Cuffed.

Officer Leon Orcot was back in the petshop in Chinatown, having tea with Count D, as usual.

That arrogant little Chinese petshop owner drove Leon crazy. There was something about him that Leon couldn't figure out.

After all, he had been going to that petshop for months, now, and he still couldn't get a handle on the guy!

Wait. Guy? He was a guy, right? Girl? No, probably a guy, despite the dresses, and the slight body, and the feminine grace…

Definitely a guy. Okay.

Whatever.

Count D was someone who didn't make any sense to the police officer.

Count D was the epitome of elegance and refinement, but at the same time, he was completely feral like an animal, untamable like the ocean.

Count D was slender and delicate and breakable like a china doll, but Leon got the sense that he could probably rip you to shreds with his bare hands.

Count D was passive, almost submissive, and yet Leon had never once seen him in a situation where he was out of his league. He always had the upper hand. He was always in control.

And that infuriated the police officer.

D always had that mysterious smile on his face. Leon just knew that he was keeping secrets behind that arrogant, smug little smile!

His unbreakable composure… his cool façade… nothing ever seemed to rattle him! Well, unless he broke a nail or ran out of sweets… Then, he totally freaked out!

The guy was still a total enigma to him.

Not to mention the eyes… one purple and one gold. Nobody had purple eyes. Or gold eyes! It… wasn't human. Those eyes were unsettling, but they were oddly beautiful.

There was something sinister and deadly about the petshop, hiding under layers of sweet incense. It was intoxicating.

The tea… The incense…

He was probably being drugged.

Well, Leon had had enough.

He had been coming to the petshop for months, investigating, and he still hadn't found anything concrete to make an arrest. Every time he thought he had him, D slipped through his hands, like smoke.

Well, not today!

While they were having tea, a customer had come in, asking the Count's advice, and he had heard them talking about the children she had bought.

Children?!

Human trafficking?! Selling kids?!

That was the last straw. Leon could not let that pass.

He was already a fiercely protective person by nature. Police officer or not, he would not stand by if little kids were in trouble! But he was a cop, after all. He had the authority to arrest Count D, and put a stop to it!

"THAT'S IT, D! I'VE GOT YOU. I'M GONNA THROW YOUR SKINNY ASS IN JAIL FOR THIS!"

"Detective, I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"JESUS CHRIST, D! SELLING KIDS?!"

"Language, detective!"

"Don't start! Where are they?!"

"You really do have quite a temper…"

"Shut the fuck up, Count! I knew you were into some shady shit, but I figured it was drug dealing or Chinese mafia… But selling kids?! Jesus Christ, there's no way I'm letting you get away with it!"

"I sold them a pair of cats, that is all, detective," D replied smoothly. "You know, humans often think of their pets as their children."

"Uh-uh! No way. No fucking way am I listening to your excuses right now."

The tall American stood up so fast that his legs bumped the table, spilling the tea everywhere.

"You really are ever so passionate," remarked D coolly.

"Cut the crap! I've had enough of your Alice-in-wonderland-tea-parties and this damn incense! I want to know what the fuck is going on, here!"

"Why, my dear detective, I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

"You know exactly what I mean. You're hiding something, D, and whatever it is, I'm gonna put you away for good!"

D sighed. He was holding a porcelain cup in his long fingers, and he set the cup down carefully.

"Detective, we've had this conversation before. How many times have I told you? This is a petshop! There are only animals for sale, here. We deal in love and dreams…"

"GOD DAMMIT, D! DON'T START THAT AGAIN!"

In two long strides, Leon crossed the space to where D was sitting on the couch and stood over him.

"Last chance."

"I have nothing to hide, my dear detective."

"Okay, then! We'll do it my way."

With that, Leon grabbed the smaller man under his arm and lifted him to his feet. In seconds, he spun him around and had him with his arm held behind his back, pressed firmly against the wall.

"De… Detective! What are you doing?!" D squeaked.

D braced himself against the wall with his other hand, looking adorably mortified.

Leon held him there firmly.

"No more games. We're doing this the right way. I am a cop, and you are a suspect. I am taking you back to the precinct for interrogation…"

The taller man grabbed his other wrist and yanked it down to meet the first, holding both his arms behind his back.

D twisted against the wall.

"There's no need to be so forceful," he complained.

"Oh-ho, you bet your ass there is, Count!" Leon shot back. He almost laughed and then muttered to himself, "Cause you're not gonna like this next part one bit…"

Leon reached in his back pocket.

He slapped his handcuffs on the tiny wrists and tightened them.

D felt the cold steel on his wrists and heard the click. He let out a tiny whimper of shock as he realized what had happened.

And then reacted like a trapped animal.

Leon had to tighten his grasp to keep him there as the slender man writhed and thrashed against the wall.

"Detective!" he shrieked and then stammered. "You… you have no right! You… how dare you?! Harassing citizens in their place of business… You have no right! No evidence! No warrant!"

Leon wasn't a cop for nothing, and he had had plenty of experience with upset suspects. He barely paid any attention to his struggling prisoner.

"Yeah, well, you invited me in, and I have plenty of probable cause, so calm down," he said to him unconcerned.

He efficiently dragged the small Chinese man back to couch by the arm. With one hand on his shoulder, he pushed him down, not very roughly, but with just enough pressure to force his legs to bend.

"Sit your ass down. I'm gonna have a look around your shop."

D sat very still on the edge of the couch, and suddenly, he was quiet and composed again.

"I don't think that's a good idea, detective," he murmured softly.

Leon had already stomped out of the room.

In his absence, D tried as hard as he could to pull his hands through the handcuffs, but they were too tight. Disregarding the pain, he struggled in earnest, determined to get his hands free.

THREE MINUTES LATER.

Leon was back.

The blonde man was surrounded by a small crowd of animals. Q-chan was flapping around his head and holding onto his ponytail. Several of the other animals were behind Leon, pushing him to walk. T-chan was attached to his leg by his teeth.

"Fuck! Get off me, you damned goat! OW!"

He entered the room, swearing and shaking his leg desperately, until he had finally gotten all the animals off of him. T-chan finally stopped biting him and crept away.

He marched back to his prisoner.

"All right. Your pets won't let me look around, so we're just gonna have to have a… SHIT! D! What the Hell have you done?!"

He had just noticed the blood on the couch…

Too much of it.

The long sleeves of D's silk dress mostly covered his wrists, but Leon could see that his hands were bloodied, and there was blood actually dripping from his fingertips.

D looked back at him innocently, apparently oblivious to his injuries.

Leon ran his hand through his blonde hair.

"Fuck, D! I had no idea you were gonna struggle so much! You idiot! Handcuffs bite, didn't you know?!"

Leon grabbed him by the neck and quickly pushed him forward and pulled up his sleeves. He could see cuts on his wrists where the steel had sliced him. Did he actually think he could pull his hands through the cuffs?!

D looked up at him. Mismatched eyes narrowed and glittered dangerously.

"Get these foul things off of me," he said through his teeth.

Leon's cop instincts kicked in again.

"Uh-uh. Not a chance. I'm not gonna get this opportunity again."

(Also, Leon was secretly terrified that the Count was going to kill him the second his hands were free.)

D thrashed again and yanked his arms against his bonds.

"Hey! Will you knock it off, D? Jesus Christ, if you keep trying, you're gonna break your tiny little wrists!"

"Release me at once."

"God dammit, I told you! You're not getting out of those cuffs! Not without keys!"

He pulled out his keys and held them up for D to see them. With a smile, he wiggled them good-naturedly just to tempt the Count, and then set them on the table.

D's odd eyes followed the motion, gleaming with interest. He looked for all the world like a hopeful puppy.

But only for a second. Then, his usual calm, arrogant mask returned, and his eyes turned hard as glass.

"Unfortunately, officer Orcot, despite your suspicious, I have nothing to confess," he said carefully. His tone was dangerously polite and as cold as ice. "If you would be so kind as to uncuff me, I would be more than happy to continue our discussion over tea."

Suddenly, Leon had an idea. The direct approach wasn't working quite as well as he'd hoped anyway. Maybe, he could coax D into a confession.

Although, at the moment, the small, Chinese man was sitting there, straight as a board, stiff with anger, glaring back at him with all the haughtiness of a King, and the ferocity of a tiger.

Leon was actually afraid of him.

"No can do, D," he answered. His tone was much gentler, now, but still just firm enough to prevent D from arguing.

He took a step back nervously and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Look, um… Why don't we just skip the trip to the precinct, okay? We can talk here. Just tell me where you're keeping the kids, and…"

"And then what? You lock me up in a cage?"

Leon couldn't tell if there was venom or humor in D's voice.

Suddenly, the slender man swayed just a little and turned even paler than usual. His eyes flickered towards the table, which was covered with the remains of their unfinished tea.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Leon's blue eyes flashed with momentary concern, before he remembered. "Oh, right. Sugar withdrawals…"

He reached over to the sugar bowl, took a sugar cube with his fingers, and held it out in front of D's mouth.

With his arms pinned behind him, D leaned forward and chomped at him.

Leon snatched his hand back.

"If you bite me, I'm gonna arrest you for assaulting an officer," he explained patiently in a level tone.

D's purple and gold eyes were hard. He glared back at Leon, who once again held out the sugar cube.

Still glaring at him, D leaned forwards again, this time much more slowly, and with mock obedience, carefully took the sugar cube with his teeth.

Leon took a shaky breath. He felt like he was pacifying an angry animal.

He swallowed nervously.

"Okay. Good. Right?" he muttered, not sure if he was talking to D or to himself. "You want another?"

D nodded coldly.

Cautiously, Leon offered him another sugar cube, and he took it, slightly less viciously.

Leon hoped he had appeased the wild animal.

"Okay, now do you want to talk here, or do you want to take a ride? Come on, D. It's over! Just tell me what I want to know…"

He scooped his keys off the table, held them up for D to see them again, and put them back in his jacket pocket.

"Assuming for a moment, I was guilty of a crime, why would I tell you anything and willingly incriminate myself?" D reasoned in a smooth voice, but he yanked against the handcuffs nonetheless.

"Because if you don't, I'm gonna go home and leave you here like this! God dammit, D! Stop struggling!" Leon exclaimed, exasperated.

The Count sat up very straight, looking perfectly regal and composed. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Very well. I think you'll find what you're looking for if you go back down that hall, take the third hall on your right, and the fifth door on your left."

"Seriously, how big is this fucking shop?"

The Count stood up gracefully, his silk robes falling to his ankles.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked smoothly.

Leon shrugged and laughed casually.

"Sorry, D. You stay cuffed until I get some answers."

Leon threw a quick glance around the shop, running through protocol in his head and checking to make sure D wouldn't escape in his absence.

"I should put you in the car…" he muttered to himself.

One last look at the slim form of Count D, who was once again sitting perfectly on the edge of the couch, and Leon sighed.

His hands were pinned. He couldn't add any poison to the tea or destroy any evidence. And he couldn't run away, could he?

Well, if he did try to run, he wouldn't get far! Leon would chase him down to the ends of the earth.

Leon shrugged again.

"Eh, I guess you can't get in too much trouble like this. If you don't struggle, you'll be fine. Now, stay here and be good! I'll be back in five minutes…"

Leon stomped off with his hands crammed into the pockets of his jeans.

D watched him leave, and a small smile took his lips.

"No. No, I think you'll be gone much longer," he said to himself.

A minute later, he heard Leon's voice, shouting :

"AAAAAAAAGH! WHAT THE FUCK?! D, WHERE THE HELL AM I?!"

D smiled and tried to make himself as comfortable as possible with his hands still pinned behind his back. He sat sideways on the couch, trying to ignore the metal pinching his wrists, and closed his eyes.

He would go and rescue the detective… after a while.

ONE HOUR LATER.

D and Leon sat across from each other. The low table between them was covered with a mess of spilled tea, broken china, and toppled desserts.

Leon was covered in dirt and had sticks in his blonde hair.

D was immaculate as ever. The cuffs were off, and one slender hand was raised as he rubbed his sore wrist with the other hand.

Of course, Leon had gotten lost once he had wandered alone into the back of the shop.

D (still cuffed) had eventually gone to find the detective.

He had demanded that the officer unlock the cuffs. After he had been released, he then rescued Leon from literally the middle of the wilderness and guided him back into the petshop.

Leon promptly grabbed D by the shoulders, picking up until his feet were almost off the ground and screaming at him, because HOW THE FUCK could there even BE a wilderness INSIDE of a shop, in Chinatown, in the middle of Los Angeles!

Naturally, things had unravelled very quickly after that. They had gotten into one of their usual fights… Leon becoming overly agitated, and D barely raising his voice. Leon ended up storming around with D running after him, scolding him about his terrible manners. Meanwhile, Leon opened door after door, only to find rooms filled with various animals.

Once D had finally convinced him that there were no human children in his store, and that he had indeed sold the customer some rare breed of cat, they had found themselves once again sitting in the main room, glaring at each other.

Well, Leon was glaring.

D was smirking, as always.

"So, are you satisfied?" he inquired sweetly.

Leon grunted.

"No kids. Got it."

"Did you find anything illegal, detective?"

A savannah… A rainforest… A desert… And a couple of dinosaurs…

"Um, no. Not really."

"No, indeed."

D was smirking so much that he was almost laughing.

Leon shook his head, trying to clear it. His mind felt foggy. He was falling under that spell again.

It must be that damned incense.

"Then, do you believe me to be innocent now?"

"Never," Leon said instantly.

D was picking up the teacups, now.

"You are quite perceptive, for a human."

"The fuck that's supposed to mean?"

D laughed softly.

He stood and reached down to place the dishes onto a tray.

"We never got to finish our tea, detective. I'll put some water to heat on the stove," D suggested cheerfully.

"Shit, D!" exclaimed Leon suddenly.

Quickly, he reached across the table and took hold of both of D's pale hands by his fingertips. He lifted the slender hands so that the sleeves fell back, revealing bloodied cuts and deep bruises around his wrists.

"Are you okay? We should probably bandage these up," said Leon gently.

"I will be fine. I heal quite quickly," said D with his mysterious smile.

Still, Leon held onto his hands and scowled. His intense blue eyes looked like a summer sky. He was obviously bothered that the smaller man had been hurt.

"Why'd you have to fight so hard, you idiot?" he barely whispered.

Despite his tough exterior, his rudeness, and his barbaric habits, this human had a heart of gold.

D smiled and his odd eyes sparkled.

"Awww, officer Orcot, are you concerned about me?"

Leon scoffed and dropped his hands.

"No. You're still my number one suspect! But… when I do arrest you, just remember this, okay? Don't resist so much! You'll hurt yourself…"

"Of course, detective. I'll remember," D purred.

He smiled and drifted into the kitchen.

TEN MINUTES LATER.

"Why do you keep me around anyway?"

"I find you to be a very interesting pet."

Leon chocked on his tea.

"Did you just call me a pet?!"

D looked annoyed.

"Person, officer Orcot. I said person."

Leon's bright blue eyes narrowed. He could have sworn D had said pet.

"I thought you didn't care about people," he said suspiciously.

"I don't!" said D cheerfully. "But you have proven to be the one exception. You are a man of integrity… strong-willed… an idealist. You intrigue me."

Leon blinked in surprise from the rare honesty he had just gotten from the Count.

"Yeah, likewise," he responded without even thinking.

"Ah. And why do you stay when you know you cannot arrest me?"

At that, Leon laughed and shook his head.

"Oh, believe me! Those cuffs are going back on, one of these days! I'm gonna put you behind bars for good!"

"Right. Because I'm a criminal…"

"Damn straight."

D actually giggled.

Leon sighed. "I don't have a fucking clue what you are, D, but I'll figure it out. Eventually..."