Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay in my updates. I did some traveling for work, and then Thanksgiving took up a lot more time than expected. Now I'm sick with a stomach bug, but that means more time for writing! So, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own D-Gray Man :(
The library was quiet as Lenalee sat in an arm chair reading. The science division was hard at work with full cups of coffee, Allen and Kanda were both out on missions, Lavi was being put to work by Bookman, and Jerry was napping in the kitchen. It was a rare moment at the Order where she had no demands on her time.
Lenalee glanced up from her book at the grandfather clock nearby. A small sigh escahped her lips as she noted it wasn't quite time for the mail to have arrived. Tyki's next letter was due any day, but so was her next mission. She wanted to at least read it before she had to leave.
The two of them had been writing back and forth for weeks now. The daily mail had become Lenalee's favorite time of day, though she tried to hide it.
Komui wasn't happy in the least that she was exchanging letters with some stranger he couldn't murder. Keeping him at bay was getting difficult, and Lenalee knew it was only a matter of time before he got ahold of one of the letters (she kept them all in a hiding place in her room). The world would end ten times over if he ever found out the full truth...
Suddenly feeling paranoid, Lenalee closed her book and headed for her room. She had a bad feeling that she wasn't going to like what she was about to find.
The door to her room was left slightly open. Lenalee felt her chest tighten in panic as she threw it open and jumped inside.
Lavi was sitting at her desk, the chair leaning on its back two legs. Sprawled across the desk and piled on his lap were the letters Lenalee so desperately needed to keep hidden. She knew keeping them was more trouble then it was worth. Why did she have to be so sentimental?!
"Lavi," Lenalee said slowly as she closed the door. What exactly was he planning on doing with this new information?
"You know, I never pegged you for someone who went for older men."
Lenalee's face went beet red. "Lavi!" She shoved him out of her chair and collected the letters while he laughed on the floor.
"You really like this guy, huh?" Lavi asked when he managed to stop laughing.
Lenalee shoved her letters inside her uniform jacket, wishing she could get her blush under control just as easily. "Are you going to tell?"
Lavi looked confused for a minute. "Of course not. We're friends." He seemed to regret his response immediately and hurried to detach himself, "I'm just here to observe, anyway. A relationship between an exorcist and a Noah is definitely one for the history books."
Lenalee smiled knowingly at his cover up. She had noticed for some time now that Lavi had changed during his stay at the Order. He didn't have the same cold detachment Bookman carried around. He was a friend, not just a passive observer.
"Thank you," Lenalee said, hoping he understood just how much his friendship meant to her.
"So am I allowed to hear all the juicy details now?" Lavi flashed a mischievous grin.
Lenalee threw herself on her bed with a sigh. "What do you want to know?" He most likely picked up the basics about the relationship from all the letters. There couldn't be that much left to tell.
"Is it serious between you two?"
A sharp pain ran through her chest. Did he always have to start with the hard ones? "Next question."
"Have you two done it yet?"
"Lavi! No!" She tossed a pillow at him, ignoring his laughter.
"I'm required to be as thorough as possible. For the sake of knowledge." She ignored the amusement in his eyes.
"Pervert," Lenalee muttered.
"So is he forced to work for the Earl? I can't imagine you would give him any attention if he willingly did the things he did..."
"I don't think he has a choice," Lenalee said, staring at the ceiling. She pulled one of her pillows to her chest. "He doesn't like to talk about it."
"What are you going to do if you have to fight him?"
"Next question."
"Lenalee..."
She shook her head, hiding her face behind the pillow she clung to. "Do you ever wonder what life would be like if things were simpler?"
"Yes."
The soft whisper he answered with startled her out of her own problems. She sat up to look at him and his sad, crooked grin.
"Lavi?"
"But things aren't simple. We have to make do with the cards we're dealt."
"Unless you're Allen, and you always have a trick up your sleeve." Lenalee tried to smile at her own joke. It was rare that Lavi looked so somber, and it worried her.
Lavi gave a mirthless chuckle. "I should get going," he said. "I'm supposed to join Allen and Kanda on their mission. But when I get back, I have a ton more questions for you."
"Fine. Just, don't tell anyone. Not even Bookman."
"Your secret is safe with me." Lavi flashed a thumbs up with a cheesy grin that did nothing to instill confidence.
Lenalee sighed and fell back on the bed. The soft click of her door closing left the room in silence. What would she do when the time came to fight Tyki? She knew it would happen eventually. Would he use her feelings for him against her? Would she be able to do what needs to be done?
"I'm bored," Clark declared for the fifth time.
Momo rolled his eyes, not even acknowledging his brother's childishness with a verbal response. Tyki continued to stare absently out the window as he shuffled a deck of cards. They had been on this train for hours, heading to their new job. Work at the mines had gone south and now they were on to the next big thing.
"Game," Eeez declared.
"I'm not playing cards with you two anymore," Tyki insisted. "It's no fun. I always win and there's nothing to gain."
"We're on a train," Momo pointed out. "Rich people ride trains, don't they?"
Tyki's hands froze mid-shuffle. The door to their train car opened as if on cue and in stumbled an unfamiliar character wearing a terribly familiar black coat.
"Hello there," Tyki said, attempting to make an innocent smile. He knew it always came out far more predatory than he intended, but that was just part of who he was. "Care to play a game?"
"Game?" Muttered the clueless exorcist.
The man had black hair, but for a single blond streak through it. His coat was standard issue, but he carried himself as if he had no idea how to even walk. Newly discovered exorcist? That meant there were others on board. Tyki made a note to be careful while he had his fun.
Thirty minutes was all it took to rob the exorcist blind. After four rounds of poker Krory, they discovered his name was, had managed to loose everything but his underwear. Pity for him, considering it was below freezing outside.
Then the door opened again. Tyki tensed up a bit when a familiar short stack with white hair sauntered in, followed by two others. From Lenalee's descriptions, Tyki quickly identified the others as Kanda, by the scowl, and Lavi, by the hair and eye patch.
"Hello there," Allen said, a mischievous look aimed at Tyki. "Shouldn't you be off mining under a mountain somewhere?"
"Dry mines. Occupational hazard." Tyki shuffled the deck of cards in front of him. The look aimed at him was unsettling, though he refused to let it show.
"You two know each other?" Momo asked.
"Vaguely," Tyki answered. "I met him at one of my brother's parties. I hear he's quite the poker player." It was always better to get ahead on making a cover story. He couldn't let the other exorcists learn his identity any more than he could let his friends. Double lives really did keep things interesting.
"I was actually hoping I would get a chance to talk to you again," Allen said.
Tyki pretended to be disinterested. He was unexpectedly in a room with three of Lenalee's best friends, two of whom didn't even know who he was. This needed to be handled with extremely delicate actions. Too many wrong moves could kill any chance of a real relationship.
Tyki frowned internally. Since when did he think he had any chance for a relationship anyway? This whole thing was destined for disaster.
"Um, Allen," Lavi cut through tyki's internal turmoil. "Can you ask your friend for Krory's cloths back? We really can't loose that coat."
Tyki smirked. Maybe he should be trying to impress Lenalee's friends, but he still had to be himself. "I won it. It's mine now."
"How about a game?" Allen suggested, an evil glint in his eye.
Tyki had to suppress a shudder. What right did an exorcist have to look that wicked?
The cards were dealt as Allen sat across from Tyki, Clark, and Momo. The game, if you could call it that, was over in record time. Tyki and his gang had lost not only their new spoils, but their own cloths as well.
Allen cheated. Tyki took it like a man, because he himself took to cheating when the situation required it. He was mostly impressed, to be honest. The kid had seemed like a bit of a angel. Now it was clear why Road seemed infatuated with the exorcist. He was more than an innocent smile. How interesting.
"Lets talk now," Allen insisted, waiving their clothes as his collateral. "Then maybe I'll think about giving you these before you leave the train."
Momo and Clark both made dramatic groans of despair, pushing Tyki toward Allen.
The two of them moved to the next train car, finding themselves in a small hallway that led to other passengers' rooms. It was eerily quiet but for the mechanical sounds that propelled the train forward.
Tyki leaned against the metal door of the train car, pretending the cold didn't bother his bare back. He wanted to ask why Allen wanted to talk, but it seemed like more of a power play to stay silent.
"What are your intentions with Lenalee?" Allen asked.
Tyki raised an eyebrow. "My intentions?" As if he would divulge personal information to a stranger, let alone an exorcist. It didn't help that he wasn't entirely aware of his intentions himself. He knew nothing real could come from Lenalee. So what was he trying to accomplish? It certainly wasn't pleasure. Waiting to hear back from her and constantly wondering if she had finally given up on him was perhaps some of the most tortured moments of his life.
"Are you going to hurt her?" Allen got more specific, his face a little too serious. He looked older now.
Tyki remained silent. Hurting Lenalee. It didn't feel good to think about. At the same time, there was that little voice inside that wanted to kill. The voice conjured images of hate and death and bloodlust. When the time came, if the order was given, would Tyki be able to tell that part of himself no? Self control was not his strong suit.
"I don't want to hurt her," Tyki finally answered.
Allen gave a sigh that sounded condescending, if Tyki's ears weren't misleading him. "Fine. I'll help you."
"I don't remember asking for anything."
"Lenalee leaves for her next mission in two days. She's going to in Paris. You'll find her at the Blue Posey Inn."
Maintaining a neutral face was getting difficult. Was he actually getting another chance to see her again?
Wait. What if she didn't want to see him? She was careful not to mention her missions at all. He never knew where she went or when she was going. What if that wasn't just because he was on the wrong side of the war? What if she never intended to see him in person again?
Doubt was a terrible feeling. Tyki realized he had experienced very little of it until he met this wonderfully torturous girl.
"Tyki?"
Tyki swatted away the hand that Allen was waving in front of him.
"You okay?" Allen asked.
Tyki ignored the boy and began to turn around as if to leave. "Thanks for the top, Al-" A flash of red hair outside his window made him pause.
"Lavi!" Allen groaned loudly, smacking a hand against his forehead.
The exorcist, who had apparently been clinging to the outside of the train just to listen, opened the window and jumped in.
"You look like a homeless guy, Noah," Lavi said as he brushed himself off and straightened his jacket. He flashed a broad smile at Tyki's glare. "Bet you weren't expecting me to know who you were."
"He snuck into Lenalee's room and read all your letters," Allen explained.
The only information Tyki was able to process from the explanation came tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop it. "She keeps my letters?"
"Probably shouldn't have said that, Beansprout," Lavi chuckled.
"It's Allen!" The boy demanded in a temper tantrum.
Tyki smirked, thankful for a distraction from his ridiculous comment. "It's a fitting name, though."
Allen's glare was a frightful thing. It was like looking into the eyes of the Earl. Or Sheryl. It felt familiar. Tyki stored that little piece of information in the back of his mind for later.
"If all the useful parts of this conversation are over now, I'll be taking my leave," Tyki announced, already turning away again.
"Not so fast." Lavi's hammer hit the door, refusing to let it open.
Tyki didn't turn around. He was mentally assessing the situation. Did Lavi intend to fight him? It seemed unlikely. Still, Tyki prepared himself.
"Allen here is too nice, so I doubt he's had this conversation with you," Lavi began. "But you should know, Lenalee is very loved by people at the Order. If you do anything to hurt her- anything- you will have the weight of every scientist, exorcist, and general who knows her coming down on you. There isn't a hole deep enough for you to hide in if it comes to that. We will find you. And you will be begging for death by the time we're through with you."
Tyki looked over his shoulder to examine the serious look in the boy's eyes. It reminded him of a younger version of himself, from a very different time. He knew better than to brush that look off.
"Your warning has been noted," Tyki replied. "Are we done? I'd like to get back to my friends before-"
"Muegan!" Came an angry shout from the other side of the door.
"No, Kanda!" Followed Krory's panicked cry.
Tyki let out a sigh as he opened the door and stepped out of the way, letting Allen and Lavi run in to hold back their friend.
Meanwhile, Tyki sat back and chuckled as Clark cowered in fear and Momo stared in awe at the sword threatening to run them through.
Putting the two of them in a room with Kanda was nothing more than a ticking time bomb. Tyki had known from Lenalee's letters that the three of them would be a disaster together. It was always amusing to watch things play out just as he expected them to.
But his amusement with their trouble quickly faded. He had plans to make. He was going to be taking Lenalee out for their first date and everything had to be perfect. She was going to be in Paris. That gave him almost too many options. What was he going to do?
Author's Note: Got any ideas for their first date? Now taking requests!
