A/N: Here's the next chapter! Read and Review people! lol
Disclaimer: D. Gray Man belongs to Hishino Katsura
Redemption
Someone will put you back together again
No... your the only one
You dont need me anymore, let go
I might not need you but i want you
What about him? He'll put you together again
---
Because you can't get rid of me...I'm not going any where
Yes...Yes I will
The day you do is the day we both die
I can live without you, you need me to survive
Ha what will you be then without me? You'll have no purpose
"Allen…shouldn't you slow down?" Shante asked chewing a piece of lamb. Allen's hunger had kicked into overdrive from the long train ride and the teen was scarfing down close to 20 more plates of a wide variety of Turkish cuisine.
"Mope," he replied through stuffed cheeks, Tim nibbling his left overs.
Lavi finished the lest of his chish kebab and said, "You know your not use to eating this type of food, it might not agree with your bottomless pit of a stomach."
"Everything agrees with my stomach," Allen said before taking a long drink of Ayran. The two watched as he finished the cup in under five seconds and waved to the waiter for another one.
"How can you drink that so easily?" the girl pondered aloud. She had been barely able to drink any of the yogurt, water, and salt mixture called Aryan. It resembled milk and tasted nothing like it. Upon Allen's request the trio had ordered the drink in an attempt to try something "new." Allen loved it, while the other two retreated back to their water.
"What? Its good," the youngest replied.
Shante shook her head and returned to eating her dessert: a fried pastry baked in syrup called kadayif. Lavi leaned back in his chair, looking full and satisfied.
"Okay, well don't come complaining to us when your shittin all day." Shante chuckled and Allen frowned.
After eating their fill at the Inn, the group headed up to their rooms. It was still early in the day and their finder wouldn't be there till the next day to catch the train with them to Izmir. They decided to do some sightseeing with out excorsist uniforms to avoid attention if their were any akuma or Noah near by.
"Are you ready?" Shante stepped into the boys' room, fully changed. She wore a cream colored blouse, with frills around the buttons. She opted to wear pants instead of a skirt in case of an unexpected battle. Her plaited hair was loose and spilled over her shoulders and back.
Lavi sat on his bed shaking his head and pointed toward the bathroom.
"Oh"
Allen could be clearly seen hunched over the tiolet holding his stomach.
"It just keeps coming," he whined and loud, suggesting splashes came after, followed by coughing. Shante walked over to the bathroom, the smell of vomit assaulting her nostrils. Scrunching her face she squatted down to rub the youngster's back.
"Poor thing." She threw a slight frown over her back at Lavi.
"Oww, I feel terrible," Allen's hair was wild and his face red and sweaty, his icy grey eyes held pools of water in them.
"Told you moyashi," Lavi said, grinning and removing his headband, flaming hair falling around his face.
"My name is Allen!" he growled, glaring at his friend.
"At least its not the other end..."
"Shut up!"
Shante put a wet rag to the child's forehead, "Lavi leave him alone" She helped him up and laid him on the bed. "You stay in bed and try to drink some tea...or something that won't mess with that stomach of yours" She pulled the covers over him. His innocent face looked so sweet, bringing a smile to her face.
"We'll stay here with you," she assured. Lavi frowned. He had been dying to roam the city since they first received news of the mission. Now Moyashi was fucking it up.
"No, you two go ahead, I'll be fine. I've been here with Master...(his face looked queasy ) before so I've seen everything there is to see. You two have fun, "Allen smiled sincerely and waved them off.
Lavi let a small grin play on his face.
"But-" Shante protested.
"If somethings wrong I'll sen Tim to get you guys"
Satisfied, Shante muttered "okay" before turning to Lavi.
"See Allen's fine, its impossible for anything to be wrong with Allen permanately. The way he can bounce back from anything is weird." Lavi assured, grabbing the girl's hand and headed toward the door.
Once the door shut, Allen turned to Timcannpy who had taken a seat on the pillow beside his head.
"I told you it would work," he teased pulling a tiny bottle from his pocket, waving it.The drink, made courtesy of the science department of the Order, had done its job in making Allen sick temporarily. Still feeling nauseous he grinned before rolling over to sleep for a while.
In the City
Istanbul was perhaps the most crowded cities the young woman had ever been to. There were people bustling about everywhere, stands with people selling corn, bread, and nuts. She loved how friendly everyone was but held onto Lavi's hand so as not to get lost.
"I told you this city is great," Lavi teased as they headed toward the square. It was the historical center of Istanbul, called Stamboul; the Blue Mosque , Topkapi Palace, and the Hagia Sophia were all located in it. A wonderful fountain surrounded by a park stood in the middle of it all. Reaching the open park, Lavi felt her hand slide out of his as she ran to the fountain. Lavi followed.
"Its gorgeous," she said touching the water. It was lukewarm and crystal clear.
Lavi shrugged, putting his hands behind his head, "I've seen better." He grinned, then smiled once the girl realized what, or rather who, he was referring to. He sat down in the edge of the fountain while Shante sat on the grass, her arm over the edge, fingertips lightly touching the water. Lavi watched as she made invisible designs in the water. He smiled, enjoying the way she appreciated the simple things in life, which he had little time to do. He soon found himself dipping his fingers into the fountain, his hand barely touching hers.
Shante looked up at the older teen and grinned slightly. He smiled back and let his pinky hook onto hers. She wanted to move her hand, but felt compelled by something else to leave it there.
"Lavi?" the girl called. The red head met her eyes. "What is it rookie?"
Shante flicked water onto his face, "Thats Ms. Bonner to you baka usagi"
Lavi grinned, "You know, you and Yuu are more alike than you think. You both tend to use foul language," he arched an eyebrow at this. " And your even starting to call me the same thing he does"
Shante shrugged beating back the urge to curse at the moment at being compared to the insufferable raven-haired teen.
"But no, what is it?" he asked.
Shante squinted her eyes, blocking the reflection of the sun from the water. "Where are you from?" She had always pondered the young man's origins. She knew Allen was British the moment he opened his mouth, Marie still had a slight French accent, and the others had told her their origins. But Lavi...out of the time they had become friends, never mentioned his.
Lavi bit his lip and stared at nothing in particular. His pinky tightened around hers. "To be honest...I dont know" Shante felt guilty for bringing the question up when she saw the distant look on his face.
"I'm sorry I didnt mean to upset you," she apologized. Lavi waved his had, "Its okay" He looked distant again.
"I can remember my mother, a little" he admitted. Shante looked at him, intent on learning more about him.
Lavi closed his green eye. "I had to be no more than five or six. It was raining. We were walking, to where I dont know. I dont remember the country either. I remember holding onto her hand while we pushed past people. I remember our clothes were...whats the best way to say this? Shitty, so its safe to say we were poor. We walked into a inn or something like it... she sat me down and looked me in the eyes. I can't remember her face clearly, but I do remember her eyes. They were the same color as mines..."
The woman gazed into her son's eyes, moving his damp red hair out of his face. The child's bright green eyes were bright with life. He sat swinging his legs and smiled.
"Momma..what are we doing here?" he asked. He had always been an inquisitive child. The woman, no older than her mid twenties smiled through hurt eyes.
"Were going to get something to eat and stay for a while," she lied. The woman felt her heart break as he wrapped his arms around her neck, pulling her into a loving hug.
"Thanks momma!" he pulled back and saw tears streaming down her face.
"Why...why are you crying?" he asked, concerned for his mother. She quickly wiped them away and stood up.
"Oh its nothing. Don't worry yourself my little one," she ruffled his hair. He frowned, knowing something was wrong. "Momma..?"
She quieted him with a finger, "Shh dont fret. Now I'm going to clean up. I'll be right back."
The red head nodded, but felt like crying. He didn't like the way she said "right back." Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
"You promise?"
She bit her lip and squeezed his hand, "I promise"
Standing she turned and walked toward the rest room. The younger "Lavi" sat, looking around the room with anticipation, impatiently waiting for her return. He sat swinging his legs and twirling his thumbs around each other.
The young woman stood, hidden behind a wall near the rest room which was close to the exit. Hot tears spilled down her face as she gripped her shawl. She didnt want to, but she knew it must be done. She could no longer take care of him. He was intelligent and wonderful, he deserved a better life. Someone would take him in, she was sure of it.
She watched as he fidgeted impatiently waiting on her. No longer able to look at him, she pulled the shawl on her head and turned , running out of the door.
"I'm sorry Jacob"
Little Jacob sat waiting for minutes. The minutes grew longer and longer. Many customers came and asked him why he was alone, but he smiled and said he wasn't, that his mother would be back soon.
"She's coming" he kept telling himself. "She wouldnt leave me"
The minutes turned into hours and as the day drew on the crowd of the inn began to get smaller, he finally faced the reality of what happened. He sobbed uncontrollably, putting his head down.
'She left me...momma left me' he told himself. He curled up into a ball in the chair he sat in, wishing he could disappear or be where she was. The owner of the inn walked over and knelt in front of him.
"Son are you alright?" he asked. Jacob said nothing, but looked up through tear stained eyes. When the owner asked where his mother and father were, he lost it. His cries could be heard from outside. The owner scooped him up into his arms while the child cried, fisting the man's shirt.
"She left me..she left me...she promised...she promised...you promised!"
Shante was left at a lost for words as he ended his story. She gripped his hand, showing her sadness of what had happened to him. Lavi squeezed just as hard, still looking distant. Shante didnt know if she should cry or hug him.
"After that, I can't remember anything really, its all a blurr. My next clear memory that I have is when Gramps took me from some orphanage." he admitted.
Shante pulled him into a warm hug. Taken off guard slightly, Lavi smiled and wrapped his arms around her while she buried her face in his chest.
"Thank you."
Shante pulled back and stared up at him. Sitting on the edge like him, her face grew serious.
"Well if it helps, I have no clue where I come from either. You can remember your mother some. I dont remember a damn thing about my parents. I just remember always being on my own for a long time." She had been an orphan for who knows how long. From her earliest memory of living in New York, for a while she didnt even know how old she was. There were a couple of others like her, they lived on the streets, they all looked out for each other, but she didnt consider them to be family. No money, so they stole everything they needed, occasionally sneaking into the basement of buildings and vacant houses for shelter.
Lavi was stunned at her openness. She had been so close mouthed when it came to her past.
"I had gramps to help me through. How'd you make it?" he asked.
Shante chuckled, "I met Christopher and his family." Lavi saw the a hint of pain in her eyes at the mention of them.
"They took me in... I was like a daughter to them, they were the only family that I ever had." Lavi saw the hurt in her expression grow and grabbed her hands and held it between his two. She seemed to appreciate his show of concern but she pulled her hands back, taking Lavi by suprise.
"I'm sorry its just-" she began but he cut her off. "Its okay, I understand" he nodded. Instead he left his hand rest next to hers, barely touching them. Shante had never spoken to anyone about her life before the Order. No one. And here she came close to pouring everything out to Lavi. And that scared her more than anything
Wanting to cheer her up, he hooked his arm around hers and stood. "Well we're having a good time so, lets not make the mood depressing by talking about this. We can save that for another day."
Shante nodded, cheering up somewhat. "Where too then?"
Lavi thought, finger to his chin. " Aha! The Hagia Sophia, its right over there!" He grabbed hold of her hand, this time she didnt object and led the way across the park.
Hagia Sophia
"You know alot about this place , huh?" Shante noted, slender hands running along the golden walls.
"Yeah its one of my favorite places. Jijji brought me here when I was younger. I fell in love with the place, "Lavi admitted. Shante stared at Lavi, slightly surprised he found sentimental value in this place.
"What? Didn't think I could like a place like this?" he asked. The girl shook her head, a smirk planted on her face. "You dont seem to be the sentimental kind of guy."
Lavi chuckled. The girl had a point. Those around Lavi would say the same thing. Thats what they failed to understand "Bookman Junior" was slowly starting to fade since the Ark incident. Though it was true Lavi had no time for the little things in life, Bookman Junior only viewed things as information, the important or not, history for the books. "Lavi," who seemed to be taking over, basked in the ideas of life and love as well as everything that came with it.
"Well I just so happen to love it and find it to be very beautiful," the eighteen year-old chimed, feeling his cheeks turn red slightly.
Shante poked his cheek, " I think its sweet." Lavi smiled and grabbed the girl by the hand.
"C'mon" he ordered, leading her under the dome.
"Stand right...here," he told her, positioning her directly beneath the center of the dome.
"Now look up," he stood behind her and pointed upward. Shante smiled at the scene before her; light flooded in from every direction at the dome, reflecting against the golden interior.
"Wow," was all she could muster. Lavi, pleased with her reaction, smiled.
"I told you so."
A/N: I rather enjoyed writing this chapter. I finally got to get into the Romance part a little bit. Once again loved writing Lavi's flashback (almost made me cry). Shante's past, yeah, figuring out hos I can get the majority of it to come up soon so you guys can understand why she puts on a facade so much. but yeah. keep reading