Robin lets out a long sigh.
Well, this was her plan.
Lavi's one green eye scans the ballroom for any signs of the glowing green fragment of innocence. So far they haven't seen anything, merely more and more couples wandering around the manor all decked out for the night. Lavi has on a classic black and white tuxedo with a bright red rose on his jacket. His bandana is gone, letting his red hair fall against his eye patch. Robin wears a floor length, blood red gown with one sleeve wrapping around her shoulder all the way to her back. Stitched into the fabric are pieced together roses made with black lace and she wears matching black gloves. Her bra is obviously stuffed and she wears more than an enjoyable amount of makeup. For shoes she has her "favorite" four inch high, red stiletto heels. It's a miracle she hasn't tripped and broken her neck already.
"I'm surprised you've been so quiet."
She waits a second for a response, but Raven is quiet. Robin grits her teeth.
"Hey! I'm doing this for you! I'm in a freaking dress with makeup and heels! The least you can do is say hi or something! I mean, come on, not even one creative or snarky remark?!"
Nothing.
From across the dance floor there's a loud crash and a lot of yelling. Robin sighs again and wobbles over to Lavi's side, grimacing from the dress' ridiculous weight.
"Look's like those two are getting along." Lavi comments.
Robin watches Allen's face scrunch into a scowl. A long, ice blue dress wraps around the short exorcist's form and falls to his feet. Unlike her dress, Allen's has long blue sleeves and a high neckline that successfully covers his chest. His bra is also stuffed (Obviously) and along the blue fabric are bright, glimmering jewels that form into snowflakes. On his feet are silver heels that match is eyes and make his snow white hair pop, along with light blue eye shadow, pink blush, volumizing mascara and bubblegum pink lipstick. Robin smirks. And she thought she had it bad.
"Allen is like a snowflake princess." Lavi says, chuckling. Robin nods in agreement. She has to admit, the white-haired boy does pull it off. He probably looks better in a dress than she does. Robin pauses. Maybe she should be worried.
"Shut up, Bakanda!" Allen yells. She hears a loud growl and turns her attention to the seething samurai escorting said snow princess. Kanda wears a similar plain black and white tuxedo to Lavi. His long hair is free and falls in blue crescendos along his back. A single white rose is pinned to his jacket and his face is painted with an angry scowl. He raises a nearby plate of some kind of cake and readies his aim.
"Oh shit." Lavi says.
"Yo asshole!" She yells across the room to Kanda, getting a few odd looks from some of the other guests. The two of them pause and snap their attention to her. "Don't you dare ruin that dress!"
Kanda growls at her and Allen twitches with annoyance.
"I thought you two were supposed to be a happy, lovey-dovey couple?" Lavi asks.
"Shut up baka usagi!" Kanda and Allen yell back.
"Maybe they need to see an example?" Robin suggests. Lavi smirks and nods.
"Sounds good." He says. "Shall we?"
He bows and offers her a hand. Robin curtsies back and takes it, allowing him to lead her toward the dance floor. Lavi places a hand to her waist and leads her into a waltz. She rests her free hand on his shoulder and focuses on trying to keep from tripping over her heels. They dance past Allen and Kanda and Robin physically feels waves of hatred radiating off the dark-eyed samurai. She knows Kanda is pissed. Probably to the point where he's homicidal. Wait, who is she kidding with probably?
Robin meets his angry gaze and she smirks, making sure to stick her tongue out at him. She watches him twitch and quickly breaks eye contact. If it weren't for this plan of hers she would be running for the hills right now. She's finally going to get some answers out of the rabbit. She knows she can only do that if she's alone with him, and the only way to do that without arousing the rabbit's suspicion is to make it seem like she and Kanda are fighting. She can use her desire to piss off the samurai as an excuse to pair up with Lavi for the night, hopefully resulting in getting the truth out of the red head. She feels slightly bad for using Kanda is such a way, but it's not her fault he's so easily angered. Plus, he did technically agree to it.
"Hey Lavi," Robin says with a sweet smile. "Mind if we find somewhere to sit down? These shoes are killing me." Lavi nods and leads her away from the main floor to a secluded part of the manor. They find a comfortable looking couch and take a seat. Robin sighs and Lavi hums cheerfully. Now's as good a chance as any.
"So Lavi?" Robin asks. "Can I ask you something?"
"Go for it." Lavi says.
"What happened between you and Raven? And please don't give me the whole 'It just didn't work' spiel. I've known Raven for years. I know you two are perfect for each other."
Lavi sighs and hits his head against the sofa, muttering to himself.
"Bakanda." He says. "That was a nice touch. So this is your plan?"
"Please tell me what happened." She says.
"Nothing happened." He says.
"Then why have you two been so quiet?" She challenges. Lavi lets out a sigh and turns away.
"I've been busy." He says, gritting his teeth.
"Lavi..."
"Look!" He snaps. "It's none of your business, alright?! Just drop it already! I don't get why it matters so much to you!"
Robin's quiet.
"Lavi," She says. "I'm a girl."
Lavi snaps his attention to her. She returns his gaze and smiles.
"I grew up hiding my gender." She continues. "I used to live in this god awful orphanage with a bunch of kids that always tried to mess with me. They made fun of me and picked on me. I remember one time they held me down and cut off all my hair. I never fought back. I hated that place. I hated it so much. No one ever cared about me. I used to wonder what would happen if I disappeared. I wondered if anyone would even notice."
"Robin." Lavi whispers.
"But then I met Raven." She says, wiping away the tears threatening to pour out of her eyes. "She was the first person to ever acknowledge my existence. The first to ever say a nice word. She stood up for me."
"Hey, why are you crying?" A voice says from behind. Robin spins around and glances at the strange little girl leaning over her. She has long black hair and deep violet eyes. Her eyes lock on Robin's uneven tufts of brown hair, recently chopped away.
"What happened to your hair?" The girl asks. She reaches out a hand to her.
"Leave me alone!" Robin yells, knocking away the hand. "Just leave me alone!" She curls herself into a ball and tries her best to fight the sobs raking across her body. Raven frowns.
"Who did this to you?" She asks, hoping to get an answer out of the girl.
Suddenly a twig snaps and her violet eyes glare at the gang of kids surrounding them. The tallest boy takes a step away from the others.
"What do you want Henry?" Raven growls.
"None of your business Raven." Henry sneers. "Now get out of my way."
"Bite me." Raven responds.
The gang leader and violet-eyed girl have an all-out glaring match.
"You did this to her?" Raven asks, motioning to Robin's chopped off hair.
"So what?" Henry asks. "What's a little girl like you gonna do?"
Raven's fists tighten and she lunges at the boy. She punches and claws at him, not even stopping when she starts to see red. Henry struggles and tries to fight back, but Raven grabs his arm and digs her teeth in. He screams bloody murder and Raven gets thrown back. Henry sniffles then makes a run for it, crying off in the distance. The rest of his pack follow, cowering in fear.
"Cowards." Raven says, licking the blood off her lips. Robin glances at her, wide eyed.
"Don't hurt me!" Robin yells, shying away from her. Raven frowns and rolls her eyes.
"My name is Raven. What's yours?"
"Robin."
Raven's eyes light up. "Hey, Robin, Raven. That's kind of cool!"
"What?" Robin asks.
"You know, our names?" Raven says. "Robin and Raven? Like the birds?" Robin frowns and Raven sweat drops.
"Geez, everyone's a critic." She mutters. "Anyways, let me fix your hair." She offers her hand again. Robin stares at it, motionless. Raven sighs.
"Oh, come on." She says. "I'm not going to bite you."
"Why not?" Robin asks. "You seem to enjoy it." Raven chuckles.
"Clever." Raven says. "Yup. You and me are gonna be good friends."
"Friends?" Robin asks, confused.
"Don't you know what a friend is?" Raven asks. Robin shakes her head.
"I've always been alone." Robin says. "My family never wanted me. Why would someone ever want to be my friend?"
Raven smiles.
"I guess I'll just have to show you."
"Raven is my friend." Robin says, staring straight at Lavi. "She is my best friend. I owe her so much. I can say with complete certainty that if it wasn't for her, I would never be here now. Up until a few days ago I thought she was dead. But she isn't. She's right here." Robin point to her heart. "She's always been here. Raven and I share a body. I don't know the specifics of how it happened, but her soul is trapped inside me and sometimes we get switched out. I can hear her through my thoughts. I can read her emotions. That's why I refuse to sit back and watch her lose the first person besides me she's ever opened up to. I can feel Raven's heart. I know she cares for you. And by watching you the last couple days, I know you feel the same. You like each other. Right Raven?"
Robin smiles and closes her eyes. A tear slides out of the corner of her eye and Robin's brown hair darkens to black.
"Raven?" Lavi asks, shocked. Raven's violet eyes open and she stares into Lavi's one green eye. She offers him a weak smile.
"Tada." She says and another tear escapes. Lavi's gaze softens and he raises a hand to brush away her tears. He shuts his eye and rests his head against her shoulder.
"I am a complete and utter jackass." Lavi says. "I'm so sorry Raven."
"It's okay." She says. Lavi shakes his head.
"No, it's not." He says. "I-" He pauses. "Robin is right. He-I mean she, is right. I do really like you Raven." Another tear slips out of her eye and she smiles.
"But?" She says. Lavi sighs.
"But I'm a Bookman." Lavi says. "I'm forbidden from being with you. A Bookman has to detach themselves from others and observe events without becoming involved."
"I understand." Raven whispers.
"Raven! Oh, for Chirst's sake! If you give up this easily, so help me God-"
Raven smiles.
"I wasn't done, idiot."
She meets Lavi's gaze. "I understand, however, I can't accept it." She shakes her head. "I can't accept it at all. Did you honestly just expect me to be okay with it? I'm not an idiot. I'm aware it won't be easy, but I at least want to try. Can't we at least give it a shot?"
Lavi sighs. "Okay." He whispers. He nods his head. Raven bursts into a huge smile. Lavi smiles back and stands up. Raven raises an eyebrow and he smirks, giving her a bow.
"Would the lady care for a dance?" Lavi asks, extending a hand. Raven smirks back.
"Don't mind if I do. Though before we go..." Raven closes her eyes and her hair and eyes change to mirror Robin's. Lavi smiles at her, surprised.
"That's convenient." Lavi says. He helps her to her feet and they head to the dance floor.
Hidden around a corner, Kanda shakes his head. That little...He leans back against the wall and sighs.
"Damn it Bakanda!" Allen yells, running up to him. His face is flushed from running in the heavy blue dress.
"What do you want moyashi?" Kanda growls.
"Allen!" He yells. "A-L-L-E-N! And I swear if one more person grabs my ass, just one more time, I'm going to kill something!"
Kanda chuckles and Allen growls in annoyance.
"Did you find the innocence?" Kanda asks. Allen holds up the glowing fragment so he can see it.
"Hurry up and get those two so we can leave already." Allen grumbles. Kanda scans the dance floor and watches Lavi and Raven laugh. He sighs, thinking of Robin and how much she would beg him to let them enjoy the night.
"Who am I to get between that? Besides, all I can think is what if it were us? What if I was trapped inside Raven and for whatever reason couldn't be with you? Everyone deserves a chance to be with the person they love."
He glances one more time at the pair and groans. He must be getting soft.
"They can have one more dance." He mutters. "One more dance then we're getting out of here."
Allen groans and stares at the two of them.
"I don't suppose you'd want to dance?" Allen asks.
Kanda growls at him and Allen sighs.
"Right."