My first fic! whee! . (I just hope it doesn't suck too much)
This is a... one-sided Krad/Dark, set to "Last Train Home" by Lostprophets. Enjoy!
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To every broken heart in here…
The echo of their epic battle broke the resounding silence of the still museum air. A blast of magic, a wave of energy; a blinding white figure hurled insane proportions of seemingly innocent light toward the only other occupant of the room. An agile twist, a skillful roll; a creature of the shadows expertly dodged his hunter's attacks. With a smirk and a grimace, one ominous wave of white magic connected with the arm of the hunted.
Love was once a part, but now it's disappeared…
Dark winced, as his brain was finally able to register the burn on his arm as intense pain. 'Dammit, I'm really sloppy, tonight. He's hit me like, five times, already!' "In pain, mousy?" The white-clad figure approached him with a deadly grace; amusement and hatred playing on his face. His antique-golden eyes mocked and taunted him. Goddammit, he hated that; and the way his stupid ponytail swayed in time with that figure-hugging cloak of his; the way he spoke to him—it was so damned condescending; Hell, even his walk infuriated the injured thief.
She told me that it's all part of the choices that we make,
Twitching his wings subconsciously, the hunter approached his prey; molten eyes glowing in the darkened room like drops of candle fire. Dark set a heated glare upon these accursed eyes (perhaps hoping that if he glowered hard enough, the demon would become frightened—or possibly annoyed—enough to simply fly off and leave him to his own devices). The heart and breathing rate of the little violet mouse kept its heightened pace as a white-enrobed knee touched to the floor merely a foot from his own. Delicately crafted eyelids closed over citrine irises slowly as the demon blinked—teasingly, knowingly. "What? No witty comeback? No mocking quip? Not even a 'shut the Hell up'? I'm surprised, little mouse. Or have I truly caused you harm this time?" Pale lips twisted into a snarl as full ones formed eloquent words. "Fuck you, Krad." Feline eyes widened in mock surprise at the thief's obscenities. "Well, well. It seems that along with the beating that I've already administered upon you tonight, I'll have to wash your mouth out, as well." Krad's lips gathered gently together, forming a cross between a smirk and a pout. "Psh! You call that a beating? You goin' soft on me, Kraddy, or are you just losing your touch?" A bit of danger flashed across those golden eyes; mischief danced in amethyst irises.
Even when you think you're right, you have to give to take…
It was true—Krad was only toying with his little thief. And, in all honesty, his affection for the violet-haired menace had only grown stronger over the few centuries of his eternal life. In fact, Krad had grown to love the little angel. He knew, however, that he could never tell Dark how he felt. If the thief somehow found out… oh, he could only mentally cringe at the humiliation he would feel; to expose a weakness of that magnitude to his greatest of enemies would be the worst thing that he could possibly do (besides falling for the angel in the first place… which he had already done by some horribly confusing and complicated accident). He just knew that the kaitou would burst out in laughter, taunt him, and then use this information to his advantage (i.e.: holding it against him, and using his charm and masculine wiles to get the better of him). And so, to keep his fragile heart from the gouging pain of rejection (and to keep Dark from having an incredible advantage over him), he decided long ago that he would keep up his hateful façade.
'Damn.' His brain stopped. He had nothing to say. Krad's lips stood still, slightly parted; absolutely no sound passed over them but the gentle hum of his faint breathing.
Dark narrowed his eyes slightly at the blank expression on the demon's face. 'What the Hell's the matter with him? Why isn't he saying anything? What's…' "Oh, kaitou… you seem to be under the impression that you know me that well. But, I merely wish to play with my little mouse… before I destroy him—crush his little bones in my hand." The anger had returned to Krad's eyes, now; but Dark was smarter than he looked (street smarts, mind you; let's not give him too much credit). "What's wrong, Krad? Why'd it take you so long to respond to that? And the blank stare… I mean, I know I'm damn sexy, but Jesus, aren't you like, asexual, or something?" Krad's left eye had begun to twitch uncontrollably. "Wow… the light must've been really good in here to make even you stop to admire the view. You want me to turn around, so you can get a close look at my fine ass, too?"
Needless to say, Krad's expression had gone through several degrees of outrage and shock as these words fell from the thief's lips. First, there was a look of knowing, as he had already predicted the first comment; but soon, his face had developed a cross between shock and rage (otherwise known as shrage), accompanied by a faint red tinge across the apples of his cheeks. He scoffed slightly, and proceeded to slowly sputter out incoherent, monosyllabic word fragments with his mouth agape. At this point, out of sheer embarrassment, he became quite interested in what the floor beneath his hands was made of. "I'm sorry, what did you say? I didn't quite catch that last part…" 'That goddamn jackass.' The sun-haired man's face burned. His eyes were focused even harder on the floor. 'How could I have let my guard down like this? I… I'm so stupid! He… Dammit! What am I… how am I going to fix this? What am I going to do?' Another moment of silence passed.
But there's still tomorrow,
"Nyaaww… did I embarrass you…"
Forget the sorrow…
"…Or do you suddenly love the floor?"
And I can be on the last train home…
"…I do not love the floor, Dark…"
Watch it pass the day, as it fades away,
'I love… you…'
No more time to care,
No more time, today…
"Could 'a' fooled me…"
But we sing, if we're goin' nowhere…
Krad's eyes lost their focus, falling into deep thought.
Yeah we sing, if it's not enough…
Dark moved forward a bit, and waved his hand in front of the demon's faded eyes.
And we sing, sing without a reason…
"Hellooo… Earth to psycho…" He snapped his fingers in front of Krad's face, "You there?"
To ever fall in love…
He jerked his head up suddenly, and noticed the close proximity he was sharing with Dark (which he had initiated, remember) had become quite discomforting. His eyes widened for a second when he realized that his nose was only an inch from the violet-haired kaitou's.
I wonder if you're listening,
Dark seemed unfazed by this closeness. "What's up with you? You've been weird all night…"
Picking up on the signals sent back from within…
But Krad didn't hear him saying anything. His gaze was affixed to Dark's lips—Dark's entrancing lips.
Sometimes it feels like I don't really know what's goin' on,
Krad had lost himself in a world of fantasy and dreams. For some reason, he hadn't even realized that his eyes were slowly closing, and that he was tilting his head gently toward Dark's. "Krad… wh-what are you doing? Krad? Kr—"
Silk met satin as the blonde maniac lovingly pressed his lips against the amethyst-eyed thief's. As soon as Krad's mouth began to move against Dark's, the kaitou widened his eyes in realization; Krad, his immortal and greatest enemy, his golden-haired counterpart, the MAN that he hated more than anything in this entire world, was kissing him!
Time and time again, it seems like everything is wrong in here…
Without another thought, Dark had his hands against the Krad's chest, and he pushed the blonde as hard as he could away from him. They both fell back, and Krad's surprised eyes met the shocked and horrified face of the Phantom Thief. "Wh… what the… what the FUCK was THAT! Wh… w-why-w-why d-did y-y-you do that!" Dark, in his exasperation, had begun to stutter rather uncharacteristically.
But there's still tomorrow,
Golden eyes had, once again, fallen upon the cold stone floor.
Forget the sorrow,
"I… I—" "You know what? I don't wanna know." Dark turned to leave, and called for his familiar. Krad turned his head up. 'No! He can't leave! Don't leave! Oh, God, why did I do that! Why! That was the WORST thing that I could have possibly done! I… I've ruined everything! I can't let him leave! Dammit, body! Stop him!'
And I can be on the last train home…
"Wait…" "No. Just no. What the Hell's the matter with you? Jesus! I'm leaving." "But… But I…" Dark turned his head to face the angel on the floor. He sighed angrily, "But what?" "I… I…" Krad began to mentally hyperventilate. "You what!"
"I… love… you…"
Watch it pass the day,
The second that these words passed over his lips, Dark stopped breathing. His blood froze in his veins, and he suddenly felt very ill. 'What… did he just say? No. He couldn't have… He wouldn't … He wouldn't!'
As it fades away,
'Dark, what's going on? Who are you talking about? What's taking so long?' 'Daisuke… just…' Daisuke had been able to break through Dark's mental barriers, and could now peer through his eyes to the desperate blonde on the floor before him. "I love you, Dark." 'What! Did Krad just say that he—' 'Quiet, Daisuke. I'm coming home, now.' 'But, he—' 'I'm coming home NOW, Daisuke.' While Dark was distracted, Daisuke had performed a quick memory scan over the night's events—including the kiss.
No more time to care, no more time, today…
'Oh… oh, my God, Krad just…' Daisuke could not believe the scene that had just played behind his eyes. As the flame-haired boy sat in his bedroom, utterly flabbergasted at what had transpired, the violet-haired thief had made his way to one of the museum's broad, open windows. Wiz jumped onto his back, and Dark spread his Jet wings to the midnight sky. Krad, however, had wrapped his arms around his own waist. He inclined his body toward the floor in order to subdue the savage bout of nausea that had taken a hold of his form (as a direct result of the horror of the situation that he had put himself into).
But we sing, if we're goin' nowhere,
The akuma tried unsuccessfully to steady his erratic breathing. He lifted his head to meet his gaze with the thief's back. The feathered appendages upon his form twitched, as the dark-winged being prepared for flight. "Please… don't… I…" The words came out choked, and Krad failed to hold his desperation back any longer.
Yeah we sing, if it's not enough…
Tears began to flow gently from his eyes, as the only person that he ever loved (and ever would love) rejected his heart, and flew far away from him. His throat ached, and his body trembled as the amethyst-eyed phantom leapt from the window, and glided gracefully away on an air pocket. Soft sobs began to erupt from the sun-haired demon, as choked words and broken sentences flowed from his mouth. "No… NO! This… this wasn't… it shouldn't have… it wasn't supposed…" He choked out another sob. "…to be this way… why? I… it…" He broke off, not being able to speak any longer.
And we sing, sing without a reason,
'Dark will… never want to see me again… not now… not even to fight me… I ruined EVERYTHING! WHY! HOW? …Could I let this happen! He'll never talk to me again! He's even more disgusted with me than he was before! His face…" Krad sobbed even harder, no longer caring if anyone were to see this pathetic act. He felt like his life would just end. He just wished that his life would end. 'I… I can't… he doesn't… he doesn't feel the same way; he doesn't love me. Nobody… nobody loves me. Nobody wants me. I thought… I thought… that maybe he, of all people, would understand what I feel. But, no… he doesn't. And… at least he has a family. Satoshi… hates me—despises me. I know… that if I fail to kill Dark… that he will dispose of me. He'll seal me away… I…'
The blonde demon rose from his position on the floor, and slowly padded over to the window. With his feet upon the edge of the sill, and his hand upon the window frame, he gazed down at the ground far below him. He became entranced for a moment, and he almost felt the ground calling to him. It was almost as if the pavement beneath was daring him, taunting and mocking the devastated man. 'Maybe, if I… I'll finally be out of the way. It's not as if anybody needs me, anyway…' His hand came away from the wall; he folded his pristine white wings behind his back. With a heartbreaking smile, the last tears fell from his closed eyes… and he let himself fall…
To ever fall in love…
(Let's turn back a few minutes, to just after Dark left…)
Dark was flying quickly away from his enemy; away from the man who had just confessed his love to him. 'Dark! Go Back!' Daisuke's demanding voice echoed through the thief's head. 'No, Daisuke. You… you don't understand! I can't—' 'Go back NOW, Dark! You CAN'T just ignore this! You HAVE to talk to him!' 'Daisuke, I—' 'No! You're not gonna argue with me! Go back and talk to him. He just told you that he loves you, and you just threw it in his face!' 'Yeah, because he's crazy! He's just fucking mental!'
At this point in the conversation, Dark had ceased his progression toward the Niwa household. He was not very far from their battleground. 'He is a bit unstable, but you didn't even give him a chance! Imagine how mental he'll be now!' 'I… uh…' Daisuke was right; he hated to admit it, but the little redhead was right. 'Now, go back and talk to him.' Dark sighed heavily, and shook his head in defeat. 'Yeah, okay. I'll go back. I don't know how you do that, Dai…' 'Thank you, Dark.' 'Yeah, yeah…' Dark turned his body, and with a strong stroke of his wings, he was off again; only this time, he was headed back toward his most hated enemy.
But we sing,
Time seemed to move slower, as gravity took hold of Krad's lithe body; his golden hair trailing dramatically above him.
If we're goin' nowhere…
Dark had come back in sight of the building from which he had fled. He arrived just in time to see Krad leaning out the window. He was still a bit far away. 'Hm… he must be getting ready to leave. I'd better catch up to him before he takes o—' But instead of jumping out the window with his wings spread wide, he simply let his feet pivot his body out of the window, with his wings folded back behind him. Dark stopped instinctively, and watched as his bitter rival dropped out of the window toward the ground below.
Yeah we sing,
His eyes widened, and without thinking, he beat his wings as hard and fast as he possibly could. He was still so far away! Krad was plummeting impossibly fast. 'I'll never make it! I won't make it! I have to! Come on! Don't give up now! Keep Going!' Dark tried desperately to coerce his familiar to not give out on him.
If it's not enough…
Krad could see the ground coming closer, closer. His vision was blurred, and he could hear nothing but the wind passing rapidly by his ears. 'Soon, it will be over… Soon, soon…' His eyes closed one more time.
Dark flapped his wings furiously. 'NO! FASTER! NO!' His body was a hair close to breaking. Krad was a heartbeat from the ground. 'A… little… closer. Closer! FASTER! NO! NOOO!' Half a beat… 'I'll finally die… and everybody can be happy…' 'Krad! AHHH!' 'Everybody—AH!'
And we sing, sing without a reason,
Time stood still, and golden eyes snapped open as the kaitou's strong arms connected with Krad's torso. The thief's wings burned with searing pain as he flew upward with the fallen angel. He pressed Krad's body tightly to his own—as tight as he could, so he wouldn't let go. When he was sure that neither of them would no longer be pulled down by the momentum of Krad's fall, he slowed his beating wings to a light hover, and gently lowered himself to the ground. Large, yellow irises bored into the thief's face. 'He… he… am I dead? Or did he… did he same me? ME! Why? WHY!' Both of the ethereal beings were panting at this point—Krad from exasperation, and Dark from exhaustion.
To ever fall in love…
Dark lowered Krad onto the ground, and the akuma simply sat there, staring shakily into the thief's eyes. 'I did it… I caught him. He's alive. He's okay…' 'Why… why did he… why? How? How did he kn—'
A resounding smack was heard, as a tan hand met a pale cheek in a rather violent display. Krad's head jerked suddenly to one side with the slap's follow-through.
But we sing, if we're goin' nowhere,
"Why? WHY! What the Hell were you THINKING! Were you even thinking! Answer me! Talk, DAMMIT!" The angel had lifted his hand to the bright red mark on his cheek as Dark yelled at him. He emitted a pathetic whimper, and the kaitou sighed with frustration. He ran a strong hand through his silk-soft perse hair, and kneeled down in front of the pouting demon. He clasped the pale wrist, and gently lowered his arm. Dark's eyes softened, as he placed his fingertips upon the blonde's jaw, and guided his face gingerly to meet his own. Gilded, pain-filled eyes met apologetic amethyst ones.
"I… I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I hit you, and yelled at you… and about earlier… how I acted, I…" He sighed again, "I guess I was just freaked out, is all." Krad blinked, but said nothing.
Yeah we sing, if it's not enough…
"I just, I wanna know why… why you… did everything you did tonight; the… the kiss, the confession, and… what just happened here. I need to know." Krad widened his eyes a bit, as they filled with anxiety and fear. He lowered his head, and began to explain.
"I… I've wanted to kiss you for a while, now. You see, several years ago, with our last tamers, I realized how I really felt about you. But, by the time I figured everything out, my tamer's lover bore a child, and I was forced into dormancy. For sixty years, I lain sleeping inside the Hikari clan, haunted every moment with dreams of you…" Dark's breath hitched lightly; Krad shook his head back and forth slowly. "I… knew that I couldn't tell you how I felt. I knew that you would either reject me horribly and never speak to me again, or worse… that you'd use my feelings against me; blackmail me, or even use them as a way to overcome me during our battles—use my feelings as a weakness to gain the upper hand."
Dark bit down on his lower lip, and lowered his head slightly. 'I… did reject him… and I didn't even plan on coming back. Hell, if Daisuke hadn't forced me to come back, Krad would be…' A gut-wrenching image of the blonde smashed across the ground flashed in his mind quickly. He shook the picture away, and the seraph began to speak again. "So, I kept up this façade, pretending to hate you more than anything, just so I could be close to you. And even though the pain of never being able to confess my feelings only increased over the years, it was imperative that I maintain my status as your sworn enemy."
And we sing,
The black wings heaved a great sigh, and shook his head, all the while, trying to absorb this newly acquired information. After a moment of silence, Dark spoke up again. "Well, that explains the kiss, and the… confession; and that look you get in your eyes every now and then… but… why? Why did you jump? I mean, did you know that I was coming back? Or did you really want to kill yourself?" He lifted his head to join his gaze with the citrine-eyed demon's. Serious, questioning eyes bored into Krad's very soul. He lowered his head and looked to the ground beneath him, ashamedly. Dark tilted his head downward slightly, and gently lifted his other half's chin with his fingertips. His amethyst eyes focused intently, and glinted back and forth between their opposites—searching for answers within the deep pools of liquid gold. "Krad, please tell me. I need to know."
The white wings blinked his eyes slowly, then averted their focus to the side. "I…didn't think that you were ever coming back. So, I got up, and went to the window… By that time, I just stopped caring. All these thoughts raced through my mind; I thought that you hated me (more than normal), and I knew that you would never want to face me again. I… was so devastated. I felt so heartbroken that I wanted to die. I tried to think of reasons that I should stay alive… and I could find none. Instead, I found several reasons why I should just end it all. No one cares for me, and who can blame them? All I ever do is cause pain and anguish. I am nothing… just a curse—a burden. And as soon as you are either arrested or killed, Satoshi-sama will seal me away. I'd rather be dead than sealed; trapped forever with my own self-hatred and misery. And with that, I closed my eyes, folded my wings back, and let gravity take my body to sweet death…"
Sing without a reason,
"But… but then, just as I was about to hit the ground, you caught me. I didn't know why… I still don't know why. Why did you come back?" Dark sighed, "I… came back because… because Daisuke told me to go back." Krad's eyes widened, and he furrowed his brows. "Daisuke? He told you to come back? But… why?" "Well, he… he wanted me to give you a chance to explain yourself. He thought that my reaction was unfair, and that you deserved at least an apology and a second chance. He's really understanding and kind. I guess he just thinks that everyone deserves a chance at happiness… or something like that…" Dark trailed off, half-smirking to himself. Krad smiled sadly. "But… why did you save me? I mean, if you had just let me fall, then I would have finally been out of your way. You would have had the perfect opportunity to pilfer your little heart out, with no one but the incompetent police force to try and stop you."
Dark thought for a moment, then answered as honestly as he could. "I… don't know why I saved you, exactly. It's just… while I was flying back, I could see you on the window; I figured that you were getting ready to fly back home. But then, then you fell, and… I panicked. I didn't even have time to think about what I was doing, my body just reacted, and all I could think was that I had to save you. I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't made it to you in time. I…" There was a lump forming in the thief's throat, and the image of Krad crushed against the pavement appeared in his mind once again; he cringed. Krad frowned, suddenly realizing something. "You… probably would have saved anybody in that situation. You're just that kind of person." "Probably." Dark audibly exhaled.
A few moments of silence passed, and Krad finally stood. "I… I should leave now. I will… have to explain everything to Satoshi-sama. If I don't, he'll just find out some other way, and be even more angry with me for not telling him." He turned his back to Dark. "…I hope, that I will be able to see you again sometime…" He spread his wings wide, and prepared to take off. "Farewell, Dark…" At this, Dark jumped to his feet and rushed forward, grasping the blonde firmly by his upper arm. "Krad, wait!" His breath hitched, and he turned his head to face the violet-eyed man behind him. Krad simply stared wide-eyed at the thief, waiting for him to say something. "I… uh…"
To ever fall in love,
"Yes?" Confusion was clearly written across Krad's face. Dark wet his lips, and moved so that he was completely facing the angel. He moved in closer, so that he was barely a foot away. Krad blinked, still confused, and waiting for the kaitou to speak. "Well, I was wondering, if… we could… get together, sometime." Golden eyes widened, and Krad stared at Dark with perplexed surprise. "You mean… like, like a date?" Dark shrugged a bit, and half-smiled. "Well, yeah…" The blonde seraph's heart fluttered, and for the first time, a genuine smile formed on his lips. He spoke softly, "Yeah, I'd like that." Dark merely nodded, and he moved forward, slowly. He placed a soft kiss on Krad's pale cheek. "See ya around, then…" The kaitou turned away from the astonished angel, spread his wings, and took off to the night sky. 'I guess… everyone deserves a chance at happiness… and I think that he's long overdue for one.'
To ever fall in love, again
(…to ever fall in love, again…)