Author's Note:

Alright, I've not much to say except…I love Hawaii! Seriously, this is being posted from Kona, Hawaii on beautiful lanai. Anyway, Sho-dono and I wrote a side-story called "This Isn't Wonderland"; it's a Leverage fic that's sort of a crossover (Sho-dono can explain it better) and it hooks up with this story sometime around chapter 24-25. Go read it if you feel like it but make sure to read the warnings; I didn't actually write them up so they could be ignored.

Sho-dono here and I hate Florida. Seriously, people call this place the Sunshine State but it hasn't gotten above 50 degrees Fahrenheit today, I'm FREEZING! Anyway, about that side-story thing, I watched the newest episode of Leverage the other day and it got me thinking that 'Hey, we don't know anything about Eliot's past, I wonder what he was doing all those years before he joined Leverage, inc.' and it just kind of snowballed from there. ENJOY!

Chapter 9

Peng scrubbed viciously at the dishes that had been sitting idly in the sink. His conversation with Kia had not gone as planned. He wanted to use a shock tactic; she swore she's hurt him if he tried. But subtlety had never really worked on Yassen. Speaking of his grandson, he'd not seen the man all day. Frowning, the doctor finished the dishes before setting out to find the wayward Russian. He spent almost an hour searching through the four story house; he wasn't in his room, the basement, the backyard, or the training room. Peng was beginning to worry. The only place the black-eyed man hadn't checked was the library but he kept getting an ominous feel every time he approached. The dragon commanded Kia to keep Alex out of library while he investigated. Trying the doorknob proved it locked; not like that wasn't difficult to overcome – a little twist of his power and the door was unlocked but blocked by a weight.

"Yassen?" he queried.

"Go away," was the quiet, cold reply.

Peng pressed against the door again, "Yassen, open the door."

"No."

"Yassen, stop acting like a child and open the door!" the dragon's voice deepened angrily.

"No."

Peng sighed; he was starting to feel his age again, "Alright, if you won't open the door, then please tell me what is wrong."

"Why would you care what a mere mortal would think?" his voice was bleak, depressed.

And that was the 'Oh, shit' moment. "Yassen, how much of the conversation did you overhear?" Honesty was always best with the Russian; feigning ignorance was the shortest way other than harming Alex to rile his temper.

"Everything."

"Then you would know that you are kin to me; my descendent, Yassen. It's with several 'greats' attached, but you are my grandson; I'd be more than happy to produce the scrolls for you."

Yassen didn't answer for a few moments, "Don't bother." There was silence after that.

"Damn it, child! Do you not understand? You were the grandchild of my heart for years; can you even begin to fathom how much it means to know that you are also the grandson of my blood? Please, Yassen, talk to me; do not shut me out now," the dragon leaned his forehead against the sturdy wood. "I love you dearly, child; you have known this since Malogosto. That does not change now that you know I am not human nor did it change when I found you were of my line. Yassen, please."

Yassen pressed his forehead against one of the shelves and squeezed the corner tightly as he listened to the man who had betrayed him.

"Please, grandson. Tell me what is wrong. I cannot fix something if I do not know what is broken," his tone was beseeching and he was half a second away from praying to the gods for aid.

Yassen felt a blaze of anger run through his chest, "What's wrong? What's wrong? You've been lying to me since the moment I met you!"

"And what was I supposed to say, Yassen? 'Hello, I'm a ten thousand year old dragon; tell me all your problems?' How would you have reacted? Spirits, child, I've not told anyone who could not see for themselves that I am anything but human in over two thousand years. I did not even know you were of my blood until I started investigating yours and Alex's bloodlines to find the cause of your ailments," he was becoming frustrated but smothered it down; it would do know good to get angry in this situation.

"But you couldn't have mentioned it once you decided to move into my house?"

He took a deep breath, "You barely believe in a god, my child; what would you have done had I said I was not human? What would have been your reaction; be honest with yourself. You would not have believed me; you would have either thought I was going mad or lying. Your response to those thoughts would have probably been to kill me; you would have considered me a threat, grandson. Can you honestly say you would have done otherwise?" He clenched his eyes, "I have always hated causing you pain; what kind of pain would I have put you through had you either of those reactions and been forced to kill me to protect your angel? If you truly heard mine and Kia's conversation you would know we were trying to come up with a way to explain everything to you. Do you understand, dear child?"

Yassen took a breath, trying to calm himself. Li Peng was right, as always, but that didn't stop it from hurting. Wasn't knowing the reason behind why someone did what they did supposed to ease that? He couldn't think straight, the air was too stuffy in here. The Russian glanced about his surroundings and noticed the large picture window. It had hinges but the previous owner had had it painted shut, maybe he could force it.

"Don't even think of leaving through the window."

Yassen ignored the advice. He wasn't going to leave, he just needed some air.

"Yassen, I'm serious. Just open the door; forcing the window open will do nothing to alleviate any anxiety you have. In this case, the air is not confining you; it is only your mind trying to give physical cause to an emotional problem. Please open the door and let's just talk; I will even let you hit me."

Yassen paused, his hand resting on the sill. Did he want to look the man who had been lying to him for twenty years in the eye and talk? No. He started pushing against the aging wood, a creak of protest sounded at the added pressure. The crashing sound of destroyed wood and glass forced the elder into action; he burst through the door and grabbed his grandson before the fool could injure himself further.

Yassen could only stare uncomprehendingly at the glass and wood shards that had pierced his skin; he couldn't feel them. It was as if his entire body had gone numb; until he felt Peng's arms wrap diagonally across his chest. The touch burned as if he was being attacked by flames, hungry to devour him. Reacting instinctively Yassen snapped his head back in a reckless attempt to break his torturer's nose. When that failed he began to struggle in earnest; desperate to escape the painful grip.

"Calm, calm, grandson. Be still before you further hurt yourself," the tone was tranquil; the dragon repeated them over and over until the man in his arms ceased struggling.

Yassen's body sagged to the floor; the pain of the other's grip still stinging and the sharp pinpricks of the glass and splinters were slowly filtering into his periphery. Everything seemed...fuzzy...almost. As if he were looking at the world from beneath a sheet of warped glass.

Peng relaxed his grip slightly as he felt the younger man's body begin to shake. A glance at his face showed silent tears making their slow decent down his cheeks. One tear rolled slowly down and dripped off the paled haired mans chin and Peng's gaze followed it as it landed on his own sleeve where it disintegrated in the covering of dragonfire that surrounded the old man's arms.

"It burns," Yassen whimpered pathetically.

"I know. Don't fight it; just let it engulf you; I promise it will make you feel better," the Chinese man's smile was strained. "I can't heal Alex like I can heal you; don't fight the fire and it won't hurt."

"You lied before, Peng; you could be lying now."

"I did not lie, Yassen; I simply did not tell what you did not ask. And the moment I found that you needed to know I tried to conceive a way to tell you without this sort of reaction." The elder shifted their positions until Yassen was in the small man's lap; head leaning on his shoulder. Perfect position for the dragon to comb his fingers through his grandson's short hair, "Relax and let me take care of you, sūn; just let go for now." Li Peng let the dragonfire spread across the rest of the Russian's body.

Yassen twitched as the fire spread, it hurt a bit, at first, but after a couple of seconds it felt more like being wrapped in a blanket that had been warmed by the fire on a cold winter night; comforting, relaxing. Slowly the assassin's eyes slipped closed as his body relaxed. Peng allowed himself to lean back, "Thank the gods." He sighed before making himself more comfortable; he was going to be there for a while.