Exception

By: Aviantei

80. Hey Look It's That Compromise Thing Again

Lee Komui had not been having a good week.

No one was surprised by this assessment, but it also didn't truly convey just how not good of a time he was having. Not only had he fought with Lenalee—his most precious little sister—several times within the span of a few days, she'd also run away from home—an unprecedented occasion in the entire seventeen years of her life. On top of that, Komui had no real idea what to do with that. He'd never wanted to run away himself, nor did he have any idea how to be a parent half the time.

The closest thing Komui had ever had to Lenalee's sense of rebellion was his accidental truancy during his high school years. Anytime he'd come up with a new idea for an experiment, it wasn't uncommon for him to hole himself up in his room or take over the garage for hours on end, skipping sleep just as much as he was skipping school. And while that sort of behavior was…not excellent, it hadn't been born of any malice.

By the fact that Lenalee had just left, Komui was certain that she couldn't stand him anymore, which was enough to shatter his spirits. Any and all classes he'd been in charge of had been mumbling affairs, in which his students learned just about nothing (despite his usual level of spasticness, he did have a good grasp on his subject, and was often entertaining enough for students to pay attention), and not even Reever's support had made things better.

If it weren't for the fact wallowing around alone at home would've just made him feel worse, Komui wouldn't have gone to work at all. And the weekend had just proven that. Reever had been able to drop by a few times, bringing food with him and ensuring that Komui wasn't falling apart entirely, but it was a close call altogether. Reever sure wasn't sure how much longer the situation could last, what with no news being conveyed to them on where Lenalee was.

(Ari had considered letting something slip, just enough to stop the ongoing panic, but she wasn't a snitch whatsoever, and also that could lead to Komui bombarding her for enough info to run off and find Lenalee himself, which was so not what you unleashed on your friends, so that plan had been tucked away for a true emergency, and then discarded once Lenalee revealed her intentions to go back home anyways.)

So upon Sunday's arrival, Komui was a worn out husk of a man, looking as bedraggled as a mummy as he lied in bed and stared at the ceiling. There's no point to going on, he thought, not for the first time that week. If I can't even make sure Lenalee is okay, then I haven't accomplished anything. I promised her I'd always be there for her, and then I made her not even want me around. I'm a failure as an older brother, and a failure as her guardian, too. Komui released a long and heavy sigh that didn't do anything to make him feel better. Maybe I should see if I have any of that sleep medicine I made for myself a while ago. It'd be better to get some rest…

Komui closed his eyes, knowing full well that sleep wouldn't come that easy but still needing to try anyways, and, soon after, there was the sound of the door downstairs opening. Komui figured it was Reever, there to make sure Komui at least got out of bed and made food, but he made no move to get up on his own. Bed was wonderful, bed was safe, bed helped him forget that—

"It's time to get up, Nī-san. Why don't you get dressed while I make some coffee?"

Somehow, Lenalee had come home.

If you were to compare the scene to the previous conversation the Lee siblings had had, it wouldn't be much different. Sure, Komui looked a lot more haggard, while Lenalee was wearing an outfit she very much hadn't owned a week ago, but the rest of the details where the same: the two of them sitting on opposite couches, cups of coffee on the table between them, and a tense air all around that they just couldn't shake. Even Komlin IV was avoiding the living room, though they peeked around the door on occasion to make sure another fight hadn't broken out like last time.

Lenalee was in a strange sense of mind, knowing that she had been in the wrong for running away, but also knowing that the boundaries between her and Komui needed to change or they were just going to repeat the cycle over and over again. Komui was also in a strange sense of mind, feeling relieved that Lenalee had come home safe without any injuries, but also knowing that he needed to be a stern parent without going overboard and repeating the cycle all over again.

In other words: neither of them knew where to start!

"Er, Nī-san…"

"Um, Lenalee…"

"No, wait you go first."

"No, go ahead, it's fine, I'll wait."

"It's okay, you should probably lecture me for doing something so stupid."

"Well, I'm sure you want to tell me off for not listening to you and…"

Having talked over each other several times in a row, Komui and Lenalee found themselves laughing, which ended up breaking through a chunk of the tension. There was still a decent chunk, no doubt, but it was no longer impenetrable, and the two were able to pick up their coffee mugs and ease into the couch cushions, as if it were any other day in the Lee household.

"We're not very good at this, are we?" Komui asked, feeling a sense of relief that Lenalee seemed to be just as uncertain about the whole thing as he did. If she'd come in swinging with full force like before, he might just have caved under any request she had if that meant she'd be home safe.

"I think we've always been bad at it." But then again, who could expect them to be good at things they weren't expected to handle at their age when they were younger? "But…we were doing our best together as a team, right?" At least, it had been what they were doing before things had gotten more difficult to remember. But even with that…

"That was the plan, but I don't think we've been doing that well, have we?" Komui may have been wallowing, but he couldn't waste time on that whenever Lenalee was back in front of him, not if he was going to be the responsible adult in the situation. And that involved admitting his mistakes when he made them. "If we're going to be a team, I should let you be a part of things, shouldn't I?"

Lenalee offered a faint smile, but even she couldn't deny that her feelings had been pushed to the side a lot. It wasn't like she'd just run off on a whim, after all. "I mean, if you don't want to let me make any choices after what I just did, I'd understand…" Now that she was sitting back home, Lenalee had a level enough head to admit that running off was a silly choice at best.

It was Komui's turn to chuckle, though, with the same half energy to it. "Well, you're very much going to be grounded for a while, yes, but that doesn't mean I didn't mess up, too." Yeah, Lenalee figured she was going to be in trouble; no sense in arguing that one. "We can use the time while you're going to be staying home to talk things out even more, but I do want you to feel like you're getting to make choices, too."

"And saying you'll have Komlin follow me around is going too far?"

"And saying having Komlin follow you around is going too far," Komui agreed. Now, was the prospect of letting Lenalee off on her own still nerve-wracking? Yes, and he was sure he'd worry about her forever. But if Lenalee was going to grow up and strike out on her own in time… "We'll have to work something out, though. If you're going to be out different than usual, I want to know. Does…that sound alright?"

Maybe the hesitation at the end could have ruined it. It sure wasn't a pro parent move by any stretch of the imagination. But overstepping his authority had been part of the issue, so an idea of compromise had to be out there.

"I…think that's fair." Not thinking she'd get so far, Lenalee almost didn't know what to say in response. "I am glad that you care about me so much, Nī-san. And I realized that I missed home after I left. But I'm still sticking by what I said before." That she wanted more freedom, wanted to not be treated like a little girl anymore.

While before the concept was enough to send Komui into a pure panic, that didn't happen again. He didn't feel fully comfortable with the concept, but something in him knew that it was time to start walking in that direction so they could move forward together.

"It's so strange to me how much you've grown up," Komui said, his voice full of affection, and Lenalee swore if she started to tear up, she was going to riot in full force. Komui, on the other hand, would bawl without shame. "You were so small when you were born, and I didn't know what to do whenever we lost our parents. I just promised I'd do everything to keep you safe so you could grow up, and here you are, all grown up." Yeah, this whole thing was a recipe for waterworks, wasn't it? "I want to help you, Lenalee. I'll probably still be stupid, but don't give up on me, okay? If you keep saying things, it'll click with me. And if I don't, you can tell on me to Reever, and he'll knock some sense into me!" Lenalee giggled at the mental image. "I mean it, Lenalee. I don't want to hold you back. That's never what I wanted. So we'll figure it out, won't we?"

"I know it's tough, and I know it's scary, but we'll figure it out, Lenalee! When it's the two of us together, there's nothing we can't do. Don't worry—Komui-nī-san's got it all taken care of!"

"You haven't changed a bit, Nī-san," Lenalee said, smiling all the way. Komui wasn't quite sure how to take those words, but he did know that it would be best to wait and lesson before he jumped to any conclusions. "Sometimes, it's frustrating that you don't seem to get it. And I still want that to change going forward. But there's still something comforting about your energy. I didn't realize it before…

"You can be a pain in the but sometimes, but I'm glad you're my big brother."

Komui returned her smile. "And I wouldn't rather have anyone but my sister than you."

Komlin, still watching, did the robot equivalent of holding back tears, while Komui and Lenalee tried the same but were unsuccessful. And so the two shared a sweet moment together, the cracks in their bond repaired as the Lee siblings once again looked forward to their future, both the parts they would share and the ones where their paths would diverge.

And so peace was restored…

"But you didn't get hurt while you were gone right? If anyone so much as touched you, I'll hunt them down and—"

"Nī-san, nothing happened, I'm fine!"

…or at least, as much peace as could be expected!

"Hmph. You're running late."

"The last person I wanna hear that from is you, you horny old man. Or maybe I should call you a drunk today for drinking so early. Oh, wait. That's no different than usual. My bad!"

"Just sit down and tell me what you found, dammit."

"So touchy." Even so, Elizabeth hopped onto the stool next to Cross without hesitation. All things considered, it wasn't the worst state he'd ever found his guardian in, so one that was still sober enough not to slur his words was a pretty good deal. "But I got some good stuff for you. First up, it's what we thought was going on, so we're gonna have to keep an eye for Allen, just like you said." Cross clicked his tongue at the insinuation of caring for Allen, but Elizabeth had long stopped arguing on the matter. He wasn't fooled, and they both knew it. "Second, Lvellie sent that new little puppy dog of his to go snooping around, too. We're not the only ones interested in this whole matter."

Midway through the motion of bringing his whiskey glass to his lips, Cross paused. It may not have seemed like much, but it took a damn lot to keep him from a drink. A few seconds later, he finished his sip, ice rattling in the glass, but it had been enough for Elizabeth to notice. Great. That just means more work for me, huh? Shoulda kept my mouth shut. Then again, if he'd slacked off and something bad happened to Allen because of it, that'd be a problem.

Allen was lucky Elizabeth loved him.

"Well, sounds like things are going to get messier. What a pain in the ass." Cross took another long drink to emphasize the point, and Elizabeth flagged down the barkeep for a soda, just to make his own point. Whether Cross understood the nuance was up for debate. "Well, if things are going this route, it's too late to undo it. We'll just have to square up and see things through to the end." Elizabeth stared, and Cross gave him a side glance. "What? You got something else to say, brat?"

"Anita says to come visit."

"Bringing home more trouble than you're worth, as usual."

"Like you're one to talk." Cross was much worse at bringing home trouble. Honestly. "But, yeah, that's about what I've got. Though if you don't go and see her after I promised I'd send you, I'd make you regret it." That was a promise, not a threat.

Cross sighed, drowning the rest of his glass and standing up. "Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. I'll go get thatoput of the way now." Even with the info they had, there wasn't anything they could do right away. Might as well go enjoy the company of a beautiful lady while he had the chance. Cross stood, putting on his hat before heading towards the door, but Elizabeth snatched onto his arm before he could get too far. "What?"

"Don't you dare drop your bill on me, asshole."

Well, Cross thought, can't win them all.

In the light of day and in the aftermath of the Noah party that very much still needed to be cleaned up, the owner of the house at last arrived, not even pausing at the mess scattered everywhere. Instead, flipped open their phone, scrolling down the screen enroute to the computer they'd left behind on purpose.

"Looks like we've had some visitors, huh? This should be tons of fun."

No one quite new the particulars just yet, but there was going to be plenty more to come.

[Lenalee Rebellion Arc Closed]

[Author's Notes]

And so we safely wrapped up another arc! This one's funny to look back on, since I went ahead and changed up my plot orders from my original ancient plans, but what can you expect from a project that's been going on for so long? I'm happy with the results, though, so I hope you had some fun, and we hit the chapter 80 mark, too! Milestones all around.

There will be the customary post season break to give me a lil bit of a breather. Next up is actually...the final arc! At long last, the end of this fic is on the horizon! That said, this final arc will have some other mini arcs involved for the sake of my sanity, so I'm thinking I'll release them in mini season arc batches...but I'm still a bit indecisive on just when I'm going to start posting and the patterns I'm going to take with this. Funnily enough, there's things to consider while you're posting several fics at once (and I have no one to blame but myself)! So know that the next season will be coming soon-ish - I just need to hash out the particulars while I'm drafting as well.

In the meantime, I do have the next season of my Moriarty the Patriot fic, you could have my heart (and i would break it for you) up and running, so there will be plenty of content there! Do go check it out if it interests you, and I'll see y'all back again here soon!

Next Time: "81. Hey, Look, New Plot Movements." Please look forward to it!

-Avi

[23 September 2024]