Even though they two of them had agreed to spend time together, the Order suddenly got an increase in Akuma sightings and possible Innocence leads, causing the Exorcists to come and go on a daily occasion. In the past month alone, Lavi and Jessica had barely seen each other compared to how they used to hang out.
She missed his seventeenth birthday, she missed the time Kanda almost killed him, and all of his great pranks. The moments that he found himself starting to treasure, she wasn't a part of.
It started to seem like that whenever Lavi was on a mission; Jessica was stuck back at the Order. Whenever Jessica was away, Lavi was home. It was starting to feel like fate was working against the two forbidden lovers, leaving Lavi in a depressed mood. Luckily though it seemed like they were finally going to be given a chance to spend time together, as Lavi was finally given a day off and Jessica had been injured on her last mission, leaving her incapable of combat.
He hated that she was injured. He should have been there to protect her.
He started to remember the first time they ever went out together, their first date. He was always hesitant to call it a date, partially because he wasn't really quite sure what he and Jessica were at this point. Nevertheless though, it was a day that he held close to his heart and he hoped that she treasured it as much as he did.
~…~
Today was the day that Jessica would be allowed to leave the infirmary, a moment that Lavi could barely wait for. He felt horrible that Jessica had been injured, when she came back all bandaged and bruised he felt distressed and pained. Watching her have to be dragged away to the infirmary made him realize that he was lucky that she had only been injured, the possibility of her dying left the young teen feeling broken. He never wanted to lose her.
Lavi walked down the hall towards the infirmary, he was in high spirits. While she was bedridden he had promised that once she was better, if he wasn't on a mission than he would take her down to town to do some shopping here and there, but also just to get her out after behind confined her so long. It was a promise that he was dedicated to keeping.
Lavi had gotten all dressed up for the occasion, actually taking his time to make himself more presentable. It wasn't like it was a date or anything…I mean what were he and Jessica anyways? They certainly weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, maybe they could be considered lovers, but overall they didn't really seem to have a label for what they were. Maybe it was because they knew that what they had could disappear at anymore moment or maybe they both were just too scared to. Either way, it didn't change the fact that the two had something going on.
As soon as he reached the infirmary, he tugged at his headband, hoping that it looked nice and straight. It straightened his back and carelessly opened the door, nonchalantly walking into the bright room that reeked of anesthetic.
"Yo nurse, is Jessica ready?" his voice echoed through the room.
The nurse, wearing a black gown with a white apron, turned to look at him, a huge smile on her face. Grabbing a clipboard the women nodded while flipping through papers.
"She should be good to go!" her soothing voice cooed.
"Alright!" he jumped, excited that he would get to spend the whole day with her.
"Well you'll have to wait a minute for her though. The doctor is doing his final check-up on her and then she'll be free to spend the day with you." She giggled and pointed to a small door in the corner of the room. "Man she's so lucky to have a boyfriend like you!"
Lavi blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, "She's not my girlfriend…" he shyly admitted causing the young nurse to gasp out in horror.
"You're not?! But you came to visit her every day; you brought her flowers and food! I'm sorry, please forgive me Master Exorcist for making such a careless mistake!" the girl bowed to him apologetically.
"Nah you're fine! It's a common mistake."
"I see…it's strange though."
"What is?"
"I guess I just figured that you were together since it's obvious how close the two of you are. I don't know, I mean, in my time of being here I have seen so much death and agony…seeing the two of you, it made me have hope that something good can come out of this stupid war." She quietly murmured to the young teen.
Lavi gave her small smile and placed his hand reassuringly on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him with awe.
"We just have to keep moving forward."
A small squeak could be heard as the door from what could be considered the examine room; a tall, portly man in a white coat exited the room, nodding and making notes on a small notepad.
"Well Miss Exorcists, it seems that you are officially good to go!" the man delightedly cheered.
Lavi stood there in anticipation, waiting for Jessica to come out of the room, waiting to surprise her with today. Jessica slowly made her way out the room, her golden eyes wide when she saw Lavi waiting for her.
He gave her a cheeky smirk and waved at her.
Despite the bandages that covered her arms and the gauze pads on her cheek, he still thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her thin face, her big golden eyes, her small nose, her full lips, all perfectly came together to make her who she was it. She deserved so much more than this…she deserved to be more than Exorcist…to be more than a Bookman. She deserved a happy life, a happy life that he would never be able to give her.
The young Bookman was deep in thought when a sudden noise woke him; Jessica had been snapping her fingers for a while. Oops.
"How's my favorite rabbit today?" she playfully inquired.
Lavi groaned, ever since Kanda had given him that nickname Jessica had made fair use of it. When he asked her why she said it was because it fit him perfectly. To her he was both cute and fluffy. He still had no idea where the 'fluffy' came from.
Jessica laughed, "Don't worry, you'll get used it soon…Rabbit!"
Lavi pinched the side of her uninjured cheek humorously, causing the girl to grimace.
"O-ow" the girl said from beneath him, rubbing her cheek.
Lavi and Jessica turned back their attention to the nurse and doctor, both laughing at the twos antics.
Jessica gave both a bow, "Thank you for taking care of me"
They both bowed back and wished the two Exorcists goodbye, leaving the two outside the infirmary.
"Are you ready to go to town?" Lavi asked the unsuspecting girl.
"Town? Oh yeah, you promised you would take me."
"Yeah, however it is pretty cold outside, it might even snow. So let's go get our jackets and meet back at the entrance to the water tunnel?" he questioned his small companion.
"Sounds good!"
~…~
The two of them had finally made their way to town, the small brick buildings consisted of many shops such as florists, bookstores, amongst other things. Lavi had always liked this quaint town; it reminded him of his home before…no he couldn't think about that, that person, the person he was before, was dead now.
Being out and about gave the two Bookman a chance to feel free from their constant obligations, thus leaving in them in higher spirits. Lavi and Jessica walked along beside each other, despite their jackets and the sun being out, both found themselves shivering. Lavi looked at the watch on his wrist; it was around three in the afternoon.
"Are you hungry?" he looked down at Jessica, her hands gripping the collar of her jacket.
"I suppose so." She smiled, her hands were shaking.
"Well there is a really good bakery around here. They make the best little cakes, but they also have normal food like sandwiches and stuff." The boy could barely contain his excitement.
"Yeah that sounds good!" she gave him a reassuring nod, god she was shaking so much.
Lavi stopped causing her to stop in response, giving him a muddled expression. Without much thought, he quickly removed his black scarf and started wrapping it around her neck. The girl looked downwards while he worked at making sure it wasn't too tight and that it was perfectly adjusted to her height.
He couldn't tell if her cheeks were red due to the cold or if it was because he made her blush, either way she was still cute.
"Are you sure you don't need it?" she asked him shyly, her hand rubbing against the knitted material.
"If I wasn't sure, than I wouldn't have given it to you." He grinned; proudly place his hands on his hips.
Jessica giggled, "You're so weird."
"Of course I am! Anyways, we better get going, my stomach is starting to growl!" he didn't realize what he was doing, but it just felt right, when he grabbed her hand.
The moment the two intertwined their fingers, he swore he could feel the world come together. Time didn't stop, his heart didn't pound; he just suddenly felt serene. He had never felt this way about anything before.
He had never felt so at peace.
Lavi dragged her through the streets, at times squeezing her hand to make sure that this wasn't a dream that he was in fact with her.
After about a five minute walk, they finally reached the tiny little bakery that Lavi had mentioned before. Compared to the other shops standing about it was small and unless you were actively looking for it, you would probably miss it. The most striking feature about the building was the vast amounts of vines that coated the side of and most of the front part of the building. The wooden sign that hung above the door, read: 'Morning Glory'.
"How did you find this place?" Jessica demanded to know how such a quaint little shop like this could be discovered.
"I've been spending a lot of time in town since I don't really have you to occupy my time anymore." he winked at the unsuspecting girl.
Lavi opened the door for her, the smell of fresh baked bread made the hungry duo drool.
"Hello Lavi!" a young woman with curly brown hair called from behind the counter.
"Hey Clarissa! How has you day been?" the boy let of Jessica's hand and approached the counter and began to casually speak with the older woman. Jessica just looked around the small shop, looking at the rows and rows of delicious treats displayed in the glass case, all of it looked so delicious.
"So who is this?" the women Lavi called Clarissa, friendly asked the blonde haired girl.
Jessica was too busy looking at the food to notice Clarissa's inquiries.
Lavi smiled, "That's Jessica, my friend and my peer."
"Oh she's not your girlfriend?"
"Oh, no…"
"Well you'll get her someday, how could anyways resist such a cute face." The women cooed at the red head.
"Maybe one day." Lavi tapped Jessica on the shoulder. "Did you find anything you would like Jessie-chan?"
Jessica's eyes kept scanning, her delicate finger pointing towards a chocolate covered dessert.
"A chocolate éclair?"
"Yeah…" she shyly admitted.
"Clarissa, one red velvet cake and a chocolate éclair please!"
"Coming right up, sir!" giving him a wink.
The woman handed the two of them their choice of desserts and indicated to a tiny table in the corner for the two of them to sit together at.
Lavi bit into his cake and watched as Jessica nibbled at her eclair, her mouth was so tiny. He wondered what it would be like to have those lips around his…nope! Stop!
Lavi coughed trying to shake his head free of his dirty thoughts, "Is it good?"
"Yeah, it's really good!" she gleefully bit into the éclair again.
Damn.
She set down the éclair, her eyes intently looking at him.
"Hey…after this I need to run somewhere and get something real quick. Alone, not with you."
He looked confused, "What? Why?" This was supposed to a day for the two of them to spend together.
"I just need to get something. I swear I won't be gone that long." She gave him a pleading look, hoping that he would understand.
Lavi sighed; he knew that she wouldn't go running off for no reason.
"I guess I don't mind. Why don't you want to go alone?"
"Um…well it's a secret."
"A secret?"
"Yeah." She took another bite of her éclair, obviously hoping that he would drop it.
He nodded his head in understanding, "Okay. Do you want to meet at the town square…around six?"
"Why six?"
"Well if you're doing something secretive, then I will do something secretive too! Besides, it's almost Christmas. I need to get gifts for Lenalee, Bookman, Komui, and you…"
Jessica tilted her head to the side, "Oh me?"
"Yeah…is there anything that you want?"
"Nothing in particular. I'll let you surprise me."
"Alright! It's a deal?" he held out his hand towards her.
"Deal." She took his hand and shook it.
~…~
After he and Jessica parted ways, Lavi went wandering the streets trying to find presents for any one that he could think of.
At this point he had already bought Lenalee a cookbook that Clarissa had recommended, Komui a new coffee cup, and the bought Bookman a journal that he could use for recording his papers.
He just needed a gift for Jessica, but he had no idea what to get her.
It wasn't that he didn't know what she liked it; it was more the fact that he wanted it to be something that was not only extraordinary, but was also meaningful. Something that displayed just how much he actually cared for the girl.
He was so lost, but then a thought came to his mind.
All day people had been confusing them for a couple…but they weren't. It was a fact that the two of them had failed to ever actually figure out what they were.
He didn't need to change that. He wanted to change that.
Lavi knew exactly what he was going to do.
~…~
Jessica stood at the middle of the town's square in front of the huge Christmas tree that the town put on display. She tired standing on her tiptoes, hoping she could see Lavi in the crowd of people.
She held a bag tightly in her hand, the reason she went alone.
She sighed; it was so cold that she could see her breath, and the sun starting to set.
"Where the hell is he?" she quietly muttered to herself.
"HEY!" Jessica looked towards the source of the sound, seeing the red head run towards her with dedication burning bright in his eye.
"Lavi!" the man reached his destination, severely out of breath.
"Sorry…that…I'm…late…"
"No you're fine. Did you find everything that you needed?"
"Yeah…I can't wait to give everyone there gifts."
Jessica smiled, "That's good."
"So what did you get that was so secretive?"
Jessica's eyes went wide, forgetting the bag that she had in her hand.
"Oh yeah! This is actually for you…" she shyly admitted.
"For me?"
"Yeah…you did so much for me while I was in the infirmary, you took me out today, and you've just done so much for me. So I got you a little gift."
She held out the bag to him and he took it, his curiosity growing with each second.
As he opened the bag, Jessica quickly explained, "I know your favorite color is orange and…" he pulled out an orange scarf. He looked at her, a total look of awe on his face. "You gave me your scarf earlier today and I just felt like I had to repay that." She licked her lips, unsure and embarrassed. "I mean if you don't like it I can always just return it or keep it or whatever."
"I love it." He smiled lovingly at her.
Before she could even react, the boy embraced in her a tight hug, "Thank you so much…" he mumbled into her neck. He pulled away, but only enough so that he could look her in the eyes. He gingerly pressed his lips against hers, their cold noses brushing up against each other's cheeks. At this moment, he didn't care whether or not they were just friends, a couple, or lovers.
In this moment, out on this winter day at sunset, the magical lights of the Christmas tree, it all came together in that exact moment. The emotion that attacked him every time he was with her. It was something filled him up, but emptied him at the same time. He felt it in his stomach, his skin; he felt it as deep as his bones. It had always seemed so complex in his mind, but now that he felt it in his heart, it was so obvious now.
That one kiss, it changed everything. It changed his whole life.
He was in love with her. So deeply and irretrievably in love with her.
