Exception

By: Aviantei

21. Friday Morning: Another Beginning

Ivy woke up on Friday feeling a lot more stressed out than she should have.

Just the other day, she was feeling giddy about being able to go on a proper date with Kanda, especially one that Lavi had no idea about. The couple had worked hard to keep things a secret, and hopefully this whole Allen/TRIangular thing would have distracted the redhead enough. Now, not only did Lavi know, Allen had pretty much guilt-tripped Ivy into actually having her date in the same location, and Kanda wasn't exactly the happiest of campers about that whole idea.

Fuck, Millennial was such a high class place, did she even have clothes for that?!

Really, Ivy wanted to scream, but that would only alert her neighbors, possibly the landlord, and then Cloud Nine would get called, and Ivy couldn't handle that right now. Just could not.

She was actually kind of jealous of Lavi and Kanda. Still being seventeen seriously sucked.

Taking a hot shower in the morning usually left Allen feeling prepared for the day. Today, not so much. Some part of him still felt an immense panic he figured was usual for teenage boys getting ready to go on dates. The paranoia of things quickly degenerating into something out of a romcom from hell due to his friends' (read: Lavi's) antics was probably not unusual.

He tried to breathe to calm himself down. If he was too nervous, Lenalee would definitely catch on and ask what was up. And while her intentions would be those of a good friend, Allen didn't think he could keep the date a secret if pressed.

Timcanpy chirped from his perch, attracting Allen's attention. Allen stopped trying to fix his clothes to head over the bird. "Sorry, I didn't feed you yet," he said, scratching Tim's head with one hand and grabbing food with the other. "I've just been kind of stressed out here…"

Tim chirped again, hopping onto Allen's arm. Seriously, he loved that bird. Timcanpy was probably the only good thing that had come out of traveling with Cross all that time. Allen had been pretty young still, but he had managed to pet a wild bird while in Asia, and it had stuck with him ever since. They hadn't been able to get rid of it, so Cross had given up on the matter, saying that "The damn bird is your responsibility now, Brat."

Come to think of it, that had been pretty nice given Cross's standards…

Tim made it up to Allen's shoulder, nuzzling against the boy's cheek, still chirping softly. "Yeah, you're right," Allen said, still scratching at Tim's chest. "I just gotta be myself, see if I have fun… One date's not going to be the end of the world, even if Lavi's involved. And besides, I'm sure Ari will know how to handle it."

Allen remembered the snowball fight and reconsidered his options. Ari would probably be just as aggressive as Kanda if anything went wrong, and Lavi just might not survive that one. And that was only considering if Ivy didn't get involved, too. Allen didn't think they could possibly ever pay for the damages on that one.

So, for all of their sakes, Allen caved in and released a small prayer.

Please, just let tonight not have anything too crazy happen. Can you handle that, God?

In comparison to a night with no problems whatsoever, that wasn't too much to ask for. It still might be pushing the limits of a miracle, though, but that was fine. Allen could at least believe in miracles. Kanda and Ivy were enough for that, even though they weren't the most impressive thing the British boy had seen in his life.

And, like he was praying, too, Timcanpy let out a soft warble.

Allen scratched the bird's head. "Thanks, Tim."

Lenalee navigated the kitchen for breakfast, making sure not to bump into any experiment looking bits in the process. She had tried before, but the fact was that Komui couldn't be convinced to stop using the dining table as an experiment lab (he even had his own lab room, seriously!). The excuse was that he needed his coffee to keep a sharp mind. Lenalee had offered to just move the coffee pot to his lab since she didn't use it anyway,

Ah, but coffee pots belong in kitchens, don't they, my darling sister?

But robot parts didn't belong in the lab?

Still, Lenalee could put up with it. She loved how quirky her brother was, even if it was concerning at times. Besides, cleaning up the kitchen had never really helped the situation out, either. It just made the place feel empty.

So pushing aside a pile of gears gently so not to damage them, Lenalee was able to clear out a space for her plate of pancakes so lovingly provided by Komui. Cooking was technically science, after all, and he could at least do this much.

"What's all this stuff for anyways?" she asked as Komui continued to bustle about. Yes, the kitchen was usually mechanical mayhem, but this was a step up from usual. Stuff was leaking from the table to the countertops, and walking was starting to become an issue. Lenalee would probably spend a chunk of her weekend cleaning up. Ending up in the hospital would be no fun just because one of them tripped, both because and into various metal bits.

"It's for the Science Club!" Komui answered, almost flipping his own pancake on top of what looked like a sharp piece of metal next to his plate. Okay, that would definitely have to go this weekend, no matter what Komui said. There was a line between mildly dangerous and stupid, even though Lavi seemed to cross it all the time. "We're having a special project coming up soon, and we need to be prepared. So I'm taking the liberty of gathering supplies up so we can get to work."

That made sense, if only these supplies would do better at the school than here, then. Lenalee would have to maybe see if her cleaning processes could involve transporting some stuff out of her home. But that wasn't the concerning part. More importantly…

"Special project?" she asked sweetly. That could only spell disaster. The last "special project" Komui had been working on had led to school being closed for three whole days and a fumigation squad. It was a wonder anyone even went to Black Order High with how many incidents they tended to have on a yearly basis. "Is something special coming up?"

"Ah, ah, ah, my lovely sister," Komui scolded. Finished cooking his own breakfast, the man toted his plate and coffee mug to the table, sitting at the spot Lenalee had cleared out for him. At least this project just had a lot of metal and no weird substances involved. "We want it to be a surprise. There will be an announcement soon enough, you'll just have to wait for it!"

Okay, that sounded way more like a potential disaster. A total one at that. While Lenalee could handle most of her brother's antics (surprisingly, even the overprotective bits), anything that could result in injury was pushing it. This was for the greater good! Somebody at least deserved to know!

And, well, she was curious, but you couldn't fault her for that…

Time to use the cute charm.

Lenalee put on her best pout, perfected from childhood and only refined more with age. Komui had always been easy to convince to do things, and pouting was the quickest and easiest. "But Nii-san," she said, making sure to space out her syllables just right. Not whiny, but disappointed. A hint of curiosity. Komui instantly reacted, pausing in taking a drink of his coffee. "That's no fair. If I have to live with all this stuff, don't I at least deserve to know why?"

And cue internal crisis. Loyalty to his club or his sister. Komui's eye twitched. It would only be a matter of time before he caved. Lenalee cut off a piece of pancake and popped it into her mouth, waiting for the moment when her brother would crack.

"Alright, but you can't tell anyone," Komui relented with a wink. Lenalee beamed, putting her fork down and leaning forward, making sure not to smear her top in syrup. She didn't have time to recoordinate her whole outfit if that happened. "We're going to be hosting a Robot Fight Club come March. I was going to maybe build a new Komlin, to show the kids what to do." Lenalee flinched, but at least Komui didn't see. "But we'll see." He raised a finger to his lips. "It's a secret, though, so you gotta keep it."

And Komui offered Lenalee his pinky.

She took it, sealing the deal, even though she knew this couldn't end well.

Another Komlin…

Well, at least they had a few months before that particular whirlwind of chaos.

Even though Lavi could drive, Ari still opted to take the bus.

It wasn't that she didn't trust her brother. Okay, maybe that was part of the issue. But she had been there when Lavi had his learner's permit, and she had been convinced to sneak out in the car for ice cream more than once. Lavi had known how to not crash and…really, that was the only good thing Ari could remember about those times. That and the ice cream.

Ari would have to seriously get her own permit soon. But not if the Panda was teaching her to drive.

Putting all that aside, though, Ari hopped onto the bus and waved. A few seats down Johnny Gill waved back, and Ari went to sit by him. The boy was part of the Science Club, but he also was part of the Chess Club in his spare time. Ari had checked in on said second club in hopes of finding someone challenging to play besides her brother. Even though no one really could see any many states of the board as the Bookman siblings, Johnny was fun to talk to and a sweetheart to boot.

As an added bonus he was also friends with Allen, but Ari would have hung out with him anyway.

"Someone's extra bouncy today," Johnny commented with a smile. Ari could only beam back. Was she not supposed to be in a good mood? She had asked Allen on a date, and he had said yes! There wasn't anything better than that, not even reading. "So things are all ready for tonight?"

"Mmhmm!" Ari nodded so quickly that her hair went in more directions than it usually did. At least she had tied it back today—less mess to fix up for later. "I double checked the reservation, got a cab, and Allen said he's all ready to go. I even have the perfect dress that I picked up in France, too. It's gonna be perfect."

Sounding like a stereotypical gushing schoolgirl be damned, Ari was going to gush however the hell she pleased. She had expected for Allen to maybe politely turn her down, because that was just how he was. It was the defiance of her expectation that was sending her over the edge.

"Oh, the purple one?" Johnny asked. Ari had sent him plenty of pictures while overseas, and Johnny did have a flair for tailoring. A man of many talents, and all that. Ari nodded for an answer. "That one's really nice. I'm sure Allen's gonna love it."

As if Ari needed anything else to make her chipper as hell today. The redheaded girl rocked back in forth in the seat, looking like she could fall over at any second. "I'm just glad I saved up all my Christmas money," she said. "Plus I got partially refunded since I didn't stay my term in France." Not that the Old Panda needed to know about that, no sir. "Millennial's an expensive place, but I got it covered."

Johnny's eyes might have widened behind his glasses, but it was hard to see with how thick they were. Millennial was easily the most expensive restaurant within the whole town, and most high school kids couldn't even dream of going there. But Ari had somehow managed it, though Johnny was a bit worried given the size of Allen's stomach.

"If anyone can manage that, Ari, it's you." There wasn't any point in worrying about her anyway. Ari was resourceful. She could easily handle anything, even if things might get a bit crazy in between. Though just in case… "You know that dress might be a bit hard to move in," he said, "Want me to come over and make some adjustments?"

Ari grinned. "That's what I like to hear, Johnny."

Lavi could easily drive to school with his eye closed, but most laws and ordinances discouraged that sort of behavior. Still, he made it to the parking lot pretty early and went to head inside, ready to enjoy another breakfast with his friends before getting ready to embark on another mission!

Okay, Allen had asked him to stop calling them that, but Lavi couldn't help it. This was a mission! A mission…of love!

Corny, yes. But stuff like that didn't matter. When you were in love, you could be as corny as you wanted. And because Allen tended to be more practical and Ivy had made it clear to stay the hell away from her relationship, Lavi would just have to provide the corniness from a safe distance.

Or maybe less than a safe distance because Kanda was standing in the parking lot, and he was clearly staring at Lavi with less than friendly intentions in his eyes.

Well, if that was how this morning was going to go.

"Yu-pon!" Lavi cheered, waving a gloved hand as enthusiastically as his winter jacket would allow. There was a cloud of air as Kanda exhaled sharply through his nose. That definitely couldn't be good. Well, if there was anyone that knew how to handle Kanda at his worst, it was Lavi. They had been friends for the longest after all. "I heard you got a date with Ivy-chan tonight, you stud, congratula—"

Kanda grabbed onto Lavi's jacket, and the redhead winced. It had been some time since he had seen Kanda like this, and that hadn't been a good time. Really, Ivy had done wonders, even if she hadn't done much at all.

"You need to watch yourself," Kanda growled. He didn't like being this pissed off, but this was steadily working towards his last nerve. Just how much did the Rabbit need to fuck around with his life before Lavi was satisfied? "I'm going along with this because Ivy said she was okay with it, but if I have to have one more date that goes wrong because you decided to get involved, you're gonna wish you were playing dodgeball instead of what I'm gonna do to you."

Lavi held up his hands in surrender, but tried to keep his tone light. He may have been out of practice, but dealing with Kanda was like riding a bike—you never forgot if you didn't want to fall and bust your face on the concrete. "Easy, easy," he tried. "I've got everything covered, Yu-pon. You won't even have to do anything—this is just assurance."

Kanda gritted his teeth. Really, how much stupider could this situation get? "That's what you said before," he said, almost growling. Getting this irritated was exhausting for him, but there wasn't much else he could do, not when Ivy was getting behind the Rabbit's schemes now. "But you see, it never works out that way, does it?" He tightened his grip, and Lavi finally had the sense to look worried.

"H-hey now, Yu-pon, no need for this this…" Man, if only Ivy would come by. Maybe that would save him.

"So what I'm saying," Kanda continued, dropping into one of his top ten glares (yes, Lavi kept track), "is that tonight better not have any trouble, or else you're going to be a very fucking unhappy Rabbit. And you won't be pulling off any ridiculous schemes at least until graduation." He finally let go of Lavi's scarf, but the redhead didn't run. Having a chase scene this early in the morning would only make the rest of the day more exhausting. "Fuck, I've gone through too much trouble to not be able to enjoy myself with my girlfriend."

"I got ya, I got ya," Lavi said, looking around. Still no one else in the parking lot. Did people not enjoy being on time or something? "I promise, Yu-pon—no seriously." Kanda raised an eyebrow, but not any objections. "I want everything to go perfectly, just like you do." Like hell he was letting Allen's love life suffer, not to mention let the Brit give his sister a bad time. "So I'll be the one to do all the legwork, okay? You leave it to me. I'm your best friend after all."

Despite his instincts, Kanda's frustration ebbed a bit, even though his worry seemed to grow. "You know that doesn't exactly make me feel any better."

Lavi finally smiled, adding a shrug. "Such little faith, Yu-pon, just like always!" He held up a finger, assuming his "intellectual" pose. "If you can't believe in the power of friendship, at least believe in the power of love."

Kanda scoffed, returning his hands to his pockets. "You're lucky Ivy agreed to this."

Lavi nodded, his smile stretching into a full blown grin. "I know," he said. "I couldn't ask for a better partner in crime."

"She's my partner, you know."

Lavi could have cooed. Kanda was getting jealous, how cute. "Of course, Yu-pon, that's what we worked so hard for!"

Kanda only rolled his eyes and turned to head inside. Enough of this freezing his ass off and intimidation bullshit. He could be irritated inside a heating system. Lavi let him go, glad to see the immediate threat passed. Of course, that was to say nothing of the night to come, but that was fine.

Mad geniuses always worked best under pressure anyways.

Here we go, back to regular releases! I can actually get the plot moving again, who would have ever thought this day would come?

In any event, in case you missed it, there will be weekly updates on this story all the way til sometime in December. I did, however, get an expansion on how many free weeks I have to do this, so the updates will be all the way up to chapter thirty which will...well, this arc won't be finished, but we'll at least have made a decent sized dent in it. (Note that the author is choosing to focus on the arc rather than this story, which has no discernible end in sight.)

These little transitiony chapters are fun to right. I don't feel like I'm writing the humor the same as I used to, but you guys can complain at me if it doesn't work out right. (shrugs)

Also, since the rewrites are done, if anyone has opinions on the new versions of the first nine chapters, that would also be stellar!

This string of updates is possible thanks to [Equinoctial Stars over Seasons], a self-developed writing forum that invites challengers and conversationalists alike. Plus, you can insert the usual tag for my over on my profile here.

Next time, the date begins, and this wouldn't be a plan involving Lavi is something didn't go wrong, right? It'll be up next weekend, so please look forward to it!

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