Disclaimer: I do not own D Gray Man.
Chapter 8, Happiness
"Allen?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Do you mind go get Elena for me? It's almost time for us to leave?" said Lenalee to her husband as she packed the things inside the picnic basket in the kitchen.
Allen, who was drinking a cup of coffee, put down his newspaper and stood up from his chair.
"Sure thing!" He replied before heading upstairs, to their little girl's room.
"Elena, are you ready to go?" he asked while knocking on her bedroom's door.
"Elena?" He tried again when he received no answer.
...
Still no response....
'Strange...I thought she already woke up...' he thought while raising a brow. Curiously, he opened the door and stepped inside. "Elena?"
He saw no signs of the little silvernette as he looked around the room. Being an overprotective father, fears crept up his mind as he began to panic.
"Elena?!" He opened the door to her closet which was her usual hiding place, but she wasn't there. He was about to dash out of the room back to Lenalee when suddenly, "BOO!" A figure suddenly jumped onto his back, making his heart bounced.
"Got you, Dad!" exclaimed Elena as she giggled, clinging onto her startled father's back. Allen recovered from his shock when he heard the girl's laughing. Pulling her from his back, he gave her a hug. Though he could still feel his heart racing, he laughed along with her.
"Did I make you scared, Dad? Did I?" asked the little girl once they both stopped laughing.
Allen nodded and chuckled. "Yes, you did, Elena. In fact...you nearly got me a heart attack."
Elena looked a little guilty at this. "Really? I'm sorry, Dad. I won't ever do it again." She apologized with her puppy eyes.
The white-haired chuckled and patted her head gently. "Don't worry, Elena. I had fun though it really startled me." He said with a gentle grin.
Hearing this, the girl gave him a sweet, innocent smile which casted all his worries.
"So...you ready to go?" He asked, smiling at her.
Elena played with a strand of her silver lock, giving him a motioning glance.
"Well...almost...."
The white-haired laughed at this as he stood up and picked up a hair brush and a pair of ribbons from her table. "Alright, alright. Come here so I can tie your hair for you."
The girl's eyes' sparkled with glee as she sat in front of him, her back facing him. Allen smiled as he happily brushed her soft silver hair and tied them into twin pigtails with a pair of light blue ribbons to match her light blue dress.
"There! All done!" He said once he finished. "How does it look? Do you like it?"
Elena quickly went in front of a mirror and stared at her reflection in wonder.
"I like it very much! Thank you, Dad!" She exclaimed cheerfully, turning back to face him, her violet eyes sparkled with amusement. Allen grinned.
"Glad you like it!"
"And I was wondering what took you two so long..." The two turned to the door when they heard Lenalee's voice and saw her leaning against the door. She smiled in amusement once she saw her daughter.
"Mom, look! Dad tied my hair!" Elena exclaimed, skimping towards her mother, hugging her leg.
The teal-haired gently patted her daughter's head. "You look so cute, Elena! Why don't you show it to your Uncle Komui? He's already in front of the house."
The silvernette nodded before skipping out of the room leaving her parents behind. Allen huffed as he stood up and approached the teal-haired.
"She reminds me of you when you were young, Lenalee." He murmured, wrapping his hands around her waist. "...except for her hair color..." He placed a small kiss on her cheek.
Lenalee giggled. "She got it from her Dad. She's our daughter after all..." She replied. She then pulled away. "We better go, too. Nii-san's already here to pick us up."
She felt him flinched at the mention of her brother. She turned around and grinned. "Don't worry. He won't bite you."
The white-haired shuddered slightly. "I do hope so..."
"Uncle Komui!" Elena exclaimed happily as she ran towards her uncle, who was standing in fornt of a horse carriage, waving her hands cheerfully.
"My sweet little nephew, you look so cute today!" Komui praised happily, literally squealing, as he lifted the girl up in the air and spun her around. He then stopped when he noticed her hair.
"Oh my! You tie your hair into twin pigtails?"
The girl nodded. "Dad tied it for me! How do I look?" She asked.
Komui's eyes turned into hearts and he began to spin her around again.
"WAHHH! YOU LOOK EVEN CUTER THAT WAY!"
"Uncle...I'm starting to feel dizzy."
"Uh...sorry, sorry..." He grinned as he stopped and placed the girl back down.
"Good morning, Nii-san!" greeted Lenalee as both Allen and she came out from their house. Allen closed the door and locked it behind them before carrying the picnic and walking up to the older Lee with the teal-haired by his side.
"Good morning, Komui-san! Thanks for coming to pick us by the way!" said the white-haired once they were in front of Komui.
"It's nothing! After all, today's a free day for all of us! No paperworks for one whole day!" Komui exclaimed happily, throwing his hands up in the air.
Allen and Lenalee sweats-dropped. 'That's your point?'
Komui then regained his posture and walked to opened the carriage's and stepped aside. "Hop on! Everyone should be waiting for us."
"Yes!" the three replied in unison as they walked onto the carriage. Komui was the last one to enter the ride. After he had entered, the coach began to move.
"What's wrong, Allen? You look pretty nervous today." Komui asked, raising a brow, as he eyed his brother-in-law, who was sweating nervously.
The white-haired flinched slightly at this. "No, I'm not. It must be your imagination, Komui-san!" He replied with a goofy grin.
"Are you sure? You look like somebody's about to kill you!" Komui said.
The white-haired shook his head. "Nope! It's just your imagination! Definitely your imagination!" He whimpered.
Komui sighed and decided to shrug it off. "Well...if you say so..."
Lenalee giggled slightly as she watched Allen sighed in relief.
Elena could only blink, not knowing anything.
A few moments later...
"We're here!" Komui announced once the coach came to a stop. Allen opened the door and stepped out first. After that, he helped Lenalee stepping out from the carriage and then Elena. Agter Komui had exited the carriage, he bent down to pick up the picnic basket and closed the door.
"Now, now, Elena. Stop jumping." said Lenalee as she noticed how excited her daughter had become.
"Let's go, shall we? The others should be waiting around lake-side over there." said Komui as he pointed to a certain place.
They nodded before they began to walk off where the rest of their friends were waiting. Soon, they walked down the hill and saw their friends sitting on the blanket, chatting with one another.
"Everyone!" shouted Lenalee as she waved at them.
The others turned around and waved back, smiling.
"Hey! Hurry up, you guys! All of us are quite hungry here!" Lavi shouted.
Lenalee giggled as they approached the group.
"Hi there, Reever-san! Johnny! Did Brother invite you guys, too?" the teal-haired greeted once they all settled down.
"Yeah....we sorta tagged along with the chief." Reever replied nervously.
"Allen, where's food? FOOD!" Lavi whined childishly as Allen placed the basket down.
"Hai..hai..here's the food, Lavi!"
Kanda scowled in annoyance and hit the redhead on his head, "Quit your whining already, stupid rabbit!"
"Eh? But, I'm hungry! Admit it, Yuu! You're quite hungry yourself, too!"
"How many do I have to tell you not to call me by my first name?!"
"Hello there, Uncle Kanda, Uncle Lavi!" Elena greeted cheerfully, catching the two's attention.
"Humph...Chibi beansprout..." Kanda murmured.
"What was tha, Uncle baKanda?" She whined, glaring at him, but, he had completely ignored her.
"Hi there, Elena! Whoa! You look just like your Mom, tying your hair that way!" said Lavi in amusement as he lifted her up.
"Yeah! Dad did it for me!" the girl said proudly.
"Whoa!" The redhead wondered, glancing at the girl's father in surprise.
"I didn't know you could do this, Allen!"
The white-haired scratched his cheek nervously. "Well...I've always watched Lenalee when she's doing that..."
Kanda smirked. "That's new, Beansprout. I thought you could only do clown tricks!"
Allen's eyes twitched in annoyance at this. "Well..why don't you try tying your hair that way, baKanda? I bet it suits you better than your usual chopped ponytail!"
"What was that?"
The two then engaged in a heating glaring contest, each refusing to back down.
Lenalee sighed. "They have never changed, haven't they?"
Lavi nodded in agreement. Elena tugged his shirt.
"Ne, Uncle, are they always fighting like that?" She asked innocently.
"Not always. Only when the two's eye meet."
Elena stared at the contest in wonder. Suddenly, she felt someone covered her eyes from behind as her surrounding went blank.
"Guess who?" asked a childish voice. The silvernette smiled.
"Road Nee-san!"
The person smiled and removed her hands. "That's right! Hi, there, Elena!"
"Road Nee-san! You're here to join us, too?" asked the girl excitedly as she turned around to face the blunette.
Road smiled. "Yes. Your Uncle invited us so that you would have someone to play with!"
"Us?"
"Me and Tyki!"
Road jerked a thumb at Tyki who was walking towards them, waving his hand.
"Glad that you can join us!" said Komui once the two joined them.
Tyki grinned. "I have nothing to do at the time, and Road said she wants to play with the little girl."
"Nice to have you with us. Come one, guys! Let's dig in!" said Lavi, drooling.
"Geeze...you're more gluttonous than Allen today..." Lenalee commented as she watched the redhead began to chew down the food in front of him.
"Not as gluttonous as you, Lenalee." Lavi pointed out.
"Eh?"
"Your stomach's sticking out a little, you know? I bet you've been eating more than usual these days. Be careful or you'll get fat." He continued to tease.
The teal-haired's face flushed pink when everyone began to laugh.
"No, I'm not! My stomach's like this because I'm pregnant again!" She exclaimed out of embarrassment.
Everyone immediately stopped laughing. Allen began to sweat again.
"Come again, please?" asked Komui.
Lenalee snapped her mouth shut, realizing what she has just blurted out. The white-haired gulped.
"Lenalee...did you just say that...you're pregnant...again?" asked her brother sternly, frowning curiously.
The teal-haired nodded as she didn't want to lie to her brother.
"How many months?" he asked again.
Lenalee held up her fingers and replied sheepishly. "Umm...three..."
...
There was a long awkward silence before Lavi playfully slapped Allen's back.
"Congratulations, Buddy! You're going to be a father again!"
"Yayyyyy! I'm gonna have a little sibling!" Elena exclaimed cheerfully, throwing her hands in the air.
Kanda just scoffed and the rest of the group began to congratulate the two.
Allen nervously glanced at Komui and flinched when he noticed him slightly sending the whit-haired a glare.
"K-Komui-san?" Allen trembled.
Komui sighed and fixed his glasses. "Well...it couldn't be help since it has already happened. I can't say anything against you since you've been taking good care of my sister by being both a good husband and a father to her and Elena. Congratulations, little brother."
Allen was taken aback by this. "Thank you, Komui-san!" He said gratefully once he had recovered.
"But...that doesn't mean that I forgive you for stealing my sister's purity."
....
"Figures..."
Lenalee smiled a little as she listened to her brother talking to Allen.
Elena was running around the large field along with Road as the two were playing tag with Kanda and Lavi. The redhead voluntarily played with the two while Kanda was forcefully dragged along. The others were around the area; Tyki was taking a small nap with a book over his face, Komui and his co-workers were chatting with each other. Lenalee has her head leaned comfortably against Allen's shoulder as the two were sitting under a shady tree.
"So peaceful..." The teal-haired murmured as she eyed her surroundings. Allen nodded in agreement.
"I can't believe that it has already been seven years..."
"Me, too..."
"Say...Allen...what do you expect the baby to be this time?" asked the teal-haired as she gently rubbed her yet swollen stomach.
"Mmm..." Allen murmured kissing the top of her head, while his hand rubbing her stomach.
"Anything's fine with me...But, if you would let me choose...I think...a boy...or a gilr...Well...I can't choose." He chuckled nervously.
The teal-haired smiled. "Yeah..."
As she continued to relax against her husband while glancing at her surroundings, her eyes widened when she noticed two familiar faces approaching them.
"Lenalee?" Allen asked in concern as he felt her flinched for a second.
"M-My parents..." She uttered, pointing to the two figures.
Allen was also surprised. They looked a little older, but they're definitely Mr. and Mrs. Lee.
"What are they doing here?" The teal-haired growled slightly, glaring at them as she stood up from her spot.
"Lenalee, calm down. Maybe they're just here to talk." Allen said, standing up.
The two Lees eyes sparkled in joy when they noticed the teal-haired under the tree and they began to walk towards her.
"Lenalee! We've been searching for you! Oh look how you've grown!" Her mother wondered once the two stood in front of her and Allen.
"What are you doing here? Are you going to bring me back with you guys?" The teal-haired said furiously, glaring at them.
The two flinched a little. "No...we're not..."
"Then what the hell are you two doing here? I thought I told you not to appear in front of me again?" Her face began to heaten up.
Allen was about to step between her but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Komui-san?"
"Don't, Allen. Let her handle this." Komui said seriously as he glanced at his parents and his little sister.
"Lenalee..." The two Lees turned to Komui. "... and Komui..."
The two gulped. "We're here to apologize..."
"Huh?"
"We're here to apologize to you two...We're here to apologize for our actions..." said Mrs. Lee as she dropped her head.
Lenalee was still shocked. "But... why?"
"We've been lying to you...controlling your lives...to satisfy our own satisfaction. We've never given a second thought to you or your brother's thoughts. We've always ignored them...thinking that what we did was right..." Mr. Lee uttered.
"But...now we know that we were wrong!" continued Mrs. Lee. "We never should have done that! We should have listened to your wishes. We should have thought about your own feelings...but we never did..."
Her voice began to crack a little. "It's Okay if the both of you won't forgive us. We only want to apologize!"
The two then bowed slightly and said at the same time. "We're so sorry, Lenalee...Komui. We're so sorry for what we have done!"
Both Komui and Lenalee, including Allen were stunned by this. They've never expected their parents to apologize them. They've never thought that...their parents would think over their actions. This was totally unexpected.
"Mom, who's that?"
Lenalee stared at Elena when the girl tugged her dress slightly.
"Why are they bowing like that?" the little girl continued to ask innocently.
Allen smiled and patted her head slightly. "Elena, they're Mom and Uncle's parents; your grandparents." He said gently, glancing at his wife.
"Is that true, mom?" her daughter asked.
Seeing her husband's gentle smile, she sighed, and placed her hand on Elea's shoulder.
"Yes, dear. They're your grandpa and grandma." She then turned to her parents, smiling.
"Mom, Dad, meet your granddaughter, Elena Walker."
Her parents stood up. "So...she's your and his daughter?" asked Mrs. Lee.
"Yes. They got married two years after their stay. " Komui replied for them.
Elena smiled and stepped forward. "Hi there, Grandpa, Grandma! I'm Elena! Nice to meet to you two!" She greeted them with a warm smile.
"Nice to meet you, too, my dear."
Lenalee sighed as she watched Elena walked off to the field with her parents with Komui. She then felt her husband's hands wrapped around her waist.
"So...you forgave them?" asked Allen with an amusing smile.
The teal-haired glanced at him, placing her hands on his. "Do you think I can resist not forgiving them when you're giving that smile?"
Allen chuckled. "Well...I've never wanted you and your brother to hold a grudge against your parents. It's better to forgive them once they've regretted what they've done..."
"But...can I really trust them again?"
"Don't worry. Everything will work pretty well...just like back then..." The white-haired grinned at her.
Lenalee smiled as she snuggled against him. "Yeah...just like back then..."
'Whether the situation's good or bad...everything has always been alright...because I always have you by my side, Allen...
You are the one...who have set me free...who gave me this happiness...' She thought with a smile as she glanced at her friends and family.
She rubbed her stomach slightly. 'And...we'll be having another new family member joining us...soon...'
The End!