Chapter 17: Sibling

Lenalee knew she was going to have to tell her brother about Link eventually.

Ever since St. Petersburg, she'd been terrified of waking up one morning to another bigger and badder than ever before robot plowing its way through the Order in pursuit of the Crow, which would lead to no end of trouble with Central later. Truthfully, Komui was still in hot water over the 'tiny robot army' debacle, even if most of the mini-Komlins had been rounded up in the following weeks. Emphasis on mostly as there still a couple of the little beasts still at large. Rumor had it, Peck had been found in one of the restrooms in a puddle of his own urine while one of last Komlins performed a victory dance around him.

The bottom line remained that Komui was going to figure everything out eventually, and Lenalee had a small hope that maybe, if he heard it from her, he would…be rational? The young woman sighed and hung her head. Just how would that conversation go anyway? Hi, Brother. I think I'm in love with Link. Please don't kill him. That sounded like a post-it note. Maybe she ought to leave a note instead. Or maybe she should tell Link to make up his last will and testament.

The young woman groaned and leaned against the wall. Brother, I have something to tell you. Don't freak out, but I may have feelings for Link.

Did she, though?

Maybe she was jumping the gun a little. Maybe this whole mess was just a little infatuation, just as she'd been insisting to her comrades for months now. She'd never been in love before. How was she supposed to know the difference? Besides, they'd only shared a handful of conversations. There was no way she'd be able to tell based on that. Right?

Brother, I love Link. Deal with it.

And what if Link didn't feel the same for her? The Inspector was a Crow, but then again, she remembered his words to her that early morning, the only time they had ever been alone together, "Since that day when you saved Miss Lotto, myself, and the finders from that Level III, I've…grown fond of you." Was that 'fondness' what she thought it was? Maybe fondness wasn't the word he was looking for. Maybe he'd mispoken. Maybe she'd misunderstood. English wasn't his first language any more than it was hers, after all.

Lenalee sighed. Although…given her fear of the special combat unit, she supposed there was a chance Komui wouldn't even believe her 'heartfelt' confession. Take it as a sort of strange joke, so to speak. A really, really strange joke.

Kanda was right. Why Link? Why not someone sweet and gentle like Allen? Or a goofball like Lavi or Daisya? No, she knew the answer to that. Her brother was goofball! Maybe she found Link's stoicism more appealing on that account. But then there was Kanda whom she'd never seen as more than a brother. Kanda had always looked after her when they were children and—hold on, was she just looking for someone to protect her? Is that what she considered the ideal partner?

Oh, good God. Lenalee put her head in her hands. But she could look after herself just fine! That couldn't be it. What was wrong with her?

Brother, if I told you I liked Link—

Brother, I'm considering a decision to pursue Link—

I think Link likes me, Brother, and I would appreciate it if you would—

What a lovesick clod she'd become.

Just then, the door to her brother's office creaked open and he was suddenly standing there, arms full of papers and coffee mug in hand. He looked startled by her appearance and a big grin crossed his face. "Hey, Lenalee! What brings you up here?"

She panicked. "Oh, I forgot already! I've been standing out here for two minutes trying to remember what it was. Something about…about…oh, it's gone."

"Oh, I see." Was he buying it? Komui shrugged. "Well, no matter. I'm off to deliver these reports to Chief Bak at the Asian Branch. Why don't you walk with me and try to remember what it was you wanted to talk about?"

"Don't you have a secretary to help you with that? Bridget Fay, remember?"

"Never heard of her! Let's go!"

Lenalee suppressed a giggle and fell into step with her older brother, wondering what sort paperwork he was procrastinating this time. The pair had hurried down the hall, passed the guardsmen, and were headed toward the main Gate, when she suddenly remembered, "Oh! They caught another one of the Komlin mini-bots this morning."

"Really? Where was it?"

"Reever found it in one of the labs. Apparently, it made itself a little nest in a bookshelf and seemed to be waiting for a chance to attack Peck." Actually, Regory Peck had been on leave ever since the restroom incident for the embarassment as much as the trauma. From what Lenalee could gather, none of his colleagues felt sorry for him. "Did you really have to do that to the poor man, Komui? It's one thing for people who are used to your antics, but Peck was a new member of the European Science Division."

Komui's smile was shamelessly unrepentant.

"Really, Brother, do you intend to scare off any male person who comes near me?" Progress. Still not what she really wanted to ask.

"Lenalee, dear, I should think a lech like Peck deserved what he got."

"Yeah, but what about all those other poor people you jumped to conclusions about. Or how you freak out whenever someone jokes about me getting married? Would you ever be all right giving me away to another man if I told you I loved him?" There. I sorta said it.

Komui came to an abrupt stop then and looked at her, horrified. "Is there a man?"

"No!" She hated lying like that, but if it meant a little more continued peace…. "But if there was, would you try to understand, Brother? I'm not a little girl anymore, and I'll reach my majority in a few years. I can't make any promises to never fall in love, and if I do someday, would you be happy for me?"

…

"What did he say after that?"

"I don't know," Lenalee sighed for the umpteenth time that day. "His assistant descended upon him like a harpy from Hell and scolded him all the way back to his office."

The Head Nurse made a thoughtful noise in the back of her throat and spooned more soup into her mouth. "I have to admire you, Lenalee. At least you were brave enough to mention the subject. In your shoes, I think I would've been too afraid of the following natural disaster."

"Yeah, but now I'm scared Komui will really be on high alert now." She tore a bread roll in two and stuffed it into her mouth. "I should enter a convent."

"Oh, calm yourself," the older woman chided over her water glass. "It'll work out, you'll see. And frankly, I'm surprised your brother hasn't noticed the way you look at that boy yet."

Lenalee's heart sank. "Does everyone but Komui know?"

"Only the observant ones," the Head Nurse smiled kindly at her. "But what I wish to ask you, child, is what would you do if your brother wasn't a problem?"

"Pardon?"

The Head Nurse waved her spoon around as though to demonstrate. "Say Chief Komui could care less about your romantic interests. Tell me how you would proceed with yours."

The question startled Lenalee for she hadn't really given that part of the matter much thought since…. "Lottie, I don't know if Link even likes me in that way. Maybe I shouldn't 'proceed' as you put it."

"Pish-posh and old chicken poop," was the reply. "There are plenty of ways to tease that answer into the open. The most direct way is to ask point blank, which might appeal to that analytic Crow heart of his." Lenalee wanted to protest that comment, but the Head Nurse went on, "And then there is watching for the signs. Unfortunately, you haven't seen the looks he gives you when he thinks no one is looking."

"Still, if Komui found out…"

This time, it was the Head Nurse's turn to sigh. "Lenalee, did you know that when I was a few years older than you, my father arranged a marriage for me?"

She shook her head. The most she knew about Head Nurse Charlotte Koslov was she was born and raised in the Black Order, and had been the daughter of some high-ranking officer who'd never really been mentioned by name. Since she was 'only a girl,' there was no place for her within the politics of the Order, so she'd thrown herself into the respectable vocation of becoming a nurse rather than whittle away her life 'just existing' for her family name.

"Indeed," Lottie went on. "Engaged to the son of a highly ranked Central officer. Can you imagine?"

"Let me guess," Lenalee said. "Your father favored the family's advancement against your wishes."

"Precisely. The two of us were introduced at eighteen and I knew straight-off Barrett Nansen would not do at all. Dull-witted boy born into power, you know the type. No, I had my heart set on another, as you know."

She did know. "Exorcist Ira Koslov. So did you talk your father out of the arranged marriage?"

"Heavens, no! He had the paperwork signed long before I found out. No, my Ira and I eloped the second Father made it clear to me I had no choice in the matter."

"You're kidding!"

The Head Nurse cringed. "Yes, yes, I was a regular romance novel heroine. Matter of fact, my brother actually aided and abetted our escape from the Order. Nearly cost him his inheritance. What I mean to say, dear, is that when one loved one is being an unreasonable prick, and you care not one fig about advancement or prestige, which you don't, sometimes a little improvisation goes a long way."

"So what you're saying is…in my circumstances I should do what I feel is right? But isn't that a little arrogant?"

"Do you love him? Inspector Link?"

"Maybe? I don't know yet."

"Of course you don't, and you're never going to know unless one of you, I don't care which, stands up and knocks over a domino. And be quick about it, too, Lenalee. There's a wager on between us trusted few in the know, and I've five quid on you."

"Huh?"

"Now," the Head Nurse said as she set aside her empty bowl. "I certainly hope that cleared things up for you and I thank you for joining me for my lunch break, but I need to attend to my patients now. So long."

"Hey, what do you mean there's a wager?"

But the elder woman was already gone, and Lenalee was left sitting with her lunch half-eaten and somehow in even more turmoil than she'd started that morning. What?

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: More the on Komlin mini-bots later. As for St. Petersburg...soon. (Also, apparently five quid was a significant amount of money in the 19th century.)

D. Gray Man is owned by Katsura Hoshino.