Revelations Chapter 11

*Allen Walker, Lenalee Lee, and all characters in the -Man Universe do not belong to me. I am merely borrowing them for a while to suit my purpose. If it wasn't clear before, I will reiterate that this is an Allen Walker X Lenalee Lee story. Nothing super lemony….just some overdue conversations.

*This story takes place a little bit after the anime ends and way before the whole Kanda-Alma arc. So, this starts a couple of months after the Level 4 is defeated at HQ and General Cross is able to speak with Allen for a moment wherein he lets him know that Allen is the vessel from which the 14th will be reborn. Furthermore, that Allen will eventually be taken over by the 14th and, once that happens, he will kill someone he loves.


Black Order – Asian Branch: Lenalee's Quarters

Lenalee woke to a soft rapping on her door. It didn't register to her what it was at first, until she heard the series of three light knocks again. When she attempted to wipe the sleep from her eyes, she realized that her left hand was still steadfastly being held in Allen's as he continued to sleep deeply and soundly, not having moved an inch since they both fell asleep. She smiled down at him, losing herself momentarily in his serene countenance; something she wished to see on him more often.

Remembering the knocking, she reluctantly tore her eyes away. "Just a moment," she whispered toward the door. "I'll be right there."

At the sound of her last hushed words, Allen finally loosened his grip on Lenalee's hand and turned over on his side, setting her free, still lost in slumber. Lenalee couldn't help but notice the empty void left in its wake when he unwittingly broke that small but tacit connection between them. Before she could think on it longer, she turned her corner of the blankets from her and slid off the foot of the bed so as to not disturb Allen and his much needed sleep. Lenalee quickly padded to the door and unlocked it, knowing fully who was knocking as she did every morning shortly after she had come to the Asian Branch.

Quietly slipping the lock open, Lenalee opened the door a crack and saw Lou Fa standing there, looking up at her with an expression that was equal parts resolution and grief.

"Good morning, Lou Fa-chan," Lenalee said knowingly, opening the door a little more widely but stepping in to fill the gap between the door and the post. Off of Lou Fa's look, Lenalee recognized deep down that the conversation she long wanted to avoid would have to happen very soon.

Lou Fa seemed to recognize this as well and looked upon the face of her friend, knowing what she had to say but not yet finding the will to let herself accept what she might hear in return. She mentally noted that Lenalee was still in the same clothing she was wearing the night before.

After what seemed like a long minute of quiet understanding, Lenalee broke the silence, wondering how to broach the topic lightly.

"Did you want to have breakfast together, Lou Fa-chan? I don't know when I'll get the chance to eat with you again…"

"Is Walker-san in there with you?" Lou Fa blurted, the words tumbling out as if flood waters finally breached the dam and blew it wide open.

Lou Fa immediately clasped both her hands over her mouth, embarrassed at her sudden outburst, her face turning beet red.

Lenalee, for her part, tried not to blush, but the familiar heat rose to her face as well, even though she kept telling herself she had nothing to be embarrassed over.

"I'm sorry, Lenalee-san," sighed Lou Fa. "I think I'm still much better at talking to my books than to people."

"You talk to your books?" asked Lenalee, tilting her head to the side, genuinely curious, forgetting their awkward situation for a moment.

"Yup. It helps me figure stuff out if I ask my questions out loud. Usually the answers are right there under my nose and I just need to look more deeply. So sometimes I'll look right into the page I'm reading and ask my questions and you know what…" Lou Fa said, trailing off at the end, suddenly realizing that she had reverted back to the usual ease with which she spoke to Lenalee.

Lenalee couldn't help but giggle softly when the look of confusion and consternation clouded over Lou Fa's face. It was endearing how the young girl was like an open book herself; unable to truly hide any of her feelings, laying bare her emotions for the world to see just with her expressions alone.

The sound of Lenalee's laughter dismantled Lou Fa's walls a little; the walls she had built up all last night and this morning with each step she took towards Lenalee's room, heavily fortifying herself, determined to ask exactly what was going on with her and Walker-san and get a clear answer. Where she would go from there, even she didn't know. She let her shoulders relax and drop, not knowing that she'd been holding them so rigidly and tense this whole time, and felt better. Bowing her head, she exhaled a long breath, and then looked up into Lenalee's face and found only kindness in her beautiful smile and understanding in her eyes. If her fears were true, could she really begrudge Walker-san for it….?

"Lenalee-san….you know, you can tell me…" she began.

"L-Lenalee…?" said a tired voice from inside the room.

Lou Fa stiffened, immediately recognizing it. Taken off guard herself, Lenalee quickly turned her body around to address the disembodied voice and that was when Lou Fa espied the undeniable form of Allen Walker sitting up from Lenalee's bed, yawning and stretching his arms languidly.

"Good morning, Allen-kun," said Lenalee with more calm than she thought she could muster. She quickly turned her attention back to her guest at the door but no one was standing there anymore. Lenalee looked out further into the hall and turned her attention toward the sound of footfalls echoing away from her and Lou Fa turning a corner, out of sight.

Lenalee sighed heavily and closed her door, leaning her forehead against it afterwards while her hand still rested on the knob. That did not go the way it was supposed to, even if she didn't have the first clue as to how it actually should have gone.

"Are you all right, Lenalee?" asked Allen, fully awake now. "Was someone at the door?"

She walked back to her bed and sat down next to him, smiling at his disheveled hair and the gravelly voice he had first thing in the morning.

"Did you sleep okay, Allen-kun?" she asked, re-prioritizing.

His eyes seemed to lose any signs of tiredness then and he looked straight at her.

"Yeah…yeah, I did. I think that's the best sleep I've had in a long time," he admitted. "And you, Lenalee?"

"I slept so soundly…I never even woke up once…" she began to say when she realized something else about her night's slumber. "I didn't even dream…"

Off of Lenalee's words, Allen realized that she had meant it as a positive thing and he remembered the night she had told him about her recurring nightmare. Was she still having that same, terrifying dream to this day?

Almost as if she read his mind, she said, "I have that dream all the time. It happens so often that when I close my eyes for any long period of time, even when I'm awake, it's as if the dream has imprinted its images behind my eyelids and I can still make out the harsh outlines of fallen buildings, rubble, the unforgiving moon, and…and…"

Allen reached out and covered her hands with his, alarmed at the rising panic in her voice as she described her daily nightmare. Her hands felt as cold as ice.

"But not last night," she continued. "It was the first time - for as long as I can remember - that I wasn't met with that vision when I closed my eyes. I-I think you had something to do with that."

"Me?" he said, with a little squeak, pointing to himself as he asked.

She smiled at his genuine surprise and gently squeezed the hand that still held hers. "Yes, you. You've always protected me, Allen-kun."

Allen regarded Lenalee soberly, who was smiling up at him with such sincerity and affection. It reminded him of that night he came to his senses in the science lab at the old headquarters after one of Komui's crazy creations almost annihilated The Order. She was by his side then, caring for him when he was unconscious. Reever had later told him that she had been the one who had taken out Komlin II and kept him from being operated on. He had to admit that most of the events of that night of insanity were hazy…all except for the moment he woke up to find Lenalee sitting by him, welcoming him home, and, as if a clarion bell was set off ringing in the tower of his being, he realized right then that he would be happy if he could see her smile like that all the days of his life…like she was smiling at him now.

"And I always will, Lenalee. I promise," he managed to choke out, realizing he was staring at her as he did that night in the lab, transfixed and disarmed.

They stayed that way for a long time until Allen could feel his heart's blood pulsating in his ears and he could swear he heard Lenalee's own heart beat in tandem.

"I didn't answer your question before but, yes, there was someone at the door," said Lenalee, before Allen could think of what to say next.

"Ah…was it Lavi?" he asked, unsure if he was grateful for the topic change. "Do we know when we're to leave?"

"No. It wasn't Lavi," she replied, hemming.

Allen waited for her to finish.

"It was Lou Fa."

"Oh. Is she all right?"

"I…that I don't know, Allen-kun."

"What the matter?" he asked, concerned.

"Well, she usually comes to meet me in the morning so we could have breakfast together…"

"Have you two have become good friends?"

"Yes, actually."

"That's great, Lenalee!"

"I think so, too. But I think I might have really hurt her feelings today."

"Why would you say that?"

"She saw you in here and she ran away."

"Oh! Did I offend her somehow? Wait, how could you have hurt her feelings then, Lenalee?"

"Allen-kun, don't tell me you've never noticed…?"

"Eh?"

Lenalee shook her head but realized she wasn't terribly surprised.

"Lou Fa has an incredible crush on you."

"Me?" he exclaimed, pointing to himself again for the second time that morning.

Lenalee reached across and grabbed the hand that was pointing into his own chest in disbelief, pulling it down and back into his lap.

"I'm afraid she's smitten," she said, seeing the flush that was creeping over Allen's face. "I'm also afraid that I might have ruined any chances between you two because you stayed here with me last night. She must be thinking all sorts of things right now that aren't true."

"Aren't true…?" Allen repeated, absently.

"I can't imagine what's going through her mind right now. She knows we spent all night together. I'm sorry, Allen-kun."

"Sorry?"

"I'm sorry if I made things awkward between you two."

"Oh! No, I don't think that's quite it. I mean, I like Lou Fa and all…"

"You do?" Lenalee asked, trying not to show that she was crestfallen.

"Yeah, she's really nice and hard-working…"

"She really is," was all that Lenalee could muster before she fell into a noticeable silence.

Lenalee thought back on the events of the past evening. She and Allen spent the wee hours of the night buttressing each other during their respective turmoil; reaffirming their place in each other's lives and their dedication to their deep and abiding friendship. Their past and present pain were annealed at least a little by each other's presence and words of support and faith. And he stayed with her, by her request, to guard over her heart and dreams, which he did exceedingly well. She was thankful for him; for his always wanting to protect her from harm – as a good friend is wont to do. Lenalee also wanted to be fair to Lou Fa. She would try to advocate her even if it meant that her own feelings may be squelched. It was up to Allen to decide and she would always respect his choices. Whatever happened, above all else, she did not want to lose his friendship. And in order to keep it, and to support his happiness, she knew she would do anything.

And now, hearing from his own mouth that Lou Fa was someone he liked, she braced herself to accept what came with it.

Just then, they heard a solid knock on the door. It seemed to Allen that Lenalee barely registered the noise but she stood up nonetheless and went to open it.

Suddenly, Allen saw a fist come flying through the opening in the doorway, but even faster was Lenalee who in one sweeping motion side-stepped it, grabbed the wrist and used its own forward momentum to pull the rest of the person into the room and then proceeded to put the person into a vice-like headlock.

Allen was already on his feet at that point but it was then he realized the head being clutched in the crook of Lenalee's arm had a full crop of red hair.

"Oh! Lenalee! That was impressive!"

"Lavi! What was that for?" cried Allen.

"I just wanted to see if Lenalee's training was worth it, that's all!" Lavi croaked, still in a headlock. "Seems like you learned a lot, eh?" he continued, trying to twist his head up and around at an impossible angle to look at Lenalee in the face.

"You tell me," said Lenalee, finally smiling and releasing him. It was good to see Lavi again.

"Meh, I guess you pass," he managed to say nonchalantly, as he rubbed his wrist and neck, hoping there wouldn't be bruises there tomorrow. "What are you kids doing?"

"Just chatting," answered Lenalee, rather quickly. This was not lost on Bookman Junior.

"What's the word from Bak-chan?" asked Allen.

"I came to tell you that our coach leaves at noon. You have time for breakfast and to pack anything you have. Then we'll head out for Guangzhou soon after. Sound good?" said Lavi.

"That should be fine. I just have some loose ends to tie up and I'll be ready by noon," replied Lenalee.

"Don't worry, Lenalee," assured Lavi. "Two-dots called your brother last night to say we had arrived in Guangzhou and would be heading back within a few days. That guy can sure spread it on thick when he has to. Kinda scary, actually. I don't know if he should be working for a religious organization, you know?" Lavi went on.

Lenalee nodded and started reaching for some clothes in her closet to change into. "Thanks, Lavi. For everything. For helping me be able stay here as long as I could. I'm sorry I had to involve you in this ruse."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Keeping mum is kinda my thing," replied Lavi, lightly, though he wondered at the serious tone that was hanging over the room. "I'll let you get ready. See you at breakfast, then." Lavi gave a salute and then rubbed his offended wrist in mock pain at Lenalee before shutting the door behind him.

"So what do you think I should tell Lou Fa?" asked Allen, as soon as the door closed, picking up the conversation as if it had never been interrupted.

She made as if she were gathering up her luggage, her back to Allen, even though she had spartan belongings in her short stint at the Asian Branch. She thought about it carefully for a few moments.

"I think you should tell her the truth. Tell her how you feel. She deserves to know," she finally replied, without turning around, not wanting Allen to see any visible cracks in her demeanor.

"I think you're right," she heard him say.

Lenalee heard Allen get up and she suddenly felt the pit of her stomach fall out beneath her. What had she facilitated? It was just the other night that she had convinced herself that she wouldn't get in the way if Lou Fa's feelings for Allen were reciprocated, didn't she? But she hadn't expected things to happen so quickly, especially so soon after their own reunion of sorts. Lenalee felt restored in many ways. She and Allen were talking again and back to being as close as they ever were after he shared so much about himself. She felt an aching start in her chest but she knew she only had herself to blame for it.

As she folded the same shirt for the third time, she felt strong arms encircle her waist from behind. She froze.

"Thank you, Lenalee," whispered Allen against the side of her neck. He couldn't know the affect this had on her or the thousands of goose bumps that now prickled her skin all the way up and down her arms. But she dropped the shirt she had been clutching and slowly covered his hands with hers where they had folded over her torso.

"For…what…?" she stuttered.

"For listening to me. For caring about me. For taking care of me. It means a lot."

"You don't have to thank me, Allen-kun. You do the same for me."

Lenalee could almost swear that she felt him smile against her.

After a few moments, she felt his arms loosen about her and the warmth of his closeness recede. Allen was opening the door to leave.

"Where are you going?" Lenalee asked, hesitantly.

"To find Lou Fa. I'm going to follow your advice."

TO BE CONTINUED


A/N – Ugh! Sorry this took so long. I was no unmotivated due to work, class, research papers, etc. Then DGM chapter 205 came out and I squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee'd for a while and had to recover. I don't care that Allen said he "daisuki'd" Lenalee and everybody else at The Order instead of "ai" or "aishiteru." What I'm taking away from it is that he hugged her of his own will and caressed her face before stepping into the gate. Also, I'm just glad that we got to see Lenalee in more than one panel finally! Am doing the happy dance. In other news, after almost 20 years, I'm going to start drawing again. First thing I'm going to try is a series called "Lenalee Through the Ages" with her in different period costumes (and even in cosplay). If that comes out decently, I'll actually try to illustrate my fics and see how that goes. Wish me luck. I've never drawn with a tablet before :-/

Okay, onto some business….

A/N Part II– I just wanted to address a few of things that readers have brought up. They were good points/questions so I want to make sure I clarify some things about them…

TWI-hard Kristine 101 pointed out that I had incorrectly depicted how Allen and Mana met. She referenced the chapter in the manga that shows Mana and Red (this was Allen's nickname in the circus, given to him because of his arm) burying Mana's dog (the dog's name was actually Allen) that was killed by Cosimo, a jealous rival circus performer. This is all true and I recall that chapter vividly and remembered it while writing the previous chapter of this fanfiction. I assumed that the readers would also know about this or be familiar with it as well and so I only wrote about how Allen perceived Mana on a day to day basis after already having met him that sad day when Mana's dog died. According to the DGM Reverse novels, the day that Mana's dog died is not the first time Allen has seen Mana there at the circus. Mana and his dog had been performing at that circus for some time but Allen just refused to get close to them because he knew people would leave him so he purposefully kept his distance. But, because Mana is shown in full clown make-up and garb that day he's burying his dog, I wanted to talk about the times when Allen also saw Mana in formal attire (i.e. suit and hat) and that he was confused as to why. There is a panel in Chapter 17, page 15 of the manga, where Allen remembers Mana saying "Welcome back/home, Allen" and Mana is in his formal attire. So I wanted to try and connect and reconcile the two views of Mana that Allen had: the one where Mana's a traveling clown (which is how they met) and the one where he saw him in his formal wear (which is how I imagined Mana got to know Allen after hours and consequently adopted him). I didn't have Allen specifically mention the part about Cosimo or the dog to Lenalee last chapter because I didn't think it was the important part. Rather, I thought just talking to her about how he felt about Mana at the time, specifically with his adoption and living with him, might work better. I hope that clears it up a little bit in terms of the story. Thanks, TWI-hard kristine101, for helping me realize I was a little unclear about how I depicted Allen and Mana's meeting.

Btw, the Reverse novels do go into more detail about Allen and Mana's hard life at the circus and the extent to which Mana went a little crazy. It notes that Mana was 17 when the Earl was chasing him and his brother around and he woke up one day suddenly looking old. He started to call Red after the name of his dog that died saying things like "When did you get so big, Allen?" or "Where did your tail go?" And so Allen just took the name. There is a drawing of Allen sitting with Mana without make-up on and Mana amazingly resembles ….the Earl! They may all be related: Mana, the Earl, the 14th…oh such family issues…

Secondly, addenza had mentioned in one of the earlier reviews that she had the impression that Lou Fa was actually older than Lenalee. I never recalled that being pointed out in the manga or anime so I just assumed Lou Fa was younger because that was just my personal impression, especially because of her stature, behavior, and the fact that she doesn't call Allen with the –kun suffix as most older people do (Lenalee, Lavi, Komui, etc). However, I recently read in the DGM wikia that Lou Fa might be 18 years old! That site tends to have many errors so I tried to do some research into it but I can't find any reference or back-up for this bit of information and no one can tell me where to find any support for this. addenza might be right about this but I'd sure like to know for certain if anyone has any solid confirmation. Perhaps it was mentioned in one of those Reverse novels (though I've read the chapter about Lou Fa, and I don't recall her age being mentioned) or maybe Hoshino said it during an interview or wrote it in an article somewhere only released in Japan? Anyway, I wanted to mention this because I wanted to give addenza credit for bringing this to my attention and if this turns out to be true, I apologize for making Lou Fa younger than she is in canon. I typically don't like changing characters in any way so I thought I was depicting Lou Fa correctly but that was under my assumption that she's younger than Lenalee. For the purpose of this particular story, I'm just going to keep Lou Fa as younger and I will continue to try and find out for sure for any future stories she may be in. Thanks, addenza, for bringing this up!

UPDATE May 2, 2011 - AHA! I found it...and addenza is right! lou fa is 18 years old! Whuuuu...? B-b-but she looks and acts like she's 14. No matter, it says so in the fanbook that Hoshino created so it must be true. Here's the actual portion:

31. ROHFA

Personal Data
Age: 18
Nationality: Chinese
Height: 155cm
Weight: 40Kg
Birthday: 20th March
Zodiac: Aries
Bloodtype: O
Interest: Reading
Likes: Allen
Dislikes: All bugs, unruly hair

Thanks again, addenza, for pointing this out so I can sniff around for it. I apologize that I'm using her in this story as someone not her age. In any future stories, if she's in them, I'll make sure she's correctly 18. Wait, she's 18 and is hard-core crushing on Allen who's 15? Uuuh, that's not creepy at all...yeeaaaaaah...lol.

Dragonzftw had asked in the review section if Mana was actually the 14th's younger brother. Honestly, I had always just assumed Mana was the older brother…at least, that's the impression he seemed to give off to me but I couldn't really come up with any solid evidence in my memory. But I looked around and thankfully, I did find the answer. In chapter 202, page 29 of the manga, Allen actually states that the 14th is Mana's younger brother. Yay! Solid answer found! Thanks, dragonzftw, for asking so I could find out.