Exception

By: Aviantei

36. Warm Up

The ballroom Millennium Private High School had rented out for their Valentine's dance was on the sort of level you would expect for a prom, if not hosting royalty. The ceiling stretched up high, the only thing able to compete being the sheer length and width of the room. When the members of Black Order High's dance committee had arrived, their jaws had dropped open in shock. The room had since then been outfitted with tables, refreshments, holiday themed streamers and balloons, and the DJ's mixing table, lights, and speakers sat elevated on a platform. The sound check had rattled the windows.

As evening approached and the doors were on the verge of being open, Road looked over the ballroom with satisfaction. Being born with a silver spoon and all, coupled with her high school enrollment, Road was no stranger to extravagance. In fact, some of the Chairman's private get togethers were more opulent, and those had far less people in attendance. Even so, she had to admit that the Black Order kids had done a solid job in keeping up to her standards. They weren't all awful.

Of course, Allen was the only one of them with any worth, but that was because he didn't belong there. If I could, I'd bring him to Millennium in a heartbeat, but…

"You're looking satisfied with yourself over there."

Road whirled around at the sound of Tyki's voice, and her skirt bounced with the movement. Never one to pass up an opportunity to dress up, Road had donned one of her frillier dresses, with enough ruffles to drown a man in (or a member of the competition, if necessary). Complete with striped tights, the perfect shoes, and some emergency tools, Road was beyond ready. Not even perturbed by her cousin's comment, Road beamed bright enough for Tyki to wonder just how high the number of casualties would be for the evening.

"And you look like you actually learned to dress yourself," Road said, skipping to Tyki and poking him in the chest. Unlike his shoddy appearance for the Noah breakfast, Tyki had bothered to pick out a decent dress shirt, vest, and tie combo, and he'd taken the extra care to slick his hair back. "I'd say I'm proud of you, but that's just gross. Who do you think you're trying to impress?"

Tyki shrugged, stepping out of Road's immediate arm radius, which wasn't that hard considering how short she was. "I just knew you'd chew me out again if I didn't put in some effort. Tonight's going to be enough of a hassle without giving you any more excuses." Road stuck out her tongue, and Tyki returned the favor. While there was someone he was hoping to impress if they showed up, there was no way the absolute hellion needed to know. "Speaking of which, remind me why you need my help?"

Road propped her fists on her hips with a scoff. "Because you're the easiest to bribe." And, loathe as she was to admit it, Tyki was the most competent out of her fellow Noah; Road considered it a consequence of sharing some of the same gene pool. "If you weren't such a pussy about your smokes, we wouldn't be having this issue. But you are, so here we are, deal with it." Tyki twitched a bit but held himself back from his immediate retort. The dance hadn't even started yet, and they had a whole evening to get on each other's nerves. Satisfied with the lack of backtalk, Road clapped her hands together. "Good, now that we're on the same page, it's your job to stop anyone from getting in my way. If that bitch with the screwdriver shows up, I'm counting on you."

Tyki wouldn't have been surprised if the Black Order girl was thinking similar thoughts about Road. "I'm hoping things won't get too dicey, considering this whole thing was set up because the Chairman sold it as a 'relationship building experience.'" Both Tyki and Road mock gagged in unison. "At least try to let the dance last a little while this time, Road."

"Of course. If it gets cancelled, how am I supposed to dance with my Allen?" That thought didn't make Tyki feel the slightest bit better, but Road was already lost in her own daydream. The evening was going to be perfect, and she wouldn't let it go any other way. Letting out a happy sigh, Road almost looked like a normal girl for once. "I bet he's a great dancer. Oh, I wonder how he dressed up? I bet he looks wonderful."

"Mistress Road, Master Tyki, lero!" The form of address, high anxiety level, and questionable sentence ender could only belong to one man. Tyki and Road turned as Lero ran up to them, already out of breath. While his main job was working at Millennial, his (unfortunate) connection to Road's family meant that she'd been able to rope him into playing chaperone for the night, if for any other reason than Lero could provide a cover story if necessary. "The doors are about to open, lero. Is everything ready, lero?"

"Absolutely," Road said, striding past the beyond overworked man. With one long step, Tyki matched her pace, following suit in headed towards the door, both eager for who would arrive. "Alright, Allen, my dear, let's get this show rolling."

Despite the size of the ballroom, it filled up without trouble. Students from both schools had flocked to the event, and even Black Order students who hadn't much interest before the cooperative event had been announced came, interested in checking out the venue. After a few startup songs had been played and the party lights sent a flashing, plenty of kids had clustered to the dance floor, more concentrated on shaking out their energy than continuing their rivalry, though a few competitive sports and academics members spared the time to glower at their adversaries when passed. Even more students had taken to the rather expansive array of concessions, taking in their fill of soda and pizza, and several tables were along the edges of the room for resting and socialization.

"I'll give it to these Noah, they know how to put on a good show," Lavi said, trying very much to lighten the mood. It had already been a nightmare to try and make a seating arrangement that didn't involve either Ari or Lenalee getting an upper hand, stranding Allen between them, or separating Ivy and Kanda, who were sitting closer together than they tended to in the normal lighting of the school cafeteria. Thanks to the addition of Johnny to their usual cluster, they had managed to put Allen at the end of the table, with the rest distributed across, Johnny and Ivy taking the coveted seats next to the man of honor, who just so happened to be stuffing his face. "How much do you think this place costs?"

"How much do you think this pizza cost?" Allen asked, pausing between bites. He held up a slice from his stack, showing off the assortment of savory toppings. "'Cause, I mean, it looks like pizza, but it tastes like the real deal. I don't think I've had pizza this good since Italy." And that'd been years ago. Deciding that the cost wasn't that important since it was complementary for him, Allen resumed his consumption. Johnny, who hadn't seen Allen eat in some time, watched with abject fascination.

"Oh, we passed through Italy when we were kids," Ari said, gesturing to Lavi beside her. Given the Old Panda's traveling habits, the Bookman siblings had traveled most of the world before hitting the double digits. "It was beautiful there. I liked Venice a lot. Did you get the chance to see it, Allen-san?"

"Um, for a little bit? It was a while ago…" That and he'd tried to block out most of his memories of traveling with Cross, unless they involved good things, like the food. "I'd like to travel again sometime, to be honest. I mean, just think of all the authentic food!"

Ari giggled, leaning towards Allen as best she could with two seats between them, not even caring that she was starting to roach on Lavi's spot. Personal space was a myth between siblings anyways. "I'd like to go traveling again, too. Being at home is nice, but there's a whole wide world out there to explore."

If you think that, why didn't you just stay in France? Lavi couldn't help but think. Lenalee shared the sentiment, though she was trying her best not to be petty about it.

"Maybe after we graduate we can maybe take a trip together, Allen-san? College sounds fun, but I think a journey of discovery would do some good!"

"Since you guys are still sophomores, it's a bit early to be making big plans like that, isn't it?" Lenalee asked. She took a sip from her soda, somehow able to not so much as smudge her lip gloss. "I mean, a lot can happen in two years. You guys might change your mind about the future."

Ari hummed, swinging her legs under the table. "Don't be silly, it's better to make detailed preparations so things don't go wrong." Not that she lived that way, and everyone knew it. Best friend or no, not even Johnny could throw up a defense on that point. "Oh, but you'll be graduated before then, Lenalee-san, won't you? Hopefully you've sorted out your plans. Any chance that Komui-san will let you leave the house to go to college?"

Considering that they'd been at the dance for less than an hour, it was impressive the amount of passive aggressive sparks Lenalee and Ari could send flying. It was the promise she'd made to Allen that kept Ivy from retreating with Kanda, and the blatant look of begging for help that Lavi kept throwing across the table that made Ivy clear her throat. "Speaking of college," she said, "have you figured out where you're going, Lavi? I'm sure with your grades you could get a scholarship to just about anywhere."

Lavi almost choked on his pizza as the conversation directed back towards him. Ivy might've been there for the assist, but she'd be damned if Lavi didn't do his fair share of the work. The amused smirk Kanda had didn't help the situation, either. "Well, I mean, I have options, but I figured I'd see where I could get in first." It wasn't like Ivy was wrong about the scholarships, and BOHS had decent university connections, too.

"So what you're saying is that you haven't even applied for anywhere yet," Kanda said, as deadpan and unimpressed as ever.

"I just haven't found a place that's like 'Bam! This is it!' you know?" Lavi looked between his fellow seniors and their unimpressed expressions. "What, don't tell me you two already know where you're going?"

Kanda snorted. "I've at least done my groundwork unlike you, stupid rabbit."

"And I finished sending out applications over the summer, and I've gotten my acceptance letters, too," Ivy said. "I just haven't picked which one I'm going to take." She'd gotten sidetracked between SSGTIK, getting together with Kanda, and the current TRIangular dilemma, though part of her was still undecided. She flicked a derisive finger at Lavi. "Real talk, as much as I know you've got the smarts, it's still annoying as hell how you're still top of the class with how much you mess around. So at least put some effort into it so I can have some peace of mind."

Not sure if that was meant to be a compliment or an insult, Lavi settled for "Um…thanks, Ivy-chan?" Beyond being scary at times, Ivy was difficult to read when she didn't hold back her sharp tongue.

Ari snickered. "She's right, Nii-chan, you really do need to get your shit together."

"I didn't ask for your input!" Some people could stand to be harder to read. "You're just as bad as I am, y'know? I found some of your science homework tucked between the last couple of books the Old Panda sent home, you little procrastinator." Giving in to his brotherly urges and taking advantage of how Ari was still up in his grill, Lavi locked her in a mock headlock, which soon proceeded to turn into an actual struggle.

"Science is the devil!" Ari tried to wiggle her way out of Lavi's grip. "I'm sorry, Johnny, but no matter what, I don't get it. I'll never get it. Let required science credits perish!"

Johnny chuckled, tugging on Lavi's ever present scarf in a nervous attempt to break the sibling's struggle. "I don't mind that you feel that way, Ari, but be careful. You guys are gonna tear the lace. C-come on…"

"Hm, you're having troubles with science, Ari?" Lenalee asked, tone still sweet. Kanda, who'd spent the most years with Lenalee as a classmate out of the entire table, sensed the underlying dark aura and scooted his chair closer to the edge of Ivy's. Lenalee folded her hands, careful not to cause a fatal mishap by dumping her elbows into her plate. "It can be tricky, especially sophomore biology. I'm sure with help, you'll be fine in no time."

Despite being still trapped in Lavi's grip, Ari was about to let loose a wonderful retort that involved favoritism and a few jabs at Komui while she was at it, but Allen stood up, pressing his hands to the table. "Well, as much as I'd love to chat all evening, this is a dance. Why don't we head to the dance floor?" A pragmatic pause ensued as the current song winded down, as if mocking Allen. Ivy tried to think of a contingency; if the next song was a slow dance, chaos would erupt within seconds.

Peace was preserved as pop beats shot out of the speakers, the DJ deciding it was too early to get into the intimate stuff yet. Releasing his sister, Lavi bounded to his feet, almost knocking over Johnny in the process. "Awesome idea, Brit. College aside, this is me, Ivy-chan, and Yu-pon's senior year. Let's make some good group dance memories while we still can."

Lenalee and Ari, more than willing to follow Allen's suggestion, stood as well, and Johnny righted his glasses to join. For the sake of preventing any mishaps (insert laughter here), Ivy considered joining, as well, but Kanda crossed his arms and locked Lavi in a fresh glare. "Is there a reason why you included me in your nonsense?" That stare was just daring Lavi to repeat the one other and last dance Kanda had attended. Even as a middle schooler, Kanda had made sure to leave just enough mental scars to discourage a second resurgence.

But either the scars hadn't dug deep enough, or Lavi was ignoring it on purpose, because he launched himself across the table to latch onto Kanda's arm. Not wanting to be in the potential blast radius, the others retreated towards the dance floor, settling into the rhythm of the music. Even Ivy moved on, backing Allen up. "Come on, there's nothing to worry about. You've grown so much since then, Yu-pon!"

"Fucking rabbit, I do not—repeat, do not—dance."

"Aw, come on! Everyone can do the macarena! It's all arms. You've got arms!"

"Think it involves a ritual sacrifice?"

Lavi threw his hands into the air, and not in the fun way. Kanda had a stick up his ass, and Lavi couldn't even jam in the process. "If you keep this up, Ivy-chan's gonna spend the whole night hanging out with other people. Is that what you want?"

Kanda snarled, but Lavi caught his friend's eyes flickering to the dance floor, where Ivy had blended in with their group. Too easy, Yu-pon. "This is exactly what you did when you tried to get us together. I'm not falling for this bullshit again." Even Ivy had promised that he didn't have to dance if he didn't want to.

But Lavi Bookman was a man on a mission, and we've all seen just what that dumb determination could get him. Beyond helping sort out Allen's love life (with Lavi's intimate involvement, if the universe would be so kind), Lavi had been serious about everyone having a good time before his senior year kicked the bucket. And while most could argue they'd had enough chaos to last the rest of the year and then some, Lavi was an erstwhile believer in the manta of Go big or go home.

So he darted around the table, hooked his arms under Kanda's shoulders, and pulled up with all the strength he could muster.

"What the fuck?" Without hesitation, Kanda tried to pry Lavi off in retaliation. Unlike with Ari, Lavi didn't have the immediate size advantage, so the resistance was enough that his progress was halted, and Kanda was stuck in a half-standing, half-sitting position. "Rabbit, you know you don't get to touch me, and I will never give you that permission, so get the hell off!"

"No way! You're, like, my best friend, Yu-pon, and I'm not gonna let you be a wallflower for the rest of your life! To the dance floor!"

"No chance in hell!" Kanda lifted his leg to stomp on Lavi's foot. But with the years of perseverance from holding aforementioned best friend role, not to mention mad ninja skills, Lavi shuffled out of the way. Kanda's foot slammed down onto empty air, Lavi used to shift in energy to haul Kanda up further, and the chair between them spilled to the ground. It was better than knocking over the whole damn table, considering they still had refreshments left, but collateral damage was the last thing on either of their minds.

"I hope you're ready for a broken leg, fucking rabbit, because that's what you're gonna get!"

"Breaking bones isn't a dance move, Yu-pon, try harder!"

Following the rotation of the macarena, the rest of the group turned to see the struggle, but the blare of the music was too loud to hear what Kanda and Lavi were saying. It didn't take much to tell that it was an argument, though the severity level was up in the air.

"You think they're okay?" Lenalee shouted as best she could over the music. Ari placed a silent bet on Kanda and hopped in time with the music, abandoning her brother to his fate. Allen grimaced, and Johnny was too in shock from seeing an in-person Kanda-Lavi bickering/bothering match for the first time in a while to muster up any concern.

Ivy clicked her tongue, then sighed. If Yu-kun's started to destroy the building the next time we face them, I'll go break it up, she decided, then let herself get sucked back into the rhythm of the music.

[Author's Notes]

Look! We've actually made it to the Valentine's Dance! It's a fucking miracle!

Thanks to patamon642, Serenity750, MidDusk, Maistyria, and Tsukkancs for the favorites and follows! Given how long it's taken me to work on this fic, I'm impressed that anyone hangs around to read it, and thus I appreciate all of you for showing your support!

I honestly think some of my favorite parts of this chapter are Lavi and Kanda's dialogue near the end. You just can't get a Yu-pon to dance, that's not how it works...

Anyways, yes! The dance! I have plans for this (and also have some sections of this sequence that totally didn't work out the way I had planned them whatsoever), so I hope to give it that good ol' blend of romcom drama and epicness. We'll see how well that goes.

In other exciting news, I'm in the process of crossposting my ff archives onto AO3, because it's about fucking time! It's a slow process, because I have a lot of works and not a whole lot of time in my life to make sure they all safely hop across the way. This story is one of the ones that already started its crossposting adventure, so I'd super appreciate it if you AO3 users showed that version some love, too.

Next time, the dance drama continues with all sorts of nonsense going down! Please look forward to it!

-Avi

[07.22.2019]