Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Head splitting with pain, Lenalee wiped her forehead with a shaky hand.  As she felt how wet that made her hand, she brought her hand down to look at.  It glistened red.

She winced and stiffened recalling the fight she was in the night before.  The details were still hazy and the surrounding area helped clue her in more than anything else.  The finder that had shielded her from the blast was likely killed by the akuma.  Only his clothes, draped over her body with the dust that used to be him remained.

There were two more piles of clothes of used-to-be-finders among the rubble.  Only one of the four finder’s bodies was actually intact. Even though she hated seeing his mangled form, Lenalee had to admit that this would at least give closure to the man’s family.

She wiped as much of the blood of that she could off and stood.  Her feet were wobbly, one heel of her shoe had broken, and she had to hold her arms out to balance herself while the dizzy spell passed.

Dusting off as much of the residue as she could, Lenalee frowned.  Her uniform was only slightly darker now — but it was still covered in a dead body…

When she walked through the grass, she failed to notice a missing chunk of the ground as she looked at the hole in the stone cottage next to the clearing.  She hit the ground with a groan and rolled to her side. While she rubbed her arm and opened the eyes she had closed unconsciously, Lenalee felt a wave of dread run over her.

In front of her laid Tyki Mikk.  He had been hit by the blast although she had thought that it was him that caused it.  It must have been an akuma she concluded from this. She reached out to feel his pulse but the warmth of his skin was confirmation enough.

Both of their clothes were ripped to shreds.  Her coat was missing a chunk of its sleeve and the frills from the top of her skirt were just barely holding on, the bottom ones were long gone.  He was missing half his jacket and a shirt sleeve plus a chunk of his right pant leg.

He winced in his sleep as she brought a rag to his cuts.

Lenalee didn’t know why she brought him back to their campsite.  If any of the finders were alive, they would have opposed it with no question but he looked so helpless on the ground that Lenalee couldn’t stop herself.

As she finished dressing the wounds, she tossed his tattered clothes aside, not even considering putting them back on him.  Lenalee walked back to the battle site and approximated which of the finder’s was his size.

She went back and checked on him.  Tyki didn’t stir at all while she prodded him or changed the ice cold cloth on his head, grateful that the finders brought an ice box with them.

Then Lenalee rifled through the personal supplies that the finders brought for a clean shirt for the noah.  While she was at it she took the liberty to put on a new shirt herself.

Taking his shirt off was easy enough.  Putting one on was harder. Much harder.

She didn’t like slinging him over her shoulder and walking with how heavy he was but propping his back up and trying to shove his arms through the cloth was possibly more stressful than fighting him.  Surprisingly, it involved dropping and apologizing to him more as well. But that was not a surprise with his dead weight not wanting to stay up no matter what she did.

When she finally got it on, Lenalee sighed and smiled.  She relaxed a little, putting one leg between his and sitting on his thigh to button the shirt.  As she aligned it from the center, she realized it was the right length for his arms but not quite for his torso as she buttoned upwards.

To keep it from straining against his cuts, she stopped so the top was left open and instead buttoned downwards.  She heard a yawn and looked up as his eyes fluttered open and he brought his hands up to rub his head.

Tyki looked at her with confusion as he noticed Lenalee sitting on top of him.  She balled her fists and tensed as he looked from her face down to her hands. “What are you doing?”  He asked cautiously.

Her hands flew up as she realized how close she was to his belt and apologized.  She leaned to the side and went to stand when he grabbed her arm.

She whipped her head back and prepared to activate her innocence as sheepishly looked at her.  “Are we… or rather…" He glanced away before looking back. “I’m sorry but who are you?”

Lenalee knit her eyebrow and eyed him wearily.  “Lenalee,” she said quietly. “Do you still want me to bandage your leg?”

“My leg,” he said quizzically as he looked down and saw the scrapes and light cuts on it.  The blood that was there had already been wiped away. He smiled and ran his fingers through his hair, wincing fractionally.  “If you’re offering then I won’t say no.”

He was not looking at her when he spoke and Lenalee was glad for that.  Her eyes were so wide that she thought they might pop out of her head. She knew Tyki was more than passive she thought a noah should be from their meeting in the ark but she never thought of him as, well, meek.

She scooped the medical kit up and retrieved the roll of cloth and slowly wrapped his leg once she pushed the torn cloth up.

“That symbol,” he said while looking at the breast of her coat.  “I know it but I can’t remember why…" He almost reached out to touch it but thought better than to touch her without asking.

She cut a look to the rose cross as she reached for sheers to cut the cloth.  “It’s for the church. You know — where I work .”  She straightened up and looked at him face to face again.

He thumbed the yellow jacket she had rolled up to use as a pillow for him.  “Why is my coat different?” Tyki asked. “I thought I had a black one?” When she studied his face, Lenalee could only see confusion.

“Y-yeah,”  Lenalee said.  “The jacket was missing so much that I didn’t think you would want it anymore.  That…" She stopped herself. Lenalee didn’t know if this would be a good idea. He looked at her expectantly and she decided that there was a chance, be it small, that it would work.  “That’s your overcoat. All finders wear them.”

Tyki looked like he was about to question the information so Lenalee reached to the discarded clothes of his and patted around the pile until she grabbed a hard section and a pair of glasses were presented to him.  “Here,” she smiled, “You’ll probably be wanting these.”

“Thanks!” He replied with enthusiasm.  While he put them on, Tyki remarked how many times he forgets them when he is busy.  Lenalee reached for a white mask that another one of the finders wore and pocketed it when he was looking the other direction.

“We should go back home,” Lenalee said picking up her bag and tossing a random finder's to Tyki.  He nodded in agreement.

She knew she was going to regret this.

“As much as I’d like to hang back and not work after a mission,” Tyki finally said when they were in a carriage to town, “I know someone will miss me if I’m gone too long.”  He sighed and closed his eyes. “This is so annoying...”

"I’m sorry.” Lenalee bunched her fists.  There was a seed of guilt in her heart. She didn’t consider that the noah were so close when she decided to lie and take him back to the Order.  She was unsure why, but Lenalee wanted to show the noah that the Order was not as bad as they all made it sound.

She felt like a hypocrite.  Lenalee knew she despised the organization, the experiments, and the shackles that it provided.  She was dragging him down in a way that was surely worse than when they found that she was compatible with innocence.  

“You can’t be sorry for something you didn’t cause.”  Tyki put the hood over his eyes to shield from the sun that beamed through the window.  “You said the akuma caused the explosion. And I’m sure her name will come back.”

Lenalee could feel a headache coming on from how scrunched her features were becoming. “Her?”

“I think she’s my niece,” he laughed, “for all I know, I could have a nephew or wife and not realize it.”  

She giggled a bit, “Even with an injury like that, I’m sure that you’ll remember the people most important to you.”

Tyki smiled and nodded.  She could tell he was thinking about some of them from the way his shoulders relaxed and a smile graced his face.  “You’re right, Lenalee. I can figure out their names later.”

They didn’t talk much longer as fell asleep.

At the church, she nervously gave them the code and they were given access to the ark.  She stepped in and breathed a sigh of relief that they didn’t notice that there was a difference in the finder she was with besides the fact that there were fewer.

Lenalee started walking to the door that lead to the main branch but stopped when she could not hear his footsteps.  She watched him look around with his head tilted back for a few minutes. He leaned against a wall and ran his fingers against a plant that spilled down the wall.

“Is everything alright,” Lenalee asked.  She walked back slowly.

He nodded. “Never been better.”  The genuine tone of his words made a feeling she couldn’t name rise up in her chest.  Nervousness or nostalgia, perhaps? It wasn’t bad but it made her want to step back from the gentle smile he had.  

As her single heel clicked on the ground, he snapped back to reality and rubbed his arm.  “Sorry again. We should probably get back.” He glanced to her feet, leaving a lingering look at the red anklets she wore, before walking at her side.

Before stepping out into the main branch, Lenalee handed him the mask and asked that he wear it as much as possible.  He didn’t understand the shift in her behavior when she said it would be best for him to not ask any questions or to draw much attention but agreed nonetheless.

When they came out, Tyki saw something coming towards her quickly.  He reacted before he even processed what it could have been. Tyki pulled her aside, leaving Komui to grab the empty space in the air and for Lenalee to pinch her nose.  “Lenalee!” Her brother cried as he came over and pulled her in for another hug. “Last night when we had a call that a noah attacked, I was so worried. We were all worried.”  He pulled away to look her in the eyes sadly. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.”

Tyki stood back and slowly walked behind her to as much of a secluded area he could find while he waited for Lenalee.  As she went into his office, the noah went to a bookshelf and tried to be inconspicuous.

Of course, he was in a yellow coat among a room full of people in white ones.

Lenalee explained what happened and wrote her report with creative liberties taken.  She omitted the names of the finders who died, and especially the one whose coat she had stolen for Tyki, in hopes that no one who read it would catch a lie in her writing.  It was a paper of her own inventions so to say. She just needed to keep it short and simple. She didn’t add anything that didn’t happen in detail nor did she add things that weren’t relevant to the mission.

Truthfully, it was the same as most her reports.  Jot down whether the mission was a waste, a failure or a success.  Then there was a tiny bit more if people died. Altogether, it was half a page.

After coming out of his office and continuously reminding her brother that she was fine, Lenalee sighed as she spotted Tyki.  The scientists were questionably watching him as he stood there fidgeting with the frayed bits on the sleeves.

“God, you’re trying to kill me aren’t you...” she mumbled as she pulled him out of the room of scientists and into the halls again.  She had shield her face fulling knowing that they were all watching but it at least made her feel a little better.

In the cafeteria, Lenalee let go of him.  She didn’t know why she was treating him like a child that would wander off when he was an adult – she assumed he was at least older than Lavi, although younger than Krory.

She knew a lot less about him than she originally thought as he followed her diligently, much to her amazement.  At the window, they ordered their food and that was the most surprising thing for her.

Lenalee expected him to say some fancy far off dish when Jerry asked but instead, he just said fish.  “Surprise me” helped Jerry only a tad more for his order but in Lenalee’s opinion just made it harder for the chef to cook.

While waiting, Lenalee found a seat by Allen and Timothy to sink her face into her hands and sighed.  Tyki lazily waited by the pick-up window.

“We heard you had a rough night,” Timothy said between mouth fulls. “Good to see you in one piece.”

She sighed and leaned against the table with her arms down.  “If anything thing,” she exasperated, "today has felt worse.”

“Maybe see the nurse after this?” Allen suggested.

He smiled, offering her a plate but she declined and went to see how her curry was coming along.  

Lenalee wished she had just stayed with Tyki who was being questioned by one of the helpers at the window.  “What do you mean you don't know your name?” The man asked to which Tyki shrugged and apologized. As the man made him turn around to look if it was written in the coat Lenalee practically ran over. "’J’ ring a bell?”

Tyki waved to her and tried to respond although skeptical of his own answer, “Jo–"

“John,” Lenalee cut off without a beat.  She had the sense that whatever name he had on his mind was almost certainly going to cause trouble in the long run. “Excuse him, he hit his head on our mission and has been having some issues.” Almost on cue, Tyki rubbed the back of his head with a goofy grin.  

“I thought the only 'J’ name on your mission was James,” Link said as he moved between the two and pick up his lunch.

“Yes,” Tyki and Lenalee said in unison. While she followed with John James, he said the reverse.

Lenalee smacked her face.  There was no way she could see him surviving an hour much less the day.  He grimaced and looked away from the visible chagrin he was causing her although the mask he wore hid it well.

While they attempted to sort out the details of his name, they and Link effectively cut off the window for meals to be picked up.  Not long after, Allen joined them in trying to decide which was Tyki's “name.”

Kanda wasn't happy with the backlog.  He tapped his foot for a hot minute before calling out Allen as the cause of the problem.  That immediately caused a bigger issue with threats and pushing. Lenalee ignored it and stayed out of the way until Kanda went to draw his sword.  She grabbed the samurai’s arm and Link grabbed Allen’s to keep them from getting much closer to each other. His patience snapped, however, when Allen continued to taunt him.

Unsheathing Mugen, Kanda practically lunged at the white haired teen, slashing upwards.  Link pulled Allen out of the way while Lenalee watched in horror as he missed him by an inch.  Allen continued making digs and snide remarks. Even though Kanda’s anger was rising, he couldn’t resist pressing any button available.

Link, with exasperation, could barely keep Allen out of range.  “Walker, if you don’t stop this I am going to report you,” Link scolded as Kanda tried to lunge again.

“Oh It’s fine,” Allen said dismissively. “He’s just high strung because he can’t get laid by anyone.”

“Excuse me?” Kanda yelled, his anger boiling to new heights.

Allen replied with mirth, “Bye then~!”

Lenalee could see Tyki trying to help her hold Kanda back from the corner of her eye while she and the inspector chastised Allen.  “Ty— Team!" She yelled with wide eyes. “W-we’re a team, so stop fighting.”

She couldn’t figure out how to tell him to stop without using his actual name as Kanda circled around.  The swift movement of his sword and their close quarters made Lenalee anxiously squeeze her eyes tight. A few gasps sounded from the tables.

In the silence, Lenalee cracked an eye open.  Her hesitance was ignored as she saw the blood dripping from the hand over Tyki’s mouth.  What was left of the mask was stained red.

The sneer he had could be seen in his hard eyes and in his harsh voice as he pulled Kanda forward by the collar.  

“What the fuck was that for?” Tyki snarled.  His knuckles were white from the pressure of his fist, pulling Kanda so close that his heels left the ground and he could feel the rage radiating off the noah.

Lenalee ripped her handkerchief from her pocket and forcefully pressed it against the noah’s mouth.  “We’re going to the nurse,” she croaked.

Pulling the two apart was easier than she thought it would be.  Tyki reluctantly let go of Kanda.  Kanda, on the other hand, was too awestruck to object to any of her actions.  As fast as she could, Lenalee pushed him away from all the gawking stares and down the hall.

Lenalee forced him to sit on a bed in the medical wing. “Just when I thought you might be fine by yourself.” Lenalee shook her head.  She switched hands that were applying pressure. From the scarlet hue glossing her hand, she could tell her handkerchief was as useful as trying to break up a fight between Allen and Kanda.

“Lenalee, I heard you come in– Are you alright?” The head nurse grabbed Tyki’s face to look at the cut more closely.  He winced as she looked him over, turning his head and checking how deep the gash was. He flinched at her hand coming in contact with the wound but didn’t stop the woman.

While cleaning the wound, Lenalee could hear him yelp and be scolded for moving.  She was having another nurse check her for a possible concussion after explaining what happened on the mission and in the cafeteria.

After their assessments and his treatments were completed, Lenalee dragged him back through the halls by his wrist.  He rolled his eyes but went along with the method she seemed to prefer to lead him with.  He wanted to ask all the questions whirling around his head but Lenalee was busy talking to herself and his mouth still hurt.  

She had a tight hold of him.  Her fingers were curled around his joints snuggly but dimly he noted that her hold would be easy to break from.

Swinging a door in the halls open, Lenalee let go of Tyki. “In,” the exorcist demanded as he rubbed the pink tone that she added to his wrist.  He watched as she took the pair of shoes off and threw them across the room in a can by a desk and crossed to the bed on the other side in a tizzy.  She dropped back onto the fluffy surface with an aggravated huff.

Tyki sat next to her and bumped her foot until she moved her bangs aside to glare at him clearly.  He started to smile but flinched and put a hand to his mouth.

“Aurghh,” she vexed, “This is all my fault.”

Tyki watched her unbutton her coat and sigh before he spoke carefully, not wanting to open the scabs that had started to form.  “I still don’t know what’s all happening here but…" He ran a hand through his hand through his hair. “I’m not supposed to be here, am I?”

“No,” Lenalee said. “I was an idiot for bringing you here.”  She rolled over so she wouldn’t have to look him in the eye. “But if others find out then you and I will both pay for it.” Humming in wonder, Tyki leaned on his hand and side to watch her.  “Imprisonment, death, things like that.” She turned her head to look at him apologetically. “You’ll probably be killed or tortured since you’re technically our enemy.”

“Delightful,” He deadpanned.

“I’m sorry.”  She buried her face in her blanket.  "This is all my fault," she screamed into the mattress.  Tyki, unexpectedly, patted her back and told her it was alright.

After explaining that his memories should come back slowly, they came to the agreement that they would cover for each other until he knew what to do with himself.  Lenalee took most of the time after to explain his job as a finder and how the order worked.

As she was showing him a map, there was a knock on the door.  Lenalee closed the paper and got up to open it. Cross grinned and came in with a quick hello.

“So this is what’s happened,” the general said with an understanding that she couldn’t interpret, “Allen said he saw someone familiar.”  As she closed the door, Lenalee saw his mood shift from his calm façade to the blatant bewilderment that he was masking. “Why do you have a noah in your room?”

She held a finger to her lips and shushed him.

“Why is he here?” Cross questioned more darkly. “Do you want to be killed?”

“Because I was stupid and thought it was a good idea at the time!”

The redhead pushed Tyki aside and crossed his arms.  As he glared at the noah, Tyki tentatively sat back on the side of the bed.  Lenalee pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed deeply.  She spoke with as little frustration as she could, “It’s fine.  He doesn’t even remember who he is.”

“That’s right,” Tyki said confidently.  He crossed his arms triumphantly and stuck his nose up. “I have retrograde amnesty.”

Incredulously looking at him with wide eyes, the general couldn’t even muster a fake laugh.  “Idiot.” He shook his head and turned back to Lenalee. “I’ll help where I can and I bet my stupid apprentice will too.  And to make myself clear: I’m doing this for you. You better think of a way out as soon as he slips up."

“I’m confused,” Tyki said with concern, “I’m a finder and from what I got from Lenalee just now, no one even gives most of us a second look.”

Lenalee plopped down on the empty space between them on the bed and pushed Tyki’s shoulder to move him over more.  “You’re a finder now, so try to just work on fitting in with them.  I’ll explain more when some of that amnesia goes away.”  She wished he had amnesty at this point.

Cross scoffed.  He didn’t believe this was real and examined Tyki with scrutiny in his eyes.  

In the library a few weeks later, Lenalee was searching for cookbooks when she lost track of Tyki.  After hunting for him by herself she came across Emilia who was looking for Timothy.  The two agreed to split up and look for both of them at the same time.  The young exorcist was supposed to be studying while the noah was supposed to just stay out of trouble.  

The incident in the cafeteria was bad enough.  Everyone knew who “J.J.” was thanks to him blowing up at Kanda.  Lavi had suggested the nickname to keep figuring out what to call him off of others minds and make it seem like he fit in more.  Occasionally Lavi called him “Jay" which didn’t help Tyki to keep track of who was calling to him in conversations. But it was just another thing he slowly became accustomed to.

Emilia and Lenalee turned over the whole library looking for the two of them.  Bookman, who came to observe the ruckus they were making when the noise became too much, stood near the entrance of the room to ensure that the two boys couldn’t get away.

Tossing a couch pillow aside, Emilia sat on one of the couches and cracked open a book on mathematics.  “I swear,” she said, “Timothy is understandably hard to find, but J.J., a man who is nearly 190 cm tall?  It makes no sense.”

Lenalee hummed in agreement as she continued to browse the shelves.  

Bookman watched her, perplexed that they were nowhere to be found.  The sound of a wheel squeaking led him to turn around and see one of the metal ladders move.  As he followed the metal piece to the top he spotted the boys on top of the tall wooden shelves playing a game of cards.

They quietly took turns pulling cards from each other.  Tyki congratulated the boy with a smile or hair ruff when he won rounds.

Although he couldn’t see them well, the bookman could tell they were having fun and decided to not give them away.  Instead, he directed the girls' attention away for long enough when it looked as though they were going to come down.

"Where were you two?” Lenalee asked as she saw them coming from around a bookshelf.  

“J.J. was teaching me some things he’d do with his family,” exclaimed Timothy.

His blonde tutor raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.  “Really now? What exactly did you teach him, Jay?”

He flashed a smile.  The wound he had received had healed into a scar that ran from beneath his glasses to just above his chin.  “How to hide.”

“And poker,” Timothy chimed in.

“And poker.”

Emilia waited for Tyki to put the boy on his shoulders down before she grabbed their ears and pulled them to the table.  They both let out exclamations of pain before she let them go in their seats.  “Now,” she announced, “While you were playing, I was reading.  You can both leave when I see that you understand the material that I went through.”  Emilia smiled sweetly as Timothy pouted.

He reluctantly took a pencil and paper to copy the problems down.  Timothy grumbled, “This isn’t fair, you always get farther by yourself.”

Tyki frowned but copied the notes down with Timothy. “Next time, we can play after.” Using his other hand, he rubbed his ear.  It stung from the pressure Emilia used.  “Hey Lenalee,” Tyki said in a sing-song voice, “Will you see if my boy wants to play poker after this?”

“If you finish before your mission then sure,” She pointed out before leaving the library.  “You’re going on it with Lavi and Krory.”

Tyki balanced the stick on top of his lip while trying to figure out the multiplications in front of him.  Nonchalantly, he agreed to Lenalee's terms without the forethought that he wouldn’t know how to do the problems before him without much guidance from the tutor.

Lenalee greeted Kanda as she entered the training grounds.  He glanced at her but didn’t acknowledge her otherwise as he practiced his swings.  Lenalee didn’t mind as she began stretching a few arms lengths away. Their practice was absent of speech for its duration.  Kanda left before the dark haired girl could begin to try and strike up another conversation with him so she moved to the dining hall in the hopes of finding Allen.

She didn’t need to even ask for Allen’s whereabouts as she spotted his white hair as soon as the smell of mouth watering food hit her nostrils.  “Want to eat together?” She asked as she jogged over to him.

Allen smiled and looked behind her.  He frowned when he didn't see Tyki anywhere in the area.  “Aww, no shadow today?” The dejection in his voice made her laugh. “I thought we could match again today.”

“Nope, Jay is forced to study with Timothy.” They both giggled at the name as they entered.  Link furrowed his brow at the inside joke he couldn’t understand but didn’t ask since he found comfort that Tyki himself didn’t understand the joke either when it was used in his presence.

Once they got their food and sat down, the exorcists moved on from small talk.  “So how much does he remember now?” Allen glanced to Link to check if he cared.  He didn’t. They couldn’t be too careful though.

Lenalee vaguely explained that he knew who Allen was and most of what had happened between them but not who most of them were.  “J.J." could barely remember who the noah were but could recognize a feeling of familiarity when they were brought up.  Most of the things about himself that he remembers, she said, relied on his muscle memory at the moment.  She gave short examples like poker and reflexes.  “Some of the finders that I’ve talked to said they like that he’s more talkative now, compared to when they were training to be finders,” She said with a lit.  

Allen spat his drink on Link with a cackle.  The inspector closed his eyes and took a deep breath before wiping his face off.  The teen apologized but Link’s set frown wasn’t buying his words from the giggles that wouldn’t cease.

“Anyways,” Lenalee sang, “J.J. said you two play poker a lot more now.”

“Yeah,” he said moving on to the desserts from his cart. “Do you know when we can next?”

“He wanted to today but after studying will probably just be straight to a mission.”

Allen groaned. “I know we need more people at the Black Order but sending out a man who can’t even be quite sure of his own age is a little much.”

Clinking his cup to get their attention, Link coughed.  “I shouldn’t say this – but there’s no harm in me telling you.”  The exorcists glanced at each other before looking at the blond perplexed.  “I requested that he be put on missions again.  Since finders experience a plethora of dangerous situations, that may jog some memories.”

“Oh Howie,” Allen cooed with a hand on his heart. “You do care.”  Link smacked him up the head while the exorcist grinned.

Lenalee wasn’t so happy about this.  After all, one slip up would be both their undoings.

Chapter Text

Lenalee poured a cup of coffee with an absent minded glaze over her eyes.  This was the fifth cup she nearly overfilled.  While the science section was more than happy to have more of her coffee, their preference was to drink it – not wear it.

She assured the ones she attended to that there was nothing wrong.  It was just a fatigue she could nap off or something of the sort. Her dreamy expression led some of them to think otherwise.

“Oooh, I heard you were serving something good,” came an excited voice from behind her.  “Think there’d be enough for me to get some?”

Turning around, she bumped straight into Tyki.  He chuckled deeply as she cradled the nearly empty pot on instinct.  Her shock melted into a warm smile. “Welcome home,” she said.

“I’m back,” he replied mirroring that warmth.

As she let him ruffle her hair, she took the mug Allen got for him from beneath her cart.  He pushed up his glasses and thanked her for the cup as she handed it over. “Same time as usual?” he asked when their faces were close.

Lenalee nodded and coyly waved as his back moved out of sight.  She always enjoyed their weekly meetings to figure out what he remembered.  She sighed with that same expression before.

Reever raised an eyebrow as he approached the container of cream.  He poured the liquid in carefully angled so that the tension wouldn't make the coffee pour all over his white coat.  “If the chief's door was open, you should know that there would be a dead finder in our office space.”

Lenalee tilted her head and looked around.  “Is he angry or something?”  She knew Central was a hassle to deal with but as far as she knew, it was not any worse an issue as it usually was.

“You and John flirt like you two are the only ones in the room.  You do this every time he comes back from a mission now too.” Russell centered his stack of papers without glancing up.  “Now I’m a father, but even I feel a little embarrassed when you two lose track of where you are.”

“We do not!” She exclaimed.  Lenalee covered her cheeks and shook her head.  

Peeking his head out when he saw heard Lenalee's voice, Komui brightened up.  “How is my dear sister doing today?”

“Nothing is happening!”  She could feel her hands warming up from the heat of her face as she rushed out.

Komui turned to Johnny, bewildered. “Was it something I did?”  The scientist shrugged as the others looked away and tried to look busy.  No one wanted to add "accomplice to murder" to their résumé.

“I’m sure it is nothing more important than your papers,” Bridgette said.  She looked behind her at the flustered girl as she carried a stack of papers in.  Raising her brow, she set the papers on Lenalee’s cart and wheeled it to Komui’s office letting them know that it would be there for the exorcist to retrieve.

In one of the recreation rooms, Lenalee slid into the bench across from Tyki.  Her hands fell down her face until she had drug her body down to the point where her head touched the table and she just let herself slouch with an exasperated exhale.

“It’s been eight minutes since I saw you.” Tyki languidly raised the mug to his lips and watched her with half lidded eyes.  He blew the steam in a sad attempt to keep his glasses from fogging.

It was a comical sight with his mask pulled down to his chin instead of just taking it off.  But Lenalee had plenty more times to laugh about it than now. “If you had an older brother you’d understand,” she complained.

“Tell me about it,” he said rolling his eyes.

Lenalee sat up and grabbed his free hand.  The unexpected move made him jostle his cup enough for some of the dark droplets to hit the wood.  “You remember more!?”

His shoulders relaxed when he could tell he didn’t burn Lenalee at all.

“Yeah, but we can talk about that later.” A smile formed as he saw the pout on her lips.  As she pulled back, Tyki reached for Lenalee’s hands and had them meet halfway across the table with his fingers wrapped around hers.

“Well…" She tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “How was your mission?  You went with Kanda to retrieve some innocence didn’t you?”

He made a noise of affirmation and talked slowly, “There wasn’t any innocence on our mission.  It was just some issues with some of the town’s old machinery this time.” The exorcist nodded and leaned forward.  She wanted to know if things between them had changed since the cafeteria incident.

“Is Kanda at least treating you like the other finders?”

Tyki pursed his lips and thought.  He laughed after a moment, “I guess I sort of exist now?  He still seems pretty angry.”

“That’s just his face,” Lavi cut in.  The pointed top of his hammer was swiftly forced into the table near the noah’s hand.  “Now scoot over so I can sit.” Lenalee was about to make room as the redhead held his hand up in pause.  “T.J. can move,” He reworded.

“T.J.?” Lenalee asked with clear apprehension to the name. “I thought your nickname for him was ‘Jay.’”

As Lavi sat across from the dark haired girl, Tyki went ahead and pulled the mask up, ignoring what he had left to drink.

“It’s just what I’ve been calling him since our first mission together,” supplied Lavi, “I make sure not to call him that around anyone though so no worries.”

Lenalee frowned and Tyki waved her off.  She knew that Lavi was a would be a wild card when it came to him finding out but this was more dangerous than she wanted it to be – even if it was only a letter difference.  “Lavi calls everyone strange things.” With a once over of the room, Tyki continued, “As long as he doesn’t call me by that name it shouldn’t be an issue.”  

Crossing her leg, Lenalee glared at the noah.  She would pester him a thousand times if it meant they were safer.  “Does Kanda know?”

“Not likely,” Lavi drawled. “He’s the same as usual.  As of now, it’s us, the general, and Crow.”

“Don’t forget my boy,”  Tyki emphasized with a jab to the redhead’s side.  Tyki wouldn’t dream of leaving out Allen, especially since they were such close friends now.

“Yes, yes, I’m not forgetting Al,” Lavi said, rubbing his side.

Lenalee smiled and reached for the abandoned mug and stuck her tongue out at him before drinking the contents.  Tyki raised a brow and smirked as her lips touched the side. “So what do you think?” His voice was low and teasing.

Lavi’s mouth widened as he cut a glance to the one across the table.  She gulped, demure and clearly avoiding eye contact. “Think about what?”  She laughed lightly. “Oh about people knowing…"

The bookman's apprentice coughed, “That is the only thing we were discussing — unless you’d like me to leave...”  Lenalee objected to the latter half of the statement and slid the mug across to the noah before feigning an unbothered demeanor.  He eyed her skeptically as she thought back to Russell's words.  

Discussing more, Tyki eventually left to find Timothy or Allen once the conversation drifted to Lavi talking about the encyclopedias that Bookman had forced him to read and report back to him on to make sure he was absorbing the information at an acceptable rate.  He couldn't even pretend to be interested in the information.

Hours later, Lenalee found her brother hiding outside the building when she had gone for a walk.  She had half the heart to drag him back to his paperwork but she could tell that the solution for the cloud of gloom that hung over him could be better solved by letting him do what he wanted for the time being.  She made sure no one was watching before joining him in his small alcove so he could keep hiding.  Mimicking the way he held his knees to his chest, Lenalee poked his shoulder to gauge his mood.

He frowned and kept his gaze trained on the ground.  “What was it like when you were brought to the Order?”  Komui asked quietly. “How did it make you feel?”

“I—" She bit her lip and thought back.  In those days she didn’t know more than a handful of people that were staffed there.  Kanda was one of her first friends in those dark halls. “It was lonely. But when you came it got easier.  I didn't feel like I was by myself all the time.”

Komui blew his bangs to the side and creased his brow.  It was hard to tell if his focus was on the few blades of grass that had sprung up from the plain dirt or the line where the shadows ended and the sunlight began.

He wasn't looking at either.  Komui didn't know where he was looking to be honest, but he wanted to find answers.

“There's a new accommodator,” Komui’s tone of voice was grim.  Lenalee rung her hands and watched the clouds cover the light of the ground.  “He's only eleven years old – which I hate to think about how he won't even be the youngest.”

Lenalee couldn't find words to express her anger, she just sighed and shook her head. “They're getting younger and younger,” was all she could think to say.

“That's not the only issue Lenalee.” Komui closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.  The cold stone sent a chill down his spine. “I spoke with him on the phone and he said he's willing to become one but that he wants us to agree to some conditions first.”

Giggling, Lenalee couldn't help but smile despite the depressing reality.  “He'll probably get along with Timothy then.” Komui mouth turned upwards fractionally and nodded.

“The problem is that the boy wants to ensure his friends' safety – which shouldn't be a problem since they want to come with him to the Order – but he also wants us to find someone…"

“Someone…?” 

He sighed, bunching the beret in his knuckles. “Tyki Mikk.”

“Tyki,” Lenalee squeaked.  Komui looked at her slightly alarmed by her outburst.  With a cough, she continued as if there was nothing wrong with the noise she had made. “So what does this mean for him? I mean we haven’t known anything about that noah’s whereabouts for months.”

“As of right now,” Komui explained, “we are the only two at headquarters who know about this.  If central finds out that the boy, Eeze, has connections to a noah then I can only imagine the worse for him.  Bridgette was there but all she knows is that there is a new accommodator since she was not on the call with us.”  Lenalee bit her lip and frowned.

Keeping him a secret was hard enough but she didn’t know if this was reason enough to expose the truth.  The boy they were talking of was almost certainly the one that Tyki said Timothy reminded him of. 

“What do you think will happen if we do get a hold of Tyki as per his request?”  Lenalee hoped her questions were subtle enough.

“He’ll be killed or interrogated of course.”

She drew blood from her lower lip and narrowed her eyes.  “What about we let Eeze go and we just keep the innocence?”

Komui shook his head. “That’s not an option.” As much as he would have liked it to be one. “The church already knows.”

With a sweet smile, she leaned on her brother’s shoulder. “On another note,” Lenalee said smoothly trying to change the subject, “what do you think of J.J.?”

Opening his mouth, Komui tried to form words before closing it at looking at her.  His brow was furrowed as if to ask what relevance he had to anything they were discussing.  He scratched his chin and watched her as she held stock still. “He’s a competent finder despite his memory issues… Why do you ask?”

“Oh no reason.” Lenalee stood and stepped out into the sunlight.  Her hands were clasped behind her back as she stretched and looked at him. “I just want to know your, um… personal feelings towards him.”

“He’s nice,” Komui said. “I’m glad you two are friends even though I think he’s too close to you half the time.  You seem happier lately. But curiously, I’ve tried looking for his files and I can't find it.  I wanted to let his family know he's doing alright.” Lenalee’s eyes widened and she quickly hugged him with a peck on the cheek.

“I’m sure they were just misplaced in the move.”  As she walked away, Lenalee turned back for a moment.  “I know what to do about Eeze. Just keep him safe while I figure out the minor details!”

In the meantime, Tyki watched Lavi and Kanda train with impassive eyes, half closed, almost like the intense fighting was boring him.  Johnny was on the edge of his seat, biting his nails with a few of the other finders who had come to watch doing the same not much farther away.

He could remember the familiarity in how they dodged and blocked each other but at the same time, it was all new.  The feeling of being removed from the battle is what bothered him.

He couldn’t explain it.  He wanted to be in the middle of the action but that's not what finders were supposed to do.  That bothered Tyki to no end.

Lenalee would dodge most questions that he had and wait to see what he remembered before explaining anything to him.  Her reasoning made sense considering from all he gathered, he as “Tyki" and not “J.J.” was a dangerous person.

A major chunk of his memories were still lost.  All the ones that came to him were fragmented and hazy at most.  He could remember that he had a family but there were enough inconsistencies that he even questioned if he remembered that right.  On one hand, he knew he had a brother and that there were others like them like the little girl that he could remember playing with.  On the other hand, Tyki remembered a little boy with scruffy hair and two men that he could vaguely remember traveling with. He didn’t care which was true but wanted to believe that it wasn’t just his brain deluding itself from how much he tried to piece things together over the last several months.

Lenalee and he had tried practicing different hobbies to see what he remembered.  Tyki was grateful for that. She started with things that she knew were familiar, cards and fighting being one of them.  Then she moved to subjects that were more hit or miss.  Like dancing all the way to a graveyard picnic.

She had him volunteer in the cafeteria until Jerry realized that Tyki didn’t even know the basics of cooking with heat.  He could organize books and papers with ease but it didn’t prove fruitful to alleviate any of the amnesia. If anything, it bored him to death when Lenalee wasn’t there to talk to him.

Half of him didn’t want his memory to return.  He was happy with Lenalee. The other half knew that as a ‘noah’ he would have to leave eventually.  Tyki would look in the mirrors and wonder how he could be one. They all had gray skin and golden eyes while he had darker, but certainly not gray skin and brown eyes.  Was he color blind and memory impaired?

“Afternoon Jay,” he heard as a pair of arms wrapped around his torso, easily taking him away from his thoughts.  Lenalee rested her head on his shoulder and glimpsed over the training grounds. He smiled, enjoying the skinship that they shared.

“That’s awfully forward of you,” Tyki chimed.

As she whispered to him about the new exorcist she took note of the smile growing on his face.  It was the same excited look when he remembered a bit of his past that made him happy.  They agreed to meet Eeze when he arrived at headquarters.

Their delight by onlookers was not quite taken as the chaste interaction that the two saw it as.  They snuck glances at the way Lenalee’s arms roamed his chest, her body pressed against his back, and felt like the need to distance themselves from the intimate interaction.  Tyki adjusting his head to leave his uncovered mouth less than a breath from hers didn’t help their case either.

Komui walked in, calling for his sister a mere moment after Tyki had kissed Lenalee on her forehead and left.  She and all in the vicinity breathed in relief as Komui and Tyki said hello while they passed each other completely oblivious to the level of tension in the vicinity.  The former barely gave the later a second glance but there was a clear look of suspicion as he passed the noah that had them all stiff in apprehension.

“I should probably get back to work,” Johnny blurted.  He made sure not to make eye contact for fear that his supervisor would be able to read the embarrassment on his face and connect it to why he was so jittery earlier.

The moment Komui fixed her with a faintly cheerful face, Lenalee was close enough to see the serious look in his eyes.  As they left the area, they made pleasantries until he was sure that they were out of range of any prying ears before he grabbed her arm.

“You’ll figure out the minor details?” He whispered furiously, “John James doesn’t exist and that was confirmed by looking over the details of the mission I sent you on months ago.  I wrote down the names of all the finders you went with and you brought someone else back to the order!” Lenalee shrunk back and looked away, knowing that he had unraveled the whole lie.  “Lenalee, don’t pretend this isn’t serious.”

“I’m not pretending, Komui!” Eye’s closed, she shouted. “It was a stupid choice but even you can see he isn’t a bad person."  Her tone lost its edge and cracked. "Can’t you?”

He flinched at the sharp response.  Lenalee’s shoulders were shaking as she tried not to cry.

Frowning and turning away, Komui let go of her arm.  “I thought you would say something to defend him...” He had to adjust his glasses to relieve the tension in his features.  There was no way she would back down with the fire in her eyes and the twitch of her brow. He spoke defeatedly, “As long as you keep him out of trouble, I’ll draw up some records when I can.  I’m not going to lose you.”  There was a spark of hope that flickered in her eyes as Lenalee grabbed his hands and told him she knew how things could be fixed before running off to find Tyki.

Komui stood there, momentarily shocked.  He planned on telling her that the noah needed to go that this was non-negotiable but even with all his forethought he couldn't refuse his sister.

Tyki was in his room, shuffling a deck of cards as he looked over the ceiling.  Lenalee didn’t bother knocking as she threw the door open.  “We’re going on the mission to get Eeze and his friends,” Lenalee said, closing the door and locking it as she moved to sit on the other bed in the small room.

“The other two are out.”  His roommates were never there in the middle of the day not that he needed to tell her that.  “Did something else happen?” He asked.

Lenalee sighed before telling him about the confrontation that she and Komui had.  Tyki listened quietly.  He stood up part way through to sit next to her and offer comfort.  As she finished telling him the details, the two discussed what they would do.

It was these moments he loved the most.  Even though she had been crying over the fight, Tyki was able to bring a smile to her face.  

Lenalee confided in him as much as he did in her. And he knew it was stupid how much he wanted to get closer to her in these moments.  He knew from everything he was told, that the stakes were high.  But Tyki would rather be the biggest fool in the world than pass up a moment to make her make her smile.

Chapter Text

As she smacked the notebook Tyki held, Lenalee watched the two men and Eeze with extreme scrutiny. They jumped a bit at the sound but were inclined to not say anything as Tyki was even watching for her next move.

“Is this really necessary?” Allen asked from the corner, frankly not caring about how he acted now that he was temporarily relieved of an escort.  With Link gone for what they estimated to be about five minutes, they could give this quick debriefing.

“Absolutely!” She said enthusiastically, “Tyki and I’s lives quite literally depend on it… also probably yours and my brothers at this point— But I digress.”

After breezing through the pseudo presentation the two made, complete with both bubble letters and questionable drawings of the horrible outcomes that would come if the plan isn’t followed made by Tyki, Lenalee opened the floor for questions.  

Eeze was the first to raise his hand.  “So you’re Tyki... but not?”

“Yeah?  I’m still me.  I just can’t remember most any of what that means.”  Tyki looked to Lenalee and grinned at the reassuring thumbs up she gave him.  “As Lenalee also said, using Tyki from now on is off limits.”

Eeze scrunched the legs of his pants in his fist and looked at the ground. “So you don’t remember me…"

“Nonsense,” Tyki said positively, “I remember some things, young man.  Like this–" Digging through his pockets, he grabbed a hold of a button.  As the shiny piece flipped of the noah’s thumb, the boy’s eyes widened. He smiled, catching it.

Lenalee glanced from the red button in the boy’s hand to her coat. “When did you steal my button?”  Tyki shrugged nonchalantly, he wasn’t going to tell her that it fell off when they were walking in the hallway.  That would completely ruin the mystery of it.

She waved it off as nothing since the kid looked so happy to receive it from him.  With that, they finished the last of the questions as quickly as they could, most just technical or general ones about the order.

The inspector returned shortly after with Miranda.  He briefly asked why they were all smiling like idiots.  They all began talking about different things all at once before he requested that they just make their way to headquarters.

Link diligently recorded Allen’s miffed air in his notebook as Komui went over the details of what Eeze’s job as an exorcist would be.  Lenalee looked over the inspector’s papers on her tiptoes inconspicuously. Tyki on the other hand, loomed her shoulder to see what was being written.

Without a grasp of sense per usual, Tyki called out to the white haired teen to see why he was sulking.  Allen scoffed and sunk into his crossed arms in response. When Tyki asked what his problem, Allen merely grumbled back, “He gets to be ‘young man’ and I’m ‘boy.’  I’m older than him…"

“Walker if you don’t sit up, you’re going to ruin your spine,” Link deadpanned.  Allen stuck his tongue out and slunk farther into the couch out of spite. It wasn’t until Komui yelled at him for having his shoes on the furniture that Allen moved to a proper position, his back still hunched.

“You’re my boy though,” Tyki said.  He abandoned hovering over the exorcist girl and slumped so his chin rested on her head along with the rest of her body weight, forcing her to stand flat on her feet.

Komui sighed at the sheer annoyance of not only explaining to Eeze how the Order worked but also the two with him and the side conversation of Allen and Tyki’s that distracted the new exorcist from the relevant information he was giving.  “You don’t all have to be here. Lenalee, take the new finders with you while I figure out how their housing will be taken care of.  Miranda, Allen, you two can file the report.”

With their varying noises of agreement, they all began making their leave.  Tyki plopped down on the couch by Eeze without a word. “I don’t know if I’m happy that you didn’t follow Lenalee or not,”  Komui breathed.

“I heard Jeremy died on his last mission.”  Slowly, Komui nodded, not sure where the noah was going with this. “That means there’s two open beds in my room since it would just be me and Alex now.”

Komui sighed again.  “You want me to put them in your room?  Do you not think it’s suspicious to fill a room right after one of the occupants was dismembered?”

Tyki shook his head, watching with intrigue as Lenalee’s brother was about five seconds away from snapping.  “How… how have you managed to live this long without your memories?” Komui muttered to himself.

“He’s always been like this,” Eeze interjected.

Komui sighed almost painfully but reluctantly agreed to Tyki’s stupid idea.  If Tyki could, in fact, last this long without even him realizing that a noah was in their midst then clearly luck was on his side.  

The two spotted Lenalee’s group in the cafeteria a short while after leaving Komui’s office.  Tyki snuck up behind her as she and Jerry spoke motioning for the men around her to be quiet. While they did so, Tyki picked her up and spun her in the air. “Guess who?”

She giggled and waited for him to set her on the tile. “You don’t think that’s getting a little old?” Lenalee asked.

“Not as long as you’re still enjoying it.”  Lenalee pretended to be over it as she took a hold of her food tray but smiled as she found a place to sit.  He grinned and waited with Eeze for their food.

At first, Lenalee sat where she could save some seats for them to join her but as soon as she brought the food to her mouth, she recalled the last time she left him at the window alone.  She excused herself and rushed back to the pair.

Yes, he had a friend this time.  But that friend was an eleven-year-old child that she had known for three hours.

Tyki complained that she didn’t need to watch him every second.  However, reminding him that he didn’t want another scar, Lenalee made sure that she stood with him out of the way of others getting their food, especially Kanda.  

He and Eeze both had fish sandwiches to no surprise.  

While they ate Tyki told his friends all about the missions he’d gone on and what he’d remembered.  His favorite missions, Lenalee noticed, were the ones that they had together. She chimed in with the missions she liked and cute things ‘J.J.’ had done in the time she had been working with him.

The time passed quickly and before they knew it, others had come to meet the new exorcist and welcome him.  Timothy being one of the many, quickly took a liking to the blond and they left the group to play. Momo and Clark settled in just as fast.  They only needed to be shown their room and then were off to meet other finders.

Lenalee and Tyki migrated in their usual way after the excitement of the day began to wear down: going to the training halls and science section before going their separate ways after dinner.  

A few hours later, Tyki caught a glimpse of Lenalee in her pajamas.  With a towel on her head, Tyki couldn’t help the urge to ruffle the fabric.  He used drying her hair as an excuse but she knew better.

Tyki followed her back to her room like he normally would when they ran into each other at night.  They silently walked to not disturb those around them.

It was not awkward in the least.  Tyki would tease her, touching whatever hair she left exposed.  Whenever the towel was on her shoulders he would braid it or put it in a bun instead of twirling the ends.  Other times, he’d wait for her to grab his glasses and hurry ahead with suppressed laughter like now.

She reached her door before him and closed the door when he was steps away.  Tyki smiled and leaned against the door. “However will I get my glasses now?” He sarcastically asked.

Lenalee made up a requirement to get in when he reached the door after her.  “You have to tell me a secret,” she settled on this time.

“A secret…" He thought for a moment before speaking softly so she could just hear through the open crack. “I like when you touch my lips.”  Not missing a beat, her face heated up and she let go of the door to touch her cheeks.

“You can’t say things like that!”  She huffed and looked at him, almost pouting. “People will misunderstand.”

Tyki smirked.  “Sorry, it’s just so much fun.” He sat on her bed as she finished wringing out the water droplets from her hair and tossed her towel on her desk.  

She strode over, kicking off her slippers as she climbed onto the bed.  Lenalee easily maneuvered around his body so she could lay behind him on her stomach.  She cracked open the notebook that was by her pillow and wrote down some notes. Tyki put his glasses back on after wiping them off with the towel around his neck.

He didn’t care much about what was there.  It was a disjointed list of things he’d remembered.  They had filled about half the pages but at the same time, he felt like he knew nothing about who he used to be.  Who he was.

“Alright,” She said flipping to a section that was almost entirely names.  Most of the spaces by them were blank as he didn’t know who they were, just that they were names he knew well.  “We can fill in Eeze, Momo, and Clark since we know that they’re your friends. Now…" She scanned the page. "...You said that you had a brother.  Do you think he’s on here?”

Tyki grabbed the book and looked it over.  Adam, Lulu, Tricia, Skinn, Sheril, Road, Lero, Devit.  These were the unfilled names that he had written in the section labeled ‘noah.’   He huffed, “Can’t you just tell me who he is?”

“The head nurse said that it’s better if you figure out the relationships for yourself.  Something like that,” Lenalee trailed off, unable to remember the exact words that the woman used.  Raising her eyebrows, she looked back at Tyki. “Plus, I didn’t know you had a brother until you mentioned it to me.”

“Good point,” Tyki sighed.  He looked over the other names before rereading the ones he marked as noah.  Ironically, Clark’s name had originally been in the noah section until a few days before.

He closed the book and huffed.  Lenalee creased her brow and touched his side to get his attention.  “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “This is pointless.  I’ll never remember.” He didn’t understand how she put up with him this long or how she believed them talking was going to work from the start.  This wasn’t the first time he couldn’t remember all the details.

Hell, he still didn’t remember how old he was.

What was the point if he didn’t even know if these people were worth remembering?  He might have become friends with the ones here so easily and with Eeze because they weren’t family to him.  What if he hated his family? God, this was killing him.

“Tyki?” Lenalee was quiet, voice barely above a whisper. “Are you alright?” She could see him shaking.

He took a breath to calm down.  It was trembling and louder than he wanted to be since Lenalee had sat up so that she could squeeze his hand.  She gave him a reassuring smile but he had already looked away.

“Just ignore me,” he said.

“I won’t,” Lenalee affirmed.

Looking at her would make him break.  In all the time they spent together, they became so close that a glance was more than enough to tell each other how they felt.  Tyki did not want to have to make her pick up the pieces in his heart when he had been trying so hard to be there for her and not cause trouble.

Lenalee didn’t know the extent of what ran through the man’s head but she wanted to help.  There was not much she could do except massage slow circles on his back.

Gradually feeling better, Tyki moved to face her.  He slipped his hand out of her hold and cupped her face.  She saw how tired he looked, from his face to the droop of his shoulders.  Maybe it wasn’t quite tired? But the small smile on his lips and the little twinkle in his eyes were all she needed to see to know she got through to him.

“You shouldn’t say that name,” he warned.  

Lenalee giggled in response.  

“Don’t laugh,” he teased as the corners of his mouth drew higher, “Tyki’s a scary noah.”

“Ooo really?” Lenalee cooed with the cock of her head.  She leaned into his touch, their faces inadvertently drawing near.

He pressed forward, his breath ghosting across her skin as he spoke low and roughly.  “Yeah, I heard he’s ruthless...” Lenalee’s back leaned against the wall behind her bed as his forehead touched his. “...killing people by sticking his hands in their bodies and messing with their internal organs.  Using that name might bring that part of me back.” The hand on her cheek slipped to her shoulder felling the curve with his fingertips.

He knew that this wasn’t anything new to her but his teasing evolved into a want of seeing how the exorcist would act towards the danger coming straight out of his mouth.  

To see how she would act towards him.

Tyki watched her chest rise and fall and watched her lick her bottom lip, sucking it in as her eyes didn’t leave him the entire time he backed her against the wall.  He didn’t think that she would be so fidgety, moving her legs like she was going to run, or kick him away.

“Tyki,” she exhaled, matching that quiet tone he had settled into.

Just saying his name seemed to put him in a trance. “Lenalee.” Her eyes fluttered to his lips and he felt his breath hitch when they locked gazes again.

“I don’t think I’d mind being a victim," she said.  Pausing, Lenalee grabbed the arm that wasn’t touching her and guided it. “I mean… it would be hard to refuse you putting your hands in me…"

Unable to focus on either her words or the feeling of Lenalee pressing his palm to the damp fabric between her legs, Tyki gulped.  This wasn’t he expected but he would be lying if he denied waking up from dreams where this kind of situation had happened.

Without hesitation, he closed the small gap between their mouths.  She pressed his hand in further, a whimper escaping her, as he gripped her shoulder.

As soon as it had happened, it was over.  They panted as he held her an arms length away.  About to tell her they were going to cross a line, Tyki opened his mouth to find Lenalee yanking the towel around his neck forward, their previous kiss resumed.  

Although she used more force than intended, Lenalee quickly ignored the dull pain in her teeth as the pleasure of the pressure outweighed the pain.  Her hands sunk into his hair as she let her tongue wander over the scar on his lips before gently nibbling the coarse surface. Tyki smiled knowing that she wanted to deepen it and gladly obliged her not-so-silent wishes.

His hands wandered over her body methodically.  Sliding over her arms and grazing the hem of her neckline.  Then to her back, feeling the curve of her spine through the thin fabric.  Finally making his way to her sides, Tyki moved his legs, wedging one between her thighs as he kept her from moving.  

Lenalee whimpered at the brief moment of friction where her body wanted it.  She attempted to move her hips to no avail. Tyki smirked, as caressing her rewarded him with another whine.  She could feel him so close to where she wanted. His hands and leg were intent on tormenting by being just close enough to tease her — but two could play that game.

Her hands untangled themselves from his hair and reached for his torso.   “Fuck,” he groaned as Lenalee palmed the bulge his pants.  He had to hold himself back from bucking into her hand.

She hadn’t expected him to be so hard, but it was impossible for her to not feel how turned on he was when he was wearing such loose pants.  To her surprise, Tyki grabbed her hands and used held them above her head.

“Did I go too far?” She asked.  He was disheveled but he didn’t look angry.  In fact, Tyki was smiling at her despite his exasperation.

“I was trying to make sure you know I’ll stop if you tell me to before you so rudely interrupted with that kiss,” he said.  Smirking, the noah continued, “Now if you have no objections…" He relinquished her hands and moved them to hook around the edges of her underwear.  “I'd love to finish what we started.” Lenalee smiled to herself and lifted her body up as he removed the cloth.

She gasped at the warmth of his fingers.  He rubbed the exposed skin of her folds, watching Lenalee's expression contort in pleasure.  Tyki pushed his fingers farther, letting them find their way inside the one before him.

Lenalee only adjusted slightly to the foreign sensation as Tyki began thrusting them in her heat.  Her hands reached down, trying to pull him in further as he curled his knuckles.

She covered her mouth with one hand as the other remained around his wrist.  Tyki pushed Lenalee onto her back slowly as he nipped at her shoulder lightly before nibbling her earlobe.

“That's not fair,” she moaned.  

He grinned as he leaned back.  There was no way he couldn't admire the light blush spread across the woman's skin.

“What's not fair?” He stopped a moment to let her regain her composure.  

Lenalee sighed and frowned.  “I don’t want to be the only one who feels good…"

Tyki laughed.  It was that deep, hearty one that he used when he thought something was ridiculous but appealing.  “I’ll move on then,” he said, “but I do plan on finishing what my hands started at a later time.”

Seeing him smirking, Lenalee lightly flicked his shoulder and spread her legs so that he could move between them and kiss her lips.  He was gentle, laying soft kisses on her over and over as she cupped his cheeks.

“Better,” she mumbled.  Her thumbs caressed his warm skin and he couldn’t help but smile as he covered her mouth again.

They pressed their bodies together, separating enough for him to take out his erection but quickly closed the gap again as her legs wrapped around him and her back arched into his chest.  Lenalee breathed out almost melodically. Tyki made sure that he went slow, wanting to savor holding her so close.

He pampered her with kisses and sweet words as she giggled and returned the attention in her own way.  She wasn’t as talkative but she made her point with the lingering caress of her fingers – under his shirt, down his neck, across his chest.

As they continued, they heard a faint knock on the door.  Lenalee covered his mouth and raised her voice after a second knock a little bit later. “W-who is it?”  

She felt embarrassed to call to someone while she was having sex but a little more so that the noah inside her didn’t plan on stopping, holding her hip just a little tighter.  Tyki softly held her wrist with the other hand, laying butterfly kisses down it as he thrust harder without warning.

Lenalee gasped in surprise, much louder than she meant to as she quickly covered her mouth and glared at Tyki.  He grinned back, feigning ignorance as he repeated the action. That drew a small whimper from her throat as Tyki could feel her tighten on reflex.

“Is everything alright?” The one behind her door asked.  Lenalee reassured them that nothing was wrong in a pitch much higher than she intended.  “All right… I’ll come back another time.” She clasped her hands over her mouth – intent on keeping every sound in until she was sure that the one at her door had left.  

Tyki had other plans in mind, refusing to relent in ravishing her body.  He held her closer, grabbing her ass so that each move went deeper although he didn’t change their pace.  When that didn’t work, Tyki pushed her arms up and held them in place.

Her moans were harder to suppress.  With the new angle, she could feel more of herself being filled.  Inwardly, Lenalee also admitted that the way he held her down turned her on even more.

“If you were going to talk with someone tonight then maybe this wasn’t a great idea,” he rasped.  He could feel himself losing control.

“I wasn’t–,” she panted, “I don’t know who–"  Lenalee couldn’t quite form the words as she wanted and she didn’t care as he started sucking on her neck.  Tyki didn’t care either. All that mattered was that he was making her feel every surge of pleasure that came over her.

As she came, her back arched and he could feel her legs try and hold him closer.  The loud moan that cascaded from her lips was more than the noah needed to be pulled over the edge.  He thrust erratically as he finished before leaning his head to rest on top of her.

Not a moment later, they were pulled harshly out of the afterglow of their highs by banging on the door.  “Lenalee what is going on?” It was louder than before and she paled as her brain finally processed who the voice belonged to.

Lenalee looked at him with horror. “Oh no.” Tyki moved his chin and looked at her with confusion. “Komui.”

“Oh no,” he repeated.

As they pulled apart in a frenzy, they tried to make themselves look as presentable as possible.  Lenalee brushed her hair down and made sure her nightgown wasn’t to winkled. “I’ll be right there, brother,” she yelled.  Meanwhile, Tyki cleaned up as much as he could before pulling his pants up and awkwardly sitting like they had not just gone all the way.

Lenalee opened the door and Komui huffed in exasperation before telling her that he was worried.  After her not letting him, he was prepared to just let her sleep until he heard her scream as he was on his way back to work.  

He rambled on about what he thought could have been wrong until he spotted the timid noah in the corner of his vision.  “Oh!” His voice was significantly more chipper than Lenalee ever imagined it would be upon seeing a boy in her room in the middle of the night. “I came by to see if you knew where he was.”

“Is that so...”

“Yes, I came to let him know that I ‘found’ his record.” He air quoted to emphasize that he was lying despite them all knowing he was.  “It took some time but with this, there’s a lot less risk if anyone questions who Jay is,” Komui relayed the information that the record contained as he walked to Tyki and handed him a handwritten copy.

“Thank you,” Tyki said slowly as he scanned the words.  It was a basic sheet of information on him. “How did you know any of this though?”

“It was a combination of your noah profile, medical information, and guesswork.” Tyki nodded and set it aside where Lenalee’s notebook was.  “Now,” Komui said with a cough after inhaling, “I know I’ve been working for a while, but I think I need a shower sooner rather than later actually…"

Both said goodbye to him before cleaning up what was left of their mess.  Lenalee wiped her thighs off and told Tyki about various hiding places she had found within the Order and how to find them.  He grabbed their towels to drop off in a laundry shoot before she stopped him.

Lenalee shook her head.  “In the best case scenario, you have ten minutes to find a place where my brother won’t find you.  Any detours will almost guarantee that he will kill you once he’s realized that it wasn’t him that smelled.”

“Fair point,” he acquiesced.  Tossing them to the side, Tyki briefly checked the direction her brother went in and made a beeline in the opposite direction.

In most of the Black Order’s opinion, Tyki escaped Komui a little too well.  

Most accounts said it was about three AM that the building was awoken by the scientist yelling and practically tearing the building apart.  They knew there would be a funeral if the finder was found and with the rubble and sheer destruction around the halls, it might as well be as if he had died in battle.  

Vying for Lenalee’s love was one of the most dangerous things a person could do in the organization.  It took someone incredibly brave or incredibly foolish to pursue her and they all knew Tyki belonged to the latter category.  

Somehow, despite his lack of forethought, Tyki succeeded in avoiding Komui just long enough for the man to cool down and accept that Lenalee was in a happy relationship — two weeks to be precise.  Tyki managed to almost be a ghost in that time. If it weren’t for Komui’s steaming rage, they might have thought that the exorcist’s elder brother had already murdered and disposed of his body.

The undying rage that consumed Komui had to be quelled when reports of noah and akuma surfaced.

The exorcists coming back from missions had a different atmosphere about them, forcing him to act accordingly.  Gone were the cheerful “we’re home" so all that was left were tired faces and bruised bodies. Fewer finders were making it back and as a result, less possible reports of innocence could be made.

“I get that your life was on the line, but you dropped off the face of the earth man.”  Lavi sat back at their table and played with his food. He eyed the noah suspiciously, confusion evident in his tone, “Where were you?  Even Lena didn’t know…"

Tyki smiled at Timothy.  “Even I have my secrets,” the noah said.  The youngest boy giggled before leaning to whisper in Eeze’s ear.  

They giggled as Lavi frowned.  He knew he was out of the loop ever since it came out that the noah was dating Lenalee but what hiding place could be so funny to them?  

They ate more as Lenalee came over to the table.  She scolded them for wasting time when there were higher stakes before folding and ordering a meal herself as her stomach growled.  

They spent most of the remaining daytime going over the mission details.  Meanwhile, the other finders in their group were scouting out the area to figure out where innocence could be hidden in the town.  From all reports, the forest on the east side was their best bet. That’s where mysterious noises and apparitions seemed to crop up from according to the folk of the town.

With further investigation by the exorcists at nightfall, they caught the attention of nearby akuma.  Lenalee yelled for backup as Lavi engaged it. Before they knew it, the four exorcists stood back to back, cornered.

They were used to ambush attacks but when they saw the sheer number of enemies, Lavi and Lenalee knew there was something absolutely wrong.  There had to be at least ten.

“See any creepy angel types?” Lavi asked, tightening the grip of his hammer.  Having more exorcists on missions was supposed to prevent this situation.

Eeze scanned the area on his side before informing them that there weren’t any in sight.  He could feel Tyki’s location not far off with his innocence’s abilities. It wasn’t much but the button at least let him know where his friend was.  The one he had left on Timothy’s body seemed to indicate that the two were together.

Lenalee had the same question burning in her mind as she looked to Eeze.  He nodded and she gave a quick thank you. He pulled a wooden slingshot from its holster on his side. With his other hand, Eeze reached for the buttons in his back pouch and placed two in the sling as they started to glow from the innocence.  

Eeze could feel his arm shaking.  “Do you think this will be quick like on the other mission?”  

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Lenalee reassured him. “Don’t worry Eeze,” she said calmly, “We’ll all make it out.”

“Now!” Lavi shouted as he rushed forward.  They couldn't waste a moment.

Lenalee kicked one of the level threes in the jaw before going for a level two next to it while it was down.  Timothy went straight to the level ones and twos while Eeze aimed for the ones that grouped closer together.

There was a delay between shots as he imbued each button with his innocence.  He noticed that since training and his first mission, he had lowered the time between when he could magnetize his medals.  It wasn’t much but the boy felt he could do a bit more than when he started out.

Level ones were easy targets but having to stay still when shooting made him easy picking too.  At the onslaught of an akuma’s attack, Eeze had to stop mid aim to roll out of the way. Lavi shielded him with his hammer from the next attack with the consequence of the level two he was by knocking him into a tree.

“Lavi!” Eeze shouted as he whipped around to see where the redhead was.

Timothy defeated the group he was focused on before looking to who yelled.  He briefly saw Lenalee, still engaged with the second level three. There wasn’t much he could do to assist her and she kept her battle at a distance to keep them safer anyways.  

Lavi, on the other hand, was surrounded again and the number of akuma felt like it had not decreased at all.  Timothy cried out in exasperation, “Where are they all coming from?!” He didn’t have time to dell on it as another akuma attacked him.

“Stop,” a calm voice said.

The akuma all froze at order.  

Lavi panted and whacked the nearest one away before leaning on the hilt of his extended hammer as he looked around.  “Of course the noah have to be involved,” he groaned.

Road walked into the middle of the action with a confident stride.  She was scowling, her mouth twitched when she tried to plaster a grin on her face as Lavi watched her come into full view.  “You exorcists are disgusting,” She spat, “First my family. Now this.” She looked at Eeze pitifully. “You’re not even a teenager.”

Smashing past the akuma, the redhead couldn’t contain his emotions.  “Don’t act high and mighty! You bastards started this, it isn’t our fault that your family has major issues.”  Road glared at him but didn’t order for the attack to resume. His teeth ground against themselves. “Are you here for the innocence or what?”

In a fit of laughter, Road nearly doubled over.  Eeze felt a cold sweat run down his back.

“What’s so funny?” He asked her hesitantly.  

Road lost that moment of mirth in an instant.  “Why do you care?” She brushed Eeze off and looked at the oldest exorcists.  Lenalee came in view, dark boots still active, near Lavi. Road’s voice was determined, “I came here for answers but I doubt they tell all you children anything.  I thought that after all the activity I stirred up, that they would at least be smart enough to send a general.”

“Enough riddles,” Lenalee cut in, “what do you want?”  She stepped closer to the noah, making sure Lavi was behind her as soon as she noticed he had a gash on his leg.

“I want my family back together!”  Road cried, “Tyki is missing and I know someone knows something.”  Her hands were shaking as she held back the full wave of her emotions.  “He has never been gone this long — not even the Earl knows where he is.”