D. Gray-man Fan Fiction ❯ Canis Luna ❯ Daybreak ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Warnings: YAOI, which means BOYS LOVING BOYS. If you dislike that, then the back button is easy enough to find. Please click that and leave. Possible OOC. Alternate Universe.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Wish they were, but Katsura Hoshino owns all.

Notes: Well, this fic started as a oneshot based off of Little Red Riding Hood. About two pages in, I figured out that this no longer had anything whatsoever to do with Little Red Riding Hood. >_< I hope you all enjoy!

Dedicated to SisterWicked, Niamh (both of AssHat Productions, a group I�m a proud member of), and Cackles for reading this over before I posted and giving me tips and the confidence boost I needed so I could make this fic available to the general public. All remaining mistakes are mine.

Super special awesome thanks to Niamh for coming up with the title of this fic!

Last Time:

Lavi nodded, smiling weakly back. His smile faded as he turned to face his grandfather. The old man was watching them disapprovingly, but turned back to his work and tied off the bandage when he noticed Lavi looking.

"Goodnight, Gramps," the redhead said, turning towards the bedroom. He heard the old man make a noise behind him, acknowledging that Lavi had spoken but not really replying.

With a soft sigh, Lavi walked to the room and shut the door quietly behind himself.

And Now, The Continuation. 

Chapter 7

Daybreak

The redhead woke to sunlight streaming in through the window. He blinked once, his good eye bleary, then sat up and rubbed at his eye with the back of his hand. He glanced over towards the other side of the room, seeing Road laying there, dressed in some of Lavi's old clothes and mostly covered by a blanket from shoulders to feet.

He sighed softly. She had moved a bit, disturbing the blanket laid on top of her. He smiled with relief. She must have woken up sometime during the night and then fallen asleep before waking anyone else - the fact that she was moving at all was a good sign.

Lavi reached over and picked up his eyepatch, tying it in place before he stood up and walked off his pallet. He walked right by Road and out the door, leaving it open in case she woke, and headed for the kitchen. He doubted either Tyki or Bookman had bothered to move the chairs before sitting down and going to sleep. As he neared the cooking area of the cottage, he saw that he was half-right. Bookman sat slumped over in his chair, a blanket pooled on the floor at his feet. It had probably fallen off while he slept.

Tyki was nowhere to be seen.

His chest tightened and he tried to wave off his sudden sense of abandonment and loss, walking quietly across the floor to pick up his grandfather's blanket and cover the old man with it. Bookman was shivering slightly, though his shivers abated somewhat when he was once again covered. Lavi smiled thinly as Bookman relaxed, then nearly jumped as a soft scraping sound reached his ears.

He turned, looking around suspiciously for the source of the sound. He was almost beginning to think he hadn't heard it when it came again, apparently from the direction of the main room.

Lavi walked cautiously towards the sound, stepping quietly in case it was some sort of intruder. As he approached the hearth, he saw a flash of gray and relaxed, moving more quickly towards the fireplace.

Tyki, in wolf form, was sleeping on the floor. A thin blanket was wrapped around him, protecting him from the chill in the air and in the floor. His fur had probably kept him warm, Lavi thought absently as he knelt next to the sleeping wolf, reaching out to run his fingers through the older man's thick gray coat. It was warm, he noted, and very soft to the touch. He moved closer, tentatively laying his whole hand on the wolf's fur.

An amber eye snapped open, Tyki's head jerking sideways so that the wolf could see him clearly. Lavi froze, hand still extended as the werewolf stared at him. Tyki blinked once, slowly, then relaxed, rolling to his paws and shaking off the blanket. Lavi lowered his hand, watching as Tyki stretched and yawned. Apparently satisfied, Tyki turned towards the redhead and stepped forward. Lavi slid back on to his ass, leaning back a bit as Tyki drew closer. When they were just inches apart, Tyki changed forms.

It was a pair of soft, human lips that pressed against Lavi's own and it was a warm human hand that cupped his cheek gently. Lavi let his eye slide shut and leaned into the kiss. Though their mouths remained closed, the kiss lasted just a touch too long for it to be considered entirely innocent.

Tyki at last pulled back from the kiss, though he stayed close and did not drop his hand from Lavi's face.

"Good morning," the werewolf murmured, standing. He offered his hand to the sitting redhead, who took it though he didn't really need the help. Tyki didn't let his hand go even after he was on his feet, though Lavi had to admit he didn't mind the other man holding his hand.

"Good morning," he replied, voice as quiet as the other's had been. He stared at Tyki's face, taking in the older man's features in the sunlight for the first time. The light of early morning filtered in through the window, making the gray of Tyki's skin seem lighter and highlighting the amber of his eyes. Lavi found himself mesmerized by those eyes yet again, breath catching in his throat as he stared into them. Even the shine of Tyki's hair seemed more beautiful in the daylight; everything about Tyki seemed more gorgeous, though Lavi wasn't sure if that was just because of the color of the light or because he could see Tyki's face more clearly than before.

He frowned, a thought suddenly occurring to him.

"Is something the matter?" Tyki asked, only mildly concerned. Then his voice took on a distinctly worried twist. "Is Road-?"

"No, no!" Lavi hastened to assure him, shaking his head. "She's fine. She woke up during the night, I think, so she should be up sometime today."

Tyki smiled at him, clearly relieved.

"That's wonderful," he said. His smile faded into an expression of puzzlement. "Why the frown then, Red?"

Lavi shrugged his shoulders, going over the week in his mind. Except for his first meeting with Tyki, before he had known that Tyki was Tyki and thought he was just a rather large wolf, every one of their meetings had been at night.

"Tyki," he said slowly, tilting his head slightly in confusion. "I don't think I've seen you in the sunlight before today, have I? Why is that?"

He saw Tyki's eyes go guarded for a split second before the expression was hidden and the older man smiled easily, stepping closer to Lavi and pulling the redhead into an embrace. The redhead didn't fight it, wrapping his own arms around Tyki's shoulders.

"The night belongs to lovers, or so they say," Tyki said in his ear, voice pitched just a bit lower than his normal speaking voice. Lavi shivered, his arms tightening around the older man as he lifted himself a bit to speak directly in the werewolf's ear.

"Can't you tell me the real reason?" he asked quietly. He felt Tyki tense and simply held on, continuing. "It's all right if you don't want to say, but..."

But he wanted to know. It bothered him that he didn't, though he didn't know why that was. He wanted to know everything about the man he was holding.

Tyki sighed softly and relaxed, pulling Lavi a bit tighter against him.

"I should have known you wouldn't believe me. You are my Intended, after all," Tyki murmured, almost to himself. Lavi didn't speak, giving the other a chance to continue without prompting.

"I am aware I don't look human, Red," Tyki said. "I've found that it is easier to pretend that I look like one of you in the moonlight. In the daylight or in candlelight, it is hard to pretend that my skin isn't gray and that my eyes are not amber. I thought it would make you more comfortable-"

Lavi's arms tightened.

"I don't care," he said fiercely, meaning every word. "You don't look human, I know, but... you're not human. You're a werewolf."

He could feel Tyki tensing again, but the man didn't try to fight his hold and Lavi continued on, silently grateful.

"I don't care," he repeated. "If you weren't a werewolf, then you wouldn't be the man I know, would you? You'd be someone else."

He could feel Tyki slowly relaxing again and loosened his grip a little. Lavi felt one of the older man's hands leave his back and seconds later felt it pressed to the side of his face, drawing him back and tilting his head up. Tyki was smiling at him and he smiled in response, leaning forward to meet the older man halfway in a kiss. They parted again moments later, both smiles widening.

"You truly do not mind the way I look?" Tyki asked. Lavi shook his head, staring speculatively at the older man's face.

"It... suits you," he said, lifting a hand to touch Tyki's cheek. The older man let him, even tilting his head into the contact. Tyki's skin was warm and soft to the touch, though in a different way from how his fur had been. Before he knew what he was doing, his fingers had traced over the older man's cheek to his lips. He ran two fingertips over Tyki's lower lip, unconsciously leaning in again. The werewolf smiled softly, moving his head towards Lavi's.

A loud, very pointed cough from the direction of the kitchen interrupted them when their lips were only a hair's breadth apart. Both men froze, guilty as children caught stealing sweets.

Lavi turned his head towards the source of the cough, already wincing internally. Sure enough, Bookman stood by the table, watching them with a disapproving expression on his face. Lavi's face reddened and he stepped back, glancing down at the floor as he did so. He felt a hand wrap around his and he looked back up towards Tyki. The werewolf had his eyes on Bookman, expression almost as displeased as Bookman's was. Lavi squeezed the hand holding his, drawing Tyki's attention back to him. The werewolf met his gaze for a second, then sighed and released him. Lavi let his hand drop to his side, watching silently as Tyki turned towards the bedroom.

"I'll check on my niece," Tyki said, walking away and disappearing through the open doorway. Lavi watched him go, his lips feeling strangely cool and dry.

"Lavi, come help me prepare breakfast," Bookman said firmly, turning away. After a moment, the redhead looked towards the kitchen and followed his grandfather with a quiet sigh.

Line Break

They were all sitting down to dinner, hours later, when Road finally woke up.

Tyki, who had spent most of the day inside the room with Road while Lavi and Bookman had gone about their business, had just moved to sit down at the table when he had suddenly glanced over in the direction of the bedroom. Lavi and Bookman had looked too, though neither had heard anything. Seconds later, all three men had heard a quiet, parched voice call out.

"Uncle Tyki..."

The werewolf immediately about-faced and headed for the bedroom. Lavi was seconds behind him, both men crossing the floor quickly. The cry came again, more panicked this time, just as Tyki reached the door.

A blue-brown blur nearly tackled Tyki. The older werewolf just barely caught his balance as Road threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. Lavi drew up short, barely stopping before he ran into Tyki, and stepped to the side to give the man some room. Tyki didn't notice, putting his hands on Road's shoulders and gently pushing her away. She resisted for a second, but then relented and Tyki knelt in front of her so he could hug his niece tighter to him. She threw her arms around his neck, clinging to him.

"What's wrong, Road?" Tyki asked her, gently carding his fingers through his hair in a soothing motion. "What happened?"

Lavi watched the girl draw in a shuddering breath, her shoulders shaking as she held on to her uncle. Tyki remained quiet, just holding her and allowing her time to speak.

"Papa..." she said. Her voice was dry and she swallowed heavily before continuing, hushed and trembling, on the verge of tears. "I think the Earl killed Papa."

Lavi's eye widened and he heard Tyki suck in a sharp breath, his arms tightening around Road.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked, voice caught between gentleness and urgency. She opened her mouth to speak but all that came out was a dry rasp.

Quiet footsteps approached. Lavi turned, seeing Bookman approaching with a wooden cup filled with water. The old man walked up to the pair of werewolves and leaned over, offering Road the cup. She didn't see - her head was still buried in Tyki's shoulder.

"'Road', correct?" Bookman said. The girl looked up, her eyes a bit red. She saw the cup and the liquid inside and for a moment Lavi could see the longing in her eyes, but then she lifted her gaze to Bookman's face.

"Who are you?" she asked uncertainly, moving almost imperceptibly closer to Tyki. Bookman didn't seem put off by the question. His expression softened and he kept offering the cup.

"This is Lavi's grandfather, Road," Tyki told her, drawing back from the embrace and taking the water from Bookman. The old man dropped his hand as soon as the cup was firmly in Tyki's hands but otherwise did not move. Road accepted the cup from Tyki, drinking from it greedily the moment it was in her hands. Tyki gently pried the cup from her mouth after she had taken several deep gulps and had mostly emptied the cup.

"You'll get sick," he cautioned, taking the cup from her and setting in on the floor next to him. Road glanced back towards Bookman, then looked down at her clothes and the bandages just visible on one of her calves.

"Uncle Lavi's grandfather?" she said for confirmation, looking back at Bookman. The old man seemed taken aback, but after a moment he nodded slowly, a thoughtful expression crossing his face that was no doubt the result of Road's use of 'uncle'. Road looked over to where Lavi stood and the redhead tried to smile reassuringly, but he knew it came out weak.

Tyki touched her shoulder, drawing her attention back to him.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked again, voice slightly more urgent. Road nodded, face scrunching in distress as she opened her mouth.

"Shall we sit down somewhere more comfortable?" Bookman interrupted. The other three in the room looked at him and then Tyki nodded. He turned back to Road, picking her up carefully so he wouldn't aggravate her injuries. She curled closer to him, looking much younger than she usually did. Tyki then stood, turning towards Bookman and nodding politely. The old man nodded shortly in reply and turned back to the kitchen. Tyki followed and Lavi walked next to the werewolf. Bookman headed back to his chair and sat down in it, watching as Tyki sat down with Road still clinging to him. Lavi sat himself in his own chair, watching the scene.

"Are you hungry, Road?" he asked, seeing her eye the vegetable stew and bread on the table. She nodded slowly, almost hesitantly, and Lavi leaned forward. He filled the bowl he had set out for himself with two great ladlefuls of the strew and tore off a large hunk of bread before passing both bowl and bread to Road. She took the bread and Tyki grabbed the bowl and held it for her as she ripped off a chunk of the bread and dipped it into the stew. She popped the dripping morsel into her mouth, chewing slowly as though savoring the taste.

"What happened, Road?" Tyki prompted again. "What happened to Sheryl?"

Road's hands stilled and she took a deep breath, drawing up her courage.

"The water was really cold," Road said quietly, as if in a trance. Her hands lowered to her lap and she stared down at them. "Papa told me to wash up in the stream so the Earl couldn't smell your scent and figure out that I had been to see you. I knew that, but the water was so much colder that night than it had been the night before. The first night I met you, I washed up and even Papa couldn't smell you on me."

Tyki had stilled, Lavi noted, except for the man's arm. He pulled Road closer to him, as though trying to comfort her.

"The second night... the water was so cold," Road repeated faintly. "I just dipped myself in and got out. When we went back to the pack, the Earl could smell you."

The room seemed unnaturally quiet as Road spoke. Lavi felt a chill travel up his spine.

"He called me a traitor to the pack and attacked me. He bit me and Papa stepped in. He fought the Earl and then Lulubell came after me. Papa told me to run and come find you, so I ran."

She turned suddenly, nearly knocking the bowl out of the older man's hand. She stared up at him anxiously, searching desperately for some sort of reassurance.

"Do you think the Earl killed him? If he did, it's my fau-"

"Hush, Road," Tyki said softly, interrupting her. She closed her mouth obediently. Tyki regarded her seriously, looking her in the eyes to make sure his point got across. "Sheryl should have checked to make sure you had washed off properly. It's not your fault."

Her anxiety didn't leave her face.

"Is Papa dead?" she asked. Tyki's expression clouded over and he looked away.

"I don't know."

Road's breathing hitched and she buried her head in Tyki's neck. The older werewolf leaned just a bit forward so he could set the bowl he still held on the table, freeing up his arm to card softly through Road's untidy hair. Her shoulders shook, but she didn't seem to be crying.

"Where are they now?" Tyki asked softly, though there was an underlying hardness in his tone. Lavi looked at the older man's face in alarm, instantly able to pick out the anger boiling in Tyki's eyes.

"The same clearing we were in when you left," Road replied quietly, moving back just enough to look up at her uncle. Her expression was clearly confused, her brain apparently not making all the jumps Lavi's was.

The redhead swallowed heavily, his heart hammering in his chest.

"You're going to find them, aren't you?" he asked numbly, staring with horror at Tyki. The man was strong, sure, but fighting a pack of wolves alone was just stupid. It bordered on suicidal. "By yourself? You can't-"

Tyki lifted his gaze from Road and turned his hard eyes to Lavi. The redhead shut up, shrinking away slightly from the older man. Tyki's gaze softened, perhaps seeing the worry in Lavi's expression.

"Will you take care of Road for me?" he asked softly, gently picking up the younger werewolf. Road was staring at him in mute fear, obviously terrified of what would happen to him if he left. Tyki stood and began walking over to Lavi, circling around the table that separated them. Halfway through the circle, Road started clinging to Tyki, lifting herself enough to throw her arms around his neck and hold on.

"You can't go!" she demanded, voice on the verge of panic. Tyki held her just a little tighter and kept walking.

"I'll be back soon enough. Your Papa will be too," he said soothingly. He finally reached Lavi's chair and set the girl in the stunned redhead's lap, gently extricating himself from her hold. She struggled to hold on to him, but Tyki was determined and quickly escaped. He backed up some, standing outside her reach before turning his gaze to Lavi. Road had stopped struggling as Tyki had moved away and now sat quietly in Lavi's lap, watching her uncle with worried eyes. Lavi was in a similar state, completely unable to speak.

"I will be back," Tyki promised, turning towards the door. As the werewolf turned, Lavi could see his expression go from gentle to harsh, fury suddenly radiating from every feature. Lavi could feel Road begin moving to stand and wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her in place as Tyki walked out the door. She struggled feebly, apparently not truly aware of the arms keeping her in place as she reached for her uncle.

The door swung shut with an ominous sound behind Tyki. The noise echoed through the room, fading into silence.

Road had stopped moving. She sat, staring at the door with one hand still extended towards it. Lavi looked at her, eyeing the bandages wrapped around her, then looked back at the door.

He couldn't let Tyki go alone.

Lavi looked towards Bookman. The old man had been silent throughout everything and was now watching Lavi with a concerned but resigned expression.

"Gramps," he asked, not moving. "Could you watch Road?"

He could feel Road turn her shocked gaze to him but didn't look at her, even when she spoke.

"You're going after Uncle Tyki?"

Bookman stared at him levelly for several long moments. Lavi returned the stare, not backing down. Finally, Bookman looked away.

"Come back safely," he said simply. Lavi smiled thinly and turned to Road. She was staring up at him with worry and something like hope.

"I'm just going to go help him. I'll be fine," he told her, putting a confidence he didn't really feel into his voice. He ushered her off of his lap, standing the moment she was on her feet. He gently pushed her back towards the chair, motioning for her to sit down. She did so, still watching Lavi worriedly.

He turned back to his grandfather, trying to smile reassuringly.

"I'll be fine," he repeated. He didn't wait for a response but instead turned to head to the room he shared with Bookman. The same chest he had dug through to find clothes for Road had a dagger buried somewhere. He wasn't nearly foolish enough to head after Tyki unarmed, though the thought did make him wonder where he drew the line. Going after a werewolf into a den of enemies seemed to be pretty foolish, armed or not.

He smiled wryly to himself, stepping forward. A small hand caught his sleeve and he stopped, glancing towards Road with a quizzical expression.

"I'm going with you," she said, narrowing her eyes in determination when Lavi opened his mouth to object. "Uncle Tyki's too far for you to catch up. You won't even be able to find them unless I lead you."

Lavi bit his lip, worrying it between his teeth as he looked over her injuries. She had a point, but with her being so badly wounded...

Her determined expression melted to worry and pleading.

"Please?" she asked. "I'll stay out of the fight."

Lavi hesitated.

He couldn't let her get hurt any worse. He knew Tyki probably didn't want her within a mile of the fight that was sure to be happening soon somewhere in the woods. Even so... he couldn't just let Tyki fight the battle himself and he had no way of following Tyki without Road's help.

"All right," he said. She smiled at him and dropped her hands and he couldn't help but smile uncertainly in response.

A loud sigh sounded from the other side of the kitchen and Lavi turned to Bookman. The old man was getting to his feet, a resigned and unhappy expression on his face as though he had just eaten something that didn't quite agree with him.

"Lavi, fetch my acupuncture needles from the medical chest," he commanded. Lavi's eye widened, momentarily frozen in surprise.

"Gramps, you-"

"I'm not letting my grandson go gallivanting off and probably get himself killed," Bookman replied. "I may be out of practice, but I can still hit a moving target with those needles if I must." He made a shooing motion with his hand. "Now hurry up. He'll most likely have engaged the others by the time we arrive."

Lavi nodded, then smiled softly.

"Thanks, Gramps," he said, then turned away and headed to gather up his knife and his grandfather's needles.

TBC�

A/N: Ok, I�m sorry that this update took so long. >__<

I know Road is pretty OOC here, but I was trying to keep her mostly consistent with the rest of the fic.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Well, more like shameless plug: the group I�m a part of, AssHat Productions, has a really awesome website and a chatbox, so if you have time, feel free to drop by! Here�s the link to the main page: http://www.asshat.0fees.net/

Hope to see you there! I�m usually on and so is Sister Wicked (author of such works as Fall Away and Nightmare Game) and Niamh Arawn (author of Some Sacred Place and The Fine Line)