FIC: Daiki, Part 15a (of 22)

[geri_chan]

Title: Daiki, Part 15a (of 22)
Rating: R overall, but mostly PG-13
Pairing: Leon/D
Word count: ~7,860
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Matsuri Akino and Yumiko Kawahara. No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: This can be considered a continuation of my earlier series of stories (Revenge, The Day After, Spirits, Blodeuedd), but it can stand on its own as my version of what happens after Book 10.

Thanks to: Spare from the Petshop discussion group on Yahoo, who planted the plot bunny in my head about the Dolls shopkeeper being Leon and D's child! ^_^

Summary: A crossover between Petshop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino and Dolls by Yumiko Kawahara. Honlon throws a tantrum; Chris shows up at the Plant Dolls shop with surprising news that leads to Daiki making a trip to San Francisco.

Part 1a, Part 1b, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14

***

"Thanks for coming over, Dai," Leon said with a sigh of relief as Daiki walked into the petshop.

"It's always a pleasure to come home," Daiki replied with a puzzled smile. "But what exactly is the emergency?" He had received a brief phone call from a harried-sounding Leon, telling him to get over to the shop pronto.

Just then, a loud rumble like the sound of thunder could be heard echoing from the labyrinth of corridors leading to the inner chambers of the petshop. And the floor shook slightly beneath their feet, as if a mild earthquake was taking place.

"Honlon is having a temper-tantrum," Pon-chan informed him, somewhat unnecessarily. "She's jealous 'cause the rest of us got to meet Raphael and she hasn't." She smirked, looking a little smug; she and the dragon had viewed each other as rivals ever since Chris had arrived at the petshop as a child and befriended them both. And even though Chris had left years ago, they still maintained a semi-friendly rivalry.

"The dragon-girl's been acting up," Leon confirmed. "D is trying to calm her down right now, but when she's really upset, you and Chris are the only ones that she'll listen to. Or should I say, that they'll listen to? Anyway, please stop her before she destroys the shop, let alone the city!"

So Daiki hurried to the spacious room called the "Crystal Chamber," which was Honlon's private quarters. The Count stood in the middle of the room, entreating the dragon to calm down, without much success.

"It is most fortunate that you have arrived, Daiki," D said with typical understatement, but like Leon, he greeted his son with a sigh of relief.

"Now, now," Daiki said soothingly as he approached the dragon, and three immense heads swiveled in his direction, balanced on long, serpentine necks. The dragon was large enough that she could have gobbled him down in three bites if she wished, one bite for each head, but Daiki smiled and said calmly, "What is all the fuss about, Kanan, Shukou, Junrei?"

"Daiki!" three feminine voices chorused, and then suddenly one slender dark-haired girl ran forward and flung her arms around him. She appeared to be a normal, if very beautiful, Chinese girl, except for her pointed, reptilian-looking ears. The girl was dressed in elaborately embroidered silk robes that would not have looked out of place on a princess in ancient China, and her head was crowned with a gold tiara wrought in the shape of flowers.

Daiki embraced her and bent down to plant a kiss on her forehead. "Why, I think you've grown a little since the last time I saw you," he teased gently.

"Really?" the girl asked eagerly in a childish voice, blushing slightly. Although Honlon had appeared to be about the same age as Chris when Daiki was born, she had aged much more slowly than her childhood companion, and appeared to be about fourteen or fifteen years old in her human form. Daiki wasn't sure whether it was because dragons aged more slowly than humans, or whether it was some magic of the petshop. The "normal" pets--the cats and dogs and hamsters and such that were sold to ordinary customers--seemed to age at a normal rate, but the "special" pets seemed to age very slowly or not at all. Ten-chan and Tet-chan looked exactly the same as they had when Daiki had been a child, while the pets who had been "children" at the same time as Chris had aged only a handful of years. Honlon and Pon-chan both appeared to be adolescent girls in their human forms, and Lupin appeared to be a young adult wolf just barely out of puppyhood, even though they were all over two decades old.

"Aw, can't you see that he's just putting you on, Junrei?" the girl said in a rougher voice that was obviously Kanan's. As the age difference between herself and Chris slowly increased, Junrei was becoming impatient to grow older and "catch up" with Chris. Shukou would gently admonish her sister that it was both foolish and impossible to speed time up, and Kanan would tease her about it, but Daiki suspected that they both secretly shared Junrei's wish.

"But I do think that you are becoming a very lovely and mature young lady," Daiki said earnestly.

"Hmph!" Kanan sniffed disdainfully as she tossed her hair back. "Junrei's being silly. Who wants to grow up as fast as a human, anyway? We're lucky that we'll be young and beautiful for hundreds of years, instead of getting all old and wrinkly like a human." She grinned maliciously at Leon, who had followed Daiki to the Crystal Chamber. "In fact, I think you've sprouted a few more gray hairs, haven't you, Mr. Detective?"

"You little brat," Leon growled. "I oughta turn you over my knee and give you a good spanking."

"Hah!" Kanan retorted defiantly, and for a moment, the image of the huge three-headed dragon overlaid that of the teenage girl. "I'd like to you see you try!" she said, her voice growing deeper and more thunderous.

"Leon!" D snapped, giving his lover an exasperated look. "We're trying to calm Honlon down, not anger her further!"

"It's a bit hard to spank a dragon," Ten-chan pointed out, looking amused.

"She started it," Leon protested, but subsided when D gave him a stern glare.

Daiki gently clasped the dragon-girl's hands in his and asked, "Why were the three of you so upset? Pon-chan said it was because of Raphael...?"

"Please don't lump me in with the other two," Shukou said, sounding a little offended. "I am the responsible one, after all. It was Junrei and Kanan who were making all the fuss. But of course, they're not as mature as I am, so they can't help it."

The girl suddenly shifted personalities and slapped her own face with her left hand. "Who's immature?!" Kanan shouted. "Jeez, you can really be a condescending bitch at times, Shukou!"

Shukou said triumphantly, "You've just proven my point, Kanan!" and slapped her face with her right hand.

"Waah!" Junrei wailed. "Somebody stop them!"

The girl raised both hands to slap herself again, but Daiki grabbed her gently but firmly by the wrists and said in a distressed voice, "Please don't do that, Kanan, Shukou. I can't stand to see you hurt your lovely face." Honlon slowly lowered her hands and Daiki released her wrists, then stroked her reddened cheeks soothingly. "There, does that feel better?"

The red imprints from the slaps slowly faded, but the girl's face remained red as a deep blush replaced them. "Uh-huh," she mumbled meekly, and for once, it wasn't clear who was speaking.

"He's a smooth-talker, just like his old man, huh?" Ten-chan snickered, elbowing Leon in the side.

The detective grinned proudly until Tet-chan snorted derisively and said, "Smooth talker? Hah! As I recall, he was always a real loser with the women!"

Leon glared at the Tou-Tet, and Pon-chan piped up, "Oh, but I think that he struck out with the women because his heart wasn't really in it! Because he was really in love with the Count all along!"

Leon flushed and complained, "Don't you guys have anything better to do than to gossip about my lovelife?"

"Not really," Ten-chan said cheerfully.

"Sometimes I think I was better off when I couldn't understand what you guys were saying," Leon muttered under his breath.

Meanwhile, Junrei was saying tearfully, "I'm sorry, Daiki! It was all my fault. I was crying because I didn't get to meet your boyfriend like everybody else did, and Kanan told me to shut up and not be such a crybaby, and then Shukou said that I was being foolish but that Kanan shouldn't pick on me, and they started fighting..."

"And there she goes crying again," Kanan said scornfully. "Like meeting the pretty boy starving artist is all that big a deal." But there was a hint of bravado and a sharp edge of jealousy to her voice that suddenly made Daiki think of the Aesop's Fable about the fox and the grapes from one of his old picture books.

As if reading his mind, Ten-chan whispered into his ear with a smile, "Those grapes were sour; I didn't want them, anyway."

"Although," Kanan added with genuine regret, "I'm sorry that I didn't get to see Tet-chan bite his ass."

Daiki glared at Tet-chan, who hung his head sheepishly, and Ten-chan helpfully corrected, "Actually, it was his ankle, not his ass. Although he did have a pretty nice one--ass, I mean, not ankle." Daiki turned his glare on the kitsune, who just laughed and held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Hey, look but don't touch, that's my motto. You can't blame a guy for admiring a fine figure of a man, but I would never lay hands on your mate, Dai."

"Well, he's not really my mate yet," Daiki murmured, blushing.

"Well, I don't think he's so fine," Tet-chan muttered sullenly. "He looks kinda scrawny to me."

"You are both behaving childishly," Shukou said crossly to her sisters. "We can't meet Raphael, and that's all there is to it. There's no point in whining about it."

"But it's not fair!" Junrei wailed. "Everyone else got to meet him!"

"That is not correct, Junrei," the Count said soothingly. "Phillipe has not met Raphael yet, either."

"It's kinda hard to seat a dolphin at the dinner table," Leon said dryly. "And it would be even harder to explain how one of the doors in the petshop opens into a beach."

"Junrei, you cannot meet Raphael just yet, but I promise that I will introduce him to you and your sisters later," Daiki said kindly.

"Really?" Junrei sniffled.

"Yes," Daiki replied. "When he is able to accept the magic of the petshop and see everyone in their human forms, then I will bring him here to meet you, I promise."

"You'd better not be making any promises to her that you can't keep," Kanan said fiercely, clenching her hands into fists.

"I am glad to see that you are so protective of your sister, Kanan," Daiki said with a smile, and the dragon-girl's face turned bright red. "But I would not make a promise that I could not keep. Raphael already believes in magic because of his special gift."

"I'm not sure that I would call being able to kill people by painting them a 'gift,'" Kanan said sarcastically.

"His curse, if you prefer," Daiki said agreeably. "But either way, he believes in the supernatural. And he is beginning to believe that the petshop is magic, although he does not fully understand its nature yet. But I believe that he will soon be able to see and hear all of you the way that Dad can."

"Oh, I hope it will be soon!" Junrei exclaimed, clapping her hands together in excitement, her tears forgotten. "I just can't wait to meet him! Is he really as handsome as everyone says?"

"Well, I'm rather biased, but I think that he's very handsome," Daiki laughed. "I'll tell you what, since you can't meet him just yet, I'll bring you a picture of him so that you can see what he looks like."

"Oh, thank you, Daiki!" Junrei said, hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. "And will you come visit me more often? I hardly get to see you now that you live at the doll shop."

"She's been lonely," Shukou said quietly.

"I am sorry, Junrei," Daiki said gently. "I promise to visit you more often from now on. I'll come see you again in a couple of days; we can have tea. I'll pick up some sweets at Madame C's, and I'll bring Raphael's picture with me."

"Ooh, can I have cream puffs?" Junrei squealed happily, clapping her hands again.

"Well, I want a cheeseburger!" Kanan declared. "And french fries!"

D shot a glare at his lover, as if to say that Kanan's hunger for junk food was all Leon's fault. Leon just shrugged and grinned almost proudly.

"A fruit tart would be nice," Shukou said politely. "If it's not too much trouble."

"Not at all," Daiki said cheerfully. "Cream puffs, a cheeseburger and french fries, and a fruit tart--I'll remember to pick up all three."

"I hope that dragon's not gonna get a bellyache," Leon said dubiously.

"She may look like a young girl, Leon," D said, still sounding a bit huffy. "But never forget that she is actually a dragon. A few sweets will not hurt her; in fact, she could eat YOU without getting a bellyache."

"Nah," Kanan said casually. "He's too tough and stringy."

"I'm not sure whether to feel insulted or relieved," Leon muttered.

Honlon shifted into her dragon form, and Shukou gave him a toothy grin; each of her many teeth were as long and sharp as daggers. "Relieved," she told him sweetly.

"Relieved it is," Leon said, hastily backing out of the room as Ten-chan and Tet-chan snickered. Daiki and the others followed him at a more sedate pace, after bidding Honlon goodbye. "You'd better buy a lot of sweets for that dragon," Leon said darkly to his son. "I wouldn't want her chowing down on you if there aren't enough cream puffs to fill her up."

"Oh, Honlon would never hurt me," Daiki said dismissively.

"She would not really hurt you, either, Leon," D added, then smiled mischievously. "After all, you are, in a sense, her mother."

"I still don't see why I had to be the mommy," Leon grumbled as everyone else laughed.

"Well, since Honlon has calmed down, I should return to my shop," Daiki said.

"Wait just a minute, please, Daiki," Pon-chan said. "Tet-chan has something he wants to tell you." She poked the Tou-Tet in the side and gave him a pointed glare, and he slowly shuffled forward, his shoulders hunched and his head hanging down, causing his long red hair to spill forward and hide his face.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "For biting the artist."

"It is not me you should be apologizing to, but Raphael," Daiki said sternly.

"But he can't understand me," Tet-chan complained. "And anyway, I didn't bite him that hard."

Daiki crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Tet-chan, and Ten-chan whispered, "You're not exactly helping your case, you know."

Tet-chan glared at the kitsune for a moment, then turned back to Daiki and whined plaintively, "Aw, come on, Dai, how long are you gonna stay mad at me?"

"Until Raphael's wound completely heals, and until you apologize to him," Daiki said firmly. "Even if he can't understand your speech, I'm sure that he'll be able to understand your body language, facial expression, and tone of voice. He seems to understand Pon-chan well enough."

Pon-chan smiled smugly, and when Tet-chan growled at her, she quickly ducked behind the Count for protection, then peered out from behind his back and stuck her tongue out at the Tou-Tet.

Daiki left, and Tet-chan went down to the kitchen to sulk. Eventually, Ten-chan sauntered in and said, "You do realize that by biting Raphael, you only brought him and Daiki closer together, not to mention got Leon on his side, too. He wasn't too fond of the starving artist until you provided a common enemy for them to bond over."

"Oh, shut up," Tet-chan growled. "Don't you think I already know that, you stupid fox?"

"Fine," Ten-chan said with a casual shrug, not rising to the bait, which only irritated Tet-chan more, since he had been hoping to pick a fight with the kitsune to help work off his bad mood. "I guess you don't want any advice, then," Ten-chan said, turning to leave. "But if you did, I would say that you should apologize to Daiki some way other than verbally, since you really seem to suck at that. Actions speak louder than words, anyway. I'd suggest that you make him a batch of cookies or something--if I were going to give you any advice, that is, which I'm not." He winked at Tet-chan and left the kitchen.

"Stupid fox," Tet-chan growled under his breath, but he got up and pulled a mixing bowl out of the cupboard, and flour and sugar from the pantry, and some butter and eggs from the fridge. He sighed as he began mixing the ingredients together; he knew that it had been stupid to bite Raphael. It wasn't as if he still desired Daiki as a lover; he knew that Daiki had been right about Chris being the one that he really wanted. But Tet-chan did love Daiki as fiercely as he would have loved his own cub, if he'd had one. Aside from the Orcots, Tet-chan wasn't very fond of humans except as appetizers or entrees, and to see some strange human suddenly waltz into Daiki's life and capture his heart was rather galling--come to think of it, it was similar to the way he had felt watching that uncouth detective force his way into the petshop, and inexplicably, Count D's heart. And deep down, a small and selfish part of Tet-chan was jealous that Daiki had found love and happiness when he had not. But he would never hurt Daiki, of course, so he had vented his frustration on Raphael.

Tet-chan unconsciously ran his tongue across his sharp teeth; it had been a long time since he'd had a chance to eat a human, and Raphael hadn't tasted half-bad. Better than the detective, in fact, probably because he didn't smoke and eat a lot of chemical-laden junk food. He was a bit too skinny to make a proper meal of, which was just as well, since Daiki would never forgive Tet-chan if he ate his boyfriend.

Tet-chan sighed regretfully and continued mixing the cookie batter.

***

Raphael walked into the Plant Dolls shop and was greeted by Daiki, who smiled at him sunnily and said, "Good afternoon, Raphael."

Raphael quickly glanced around to make sure that there were no customers in the shop, then gave his boyfriend a kiss. "Good afternoon to you, too," he said, then noticed that Daiki was holding a camera, the kind that printed out photos on the spot. "Are you taking pictures of the dolls for a client?"

"Actually," Daiki replied, "I would like to take a picture of you, if you don't mind."

"Of me?" Raphael asked, startled. "What for?" He grinned at Daiki and added, "To look at so you don't miss me when I'm not around?"

"I do miss you when you aren't around," Daiki laughed, "but the picture is for a friend of mine. I've told her all about you, and she would like to see what you look like."

"Oh," Raphael said, pleased to hear that Daiki missed him when he wasn't around, even if they had both been joking around. "Well then, why don't we all go out for lunch sometime, and she can meet me in person. Or does she live too far away for that?"

Daiki hesitated, then said slowly, "It is not practical for my friend to travel, and she lives in a location that is...ah...difficult to reach." He seemed to be choosing his words very carefully, as if trying not to give away too much information without telling an outright lie.

"Is this some sort of petshop weirdness?" Raphael asked suspiciously. It was the first time that he had dared to broach the subject of the petshop's magic with Daiki, even indirectly. He believed Jason's stories, or at least, he believed that Count D and Daiki were something more than normal humans, but it was difficult for him to come right out and ask Daiki, "So is your father really a god?" It just sounded so ludicrous to say such a thing out loud, but at some point, they were going have to address the issue if they were going to become a permanent couple. Or was he supposed to pretend that he didn't know about it? He had a vague recollection of fairy tales where human men married fairy wives or some other type of magical creature, and then the wives left forever when their husbands found out their true identities. Would he be breaking some kind of magical taboo if he let on that he knew that Daiki wasn't fully human? On the other hand, everyone in Chinatown seemed to have figured it out, so it didn't seem like it was a big secret...

"Something like that," Daiki replied cautiously, looking very solemn, but also a little relieved. So maybe he'd been worrying, too, wondering if Raphael would be scared off by stories about gods and unicorns and man-eating beasts.

Daiki didn't elaborate further, though, so Raphael decided not to push it. "Okay, then," he said, trying to sound calm and casual. "I'd be happy to pose for a picture. Will I get to meet this friend of yours someday?"

Daiki gave Raphael a shrewd and appraising look for a moment, then smiled. "Yes," he replied. "I think that you will. Perhaps sooner than I would have thought." Then he held up the camera and said cheerfully, "Say 'cheese'!"

"Cheese!" Raphael said, grinning for the camera. "Hey, how about one of you and me?" he asked, slipping an arm around Daiki's waist.

"But there's no one here to take the picture for us," Daiki protested, laughing.

They could have set the camera on a stand and used the timer, of course, but instead Raphael held it at arm's length and shot blindly as they laughed and goofed around. Most of the photos were slightly out of focus or out of frame, but there were a couple of decent shots, and Raphael loved the way that Daiki looked in the pictures: relaxed, happy, and laughing. It was a far cry from the polite but almost emotionless mask that Daiki had worn when Raphael had first met the Plant Dolls shopkeeper. He loved that he was finally able to see the real Daiki.

Raphael carefully set the camera and pictures aside and pulled Daiki into his arms. Daiki did not resist, but instead returned the embrace and pressed his lips against Raphael's. His mouth tasted faintly of tea and sugar, and the kiss was so slow and sweet and tender that Raphael was nearly dizzy with joy by the time they pulled apart.

They ended up on the couch in the back room, and before long, Daiki lay sprawled out beneath Raphael. Daiki had taken off his glasses, and without the scholarly, slightly owlish look that they lent him, he looked even more beautiful and otherworldly, gazing up at Raphael with his golden eyes. At a moment like this, Raphael could indeed believe that Daiki was a god, or at least a demigod, and he kissed Daiki very gently and reverently, feeling almost afraid to touch him, as if a mere mortal like himself was unworthy of such an honor. But Daiki quickly banished Raphael's misgivings by wrapping his arms around him and drawing him close, and Raphael kissed Daiki again, with more enthusiasm this time, and reached for the ribbon holding Daiki's hair back. The ribbon easily came loose with a single tug, and Raphael ran his fingers through Daiki's hair, reveling in how smooth and soft it was, like strands of pure silk.

Raphael let his hands slide down lower to caress Daiki's chest, feeling his nipples harden through the thin silk of his robe. He gently pinched one between his thumb and forefinger, and Daiki's lips parted beneath Raphael's to utter a muffled gasp, and Raphael took advantage of that to slip his tongue between Daiki's lips. Daiki moaned into Raphael's mouth, and Raphael suddenly felt something hard pressing against his hip as Daiki's body arched up into his.

They had agreed not to have sex just yet, but Raphael was having a hard time remembering exactly why, with Daiki writhing beneath him in such an arousing manner. He had a vague recollection about waiting until the "right time," but the time seemed pretty right to Raphael. He slipped one hand beneath the slit of Daiki's silk robe to caress his thigh, and his other hand fumbled clumsily with the frog closures that ran down the front of the robe.

"Ah...wait, Raphael," Daiki protested, although not very forcefully.

"Why?" Raphael whispered into Daiki's ear, and then, just because it was so irresistibly close to his mouth, he gently ran his tongue along the curve of that ear, then nibbled on the lobe.

Daiki moaned and writhed some more. "If...you can give me just a minute," he panted, "I'm sure I'll remember why. Eventually."

Raphael had managed to get the first few frog closures undone, enough to expose Daiki's lovely white neck. He kissed Daiki's throat and murmured, "Don't think so hard, Dai. Sometimes you have to just follow your heart..."

***

Tet-chan walked into the Plant Dolls shop carrying a package of warm chocolate-chip cookies, Daiki's favorite. The dolls in the lobby were all sleeping, and Daiki was nowhere in sight, which was unusual. He seemed to instinctively sense when a customer was about to walk in the door, even when he was working in the back rooms, and he would always be standing there ready to greet the customer with a pleasant smile as he or she entered the shop.

Tet-chan shrugged. Well, he wasn't a customer, so maybe Daiki's kami shopkeeper instinct hadn't kicked in, or maybe it had but he didn't see any need to rush out for someone who wasn't a paying customer. Or he was ignoring Tet-chan because he was still mad at him. Tet-chan sighed and headed for the back room, hoping that the cookies would sweeten Daiki's temper; he really couldn't stand having the little brat be mad at him. They'd been best friends and constant companions ever since Daiki had been a toddler, and he had come to take for granted Daiki's cheerful smiles and good nature and compassion. He trusted Dai as he did no one else, not even the Count, and it had been Daiki who had comforted him when he had realized that he was in love with Chris. Daiki was remarkably patient and sweet-tempered, considering who his parents were--the gods only knew where he had gotten it from--and he had never truly gotten angry at Tet-chan before. Tet didn't much like it, and he was eager to get things back to normal, even if meant apologizing to that stupid artist.

So he walked into the back room with the best of intentions, but those intentions went flying out the window when he saw Raphael and Daiki together on the couch. "Sometimes you have to just follow your heart," Raphael was saying in a wheedling voice, but although he was clearly thinking with a certain piece of his anatomy, Tet-chan was pretty damn sure that it wasn't his heart.

Raphael was on top of Daiki, and his butt was sticking up in the air as he struggled with the fastenings on Daiki's robe. Animal instinct took over and Tet-chan dropped the cookies and pounced on his victim, who let out a loud shriek as Tet's teeth sank into his buttocks. It really wasn't Tet-chan's fault at all; how could he possibly resist such a tempting target?

Unfortunately, Daiki did not see it that way...

***

Raphael tumbled off the couch as the goat-thing bit and clawed at him, and Daiki jumped to his feet and shouted furiously, "Stop that at once, Tet-chan!"

When the goat ignored that order, Daiki physically grabbed the goat and tried to pull him off of Raphael. Its teeth were fastened firmly in Raphael's flesh, but it growled and reluctantly let go as Daiki tugged at him. Raphael was afraid that it might try to bite Daiki, but it only backed away, hanging its head with an expression of mingled sheepishness--no pun intended--and defiance, like a child who is caught doing something wrong but refuses to admit it.

The goat growled sullenly at Daiki, who snapped, "I do not need you to defend my honor! I told you before that I am quite capable of taking care of myself." Tet-chan growled again, and Daiki flushed and said, "That is none of your business! I am an adult, and it is my right to take lovers, or not, as I please!"

Raphael had the very weird feeling that he was hearing only one side of a conversation, because it was very clear that Tet-chan was talking to Daiki, and that Daiki could understand him. It was one thing to accept all of Jason's wild theories intellectually, but quite another to actually have Daiki and the goat holding a conversation in front of him--and that was mild, compared to Jason's stories about politicians who bought unicorns, or mafia bosses being eaten by lions and tigers. It all felt more than a little surreal to Raphael, who suddenly felt like Alice in Wonderland when she fell down the rabbit hole.

Both Tet-chan and Daiki glared at each other fiercely, locking gazes unblinkingly, but it was Tet-chan who finally dropped his head first and looked away. He picked up a package from the floor with his teeth and slunk over to Daiki in a downright humble manner, then set the package down on the floor at Daiki's feet and bleated contritely, staring up at him with a hopeful look in his eyes.

A delicious scent of brown sugar and chocolate emanated from the bag, almost good enough to make Raphael forget about the throbbing pain in his buttocks. But Daiki glared down at the goat and said sternly, "It will take more than chocolate-chip cookies to make me forgive you this time, Tet-chan." The goat whined plaintively, and Daiki said vehemently, "Raphael is my mate, and you are never to touch him again without my permission. Have I made myself perfectly clear, Tet-chan?" His golden eyes were glowing with a kind of fierce, feral light that made him seem more like a wild animal than a human. Raphael found it a little eerie, and he was taken aback by the possessiveness in Daiki's voice when he had said, "Raphael is my mate," but at the same time, the words filled him with a sense of elation. It was a rather odd declaration of love, but it did seem to indicate that Daiki felt the same way about him that he felt about Daiki. That was all that mattered. As long as Daiki loved him, Raphael felt like he could handle anything else--even a god for a father-in-law, and a pet goat with a taste for human flesh.

Tet-chan hung his head in defeat and bleated meekly, apparently answering in the affirmative. "Apologize to Raphael," Daiki ordered, and the goat turned towards Raphael and bleated contritely, if a bit sullenly.

Raphael decided that he could forgive the little beast, since his actions had inadvertently turned out for the best: he had won Leon's sympathy and approval, and Daiki had openly claimed Raphael as his "mate". "I forgive you, Tet-chan," Raphael said, cautiously extending his hand towards the goat, hoping that the little monster wouldn't bite it off. "We both care about Daiki, so let's set aside our differences and be friends from now on, okay?"

Tet-chan hesitated and glanced at Daiki, who smiled at him encouragingly, that odd feral look gone from his eyes. The goat heaved a sigh of resignation and placed his paw in Raphael's hand, and Raphael shook it.

"I'm glad that everyone is friends now," Daiki said cheerfully, giving them both a hug. "Now let me tend to Raphael's wounds." He briskly straightened his clothes, put on his glasses, tied back his hair, and fetched a small first-aid kit from a nearby cupboard; Raphael noted with a hint of regret that Daiki had slipped back into his role as efficient shopkeeper, just when he had caught a glimpse of what he would be like as a passionate lover.

"Please drop your trousers, Raphael," Daiki said as he opened the kit.

"Excuse me?!"

"There is no need to sound so affronted, like a virgin maiden whose virtue is about to be compromised, Raphael," Daiki said with a mischievous smile. "If I am not mistaken, you were more than willing to drop them a few minutes ago, albeit for different reasons."

Raphael blushed and reluctantly unzipped and pulled down his trousers and underpants. "I know," he mumbled. "But it's rather humiliating, to be bitten on the ass."

Tet-chan snickered, but subsided when Raphael and Daiki both glared at him.

"Look on the bright side," Daiki said cheerfully. "You and Dad can bond over your war wounds."

"Thanks a lot," Raphael said sarcastically as Daiki dabbed some herbal-smelling ointment onto the bite wound. "Was the Count this sympathetic to Leon when Tet-chan bit him?"

"Oh, far less, I assure you," Daiki laughed. "They were not yet lovers, but adversaries at the time. Or so they claimed. However, since my Uncle Chris was living at the petshop by this time, I seriously doubt that Dad really believed that Papa was a dangerous criminal. And if Papa had really hated Dad as much as he claimed to, I doubt that he would have taken Dad's little brother into his home."

Daiki finished dressing the wound and taped a piece of gauze over it. The ointment had soothed the pain, and Raphael felt much better, but the seat of his trousers were in a sad state, shredded and bloodstained. "I'm afraid that I'll need to borrow a pair of pants if I'm not going to walk home with my ass hanging out," Raphael said with a wry smile.

"I'll loan you something to wear," Daiki laughed.

Raphael had just finished changing into a pair of Daiki's loose silk trousers when a cheerful voice called out from the lobby, "Hello? Dai? Is anyone home?"

"Uncle Chris!" Daiki exclaimed delightedly and hurried out to the front of the shop. Raphael and Tet-chan followed, and saw a handsome blond man standing in the lobby. He looked like a younger version of Leon, only better dressed and with shorter hair. Raphael supposed that was to be expected, since Daiki had mentioned that his uncle worked for the F.B.I.; he didn't think that federal agents usually ran around in t-shirts and jeans and ponytails unless maybe they were working undercover.

That was definitely not the case with "Uncle Chris," who was wearing a charcoal-gray suit (stylish and reasonably expensive, but obviously not designer quality), and his blond hair was cut short, leaving the nape of his neck bare. He looked so much like his brother that Raphael got that surreal feeling again, as if he had stepped into a Twilight Zone episode where he got to see what Leon would've been like in an alternate life where he had become an F.B.I. agent instead of a police detective; in that suit, he could even have passed for a banker or a businessman. Raphael had a sudden vision of Leon leading an ordinary life working in some office, going home to the wife and kids every evening. No petshop, no Count, no weird mythical animals, no Daiki...the thought caused a chill to run down Raphael's spine.

"Hey, Dai!" Chris laughed, embracing his nephew fondly, and suddenly that feeling of surrealness passed. Raphael shook his head and silently told himself that he was being silly. For one thing, Daiki was right here, and for another, Leon would never make it as an office worker. The boredom would drive him crazy after a single day, and he would probably end up yelling at his boss and getting fired. Raphael smiled; his future father-in-law might be a little eccentric, and even a little scary at times, but he liked Leon--and Count D, for that matter--exactly the way they were, and he wouldn't change them even if he could.

"Hey, Tet-chan," Chris said, bending down to pat the goat on the head, and Tet-chan growled out a greeting. Raphael noticed that the goat looked strangely sad, but Chris didn't seem to notice. "Oh, excuse me," Chris said, glancing at Raphael and then turning back to his nephew. "I didn't mean to interrupt if you were with a customer..."

"Not at all," Daiki said. "This is my friend, Raphael Van Horne. Raphael, this is my Uncle Chris, my Dad's younger brother."

"Nice to meet you," Chris said with a grin, shaking Raphael's hand; his grip was firm, but not challenging. He winked and added, "I've heard a lot about you."

Raphael blushed, trying--rather unsuccessfully--not to think about what he and Daiki had been doing on the couch earlier. "Yeah, I've heard a lot about you, too. Your family is very proud of you."

Chris beamed, and Daiki smiled and said, "I'm so glad that you've finally met Raphael, Uncle Chris. We haven't seen much of you lately."

"I've been busy working a case," Chris replied. "But we've just about wrapped it up. One of our suspects was working out of L.A., so I was just tying up a few loose ends with the L.A. branch office."

"You're here on the business, then?" Daiki asked, sounding disappointed. "Do you have time to stop by for dinner tonight?"

"I'm afraid not," Chris said regretfully. "I need to get back to work; I'm actually on my way to the airport, but I had a little extra time before my flight, so I thought I would stop by and say hello." He hesitated, then smiled sheepishly and continued, "And, well, I must admit...I also had an ulterior motive for coming to see you."

"Oh?" Daiki said playfully. "And what might that be?"

"You've got to promise not to tell Leon and the Count," Chris said anxiously. "You too, Tet-chan. And Raphael too, I suppose."

"I don't know..." Daiki murmured uncertainly and Tet-chan growled suspiciously. Raphael didn't feel too comfortable about keeping secrets from Daiki's parents, either. He and Leon were finally getting along, and he didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that.

"Please," Chris begged, an almost desperate look in his eyes. "It's really important! It's nothing bad, and I promise that I'll tell Leon and D myself soon. It's just that...I need to wait until the time is right."

There was that phrase again: "until the time is right". But surely Chris wasn't courting a demigod like Raphael was.

"Please?" Chris repeated, and Daiki sighed reluctantly and said, "Very well. I promise." Raphael nodded his own agreement, against his better judgment, and after Chris gave Tet-chan a pleading look, the goat nodded as well.

Chris smiled with relief, and his eyes lit up, full of excitement and happiness like a kid anticipating Santa's visit on Christmas Eve. "I want to buy a Plant Doll!" he announced.

Daiki blinked in surprise and said, "Ah...excuse me?"

Raphael was surprised, too; he couldn't see why Chris needed to keep that a secret from Daiki's folks, unless he didn't want them to know that he was spending a lot of money on a doll. But surely Daiki would give him a family discount...Daiki was a shrewd bargainer, but it was clear from the way he talked about his uncle that he loved and worshipped Chris, more like an adoring little brother than a nephew.

"It's not for me," Chris said, his eyes still shining. "It's a gift for...a special friend." He blushed.

Daiki smiled. "Ah, you have a new girlfriend? I am sure that she is a lovely lady, Uncle Chris, but a Plant Doll is a major investment--"

"Not a girlfriend," Chris interrupted, grinning from ear to ear. "A boyfriend!"

"Oh!" Daiki exclaimed, looking even more startled. "Er...who is the lucky gentleman, then?"

"It's Count D,"  Chris said excitedly. "The younger Count D, I mean, your father's little brother. He's living in San Francisco! Isn't that a wild coincidence? It must be fate!"

"Wh...what?" Daiki stammered, turning pale. Raphael had never seen him look so flustered before. And beside him, Tet-chan suddenly froze, standing as still and rigid as a statue, a stricken expression on his face. But Chris seemed oblivious to anything but his own happiness.

"I know it's crazy, but I'm in love with him, Dai," Chris gushed. "Walking into his petshop was like coming home again--even Q-chan is there, just like old times! And the Count...he's so..." Chris sighed, a dreamy expression filling his face. "He's so beautiful. I know that it's sudden, but I just know that he's the one for me, Dai."

"And...my uncle returns your feelings?" Daiki asked in a faint voice.

"Well, not exactly," Chris admitted sheepishly. "Not yet, anyway. I mean...we get along, but he's holding back. It's sort of like how D was with Leon, back when I was living at the petshop. He's a little remote and aloof, and of course I don't expect him to just immediately fall for me on the spot. I mean, he's..." His voice trailed off as he glanced at Raphael, as if he were deciding how much it was safe to say out loud. "He's something really special," Chris continued. "I know that I've got to work at courting him. That's why I thought of giving him a Plant Doll, something unique that no one else can give him, to show him how special he is to me."

"A Plant Doll is not some trinket to be used to impress a lover, like a diamond ring or a bouquet of flowers!" Daiki said sternly.

"I didn't mean it that way," Chris protested. "The Count loves exotic animals, and he takes good care of the pets in his shop, so I'm sure that he'd take good care of the doll, too."

"Has the Count even expressed an interest in owning a Plant Doll?" Daiki sighed.

"Well...not exactly," Chris admitted. "But he seemed interested when I told him about your shop. He said that he had heard that they were very beautiful, and he would like to see one someday."

"Uncle Chris, owning a Plant Doll is a very big responsibility," Daiki said gently. "It's like adopting a child. You must be very sure that the Count really wants a doll and is prepared to care for it before you give him one."

"Oh," said Chris, looking crestfallen. "I guess you're right, but I wanted to surprise him."

"I could not sell you a doll for someone else, anyway," Daiki told him. "The dolls will only awaken for their true owner. If I sold you a doll and it did not bond to the Count, it would soon wilt and die."

"Oh," Chris repeated, looking even more dejected.

"If you are truly determined to buy a doll," Daiki sighed, "then bring the Count to the shop and have him select one in person. But Uncle Chris, it is never a good idea to try to buy someone's love."

"That's not what I'm trying to do!" Chris snapped indignantly.

"Isn't it?" Daiki asked quietly.

Chris flushed and hung his head. "I just wanted to find a way to stand out from the Count's other suitors," he mumbled.

"The way to stand out is not with expensive gifts," Daiki said gently. "But rather, with kindness and compassion and loyalty. It certainly wasn't Dad's income that won over Papa."

"That's true," Chris said, his expression brightening. "I guess I just have to be patient."

"Uncle Chris, why have you not told Papa that you met his brother?" Daiki asked.

"Come on, Daiki," Chris said impatiently. "You know why not." He glanced at Raphael again. "The younger Count is carrying on the...er...family business, and you know that Leon would feel obligated to investigate it. And the whole situation is awkward, with what happened between Leon and D's father..."

"It is strange that Uncle and Great-Grandfather have not contacted us when they chose to set up their shop so close to Papa's, relatively speaking," Daiki said, frowning. "If they wanted nothing to do with our family, I would have expected them to choose a location farther away--New York, perhaps, or even someplace in Europe or Asia."

"That's because the young Count wants to be close to his brother," Chris said earnestly. "But he doesn't want to upset D or cause trouble with Leon. So he watches from a distance. That's another reason why I thought it would be good if the Count and I got together--maybe then he could really become a part of our family. But I don't want to tell Leon about it just yet. You know him; he'll be convinced that the Count and Sofu are plotting something nefarious."

"Yes, he would," Daiki sighed. "And you are certain that they're not?"

"Of course," Chris replied indignantly. "I know that Sofu doesn't like Leon, but do you really think that they would do something to hurt me?"

"No," Daiki said after thinking it over for a moment. "I don't know my uncle very well, but I do not believe that Sofu would harm you, or that he would allow the young D to harm you, either. However, their definition of 'harm' might not necessarily be the same as yours or mine. I do not believe that they would physically harm you, but the various Counts have always enjoyed toying with human emotions..."

"And I'm telling you that the Count wouldn't do that!" Chris insisted. "Maybe he's not in love with me, not yet, but he wouldn't hurt a member of his brother's family!"

"I suppose you're right," Daiki said placatingly. "I'm sorry."

"Okay, then," Chris said, calming down. "You don't know him like I do, so I understand why you might be suspicious, but you know that you can trust me, Dai, even if you don't trust the Count."

"Yes, Uncle Chris," Daiki said, embracing his uncle. "I hope that everything goes well for you, but please take things slowly. It takes time to build up a relationship, and the Ds have little reason to trust humanity. True love cannot be rushed."

"Yes, Dai," Chris replied, but he sounded more like he was humoring his nephew, and Raphael doubted that he would actually follow Daiki's advice.
 
Part 15b, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19a, Part 19b, Part 20a, Part 20b, Part 21, Part 22a, Part 22b