Hi everyone, just something random I thought of and posted to kill time. Had a busy last two weeks at work and this was bugging me for awhile. Hopefully will be updating my other stories too soon.
Enjoy!
It would be today, the day that should be the first day of his life.
Late for his job interview; not enough to call for a taxi; and to top it all off his shoes were ruined. Leather was not made for running, much less all terrain sprinting from his front door to the main road in the never ending spring deluge.
The bus was already pulling away from the stop when Lavi was rounding the corner, skidding through a puddle in time to see the smug real estate agent waving happily from rear advertisement. Another would not be coming for at least another ten minutes, wait that long and he might as well forget about even turning up.
Fate smiled on Lavi as the light changed from amber to red. The bus was stalled at the lights; maybe just maybe he could beat the vehicle to the next stop. Praying to every god conceivable Lavi raced up the road. He was panting heavily and brushing aside the wet hair matted to his forehead when the bus doors opened and finally tapped his pass as if handing over the relay baton.
Lavi promised himself he would start going to the gym again when he had enough to pay for bills again. The driver raised an eyebrow at Lavi's dishevelled appearance before giving a dismissive shake of his head. Mondays are not for everyone after all.
What was it about rainy days that made buses even busier than usual? Lavi thought as he swam through the crowded lower deck. Taller than most, the red head did not have too much trouble and apologised as he pushed passed backpacks and handbags. He nestled himself in a corner and too foggy to actually look out Lavi watched the windows sweat in the heat of too many bodies for distraction.
Now that he was on route to the office the butterflies began to claw at his insides. He was not exactly fresh out of university, nor was he coming off the end of an amazing soul searching gap year around the world. How was he going to explain away the lack of any work history? Sorry but I had to quit university and barely graduated in the end, but please hire me otherwise I'll be homeless before the end of the month. Somehow Lavi did not think that would cut it.
Hugging his portfolio to his chest Lavi mentally went through all the notes he had gathered on the company, which had been difficult since internet connection had been cut off for the last month. All of his research had to be done the old fashioned way, at the library. Lavi supposed he should count himself lucky that he had received the call for interview before the telephone line had also been cut.
Noah's Ark, a clothing boutique established 35 years ago. Maybe three stores city wide but recently began gaining influence as the new administration invested in big name models to promote brand new lines. In his portfolio the red head had prepared concepts for two of these models already revealed to have signed lucrative contracts with the Ark bosses. Kanda Yuu, a male Japanese model, who appealed to the growing market of fashionable young men and Lulubell Noah, the beautiful granddaughter of Adam Noah, the founder of Noah's Ark.
The other passengers swayed along with the movements of the bus, stirring only when they needed to give away for others to get on or get off. The dark grey clouds above were as subdued as the sleepy Monday morning commuters. With any luck he would make it from the bus stop to the office without getting struck by the rain.
"Excuse me, can you hold this a moment?" A cardboard coffee cup was thrust under his nose and Lavi grabbed it quickly before the contents landed all over his jacket. The owner of the cup, a tall tanned man sporting a pony tail was too busy rummaging through his pockets with one hand to even nod a thank you. The other hand was holding a sleek expensive phone, into which he was currently talking very loudly.
"Lenalee, move the 9'oclock to 10. There's no way I'll be making it on time … The models? What about them? Tell them they'll just have to sit in… No… This is your fault Lenalee! Just change it!"
Lavi clutched the cup tightly, carefully balancing to prevent any spillages. He watched the angry man argue down the phone. The suit was well made, dark grey and cut perfectly. Lavi imagined quite a bit of expensive tailoring went into that suit. He taller than Lavi, only slightly but it was off putting to feel the difference, he was usually the tallest in any given room. Lavi could not help sneaking glances at the broad shoulders or the sharp jawline. He hoped the man would turn his head so he could see what he looked like.
Gold eyes flicked in his direction shocking Lavi before flicking away again with a slight upturn of his lips. Lavi had to clear his throat and avert his gaze as the man started shrugging off his damp jacket. He had been admiring the open snow white collar, and the defined bones they revealed. He could think of a dozen ways to sketch and dress this man.
"I did want that back." The voice like silk all but purred into his ear. Lavi felt his face grow hot as he realised too late that he had nervously sipped from the cup in his hand. The other man slipped the phone back into his pocket and Lavi blushed even deeper as he took the cup from him and drank deeply. Lavi shifted uncomfortably as the man continued to watch him.
"Sorry, not having a good morning today. I have an interview in twenty minutes and not too optimistic at the moment." He said mostly to fill the awkward silence.
"You and me both, you probably heard me trying to rearrange some meetings." The man grinned apologetically at Lavi and his heart skipped a bit. The man was gorgeous. Gold eyes that had to be contact lenses under dark brows looked down on him. And a well placed love spot sat under his left eye. Stop staring, Lavi warned himself. "My secretary insists I take public transport to work at least once a month so I don't forget my roots or some such rubbish. She's bribed my housekeeper to steal my car keys on a random day each month. I really should fire her."
"The housekeeper or the secretary?" Lavi quipped. The other laughed heartily, the sound made Lavi feel quite proud that he had caused it. "I thought your suit looked too expensive for the bus."
The man leaned in close to Lavi's ear. "I know. I saw you looking."
"I – I wasn't you know…. not like that you know…" Lavi stammered and cursed the bus voice over for not calling his stop already.
"Tyki Mikk." The man offered a hand. "And I'm flattered, not offended so stop looking like you've tipped this cup of coffee down my suit trousers."
The name sounded familiar, but that was the least of Lavi's worries as he felt rather than saw the man, Tyki Mikk, appraising him up and down. "Have you ever modelled? You have a great build for it. Tall, slim, and great colouring."
"Erm thank you. No I haven't, I prefer to be behind the camera. I design clothes. Well try to anyway." The beautiful stranger was still watching him even though his phone was ringing again. Lavi could not bear the weight of his looks, boring into him. Men like this were not the kind he usually found, Tyki Mikk was clearly out his league. "Excuse me the next stop is mine."
"If this job doesn't work out, look me up. Just say it's the cute red head who likes to sip free coffee." Tyki winked as a mortified Lavi passed him to get off the bus. Lavi only managed to laugh nervously by way of response.
He grateful for the fresh air when he got off the bus. The sky looked as if it had made up its mind to hold back the rain for the rest of the day. Even more so when he discovered that the Noah's Ark store was only a short distance away from the stop. That would be convenient should he get the job. The store had yet to open so Lavi had to rap on the window with his knuckles before he caught the attention of a white haired boy who promptly opened the door to let him in.
"Interview?" The boy smiled warmly. "There's quite a few of you upstairs. You're late."
Lavi groaned. "They haven't started interviewing yet have they?"
The boy took a handful of sweaters from a tote box and began folding. "Don't worry, the finance guy is late as well. So no, not started yet. I can take you up if you like?"
Lavi thanked the boy who led him up a set of polished stairs and told him to sit on the end of a long bench, currently occupied by four other hopefuls. Each of whom looked much better prepared and better presented than Lavi did right now in his current state.
The clock ticked 9:30am but still the interviews had not started. Lavi had already counted all the red bricks in the wall by then and began naming them when the door to the interview room still had not opened.
Lavi had begun to day dream of all the things he could have been doing and all the sleep he could have been sleeping had he known he would have had all this extra time. The clock ticked loudly on the wall. Was that on purpose? The others sitting beside Lavi looked more nervous than he did.
"Lavi Bookman." A clear voice like the tinkling of a bell called to him.
"Thank freaking finally" Lavi mumbled under his breath. The oriental woman at the door clutched a clipboard to her chest, smiling encouragingly. After Lavi followed her through the door, she shut the door firmly behind. "Take a seat please."
For the second time that day, Lavi's heart stopped. He recognised three of the faces at the table.
Sitting opposite the lone chair in the middle of the room were Kanda Yuu and Lulubell Noah the models he had sketched for.
And next to them, wearing a look of the utmost delight was the man from the bus:
Tyki Mikk.