Entry II: On A Collision Course

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...Allen pleaded innocent, of course. But then Lenalee defended herself, and that was when I knew that little sneak had been in on it all along…

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"A…party?"

Contrary to popular opinion, Lenalee wasn't just sweet and pretty and meek – her brother was wrapped around her finger, and she knew it. Not only that, she knew how to use it. She continued smiling sweetly at Komui and Reever. Reever, of course, had to be pulled in because left to Komui, they would probably have only a few more Komurin blueprints on their hands that somehow conspired to force Allen and Lavi together, and that would land them both in the Medical Wing at the end. Not very romantic, really. Lenalee mentally noted to later burn the one blueprint she had confiscated.

Reever, receiving no response to his previous query, cleared his throat and started again. "Just to get this clear, you're suggesting a…special…party?"

Lenalee giggled, a demure, perfect little one, hiding her grin behind a small hand. Komui sighed at how beautiful, perfect, lovely, pure his Lenalee was.

"Well, things have been…bad, lately," she said, and the room fell a little sober at her words.

The Exorcists were alive, and that was the only good thing – more and more Finders were dying everyday and the Earl was going strong, gathering more – and stronger – Akuma by the minute. Exhaustion practically permeated the Order. The war had gone on for nearly a decade already, and still nobody seemed closer to finding the heart of the Innocence, be it the Order or the Earl.

Shaking her head firmly to get rid of the mood, Lenalee started again with a bright smile. "Wouldn't it be nice to have a party, let everyone relax a little? We don't have to wait till Christmas to find a reason to celebrate, right?"

"Well, uh…" Reever looked at Komui for assistance. Komui looked at his sister with his yes-dear-anything-dear look, which pretty much meant he was useless. Reever sighed. "I suppose it is possible. The problem is Central though…"

Lenalee resisted the urge to curse, mild as her curse was. It wouldn't work if she did that, Komui would threaten to kill whoever taught her those words. Instead, smiling calmly, she nodded. "Yes, it might be a problem, but I think we can keep it quiet from them. Link is a little less…uptight, these days. I'm sure we can persuade him. He even seems a little less suspicious of Allen."

"Alright, but you said something about a special, uh, addition?"

Lenalee's smile widened and not being siblings for nothing, Komui straightened up, paying closer attention. Lenalee leaned closer to them, as though she was sharing a delicious secret. Obligingly, Komui leant forward. Reever joined in to complete the crude circle of insanity.

"Have you ever heard of bachelor auctioning?"

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Allen massaged his left shoulder, an almost unnoticeable falter in his steps and grimace on his face. Link's sharp eyes didn't fail him this time either.

"Walker. Do you feel pain?" His face was composed, neutral, as though it was merely another matter for him to record down. Allen smiled at him, face a little strained.

"Crowned Clown stings a little," he muttered, rubbing his left elbow. "I don't know what's up with it."

Link frowned. If anything were to happen to Walker's Innocence, it would severely jeopardize their chances in the war, the presence of the Noah in him notwithstanding. In addition Walker had been reporting pain since a few missions ago, though nothing that had inhibited his ability to fight – he wondered what it was, and he had to confess his dearth of knowledge when it regarded the Innocence material – it was quite a difficult field, even Central kept these information classified. Perhaps it was time for Walker to visit Hevlaska.

Just as he was about to suggest this, however, Allen stopped walking. Link looked up to see what the matter was.

Komui was humming and walking toward them. With a look of complete nonchalance on his face. In the middle of a suspiciously empty corridor. As if to add to the tingly feeling on the back of Link's neck, Komui's spectacles were glinting in the afternoon light. Allen only stayed still for a second longer before he blanched, turned tail, and ran.

Link agreed with this plan of action.

"Allen! Allen, why are you running from me!" Komui gave chase, surprisingly fast for a scientist that was always cooped up in the lab.

"Sorry!" Allen shouted. "I've got something to do with" – he searched for a vaguely plausible name – "Lavi! Training and all that!"

"You're lying! Lavi's in the library with Bookman!" An ominous clanking sound started behind them, gaining ground on them rapidly. Link cursed in Dutch and pulled Allen around a corner. Allen didn't even dare to look back.

"Fine, I'm lying!" He ran down the corridor and spied a window that would allow him to jump safely to ground floor. He nodded at it. Link headed in the same direction. "Go back to your work, Komui!" He shouted a little frantically now, the clanking sounds uncomfortably close.

Link jumped out the window first, landing safely on the grass below, quickly turning around to wait for Walker. Allen was reaching, just five meters, a meter more –

Allen choked as a metallic something clamped down on the back of his shirt, pulling him up by the neck. He scrabbled for purchase and pulled at the cloth restricting his breathing. Gasping, he looked up and did his best to glare.

A pair of gleaming spectacles smirked down on him. "Meet Komurin-mini! Unfortunately he can only be used as a transport vehicle, but that works well enough, eh?" Komui said, sounding positively, awfully cheerful. Allen scowled at the metallic smile of the robot and the man perched comfortably on top of it. "Well, Allen, we have a little something to discuss!"

"I doubt it's anything good…" The caught boy muttered.

"Hmm?" Komui hummed, a dangerous edge to his voice. Allen stilled as Komui swung around to face him again even as the robot marched its way back to his office, disregarding all the walls it knocked a chunk off of and the people that scrambled out of its path. "Are you insinuating that anything my Lenalee comes up with could possibly not be good, hmm, Al-len?"

Allen smiled, sickly sweet. "Not at all, supervisor. And by the way, I would love it if I could be allowed to breathe."

"Oh, by all means, no one's stopping you!"

"Of course," Allen gritted his teeth, tilting his head back and pulling at the cloth a little harder. "Mind giving me a hand, Link?" Link had, at some point in the past minute, flipped himself back in through the window and caught up with them. Allen allowed himself a moment to be impressed.

His own supervisor looked up and shrugged. "We're reaching his office," he offered by way of consolation. "And the scientists are waiting."

"They are not going to destroy my baby!" Komui said firmly, jabbing at a few more buttons that seemed to somehow tighten the clamp on Allen's shirt. Allen coughed.

"Oh, right, sorry," Komui said, not sounding sorry at all. The clamp loosened and Allen felt himself being lowered to the ground. He motioned urgently to Link for them to run as soon as he touched ground.

"Oh no you won't."

Without Allen even noticing it, Komui had jumped to the ground and was grabbing his left arm (and the poor boy just somehow knew there was a drill hidden somewhere) even as he pressed a button on Komurin-mini, the robot folding in on itself and assembling into a box. Komui picked it up and pulled Allen into his office, Link following with a resigned air. The obviously unhinged Supervisor started chattering even as Allen noted the people in his office, a smiling Lenalee along with a somewhat amused and concerned Reever. There was something up, something rather…fishy.

"You see, Allen, there's this little party my dear Lenalee proposed…"

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By the end of the run-through, Allen was still, staring into space. Link's hands twitched, looking like he desperately wanted to whip out his notebook and start a report on the latest insane acts of the Order. Komurin-mini's hold on his arm made him snarl.

"Allen?" Lenalee asked in concern, waving a hand in front of him. Allen slowly moved his head to face in her general direction. Then he blinked.

"You're asking me to be a prize?" He looked supremely unimpressed.

"No!" Lenalee looked offended. "What do you think we are? We're asking you to be the bait."

"How is that any better? And for what purpose?"

"Well…" Lenalee looked from Komui, to Reever, to Link, and hesitated. Komui and Reever would likely be okay with it, the problem was Link. She'd have to persuade him not to spill anything to Central. And knowing Allen…it was probably far better to cut to the chase to persuade him to join in.

"There's someone who you…like, right?"

Allen stiffened. Three heads whipped around to stare at him.

"Are you, are you saying…" Komui took a deep breath. "You're after my Lenalee, aren't you!"

"No, brother!" Lenalee nearly shouted. Calming down, she said, "it's someone else, alright?"

"Lenalee," Allen said, very evenly. She winced. "Pardon me for saying this, but I'm rather sure that this is not anybody's business but my own."

"I know, I know that," she hastened to say, trying not to wring her hands. "I just…I think that that person likes you too."

It was as nerve-wracking as watching a sleep-deprived Johnny handling two test-tubes of unknown substances. Komui, Reever and Link whipped their heads from looking at Allen, to Lenalee, and back again. There's a someone Allen likes. There's a someone who likes Allen. Link rued the fact that a certain Miss Lee knew it before him and damn it, he hadn't narrowed it down to one specific person. The Emilia lady? That insufferable Kanda Yuu? That insufferable Bookman Apprentice?

"And what, may I ask, makes you think so?" Allen asked, still painfully polite, eyes hard.

Lenalee bit her lip. It was suddenly so hard to speak, she wasn't even that certain anymore. Was Allen so…unhappy? Maybe she read it all wrong?

But she had gone too far not to continue this.

"I…I've been watching you two, and I talked to that person a while ago, so I know they like someone and…I can't say it here, but I'm sure it's you. And if you're the big item, they would spend all their cash on you so nobody else can get you for the night, I'd think, and, uh…"

Being scientists and a specially trained crow, they could hardly fail to notice the careful avoidance of a gender-specific pronoun. Allen frowned, seeming to consider it again.

"Please tell me, Lenalee," he said, voice lighter and more thoughtful. "When did you start thinking so?"

"Uh…" Feeling all eyes on her, Lenalee remembered to keep it as ambiguous as possible. "A few days ago, we were having lunch, and…" She tried to remember something special that Allen would know but that would not be so obvious to the other three. "You nearly broke the plates, um…"

Komui and Reever blinked. Link thought Walker nearly broke plates everyday anyway, so that wasn't much help.

But Allen suddenly lit up and leaned back on the couch, eyes happy, almost mischievous. "Ah, alright. I see. Thanks, Lenalee! So, how would this all work again?"

Feeling Allen focus his attention on him, Komui snapped out of his daze. "Uh, uh…well, we just need you to be our last prize up for 'auction' and this will…okay, no, wait, I need to know. Who is he?"

"Who is who, Komui?" Allen asked innocently.

"The person you like and who likes you!" Komui exclaimed, waving his arms around in agitation. Lenalee shook her head fondly at her brother's antics and insatiable curiosity.

"Oh, that," Allen pretended to think about it for a while. "Who said it was a 'he'?"

"I'm not stupid, Allen Walker," Komui said with a grin, wagging a finger. "You think I didn't see how hard you two were trying to avoid mentioning the gender, hmm, hmmm?"

Link looked utterly horrified. "Walker, I must insist this desist at once. It is entirely against the Vatican laws – "

"Link," Allen cut in, looking tired and almost like he had expected Link to object. "I know, alright? But this has nothing to do with whether I'm going to turn around and betray the Order, so if you can please keep this quiet?"

Link spluttered. "Even if that might be the case, this is certainly going against all protocol, Walker. For your sake, I insist that this stop now."

"Link."

Allen was suddenly stiff, his shoulders tensed, looking at Link with hard eyes. Lenalee was wide-eyed. The temperature around them felt like it had dropped a few notches.

"Link. I will die for the Order." There were several flinches in the office. Komui clenched his fist. Allen continued, not batting an eyelash. "I will die for this war. I will even die for the Vatican, if they prove that I'm betraying the Order. I will not do anything to jeopardize this war and our standing in it.

"But," his voice hardened, an edge in it, "I will not let the Vatican convict me for something as inconsequential as my sexuality, if that is alright with you?"

Link was silent. Allen sighed at the look of anxiety still present on his face.

"We're all giving up many things for this war. Let me be selfish and hold onto this." He closed his eyes and sagged back into the couch. There was a pause, then, very quietly, "it will not hurt anyone but myself."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a while, the office still, even the silly little Komurin-mini. Link was still looking straight at Allen, a deep frown on his face – but it seemed like he could not and was not willing to fight against such a conviction Allen had. Lenalee's eyes clouded over as she was forced to remember the toll the war took on everyone, not least the boy prophesized to end it.

Komui cleared his throat, loud in the stillness. "Well, now that we've established that!" He said, very bright.

Lenalee sighed even as Allen's shoulders relaxed and he leaned back further into the couch. "Brother…"

"Aww, come on, you're all my precious Exorcists! I wanna know! It's Kanda, isn't it?"

"No!" Allen and Lenalee protested at the exact same moment, then turned to stare at one another. Lenalee looked away.

Allen's eyes widened.

Komui furrowed his brow. Then he jerked his head up, spectacles glinting madly. "I know! It's – "

"Lavi, isn't it?" Reever said, sighing and noting something on his clipboard. Komui's frame visibly drooped.

"You could've let me say it!" He whined. Reever glared at him.

"After all the hints they dropped it's rather obvious, Chief. Now, if you'd please finish briefing Allen?"

"Aww…" Komui rubbed at the back of his neck then looked up, eyes serious. Allen blinked and straightened up. "Allen. I want to make sure you're alright with this. If Lavi doesn't 'win' you then, well…you'll probably have to spend the day in somebody else's company, is that alright? We'll emphasize that you call the shots as well, but…"

Allen smiled gently. "Don't worry, Komui. I'll be fine. This'll be fun anyway, wouldn't it?"

Komui chuckled a little and nodded.

"Alright, so, we'll begin the party at six…"