D. Gray-man, "In the End"
Warnings: Komui/Lenalee. If you don't know why this constitutes a warning, then... yeah, it does. Fluff where it shouldn't be, presupposed endings and assumptions, I'm awesome. It had to be written, because they are totally coupley in every conceivable way.
"Brother," she said, and the smile on her face was like sunshine, finally breaking through the clouds. "I'm home."
She was bleeding from a gash on her forehead; Komui hastened to get her his chair to sit on and coffee for her to drink and then called for someone to bring wet cloth and gauze and medical tape. What if that needs stitches? he thought worriedly, trying not to fuss too much, to get right up on the arm of the chair and poke at her forehead to gauge the seriousness of the injury until she complained.
Lenalee didn't seem to notice the fussing. She was saying, "I think I'm finally done. When the akuma died, the Innocence just seemed to... stop. My boots vanished and I fell right over and Yuu's sword hummed once and then went inert. Like they weren't needed any more, like that was the last threat to them... Is it true?"
She turned her dark eyes on him with hope and dread, and he couldn't even bring himself to make certain, he just had to whisper, "Yes. Yes, you're done."
Komui had been watching the whole time on his monitors -- he watched everything, now. When that blip on the radar had vanished, there had been nothing left but darkness, and a great cheer had gone up around the office. It wasn't done -- not truly -- but that had been the last akuma left, and with the Earl gone, there would be no more of them until his return.
She was finally, finally done, and the only person who could possibly have felt that relief more than Lenalee was her big brother, who had sent her into danger time and again, when all he had really wanted to do was tell her, This is it now. No one has any more excuse to keep you away from me. We can just... live.
And finally -- for the first time since she was too young to remember -- she really was...
"...welcome home," he said softly.
Lenalee reached up and cupped his cheek, her touch wondering and tender. "Brother," she said, laughter and tears in that faint voice. "You're crying."
Komui managed a strangled chuckle and then ducked his head. "Too much to hope you wouldn't notice, huh?" he said, but in his mind he was thinking, All this time I couldn't protect her, I couldn't do anything but watch her go out into danger and hate the world we had been born into, but now-- Now I'll never let that happen again, never, I'll protect her from everything, no one will so much as touch her again, I'll build a perpetual-fence-making-machine to keep everyone but Miranda far, far away from her--
Her fingers curved around his jaw, lifting his head, and then she drew him down for a kiss, her lips pressed against his pressed against perfection, and Komui didn't know what to do, only remained frozen and wide-eyed, and her lips slid apart and holy God she had done this before, who was the bastard who had kissed her before, but he was helpless to do anything other than lean in and kiss her back, his arms settling at her waist as naturally as if this were natural.
Someone came into the door, footsteps not registering until that last pause in the doorway; saying, "Chief, I have the materials--" and then there was the sound of a tray clattering to the floor, stammered apologies and fleeing footsteps.
Lenalee didn't move, and Komui would never, ever have moved for as long as she wanted him there. He should run and find whoever it had been and feed him to a machine so that he couldn't tell anyone. This fragile paradise was so very, very unstable, and words would shatter it so easily, ruin everything, send them both to the gaol, she'd never survive there, and with her Innocence dormant she'd--
The tension building in him must have been tangible, because she slipped back and murmured, "It's okay. He won't say anything." She was smiling, only smiling, as if she had been given everything she'd ever wanted and had never in her life doubted that want.
"How can you be so sure," Komui murmured, numbly. It didn't sound like his voice at all.
Her hand slid into his, fingers twining around him, holding him her prisoner just like he always had been. "Because," Lenalee said, "we have earned this."
She guided his hand into her hair -- short still, but grown out to frame her delicate jaw -- and tilted her face up to his. He was drawn in to kiss her again, again, forever. Perhaps she was right; he didn't care, not enough to stop it, not even enough to try.
No matter what anyone would say, this was home.
"Brother," she said, and the smile on her face was like sunshine, finally breaking through the clouds. "I'm home."
She was bleeding from a gash on her forehead; Komui hastened to get her his chair to sit on and coffee for her to drink and then called for someone to bring wet cloth and gauze and medical tape. What if that needs stitches? he thought worriedly, trying not to fuss too much, to get right up on the arm of the chair and poke at her forehead to gauge the seriousness of the injury until she complained.
Lenalee didn't seem to notice the fussing. She was saying, "I think I'm finally done. When the akuma died, the Innocence just seemed to... stop. My boots vanished and I fell right over and Yuu's sword hummed once and then went inert. Like they weren't needed any more, like that was the last threat to them... Is it true?"
She turned her dark eyes on him with hope and dread, and he couldn't even bring himself to make certain, he just had to whisper, "Yes. Yes, you're done."
Komui had been watching the whole time on his monitors -- he watched everything, now. When that blip on the radar had vanished, there had been nothing left but darkness, and a great cheer had gone up around the office. It wasn't done -- not truly -- but that had been the last akuma left, and with the Earl gone, there would be no more of them until his return.
She was finally, finally done, and the only person who could possibly have felt that relief more than Lenalee was her big brother, who had sent her into danger time and again, when all he had really wanted to do was tell her, This is it now. No one has any more excuse to keep you away from me. We can just... live.
And finally -- for the first time since she was too young to remember -- she really was...
"...welcome home," he said softly.
Lenalee reached up and cupped his cheek, her touch wondering and tender. "Brother," she said, laughter and tears in that faint voice. "You're crying."
Komui managed a strangled chuckle and then ducked his head. "Too much to hope you wouldn't notice, huh?" he said, but in his mind he was thinking, All this time I couldn't protect her, I couldn't do anything but watch her go out into danger and hate the world we had been born into, but now-- Now I'll never let that happen again, never, I'll protect her from everything, no one will so much as touch her again, I'll build a perpetual-fence-making-machine to keep everyone but Miranda far, far away from her--
Her fingers curved around his jaw, lifting his head, and then she drew him down for a kiss, her lips pressed against his pressed against perfection, and Komui didn't know what to do, only remained frozen and wide-eyed, and her lips slid apart and holy God she had done this before, who was the bastard who had kissed her before, but he was helpless to do anything other than lean in and kiss her back, his arms settling at her waist as naturally as if this were natural.
Someone came into the door, footsteps not registering until that last pause in the doorway; saying, "Chief, I have the materials--" and then there was the sound of a tray clattering to the floor, stammered apologies and fleeing footsteps.
Lenalee didn't move, and Komui would never, ever have moved for as long as she wanted him there. He should run and find whoever it had been and feed him to a machine so that he couldn't tell anyone. This fragile paradise was so very, very unstable, and words would shatter it so easily, ruin everything, send them both to the gaol, she'd never survive there, and with her Innocence dormant she'd--
The tension building in him must have been tangible, because she slipped back and murmured, "It's okay. He won't say anything." She was smiling, only smiling, as if she had been given everything she'd ever wanted and had never in her life doubted that want.
"How can you be so sure," Komui murmured, numbly. It didn't sound like his voice at all.
Her hand slid into his, fingers twining around him, holding him her prisoner just like he always had been. "Because," Lenalee said, "we have earned this."
She guided his hand into her hair -- short still, but grown out to frame her delicate jaw -- and tilted her face up to his. He was drawn in to kiss her again, again, forever. Perhaps she was right; he didn't care, not enough to stop it, not even enough to try.
No matter what anyone would say, this was home.