Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Ex Machina ❯ Chapter 14 ( Chapter 14 )

Dragon Ex Machina

 

DISC: I do not own Pet Shop of Horrors or its characters. These are the property of mangaka Matsuki Akino and publishing house Tokyopop (in the U.S., anyway). I make no profit from this story. Please don't sue.

 

 

Chapter XIV

 

 

He had just closed up the shop. The day had been both long and terribly short. He'd woken terribly early - 4am - and had not been able to fall back asleep. After closing up, he'd begun pacing the shop, checking in on the various rooms.

 

When he entered the room with the dragon on the door - Honlon's room, his daughter's, his and Leon's - all three heads greeted him with a smile.

 

“You are restless,” were Shuuko's first words.

 

“Give it a rest, Shuuko, he obviously didn't sleep well last night,” Kanan responded.

 

Junrei opened her eyes wide. “Count, your cheongsam is all dusty. You need a bath!”

 

“Junrei, don't be rude. Count D, what brings you by to visit us today?”

 

They noted his eyes were wide as he took in their banter. “I… thought to check in on you. See how…” He couldn't continue on with this untruth. “In honesty, I… *am* restless.”

 

Shuuko nodded. “We understand. It is a time of change. But you appear happier than you have in some time, regardless.”

 

Smiling, he nodded.

 

“That is good.”

 

“Father, I think Junrei is right. A bath might feel nice, don'tcha think?”

 

“And… we got you a present, Count,” Junrei said, blushing.

 

He started, “A present? But… why?”

 

Shuuko cocked her head. “Is it not normal to show affection through gifts? You are our father. You cared for us when we could not care for ourselves.”

 

“Now, we wanna do something for you, okay?”

 

Junrei picked up the package and held it out for him.

 

“Take a bath before you try it on - you wouldn't want to get it dirty,” Shuuko commented.

 

“Oooh! And then come back and show us. I bet you look really really pretty in it!” Junrei was practically bouncing.

 

Kanan was a bit quiet throughout this exchange, but then she blurted out, “Well, what are you waiting for? Christmas?” She nudged the Count out of the door, out of their room.

 

“Jeez, you guys! Do you think we could have been any *more* obvious?”

 

“It's alright,” Shuuko commented. “He is too elated at discovering his true purpose - the possibility that Leon will arrive today is beyond his imagining.”

 

 

X

 

 

As the door closed behind the Count, he thought, `Well, that was strange.' And then he looked down at his cheongsam. He'd thought the apron had kept the dust off of him while he cleaned.

 

Well, it never hurt to keep oneself clean. A bath did sound relaxing.

 

And so, he soaked in the tub and came out sparkly clean. Once he was done, he opened the package.

 

A brand new cheongsam was inside. The deep plum color of the silk was offset with embroidered golden lions and green vines. An odd combination for a pattern, to be sure, but… he rather liked it.

 

The silk was exceptionally soft as he pulled it over his skin. And, he thought the colors worked well with his skin tone. It was quite beautiful. He really must thank them.

 

But as he walked down the hallway, the door chimes rang, indicating a visitor to the shop.

 

This was odd. He'd closed up the shop an hour ago. He never needed to lock up - the shop wouldn't let anyone in when they shouldn't be there. So…

 

He brushed through the bead curtain and bowed.

 

In Japanese, he spoke, “Welcome to Count D's Pet Shop, where love and dreams are...” When he stood up, to look at his guest, he froze. The name, “Leon,” fell from his lips unconsciously.

 

Had D always been this beautiful? For the first time in his life, he understood the phrase “breathtaking beauty.” His heart had stopped. His lungs. He was here, with D. Finally. He had found him.

 

“D,” he breathed. The sound of his own voice helped him awaken from his stupor. “I finally found you.” He thrust the box of chocolates out.

 

Blinking, D began to process words. “For me?” The detective nodded once, tersely, as if he were saying, “Of course. Who else?” He crossed the room and took the box. Hawaiian chocolates. He *had* been correct when he'd sensed Leon's location. And now he was here.

 

“You… look good, D.”

 

He looked up at the detective. Right here. He was so close. D felt his breath catch. Swallowing hard, he struggled to keep his voice calm. “Thank you. Shall I make us some tea?”

 

Orcot furrowed his brow and gestured toward the tea set on the table - steam was rising from the pot. Several desserts were set out as well, and the incense had been lit. Someone had been busy while he was bathing. He was a little irritated - both that he hadn't noticed the tea on the table, and that things occurring were making him feel… discombobulated. He was struggling to maintain his composure.

 

“Of course. Then I shall pour,” he commented and made his way over to the table, then prepared a cup for his guest. “Detective,” he said, as he held the cup out for Leon to take. He was pleased that he managed to do so without his hands shaking.

 

“D. I told you last night that I am no longer a detective. I gave it up. Can you please just call me by my name?” The American brought the cup up to his nose. It smelled like rootbeer. Taking a sip, he smiled. Tasted like rootbeer, too. “Nice.”

 

D smiled in return and sipped. “Sassafras,” he commented. How American. Someone in the shop had known... But Leon was here, so that would have to wait.

 

(AN: Sassafras tea is thought to be an aphrodisiac. Not too many people know this.)

 

“Leon,” he paused in his speech, took another sip. How should he broach this subject?

 

The question was made moot when the detective took the silence as an opening for him to take the initiative. His words started slowly, but the more he spoke, the faster the words came, until at the end, he was racing through it.

 

“D, don't throw me out, okay? Don't leave me again. Just… don't, okay?” He grimaced and said, “I'm asking. Like I said I would. I know you don't… It's… I won't be all weird or anything. I don't expect you to suddenly care about me. It's okay. Just… don't leave. Let me stay… stay a part of your life. You were my best friend and then you were gone - just gone! - and there was no one to talk to the way I used to talk to you. I never, there was never anyone I talked to like that. And you just left like I didn't mean anything. I couldn't stand that you could just leave. I didn't know why it bothered me so much until it hit me: I just couldn't stand not having you around - it was like a gigantic hole and no one could ever... I'll find a way to fit in here. I'll- I can even help. I'd like to. Help. I mean, I know what you're doing now. I figured it out. I thought you were hurting people, but you aren't and I'm sorry. I didn't know `til you left. But you're helping them and you do what needs to be done. I tried on the force, tried without you. But it's not enough. I want to, I want to be with you, D. I need to. So don't, don't kick me out. Don't leave me. Please.”

 

He took a deep breath, swallowed and then said, “Sorry. Sorry. I… said too much. If you want me to go, I will. I guess… I just had to see you one more time.” He tilted back the cup of tea and drank it to the bottom.

 

D blinked at the deluge of words, watched Leon's mouth form them. Took the opportunity to allow his eye to truly take in his keiji-san. His hair had gotten longer. It looked like he'd been neglecting to trim it recently. Which is not to say that it looked poorly on him. To the contrary, if it just grew a little more, D could pull it back so that it no longer looked like a modified mullet. He looked leaner. He hadn't been eating very well lately. He was also tanned. One large satchel sat next to him on the sofa.

 

“Leon-san, I…”

 

“Oh! I almost forgot!” He set the empty teacup and saucer on the table and quickly grabbed his satchel, opened it. D could see a strange plastic bag and some toiletries in there as Leon pulled out a folio folder and removed a single sheet of paper. “After the dream, I still had it, so I thought I better give it back to you again.”

 

D took the proffered piece of paper and felt tears come to his eyes. It was as he remembered it. He didn't look nearly so beautiful in the real drawing as he did in the dream. And Leon didn't look as silly. Those changes… it was all…“Leon. All this time… so unfair... The dream we shared last night… I thought you might not have heard me.”

 

Leon watched the Count begin to tear up with something akin to horror. “D. No. Don't… Please don't cry!” He couldn't stand the idea of D crying again because of him. Quickly, he rounded the table to sit next to the kami. “Please.” He held his hands out helplessly, uncertain how to help. And then he bit the bullet and put his arm around D, patting his back. “I heard you. I heard you.”

 

D leaned into him and then turned toward him. Grasping the front of his shirt, he looked up at the detective and, eyes wide, asked, “Did you mean what you said? Did you really mean it?”

 

Good god, his eyes. Leon thought he might fall into them forever. Why had he tried to deny it? What good did he think it would do? Was there ever anything that he wanted more than to be here? With D?

 

“Yeah. I meant it. But it's okay. I know you don't feel that way for me. Just don't run-”

 

He got no further as D leaned up, his lips capturing those of his precious keiji-san, his hands still fisted in the front of Leon's shirt.

 

Startled, Leon gasped at the contact and D took the opening as an invitation. His tongue flicked inside, brushed up against Leon's own. Someone moaned. Arms wrapped around D, picked him up, pulled him tighter to the firm, broad chest of the American.

 

He was so tall - so very tall. D felt slight in his arms. How had he never noticed how very large the man was?

 

Somehow he'd let go of Leon's shirt, but now, his fingers were tangled in the man's hair as he continued the assault of his mouth. He wanted to taste more, feel more. Why had he run? Why had he left him? Leon. Oh, Leon.

 

D was kissing him. Oh, god in heaven. God. His heart was pounding. D. Did this mean he felt for Leon… Or was this a pity kiss. The rumbling vibration of Leon's growling startled him and he pulled back.

 

D's eyes were wide and he looked shocked at his own actions. He twisted in Leon's lap, still cuddled up to him, his head leaning against Leon's shoulder so that neither man could see the other's face. “I'm sorry, Leon.

 

“I didn't want to leave you. I shouldn't have left you. I thought… I didn't understand. I wanted… Can you forgive me?”

 

The voice that responded was gruff. “You did what you had to. Nothing to apologize for. I… It took me long enough to figure out what I wanted. If you hadn't left, I might not have figured it all out, ya know?”

 

Was he apologizing for leaving or kissing him? Or both? One of those impossibly long fingernails was drawing patterns on his chest. Swallowing, he asked, “So… I came right here from the airport, so… I guess I better… I need to find a hotel…”

 

D had grasped his shirt again. “You will do no such thing. I will have a room set up for you here. You are welcome to stay for as long as you desire.”

 

“A room for one more wayward pet?” he joked.

 

Actually, it was only half a joke. But the emphatic response surprised him. “No. You will never be a pet, my dear Keiji. You will stay as long as you want. Never as a pet.”

 

“D, I'm a human. If you move the shop again…?”

 

A finger placed across his lips hushed him. “Do you really not know? My darling Keiji. My dear, dear Leon. Do you not know why I could never let you find me?” Leon blinked his eyes and shook his head no.

 

“I kept running because I knew that if you found me again, I'd never be strong enough to… I couldn't make that sacrifice again. I couldn't stand it.

 

“Leaving you, forcing you to go. Leon. When what I wanted to do… I pushed you away and you still... Leon… tell me again what you said last night. Please?”

 

His eyes captured Leon's own, which distracted him enough so that he didn't even think. The words just flowed. “I love you, D. I don't know why. But I'm in love with you. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

 

His eyes still wide, tears beginning to form, but a grin on his face, “Say it again.”

 

The detective rolled his eyes. “Why? What possible good does it do you to hear that a worthless human loves you, D?”

 

D sat up, fire blazing in his eyes. “Do not! Do not say such things.” Leon blinked in surprise. Hadn't he just asked him to say it again? “I will not hear you call yourself worthless, Leon. There are many humans who have no worth. But never you. You will not say such things. Even as a joke.”

 

And then D looked abashed. “But then, this is partially my fault. I… My whole family forgot: humans are part of this world as much as any other animals. For as much as we thought the world would be better off without them, this was simplistic: a solution that would cause as many problems as it would solve.

 

“My Leon, if it weren't for you, I might never have listened to the voice of reason that always told me that which my Grandfather taught me was not right. But I did listen. I have found the truth. I must help humans find their place in nature, listen to their nature and be who they are meant to be.

 

“My role is so much more complex than we thought. And it's because of you, Leon. The love I feel for you would not let me rest until I found my true destiny. Leon. Thank you. For not giving up. For finding me.” His eyes were pleading now. “Leon.”

 

And then, lips met again, furiously. Tongues dueled, played, stroked each other, explored the recesses with tentative flicks and darts. D found himself moaning into the detective's mouth. What was happening? He'd never felt anything like this before.

 

Breaking for breath, D gasped as Leon's mouth continued down his neck, his tongue flicking at the kami's neck, over to his ear. Teeth nibbled on D's lobe, a tongue played gently with the stud in his ear.

 

“Oh, my,” D exclaimed. And then Leon was licking down his neck, suckling gently at the juncture between neck and shoulder, and D was making little moans that were driving him crazy.

 

He didn't know when it had happened, but D had turned and was straddling his lap. His dress-thingie had ridden up and was pooled at his hips. His head was thrown back with his eyes closed, his mouth open in a delicate little “O”. Leon felt D's erection pressing against his own. But instead of freaking out and wondering what he should do, he reveled in the feel of it. He was making D hard. Just the thought of it was making him throb.

 

“D, D, D,” he chanted like a mantra between kisses that he was placing along the god's jawline. Gay, straight, who the fuck cared? What mattered was getting closer, he needed to feel D. He was here. D. Wrapping his arms around him, Leon pulled the nature spirit closer to him, held him tight against his own torso, burying his nose in his hair, smelling the sweet smells of sandalwood incense and D's unique smell that reminded him of spicy honey.

 

He held him still as D's arms wrapped around him, one hand stroking the hair on Leon's head. After a moment - or an eternity - he pushed D back and grunted, “Maybe you should show me that room.” He didn't want to stop. He wanted to hold D forever. But reality would eventually make them part, and he would prefer to not push the Count into anything too quickly. Hell, it wasn't like Leon had a clue what he was doing anyway.

 

D's eyes searched his own. “Are… you ready to go to bed so early? Oh, but with jet lag, I've heard that it's better if you stay up until a proper bedtime…”

 

Was that… innuendo? Leon smirked. “I am a bit tired - it's been a long-ass day.”

 

“Language, Mr. Detective!”

 

His smirk grew. “Maybe, though, you could help me stay up…” And then he was nibbling on the god's neck, up to his ear, where he whispered, “D, you better find me a room if you don't want me to strip that beautiful dress off you right here.” He reached around and grabbed the deity by his buttocks, pulling him tight to his frame as he gave dry, close-mouthed kisses down the front of his dress.

 

“Oh. Oh, my!” Pushing out of the detective's grasp, he stumbled to his feet, backing away from the man who had turned his world upside-down. The Count's voice deepened as he said, “A room. Yes. Let's see if you can keep up.”