#dgmau

It was fine; Lavi was pretty freaked out too, honestly. He’d slipped away once Allen and Lenalee had taken Tim away, back into the woods, sulking there until he was sure things had settled in the house. 

Lenalee continued the way she normally did after the initial shock wore off. Kanda took one look at him and scattered. 

It was about a week until Kanda tolerated him enough to be in the same room, though any conversation they had was stilted and cold. So it was safe to say they were both in pretty bad shape.

They lingered in limbo for weeks, until Lenalee came home one day in a flurry. With Allen in tow, she began clearing things off her floor to make an open space. “Come on, before Komui comes home and sees this.”

“I feel like I have to give a token protest,” Allen said, setting the box he carried under his arms on the floor. “If only for the sake of appearances.”

“Why do you have a ouija board if you don’t use it?” Lenale countered, lifting the lid off the box to reveal the board underneath. Lavi peered over her shoulder and felt a chill run down his spine.

“You know as well as I do it’s for the aesthetic,” Allen sniffed, and held out the planchette with the air of someone holding a dirty sock. “I also didn’t expect ghosts to be real, for the record.”

Lavi reached out to bat the planchette out of his hands, watching it clatter to the ground smugly.

Allen rolled his eyes, holding his hands out toward the fallen planchette in agitation. “See?”

“You know that you would love this if it wasn’t happening to you,” Lenalee pointed out, and set up the board, picking the planchette up from where it had landed.

Allen shrugged and sprawled out on the floor, all spindly limbs as he worked to spread himself out further, clearly stalling. “You know something?”

“Hmm?” 

“What if we use the board and get something other than the ghosts?” He mused, tapping a rhythm on his stomach. “If ghosts are real, then demons and shit like that probably are too, right? So if that’s true, what if you end up ripping a hole in the veil or whatever in your bedroom?”

Lenalee raised an eyebrow, sitting cross-legged in front of the board. “Are you serious?”

“We’re in uncharted territory, Lena. I don’t know what to brace myself for.” Allen rolled over and groaned, sitting up across from her. “I’m just saying we should be careful.”

“What do you suggest?” Lenalee set the planchette down on the board, watching Allen dig through his coat pockets. 

“Salt? Iron? Holy water? Yew and prayer beads? I don’t know.” He held out a salt shaker at her, wiggling it in her face until she took it. “I’d ask Cross, but I’m genuinely afraid of the answer he’d give me.”

Kanda wandered over, lured in by the absurdity of it all, and eyed Lavi warily. “You’re not actually a demon, are you?”

“I don’t think I am.” Lavi shrugged and took a seat. He isn’t sure how he would figure that out; if he didn’t remember anything about his life before death, did that mean he was a demon masquerading as a human? Is that how that worked?

Kanda huffed and sat across from him, watching Lenalee unscrew the salt shaker to begin pouring it out around them. “This is a mistake.”

“Don’t be salty, Yuu.” Lavi grinned, leaning back to avoid the swipe Kanda threw his way out of habit. He was surprised then to find he hit something solid against his back. Twisting in his seat, Lavi frowned at the thin stream of salt behind him. “Oh.”

Kanda frowned, pressing back against his side of the circle, looking uneasy as he seemed unable to move out. “Well, fuck.”

Lenalee brushed salt from her hands and placed her fingers on the planchette, staring Allen down until he did the same. “You ready?”

“No, but we’re already here.” Allen sighed and placed his hands on the board, scrunching his face. “Do you know how to do this properly, at least?”

“No idea.” Lenalee beamed, sliding the planchette closer. “But I trust you.”

It sends Lavi’s blood pressure through the roof, looking around at everything. Security’s increased, but without his glasses, he can’t be sure what is or isn’t hiding amongst the white flower centerpieces and prim waitstaff. 

Lenalee takes his hand and smiles, but there’s a furrow between her brows. Worry. “You okay?” She asks, leading him through the crowd. “You look a little sick.”

“It’s just hot in here,” he mumbles, and tugs at his collar. It was a terrible idea but his brain and his mouth just weren’t cooperating, and the heat at the back of his neck was starting to get too much. “I didn’t think it’d be so...uh...”

He falters for an explanation, and Lenalee laughs. The sound makes him relax, just a smidge, but she doesn’t understand. “It’s a lot, isn’t it?” She says, and looks around the ballroom. “Extravagant, I think is the word.”

Lavi was going to say dangerous, but he’s been paranoid since he confessed to Allen. “Sure, that works,” he lies through his teeth, and kisses her hand when she squeezes his.

He isn’t sure what they are anymore, and he’s sure that she isn’t either. They exist in the limbo of Not-Dating Not-Coworkers Sort-Of Friends, a place Lavi never thought he’d end up in with anyone, much less his target. 

Lenalee does a round through the ballroom slowly, pointing people out to Lavi as they wander. Every person winds Lavi a little tighter, until he’s a string ready to snap by the time they finish. 

He isn’t sure what’s got him on edge more: the fact that there are so many high-profile people and their security around, or that any one of them could be an enemy, just waiting for the right moment to strike.

“Do you want to dance?” Lenalee asks, breaking through his despair with a smile like sunshine. 

“So long as it’s with you,” he replies weakly, and lets himself be led out to the dance floor.

It’s easy to relax with Lenalee. She teases and leads him through the dances, leaning close to whisper without disrupting the others, making his heart soar. He really does love her; loves that she’s accepted him so easily, that she believes in him, in Lavi, not just as friend but as someone that actually matters.

He’s almost lulled into a false sense of security. Of course Lavi matters, they’re friends and they’ve done so much together, why wouldn’t it matter?

Except Lavi’s about as real as his backstory, and that’s the kicker, isn’t it? Lavi’s in love with Lenalee, who’s real and honest and earnest, and Lavi’s nothin but a lie.

(He steps on her twice and she doesn’t say a word, leading him towards an empty table to rest, because she cares for him and the more he thinks about it the more it hurts.)

Two hours in, an explosion rocks the hall, and Lavi feels the sinking in his gut solidify into lead. People scream and scramble out of the way, and he instinctively grabs onto Lenalee to keep her close. Steady.  

She yelps in surprise and hunches her shoulders as another blast rumbles through them, and before he can stop and think and rationalize, Lavi’s taken Lenalee’s hands. “Do you trust me?”

Lenalee nods, though she looks dazed, her ears probably ringing from the explosions, but that’s enough. He squeezes her hands once and pulls her through the panicked crowd, making his way purposefully towards the kitchens.

Bless her, she doesn’t ask, she doesn’t fuss and try to lead them back the other way, just kicks her heels off and hurries to catch up to his pace, glancing back every so often.

(He doesn’t. He doesn’t have to to know what’s coming.)

Gunshots cut through the screams and the panic and her grip gets tighter the further they get from the chaos. He knows she’s starting to doubt, trying to put the pieces together while running. He can’t lie to her, not anymore, not with the threat hanging in the air.

Lavi stops in the middle of the hallway and spins to face her, holding her hands. She’s startled, disheveled and a little dusty but alive and okay and safe and he’s about to do the dumbest thing he’s ever done in his life.

“Do you still trust me?” He asks, and waits for her jerky nod before squeezing her hands. “I’m so sorry.”

“What for?”

The truth fights him; it goes against everything he’s been taught, everything he’s ever known but he can’t do this anymore, not to her. He swallows against the thickness in his throat and ignores another rumble above. Another explosion.

“This is my fault,” he breathes, and lets his grip on her hands loosen. “I caused this, all of it, and I am so sorry.”

He can see the look in her eye, knows Lenalee enough to know she’s going to reassure him - of course it isn’t your fault, how could it be - so he beats her to the punch. “They’re looking for me. Because of you.”

Lenalee’s eyes widen, and he feels more than sees her hands begin to leave his. “Lavi, I don’t--”

“My name isn’t Lavi.” And now that the dam has been broken he can’t stop. This isn’t the time, they’re probably going to catch up to them soon but he can’t continue without her knowing. 

“I was sent to infiltrate your brother’s company, and get close to you, and I did.” He takes a shuddering breath, looking away from her face. “And I got in too deep and I tried to not, I tried -- I swear I didn’t want it to end like this but they’re after me now because I wouldn’t finish the job and they’re going to come after you too, and all of this is my fault.”

There’s more he wants to say, but he can’t bring himself to look in her eyes, feeling the heat and shame and guilt lump together on his tongue. He hears Lenalee take in a breath, slow and steady, before releasing it just as slowly, and she has to be furious, but there’s still no time.

“We need to go,” he croaks, and watches his hands shake as they reach for hers. She makes no attempt to reach for him, so he drops them weakly. “We can’t stay here, they’ll kill us both.”

“Where do we go?” Her answer is clipped, cold fury and when he peeks up he feels the sinking in his chest. 

Lenalee is crying. It’s worse than the anger, he thinks, because at least the anger is justified. But she’s crying and there’s betrayal in her eyes and he can’t stand it.

“I...” He falters, then freezes when footsteps begin to echo down the hall. His burner phone is a lead weight in his jacket pocket, and he hopes that luck is on his side just one more time. “I might have a friend on the inside who would be able to help get us somewhere safe.”

Lenalee scrubs her face once, takes another deep breath, and nods stiffly. “Do it.”

He takes her hand again, wincing when she doesn’t reciprocate the grip, and dials Allen’s number. He’ll have to ditch the phone once they get outside, but it’s better than what’ he’s got currently.

“I take it things didn’t go as planned?” Allen asks on the first ring, and Lavi’s never felt so relieved to hear him snark.

“Please get us out of here,” he says, glancing back. Lenalee’s still crying, but her jaw’s gritted tight, eyes forward. She doesn’t even bother looking at him.

“Once this all blows over I expect repayment,” Allen hums, and begins typing. “Maybe dinner for a month? Buffets only, of course.”

“Listen, Al, I’ll give you anything you want as long as you get us out now.”

Thankfully, Allen is efficient, and Lavi pulls Lenalee through halls down a set of service stairs. Briefly, the footsteps get close, and he and Lenalee duck into a supply closet, him against the door listening, shielding her though she’s stiff against him. (Not like before, but nothing’s like before now.)

“I can’t believe you lied to me,” she hisses, and he squeezes her shoulder when radio chatter fills the hall outside. 

“I’m sorry.” He breathes, and closes his eyes when the footsteps begin to move away. They’re slow -- he knows that they know he knows, so they’re being thorough, but Allen hasn’t led them astray yet. 

“No you’re not,” Lenalee’s hands clench into fists against him, and he feels her shaking under his hands.

“I’ll explain everything once we get somewhere safe, I promise.” The footsteps finally fade away, and he sags in relief against the door.

He doesn’t see Lenalee’s punch coming, and he sees spots in the darkness after the impact sends his head smashing into the door. He hopes the sound didn’t alert anyone, but he’s too addled to worry too much.

Lenalee, softer now, rubs her knuckles against her palm. “You deserve that.”

“I know.” He croaks. He did.

He slammed the door open and froze, panting at the sudden burst of energy, adrenaline making him survey the room for any possible intruders.

Allen stood on Lenalee’s bed, holding Timothy by the scruff, equally frozen, while Timothy hung limply from his grasp. Lenalee was slipping off her desk, knicknacks tumbling off it as she squirmed to keep her seat.

Komui lowered his weapon (an umbrella, now that he was paying attention) and frowned. “What happened?”

Allen wheezed, shooting Lenalee a frantic look, still holding Timothy awkwardly. “Uh...you see....”

“Spider,” Timothy supplied, waving weakly. “There was a spider.”

“Really big one.” Lenalee nodded, and lifted her legs off the ground. “I think it went behind the bookcase.”

Relieved, but still breathless, Komui sighed. “You scared me to death...honestly, it’s just a spider.” He gave the bookcase a halfhearted prod with the umbrella, but nothing scurried out.

“Sorry.” Lenalee gingerly set her feet on the ground again, sliding off the desk. “It was just really sudden.”

Allen nodded and let Timothy fall onto the bed, climbing down gracelessly. “Sorry for the scare, Komui.”

“Sorry,” Timothy squeaked, sitting on the floor very slowly.

Komui stared at the trio, unconvinced, as they all looked around the room, pointedly avoiding looking at him too long. Timothy seemed to have the hardest time, ducking his head into the collar of his shirt, trying to make himself smaller than he already looked.

There was something amiss, Komui could tell that much, but if they didn’t want to tell him about it, fine. He’d find out sooner or later.

He pointed at them with the umbrella, fear giving way to irritation. “Behave. Don’t make me call Klaud.”

“Please don’t,” Allen wheezed, and Lenalee nodded quickly. 

Appeased for the time being, Komui left, shutting the door behind him. Honestly, someone should have warned him that being a parent was going to be so stressful.

- - - - - - 

Soon as Lenalee’s brother left, Allen rounded on Lavi, hauling him up by the boy’s shirt. He was surprisingly strong for someone so lanky, and Lavi yelped, startled.

“Get out of my brother or so help me, I will fish you out myself.” Allen hissed. It might have been Timothy’s height, but he really did seem threatening, looming over him.

Lavi swallowed thickly and squirmed out of his grip, stepping back until his legs hit the bed. “I don’t know how, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean for it to happen!”

“Allen, stop,” Lenalee whispered, pinching Allen’s arm. “That’s not going to help us any.”

Kanda was still watching him with a stupefied expression on his face, eyes wide, turning to stare at Lenalee, then at Lavi, then back. “What the fuck did you do?” He asked.

“I don’t know,” Lavi wailed, covering his face. It might have been Timothy’s fault, or just being in a human body after so long, but he felt the tears welling up unbidden, overwhelmed. “I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know how it happened, he was just there and then we knocked heads and I woke up like this!”

Lenalee shoved Allen aside and gathered Lavi into her arms, pressing his face into her shoulder, squeezing him tight enough to make his body protest. It’d been ages since he’d had a hug -- even when he was alive, Gramps wasn’t the touchy type. He melted into the hug like a puppet with its strings cut, limp and weepy. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered, and rubbed his back slowly, pressing circles into his tense shoulders. “Just let it out, okay?”

Lavi sniffled into her shoulder, letting the soothing pats ease the tears until he could take a deep enough breath to calm down. “Sorry,” he coughed, wiping his face clean with Tim’s sleeves. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“What possessed you, you mean?” Allen sneered, still disgruntled. He crossed his arms, staring down at him. Lavi could see Kanda mimic his pose behind him, though he couldn’t tell if it was on purpose. “Is Timothy there or did you absorb him?”

“Allen, you’re being a dick,” Lenalee shot back, her fingers carding through Tim’s hair. Lavi shivered, relaxing into her touch, and closed his eyes.

He felt...odd. Like he was wearing a costume that fit too tight, like the times he would have to dress up for work or school, tie and blazer suffocating. He knew it wasn’t his, if that made sense. Not his clothes, not his body. Focusing, he could feel a brighter spark in his mind, something just picking at the edges of his soul, if that’s what it was. 

It didn’t seem angry, just annoyed. Timothy.

“He’s here.” Lavi reported, opening his eyes. Allen’s shoulders slumped, and he shared a look with Lenalee. “He’s not gone, he’s just. Um. Chilling, I guess.”

“Fantastic. That’s really great news. Now get out.” Allen waved his hands, not unlike a magician, or a circus performer. “Presto! Abra Ca-fuck you! Begone, demon.”

Lavi didn’t have to look to know Lenalee was rolling her eyes; Kanda was doing the same, stepping around Allen to crouch in front of Lavi. “You can see me, can’t you? What the fuck.”

“Yeah.” Lavi sniffed again, standing. “Um. Did you want to...?” He faltered and glanced at Lenalee, turning back to stare at Kanda. “I mean, I could. Pass on a message.”

Lenalee’s eyebrows flew up, and she and Allen turned to face the blank space Lavi was talking to. Allen sat on the bed, groaning softly. “Oh my god, there really are demons.”

“It’s not demons.” Lenalee sat beside Allen, gnawing on her lip. “It’s my brother, isn’t it. It’s Kanda?”

Kanda stiffened, looking up at Lenalee, and his form flickered slightly as emotions washed over him. Lavi saw the burns, the flesh raw from the crash fade in and out like on a strobe light - normal, burned, normal, burned -- making Timothy’s stomach churn at the sight. 

Lavi groaned and covered Tim’s eyes, sighing. “What do you wanna say?”

“Uh...” Kanda stood, shoving his hands in his pockets awkwardly. He had wanted to say many things over the years, but now that the opportunity had arisen, he forgot all of it.

“He says he loves you,” Lavi lied, turning to look at Lenalee. “Or, you know. In Kanda’s way of saying it.”

Lenalee laughed, rubbing her eyes, and leaned her head against Allen’s shoulder. “Yeah? That’s...I mean. I love him too. He knows that.”

Kanda made a sound under his breath, looking decidedly uncomfortable. “You’re making her cry, you fuck. Stop it.”

“Did he know you?” Allen asked, patting Lenalee’s head. “Is that why you’re here?”

“No. I mean. No, God no. Kanda was already here when I showed up.” Lavi shrugged, feeling the pain rising in his temples again. “I don’t know why I’m here. Location? I-I really can’t say.”

“You okay?” Lenalee asked, sitting up when Lavi began to hiss. The pain had gone from mild to unbearable in seconds, and he pressed Tim’s palms into his eyes to try and ease the pressure.

“I think I’m out of time,” Lavi groaned, squinting up at Lenalee through the pain. “Thank you for helping me. Honest, you don’t know what it means--”

Something popped in his ears, and Lavi found himself on his back, staring up at Kanda. The pain was gone as soon as it had arrived, leaving him breathless.

“What are you doing?” Timothy’s voice asked, and Lavi sat up long enough to see Allen crush the smaller boy into a hug.

“Oh thank God, probably. Jesus too, and whoever else is listening.” Allen wheezed. “I love the occult as much as the next guy, but let’s not do that again.”