Fake Fan Fiction / Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction ❯ Cherry Bomb ❯ Comforts Sleeping Peacefully ( Chapter 10 )

Hello all…hehehehe…here is the next chapter, yep, D is still ill…

That's all folks; I'd hate to spoil it for you.

Cherry Bomb 10

Dee sighed; it had been a while since he had seen Ryo look so sad. Count D had sent the children to play and confessed to what had started the altercation with the children. D was just setting out a fresh pot of tea when the chime on his door signaled that someone had entered his shop. They all looked up and were surprised to see the Randolf family standing in the doorway. Their son was covered in bandages and looking mutinously at his mother.

"Please," Mrs. Randolf said as D stood to welcome her to the shop, yet inform her that it was closed. "Allow us to bother you for a moment of your time. I merely insisted that my son apologize, not only to you but to Chris as well." Mrs. Randolf nudged her son forward. He looked at his father for support. Mr. Randolf pointedly looked away from his son and studied the cages of animals that surrounded them. T-Chan sniffed Edmund and growled. D pulled him back and handed him to Leon who was tempted to let him go.

"Go on," Mrs. Randolf said, her tone threatened dire retributions if he did not obey.

"I'm sorry for insulting you sir and you as well detective Orcot." Edmund muttered and stared at his feet.

D smiled and knelt down in front of the small child. He raised his face to his. "Do you know what the words you said mean?" D asked calmly, Edmund nodded and D sighed sadly, "Do you know that those very words have caused the deaths of many men and women through out this nation's history?" Edmund looked up in shock; he turned wide tear filled eyes on the occupants of the room in search of a friendly face. He lighted on Andy; she smiled sadly before she turned her face away.

"I serve a God of love, not hate." Andy said and sipped her tea. "Love and hate are both a choice we humans make daily, and sometimes that choice is made and a life is ended. Perhaps we will forgive you, if you do one homework assignment for us." Andy looked up at his parents and Mrs. Randolf nodded her assent. "I know that at your grade level, you are doing book reports, so I want you to find all the information you can about a young man by the name of Matthew Shepard, and tell Count D all you have learned. For this can not be a true apology, because your mother has forced you to do it; you should understand the ramifications of hatred, and be sorry of your own accord. On that day you will also apologize to Chris."

Edmund hung his head at the disappointment in Andy's face as she turned away from him. "What's your name?" He asked her.

Andy smiled, "I am High Princess Andromache of Arcadia." She answered; his parents gasped and stared at her in awe. Andy placed a hand on D's shoulder to steady herself as she felt a wave of dizziness. D stood and took her to the couch.

"Sit my lady, do not overtax yourself." D murmured and handed her a silk handkerchief to sniff. The lavender calmed her and she smiled. The Randolf's took their leave of the shop and D excused himself to lie in bed for the rest of the day. Ryo and Dee took Bikky home, while Leon closed the shop and fed Chris dinner, a worried frown on his face as he peeked in on D lying in bed, Leon noted D's thin frame and his wan features. Andy was ill, was she contagious, had she gotten D sick? Leon put Chris to bed and went and took D in his arms. D was as cold as a stone left out on a cold night in Chicago during the winter.

D…Baby… Open your eyes!" Leon said and shook D. D did not move, Leon reached for the phone to call an ambulance then thought better of it, better to make sure he had all the facts before he called. Quickly he checked for a pulse and other vital signs. D lived, but Leon feared that he would soon expire, his heartbeat was so faint, his breathing was very shallow, and his skin was so cold. Leon reached for the phone and looked up in shock as a slim hand held the receiver down. He looked up into the deep purple eyes of D's father.

"They can not help him." He said simply and went to sit beside his unconscious son. Lord D ran a hand over D's brow. He pulled the blankets around him.

"We have to do something, he may be dying." Leon gasped out blinking back tears.

"I know," Lord D said sadly, "I know, lie down beside him and try to keep him warm, he is expending too much energy lately, I don't know why, I'll have to speak with his grand father to confirm my suspicions, but…" D's father sighed as Leon slid into bed and pulled him into his arms. He shivered as D's skin came in full contact with his own.

"Stay calm," Lord D said and left the room, he returned a few moments later with a cup of warm water and a plate of white powder. He poured the entire heaping pile into the cup and stirred. "Hold his head up and open his mouth." Lord D told Leon. Leon looked up at him suspiciously. D's father took a sip to show that is was not poison and Leon did as he was bid. Leon looked at the granules in the water and frowned, if he did not know any better, he would say that was nothing but a cup of sugar water.

"Where did you come from?" Leon asked as he and Lord D carefully slipped water into D's mouth.

"I was in the area, and I felt his presence lessen, I knew he would expire soon, so I came to lend aid, that's all." Lord D confessed.

"What's wrong with him?" Leon asked next.

"That I am not sure of, like I said, I need to talk with his grandfather, he is either dying, or…"

"I thought you guys were immortal," Leon exploded and held D closer praying he would open his eyes. "Please baby wake up, I love you so much, I need you, Chris needs you, he'll be a wild hellion with out you. I'll be a hellion, please, wake up." Leon whispered into D's ear. Lord D turned away and concentrated on getting the water into D. D sputtered and coughed. Leon sat him up and stared into his frightened eyes.

"Leon!" D gasped and coughed again. His eyes surveyed the room and lighted on Lord D, "father?"

"Here child, drink this." Lord D handed the glass to D. D turned questioning eyes on Leon who nodded. D took the cup and tasted it, after a sip he drank it down. "I have to speak to your Grandfather, he is in Chicago right?" Lord D asked.

D nodded and sat down the empty glass, "Yes, he has Q-Chan with him." D said, he smiled, and he felt so much better. He stretched and Leon looked puzzled, moments before he had looked near death and now he looked just fine. "Do not worry so Father, I think that Andy may have accidentally lent me her symptoms, I am fine now." D's father looked at him quizzically and smiled.

"I would rather be assured of your safety, than to be carefree and suffer the consequences later." Lord D said. Leon smiled knowingly; it seemed that Lord D really did care for his son. "If you feel any sign of weakness coming on immediately eat something, that chocolate you love so much, or something else that will lend you energy. I shall return as soon as I find something out." Leon would have questioned the Kami further, but he vanished as if he had never been in the room.

Break

A week passed and D showed no signs of further illness, thereby confirming his earlier suspicions that Andy had unknowingly passed her feelings on to him. Ethan had not returned to the shop and D smiled, hoping the young man would not be too upset that D was not available to him. In truth, D had never been available to him; D suspected that no human but Leon ever had a chance of touching his heart. D's smile dimmed a bit as he thought of the fact that Leon had not touched him since his father had left. The Chime over his shop door sounded and he fixed a smile to his face and greeted his new customer. His smile faltered as he recognized the detective that walked in.

"Count D," The young man said and moved a strand of bright hair away from his deep blue eyes. "I know you probably would rather flip me again, but rest assured I have no designs on Orcot, not anymore." J. J. sighed and walked further into the shop.

D looked at him questioningly. "Is everything all right detective?" D indicated that J.J. should sit. "You seem like something is bothering you."

"I did not come to L. A. to follow Dee and Ryo, My grandmother is ill and I'm all she has." J.J. was not sure why he confessed, but there was a certain understanding in D's cool assessing stare that made him feel comfortable.

"I see," D sat opposite J.J. and picked up his cup of tea, "What brings you to my shop?"

"Well, she seems lonely when I go to work and I thought that I would get her a puppy or something. I knew of your shop and I thought…" J. J. Shrugged. D smiled at the young man.

"Why don't you tell me about your Grandmother and we can pick the perfect pet for her…"

Break

Leon followed his suspect into the seedy part of town and waited for him to make his move. Ryo and Dee were on the other side of the street lending aide, while Jill stood on a corner and tried to be unnoticed as she too pursued the villain. As soon as he handed his package to his dealer, Leon and the other's sprang into action. Leon reached them first and tackled him to the ground. Ryo began to pursue the contact that ran, Dee was close behind him. Jill stood back in awe as Leon slammed the criminal to the ground and pummeled him before he slapped cuffs on him and hauled him to the car. Leon ground out the criminal's rights and slammed the car door, ignoring the curses.

Jill sighed, maybe D was mad at him; he was only this gruff when he was denied sex…Jill decided to stop by the shop to see if D was okay. Leon pulled to a screeching halt in front of the PD and dragged his captive to the holding cell and roughly threw him in. "Police brutality I tell you!" the prisoner yelled.

"Oh you want brutality, I'll give your drug smuggling ass brutality," Leon yelled back. The prisoner shrank back from Leon in mortal fear of the slightly deranged look in his eyes.

"He really needs to get laid, is he having issues with D?" Jill looked up and shrugged as Ryo stepped back to allow Dee to deposit their criminal into a holding cell. Ryo sighed, "We've been kind of busy with this case, and so we haven't been by the shop much. I thought everything was fine, but you can never tell with D, he will smile at you one minute, then get alone and cry."

"Drives Leon bat shit." Dee snickered and headed down the hall to process the paperwork of another job well done.

Leon sat as his desk with a fierce worry frown creasing his brow. He had spoken to Lord D the last time he had called the shop to check on his son. Leon had asked if it was his fault that D was ill, and Lord D had not been able to give a definitive answer. Leon had vowed not to touch D, until he knew for sure. He worked late and left early. He had noted D pouting at him, but he was afraid to voice his fears. "Want to talk about it?" Leon looked up as saw Diana and Jill shutting his office door. "Ryo and Dee have hightailed it to the shop, so fess up, what's going on?" Jill said. Diana sighed, Jill had informed her of the deep abiding love between Count D and Leon, and though it was a shock to find out that Leon was gay, she was happy that he had found happiness.

Leon thought of not talking, and then gave up, "D is sick." He said sullenly. "We don't know what's wrong with him, I don't want to touch him and have him get worse, you should have seen him Jill, laying there on the bed, he looked dead, and his skin was like ice, I thought he was dead, till his dad showed up." Leon looked up into Jill and Diana's stunned and confused faces.

"His dad? I thought he hated you both." Jill said

"No, he loves D and tolerates me, he has been calling everyday, he went to Chicago to talk to D's grandfather, they have suspicions about what is wrong, but there are no definitive findings." Leon said.

"Take him to a doctor," Diana said reasonably. Leon shook his head, and Jill was surprised that she had not thought of that, but somehow it had not seemed right. D would never consent to having a doctor look at him, not if it involved removing his piles of clothes; according to Leon he even wore his robes to the beach. Jill held in a snicker as she wondered how Leon had managed to get him undressed in order to…Jill paused her train of thought and focused on the problem at hand, D was sick.

"Well what's wrong with him?" Diana asked.

"We don't know," Leon expelled a sigh, "That is what his father and grandfather are trying to figure out."

"I mean what are his symptoms?" Jill asked.

"Sometimes he gets really pale, then he eats sugar cubes and he's fine, once I was eating ranch dressing on a salad and I thought he was going to vomit, he's never had a problem with the smell of it before, now just the sight makes him retch. T-Chan says he smells funny, all the animals' tip-toe around him, he moves and they run to follow him as if he is made of glass. It's so weird. Even Chris, though he is responding to the animals. And I think his hair is growing, it reaches his shoulders all the way now, not just the slight brushing it used to do." Leon sighed and sipped his coffee.

Diana laughed, "Well it's a good thing D is a man or I would swear that he is Pregnant." Jill laughed as well, Leon found he could not. D was not technically a man, but no, Leon thought, Kami women bore children, it wasn't possible…was it?

"I have to go, D is probably pissed with me, and I should talk to him" Leon was distracted as he left the PD.

Break

Ryo and Dee pulled up to the pet shop just as J.J. was leaving with a collie puppy in his arms. Ryo suppressed a shudder as he saw D sitting limply on the couch. They took in his graceful slump and watched as his abnormally pale hand slowly brought a sugar cube to his lips. He looked up as Ryo and Dee came and sat near him. "Hello detectives, if you have come to tell me that Leon will be late again, I had already assumed so." Ryo saw the sad look on D's face and noted that he was blinking rapidly.

"Is something going on with you two?" Ryo asked gently, he placed a hand on D's and was shocked at how frail D felt. "You look like you have lost weight, is everything all right?"

"Oh my… I guess I have lost weight, do you think that is why Leon no longer finds me attractive?" D asked as he looked worried. "He has not come near me, he works late and leaves early, I even made it a point to wake early, but he said he was in a hurry. Have I grown to thin? I didn't mean to, I don't even know why."

"Wait, you mean, you two haven't…" Dee began.

D sniffled, "It's been almost two weeks."

"Leon thinks you're hot stuff…I don't think he would care if you were thin or fat, has he been feeling well?" Dee said, "He might be sick or something and doesn't want to pass it on to you."

"No he's not sick but…" D paused, "I was ill about two weeks ago, maybe that's why…" D would have said more but the shop door opened again to admit a tall figure in a cloak.

Lord D pulled his cloak off and stared bemused at his son. His eyes surveyed the room and he smiled tightly at Ryo and Dee. "Please Gentlemen; allow me a moment alone with my son." Lord D said, and stared again at his son as if seeing him for the first time.

"Your son?" Ryo gasped. "I would have thought he was your younger brother for surely you are too young for him to be your son…you're almost twenty right?" Ryo looked at D who had just stuffed a sugar cube into his mouth and refused to speak. Lord D smiled and nodded.

"Never the less, appearances can be deceiving, he is indeed my son." Lord D said. As Ryo and Dee took their leave Leon strode in to the shop. "Ah good, Detective Orcot, I have news, D-Child, you are not as ill as I had thought, but your Grandfather has asked that we not discuss it more until he arrives. Rest assured that with proper care, you should be fine." D sighed and nodded, willing to let the matter drop.

Leon pulled Lord D aside, "Was I making him ill?" He asked anxiously. "I mean, our lovemaking…was it making him ill? Is it safe to touch him?" Leon blushed.

Lord D blushed as well, "It is quite all right for you and my son to continue…" Lord D could not say more, his face flaming he left to find a spare room in the shop where he could await the arrival of Sofu D, his father. Chris bounded in from school and took in the serious atmosphere of the shop. -Is D still sick? - He asked Leon.

"He'll be fine," Leon said and felt relief for the first time in what seemed like ages.

To-Be-Continued

Authors note: Please take a moment to think of the hatred and ignorance that infects this nation, and learn sympathy for those who suffer in silence. Say a small prayer for Matthew Shepard, and all others like him.