-Cantarella-
Epilogue: the engagement part I
Five months later, October.
It started after they ended their Five Elements project.
Kanda didn't want to admit it but he liked having Reiichi make clothes for him—only because the things she made were so different from the ones that designers always put him in. She even if she had said she wanted to do the project a second round for him, it was clearly for her own amusement to put him in things she liked to see him in, and maybe he was okay with that, because thereafter she always looked at him in the way that he wanted her to.
It was during the closure of the project's press conference when she was asked if she'd like to design for him again one day, she had glanced at him and smiled the kind of smile that made his mouth go dry.
And later that night, when he was reading through the letters his parents wrote in the lacquer box he took back with him from Iseki's place, he discovered a hidden layer beneath the box that held a delicate silver ring. There was no inscription on it, but Kanda knew what it meant.
He had taken it between his fingers and stared at it for a long time, and something clicked.
It was ridiculous, he knew.
He was only twenty two.
Yet, for some reason he was sure it was something he wanted to do.
If he had been foolishly in love and ready when he was seventeen, it just meant that now at twenty two with all that had happened, it was clear.
There wasn't going to be anyone else.
At first he pushed the issue aside as rashness or impulsiveness. Sure, he wanted to claim Reiichi in every way possible and that was one of the ways, but then weeks later, he caught himself staring at her in times when she wasn't looking and just wondering the what if.
Weeks turned into months and he was sure it was something that was going to bug him until he did something about it. Except, there were a few essential questions.
Were they ready for it? Was it too fast?
Would she take him seriously?
Would she say no?
He didn't know how to bring it up with Reiichi without asking outright, neither could he bring himself to ask Lavi because he could just anticipate what a disaster that would be before Lavi would calm down and answer him seriously.
Even so, he searched quietly, and now in his hands was a velvet box with a ring, he had no idea what he should do with it.
"Why are you freaks in my house?" Kanda demanded, scowling.
He had just walked out of his room after his shower after a night swim in the pool, towel slung around his neck to prevent his dripping hair from drenching his shirt. Even though he had a hair dryer he didn't like using it—unless Reiichi did it for him, but he wasn't going to admit that he walked out of the room because he knew she'd be irked to do something about it if she saw him. He was just going to get a glass of water to hydrate after all that exercise, what else?
But unfortunately any alone time that could've happened was immediately killed by the fact that Lenalee and Allen were in his living together with the two cousins, and all of them were engrossed in some kind of game on the playstation.
It looked like a rather old game because the graphics were a little pixilated unlike those he'd seen Lavi or Reiichi play from time to time. Only Lenalee and Lavi were handling the controls as the other two watched—while eating ice-cream, he noted—and when the male redhead let out a frustrated huff, the screen blanked with a game over, and the title screen emerged again.
Metal Slug X.
"Yuu!" Lavi brightened when he saw him, waving him over enthusiastically. "Wanna have a go at killing mummies?"
Kanda scowled deeper and ignored him when no one was going to answer him, so he went to the kitchen to get his water. When he heard a step behind him he assumed it was Reiichi, so it was entirely understandable that he reacted violently when he realised it was the white haired boy instead.
"Woah, I'm just here to take a jug of water, you idiot," Allen huffed, hands up in surrender. "You're blocking the way."
"Why are you here?"
Allen rolled his eyes, but at least Kanda moved so that he could do as he wanted. "Lavi called, we answered. Is that enough or do you want me to detail our delightful conversation?"
"Don't be cheeky with me, brat," Kanda growled, swallowing the rest of his cup.
"Why, I would never," Allen replied as sarcastically as possible, but his gaze lingered on the model longer than necessary.
Kanda met the look back with an equally irritated expression. "What? If you have something, spit it out."
Allen gave a quick glance to where the other three were and lowered his voice. "Seven," he said softly, reaching to touch his collarbone where his arrow shaped tattoos were arranged around. "I'm doing the last one next week."
Kanda cocked his eyebrow. "What's the point? It's over, isn't it?"
"To remember," the other smiled. "For every year that Lenalee didn't love me the way I want her to…this is the last."
"She still doesn't," the model stated.
It wasn't that he was being an asshole, but it was the truth. Even if Lenalee did like Allen romantically, it wasn't love. Not yet.
"It will be the last," Allen murmured, fingers gripping the handle of the filled jug. "So, thanks. For supporting. Even if you were absolutely no help at all."
"Shut up," Kanda snapped, huffing. "I wasn't supporting you or any shit like that. You were fucking pathetic—"
"Lenalee told me you gave her the talk," Allen cut in, grinning. "You care about me, don't deny it."
Kanda would retort, but Reiichi entered the kitchen carrying the empty ice cream tub in hand. Her eyes immediately flickered to his wet hair and she frowned, but she busied herself with throwing the tub out first. And then she went to the freezer to take another.
"What the fuck—" Kanda stared. "Are you trying to be diabetic, woman?"
"The rest wants some, and Allen ate most of the other one," Reiichi huffed in defense, and Allen smiled sheepishly. "Do you want some? I bought lemon sorbet, if you—"
"No," was the predicted response.
She sighed, turning on her heel to return to the living room. Kanda didn't realize he was watching her back intently until Allen spoke.
"When are you going to ask her?"
Immediately the model froze, cup almost slipping out of his grip, but he tightened the hold in time and glared at the younger boy.
"Joke," Allen shook his head. "You don't have to look like you're going to die. It was just a—…" he faltered abruptly, blinking. "Wait, you're…"
"Shut up, Moyashi."
"But…you're…you're actually…."
"Brat—"
"But you—"
"Shut up, shut the fuck up!" Kanda hissed low, refusing to acknowledge the heat creeping up his cheeks. "I haven't—fuck, if you say a dammed word—"
Allen sighed, pushing the threatening finger shoved at him away from his face. "I'm assuming Lavi has no clue on your intentions and you're not going to tell him," he knew he guessed correctly when the glare deepened. "Are you even sure that you—"
"No," Kanda snapped, avoiding his gaze. "…I don't."
"Oh," Allen said for the lack of anything better to say. To be honest he was recovering from the shock of finding out that Kanda was actually thinking seriously about something that Lavi joked about since forever. Pretty seriously too, from the looks of it. "Well…"
"Just keep that mouth shut," the model grounded out, exiting from the kitchen.
Allen followed behind to join him, watching Lavi launch towards the Kanda with a glomp that did not seem entirely heterosexual.
"Yuu, did you know? Rei-chan chose lemon sorbet because she thought you might like it since you like lemon cake!"
"I did not!" was Reiichi annoyed retort, though she was steadfastly avoiding Kanda's gaze.
"Al," Lenalee nudged him when he went to claim back his seat. "You want to have a go with me?" she grinned towards the television screen.
"Eh, but it's Rei-chan's and my turn!" Lavi protested.
"But if Reiichi plays then we have to wait until you two finish the entire game!"
"Same for your Brit!"
"This is stupid," Kanda growled, shoving Lavi off. "And keep the fucking noise down, losers."
"You're just jealous because Rei-chan is hanging out with us instead of making out with you—ow, fuck! That actually hurts!" Ow—Yuu—Rei-chan, help me! My face has to be intact for tomorrow!"
Allen watched Reiichi sigh terribly and continue to eat her ice cream calmly.
"Speaking of which," Lenalee clapped her hands just as the shouts were escalating. "Who are you bringing to the Halloween party tomorrow, Lavi?"
The redhead smirked. "Rei-chan. Easy."
Allen wasn't exactly fond of parties ever since Innocence had their Masquerade ball and the aftermath of it was just something he never wanted to repeat, but at least this time Lenalee was his date, and that was everything he could've asked for.
"You didn't ask Rei-chan, did you, Yuu?" Lavi taunted, and winced when another hit landed on the back of his head.
"Kanda-kun," Lenalee cut in sternly. "How could you?" she demanded, grabbing Kanda by the front of his shirt. "You're her boyfriend! Act like it, god!"
Kanda scoffed. "Just because the Moyashi is a lovesick fool—"
"Don't make excuses," Lenalee warned dangerously, eyes glinting. "Do you want Reiichi to go with you or not? Ask her. Now!"
"But I don't want to go to the stupid party," Kanda grumbled.
When everyone looked at Reiichi, she shrugged and ate another mouthful of the sorbet. "Well…it's…it's kind of expected, isn't it?"
Lenalee whacked Kanda's head for good measure. "I am so disappointed in you," she hissed. "Reiichi!"
"Um, yes?" the female redhead blinked.
"Go to the corridor. Kanda-kun will join you shortly," she smiled sweetly, but there was an edge to it that Reiichi decided she would be better off not protesting.
"And you," the Chinese model yanked Kanda in closer when Reiichi disappeared out of sight. "You are going to ask her to be your date for the party. In clear, distinct words. Do you understand me?"
"Why the fuck do I—"
"I am not giving you a choice," Lenalee intensified her glare. "Do you understand me?" she repeated slowly.
When it seemed like it was still at a standstill, Allen sighed. "Kanda, if you can't even ask Reiichi to—"
"You, shut the fuck up," Kanda threatened, slapping Lenalee's hands off his shirt. "Fine. Whatever," he grumbled, stalking off towards the corridor.
He didn't expect Reiichi to be sitting on the floor leaning her back against the wall when he rounded the corner. She looked up at him with slightly pink cheeks, presumably because she had heard the entire conversation before.
"It's…it's okay if you don't want to," Reiichi said when he sat himself beside her, because Lenalee would kick him if he just went back. "Knowing Lavi, he will ditch us during the party anyway."
Exactly Kanda's point actually. But Lenalee's words were starting to make him feel guilty. Fine, yes, the fact that Reiichi didn't even expect him to do things like these was a tad bit pathetic. And also if he couldn't even ask her something like this, there was no way he was ever going to ask her the other question.
"Do you want me to?" he stated as blankly as he could, staring at the wall in front of him.
He felt Reiichi pause beside him, and a few seconds later, she spoke up quietly.
"Yes," she admitted, face colouring darker.
She heard him move after a while of silence, and when she felt his fingers touch her arm, she jumped. He grabbed her firmly enough to make her face him, and she saw that he had his jaw locked in some sort of determination. He leaned forward close enough that she could feel his breath over her lips when he spoke.
"Rei, go with me."
He wasn't sure if he had ever seen her blush so fiercely, but it was something that started to make his own face feel hot. She stared, mouth slightly agape as she struggling to find words to reply, but all she managed was a jerky head nod. Kanda let go of her after, pressing hand on the floor to get up, but he was stopped when she tugged at his sleeve for his attention. Automatically he tilted his head to meet her mouth when she pulled him in, eyelids sliding close.
Her hands were rising to wrap around his neck when they were startled apart.
"I'm sure asking Rei-chan out didn't have to take that long," Lavi quipped, grinning as he stood at the doorway of the corridor.
"If it's Halloween, why are we wearing this?" Reiichi demanded, tugging at the tight leather miniskirt she was forced into.
Except trying to tug it lower caused her to bend forward enough to feel like she was brandishing her cleavage like a prostitute due to the low cut V neck tank she was wearing underneath a cropped leather jacket. She didn't even have the figure of this kind of thing; it was horrifyingly embarrassing.
"It's the theme," Emilia explained smacking her hands away. "Girls are the hunters, guys are the vampires, though without the glitter," she sniggered. "Your own cousin thought of it, shouldn't you know about these things?"
Still, it didn't warrant her being dressed up like a dominatrix, complete with dark eyeliner and deep red lipstick—even if everyone had similar costumes, it didn't really make her feel better. She really hoped the party had food good enough to make up for it.
"I almost regret coming already," she sighed, trying to cross her arms to preserve her dignity.
"Don't lie," Emilia smirked. "You totally want to see Kanda-sama as a cold blooded sexy vampire."
"And you're just here because you think Kanda will come up to find me," she retorted, scowling to cover her blush.
"Of course," Emilia rolled her eyes. "It'd be so crowded later that I won't get to see what Kaichou made for him, so it's my only chance."
"I'm telling you, he's not coming up. I'm supposed to meet him downstairs—"
"And if he can't find you downstairs, he'll come up to find you," Emilia grinned. "Come on, Reiichi. You owe me for that stitching I did on that dress."
"Can't I pay you back the favour in some other way?" she sighed, pacing about.
Moor had already made her way down to meet with her date, but Emilia absolutely insisted that they should wait even if the party had probably already begun.
"I know you want Kanda-sama just to yourself," Emilia slid her a smirk. "But I'm your friend. Besides, I'm giving you a golden opportunity," she carried on blithely. "You and Kanda-sama might just decide to skip the party for other activities. It's easier when nobody has seen you two yet."
Reiichi scowled at what she was suggesting. "We will not—"
"Rei-chan!" Lavi sang as he burst the door open, with Kanda in tow. "How do I look?"
The male redhead posed with a devious smirk. He had his hair styled messier than usual, and he was wearing a black collared shirt with a few black chokers. Around his hips was a metal studded belt that held a pair of tight dark jeans. She did wonder what sort of vampire he was aiming for, but at least the fake blood that was smeared at the edge of his mouth down his neck and the fake canines made it more recognizable, she supposed.
"Handsome," she admitted and had to smile at the happy beam she received in return.
Kanda in contrast, was dressed in a more regal style. His hair was half slicked back and pulled into a low pony tail at his nape, wearing black underneath a similar coloured intimidating cloak. He was wearing gloves as well that was slightly stained with blood splatters, and likewise, he had a trail of red down his lip. He looked annoyed—or angry—and it helped to serve the whole dangerous creature look. Curiously, his eyes were a glittering silver that kept staring at her form.
She didn't even realize she had switched her gaze to the model until Emilia patted her on the shoulder.
"I…I'll see you downstairs, Reiichi," she sounded like she was in a dream, and gave a dazed wave when Lavi quipped a see you later towards her.
Kanda hated parties. Or anything with huge volumes of people in general. He was not hiding from the crowd as he sat at one of the corners with a table, trying to pretend that he was wallpaper. Already the first hour consisted of him avoiding the girls of his company trying to ask him to dance—those that succeeded were given a curt no—to which his stupid best friend was absolutely no help at all because Lavi was steering Reiichi around instead of ditching them together like he usually did.
Also, he wanted to claw his eyes out. Stupid fucking contacts.
After mingling with most of the people she knew in the office, Reiichi opted to sit down to eat when she found the food table, and that's where they found themselves at.
"Red! Looking good!" Lenalee called as she trotted over when she spotted them, hands holding a plate. "Hey guys."
"Where's the Brit?" Lavi automatically asked, sipping the wine that was going around.
"Where else?" she hummed, smiling.
"Getting more food?" he grinned. "I still don't understand how he keeps his figure. We could earn billions with his secret, Lenalee. Billions."
"He's a growing boy," Lenalee chuckled, settling into a seat with them. "Where's your girl?"
Lavi gave her a smile as he titled his head towards Reiichi. "I told you I was coming with Rei-chan."
"And I told you that doesn't count!" Lenalee retorted. "Huh. Why don't you want to ask a girl out? I'm sure any of the girls in the office would agree."
Lavi shrugged. "Then the rest of the ladies would be jealous. I can't do that!"
Reiichi coughed as she choked on a piece of meat, and Lavi hurried to pat her back as he laughed.
Lenalee frowned. "What about Chomesuke?" she asked. "She's had this crush on you since forever. I'm sure you noticed."
"Well," Lavi ruffled the back of his head with an uncertain expression. "She's a sweet girl—" he carried on quickly when the Lenalee leaned in excitedly. "—and that's why I don't want to lead her on."
"Oh come on, Red, that's the stupidest excuse ever!"
"I'm serious! I'm all about having a good time but only if I know it's not going to get messy," the male redhead stated. "I'm not stupid," he huffed, then a grin slid onto his face. "Unlike Yuu."
"Fuck you," Kanda grumbled. He really wanted to go home, oh why.
Lavi carried on like he didn't hear him. "I can tell when someone is interested and when someone is…interested."
"Sounds like you're just avoiding the issue," Lenalee concluded, frowning. "Is there a reason why you don't want to ask a girl to the party?" she pressed. "Dude, are you gay? Because I know for sure some of the male models are hot for you, and—"
"Woah, woah, calm down, Lena-lady," Lavi raised his finger, taken back at the intensity. "How did you even come to that conclusion?"
"Other than your trysts at the clubs, you don't date girls. Any girl," Lenalee stated. "And so I ask: are you gay?"
At this time Lavi noticed that everyone was actually staring at him and waiting for an answer. Even Kanda, who was leaning his head on his palm in a show of boredom, but there was no doubt that he was listening.
"What," the redhead huffed. "Are you discriminating against me?"
"If anything," Lenalee snorted. "It'd make more sense."
"Wha—" Lavi shook his head and gave a roll of his eye. "If you're so interested to know," he gave an exaggerated sigh. "I like girls. Preferably girls with huge boobs and a vagin—"
"Lavi!" Reiichi kicked him in the shins, glaring.
Lavi would've pouted, but Allen arrived at their table with two more plates of food in hand. He smiled at everyone and placed them down, pushing one towards Lenalee. "I heard these were good, so I thought you'd like to try them."
"Thanks, Al," Lenalee smiled, gesturing him to sit. "We were just talking about how Lavi is potentially homosexual."
Allen cocked an eyebrow. "Only potentially?"
"Dude—" Lavi started, but he was interrupted by the Chinese model.
"Red, how about that guy?" she pointed to her left. "The tall one, leaning over the drinks table to take a plastic cup. Brown hair, kind of spiky. He's one of the new model trainees."
"Hmm?" Lavi craned his neck to take a look. "It wouldn't work. He's not as hot as Yuu."
Kanda froze. "What."
"Rei-chan," the redhead pouted. "Give your boyfriend to me."
Reiichi blinked rapidly, only because she didn't want to spit out the water she was drinking. "W-what?"
"You won't find anyone like Kanda-kun," Lenalee sighed. "Speaking of which, did you ever crush on Kanda-kun, Red?"
"Is this twenty questions Lavi time?" Lavi asked, cocking his head. "Not that I mind, but if you really wanted to get inside of this hot bod—"
"Answer it," Lenalee huffed, cutting off his line of monologue.
Lavi took another sip of his drink before answering. "Sure."
When there was nothing else added on, the fork in Allen's hand clattered to the table.
"Wait, you're being serious?" he demanded, only because everyone else was still too in shock to say anything.
"What, you kids wanted me to be serious!" Lavi huffed, crossing his arms indignantly. "Is it that shocking? Yuu has like forty percent of the straight male population gay for him! I'd bet even Allen, you had a crush on him when you first met him!"
"What—absolutely not!" Allen cried, horrified. "He was a prick! Still is a prick! Who would ever—"
"But he was a hot prick, right?" Lavi insisted.
"I'm right here, you fucking dickwads," Kanda hissed, but his expression looked like he wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.
Lenalee coughed. "Awkward…" she darted a look towards Reiichi and Kanda. "Well. Then, why didn't you go for Kanda-kun yourself?"
"Have you met him?" Lavi demanded, jabbing a thumb towards Kanda who snarled at the action. "Yeah sure, he's pretty as fuck and the whole aggressive demeanour was kind of hot, but of course when I got to know Yuu better, I knew it wasn't going to work out. I mean, look at him," Lavi emphasized, giving Kanda his own stare. "I thought you were asexual."
"What," Kanda spluttered. "What the fuck."
"You never seemed interested in anything except your sword," Lavi explained, and then paused. "Innuendo not intended, but not unwelcomed."
"That doesn't even prove anything!" Kanda growled.
"Of course it does!" he insisted. "Shinosuke Seri threw herself at you and you just shoved her off! You had to be either gay or asexual, and since you never came on to me, then you were clearly in a relationship with your hand!"
"Who the fuck is that?" the model demanded. "And what kind of stupid conclusion—"
"She was that super hot senior with the great ass who stole your first kiss. Every guy wanted some of that and you got it, but nooooo—"
"She was fucking annoying!" Kanda retorted. "She kept pretending to trip in front of me when there was fucking nothing to trip over! Fuck, I have better things to do than to see her hit the floor!"
"Anyone would've died for the chance to catch her!" Lavi grounded out, exasperated. "This is exactly what I mean! You never said anything when I talked to you about girls! Whenever I asked you if a girl was hot or cute you just ignored me and walked off! What else am I supposed to think?"
"You kept shoving me your fucking porn magazine! Why the fuck would I want to be caught holding that and getting expelled for it?"
"Then how the fuck did you get off?"
"You don't need porn for that, idiot!"
"Then what the hell did you jack off to?"
Allen coughed, a palm over his eyes. "As delightfully enlightening as this discussion is going," he sighed. "Can we change subject?"
"What, you're a normal guy, Allen," Lavi nudged him. "Tell him."
"I am not sure what you're asking of me," Allen admitted. "Nor do I want to know. Change the subject. Please."
"I was going to ask if you masturbate with porn, but you'd probably just think of Lenalee and—ow. OW! Okay, I'll stop—OWW—Rei-chan!"
"I'm eating," Reiichi hissed, hand gripping the back of his neck painfully.
"But don't you want to know what Yuu thinks of when he—OW! I GIVE! I PROMISE—OWW, FUCK—"
"So," Lenalee spoke up when Lavi was nursing the bruise on his neck with a whimper. "How about that one, Red?" she pointed to another guy standing in a circle with two other girls talking. "I think he's from Research, and I think he's gay—"
"Katakura Izumo? He's good looking, I'll admit," Lavi peered over his shoulder for a look. "But no go. See the girl on his right? That's his girlfriend."
"Since you remember everyone's names…" Lenalee hummed thoughtfully. "I'm sure someone in the company has caught your eye somehow…"
"Sure, a couple of girls I wouldn't mind having some fun with, but I'm the boss, Lena-chan," Lavi smiled. "Yuu wouldn't survive without me if I was taken to court for harassment. You don't have to worry, you know. I can get girls just fine."
At everyone's raised eyebrows, he pouted. "What? I am hot."
"Until you open your mouth," Allen muttered under his breath.
"What was that, Brit?" Lavi grinned, slinging his arm around Allen's shoulder. "You wanted to sleep with me? Why, I'd be glad to—"
"I said no such thing!"
"Hey, Lena-chan, maybe we can have a threesome—OW OW OW—FINE, NO THREESOME!"
"Good evening, everyone!" Lavi saluted from his position at a small makeshift stage that allowed him a few inches over everyone else. "You should know me because I'm the hotter twin of Yuu—" he snickered to himself. "If not, then you should because I sign your paychecks! Indirectly, anyway," he coughed. "I hope the party's been fabulous but if not, the night is about to begin! We have a couple of hours left so let's play a game!"
When there wasn't much of an enthusiastic response, Lavi grinned wider. "Winner gets an extra week of paid leave!"
As expected, excited cheers erupted.
"So, did anyone wonder about our dress code or tonight?" he winked. "We're doing a showdown between hunters and vampires! Everyone, grab a paint marker and get on the dance floor. Hunters on the left, vampires on the right. Yes, that includes you too, Yuu!" he called when he saw that Kanda was steadfastly seated. "Get your ass here!"
After much cursing and grumbling the model acceded when Allen yanked him over.
"Right. It's going to be a fight to the death. Hunters, you have to draw an X on the vampire's backs to take them out. Vampires, you guys have to draw three slashes like a claw swipe. If you've been marked then return back here so we can do a count. The entire building is open for the game of battle royale, but watch out! There are traps and creatures along the way, so don't get caught!" he pumped a fist into the air excitedly. "Let's see who's the last one standing! Everyone ready? Hunters, you have a five minute head start before the vampires come! Ready, get set, GO!"
"Reiichi! In here, quick!" Emilia whispered hurriedly, shoving both of them into a room, after running up a couple of flights of the stairs.
She was thankful that she was wearing boots and not heels, though she had to wonder why in all parties there was some running or fast walking involved. She let out a scream when she found herself face to face with a skeleton, and flushed with humiliation when she realised it was just one of the creepy displays that decorated their entire office.
"Shh!" Emilia shushed her, ignoring the fact that there was an eerie looking bloodied scythe hung from the ceiling, and pushed them into one of the cubicles.
It was a rather small space for two people. "Where are we?" Reiichi asked, careful to keep her voice quiet.
"Male models' changing room," Emilia answered, peeping out from a small crack in the door. "If anyone comes in we can ambush them, or if there're too many we can lock the door and pretend that no one is in. I am so getting that week of paid leave," she muttered.
They crouched in silence for at least ten minutes, and Reiichi was getting more creepied out by the fact that no one had stumbled in. Then at last, the main door creaked open and the sound of heavy boots entered, stepping cautiously.
"I know someone's in here," the voice called.
"We're not going to catch you," another added, though there was a suppression of a snicker after.
Emilia quickly pulled out her phone to type a message to show to Reiichi.
It's Maosa and Kie. We can take them.
Reiichi shook her head in protest, but Emilia typed another message.
You deal with your fanboy. I can keep Kie busy. ;)
Reiichi grabbed the other's arm in protest but Emilia gave her a stern nod and she swung their door open with a slam, causing the other two to jump in shock.
"FUCK—…oh, it's you two," Kie sighed, clutching is chest. "God, I knew I shouldn't have watched Silent Hill yesterday."
"What are you boys doing here?" Emilia asked, lips curled into a seductive smile. "You think you can take us on?"
"A week of paid leave?" Kie grinned confidently even as Emilia stalked past Maosa right up to him. "I'd do anything."
"What if I can…convince you otherwise?" Emilia smirked, purposely crossing her arms beneath her chest and leaning forward.
It was obvious that the male model was not immune to a girl's assets, because his line of sight was immediately drawn to her admittedly impressive cleavage.
"I think I'd need a little bit more…temptation," he flickered his eyes back up, and then Reiichi and Maosa stared uncomfortably as the two started to make out against the wall.
Reiichi accidentally caught Maosa's gaze just as some groaning was occurring, and she flushed darkly.
"If you two are going to do it, can you please not do it here," Maosa grounded out exasperatedly.
Emilia huffed, dragging Kie by the collar to one of the cubicles, but before she closed the door behind them, she shot a look towards Reiichi meaningfully, cocking her head towards Maosa's direction.
The other two looked at the closed cubicle awkwardly, trying to ignore the immediate sounds of lip smacking.
"Maosa-san," Reiichi turned to the other, pressing her fingers together. "It's been a while."
"Kuroshi-san," he greeted, turning to face her. "H-hi," his eyes flickered down to her chest for a second before he realised what he was doing, and he flushed, quickly tearing his eyes away. "H-how have you been?" he stammered.
"Good, I suppose," she answered. "I heard you topped the training for your batch. Congratulations."
"Well," it was obvious that he was delighted that she knew, and it showed by how he was rubbing his steadily flushing neck nervously. "I wanted to model for Innocence's main clothing lines, so I thought that if I did well I'd have more of a chance…although I know it's usually the seasoned models that do it…"
"I'm sure Yeegar-san wouldn't mind if you asked."
"I did," he admitted. "He said I might be in for next year's Spring collection, but nothing's been confirmed yet," he glanced at her. "It would be great…if I could work with you."
"I'll look forward to that," she smiled.
Maosa's face was coloured red at the response, and truthfully, it was kind of cute the way he covered his face with his hand in embarrassment. "S-sorry. I'm just…happy…to hear that."
"Oi, are you going to confess? Don't forget, she has a boyfriend, and it's Kanda fucking Yuu!"
Both of them startled when Kie's voice filtered in suddenly, and it was clearly Emilia who was snickering in the background.
"I know she has a boyfriend!" Maosa snapped, glaring at the cubicle door. "And I'm not confessing!"
"That would imply that you have something to confess," Emilia mock whispered before she and Kie burst into another round of chuckles.
"You—you two, shut up," Maosa muttered, gripping his fist tight as he stared at the ceiling. "Why does this always happen," he groaned.
Reiichi bit back a chuckle of her own. "Maosa-san?" she ventured, touching him on the arm.
Visibly he tensed and stared at her, eyes widening in surprise. "Y-yeah?"
"Could you turn around for a second?" she asked, guiding the movement before he knew he was following her request.
"Uh, okay," he blinked.
Then he felt a small nib press against his back, and it quickly moved across in an X. When he whirled around Reiichi was capping a paint marker in her hand.
"….Kuroshi-san…?"
Reiichi bowed in apology before she smiled and gave a backwave, escaping out of the room hastily.
Maosa stared. If anything, his blush darkened.
Reiichi sighed when she sat at the foot of the stairs, reminding herself to apologise to Maosa properly another time. Emilia couldn't say that she didn't do her part—it was up to the French girl to deal with Kie, but how she wanted to deal with him was another thing she didn't want to know.
She had cautiously sneaked around the levels, avoiding both hunters and vampires alike. She just wanted to find a safe place to hide in until it was all over. The prize didn't sound bad at all—for once, it was actually a pretty good incentive—and admittedly, there was a thrill in winning.
It seemed like there were less people in the lower levels as everyone had rushed upwards to find somewhere to hide, so she thought maybe the basement would be a good idea. After all, there were Lavi's and Kanda's personal rooms which she was pretty sure no one dared to enter.
But why was the whole place so creepy? She groaned as she clutched her arm tighter, avoiding the stuffed spider pasted on the door and sneaked out of the staircase, entering the corridor of the basement. The entire floor was dark and quiet which was both comforting and not—she had no idea if there was anyone else hiding for an ambush, or maybe it was really empty.
She went into the relax room first, and winced when she saw a coffin sat upright with a figure inside. There wasn't much place to hide anywhere anyway, except under the bed but she really didn't want to hide under a bed—after watching Taken there was no erasing it—so she moved on carefully to the rest of the rooms.
The kitchen was empty, but again there was no place to hide, and curiously, Lavi's room was locked. She moved to try Kanda's room as well, and also found it locked. She was about to turn to try her luck with the design room when a hand covered her mouth from behind and grabbed her still.
"Don't scream," Kanda's familiar voice spoke before she could jam her elbow into the offender. "It's just me."
"Why did you have to do that?" she demanded once he released her, pressing her hand against her chest to will the adrenaline down.
"Someone would've heard you."
"You could just call my name like a normal person," she retorted, and then she remembered that they were on opposite groups of the game.
Well. But Kanda had the chance to draw those three slashes on her back just now, and he didn't.
Both of then froze when they heard footsteps down the staircase, and Reiichi realised that because the basement was an enclosed space, it echoed everything to a much louder volume. Kanda probably heard her coming loud and clear. So much for sneaking in.
Kanda grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her quickly to the dressing room, flinging the closet door open and pushing them both inside. For some reason the lights around the mirror outside was switched on and it filtered into the small closet space. There was total silence since they were in a closed room, but neither wanted to take the chance in case the door was opened.
"Have you seen anyone else?" Reiichi whispered when it seemed like whoever it was, they weren't coming in.
"Only the Moyashi."
She tensed when his voice resonated louder than she expected, even if it was low, due to their close proximity. "So where's Allen now?"
"I kicked him out."
Kanda bristled when she stared at him flatly. "What?"
"Nothing," she sighed, rolling her eyes.
They both froze again when the door outside flung open, revealing Lavi.
"Yuu!" he called, turning around to call again. "YUU! I brought you a paint marker!"
Reiichi's gaze immediately shot to Kanda, who covered her mouth in haste, pressing her against the side of the closet. His stare clearly told her not to say a word.
"Huh, I thought he'd be in here," Lavi muttered to himself. "Maybe he went to find Rei-chan. Oh well," he shrugged, glancing at the closet.
Kanda tightened his grip when it seemed like Lavi knew exactly where they were, but the male redhead hummed to himself again in deep thought and left, calling Kanda's name again.
Reiichi cautiously took Kanda's hand off her mouth when it felt safe to speak again. "You don't have a paint marker?"
"I don't need one," Kanda muttered, relinquishing his grip, but he did not step back.
"…Kanda?" she ventured when they fell into silence again.
"What?"
"If there's something…" she began. "You can tell me. You know that right?"
Kanda blinked. She was looking at him earnestly, emerald eyes shimmering under the dim light.
"You seem a bit…distracted, these few days," she elaborated.
He was immediately aware of the box that he kept in his pocket, and he tapped his fingers against his thigh. "It's…it's not important," he said eventually.
She looked at him as if contemplating his answer, and finally she gave him a smile. "Okay."
Kanda stared at it. She trusted him so much it was ridiculous, especially after he had lied to her once.
And then he smelt paint.
He was almost proud that she actually daringly attempted to draw a cross on his back, but he caught her wrist in time and held it against the closet side. Smirking, he plucked the marker out of her hand easily before catching her other wrist to hold it back as well.
"Let me go!" she scowled, tugging against his strength.
"You wanted to mark me," Kanda stated. "I'll just return the favour."
He stared at her for such a long time like he was contemplating something, and then his line of sight slid down to her cleavage. She saw him run his tongue over his bottom lip, and that was when it dawned upon her what he met by marking.
He leaned forward excruciatingly slow, breath tickling against her neck. She tried to squirm out if it but he was firm in his grip, nudging her jaw up by his nose to bare it for him.
"Don't—don't—" She squeezed her eyes tightly shut when she felt his teeth grazing her skin before he swiped a lick over it.
"Someone will hear you," he muttered against her neck in between the next heated kiss to her throat.
The red on his lips smudged upon her skin, following the slow trail that he took towards the nape of her neck. Her short hair had been gratifyingly satisfying for his easy access whenever he tracked kisses across her neck, he usually didn't have much preference about the way she wore her hair, but maybe he was starting to.
"Kanda—" she gasped quietly when he took his time sucking at a particular spot. "Kanda," she repeated again, this time her voice sounded more pleading than anything.
When he raised his head, he saw that her pupils were blown so wide that the green in them were barely noticeable. She moved quickly to kiss him on the mouth hungrily, and soon he lost himself exploring her mouth, not caring if his lips were starting to be dyed a further red from her lipstick.
Somewhere along the way he had released her hands so that he could run his palms over her lower body, around the waist to pull her closer, and the other skimming up her bare thigh to the edge of her skirt. Daringly he slipped his hand up, pushing the fabric up higher with every deepening kiss.
By now Reiichi had her own hands fisted against his shirt, and it was so easy to unclasp and slip the cloak he was wearing off. It felt so weird to have his touch upon her because he was still wearing his gloves, and she squeaked when he had his hand thumbing her hipbone from how far he had moved his hand up.
She caught his hand when a finger traced her undergarment, blushing. "N-not—not here," she stammered after breaking their kiss.
"Why?" Even as he asked this, he caressed her thigh down in one long movement and then back up again.
"There's no space," she protested, squirming.
"That doesn't matter," he muttered, breath ghosting across her ear. "I can still make you come."
There hadn't been many chances for him to do so especially since Lavi was around 24/7, and it was frustrating because he wanted to try other ways to pleasure her. Even this time it seemed like there were only so little things he could do with how small the space was.
"But—" Reiichi blushed harder, darting her gaze away. It had been five months since the first time he did that but it didn't mean that it wasn't any less embarrassing to put it so bluntly.
Kanda hooked her leg up to fit their hips together in response, and it was very clear of the desire on his part. Reiichi swallowed but she closed her eyes when he moved in to kiss her again, invading her mouth more intensely this time.
She couldn't remember when he slipped the jacket off her shoulders but it was definitely easier to wrap her arms around his neck as his own gloved hands ran down her back teasingly, as if he was just getting started for something else. Just as he managed to draw a moan from the back of her throat, she felt something small moving diagonally in three strokes across her back.
Reiichi froze in mid kiss, realization dawning.
The smell of paint made her nose twitch.
"I can't believe you!" she shoved Kanda as hard as she could, scowling.
Kanda snorted and capped the marker, smirking. "Just returning the favour."
Allen crouched low as he spotted a group of hunters making way towards his direction, hoping that the office tables would hide him sufficiently. Thankfully after an agonizing ten minutes the group of girls deemed that the area was empty, and he sighed in annoyance.
"Stupid Bakanda!" he muttered under his breath, probably a bit too loudly, because suddenly the door on the other side rattled.
"Allen? Is that you?"
"Lenalee?" he blinked, glancing about to make sure there was no one in sight first. "Yeah, it's me."
"I'm stuck inside. Can you pick the lock open?"
Allen frowned but he reached into his pocket for his wallet to find a card that Cross wouldn't kill him should he accidentally break it. It took him about three tries before he managed to wrench it open, almost knocking into Lenalee who was waiting on the other side. It was store room cluttered with various mannequins which would've totally creeped him out, but the lights were on, thankfully.
She steadied him with a beam and hugged him tightly. "Thanks! I thought I was going to be stuck in here forever."
"What happened?" he closed the door behind them quietly for privacy, and hopefully no one would find him in here.
"Nii-san caught me," she huffed, turning around to show him her back with three paint lines. "And then he locked me in here for his stupid idea of protection!"
Allen shook his head. "I guess he didn't want anyone to mark you."
"But I didn't even get to play!" she scowled, crossing her arms. "A week of paid leave sounded great too."
Allen titled his head in thought. "If I win, what do I get? I don't work here."
"Hmm. Maybe you could give the prize to me?" Lenalee smiled.
"Then what would I get?"
"I could do something for you in return," she offered, clasping her hands. "Anything that you want."
"Anything…huh," Allen blinked, eyes suddenly drawn to her exposed cleavage and he quickly forced himself to stare at the door, cheeks turning red.
Damn Lavi for the dress code, because he felt uncomfortable talking to any girl in the party, much less Lenalee.
"Is something wrong, Al?" the Chinese model asked concernedly.
"Uh, no, nothing," he coughed, aware that they were alone. Alone.
"You keep looking away from me," Lenalee observed, peering closer. "You look kind of red too."
"W-well...that's…"
"Is it because of what I'm wearing?"
Allen flushed. While he had seen her in less—her swimsuit for example, it was perhaps the way that her make up was done complete with the kind of air that she held herself with. Leather looked really good on her.
"Y-yeah," he admitted. "Can you…um, zip the jacket up or something?"
"It's okay to look, you know. It's not like I'm naked or anything."
"Lenalee!" Allen cried, horrified. "Can…can you please don't say things like that?"
"Dude," Lenalee frowned. "I'm just—"
"I'm a guy, Lenalee," he bit out, strained. "Please?"
"Oh," she blinked. "Well," she sighed and zipped up the jacket so that her chest was covered, tapping Allen on the shoulder when she was done.
He was blushing hard with some sort of panic in his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean—I mean, it's my fault—"
"Allen, it's alright," Lenalee smiled. "Though, is it true that sex is all guys think about? I mean," she carried on even though Allen started to turn a darker red. "I really thought Reggory loved me. Or at least, he liked me more than just wanting to sleep with me."
Perhaps it was the way that she muttered it, but Allen took her hand into his and met her eyes firmly. "I swear I will never do that to you," he stated.
Lenalee saw how serious he was and smiled. "Because you really love me?"
He nodded, despite the heat traveling to his face.
Lenalee peaked at him underneath her eyelashes shyly. "Is that why you don't kiss me even when we're alone?"
Allen averted his eyes. "I…I don't want to get carried away. I won't forgive myself if I did something that you don't want."
"But...what if I want you to?"
"Lenalee…?" he swallowed.
"When Reggory touched me, I…I was so scared," she continued softly. "But…if it's you…if it's you Allen, I don't think I'll mind."
When Allen just continued to stare at her, Lenalee started to feel self conscious and blushed. "W-why are you looking at me like that?" she demanded.
That seemed to snap him out of his stupor. "Because…well…" he rubbed his neck nervously. "Well…" he didn't actually know what to say in response.
Lenalee didn't push for his hesitance; instead, she took his hands and encircled them around her waist. "I trust you, so kiss me?"
Allen flickered his gaze to her eyes cautiously, and she saw him swallow in nervousness. But slowly he leaned forward to brush his lips upon hers. He let his eyelids slide close and pressed her closer, feeling her wrap her arms around his neck in contentment.
It was only when she parted her mouth and coaxed his lips to open that he met her tongue hesitantly. The first time that she French kissed him he had been afraid Komui would suffocate him in his sleep for the line of thought his mind went—and he never dared to start it in case he never stopped.
But, god, she tasted better than anything he knew, and he kissed her reverently, deepening it with every brush of their tongues together. With a lot of restraint he made sure that his hands did not deviate from her waist, even when she moaned quietly into his mouth, the temptation held back from a tighter curl of his fingers.
Then Lenalee broke the kiss, leaning back to breathe heavily.
"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, worried.
"I needed to breathe, Al," Lenalee chuckled.
"I—sorry!" he dropped his hands immediately, frantic. "I didn't mean to kiss you for so long, I—I just—"
Lenalee laughed. Eyes shining, she grabbed his hands to fix them back around her waist before meeting his mouth again, effectively ending his monologue.
"Huh," Lavi raised his eyebrows as both Allen and Kanda stood at the stage, the only ones without a mark on their backs after the time limit was up. "It's you two again. Do you guys want to kiss again, or—OWWWW—IT WAS JUST A JOKE!"
It almost sucked that because he had enough demand for his work that Kanda could actually chose the shoots that he wanted to do, and thus the week of paid leave didn't exactly apply to him. Maybe if it was leave away from his stupid best friend—then maybe it would be pretty enticing.
But, he wondered, why was it that when he wanted to find the rabbit, the said person was nowhere to be found?
He assumed Lavi would've came over in the morning or afternoon since he spent the entire previous day running chores for Bookman, but there was no sign of the redhead, and Reiichi was watching some kind of show that he had no interest in in her room. He didn't want to call Lavi so he ended up waiting in the living room pretending that he wasn't waiting—and once the redhead burst through the front door in the evening, he dragged the other back out by the neck and shoved him into a car of his choice.
"Wha—where are we going?" Lavi demanded, hastily putting the seat belt on the moment Kanda floored the accelerator. "Are we late for our date that I had no idea about?"
Kanda rolled his eyes and scowled, cursing the fact that he had to do this.
"Seriously, dude, aren't you forgetting Rei-chan at home?"
"I need to talk to you."
Perhaps he sounded grave or something to that effect, because Lavi blinked and looked at him slowly. "It's not cancer right? Please tell me it's not cancer."
"What the fuck—" Kanda glared at him. "What cancer?"
"I dunno, why else are you kidnapping me to talk?" Lavi frowned. "If you wanted some heart to heart man talk we could do it in your room. Or are you scared that I'm going to jump you since I told you about the man crush thing?" he raised his eyebrows. "That was like, so last decade. Anyway, even if you can make me swing that way, your personality still sucks okay. The aftermath is so not worth a quick fuck with you."
"I don't want to know," Kanda snapped.
"Then why do we have to go out to talk? Not that I'm not thrilled about it. So, where are we going? Are we going to have a romantic candlelit dinner?"
"Can you just shut up?"
"But we're going somewhere! Alone! Together! And you're the one taking me!"
Kanda gritted his teeth and tried not to crash the car.
Lavi only fell silent when Kanda parked the car and he realised where they were. He wasn't exactly sure if Kanda really wanted to bring him to the cemetery of all places—as far as he knew, Kanda didn't know anyone who was buried there. He followed behind Kanda quietly as the model led him to the place he came to every month—the graves of his and Reiichi's parents.
When he turned to look questioningly at Kanda, the other was steadfastly not meeting his gaze, so he sighed and knelt down on one knee with a smile, touching the engraved tombstone.
"Tou-san, kaa-chan," he greeted. "Big shocker, but Yuu brought me here to visit. Not exactly sure why," he chuckled, glancing at Kanda again. "Maybe he'd be so kind as to say something…?"
Kanda huffed at the obvious jab to make him speak. He nudged Lavi to shuffle a bit to the side and sat down on the ground beside him. When it was all silence for the next few minutes, Lavi turned his attention to clearing the stray dead leaves.
"I guess it was about time to visit anyway," he spoke softly. "We had this party last week, and you should've seen Rei-chan," he smiled fondly. "She was so beautiful. Maybe she'll tell you about what she did in the closet with Yuu," he grinned, noticing the alarmed expression that suddenly flashed across Kanda's face. "Got anything to defend yourself with?" he elbowed Kanda with a snicker.
"I wasn't—we weren't—" Kanda grounded out, scowling. "It's none of your business."
"Or are you just embarrassed to admit your un-pure intentions towards Rei-chan?" Lavi teased.
Kanda glared at him as the other chuckled to himself. The model trained his hard gaze back to the tombstone and took a deep breath.
"I…I want to ask Rei."
The redhead tilted his head. "Ask…?"
Lavi patiently waited as he watched Kanda struggle for words to elaborate, and eventually the other scowled and took out the small box he kept in his pocket. When it was passed to him, Lavi turned it over in his fingers curiously, and stared when he opened it to find a small circle of silver.
He hadn't seen the particular ring before. There was no inscription anywhere on it, but on the inside there was an indentation, to which at closer inspection, contained a diamond inside.
"Uh," Lavi gaped, blinking. "I'm flattered, I really am, but I can't accept this."
"For f—" Kanda growled, obviously retraining his habit to swear due to their location. "Usagi!" he snapped. "For once in your life can you be serious?"
"You just gave me a diamond ring! What else am I supposed to think?" Lavi huffed, raising his hands in a show of surrender when Kanda snatched it back.
"It's not for you, obviously," Kanda grumbled.
"Obviously," Lavi rolled his eye. "You could just say in simple words: I want to marry her. Five simple words, Yuu," he shook his head. "You said you wanted to talk. So, what about it?"
The model scowled harder and kept quiet.
"Yuu," Lavi frowned. "If you brought me here because you wanted to ask for permission, I'm not going to give it."
Immediately, Kanda startled. "Why?" he demanded. "You keep saying shit all the time and now when I'm serious—"
"Are you?" Lavi raised an eyebrow. "I have to say I'm immensely surprised that this," he gestured between them, "is happening. Why now? Are you doing this because you want to have sex with her?"
Kanda spluttered. "What the fu—" he shut his mouth before the swear slipped. "That…that is not the reason."
Not the main reason, at least.
"Then?" the redhead prompted.
Kanda muttered under his breath. "…There isn't going to be anyone else."
"Okay…" Lavi hummed. "What else?"
"Even… even if Lulubell wasn't lying, she would've stayed with me," Kanda continued reluctantly. "I want her to stay with me."
"She can do that as your girlfriend," the other stated calmly. "In fact, she's already doing that. So what's the difference?"
Damn Lavi.
Damn Lavi to hell.
He knew the redhead was just testing to see how far he would go, but the thing was, he had five months to think about it, and more than ever, he knew he wanted to do this. Maybe it was fast, maybe he was getting ahead of himself and maybe Lavi thought it was insane—the thought was laughable, because of the redhead's own reputation—but he wanted to do this. It reminded him of the first time that she had called him by his first name.
It was something that he thought was an indulgence for a daydream but in reality was with attachments that he weren't ready for, but he was now.
This was just the first step towards it.
"I want to," he said, flickering his gaze over to Lavi. "I want to ask her."
The redhead paused. "You do know that she might not agree right?"
"I'll wait."
The answer was fast and firm, and Lavi knew that Kanda meant every word. He wanted to hug the man because he was so proud of his best friend—this scenario never would've happened in his dreams. He kept his grin hidden.
"Have you thought about how you're going to ask her?" the redhead pressed. "Or when?"
When there was complete silence for more than a minute and with how Kanda's expression was starting to scrunch up hilariously—including a red flush not due to the weather, Lavi finally let his real expression through.
"Lucky for you," Lavi sang happily, clapping his hands together. "I have a couple of ideas in mind."
Kanda regretted that he ever did this when he saw the smirk on Lavi's face.
Fuck, he was not going to hear the end of it now.
"Still up?" Lavi asked when he slipped into Reiichi's room to find her sprawled on her bed reading a manga.
She closed it when he came over to sit down. "Was waiting for you," she replied.
"For me or for Yuu?"
"Kanda came back a long time ago," she ignored the teasing tone in his voice. "Where did you go?"
"Had some chores to run," he responded. "Ahh, I'm so tired," he yawned.
She brushed his hair back, petting his forehead. "Well, go brush your teeth. I'm tired too."
"Rei-chan?" he caught her fingers before they left, bringing them to his lips.
"Hmm?"
"Would you marry Yuu?"
He heard her pause and shift until she shuffled next to him.
"What kind of question is that?" she asked, watching him cover her hand with both of his.
He pouted. "Why can't I ask that? Would you?"
"Now? It's…it's…" she looked towards the window, avoiding his gaze. "Too early for that, isn't it?"
Lavi smiled at the faint blush on her cheeks, and leaned so that he could rest his head on her shoulder.
"Do you think I can give you away, be Yuu's best man and the ring bearer?" he hummed thoughtfully.
"Maybe if you split yourself into three."
Lavi chuckled at the deadpan tone. He sighed, wrapping his arms around her waist to hug. He was really more tired than he assumed, and his eyelid slid close. Reiichi petted his hair for a few moments, but the motion stopped just as he was drifting off.
"Lavi?"
"Hmmm?"
"Are you really okay with Kanda and I?"
"Sure," he responded with his closed eye. "I won't snatch Yuu away, if that's what you're worried about."
"…You know what I mean."
Lavi swallowed. He lifted his head off her shoulders and fixed his gaze upon his feet. Reiichi would see through him if he tried to avoid the question again, but he didn't exactly know how to fit what he felt in words.
He was okay with it—more than okay, because Kanda made her happy and that was what that really mattered.
But.
"It gets lonely sometimes," he murmured. "That's all."
Reiichi bit her lip and Lavi panicked when he glanced at her and saw that she looked like she was about to cry.
"Rei-chan, it's okay!" he hurried to assure her, cupping her face. "It's not a big deal, I'll get over it, don't worry!"
"But…I don't want you to be lonely," she admitted, unable to stop the tears from slipping down. "I want you to be happy."
"I'm happy as long as you don't forget about me," he chuckled, palming away her tears. "I'm happy as long as you are happy," he murmured, pressing their foreheads together. "I'm happy as long as you love me."
She hugged him tight. "Always," she promised. "Always."
A/N:
I started crying when I wrote the line of Lavi admitting that he was lonely and I guess I couldn't exactly write much for that whole part because it just made me too sad OTL I am sorry guys
Special thanks to 6teenana1 who suggested a Halloween party. I don't think I took everything from the prompt, but I hope it turned out enjoyable nonetheless. A couple of you also wanted more Allena action, and Lavi/Reiichi bonding for unknown player.
Boo, I wanted Allen to kiss Reiichi by accident in here but I guess I couldn't make it fit in, so read'it'but'dont'believe'it, it'll hopefully happen in the next chapter. :D
For some reason Lenalee and Lavi can really talk when I write them together…they always dominate the conversation and I struggle to put the rest in. I basically just wanted Lavi insisting why he thought Kanda was asexual for lulz
(deviating: I actually had a thought of writing a LaviOC wherein Lavi is a pop idol with an asshole stage personality, but actually he's a total dork in RL. So he whines to Kanda all the time about how he really doesn't like acting like that and because they're always both seen together, everyone speculates they're gay together but plot twist: Kanda is asexual (for real) lolllllllll
If I had a proper plot for this I'd totally write it, but eh)
So yep, yep, we're into the epilogue series, which I figure will be about 10 chapters or so (THERE ARE MORE THINGS TO HAPPEN)—if I don't get lazy to write them all out, that is.
(Should I write Tyki a girl (or guy)? The thought is hilarious…)
TTFN.
