Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction ❯ Sadie, Sadie ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )
Anime/Manga: Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Comedy | Type: Songfic | Uploaded On: 11.13.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.5K | Visits: 4.2K | Status: Work In Progress
For warnings, disclaimers, etc., see Chapter One.
Chapter Six
When Leon woke up, he felt hot and trapped. He figured out quickly that this was because somebody was lying wrapped around him. Soft hair tickled his nose. It smelled good. He had an arm around her shoulders. She was wearing silk. Nice. Now who was she, again? What had he been up to last night?
Then he remembered. Oh yeah, D. And proposing. They were in bed, so had D said yes? No. Well, yes, eventually, but only after…tour…and rooms…and dragon…and Q-chan.
Leon squeezed his eyes shut again and fought to keep from groaning. Not just a weird dream, then. He felt as rough as if he had a hangover, after a night like that. What time had they even gone to bed? What time was it now?
There was a timid rapping at the door. Leon blinked, and then realized that was what had woken him up in the first place, a few seconds ago. He glanced down at D, who was still curled up at his side, his head on Leon's chest. Well…at least he didn't kick. Or snore. And smelled nice, and fit right. Leon couldn't remember the last time he'd slept with somebody -- either it was wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am, or he'd lie awake while the girl he'd gone home with would sleep.
Leon held his breath and eased out from under D as quietly as he could. He had limited experience with waking D up, but judging by the black eye the guy had given him the last time, it wasn't a good idea. Fuck, that whole day had been a nightmare, hadn't it? Starting out with D giving him a shiner for no reason, and going on to an even worse place, a place where Leon had been scared to death that by nightfall he wouldn't have a brother or a…or a…
More knocking at the door. Leon growled under his breath as he made it to the edge of the bed, and suppressed the urge to yell at the door, because that would kind of defeat the purpose of getting up quietly. Luckily, D hadn't stirred. Leon looked down at him as he rose from the bed. D even slept pretty. He didn't look disturbed, like he had that other time; wasn't twitching or whimpering, like he was having a nightmare. Just dead to the world, this morning. (Morning?) Leon guessed, after yesterday, he needed the rest, too.
He tiptoed to the door and opened it. Chris. With the raccoon and the goat-tiger at his side, like always.
"Hey," Leon whispered, stepping into the hall and closing the door to a crack behind him. His voice sounded hoarse and gravelly after all the yelling he'd done last night. "What's up?"
Your phone was ringing, Chris said, sounding like he was whispering too, even though he wasn't talking out loud. He held it up. You left it in the front room.
Shit. Leon checked the log. Sure enough, three missed calls from work. The time on the LED display told him that it was well past noon. Damn it, his sense of time was fucked beyond repair now.
"Hold on a second, buddy," he told Chris, and quickly hit the speed-dial for the station. A few moments later, he was connected to a very angry Chief of Police.
"Leon, where the hell -- "
"Sorry, Chief," Leon said, wanting to keep this brief. "I've been asleep. Didn't mean to skip out. I feel like shit. I think I need a sick day."
A moment of surprised silence. Leon couldn't even remember the last time he'd taken a sick day. "You sound like shit," the chief acknowledged. "And that better not be because of a damn hangover, either."
"I always come in when I have a hangover," Leon snapped.
"I guess you do," the chief sighed. Like he could deny that, when he spent half the time complaining about Leon's crappy mood. "Fuck, Orcot, I'm short-staffed as it is. But I guess we'll manage."
"Yeah. Sorry," Leon said again. "Uh…I might need tomorrow off too. Depends on how I feel."
"Fine," the chief said. "I guess you're due. I'll tell Jill. She'll probably wanna stop by and mother you."
"No, that's okay," Leon said quickly. "I mean, I'm…" Aw, fuck. "Not at my apartment anyway."
Another moment of silence. "Let me guess," the chief said.
"Yeah. It was…can I explain later? I really do feel -- "
" -- like shit. Fine. You got a nursemaid. Lucky you. Get some sleep and call me when you know if you're coming in tomorrow." The chief hung up.
Leon sighed and gave the phone back to Chris, who gave him an odd look in return. "How you feeling today?" he asked.
Okay. I just got up. We made lunch. It was plainly an offer, but Leon wasn't quite up to thinking about food yet. He shrugged. Where's the Count? Chris asked timidly.
"Still sleeping, last I checked. Think I'll go back and check on him." Leon did his best to give Chris a parenting look. "If you're okay."
Is he going to leave? Or are -- are you going to marry him? Chris asked, even more timidly. All the…the animals…keep asking me.
"Nobody's leaving." As far as Leon knew, and he'd do whatever it took to keep it that way. "Hope I'm gonna marry him. You okay with that?" Maybe it had been a bad idea to wait to tell Chris until after it had been announced. But hell, what was the alternative? In spite of his determination, Leon had known D would resist, had known there would be a fight. It had seemed kinder to spare Chris the worry about that, at least. Better to keep it under wraps until everything was decided.
I guess, Chris said, and made a face. It's weird.
Leon felt his stomach knot up. He'd just about fooled himself that he could give the world a big fuck-you about the gay thing. But he didn't think he could stand being called 'weird' by his own brother. "Listen, Chris," he said awkwardly. "I mean…I know I've always gone for women…but…"
Yeah, and you're trying to arrest him, you always say, Chris said. But this means you like him now? he added hopefully.
Hmm. So, okay, maybe that meant Chris wasn't really…Leon didn't know what that meant. "I like him pretty good," Leon said. "Most of the time." He had to say it again. "You'll understand when you're older."
Chris glared.
"Right," Leon said. "Go eat lunch." He ruffled the kid's hair to show there were no hard feelings, and watched him scamper off down the hallway, furry pals in tow, before returning to D's room and closing the door.
D was still asleep, but he'd rolled into the warm spot Leon had left. In spite of everything, Leon got a goofy smile on his face. But he needed to take a leak, and probably wash his mouth out, since it tasted kinda foul. Wash his face. Do something to feel human again, even if D didn't like humans.
Not human. Leon tried to ignore the chilly shudder that rolled down his spine. Because now that somebody had said it out loud? It wasn't all that big of a surprise.
There was a door in the far right corner of the room. Hopefully it was a bathroom. Leon made sure to keep quiet as he crossed the floor, and opened the door. Yeah, it was a bathroom--almost as large as the bedroom, with a marble tub that looked big enough to float a battleship and a sink big enough to drown somebody in. Plus a huge cabinet made of lacquered wood. Curious, Leon opened it up, and saw row upon row of enormous, fluffy towels, little pots and jars made out of porcelain and gold, and a little closet just for ridiculously expensive-looking bathrobes. Silk, of course. Good God, the guy must have magic money, too…
No toilet anywhere in sight. Well, if D wasn't human, maybe he didn't have to…but somebody around here did, guaranteed. Chris for sure, at least. Feeling less indulgent than he had a few minutes ago, now that he'd had time to get jealous of D's money and really had to pee, Leon stalked back out into the bedroom.
He took D by the shoulder and shook him, but it was still gentle. "Yo. Sleeping beauty." Then he pulled back quick, just in case D got any funny ideas about lashing out in his sleep.
But D didn't lash out. Instead he twitched, made a soft noise, and opened his eyes, slowly. As dramatic as if he was in a movie. His lashes lifted up like curtains over those amazing eyes. Leon forgot about being annoyed. Forgot everything, especially when D's pretty lips pursed, and he made a gentle "Mmm?" sound.
And he'd been planning to leave. Forever…
"Toilet," Leon blurted.
D closed his eyes again and gestured vaguely at the door in the corner.
"No. I mean, I need a toilet," Leon said, feeling the annoyance come back.
"One in there," D muttered, sounding like he was getting ready to be waspish as well. He'd never been a morning person. Leon rolled his eyes and stormed back into the bathroom, ready to yell from there that D had been wrong, and not caring if he woke the bastard up for real.
There was a toilet sitting in one corner of the room. Made out of marble. Matched the décor perfectly. Leon was pretty damn sure it hadn't been there ten seconds ago.
He rubbed his eyes, shook his head again, and took a leak without asking any questions. The gilt mirror over the sink told him he looked as shit as he must have sounded over the phone: messy hair, bags under his eyes, and stubble that looked ready to take on a life of its own. His nice clothes were creased. And of course, out there, D had looked as pure and fresh as a daisy.
Leon rolled his eyes and rinsed his mouth out with water from the sink. He poked around in another, smaller cabinet, and to his surprise, lighted on a razor almost immediately. Did D shave? Even though he'd never seen the guy with so much as the whisper of a beard or moustache, Leon couldn't quite picture it. And…that toilet…maybe the bathroom was able to provide whatever you needed, whenever you needed it. Or D could make it do that. After all he'd seen last night, who was to say otherwise?
Leon ignored the returning chill, grabbed a nearby can of shaving cream, and spruced himself up as best he could. He wanted a shower, but his gut was telling him that it would be better to get back out there before D had a chance to really wake up. So he combed his fingers through his hair and headed back into the bedroom.
D was starting to stir, now. He was still curled up in the warm spot, but his eyes were open, and he was looking sleepily around the room. His eyes widened when he spotted Leon heading for the bed. Maybe he'd been wondering if it had all been a dream, too. No such luck, baby.
Leon flopped down beside D on the bed again, making the mattress bounce and jostle. Then he reached out and pulled D into his arms again before D could get pissy about it. Mmm, nice. D lay warm and pliant against him, looking sleepy and bemused.
Leon thought about kissing him. Wished he had the nerve, and then got mad at himself because he didn't, and did it anyway before he could change his mind. D stiffened and gasped; didn't pull away, but didn't kiss back, either. He just sort of lay there and took it, and gave Leon a stricken expression when they parted. But he'd curled one hand into the front of Leon's shirt.
"You sleep okay?" Leon asked, because he couldn't think of anything else.
D shook his head. Pressed his lips together, and when he unpressed him, they were shiny and moist. Leon gulped. "I remained awake long after you fell asleep," D murmured.
That surprised Leon. D had looked exhausted last night, or at least, as close as he ever came to it. "How come?"
D just stared at him like Leon hadn't even asked, still with that blank, surprised look on his face. Then he got a tiny crease in his forehead, like he was trying to decide something. Finally, just when Leon was starting to get impatient, he said, "I was thinking."
Any other day, Leon would have rolled his eyes and said, No shit. But today wasn't like any other day, and he realized that something was happening here that had never happened before. D was getting ready to talk to him. About something personal. Something that mattered. So he just asked, "About what?"
D moistened his lips again. Leon wished he wouldn't, since it was kind of distracting. "Many things," he said, still sounding hesitant. This obviously didn't come naturally to him. "About last night, of course. And…and the many things we have yet to discuss…and Q-chan…" his voice sank a little on the last few words.
Now that D was talking to him, Leon quickly realized that he had no idea what he was supposed to say back. It was easier the other way around. D always knew how to listen, and always knew just what to say, at just the right time. When he wanted to. Leon had never been any good at that, unless he was interrogating a suspect, and that wasn't the mood he wanted to set right now. "You, uh, you okay?" he asked awkwardly, hoping that was all right.
"I suppose," D said. His forehead crinkled again, but now he seemed to be looking inward. "I am grieved at his loss," he said, "naturally, but also…what Honlon said, about…"
"Him being a spy?"
"Quite," D agreed. "It is not so unthinkable, I suppose. Q-chan was, in fact, a gift from my grandfather. He arrived at the shop shortly after Grandfather left it in my hands. His letter told me Q-chan would be a 'companion' for me in my solitude." D's voice trailed off. He had a combination of emotions on his face, none of them good: loss, anger, hurt, shame. Leon watched it all, fascinated. He'd seen D do mysterious, arrogant, enraged, sugar high, flirtatious, all that, but never anything even remotely like this. Remotely vulnerable. It left him feeling like he needed air.
"He was a companion," D continued after a moment. "For these past two years he has never left my side. He seemed to have the most uncanny gift of listening. I…I confided in him. Everything." His cheeks turned pink, and humiliation took over all the other feelings on his face. "Even -- "
"Even what?" Leon asked, hoping it was something about him. About how maybe D had liked him, even though he was a human.
But it wasn't. "Even my fears about running the shop," D muttered. "My worries that I could not live up to the legacy of my ancestors. To Grandfather's expectations." He smiled bitterly. "Of course, it appears that I have not."
"Hold it," Leon said, unwilling for this to turn into a pity party, and even more unwilling for it to turn into something that could make D change his mind. Because he still could, no matter what he'd said last night. "What about what the dragon said?" He couldn't believe he'd just said something like that out loud, but he pressed on. "That your grandpa's got the wrong idea. About how to do things. That it's better this way."
"'This way?'" D repeated, looking arch.
"Yeah," Leon said, forcing himself to keep eye-contact. He had to get better at talking about the gay stuff. Had to. "This way. You and me."
"You and me," D mused. The vulnerable expression was completely gone now, but Leon couldn't say for sure what had taken its place. He looked closed-off now. "An odd concept, to be sure." He eased away from Leon far enough that he could prop himself up on one elbow. "You still wish to marry me."
He hadn't asked it like a question, but Leon said, "Yeah," anyway.
"Why?" D asked. "I am not the person you thought I was when you proposed."
Leon sat up against the headboard, wishing he felt less hungover, just in case this was gonna turn into another epic shouting match. D didn't look like he was about to fly off the handle, but with him, you never knew. That was part of what made him -- life with him -- so exciting. And frustrating. And exciting.
"Wrong," he said. "I mean, I didn't know all that stuff about the shop and your grandfather and the dragon and everything. Doesn't mean you're not the same person I've been hanging out with for two years. Right?"
"My past is an undeniable part of who I am," D argued. "Surely, finding out that I am not human…"
"D," Leon interrupted, staring him dead in the eye and taking hold of one of his hands, "tell me straight. Is there anybody, anywhere, who knows you as good as I do?"
D stared at him like he'd just said something incredible. "…As 'well' as I do," he corrected, after a second.
"Thought so," Leon said.
"That's not saying much," D snapped. "We are a solitary race. No one truly 'knows' us. Detective, my isolation is a part of my identity -- I am meant to be alone. Never to have a mate."
"What?" Leon glared at him and decided they might as well lay all the cards on the table. "You said yes, last night. How come you said yes if you aren't meant to have a -- " He couldn't say 'mate.' Too New-Age-bullshitty. "To hook up? Your grandpa and your dad and your sister had to come from somewhere, right?"
"First of all," D said, "I have no sister. I will explain later," he said, loudly, over Leon's protests, "for that is a matter for another time. But my race, my species -- we do not require the intervention of an outsider's DNA to reproduce. An evolutionary oddity deliberately cultivated after we were very nearly wiped out." His eyes narrowed in a way that brought the chills right back to Leon's spine. "By humans."
Leon's mouth went dry. He'd seen that look in D's eyes before. It never meant anything good. Generally, it meant that whatever was coming up could be really, really bad. Maybe something he didn't want to hear. Maybe it could even still be a deal-breaker.
"Okay," he said. "Tell me."
A betting pool?!
Chris stared aghast at Pon-chan as she sipped her milk complacently.
"She only looks sweet and innocent," T-chan said, rolling his eyes as he tore into a drumstick.
"The Count won't mind," Pon-chan said. Chris knew that was true. The Count could never stay mad at Pon-chan for very long about anything. "Besides, everyone's talking about it. This is a way to feel like we're doing something about it, too, even though we can't, really."
But what are people betting on?
"Duh," Pon-chan said, reaching for a cookie. "Whether the Count moves the shop. Whether he marries your brother. If they do, what the odds are of them having babies." Her eyes went all starry for a moment. "Oh, I hope they do!"
They can't have babies! Chris said. They're both men! The Count told me only women have babies!
"The Count's family is special," T-chan said. "Let's leave it at that and we'll all be happier, okay?"
"But could he have babies with someone?" Pon-chan demanded, looking more excited by the minute at the prospect. "Not just another Count D, but a real baby that's half him and half somebody else?" She clapped her hands. "Wouldn't that be wonderful? Maybe he'd let us babysit!"
"I'm going to throw up," T-chan said. "Tell you what, put me down for this. Odds on him cutting that moron's dick off and kicking him out for good."
Chris's lip wobbled and, to his horror, he could feel his eyes welling up with tears. T-chan was going to laugh at him for being a crybaby.
"Crybaby," T-chan sneered. Chris hated being right.
I don't want to go, he pleaded. If Leon goes for good, I have to go too. Do you really think he'll kick Leon out forever?
T-chan looked like he wanted to say something really mean. But instead he snarled down at his plate of chicken. "Hasn't yet," he muttered. "Why the hell should he start now?"
That made Chris feel a little better, at least.
Leon really wished he had a beer.
"So, okay," he said. He was sitting on the edge of the bed now, while D paced around the room, which had seemed to make it easier for him to unload his family's tragic history and their whackadoo response to it. "Chinese prince guy gets turned down. Chinese prince guy gets blue balls and kills almost everyone in your family. Which sucks, but this is every single human's fault because why?"
"Because humans everywhere are the same," D said spitefully, glaring at him. He'd managed to get himself pretty worked up telling the story, dragging all those bad feelings about humans right up to the surface. "The nationality and the rank of the man matters nothing. His selfish instincts led him to thoughtless slaughter. The human story is the same in every race, in every country. You destroy what hurts you, or that which you do not understand. And in doing so, you murder the earth."
"So all humans are thoughtless monsters?" Leon's hackles were now well and truly up. He couldn't help it. Didn't want to help it anymore. What a bigoted bunch of bullshit. "That what your grandpa taught you? How's it any different from what filthy humans do, what makes you guys any better than us?"
"We treasure the earth and her creatures," D said coldly. "We are not wasteful or thoughtlessly cruel. That is more than I can say for humanity."
"So you kill people?!"
"I have never killed anyone," D snapped, rounding on him. "I merely give humans the means to destroy themselves. They do not have to take those means."
"The fuck?" Leon roared. "You show some poor bastard the spitting image of his dead wife, and he's evil because he takes the bait? What the fuck else should he do? What the hell is wrong with you?"
D's eyes were blazing with anger now. Leon immediately started looking around for stuff he might decide to throw. A couple of knickknacks and curios. Nothing he couldn't handle. "You are certainly an expert on my shortcomings," D managed. "How dare you take umbrage? When I think of the slaughter humans have done to their own over the ages -- "
"Shut the fuck up!" Leon was actually seeing red now. "You -- you're gonna blame the whole fucking human race because of what some psychos have done? Guess what, I didn't do that shit, Chris didn't do that shit, just some people you never met. But you're the one handing out a contract that you know some poor asshole's gonna break, and gonna die!" Leon pointed a shaking finger right at D. "That's no random psycho. That's you." He took a deep breath that didn't do him any good. "You're just as bad as any damn human. Just as fucking bad."
D had gone white. Well, even whiter than usual. He clenched his hands into fists, bunched at the side of his thighs, pressing against his girly pajama pants. "So that is what you think of me," he whispered.
"It's what you just told me, asshole!" Leon grabbed at his own hair, because the alternative was D's throat. "You just told me you got some kind of genetic boner for killing my species. What did you want me to think?"
"I told you," D said, looking away, his hair swinging to cover his face. He was starting to breathe faster, and Leon could just barely see a patch of red spreading up his throat. "I warned you. I warned you that you could not accept this -- accept me. Of course you did not listen -- " He raised a shaking hand to the face that Leon couldn't see. "Of course you had to bring it to this -- "
Leon felt like he was getting swallowed up by everything: confusion, rage, and over it all, fear that he was going to lose something. Lose D. Which was crazy. If everything D said was true, Leon should want to lose him. Non-human was one thing. Non-human with the mission to kill humans was something completely different.
Only D wasn't some psycho freak, or some mindless killer. Leon had seen him with Chris. He'd seen him have insights into people that nobody else ever had. He'd seen him give out pets that helped people, too, instead of killing them. What he was saying now…it didn't sound like stuff he'd thought about, or ever questioned. It sounded like something he'd been taught. Like he was reading a script. Leon just bet he knew who'd written it, too. How much of the vicious human-hate was really D, and how much was his family's influence?
If there was ever a time to ask, it was now. Leon tried to think how to put it. He sucked at this: talking, listening, being reasonable. "Listen," he said. "You like some humans. I know you do. Not just me and Chris, but…" his voice trailed off. "That Prince Salim kid, with the ugly cat. You liked him. You liked the little girl with the hairy dog. Christ, you even liked that terrorist with the jaguar!" Of course, he would have…Cesar would have understood all about killing people for some deluded cause. Bad example. "They can't be the only ones. So, you don't think all humans are bad."
It sounded pretty airtight to him, but D didn't seem to agree. He still wouldn't look at Leon. "Do not try to convince me, or yourself, that I love humans, Mr. Detective," he said, his voice hollow. "I assure you, you will only be even more disappointed in the end."
Leon rolled his eyes. "Did I say you had to love humans? Fuck, I don't love humans. People suck. I oughta know, huh?" Did D think that he saw the warm and fuzzy side of people, in his job? They both knew better than that. "Still doesn't mean you have to go out and kill all of them. Christ, the way we're going, we're gonna wipe ourselves out a hell of a long time before you get to it." He glared at D. "The dragon's right. How many humans you even get, every year? You could do a lot worse. But you don't."
"And that excuses what I have already done?" D asked, too lightly. Still not looking at Leon, or even showing his face. His posture was as stiff as a board.
"No." Leon swallowed. It didn't. Nothing could. Being brainwashed by Grandpa (if that's what this was) wasn't the same thing as being forced to do something wrong. But Honlon had said something else, something that Leon thought was going to be really important in a second. "The dragon -- the other head -- she said you didn't really wanna do this. Get revenge. And she's you, so she'd know, right?" Yeah, beer would definitely help right about now. "D, look at me."
D actually turned to face the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. He trembled a little.
"Oh, quit it," Leon snapped. "D, come on. Can you tell me you like doing it? Like…" He really wasn't equipped for the philosophical stuff. "If your grandfather hadn't taught you to. Would you have grown up and done it anyway?"
D's voice was so low that Leon had to strain to catch it. "Sometimes it is satisfying," he whispered. Leon got a really cold feeling in his stomach. "Ah, Mr. Detective. If you only knew the truth of some of the people I have punished. If you only knew what baseness and evil their own natures led them to."
He finally turned around to face Leon. His eyes were shining brilliantly, and he had a tiny smirk on his face. He'd never looked less human to Leon than he did right then. "You don't know the half of what I and my family have done. And you never will."
Silence cut the air between them for a second, slicing up every inch between their bodies. After a moment, Leon found his voice. "You didn't answer my question," he said, proud that it came out steady.
"Didn't I?" D's arms were still crossed, but now he looked almost like he was hugging himself protectively.
"Shuko said your grandpa wouldn't bother us anymore. She said you needed humans to survive." Leon saw a small, but unmistakable shiver shake D's frame. "So quit. Your heart ain't in it and you don't have to do it anymore."
D wasn't smirking anymore. He didn't look inhuman anymore. He looked scared, now. Scared, lost, and young. Leon wondered how old he really was. "What do you want, Detective?" he whispered after a moment.
Fuck if he was going to jump through that hoop again. Leon just looked at him.
"You are insane," D said. "Truly."
"I couldn't take it if you kept doing the contracts thing," Leon said. "I'm not gonna lie. That's what the contracts are about, isn't it?" D nodded, shakily.
Leon rose to his feet, walked over to where D stood. He took D's arms in his hands. He knew he was in way over his head; that he was asking D to give up his whole way of life, and take Leon in exchange for it and be happy with that. But he didn't see any other choice, either. What was he supposed to do? Walk out with Chris, and leave D to pack up and run away, and start his killing-humans business somewhere else?
He wasn't sure he could handle this, but he definitely couldn't handle that. "Jesus. Look at you. Look at us. It doesn't have to be this way."
"I know of no other way to be," D replied, and then looked shocked as anything that he'd said it.
Like Leon did, either? Like his life had prepared him to live in a magic shop with dragons? Only difference was, he was getting past "weird," and it was starting to make sense to him: he'd always known something was off about the pet shop. About D. But he'd kept coming back to it, even when he'd known he'd never be able to make a warrant stick, because he'd started liking it: that hint of something out of the ordinary, beyond the everyday round of filthy apartment and fast food and jerking off to porn and arresting the scum of the earth. He wished he could explain it, but he was all talked out, and so he kissed D, instead.
When they stopped, they were clinging, and D was panting. "Say you'll stop," Leon pleaded against his mouth, knowing this was dirty pool, and not giving a damn. "I mean, do you have to do it?" he added, as a horrible thought occurred to him. "Like, if you don't, do you die or something? Or does the shop disappear? Or -- ?"
"No," D said, looking up at Leon, still holding tightly to him. "No, I do not have to do it. But, Mr. De…Leon…" He closed his eyes, probably because he realized they were doing his talking for him. "I don't know what else my species survives for. We have no purpose, but that. Or so I have always been told."
"Maybe you got told wrong," Leon offered, keeping his voice soft. "Sounds like a crappy purpose to me. Who says you can't think up a new one?"
D opened his eyes again, and now he looked amused. "A mammoth task falls to me, I see. To determine the future of my species all by myself."
Leon snorted. "If anybody can do it, you can." Still, he had to admit, D was right. Figuring out how to keep his species alive? That was heavy-duty shit. Then something occurred to Leon, just like that, and he felt his face flush. "Maybe," he blurted before he could stop himself, and he shut his mouth fast.
"Maybe what?"
Leon couldn't say it. It was way too stupid. But he could maybe pussyfoot around it. "Why," he managed, thinking fast, "why do you think that dragon said you needed humans to survive? Needed me? Like…I mean…" Maybe this was subtle enough. "What can I do?"
D's cheeks turned pink. "I can only assume Shuko was thinking of -- " Looked as if he couldn't say it either.
"Of…"
D cleared his throat. "Yes."
Leon felt his eyes getting really big. "So, so you could -- " He gulped. "We could -- "
"I think perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves," D said quickly.
"Right," Leon agreed at once. They stared at each other, both still flushed.
"Will you be worth it?" D asked.
Leon scowled at him. "I don't know. Will you?"
D's eyes narrowed. "Certainly not. We have nothing in common. I am very exacting, I will not abide slovenliness, I have no tolerance for your filthier habits -- including, of course, pornography -- and I am certain to make your life a misery for the rest of your born days."
Just like that, Leon felt his scowl stretching into a grin. He loved that D thought he could come out with a snooty little speech like that and sound serious about it, all while he had his arms around Leon's waist. "No shit," he said. "Told you I knew that already. Last night."
D turned even pinker. "So you did."
"Tell you what. Give up selling killer pets," Leon said. "I'll -- I'll give up the porn." Or at least give up having it where D might ever catch sight of it.
D glared, like he'd just read Leon's mind. Damn. What if he had? What if he could? "And smoking," he said challengingly.
Leon opened his mouth to yell No Way, when he reflected that D was giving up a much worse habit, all things considered. But he'd been a steady smoker for almost ten years now. Christ, it was going to be like cutting off an arm. "If I switch to lights," he tried.
"I do not think I would like kissing you if you tasted of cigarettes," D said pensively.
Talk about dirty fucking pool. "If I chew gum…"
D tilted his head to the side. His eyes were gorgeous. "I want you to live," he said quietly. "Leon, I want you to live long and well and in good health. For as long as you can." He reached up and touched Leon's cheek softly. "Am I the only one who must adapt? Will you truly not do this thing for me?"
"No more contracts," Leon said, his shoulders slumping. "Ever. Period."
"…Very well. Yes." Leon closed his eyes, just for a second. D's hand lingered on his face. They looked at each other and didn't say anything, for what felt like forever. D was looking deep into Leon's eyes again, searching for something. "When you proposed…" he began, paused, and swallowed. "I wanted it. I had not realized until then -- how much. Not the marriage," he added, too hastily, "but what you were really offering, Detective -- beyond simple social conventions. And I knew I could not take it. Yet I could not find the strength necessary to force you to leave." He smiled bitterly. "If you have ever wanted to punish me for my many sins…you did so effectively, last night."
Leon didn't know what the hell D was talking about, but he figured that was par for the course. "But you can take it," he said.
A quiver ran through D's slender body, and he bit his lower lip, looking terrified and resolved all at once. "I will take it."
"Yes," Leon breathed, and pressed their foreheads together, like he had last night. All of a sudden, his chest felt ten times lighter. No more Grandpa, no more contracts. Leon Orcot and Count D to wed. Film at eleven.
It was a million to one shot, but they were still gonna be great. They were going to rock the fucking house. His instincts always told him when a plan was coming together, and his instincts had never, ever been as happy as they were right now. Whatever he and D were to each other, whatever they were becoming, it was going to be awesome.
"Now," D whispered.
Leon blinked and pulled back so he could see him better. "Huh?"
"Now," D repeated urgently, fisting his hands in Leon's shirt again. "Now, Detective. Before I change my mind." He gave a thin, sour smile. "Or you do."