Mozart's Spirit
(A D.Gray Man fanfiction)
By P.A. Lovas
Pairings: Lavi/Allen, with some Kanda/Linalee.
14.
The hotel they had stayed at was quite beautiful, Lavi recalled. The ceiling in the lobby had been high and wide, curving elegantly around a long row of chandeliers. Along the frame of the ceiling ran an exquisite border of galloping horses sprouting pure, white wings as they swept through what Lavi could only assume was the Garden of Gethsemane and into the Mountain of Olives. Lavi wasn't really up on his art history, nor was it something that really captured his interest, but it was fairly obvious that the painting had been post-Renaissance, reflecting the works of Botticelli or Giorgione; steeped less in Catholicism and more in the Greek and Roman mythologies.
The glow from the chandeliers had been low and musty, dusting over the paintings and across the tiled floor. Again, Lavi recognized the post-Renaissance impression in the construction, with the tiles spreading out in a circular fashion, rippling out, cold and motionless, as if somebody had dropped a rock into the direct center of the room. The pattern had been disrupted only by small scuffs and an insignificant, yet rather grievous brown stain rusting around the bottom of the left-most pillar. The paint on the white washed walls had been chipping just slightly along the bottom edge, but overall, the hotel was either very well kept, or fairly new.
There had been a few people meandering around the lobby: There was a middle-aged woman, which Lavi recalled as being quite pretty. Her hair had been brushed from her face, dark and sleek, though a few tendrils escaped from her gold clasp. The deep, emerald spencer coat she wore was opened around her breasts, revealing a long, smooth neck dotted with tiny pearls. Her pink dress brushed lightly against the floor as she laughed and wrapped herself around the arm of the gentleman that had been beside her. He was a fairly good looking man, in a plain sort of way; neat, mousey brown hair swept away from a wide forehead and blunt nose. His eyes were dark, perhaps brown or black, and they crinkled slightly at the corners when he smiled.
There had also been a woman fussing over two small children, (a boy and a girl) and neither appeared to be over the age of nine. The woman licked at her frilly, pink handkerchief and wipe furiously at a smudge on the boy's face. He grimaced and tried to push her hands away, but just received a firm smack to his head from his mother. At least, Lavi was fairly certain she was their mother, as the two children had shared the same dark blond hair and bowed lips as the woman who was fussing over them.
Lavi had managed to take all this in within the short walk from the door, through the hall, and over to the counter, where they were greeted in an over exaggerated fashion by a bespectacled man. The man's nametag read "Aberto" and his black hair was slicked back, wet, shiny, and unnatural. His face was kind but the glint in his eye indicated he was more interested in the money he knew they would impart and less about whether or not they had a "good trip".
The conversation with the man was brief as Komui had called ahead to make the reservation for them. Lavi was sure the whole thing had probably resulted in one more bickering fight with Reever, and it quite likely led to yet another rant by the Director. Something about how he had to make sure his darling Linalee wasn't sleeping on the streets or even worse…in the same room with boys; not while Komui had a say in the matter.
But Lavi was getting off topic again…
Komui had managed to secure three rooms, one for Linalee and two spares. Linalee had acquired her key and her bag before taking her leave of the group, saying that she wanted to "sit still for a while". Bookman meandered off to call the Order and let them know of their safe arrival in Venice, so that left the remaining four exorcists to duke out the room assignments.
Allen sat down on the lobby's couch, crossing his legs at the ankles and Krowly slowly lowered himself next to him. Kanda had pushed himself against the wall, frowning while Lavi dropped to sit cross-legged on the floor in the middle. Lavi looked around the room, circumspectly, knowing somebody had to start.
"Well," Lavi begun. "There's two rooms and five of us. So, that's three in one room, two in another. "
"Obviously," Kanda scoffed.
"I don't care who I room with," Allen had said agreeably.
"Neither do I," Krowly said, but he was eyeing Kanda with obvious discomfort.
Lavi smiled around the circle. "Alright, well since nobody seems to care, why don't Allen, Kro-chan, Yuu, and Gramps all take the first room?"
Allen raised an eyebrow. "And why exactly should you get your own room?"
Lavi beamed at him. "Because I plan to find a playmate for myself and you guys would totally cramp my style."
Kanda had made an irritated noise, and Krowly looked abashed, but what Lavi found the most amusing was how Allen's eyes darkened and narrowed slightly, a subtle pout forming on his lips. Even in his memories, Lavi wanted to kiss it away. But instead, he had laughed and wagged his eyebrows at Allen.
"What's wrong, bean sprout? Feeling a little left out? I wouldn't mind if you wanted to watch, you know, if that's your kink."
"I-it's Allen! And who would ever want to do such a thing?" Allen yelled, but he stumbled over the words a little, and his face had turned a violent shade of red. "Idiot Lavi," he mumbled and Lavi just laughed.
"Will you just get on with it?" Kanda said, obviously irritated.
Lavi smiled and rubbed at the back of his head. "Yeah, yeah, sure thing." Lavi had figured that an easy solution would be to put three other exorcists together and then Lavi could room with Bookman. Nobody would bat an eye (since it was usually how things seemed to go), and his comrades didn't wanted to pry (in Allen and Krowly's case) or simply didn't care (Kanda). But there was something in the way Allen refused to look at him that had bugged Lavi. He had wanted to pry further. However, he didn't trust himself to be alone with Allen, not yet. And in hindsight, Lavi realized that was probably for the best.
"Why don't me and Allen and Yuu share a room," Lavi said anyway. "Kro-chan can room with Gramps, since for some strange reason, Kro-chan seems to like the old man."
"You're not going to room with Bookman?" Krowly asked, ignoring the fact that Lavi just called him "strange"…or perhaps just simply not conscious of it.
"Hey, even I need a break from time to time, ya know? Besides, I'm sure the old panda won't complain about missing me."
"Who would?" Kanda scoffed and Lavi frowned as Allen giggled.
"Yuu, that's so mean! But I know you love me, so I'll forgive you."
"Idiotic…" Kanda breathed and pushed from the wall. "If we're done here, I'm going to take my leave."
"Where are you going?" Allen asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Away," was Kanda's response as he swept out the door.
"Of course," Allen said with a small smile as he watched Kanda leave.
"Well, I guess we should go get settled." Lavi rose to his feet and brushed off his pants.
"But-" Allen started.
"I thought-" Krowly said in unison.
Lavi laughed silently and brushed their protests away with a wave of his hand. "We'll go eat in a minute. Let's go drop our stuff off first." He picked up Allen's suitcase and dropped it into his lap.
"Ok," Allen said, amiably. He unfolded his body and lifted himself off the couch. Krowly followed suit, though it was a much more impressive act over Allen, seeing as Krowly was all arms and legs and pure stature.
Between the three of them, they were able to easily carry the entirety of their luggage to their rooms in one fell swoop, including the trunk that housed Bookman's journals. Even so, Lavi still threw himself onto the bed nearest the window and let out an exaggerated breath of relief. "Aah, I thought I was done for," Lavi whined.
Allen chuckled and perched on the edge of the other bed.
Lavi suspended his mind to look around this memory. The room was fairly spacious for containing three single beds that were arranged strategically: two against the wall and one perpendicular to the window. The beds were plainly dressed with starchy white sheets, but the bed was clean and the mattress had sagged comfortably along the contours of his body.
The Lavi in his mind wrapped his arms around a pillow and buried his head into it with a sigh. "I want to sleep."
"You always want to sleep."
"Wait a second," Lavi said, propping himself up on an elbow. "Allen, are you really criticizing the redundancy of somebody else's actions, you bottomless pit?"
Allen had flushed angrily. "I wasn't criticizing!"
Lavi laughed. "Sorry, sorry." He let out a small groan as he rose to his feet and dropped to sit beside Allen on the other bed. Allen glared and opened his mouth to say something, most likely to yell at Lavi for his earlier retort, but froze instead as Lavi dropped a hand to his head. "Don't be mad," Lavi tried with a smile, tousling Allen's hair lightly. Lavi was running his fingers through the fine strands, different from the way he usually ruffled it and Allen's expression transformed variously in response: anger dissipated into irritation, followed by confusion, and finally settled on consent.
Lavi had pulled Allen against him lightly, twining the pale hair around his fingers. He felt Allen lean a bit into the touch, though Allen's shoulders were set and he seemed to be clenching every muscle in his body. His eyes were wide and clear and unblinking, containing something Lavi had never seen there before; perhaps a sort of uncertainty or, god-willing, maybe a longing.
They hadn't spoken, opting instead to just watch each other; Allen's gaze was a bit wary and Lavi's searching. They were uncomfortable with the silence and the change in atmosphere, but they were at a loss for words. Or, most aptly as Lavi realized in hindsight, they were afraid: Afraid of rejection, of misapprehension, and perhaps even more than that…afraid of acceptance. Realizing these feelings would mean facing truths about themselves that neither wanted to unearth; it would mean sharing something that neither Lavi nor Allen particularly wanted to share. Everything was new, and sure it was a little exhilarating, but more than anything else, it was goddamn frightening.
A knock at the door caused Allen and Lavi to jump apart slightly. Lavi smiled into his memory, realizing how close they had been, almost a breath away from being wrapped up in each other. Allen's hand settled itself next to Lavi's thigh, and the repercussions had been felt keenly for a while after, Lavi recalled. There had been lots of deep breathes and even deeper thoughts.
"Yes?" Allen finally said, his voice shaking slightly.
The door opened just wide enough for Krowly to poke his head in. He blinked at the two of them, and once he was certain that his presence was accepted, he smiled. "Weren't we going to head out to look around?" Where Krowly and Allen were concerned, "looking" meant "eating".
Lavi wasn't sure if it was the promise of food, or just Allen's practiced ability of hiding all negative feelings, but Allen appeared back to normal, smiling sweetly as he nodded. Lavi sighed and, after a moment, he stood. "Well," he said to Allen, smiling in his usual, carefree way. "You coming, or am I going to have to eat your share too?"
Allen rose to his feet quickly. "You wish, Lavi."
"Not really," Lavi tucked his hands behind his head as he brushed past Krowly who was still lumbering in the doorway. "I think if I put away a fraction of what you two could eat, I would die."
"That's because your Innocence is an equipment type," Krowly pointed out.
"Thank goodness I'm not parasitic then," Lavi said, grimacing as he placed a hand over his stomach. "I think I would explode."
Krowly's face fell slightly, his brow furrowing he mulled over the possibility of what Lavi had just said. Allen laughed. Lavi had smiled at the sound, and he remembered feeling much lighter.
Lavi scolded himself mentally. He opened his eyes and the tiny shotgun house they were currently seeking refuge in came quickly into focus. Lavi was upset that he kept getting distracted. Even in his thoughts, in the scrutiny of his memories, he found himself focused solely on Allen; The way he moved, laughed, and smiled or the look in those large eyes and the curve of his mouth. Everything about Allen enamored Lavi completely, then and now. His mind, his memories, his observations were all muddled when Allen was in the room and Lavi swore.
"Hm?" Bookman asked with a noise at the back of his throat.
"I'm going to go check on Allen," Lavi said, pushing away from the corner he had settled into. "If we leave him alone for too long, who knows what he'll do."
Krowly and Bookman just nodded their agreement; after all, they knew Allen just as well. Allen was notorious for making rash decisions where his friends were concerned.
Lavi peered around the corner, assessing the situation. He had situated himself in view of the door and Allen was in no position to be lifting the heavy lumber that had fallen from the attack on the town, so Lavi was fairly certain that Allen hadn't left. Yet, for some reason, Lavi felt a small gnaw of worry in the back of his mind. He sighed in relief when his gaze fell onto Allen, curled in front of the fire where Lavi had left him. The cards had been swept aside messily, either on purpose or perhaps having been kicked in sleep. Either way, Lavi was just happy that Allen was here, he was safe, and he was sleeping.
Leaning over, Lavi watched Allen's eyelids flutter in his dreams, and he lowered himself slowly, carefully to the floor. He brushed Allen's hair away from his eyes, hoping that Allen's dreams were peaceful this time, that maybe, Allen wouldn't awaken screaming. His thoughts were answered as Allen's eyes opened, blinking sleepily.
"Whatime izzit?" Allen mumbled.
"I don't know," Lavi answered, smiling lightly at the sleepy, rumpled Allen. "Somewhere around ten, maybe."
Allen didn't respond, just made a small noise as his eyes slipped closed again. Within moments, his breathing slowed, and he was asleep. Lavi watched him quietly, his hand still running through Allen's hair, wondering over all the emotions that just wove through his heart in the last minute: worry and relief and happiness and desire and worry and worry and worry. And love? Perhaps, Lavi thought to himself. He had never wanted to label himself with such a word, deciding instead for smaller, less invasive words, such as "like" or "want" or "need" or "lust". But never "love". That would be new for him. Then again, Allen seemed to be teaching him a lot of things lately.
Lavi shook his head, trying to clear these thoughts from his mind. None of this was important right now. He still had their entire mission, day after day of details, to run through in his head. He had an answer to find, in order save Bookman, and Krowly…to save Allen, and in turn, save himself.
He took a deep breath, and found Allen's presence was more of a comfort than he would have thought. He closed his eyes, and drew the image of the Hotel back into his focus. Lavi formed the hallway they had walked down, heard the conversations they had, and felt the camaraderie.
"Time izzit?" Allen asked again, pulling Lavi from his thoughts.
"Huh?" Lavi blinked down at Allen. "About three minutes after you asked last time," Lavi said, but Allen was already drifting off. Lavi sighed and tried to slip back into his perceptions, turning each one over slowly.
"Whatime izzit?"
Lavi's eyes shot open. "Allen?" Allen didn't even wait for a response before his eyes closed and he fell back to sleep. This time, Lavi just waited, counting the seconds: Two minutes and thirty four seconds…thirty five seconds…thirty six seconds…thirty seven…thirty-
"Whatime izzit?"
"Aw hell, Allen." Lavi choked on his panic. "This isn't good, babe," he said, watching as Allen fell back to sleep. In a minute, he would go to Bookman. He would be calm and composed and rational as he explained the situation. But for now, for this moment, Lavi was going to allow himself to break.
This chapter was a lot harder to write than I had expected. Blarg, tenses. Lavi's head is an interesting place to imagine; full of details and A.D.D. :\
Questions, Comments, Crits and Love are always appreciated. Thanks for the reviews and thanks for reading :D