Hello everyone, hope you're all enjoying the winter break or if you have returned to school or work I hope that you are well rested!
I need to go back to work soon too so this may be my last update until I get free time again.
Guest: Thank you for reviewing! Your hunch would be correct. I threw in a bit of Yullen in here. I've changed some of the character relationships in this fic. Allen isn't really one of the Noah here, just a well loved employee in the company. And Bookman is not Lavi's relation. Simply his grouchy old landlord. Hope that clears up any confusions. If you have any more questions don't be afraid to ask! :)
Enjoy the chapter!
As it turned out, Lavi Bookman lived on a side street just off the main road. A row of terraced homes lined each side; the post tabs mounted on the walls denoted the conversion of the houses into smaller living spaces and apartments. A dog barked from one of the many windows looking down on the road as Tyki parked on the kerb.
The SatNav assured him this was the correct destination despite his reservations over the state of the pavement. Music was blaring from an open window somewhere and black bin bags leaned against tired looking lamp posts. Up and down the walkway, paving slabs were broken, cradling small puddles of brown water. Everyone has to start somewhere, he thought eyeing the condition of the street.
Getting out of the car Tyki felt grossly out of place. The other cars parked here were in no better state than the street. Like a polished onyx stone in a mud pile, Tyki's sleek sports car stuck out almost painfully. Leaving his most cherished possession out here was beginning to cause him anxiety. After double checking the lock for the third time Tyki finally descended the broken cement steps leading to the basement conversion flat below.
Unlike the other houses, the space in front of the narrow green door was kept clear. No useless clutter, no bins, boots, or other such rubbish occupied the area. Someone clearly took pains to ensure that this door stop was not as trashy at the other houses. Tyki admired that, no point letting your own standards being dragged down by your surroundings. The only other item on the little landing was one long trough pot containing small white flowers. Tasteful.
Tyki looked up disdainfully at the apartment above. The windows were opened wide, gracing the entire street with the fake applause of some classless daytime TV show, along with the cloying smell of something not quite medicinal. The cold familiarity of the 'not bothered to even be working' class made his skin crawl.
Get the job done and get out of here quickly, Tyki told himself.
Tyki opened up the address on his phone to re-check on the details before he knocked on the door of what could possibly be a random stranger. Well, not that Lavi Bookman was much more than a stranger to him anyway. In the absence of a doorbell or knocker, Tyki tapped sharply on the pane of glass inset into the wood. He stood back and waited.
No response. Tyki waited a moment and then tried again, a little louder this time. From the other side of the wood came only silence. Tyki frowned and knocked more urgently now. He did not come all this way to find that the red head was not home.
"Who are you?" came a papery voice behind him.
Standing on the steps was a very small, very old man. He was not hunched or bent, just tiny. Tiny and wrinkled with age and sporting a hairline so receded all his hair was bunched into a single ponytail. Even though he stood on the fifth step, the old man barely came up to Tyki's chest. His droopy eyes were none too healthy, with dark black circles and slight yellowing to the whites of his eyes.
"Tyki Mikk," Tyki extended a hand which was completely disregarded. "I'm here to speak with Lavi Bookman. Would you happen to know if he's in?" Tyki spoke pleasantly enough, even if he did not have pleasant feelings towards the imp-like creature. One was supposed to respect elders, even if said elder happened to be looking at one with badly disguised contempt.
"How should I know? I'm just his landlord." The old man huffed abruptly. He folded his spindly arms and scrutinised the suspiciously well-dressed man.
"Alright then…" Tyki could feel the cold eyes taking in his expensive clothing, the watch on his wrist and the smart phone he was fiddling with. "Is there a problem?" The creepy old man was making him uneasy with his unwavering stare.
"I know your sort." The old man narrowed his eyes. "Coming around here with your flashy car and stinking of money. What kind of trouble has that stupid brat gotten himself into? Does he owe you too? Can't pay his bills but he can buy poison. Despicable. Can't say I'm surprised though."
An irrational urge to defend the red head rose in Tyki. He may not have known Lavi for very long, did not know him at all really, but the accusations seemed unfair. Never mind the personal insult of being branded some kind of drug dealer.
"I think you've misunderstood the situation. I'm only here to talk to Lavi; I assure you he is not in any kind of trouble. Although I do suggest you sort out your investment upstairs." Tyki gestured to the apartment that was still spewing noxious fumes. He turned his back on the old man, hoping he would disappear. Unlucky for Tyki, the annoying little man stayed rooted to the spot, burning a whole into the back of Tyki's head with his eyes.
The phone buzzed loudly in Tyki's hand: Lenalee. Tyki let it ring and knocked on the door again, hard enough to redden the skin around his knuckles. He almost growled in frustration, when the landlord joined him on the front step and elbowed Tyki out of the way. The small space forced Tyki to give way to the obnoxious elder.
Just when he was about to give up, a shadow loomed behind the glass pane along with the click and scrape of numerous locks and bolts being undone. A sleepy red head peaked around the door. The first thing he saw was the disapproving face of his cantankerous landlord. Great, two visits is one day.
"What do you want this Panda? I've already said I'll pay you at the end of the month." He said in a tired voice while angrily rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Who's this pimp?" The Panda demanded. Lavi nearly choked on the word as he finally caught sight of the man standing on his front step. A very annoyed Tyki Mikk stood there barely holding back his temper with a palm to his face.
"Who're you calling a pimp, old man?" Tyki rubbed his temple and the vein that threatened to explode there.
Lavi looked on in horror. The scene would have been comical, if it was not so embarrassing; his landlord vs his 'not a chance in hell anymore' employer.
"That's what they call your sort isn't it?" Panda said obstinately. "Damned shady."
"I think you should come inside – not you Panda! Him!" Lavi broke in and catching Tyki's arm, dragged the man inside. The calm collected part of Lavi took time to note the firm bicep beneath the suit jacket, and the rest of him rushed to slam the door shut in the old Panda's face.
The narrow hallway was too small for both to stand side by side and in the panicked attempt to shut the prying old man out Lavi ended up with his back pressed to the door, his hand still firmly wrapped around the Tyki's bicep. Tyki just looked down on him with those unnerving caramel eyes. Lavi's face burned with the sudden rush of blood and he let go of the other's arm as if electrified.
"The living room is this way," Lavi said weakly, pulling up the sweater that had slipped over his shoulder. He sidestepped awkwardly around Tyki and led the way through a side door to the left. Behind him, Tyki coughed once and followed meekly. The accusations and the sudden closeness were a bit too much to verbalise into a witty remark at the moment.
The living was small and cosy. An armchair and two-seater occupied one corner, with just enough room to squeeze in a round dark wood table that was currently covered in loose papers. The walls were lined with shelves upon shelves of books and photographs. And an antique looking clock ticked away from its place on the wall.
It was modest and fairly neat. Well aside from the papers scattered over the table and the small pile of articles that sat in the corner. Frames, vases and so on lay on in a pile on the floor. All of which seemed to belong to conspicuously empty places along the countless shelves.
Lavi watched Tyki taking in the surroundings and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry about the mess, I'm a little behind with some payments, and the landlord seemed to think that was excuse enough to remove a few things." He let out a wavering nervous laugh, "Told you I wasn't having a particularly great day." he said apologetically.
"Your landlord seems like an ass anyway," Tyki said with a wicked gleam in his eye.
"Sorry about that out there. I don't do stuff like that… Don't know why the twisted git thought you were a… a… you know." Lavi was blushing again which made Tyki laugh heartily.
"Don't worry kid, I won't lose sleep over it." He decided he quite liked the blush on the red head. The pink dusting really set off his eyes. Had they been that green this morning?
Lavi stood a bit at a loss about what to do now that he had invited Tyki Mikk into his home. "Would you like a cup of coffee?" he cringed as soon as he said it, remembering the incident this morning. It had been the first thing that popped into his head.
That wicked gleam intensified, and Lavi found himself wondering again what kind of contact lenses was the man wearing. "You do kind of owe me one."
"Ok, er, take a seat, I'll be a moment." Lavi fled the room berating himself for bringing up that incident. He flipped the kettle on to boil seeing as he had had to sell the coffee machine a while back to pay for the last telephone bill.
In the living room, Tyki chuckled to himself at the awkward yet cute man. Could a man be cute? Lavi Bookman had no trouble at it. He explored the room in one sweeping glance. There was no TV, but a space had been set up where a TV would have conveniently fitted. In the corner next to the telephone stood an internet connection hub all set up, yet lacking the perky flashing LED. And of course he already knew that if he picked up the phone he would only hear the disconnected tone.
He moved over to the table. For every sheet on top of the table, it seemed as if there was another scrunched up piece on the floor. Each sheet was a pencil sketch of varying detail. Most seemed to be discard concept ideas; Tyki recognised Lulubell's elegant form and Kanda's characteristic scowl. That boy should count himself lucky that wrinkles hadn't crept up on him already.
Below the loose sheets there was a plain looking A3 sketch book, Tyki quickly checked over his shoulder and carefully picked it up. The first few pages were filled with random drawings, some of nature and others of people in a variety of settings; a coffee shop, a lecture hall, and even one of a train carriage. As Tyki flipped through the book the pictures became darker. The tone and shading conveyed a multitude of emotions.
A woman featured mostly in these sketches, middle aged judging by the lines around her mouth and eyes. She was a pretty woman with long hair framing an oval face; her smile was sweet, a tender smile meant more for other than for oneself. Even through the paper, Tyki felt her warmth. As Tyki progressed through the little book the woman became faded, wasted away but the smile was still there. Unchanged.
Tyki was so absorbed in the drawings that he did not hear the dull thud of a mug being set down on the table. Lavi reverently took the sketch out of Tyki's hands.
"I'm sorry, I-I didn't realise these were so personal. The drawings are amazing." Tyki averted his gaze from Lavi who was lovingly putting the book down on the table. Flame red hair fell over his eyes making it difficult for Tyki to read his expression. "Who is she? If you don't mind my asking."
Lavi took a deep breath, one hand still pressed over the cover of the book on the table as if drawing strength from the pages within. "She was my mum." He said simply and emotionlessly.
"I'm sorry." Even as he said it, Tyki realised how false that sounded.
"Don't be," Lavi smiled sadly. He had a practised voice, but Tyki said nothing, wanting him to continue. That smile he wore now was painfully similar to one worn by the woman in the picture as she faded away. The likeness between mother and son was striking. "It's been a year now since she passed away. The old Panda thinks I'm too emotional and that I should sell her things to pay the rent."
Tyki was silent. He didn't know what to do in situations like this. Burying the urge to hug Lavi, he settled with patting him on the shoulder.
"Look, Mr Mikk, I'm sorry you had to come out here just to give a rejection. I forget to mention before I left that my telephone line is far from functional. Honestly I would have got the message from the silence. Didn't make much of an impression with that Kanda Yuu did I?" Lavi tapered off with a nervous laugh.
Tyki felt his heart lift, after dragging Lavi backwards into grief, there was something he could do to make him happy. "Lavi, if we were going to reject I highly doubt we would make a house call." He watched Lavi closely, waiting for the penny to drop.
Lavi's emerald eyes grew wide. "You… You're kidding me?"
"I kid you not. Job's yours." He offered his hand, which Lavi took and shook vigorously.
"Thank you so much Mr Mikk! I thought you guys hated me." The red head was practically bouncing off the walls out of sheer excitement. "And I'm so sorry my landlord thought you were a pimp and thanks for not letting that change your mind. Oh my god! I can actually make those clothes!"
"Relax kid, it's just a job. And just call me Tyki." Tyki felt rather bashful, in the face of such puppy fuelled fervour. "But Kanda does kind of hate you. He's probably jealous because he won't be the cutest in the office anymore. Not that he ever was."
"I'll bear that in mind." Too happy to be embarrassed by the older man's shameless flirting. Lavi's hands flew to his hair. He glanced at the clock. "I need to go quit my other job. Just in time too, my shift starts in an hour."
"Come on I'll drive you." Tyki offered. "Then I'll take you to the office for a proper introduction."
Lavi reined back in some of his excitement. "Isn't that a bit too soon?"
"Nope. We have a huge deadline coming up, we left finding a designer a bit late." Tyki waited for Lavi to make up his mind. He really hoped he would accept.
"Okay," he relented. "I just need to get changed into proper clothes. Do I need a suit or something?" Lavi bit his lip, unsure of the proper etiquette.
"Casual is fine, no one will be fussed. Just make it quick, I'm going to go warm up the car. If it hasn't been stolen yet…"
Ten minutes later the pair were inside Tyki's car. Lavi had settled on a dark pair of jeans, black lace-up army boots, and a woven denim shirt over a grey t-shirt. The outfit worked, the kid wasn't a fashion designer for nothing.
Lavi whistled loudly when he saw the sleek sports car. "Sweet ride, Tyki. How many souls did you have to sell to pay for this thing?"
"Just a few virgin sacrifices," Tyki joked, happy with the appreciation. He loved his car, a pity it was currently weighed against how much he wanted the red head climbing into the passenger seat. He inserted the post code of Lavi's soon to be former work place into the SatNav and pulled out. From one of the windows he could have sworn he saw the panda eyes of the annoying landlord peering out at them.
The drive to the café where Lavi worked would have been short if Tyki had not taken a longer route on purpose. Lavi asked him questions about the company, why Kanda was such a bitch, and if he was going to fire his secretary after all. Conversation flowed easily and Tyki informed him, if he really wanted protection from Kanda's wrath, his best bet would be to befriend Allen Walker.
"The kid with the bleached hair?" Lavi recalled the boy who had let him in this morning. "He seemed like such a nice kid, what's he doing with someone as stuck up as Kanda?"
"Beats me what Allen sees in him. Though watch out - Allen is no angel. Don't ever challenge him to a game of poker if I'm not there." Tyki turned to him in all seriousness, "Even then there would probably be no hope. Little con artist." He added grumpily.
"So I take it that this Allen has swindled you more than a fair few times?" Lavi quipped. Tyki pulled a face at him which just made him laugh harder.
"What about you, red?" They were stopped at a red light. Tyki looked Lavi sideways, trying to be nonchalant. "Do you have someone? Girlfriend? Boyfriend?"
"I don't think that this is appropriate conversation between employer and employee." Lavi said evasively. Tyki watched him stare hard out of the window; maybe he wouldn't fire Lenalee after all. In fact he would have to send her a bouquet of flowers to thank her for putting him on that bus.
"What a shame, so am I going to have to pretend that you weren't checking me out on the bus?" The office was going to be a lot more fun with Lavi Bookman around. There was a studio space behind the main building that had already been bought by Noah's Ark for their prospective designer.
"I- I was not! I was just appreciating the suit," Lavi stopped himself. Would he be fired if he tried to escape the car right now? "There's no good way to defend myself is there?"
"Nope." Tyki smirked at him through the rear-view mirror. "Just relax will you? You're one of us now. We're not a conventional company. Feel free to be yourself and have a laugh every now and again. Be yourself, and no one will judge you. Apart from Kanda; He judges everyone. To make up for that I'll sort out an advance on your first month pay; get that ghoul of a landlord off your back."
"You can do that?" Lavi exclaimed in disbelief.
"Sure can, you're talking to the Noah's Ark Executive Finance Director. Wages and salaries come under my jurisdiction. As does budgeting and expenses. We'll be working together a lot."
Lavi sat back, reassured by Tyki. At least now, he had already done the most embarrassing thing he could do in front of an employer. And said employer had taken it all in good humour. On top of that he would no longer have to worry about his money problems. The weight of Atlas was lifted from his shoulders and Lavi felt for the first in forever that he could breathe easy.
"Hey," Lavi sat up suddenly. "We passed the café."
Tyki stared straight ahead. "There are quite a few things for us to get through today. So I don't think we will be stopping. They'll have to make do with a call."
Tyki threw his phone to the wide eyed red head in the passenger side of the car.
"Welcome to Noah's Ark."