Exception

By: Aviantei

49. A Lot More Complicated

"You were…hospitalized."

Wanting a place more suited to a private conversation, Ivy and Kanda had ended up making their off-campus date a trip to the nearest café. And while Ari, Lenalee, and Allen alike all swore to the place's quality, Ivy nor Kanda were able to speak to that. Their drinks had arrived not too long ago, and yet neither of them had attempted to take so much as a sip.

Kanda was tough; Kanda was strong. Those were some of the things Ivy thought about whenever she looked at him. Trying to reconcile that with an image of him sick and confined to a hospital bed wasn't easy whatsoever.

"…Forgive me if I'm having a hard time imaging you as a little kid," Ivy said instead, because that was just as difficult to picture.

"Oi," Kanda said in warning, though it was halfhearted as best. Though she was curious if there were any pictures of that time lying around, Ivy tucked that away for later. Clasping his teacup in his hands but not picking it up, Kanda went over his memories. "It was an autoimmune disease. I could do everything, but I was way more at risk of getting sick than most other people, and when I did get sick, it hit me hard. So I'd always end up in the hospital until I could recover."

Ivy nodded. She didn't have the most extensive medical knowledge out there, but she knew enough to grasp the situation.

"Like I said, Bak's parents were my doctors. They did good work for the most part, and they'd bring Bak along on the weekends so we could have company outside the pediatric ward. That's about the gist of it," Kanda finished, leaning further back in his chair. And it was the gist of it, yes, except it wasn't the whole story. Ivy had noticed it, too, but she wasn't sure how much was okay to press. In her case, she wasn't a big fan of talking about her younger days, so she would have appreciated some discretion, but…

Well, it's not like he can't say no. I wouldn't be offended or anything. Ivy reached out, her fingers brushing against the back of his hand. "Do you…want to talk more about it?" For some people, it could be tough to hold all their feelings in like that. And if he wanted an out, Ivy would be there to listen, no matter what was going on.

Kanda took a few more breaths, but he wasn't able to calm himself all the way. But, if it was Ivy asking, he felt like he could trust her. "While I was there, there was another kid. Alma." The first person that Kanda had ever been able to consider as his friend. "We were close, but Alma was way sicker than I was. I could at least leave the hospital whenever I recovered. Alma was so much worse off that they couldn't even leave. But even still, Alma was always smiling, no matter what."

His expression was a mix of both happiness and worry. At least Bak had mentioned Alma before, so Kanda's friend hadn't passed away or anything like that—but there was still something bothering him, something that Ivy hadn't yet been able to guess with the context Kanda had given her. "Did something happen, Yū-kun?"

"Nothing awful. Just unfair." For the first time the whole conversation, Kanda avoided looking at Ivy. "I mean, you've noticed that I'm here. In time, Bak's parents were able to figure out something for me, and my immune system stabilized enough for me to live an ordinary life, so long as I get regular checkups. But Alma… Their condition is a lot worse. They're alive, and as healthy as they can be, but they're still not allowed to leave the hospital, unless it's under super controlled conditions. I just can't help but think that Alma had way more that they wanted to outside, so it would have been better if they'd recovered, and I was stuck back there. That's all." At last looking up, Kanda noticed Ivy's expression. "Oi, you don't gotta glare like that. I'm not saying I don't want to be here with you. It's just something I can't help but thinking about, you know?"

"Yeah, I can get that." Ivy had her own fair share of things she ended up considering as what ifs from time to time. It didn't stop her from scowling at Kanda, though. "But what little you've told me about them, I'm sure Alma-san would be sad that you think like that."

She'd cut right to the heart of the issue so quick that Kanda couldn't help but chuckle. "You're not wrong. In fact, they've told me that before. 'You're my best friend, Yū, so you better go out there and enjoy yourself. If you feel bad, go ahead and live enough for the two of us!'" At this point, it was such a common refrain that Kanda could recite it with no issue, and Alma reminded him every time they saw each other. "It's kind of hard not to feel guilty sometimes."

Ivy clicked her tongue, leaning across the table to flick Kanda in the forehead. "I know you can't help what you feel, but you can't give in to that. Or are you telling me in the time we've spent together all you've been feeling was guilty?" Kanda shook his head; despite that being the correct answer, Ivy still flicked his forehead again. "See? If you have those good feelings, then you should stop worrying. If you don't, I'll tattle on you to Alma-san, and then we'll both lecture you."

"You don't even know where Alma is to tattle on me in the first place."

"What? You're not planning on introducing us?" It was such a blatant request that Kanda couldn't retort. While he hadn't considered the possibility just yet, he wasn't outright opposed to it, either. "I'm your girlfriend, Yū-kun. I think introducing me to your best friend is the natural thing to do." Kanda's cheeks were dusting a light pink, and Ivy smiled. "Of course, that's up to you. But if you ever want to take me along, I'm more than happy to visit. That's all." She took his hand. "Sorry that you didn't get to choose when you wanted to tell me all this. But know that I'm glad you decided to be open with me."

"Yeah, whatever," Kanda said, though his word choice was more dismissive than his tone. Ivy got the gist of what he meant, so it wasn't like she minded. "I'll see if Alma's comfortable with that the next time I visit. Though I'm sure he wouldn't mind. And, ah…" No matter how much practice he'd had with Ivy, being honest about his feelings was still rough. "Thanks. For listening to my nonsense."

"It's not nonsense. But you're welcome." Ivy stood up from her seat just enough to give her the height she needed to drop a quick kiss onto Kanda's forehead. "Just like you're here to look out for me, I'm here to listen. Part of being partners is having each other's backs, yeah?"

Kanda nodded, and Ivy dropped back down into her seat with a smile. Sure, she was still tired, but getting trusted with something vulnerable by her boyfriend (and all the more so because it was Kanda) was a nice emotional pick me up. "Still, I wanted to help you relax, not get caught up in my angsty backstory."

The mood having stabilized a bit, Ivy took a sip from her tea, now that it was at a more reasonable temperature for consumption. "It's okay. That just means you'll have to make it up by taking me to that stationary store you mentioned."

For the first time since seeing Bak again, Kanda's lips quirked up into a smirk. "Are you telling me to go ahead and skip class now?"

"I might be." Some unwinding was very much in order for both of them now, and their class could wait a bit. It wasn't like they both weren't capable of self-study anyways. "What do you say, Yū-kun? Want to go on a truant date with your wonderful girlfriend?"

"I could be convinced if said date involves some soba."

"Deal." Watching Ivy get excited was enough to make him smile, and he didn't even feel guilty about having this moment all to themselves. "Oh, and Yū-kun? Twenty points. For being always amazing."

Kanda chuckled. "Yeah, twenty points right back at you."

"Good news, Red. I've gotten hold of that waitress you were looking for."

All things considered, Tyki could have conveyed that information over a text in a matter of seconds. That was what he had done to find Sachiko, after all, considering that all he needed to do was ask the Chairman about the Millennial staff, and he'd had the intel he needed easy.

…And he'd also scared the poor girl by showing up and asking for her, but at least that had all worked out in the end.

But point being was that Lavi could have learned about things in a much simpler manner—but Tyki wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to have a verbal chat with Lavi, so there. At least he wasn't going the full Extra AF mile and insisting on meeting in person to share the intel. That would have been going just a bit too far (and he would tell no one ever that he'd considered it, never ever).

Clueless to the full extent of Tyki's thoughts, Lavi was just excited to know that this mission Make Things Up to Sachiko-chan was looking to be a success. "You did? Awesome! Now I don't have to worry about Ivy-chan gutting me." She hadn't followed up on the situation, but at least the potential threat should she remember was mitigated. There was a whole lot that Tyki could comment on in that statement, but he didn't have much room to talk given his own associates, so maybe it was best to just leave it be. "You're the best, Tyki. Thanks loads!"

"Don't be so excited to thank me. I haven't even shared any of my intel yet." That was a very good point, and Lavi fell silent right away. Though their conversations so far had been rather relaxed, Lavi had to remember that Tyki was a Noah, plus he had the advantage conversation wise. If Tyki wanted some sort of favor, he'd have all the leverage he needed to ask for it… "Don't go so quiet on me, Red, it doesn't suit you. Yes, I'm going to help you talk to her, no need to worry."

Lavi had minimal success in hiding his sigh of relief. "You shouldn't joke like that, Tyki. You'll make a guy sweat." Tyki smirked, getting ready to make a comment, but Lavi rushed forward before he could get any more embarrassed by what's going on. "Ahem. But since you found her, could you ask her if there's a time she's free to meet so we can wrap this whole thing up? I feel like it would mean a lot more if I could apologize in person instead of long distance."

Tyki hummed, flopping over onto his bed and staring at the ceiling. "I'm already way ahead of you there. She works a lot of shifts, so she's pretty busy, but there is a day she's free whenever you're not in class, so that would be for the best."

"Ooh, you're super on top of things!" Yes, Tyki was, in many ways, but he was going to let that one slide until later on. "When are we good to go? I'll make sure I don't have anything overlapping. I mean, I don't expect this whole thing to take too long, but still."

Lavi's enthusiasm was endearing, and it made Tyki start to regret that he hadn't chosen the in-person option. Welp, at least that was rectifiable. "She's off this coming Saturday, if that happens to line up good for you." It lined up well for Tyki at any rate, so it was just a matter of time for this whole thing to work out.

"Yeah, I should be good to—oh, hold on." Having consulted his mental calendar (which was super accurate, thank you very much), Lavi realized a slight conflict. "That day is the robot competition I wanted to check out since one of my friends is participating, so we might have to adjust for time on that one."

"No need to worry. I figured you'd be participating, so I accounted for that as well." Caught off guard, Lavi opened his mouth, but no sound came out. "MPHS is participating in the event as well, so I've heard plenty about it," Tyki said, revealing his source of intel. "I thought you might want to go, so I figured we could just meet there. To help you meet up with Sachiko, that is."

Lavi raised an eyebrow, not caring in the slightest that Tyki couldn't see it over the phone. "Just to meet up with Sachiko and not to have a date?"

"Do you want it to also be for a date?"

When it came to things like flirting, Tyki's policy was to simply push forward whenever possible, so he had no intention of missing the opportunity there. Of course, if Lavi told him to back off, he'd respect that, but Tyki had the feeling that the time was right. Meanwhile, Lavi was so used to being the one doing the asking that he wasn't even sure what he was supposed to do whenever someone else took the offensive role.

Do I want it to be a date? I've been waffling over this the whole time. And sure, I realized that dudes were very much on the table thanks to Allen, but he made it clear he's not interested in anyone. Is there anything wrong with trying to go out with a guy who is interested in me?

The very obvious answer to that was: hell no.

Lavi pulled himself up into a sit, a winning smile stretching onto his face. "You know what, Tyki? I think I do want it to be a date." Tyki, who had been preparing himself for the long game, ended up being caught off guard enough that he almost bit through the end of the unlit cigarette he'd tucked into his mouth. "I dunno how romantic a robot fight club can be, but I'm sure the two of us can make it work. So, is it a date, or is it a date?"

Though he managed to sound confident, Lavi insides were an undeniable nervous wreck. Sure, it wouldn't be a big deal if Tyki said no—Lavi had enough experience with rejection to know it wasn't the end of the world whatsoever—but it was the first time in a while that our redhead was aiming for a victory, and one for a high chance at that. Getting turned down would be a serious blow to his ego that might take a while to recover from.

So the fact that Tyki's response was to start laughing didn't do Lavi's heart any favors at all.

"Hey, hey, hey," Lavi said, near panicked. "That's not how you answer a question like that! Don't tell me you were leading me on just for a joke. Doing that sort of shit for a near month is going way too far, you know!"

Even with trying to get control of himself, it still took Tyki a good minute to reign in the last of his chuckles. At least Red couldn't see him wipe the tears away from his eyes. "Sorry, sorry. I promise I haven't been leading you on," Tyki said. He may have been a flirt, but he had standards, dammit. "You just caught me off guard. I thought we'd be doing this song and dance for a bit longer. You surprised me so much. That just made me like you even more, Red."

And what a fitting nickname that was since Lavi was blushing super hard right then. He, too, was grateful for the lack of any visual in this call, though for different reasons than his conversation partner. "Well lucky you, I'm full of surprises." Like his heart racing out of control. Fainting in the middle of a phone call was a surprise, right? "But if you wanna call me when you get there, I'll come meet you and Sachiko-chan, and then we can figure out this date thing together."

"Lucky for you, I have more than a few ideas of what we can do to make any date more interesting." Man, what did you have to do to make your voice that sexy? Lavi would have asked for pointers if it no doubt would've overwhelmed him in the process. "Unless you wanna do some date planning now. I have a whole evening free, and I can think of far worse ways to spend my time than chatting with you."

"I mean, if you don't—"

"Nī-chan!"

Ari threw open Lavi's door (rest in peace to the several stacks of books that toppled over in the motion), and he hit the end call button in his panic. Tyki was left on the other end, trying to figure out what just happened, and Lavi cursed, resolving to at least send an apology text later. "What do you want, Ari?" he asked, hoping she didn't call him out for hiding his phone from sight, as if that would somehow give away what was going on.

Ari was too much on a mission to give a shit about Lavi's suspicious behavior, and she propped her hands on her hips before making her declaration: "I am calling in my Little Sister Needs a Favor Card!" Lavi blanched, but if Ari was invoking that right, then there was nothing he could do in protest unless it was an emergency, and last he checked, I have a date didn't count. "Our fundraising event has blown the eff up, and I need you to help promote the booth during the Robot Fight Club!"

And so, as per usual for our crew, things had gotten a lot more complicated.

[Author's Notes]

I promise I'm not gonna make this an angst fest, so don't worry about that. Also me making tweaks to the chap because I def found some lines that I changed my plans on, whoops.

Thanks to ParkerWD for the follow! I hope you have a lovely day and that you enjoy the update. This fic has also reached 1k hits on AO3! I drew some Ivy art to celebrate. It (and a bunch of other art bc my posting backlog has been massive) is available on deviantArt under my un Aviantei, so check it out if you so please!

We're almost at the event itself, babyyyy, let's go.

Meanwhile, I've been working on the arc after this, too, and I've almost survived my drafts, lol. Thinking about maybe locking this fic in for some more consistent updates, but that'll have to wait til after summer. I'm also debating if I'm gonna take a break from drafting out content or swap full force to another fic, but those are background decisions dependent on my mood. My work semester knocked me out hard that not even spring break feels like enough to fully recover...

That all being said, chapter 50 is slotted to drop in April! Please look forward to it!

-Avi

[03.16.2023]