White Demon, Red Scribe
A D Gray-Man and Assassin's Creed Revelations Crossover
Allen was confused. He didn't know what he was doing and the only thing he could do now was to turn around and hope that Lavi was just going to follow him. He didn't like these kinds of situations. He felt cornered and small - something he was afraid of. How should he react? What should he do? A person he thought he was never going to see ever again just turned up in the city, casual and goofy as ever, not even realizing what kind of chaos he just made.
Allen forced himself to chill. No stress, no worry. He needed to stay calm. All they needed to do was talk.
Yes. Good food, some fresh tobacco, and a drink and everything will be fine.
He glanced back to see if they were following and for some reason his heart decided to skip a few beats when he saw the redhead behind him.
Why was he suddenly so scared?
Despite that it went unspoken, Lavi could tell by the somewhat stiff way that Allen moved, and a subtle nervousness in the other's glance, that he was uneasy. He supposed that was only natural, though. They hadn't seen each other in a full decade, and his showing up was about as unexpected and impromptu as it had been when he'd left unannounced all those years ago.
He decided not to draw attention to it though, instead trying to lighten the mood with some familiar, teasing banter, laughing aloud casually.
"You've grown since I last saw you," he tossed out there. "No longer that short, scrawny little 'sprout you were back then! But, I-" He paused for dramatic effect, leveling one hand over his own head, then sliding it above Allen's, and the few inches of difference in their height with a mischievous smile. "...am still taller than you."
Allen huffed indignantly at that. Again with the 'shorty' thing.
"You still won't let that slide, eh? Dios, why do you both have to be such assholes!" he blurted out before he could stop himself. Punishing himself with biting his own tongue without looking too guilty, he quickly tried to change the subject. "I mean, err... we're here. Welcome to the Assassin's den," he said as he pushed the door open and walking in.
Lavi couldn't help but laugh. Seemed he wasn't the only one who liked to poke fun at Allen's height, though he couldn't help but wonder who the other 'asshole' was that the man referred to, since it sounded more personal than a simple acquaintance. It didn't really bother him though since he knew that it was more than reasonable for Allen to have developed other relationships in the ten years since they'd last seen each other.
He didn't get the chance to ask, however, as he was escorted inside, and immediately met with stares of curiosity and suspicion. It looked like he'd have his work cut out for him, in regards to earning any sort of favor with them. He merely plastered a friendly smile on his face though, not one to be intimidated easily, and offered a small, sweeping wave of his hand.
The little celebration of the successfully finished mission was still ongoing, however, as soon as Lavi stepped in, a whole bunch of people just turned around and stared at them. Or more specifically - stared at Lavi. Allen mentally cursed as he shot the messenger assassin a dirty look. He really should have seen this. And he felt like half of the den needed a proper scolding for being so obvious.
"How many people have you talked to before you came to me?" Allen growled, overcoming his urge to drag his palm across his face.
"Only a few," the assassin said, shrugging. Another frowny loom from the white haired man made him continue. "You were the one who taught me to be safe rather than sorry, kardes."
"Ah come on! It's not like I can't take care of myself!" Allen sighed, marching to each group of assassins, trying to assure them that the new arrival was not a threat at all.
The messenger seemed like he wanted to say something more but he bit his lip tightly and sighed, shifting his eyes back to Lavi.
"You are being watched. Try not to do anything funny."
And with that he left to talk to Allen again, telling him that he will take care of the rest of the assassins.
Lavi's single uncovered eye swept about the room as he followed Allen, taking everything in in an instant. A wood structure with fine rugs and pillows scattered about for seating and lounging, hanging incense canisters that trailed smoke into the air, tables and desks to the further walls that looked like they were probably work stations, and book shelves - he was deeply interested at taking a peak through those books. What sort of knowledge could they contain? What sort of hidden secrets known only amongst the assassin order, and soon enough if he played his cards right, to the hidden vaults of the Bookman clan?
There was also the tinge of something in the air that wasn't incense... was that tobacco? That one gave him the most amount of pause. Did Allen smoke now, or was it just the other guys that did it?
Of course the other male was a fully grown man now, so it wasn't a big deal, but it wasn't one of those things that he would have guessed. Ten years was a long time though. People changed. He knew that he'd changed over the years, so it was a no-brainer that Allen would be somewhat different as well, and he would have to operate on that knowledge, and get to know him as he was now, not merely go off of how he had been before.
"This is a nice place," he whistled as he followed Allen closely, not terribly concerned with the warning of the other Assassin. He certainly wasn't going to try and make any enemies here, but their opinions of him hardly mattered in the end. So long as he had all of his limbs and extremities intact, and nobody tried to kill him, then everything was just fine.
Slumping down in a pile of cushions, Allen finally allowed himself to rub his face with his hands. So much chaos for so little. They were all just being ridiculous... but at least he got the best spoils from time to time. Guess their little overeprotectiveness payed off as well. And it was not like he would be the same in this kind of situation if it involved anyone else anyway.
"Lavi, please stop staring at the books so hungrily," he commented, pointing his finger at a pile of pillows right next to him, implying he should sit down. " I don't want them to catch fire from your eager staring."
"Hey hey hey! I'll have you know that stares alone are not enough to start fires," Lavi quipped when Allen told him to turn his attention somewhere other than their book collection. "-otherwise I'd have been burned to cinders by now with some of the glares you've given me in the time I've known you," he teased, setting his bag aside - which was of quite decent size - next to the spot where he chose to sit amongst a small pile of pillows.
The redhead hadn't change that much. Well, he had… but some things remained the same. Allen couldn't help but smile.
Yes. Some things never change.
Allen took his while to watch his friend's face carefully - taking in the familiar shade of red mane (which was considerably longer than it was ten years ago), the mischievous yet sharp glint in his only eye, as well as the broadness of his chest. He has really grown into a proper man now.
Reaching for his own clean chin as he watched Lavi's little stubble, he pursed his lips. Now he felt a little subconscious about himself. Lavi would surely look good with a beard, in a rugged kind of way but still good. Allen's little bare chin reminded him that not only was his hair white and therefor very easy to miss but also that the lack of hair in certain places was probably not a very normal thing for a 25 year-old-or-so man.
But whatever.
"So Lavi," Allen started as soon as his friend took a seat, "I-" he stopped himself, thinking carefully about what to say. They probably started off on the wrong foot and talking about serious things was probably not a good idea after he lost his temper just a few moments ago. Quickly glancing around and sighing as he spied a number of eyes glaring dagger at the redhead, Allen decided to start their conversation properly this time. "Tell me about your journeys." He smiled, huffing.
He smiled as Allen invited him to start talking about his travels, immediately opening his mouth to begin, but didn't get the chance as Allen suddenly declared, "Wait!", struggling to stand up from the very comfortable pillow pile and dashed to the nearest room.
Lavi just sat and stared at Allen's receding back with mouth still hanging partially agape for a few following seconds. He quietly grumped to himself and shifted to get more comfortable, waiting for the other man to return. When he did, it wasn't with what Lavi was expecting; a hookah, pack of fresh tobacco and a bit of coal, bringing it back only to laugh at the face Lavi was making. The mix of confusion, humor and genuine surprise his friend showed was something he would pay to see again.
Allen sat down huffing out a short laugh and started to prepare the pipe.
"Now you can tell me about your journeys."
Lavi shook off his surprise like water on a dog when Allen prompted him to begin, hoping he wasn't about to be interrupted again.
"Ahaha, where do I even begin...? It's been a busy ten years, I tell ya. I've been all over the map; Portugal, Spain, France, Iran, Pakistan, India, China... all sorts of places, and not just going one direction either. Gramps had us on the move pretty much all the time, hopping from one country to the next chasing information and stuff going on in the world, working on our studies. I think I'm lucky I got any sleep at all, and you know how much I love my sleep. That old man of mine can be a real slave driver when he puts his mind to it."
"Of course." Allen smirked, stuffing the tobacco into the little bowl on the top of the hookah, carefully trying to balance the charcoal on the top of it. "You and your sleep. So, what demons are you hunting this time?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at him and feigning nonchalance.
That was the thing he was wondering about the most. He hadn´t heard any interesting or serious rumors about anything yet, so either Lavi was here for a holiday – which was as probable as the chance that Allen was ever returning to Italy – or something real big was about to happen. Allen had his stakes on the latter because the clan of Bookmen always flocked around big historical events just like vultures did around carcasses.
"Well to be honest, the place I was most interested in exploring and was hoping to go to is that place across the Atlantic that people have been buzzing about on the coast, the Indies. Gramps and I are sure it's a completely new, unexplored land, and ya don't exactly find unexplored islands or an unknown continent every day. 'chance like that only comes around once in a lifetime," he gushed, catching himself before he could spill all his guts on exactly how big of an excitement the very idea was, and how many new things no one had ever even thought might exist before could be found there. New kinds of people, new plants, new animals... Hell, new everything. It was like the equivalent to a big old juicy stake hung in front of a starving dog.
"Unfortunately for me and fortunately for you though, I got sidetracked by current events on this side of the world. 'seems as though things have been a bit tense over here between the Byzantines and the Ottoman around here, and then I heard that you were here too, and I couldn't simply pass on by without even saying hello. I figure something worth recording is bound to happen here. Power shifts are pretty much always just powder kegs waiting to blow, and if something happens elsewhere in one of the other nearby countries instead... we-ll... strategically, this is a good place to be positioned to head in whatever direction events take me."
Allen's heart leaped into his mouth. If Lavi "heard he was here too" it was a big chance many others caught his scent.
"O-oh, yeah... what a coincidence. 'didn't think I was that famous."
Try not to think about it, just don't think about it. Allen repeated in his mind, chuckling nervously, hoping that he managed to conceal his unease. He should probably keep it low from now on. Lavi went on with his excited chatter and Allen couldn't help but smile affectionately. Still the good old Lavi.
"To be honest, I am not that much into politics - but I have to agree: the Byzantines are rather pushy. Missions are getting more and more complicated with every day. We also have a lot of new guys coming in - many are tired of the Byzantine oppression but it is harder to train them properly. Two of our dens were overrun and taken over by them." He shook his head. "We've been meaning to do something about it but there's only so many of us." Allen said.
Taking along drag from the pipe, Allen offered it to Lavi.
"Here, try it. The best tobacco you've ever tasted. The coffee is also good but I'm afraid we're out. Gonna need to organize another raid for the Byzantines' many food supplies."
"Yeah. 'seems there are a few that heard the 'white demon' was around. Not many... but some people like to talk." Lavi shrugged. "That reputable nickname of yours stuck, 'seems like." He laughed lightly as Allen handed him the pipe. "Funnily enough, you'd think that hardly anyone would know the difference considering the standard assassin color is white."
From the corner of his eye, Allen caught a glimpse of the messenger assassin staring at Lavi from behind a curtain with a deep frown. Giving him a short, confused look, he turned his attention back to Lavi.
"So, where have you left your old man?"
Lavi paused a moment to give the pipe in his hand an uncertain look. He'd smelled tobacco plenty of times, since Bookman liked to smoke, but never actually tasted it. That was a whole new experience on his part. He'd had a few chances, but it had rarely crossed his mind.
" 'last place Gramps and I were in together was India. 'seems the Portuguese have it out for them right now, so he's out there keeping record of what's going on."
He smiled in a smug sort of way, absently fingering the long, silver earrings he was wearing now to replace the rings he'd used to wear.
"I'm no longer just an apprentice, so I'm not required to tag along at his heels anymore. You're looking at a full-fledged Bookman, now!" He couldn't help but boast a little, that being a big deal to him, something he'd trained to be since before he even met Allen. "Of course, I'm not high enough rank that I don't still have to send him the occasional report and keep him updated on my progress, but I'll get there one day, hopefully before that old man finally kills over. I'm pretty sure at this point that there are fossils younger 'an he is!" He laughed aloud at this point. " 'And the best part is, I can finally say that without him trying to bludgeon me over the head for it!"
"Oh! Congratulations are in order then! Finally climbing to the top, eh?" Allen laughed, feeling genuinely happy for Lavi.
Finally promoted. He truly grew up.
A cough interrupted his musing as Lavi finally gave in to trying the tobacco.
"Man, that is some strong stuff!" Lavi choked out. Allen burst out laughing, doubling over and clutching his gut.
"Man, if you could see your face!" The white haired man laughed again, wiping some tears from his eyes. "This is like the mildest, most delicious tobacco ever!" He said sitting up straight again and leaning over. "Look, just… have you ever smoked anything? You need to breathe it in," he said, catching Lavi´s hand with his, turning it so that he could put the pipe into his mouth and breathed in, pausing for a second, "and you breathe it out. Easy! Try it aga-"
Lavi was almost embarrassed to say that, no, he hadn't smoked before. He'd tried plenty of other habits, just not smoking. He didn't mind Allen showing him how, but it seemed that lesson was over.
Before Allen had the chance to finish his sentence, the main door of the den slammed open and an assassin stumbled in, clutching his shoulder. It was as if the time stopped and everyone stopped and turned to see what was going on.
"The Byzantines! They are attacking the Bayezid den!"
Allen jumped to his feet in that second, dashing to the seemingly injured man. Lavi turned his head to watch them, not immediately jumping up like Allen, but paying close attention none the less.
"İyimisin kardesim? Rest for now, we are going to take care of it. Lavi can you fight?" Allen asked in a serious voice.
Lavi pushed himself to his feet, flipping open the top of his bag to retrieve a multi-sectioned item that he unfolded and snapped together into one long pole-arm with a chain at least a foot long hanging off one end, slinging it over his shoulder. He managed to do it quickly, but at the same time nonchalantly, like he wasn't in any huge hurry.
" 'course I can, and I got time to kill. The exercise will be a good work-out anyway." He nodded to Allen with a thin smile for him to take the lead.