Hi! So this is my first D-grayman fic... Well fic of any kind really. So erm... yeah... please be nice!

The heavy dust of the attic made Lavi cough as he made to stack and un-stack heavy cardboard boxes. The light in the attic was limited, but his keen eyesight and the small flash light he was smart enough to bring upstairs with him were enough to help him make out the faded black marker on the side of each box. There was a particular box he was looking for. It had to be up here somewhere. Lavi was a hoarder, he couldn't help it- must have been a habit he picked from his aged grandfather. But right now he was cursing his habit as each box of precious junk stood between him and his goal.

Lavi had awoken this morning yet again to an empty bed. He turned his head to see a vast stretch of vacant space. The bed felt cool to the touch, any left-over body heat long since dissipated. Tyki must have left early… again. Lavi let his hand linger over the empty space, gently running his fingertips over the bed spread. The contours of the sheets over the mattress were no match for the perfect geography of his lover.

Lavi sighed heavily and rolled over turning his back to Tyki's side of the bed. He found himself thinking of simpler times, of waking up to a warm body next to him and staying in bed even if it was for activities other than sleeping in; especially for those times. These days his older lover would leave for work long before the sun was properly over the horizon, leaving little time for anything else.

Even if he wasn't alone Lavi had to admit that he was lonely.

The red head rolled around the king size bed, aimlessly gathering himself up into the thick duvet trying his hardest to recall what it felt like to wake up wrapped in the warmth provided by those two strong arms and body heat. Come to think of it Lavi could not actually remember the last time he woken like that. It must have been before Tyki was made Head Editor at Millennium Publishing –

"That was six freaking months ago!" Lavi slapped his forehead and exclaimed to no one. How had they managed to end up like this in that time? He hadn't even noticed the time passing as he and Tyki had slowly begun to slip away from each other. Even after they adopted Tyki's niece Road a few years ago they did not have any problems. The two had known that looking after a young child would put a strain on their relationship but they always made time to spend time together; Just the two of them.

Tyki was always tired after work and Lavi was busy too; there were only so few hours left in the day after his shifts at the bookstore he managed and dropping off and picking up Road from the playschool. They spent less and less time together. Conversations were clipped and reduced to discussions of whose turn it was to cook dinner. Even still the hugs and kisses were not any less warm. Lavi still snuggled into Tyki in the evenings on the couch and Tyki would still take him into his embrace and steal a kiss from his lips when they were alone, or on the forehead when Road was near. The problem was that these moments had become few and far between.

Trust a promotion to kill the passion.

Lavi extricated himself from the duvet and sat up right, bringing his knees up to rest his arms and hold his head in both hands. He shook the thought from his head. The relationship was just going through a change. God knows he was still maddeningly attracted to and in love with the older man. Just thinking about that dark olive skin; ebony hair; and lean muscles that only added to the elegance of his body sent shivers down his spine. And those eyes. Those perfect warm golden eyes that could melt any man or woman. Yeah… Tyki definitely still had 'it'.

RIIINGRIIINGRIIING

The blaring sound of the phone ringing startled Lavi out of his reverie. He leaned over to grab his phone from the bed side table. He checked the time and Caller ID before falling back into his pillow with a small smile touching his lips. He coughed lightly to get the sleep out of his voice before accepting the call.

"Hey~ I was just thinking about you."

"Really? You're still in bed right…?" Lavi could almost hear the smirk in his lover's deep gravelly voice. The combination of the two and that reply caused heat to rise in his face.

"Isn't it too early for you to be perverted? Idiot." The smile on his face broadened at the sound of light laughter on the other end of the line. "Yeah, yeah laugh it up… You don't usually call this early. You didn't leave anything at home did you?" His brow furrowed slightly as he remembered the last time Tyki had forgotten some important document. It was not a pretty sight.

"No, not this time. Thank god! I just wanted to remind you that Road's coming back today. Are you going to be able to pick her up or should I?" A pause, "I'm not sure when I'm actually going to be able to get off work though…" Lavi knew that meant he probably wouldn't be seeing the other until three in the morning at the earliest. The furrow deepened.

"Don't worry. Allen and Lenalee are going to pick up the twins. They said they'd pick up Road too and have her for the night…" Lavi didn't need to mention that he had especially arranged it so that he and Tyki could have their first night together in a long time. Tyki must have sensed the change in Lavi's tone.

"Oh… I'm sorry… Maybe I could try…"

"No it's fine. Seriously don't worry about it!"

"Maybe Road shouldn't stay away overnight"

"It'll be fine; she loves it at Allen's. You know how much of a kid he is. Don't know how Lenalee deals with him really… ha ha…" The laugh died an awkward death. Great now he was babbling.

"I'm thinking of you Lavi. I might not be back till late."

"I'll be fine on my own. Stop worrying!" Even he knew how false he sounded. "Listen, the door bell's ringing. I gotta go."

With that obvious lie Lavi hung up the phone.

AN: So should I bother continuing? Please read and review and help a new contributor to this fandom.

Thanks for getting this far!