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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Lenalee pushed herself up a bit, peering down at him with a sheepish smile, a distinctly rosy tinge to her cheeks. Ah, the situation got pretty awkward somehow...

"Oh good, I'm relieved. Komui means well, he just gets a little..." Ahah - Lenalee maybe you should..y'know...get off of Allen before he has a heart attack.

Although he weas surprisingly comfortable li-- wait, where'd that thought come from. Allen is not a thing to be lying on!

That point blank smile, those blushing cheeks. It only served to completely shut down Allen's mind as he could only stare back in stunned awe, only barely registering the words coming from those lovel li- WOAH where the heck did THOSE thoughts come from!?

"Y-Y-Yeah I know What you mean..." And yet he wasn't in a hurry to tell Lenalee to get off of him.

"Ahaha, yeah..."

... Soo not going to get up anytime soon Lenalee? What was it about him that drew her in so much? Actually the more he stared at her the more it felt like her cheeks were blushing deeper. Watching him intently for a second, she caught herself leaning down to..

"Lenalee~!" Miranda's voice broke into her thoughts, and Lenalee's violet eyes widened for a second in surprise.

Had she just been about to ...UH. NOTHING. TO NOTHING. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. She quickly got to her feet, lest her fellow Exorcist draw near enough to see what had almost happened. Damnit Miranda. If you had been thirty seconds slower...

Wait, no, that thought didn't belong there.

She quickly shook her head of such thoughts, scrambling off of him, "

Nooo why did Miranda have to stop Lenalee. Wait that was not something he should have even entertained as a thought. Not with Komui right there under a pile of scientists and exorcists...though on second thought this was the perfect moment as well. But then Lenalee quickly moved away and for a split second he wanted to click his tongue in annoyance. But in the end all that was seen in the outside world was a flash of disappointment in his silver eyes before he too got to his feet dusting himself off a bit before adjusting his shirt and bowtie after it had gotten shifted about during the crash.

For a split second, Lenalee was annoyed by the interruption too. But... it was for the better! After all he said he wanted to be friends last night and what she had wanted to do just then was... definitely past 'friendly'.

Still, aside from a slight tic that vanished almost as quickly as it appeared, Lenalee was pleasant as ever. "Ah -- sorry about that. I guess I still need to work on slowing down at times like that." A normal person would have had a harder time bouncing back from the speed she tackled him. Heck even some of the exorcists would.

If he knew those words played a part in her moving away, Allen would likely want to go back in time and kick his own foolish ass for blowing his chances so willingly.

"Ah no no. It's fine really. On the field it's best to get away from danger as quickly as possible"

Don't worry Allen, you'll get other chances..!

Erm -- Moving on..! Lenalee grinned, "That's true,.. but for a normal person that might have been a bit much for them. You didn't feel any dizziness this time though, did you?"

She glanced back towards her brother and the rest of the exorcists as she started towards Miranda who looked pretty oblivious to what had almost happened. "It looks like they've got My brother under control for now." Who knows what he'll get up to now though! No wonder they tried to keep him too busy to get into shenanigans.

Oh good he managed to smoothly work over the conclusion of their little tumble. Funnily enough he wasn't dizzy or nauseous in the least. Odd that.

"No no I'm perfectly fine actually. Maybe I'm actually getting used to that kind of speed and force."

"That's good! Although hopefully I won't have to tackle into you like that again." A pause, and she glances away with a small blush remembering how they ended up.

By the time she reached the dogpiled Komui, her poor brother was practically in tears. Mean ol' scientists and exorcists are PICKING on him and his precious Komurins. SNIFF. Lenalee could only grin at her 'distraught' brother, "You really brought it on yourself, brother..! Those Komurin's are more trouble than they're worth." BUt maybe one day he'll get one that works properly! ... well, some did, just.. it tended not to be beneficial all the time. BUT HEY At least it wasn't zombie juice!

And now that they got all sidetracked, Lenalee oh's, glancing at Allen, "That's right, I left the food cart in your room! I need to return that to Jerry."

Poor Komui. Not only did his sister not give him any sympathy, but now he has to be pinned under people to keep him from tribal-darting Allen AGAIN after hearing that?

She is just too charming. Especiallymwhen smiling or grinning fondly at her dear troublesome brother. He stayed right behind Lenalee just to be safe since one never knewnwhat komui would pull put of his hat next.

"Oh right. I'll come with you then. It's kind of my fault too that were late taking it back."

She wasn't the only charming one around here. And she's not talking about Komui! Lenalee nods agreement in any case, "All right. I'll bet Jerry will have some new dish for you to try too~." Even though he ate what she'd brought. But those parasitic innocence users - was there ever a time they weren't hungry?

She grinned, then turning to her brother, "Please don't cause any more trouble, Komui!"

Don't fix up the Komurins into a giant mecha again. Please.

Komui wriggled as best he could as his sister ~~abandoned him to his fate!~~ turned to head back to Allen's room in order to retrieve and deliver the cart to Jerry. Again, an innocent task but Komui didn't like the idea of her being alone in a room with a boy! "Aah, wait, Lenalee! Let me come with you!"

"Chief, you have work to do, remember? And the meeting with the Inspector this afternoon.." Reever and his crew weren't about to let Komui go scampering off and neglecting his work again!

Lenalee twitched only briefly when she heard Reever mentioning the Inspector, but it passed quickly.

Oh you really think so? That would be the best! Maybe it's a new Chinese recipe. I heard him mention he wanted to try something more exotic. " knowing Komui what he heard was moe along the lines of Allen wanting to get a taste of Lenalee like the evil perverted beast that he is.

She might have gotten over her initial shock quickly but he had already noticed the effect that title had on Lenalee.

After they left the training room, Allen waited for a moment watching Lenalee closely for her reactions. Something she would likely pick up on sooner than later.

Oh that was -PRECISELY- what he thought. In fact, if you listen carefully as you leave, there's a defeated how of "WALKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER" coming from the room as the door shuts.

Lenalee pretends not to hear it. Her brother is so weird. "Really?" She glanced at Allen with a smile and quietly filing that detail away for a little. "Maybe it is. Jerry never fails to disappoint with what he makes." If Allen liked Chinese food that much, she'd definitely have to learn some recipes.

And sure enough, they aren't even more than halfway to his room when she notices him watching her. "...what...?" Was it what he heard about the ..Inspector? She's totally fine though, see the smile?

Yeeeeah just going to ignore that ominous cry thank you very much. He'll face that hell later.

" Yeah he's definitely the magician of the kitchen."

Yeah that smile might fool other people but Allen was all too familiar with fake smilesmsince he used them plenty himself. Which was why he didn't hesitate to say:

"Something is bothering you isn't it Lenalee?"

Jerry would like that title, Lenalee thinks. She'd have to share that note with the chef - Allen would get a pretty bonus for it, she'd bet.

"!" Well that question caught her off guard, and she stares at Allen in surprise for a moment. Probably wondering how he saw through her so easily. "It's... it's nothing, really.." Not something he needed to worry about anyway.

Well, it was ...tempting to tell him, but unlike with the nightmares, just thinking about that experience - about the Investigator - made her blood run cold and her entire body lock up. She paused by his door, debating whether or not to fess up.

For someone with a fearsome reputation as a demon of the cards, seeing the truth inside that smile was nothing short of child's play.

"I don't think it's nothing. But if you think I can't help you at all then I will not pry any further. I only want to help that's all."

"Allen..." Lenalee really ..looking at it that way, she ...didn't want to say he -couldn't- help. She didn't know how he could but..she wasn't sure she -could- talk about it. Well.. it isn't like she needed to give details.

"Let's.. let's bring Jerry his cart first... all right?" It could delay the moment and let her decide if she was capable of putting her words together and tell him what she never told anyone. Ah, well except for Komui, and there was also Reever and Kanda.. though even they didn't know much about it.

"Alright that is fair." She had not shut him out completely. That alone was good. Though once he would know this would touch on the scars of her mind and heart, he would likely regret his meddling.

"There it is. I'll get the dishes then."

"Okay, thank you."

He was a meddlesome teenager all right. But Lenalee couldn't bring herself to shut her friend out - especially when his intentions came from a good place. As he got the dishes, she pulled the cart out of the room, following after him with a pensive look on her face.

Meddlesome and genuinely worried for his..."friend'. The way she was so lost in her thoughts even as they rolled the cart down the order's corridors. In fact the longer this went on the greater his drive to pull Lenalee close to him became.

Thoughts that Lenalee was oblivious to, as focused as she was thinking about what she was going to tell him. She wasn't any good at conversation in fact, the entire time - which is rare for her. She wasn't even looking at Allen - another rarity for her. In any event, they fortunately manage to make their way to the mess hall. She was quick to smile once they stepped in, not wanting to tip anyone off. "Jerry! We brought back your cart~!"

Jerry, stationed in the kitchen naturally, glanced up with a grin, "Ah, perfect timing! I just finished making a new dish - Allen, how would you like to taste test?" As if he had to ask, right?

Well that might have been for the best in the end. Lenalee needed to sort things out on her own a bit first. That being said seeing that fake smile put a bit of a damper on Allen's own.

Whether Jerry picked up on that or not, his his invitation provided the perfect distraction.

"Of course! I'd love to!"

Jerry grinned, stepping out of the kitchen with a covered plate as Lenalee rolled the cart to its place in the kitchen. Jerry didn't -seem- to notice, though he glanced at Lenalee when she came back out to fetch the plates from Allen. "Why don't you join him, Lenalee, you're looking a little pale today." He didn't know about her history with the Inspector, but it was hard not to notice even though she was smiling.

Lenalee looked a little startled, glancing at Allen first, then back to Jerry, "Ah -- well, all right...!" She'd be lying if she wasn't curious what dish he had come up with, even if it wasn't a full multiple course meal like he usually prepared for Allen. It was little more than a snack by his standards. In any case, Lenalee managed to give Allen a genuine smile when she went to sit at the table with him. Jerry was such a mom. A male mom, but a mom nonetheless. But once the 'kids' were situated, he placed the plate on the table and, with a flourish, revealed the dish! "Voila! Stir fry crabs with ginger and spring onions!" Yumyum~!

Well he had already eaten a hearty meal so at the moment this was the best time to try out some new dishes.

Allen blinked curiously before he noticed she was coming to sit with him. As expected of jerry and his maternal instincts.

" Oh goodness just hearing it said like this is enough to make my mouth water!"

Lenalee could hardly refuse him - she was a little hungry herself after all, and if she had tried to take the chance to avoid talking to Allen, she wouldn't have been able to look him in the eye later.

"It smells amazing, too!" Lenalee agreed, flashing Jerry a smile. The cook always liked hearing compliments to his cooking, especially when it was from Allen or the little queen of the order.

Jerry set down some drinks for the pair, "I'm always happy to cook for you two; eat your fill and if you need anything, just let me know. Don't worry about the dishes, I'll come and fetch them when you're done." He tutted over the pair, turning to head back into the kitchen.

Lenalee chuckled at the older man, before turning to her own plate content to push the matter of The Talk(tm) to the back of her mind for now.