Lavi strolled down the hall, not really thinking about anything in particular when he heard a familiar voice coming from a the library. His heart skipped a beat at the sound of his favorite voice – a high, cheery sound that always put a smile on his face, no matter how down he was.
His lips were already curling up into a grin as he turned the corner, ready to sneak up on Lenalee (she fell for it every time). His plan was destroyed, though, when he stepped inside the room, and his eager, boyish grin was replaced by a dumbfounded chin-floor. Lenalee was splayed out on the ground, and none other than Lavi's closest friend, Allen, was the one on top of her.
The StakeoutRequest by: Julye loves Lavi
Genre: Romance/Humor
Rated: T
"So, that's how it happened," Lavi said in conclusion, his voice a frantic whisper. "What do you have to say to that?"
Kanda stared at Lavi, his face as hard as stone, and his fingers clutched around Mugen. "That's it? That's the crisis you interrupted my training session for?"
Lavi rolled his eyes. "Yu-chan, don't be a simpleton! Don't you see what an emergency this is?" Kanda's face didn't change, and his hand tightened around Mugen, so Lavi quickly went on to explain. "Allen and Lenalee! This is terrible! Do you know what happens when exorcists fall in love?"
Kanda rolled his eyes and leapt to his feet. "Che, falling in love. The idiot problem tripped and knocked her over. You're letting your pathetic imagination run wild. Don't you have anything better to do than spreading rumors, anyway, baka usagi?"
Lavi stepped in Kanda's way before he could leave. "Come on, Yu-chan! You're being ignorant! Relationships during war not only hold them back, but all of us!" Trying to convince Kanda, he added, "You wouldn't want to go on a mission with a love struck teenager, would you?"
Kanda looked off into the distance, imagining what it would be like to spend an entire train ride listening to Allen going on and on about how great his new relationship was. He shuddered, shaking the idea away.
"You're overreacting!" he shot, shoving past Lavi. "I don't have time for this! Pick on someone else!"
Just as he was about to walk back into his training room, giggling came from further down the hall. Lavi and Kanda froze at the same time, turning to look down the hall.
A sly smirk drifted onto Lavi's face. "You're about to see just how right I was, and then you'll have to eat your words."
Kanda rolled his eyes. "Like hel-"
Lenalee stumbled out of a nearby room, still laughing, her cheeks a rosy red. She walked down the hall to where Lavi and Kanda stood, waiting expectantly for an explanation, and she shot a beaming smile at them.
"You guys should have heard what Allen was just saying," she gasped between bursts of laughter. "He's a riot! He's the funniest exorcist I know!" Still giggling, she headed off down the hall, towards the Science Department.
Lavi frowned. "I thought I was the funniest exorcist," he whined under his breath.
"As if," Kanda scoffed.
The boys exchanged a look, and they were both thinking the same thing: Maybe this was more serious, after all.
---
"What now?" Kanda groaned.
"SH!" Lavi cried, elbowing him in the side. "This is a stakeout, which means we can't be heard!"
"I know that!" Kanda growled. "You're the one being loud!"
"SHHHH!!!"
"If you don't shut up, I'll shove Mugen up your-"
"SHH! Lenalee's here!"
Kanda fell silent as Lenalee stepped into the small storage room and leaned against the wall, waiting. Lavi had overheard her mentioning that she was meeting Allen here the other day, and he had dragged Kanda along for his 'stakeout'. It was more like trespassing, eavesdropping, and an intrusion of personal space all at the same time, but 'stakeout' sounded a lot cooler to the boys.
Allen finally stepped into the room, shutting the door gently behind him. He smiled over at Lenalee, his hands held behind his back as he stepped over to her. Lavi saw what he was hiding before she did, and had trouble keeping his mouth shut. He bit his lip roughly.
"Here," Allen said, handing the bouquet of flowers over to her. "For what you did in the library for me the other day."
Lenalee's cheeks flushed. "Oh, Allen, thanks so much!" she cried, accepting them excitedly.
"Not a problem," he assured her, leading her out of the room.
Once the door was shut, Lavi jumped to his feet, pacing around the room to work of his contained aggravation. Kanda stood, watching him, waiting.
"Is that it?" he asked sourly after a moment.
"Is that it?" Lavi repeated, dumbfounded. "Remember what I saw in the library? Who knows what happened after I left that Allen had to thank her with flowers for! It all adds up, doesn't it? Don't deny it, Yu-chan!"
"Maybe if you stop calling me that, I won't!"
Lavi groaned, brushing a hand through his red hair. "Let's go. We need to go."
"I'm not following them, for God's sake!"
"No!" Lavi cried. "Let's go tell the man in charge of Lenalee's dates. Then we won't have to worry about any of this anymore!"
Kanda rolled his eyes. "Having Komui kill Moyashi won't do any good. Besides, I think you're overreacting."
Lavi's jaw dropped. "Overreacting? I found them rolling around on the floor in the library and I'm overreacting?"
"They weren't rolling around," Kanda snapped, heading for the door. "I'm not running around with you anymore. This has nothing to do with me, usagi. This is about you being jealous," he spat the last word, "and I am not getting into this bull when I have a hundred better things to do with my time!" With that, Kanda left.
"Jealous?" Lavi cried after him defensively. "Concern for a friend is different than jealousy!"
Kanda didn't respond.
---
Lavi went along with his better judgment and did not speak to Komui. Instead, he spent the rest of the week moping around, avoiding Lenalee and Allen at all cost. The last thing he wanted to do was to walk in on any of their moments that might send his imagination into hell.
To keep away from her, Lavi didn't eat into later than the other exorcists. By the time he ate, the cafeteria was nearly empty. No one said anything to him, and he was able to get along fine.
The only thing that bothered him was how bothered he was. He was, of course, concerned for Lenalee and Allen, but Kanda's words kept echoing in his head. Was he really overreacting? Was it none of his business? Should he be this upset over something that had nothing to do with him?
Unless it did have something to do with him.
Lavi sat alone at one of the tables again, picking at his food as his mind wandered elsewhere. He was snapped out of his daydream by the sound of that familiar voice, once again.
"Lavi!" Lenalee cried, sitting down across from him, placing her tray of food in front of her. "I haven't talked to you in, what, a week? Where have you been?"
Lavi looked up, taken aback. "Lenalee? What are you doing, eating so late?"
"I was busy helping my brother sort out some of his papers, and I wasn't able to make it down here in time," she explained.
Lavi let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good." He had been imaging something far, far worse.
Lenalee leaned forward, worry flooding her violet eyes. "Lavi, you don't seem yourself. Are you feeling all right? Usually you're really bubbly and goofy!"
Lavi backed away from her, shrugging. He concentrated on his food, avoiding her gaze. "Me, goofy? I thought Allen was the funniest exorcist." He regretted the childish words once they left his mouth, but there was no way of taking them back.
Lenalee looked at him with confusion. "Huh? Why is that bothering you?" She laughed. "Sure he is, but you're the funniest bookman! And person, in general!"
Lavi rolled his eyes. "Sure I am."
Lenalee crossed her arms. "What is wrong with you? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something?"
"Did you?" he mumbled, though she didn't hear.
"What?" she asked, leaning forward.
He finally looked up, and he knew he had to be honest. "Well, at least I didn't wake up in Allen's bed, like you probably did!"
Lenalee's mouth fell open and she glared at him, appalled. "Lavi!" she cried in disbelief. "How could you…why would you…what gave you that idea? I would never-"
"I know all about it," he told her, glaring right back. "I saw you two getting all cuddly on the floor in the library, and I saw him 'repay' you with flowers. I know everything, and I have half a mind to let your brother in on the secret!"
Lenalee's cheeks flushed and her lip began to tremble. "You've got it all wrong, you silly bookman! I was helping Allen clean the library and he tripped over a book and we fell, and to repay me for helping him, he gave me the flowers because I had mentioned how plain my room looked, and he wanted to help me decorate!" She looked to the side, avoiding Lavi's gaze. "I can't believe you thought that I…that we…!" She clenched her teeth together, pursing her lips.
Lavi, on the other hand, was beginning to smile. "You mean…you aren't with Allen?"
Lenalee turned back to him, and her infuriated expression wiped the growing smile right off his face. "Of course not! I don't like Allen that way!" Lenalee paused after saying that, but continued to study Lavi's face. He stared back, not knowing what she was thinking.
Lenalee's hand whipped across the table and Lavi braced himself for a smack (which he knew he probably deserved) but instead she grabbed his collar and pulled him forward so she could plant a kiss on his now reddening cheeks. They leaned away from each other a bit, their noses just inches away from each other's, Lavi looking beyond confused and Lenalee's usual grin finally returning to her face.
"I get it," she said, "you were jealous."
"Who told you that?" Lavi snapped. "Yu-chan told you?"
Her smirk only widened. "So, Kanda noticed, too? Man, you were really jealous!"
"I was not!"
"Don't worry, though," she said, ignoring his failing attempts to deny it. "I don't like Allen like that. There's only one person I'm interested in." She continued to smile towards him, and Lavi's cheeks reddened again.
"And who would that be?" he asked hesitantly, his playful tone creeping back into his voice.
"Kanda."
"What?"
She laughed. "Teasing!" Then she leaned forward again, and he mirrored her motion, and their lips met, and this time they didn't back away.
Until Komui came running into the cafeteria, armed and ready to kill.
Author's notes: I hope it came out well and that you liked it! This was an interesting idea to work with, and I hope I pulled it off!