D. N. Angel Fan Fiction ❯ Trey ❯ Confessions and Other Such Charming Things ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Confessions and Other Such Charming Things:

Chapter: 3

Disclaimer: I don't own DN Angel, please don't sue me!

A/N: Okay…major OOC-ness here. I'm still trying to think of the best way that Daisuke and Dark hook-up…lol. Anyhow, this is mainly fluff…so please bear with me! Also, I'm gonna make this chapter extra long (or at least, try to) because I'll be out of town for a week and away from my computer…yeah.

Italics = Evil Dark's thoughts, or other character's thoughts.

<blah blah> = Dark's thoughts.

Disclaimer: It was in the FIRST chapter, don't sue me for the love of…never mind. Anyhow, for the second time, DN Angel does not belong to me; no one in this whole story belongs to me except Lady Yuki. The only thin I own is my story notebook, my sketchbook and my nice green writing pen and black liner pen. On with the story!

Dark grinned from ear to ear as he saw his `pet' come back to life, or more accurately, regain consciousness. Noticing how pale his friend still looked, Satoshi quickly peeled Daisuke's bloody shirt off and began dabbing ointment onto the cuts. Daisuke winced as the ointment touched his wounds and made them sting. “Ouch! Satoshi, that hurt!”

“Calm down Daisuke, you need to lie through this, or else your back may start to rot,” Satoshi said, his voice calm and business-like as ever. Dark, upon seeing Daisuke's slightly pained expression, decided to help as well. Gently holding Daisuke's hand, he set about trying to soothe the redhead (who was currently grimacing and making pained faces).

“Now p-I mean, Daisuke, you know that this…” the lord was cut off by Daisuke's glare. “What?” Dark asked, fervently hoping that Daisuke wouldn't get angry at him for re-opening his cuts.

“You!” Daisuke yelled. “Satoshi, don't trust him! He's a pervert, and he's GAY!” The blue-eyed boy's head jerked upwards to look at Dark's face. The purple haired boy could do nothing but smile sheepishly.

“What. Did. You. Do. To. Him?” Satoshi ground out, hoping that the boy-he would not call the person `Lord' in front of him if it cost his life!-had not molested Daisuke, or worse. Dark winced at the tone in Satoshi's voice, but somehow managed to put together a coherent enough explanation about everything. Of course, Dark left out the section about his feelings-not only would they embarrass him even more, they would probably make Satoshi hate him even more than he did right now. The furious expression on Satoshi's face faded away to be replaced by his usual mask of indifference. Dark lowered his head and waited for Satoshi to throw him out of the tiny room, but to his amazement, nothing happened. Cautiously, the purple haired boy looked up to see Satoshi Hiwatari (also known as the Ice Prince and who the younger Dark had used to call `creepy bastard') with a small smile on his face. <Wait a minute…>Dark thought, <Is he amused at me?!>

At the end of the tale, Satoshi desperately tried not to burst out laughing at Dark's mournful expression and also at the story itself. Poor Daisuke, he thought, wrestling with the laughter that threatened to bubble out of him, he must have had a nasty shock when Dark hugged him like a little girl hugs her doll! His thoughts were soon interrupted by Dark's indignant look though, and that did it. Satoshi burst out laughing and the look on Dark's face went from indignant to rueful amusement. “Yes, I suppose I did play the part of the obsessed fan to perfection, didn't I?” Satoshi nodded with that annoying smirk still on his face. Dark finally realized that Satoshi and Daisuke were probably wishing that he was out of the room right now, so that they could talk a little. <Who would have thought that the Ice Prince had a warm core?> Reluctantly, Dark stood up and said formally, “Thank you creepy-I mean, Hiwatari-sama, for not kicking me out and listening to my side of the story before judging. Daisuke, I hope we meet again in…more pleasant situations. I am sorry that I hurt your back and…if you need anything…just come to me,” and with those words, Dark swept out of the room, not even waiting for the replies. Satoshi and Daisuke gave each other puzzled looks, shrugged and went back to what they were doing beforehand.

Well, that sure went well, didn't it? Taunted Evil Dark.

Why should I?

Really now, I would have thought that your blood would have cooled by now. Still thinking of the pretty boy?

“Just shut up!” Dark yelled, accidentally forgetting that he was in a corridor filled with servants. Looking around, the purple haired boy saw that all the servants had stopped and were staring at him. Suddenly…

“DARK!” A shriek cut through the otherwise silent corridor, jolting everyone back to life. “I've found you at last! Did you know how long I had to look around for?!” Risa shot out of a door and cannoned right into Dark, effectively knocking said boy back a few paces.

“Wha…who are you, anyways?” Dark, still a little irritated from the `chat' he'd had with his not-so-nice alter ego. Noticing the saddened look on Risa's face, Dark immediately tried to soften his tone a little. “I'm sorry, I was just…surprised. What was your name?”

Risa's lower lip trembled and she looked like she was about to burst into tears. Just as Dark was bracing himself for a tidal wave of tears, he heard another girl's soft voice next to his ear. “Risa. Risa Harada.”

Dark thanked whoever had whispered into his ear silently and faced the now teary-eyed girl. “Gomen Risa-chan, I didn't realize who you were. Don't worry though,” he added hastily, seeing Risa's eyes fill up even more, “I remember you now.”

The girl soon switched from tears to happiness and with a smile, she gave Dark a tray of…what, he wasn't quite sure. Some of the little lumps were black, some were grey, some were brown and one of them was even green! Dark's face screwed up a little in an attempt to figure out what the dubious looking lumps were. “Do you like them?” Risa asked, her eyes shining with hope. Dark swallowed hard, still trying to figure out what on earth the little lumps were.

“Uh…thank you very much for the…food, Risa, I will really enjoy it!” Dark hoped that the little lumps were indeed food, and not some weird toy or whatever. Seeing the look of utter delight on the serving maid's face, Dark thanked his lucky stars. The moment was then interrupted by Krad's loud voice calling for Dark. Trying to smile at the girl, Dark clutched the tray in both hands and ran off, muttering an apology to the distraught girl. <I'm going to ask Daisuke just exactly what these things are when I get the chance.>

Satoshi's Room

After Dark's abrupt departure, Daisuke and Satoshi were left alone in the little room. Sighing, Satoshi placed bandages on the now cream smeared wounds and the two boys chatted idly. Finally, Satoshi decided to ask Daisuke what had happened in the kitchen again, in order to confirm Dark's story. After all, just because he was a lord didn't mean that he couldn't lie-heck, Krad lied just about every time he opened his mouth! “Daisuke, what happened in the kitchen?”

The redhead's face went blank at first, and then as memory dawned on him, the light of understanding filled his eyes. “Nothing, Lord Dark didn't lie. I just don't understand though,” he added, a confused look. Satoshi frowned, his curiosity piqued. After all, Daisuke was a pretty bright boy, if a little naïve.

“Come on Daisuke, what wouldn't you understand about anything that happened? I mean, it's all pretty straightforward,” Satoshi said. As well as wanting to know what had Daisuke boggled, Satoshi himself was pretty curious to know what Daisuke thought about the hug that Dark gave him.

“Well…” Daisuke said, blushing furiously, “Why did Dark hug me? I mean, people always hug people that they like, but who would ever want to…hug me? Especially a rich lord like him, he has everything! Why would he hug a worthless little…” he was abruptly cut off by Satoshi, who was horrified at the other boy's opinion of himself. That b****** Krad, the blue-haired boy thought furiously. How dare he mar Daisuke's opinion of himself like that? How dare he?! At the look of fear on the redhead's face though, Satoshi hastily smoothed out the features on his face. He was sure that they must have been twisted in rage and frustration at not being able to do anything about Krad, though whether Daisuke would understand was another matter altogether. After all, the kid had been traumatized since the age of two when he'd watched his mother, father and the rest of his family die of the epidemic that had gone through Trey. Add that to the little fact that Krad had started beating the poor boy when he turned four and you had a potential recipe for disaster. However, Satoshi's worries were soon dissipated as Daisuke shrugged. “We all hate Krad, but maybe…maybe he's good deep inside.”

Satoshi snorted. Yes, the Ice Prince snorted in disgust, and Daisuke could not help but giggle a little at his friend's reaction to the statement. “Yeah, sure, and pigs will fly,” Satoshi stated sarcastically as Daisuke's giggles turned into outright laughter. The redhead loved it when he made his normally detached friend show at least a small (but obvious) hint of emotion. Besides, it took a lot to shake the ice-cool demeanor off the blue-haired boy to the extent that he would actually do something to obvious as snort. Anyhow…back to the story. Daisuke then remembered that Satoshi certainly hadn't answered his question. “So, Satoshi-chan, why did Lord Dark hug me?”

Satoshi's look of disgust slid off his face as quickly as a greasy egg slides off a warm plate, only to be replaced by a look of utter shock. Okay…I should have known this kind of talk was going to come up at some point. I just don't know if I'm the right person to tell him about that. “Uh…” the normally articulate (although quiet) boy managed to stammer out. For once in his whole life, when someone asked him to say something and he actually wanted to answer, Satoshi Hiwatari was struck completely dumb. Daisuke looked up at his friend's shocked face and frowned in confusion. What was Satoshi so shocked about, anyway? It was just a little hug, nothing big. So why wasn't he getting an answer to his question?

“Hello, Trey to Satoshi Hiwatari!” Upon receiving no reply from the boy, Daisuke waved his hand in front of the stunned boy's face. When still failing to receive any response from the other, the redhead resorted to more drastic measures…such as the usage of `chan' in connection with `Satoshi'. Of course, this resulted in a very annoyed blue-haired boy chasing the (now laughing wildly) redhead out of the back rooms and into the main kitchen. Daisuke rushed past Akarrin, Takeshi, Kiarrin and a whole bunch of other kitchen staff before reaching Riku, who was carefully taking a tray of bread out of the oven. Of course, being slightly preoccupied with saving his own skin at the time, Daisuke crashed right into Riku, causing her to drop the tray and the bread. Satoshi, hell-bent on catching Daisuke, did not see the bread rolls and trod on them by mistake. Of course, since bread rolls are round shaped, they are slippery and they will either make you scream in frustration or make you fall over, in this case the latter. Satoshi trod on a particularly large roll and only managed to keep his balance for a few moments before falling over, his arms flailing wildly. He smacked Riku soundly in the face by mistake and both boy and girl fell to the ground with a loud crash. Meanwhile, Daisuke was standing in a corner, laughing himself silly at the pair.

Satoshi looked up, seriously unhappy and freaked out now. Apart from the fact that he'd just crushed a few-okay, fine, many of Lord Krad's favourite bread rolls-not that he cared-he'd also annoyed Riku-san. The girl was renowned for her incredible ability to wield a rolling pin with amazing force and accuracy, and she was not likely to leave him alone just because he was in charge of everyone in the kitchens. The blue-haired boy's thoughts were interrupted by Daisuke however-the boy still wanted to know why Lord Dark had hugged him. This is just not my day…Satoshi thought, as he covered his head and tried (vainly) to protect himself from Riku's angry blows.

A few minutes (and four smacks on the head) later, Satoshi and Daisuke found themselves in the back rooms again, this time with their positions reversed. Satoshi was now the one sitting on the bed and Daisuke was the one applying soothing poultices to the other's head. “So,” Daisuke said conversationally, “why do you think Lord Dark hugged me?”

Satoshi sighed. I want to tell him the truth, but I think it will be easier for him if he hears it from Dark's own lips…

“Daisuke,” Satoshi said firmly and gently, “maybe you should go and see Lord Dark tonight, after the feast. I mean, he might be able to tell you better than I could about why he hugged you.”

Daisuke pondered this idea for a moment, and then shook his head. “I can't,” the redhead whispered. “What if Lord Krad sees me and starts asking questions? You know I can't lie, Satoshi; what am I going to tell him?”

“Just say you're going to see Dark. It's not exactly the truth, but it's not a lie either. You get my drift?” Daisuke nodded, hoping that the answer would satisfy Krad if indeed he chanced to meet with the man. Satoshi smiled again at Daisuke. “Come on now-we have to finish the food for the feast, or else Krad will scalp us alive.”

Dinnertime, in the dining hall

Dark stared into nothingness as he idly toyed with a fork. Krad, on the other hand, was basking in the attention that everyone was currently giving him. “…I would also like to welcome the Lady Yuki of Estate Metane, and her son, Dark!” The abovementioned boy slowly stood up and pasted a smirk to his face, pretending to be a noble. In fact, though, his mind was fully focused on the redhead, and how he wished that he had another chance to explain things properly to the cute teen. His mother, on the other hand, smiled at the crowd as though they were all her children. This, Dark was sure, was exactly what endeared Lady Yuki to the hearts of everyone that she had ever met. <Daisuke…I hope we get to talk some more soon…I really want to tell you what happened…>

Lady Yuki looked over at her son and inwardly smiled. She knew about his preferences, and had nothing against them. In fact, she had been spying on her son this afternoon, when he'd gone down to the kitchens. Hey, that was what her powers were for, right? To keep an eye on her mischievous son! Lady Yuki had a small amount of magic-just enough to perform minor deeds such as keeping sickness at bay, healing small cuts and of course, keeping an eye on her child. Dark, Dark, Yuki thought amusedly as she sat down, I'm happy for you. If that young man is half the person I think he is, you will have a partner for life. “Now…” Krad's voice said loudly, “Let us begin our wonderful feast!” With a loud roar of applause, the feast began.

In the kitchens

Daisuke peeped out into the large dining hall, his ruby red eyes widened in amazement. Although Lord Krad had hosted many feasts before, none could rival the one that was currently going on. Lords and ladies of every station crowded the room in their glittering clothes, like large, elegant butterflies. Satoshi, on the other hand, was disgusted. Despite the fact that he was roughly the same age as Daisuke, he was definitely more cynical. After all, when you had watched a drunken member of the nobility rape your mother and run your father through with a sword…well, these things tended to skew your perceptions of life. He hated watching the finely dressed lords and ladies playing at dress-up and pretending that nothing bad, nothing evil, nothing dark existed outside their little shimmering world of jewels, silks and perfumes. “Wow,” whispered the slightly younger boy in awe, “There are so many people!”

Satoshi shrugged, unwilling to say anything. He had exceeded his day's word quota anyways, so he really didn't want to talk. “Satoshi?” Daisuke shot a look at his friend, who was staring at the large hall with contempt in his eyes. Tugging the other boy's sleeve (it was suicidal to tap the boy on the shoulder or touch him in any way), Daisuke managed to return the blue eyed boy back to the world. “….huh? Oh, yes?”

Daisuke looked at his friend with puzzlement in his red eyes. “Satoshi, why are you so angry?” For a teenager, Daisuke was amazingly innocent sometimes. It was one of the things that made him so appealing to everyone who really looked at him. Satoshi shook his head and smiled slightly at the boy. Although it was only a faint curve upwards, Daisuke had been around Satoshi long enough to read even the most minute changes in the other boy's face. Daisuke shrugged and continued to watch the feast, along with the other servants. Of course, Risa could not stop talking about Dark and the way that he'd accepted her cookies, all the while ignoring the evil looks from the Head Cook, Riku and Akarrin (Risa had managed to single-handedly use all the sugar and most of the flour).

After dinner

Dark stared moodily at the dancing crowds in front of him. No one had come over to ask him to dance yet, but his mother was waltzing away happily with that pathetic excuse for a man, Krad. I really don't see what my mother sees in that man…I thought her taste was better…Dark thought gloomily as he continued to stare at the crowd, wondering whether he could burn a hole through it with the power of his gaze. Suddenly, a large curtain of deep maroon obscured his view and the only thing the purple haired boy could do was look upwards, right into the smiling face of a young lady with long jet black hair and ice blue eyes. Dark inwardly sighed as the girl held out a slim, pale hand, taking it for granted that she would be accepted. After all, it was common gossip through the court that Lady Yuki was looking for a partner for her son and Dark was indeed one of the land's most eligible single nobles. Everyone also knew that Dark would soon have to take a wife and of course, all the women hoped that it would be them. However, Dark's mind was fully preoccupied with thoughts of Daisuke, which meant that said young lady was completely ignored for the better part of five minutes. “Ahem,” the woman coughed, clearly trying to get Dark's attention. Snapping back to reality, the purple haired lord looked up and inwardly groaned. <Oh no, not *her*!> The lady's name was in reality, Eriaila Tai, otherwise known as the heir to Estate Michiya. Of course, Dark always referred to said female as `her', simply because he could not bear to say her name. Eriaila had stalked the young heir to Estate Metane for as long as he could remember (even when they were young children) in the hopes of securing a husband for the near future. Despite her beauty, Eriaila was (in Dark's humble opinion), one of the worst people to be stuck in a room with. The girl was an incorrigible flirt, clueless and truly believed that the world loved her and would never harm her. As well as this, she was a scheming shrew (to put it bluntly) and she was exactly the type of person to shoot her own mother for personal gain. In short, Dark thought that Eriaila was a curse to Trey and the rest of the world. “So, Dark,” Eriaila purred, her high-pitched voice attempting to sound seductive (but not getting there, of course!). “I hear you like some redhead named Daisuke, is that true?” Dark almost choked on air. <How did she know?!>

“What makes you think that?” Dark asked coolly as he stood up.

“Well, you did spend an awful lot of time in the kitchen this afternoon, and a little bird told me that you hugged him-do the math yourself, genius,” Eriaila spat. “I won't let you forget this. We were meant to be together, don't you see?”

“No,” Dark replied, the smirk back on his face. He vaguely registered that there was suddenly complete silence and that he had the undivided attention of the whole Hall, but he couldn't care less. He had had enough of Eriaila's `I rule the world' attitude and her rudeness. “Is it any of your business if I do? And even if I do, who cares?”* He was rewarded with an evil look from the young Tai as she stalked off. Dark sighed inwardly as he looked around and caught the small smirks on the faces of his so-called `friends'. His murderous thoughts were interrupted by his mother's soft voice.

“Dark, maybe you should go upstairs, maybe you're not feeling well?” Lady Yuki asked. It wasn't out of concern for her son's welfare; she knew perfectly well that he was in good condition-she was giving him a chance to run away. Meanwhile in the wings, where all the servants who did not have to work were watching, Daisuke flushed furiously as the whole crowd's faces turned towards him in curiosity. Even Satoshi was rather nonplussed-he hadn't pegged Dark to be the type to go for boys. Oh well, at least Daisuke knows now, he thought rather wryly as the aforementioned redhead passed out at his feet.

After the feast (clean-up time)

Daisuke sneaked through the winding corridors of Castle Hikari, praying that he didn't bump into anyone who would ask questions. He needed to talk to Dark-and fast. Satoshi and Takeshi had offered to do his share of the work if he would do the same for them. Dark had better be in his room, Daisuke thought.

Dark's room

Dark opened the door to his room and looked around. Darkness-just like he'd expected. He whispered, “Rikare,” and with a soft puff, the whole room was lit up. Closing the door behind him, the purple haired lord walked inside, a note clutched in his hand.

-Flashback-

Dark stared at the note that had been dropped onto his plate by the Ice Prince Satoshi. At first, he had thought that it wasn't meant for him, but when the Head of the Kitchens had nodded at him the second time he passed by, Dark decided that it would have to be a gamble. Opening the note, he glanced at the contents, taking in all the information. It read:

Stay in your room tonight.

-End Flashback-

Dark plopped down on the large couch in his room with the note still in his hand. Sure, the thought of an assassination had gone through his head when he'd first seen the note, but he had soon dismissed the thought. His mother's magic-not to mention his own greater power-would have warned him a long time ago. Besides, everyone knew better than to try to attack one of the most powerful people in Trey-the last person who had tried to do so had dropped dead of the plague. A knock on the door alerted Dark to a visitor. Wondering who it could be, he walked over.

Daisuke gulped as he stood in front of Dark's door. He knew that if the young lord hadn't gotten his note, he could very well be walking around in the gardens with Lady Yuki. Swallowing, the ruby-eyed boy knocked on the door and waited. It swung open two seconds later to reveal Dark, still dressed in all his feast clothes.

Dark looked down at Daisuke, puzzlement in his eyes. “Yes?” he asked as smoothly as possible, suppressing the urge to grab the boy and check him over for wounds. A little talk with Krad had revealed that Daisuke should not be treated the way he was. As well as finding out that Krad beat the teen on a regular basis, Dark found out that Daisuke was Krad's nephew. “Um…” Dark looked down and realized that Daisuke wasn't wearing clothes suited for the chill of the castle's large, chilly stone corridors. Without hesitation, the lord pulled the other teen into the room.

“Here, wear this,” Dark said kindly, trying not to just jump the boy in front of him. Daisuke looked adorable in any circumstances, but now was a special moment. The way his eyes seemed to be always sparkling, the way he carried himself, the way innocence radiated off him, the way his lips seemed to be begging to be kissed-<No!> Dark scolded himself mentally.

You know you want it…

Have it your way.

Daisuke shuffled his feet a little and looked up at Dark in surprise when the slightly older teen offered him a coat. “Wha…?” When his brain processed the information properly, Daisuke could only gulp in shock. Lords never offered commoners their coats to wear, especially not lowly kitchen servants! “Oh no, I can't take this my lord, it's…” Dark waved his protests away with a hand.

“Don't worry Daisuke, it's nothing. Really,” Dark said, smiling slightly at the other boy. He wanted nothing more than to see Daisuke smile-come to think of it, he hadn't seen any other expression on the redhead's face other than confusion (and that little bout of anger when he'd woken up to see Dark in the back rooms of the kitchen). <I'm going to make him smile,> Dark quietly vowed to himself. “Daisuke…what are you here for?”

Daisuke shifted uncomfortably, opting to stare at his feet instead of at Lord Dark. He felt very shy, and suddenly Satoshi's idea didn't seem so easy anymore. What if Dark refused to tell him anything? What if he threw him out of the room? Or the worst: Report him to Lord Krad? He didn't want to risk another beating, seeing as he was still wounded from the last one. Dark seemed to sense the uneasiness coming from Daisuke and smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner at the beauty in front of him. <I'll just wait for him to say something first…> Luckily for him, Dark didn't have to wait long. Keeping his eyes on the floor, Daisuke mumbled out, “Lord Dark…what did you hug me for?” At the shocked look on the purple haired teen's face, Daisuke panicked. Crap, what if he reports me to Krad?! On the contrary though, Dark actually smiled at the wide-eyed boy in front of him.

“Oh, you mean this afternoon in the kitchens?” Dark had the grace to blush slightly, remembering the feeling of having Daisuke in his arms. “Um…” this time, it was the usually confident teen's turn to fidget a little. Daisuke frowned; most people didn't usually fidget when asked such a simple question. Of course, boys didn't hug other boys, so maybe it would be harder to answer the question. Dark, having finally mustered up the courage to answer Daisuke honestly, looked at the shorter boy right in the eyes. “Daisuke…I like you…very much. That's why I hugged you,” At the look on Daisuke's face though, Dark almost gulped. Would he be rejected?

Daisuke could not believe his ears. A powerful lord like Dark, liking him to the point of love? That was unheard of. A lord liking him was already close to impossible-this was starting to sound like one of those romantic scenes Risa was always talking about. “How can you like me?” Daisuke blurted out. “I'm just a kitchen servant!” All the things that Krad had forced him to learn went out the proverbial window. Daisuke had never been so mortified in his life. Suddenly, the full realization of his actions crashed down onto his head-he'd just shouted at a lord. Someone who was Lord Krad's friend. Daisuke quickly shut his eyes and bowed his head, waiting for the inevitable blow. However, it didn't come. Daisuke cautiously raised his head, only to see Dark looking at him with kind eyes, slowly shaking his head. The purple haired teen slowly walked towards the redhead, a small smirk on his face.

“Maybe you are, to the world. To me, you're…this,” and with those words, Dark placed his hand on Daisuke's face and gently brought it up to his own. Daisuke blinked and could only stand there in shock as Dark's lips softly brushed over his own. What the…? Daisuke didn't understand why Dark was doing this to him. He had seen Akarrin and Takeshi doing this behind the stables one time, when he had been forced to sleep in the hayloft, but that was because they loved each other. It seemed that people did that whenever they loved each other, or so that was what Satoshi had told him at least-but surely Lord Dark didn't love him? So…what did he want?

Dark slowly closed his eyes, savoring the unique taste of Daisuke's lips. <Mmmm….strawberries…> Dark's mind registered that Daisuke wasn't responding to his kiss and reluctantly stopped. Opening his eyes and pulling away, amethyst orbs met wide crimson ones. Daisuke slowly pressed his fingers to his lips, the expression on his face half dazed, half disbelieving. “…Why?” Daisuke whispered, looking at Dark. All protocol be damned, this was definitely a question that had to be answered as soon as possible.

“Because…” Dark replied, his voice also a whisper, “Because…I think…I love you.”

Daisuke stared stunned at Dark. Did he just say what I think he said? “You…” Dark nodded, wondering whether Daisuke would dash out of his room screaming at the top of his lungs. <Well, he has a reason to…it's not exactly natural is it?>

Daisuke looked at Dark, his heart beating a million times per second as his brain processed what had just happened in the space of a few minutes. It didn't feel wrong though…Daisuke thought as he remembered the kiss. He then noticed that Dark looked a little like a lost puppy as he waited for the typical disgusted reaction. Daisuke, unsure of whether he was doing the right thing, decided to go with his heart. Once, when he had talked to Satoshi, the blue-haired boy had told him to follow his heart whenever he was unsure about something. Well, now was just as good a time as any to test that theory. Daisuke slowly whispered, “Anou…Lord Dark…” he was cut off by Dark calmly telling him not to use the title. Daisuke tried again, this time not using Dark's name at all. “Uh…what…what…” Daisuke fumbled for words, trying to ask his question in a polite way.

“Just say it.”

Daisuke looked up, shock in his eyes. Lord Dark was actually willing to listen to what he had to say? Lord Krad would have just screamed at him, and maybe thrashed him mercilessly for wasting his so-called `valuable' time. “What…what did you do that for?” Daisuke asked.

Dark sighed. “I told you, I think…I think that…I think that I love you,” he said, finally managing to get the words out. Daisuke's eyes widened in shock as his brain registered the words for the second time, driving the point home. “Daisuke…before you run…” The addressed redhead looked at Dark, puzzlement written in his eyes. “Do…do you hate me? For being what I am? You can just say your thoughts; I won't mind.”

Daisuke thought about what he had just been asked. Did he feel that Lord Dark was doing something wrong and bad? The answer was no. Did he hate the man? Again, no. The ruby-eyed boy suddenly realized that his lips were still burning a little from the soft kiss that Dark had given him, and he shook his head. Risa's image flashed into his head for a moment, but he pushed it to the back of his head. His brain felt like it was turning into mush; the swirl of emotions that were assaulting him were too much and combined with the lack of a decent night's rest and the beating that Lord Krad had given him, Daisuke promptly passed out on the floor. Dark sighed as he looked at the limp form on his rug, in his room. Come on, you know you want him…Evil Dark chuckled as Dark picked up the redhead and placed him gently on the bed.

Bwahahahahahahahaha! Cliffhanger! Oh yeah, I apologise if you think this chapter is too short, it's just that I tried to make it at least ten pages on Word because publishing it. Also, it's like a `Sorry' chapter to all those who waited so long for me to put a new chapter. I might not publish very much in the coming months though, because I have to go back to school lol. Anyhow, sappy little romance scene at the end (well, kind of romance scene). Well, I hope you enjoyed this one! Read and review please!! ^_^