REVELATIONS Part 2

Revelations Chapter 2

Allen Walker, Lenalee Lee, and all characters in the -Man Universe do not belong to me. I am merely borrowing them for a while to suit my purpose. If it wasn't clear before, I will reiterate that this is an Allen Walker X Lenalee Lee story. Nothing super lemony….just some overdue conversations.

*This story takes place a little bit after the anime ends and way before the whole Kanda-centric storyline that's currently going on in the manga (not that I don't like Kanda…I heart him…but he's just not the focus of this particular story). So, this is shortly after the Level 4 is defeated at HQ and General Cross is able to speak with Allen for a moment wherein he lets him know that Allen is the vessel from which the 14th will be reborn. Furthermore, that Allen will eventually be taken over by the 14th and, once that happens, he will kill someone he loves.
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Black Order – Headquarters

"Oh Komui-saaan….I'm back from that child's errand you sent me on…" Lavi was going to have a few words and possibly include a few smacks about the head with the Supervisor for this. "Retrieve the collected Innocence from the field," my tight left butt cheek! When Lavi had met up with the Finder at the secured location, what he got handed was two backpacks full of South American black market coffee beans. The Finder seemed mortified at his duty but he had nothing on Lavi, whose face was reddening with acrimony the likes of which could match his own hair color.

As Lavi walked into Komui's office, careful to only walk along the path of cleared documents as if it was the parted Red Sea, he saw the Supervisor hunched over his desk, cupping the phone to his mouth and speaking in exasperated tones to someone on the other end. He hadn't even heard Lavi come in. Lavi entertained the idea of being professional and coming back after the phone call but the next bit of the conversation made him stop in his tracks.

"What do you mean you haven't seen her yet? She can't be out shopping all day, can she? Just wait for her around the corner then, she has to at least come back to sleep…"

"Oi. Komui." Lavi said with a low and straight tone this time, crossing his arms as he did so.

"Gah! Lavi, you surprised me, ha ha, one moment, please," cried Komui, as beads of sweat formed anew below the line of his beret. He turned his back to Lavi and quickly finished his conversation in hushed whispers before quickly hanging up the phone. He missed the first time and so made repeated attempts to get the phone in its cradle before he was successful.

"Now, Lavi," said Komui, suddenly all calm and composed, "what can I do for you?"

Before Komui could sit his smiling self down in his chair, Lavi pitched a backpack full of coffee beans he had been carrying over his shoulder as hard as he could right at Komui's head. To his surprise, Komui caught it, unfazed, and took a long, good whiff of the back pack.

"Ahhhhh, the aroma is incredible. Thank you for bringing these safely home, Lavi."

"I was told I was going to go collect Innocence only to find out I'm an overqualified errand boy. For coffee?"

"I think you highly underestimate the importance of the contents of his pack, Lavi. This is what keeps Headquarters running! It's almost as important as retrieving Innocence as far as I'm concerned. Besides, you're the only one I had available to me. Kanda's in the Philippines and Allen-kun is, well, stuck here for the time being. Now…if only I had a lovely assistant here to brew some for all of us…" Komui's love-struck gaze drifted off into the distance as he hugged the backpack tightly to him.

Ugh. "Speaking of which, Komui, besides wasting time and resources by sending an Exorcist out for coffee, it seems you've taken a Finder off his job to go tracking something personal to you, am I right?"

"Eh?"

"Lenalee is on vacation. You know that. You approved it. Leave her alone."

"B-b-but, Lavi! She hasn't contacted us in over a month now! She went straight back to China from her last mission and I haven't seen her since! What if she's in danger? She hasn't even checked in with us once!"

"I assume you've already tracked her golem to her precise location?"

Komui could only give him a sheepish grin.

Lavi sat down in the chair across from Komui's desk, crossed his legs, and let out a sigh. "She deserves a little breather, don't you think? She's been through a lot in the past few months; I don't need to remind you. I think it's healthy that she wants to go back to China and get to know her homeland a little. When Allen and I were walking around the towns with her, she seemed sad that she had no memory of her own country. She was robbed of that opportunity."

Komui's expression fell. "I know. And it pains me to realize that this is the only home she's ever known."

"Then give her time to create some memories of her first home. You know she'll come back to this one, if that's what you're worried about. You're here. She will always come back."

Komui held his head in his hands. "She's the only sister I have. Worrying is what I do."

"Well, you can't possibly think that she is incapable of taking care of herself, whatever she may come across while shopping. Those new Dark Boots are not going to fail her. We all witnessed that."

Silence.

"Call off the dogs, Komui. You've already found out she's staying at an Inn in Guangzhou. That's all you need to know."

"Wait! How do YOU know that, Lavi?"

"Because," he replied, as he got up from his seat with a crooked smile, "that's where she told me she'd go." Off of Komui's stunned look, "Now, I'll wait until you call whomever it was you spoke to when I walked in so I can hear you tell them to go back to their unit and leave Lenalee alone."

Begrudgingly, Komui did just that and Lavi left the office satisfied that he was able to stave Komui off for a little while at least. Lenalee entrusted him with this responsibility should it ever come to be necessary, and no matter how reticent he was about her actual plans, he would not fail her in keeping Komui at bay for as long as possible. As a Bookman, he was learning to be the soul of discretion. As a friend, he would support her in whatever her heart longed for.

Hoping Lenalee was well in Bak-san's care, as well as she could be without causing him to shrivel up, Lavi walked toward his room, ready for some shut eye. The next time he was sent on a mission, he would make sure to the check the coffee reserves first, just in case. He closed his eyes, yawned, and continued walking with his hands clasped behind his head; muscle memory alone guiding his feet to his quarters. The clip of his boot heels on the cold floor echoed lightly around the hall and added to the solitude of the night. Suddenly, he collided with something.

"Lavi!"

"Hey, Allen."

"Sorry about that."

"What are you doing up at this hour?"

"I was a little hungry so I thought I'd get a snack. It helps me fall asleep."

"Where's your tail?"

"Oh, Inspector Link? He's asleep."

"So you're sneaking around, huh?"

"Well, no, I…" Allen started to protest but his hands fell back to his sides just as quickly as they had come up to wave off Lavi's assertion. "It's just that I don't get too much time to myself these days. I know it's his job but Link is always with me. I've learned to ignore it for the most part but there are times when I just wish I could have even a few moments. It's been worse since…"

"Since what?"

Allen stopped himself before he mentioned the talk that his Master had with him. Even though a few months had passed, he was unable to cope with what he was told. He could tell himself vehemently that he would not give himself over to the 14th; that he would never allow some alternate being to fully consume him. But how could he possibly know what would happen? And when it did, how would he go about fighting a will that even his own Master believes will eventually overpower him? Would he slowly be eaten away or would he suddenly wake up and not be himself anymore; not even knowing he used to have a life with people in it he cared so deeply about…

"Allen. How long are you planning on staring off into space?"

"S-sorry! Sorry…" Allen stuttered, as he scratched the back of his head, nervously. "I'm just a little distracted. My stomach's growling and all."

"C'mon. I'll go with you, if that's okay. I haven't eaten a meal with you in a while."

"Yeah, that'd be great, Lavi."

"I haven't seen you in a long time, it seems."

"Well, you've only just come back from your mission, right? How was it?"

"Tch. I don't even want to talk about that. But, even before I left a couple of weeks ago I've barely seen you around. Not even in the dining hall. Where've you been holing yourself up?

"Holing myself up? I've been around here. There aren't a lot of places to go since I'm basically under confinement. Komui said that I'd be able to go on another mission soon but that Link would come along with me, of course."

"Oi, who are you talking to? Lenalee and I have both noticed you've been a rare sighting so let's hear it."

"Lenalee…"

"Yeah, Lenalee. When's the last time you talked with her, huh?"

"…"

As they walked the rest of the way to the dining hall in silence, Lavi glanced sidelong at Allen a couple times. There was a look of defeat and sadness on the young man's face such that he didn't know how to follow it up. Even in times of deep despair, when they were up against the most hopeless of situations, Allen always chose to push forward. He gave the rest of them hope when there seemed to be none. But here, at the quiet safety of home, stepping into the dining hall of all places, Lavi could swear that Allen's countenance reflected a battle already fought and lost.

"Jerry, do you ever sleep?" asked Lavi, amazed to see HQ's renowned cook awake and seemingly waiting for them behind the counter.

"You could set a clock to Allen-kun's stomach, Lavi. I pretty much have everything ready for him. I didn't expect to see you, though. What can I get for you?"

"Yakiniku, please! Can't go wrong with that."

"I'll bring everything on over. Have a seat."

Lavi sat down across from Allen and made a show of fussing with his headband and jacket. He could sense that Allen wanted to say something if he was patient enough to wait for it.

Then finally, after several minutes, "How is she doing, Lavi? Lenalee, I mean."

"Oh, I suspect she should be doing okay."

"She…should be…?"

"Well, how do you think she's doing, Allen?"

"I admit I haven't seen her around much lately. I guess she hasn't come back from her mission yet. It's been over two months, though, right? Shouldn't Lenalee be back by now?"

Lavi was careful to learn whether or not Lenalee had told Allen about her plans. When she confided in him, she still had not decided just how many others should know. He had hoped she would at least tell Allen before she left but either there wasn't an opportunity or she had decided against it. But it seemed she hadn't even told him about her "vacation" plans. He could at least relay that much safely.

"Oh I guess maybe the news hasn't made its way around yet. Komui approved Lenalee's vacation request. She left for China directly from her mission. She wanted to take some leisure in getting to know her country better, understandably. I'm surprised you didn't know. I thought Lenalee would tell you when you saw her off for her recent mission."

"I didn't see her off."

"Oh."

"Do you think she's having a good time?"

"Well, she must be, right? She's been there for over a month."

"Has she checked in with Reever-san or Komui?"

"Not that I know of. They know where she's staying but other than that, it's been radio silence. She must really be enjoying it there. Or maybe she just doesn't want to hear Komui nagging her to come home," laughed Lavi.

"Yeah…"

Lavi's curiosity was now piqued. As the successor to Bookman, it came naturally to him. Allen was never overt with his actions but during their harrowing missions together, Allen was never far from Lenalee's side nor was her name far from his lips. He never missed a chance to be of help to her and even when they were home, he went out of his way to greet her. That is, until the past few months. This was quite obvious to Lavi anyway. This new behavior seemed odd to him. "Anyway, I could have sworn Lenalee said she wanted to tell you something before she left. I'm sure it must have been about this. But why didn't you see her off, Allen?"

"I…"

"You were here, weren't you?"

"Yes…"

"Did Two-Dots have you cornered somewhere?"

"No…"

"It doesn't seem like you, Allen…"

"Lavi? Can we leave the interrogations to Link? Just for tonight…"

"I'm sorry, Allen. You're right. Let's just enjoy our meal. Here it comes now."

Jerry rolled out several cartloads of entrees and placed them all on the table: One plate of yakiniku for Lavi and the rest for Allen.

"Itadakimasu!" said Lavi, getting his second wind with the savory aroma of home cooking filling his nostrils. He looked over at Allen who started to eat spoonfuls of his first dish but without the usual aplomb and abandon. That did it. There was definitely something looming over this kid's head and he would be a failure as a friend if he couldn't help Allen share the load. He would have to make sure he accidentally ran into Allen again tomorrow night. But for now, he wished wholeheartedly for Allen to enjoy his midnight snack.

To Be Continued