Earning Your Love
Chapter 7: You're Back?!
A few days after the trip in Hawaii, everyone returned to their everyday lives and responsibilities. Lavi, however, was currently busy getting his house in order, because this was the day that he and Tyki were having their first date. He was humming happily to himself as he was cleaning his house from top to bottom by dusting furniture, cleaning windows, vacuuming the floors, wiping down tables and counters, and other things.
After Lavi finished cleaning his home, he put his wallet and cell phone in his pockets then grabbed his keys before heading out the door to his car. Once in the vehicle, he put the key into the ignition and started it up, then drove towards his destination. Once he arrived at the supermarket, Lavi parked his car in a parking space close to the door. He turned off his car and took the key out of the ignition before getting out of his car. Lavi walked into the store and grabbed the nearest buggy then began going down the aisles to collect the products he needed for the dinner date tonight. Once he finished retrieving his groceries, the redhead went through an open checkout line. After his groceries were rung up by the cashier, he swiped his debit card through the card swiper set up on the counter. When his groceries were paid for, he collected his receipt and bagged groceries, and headed out the automatic doors towards his car.
As the redhead pulled into his driveway, he parked his car, turned it off, and got all of his grocery bags out of the car before locking the car doors. Once Lavi got into his home, he went into the kitchen and placed his groceries on the counter. Before he started cooking, his home telephone began to ring. He walked over to the telephone on the kitchen wall and picked up the receiver. "Hello, Lavi speaking." he said into the receiver.
"Hey Lavi!" a chipper voice replied, "Are you all set for your date with Tyki tonight?!"
The emerald eyed male smiled to himself as he answered, "Yes Allen, I am; I just got back from the store."
"Oh-h-h-h Lavi, I'm so happy for you! Well I won't hold you long because I know you have a lot to do. I just wanted to wish you good luck with your date tonight."
"Thanks Allen; you're such a good friend."
"Anytime and I know." Lavi's friend replied in agreement. The emerald eyed male chuckled as Allen continued, "Well Lavi, I'll talk to you later."
"Alright Allen."
"Oh and you better give me the details especially if you guys get a little "comfortable"."
"Bye Allen." Lavi said bluntly as he hung up the phone despite his friend's pleas.
Once Lavi laid out the products he was going to need, he placed the pots, pan, colander and cutting board he was going to need on the counter, turned the oven on so that it could warm up, and placed a glass cooking pan on the counter. After that, he prepared the breading for the chicken that he brought. Then he opened the pack of chicken breasts he brought and dipped each piece in the breading he prepared. Then he placed them in the glass cooking pan he had out and poured tomato sauce over the chicken. Next, Lavi sprinkled shredded parmesan cheese over the chicken breasts. When he finished preparing the chicken, he open the oven door and placed the pan on the metal rack inside before closing it back.
As the chicken was baking in the oven, Lavi grabbed one of the pots he had on the counter and filled it with water. Then he put it on one of the eyes and turned it one. Then he placed medium sized saucer pan he had out on one of the stove's eyes and turned it on. As the water was heating up, the redhead rinsed the asparagus he brought off. Once he dried them off, he placed the vegetables on his cutting board and began cutting them. Next he placed the vegetables in the preheated pan which started to sizzle as they hit the heated silver. Then he poured some water in the pan and sprinkled the asparagus with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. After he seasoned the asparagus, he placed a lid over the pan and let them cook.
Once he was done preparing the vegetables, the water in the pot was boiling. Lavi opened a box of Rotini pasta and poured its contents into the pot then put the lid over it. After that, he opened another jar of tomato sauce he brought and poured the sauce in a medium sized pot he had placed on the stove. After he turned on the eye the pot was sitting on, Lavi seasoned the sauce with some pepper, garlic powder, rosemary, and dill. While stirring the sauce with a wooden spoon, he sprinkled some sugar in the sauce to sweeten it a little bit. After preparing the sauce, he placed the pot's lid over it so it could cook.
As he let the food cook, Lavi heard his cell phone ring. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the caller id. He noticed he received a text message from Tyki. A loving smile arose on the redhead's face as he flipped his phone open to read the message. The message read, 'Greetings Lovely; I'm looking forward to our date tonight. I can't wait to see you, my cute bunny. ;) XOXO'
Lavi slightly blushed at the message as he replied, 'You're such a charmer; LOL! Okay, I'll see you then!' Once the message was sent, he turned his attention to the food.
(Two hours later…)
Lavi walked into the living room after freshening up and getting the food prepared. He looked in the mirror on the wall to make sure that he looked perfect. At that moment, he heard a knock at his door. He walked over towards it and turned the brass doorknob. When the door opened, he came face to face with a bouquet of red and white roses covering his guest's face. "Flowers for my beloved." a voice said from behind the roses.
The emerald eyed male laughed as he grabbed the roses revealing Tyki's charming face. Lavi sniffed the roses and looked into the other's indigo eyes. "Seriously, is there no end to your charm?" he asked sarcastically with a smile.
"Sadly, no my dear Lavi."
"Anyway, the roses are beautiful; thank you."
"You're very welcome, Lovely." Tyki replied as he chastely kissed the redhead's cheek.
"Well come on in; our dinner is ready." Lavi said letting the other into his home.
"Much obliged." As the ebony haired male walked in, an amazing aroma entered his nostrils, "Mhm, something smells good."
"I hope you don't mind, but we're having chicken parmesan with pasta and grilled asparagus." Lavi said as he put the roses in a glass vase and filled it with water.
"That sounds delicious; do you need help with anything?"
"No it's pretty much ready; we just need to fix our plates and drinks." the redhead replied as he lead the taller into the kitchen.
After they finished eating dinner, Lavi put up the leftovers in plastic containers in the refrigerator. Then he and Tyki washed the dishes together, dried them, and put them away in the cabinets. Once they were done, Tyki went back into the living room and sat on the couch. "I must say Lavi, you out did yourself with that meal." he called out to the other who was still in the kitchen.
"Oh you're just saying that." the emerald eyed male said as he walked into the living room holding two wine glasses in between his fingers in one hand, and a bottle of red wine in the other.
The ebony haired male chuckled lightly as he stared at the other, "No really; that was the best chicken parmesan I've had in a long time; you're quite the culinary artist, Lovely."
Lavi blushed at the sentiment as he sat down next to his lover. "Thanks for the compliment; I'm glad that you liked it." He placed the wine glasses on the table before opening the wine bottle. As he poured the crimson beverage in each glass, he said, "I thought that some after dinner wine would do us some good."
Tyki furrowed his eyebrow and grinned, "Are you sure that's wise Lovely; I seem to recall what happened the last time you were near alcohol."
Lavi narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips as he closed the wine bottle back up. "Ha-ha, very funny; I have some food in my system so I'll be alright and I'll watch my intake."
"I'll make sure of that." the indigo eyed male replied as he picked up his glass and sipped the wine.
The emerald eyed male picked up his glass as well and said, "I hope the wine is to your liking; I know it's not as refined as what you may be used to."
"It's fine, Lovely; don't worry. So why don't you tell me about yourself."
"There's not much to tell; I pretty much have normal life."
"Even so, to have a successful relationship, I feel I should know my partner."
"Oh well, what would you like to know?"
"Anything, like your hobbies, what you do for a living; things like that."
"Well, I work for a book publishing company."
"Really?"
Lavi nodded, "Yes; I may have only been working there for a year, but I love it. You see, I love to read which lead me to pursue a degree in English Literature."
"I can tell by your book collection that you have a real passion for the written word." Tyki said as he stared at the two bookshelves in the room which were filled with books.
"Yeah, I've read those books at least once or twice."
"It's good to know that there are still readers out there in our modern world. When I'm not busy reading over business proposals or anything work related, I like to read as well."
"I never would have guessed; what do you like to read?"
"Anything as long as it holds my interest. I haven't been doing much lately because something besides work has been preoccupying my mind."
Lavi gave the other perplexed look, "And what is that?"
The ebony haired male smiled lovingly as he placed his wind glass on the coffee table. He turned to his rabbit and said, "You, of course."
Lavi blushed at the comment as he placed his glass on the table as well. He stared at the other bashfully, "You've been weighing on my mind as well."
"Oh really," Tyki scooted closer towards the smaller, "and what about me was weighing on your pretty mind."
The blush on the redhead's face grew darker as he answered, "Even though it's been a few days since the Hawaii trip, I've been itching to spend time with you again. I'm really enjoying this date and I hope you are too."
"I am, and considering that it is my first date, it's rather enjoyable."
Lavi stared at the taller in shock, "Wait a minute, you have never been on a date, ever?" he asked as Tyki shook his head, "But what about all that stuff about your dating life in the magazines and the paper?"
"Come now Lovely, surely you don't buy into the propaganda."
"I don't, but considering your reputation and good looks, the media did make it look like you had an exciting social life."
Tyki chuckled as he said, "Despite what the media says my dating life is not as exciting as the media made it seem."
"I must admit," the redhead began as he smiled, "there's more to you that meets the eye, Tyki Mikk."
"I could say the same thing about you, Lavi Bookman." Tyki replied as they both laughed in unison.
After having a great conversation and finishing their wine, Lavi walked with Tyki to his car. As they stood at the driver's door, Tyki turned to his lover and said with a smile, "I really had a great time tonight, Lovely."
"I did too," the redhead replied, "I hope we can get together soon."
"Sure thing." the indigo eyed male said before leaning in towards the other's face and capturing his lips with his.
Lavi's eyelids drooped closed as he wrapped his arms around the taller's neck. Tyki deepened the kiss while placing his hands on his lover's hips. Their lips moved in perfect sync as heated passion filled their very beings. For the first time in his life, Lavi felt truly content with someone who truly loved him. The same passion he felt when Tyki kissed him the first time came flooding back. Despite everything that has happened to him, this the moment where he truly felt happy. After minutes of heated kissing, they pulled away from each other and stared aimlessly into each other eyes. Shimmering emerald met rich indigo. "Well Tyki, I'll see you later." Lavi said with slightly reddened cheeks.
Tyki smiled as he took the smaller's hand in his and chastely kissed the back of it, "Until then, Adieu Lovely." He let go of the other's hand and opened his car door. He got into the driver's seat, put his seatbelt on, and started his car. Before driving off, he waved at his lover who waved back at him. Once the ebony haired male was halfway down the road, Lavi went back into the house and sighed happily before straightening up the living room.
(That Friday Night…)
Allen, Kanda, Lavi, and Tyki planned a double date at the ethnic restaurant. Allen and Kanda were currently waiting at a table for the other couple to get there. "What could be taking them so long?" the Japanese male asked in an impatient tone.
"Patience my dear Yuu-kun, they'll be here."
"They better because I'm ready for my soba."
Allen sighed, "Honestly Yuu-kun, will you ever be tired of soba?"
"Like being with you, no."
The white haired male laughed then noticed Tyki and Lavi walk into the restaurant and head over towards their table. Once they got there, Allen asked them, "It's about time you guys got here."
"Sorry Allen, Tyki had to take care of some business before we came."
"What kind of business?" the Japanese male asked not liking where this conservation was going.
Lavi sheepishly scratched the back of his head while he stepped to the side, revealing a certain young indigo haired girl with a cute smile on her face. When Road saw Allen, her face lit up as she ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Hi Allen-kun!" the eleven year old said with sheer delight.
"Hi Road, it's good to see you again!" the silver eyed male said with a smile.
Kanda glared at Lavi and Tyki with a threatening smile on his face. "What is she doing here; I thought this was a double date!" he grunted.
"I'm sorry, Sheryl wanted me to look after her this weekend. I didn't want to leave her at the house alone and have my brother chew my ear off about it for the next two months."
"Oh joy." the navy haired male mumbled in a sarcastic tone.
"It's good to see you too, Kanda." the young girl said in an innocent tone while hanging on to Allen.
"Oh I bet it is." the Japanese male retorted as he and Road were locked into a stare down making the white haired male laugh nervously.
Once they were settled at the table, a female waiter greeted them and asked them for their beverages and their entrées. When the waiter collected all of their orders, she headed back to the kitchen area. Just then, Lavi got up from his seat and told them, "I'll be right back you guys; I'm going to the restroom." Everyone nodded in return as the redhead headed towards the men's restroom unaware that someone was following him.
When Lavi finished washing his hands, he went over to the paper towel dispenser on the wall and pulled out two sheets. After drying his hands and throwing the used towels away in the trash can, he heard a familiar voice say to him, "It's been a while, Lavi."
The redhead cringed at the sound of the voice before slowly turning around and coming face to face with someone he never thought he'd see again. Standing in front of him was a twenty-two year old male who was two inches taller than him. He had hazel colored eyes, dark blond hair that was tied in a ponytail, pale yet cream colored skin, and he was wearing a green long-sleeved shirt with buttons, light blue jeans, and black shoes. "…Neil." Lavi said in an astonished tone.
"It's so good to see you again; how have you been?" the blond asked with a smile like what happened between them almost a year ago never occurred.
Lavi stared at the other with disgust and disbelief. "I've been better; I just never thought I'd see your cheating face again." he retorted in a disgruntled tone.
"Oh come on, Lavi; don't be like that."
"You have no right to tell me how to act after what you did to me, you bastard."
"Look, I know you're upset, but…"
"Upset doesn't even begin to explain how hurt I was after what I saw and heard that night. You were cheating on me with that bitch while we were dating, Neil. I was distraught, disgusted, humiliated and ashamed that I ever put my trust in a pig like you!"
"Her name is Gia and if you must know, she broke up with me that night too."
"Really?" the emerald eyed male said unsurprised at the news, "So she realized that you are nothing but a two-timing piece of trash, too?"
Neil sighed heavily, "Okay, I deserved that."
"You damn right, you did."
"Look Lavi, I'm sorry for what I did to you alright so can't we just move on?"
"Oh I have moved on and I'm perfectly happy with my life without you in it."
The blond stared wide eyed at the other, "You're willing to throw away everything we had together?"
"Why not; you did a good job of that when you were sleeping with that slut. You know Neil, when you ripped my heart out, I was at a point where I would never get it to anyone ever again. Then thanks to my friends, I realized that it was just another excuse for you to ruin my life. Now I am happy with someone who truly cares about me and only me; he would never hurt me like you did. Now that I think about it, I'm kind of glad to see you again because I can say what I couldn't say back then. I am done with you Neil; I don't want you in my life anymore. As far as I'm concerned you are dead to me, so take a hint and get out of my life." the redhead said as he exited out of the restroom.
"Lavi, wait a minute!" Neil said as he ran after him.
At the table, Tyki was wondering why Lavi was taking so long to get back. "Lavi sure has been gone a long time." the Portuguese male said.
"Oh I'm sure he's just freshening himself up for you, Tyki." Allen reassured him.
Road laughed at the white haired male's comment before noticing Lavi out the corner of her eye. "Oh, here comes Lavi-kun…huh?"
Kanda noticed the weird look on the young girl's face and asked her, "What's up with you, kid?"
At that moment, they all heard someone cry out, "Would you leave me alone, already?!"
The entire restaurant went silent due to the scream. The gang turned and saw Lavi struggling with someone. Tyki noticed the disgust and irritation in his lover's eyes and became upset, but not as upset as Allen and Kanda was.
"Who is that guy?" Road asked wondering what was going on.
"Trust us Road, he's someone you're better off not knowing." Allen said seething with anger.
"What the hell is that bastard doing here?!" Kanda asked in a disgruntled tone.
"I don't know he is," The Portuguese male rose from his seat, "but he has another thing coming if he thinks he can bother Lavi."
As Tyki headed towards the pair, Allen got up and went after him, looking quite pissed as well, "Clearly that bastard didn't get my message the first time. Yuu-kun, stay here and watch Road; this won't take long."
Road watched her angry uncle and crush over to where Lavi was. She turned to the navy haired male looking quite perplexed. "Seriously Kanda, what's going on here; who is that man with Lavi-kun?"
"As my moyashi told you, you do not want to know."
"Would you let me go now; you're making us cause a scene!" Lavi cried as he tried to break away from Neil's grasp.
"There wouldn't be one if you just listen to me for a second!"
"I have nothing else to say to you so beat it!"
Before Neil could even utter a word, he felt someone's hand fiercely grab his wrist. The painful grip caused the blond to cry out in pain and let go of Lavi's wrist. Then he heard an angry voice say, "I think Lavi made his point now do us all a favor and leave."
The hazel eyed male turned his head to the side and saw Tyki glaring at him with dark indigo eyes while keeping his grip on his wrist. "What the hell do you think you're doing; this doesn't concern you."
"I beg to differ and I think I'm giving you two seconds to get away from him or you'll be going home with a broken wrist."
"And possibly a broken nose, broken ribs, or whatever comes first." Neil flinched at the sound of the voice. He looked in front of him and saw Allen standing beside Lavi, cracking his knuckles with a threatening smile on his face. "Guess who?" the white haired male said baring his teeth at the other.
"Y-Y-You?!" Neil uttered in fear while remembering what Allen did to him the last time they met.
"Maybe I didn't make myself clear last time so to make sure you get the message, I'll beat you twice as hard in front of these people. " Allen threatened preparing to punch the blond's lights out.
Just then, the white haired male felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He turned his head and noticed Lavi shaking his head at him, "Don't Allen, even if he deserves it, he's not worth it."
Allen was going to object, but the look in his friend's eyes made him think otherwise. He sighed as he backed down, "Fine." Then he turned to Neil with a frown and said, "You're lucky that Lavi stopped me."
Tyki let go of the blond's wrist as well. While Neil was rubbing his sore wrist with his free hand, the Portuguese male said to him, "Now, I think it's time for you to leave."
"Look, I dunno who you think you are, but I have some unfinished business to take care of and you don't tell me what to do!" Neil yelled at the other.
Tyki crossed his arms with a smirk, "Maybe not, but he can."
Before Neil could even utter a word, the restaurant's manager walked up to them looking quite stern at the uproar in his establishment. His facial expression changed when he recognized Tyki. "Is there a problem here, Mr. Mikk." he asked the young businessman while looking cross at the blond.
"This man was causing trouble for my friends, but I'm sure if he leaves the premises willingly, he won't have to worry about law enforcement throwing him out."
All eyes were on Neil after those words were uttered. The blond growled as he stomped towards the front door. Before storming out of the restaurant, he turned around and glared at Tyki, "This isn't over pretty boy!" Then his hazel eyes lay upon Lavi as he said, "We'll finish this later, Lavi."
As Neil stormed out the door, the redhead called out, "Don't hold your breath!"
"Over my dead body, you jerk!" Allen added.
Once all of the excitement died down, the other customer and workers continued to what they were doing. As the three males were returning to their table, Tyki grabbed Lavi by his arm causing the redhead to stop in his tracks. He turned to his lover looking perplexed, "Tyki, what's wrong…?"
"Lavi, who was that; what did he want with you?" The Portuguese male immediately asked him in concern.
The redhead adverted his eyes as he replied, "He's no one; don't worry about it."
"Considering how riled up he made you and Allen, he's a lot more than no one. Who was that?"
"It doesn't matter Tyki; can we just drop it, please?"
The ebony haired male noticed his lover was trembling and looking like he was about to cry. At that moment, he pulled Lavi by his hand back to the table, ignoring the other's pleas and questions. When they got there, Tyki said to the couple, "I hate to cut the night short, but we're going to head on out." Then he pulled out his wallet, took out some money and placed it on the table. "Here's the money for ours and Road's food."
Kanda nodded, "I figured you would be leaving that's why I told the waitress to put our food in to go boxes." The navy haired male handed Tyki a plastic bag with three to-go boxes in it. "Here is your food."
"Thanks Kanda; we'll see you guys later." He grabbed the bag by its handles and turned to his niece, "Come on Road, we're going home."
"Alright Tyki-pon." she replied as she got up. The young girl gave Allen a hug goodbye, and followed her uncle and his lover out the door.
"Well this evening was a total bust." the Japanese male said to Allen.
"You're telling me and thanks to that idiot, my appetite is gone."
"When the waitress comes back, we'll pay her and leave." Kanda said receiving a nod from his lover.
After a seemingly long and awkwardly silent drive, Tyki, Lavi, and Road arrived at Tyki's condo. They all got out of his car as soon as he turned it off and headed in. The Portuguese male handed Road the bag of food and said, "Road, you go on ahead in the kitchen and eat your food."
Realizing that her uncle needed a moment alone with Lavi, Road nodded and headed into the kitchen. When she was gone, the redhead turned to Tyki with a frown, "Tyki, we didn't have to leave."
"Yes we did because I can tell you couldn't stand being there any longer. Now, are you going to tell me what's going on?"
"…Tyki, I really don't want to talk about this."
The ebony haired male placed his hands on his lover's shoulders, "Lavi, please talk to me; you know it hurts me when you keep things from me. You know that you can confide in me whenever you need to right?"
Lavi nodded, "Yes I do; I just didn't think that you would have to find out about him like this."
"What do you mean?"
"That guy's name is Neil Sanders and he's my ex-boyfriend and the one who broke my heart."
To Be Continued…
A/N: I finally got this story updated! I'm sorry I ended it with a cliffhanger; it just seemed like the perfect way to end this chapter. I apologize for the really long wait and thank you guys so much for being patient with me! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Remember to review and let me know what you thought; see you guys later!