As you've all probably guessed, it will be RavenxLavi. All of those who voted for Lavi will probably enjoy this chapter. (I hope).

Starting this chapter and for now on, Bold italics=Raven and regular italics=Robin. You'll know what I mean when you see it. And thank you so much for reading the story and definitely leave a review or send me a PM to let me know what you think or if you have any questions, comments, ideas, criticism, etc. I hope you enjoy it! :)

"So, there I was in China," Lavi's voice booms across the cafeteria table. "I walked into this inn and standing in front of me was this beautiful Chinese girl in this silk dress. I stood there and-hey are you guys listening?"

Robin suddenly jolts awake. "I'm awake!" Robin yells, glancing around wildly.

Her short brown hair is tousled and her eyes are red from lack of sleep. She, Allen and Lavi are sitting at their table munching on breakfast. Lavi sits across from her so his back is to the wall, while Allen is right next to her. The previously nodding-off Allen jumps from her sudden awakening and raises an eyebrow. Lavi bursts into laughter and she groans, resting her head against the table again.

"Tired?" Allen asks, concerned. "Are you still feeling unwell?"

"No." She says. "I actually feel fine. I just can't sleep." Lavi leans back and smirks.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Yuu being away on assignment, would it?" He asks.

I love you Robin.

Her face turns completely red and she slams her head against the table, taking Allen off guard. Lavi erupts into fits of laughter and she groans.

It's already been a solid day since he left, leaving behind those four little words that remain buzzing through her head. Every. Single. Freaking. Second. She knew Kanda cares for her and holds feelings of affection for her, but never in a million years had she expected him to actually come out and say he loves her. She was shocked, surprised, terrified, and completely overjoyed. She wasn't mentally prepared for it. It shocked her so bad she couldn't sleep. She could hardly eat. She could barely keep a straight face. And something tells her he planned it that way.

I love you Robin.

"Gah!" She yells at the ceiling. "That jerk!" Lavi stops his laughing and exchanges a look with Allen. The two of them together burst into laughs and she twitches with irritation.

"And what is so funny?" She asks, annoyed.

"Your face!" Lavi answers through fits of laughter.

"What did Bakanda even do?!" Allen asks.

"Yeah," The red-head says. "I need to congratulate him when he gets back!"

Robin's eyes narrow and a dark menacing aura swallows the table. Allen squeaks and moves to hide behind Lavi who smiles wider, oblivious to the darkness.

"Come on!" Lavi says. "What happened? Did Yuu finally confess his undying love?"

Robin flinches and heat rushes to her face. She slams her face to the table and the two boys jump.

"Wait, he did?!" Lavi yells, wide-eyed. He exchanges another look with the equally shocked Allen and bursts into laughter again. Allen's jaw drops.

"That's hilarious!" Lavi yells, rolling onto his side with laughs. "Oh geez, what was the look on his face?!"

"I couldn't see!" She yells back.

"What did you say back?" Allen asks.

"Nothing." She says. Lavi pauses.

"Nothing?" The red-head asks. Lavi suddenly takes on a serious expression and frowns. "That's no good. Why didn't you say anything back?"

"Do you not love him?" Allen asks.

"No!" She yells.

"So you do love him?" Lavi asks.

"I-I-" She blushes and buries her head again. "I don't know! He said it right as he left, all cool and mysterious like. I couldn't even think! Damn that sexy sadist!"

"Sexy...?"

"...Sadist?"

Lavi hollers with laughter and Allen slams his head against the table, mortified. Robin stares at the two of them and sweat drops. What is wrong with these two?! She sighs and reaches for a strip of bacon. Her hand brushes against something soft and she looks down at a small golden golem with feathered wings and a tail puffed out from its body. It flutters around her head happily. Allen looks up from the table and, seeing her watch the golem, smiles.

"Have you met Timcanpy yet?" Allen asks. "He's Master Cross' golem. I've been looking after him."

"Oh my gosh! He's so cute!" She suddenly says. Timcanpy lands on her head and she smiles huge at the little golem. Allen and Lavi sweat drop.

"Are you sure you're a guy?" Lavi asks with a smirk. She blushes and sticks her tongue at him.

"Shut up baka usagi." She says. Lavi's jaw drops and Allen snorts.

"Crap!" Lavi yells wide-eyed. He points to her horrified. "She's becoming like him!"

"Sucks to be you." Allen says with a smirk.

"What was that moyashi?" Robin asks with evil smile. Allen snaps his attention toward her at the use of his dreaded nickname and gapes.

"Not you too!" Allen yells.

"Yuu's corrupted him!" Lavi yells.

"DON'T SAY THAT!" Both she and Allen yell, glaring at the red-head who proceeds to laugh very loudly. A few finders in the cafeteria pause and glance at the manic red-head laughing like a psychopath. Robin and Allen sweat drop and release a long, exhausted sigh.

"Sometimes Lavi worries me." She says. Allen chuckles.

"That's Lavi for you." He says and Robin shrugs. "So, how are you going to spend your time at the Order? I heard from Komui that you're temporarily suspended?"

Her face falls. "Yeah," She says. "And I have no idea what I'll do. Kanda isn't even here." She frowns.

"Well," Allen says. "You can always hang out with me. I don't have any missions right now so I'm not doing anything."

"You sure?" She asks. "I don't want to be a burden."

"You would never be a burden." Allen says with a smile. "I like hanging out with you."

"You're so nice Allen." She says, smiling back. "I might just take you up on that offer." Allen rubs the hair behind his head embarrassed, and laughs.

"Cool." Allen says, a light pink tint brushing across his cheeks. Lavi looks curiously between the two of them and blinks. Interesting, Lavi thinks with a grin.

"Oh yeah Robin!" Lavi says interrupting the two exorcists. "I swear I saw your twin the other day!"

"My twin?" Robin asks.

"Yeah." Lavi says, remembering the encounter. "I bumped into her while I was in town. Before I could get her name, she ran off."

"Is this the same girl you were going on about?" Allen asks. Lavi nods.

"I swear she looked exactly like Robin." Lavi says. "The only difference was that her hair was completely black and she had these beautiful violet eyes."

"Wait," Robin says. "Violet eyes? Was that-?"

"Was that what?" Lavi asks.

"Do you know the girl Lavi's talking about?" Allen asks. Lavi looks over at her expectantly and Robin sighs.

"Maybe." Robin admits. Lavi's eyes widen. He grabs hold of her and squeezes her into a hug.

"Oh Rob, my man!" Lavi yells. "You have to introduce me!"

"Why don't you take her out on a date?" Allen suggests. Lavi's smile grows.

"Yeah!" Lavi yells. "I should totally take her out!"

"Wait," Robin says. "I don't think-"

"Pretty please Rob?" Lavi begs. "She was so amazing! I have to see her again. Please, oh pretty please!"

"I don't-"

"Say yes!"

Robin nearly jumps five feet in the air. She glances wildly around herself expecting to see someone behind her, but no one's there. She frowns. Great, now she's hearing voices.

"Come on Robin! Let me go on the date!"

Okay, now she knows she wasn't imagining it that time. The voice was at best a whisper, yet it managed to echo through her eardrums; almost like it came from her head.

"Robin?!"

Robin blinks, recognizing the voice now.

"Raven?!" She asks out-loud.

"Shhhh! Not out-loud idiot! I'm trying to be sneaky! Use your thoughts to speak!"

"Raven?! What the hell?! How are you doing this?!"

"Hell if I know. Though, it's currently becoming quite useful."

"Raven!"

"Hey Robin, are you okay?" Lavi asks, confused. She snaps her attention back to reality and meets the red-head's worried gaze. She sighs.

"Do you have to?" She asks.

"Yes! Yes! Absolutely!"

"Yeah!" Lavi answers. Robin sighs and concedes defeat, realizing she's outnumbered.

"Fine." Robin says. "I'll let her know." Lavi's arms wrap around her waist and he lifts her feet off the floor. Robin yelps in surprise and Lavi smiles like an idiot.

"Woo-hoo!" Lavi yells. "Thanks man! I owe you one!"

"Yeah, yeah." She says. "Just put me down please." Lavi releases his death-grip and she inches away from the red-head, convinced he's going to explode with excitement any second now.

"Will tomorrow work?" Robin asks.

"Yup! That should be fine!"

"So soon?" Lavi asks.

"Is that a problem?" Robin asks. "I can probably push it back a couple days if you want."

"No, tomorrow will work." Lavi says.

"Cool." She says. "I'll make sure she gets the message."

"Thank you Robin!" Lavi says. "I'll be getting ready!" He runs off down the hallway, humming happily to himself.

"Happy?"

"Ecstatic!"

Robin rolls her eyes and after saying her farewells to Allen, walks back to her room.

Lavi fidgets nervously with the glass of water on the restaurant table in front of him. He had decided on a pair of dark blue jeans and a gray muscle shirt with a blue graphic on the front. His bandana is gone so his long red hair is free and he wears small, gold hoop earrings that wrap around the edge of his ears.

For the last ten minutes he's been waiting at the restaurant for his date to show up. He arrived early, but sitting around waiting for so long makes him restless and does little to ease the nervous tension he feels in his chest. Robin said that his date would meet him at the restaurant at noon. Lavi doesn't know much about her other than when they previously bumped into each other. That and her name, which he got courtesy of Robin.

Raven.

The entrance to the restaurant swings open and Lavi spins around in his seat. An elderly man with a long gray beard and cane steps inside. Lavi frowns and feels his heart sink. He checks the clock, which now reads 12:07. Is she running late? Lavi sighs and takes a small sip of his water.

"Lavi?" A voice says from behind him.

He turns around and Raven stands by the table with a smile. She's wearing a fitting black tee with a paint-splatter design and a bright red skirt. The skirt isn't as short as the last one and falls right above her knees. She also has on the pair of black heels from before, much to Robin's annoyance, but Raven feels safe seeing how there really isn't anything Robin can do about it. Her short black hair is pulled back with a small red hair clip in the shape of a butterfly.

"Sorry I'm late." Raven says with a nervous smile. "I was getting ready and it ended up taking longer than I expected."

"That's okay." Lavi says, standing up from his chair. "I'm glad I'm able to see you again. By the way, you look amazing."

Raven blushes and takes the seat across from Lavi. He sits back down and looks down at his menu.

"So," Lavi says. "I guess you do know Robin after all." Raven smiles.

"Robin and I are actually pretty close." She says. "Sorry I lied to you last time. I didn't know you two were friends. So you're an exorcist too?"

"Yeah," Lavi says. "Though I'm primarily training to become the next Bookman."

"Bookman?" She asks.

"The Bookman's role is to observe the events happening in the world and record them for future generations. The training is actually pretty intensive."

"You must be busy. Isn't the number of akuma also rising?"

"Yeah," Lavi says. "But how do you know that? Are you with the Order?"

"Something like that." She says with a smirk. "But a girl can't reveal all her secrets at once."

"I would like to know one thing, though." Lavi says.

"Shoot."

"Why is Robin pretending to be a guy?" Raven freezes and Lavi's emerald gaze bores its way into hers.

"Because Robin is a guy." Raven says smiling nervously. Lavi shakes his head.

"No," Lavi says. "I'm pretty sure she isn't." Raven frowns. Dammit.

"How long have you known?" She asks, narrowing her eyes.

"I had a clue when I first met her." Lavi says. "Of course, it wasn't until we went on vacation with the Order that I was able to confirm it. She and Kanda were staying in a room that allegedly causes woman to act strangely. Robin was definitely acting strange and even ran away in the middle of a storm. Plus, there were countless other clues. I'm sure Kanda knows as well."

"Oh, he knows." Raven says with a smirk. Lavi raises an eyebrow.

"The skirt was my idea." She answers and Lavi's eye widens.

"That was you?!" He yells. He bursts into laughter and Raven smiles. "Oh geez, the look on Yuu's face was priceless!"

"Oh yeah!" Raven says. "How's the hair-dye bit working out?"

"He's on assignment, so I haven't been able to do anything yet. Though I've already replaced his shampoo with the hair-dye."

"You have to get pictures!" Raven says. "I'm dying to see his face!"

"You like pranks?"

"Hell yeah!" Raven says.

She looks around the restaurant and spots a couple sitting by the window. They giggle happily and sip on a tall milkshake on the table between them. Raven turns back to Lavi and grins evilly. After seeing the couple's table, Lavi returns the grin and Raven gets up from her seat, sashaying over to the couple. As she gets closer the couple looks up from their milkshake in confusion.

"Hello," The girl says. "Is there something wr-"

"HOW COULD YOU?!" Raven yells at the guy. Said guy stares wide eyed at her, utterly confused.

"What?" He asks.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" Raven yells even louder. She wipes a few fake tears from her face and glares at the guy. The rest of the restaurant is silent.

"Who the hell are you?!" The guy yells.

"HOW COULD YOU?! AFTER ALL WE'VE BEEN THROUGH!? I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING AND YOU TURN AROUND AND CRAWL TO THIS SKANK?!" Raven gestures to the guy's girlfriend. "YOU COMPLETE AND UTTER JACKASS! GO TO HELL!" Raven smacks the guy straight across the face, then she storms off back to her table.

"Who was that?!" The girlfriend asks. The guy stutters and her eyes narrow. Raven flinches when she hears another smack and the slam of the restaurant door.

"Lorraine!" The guy yells, running after her. Lavi laughs his head off at the table and Raven smirks, giving him a slight curtsey before sitting back down.

"You're evil!" Lavi yells.

"It's a gift." She says. "Ah, harassing strangers is so much fun." Lavi suddenly smiles at Raven like the Cheshire cat and she smiles back.

"I have an idea." He says. Her violet eyes gleam.

"Oh, do tell."

Two hours later there's a loud, bloodcurdling scream from the science division. There's a boom and a cloud of gray dust envelopes the whole area. Lavi runs out of the smoke with Raven right behind him. Their fingers interlock and huge grins are plastered on their faces.

"Get back here!" Komui yells from down the hallway.

"Oh crap!" Lavi says. His grip on her hand tightens. The deranged scientist sprints after them with angry fire in his eyes.

"He looks pissed!" Raven says. Lavi laughs and pulls them into a separate hallway.

"In here." Lavi says and slips inside a closet. Raven follows and closes the door behind them. Komui runs past their hiding place in a frenzy. Once the noise from his footsteps recedes, him and Raven lock eyes and burst into laughter.

"Did you see the look on their faces!?" Lavi says.

"That was so awesome!" Raven says. "You're a genius Lavi!"

"Oh, I know." Lavi says with a grin. Lavi cautiously opens the door a crack and peeks through. "I think he's finally gone now. Let's hurry!" Raven hurries to follow him out when there's a snap.

"Shit!" She says, glancing down at her feet.

"What?" Lavi asks.

"Oh, that sucks!" She says, examining her heels. One of the heels is snapped off; weaken from their previous run for their lives. "Damn," She says. "And I just got these too."

"That's a shame." Lavi says. He presses a hand to his chin thoughtful. He gets an idea and suddenly picks her up in his arms.

"Hey, what are you-?"

"You can't walk on a broken heel, now can you?" He asks with a smirk.

Raven grins back and wraps her arms around his shoulders. She stares up at his face. His lips are spread into a peaceful smile and his bright red hair covers the eye-patch over his right eye. Curiosity getting the better of her, she finds her fingers brushing the edge of the fabric and Lavi stops dead in his tracks. She flinches and pulls away.

"I'm sorry!" She says. "I just-"

"It's fine." He says. Lavi's quiet and noticing his reaction, Raven looks over at him, worried. His one green eye is dark and his mouth is scrunched up in a frown.

"Hey Lavi?" She asks. "You okay?" He glances down at her and slowly his grin returns.

"Oh, sorry." He says cheerfully. "I started spacing out there. I'm fine!" Raven frowns. She glances around at the other exorcists' rooms while Lavi silently carries her down the hall.

"Sorry." She suddenly says. Lavi glances down at her surprised. "We all have something we don't want the world to know. I can understand the need to lock it all away and pretend like everything is okay; living through a mask that only you can see. But just between you and me, I can spot a fake smile from a mile away."

Lavi's silent and he stops at a doorway that Raven recognizes from previous knowledge to be Robin and Kanda's room. He sets her down in front of the door and she unwraps her arms from around his neck.

"How did you know I wanted to go to Robin's room?" She asks with a small smile.

"Call it intuition." He says, returning the grin. Raven bites the bottom of her lip. She leans toward him and gently kisses his cheek.

"Thanks Lavi." She says. "It was fun." Lavi stares at her as she hobbles into her room and closes the door behind her. Lavi stares blankly at the door even after it closes.

"You know what I'm going to say." A voice says from behind him. Lavi turns around to face his mentor. Bookman narrows his eyes at his student, who frowns.

"I know, I know." Lavi says. "I won't let her affect my duties."

"Lavi," Bookman scolds.

"Enough, you old panda!" Lavi says. "I know the rules. We are Bookman. We observe and don't become involved with events or other people. You don't have to constantly remind me!"

"I forbid you to see her again." Bookman says and Lavi freezes. "As Bookman, we must detach ourselves from being emotionally involved with others. It will only be a hindrance should they disappear one day. Do you understand?"

Lavi's quiet with his back turned to his mentor. Bookman's eyes narrow.

"Do you understand?" He asks harshly.

"I understand." Lavi whispers. There's an uncomfortable silence as Lavi stalks off down the hallway. Bookman frowns, watching his apprentice. Lavi rounds the corner and sneaks off into his room. The door shuts and he leans his back against the closed door. He pulls a hand to the side of his face and a small smile escapes his lips.

"We all have something we don't want the world to know. I can understand the need to lock it all away and pretend like everything is okay; living through a mask that only you can see. But just between you and me, I can spot a fake smile from a mile away."

A warm droplet of water rolls down his cheek. It's the first tear he's shed in years.