Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray Man.

A/N: Here is the final chapter. Please enjoy!

Chapter 20: Near

Lenalee was dressed in a pretty white silk dress that was bought by her brother. Now, standing in the foyer with Komui and Reever while waiting for her friends, Lenalee could feel envious gazes on her. And the gazes were well-deserved for her dress was really beautiful, with laces and golden trims along the hems. It felt good that her dress was admired, but at the same time, it was quite embarrassing. Apparently, Komui's 'It's all for the sake of graduation' couldn't sink into her head.

"Onii-chan, you shouldn't have bought this dress." Lenalee spoke.

"Why?!" Komui cried out in horror. "Is it not beautiful enough? Fear not, I shall get you another dress immediately!" With that, he swiped out his hand phone but Lenalee stopped him.

"No, it's just that this dress is too elaborate that other people are staring."

"That's good, isn't it? Besides, nothing is too good for my dear sister!" He laughed the kind of laugh which successful conquerors laugh, evil yet with no ill intentions.

"You know, you shouldn't have started it." Reever said as he edged away from his boss and his friend.

"Now I know," Lenalee said guiltily.

"Lenalee!"

The green-haired girl turned around to her name, and smiled when she saw the familiar faces of her friends.

"Allen, Kanda, and Miranda!" Lenalee called excitedly as she ran to them. Both Allen and Kanda were in formal white blouse and black pants, while Miranda was dressed in a simple dress that was decorated with small intricate patterns.

"You do know you are awfully late." Lenalee scolded playfully.

"Thanks to Moyashi asking 'do I look good' a thousand times." Kanda said with a spiteful tone.

"Who is the one who tied his hair a million times before deciding to let it down?" Allen retorted. "What wasted effort."

"You want to pick a fight?"

"Bring it on!"

There was a horrible and dark aura emitting from the two boys which frightened Miranda. She stood behind Lenalee and asked, "Shouldn't we do something about them?"

"Well, they always calm down later, don't they?" Lenalee said, still in her usual cheer. "Just let them be."

"Still, their dark auras are scary. If only Lavi was here..." Miranda suddenly stopped and glanced slowly at Lenalee, whose expression went blank immediately. "I-I'm sorry! I shouldn't mention…" She trailed off.

"It's okay." Lenalee assured her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I don't mind."

"I-I'm sorry anyway." Miranda muttered dejectedly.

Lenalee didn't respond this time. She was deep in her thoughts. How many years has it been? One, two, or five? It felt like a decade, but Lenalee knew he was only away for thirteen months now, a little more than a year. It was a horrible question but Lenalee found herself asking: has Chomesuke…pass away?

Thirteen months ago, on this day, Lavi went away.

What a depressing thought, Lenalee scolded herself. Her heart still hurt after all this time. She really did love Lavi, a lot. And to think today was supposed to be happy since it's graduation, Lenalee thought bitterly as she looked all around the foyer, looking at her classmates' happy expressions.

"Hey, Lenalee, we should be going up now." Allen said, taking Lenalee from her reverie.

"O-Okay!" Lenalee looked at Komui, "Onii-chan, I'll be going up now."

"Go ahead. I'll make sure I'll take many, many photos of you! Rest assured!" Komui said happily, holding his camera and showing it off. Lenalee could only smile uncertainly and sweat-drop.

Up in the auditorium, Lenalee went through the routine she and the others had been told almost a hundred times: have a good posture, walk gracefully and smiled graciously as you receive the scroll-like thing. How boring, Lenalee thought, suppressing a yawn while glancing across the hall and the entrance casually.

Then her eyes widened at the figure standing at the entrance. She could recognize the face and the features for all that was worth: red hair, tall, well-built, eye patch. The hair was covering his eyes, but all the other features were inescapable.

Lavi.

Suddenly, the figure turned around to leave. Lenalee wanted to chase after the person but just as she stepped out of her line, the teacher barked, "Lenalee, stand in line!"

Reluctant yet without a choice, Lenalee went back to her line obediently. Was that person her imagination? Was that even Lavi?

Her mind whirled with questions that went unanswered, and when finally all of them were dismissed, Lenalee whirled around and dashed outside, looking around in frantic anxiety for at least the shadow of that familiar person. She knew it was hopeless but that didn't stop her.

"Lenalee," The green-haired looked up and saw Allen standing in front of her with a worried look. "Are you alright?" He asked with concern. "You look flustered."

The Chinese girl looked to the sides, and then shook her head. "No, nothing is wrong." Lenalee spoke. "I just needed fresh air."

"That's good." Allen uttered to himself.

Then, the PA system sounded: To all graduating students, please enter the hall and sit accordingly. To all family members of the graduating students, please be seated in the hall. Thank you.

"Well, that's our cue to go." Allen suggested. Lenalee nodded to her friend and followed him into the hall. Before stepping in, however, she looked back around the corridor, with a final hope that he'll be there.

You are imagining things, Lenalee scolded herself and shrugged at her hopelessness. With a slight dejected feeling, she went in, nervous yet ready to receive the scroll which is just an empty paper tied with an overused ribbon.

Very quickly, family members poured into the hall and seated themselves comfortably. They chatted excitedly with their accompaniment and waited in anticipation for the ceremony to start. The graduating students too contributed to the noise with vibrant chit-chats.

Finally, there was a tapping sound on the loudspeakers. Immediately, everyone quieted and looked up at the emcee standing on the podium, dressed smartly in the school blazer on top of white blouse. Her presence indicated the start of the ceremony and that put the all the audience at ease because it was a nuisance to wait for the graduating students' moment of glory.

The opening was a performance by the dance group who displayed their flexibility and grace with a fusion dance of ballet and hip-hop. After that, the band and choir came up the stage to flout their talent and the audience was impressed.

After all the performances, it was finally the time to give out the scrolls. Class by class, the students stood up and walked onto stage, receiving both a handshake from the principal and the scroll. Lenalee was nervous despite convincing herself it was easy. She found her brother and Reever in the audience and attempted to be brave once more, at least for Komui.

"Lenalee Lee."

The green-haired girl heard her name being call and began to walk to the centre of the stage, repeating the actions of all the previous students. Once at the centre of attention, Lenalee started to feel more confident. She posed next to the principal for the snapping of photos, beaming and looking specifically at Komui, who to her embarrassment was snapping the photos way too enthusiastically.

Despite her persistence gaze at Komui, Lenalee couldn't help but let her eyes roam around the audience. At the back of the hall where the door is, Lenalee stopped and stared.

It was that Lavi-lookalike again.

Lenalee couldn't be sure for the camera lights were blinding her view. Hearing the next name being called, a cue for her to go, Lenalee walked down the stage hurriedly, hoping to meet the Lavi-lookalike and confirm his identity.

Yet, by the time Lenalee reached the backdoor, he was gone again. She had missed for the second time. Suddenly, there was tap on her shoulder and Lenalee was startled and jolted. She looked around and saw Kanda who was giving her a curious look.

"Lenalee, are you alright? You look jumpy." Kanda observed.

The Chinese girl was starting to be confused. Was she so obvious? She wanted to tell Kanda about how she thought Lavi might have been here from the possible fragments of her imagination of the red-haired guy. But she stopped herself. Kanda was a rational person. He would obviously be worried and concerned, enough to alert Komui or even Allen. Lenalee knew well enough that those two people would cause immense trouble for her despite their own goodwill. No, it was better not to tell anyone at all.

Keep it to yourself, Lenalee told herself as she imagined the things Komui and Allen will do if they think she was becoming mad from missing Lavi too much.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." Lenalee said with a convincing tone. Still, Kanda didn't buy.

"Don't be stupid, you're too easy to see through." The swordsman said. Lenalee was surprised at the roughness in his voice. Despite his tough exterior, Kanda always treated her with gentleness. This was a first. "Come on, Lenalee, spill the truth before I tell Komui." He threatened and looked over at the white-coat man waving excitedly at him and Lenalee. "You know how much you hate him being over-protective and all."

"Are you really serious?" Lenalee asked with a new and previously undiscovered hardness in her voice.

"As serious I can ever be." Kanda nodded.

"You'll think I'm crazy."

"I won't ever think you're crazy. Whatever you say has a reason."

Lenalee looked grateful for that moment, but then that smile faded as she muttered audibly, "I think I saw Lavi." Kanda kept quiet, which made Lenalee frowned. "Well, say something." She prompted.

"If you saw him, then he is here, isn't he?" Kanda said matter-of-factly, unfazed.

"But you know he can't be here, because he is in Paris." Lenalee said impatiently. "Am I becoming mad? It's already been so long, almost a little more than a year."

"Don't doubt yourself, Lenalee." Kanda said. Then Kanda saw a random person waving to him. He understood that he was being called and nodded to the person in reply. Looking back at Lenalee, he said, "And don't doubt him. You know his feelings for you were real."

He left without looking back at Lenalee, leaving the Chinese girl slightly confused. His voice held a mystery, but then again, everything about Kanda was almost a mystery.

Even so, she could not shake off that feeling that Kanda was hinting something. Was Lavi back for real? If so, why didn't anyone tell her? He can't be back yet, not after everything that has happened, Lenalee thought bitterly.

A hand touched Lenalee's shoulder briefly and the green-haired girl turned to see Komui.

"Have you tried the chocolate cookies at the reception table?" Komui took a bite on the cookie he was holding. "It is delicious! They taste exactly like top-grade cookies!"

"Onii-chan, you weren't supposed to be taking anything from the reception table before the reception!" Lenalee scolded.

"The remaining programme is too boring." Komui held up the programme booklet and Lenalee couldn't agree more with her brother. But beside that, it was just plain rude to start on refreshments in the midst of the concert.

"You needed to tell me something?" Lenalee asked, eyeing Komui. She knew that however immature and sister-complex-y her brother was, he was never one to ignore proprieties, so there must be something up.

"I just got a call that from my superior. They said I'm needed for a meeting an hour later." He glanced at his watch. "So, I can't pick you home. But I can help you take your stuff. I can put them in the car."

"My stuff?" Lenalee asked questioningly.

"Didn't you say that you still had books in your classroom?" Komui asked, a nervous look starting to take over his face.

"No, I didn't." She was now getting more confused. "The teacher had asked everyone to clear their stuff from their tables some time ago."

"Well, I'm sure you must have left some things back at the classroom." Komui said with an unnatural quickness. "You better go check. It'll be troublesome if you had to return to retrieve any forgotten paraphernalia."

Lenalee was really confused now. But she didn't question because Komui was her brother after all. She had trusted him her whole life. Besides, he wasn't wrong; she really could have left something in class.

"Alright, I'll go to class to see if anything was left behind." Lenalee said, giving in to her brother. As they bid each other a momentary goodbye, Lenalee frowned as she tried to remember of the things she could have left behind. If they were books, she wouldn't have care less. School was over and she was sure that whatever subjects she will be taking in future won't require her old textbooks.

Oh well, I'll donate them to the charity or something, she thought breezily. As she reached her classroom, she saw that the door was slightly ajar. She didn't care much, because it wasn't unnatural that doors were opened. But the moment she stepped into the old classroom that was filled with bittersweet memories, she paused at the sight of that familiar back view.

She couldn't think for a moment, telling herself that it was someone else. But that name had involuntarily slipped from her mouth.

"La…Lavi?"

The person turned, and Lenalee gasped as she realized that it was really him.

Lavi had really returned.

Lenalee wanted to rush forward to embrace him, but she couldn't. Her feet were glued to the ground and all that guilt returned in waves as she remembered of her own deeds. They weren't bad, but they weren't honorable either.

His handsome features were unchanged, but his eyes held a new kind of twinkle. He smiled that charming smile of his, and began to walk towards Lenalee with slow calculating steps, as if thinking of something while taking each move.

His smile was gentle and kind, and that only made Lenalee cringe with remorse. She willed herself to move backwards, away from him. But before she could do so, Lavi was already in front of her, grabbing her arms and leading her into his embrace.

Lenalee was startled. In her chest, she felt an odd pang. Her voice seemed to disappear and all she could think was: I'm in Lavi's arms!

"I won't leave again, Lenalee." His voice brought Lenalee from her trance-like state. She wasn't dreaming. This wasn't unreal.

Lenalee's arms reached up to Lavi's shoulders and clung, almost desperately, onto his black coat longingly and lovingly. She smiled happily to herself, and a tear fell across her cheek.

He was unchanged, not completely, but still unchanged.

When they let go of each other, they looked at each other with an earnest in their eyes. Lenalee opened her lips to speak, but Lavi silenced her by placing a finger on them.

"Let me speak first." Lavi began. "Chomesuke passed away five months ago. I didn't return because I wanted to have some time-out for myself, so I remained in Paris. I came back last week, but I didn't tell you because I didn't know how to face you."

"I thought I should be the one wondering how to face you." Lenalee laughed slightly.

"But we both did face each other in the end. Now, we are here, aren't we?" Lavi said and smiled before continuing, "I told Kanda and Allen of my return, and I told them not to tell you."

"Why?" Lenalee asked with a sad voice.

"I didn't know what to do when I see you. They were my friends; buddies; pals. They were the guys I go to." Lavi answered and was glad when Lenalee understood. "They were the ones who planned everything for us to meet like this. Your brother was an accomplice as well." He laughed.

Lenalee then recalled Komui's odd behavior and now knew why he had been so nervous. He was never comfortable lying to his own sister, but that virtue was questionable when it came to other people.

"All was good in the end, wasn't it?" Lavi said. He took Lenalee's chin gently and tilted up her head so that their eyes meet. When he bent down, their lips met in a gentle and chaste kiss.

After all those years, Lenalee missed his kiss the most. The warm air he would breathe on her face would bring her a sense of intimacy and closeness to him. The taste of him, the feel of his lips against hers and the scent of his cologne comforted her and excited her.

After the kiss, they embraced again, happy and contented with each other's presence.

"Were you that person who I kept on seeing?" Lenalee asked. "The one I saw during the rehearsal, and the person who was watching me when I went up the stage?"

"That was me." Lavi confirmed. "The plan was for me to remain in class until you came. But I couldn't resist. I wanted to see you. You look so beautiful in this dress, like always."

"You have no idea how much I missed you." Lenalee sighed blissfully.

"I had an idea, because I wanted to see you as much." Lavi replied. "But don't talk now. Let us enjoy the moment. Kanda and the others would come up soon. And we wouldn't want Komui to see us this close. He will murder me."

Both of them were left alone for a while, making up for the lost time they had not seen each other.

It was all too tender.

A/N: Even though this was the last chapter, I don't think I did very well, and I apologize for that. I have somewhat lost a little bit of passion in writing because I've been studying so much for my upcoming O Levels that I think I pretty much lost passion in many things in life. Still, I sincerely hope you have enjoyed this chapter.

All the thanks to my readers and reviewers:

tokiya

Mao

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Julye loves Lavi

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Anon

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Mehhhh

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hime-chan

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And of course, all of you, including me, have to really thank yinlin56 for her contributions for the earlier chapters.

So here is where the curtain closes.

(BIG BOWS)

Until next time!