chortled noisily from the living room.
Glancing out the window again, he could see the sky was dark, and the alley was darker than it usually was. He could make out the faint shapes of trees looming high over the department store in the distance.
The branches were barren, bare of leaves.
Winter was almost here.
"Hey, don't burn the soup."
"Yeah, I know. I'm not as childish as you are."
Lavi grinned.
"Whatever, Ally baby."
"Stop calling me that!"
Allen concluded that his roommate was definitely more tickled than usual.
"Oh, and I forgot to say it before. If you couldn't tell, I want you to come to my graduation."
"Alright. I'll be there."
And then he smiled.
A/N: Do review. Thank you.