Disclaimer: I do not own D-Gray Man. I cosplay Allen instead. XD This story was written for my friend. So just so you know, it is a Lavi x Allen all over the place. –LEMON WARNING- Don't like them together, don't read it. I like them. They seem almost, I repeat, almost canon when you read the manga. You just have to look through those little black lines.
Welcome to another Exorcist tale:
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Simply Captivating
Chapter 3: Poison in the Veins
Allen had looked up as he heard Lavi shout when Claudia had struck him across the room. He watched the lively teen struggle to get to his feet but instead fall back to the ground. His heart lurched as he saw the redhead reaching out for him just before he lost consciousness. The cursed Exorcist strained to glower at Claudia though the haze of pain that currently possessed him. The Akuma had just exchanged blows with Lenalee and was now in pursuit of the lightening fast Exorcist. His left arm still hurt painfully but his anger seemed to siphon the feeling making it seem as though it were numbing. The white haired teenager was getting frustrated. He could not activate his Innocence to retaliate. The mere thought of attempting activation caused the intense pain to ignite in powerful bursts from the poison in his veins…but Lavi had been hurt… Lenalee and Krory were in danger as well. He could not stand by like this. Allen walked toward the blurred vision of Claudia who had just grabbed the airborne Exorcist by the leg and swung her into a pillar.
"In…Innocence…" The pain threatened to overcome him, "A-Activate!"
It was too much. Allen screamed as his hand tried to obey and form the razor fingered weapon of Akuma destruction. His voice caught Claudia's attention. The Akuma woman wheeled around with a hunter's practice.
"Stay down brat!" She backhanded him.
The force of the strike not only ceased his failed attempt to shape his Innocence but it sent him into the same wall that Lavi had hit. Without the saving qualities of his uniform, he hit the stone wall with no cushioning feeling his back pop in several places. Allen staggered as he came off the wall dazed. He was too dizzy to get his bearings and ended up tripping over the redhead's prone figure. As he lay on the cold floor, his senses spun in rampant spirals and half of what he thought he saw he knew was not real. Allen reached out and grabbed Lavi's arm holding on as tightly as he could as his sight went black.
"I…I won't leave…you…"
Allen fell back past his conscious thought to a quiet place just behind his mind. There was no pain there and only the promise of a dark silent sleep.
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Silver gray eyes fluttered open as the comforting feeling of someone running their hand through his hair brought the cursed Exorcist back from his tomb of solitude. He found a pain dulled emerald patiently awaiting his return. A smile touched Lavi's lips as Allen reached up and laid a hand gently on the side of his face.
"Lavi."
"Welcome back." Lavi leaned down and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead.
"Are you alright?" Worry was evident in Allen's face as the teenager slowly sat up. He felt only a bit dizzy.
"As good as I ever am I guess." Lavi's smile softened as he became to recipient of a tight embrace. He could tell that the smaller boy was trying not to cry. Lavi rubbed the thin back, "Hey, what's this about, huh?"
"I'm sorry, Lavi. I'm sorry." The voice was distraught, "I should have—"
Lavi tousled the soft hair, "Don't worry about it. It's already happened. Ya can't change history anyway. Besides, it wasn't you who threw me into the wall." Lavi grinned then wrapped Allen in a warm hug, "I'm just glad you stayed with me."
Allen looked up at Lavi, a single tear managed to seep out from its confinement. Lavi caught the sparkling sadness gently with his thumb. It glistened still in the form of a droplet as he raised it to his lips and drank it with a kiss. A tiny smile took the corners of Allen's mouth at the grin on Lavi's face. It was then that Allen's stomach let out an indignant rumble. Lavi laughed. The white haired teenager hung his head in embarrassment but a full smile had grown on his lips. He stood after a moment to examine their confinement.
"There's not much here." Lavi shrugged, remaining in a sitting position. His brain was still pounding around inside his skull, "Straw, floor, some stone walls, one door with a tiny window, one barred window to the outside too far up on the wall…everything looks new so no hope for rusty hinges."
Allen walked over to the wall across from the door where the small barred window rested. It was quite far up the wall, more than four times his height easy. The last licks of the sunset were filtering in providing light. He wished that he could see out of it, "We need to get out."
He wandered over to the cell door and gave the strong wood an appraising shove and a knock. Silver eyes frowned. They would not be able to break it down with normal strength. Allen peered out of the tiny barred window on the door. All he could see was the stone wall in front of them. He sighed and stepped back.
"Bitch took my hammer or else I'd just break it down." Lavi put a hand to his head. He could feel the blood that had knotted in his hair. Whenever he spoke, he could tell that a line of the life's river had dried down the side of his face. The redhead sighed, "Do you think you can get us out of here? She said something about poisoning your Innocence. She got Krory too I think. I'm not really sure what she did. You seemed fine while you were unconscious."
"I don't know either." Allen looked down at his left arm warily, "It doesn't hurt anymore."
"Well, if you're not sure then we'll just think of something else." Lavi leaned back on the wall behind him, "We're alive for a reason. I don't think she'll let us die soon. It's just a hunch."
"No." Allen flexed the fingers on his hand, "I'll try." He had to get them out of here and find the others before Claudia decided to kill them. He took a deep breath trying to forget how much it had hurt before, "Alright. Inn—"
He had barely let the sound start in his throat when his arm which had seemed fully recovered from earlier exploded with twice as much pain than the first time. The sudden warning-less rupture of pain tore a shriek of agony from his mouth. Completely overcome by the hurtful sensation, Allen grasped his left arm tightly and staggered unsteadily for a moment before hitting the floor as he continued to scream. It felt as if hot coals were rolling around the veins of his arm trying to burn their way out of his flesh.
As soon as Allen had let the first agonized cry escape him, Lavi was on his feet fighting the dizzy spell that tried to take as he trudged toward his companion. The taller boy went to his knees where Allen lay writhing on the floor. He put a hand on the convulsing shoulder and the scream abated for a moment. Allen looked up at him, tears streaming from his pain riddled eyes then he opened his mouth again words frantic and full of crying pain.
"Lavi, help me! Lavi please! Help me! Make it stop! Lavi please!" He had never known pain like this before. Dying had not even been as painful as this. Even the Innocence in his heart was on fire. He was going to burn alive. He reached out and grabbed the front of Lavi's shirt crushing the fabric beneath his grip, "Lavi…" He bit his lip to stop the screams that wanted to rush out and resorted to muffled sobbing. It was unbearable.
Lavi felt panicked. He could tell that this was completely beyond Allen's vast pain threshold. He had to do something quick; he had to make the pain stop now! The redhead reached out for Allen's twitching writhing left hand. The red fingers bent awkwardly half curled as the wrist shook uncontrollably. The movements were so quick and violent; it was as if Allen or rather his left arm specifically was having a seizure. When his flesh touched the deformed crimson skin, Allen let out the loudest shriek that Lavi had ever heard him make and his eyes half rolled into the back of his head. Lavi cursed. He could not touch the arm.
Carefully, he drew the convulsing boy into his lap. He was quite difficult to hold on to. Lavi put a hand on Allen's forehead beneath the snow white hair. He leaned forward until his face was right next to a small ear. If it was poison, he would have to bleed some of it out to make him calm down. This attack seemed a lot stronger than last time. The boy seemed barely coherent at all. The apprentice Bookman blinked his starting tears away. He took a breath then spoke softly and soothingly.
"Shhh. It's going to be ok, babe. You'll be alright. I have to bleed your arm a little. I'll try to be quick. Shhh. I'll need you to try to be still." He stroked the sweating forehead, "I love you."
Lavi could tell that the pain drowned out most of what he was saying but Allen did seem a measure calmer in his convulsing. Lavi closed his eye in a quick plea for forgiveness. He wished he had a knife or something sharp. His nails were not strong enough to break through the tough red skin so all he had left were his teeth. The strength of his jaw would be what he needed to tear into the flesh. Lavi shook his head then tried to grab onto a piece of his old distantly caring Bookman personality. He was about to cause his most dear a lot of pain but it was necessary and he could not let his caring feelings stop him from doing it. He took another deep breath then let Allen go for a moment and loosing his coat removed his dress vest. He rolled it into a tight twist. With a little struggle, he forced it into the delirious white haired teenager's mouth. He did not want him to bite his tongue.
Bookman Lavi waited only a second before reaching down and grabbing the offending arm tightly. He watched with an emotionless face as Allen's body stiffened violently then began to struggle against him. Lavi calmly and with precision curled his legs around the small torso to keep it from fighting free of his grip. He felt the hand clenched in his shirt tighten and tug out of reflex. The lanky legs lashed out furiously tossing straw about and striking the stone floor with a barrage of loud clacks. Screams of pure unbridled pain muffled their way through the cloth. The apprentice Bookman pulled the resistant arm to his face and exposing the wrist bit into it as hard as he could. At first the tough skin seemed impenetrable then he felt the flesh part as his incisors sunk in. The insanely writhing arm fought about making the punctures deeper and wider until with pained teeth, Lavi tasted blood. Lavi removed his puncturing tools then tightened his hold on the arm pushing the life water out.
The lean Exorcist spit the blood that he had gotten in his mouth on the floor then frowned. Why was to poison not coming out? The blood escaping the arm was a normal bright red. Had the Akuma lied to him? His hands clenched in frustration and for a brief moment, black ooze drew out of the wounds. Lavi tilted his head to the side wondering what had made the poison start to come out. He tried squeezing the wrist again but only red blood came forth. So then what…? He looked to his other hand and noticed that his middle and forefinger were lying across the inverted pentacle. He pressed against it. Once more, dark thick ooze ran from the wounds. Lavi let the black pus bleed for a while. It almost seemed as if there was no end to it, but eventually, Allen's body relaxed and he had since stopped screaming. Only the hand continued twitching but it was only quick and had no real force behind it anymore. Lavi released the pentacle and gently laid Allen's arm across the sweat drenched torso. He felt his shirt released and watched as Allen slowly cradled the wounded arm.
Lavi sighed as he let his concentration release its hold on his true Bookman personality. He looked down to see the dulled pools of gray fatigue that were set upon him. He removed the damp vest from the bloody lipped mouth and put it to the side. His words were gentle.
"How do you feel?"
The eyes blinked slowly and the now dry hoarse voice rasped, "Thank you."
Lavi hugged the weak boy tightly, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to try. We'll find a way out for sure." He looked down at the sad tired face. It hurt him to see it. Lavi put on a mock wicked grin, "Hey, being trapped in here alone with you isn't so bad. No Timcampy, no interruptions, and definitely no old lecturing panda gramps. It could be fun." He felt relieved as he saw a tiny weary smile form on Allen's dazed face.
"Sounds…nice." Silver gray eyes closed in a happy smile. There was silence for several seconds, "Please…will you hold me…like this. Just…for a while…longer…" His eyes did not open.
"Sure thing, babe." Lavi adjusted his position to become more comfortable and pulled Allen into his arms laying the boy's head on his shoulder cradling him. Soon, he heard the exhausted breathing change into deep sleeping breaths. He rubbed the thin back.
"Thanks for trying for me."
Lavi watched the last bar of sunlight disappear casting a thick blanket of darkness into the cell. There was no moon that night. The only light that filtered in was coming from the hall. He could only assume that a torch was lit somewhere close. Lavi glanced down at his precious armload that was sleeping against him. He kissed the warm field of snow then laid the young teen out on the straw floor. The redhead stood and gathered as much of the straw as he could, leaving the blood and poison tainted parts where they lie. He made a reasonably sized nest of the straw then went to retrieve his sleeping lover. Lavi lay down on his side with Allen pulled close against him. He rested his head on top of the tangle white hair.
"Goodnight."
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Lenalee had been conscious for some time now. She finished wrapping her swollen knee with bandage strips that she had made from part of the bottom portion of her dress. The clever Exorcist had managed to cut the fabric with a relatively sharp rock that she had found in one of the cell corners. It looked as though it had been a shard that had chipped off from the ceiling. The shard itself, she tucked into a fold of her dress to keep for later.
The aerial Exorcist struggled to her feet. She could not tell if her knee was just sprained or if something inside was broken or torn. Pain jolted like lightening strikes in her knee and down her leg whenever she put pressure on it. She hissed in pain. Still she had experienced worse. Lenalee mentally chastised herself for her poor battle performance. When everyone had started going down all around her, she had become panicked. That is when Claudia had gotten hold of her leg. After that the battle was as good as done. The Chinese girl hobbled around her prison. Stone walls, same ceiling, dirty straw floor that looked like it had seen several prisoners, wood door with scratch marks carved into it, and a really high up barred window, the room was quite…lovely… Lenalee leaned exhaustedly on a wall. She was still energy depleted from the fight earlier, but as she was not dead yet, that meant that even more danger was lurking just around the corner. Akuma killed Exorcists and Exorcists destroyed Akuma. That was how the war worked. There were no such things as prisoners in this destructive relationship.
The dark haired girl's ears were alert to the silence surrounding her, waiting for the smallest hint that someone or something was nearby. She was worried for Allen, Lavi, and Krory. They had all been put down so quickly in the fight earlier that it had seemed almost unreal. She had yet to even understand what exactly had happened to Allen and Krory. Lenalee was clever enough to know that Claudia's scratching the two had been the cause but what had she done? There were no records of anything strange happening other that the Akuma blood curse when wounds were caused but they were parasite types. They were immune to it. She tried not to let her worry consume her. If she was a prisoner, the others must be as well. She merely had to find her way out of this room and to them. Carefully, she limped to the wooden door and tried to peer out of the small barred window that was on it. She could see the hallway and if she pressed against the door itself, she could see other similar cell doors.
"Allen! Lavi! Krory! Are you there?" She heard no reply.
Lenalee tried once more to call them before making her wobbly way to a corner of the cell. She slowly sat down to rest. It was best not to aggravate the wounded leg any further for now. She would be no use to the others if she became out of commission. She had to heal as quickly as possible if she wanted to be of any help to them. The dark haired girl let out a long breath then closed her eyes. Meditation was the fastest way to recover and stay aware at the same time. Kanda had taught her how to meditate a long time ago when they had become 'friends', or as much of friends as Kanda would ever have. He had merely said that it would improve her overall battle performance. It had been kind of him to help her out but when she had mentioned it he had gotten mad and walked away. It was just how Kanda was. He made a good friend but he was hard to understand at times. Lenalee sighed as she felt the pain in her knee lessen as it spread out from the source to be distributed over a larger area of her leg. She began to relax but her ears stayed open taking in everything. She would not be caught off guard.
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Krory woke to find himself alone in a cell. It smelled as though something had died in there recently; it made him want to gag. He looked around panicked then ran to the barred cell door. He gripped the iron bars tightly.
"Lavi! Allen! Lenalee!!" His voice echoed in the dim torch lit corridor, "Don't leave me in here alone!!"
Krory heard nothing but the sounds of his own voice still calling in the distance. Disheartened, he plopped down on the straw covered floor. It was musty and parts of it had begun to mildew from the damp. He was in a dungeon. No doubt about it. He shivered, it was so cold. The tall man sneezed then wrapped his arms around himself. It was so lonely here. He hoped his friends would find him soon. He tried not to cry. Lavi had told him that Exorcists were brave and besides they would not leave him down here…alone….for long…right? Maybe if he went to sleep everything would go by faster, besides he had no idea what time of day it was in the stone box.
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Lavi awoke to something damp being pressed against the sore spot on his head. He groaned then opened his eyes to see Allen's face illuminated by the predawn light leaning over him. He stared at the look of loving concentration that was on the soft featured face as Allen worked at cleaning his wound. The face was in one word…enticing.
"Well, good morning." Lavi reached up and petted the unwounded cheek. He noticed that Allen had managed to clean the bloodied slashes that drew down the side of his face up a bit, "How are you feeling?"
"Good morning." Allen smiled then sat back. Lavi's discarded dress vest was in his hand. It had dark red blood stains on it now, "My arm is kind of numb but I'm ok."
Lavi could feel that the side of his face was wet from where the blood had been cleaned off. He wiped it with the side of his sleeve then sat up. When he did, Allen got to his feet and walked up to the wooden door, "What's up?"
The answer to his question came as the white haired teen turned with a small loaf of bread and a wooden bowl. Allen walked back and sat before Lavi, "I guess you're right. She doesn't want us dead yet. I hope the water doesn't taste funny. I dipped the vest into it to get some water to clean our wounds."
Lavi sighed. The loaf of bread was a laugh. It was too small for even a one person meal. The wooden bowl however was filled with clean looking water. Still, this was no good. He waved a hand as Allen halved the bread with him, "No, you go ahead. I don't want to hear your stomach later."
Allen frowned then forced the bread into Lavi's hand, "You will eat this. Even if I eat it all you'll still have to hear it. I'm not going to starve you."
Lavi grinned at the sheer look of determination and took the bread piece eating it in three small bites. After their tiny breakfast, in which Lavi found it funny to drink from a bowl, they attempted to find a break in their surroundings. In the end, all they discovered was that the stone walls were just as solid as the door and that no matter how hard they tried, they could not reach the window that lay on the wall above. After the sun had started it's decent, Allen sat down in the nested corner, his stomach protesting that lunch had long since passed and now it was supper time. They had made no significant steps toward escape. The two had even tried shouting out into the hall to see if Lenalee or Krory were imprisoned nearby but had been greeted with only silence. Lavi growled in frustration. He hated being trapped. Also, regardless of how much he loved Allen, those horrible loud sounds of that stomach on empty were starting to drive him crazy.
Sunset came and went while Lavi was trying to find a weak point in the door. Allen spoke quietly, "Perhaps you should take a rest?"
"I don't need to!" The words snapped out of Lavi's mouth before he had time to catch them. The apprentice Bookman noticed his mistake as a hurt look crossed Allen's face and the teen drew his knees up to his chin in a defensive position. Lavi sighed then walked over to the straw nest and sat down beside him. He draped an arm around the other boy's shoulders, "You know I didn't mean to snap. This is just…aggravating…"
"I'm sorry I can't shut my stomach up." Allen leaned against Lavi but continued hugging his knees.
"That's alright. You can't help it." The redhead hugged his lover firmly with the draped arm. It was just a sign that Allen's Innocence was trying to recover. He should not begrudge it. Lavi let out a tiny chuckle, besides, somewhere in the distance, he could hear Krory's stomach too. He was almost lulled into a quiet moment when he was startled by the hate filled voice of Claudia filtering in from the hall.
"Stand away from the door! Damn Exorcists!!"
Lavi started to stand to try and make a break for the opening door but Allen grabbed his arm tightly and shook his head. Lavi had to quell his brief second of rage. Allen was right. They were unarmed. Even if they did make it out the door, there was no way for them to take down a Level 3 Akuma. He sighed but stayed seated. Patience, Bookman had said, learn it. The door was partially opened and something was quickly shoved in before it slammed shut again.
"Now stop that damned racket!"
Lavi rushed at the door as soon as it was shut and glared out at Claudia, "Why are you keeping us here?"
The Akuma turned with a smile on her face, "Why? Four Exorcists could buy my favor with the Master. I thought it would be quite a treat to deliver live Apostles of God for his disposal. I wonder if he'll kill you outright or let the Noah have you. They seem to be quite interested in the cursed one."
"Bitch!" Lavi growled as she turned and left with a loud cackling laugh. He turned to look at what she had put in the cell. "Hey, Allen! It's food." He chuckled, "I guess she couldn't stand listening to you and Krory either."
The white haired teen was at his side in only a few seconds. The boy was so hungry at this point that he did not have the frame of mind to offer Lavi a bite. The older Exorcist just smiled and watched. A tiny hunger pain struck his own stomach but traveling with Bookman had taught him to survive on little. It would be a few days before he would even think of scuffling over food. The happy smile that engulfed Allen's face after he finished devouring every last bite of bread and meat filled Lavi's heart with the same warmth he had when he had first been accepted into the first real hug of his lover. He playfully tapped Allen's head with his fist.
"Hey bottomless pit, you can't eat the plate."
Allen stuck out his tongue but smiled anyway. They tried a few other escape plans but none held any percent of success. After a while, they retreated to their bed of straw and fell asleep with Lavi holding Allen close.
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End Chapter 3
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Chapter 4: Lenalee on the verge of escape. And the best Lavi/Allen scene I have written.
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Note: This chapter is pathetically short in comparison but I've not been well lately so I thought better short than several weeks later. I was too tired to type a lot more.
