Pet Shop of Yaoi

by Girl-Apart5

A growing series of PWP one-shots centered around Leon and Count D.

Here is a little one-shot I wrote a while back and then promptly forgot to post. I love this pairing to death. Enjoy!

---

This was not happening.

This could not be happening.

There was no way this was happening.

No matter how Count D tried to tell himself that the scene before his eyes was not what it appeared to be, he knew he could not deny it. The situation he now found himself in was nothing short of
disastrous. He was starting to feel faint. His mind ran over what had just transpired, desperately trying to find how and where exactly things went wrong.

It was nine o'clock at night, the shop was closed, Chris was in bed. Leon was sitting at his usual spot
on one of the couches, having stopped by later than usual, due to a tedious case he had just finished
ranting about. Seeing as this sort of situation occurred more than Count D really wished for it to,
the Chinese shopkeeper was by now most adept at tuning the loud and obnoxious American out as he
tended to his various evening duties. It was perhaps because of this little habit of nodding and agreeing
whenever it was required of him to keep Leon happy that the Count found himself in this catastrophe.

You see, today he had received a package from a far off land containing a laquer bottle marked with a
complicated foreign language. D had been waiting with patience held by a thread a full month for it to
arrive. The strong-smelling dried herbs inside the bottle were extremely hard to come-by, and probably
only made it into the country because it was for all intents and purposes, merely tea ingredients.

However, it was not so simple as that. And it was about to get much more complicated.

In both his excitement and distraction with Leon griping about car chases and raids, the Count brewed
the special tea along-side the tea he usually served in the evenings. As the two pots steeped, he moved on to get some scones from the pantry. At this point he was just barely listening to the detective.

"So finally I caught up to the guy, yanked him off the fence he was climbing over, and slapped on the
handcuffs. Hey, that tea actually smells good."

"Help yourself." Count D muttered absently as he sifted through his collection of jams.

Q-chan was the only one in the room to realize the danger as Leon hauled himself off the couch and
began pouring a cup of tea. The wrong tea. The small creature only had time to picture the
consequences of this before the Californian downed the whole cup. Squeaking frantically, Q-chan yanked at a lock of the Count's hair to grab his attention.

Turning in confusion, Count D took in the sight of his panicked pet, then of Leon pouring himself
another cup of the wrong tea.

The bottle of jam and tin full of scones he had been holding dropped to the floor, accompanied by a gasp that was really more of a shriek.

Just about to take another swig, Leon started and looked over to the white-as-a-sheet Count.

"Fuck, man, don't scare me like that! You could break glass with that voice!"

"What have you done?" Admittedly, Count D knew he was pretty shrill at that moment, if the
complaints of his animals in the other room were any indication, but this was not the time to worry about that.

"What're you talking about?" Leon asked, lifting the cup to his lips again.

"Nooo!" Both the Count and Q-chan lunged at him, yanking away the cup and spilling most of it's
contents on all of them.

"D-did you drink any?" The Count asked, for once unconcerned with a mess.

"D! What's gotten into y-"

"Did you drink any?"

Blinking at the sheer urgency in the younger..? man's voice, Leon started to get a bad feeling. "Uh..
Yeah, a whole cup. ..Why..?"

Count D sunk to the floor. This was not happening.

"Alright, you'd better tell me what's going on."

When there was no answer, Leon now felt more than slightly worried.

"D.. What the hell did I just drink..?"

At that moment T-chan walked in, sniffing at the air curiously. "Hey, what's with all the noise? And
do I smell...?" Then the Totetsu noticed the scene. Count D looking very deflated and shell-shocked on
his knees, Q-chan flying about in frenzied circles, and Leon, who was giving a very nervous glance to a teapot. All three of them had tea dripping off them. It did not take a genius to put it together. "Oh, shit..."

Standing up slowly, D set down the teacup he had pulled away from Leon. "Yes, T-chan, it's as you
suspect."

"Hey, don't leave me out of the loop!" Leon protested, grabbing hold of D's shoulders. "What the
hell did I just drink? Should I be running to the nearest hospital or arresting you?"

"Neither. The tea is nothing poisonous or deadly, nor is it illegal." 'Though it probably would be..' D
added mentally.

"Then what is it?"

D took a deep, steadying breath, and made his decision. "Come with me. I'll take care of it."
Extracting himself smoothly from Leon's grip, the Count headed for the doors leading to the labyrinth
of hallways at the back of the shop.

"Hey, wait, Count, you can't be serious!" T-chan protested, having caught on to his keeper's intention.

D smiled down at the tiger/goat. "Don't worry. He only drank a cup."

"But!"

"I'll be fine. It's my responsibility" And with that, the Chinese man glided into the dimly-lit hall, a
confused and concerned Leon Orcot following behind.

"Dammit, D, will you tell me what's going on already?" Leon growled.

The Count sighed. "My dear detective, I'm afraid I must apologize. I should have known better than to
trust you in the presence of that tea."

"..That didn't sound like an apology.."

"You've ingested a special medicine I procured for a pair of very special animals on the brink of
extinction. Their kind only mate once every five years, but due to the dire situation, they agreed to
some help. In here." Opening a set of doors, Count D and Leon entered a hazy room clouded with a
musky-smelling incense and lit only by a candle in each corner. In the center was a large square futon
with no blankets but sporting several pillows and cushions.

Leon was not really thinking of these things, though, because his whole body was starting to feel
strangely feverish. "Uh.. D..? I feel.. kinda funny.."

"I'm sure you do." Leon also failed to notice the Count locking the doors behind them. But as he
suddenly had the urge to take off his jacket in the swelling heat, the information took hold.

"Wait.. What are you saying?"

Folding his arms inside his sleeves as he strode deeper into the room, Count D watched Leon very
carefully. Heavy breathing, flushed cheeks, sweat beading on his face, and a haze beginning to cloud
normally sharp blue eyes. It was coming on fast.

"I'm saying, Detective, that you drank what can only be described as a very potent aphrodisiac."

For a few beats of a steadily quickening heart there was silence in the room. Leon swallowed, now
taking full notice of the strange sensations beginning to course through his body.

"So.. That tea is going to turn me into a horny basket-case?"

"If that's how you want to put it, then yes. For approximately the next two hours your body is going
to overpower whatever intelligence you might possess in it's need to copulate." Even Count D
realized he was being pretty cold, but at the moment his ability to at least pretend to care was a bit
compromised in the wake of his decision.

The aphrodisiac was indeed a strong one, and he had no idea exactly how it would effect a human.
For this reason his first thought of turning Leon out onto the street to find his own solution was almost
immediately discarded. Human males were bad enough as it was when it concerned sex drives; the
Count did not want to get Leon in terrible trouble when it would not be his fault.

Then D considered locking the man up in a room and leaving him there for those two hours. This
too was rejected. Although tempting, D had a dreadful feeling of guilt just thinking about it, because it was not unthinkable that should he be left without proper fulfillment, Leon could go mad. D was responsible for this mess, and to make Leon pay for it alone in the grip of that tea was not something he could do in good conscience. (Which was disconcerting, but apparently he had grown slightly attached to the Orcot brothers, and if he let Leon suffer, then that would surely end up hurting Chris.)

Another possibility had crossed D's mind, and that was delivering Leon to one of his animals that
did not mind laying with a human, but again he was brought back to the fact that he did not know how it would affect the man, and the last thing he would ever do is risk the safety of his pets on account of his blunder.

That left just one option. It was unpleasant, but there was no other choice. He had to take
responsibility.

In front of him he could see Leon's sanity slip further away. The man was panting now, his knees
beginning to shake. He looked so lost and almost frightened standing there as the tea took hold.

Sighing, D resigned himself to this fate and told himself that in the morning he would wipe
everyone's memories of the incident, including his own. With this small comfort in mind, he turned
around, walked over to the center of the futon, and began to disrobe.

If his kind had ever felt sexual desire, that particular part of them had long since been forgotten
or abandoned. They did not need it, for they could simply recreate themselves without ever needing
anyone else. There were no more women of their kind, anyway, and mixing with other species was
either impossible or just unacceptable.

That was not to say D did not understand the basic concepts of sex. He helped many of his animals
breed, (that was what got him into this mess..) but it was never something he considered for himself.
Now here he was, about to take on a soon-to-be very wanton human male that he had to contend with on an almost daily basis and could absolutely never get along with.

This really should not be happening.

Slipping off his silk pants first, he tossed them aside and glanced over his shoulder long enough to
see Leon's jaw drop. Ignoring the reaction, he undid his cheonsam and let it follow his pants. Now
completely naked, he gracefully sank to his hands and knees and waited.

Leon felt as though someone had hit him in the gut with a sledgehammer. Breathing was suddenly a
chore as he took in the sight of the absolutely impossible perfection that was Count D on the bed
before him with his unbelievably flawless backside presented shamelessly to him.

A groan escaped the detective's throat as he felt all the blood in his body surge into his cock.
Head swimming, his knees finally buckled.

This could not be happening.

The part of Leon that was still sane struggled to stay afloat. 'This is D for fuck's sake!' He thought wildly. 'The guy we've been watching for a year just to get his ass in jail! Now he's drugged us and suddenly we turn into some jackrabbit for him? No, no, NO!'

But Leon's brain and Leon's body were for once in complete disagreement. Even as it protested, he
felt his shaking hands move frantically to yank off his jacket and undo his agonizingly tight jeans. The
Leon in control now had only one goal, and that was to fuck this demon of perfection into the next
century- in his own words.

Somehow managing to get his shoes, socks, and pants off, he reached his limit and practically lurched
for the bed still wearing boxers and a t-shirt. He really could not care less.

Then he was touching D, who had skin so smooth it shamed a newborn. Leon relished the faint gasp he was rewarded with as his calloused hands roamed roughly over the slender back and hips of the nymph before him. Pale and sleek and his to touch.

Looming easily over the slight figure, Leon breathed in that illustrious scent that belonged only
to the Count. Sliding his hands down and around slim thighs, then back up to where they met, he let
one hand explore D's most sensitive place while the other made sure his prey kept those tempting legs
open for him. The startled whimper Leon just barely heard over the pounding of his own heart sent the
last of his sanity reeling into the forgotten. Silken black hair sliding forward to reveal a long neck,
possessiveness suddenly overwhelmed Leon, and before he realized what was happening, he had leaned forward and sunk his teeth into the untouched skin.

Mine.

Count D was not quite sure what was happening. One moment he was listening patiently to the frantic
undressing of the man behind him, and the next he felt almost scorched by the bodyheat suddenly
pressing against him. Large, strong hands caressed him none too gently, his unaccustomed skin
protesting the contact, and he sucked in a breath. Whatever he had been expecting, it was not this.
The energy roiling off the human seemed enough to power all of Chinatown, and for the first time D felt almost intimidated by the normally clumsy and boorish human. That annoying nature of his had vanished, leaving behind a powerful animal of want.

Those hands slid down his back, over his hips, then around his thighs. Just as D was getting the
hang of ignoring the sensation brought by these touches, Leon grasped his manhood, feeling,
rubbing, holding his legs apart as they instinctively tried to close in defense.

It was unlike anything D had ever felt before; hot and tingling and almost frightening. It shot up his
body and out his mouth as a whimper he immediately regretted. Trying to regain control of
himself, his head tipped forward, suddenly feeling heavy. He could not understand why Leon was just
touching him like this. He wanted to pull those insistent hands away, to tell him to get on with it, but
the trembling that had begun was crippling.

Then he felt the larger man shift, and in the next instant Leon's mouth had latched onto the place where his neck met his shoulder, and with that D was lost. It was more than a bite. It was animalistic and carnal, the energy behind that move. Humanity was gone from the detective, leaving a primitive beast that was not just having sex. The Count could feel it, the will behind the gesture that drew a startled and impassioned cry from him. Leon Orcot was taking him as a mate.

'Is this sexual pleasure..?' D wondered feverishly, head thrown back against the broad, muscled
shoulder of his lover, who was now grinding an engorged member against his backside. If so, he was
starting to realize what had been meant when his coy pets so often told him he did not know what he was missing.

Groaning softly at the emotional brand being sealed into his neck, he reached one hand back to
curl his fingers in Leon's hair. "Detective..."

Making a sound like a purr, Leon continued stroking D's now fully erect cock while his other hand pushed down his boxers so he could feel skin against skin. Releasing his hold on D's neck at last, he reared back, paying no heed to the tug as the Count was forced to relinquish his own grip on Leon's hair.

Upright once more, he looked down with a heated gaze at the trembling creature beneath him as he
rubbed himself against D's porcelain ass. The part of him that could still think somewhat coherently
noted that he had never seen anything hotter in his entire life.

"Oh, fuck..." He shuddered and came, seed shooting out across D's arched back.

But as he panted and tried to recover, Leon realized that he was still just as hard, just as needy.

'Oh, right. The tea.'

Not caring in the least that Count D had estimated two hours of effects, Leon's body decided to get
down to business.

D was shaking slightly from the feeling of his dear detective's hot cum trickling down his sides
when he felt Leon's fingers tracing over his body to catch the stuff. Wondering for a moment what the
man was thinking (though he probably was not at all by this time) his body suddenly tensed as he felt
those calloused fingers, now slick, begin to probe his entrance.

Shutting his eyes, D fought back another shiver, though in the end he was unable to hold in an
unsteady sound as one long finger slid inside.

A bead of sweat dripped off his nose, and he tried to ignore the almost painful pulse of his now
neglected member. It was becoming more difficult as that finger moved in and out, before being joined
by two.

Count D could honestly say he had never been so unhinged. His whole body felt flushed and weak,
and he could not seem to catch his breath. If it had not felt so inexplicably wonderful, he would have been worried and rather repulsed by his own depravity.

Leon leaned back over D as he added a third finger, marveling at the sounds he was sure the
Count was not aware of making. It was taking the last thread of self-control the detective possessed to not just fuck him senseless right then and there- in his own words. Despite the opinion of a certain someone who was apparently his every last fantasy manifest in male form, (barely) he was a gentleman at heart, and he would be damned before he hurt any lover of his.

"Detective..."

God, did D sound impossibly sexy right now..

"Detective...!"

Leon grunted when he realized that the Count was addressing him.

"Don't worry... Just.. take me.. now..!"

There was not anyone in the world who could say no to that. Removing his fingers, Leon wrapped his
arms around D's slender frame and turned him around to lay on his back. Then he grabbed a nearby
cushion and pushed it under the slim hips he was about to completely ravish. Once that was done,
Leon was momentarily distracted by the sight of Count D.

His cheeks and chest were flushed, and his skin glistened with sweat in the dim candlelight. Ebony
hair fanned around his head like a halo, and those eyes, usually so coy and secretive, were bright and
glazed over with lust. That perfect body hid nothing from Leon, long legs falling open around the larger man's waist as hands rested at either side of his head. Trusting. Submissive.

Leon knew enough about the mysterious Count's nature to realize the importance of trust between
them. And submission- honest-to-goodness submission, was certainly something rare for the
arrogant whatever-he-was. Feeling a swell of pride and once more that possession as he took in the
bruising teeth marks he had left on D's neck, Leon yanked his boxers the rest of the way off before
reaching for his shirt.

Count D watched his detective watch him, wondering not for the first time what the human really thought of him. In one smooth motion Leon pulled his sweat-soaked t-shirt up and off, and D felt a jolt of passion rush through his veins.

How had he never noticed before? Beneath those stupid clothes the American always wore and that
ever-present agitated expression, there was a being D could only liken to the Greek gods of old. Toned
muscle rippled beneath tanned skin and scar tissue. His hair had come loose from it's usual entrapment
and now flowed over those broad shoulders like a wavy, golden lion's mane, framing his strong face
and burning blue eyes.

This man before him was a rare breed hidden in plain sight. Perhaps even a human worthy of taking
his body. Regardless, Count D wanted him. What Count D wanted, he got.

Still somewhat awestruck when Leon chucked away his shirt and began guiding his cock towards
D's entrance, he moaned and wrapped his legs around the other's waist.

"De...detective...!" His back arched instinctively as the pain/pleasure threatened to split him in two.
Pressing his lips against the back of his hand, D tried to hold back the wanton sounds struggling to
escape, only to have Leon take hold of his wrists and press them down against the mattress. For some reason the sudden sensation of captivity sent a deep rush through his blood, and awed by it, he allowed the human to take full control.

Shaking and gasping for breath, the American's head swam with pleasure as he buried himself to the
hilt. "Fuck... So tight..!" Unable to wait, he pulled out before thrusting deep once more, lights flashing
across his vision as D screamed.

Nothing coherent was said or thought after that; only a carnal dance of flesh to the music of their
panting and wailing. Clinging to each other, Leon's hands desperately felt every last inch of perfect skin he could find, leaving bruises behind as D's nails carved long, deep gashes across his back and
shoulders. Neither cared.

Their lips met in a wild kiss, a connection as intimate as the mad grinding mirrored below. Leon
tasted of tobacco and that wonderful tea that had brought this about, while D was sweeter than any
pastry, more sultry than his incense.

Suddenly the Count broke the kiss and cried out Leon's name, his agile body writhing in his lover's
arms as though in agony. "Again!" He nearly shrieked, grabbing the detective's buttocks and
holding their hips together with remarkable strength. D whimpered and tears streamed from his tightly-
shut eyes.

"D.. Fuck..You gotta..!" Leon shuddered, so close to coming again it was painful, but thanks to the iron grip of the man beneath and around him, he could not move. Doing the only thing that came to his lust-addled mind, he shifted his weight so he could wrap one hand around D's throbbing shaft and began pumping in the hopes of getting his message across.

The Count, meanwhile, was stupefied by the surging pleasure deep inside threatening to drive him
mad. All he knew was he needed more of it, much more. Then Leon's hand returned to the ache of his
erection with that same fast and hard rhythm as before, and something snapped.

Again D's back arched almost to the point of breaking in two, and he screamed the detective's name as he peaked. Above him Leon let out a guttural yell as D's inner muscles tightened around him. The sensation itself was too much, but coupled with the sight of the ever aloof Count D completely undone as his own cum splashed across his chest and face, Leon did not stand a chance. Throwing his head back, the detective literally exploded inside the Count.

When the waves of pleasure began to recede, every bone in D's body went limp, hands slipped
down to his sides. Feeling more exhausted than he had ever been in his life, and yet strangely satiated at the same time, the Count could only moan weakly as his detective began to move again, and with each thrust inward, hitting that spot that sent D's senses reeling. At that rate it did not take long for the Chinese god to recover and resume meeting Leon's rhythm.

Just as the Count had predicted, for the next two hours this cycle continued. Leon, human as he was,
tired eventually (though his stamina really was quite impressive) and D took control for the still-needy
man. Leon did not mind this in the least, laying back and watching the delicious sight of the Heavenly
creature straddling his waist and riding him gracefully, cheeks flushed and eyes bright with something that was almost embarrassment and entirely sexy.

Then Leon could not take the slow, steady pace any longer and sat up to gain enough leverage to
quicken it. D fell back against his raised thighs and panted headily as Leon pulled his slight body up
and then back down to impale him over and over.

At long last the tea wore off, and with one more ragged cry the both of them came and collapsed,
utterly spent. Before they could even catch their breaths, they were asleep.

When Leon woke, the first thing he noticed was that his whole body felt like he had been hit by a car. The next thing he noticed was the smell of incense, something that was foreign to his apartment.

Opening his eyes, he was further convinced he was not at home because the walls and ceiling were painted dark maroon, and completely bereft of his posters.

His mind caught up to the situation faster than his body was able to as he lay still and tried to remember any explanation for this unfamiliar room. He had been at the Pet Shop, and almost surely still was -this looked like the kind of room D would have in that cavernous place- but why did he stay for the night, and why were his muscles protesting so loudly?

Forcing himself into a sitting position, he groaned, one hand twisting around to clutch at his spine. "My back... Ugh.." He could not remember feeling this sore since that one particularly crazy party back in college when he had been convinced to try a vodka drinking game that had turned into something very close to an orgy.

It was with that thought that he realized he was naked. He was naked and he was sticky and beneath -or rather, entwined with- the incense, the undeniable scent of sex permeated the room.

"Oh boy." Leon said softly to himself. He had no clue as to what happened or who he had been with (one of the beautiful women he had heard might also be "products" of the pet shop?) but one thing was certain, and it was that Count D was going to kill him.

Standing up with a wince, he made his way over to a door through which he could hear the sound of rushing water. If the girl was in there, he could find out what had happened and maybe if he was lucky, get the witness of D's illegal side-job he needed to put the infuriating shopkeeper in jail.

"Um.." He began, opening the door slowly and peering inside. As he had thought, it was a lavish bathroom, but standing beneath the spray of the shower that was completely open to the rest of the room, was none other than Count D.

Leon froze as the elegant man turned to him, wearing no definitive expression, but managing to look rather cold nonetheless.

"Good morning, Detective."

No reply was given, because Leon's memories were coming back in a flash flood. The tea, the sex, the really really good sex, more sex... With Count D. With a man. With his arch-enemy and close companion.

Disregarding the blanched expression on Leon's face, D held out his hand. "Come get cleaned up." Was all he said.

Leon began to sputter now that his memory was up-to-date. "D.. what.. what hap- no, no I remember what happened. But I mean- Why did- uh.. what um..."

The Count scowled, and it was an extremely frigid look, enough to frighten anyone into silence. "Just come here."

Obediently, Leon stepped fully into the room and joined the shopkeeper in the large shower. He hissed as the warm water ran over the large array of scratches on his back, but thought it best not to mention them.

"Um.." He started again, swallowing hard and keeping his eyes on the floor. "I'm.. sorry.. you know. About last night. I, uh.. I didn't.. hurt you, did I?" Risking a glance back at the sleek figure beside him, Leon could find no evidence of the passionate sex they had had, not even the hickeys and other bruises he thought for sure he remembered making.

"You did not. I will give you something later for your pain."

Leon supposed he should feel at least sheepish that he was in such bad shape when this highly delicate-looking person was perfectly fine, but he was by now used to the logic-defying nature of Count D, and automatically chalked it up to that.

"Uh.. thanks."

There was a very awkward and painful silence, at least on Leon's part, because D seemed as composed as ever. 'Except for last night.' Was the thought which popped into Leon's head, accompanied by images of the Count in the throws of passion.

His face heating up terribly, Leon tried to think about something else. "So.. What now?" He asked the first thing that came to him. It was a very good question, he realized, because after those two hours, nothing would ever be the same between them again.

"Nothing." Came the quick and seemingly easy answer.

"Nothing?" Leon echoed, looking over at the Count who was rinsing shampoo from his hair. "That's it? We just.. pretend it never happened?"

"Yes." 'At least until I can erase our memories.' D added mentally. First he had to get rid of any and all evidence that anything had happened, though.

Leon considered this, confused. "Can we do that?" He asked more to himself than to the one standing next to him.

D said nothing.

"We can't honestly just.. ignore this. I mean, you know.. You don't just have sex with someone and then forget about it."

"I thought that's what 'one-night-stands' are?"

"Well yeah, but that doesn't really count when you see that person on an almost daily basis. It's worse than even your average elephant in the room."

D looked up at him then, frustrated. "Then what do you propose we do, hm? You obviously are experienced, so you tell me."

Taken slightly aback by the clipped tone, Leon blinked rapidly. "Experienced.. Well.." Then his instincts kicked in. "Wait.. You.. Don't tell me.. you were a virgin?"

Caught off guard, D quickly turned away, trying to dismiss his moment of vulnerability. "That's hardly important.." He tried to toss the subject aside, but Leon took hold of his shoulder and pulled him back around.

"Yes it is, D! I.. Why would you go and let me do that to you when you never even had before?"

"I don't see why it's so important to you!" D shot back. "There was no one else to help you, and it was my fault, so of course I had to take responsibility!"

A part of Leon wanted to argue further, but something stopped him, and when he spoke again his tone was much softer. "D.. I really am grateful. I don't know what kind of consequences there would have been had you not helped me, but they must have been bad for you to do this. So.. thank you."

The Count sighed, refusing to meet the honest blue gaze that tended to make him forget himself. "You are welcome. Now come on, let's go have some tea." He was about to step away, but Leon suddenly pulled their chests together in what seemed to be a hug.

"Wait." Leon said into D's hair. "First of all, I'm never drinking tea here again, even if you specifically serve it to me. Second of all, I don't want to just forget about this."

D scowled. "You don't want to forget that you slept with a man? With someone you want so badly to arrest?"

"That.. uh.. Well.. I'm not saying.. Dammit all, look. I feel responsible, ok? Whatever you think of me, last night was amazing, and it had nothing to do with the tea. I just want to get that out. And yeah, I never expected this to happen, but since it couldn't be helped.. I um.. Fuck, I don't know what I'm saying. But can we just.. act natural? Not trying to ignore what happened, but to go back to the way things were."

"That's absurd, Leon." But D's voice had lost it's bite, and he let his chin rest upon Leon's shoulder.

"I know it is! I just don't want to let this feeling go, ok? This is going to sound corny as all hell, but I don't know how else to put it other than it feels good being with you. I'm.. drawn here every chance I get, just to see you. And if.." He cleared his throat, wondering what the hell he was doing. "If you don't hate me or anything.. If you really care about me enough to give me your virginity like that -even though you don't see the importance! Let me finish!- then I think it would be worth it to try and.. make something out of this."

D's brow furrowed. "You mean you wish to have an intimate relationship with me."

Leon pulled back to fix the Count's mismatched eyes with a serious blue stare. "No, I mean I want to have a romantic relationship with you. We can at least see if it would work, right? It's better than just spending the rest of our lives dodging the subject of last night like it was some sort of huge mistake."

The Count almost smiled. 'It's funny how you don't even realize that you expect us to be together for the the rest of our lives.' Out loud, he said, "But is that really what you want, or are you driven by some sort of guilt, or gentlemanly duty?"

"No, I'm not. I feel something for you, D, and I can't tell if it's pure frustration or pure love, but-" He stopped, realizing what had just come out of his mouth. The two stared at each other in surprise for a moment.

"You think you love me?" D murmured, not quite believing him.

Recovering from his falter, Leon steeled his expression again. "I know that I definitely like you. A lot. Laugh if you like."

D smiled slightly and closed his eyes. "I won't laugh. It must be hard for you to say all this."

"Damn right it is, but I still know better than to ruin this by beating around the bush."

Nodding in acceptance, D turned off the faucet and headed over to a pile of towels. Looking back at the anxiously waiting human, he smiled and nodded again. "Alright. We can try."

"R-really?" Leon honestly had not been expecting 'yes' for an answer.

"I see no reason why not."

Stepping forward to take the offered towel, Leon rubbed it through his hair. "But then how do you feel about me? I poured my heart out just now, and you act like I only offered you a new kind of jelly you've never had."

D did not answer right away. "I don't know how I feel about you." He said at last, the hesitation in his voice marking the truth of the confession. "Not deep down. But if I ever do understand, I will tell you."

Leon grinned, knowing that that was the best he could hope for. "Alright. I can live with that."

And so D decided that he would not erase their memories. He realized that it was probably cruel to lead the young man on like this when in the end he would have to leave him behind without a trace; but still, the idea of seeing what kind of "romantic relationship" Leon wanted to build between them seemed worth it. Because really, in all his years he had never been so interested, so fascinated, by a human, and somewhere inside he wondered if Leon might not be the one worthwhile member of his species.

"So," D began cheerfully as they headed, fully-dressed and dried, to the main room for breakfast. "What shall we tell Chris?"

Just as Leon was about to trip over himself in shock, the doors before them burst open and the boy himself dashed up to them, wide-eyed.

"T-chan says you guys are mates, now!" He exclaimed telepathically, something Leon had finally managed to pick up on. "What does that mean?"

Leon sank down to the floor and buried his face in his hands. "This was a bad idea..." He glanced up through his fingers in time to catch a poisoned-honey smile from the Count.

"Why don't you go sit down far away from the tea while I try to explain this? My Darling Detective."