A -Man Fanfiction
By SisterWicked
In retrospect, Tyki knew that he should have suspected trouble at the very instant that the door flew open with a resounding crash, followed by the sound of irate footsteps heading directly toward the room where he and his lover sat. Glancing at the redhead curiously, he turned to the doorway to await the presence of one obviously piqued female.
There was hardly any time to wait, the steps slowing only marginally before the door was flung open, a red-faced and slightly disheveled Michaela entering with an envelope clenched tightly in one small hand. "I'm in trouble." She huffed, thrusting the paper at her mildly alarmed parents. "Miss Birch says I can't come back to school until you sign this and go talk to her."
Raising an eyebrow, Tyki retrieved the offending object gingerly, tearing it open with a sidelong look at his grinning lover. Skimming the enclosed note, he frowned. "She says you've been lying, and that you got into a fight with your friends because of it.. That you hit another little girl in the face and pulled her hair, and that you bit a boy on the arm.. Michaela, why did this happen?" The girl scowled mutinously, lifting her flushed face defiantly.
"I didn't lie! Sally Hines said that I couldn't have two daddies, and then I said that I have you and Papa, and she laughed and called me a liar. Miss Birch said that I have a mommy and a daddy, and I told her no I don't, and the others all made fun of me!" She shook her head angrily, turning to look at her redhaired parent. "Sally said that you were dirty! Then her brother Jamie said that I should be ashamed to live in a house with faggots so I pushed him down, and hit her when she grabbed my dress! Henry Morris tried to hold me so that Sally could hit me, so I bit him to make him let go."
Blinking up at the child in surprise, Lavi spared a quick look at his lover before he spoke. "That's.. I don't really know what to say, Miki. Are you all right..?" He beckoned the girl closer, frowning at a light scrape on one cheek. "Did anyone else get in trouble? For calling you a liar, I mean? Or for fighting?" She shook her head quickly, biting her lip.
"Nobody but me. Miss Birch said I started the whole thing because I said something I shouldn't have.. Daddy, are you mad at me..?" She turned to stare at the still-silent brunette, her eyebrows drawn with confused worry. "I didn't want to hurt anybody, but they wouldn't stop saying mean things! I wasn't going to let them talk about us like that, it's wrong!"
Tyki shook his head slowly, refolding the letter with a sigh. "I'm not angry with you, but there are some things that you shouldn't say to people unless they ask." Seeing her blank expression, he straightened in his seat. "Sometimes people don't understand something, so they make fun of it. If there's something different about someone else's home or family, it's hard for them to see that it isn't wrong, because it's not them, you see?" Now faced with two confused redheads, he took a breath.
"The other children don't know us, so its hard for them to imagine how we really are.. Do any of your classmates have only one parent?" He smiled faintly at her hesitant nod, pleased that there was at least that much to work with. "And you have two, so can you imagine how that child's home is, since there's always been two of us here with you? It's like that for them, they have a mother and father, or only one or the other, so they can't know what our family's like at home."
He was relieved at her thoughtful expression, but the feeling was doomed to an early death. "I get that, but why did they say we were dirty? Nobody said anything about different.. Henry doesn't have any mother either, but nobody ever says that his daddy is nasty!" She looked back and forth between her parents, her previous anger dampened by curiosity. "I told them that you aren't bad, because you love each other.. You love Daddy, don't you?" She glared fiercely at the former Exorcist, nodding before he could reply. "And you love Papa." She directed the look at her other parent, nodding again. "That's how its supposed to be, isn't it? And you love me too.. Don't you?"
She gazed fearfully at the two, eyes wide and serious. "You're not like Mama, right? You want us to be together, even if our family isn't like everybody else's..?" Tyki nodded rapidly, leaving his chair to take a seat beside his lover.
"Neither of us would change how we are, Miki. As long as we're happy, everyone else should just mind their own business." Urging the child to join them, he sighed at the tight clutch of her small arms, his eyes meeting the younger man's across her bent head. "If anyone mentions it again, the only thing they need to know is that your mother doesn't live with us. They don't need to know why, and you shouldn't have to answer questions about things that should be explained by adults." Lavi nodded in agreement, leaning back with a sigh.
"I don't think that teacher should have written home like that, though. Calling Miki a liar without meeting us is a little much for me." He hummed thoughtfully, turning to smile at the older man. "If we go to the school and meet her, do you think those kids would leave her alone..? They couldn't call her a liar if there's proof." His grin faltered at the other's serious expression, his head tipped curiously. "Tyki..? What's wrong?"
Leaning back, the man shook his head. "I don't think that would solve the problem, Lovely. If the children see us both there, it could very well make things worse.. I wouldn't expect this Birch woman to explain it to them, since it really isn't any of their concern." Lavi raised an eyebrow at his statement, nodding slowly.
"Of course it isn't. But the kids picking on Miki is ours, right? The woman probably thinks she's confused about what we are to each other, so if we told her, she could take care of the teasing, at least." Narrowing his eye at the man's uncomfortable silence, he sat up. "She wouldn't have to give them details, dear. I just think she should do her job and make sure that those kids know to leave Miki alone." The older man took a breath, mentally rehearsing what he wanted to say before speaking.
"I don't know if that's wise, Lavi. The problem that they have isn't her truthfulness, because she told them that there are two of us." He met the other's stare directly, ignoring the faint twinge of apprehension. "Those children have most likely been taught that men living together is.. abnormal. Having Miki's family explained wouldn't change how they think of us, it would only confirm that we really are-" The redhead stiffened abruptly, his hands shaking as they closed into fists.
"We're really what, Tyki? Abnormal? You're the last person I'd expect to hear that from." He slid back, shaking his head. "Does it bother you, having some random kid call us dirty? It never mattered before, we go everywhere together! What do you think the people out there say, when they see us? We aren't making out in the streets, but you stick pretty close, hey?"
Lifting her head at the sharp note in his voice, Michaela turned to stare at him as he continued, confused at the direction the conversation had taken. "Papa..?"
Her soft question went unheard, the redhead's gaze fixed on his surprised lover's face. "What would you suggest, then? Do you want her to go back there and really lie, and say that she didn't understand what she was saying? Is that what you're going to say, when you go?" He blinked rapidly, rising to his feet. "I don't think I want to hear your answer, Tyki. You've got a look about you that says it won't be anything I'll like." Urging Michaela onto the couch, the brunette also stood, reaching forward to catch the younger man's arm.
"I didn't mean it to sound like that, Lavi! I just don't want to make things difficult for my child when I can't be there to-" The other's angry growl cut him off, the sound making him aware of just how upset the redhead was.
"Yours, Tyki? What the hell ever happened to ours? I must have slept through that part of the conversation!" He jerked away, his face set in rising irritation. "I can understand it, though. You brought us here, so of course we're yours. You took Miki in and cared for her, so it's perfectly logical that you're her father." He stepped back, shaking his head with a laugh. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be anything to her, I know that.. But you can't tell me that she's ours at home, and yours everywhere else! That makes it sound like you're teaching her to be ashamed of this too!"
The former Noah shook his head in frustration, striving to keep his voice low and reasonable. "I'm not telling her to lie, Lavi. What I'm saying is that on paper, she only has one legal parent. As far as anyone in an official capacity cares, that's how it is." He made to continue, but the redhead was having none of it.
"On paper, Tyki? You're telling me that just because there's only one damned space given on a piece of paper, I don't matter? There isn't any paper explaining what I am to you, either, so do you just wave that off too, when we leave the house?" He swiped viciously at his watering eye, turning to leave. "Just forget about it, Tyki. I'm sorry that I'm not taking this well, but it's not every day that you find out that you aren't real."
The older man gripped his arm again, alarmed by his rage. "Lovely, that's completely different! The problem here isn't you, it's everyone else!" His words, meant to soothe the other's ire, seemed to have the opposite effect. Whirling back to face him, Lavi snatched his arm away a second time.
"Aren't you somebody else, Tyki? I've never thought that Miki was anything less than my daughter, even when I couldn't put my name down beside yours! I love her just as much as you do, whether anybody else cares or not!" Jabbing a finger in the girl's general direction, he shook his head angrily. "Can you honestly look her in the eye and tell her that she should just omit one of her parents because of what someone might think? You've told people where she came from, and nobody gave a fuck about that woman dropping her there like garbage! If anyone deserves to not matter, it's her! Explain that to me, Tyki. Why is it perfectly fine to tell everybody else that her mother was a common whore who left a beautiful, helpless child in an alley for the rats to eat, but its abnormal that there's two men who love her anyway?"
The girl in question shivered at the rising volume of their words, drawing her feet up as she looked from one to the other. "It's not! Mama's bad! I've got my Daddy and my Papa, and I won't say I don't!" Tyki swung around to look at her, glaring quickly at the still fuming redhead.
"Sweetheart, I don't want you to say that you don't have us both, I only said that you shouldn't give those children a reason to treat you badly! Do you ask them about their families, if they don't offer to tell you themselves?" His reasonable tone seemed to be completely ineffective to redheads, as the girl jumped to her feet with a scowl.
"Sometimes I do! I asked Henry about his Mama, because I don't have mine, and he told me that his Daddy made her go away! He said that they started yelling and fighting, and his Mama cried and then she was gone!" She latched onto the astonished man with a wail, burying her face against his side. "I don't want Papa to leave, so you stop being mean! If you're 'shamed of Papa, you're 'shamed of me too!"
Blinking down at her bent head in surprise, he patted her awkwardly. "No, Miki.. I'm not ashamed of either of you! I love you, more than anything else in this world.."
The girl continued to sob, shaking her head. "I don't want my family to be am.. ab..That word! I don't need any Mama, 'cause you found me and you're better! I don't care about anybody liking it, I want you to stay my Daddy!"
Watching the man's attempts to calm the weeping child, Lavi opened his mouth to add his own reassurances, but a soft murmur caused the words to stick in his throat.
"It's all right, Little One.. We don't need anyone else, as long as we have each other.. There's nothing wrong or abnormal about a man loving his little girl.. We've got everything we need, nobody else matters." Michaela nodded jerkily, nestling close to bury her wet face against the man's collar, her hands fisted in the fabric of his shirt.
Swallowing heavily, Lavi took a step back, reaching blindly for the doorknob. Feeling the cold metal against his fingertips, he tore his gaze away from the scene, opening the door silently. Pulling it closed behind him, he strode quickly toward the end of the hall, pausing only long enough to dig out the key to the house's main door. Biting his lip fiercely, he sat it on the entry mantle, not bothering to take his coat as he left.
Sighing quietly, Tyki urged his now-pacified daughter to loosen her grip, wiping her cheeks gently. "I'm sorry, Miki.. I didn't mean to make it sound like I don't love you and your Papa.. It's like I said, as long as there's just the three of us, we don't need anyone else. They can think whatever they like, it doesn't matter to me, as long as we're all together." Smiling faintly, he mussed the girl's hair fondly, shaking his head. "Really, I don't see how anyone would doubt you being your Papa's child.. You have exactly the same temper."
Frowning in confusion, Michaela tugged on his shirt insistently. "Daddy, where is Papa? He was right there, bein' sad.."
Jerking his head up, the man glanced quickly around the room, a feeling of dread chilling him at its missing occupant. "He must have stepped out, sweetheart.. You know he does that when he's not feeling so good." Forcing a smile, he rose to his feet, still stroking her short hair. "Can you go play with your dollies for a little while? I'll go find your Papa and tell him I'm sorry too." She nodded eagerly, wrapping his legs in an enthusiastic hug before skipping off to her own room, her brief sadness forgotten at the prospect of telling her toys about her day.
Taking a moment to collect himself, the older man made his way to the door as well, following the hallway with a growing sense of unease. Reaching for his coat, he froze at the faint glimmer of light on silver, blinking at the discarded key in something akin to horror. Digging into his pockets, he gasped at the sensation of its mate in his palm, yanking the door open with a muffled curse. Bolting onto the stoop, he nearly fell headlong over the miserably crouched figure there, only his heightened reflexes saving the remaining bit of his dignity. "Gods..! What the hell are you doing, Lavi? I take my eyes off of you for one minute and you're gone! You didn't say a word, and you forgot your key-"
The redhead flinched at his volume, but otherwise stayed still. "I didn't forget it. I left it there, and then I came out here.. It took me about thirty seconds to remember that I don't have anywhere else to go." Laughing softly, he shook his head. "Is this how you're going to keep that first promise, Tyki? It's the only one you ever made that you didn't keep.." Pulling up his knees, he sank his face into his arms. "You're right, you know.. You two really don't need anybody else, not when you love each other like that."
Ignoring the other's quickly indrawn breath, he sighed. "It serves me right, doesn't it..? I took your family from you twice, so its only fair that you'd take mine, once I had one." He shivered faintly, his eye closed tight as he struggled to speak clearly. "I don't know what hurts more, though.. Thinking that I'm nothing to her, or.. I love her more than anything, but you-" He clenched his hands into fists, taking a steadying breath.
"It really would be everything, then.. I love Miki, but I need you. You were my everything before I even had a chance to be with her.. I could leave her with you, and be able to stand it because you'd always take care of her, but I couldn't ever do that if it were you, because I.." He broke off with a stifled whine, curling in on himself in misery. "I wouldn't change a minute of it, Tyki.. From waking up on your floor to sitting here, every second was worth it."
Slumping tiredly, he shook his head. "I wish we hadn't talked about that in front of Miki, though.. It just burns me up, thinking about people teasing her because she has something they don't." He lifted his head, turning to look at the older man with a faint smile. "You really are the best thing for her.. I was so damned happy to see you with her that time at the hospital, she just looked up at you like she knew how good of a father you'd be.. I remember the first time she called you Daddy too, you just held her and cried, and God I loved you so much for that.."
He looked away quickly, refusing to cry before he could say what he most wanted to. "I wouldn't want to be in the way of that. You deserve to have everything this world can give you, not just whatever falls in your lap.. Miki said she wanted her family to be normal, so you could maybe try to.. Make it that way. I don't think you'd have any problems finding someone to be with, as long as she didn't mind you being prettier than her." He laughed dully, waving a hand at the empty street. "Might want to put up a fence though.. As soon as the ladies found out you were looking, they'd be beating the door down."
Snorting indelicately, Tyki bent forward, hauling the surprised redhead to his feet. "Someone to be with, Lavi? What will you do then, find yourself a nice girl and settle down?" He forced the shorter man to meet his gaze, ignoring the quick stab of guilt at his tearstained face.
Lavi shook his head rapidly, flinching back from the light tinge of gold in the other's dark eyes. "No! I told you a long time ago, I won't ever love anybody but you! I love you too much to run out and find some woman to use as a substitute for what I really-" The man cut him off with a jerk, leaning in to invade his space.
"You think I need that, Lovely? You honestly believe that Michaela wants it, to have two happily married parents, because that's the 'normal' way to go about it?" He didn't wait for the other to respond, turning toward the still-open door while keeping a tight hold on the redhead's arm. "Michaela! Come to the door, right now!" He waited patiently, ignoring the protesting Exorcist as the child appeared, her eyes wide as she took in the scene curiously. "Ah, you changed your dress.. Very well, get your coat on, hm?" He pulled the resisting form of his lover into the entryway, taking both their coats from the rack. Checking to see that the child had properly done up her own, he manhandled the older redhead into his, shoving his arms awkwardly through the sleeves.
Pushing the door wider, he stepped back onto the stoop, tucking his coat beneath his arm negligently. "Stay close, Miki. Get the door if you would, but don't bother with the lock, we won't be out long." He waited for her to join them outside, gazing quickly at the evening skyline before heading off at a rapid walk, pulling his stunned lover along beside him. Nodding at Michaela's questioning look, he smiled faintly in reassurance.
Continuing to ignore the indignant splutters from his other companion, he paused briefly in front of a white-spired church, taking in the still lit windows approvingly. Mounting the short stairway, he pulled open the heavy door, ushering the other two inside before letting it close with a muffled bang. He strode up the narrow aisle, pointing to the front pew. "Sit there, Miki dear. If he tries to leave, scream bloody murder."
He pushed the redhead down beside the frowning girl, glaring fiercely at him as he straightened. "Don't you move. I don't care if the roof falls in, you had better be right there dusting yourself off when I get back." With that said, he turned toward a door on one side, reading the plaque with a smirk. "There we are. Remember, Miki. Scream your pretty head right off if he moves." Walking to the closed door, he stepped through it without a moment's hesitation, leaving the two redheads blinking in surprise.
There was a brief pause, and then there was a rapid succession of muffled sounds, from low-spoken words to an ominous-sounding laugh, followed by a singularly unmasculine yowl that caused the wide-eyed pair to jump in alarm. After several more minutes of unintelligible speech, the brunette reappeared, this time with a white faced man in tow.
Leading him to the raised platform at the head of the aisle, he released him with a slightly too-wide smile, returning to his speechless companions. Taking hold of the elder redhead's hand, he pulled him to his feet, beckoning the younger to follow as he walked calmly back to stand before the shaking priest. "Get on with it, man. I should like to feed my child sometime this evening."
Shaking his head rapidly, the priest looked between the two with panicked eyes. "That's- I can't! That's a man!" He waved a finger at the astonished redhead, leaning back as the former Noah grinned wickedly.
"Indeed. I had noticed that myself, on any number of occasions. Now, open that book and read off all the important questions, hm?" He flexed a hand casually, his smile taking on a hint of malice. "I could come up there and help you look, if you've forgotten what page you need.." The man whimpered shrilly, fumbling with the hardcovered Bible as he shuddered.
"Dearly Be- Beloved, we.. I don't know what to say! It says 'this man and-'" Sighing deeply, Tyki waved his hand dismissively.
"Yes, yes.. Past that, there's only a short bit that needs saying, just start from there, fool." Snorting at the man's fearful indignation, he raised a questioning eyebrow as the priest scanned the pages with obviously disparaging murmurs.
"Here.. God forgive me.. Do you take this.. man to be your lawfully wedded h-husband, to have and to.. to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, keeping only unto him, for as long as you both shall live?"
Turning to face the shocked redhead, he nodded firmly, leaning in to rest his forehead against the other's. "I do. Always." Ignoring the priest's distressed sound, he motioned vaguely for him to continue, his gaze locked with his lover's widened eye.
Clearing his throat harshly, the robed man glanced apprehensively at the distracted Exorcist. "And.. Do you take this.." He faltered at the brunette's sidelong stare, tugging nervously at his collar. "..this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in s-sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, keeping only unto h-him, for as long as you both shall live..?" He fidgeted expectantly, looking from one to the other almost hopefully at the younger man's silence.
Lifting a hand to the redhead's still-damp face, Tyki cradled his cheek gently, wincing at his disbelieving expression. "Please, Lavi.. I can't keep that other promise, but I swear I'll keep this one. I want you to be with me until I'm too old to remember not loving you." He raised his head with a pleading look, twining their fingers together. "I need you, my Lovely.. Only mine, until I die. Let me have my Heaven here, so that the Hell waiting for me won't matter anymore.." Closing his eyes, he laughed softly, tightening his hold. "I really will go this time.. There won't be another life when this one's done, but I'm grateful for that, Lavi. I lived so many times without you, and I don't want to waste this last time on what that man or those people think.. I want this life to end with you, because it never really started until you were in it."
He smiled faintly, the movement slightly self-mocking. "Its selfish of me, but please let me show you what you are to me, Lovely.. I've taken and kept you, but more than anything else, I want you to stay. If this isn't what you want from me, I.." He shook his head, leaning back to look the redhead squarely in the face. "I'd let you go, Lavi. I wouldn't disappear this time, or hurt myself, so there's nothing to make you stay if you don't want to." Hearing a quick gasp from the watching child, he winced at the painful sound, struggling to ignore the hope that his lover had heard it too.
Turning towards the still-anxious priest, he nodded somewhat civilly. "Thank you for your... help. Perhaps we could-"
"No!"
He looked back in surprise, the Exorcist's panicky cry making him jump. The younger man's fingers clenched painfully tight against his own, his words jumbled in his haste to speak. "I wasn't- And you said-" He took a breath, shaking his head quickly. "I will. I mean, I do. Please finish the rest."
The priest gaped at him stupidly for a moment, before a pointed glare from the brunette reminded him of the following passage. "Th-then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you Man and- and Man?" He floundered questioningly, relaxing slightly at the pair's momentary amusement. Clearing his throat roughly, he waved tentatively at the couple. "You.. You may kiss..the.." His nerve failed him completely, his eyes closing as he wobbled dangerously. "Please, wait until I don't have to-"
The former Noah ignored his tremulous plea, pulling the shorter man forward with a quick movement that brought him flush against the front of his body. Catching his face carefully, he pressed their mouths together with a possessive growl, tracing the line of his teeth before proceeding to kiss him fully, ignoring the stifled choke of protest from the side.
Lowering a hand to the other's back, he kept him close, urging him to respond with a teasing curl of his tongue. The redhead inhaled sharply, his fingers digging into the older man's back as he whimpered, their small audience forgotten at the feeling of a steadily descending hand intent on mischief.
Hearing a muted thud, the man pulled away, glancing at the crumpled form of the priest by the alter. Shaking his head in mock regret, he turned to face his still-dazed spouse, smiling faintly. "We should let the poor man rest, I think.. I've heard that the stress level for parish leaders is quite severe, actually." Motioning to his astonished daughter, his smile widened. "Would you like to have a visit with Miss Sarah tonight, Miki..? We'll have to go see your teacher on monday, to straighten some things out, but I think your Papa and I should talk first."
The girl nodded eagerly, bouncing in anticipation. "Oh, yes! She said the next time I visited, we could give the baby a bath, and brush his hair, and she'd let me pick out his nightgown, and-" She continued on, oblivious to her parent's silent amusement at her enthusiasm.
Following the excited girl down the aisle, Lavi glanced curiously at the older man, hoping that their upcoming conversation would be more amiable than the interrupted one. Seeing the man's faint nervousness, he frowned, moving closer as they neared the door. Pushing it open, he bit his lip at the other's careful exit, their arms brushing only enough to be felt, as if the man were taking pains to maintain a degree of distance between them.
"Let's hurry." He murmured softly, nodding at the happily skipping child. "I don't really want to ship her off, but I want to be with you.." Tyki looked at him quickly, his expression clearly showing his surprise.
"Of course.. We really do need to-" He shook his head, smiling. "She's leaving us behind, but I promise we will talk, Lavi." The redhead grinned in reply, quickening his pace to lessen the distance between the child and himself.
"All right. I think I can wait that long, anyway." He caught the girl's hand at the crosswalk, waiting for the man to join them before crossing the street. "Sarah's house is what, two streets up from here..? I remember she moved over one block from the old house when she took the head nurse position.." Tyki nodded, indicating a narrow road to the right.
"She wanted to be closer to the hospital, in case Jon needed anything during the day. She's just past the corner there.. We really haven't seen their new house, have we? I wonder if she needs any more baby things, we still have quite a bit of Miki's smaller toys and such." He allowed the girl to lead the way, keeping an eye out for any sign of trouble. "You remember the right way, don't you Miki? The third one down, with the blue curtains?"
She nodded eagerly, pointing to the just-visible dwelling. "That one there! Jon's little swing is in the tree, since we didn't take it down last time."
Lavi snorted, remembering the older man's recent treeclimbing excursion to hang the aforementioned swing. A sideways glance from the man stilled his outward mirth, but his amusement brought an awkward cast to his smile as he bit his lip. "I told you we should have waited for dark, Tyki.. Then you could have just walked up to hang the thing.."
The brunette spared him a second's disdain before turning to the smiling child. "Knock on the door, Miki.. Your Papa's decided that tonight is his weekly attempt at comedy." Ignoring the uncomfortable heat in his face, he sighed at the sound of approaching footsteps from within, smiling as the door swung open to reveal a faintly harried Sarah Porter.
"Well, isn't this a regular party!" She laughed, taking in the group's anxious expressions. Waving a hand, she urged them to enter, closing the door carefully behind them. "What's the occasion, then? Miki looks fit to burst.."
The girl cut her off with a delighted squeal, flinging her arms around the older woman's middle. "Daddy made Papa all sad, and I was mad at him, but then he took us down the street and he yelled a little, but it was all right because that priest was just a little scared, so he asked Daddy and Papa some questions, and Papa said he'd do it.. All they did was kiss, so I don't know why it was all serious.. But the man fell down and Daddy said we'd better leave. Then he said I could come over and help you wash Jon if you'd let me. Can I?"
The three listeners blinked at her apparent disregard for breathing, the brunette being the first to regain his senses. "Er.. I think that's just about all of it. Would you mind too terribly..?"
The woman snorted momentarily, glancing from one to the other. "Of course not, I always love to have her here.. It sounds like the two of you might need a bit of alone time this evening."
Lavi winced at her appraising stare, resisting the urge to avert his eyes. "We could wait until another day, if you're busy.. It is kinda short notice, and she might decide she wants to come home anyway.."
Sarah shook her head, smiling brightly at his obvious discomfort. "I promised she could help me with Jon's bath, and I just so happened to be getting him ready for one now.. So the timing is perfect. You two can enjoy your night and come back for her in the morning.." She stifled a laugh with difficulty. "..Or perhaps the afternoon would be more convenient.."
The nurse's grin turned faintly suggestive as she observed the redhead's fidgeting. "I'm sure you'll think of something to take your mind off of Miki's unlikely homesickness.. Maybe a nice long nap? You look as if you could use a bit of rest before-"
Tyki snorted quietly, waving a hand at the door. "Yes. Well, we should be off then, unless you'd rather keep the children waiting for that bath..?"
Sarah shook her head quickly, stepping aside to let the couple pass with a knowing look. "Don't rush too much, now.. I've always heard that its better late than never."
Ignoring the woman's mischievous smile, Tyki closed the door firmly, raising an eyebrow at his younger companion. "Shall we make good our escape, Lovely? She might decide to call us back for diaper duty.." Grimacing faintly, Lavi nodded.
"Yeah, let's get going.. I love Miki to death, but that's one thing I don't have fond memories of." Smirking, the brunette descended the steps quickly, joining the redhead on the sidewalk. Turning in the direction of their home, he indicated that he was ready to depart with a gesture, allowing the Exorcist to set the pace.
The walk back to the house was quiet, but the silence was distinctly comfortable and unstrained. Glances were exchanged without the need for conversation, and the former Noah was forced to admit that though he'd acted on impulse and in haste, his decision still seemed to be the correct one. The questioning stroke of a finger against his knuckles was reassuring, and the younger man's hand was steady and warm in his own when he took it. Mounting the steps, he opened their door, only relinquishing his hold to close it behind them as he shrugged off his outerwear with a feeling of aprehensive relief.
Sighing quietly, the redhead removed his coat, hanging it carefully on the rack. Turning to his dark-haired companion, he blinked at his intense expression, swallowing heavily at the blatant appraisal in his stare. "Tyki..?" The man shook his head slightly, stepping closer until the Exorcist was forced to press back against the wall. Lifting his hand's to the other's face, Tyki urged his head back, leaning down until their mouths were only a breath apart.
"Mine.." He murmured, half-closing his eyes at the redhead's shiver. "Every bit of you.. Gods, you wouldn't believe how much I want you right now, Lovely.." Brushing a soft kiss over the other's parted lips, he inhaled slowly, reigning in his urge to demand more. "Are you angry with me, Lavi..? I didn't know what else to do, when I saw that you'd gone.. I never thought that I'd be so frightened again. Did you really think that I didn't mean to include you, when I said that we only need each other?"
He stroked the redhead's throat with his fingers, holding his gaze steadily. "I told you when I first thought of bringing Miki here, didn't I? It was you that made me love her.. I would never have imagined caring for her, until I fell in love with you. Everything I have now is because of you." The Exorcist's eye widened at his low words, his breath hitching as he shook his head.
"Don't say that.. I didn't make you change, Tyki." He smiled crookedly, his voice strained at the man's closeness. "You've been like that for a long time. You were always so careful with me, even that first time you.." He flushed at the memory, the images that no longer held a trace of bitterness to recall. "That's why it was so bad, then. It wasn't that I hated you, I just couldn't stand it, having you take me like that when I'd imagined it being like it is now."
He took hold of the older man's hips, urging him to press even closer. "When I thought about you, it wasn't just sex, Tyki.. I can't say that I didn't think about it at all, but it was more than that." Tugging at his loosely-tucked shirt, he slid his fingers beneath the fabric to touch the skin of his waist. "It made me feel so guilty, but I thought more about loving you than anything.. Imagining what it would be like, to have someone love me and be able to love them back.."
Allowing his lips to brush against the other's, he licked teasingly at the man's mouth with a shiver. "It's strange, really.. Maybe that's just my kink, hm? Sometimes I'm so close, and you say that you love me.. It makes me want to scream because it feels so good to have that, to be so much in love with you." He closed the slight distance between them with a quiet whine, the sound catching in his throat at the man's broken moan. Lowering his hands to the other's backside, he arched away from the wall with a hiss, using his grip to press against the taller man. Breaking the kiss for air, he rocked his hips forward with a needy sound. "Why don't you take what's yours, Tyki..? I'm about two minutes away from sucking you off right here in the hall if we don't find a bed."
Sliding a hand up to twine into the younger man's hair, Tyki pulled him back in, his grip tightening at his eager response as he nibbled teasingly at his lips. "Really, Lavi..? I'd be more than happy to accomodate you, but you're forgetting a very important thing." He slipped his free hand between the Exorcist's back and the wall, kneading along his spine with light circles against the skin. "I'm yours, too.. This was the only thing of mine that you didn't have, yes? Truly legal or no, I said what I meant, in the presence of the God who hated me.. 'I take this man to be my husband..' That makes it binding enough for me, Lovely. I belong to you, until you want me gone."
The redhead blinked furiously, flushing at the painless sting of tears. "My husband.." He murmured testingly. "To have and.. Oh, God." The man nodded slowly, nuzzling against his cheek and ear fondly.
"Yes. What would you have, on your wedding night..? Me, if I asked you to? I've wanted to give you that for years.." He hummed questioningly at the other's abrupt stillness, staying close as he wrapped his arms tightly around his waist. "Do you not want me, then..? I wouldn't force you, no matter how much I want it, Lavi." He turned his head to press a kiss to the younger man's temple. "Isn't that something one does, at a time like this? They give all of themself to the one they love more than anything.."
Closing his eyes tightly, he moved them to their almost-dark bedroom, the twinge of pain easily forgotten as he backed toward the bed. "I'd never ask it of you again, Lovely.. Just this once, let me have all of you?" The Exorcist stammered incoherantly, his eye widening at the other's low plea. Before he could respond, the brunette sank backward onto the mattress, resting his face against the younger man's stomach. "Please, Lavi? Only tonight, make love to me?"
Allowing himself to be pulled onto the bed, Lavi placed a knee between the man's spread legs for balance, an arm supporting his weight as the brunette drew him down for a kiss. The sensation of an ankle hooking around his thigh was undeniably erotic, the slow arch of the other's hips making him gasp in surprised arousal. "I'll hurt you.." He panted, shaken by the older man's eagerness. "That isn't.. Tonight shouldn't be like that, Tyki. It's not that I don't want you, I just don't want to make you feel like that."
The brunette stroked his sides soothingly, shaking his head. "Lovely, I did everything I needed to do, everything I could think of for you.. But you were still so afraid, then. You couldn't let go and relax, so of course it was uncomfortable." He lifted his mouth to graze the redhead's throat and jaw, humming softly at his shivers. "I don't think I'd have that problem, because this isn't the same.. Didn't I tell you that I've wanted it? I want you to show me how I make you feel, Lavi." He raised his knees to press against the other's hips, urging him to lean into his body. "I want you to see how it feels for me too.. You couldn't imagine how good it really is, until you've seen for yourself."
Seeing the younger man's wide eye, he sighed. "Could you try..? If you truly still think it would hurt me, I wouldn't ask again. Don't you trust me to stop you, Lovely?" Biting his lip, the Exorcist nodded faintly, reaching for the man's shirt buttons.
"You know I trust you, but please don't do this unless you really mean it, Tyki.. If nothing else, I want this time to be perfect." Pushing the material aside, he buried his face in the other's throat, kissing along the beat of his pulse. "God, I love you so much.. I can't believe that you did that, but thank you for even wanting to." He sank further into the man's hold, moaning at the shaky press of the older man's thighs against him. "You really want this, Tyki? I don't know if I could be as good as you.."
Rocking into the younger man's hips, Tyki nodded firmly, his hands working the other's shirt free of his pants urgently. "You'll be better, because you love me.. I wish that I'd known you wanted me then, Lavi. It would have been so different, and I wouldn't have wasted so much time that I could have spent making you mine.."
Pulling the garment over the other's head, he waited impatiently for him to remove it completely, fingers tugging at the waist of his pants. "Get these off or I'll pull them straight through, Lovely.. I want to feel you on me." Allowing the redhead to move back, he made good on his word with his own clothes, dropping them to the floor as he toed off his shoes. "Gods.. Do I make you this way? I could die, waiting for you to touch- Oh.." He moaned breathlessly at the Exorcist's slow caress on his thighs, the light scratch of his nails making him shudder.
Watching the man's eyes close in obvious pleasure, the redhead laughed shakily. "Every time, Tyki. It makes me crazy, knowing that you're going to put your hands on me.." Leaning in, he traced the other's hips and stomach, deliberately avoiding the skin that most ached for his touch. "Can I do this the way I wanted it to be, Tyki..? I don't want to hurry at all.." The older man nodded jerkily, his breathing shallow as the redhead's hand moved slowly to curl around his waiting arousal.
"Anything you wish, Lavi.. I don't care what you do, as long as I have you." The Exorcist bit his lip anxiously, nodding.
"I'll try. I need to.. Can you reach the..?" He faltered, smiling faintly. "You're so calm.. I shouldn't be this worried, but I really meant what I said, before. I want everything about tonight to be perfect, since I don't ever plan on having another chance. I won't be with anyone but you, Tyki." The older man's eyes widened, then narrowed as he laughed.
"Calm, Lovely..? I'm not calm at all, I want this far too much to be close to calm." He stretched backward, opening a drawer in the low table beside the bed. Locating the object his lover needed, he closed the drawer, handing him the bottle with a smirk. "And you're not too terribly worried, you didn't forget to take your shoes off first.." The redhead scowled at him in embarassment, shaking his head.
"That was only once. Or twice. And it was your fault anyway, because you were the one taking my pants off in the first pl-" The older man pulled him down abruptly, catching his mouth with a growl. Tracing the seam of his lips, he licked his way into the other's mouth insistantly, only breaking away when the need for air became pressing.
"I was more concerned with getting you naked, Lavi.. You know I can't keep my wits about me while I'm doing that." He lifted his hips teasingly, nudging against the redhead's body. "This is the same.. All I can think is that I love you." Releasing his hold, he stretched his arms over his head with a leer. "You could always tie me up, if you're nervous.."
The Exorcist attempted a scowl, but it was marred by the obvious quirk of his lip. "Oh, why didn't I think of that? I always did want to have kinky bondage sex on my honeymoon.." The older man raised an eyebrow curiously, keeping his face straight.
"Really? Well, we must certainly have been fated then, because so- mm!"
Covering the brunette's mouth with a palm, Lavi shook his head. "No one's going to get anything done if you keep helping." Blinking up at him innocently, Tyki licked the hand against his face, sighing quietly as it was pulled away.
"You aren't shaking anymore, so it was worth it. I really won't make you do this if it troubles you, Lovely.. This is our night, not mine." He rose to his elbows, tipping his face up for a kiss. "If now isn't the time, you have forever to think it over.."
The younger man shook his head firmly, pushing him back. "There won't be a better time. Until I try, I'll always be afraid that I'll do something wrong, Tyki.. I don't want that anymore, I want you to have everything I can give you." Leaning down, he followed the man's breastbone with his lips, his hand sliding over the skin of one hip. "I know you'll tell me if it's wrong.. But tell me if it's right, too." He moved lower, nipping at an almost-ticklish spot along the other's ribs. Feeling his surprised buck, he caught his hips tightly, lapping at his stomach as he urged the man's knees up. "Maybe we could try again, if you like it enough.. Would you really not ask, if you wanted it?"
Dragging his nails up the backside of the other's thighs, he hummed at his shaky gasp. "Yeah, I know.. Sometimes having a good memory is handy." Reaching blindly for the hastily discarded container, he worked open the lid, tipping a generous amount into his hand. Closing it, he sat it safely aside, laughing breathlessly. "I remember all kinds of things.." Nibbling at the bend of the man's leg, he lowered a mildly unsteady hand to stroke over his entrance carefully, spreading the warm liquid over the skin. The answering moan made him shiver, his momentary anxiety lost at the feeling of his lover's fingers in his hair.
Obeying the light pressure, he licked a wet line up the other's thigh, pressing his finger inward. Moving slowly, he pulled back at the first sign of resistance, biting his lip when the man lifted his hips to follow his retreat. "I'm not stopping, Tyki.. Please?" The brunette's hand shifted on his head, the touch oddly pleading as he panted.
"I know, Lovely.. It just feels.. Gods.."
Repeating the movement, Lavi blinked at the other's throaty moan, his pulse jumping as the man's back left the bed in a shaky arch. Gathering more oil into his hand, he pushed deeper, swallowing painfully at the sight of the older man's back-thrown head, his fingers flexed against the topmost sheet as his rapid breaths took on a purring quality. The sensation of pliant heat against him was surprising, and he wondered if this was the feeling that seemed to drive the former Noah to such distraction.
"Is.. Is this right..?" He asked, coloring at the husky tone of his voice. "I can.. do you want more?"
The man's gasped affirmative made him shiver, his touches still gentle as he carefully added a second finger, watching closely for any sign of discomfort. Seeing none, he curled his fingers searchingly, biting his lip at the brunette's low cry. Feeling the small ridge he sought, he brushed over it firmly, the quick beat of his heart leaving him dizzy with arousal. "Jesus, Tyki.. It really doesn't hurt..?"
The older man shook his head rapidly, pushing eagerly into his hand. "Not at all, Lovely.. Gods I want- Yes! Oh, please Lavi.." He bucked upward at the sensation of wet heat against his hardened skin, the slow strokes of the Exorcist's tongue drawing a moan from him as he pleaded urgently. "Please don't stop, it's so fucking good..!" His fingers tightened against the younger man's scalp as he shuddered, words failing him utterly at the steady pace of the other's efforts.
Lifting his head, Lavi inhaled sharply at the expression on his lover's passion-flushed face, his eyes closed tight in desperate pleasure as he lifted his hips in silent invitation. Withdrawing his hand, he reached blindly for the nearby bottle, his hands shaking faintly as the older man rose to his elbows for a kiss. Leaning back, the brunette sighed quietly.
"Do you want me, Lovely..? Nothing you've done was painful, so.."
The Exorcist nodded jerkily, tipping more of the slick fluid into his palm. "I know it wasn't.. I could look at you and tell that you like it." Lowering his hand, he coated himself thoroughly, gasping at the feeling of need brought on by the touch. "God, I want you.. I'm afraid that I'll hurt you, but seeing you like that.." He laughed shakily, moving to rest between the man's open legs. "Is this all right, Tyki? I still want to see how I make you feel.."
Raising his arms to embrace the younger man, the brunette rocked upward with a soft moan, shivering at the other's answering whine. "Anything, Lavi.. Please?" The Exorcist nodded, moving close enough to feel the heat of his lover's entrance against himself.
"Stop me if I do something wrong, I'll try to make it better.." He pressed forward hesitantly, gritting his teeth at the faint resistance. Feeling the older man's shaking increase, he glanced at him fearfully, but there was nothing close to pain in the other's wide eyes. Repeating the movement, he gasped at the sensation of clinging warmth around him, the man's shuddering arch drawing him steadily deeper. Pausing to allow the brunette to adjust, he leaned in for a breathless kiss, pulling away with a startled cry as the man lifted his hips pleadingly. "Wait for me, Tyki.. I need to take more time, or I won't be able..to..oh, God.."
He caught the other's lips fiercely, licking at his skin with a moan. "I love you.." He murmured, rocking forward carefully. "For the rest of this life, and for.. all of our next ones.." Burying his face in the man's throat, he kissed along the rapid flutter of the pulse there. "Always, Tyki. I promise, if you do come back, I'll find you again.."
Moving steadily, he panted at the sudden press of knees against his sides, the abrupt tightening around him a sign of his lover's obvious pleasure. "There, Tyki..? You were right, I didn't understand why you loved this so much.. I wonder if I feel this good to you." Shifting slightly, he intensified his motions, stroking a hand along the other's tense thigh. "M'sorry you had to.. wait so long. If you ever want this again, tell me.."
The man's arms tightened, pulling the Exorcist closer as he wrapped his legs around his hips with a moan. "It's.. The same for you.. If you want it, please just.." He gasped sharply, bucking upward with a halting cry as the younger man adjusted his angle slightly. "Lavi..! Oh Gods, there-" The redhead nodded eagerly, quickening his pace to match the other's pleading noises.
"I will.. Are you already that close, Tyki? I can't wait to see how it feels, I want you to come so hard.." He urged the man's knees higher along his waist, leaning in to catch his mouth firmly. Feeling the brief scratch of nails against his back, he pulled away, latching onto the brunette's throat hungrily. Taking a quick breath, he spoke quietly against the damp skin, mildly surprised at the steadiness of his voice. "I still want you, though.. If I make you scream, will you fuck me later..?" The older man shuddered in reply, his movements becoming increasingly unsteady as he clung to his lover almost desperately.
"Yes! Please, Lovely.. I don't think I can..!"
He broke off with a ragged cry, his back drawn into an almost painful arch as he came. The echo of his voice joined with the Exorcist's astonished howl of pleasure, the sensation of the man's locked muscles driving him into his own release as he held the other tightly to himself.
Shaken by the unexpected intensity of their shared climax, neither one attempted to speak, catching their breath between slow kisses and lingering touches. When he felt sure of his voice, the brunette sighed contentedly, relaxing his still-tight grip on the other's hips. "It was worth the wait.. But I already knew that." Shifting minutely for comfort, he nuzzled fondly at the Exorcist's throat, laughing softly at the shivers provoked by the action. "Never doubt me again, Lovely.. No matter what I say or do, you are always included. Always."
Lavi swallowed heavily, nodding as he pushed himself somewhat upright. "I should have known better, but.." He hitched a breath at the separation of their bodies, shaken by the urge to remain just as he was until the man demanded that he move. "Just thinking that neither of you needed me, that I was only in the way-" Shaking his head, he moved carefully to one side, sinking down to press close against the other's side. "I couldn't stand it. I had to get out, away from you before I fell completely to pieces.. But I barely made it out the door, let alone any farther. There was nothing and nowhere else for me."
Tyki rolled to face him, ignoring the warm slide of moisture along his abdomen in favor of enfolding his lover in a rough embrace. "You are the way, Lavi.. Without you, I would have been lost." He stilled the boy's protest with a kiss, drawing back to continue. "No. I had promised, when you were so ill.. I swore to Rhode that I would go with her, if she released you and you left me. It would have been the same if you'd died, I would have found a way to follow you into the darkness." Smiling at the redhead's wide eyed gaze, he raised a hand to stroke his face with aching care. "But you stayed. You chose this, and I live because of you.. I honestly think that I've always been waiting for you, living again and again until you were born, so that you could find me and bring me completely into life."
He repeated his kiss, humming at the boy's shaky response. "Would you like to rest now, my Lovely..? The night is young, and a nap before.. Other activities may do us both some good."
Lavi shook his head firmly, leaning into his hold. "I'm not about to waste one second of tonight, Tyki. Tomorrow we'll be a happy little family again, but tonight.." He lifted his face with deliberate intent, smirking at the clear evidence of their previous joining as he entangled their legs to press even closer. "Tonight is just for us. Come show me how alive you are, Tyki.."
Lying in the darkness, Tyki wondered how he could possibly define the feelings that rose in time with his lover's chest as he slept. Even now, he could sense the faint stirrings of his inner self as Joyd also wondered at the surprising changes brought on by no more than a mere handful of words, a declaration made in a building constructed of brick and mortar like any other.
Watching the play of emotions along the redhead's peaceful face, he found himself again giving silent thanks to the pieces of his long-vanished siblings, grateful for their support and understanding of just how much he needed this boy. The slow thrum of the boy's pulse was soothing against the palm that lay atop his breastbone, reminding the man that he had been so terribly close to missing this, the definition of enduring love that the other personified as much as he himself had once embodied the pleasures of a being that superceded mortal understanding.
For a moment, the strength of his desperate adoration left him astonished and he lay shaken in the night-draped silence of their bedroom, the sheer force of the emotion seeming as if it must shred through the paltry containment of his body and spread itself across the whole of the Earth.
Then the redhead sighed quietly, turning onto his side with a soft murmur that could be nothing less than the name of the man who lay so achingly still beside him, and the emotion shifted to familiar affection at the greedy clutch of the boy's arm about his middle.
Yes, he should have recognized the signs of approaching trouble that day, but it was now clear that it had been exactly the sort of trouble that he had spent an eternity pursuing.