Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Katsura Hoshino does. I also make no money from this.
Warnings: BOYxBOY stuff, a bit suggestive
A/N: Yes, I know the title and the idea is cliché… but I kinda wanted to do something in honor of Valentine's Day anyway. (For those of you who are waiting for the next chapter of But it's Tradition or Canis Luna… I'll get there eventually. Sorry about the wait.)
Valentine
It was while Lavi was chuckling over Allen's attempts to hold Kanda's hand that it happened. There was a sudden breeze directly behind the redhead and then a hand clapped over his mouth. A firm grip pulled him against a strong body. Lavi didn't have time to let out even a muffled shout before he was pulled quickly into a nearby alley. He struggled against the hold, trying to call out for his friends, but then the scent of a very familiar, very expensive cologne wafted passed his nose.
He relaxed at the scent, grinning against the gloved palm. The body behind him relaxed, the hand slipping from Lavi's face. Lavi gave their surroundings no more than a cursory check - the ally was basically deserted and a stack of trash tall enough to mostly hide them from anyone passing in the street - before turning around to face his 'kidnapper'. The hold around him loosened, allowing him the freedom to move.
"Not that I'm not glad to see you, but you could have warned me, Tyki," Lavi said, but he was grinning. He slid his arms around the Noah's waist, tilting his head up for a 'hello' kiss. Tyki smiled in reply and obliged, pressing his lips against the younger man's. The contact was brief and sweet before they both pulled away.
"I could hardly have caught your attention without also attracting the attention of the Walker boy or Mr. Ponytail," Tyki replied. Lavi's grin widened, but then his expression suddenly faded. Tyki raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
"They're going to realize that I'm not following them anymore. I probably shouldn't stay too long," Lavi said, voice heavy with regret. Tyki nodded and he sighed softly.
"I knew that this meeting would be short, but I could hardly pass up the opportunity to see you. It has been too long." Tyki pressed his lips to Lavi's again, this kiss hungrier than the last. The redhead moaned quietly as Tyki's hands slid below his waist and the Noah's tongue gently coaxed his mouth open. Lavi slid one of his hands up to Tyki's neck, fingers tangling in the long, fine dark strands of the man's hair. They broke apart reluctantly, faces still close enough for each to feel the other's breath move across his face.
"You're right. It has," Lavi said quietly, leaning his forehead against Tyki's. Their lips met again, briefly, before Lavi spoke again. "It's the time of year when everyone gets to spend time with the one they love most, but I can't even see you unless you kidnap me." Lavi chuckled humorlessly. "It's been weeks since I last got to kiss you and months since we've had a night together. It's not fair."
"Little in life is," Tyki said, though he sounded no happier about it than Lavi. "Perhaps one day there will come a time when you can be in my bed every night and we'll get to kiss as often as we please, but today that isn't possible."
Lavi took half a step back, gently extricating his hand from Tyki's hair.
"I know that," the redhead said, scowling slightly. "Doesn't make saying goodbye any easier." He looked up, meeting Tyki's eyes. "But I am glad I got to see you today."
Tyki smiled, looking away from Lavi briefly to reach into his coat pocket.
"I'm glad of it too, Lavi. I have a little something for you in the spirit of the holiday."
Lavi's brow furrowed in confusion and then his eye widened in surprise when Tyki presented him with a small box. Lavi took the box, turning it over in his hands and tracing the white ribbon holding it shut for a moment before looking back up at the Noah. Tyki was watching him expectantly, a small smile on the older man's face.
"But I didn't get you anything..." Lavi said, but Tyki shook his head.
"I didn't expect you to. Open it."
Lavi turned his attention back to the box and gently tugged on the ribbon to undo the knot. He dropped the ribbon, not really caring where it fell, and pried up the top of the box. Nestled in a small square of white silk were two small black stud earrings. A bolt of familiarity hit Lavi as he looked at them and he jerked his gaze back up to Tyki.
"These are your..."
Tyki nodded, turning his head so that Lavi could see one of the Noah's now unadorned earlobes.
"The value is mostly sentimental, I'm afraid. I couldn't find another pair that matched, so I decided to give you mine to remind you of me while we're separated," Tyki explained. The Noah smirked. "I thought that earrings might be unobtrusive enough that no one would question them."
Lavi looked down at the earrings again, stunned. The quiet stretched on for a moment and then Tyki spoke again.
"Is it not acceptable, Lavi?" Tyki asked. "I did try to find a new pair, but-" He reached to take the box back.
"No," Lavi said, pulling the box closer to his chest. He looked up. "No, these... they're perfect. Thank you, Tyki."
Tyki smiled again and glanced briefly towards the entrance to the alleyway.
"Your friends will be looking for you soon," Tyki said, more than a hint of regret in his voice. "I suppose we should end our little meeting here."
Lavi nodded, expression turning somewhat distant. He tilted his head up for another kiss when Tyki turned back to him. Their lips met all too briefly, longing and desire and desperation flavoring the contact. Tyki drew back reluctantly, Lavi following him for a few moments before the redhead stopped and let him go. Tyki's smile was thin and Lavi returned it with a shaky grin of his own.
"Soon, rabbit, I promise," Tyki said. "But for now, goodbye."
"See you soon, Tyki," Lavi said, words more a hope than a promise. Tyki turned to go. Lavi's eye suddenly widened and he scrambled to put the top back on the box.
"Tyki, wait!" he said, quickly shoving the top back on the box and carefully putting it into the small pouch at his hip. He heard Tyki's footsteps cease and smiled with relief before reaching up to one of his ears and carefully removing the small silver hoop. He quickly repeated the process with the other earring and then looked up. Tyki was watching him, expression just as surprised as Lavi's had been when the Noah had presented the redhead with the box. Hesitantly, Lavi extended the hand with both of the hoops.
"I know they're not much, but I'd like you to have these," the redhead said firmly. Tyki reached out and carefully plucked the earrings from Lavi's palm. Tyki looked at the hoops for a moment and then smiled, carefully folding his fingers over them so as not to crush them.
"Thank you, Lavi. They're the best gift you could have given me," Tyki said. Lavi flushed a bit at the praise and grinned.
"Better than anything I could have given you?" he asked teasingly, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at the word 'anything'. Tyki smirked and lifted his hands to one of his ears.
"As much as I love doing that, Lavi, you giving me these means that I will always have a piece of you with me." He moved his hands, revealing the shiny hoop now hanging from the first ear. Tyki's hands slipped to his other ear. "Forgive the sentimentality, but that is a greater gift than any romp between the sheets. There will be time enough for that once the war is over," Tyki said. He lowered his hands and gave Lavi a very deliberate, heated once-over. "Though believe me, once the war ends we won't leave the bedroom for days and you, rabbit, will be unable to walk for a week."
Lavi flushed again, trying to clamp down on the rush of desire he felt move through him at the words. This wasn't the place and they didn't have the time, not right now.
"I'll hold you to that," Lavi said. Tyki smirked and moved in for another kiss.
"It's a promise, then," he murmured against the redhead's lips. The kiss was short and heated and Lavi was gasping when Tyki finally pulled away. The Noah's breathing was a bit louder than usual and his pupils had dilated, showing the redhead that he hadn't been the only one affected. Tyki pulled back reluctantly and moved away, putting space between them.
"I should go, else you won't return to your friends before sunrise. I don't doubt that they'd have a few questions..."
Lavi nodded, resigned. He looked at Tyki and caught the glints of silver from the earrings. He smiled, hand going down to the pouch at his hip and patting it to feel the hard edges of the box that held Tyki's old earrings.
"Yeah, they'd have a few questions," Lavi said. He tightened his hand on the pouch. "I almost don't care."
"Lavi-" Tyki said warningly. The redhead waved him off, nodding. They had agreed on discretion for a number of reasons and it was still the most prudent course of action, no matter how difficult it was sometimes.
"I know, I know..." Lavi tried to grin. "I'll see you soon?"
Tyki nodded, lifting one hand to trace a fingertip over the hoop now in place of a stud.
"I'll make sure of it. Until we meet again, Lavi," Tyki pressed a brief, fleeting kiss to Lavi's lips. The contact was gone before Lavi had a chance to respond. Tyki drew back and was gone a moment later, disappearing through the ground to some unknown location.
Lavi sighed and leaned back against the alley wall, tilting his head up to look at the sky.
"Until we meet again," he echoed. He sighed again and turned his gaze to his pouch. He reached in and withdrew the small box and the two earrings. He carefully took them from their silk padding and put them in the holes in his earlobes, smiling softly when he had them in place. He ran his fingertips over one of them, feeling the different shape and weight from his normal earrings. It did make him feel closer to Tyki somehow and he felt another pang of longing go through him at the thought of the Noah. He shook himself and put the box back into his pouch before moving away from the alley wall and turning toward the mouth of the alley. He could already hear Allen calling for him.
He groaned quietly as he realized that he'd need to come up with an excuse to explain why he had wandered off during a mission. The redhead grumbled quietly to himself, but a grin tugged at his lips. He had gotten to see Tyki. That was good enough.
And when the war was over...
Lavi walked out of the alley with more than a little spring in his step, a wide grin spreading over his face as the sunlight glinted off of his new earrings.
END
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed! Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! (Or Singles Awareness Day, if you'd rather.)