Promise Kept (only a little late)
A while back I promised
yamipenguin a ficlet on a prompt of her choice. She provided the prompt, but the ficlet refused to be confined to a mere 600 words. It's been languishing on my hard drive for a while, but I finally unearthed it. So for your reading edification, I present...
Title: There and Back Again
Author: Lithium Delusions
Fandom: Pet Shop of Horrors
Characters: D, Leon, Chris, Pon-chan, Taizo in passing.
Disclaimer: Don't own, merely abuse.
Nothes: Written for
yamipenguin on the prompt, "What if Leon took Chris with him on his search for D?"
It’s cold in Tokyo. Or maybe that’s just me.
Leon sighed and let the cheap hotel curtain fall closed, knowing he was lying to himself. It wasn’t cold. The coldness was all in his mind. He’d been traveling so long that he was starting to lose faith. No matter where he went, he was always a step behind, always a day late. And it was wearing him down.
He risked a glance at the blonde head that peeked out from beneath the comforter, sleeping soundly, like he had not a care in the world. Maybe he didn’t.
Leon remembered when he’d told his family that he was taking off. Only Chris and, to a lesser extent, Sam and Josie, had understood his motivation. His aunt hadn’t. His uncle had called him a damned fool without a bit of brains. And Chris, his little brother, had defended him. Leon remembered the flare of the famous Orcot temper on Chris’s face as he glared at his uncle, the man he had called dad all his life, hands on his hips.
“You don’t understand! This is important! Leon has to find him!” He had railed at the older man, who looked completely taken aback. “Finding the count is the most important thing in the world to him! And I don’t care what you think, I’m going with him!”
That had been the biggest shocker. Leon had been stunned and his uncle, after a moment of standing there gaping like a fish, had roared, “Absolutely not!”
Leon had even added his protests, but Chris had been implacable. He would not let Leon go alone. Leon had told him time and again that he didn’t know where he was going, and that it would be dangerous, but that had only made him more determined. When he had gotten to the point of swearing he would stow away in Leon’s luggage and walk if he had to, they relented, reluctantly.
Leon had been faithfully teaching Chris himself out of a set of battered home-schooling books his aunt had forced upon him. Not that he would have refused. Chris was smarter than he was, and deserved more opportunity than his dumb-as-a-brick cop brother.
Leon sighed and stretched out next to the only thing that kept him going sometimes. Sleepily, Chris sought the warmth of his body, and Leon wrapped his arms around Chris. If he didn’t find D soon, he was going to give up. Chris deserved more stability than this.
*-----------------*
Leon knuckled sleep out of his eyes as Chris chattered amicably with the Japanese matron who ran the sweet shop in a mix of English and Japanese, with a liberal helping of hand gestures thrown in for good measure. Chris absorbed languages like a sponge and was already fluent in Chinese, Korean, Spanish and picking up Japanese at an alarming rate. If nothing else, he had a bright future as a translator.
Chris handed him one of the two sticky rolls he had bought. “She knows him.” He said without preamble. “He buys candies from her once a week.”
Leon nearly dropped his roll. “What? Did you find out when he comes in? Which way he goes? Anything?”
Chris smugly took a bite from his roll. “Better. I got an address.”
This time, Leon did drop his roll. Chris grinned at his brother and handed over a bag of assorted sweets. “This is from her,” He nodded over his shoulder at the shopkeeper, who waved at them with a cheery grin. “For Count D.”
Leon accepted the bag, feeling decidedly numb. So easy. After all the traveling and the searching, they were only a few steps away from finding D. Chris’s questioning look made him shake off the feeling. Stepping toward the street, Leon hailed a taxi. He relied on Chris to give the driver directions, because he was barely able to keep still, and in the state he was in, he couldn’t even remember the most rudimentary Japanese he had painstakingly learned with Chris.
The taxi deposited them in front of a huge building. There was a map posted, but since neither of them could read Japanese, Chris asked a woman who looked as if she worked in the towering building. She grinned and pointed up the escalator, jabbering something.
“Did you get that?” Leon asked Chris as they stepped onto the escalator.
Chris grinned at him and for a moment Leon was struck by how much his brother had grown on this trip. “Fifth floor, past the perfume shop. She says there’s no way we can miss it.”
Leon gave into frustration and climbed the moving stairs, tugging a grinning Chris along behind him. He made it to the fifth floor in just under a minute.
Chris pointed out the perfume shop (like he couldn’t have smelled it) and they hurried past it. Leon froze for a moment. The doors were the same he had seen almost everyday for two years.
His fingers trembled as he reached for the heavy door. So close. He had waited for this for nearly a year and a half now. So why didn’t his fingers want to close around that brass-chased door handle?
The door opened and a flustered-looking Asian man stormed out, straightening his Armani jacket. He spat something back over is shoulder in precise Japanese. He cast Leon a disinterested glance and stormed off.
Leon found his voice at last at the sight of the figure standing there in the opened door. “Still getting in trouble with the law, D?” He was surprised at how steady and pleasant-sounding his statement came out.
The gold and violet eyes that turned on him widened and for a moment, the pleasant mask slipped. Leon was surprised to see how defenseless D looked, the painted mouth slightly open and the slight shudder that shook the lean frame.
“D-detective?”
He got no further before a small figure darted past him and flung his arms around D’s waist. For a moment Leon thought wryly that he was right. Chris hadn’t even reached D’s waist when he had fled LA.
The thought was lost as the rest of D’s mask crumbled. His lips trembled and something that might have been tears trembled on those long lashes. “C-Chris…” His voice was a small, shaken whisper.
Leon had to hold himself up on the doorjamb as D did the unexpected. He fell to his knees and drew Chris into a hug so tight the eight-year old squeaked. His odd-colored eyes closed and he buried his face in Chris’s tousled hair.
“Why did you go away?” Chris asked the question that Leon could not force out. Somehow, in his childish voice it sounded less accusing and more a desperate plea for understanding.
Leon saw D shake a little. Then he pulled away and his face was as composed as if the last two minutes had never happened. But the shimmer of tears in those odd eyes betrayed him.
“I had to leave, Chris.”
“Bullshit!” Leon found his voice again. “You were afraid. So you ran!”
D flinched. The barb had hit home, but it brought his defenses back up and his voice turned cold. “I assure you, I had no need to run, Detective!”
Leon snorted and folded his arms to hide the fact that his hands were trembling. “You ran. You packed up your freaking shop-ship and ran away from LA. Ran away from people who gave a damn about you. Jill’s still pissed at you for leaving. The Chief hasn’t shut up about that damned puppy you gave his kids and how much trouble it’s gotten into since you left.”
He trailed off, because D’s eyes had widened again. “You remember? You remember the ship?”
Leon glared down at him. “Of course I remember. You fucking shoved me out of it, you bastard! How the hell was I supposed to forget that?”
A small bundle of blonde curls and petticoats flung itself at Chris and the count, jabbering excitedly.
Leon recognized the figure, though he’d only seen it once. But the excited voice was familiar. “Pon-chan?”
The girl-raccoon-whatever... flung herself at him. “You came back!”
Leon scooped her up and held her, feeling the rustle of cloth and silken hair and wondered if this was what Chris had always seen. “Of course I did.”
“I missed you.”
Leon’s heart melted at those honest words. “I missed you too.”
He glared down at the Chinese man still kneeling in the doorway of his shop, arms still wrapped around Chris like the boy would vanish if he let go. “And I missed you too, you arrogant ass. You broke Chris’s heart when you vanished.”
D shivered and tucked his head against Chris’s hair. The boy squirmed and whispered in his ear. “Leon missed you most of all.”
D managed a smile and rose to his feet, one hand lingering on Chris’s blond head. “I know.”
“I missed you too.” D’s voice was soft and trembling. Leon leaned toward him, disbelieving, and landed on his ass as D sucker-punched him. “Now, I see you’ve brought some sweets. Come in and I’ll put on some tea.” D turned and swept back into the shop, Chris’s hand firmly tucked into his own.
Leon rubbed his sore jaw with a grin and followed. D would get his. His grin widened. Oh, yeah, D would discover it wasn’t just Chris who had changed in the search for him.
The door shut behind the odd-looking little group with a click that sounded final.
yamipenguin a ficlet on a prompt of her choice. She provided the prompt, but the ficlet refused to be confined to a mere 600 words. It's been languishing on my hard drive for a while, but I finally unearthed it. So for your reading edification, I present...
Title: There and Back Again
Author: Lithium Delusions
Fandom: Pet Shop of Horrors
Characters: D, Leon, Chris, Pon-chan, Taizo in passing.
Disclaimer: Don't own, merely abuse.
Nothes: Written for
yamipenguin on the prompt, "What if Leon took Chris with him on his search for D?"
It’s cold in Tokyo. Or maybe that’s just me.
Leon sighed and let the cheap hotel curtain fall closed, knowing he was lying to himself. It wasn’t cold. The coldness was all in his mind. He’d been traveling so long that he was starting to lose faith. No matter where he went, he was always a step behind, always a day late. And it was wearing him down.
He risked a glance at the blonde head that peeked out from beneath the comforter, sleeping soundly, like he had not a care in the world. Maybe he didn’t.
Leon remembered when he’d told his family that he was taking off. Only Chris and, to a lesser extent, Sam and Josie, had understood his motivation. His aunt hadn’t. His uncle had called him a damned fool without a bit of brains. And Chris, his little brother, had defended him. Leon remembered the flare of the famous Orcot temper on Chris’s face as he glared at his uncle, the man he had called dad all his life, hands on his hips.
“You don’t understand! This is important! Leon has to find him!” He had railed at the older man, who looked completely taken aback. “Finding the count is the most important thing in the world to him! And I don’t care what you think, I’m going with him!”
That had been the biggest shocker. Leon had been stunned and his uncle, after a moment of standing there gaping like a fish, had roared, “Absolutely not!”
Leon had even added his protests, but Chris had been implacable. He would not let Leon go alone. Leon had told him time and again that he didn’t know where he was going, and that it would be dangerous, but that had only made him more determined. When he had gotten to the point of swearing he would stow away in Leon’s luggage and walk if he had to, they relented, reluctantly.
Leon had been faithfully teaching Chris himself out of a set of battered home-schooling books his aunt had forced upon him. Not that he would have refused. Chris was smarter than he was, and deserved more opportunity than his dumb-as-a-brick cop brother.
Leon sighed and stretched out next to the only thing that kept him going sometimes. Sleepily, Chris sought the warmth of his body, and Leon wrapped his arms around Chris. If he didn’t find D soon, he was going to give up. Chris deserved more stability than this.
*-----------------*
Leon knuckled sleep out of his eyes as Chris chattered amicably with the Japanese matron who ran the sweet shop in a mix of English and Japanese, with a liberal helping of hand gestures thrown in for good measure. Chris absorbed languages like a sponge and was already fluent in Chinese, Korean, Spanish and picking up Japanese at an alarming rate. If nothing else, he had a bright future as a translator.
Chris handed him one of the two sticky rolls he had bought. “She knows him.” He said without preamble. “He buys candies from her once a week.”
Leon nearly dropped his roll. “What? Did you find out when he comes in? Which way he goes? Anything?”
Chris smugly took a bite from his roll. “Better. I got an address.”
This time, Leon did drop his roll. Chris grinned at his brother and handed over a bag of assorted sweets. “This is from her,” He nodded over his shoulder at the shopkeeper, who waved at them with a cheery grin. “For Count D.”
Leon accepted the bag, feeling decidedly numb. So easy. After all the traveling and the searching, they were only a few steps away from finding D. Chris’s questioning look made him shake off the feeling. Stepping toward the street, Leon hailed a taxi. He relied on Chris to give the driver directions, because he was barely able to keep still, and in the state he was in, he couldn’t even remember the most rudimentary Japanese he had painstakingly learned with Chris.
The taxi deposited them in front of a huge building. There was a map posted, but since neither of them could read Japanese, Chris asked a woman who looked as if she worked in the towering building. She grinned and pointed up the escalator, jabbering something.
“Did you get that?” Leon asked Chris as they stepped onto the escalator.
Chris grinned at him and for a moment Leon was struck by how much his brother had grown on this trip. “Fifth floor, past the perfume shop. She says there’s no way we can miss it.”
Leon gave into frustration and climbed the moving stairs, tugging a grinning Chris along behind him. He made it to the fifth floor in just under a minute.
Chris pointed out the perfume shop (like he couldn’t have smelled it) and they hurried past it. Leon froze for a moment. The doors were the same he had seen almost everyday for two years.
His fingers trembled as he reached for the heavy door. So close. He had waited for this for nearly a year and a half now. So why didn’t his fingers want to close around that brass-chased door handle?
The door opened and a flustered-looking Asian man stormed out, straightening his Armani jacket. He spat something back over is shoulder in precise Japanese. He cast Leon a disinterested glance and stormed off.
Leon found his voice at last at the sight of the figure standing there in the opened door. “Still getting in trouble with the law, D?” He was surprised at how steady and pleasant-sounding his statement came out.
The gold and violet eyes that turned on him widened and for a moment, the pleasant mask slipped. Leon was surprised to see how defenseless D looked, the painted mouth slightly open and the slight shudder that shook the lean frame.
“D-detective?”
He got no further before a small figure darted past him and flung his arms around D’s waist. For a moment Leon thought wryly that he was right. Chris hadn’t even reached D’s waist when he had fled LA.
The thought was lost as the rest of D’s mask crumbled. His lips trembled and something that might have been tears trembled on those long lashes. “C-Chris…” His voice was a small, shaken whisper.
Leon had to hold himself up on the doorjamb as D did the unexpected. He fell to his knees and drew Chris into a hug so tight the eight-year old squeaked. His odd-colored eyes closed and he buried his face in Chris’s tousled hair.
“Why did you go away?” Chris asked the question that Leon could not force out. Somehow, in his childish voice it sounded less accusing and more a desperate plea for understanding.
Leon saw D shake a little. Then he pulled away and his face was as composed as if the last two minutes had never happened. But the shimmer of tears in those odd eyes betrayed him.
“I had to leave, Chris.”
“Bullshit!” Leon found his voice again. “You were afraid. So you ran!”
D flinched. The barb had hit home, but it brought his defenses back up and his voice turned cold. “I assure you, I had no need to run, Detective!”
Leon snorted and folded his arms to hide the fact that his hands were trembling. “You ran. You packed up your freaking shop-ship and ran away from LA. Ran away from people who gave a damn about you. Jill’s still pissed at you for leaving. The Chief hasn’t shut up about that damned puppy you gave his kids and how much trouble it’s gotten into since you left.”
He trailed off, because D’s eyes had widened again. “You remember? You remember the ship?”
Leon glared down at him. “Of course I remember. You fucking shoved me out of it, you bastard! How the hell was I supposed to forget that?”
A small bundle of blonde curls and petticoats flung itself at Chris and the count, jabbering excitedly.
Leon recognized the figure, though he’d only seen it once. But the excited voice was familiar. “Pon-chan?”
The girl-raccoon-whatever... flung herself at him. “You came back!”
Leon scooped her up and held her, feeling the rustle of cloth and silken hair and wondered if this was what Chris had always seen. “Of course I did.”
“I missed you.”
Leon’s heart melted at those honest words. “I missed you too.”
He glared down at the Chinese man still kneeling in the doorway of his shop, arms still wrapped around Chris like the boy would vanish if he let go. “And I missed you too, you arrogant ass. You broke Chris’s heart when you vanished.”
D shivered and tucked his head against Chris’s hair. The boy squirmed and whispered in his ear. “Leon missed you most of all.”
D managed a smile and rose to his feet, one hand lingering on Chris’s blond head. “I know.”
“I missed you too.” D’s voice was soft and trembling. Leon leaned toward him, disbelieving, and landed on his ass as D sucker-punched him. “Now, I see you’ve brought some sweets. Come in and I’ll put on some tea.” D turned and swept back into the shop, Chris’s hand firmly tucked into his own.
Leon rubbed his sore jaw with a grin and followed. D would get his. His grin widened. Oh, yeah, D would discover it wasn’t just Chris who had changed in the search for him.
The door shut behind the odd-looking little group with a click that sounded final.