Daiki, Part 15

by Geri ([email protected])

My homepage: http://www.geocities.com/geris_petshop_fics/index.html

Rating: R (actually, mostly PG-13, but R for one steamy scene in Part 1, and for Leon's bad language throughout)

Pairing: Leon/D

Author's note: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts

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.

SPOILER WARNING: Contains spoilers for Book 10 and the Shin Petshop of Horrors series currently running in Japan.

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.
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"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, not to mention 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.
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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. Something 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..."
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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...
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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 it off of Raphael. Its teeth were fastened firmly in Raphael's flesh, but it growled and reluctantly let go as Daiki tugged at it. 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.

Chris said goodbye and left the shop, and Daiki stared after him, looking very troubled. Raphael was about to ask him about this uncle that Chris was in love with--he hadn't known that Count D even had a brother--when Tet-chan suddenly let out a loud, mournful wail. It was an utterly heartrending sound, full of infinite pain and sorrow.

It was also a dissonant screeching sound, rather like an out-of-tune violin, and it nearly caused Raphael to jump out of his borrowed pair of pants. Daiki, however, immediately knelt beside Tet-chan and wrapped his arms around the animal, murmuring, "I'm sorry, Tet-chan, I'm so sorry. I had no idea..."

The scent of incense in the shop seemed stronger than usual, although it had been normal just a minute ago. But the sweet smell intensified to the point where it made Raphael a little dizzy. For a moment, he thought he saw a red-haired man in Daiki's arms instead of a goat--a red-haired man with horns. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, thinking that he must be seeing things. He glanced at them again, and the image of Tet-chan kept flickering between that of the animal and the man, until finally the two coalesced into one solid, clear image: a young man with red hair and two curving, goat-like horns growing out of his head. He was dressed oddly, like a character out of Arabian Nights or something, in a vest, loose harem-style pants, and heavy gold bracelets on his wrists. He was very handsome, except for the horns, and Raphael might have felt jealous that his boyfriend was holding a handsome man in his arms, except that he was too shocked to feel much else. That and the fact that the man--Tet-chan--was not embracing Daiki in a prurient manner, but was sobbing as if his heart was broken.

"Holy shit," Raphael said weakly, bracing one hand against the wall to steady himself, because he was feeling a little faint. And then he thought to himself with ironic amusement that his exclamation was probably very apt. After all, Jason had said that Count D was a god. Was Tet-chan some sort of goat god? Or maybe he was some sort of divine servant to the Count, like an angel or something, and then Raphael remembered his wounded backside. No, definitely not an angel, but he could certainly be a little devil at times.

"Raphael?" Daiki asked, looking up at him in concern. "Are you all right? You look a little pale."

"No, I'm not all right," Raphael said, still leaning against the wall. "Because either I'm losing my mind or Tet-chan..." Raphael hesitated; as long as the words were left unsaid, he could pretend that everything was still normal, and maybe pass this off as some kind of incense-induced hallucination. But once he said the words out loud, he couldn't take them back. What if Jason's stories were just the result of the Chinatown residents' overactive imaginations? Then Daiki would think he was crazy. On the other hand, if Jason's stories were true, then Raphael would have to acknowledge the existence of gods and unicorns, and apparently, goats who could turn into men. And quite frankly, he wasn't sure which prospect he found scarier.

But he had pledged to Jason--and to himself--that he wouldn't let anything drive him away from Daiki, not even gods or man-eating beasts. So Raphael took a deep breath and continued, "Or Tet-chan has just turned into a man. Or something man-like, because most people I know don't have horns."

"You can see me?" Tet-chan asked, startled out of his tears for a moment.

"You can see him?" Daiki asked excitedly.

"Yes, and apparently I can hear him, too," Raphael replied. "I mean, I can hear him speaking English, not goat. Please excuse me, I think I need to sit down." Raphael's legs felt wobbly--it must be the shock--and he slid down against the wall until he was sitting on the floor.

Daiki came over to him and laid his hand on Raphael's, and Raphael wrapped his fingers around Daiki's hand. It felt warm and solid and real, reassuring him that this wasn't a dream or hallucination. As if reading his mind, Daiki said gently, "You are not going crazy, Raphael."

"Oh good," Raphael said, still feeling a little dazed. "Because seeing goats turn into men usually wouldn't be an affirmation of sanity."

"I am not a goat," the red-haired man growled in a low, gruff voice. In a weird way, it still sounded like Tet-chan--or at least, it sounded the way he would have imagined Tet-chan sounding if he could speak. Which apparently he could.

"I'm sorry," Raphael said politely, just on the off-chance that Tet-chan really was a god. It probably wasn't a good idea to piss off a god, although it was probably too late for that, judging by the bite mark on his ass. "Um...what are you, then?"

"I'm a Tou-Tet," Tet-chan said sullenly.

Well, that wasn't very enlightening. "Please forgive my ignorance, but I'm not sure what a Tou-Tet is," Raphael said.

"I'll explain it to you, later," Daiki said hastily. He placed his hands on Raphael's shoulders. "I know that this must be a big shock to you, but I need you to get ahold of yourself."

"Jason said that the Count is a god," Raphael said, trying to calm down. He took a few deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling slowly. "Which I guess makes you a demigod?"

"Not exactly, but close enough," Daiki said, giving him an anxious smile. "I must say, you're handling this pretty well, under the circumstances."

Raphael managed a shaky smile and asked, "This is what you were waiting for, wasn't it? Before we...um...got serious. You wanted me to understand that you're a...a demigod or whatever it is that you are. Not just sort of half-believe in a Chinatown fable, but really believe it. And that the pets in the shop aren't just pets. Pon-chan, Ten-chan, and the others...they're like Tet-chan, aren't they? I mean, maybe they're not the exact same species, but they're people, aren't they? That's why you always talk to them like they're human."

"Very good, Raphael," Daiki said, his smile growing warmer, and Raphael smiled back at him more sincerely.

"Excuse me," Tet-chan said indignantly. "I'm glad that you two lovebirds are getting along so well, but what about me? What am I going to do about Chris?" Despite his anger, tears started to well in his eyes again. "You said that eventually Chris would get his Sight back and that things would work out between us," Tet-chan wailed accusingly at Daiki.

"I'm sorry," Daiki said, leaving Raphael's side to comfort Tet-chan. "I never dreamed that anything like this could happen. I never thought that my uncle would set up shop in San Francisco. I had thought that he and Great-Grandfather were still in Europe."

"Do you think that it's just a coincidence?" Tet-chan asked suspiciously, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Or are they up to something? Do you think that Count Number Three might be planning to use Chris to get revenge on Leon? Because if he is, I'll make him regret it." His lips pulled back from his teeth in a snarl, exposing sharp fangs; it seemed that his horns were not the only non-human thing about him. Raphael also noticed that Tet-chan's eyes looked the same as they did in his goat form: yellow with cat-like slit pupils.

Daiki frowned. "I do not think that Great-Grandfather would allow his son to physically harm Uncle Chris. But I am worried that the Count might have some sort of ulterior motive in befriending Chris." He turned back to Raphael. "I know that you must have many questions, and I'm very sorry to have to leave at a time like this, but I must fly to San Francisco at once. I promise that I'll explain everything to you when I get back."

Raphael did indeed have many questions for Daiki, not just whether or not he was a god, but why he was afraid that his uncle might hurt Chris, and why he didn't know that his uncle was living in San Francisco. But Daiki looked so worried that all Raphael wanted to do was make him feel better. So he swallowed his questions and said, "All right. I've known for awhile now that there was something...uh...different about your family. So I guess I can wait a little longer to ask my questions."

He was rewarded with a dazzling, grateful smile. "Thank you so much, Raphael," Daiki said. "Can I impose on you a little further and ask you to stay here at the shop with Tet-chan while I'm gone?"

"Sure," Raphael replied; he would have walked through fire for that smile. "But I don't know much about selling or caring for Plant Dolls."

"I'll close the shop, so you won't have to worry about dealing with customers," Daiki said. "And I should be back in time for the dolls' evening feeding. You don't really have to do anything, but I'd feel better if there was someone here in case of an emergency. You can call my cell phone if something comes up. If it's a real emergency, you can call Papa, but only in a last resort. He'll ask questions, and I promised Chris that I would keep his secret. Maybe I shouldn't have made that promise, but I did, and I can't break my word lightly."

"I understand," Raphael said. "But is it okay for you to go there alone?" The way that Daiki and Tet-chan had been talking about this other Count made him sound dangerous.

"Yeah," Tet-chan said fiercely. "Maybe I should go with you."

"No," Daiki said firmly. "You--like Dad--have a hot temper and a habit of speaking without thinking. And even a Tou-Tet is no match for two kami in a fight. Not to mention all the Count's pets."

"And what about you?" Tet-chan demanded. "You're only a half-blood. Can you take on Count Junior and Grandpa?"

"I don't intend to fight with the Count," Daiki replied calmly. "At least, not on his home territory. I'm only going to talk to him today. And besides, I am family. They will not harm someone who shares their blood, even if I am half-human. But they might not be so careful of people who are not related to them, which is why I am going alone. Stay here, Tet-chan."

"You don't need two people to baby-sit the dollies," Tet-chan said sulkily. "Or did you ask Raphael to stay here to baby-sit me, not the dolls? Because I don't need a baby-sitter."

"I just don't think that you should go home right now," Daiki said reasonably. "Papa will want to know why you're upset. Please, just stay here with Raphael. Maybe you can explain a little about the petshop to him. Besides, I thought that you'd want to be here to find out what I learned in San Francisco when I get back."

"Fine," Tet-chan said huffily. "I'll stay here with the starving artist."

"Thank you," Daiki said, smiling sweetly. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"But if you go now, you might end up on the same flight as Chris," Raphael pointed out. "You don't want him to know that you're checking up on his boyfriend, do you?"

"Oh, I have a client with a private plane," Daiki assured him. "I'm sure that he won't mind loaning me the use of his plane and pilot."

The client, of course, did not mind, and Daiki locked up the shop and hurried off, leaving Raphael and Tet-chan alone. "Uh...so what's the deal with this uncle?" Raphael asked hesitantly. "Are he and Count D estranged? And isn't it kind of weird for Daiki's two uncles to be dating each other?" It sounded like Chris and this other Count weren't related by blood, but it still seemed a little incestuous to Raphael.

"It's a long story," Tet-chan sighed wearily. He stared at Raphael for a moment, then said, "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Raphael asked.

"To see if Daiki has some booze in the kitchen," Tet-chan replied morosely. "He usually drinks tea, but I think that he keeps some wine and sake on hand for some of his choosier customers. And if I'm going to tell you about the history of Chris and the three Count Ds, then I'm going to need a stiff drink."

"I'm not sure that's really a good idea," Raphael said nervously. Tet-chan was pretty bad-tempered when he was sober, and Raphael would hate to see what he was like when he was drunk. And Tet-chan only seemed to listen to Count D and Daiki, and neither of them was here at the moment to protect Raphael.

"Listen, kid," Tet-chan said belligerently, "you don't wanna argue with a Tou-Tet."

"And what exactly is a Tou-Tet?" Raphael asked.

Tet-chan gave him a sharp-toothed grin that was more threatening than friendly. "A mythical Chinese beast that feeds on human flesh. Only I'm not really mythical at all." His grin grew wider. "In fact, I'm quite real."

Raphael turned pale and took a step backwards. "So what, were you tasting me earlier?!"

"Nah, I was just mad at you," Tet-chan said casually. "You see, I've looked after Daiki ever since he was a baby, so he's kind of like a little brother to me. I guess I was being overprotective and I kind of got carried away."

"No hard feelings," Raphael said with a nervous smile. Surely Daiki wouldn't have left him alone with a man-eating beast; maybe Tet-chan was just pulling his leg. But still, he figured it was better to be safe than sorry. "I can understand that. But I want you to know that I really care about Daiki, and I would never do anything to hurt him."

"Humans make promises so easily," Tet-chan said cynically. "And break them just as easily. But Daiki thinks that you're trustworthy, and he'd get mad if I ate you." He sighed regretfully, running his tongue across his lips. "A pity, since you were rather tasty. So don't push your luck and make me lose my temper."

{What have I gotten myself into?} Raphael wondered, then said meekly, "Yes, Tet-chan."

The man-eating beast seemed appeased, and his mood improved further when they found a bottle of sake in the kitchen. "Good stuff," Tet-chan said approvingly. "I think this was actually a gift from one of Daiki's customers; he brought it back from a trip to Japan." They sat down at the kitchen table and Tet-chan poured out two glasses. Tet-chan slowly drained his glass, obviously savoring the taste, then he belched and sighed with satisfaction. Raphael took a small sip from his own glass. Even to his untrained palate, the liquor was obviously of high quality, but he didn't want to drink too much, figuring that one of them ought to remain sober.

"Well, you've got balls, kid," Tet-chan said with grudging approval. "You haven't gone nuts or fled in terror, not even when I mentioned the flesh-eating bit. You're either pretty brave, or too stupid to be scared. Or maybe a little of both." He snorted with amusement. "The Detective falls into that category, I think."

"I love Daiki," Raphael said, meeting Tet-chan's eyes unflinchingly. "I won't let anything scare me away from him. Not even gods or man-eating beasts."

Tet-chan chuckled. "You're a lot more like the Detective than I thought--stubborn as a mule. Okay then, so you want to know about Daiki's family..."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Daiki made a stop at Madame C's before heading out to the private airstrip where his client's plane was kept. He arrived in San Francisco and caught a cab to Chinatown, where one of the local merchants was happy to give him directions to Count D's shop once he explained that he was a relative of the Count.

"Indeed, I can see the resemblance, young sir," the merchant murmured, bowing deeply to Daiki. He made no mention of Daiki's blond hair, but Daiki supposed that his golden eyes were proof enough of his relation to the Count.

Daiki thanked the man and continued on his way; he found the petshop without any problems, a few blocks away from the merchant's store. He took a deep breath, then pushed open the door and walked into a dimly-lit lobby that was eerily familiar, right down to the heavy scent of incense hanging over the room.

A figure that was a near-twin to Daiki's Papa glided forward and said smoothly, "Welcome to Count D's Petshop. We have all manner of animals here--" Then the Count broke off his rehearsed speech and stared at Daiki in surprise. "Oh my! Can this be...Daiki?"

"Greetings, Uncle," Daiki said, bowing politely. "I apologize for dropping in unannounced, but I happened to be in the neighborhood and thought that I should pay my respects." He held out the Madame C's pastry box. "A souvenir from Los Angeles; it's one of Papa's favorites, so I hoped that you might like it, too."

"You are too kind," the Count said, opening the box. "Ah, a fruit tart!" he exclaimed with what seemed to be genuine pleasure. "That is your favorite, is it not, Q-chan?"

"Kyu!" the little babbit squeaked, fluttering down to land on the Count's shoulder. He eyed the tart hungrily, but gave Daiki a concerned look. Daiki just smiled and nodded at Q-chan, choosing not to address him as "Great-Grandfather" since he wasn't sure if the young Count knew his true identity.

"Please have a seat, Daiki," the Count said, gesturing towards the couch. "You are just in time for tea, which will go well with this tart."

A few minutes later, they were having tea and making polite small talk. There were a number of pets in the lobby watching Daiki with mingled curiosity and wariness. A woman dressed in a slinky leopard-print gown perched on the arm of the couch and smiled at him seductively. A sleekly handsome dark-haired man with a studded collar around his neck stood behind the Count, watching over him with the protective air of a bodyguard, and growled softly as he stared at Daiki with suspicious eyes. Across the room, a beautiful young man with snow-white hair hid in the shadows, watching shyly from a distance; there was a small silver horn growing in the middle of his forehead. And over in the corner, a small turtle-like creature--a kappa, Daiki thought--was intently playing video games on a computer, oblivious to the petshop's new guest. Daiki smiled slightly as he noted that not everything about the shop was the same as his father's; Papa did not think very highly of modern technology, and still used an abacus to do his accounting, although he had grudgingly allowed Leon to buy a computer for Daiki when he had been in school.

Q-chan pulled a juicy strawberry out of his piece of tart and munched on it, but he still gazed anxiously at Daiki and the Count as they continued to utter polite, meaningless pleasantries. Finally, the Count said, "So truthfully, what brings you to San Francisco, Daiki?"

"Uncle," Daiki started to say, but the Count smiled and waved his hand carelessly.

"It seems silly to call me 'Uncle' when we are but two years apart in age, and besides, it makes me feel old," the Count laughed. "I think that we are more like cousins than uncle and nephew. Or you could just call me 'D' if you like, but perhaps that might be a bit confusing, considering that there are three of us." He smiled impishly. "Our family is rather unimaginative when it comes to naming their children, aren't they?"

"Perhaps just a little," Daiki said with a smile as Q-chan indignantly squeaked, "Kyu!"

"Well then, Cousin," Daiki continued, "I understand that my Uncle Chris has been a frequent visitor to your shop. Might I respectfully ask what your intentions are regarding him?"

"Very protective of your uncle's virtue, aren't you, dear cousin?" the Count asked, looking amused. "But if I am not mistaken, Christopher is a grown man, capable of making his own decisions, and hardly a virgin." He lowered his eyes demurely. "Although I am not speaking from personal knowledge about the last, of course."

"I am not concerned about Chris's virtue," Daiki said impatiently, "but rather, his heart. He is in love with you, or at least believes that he is. If you do not return his feelings, then please do not toy with him. I do not approve of the Ds' tradition of revenge, but it is not my place to interfere with your business--except when it comes to Chris. He is not just any human; he is my family."

"I cannot fault your loyalty, Cousin," the Count said, his voice light and unconcerned. "But it is not I who am toying with Chris's feelings. If anything, it is the other way around."

"I do not understand," Daiki said, frowning.

"Don't you?" the Count asked with a serene smile. "You seem like a very intelligent young man. All this--" He waved his arms in an expansive gesture that seemed to take in the entire shop. "--the shop, the animals, the incense, myself, even dear little Q-chan--it is all like a re-creation of Christopher's childhood. He doesn't really love me, Daiki; he only seeks to return to the happiness of his childhood through me."

Daiki went cold with fear for a moment; Chris might have unwittingly offered insult to the Count by courting him under false pretenses--even though Chris believed his feelings to be sincere. If the Count chose to take offense, he could demand satisfaction. Sofu D would probably try to keep things from getting out of hand, but things could get ugly when a kami wanted revenge on a human--this petshop was a prime example of that. The Ds were still taking revenge for a massacre that happened over a thousand years ago.

Daiki dropped to his knees in front of the Count and bowed low, nearly touching his forehead to the floor. "Please forgive my unthinking words, Cousin; I misunderstood the situation. And please forgive Chris; he intended no offense towards you. I do not think that he understands why he is so drawn to you--"

"Please, Cousin, there's no need to grovel," the Count laughed, waving off Daiki's apology with a careless flick of his wrist. "I assure you that I am not offended. Please get up and finish your tea." Daiki rose to his feet and resumed his seat on the couch, watching his cousin carefully. Q-chan anxiously looked back and forth from Daiki to the Count, his half-eaten strawberry lying forgotten on his plate.

"I know that Chris truly believes himself to be in love with me," the Count said; there was no anger in his beautiful face, but only a look of slightly detached amusement. "For an F.B.I. agent, he is charmingly naive. He is competent in his profession, yet somehow manages to maintain an air of childish innocence that is quite refreshing, compared to most of the cynical and jaded humans who patronize my shop. I allow him to visit me because I enjoy his company." He smiled mischievously. "And of course, because he always brings me the most wonderful sweets." He added almost as an afterthought, "Oh, and the animals like him."

"Can he see their human forms?" Daiki asked.

"No," the Count replied, with a smile that was almost sympathetic. "But I think that he believes that he will if he becomes my mate, the way that his brother became your Papa's mate. I feel a bit sorry for poor Chris, who longs so desperately to return to the past, for all that he claims that he loves his human family. Perhaps it was a mistake for my elder brother to make him leave the petshop."

"Perhaps," Daiki sighed. "But Papa thought he was doing the right thing at the time. He had intended to leave Los Angeles and my Dad behind forever, and he couldn't permanently separate Chris from his brother and parents."

"Well, what's done is done," the Count said philosophically. "But Chris is filled with a sense of desperation that would make him a prime candidate to become one of my customers, except that his needs are so broad that I cannot think of a single pet that would fulfill them." He laughed at the look of alarm that filled Daiki's face. "Don't worry, Cousin," he laughed. "Father has forbidden me to sell Chris a pet." He smiled slyly at the babbit. "Haven't you, Q-chan?"

"Kyu?!" Q-chan squeaked, his little beady eyes going wide with shock.

Daiki was nearly as surprised as his great-grandfather. "You know who Q-chan is?"

"Please," the Count said, rolling his eyes. "It was only so obvious. He appeared as soon as Father supposedly went abroad, and he and Father never appear in the same room together when Father does return home to visit."

"Papa never guessed that Q-chan was really Great-Grandfather," Daiki said stiffly, because the Count's words seemed to be an indirect insult of Daiki's father. Or maybe he was just being too sensitive.

The Count smiled at him placatingly. "Your father was a loving and trusting grandson, from what I hear. I am a bit more cynical, and I know what a devious bastard Father can be at times."

Sofu D assumed his true form and smiled sheepishly. "I only wanted to watch over you," he protested.

"Why bother with the charade, then?" the Count asked. "I played along to humor you, but we could run the shop together if you like."

"It would confuse the humans if there were two Count Ds," Sofu replied.

"We could be twins," the Count said with an impish smile. "Or you could really play the role of my aged grandfather and assume the form of a wrinkled, gray-haired old man." Sofu sniffed disdainfully and the Count laughed. "I know what it is--you're just too vain to take the shape of an old man! You would rather be a cute, cuddly pet than a wrinkled old man."

"And you are a most disrespectful child," Sofu said sternly, but there was humor and affection coloring his voice.

"So...you aren't angry at Uncle Chris?" Daiki asked anxiously. "You won't do anything to hurt him?"

"I am not angry at Chris," the Count assured him. "I have not discouraged his visits to my shop, but neither have I made him any false promises. I have not 'led him on,' as the humans say. I will not harm him physically, nor will I allow the pets to harm him, but I cannot promise that I will not hurt his feelings, although I do not wish to. I like Chris, but I do not love him. I find humanity amusing, but I do not think that I could ever take a human as a mate the way that my brother has done. So Chris is bound to feel hurt when he realizes that his love will remain forever unrequited. Or perhaps he will simply grow out of his crush and find a new love."

"I hope so," Daiki sighed. "I thank you, Cousin, for your consideration to my uncle. It is most generous of you."

"Not at all," the Count said lightly. "It is completely selfish. I am kind to Chris so that he will keep bringing me candy and pastries."

Daiki laughed politely, although he was still worried about Chris. They chatted for a few more minutes, and then Daiki took his leave, saying that he needed to get back to his own shop.

"I will call you a taxi," the Count offered.

"Thank you, Cousin," Daiki said. He hesitated, then added, "Uncle Chris told me that you wished to see a Plant Doll someday. You are most welcome to visit my shop at any time. And I know that Papa would be happy to see you, too."

"Would he?" the Count asked, looking a little wistful. Perhaps he had told Chris the truth when he had said that he wanted to watch over his brother. "Would my presence not cause more grief than happiness?"

"He does feel sorrow when he remembers his father's death," Daiki said gently. "But he feels joy as well, to know that his father lives on in you, Cousin."

The Count smiled, for the first time showing a hint of genuine warmth. "Thank you, Daiki. Chris is right when he says that you are a kind man. Perhaps I will pay a visit to my brother in the near future. But will that not cause problems with his mate?"

Daiki wondered just how much the young Count knew about his predecessor's death. "I think that Dad would call a truce if you would, Cousin," he said carefully. "He does not approve of how you run your business, but he loves your brother very much, and he knows how much Papa cares about you."

"You are very diplomatic," the Count said with a smile. "I would like to visit my brother, but I wish to talk it over with Father first. I would appreciate it if you did not mention my presence here to your parents in the meantime."

"As you wish, Cousin," Daiki said. He didn't sense any malice in the Count, at least, not towards his family, and he didn't want to jeopardize the possibility of a family reunion.

The Count called a cab for Daiki, and Sofu accompanied him outside to await it. Passersby on the street gave them a few odd looks, but no one really seemed to find it strange that a blond man in Chinese garb was standing outside the petshop talking with a figure shrouded in a long, hooded cloak.

"I see that the shop has been here long enough for the locals to be used to odd sights," Daiki said wryly.

"Yes, but I should not linger out here too long," Sofu said. "Although if anyone sees my face, they will probably just mistake me for my son. I just wanted to assure you that I will let no harm come to Chris."

"Thank you, Great-Grandfather," Daiki said gratefully. "The pets have told me that you were fond of Uncle Chris."

"I would not say that I was 'fond' of him, precisely," Sofu protested, looking embarrassed and offended at the accusation that he was "fond" of a human. "But young Christopher was tolerable, for a human. And my grandson is fond of Chris, and it would grieve him if harm came to the boy."

"Yes, Great-Grandfather," Daiki said meekly. "I apologize if I gave offense."

"I knew that it was a bad idea to set up shop in San Francisco," Sofu said morosely. "But my son insisted. He was curious about his brother, and wished to be near him without actually making his presence known. We are of necessity a solitary species, and each Count usually goes off and establishes his own shop once he comes of age. We do not normally intrude on each other's territory."

"Is that why you had to disguise yourself as Q-chan?" Daiki asked with a smile.

"I wanted to let your father and my son run their shops independently," Sofu said, flushing a little. "They could not do that with me constantly standing over their shoulders. But I wished to watch over them without interfering--well, not too much, anyway--so I took the form of Q-chan."

"Does my cousin know how his father died?" Daiki asked quietly.

"I did not tell him the specifics, but then again, I did not tell him that I was Q-chan, either," Sofu said helplessly. "I do not know how much he really knows. He was intrigued when Chris found our shop, and I was worried. I did not wish for history to repeat itself, if you know what I mean. Chris is different from Vesca Howell, of course; for one thing, he understands what we are and believes in our magic, but still..." The eldest D sighed. "It is rare than any good comes of our kind consorting with humans."

"I am the result of a kami consorting with a human," Daiki pointed out.

"I said 'rare,' not 'impossible,'" Sofu retorted testily. "I admit that you somehow got the best traits of both parents, which is quite a miracle, considering what your human father is like." Daiki chuckled, and Sofu glowered at him, but Daiki thought that he detected a glint of humor in the old kami's eyes. "In any case, I was very worried when Chris showed up at the shop. My son does not have the obsessive hatred for humanity that his predecessor had, although he shares his predecessor's fascination with that species. I would say that he neither loves nor hates humanity, but merely finds them amusing: he enjoys watching their weaknesses, their vanities, their contradictions."

"Like a scientist observing a colony of lab rats," Daiki murmured, disturbed by the idea.

"There is a sort of ironic justice in that, considering the experiments that humans have carried out on animals," Sofu said with a bitter smile. "But amusement aside, I have raised my son to do his duty as the current Count D, since my grandson is too softhearted to continue that task."

"In other words, the task of taking revenge upon humanity," Daiki said quietly.

"If the customers abide by the terms of the contract, no harm comes to them," Sofu snapped defensively. "If they are weak and foolish enough to break their sworn word, then we are not responsible for the fate that befalls them."

"Yes, you are," Daiki said, politely but firmly. "That is the reason for the petshop's existence, is it not? But I do not wish to argue with you, Great-Grandfather, so let us agree to disagree."

"Very well," Sofu said. "I did not explain the details of his predecessor's death, so as far as I knew, my son had no special reason to hate the Orcots. However, he had no special reason to be fond of them, either. I feared that he might treat Chris like a normal customer, and I feared that Chris would be foolish enough to sign a contract. He is disturbingly trusting and idealistic for someone who witnesses crime and murder on a daily basis."

"He grew up in Papa's shop," Daiki said. "It was his home, where he was loved and accepted when the human world had rejected him. Everyone there treated him with kindness and affection, and I think that he cannot conceive that anything or anyone in the petshop could hurt him even though Dad did explain to him about the contracts and the Ds' mission to avenge themselves on humanity when he was old enough to understand."

"But this is not the petshop that he grew up in," Sofu argued.

"I know," Daiki sighed. "I told you that he has been trying to regain his Sight, but has so far been unsuccessful. He sees this shop and the new Count as a substitute for his old home and friends. The fact that you're there makes it seem even more familiar."

Sofu actually looked a little guilty. "I tried to discourage him from returning, but he is as stubborn as his brother, if somewhat better-mannered. And my son will not discourage anyone who brings him sweets. So I made him promise not to sell Chris any pets, and he agreed for my sake, and for my grandson's, when I explained that your father would be upset if anything happened to Chris."

"Thank you, Great-Grandfather, for protecting Chris."

"I told you, I did it for the sake of my grandson," Sofu grumbled. "And I was afraid that my son might actually fall in love with the boy--what a nightmare that would be, having both my grandson and my son mated to an Orcot! Although Chris is preferable to Leon."

"But my cousin does not love Chris," Daiki said, feeling both sad and relieved at the same time.

"No, but Chris refuses to see that," Sofu sighed. "Or at least, he refuses to let go of the notion that he can eventually win my son's heart. And my son is fond of Chris, in the way that a human might be fond of a pet cat or dog." Sofu smiled ironically. "Which gives Chris just enough hope to imagine that mild fondness might grow into something more. In that, he is very human; he deludes himself into believing what he wishes were true, despite the evidence to the contrary."

"That is true," Daiki said sadly. "The pity of it is, there is someone who truly loves him, but he is blind to that person's feelings."

"You mean the sheep?" Sofu asked.

"How did you know?" Daiki asked, startled.

"Well, it was obvious that Tet-chan loved Chris," Sofu pointed out logically. "He did take a bullet for him, after all. Although I had assumed that it was more of a brotherly sort of love. But Chris is all grown up now, and I suppose that he is handsome, for a human."

"You are very wise, Great-Grandfather," Daiki said, bowing slightly to the old kami.

"I should hope so," Sofu said tartly. "Considering that I have a few centuries' experience more than you, child!"

Daiki laughed, and just then, his cab pulled up.

"Go home," Sofu said in a resigned voice. "There is nothing more that you can do, save be prepared to comfort Chris when his heart is broken by my son, as it inevitably must be."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Hi," Raphael said when Daiki arrived back at the Plant Dolls shop, looking sad and worried. "I'm guessing by your expression that things didn't go too well, huh?"

"Yes and no," Daiki replied with a faint, halfhearted smile. "Where is Tet-chan?"

"Sleeping it off on the couch," Raphael said, gesturing towards the back room. They looked in on Tet-chan, who lay snoring loudly on the couch; there were several empty liquor bottles scattered across the floor.

"He's going to have a terrible hangover tomorrow morning," Daiki said, shaking his head slightly. "I'll make sure to prepare some herbal tea for him. But at least things will be quiet for now. Thank you for waiting so patiently, Raphael. I know that you must have many questions, and I will try to answer them now."

"Actually, Tet-chan already explained most of it to me," Raphael told him. "My head is still spinning; my curse sounds almost normal in comparison! And I'm still not exactly sure what a kami is."

"It's usually translated as 'god,'" Daiki explained. "But it's a very general term that can mean anything from the Christian God to a minor nature deity. People have worshipped us as gods in ancient times, but although we do have powers that most humans do not possess, we are not truly gods. Think of us as being something like the Sidhe or fair folk of Gaelic legend: beings with great beauty and magical power, but still less than gods."

"I guess that makes sense," Raphael said. "If your ancestors were gods, they could have stopped that prince and his army who killed them."

"You seem to be handling this well," Daiki cautiously, peering closely into Raphael's eyes, as if searching for signs of insanity.

Raphael grinned. "It's true that there's a small part of my mind that's gibbering madly, but I've got it under control. And I've been preparing for this moment ever since Jason first told me that the Count was a god. I don't care what you are, Dai--a god, a kami, a fairy; it doesn't matter. I love you and I want to be with you. And not even that man-eating beast on the couch can scare me away. He's not really so bad when you get a few drinks into him. Although I do have to question your motives, leaving me alone with a monster who thinks human flesh is a delicacy, especially since he's already had a taste of me twice."

Daiki laughed, although there was still a bit of sadness lurking in his eyes. "Tet-chan is more bark than bite, but don't tell him that I told you that; it would hurt his pride. He would never hurt anyone that I cared about, and I care about you very much, Raphael." He wrapped his arms around Raphael's neck and whispered, "I love you, Raphael."

Raphael felt like his heart would burst with joy, and suddenly it really didn't matter that Daiki was a not-quite-god or that his relatives were vengeful beings bent on exacting revenge on humanity by selling them killer pets. Maybe when the euphoria wore off, he would go back to questioning his sanity, but right now, nothing else mattered but the fact that Daiki loved him.

"I love you, too," he said, and kissed Daiki. That kiss was perfect, even better than their first kiss; it was so intoxicating that it made Raphael feel dizzy again. "Wow," he said giddily when they finally came up for air. "Kami are really good kissers!"

"And how many kami have you kissed, my love?" Daiki asked playfully, touching a long, elegant finger to Raphael's lips.

Hearing Daiki call him "my love" made Raphael deliriously happy. "Just one," he replied, kissing Daiki's finger. "That's all I want or need, just you."

"I'm glad," Daiki said softly, embracing him. "I'm sorry that you had to go through such a shock, but I'm glad that you know the truth now. It would be so hard to have to deal with this mess between Chris and Tet-chan and the young Count, and not be able to talk to you about it."

Raphael felt a little guilty about having briefly forgotten about Daiki's family problems. "Sorry," he apologized. "I forgot to ask you what happened with the, uh, other Count. Tet-chan was worried that he might be plotting to hurt Chris to get revenge on Leon, because...let me get this straight. Leon had to kill the Count's father because he was planning to release some kind of biological weapon that would wipe out every human on Earth. And the kid, the new Count, isn't supposed to know about it, but Tet-chan thinks he might have figured it out."

Daiki shook his head, smiling sadly. "I do not know exactly what he knows, but my cousin--well, actually he's my uncle, but I'm supposed to call him 'Cousin' since we're almost the same age. My cousin has pledged not to harm Uncle Chris, and my great-grandfather has also promised to protect him."

"That's Sofu D, right?" Raphael asked, trying to keep all the Ds straight in his head. He wondered if it was some sort of kami thing that they all had to have the same name. Except for Daiki, but maybe he was an exception because he was half-human.

"Right," Daiki replied. "But they have only promised not to harm him physically. They cannot spare him from emotional pain, because my cousin does not love Chris. To him, Chris is nothing more than a charming customer, and perhaps, a kind of in-law. The Count means Chris no harm, but he cannot return Chris's feelings."

"Is it really love, or just infatuation?" Raphael asked doubtfully. "From what Tet-chan said, it sounds to me like Chris really idolized the Count. I mean, your Papa. Maybe he's just projecting his feelings onto this other Count?"

"You are very perceptive, my love," Daiki said. "My cousin said much the same thing. Although it's not just the Count that Chris wants, but the security and happiness of his childhood."

"I can see that," Raphael said quietly, thinking of the geezer and his other clients, who had sought happiness in his portraits, even if it resulted in their deaths. What would Chris do when the Count rejected him? Would he be suicidal, or would he realize that he hadn't really loved the Count after all?

"I don't understand why he can't see and hear the pets like Leon can," Raphael said, frowning thoughtfully. "He knows that they exist; it's not like he doesn't believe in the petshop's magic."

"I don't really understand it myself," Daiki confessed. "I wish that I could do something to help him."

He looked so distressed that Raphael gave him a hug. "You flew all the way out to San Francisco to help him, Dai. You did everything you could. If it's just an infatuation, maybe it will wear off in time."

"I hope so," Daiki sighed, not very hopefully. He clung to Raphael for a little while longer, then reluctantly pulled away. "I have to feed the dolls," he said regretfully. "But...will you stay with me here tonight? I don't really feel like being alone." Raphael's heart skipped a beat, and Daiki smiled at him wanly. "I'm not sure that I'll be good company, though," Daiki said apologetically. "I'm not really in the mood for..." A faint blush stained his fair cheeks.

"Oh, of course; I understand," Raphael agreed hastily. He was disappointed, of course, but he understood that Daiki was worried about his uncle, and maybe felt a little guilty about finding true love when he knew that Chris's love for the Count was hopeless. Raphael felt a bit guilty himself, although that wouldn't have stopped him from sleeping with Daiki if Daiki had been willing. He repressed a sigh; was the time ever going to be "right"?

Daiki kissed him gently on the mouth and said, "It is only that I want our first time together to be a time of joy, not sorrow."

"I understand," Raphael said, kissing Daiki on the forehead. "I love you, Daiki. I do want to make love to you, but most of all, I just want to be with you. To be by your side, for as long as you'll have me."

"Then that would be forever," Daiki said, giving him a real smile this time. He clasped Raphael's hand in his. "Will you help me warm the milk?"

"Sure," Raphael said, and together they fed the dolls, picked up the liquor bottles and draped a blanket over the snoring Tet-chan, then went upstairs to Daiki's apartment and went to bed. Daiki was so exhausted that he almost immediately fell asleep in Raphael's arms. Raphael smiled tenderly down at his sleeping lover, happy that he was able to comfort Daiki, and proud that he was the one that Daiki had come to for comfort. And for tonight, he was content just to lie there with Daiki in his arms, and eventually he fell asleep with a smile on his face.
 

Part 16

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