#kanda is a salty marshmallow

[howardlinkedin]

Group Project: Part 7

Running Title: Group Project. Part 7 (End) Part 6: Here Sequel to Shelter Summary: A family can’t be a team, because with teams, there’s always a winner or a loser. With family, there are no losers. That’s what Timothy Walker believes anyway. 

Lala’s song is “Not Alone” by Otto Knows.

Link looked from their pets, to the exotic plant, to his children enjoying lunch at the counter. Timcampy was a wheezing delight at his human doppelgänger’s feet, as they boy kept sneaking the dog bits of food. Which, thought the father, the son did not need to sneak at all, seeing as Allen had been spoiling the canine rotten with human food since the day Cross dropped into Allen young arms.

Lala was absentmindedly petting Atuuda between her lunch and reading a book. The cat purred, contented at yet another human to shower her with attention.

Rosemary the Man Eating Plant, which really was just a title given to her by Toukusa all those years ago (and it stuck), well. Link just fed her a rat, so he assumed the unconventional houseplant was happy.

“Allen.”

“Hmm?” Allen shoved another sandwich into his mouth, looking at his husband.

“We have five.”

---

Lala and Timothy watched their Dad almost choke on his food, laughing up a storm. Their Papa looked downright smug.

“Adults are weird.” Said Tim.

Lala nodded. “I concur.”

---

When Timothy was seven and a half, he was abandoned on the doorstep of Hearst’s Orphanage in the middle of a cold December night, by a father who never loved him.

He was as bitter as the wind at the time.

Fast forward two years later, and Timothy gained two fathers at the same time, who will never stop loving him.

Or his sister. Or each other.

He may be young, but Timothy was observant. He saw a lot of love in his family, even he was too unwilling to outright admit it at times.

But what makes a family?

---

Cross walked into his office, late as usual, coffee in hand, only to almost spit it all over himself.

Set smack dab in the middle of the room was a brightly colored, obnoxious standee of his brat.

“What the fucking fuck?” The police officer choked.

A tell-tale jingle appeared down besides him, and the redhead looked down to see his grandson, shaking his swear jar expectedly.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Why the he-eck are you here?!” It hurt to correct himself, but damn if Cross didn’t want to lose anymore money, and stuffed the damn jar with a dollar (just in case).

Placated, the boy answered, “Dad dropped me off, saying we needed to bond.”

Marian Cross could practically hear his brat’s cackle from wherever the hell he was.

---

“Let’s go bother the nerds in Forensics.”

“Will I get to see a dead body?” “Probably. Don’t tell your parents.”

---

Once, just once, a cameraman tried to bother their way into getting a surprise picture and scoop of Allen and Lala.

The father and daughter just left Anita’s cafe, and the instant Allen saw the flash, he was on the nosey man in a second.

“Hello! I understand that you are only trying to do  your job, but could you please not do that?” Greeted the singer, all smiles and blatant charm. The would be photographer was dazed, then aghast to discover that Allen had use his left hand to crunch the camera into a pieces.

“What the hell beansprout?” Kanda groused from the cafe door, looking as menacing and as Kanda as ever. Lala had retreated back into the shop to grab her father’s friend, just incase. Said girl was hiding behind the long haired man, peeking behind his arm and glare at the interloper.

The cameraman began to sputter while Allen whipped his head around to give his friend a scathing look. “It’s ALLEN.”

“Che.” Kanda turned his steel gaze at the stranger, which if the cameraman knew Kanda, they would know that this was Kanda’s usual expression. “Go away.”

Not needing to be told twice, the stranger scampered away, crushed camera and all.

This kind of incident never happened again.

---

Since leaving France with his new family, Timothy had kept in contact with the Head Mother who cared for him during his stay at the orphan home.

They both emailed back and forth, sharing stories and the nonsense that often happens from having a diverse family or running a home for children.

“Dear Mother Hearst,” he would always begin, because if there was one thing she had taught him, it was manners.

“I have learned something really important, and I want to tell you about it.”

---

“Afternoon Colonel.” Greeted Weever, eyes weary.

Cross huffed around his unlit cigarette. “Don’t give me that look, I’m just here to see the new evidence.”

“Right.” the assistant forensics chief sighed and headed toward the evidence table, about to explain what had been and had not been concluded.

Except Assistant Gill decided to scream and pass out on the ground. Komui, being the good boss that he was, had kicked the rolling surgical table out of the way, less Gill would have had a very nasty fall.

On the body table, half covered by a film sheet, was a grinning ten year old, who was very much alive.

Cross pointed and laughed like the hooligan he was.

“Why is there a child in the surgery lab?!” Yelled Weever. “Cross!” He pointed accusingly.

The man in question was leaning on a deck, wheezing like his kid’s damned dog. “Just-” he gasped, and more laughter. “Let me have this moment.”

After the terror of the forensics lab left, ten year old hefted like a grinning sack of flour, Komui looked at his chief assistant. “That was funny.”

“No it was NOT!”

---

“Daddy.” Lala tugged her father’s white hair to get his attention. Looking upside down at his daughter from the grand piano, Allen grinned. “What’s up?”

He noticed right away she was red in the face, and pinching her fingers together. Usually, this meant that Lala had become very shy, despite being a very blunt young lady.

“There’s a song.” She mumbled, then looked cross at herself for it and tried again louder. “There’s a song I want to write. But I don’t know,” she tapered off, almost quite. “How.” 

Allen jumped up from the piano bench and engulfed his daughter in a hug, almost lifting her off feet off the ground. Almost, because as she was just mere centimeters away from his height.

She squeaked, caught off guard. “Daddy!”

“Let’s go see Miranda.” Allen said, elated and fond all at once. He knew exactly what to do.

---

He had once asked Mother Hearst what a family was, nose scrunched and mouth petulant. He was far from the only child at the Home, and all of them continuously went about wanting a family.

Timothy had no idea what that was. So he never asked for it.

“Family holds different meaning for everyone.” Hearst had answered, smoothing his wild hair back. “You will simply just have to find out what yours is.” She tweaked his nose and he blew a raspberry at her in annoyance. 

Now, though, Timothy thinks he knows.

“You see, lots of people keep saying a family is a team, like in books and movies and stuff. But that can’t be right because teams usually mean there’s a competition and there’s gonna be a loser.

But, like, with a family there aren’t any losers. There shouldn’t be anyway.”

---

Alma sprawled over their couch, flipping through what they thought were old photo albums overhead. Upon further inspection, they realized it was one of Kanda’s scrapbooks. “Yuu, did you know your books are mixed with the albums?”

“What?” Kanda poked his head from the hall, tying his hair in a topknot. His eyes widened at what exactly Alma was looking through. “No shit, put that away!”

Face turning impish, Alma began flipping through the pages with more intent. “Why, what are you hiding?” “Nothing! Put it down!”

Kanda stomped over, but was too late for a red piece of paper to slip through the pages and land onto Alma’s face. Their husband snached it away and hid it behind his back. Alma blinked. “Was that-”

“No.”

“Yuu.”

Grumbling and pink nosed, Kanda showed them.

A bit stunned, Alma gaped. It was the valentine heart from second grade! “Yuu, we both go zeroes on that!”

“Yeah.”

“It was a group project!”

“Yeah.”

“You said it got thrown away!”

“Yeah.”

It was well preserved, if not a little gaudy with all the decorations and glued on glitter. It had looked like a masterpiece in second grade, regardless.

“Why?” Alma asked, confused. They were also a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Kanda mumbled and glared at the wall.

“Yuu, I can’t hear you.”

“BECAUSE,” he shouted, then realized his tone and tried again. “It was your heart.”

---

Alma thoroughly kissed Kanda stupid into bed faster than a blink that evening.

They were so very lucky to have this marshmallow of a husband.

---

With the start of his children entering school, Link took it upon himself to join the PTA. It was the duty of a parent to help out at their child’s school, and to stay up-to-date on the events there.

For some reason, all of the mothers there kept giving him food to bring home.

“They think you’re a hot single dad.” Allen teased over the phone. He was away at yet another interview. “Trying to win your heart with their cooking.”

Link gave the tupperware of green bean casserole a frown. Suddenly, the food was menacing. He’ll just feed it to Rosemary.

“Lala’s recital is coming up.” Link decided to change the subject.

“Yeah! How is she? Is she excited? Nervous? I’m coming home in another two days!” Allen rambled and exclaimed. “Hey is she there?”

Wordlessly, Link handed off the phone to their daughter. “Yes.” she answered for herself.

“Lala!”

Timothy leached himself at his Papa’s side. “Me next, me next!”

---

Looking around the bare walls of his new classroom, newly graduated Exceptional Student Services teacher Kanda Yuu frowned. Well. More than usual.

He didn’t know the first thing about setting up a classroom.

Okay, so he had an idea. But where to start?

Alma busied themselves with unpacking his boxes of supplies. “Don’t worry. I called for backup.”

“Backup?” Kanda narrowed his eyes. “What backup?”

Suddenly Alma had yards of fabric in their hands and Kanda felt nervous.

The door burst open and in walked Chaoji, two drink carriers in hand. “Hello, I’m. Well.” He laughed nervously. “Alma said you’d need help.”

“Oy, oy little brother, this desk is shit. I’m gonna fix it.” Next thing Kanda knew, Diasya was there with a tool box. “Daisya what the fuck.”

Link walked in with a stack of baked goods and a blue haired child. Behind was the beansprout and Lenalee.

Kanda pointed at Allen. “No. Not this one.”

“Up yours Kanda.”

“I’ll shove this pencil sharpener so far up your-”

Somehow, the room got set up and decorated to fit the needs to middle school students. But not before Allen and Kanda got into a paint fight.

---

“In school, we have to sometimes do group projects. I think family is like that.”

---

Sometime during the school year, Link was unable to pick them up and Allen was away at a recording, and the city had an emergency that kept Cross unavailable.

Long story short, despite having a myriad of other people who could have come to pick them up that day, it was a strange man in a limousine, who was somehow on their school contact list (even though both children had never heard of him before) and allowed to sign them out from school.

“Call me great grandpa.” He giddied.

To which both children gave a blunt, “No.”

Lala ushered Timothy to the crosswalk while the weird man sobbed on the ground. They could just walk to the bakery.

After handing out the last of large order, Link was surprised to see his kids walk into the shop. He blinked, then frowned. “Your...Allen had called for Neah to get you. Where is he?”

Lala squinted. “Who?” “What’s a Neah?” Asked Tim, also squinting. Was it the weird crying man?

The door rammed open, a different man than the one who had come for them huffing with an enraged look on his face. “I’M NEAH.”

All three Walkers stared at the man as he roared in the entrance. “That old man fucking shoved me in the CLOSET AND TOOK OFF!”

---

Lala and Timothy gained a Neah that day, and somehow a great grandfather that they never knew about.

Though, being family meant that little Timothy could exploit the menacing looking man.

“Quarter.”

---

After a long shift at work, Anita laid on Cross’ couch and set her feet in his lap, exhausted. On autopilot, the man began to knead and rub her feet.

She groaned and threw her arm over her eyes. “I love you.”

“I know.” The Colonel said, smug.

Just for that, Anita shoved her foot against his face.

---

“Everyone gets a job in the group, and we all have to work together to make something. And it can’t be a group unless there’s at least two people.

Sometimes there’s like, five or more though.

Family is like that. It’s made by people who work together.

It’s a group project!”

---

The night of Lala’s recital, many PTA mothers were heartbroken to find that handsome Mister Walker was not a single father.

Their husband was just as handsome in his own right, even with the shocking white hair.

Timothy thought his Dad looked weird with the fake glasses, but whatever. He understood that Allen needed to disguise himself, otherwise people would disturb the show, wanting an autograph or sneak a picture.

Of course, Lala sang beautifully.

---

It’s a long, long way to a miracle, Just to let you know,

You’re not alone.

---

Allen smiled at his son, who was attempting mouth the words to Lala’s song. He looked up at his husband who looked just as proud has he felt.

The music around them bowed and flowed in the air, and if he could see it, Allen knew it would be gleaming.

Ping, ping, ping went a piano, and Allen found himself no longer admiring the flood of music. There was no piano on stage, just Lala and her voice.

His ears tickled and Allen looked around the room. He knew that sound.

Noticing a familiar silhouette by the theater windows, Allen felt his heart go to his throat.

The memory beamed and waved. And when Allen blinked back the water in his eyes, it was gone.

“Allen?” Link asked. “What is it?”

The singer cleared his throat, “Nothing.” He turned to his husband and curious son, face splitting from the joy in his smile. “I remembered something, that’s all.”  

---

It's a long long way to miracle But I promised my soul that I'll make it back home.

---

“That’s what I think a family is.

Also, Mother Hearst, you’re part of it too. Thank you for being the first person in my family.

Love you, and junk. Timothy.”

---

“Mother? What is it?”

The older nun sent the email to the printer, tears running down her warm face. “Don’t worry dear. I just need to wash my face.”

What a lovely beginning.

[faeriexqueen]

Please, for the character ask, Kanda and Timothy! ☺️

Here you go!

KandaWhy I like them: (Here comes thenovel) This angry, salty marshmallow. Where do I begin with him? Honestly, I wasn’t sure how I felt about Kanda in the very beginning,but I love how layered he is as a character, and just how dedicated he is.  What’sstood out to me most about Kanda is how he’s very goal oriented, and isn’tsomeone who gives up (his refusal to die before finding “that person” justkills me every time).  There’s so much toKanda, and his development from how he was in early DGM chapters to now justblows my mind.

Why I don’t:I…don’t think there’s anything I don’t like about Kanda. XD

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Choosing a single episode or scene is hard, because I like a lot of things with Kanda. XD  I always will love the “Strange Mansion” episode in the anime though.  Kanda getting hit in the face with a door is priceless. 8D

Favorite season/movie:DGM Hallow, primarily because seeing little Kanda was everything.  Devastating, but everything.

Favorite line: “Thisworld is dark and it’s so hard to breathe… but in this instant, when Ilaughed along with you, I felt that breathing just got a little more easier.”

Favorite outfit:The clothes he wears when he returns to the Order after the Alma arc.

OTP:Yulma/Yuulma.  I will ship him with Almauntil my dying day.

Brotp: This isreally hard.  I really love the relationship Kanda has with Lavi – they clash, butclearly have that respect for each other and totally have each others’ backs ina fight. But I also really feel like there’s a three-way brotp going on betweenKanda, Daisya, and Noise Marie that is just perfect. XD

Head Canon: Thepouch Kanda wears around his neck when he returns to the Order are actuallysome of Alma’s ashes.

Unpopular opinion:While Kanda has seem to reached a new level of peace after getting those lastmoments with Alma, I don’t see Kanda actually getting over Almaromantically.  The love his past selffelt for past Alma ran so deeply that it literally transcended death, and Ijust don’t see Kanda ever falling in love with someone else ever again.

A wish: Honestly,I wish he’d somehow be reunited with Alma even though it’ll never happen. T___T(Also, I wish there were a way we could learn more about Past!Kanda – I justthink that would be so interesting.)

Anoh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Please. No one kill him.  Let him behappy.  (FOR ONCE LET HIM BE AT HAPPY ANDAT PEACE.)

5 words to best describethem: Ambitious, persevering, moody, stubborn, loyal.

My nickname for them:Salty marshmallow, angry lotus child. TimothyWhy I like them: I like how Timothystarted out as this character I thought was sort of bratty, and I just didn’tget his deal – but he’s actually like a little Robin Hood, and it’sheartwarmingly adorable?  I really lovehow much he wanted to help the orphanage, and I think he has a lot of potentialas an exorcist.

Why I don’t: Atfirst I thought he was a bit bratty and annoying, but I mean, he’s a kid, sowhat can you expect? XD

Favorite episode(scene if movie): The part where Timothy possesses Link, and laterAllen.  It’s just really amusing towatch, and seeing Kanda threaten Timothy in Allen’s body is quite entertaining.XD

Favorite season/movie:I mean…I guess Hallow, since it’s the only season with him? ^^;

Favorite line:“I’m going to make an awesome exorcist! But…I won’t do it for free!!!”(Literally my mindset  if someone were totell me I had to be an exorcist.  I wantto be paid bank for that kind of suffering. XD)

Favorite outfit:I really love Timothy in his exorcist uniform. It’s so cute!

OTP: Mmm.  I don’t think I ship Timothy withanyone?  XD  I guess if he were older it’d be Emilia. ^^;;

Brotp: Ah, Ihadn’t thought much about this one either! It’s sad because it’s not possible, but I REALLY think it would havebeen great to see Timothy interact with Daisya. Seeing him interact with Noise Marie would also be great.

Head Canon:Timothy got his idea to help the orphanage through thievery was through thestory of Robin Hood.

Unpopular opinion:Not sure what an unpopular opinion for Timothy would be? XD But I really likethat he’s Klaud’s apprentice.  I thinkshe’s what he needs to really whip him into shape and make him a badass exorcist(Timothy has a lot of potential, and I just think Klaud’s training will bebeneficial for him).

A wish: I’dreally like to see him when he’s older, and how he turns out as anexorcist.  

Anoh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: I never want anything to happen to MotherSuperior or the orphanage for Timothy’s sake. That would be way too devastating. ;__;

5 words to bestdescribe them: Well-meaning, immature, reckless, caring, perverse.

My nickname for them:Little robber boy.