Title: Not A Rivalry, A Connection
Author: fotoshop-cutout // Shiro
Fandom: D. Gray-Man
Characters/Pairings: Lavi/Allen, Bookman, Kanda
Rating: PG
Word Count: 782
Disclaimer: All characters depicted in sexual situations in this post/fanfiction/fanart (including material in the comments) are fictional and are intended to be and considered to be by the author of said material of the legal age of consent in the United States state of California, regardless of what age these characters may be in the material they are derived from.
Summary: Lavi and Allen have a connection.
Notes/Warnings: un-betaed; the fourth in a series of 104 themes. "Rivalry" is today's theme.
[This rivalry goes so deep
Between me
And this loss of sleep
Over you
Fall Out Boy "Dead On Arrival"]
Allen had grown up without siblings, so had Lavi; Allen had grown up without competing to be the best, so had Lavi. Lavi still didn't have to compete; he was the successor of the Bookman. Allen seemed to have crossed hairs with Kanda at some point, the result being a sort of unspoken challenge between the two. Lavi watched from the outside: pretending to be amused by their antics, but really yearning to feel that sort of connection—that sort of bond with someone.
Sure, Panda kicked him often enough that if he chose to sharpen his skills of blocking or counterattacks he could most likely learn a thing or two. However, Lavi chose to think that he had a possibility of bonding with someone closer to his age. Lavi slumped in his seat on the boat as he and Bookman followed Allen to yet another mission involving a 'possible innocence fragment'.
Two days later and Bookman had left Lavi to watch over the white haired boy. Lavi remained in the same funk as before the mission. It really bothered him that Allen had something he didn't. While Allen ate the humungous breakfast he ordered, Lavi sat with his head resting in his hand, staring out the window of the inn. Finally, Allen paused in his eating long enough for Lavi to look over, slightly concerned. Allen stared at him with his head tilted, grey eyes questioning. The few hidden braids that Lavi had put in his hair now lay haphazardly with the rest of his white hair; Lavi just raised his eyebrows.
"Done already?" Allen straightened up and shook his head, casting his eyes down at the food still on the table. He started reaching for a roll as he spoke.
"Usually you talk to me." Allen looked downcast; he looked over the roll without making a move to eat it.
"Do I?" Lavi was slightly surprised that Allen had noticed the usual and unusual with him. Allen nodded, returning his eyes to the other boy.
"Or you say something about the braids in my hair that you put there two days ago on the train."
Lavi had started looking at the plates littering the table, but his green eye quickly snapped back up to Allen's face. Allen wasn't smiling. Lavi shrugged.
"I'm sorry."
Allen nibbled the roll then frowned and put it down. "What's wrong, Lavi?"
Lavi sighed, "It would take an hour to tell you everything that's wrong."
"There's been two days without a whiff of the Innocence or any Akuma about." Allen deadpanned, "I think I have an hour free for you to tell me."
-----
Twenty minutes later, Allen was consuming a plate of mashed potatoes as Lavi waited for his response. Allen wiped his mouth on a napkin and licked his lips, turning his gaze up to the redhead.
"So let me get this straight; you're jealous of Kanda and I?" Allen produced a lopsided grin, "And you seem to think that we have some sort of bond?"
Lavi hunched over the table, avoiding eye contact. Allen chuckled.
"You're so silly, Lavi."
Lavi peered through his hair at the white haired boy. Allen smiled kindly at him.
"If you want friends, you've got plenty." Allen turned to look out the window, "Besides, I'd hardly call Kanda and I 'friends'." Allen looked back at him, hands folded on the table in front of him. Lavi watched him.
"But I want rivalry. I want competition."
Allen tilted his head again, braids hanging out and almost causing Lavi to smile. He cut in again before Allen could respond, "Why did you keep those in, anyway?"
Allen smiled, "For a laugh, to make you feel better, because I like them—all of the above works."
Lavi reached across the table, careful not to jostle any of the dishes, and ran his hand through Allen's hair bringing all the braids to the surface. "You slept through all of it; you should have seen Panda's face when they were still there a day later." A smile appeared on Lavi's face. Allen shook his head slightly.
"I wasn't asleep at first. I just let you."
It was Lavi's turn to tilt his head and give a questioning look.
"To make you feel better." Allen answered the unspoken question. Lavi withdrew his hand.
"Really?"
Allen nodded, then reached out and snatched his hand from the air. Lavi was hesitant to allow the boy his hand.
"Did it help?"
Lavi let Allen have his hand, his eye softened. "Yeah."
Allen smiled and threaded their fingers together. After a moment of quiet he spoke. "Well, I don't know about rivalry… but I think we have a connection."
Tomorrow's Theme: "Unbreakable"