[ merged dream : week 31, day 2 ] ~ what stays with
Who: Meguro Gau (tenpa_tantrum), Shimizu Raikou (pinktintedgamon), Lavi (mistyredhead), Yu Kanda (infiniillusion).
Where: Raisato, D.Gray-Man household.
When: week 31, day 2, early afternoon.
Style: prose.
Status: closed, complete.
Rating: PG/PG-13 for ghey smooches and Kanda's illuminative vocabulary.
Warnings: none really... fluffyness and baaawww?
Summary: Raikou and Gau are aware they're leaving Kannagara and decide to have one last stop to say goobye... in the form of a dream, and delivered to none other but the dysfunctional tagteam of Lavi and Kanda.
~
It’s a slow day. Lavi is draped all over the couch with a tea cup on the table in front of him, with steam rising from it and thus he considers it a bit too hot to drink just yet. That, or he’s just lazy, but it doesn’t really matter which, does it?
If Yu intended to sit on the couch too, well... Lavi’s occupied it completely, so Yu will have to fix that himself.
Yu had no intentions to do that, however. While sharing space with the rabbit wasn’t such a terrible offense, there was simply no reason to squeeze their personal bubbles as close as sitting on the same couch. So instead, he was sitting cross-legged on the floor at the opposite side of the table, for some reason also having a teacup in front of him, and dozing a little, and ignoring the soft, white feathers that suddenly started falling out of the ceiling.
...okay, that’s funny. For a moment, Lavi thought maybe he was just falling asleep and kind of maybe hallucinating a little, but... apparently not, because even as he blinked and rubbed his eye there were still feathers. What even.
When one of them fell far enough, he swatted at it with his hand, raising an eyebrow.
“Hey, Yu.”
Kanda was kind enough to look up from his tea - he just nearly burned his nose by accidentally sticking it into a cup. He looked a little sleepy really, maybe that explained why he wasn’t kicking Lavi off the couch yet.
“What,” he replied laconically and blew at a feather that had fluttered too close to his face.
Pffft, honestly, Yu. There was a feather in your face, and you asked what?
Lavi had to snicker at that. “Feathers.”
Kanda’s expression remained rather blank, though the slight twitch said that he was only pretending nothing out of norm was happening. So there were somehow feathers, did Lavi expect him to play with it or something? The answer is, no. “What about them?”
“They’re pretty, aren’t they?” Gau asked as he entered the room, strolling just as casually as if he moved around this room all the time. He was dressed in one of the sweater-vest-and-hakama ensemble he’d taken to in the past year or so, and he casually held a cup of tea of his own in his hand.
Without asking or waiting for permission, he simply sat on the edge of the couch and wiggled backward, pushing at Lavi’s legs to get them out of his way with his butt.
“They’d be prettier if they had some color to them, but ah well.” Raikou shrugged at that, then folded himself down to sit beside Kanda at the table, his own steaming mug of tea set down before him as he ignored the fact that he was near shoulder-to-shoulder with the man beside him.
“Still, they’re nice to watch all the same.”
It wasn’t as if Gau and Raikou normally just popped it at any given moment or whatever, but Lavi still didn’t think it weird and rapidly pulled his legs away to make Gau fall.
“ ‘course Raikou would think that. He’s all about colours.”
Kanda scowled at the random appearance - or maybe the ass wiggling at Lavi’s feet, who knows, but first it was directed at Gau who seemed to pop up out of nowhere. What was uncommon, yes, but for some reason he didn’t find it too mind-boggingly strange. “Che,” he stated, either agreeing or disagreeing with the need for colour, and gave Raikou a distasteful look before inching away and pushing his tea along. Respect his personal bubble, man. Then he finally realized the two men had dared to pop up out of thin air without an invitation, so he gave them both a judging look. “What the fuck?” ...that was his polite way of asking what they wanted, probably. More or less. Somewhat. Or not.
Gau flopped against the back of the couch with his friend’s movement, and the tea in his cup sloshed but luckily didn’t spill. The young man didn’t seem to mind in the least, and turned to grin at Lavi, setting his cup aside so that he could reach down to attempt to tickle the man’s feet.
“You can’t say we haven’t made your lives more colorful, now can you?” he tested merrily, not reacting at all to the foul language.
There’s soft laughter, low and amused, at the shift away from Raikou - he doesn’t mind. If anything, he’d expected such a move from the prickly young man. All he does do is lean forward enough to prop his chin on his knuckles and look up to the feathers.
Slowly, they begin to change, some fading to color - soft pink and green and the palest blue.
It makes him smile, real and sincere as murmurs softly, “We can only hope they retain that color once we’re gone, right Gau?”
A little confused, Lavi blinked and pulled his feet away from Gau’s hands with a soft snort, shifting into a properly upright position on the couch. He snatched a pink feather from the air, and reached out to compare it to Raikou’s hair. Hm.
“Gone?” he repeated and tilted his head. “Whaddya mean?”
Kanda’s look now turned positively suspicious, and he examined Gau and Raikou for a few moments looking for any known sign of terrorists or something of the like. “What, you’re plotting some ritual suicide or shit?” he inquired with blank bitterness, if this was an necessary part of this whole gods and gay thing, he was now even more sure he wanted no part of it. Heck, then this whole visit was fucking creepy and he wanted no part of it either, go away.
“Not exactly.”
Gau reached out to brush fingers against one of the feathers, giggled gently as it shifted to a green, not unlike the shade of his eyes. He flicked the feather idly away from himself, watching it spiral toward his partner.
“But it’s past time we rest, I believe. This world is very beautiful, but it’s not our home, and the world from before... is no longer our home either.”
Raikou just rolled his eyes at Kanda’s question, because really? This is one man that was so far back in the closet, he was in Narnia, so far as Raikou was concerned. Gau’s words, however, bring his thoughts back to their reason for being there in the first place and he sighs, then finally cuts his gaze over to Kanda, then Lavi.
There’s a quiet acceptance tinged with regret there before he shakes his head. “There’s nothing to go home to, were we able to go and, honestly... we could try to soldier on here, but we’ve been offered a gift. One we’ve decided to accept.”
He drew a breath, then let it out before stating softly, “Konohanasakuya-hime has offered us a place to stay, permanently, in the Celestial Plains as her servants. We won’t be coming back.”
Wow, what? Uh... That was a pretty weird thing to hear. For a moment Lavi could only stare, a bit in disbelief, because... it really was hard to believe! That these two, who had overall seemed fairly pleased with where they were...
Although maybe it made sense too. It wasn’t like he didn’t understand, either; he knew very well what it was like to feel stuck between two worlds, and if there was a choice that he could be satisfied with... He would accept it in the blink of an eye too. Just... It made him sad.
“No? Ah...” A soft, almost dry laugh, and he ran a hand through his hair. “And you two’ve been here since I arrived. How weird.”
Kanda’s initial response was staring as well, though, of course, it wasn’t nearly as obvious as Lavi’s. He really had trouble processing what was just said, as well. It was possible to get out - just like that? And furthermore, to something completely unknown, and those guys just went and said yes. Not that he couldn’t understand that, but it was just a little too strange. And well... what Lavi was true as much as Kanda wouldn’t admit it; by now it would be weird without them. Somehow. But wait a minute, nobody explained how the hell it was supposed to work yet, and he suddenly felt very insulted, because clearly his brainpower was underestimated here and it had to be a chip trick, yeah, totally. “Very funny,” he just muttered. “If you’re here just to fuck around, get the hell out.”
“Kanda-san.”
Gau’s voice was soft, gentle. He flicked a feather in the man’s direction, watching it float down toward Kanda’s head, a smile on his lips.
“If you’ll miss us, say that. Don’t pretend.”
Of course, he’s pretty sure Kanda won’t miss him, honestly. But he’s quite sure Kanda will miss his partner.
Raikou only just managed to keep his laughter from breaking free at Kanda’s gruffness and Gau’s words. Instead he focused for a moment on Lavi, offers his friend a small, understanding smile and a nod. Lavi’s friendship is one that has offered him a steadiness and a reprieve in so many ways in their time here, despite the rocky start, and Kanda...
Well, he’d always hold a special place way, way, way down in his heart for the man he’d ‘married’ for such a short time.
But they were both strong men, and honestly, Raikou fully believed in their ability to keep moving forward in a place like this. Which is why he dropped his gaze to his tea, then flicked an understanding look to Kanda. “We didn’t come here to ‘fuck around’, Yu. We came to say thank you... and good-bye.”
Lavi returned the smile with a bit of a skew one of his own, and dropped his head back with a sigh. Yeah, good luck with getting Yu to admit this got to him in any way at all. Heh...
This was really making him kind of sad.
Like hell Kanda was going to say something like that, even though he suspected there might have been some truth in it. Maybe. He had just gotten somewhat tolerant of the idiots, that’s all. Maybe grew some sort of grudging respect for the samurai. That’s all. It doesn’t equal missing or something of that sort, it’s much more simple.
So he just scowls and gives bitter looks. It changes into slightly outrageous one at the mention of his name though; he hisses and in a sudden motion reaches for his cup, as if intending to brain Raikou right in the head with it. He pauses as the end of the sentence reaches his ears though; he’s still angry, teeth bared, but he’s not delivering any violence. Yet.
“So I guess that story of yours was... true,” he just says, simply, almost with a bit of distaste. Yu Kanda cares little for goodbyes, that’s how it’s always been. But it still doesn’t hurt to have a little of it sometimes. But not too much.
Gau couldn’t help but laugh, really. He shook his head as he did so, as if to say ‘good old Kanda’, but he really didn’t know what to say to the man. A roll of the eyes, and then, “Of course it was true. I did go there before, after all.”
He turned his attention to Lavi, because it was easier, simpler, and flopped himself over onto his friend’s shoulder, laughing a little more. “You’ll at least admit you’ll miss me, right, Lavi-nii?”
“We just... had to tell someone, to explain where we were going, and for us... we’ve fought the most here, near or beside you and the others we’ve lost along the way.” He shrugs at that, then drops his own gaze from Lavi and lifts his own tea, takes one last, long sip, then sets the mug down. He hesitates, then turns a thoughtful gaze from Lavi to Kanda before offering the latter a crooked smile.
“Can I get you to humor me a moment? Gau and I both have things we’d like to say privately - if we could just step across the room?”
“ ‘course, Gau!” Lavi clapped Gau on the opposite shoulder and chuckled. Most definitely, he would miss them both a lot. Raikou more so, but... yeah. And then he gave Raikou a curious look, but shrugged and stood up. “Alright.”
Meanwhile Kanda continued frowning into his cup. That’s it, then. What’s the point in saying anything more -- wait, what. His scowl got darker as he finally looked away from the tea and to the person talking. “I don’t need to know anything you can’t say openly,” he stated indifferently and picked up his mug to take a sip. Not that he wouldn’t have moved anyway, but since Lavi got up first, he’d let him fuck off wherever and just stay here not moving a hair with all of his prideful presence intact. Ain’t moving that royal butt off that carpet for a mere peasant’s request, fuck yeah. It’s all about principles. Thanks, Rabbit.
Gau stood as well, smiling a little toward Lavi and Raikou before turning his eyes back to Kanda. He honestly didn’t know the man as well as he’d like to, but he knew a few things that he definitely approved of: including the fact that Kanda cared for Lavi and Lenalee. And he couldn’t help being amused by the strange relationship between this man and Gau’s own lover, how they’d gone from antagonistic to... well, something like antagonistic friends.
He chuckled as he stepped over to settle himself on the other side of Kanda, crouching rather than sitting, and leaned in.
“I have a secret to tell you, actually.”
Kanda stubbornly doesn’t move a hair as Lavi and Raikou walk off to the other end of the room - in fact, he doesn’t even expect anything he’d disapprove of in this sort of solemn situation, it’s alright - and gives Gau a distrusting look when he settles in front of him. He protectively pulls his teacup closer, though his frown eases just a little bit as he tilts his head. “Then spill it.”
~~~
It only takes a moment to lead Lavi across the room - just out of earshot. He doesn’t say anything at first, because there’s both too much to say and no where near enough words to convey it all. So instead he simply reaches up and pulls on the red ribbon currently holding his bangs back. The satin slithers out, smooth as can be, and he catches it in the palm of his hand along with the protective charm there.
In the end, however, he simply catches Lavi’s hand and places the charm in it, then curls his friend’s fingers over that with a firm grip as he meets his friend’s gaze. “That is the first protective charm I’d ever received. My mother made it for me when I was fourteen and... I’d rather it continue watching over my important friends, now. And if it’s not too much to ask... please help Yukimi-senpai look out for Yoite and Miharu. They’re strong in our world, but vulnerable, and Miharu is the last of my family aside from my sister. Please, Lavi.”
Honestly, Lavi didn’t really have much of an idea of how exactly he should react to that. Because something that was so obviously so important to Raikou, being given to him, so it could stay in this world to watch over those Raikou treasured most... A few years ago he would never have thought he would become a sentimental or emotional man, but now... Now, he almost had to hold back the tears.
Over not even the complete loss of a friend; it wasn’t death. But maybe it was close enough, for it to be heartbreaking.
The fact that it further proved how deep it all went... Well, that didn’t help. “Mmm. You don’t have to ask so nicely, yeah?” He smiled, and it was almost painful, pained. “I will.”
~~~
Gau laughed softly, even more amused by Kanda’s distrusting look than anything. It was funny, how there was no pain to it, the fact that he probably felt closer to these two men than they did to him. He’d learned to accept those things, somewhere along the way.
So he simply smiled, lowered his voice a little more.
“I really appreciate everything you are, even the grumpy parts.”
Then he lunged, pressed his lips dryly against Kanda’s cheek, and pushed off with all the strength of his bent legs, bolting in the opposite direction of his friend. “And I got you too!”
Kanda stared for a moment, blinking, his brain refusing to accept this course of action as something that could possibly not be an expired-food induced hallucination. And then there was RAWR, as he twitched heavily and bristled up in anger. “You what?” he growled and flung the teacup at the little guy who had just dared to come into his personal bubble and touch him, not to mention with his lips. That was an offense worth at least the penalty of a serious, in-hospital-landing injury in Kanda’s book. Just wait until he gets his hands on you.
~~~
Raikou was very near tears himself - until he heard Gau’s shout. It startled a laugh out of him, one quickly smothered in the dubious safety of reaching out and drawing Lavi into a hug, hard and quick.
He murmured a soft thanks once again, knowing full and well that it couldn’t even begin to convey the depths of his gratitude for this friendship, much less the trust he was giving with that last request, but there was one last thing he wanted to say... and a distracted Kanda was the perfect moment to do so. Which is why he turned his head just enough to murmur beside Lavi’s ear, “Ah, and one last word of advice? I suggest you figure out for yourself just what your feelings for Yu are... and his for you. Because I sincerely regret not getting to be here to see how this dance plays out. Besides, I can personally attest to the fact that he can be quite the, ah... passionate... one, once you get down to it.”
This time, he didn’t wait for a reply before letting Lavi go and spinning away to catch an angry Yu, before the man in question caught an adorable Gau. Raikou was, after all, rather partial to the last.
And Lavi was, thus, left even more dumbfounded, kind of frozen in that hug position as Raikou turned on his heel. Just... Buh?
Wait, what?
What feelings? “Wh-- Hey, Raikou!” Though he couldn’t say he much expected to get Raikou to give him a proper answer, bastard as the pinky was. Uh. Whatever.
~~~
Kanda was already on his feet and all ready to catch and beat up a little bastard when a chain of quite unexpected events happened. First, Lavi and Raikou were hugging, and as the fraction of second he took to stare at it passed, there was a spinning flash of red and pink and whatever else and he rather literally crashed into someone who blocked his way to the vengeance. “The fuck,” he just said and tried to claw his way out, because at this point he had no fucking idea what the hell was happening, and, quite naturally, he didn’t like it.
Raikou had meant to catch Kanda, rather than crash into him, but there it was. The moment he was sure they were both steady on their feet, however, was the moment he let Kanda go rather than try to hold onto the man - especially with him so angry.
“Kanda! Kanda please - we’re running out of time. Let me at least finish what we came here to do, alright?”
~~~
“Lavi-nii, you have to rescue me!”
Gau, the nimble young man, jumped his way past trying to reach Lavi, just as his partner worked to intercept Kanda. Of course, he’d known that his actions would draw the man’s ire, but it had certainly been worth it. And the words? Well, he’d meant them quite fondly, of course.
He managed to hop around behind Lavi, gripping both his friend’s shoulders from behind, and whisper into his ear. “That was totally worth it...”
Lavi had every intention to try and grab Raikou again to get him to explain what the hell he meant (even if he probably already knew), but apparently that just wasn’t meant to be. So he sighed silently as he felt Gau’s hands on his shoulders, shook his head, and smiled lightly. Ah well... He could worry about that later.
“You’re mad,” he chuckled and turned around to tug at Gau’s cheek. “So, are you here for another kiss from me, or something else?”
~~~
At this point, however, Kanda was getting a sinking suspicion that the purpose of the visit was -- well, maybe not quite flower stealing, but bad enough. He did manage to calm his temper long enough to actually stop and glare at the man, but he kept one hand on Mugen just in case. “Fine,” he said steadily and with seriousness of a Pthulu tribe congressman in Manhattan. “But try anything funny and I’ll cut you.” And then he simply waited, scoffing and not blinking and, more or less, examining the other man. Because there was no point in getting sappy, was there? Still, his frown looked a bit lighter than it would usually be in this sort of situation. It was a bit sad, maybe... but that didn’t mean it was okay to purposely annoy him, hell no.
“Anything funny? No... that’s not my intent.”
He smiled impudently, dark eyes bright with amusement as he reached for the leather bindings, pink, green, and yellow, that wrapped around his armsleeve, began to unravel them. “I remember quite well just how you kiss - I don’t need the reminder. Speaking of... be mad all you like, but at least now I know that you’ve got a loyal heart, rich with emotion, and I hope one day, you can finally accept someone’s presence enough to let them in properly. Until then, here. Weapons instead of a kiss. Six kunai blades are in this, so use them well.”
That said, he tossed the slightly weighty armsleeve, colorful bindings and all, to Kanda. “Figured you’d take that over any form of sentimentality from the likes of me, right?”
~~~
“No, not that.” Gau laughed softly, slid one arm around his friend, offering a hug. He spoke quietly, his head against Lavi’s shoulder.
“It’s just that I’m not like Raikou. I don’t have any words of advice or deep thoughts to offer you before I leave this world, can’t say something amazing that’s going to stay with you or leave you some gift I haven’t already given.”
He has, after all, already given both these men gifts, before. And there’s so little that truly belongs to him, aside from the bakery, given elsewhere now, or to be given after his leaving anyway.
“So all I have to say is that I love you, Lavi-nii, and thank you for your friendship, both for myself and for Raikou, in the time we’ve been in this world.”
Maybe there is some part of Lavi that feels a little guilty for the fact that he can’t genuinely return that. At least, not on the same level, he’s sure. He has definitely come to appreciate Gau’s friendship, very much so, but far from on the level of Raikou’s.
Some part of him also says Gau probably knows that.
But he’s not going to leave this on such a somehow cold note; not returning the feelings, when Gau put it like that and... he and Raikou came particularly to them, for whatever reason that is.
“I love you too, and you’re welcome, and thank you.”
Snicker.
~~~
Meanwhile Kanda had quickly started looking like he would murder Raikou any moment now. He had no idea why the bastard decided to talk as if he ever implied he wanted any sentimentalities, let alone kissing (once was plenty enough for a lifetime, get the hell away people). And so, he was still twitching when there was weaponry offered to him. Well, at least the guy finally got the right idea. Somewhat. He’d take anything over sappy shit, after all. “That’s right,” he stated, still looking irritated though now looking a bit more like his indifferent self, “And you can still keep it because I don’t have any use for this shit.” He fought with swords. Period.
“Too late,” laughed Raikou softly. He canted his head to the side, flashed Gau a quick look, then grinned - and there was something just a shade wicked in that smile. Because with Kanda, there wasn’t a truly deep connection... but there was the beginning of understanding, the fledgling hints of respect.
He was going to miss trying to cultivate that with this impossible man.
But then again... he still had front row seats to watch these two blind idiots dance around each other.
For now, however, Raikou rather liked their ability to cheat in a dream, because before the man in question had a chance to react - where he would normally - Raikou was simply there with one hand curled around the back of Kanda’s neck, the other resting lightly at Kanda’s hip, and lips hovering over lips, the smile still in place.
“Hey, Yu? I lied. Gotta say goodbye to my ex-husband properly, right?”
There was laughter on his lips as he pressed in, hard and fast, before disappearing entirely.
~~~
“Ah, what will I do with him?”
Gau laughed easily at his lover’s antics, cast a grin in Kanda’s direction, and then leaned up to press a kiss to Lavi’s lips as well. After all, it might be his last chance!
The actual contact was brief and playful, much less than before at the Christmas party, and then Gau was stepping back and away, flicking his fingers in a careless sort of wave toward both his friends.
He opened his mouth as if to say goodbye, but there weren’t really any words, so he let his smile speak for itself, soft and loving, as he faded away.
...oh, okay. Lavi blinked a little at the kiss, but, well, it wasn’t exactly strange coming from Gau anyway. So he just raised his hand in a quick wave as Gau disappeared, and then sighed as he dropped it back down and turned to peer at Yu.
Those two were really just... special. A bit unfuriating perhaps. But... he would miss them.
Meanwhile, any tiny amount of sentiments Kanda might have had was gone. In fact, right now his blade was whistling right through the space which was occupied by Raikou a fraction of moment ago - because this was in the category of maiming without warning - while he rubbed his mouth on the sleeve of his free arm. God fucking dammit, as if that time when he was 13 wasn’t enough, people just had to go and keep invading his privacy in unforgivable ways. Just nasty, really.
He growled as he realized that the pair responsible for his rage right now was no longer there, twitched and turned to glare at Lavi instead. He still felt like at least punching something really well, and guess who was right there?
Uh.
Lavi was pretty sure that was most definitely not good. Anyone who didn’t really know Yu very well would probably get that. So... uhm. Okay. Now what, then.
“Err. What? Lookin’ kinda scary there, Yu...”
Kanda twitched again, and so did his newly clenched fist, but the familiar voice seemed to snap him out of rage enough to not deliver it on whoever was standing the closest.
“I need to break something,” he growled quietly and huffed, now even more clearly realizing the source of his irritation was gone and there was nothing else to be done besides general stress-relief.
So he marched to the couch and flopped down on it with irritation.
“Ah, for a moment there I almost thought ya wanted to break me...”
“Che.”
And the world all suddenly exploded into billions of feathers, followed by soft, warm darkness.
::
[The dream ends, but the two remaining men are still asleep on the couch, unaware that a part of this whole interaction has been broadcast. On the side of the table, the talisman and a terribly coloured sweater remain perfectly intact, even though there is no more trace of Raikou nor Gau anywhere. The video continues recording as Lavi and Kanda might be about to wake up...]
Where: Raisato, D.Gray-Man household.
When: week 31, day 2, early afternoon.
Style: prose.
Status: closed, complete.
Rating: PG/PG-13 for ghey smooches and Kanda's illuminative vocabulary.
Warnings: none really... fluffyness and baaawww?
Summary: Raikou and Gau are aware they're leaving Kannagara and decide to have one last stop to say goobye... in the form of a dream, and delivered to none other but the dysfunctional tagteam of Lavi and Kanda.
~
It’s a slow day. Lavi is draped all over the couch with a tea cup on the table in front of him, with steam rising from it and thus he considers it a bit too hot to drink just yet. That, or he’s just lazy, but it doesn’t really matter which, does it?
If Yu intended to sit on the couch too, well... Lavi’s occupied it completely, so Yu will have to fix that himself.
Yu had no intentions to do that, however. While sharing space with the rabbit wasn’t such a terrible offense, there was simply no reason to squeeze their personal bubbles as close as sitting on the same couch. So instead, he was sitting cross-legged on the floor at the opposite side of the table, for some reason also having a teacup in front of him, and dozing a little, and ignoring the soft, white feathers that suddenly started falling out of the ceiling.
...okay, that’s funny. For a moment, Lavi thought maybe he was just falling asleep and kind of maybe hallucinating a little, but... apparently not, because even as he blinked and rubbed his eye there were still feathers. What even.
When one of them fell far enough, he swatted at it with his hand, raising an eyebrow.
“Hey, Yu.”
Kanda was kind enough to look up from his tea - he just nearly burned his nose by accidentally sticking it into a cup. He looked a little sleepy really, maybe that explained why he wasn’t kicking Lavi off the couch yet.
“What,” he replied laconically and blew at a feather that had fluttered too close to his face.
Pffft, honestly, Yu. There was a feather in your face, and you asked what?
Lavi had to snicker at that. “Feathers.”
Kanda’s expression remained rather blank, though the slight twitch said that he was only pretending nothing out of norm was happening. So there were somehow feathers, did Lavi expect him to play with it or something? The answer is, no. “What about them?”
“They’re pretty, aren’t they?” Gau asked as he entered the room, strolling just as casually as if he moved around this room all the time. He was dressed in one of the sweater-vest-and-hakama ensemble he’d taken to in the past year or so, and he casually held a cup of tea of his own in his hand.
Without asking or waiting for permission, he simply sat on the edge of the couch and wiggled backward, pushing at Lavi’s legs to get them out of his way with his butt.
“They’d be prettier if they had some color to them, but ah well.” Raikou shrugged at that, then folded himself down to sit beside Kanda at the table, his own steaming mug of tea set down before him as he ignored the fact that he was near shoulder-to-shoulder with the man beside him.
“Still, they’re nice to watch all the same.”
It wasn’t as if Gau and Raikou normally just popped it at any given moment or whatever, but Lavi still didn’t think it weird and rapidly pulled his legs away to make Gau fall.
“ ‘course Raikou would think that. He’s all about colours.”
Kanda scowled at the random appearance - or maybe the ass wiggling at Lavi’s feet, who knows, but first it was directed at Gau who seemed to pop up out of nowhere. What was uncommon, yes, but for some reason he didn’t find it too mind-boggingly strange. “Che,” he stated, either agreeing or disagreeing with the need for colour, and gave Raikou a distasteful look before inching away and pushing his tea along. Respect his personal bubble, man. Then he finally realized the two men had dared to pop up out of thin air without an invitation, so he gave them both a judging look. “What the fuck?” ...that was his polite way of asking what they wanted, probably. More or less. Somewhat. Or not.
Gau flopped against the back of the couch with his friend’s movement, and the tea in his cup sloshed but luckily didn’t spill. The young man didn’t seem to mind in the least, and turned to grin at Lavi, setting his cup aside so that he could reach down to attempt to tickle the man’s feet.
“You can’t say we haven’t made your lives more colorful, now can you?” he tested merrily, not reacting at all to the foul language.
There’s soft laughter, low and amused, at the shift away from Raikou - he doesn’t mind. If anything, he’d expected such a move from the prickly young man. All he does do is lean forward enough to prop his chin on his knuckles and look up to the feathers.
Slowly, they begin to change, some fading to color - soft pink and green and the palest blue.
It makes him smile, real and sincere as murmurs softly, “We can only hope they retain that color once we’re gone, right Gau?”
A little confused, Lavi blinked and pulled his feet away from Gau’s hands with a soft snort, shifting into a properly upright position on the couch. He snatched a pink feather from the air, and reached out to compare it to Raikou’s hair. Hm.
“Gone?” he repeated and tilted his head. “Whaddya mean?”
Kanda’s look now turned positively suspicious, and he examined Gau and Raikou for a few moments looking for any known sign of terrorists or something of the like. “What, you’re plotting some ritual suicide or shit?” he inquired with blank bitterness, if this was an necessary part of this whole gods and gay thing, he was now even more sure he wanted no part of it. Heck, then this whole visit was fucking creepy and he wanted no part of it either, go away.
“Not exactly.”
Gau reached out to brush fingers against one of the feathers, giggled gently as it shifted to a green, not unlike the shade of his eyes. He flicked the feather idly away from himself, watching it spiral toward his partner.
“But it’s past time we rest, I believe. This world is very beautiful, but it’s not our home, and the world from before... is no longer our home either.”
Raikou just rolled his eyes at Kanda’s question, because really? This is one man that was so far back in the closet, he was in Narnia, so far as Raikou was concerned. Gau’s words, however, bring his thoughts back to their reason for being there in the first place and he sighs, then finally cuts his gaze over to Kanda, then Lavi.
There’s a quiet acceptance tinged with regret there before he shakes his head. “There’s nothing to go home to, were we able to go and, honestly... we could try to soldier on here, but we’ve been offered a gift. One we’ve decided to accept.”
He drew a breath, then let it out before stating softly, “Konohanasakuya-hime has offered us a place to stay, permanently, in the Celestial Plains as her servants. We won’t be coming back.”
Wow, what? Uh... That was a pretty weird thing to hear. For a moment Lavi could only stare, a bit in disbelief, because... it really was hard to believe! That these two, who had overall seemed fairly pleased with where they were...
Although maybe it made sense too. It wasn’t like he didn’t understand, either; he knew very well what it was like to feel stuck between two worlds, and if there was a choice that he could be satisfied with... He would accept it in the blink of an eye too. Just... It made him sad.
“No? Ah...” A soft, almost dry laugh, and he ran a hand through his hair. “And you two’ve been here since I arrived. How weird.”
Kanda’s initial response was staring as well, though, of course, it wasn’t nearly as obvious as Lavi’s. He really had trouble processing what was just said, as well. It was possible to get out - just like that? And furthermore, to something completely unknown, and those guys just went and said yes. Not that he couldn’t understand that, but it was just a little too strange. And well... what Lavi was true as much as Kanda wouldn’t admit it; by now it would be weird without them. Somehow. But wait a minute, nobody explained how the hell it was supposed to work yet, and he suddenly felt very insulted, because clearly his brainpower was underestimated here and it had to be a chip trick, yeah, totally. “Very funny,” he just muttered. “If you’re here just to fuck around, get the hell out.”
“Kanda-san.”
Gau’s voice was soft, gentle. He flicked a feather in the man’s direction, watching it float down toward Kanda’s head, a smile on his lips.
“If you’ll miss us, say that. Don’t pretend.”
Of course, he’s pretty sure Kanda won’t miss him, honestly. But he’s quite sure Kanda will miss his partner.
Raikou only just managed to keep his laughter from breaking free at Kanda’s gruffness and Gau’s words. Instead he focused for a moment on Lavi, offers his friend a small, understanding smile and a nod. Lavi’s friendship is one that has offered him a steadiness and a reprieve in so many ways in their time here, despite the rocky start, and Kanda...
Well, he’d always hold a special place way, way, way down in his heart for the man he’d ‘married’ for such a short time.
But they were both strong men, and honestly, Raikou fully believed in their ability to keep moving forward in a place like this. Which is why he dropped his gaze to his tea, then flicked an understanding look to Kanda. “We didn’t come here to ‘fuck around’, Yu. We came to say thank you... and good-bye.”
Lavi returned the smile with a bit of a skew one of his own, and dropped his head back with a sigh. Yeah, good luck with getting Yu to admit this got to him in any way at all. Heh...
This was really making him kind of sad.
Like hell Kanda was going to say something like that, even though he suspected there might have been some truth in it. Maybe. He had just gotten somewhat tolerant of the idiots, that’s all. Maybe grew some sort of grudging respect for the samurai. That’s all. It doesn’t equal missing or something of that sort, it’s much more simple.
So he just scowls and gives bitter looks. It changes into slightly outrageous one at the mention of his name though; he hisses and in a sudden motion reaches for his cup, as if intending to brain Raikou right in the head with it. He pauses as the end of the sentence reaches his ears though; he’s still angry, teeth bared, but he’s not delivering any violence. Yet.
“So I guess that story of yours was... true,” he just says, simply, almost with a bit of distaste. Yu Kanda cares little for goodbyes, that’s how it’s always been. But it still doesn’t hurt to have a little of it sometimes. But not too much.
Gau couldn’t help but laugh, really. He shook his head as he did so, as if to say ‘good old Kanda’, but he really didn’t know what to say to the man. A roll of the eyes, and then, “Of course it was true. I did go there before, after all.”
He turned his attention to Lavi, because it was easier, simpler, and flopped himself over onto his friend’s shoulder, laughing a little more. “You’ll at least admit you’ll miss me, right, Lavi-nii?”
“We just... had to tell someone, to explain where we were going, and for us... we’ve fought the most here, near or beside you and the others we’ve lost along the way.” He shrugs at that, then drops his own gaze from Lavi and lifts his own tea, takes one last, long sip, then sets the mug down. He hesitates, then turns a thoughtful gaze from Lavi to Kanda before offering the latter a crooked smile.
“Can I get you to humor me a moment? Gau and I both have things we’d like to say privately - if we could just step across the room?”
“ ‘course, Gau!” Lavi clapped Gau on the opposite shoulder and chuckled. Most definitely, he would miss them both a lot. Raikou more so, but... yeah. And then he gave Raikou a curious look, but shrugged and stood up. “Alright.”
Meanwhile Kanda continued frowning into his cup. That’s it, then. What’s the point in saying anything more -- wait, what. His scowl got darker as he finally looked away from the tea and to the person talking. “I don’t need to know anything you can’t say openly,” he stated indifferently and picked up his mug to take a sip. Not that he wouldn’t have moved anyway, but since Lavi got up first, he’d let him fuck off wherever and just stay here not moving a hair with all of his prideful presence intact. Ain’t moving that royal butt off that carpet for a mere peasant’s request, fuck yeah. It’s all about principles. Thanks, Rabbit.
Gau stood as well, smiling a little toward Lavi and Raikou before turning his eyes back to Kanda. He honestly didn’t know the man as well as he’d like to, but he knew a few things that he definitely approved of: including the fact that Kanda cared for Lavi and Lenalee. And he couldn’t help being amused by the strange relationship between this man and Gau’s own lover, how they’d gone from antagonistic to... well, something like antagonistic friends.
He chuckled as he stepped over to settle himself on the other side of Kanda, crouching rather than sitting, and leaned in.
“I have a secret to tell you, actually.”
Kanda stubbornly doesn’t move a hair as Lavi and Raikou walk off to the other end of the room - in fact, he doesn’t even expect anything he’d disapprove of in this sort of solemn situation, it’s alright - and gives Gau a distrusting look when he settles in front of him. He protectively pulls his teacup closer, though his frown eases just a little bit as he tilts his head. “Then spill it.”
~~~
It only takes a moment to lead Lavi across the room - just out of earshot. He doesn’t say anything at first, because there’s both too much to say and no where near enough words to convey it all. So instead he simply reaches up and pulls on the red ribbon currently holding his bangs back. The satin slithers out, smooth as can be, and he catches it in the palm of his hand along with the protective charm there.
In the end, however, he simply catches Lavi’s hand and places the charm in it, then curls his friend’s fingers over that with a firm grip as he meets his friend’s gaze. “That is the first protective charm I’d ever received. My mother made it for me when I was fourteen and... I’d rather it continue watching over my important friends, now. And if it’s not too much to ask... please help Yukimi-senpai look out for Yoite and Miharu. They’re strong in our world, but vulnerable, and Miharu is the last of my family aside from my sister. Please, Lavi.”
Honestly, Lavi didn’t really have much of an idea of how exactly he should react to that. Because something that was so obviously so important to Raikou, being given to him, so it could stay in this world to watch over those Raikou treasured most... A few years ago he would never have thought he would become a sentimental or emotional man, but now... Now, he almost had to hold back the tears.
Over not even the complete loss of a friend; it wasn’t death. But maybe it was close enough, for it to be heartbreaking.
The fact that it further proved how deep it all went... Well, that didn’t help. “Mmm. You don’t have to ask so nicely, yeah?” He smiled, and it was almost painful, pained. “I will.”
~~~
Gau laughed softly, even more amused by Kanda’s distrusting look than anything. It was funny, how there was no pain to it, the fact that he probably felt closer to these two men than they did to him. He’d learned to accept those things, somewhere along the way.
So he simply smiled, lowered his voice a little more.
“I really appreciate everything you are, even the grumpy parts.”
Then he lunged, pressed his lips dryly against Kanda’s cheek, and pushed off with all the strength of his bent legs, bolting in the opposite direction of his friend. “And I got you too!”
Kanda stared for a moment, blinking, his brain refusing to accept this course of action as something that could possibly not be an expired-food induced hallucination. And then there was RAWR, as he twitched heavily and bristled up in anger. “You what?” he growled and flung the teacup at the little guy who had just dared to come into his personal bubble and touch him, not to mention with his lips. That was an offense worth at least the penalty of a serious, in-hospital-landing injury in Kanda’s book. Just wait until he gets his hands on you.
~~~
Raikou was very near tears himself - until he heard Gau’s shout. It startled a laugh out of him, one quickly smothered in the dubious safety of reaching out and drawing Lavi into a hug, hard and quick.
He murmured a soft thanks once again, knowing full and well that it couldn’t even begin to convey the depths of his gratitude for this friendship, much less the trust he was giving with that last request, but there was one last thing he wanted to say... and a distracted Kanda was the perfect moment to do so. Which is why he turned his head just enough to murmur beside Lavi’s ear, “Ah, and one last word of advice? I suggest you figure out for yourself just what your feelings for Yu are... and his for you. Because I sincerely regret not getting to be here to see how this dance plays out. Besides, I can personally attest to the fact that he can be quite the, ah... passionate... one, once you get down to it.”
This time, he didn’t wait for a reply before letting Lavi go and spinning away to catch an angry Yu, before the man in question caught an adorable Gau. Raikou was, after all, rather partial to the last.
And Lavi was, thus, left even more dumbfounded, kind of frozen in that hug position as Raikou turned on his heel. Just... Buh?
Wait, what?
What feelings? “Wh-- Hey, Raikou!” Though he couldn’t say he much expected to get Raikou to give him a proper answer, bastard as the pinky was. Uh. Whatever.
~~~
Kanda was already on his feet and all ready to catch and beat up a little bastard when a chain of quite unexpected events happened. First, Lavi and Raikou were hugging, and as the fraction of second he took to stare at it passed, there was a spinning flash of red and pink and whatever else and he rather literally crashed into someone who blocked his way to the vengeance. “The fuck,” he just said and tried to claw his way out, because at this point he had no fucking idea what the hell was happening, and, quite naturally, he didn’t like it.
Raikou had meant to catch Kanda, rather than crash into him, but there it was. The moment he was sure they were both steady on their feet, however, was the moment he let Kanda go rather than try to hold onto the man - especially with him so angry.
“Kanda! Kanda please - we’re running out of time. Let me at least finish what we came here to do, alright?”
~~~
“Lavi-nii, you have to rescue me!”
Gau, the nimble young man, jumped his way past trying to reach Lavi, just as his partner worked to intercept Kanda. Of course, he’d known that his actions would draw the man’s ire, but it had certainly been worth it. And the words? Well, he’d meant them quite fondly, of course.
He managed to hop around behind Lavi, gripping both his friend’s shoulders from behind, and whisper into his ear. “That was totally worth it...”
Lavi had every intention to try and grab Raikou again to get him to explain what the hell he meant (even if he probably already knew), but apparently that just wasn’t meant to be. So he sighed silently as he felt Gau’s hands on his shoulders, shook his head, and smiled lightly. Ah well... He could worry about that later.
“You’re mad,” he chuckled and turned around to tug at Gau’s cheek. “So, are you here for another kiss from me, or something else?”
~~~
At this point, however, Kanda was getting a sinking suspicion that the purpose of the visit was -- well, maybe not quite flower stealing, but bad enough. He did manage to calm his temper long enough to actually stop and glare at the man, but he kept one hand on Mugen just in case. “Fine,” he said steadily and with seriousness of a Pthulu tribe congressman in Manhattan. “But try anything funny and I’ll cut you.” And then he simply waited, scoffing and not blinking and, more or less, examining the other man. Because there was no point in getting sappy, was there? Still, his frown looked a bit lighter than it would usually be in this sort of situation. It was a bit sad, maybe... but that didn’t mean it was okay to purposely annoy him, hell no.
“Anything funny? No... that’s not my intent.”
He smiled impudently, dark eyes bright with amusement as he reached for the leather bindings, pink, green, and yellow, that wrapped around his armsleeve, began to unravel them. “I remember quite well just how you kiss - I don’t need the reminder. Speaking of... be mad all you like, but at least now I know that you’ve got a loyal heart, rich with emotion, and I hope one day, you can finally accept someone’s presence enough to let them in properly. Until then, here. Weapons instead of a kiss. Six kunai blades are in this, so use them well.”
That said, he tossed the slightly weighty armsleeve, colorful bindings and all, to Kanda. “Figured you’d take that over any form of sentimentality from the likes of me, right?”
~~~
“No, not that.” Gau laughed softly, slid one arm around his friend, offering a hug. He spoke quietly, his head against Lavi’s shoulder.
“It’s just that I’m not like Raikou. I don’t have any words of advice or deep thoughts to offer you before I leave this world, can’t say something amazing that’s going to stay with you or leave you some gift I haven’t already given.”
He has, after all, already given both these men gifts, before. And there’s so little that truly belongs to him, aside from the bakery, given elsewhere now, or to be given after his leaving anyway.
“So all I have to say is that I love you, Lavi-nii, and thank you for your friendship, both for myself and for Raikou, in the time we’ve been in this world.”
Maybe there is some part of Lavi that feels a little guilty for the fact that he can’t genuinely return that. At least, not on the same level, he’s sure. He has definitely come to appreciate Gau’s friendship, very much so, but far from on the level of Raikou’s.
Some part of him also says Gau probably knows that.
But he’s not going to leave this on such a somehow cold note; not returning the feelings, when Gau put it like that and... he and Raikou came particularly to them, for whatever reason that is.
“I love you too, and you’re welcome, and thank you.”
Snicker.
~~~
Meanwhile Kanda had quickly started looking like he would murder Raikou any moment now. He had no idea why the bastard decided to talk as if he ever implied he wanted any sentimentalities, let alone kissing (once was plenty enough for a lifetime, get the hell away people). And so, he was still twitching when there was weaponry offered to him. Well, at least the guy finally got the right idea. Somewhat. He’d take anything over sappy shit, after all. “That’s right,” he stated, still looking irritated though now looking a bit more like his indifferent self, “And you can still keep it because I don’t have any use for this shit.” He fought with swords. Period.
“Too late,” laughed Raikou softly. He canted his head to the side, flashed Gau a quick look, then grinned - and there was something just a shade wicked in that smile. Because with Kanda, there wasn’t a truly deep connection... but there was the beginning of understanding, the fledgling hints of respect.
He was going to miss trying to cultivate that with this impossible man.
But then again... he still had front row seats to watch these two blind idiots dance around each other.
For now, however, Raikou rather liked their ability to cheat in a dream, because before the man in question had a chance to react - where he would normally - Raikou was simply there with one hand curled around the back of Kanda’s neck, the other resting lightly at Kanda’s hip, and lips hovering over lips, the smile still in place.
“Hey, Yu? I lied. Gotta say goodbye to my ex-husband properly, right?”
There was laughter on his lips as he pressed in, hard and fast, before disappearing entirely.
~~~
“Ah, what will I do with him?”
Gau laughed easily at his lover’s antics, cast a grin in Kanda’s direction, and then leaned up to press a kiss to Lavi’s lips as well. After all, it might be his last chance!
The actual contact was brief and playful, much less than before at the Christmas party, and then Gau was stepping back and away, flicking his fingers in a careless sort of wave toward both his friends.
He opened his mouth as if to say goodbye, but there weren’t really any words, so he let his smile speak for itself, soft and loving, as he faded away.
...oh, okay. Lavi blinked a little at the kiss, but, well, it wasn’t exactly strange coming from Gau anyway. So he just raised his hand in a quick wave as Gau disappeared, and then sighed as he dropped it back down and turned to peer at Yu.
Those two were really just... special. A bit unfuriating perhaps. But... he would miss them.
Meanwhile, any tiny amount of sentiments Kanda might have had was gone. In fact, right now his blade was whistling right through the space which was occupied by Raikou a fraction of moment ago - because this was in the category of maiming without warning - while he rubbed his mouth on the sleeve of his free arm. God fucking dammit, as if that time when he was 13 wasn’t enough, people just had to go and keep invading his privacy in unforgivable ways. Just nasty, really.
He growled as he realized that the pair responsible for his rage right now was no longer there, twitched and turned to glare at Lavi instead. He still felt like at least punching something really well, and guess who was right there?
Uh.
Lavi was pretty sure that was most definitely not good. Anyone who didn’t really know Yu very well would probably get that. So... uhm. Okay. Now what, then.
“Err. What? Lookin’ kinda scary there, Yu...”
Kanda twitched again, and so did his newly clenched fist, but the familiar voice seemed to snap him out of rage enough to not deliver it on whoever was standing the closest.
“I need to break something,” he growled quietly and huffed, now even more clearly realizing the source of his irritation was gone and there was nothing else to be done besides general stress-relief.
So he marched to the couch and flopped down on it with irritation.
“Ah, for a moment there I almost thought ya wanted to break me...”
“Che.”
And the world all suddenly exploded into billions of feathers, followed by soft, warm darkness.
::
[The dream ends, but the two remaining men are still asleep on the couch, unaware that a part of this whole interaction has been broadcast. On the side of the table, the talisman and a terribly coloured sweater remain perfectly intact, even though there is no more trace of Raikou nor Gau anywhere. The video continues recording as Lavi and Kanda might be about to wake up...]