midnightstar | A SURPRISE LENALEE APPROACHES; Command?

Despite all of everything the Black Order has been through, it was business as usual for the various teams. Lenalee and Allen were in one team with Miranda and a few Finders. Lucky them, their mission took them to the mountains - beautiful scenery, but cold weather. Fortunately they managed to find a small inn with vacancies, so they could stay indoors. Amazingly, Miranda was actually sleeping more peacefully than Lenalee at the moment.

Although after all of the scenarios and seeing all of the deaths in the war with the Earl and fighting the akuma, (...not to mention what she personally has been through), it really should come as no surprise that Lenalee's sleep was less than restful. While she managed to snatch an hour or two here and there of sleep, worries about her friends, her brother, and one exorcist in particular all contributed to making her nightmare particularly bloody and gruesome. When she jerked awake for the second time that night (or was it third, she wasn't sure), she knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep right away, so she silently slipped out of her room, padding down the hall. Maybe a glass of water would settle her nerves.

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"I don't think so. Or else I wouldn't be here with you right now. No I think he's just playing it safe or he might suspect something." Allen chuckled softly. Either way he wasn't going to think too much about the what iffs. They would find out one way or another. But right now he just wanted to get as much of Lenalee as he could before she would have to separate from him to give her brother the debriefing for her mission.

"That's true. I was surprised to see you waiting for me when I got off of the ship, actually..!" But it was the best sight she'd ever seen. And to be honest, were their roles reversed, she'd have wanted to meet him when he came home too.

"Am I terrible if I say I don't want to go back to the Order just yet..?" Except the Finders will surely mention that they saw her, and that she should have arrived ahead of them, and then Komui will panic and.. yeah.

"Not really. That would make me terrible too. But considering the alternatives, I think it's best you take care of speaking with your brother." Allen said with a disappointed sigh of his own. He really wished Komui would stop being so...Komui. But this wasn't something they could rush sadly.

She wouldn't mind him being... him so much as long as he accepted the fact that she and Allen were together, and weren't going to separate by choice. Ever. Chuckling softly, she nodded, "You're right.. at the very least we can relax once we're inside. And I do have to bring my belongings back." She glanced over to the knapsack she had brought with her, letting go of his hand only long enough to collect it.

"Shall we?"

Maybe it would bake a more direct confrontation to make him see. Or perhaps some kind of agreement. It was something they would have to figure out eventually because clearly the last time didn't get through to him. Allen looked over to the knapsack and quickly moved to pick it up for her first.

"Please allow me~" Allen said with a bright smile.

They'd figure something out down the line. For now they at least didn't have to feel guilty or feel like they were keeping their relationship a secret. They -did- tell him. He just ... managed to pretend it was a dream. Somehow.

"Oh!~" Lenalee had been about to get her bag, but now she didn't have to, yay. "Thanks, Allen," she grinned. So, she made her way back to his side, to slip her arm around his free one, as they made their way back to their home.

True. Time would provide them the way. Or either him or Lenalee would get the courage necessary to confront the man on their own and not together. It all was a cointoss in the end.

He pulled her closer with his free arm and laughed softly before their steps took them both up to the front entrance to the Order Headequarters. Eventually. Both him and Lenalee were quite content in their own private bubble boundary just taking their time slowly walking.

"It's going to be very hard to let go of you when we get inside. I hope you know that."

She let out a long sigh, her body craving the closeness he represented. But that had to wait just a bit longer, unless she wanted to knock him over.

Pausing before the door, she leaned over to press her lips against his cheek gently, "I know," she murmured softly. "Please, bear with it just a bit longer. I still need to greet Komui and tell him how things went... and then we can catch up."

"I will only because you asked me to." Allen said with just a hint of rebelliousness. Honestly it wasn't like he had a choice. But that didn't mean he couldn't try and make a jest of how impossibly wound around each other the two of them were.

"I'll take your luggage up to your room then?" He offered.

Lenalee chuckled at the response, "Yes, please," she agreed, "Wait for me there? And..watch out for the traps and Komurin. I don't know what Komui may have set up there ahead of time, obviously." But may as well have told Allen to watch out for rain - the Komurin and boobytraps certainly posed no threat to him.

"Consider it done~" Allen smiled and finally forced himself to let go of Lenalee but not without quickly snatching her hand and bringing it up to his lips briefly for a parting kiss.

"I will see you soon." He said with a coy smile before quickly going down a different corridor towards her room. Komui's trigger points in the hallways were quite obvious though part of him was surprised he didn't decide to use a Golem camera for detection. Maybe...maybe that was Reever's doing. He couldn't get rid of the traps completely but making them easier to avoid for anyone but an average human was the best compromise he could think of probably.

Regardless after a few feats of athletic prowess and one use of Clown belt, Allen let himself into Lenalee's room and set the bags down by the bed before actually taking a moment to look around. This was Lenalee's true room and not the one Komui had defaced by printing his face on EVERYTHING.

Lenalee's smile warmed at the tiny gesture, so innocent and yet it said so much at the same time. Innocent and intimate in a way. Watching him turn the corner to head towards her own room, Lenalee sighed, resisting the urge to scamper after him, and instead headed off for Komui's office for the mission debriefing.

Of course, Lenalee's room was probably the largest of the rooms for the Exorcists too - Komui would naturally have moved Lenalee into the biggest and best room, since she had to have the best. There was still a bit of a mess from where the men had wrapped up working and forgot to pick up and throw out some things in the process of soundproofing her room. But her bed was made neatly (Well, naturally since she hadn't slept in it before she left) and now had a cute little plush doll of one brother that was presumably a welcome back gift from Komui himself. And despite that it was a plush of Komui himself, it was surprisingly not bugged or boobytrapped or anything. It was just a doll.

Allen didn't take any chances and inspected the doll thoroughly the moment he laid eyes on it. Once he confirmed it was exactly what it seemed to be, he took a moment to just walk around the room. So this was where Lenalee spent her nights. When not seeking him out that is. He wasn't surprised by the size difference or the various items of convenience most rooms didn't have. He wasn't envious though. Nor did he blame Komui. After everything Lenalee had gone through the girl deserved to live like a queen in a palace. Though of course she wouldn't want that. A normal life...that was likely her greatest wish. A wish Allen wanted to grant.

A normal life with -him- and her brother, now. It was her goal, what she wanted most. Even if they lived in poverty, she would be happy so long as they were living together.

Of course with the room soundproofed, her footsteps couldn't be heard approaching, but the sound of the doorknob turning could, roughly twenty minutes later. ... It wasn;'t so much that the debriefing was long, but Komui had grilled her with a million questions, and then it was general sibling chatter, even though she had been antsy to hurry back to Allen's side.

Still, she was finally returning, slipping silently into the bedroom and turning away in order to close the door behind her. If Allen hadn't noticed her by then, she weas totally going to sneak up on him.

Another aspect of Lenalee's room asignment was the absolutely BREATHTAKING view from her window. An aspect Allen quickly took advantage off after he was done looking around the room as much as his decency would allow him to. Which was why his back was facing the door while he looked out into the twinkling curtain of the sea outside.

That was definitely her favorite view too. She loved the sea, without a doubt. Seeing Allen with his guard down -- or so it seemed -- she grinned, silently padding slowly up behind him. If he still hadn't noticed her, then once she drew close enough, she reached out to wrap her arms around him, press into his back and lean as much against him as she could. "What are you thinking about?"

If he did notice her, Allen was showing no sign of that. Only when she captured him in her arms did he seem to acknowledge Lenalee's presence there. He looked over his shoulder with a tender smile as his beloved locked him in place.

"You already know the answer to that question don't you~?"

She chuckled up at him, shifting to rest her cheek against his back. "It feels like it's been forever since I was with you - since I could hold you like this. But in reality it wasn't even that long." She was quickly realizing that even a day without him was too long.

"I told Komui that if another mission comes up I want to go with you. He agreed, but he said things seem to be quiet for now, so we should have some time to relax from our missions."

"He actually agreed?" Allen exclaimed almost not believing what he heard from Her lips. This was great news for a multitude of reasons. But that didn't really matter compared to the fact that they had hopefully a few days or more to just be together. Not that it would be enough to make either him or Lenalee feel like they had their fill. They were both quite greedy in that regard.

"That's great news. Even more so now that you are here with me~" Allen said putting his hands over Lenalee's arms as she held him close. This was heaven. Pure and simple.

"Yeah. I think he felt bad.." on some level he must have known they missed each other. And if missions come in that actually NEEDed them to be apart they didn't have much power over that, but until then they could be together during work hours too. She fell silent a moment, just drinking in the feel of his warm body in her arms. After a few minutes, she straightened with a smile, pulling away a little.

"I feel badly that I wasn't here to greet you when you came back though. ..and this was going to be a surprise too - about the room, I mean.."

"Hmm I see." Well he was on the right path to making amends. Not that either him or Lenalee would actually hold it against Komui himself. There were plenty other things to hold against him though.

"Well it was out of our control. And the thing with the room was still quite the surprise to hear you'd asked it to be done." Allen said and turned around a to press his lips to her chin and cheek.

Baby steps, in Komui's case. Very very small baby steps. In any case, she didn't hold it against her brother either. Not by a long shot. Even if he could be frustrating sometimes.

She blushed softly at the light kiss to her chin and cheek, smiling, "Well...I thought it might be useful. Especially if you came to visit -me- on some nights I can't get away to see you." she admitted, her blush getting pinker.

"Well I'm already here and I don't see any reason to leave~" Allen smiled before leaning his head against hers, eyes closing with a faint content hum. This was bliss. Bliss in every way imaginable. Well they would probably have to go to the cafeteria for dinner later. Maybe.

They'd have to put in appearances sooner or later. But Lenalee was perfectly happy to stay right there for eternity, feeling his head resting against hers in the moment of pure and perfect peace. She sighed happily, idly running her hand along his back affectionately. Almost assuring herself he was there. Though after a moment, she chuckled in response to him - however belated. ".. that's good, because I don't think I can bring myself to let you leave. Not tonight, at least."

Allen just couldn't help wanting to lean into Lenalee, something that was quite unlike him. To just lean so heavily on Lenalee and to let her soothe and comfort him. Though of course he would do the same if she wanted to take his place instead.

"MMmmm I like the sound of that. Did you have anything specific in mind~?" Because he certainly had a few enticing dreams of his own.