DGM belongs to Katsura Hoshino, and I'm just playing in the haven of her fictional world.
Burdens
Warning; Laven and fluffy cottonballs.
"Hey, Allen, let's hit the cafeteria." Lavi mumbled from under the hospital sheets, trying to drown out the chaos of the hospital room.
There was no reply from the bed beside his.
"Allen? Allen…" Lavi called out again, pulling himself out from under the blankets and tip-toeing to Allen's bed. He quickly pulled the covers off the unnaturally large bulk, revealing a heap of bowls, plates and food remnants.
"Looks like he's already eaten." he sighed.
Sweet wrappers, plastic bags and meat bones led Lavi to the Ark. Lavi slipped in unnoticed to the bustling scientists, and continued to follow the trail in the Ark till he reached a room. The door was open, and in it he saw a large, white piano. Large mirrors covered a wall next to the piano.
"It's a lullaby, isn't it, Tim?" Allen's voice came from behind the piano. "When I read this poem… I hear it as a song in my mind." Lavi walked silently to the piano and crouched at the other end, where Allen wouldn't see him.
"Is this the path I've chosen?" he heard Allen ask shakily. "Or did someone choose it for me?"
"That's not true, is it Tim? How could it be?" Allen choked back a sob, using his sleeve to wipe the tears that were dripping off his chin. "The symbols on the musical score, they were the ones that Mana and I made up a long time ago. I'm so confused, Tim. I don't know what to believe anymore."
Lavi leaned against the piano, his heart wrenching. Allen was in pain, yet he didn't know what to do to help him. He could only listen as Allen continued sobbing quietly.
"Hey, Allen!" Lavi greeted cheerily, slinging his arm around Allen's hunched shoulders. Allen immediately straightened himself.
"Hey, Lavi." He forced a smile. Lavi bit his lip, before steering Allen away from the direction of the canteen.
"Eh, what are you doing? I'm hungry!" Allen protested, trying to struggle free out of Lavi's chokehold. After reaching his room, Lavi kicked open the door and set Allen down on his bed, shutting the door close behind them.
"Now, we need to talk." Lavi sighed, sitting on the bed beside Allen. He held his hand and drew circles on his forefinger with his thumb. "You're hurting, Allen, and I can't stand seeing you like this. It's about that piano, right?"
Allen pursed his lips and looked away at the desk cluttered with stacks of papers and pens, anywhere but Lavi's face.
Lavi reached out and stroked Allen's face tenderly. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he whispered. "I just want you to know that I'm here, no matter what." Tears started rolling down Allen's cheeks as he buried his face in the crook of Lavi's neck. Lavi brought his hands around him, rubbing Allen's back tenderly.
"Stop keeping it all in, Allen. Stop putting yourself through so much pain. Let me share your burden too. You're not alone." After half an hour, Allen's sobs slowly died down and reduced to a few sniffles.
"I-it's the score, not the piano or the ark." Allen whispered, sitting up slightly. "Mana, h-he... We made it up together, and only we could understand it. It was like our own secret code. I don't know what it's doing in Tim, I-I don't know why it appeared or why I can use it to control the Ark. The only conclusion I can make is that Mana... Mana i-is..." Allen couldn't finish his sentence as tears started streaming down his face. He leaned back down on Lavi's chest.
"Mana was the reason why I stood up and continued walking." Allen continued. "He was the reason why I became an exorcist. I-If everything was all I lie, what do I hold on to, Lavi? What do I do?" The tears streamed down his cheeks as he buried his face deeper into Lavi's neck, sobbing louder and louder.
"Allen... Do you really think that Mana never really loved you at all?" Lavi asked, but more out of curiosity than anything else. Allen didn't reply, and silence stretched on for a few minutes. Lavi sighed, lifting Allen's chin up and stared into those soft, grey eyes that he loved so much.
"You're loved, Allen. So so loved. You have a home here, and your family here won't give up on you that easily. We won't give up on you Allen. We'll fight for you, no matter how hard it takes, and we'll help you carry your burdens. You don't have to do this alone. I'll fight for you Allen. I'll be here for you, forever." There was a pause, before Allen gripped Lavi's shirt tightly.
"Thanks, Lavi." he said softly. "I really needed that." Allen smiled up at the redhead.
Lavi smiled back, wiping the tears from his cheeks before kissing him tenderly on the lips.
"Sorry I wet your shirt." Allen apologized meekly.
"Should I take it off, then?" suggested Lavi, grinning. "You wet my pants too, by the way."
Author's note;
Hi. :o This is just a Laven one-shot. I got the idea when I saw a picture of Allen at the piano, head tucked in between his legs, and Lavi sitting at the other side of the piano. Sorry it's so short. Plz review. :D