Emiko wasn't blind. She was a woman. A mother, too. And a wife. She had instincts and she intuition. Watching Krad throughout the evening, his laid back nature, the glances he shot Dark and how he tried to be inconspicuous and melt into the background, it all seemed to fall into place one after the other.
Then there had been his reaction to the gift. Like a child that had received its first present ever, that couldn't believe anyone would actually give it something. It was an apt description of the situation. Still… the differences between Dark and Krad had never been more pronounced.
Towa's behavior didn't help. The magical being was almost hostile when it came to Krad, didn't talk to him, and refused to look at the demon in their midst. She had quickly volunteered to clean up whatever needed cleaning, and she barely stayed within reaching distance of Krad.
"Dai?" Emiko asked softly as she and Daisuke were tidying up the kitchen and stocking the dishwasher.
"Hm?"
"What's the problem between Dark and Krad?"
Daisuke sighed and reached for the dishwashing liquid. "I wish I knew, Mom. I mean, there was trouble over something that I can't really tell you right now. But I think they reached an understanding. Something happened between them again and this time… I mean, Dark's running around like a whipped puppy, and Krad's…"
She nodded. "I noticed. Did you notice the looks between them?"
Daisuke nodded.
"And?"
He looked at his mother. "And what?"
Emiko sighed and shook her head. "Oh, Dai-chan. For someone who went through almost the same, you're really blind."
"Mom?"
"There is something between them, Daisuke. Something that happened to you and Satoshi, too." He stared at her, open-mouthed. "No way! Mom, they're…"
"Living and breathing individuals who have feelings, who feel emotions… and who can love."
"But…"
"Do you think it's so impossible?" his mother asked calmly. "Wasn't the same said about you and Satoshi?"
Daisuke leaned against the dishwasher, slightly shocked. "You think they… they fell in love or something?"
"Or something." Emiko wiped down the kitchen counter. "Dai, you've got to be blind not to see it. Dark's trying to be close to Krad and Krad is… not exactly evading him, but something is wrong. I'm not saying they feel exactly like us. They are magical entities after all. But their hosts were always human, their feelings are, too." She smiled. "Well, my maternal instincts tell me that whatever happened between them, it has Krad confused and Dark in a loop. Everything that's going to happen starts and ends with Krad's decision, Dai-chan."
"Wow," Daisuke just muttered, running a hand through his tousled hair. "This is… something. I just can't imagine them… well… together."
"They were once," the voice of his father startled him.
Daisuke shot the other man a surprised look. Kosuke just smiled that strange little smile.
"Don't mind me. Just getting myself a glass."
He opened the cabinet and took out the item he had been looking for.
"The Black Wings was a piece of art that combined love and adoration of two different souls," Kosuke continued as he filled the glass with water. "It gave birth to two different entities, but they were always drawn to each other. I think this is what we're witnessing now. The battle has been going on for three hundred years and it's still happening, just on another level."
With that he left the kitchen and Emiko smiled warmly. "Your father is right. What Dark and Krad are going through… it's a healing process. It's finally happening and probably confusing as hell."
Daisuke nodded slowly. "So… what should we do?"
"What you've done so far: be there for them. Now you know what the reason is. I think you can aide them better than before."
Walking back into the living room he found Satoshi and Krad gone. Of course, with Krad that could mean he had merged again, but where was his lover?
Daikii just nodded wordlessly toward the terrace. "Getting fresh air, the two of them," he remarked.

Krad had removed himself from the gathering in the living room, choosing the snow-covered terrace that led into an equally snow-covered garden. The voices from inside were a muffled background noise, and he looked at the clear night sky. The urge to spread his wings and fly was rising.
He had to get away from here.
He had to get some air.
But Satoshi was here and it was a family gathering. Satoshi liked it here. He wanted to be here. He was enjoying himself.
Krad didn't feel like it was his family or anything remotely like it. He didn't feel the attachment Satoshi did. His host had a partner, he had a family, but Krad... only had his host and in a way he felt rather lonely. He didn't mind the cold, almost hateful looks from Towa. She didn't matter to him; she was of no consequence.
He thought of the dark blue sweater that had been his gift from Emiko. And the matching jeans. He didn't know what to feel about that. He had no idea what to feel at all. It was the first time someone had given him anything without expecting something in return. No strings attached. Just an expression of... what? Had she felt it was her duty to give him something? Why clothing? Why insist that he be here for this gathering, for this Christmas?
Dark was part of the Niwas. He had been with them for centuries. Krad had been the enemy. Why give him gifts as if nothing had ever happened? It was so incredibly confusing.
It couldn't be just because he was Satoshi's… right?
Krad sighed.
Too much was happening to him. Too much had changed.
Then there was the sketchbook. Satoshi had given it to him. His host had given him a present. Him… the demon… the nightmare of his childhood.
Krad's fingers ghosted over the simple piece of working material. It was nothing special, nothing expensive, but it was everything to him, filled him with wonder and joy and something else that he found hard to describe.
Soft steps alerted him to an approaching presence, but he didn't feel alarmed. He almost instinctively recognized his host and when the warm hand touched him, all his senses reached out and wrapped themselves around the young man.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yes."
His tamer stepped to his side, gazing out at the glittering ocean. "They can be a little overwhelming sometimes," he said softly, and Krad nodded.
"A little."
Satoshi chuckled. "Can you imagine how I felt when I came here first, after you two had vanished and the Black Wings had been destroyed? Daisuke and I were becoming friends, he and Riku were getting together, and I spent some more time with Risa. It was kinda – comforting, these were the only people who knew about you and Dark, and they understood. As did the Niwas, though Emiko is something else."
"She's a mother hen from hell."
"Yeah. But you called her when I was sick."
"I was worried about you, Satoshi."
"Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that."
There was a moment of silence when Satoshi's eyes were resting on him, his face unreadable. Krad moved uneasily, finally looking at the young man. Blue eyes regarded him steadily, seriously.
"Is there something… you might wanna talk about?"
Another shift. "What do you mean?"
"Dark."
Krad evaded those all-too knowing eyes, instead gazing out over the dark ocean. "I told you we made up."
"But you still don't talk."
Silence. Then, "Looks like it."
Krad heard Satoshi exhale and shrugged inwardly. He couldn't talk about it, he simply couldn't. Too confused by his own emotions, the warmth tingling inside him when he just thought about the feeling of Dark's soft lips on his, too overwhelmed by the sheer thought that Dark, his other half, the man he had hated for such a long time, might actually – have feelings for him. Sheesh, he couldn't even think the 'l' word.
Not to mention the way his life had changed during the past months. Hell, he actually had a life.
His host apparently accepted the brisk words, giving him a privacy he wasn't used to. It always surprised him anew how… kind he was.
Krad blinked and found Satoshi staring off into space.
"Satoshi?"
"Life is good, Krad. Living life is good. I feel it especially at moments like these – being here with a family, although it's not mine. At moments like this I wonder what my mother would look like. Would she cook dinner like Emiko? Would she have bought you a pullover or knitted a scarf? Would she have approved of me loving a man? I can't even remotely remember her face. And I never knew about my father."
Krad glanced at him. "You don't?" he queried.
"No. I was too young to remember him."
The demon looked at him with a strange expression. "Kei never told you?"
Satoshi's head snapped around. "What?"
Krad tilted his head a little. "Kei never told you about your father? I mean after all the research he did…"
"What research? What are you talking about?" Hikari demanded.
"Satoshi, your biological father is still alive. Hiwatari knew that, he had an entire essay about the man."
Satoshi felt the ground slip-slide away from under him. "What… how do you know...?"
The demon looked slightly bemused. "I saw it once, when… In the past I used to come out and talk to Kei when you were asleep." He shifted uneasily at that confession, but Satoshi didn't react to the sudden revelation. Something else was pressing on his mind. "I saw the file on his desk once and read it. I didn't see it back then, but now… you're so much like your father… especially the eyes."
"Do you… do you know his name?" Satoshi whispered hoarsely, the world starting to spin now. "Yes. It's… "
"No!" Satoshi stopped Krad with a gesture. "I don't want to know, not now. This is… whoa. This is really something."
He had to lean against the low wall that encircled the Niwa property, staring off into the black ocean.
"I'm sorry, Satoshi, I didn't mean to… "
"It's okay, Krad. Will you tell me should I ask?" A dim smile accompanied the question.
"Of course… Satoshi, I really had no idea…"
"It's okay, Krad. It's okay."
Both men ended up staring into the night's sky, each engrossed in his own thoughts. The cool air brushed over him and Satoshi shivered a little. At the tiny tremors, he felt arms hesitantly close around him from behind, like Krad had done some times when he had been younger -- and he didn't fight them off. Instead he leaned into the embrace of his demon – the only person alive he shared his childhood with.
Krad rested his face against Satoshi's head, an intimate but completely non-sexual gesture. To everyone who had no idea about their relationship, it would be the embrace of lovers. He felt warm, protected, comfortable, and completely at ease.
Maybe they were lovers, in a strange sort of way, Satoshi mused with a fine smile. They were so close, connected, bound together. Krad shared his consciousness, his dreams if he wanted to, his essence.
"Satoshi? I want… to thank you."
He twisted his head a little, looking into the reflecting pools of gold. "For the sketchbook? I noticed you were trying, and you're good."
"No, not the sketchbook." Krad hugged him close. "The greatest gift of all," he whispered into his ear.
At the tone of voice, Satoshi turned to look at his demon in puzzlement. "Krad? It's only a Christmas present."
Serious golden eyes regarded him solemnly. "The greatest gift I got was life. You could have left me there."
Satoshi answered the expression with a solemn one of his own. "It would have killed us all."
"I understand that was your reason at that time, but… you took me back, Satoshi. You protected me when the second attack came. You had an offer to be free."
Satoshi felt something inside of him twist at the very thought. He reached up and touched the handsome face.
"It wasn't freedom. What that thing offered was murder. I hated you, Krad, for everything you had done to me. I didn't know any better. I just felt this hatred and rage, but I couldn't condone a murder. Yes, I would have given everything to have you removed, but not your life."
Krad swallowed hard. "Satoshi…"
"You said it in that realm. There is a balance between us. All four of us. Removing even a quarter would upset it. I understood that only too well." He smiled ruefully. "Even though I did something foolish at some point, but we all did."
Krad covered the slender hand with his own and pulled Satoshi into a embrace again. "I'm glad you're alive. I'm glad you're my host, Hikari Satoshi," he murmured. "You belong only to me. You're my life. You're everything to me.."
Satoshi didn't cringe at the possessive words as he had done before. He felt something inside of him curl with warmth and happiness coursed through him. They had come an incredibly long way, faltering several times, but they had made it here. At the moment it was as if they were encased in the large, white wings, though Krad didn't have them out.
The clearing of a throat behind them made Satoshi turn a little, looking into his lover's twinkling eyes. Daisuke grinned at the two men locked in a very intimate embrace. Satoshi had no qualms and didn't push away from the reassuring warmth of his demon, stammering excuses. Their relationship was special, like Daisuke and Dark's. Special and different from everything he had ever thought possible,
"Uhm, Krad, I don't mind you keeping my lover warm, but could you give him back to me now?" Daisuke teased.
Krad opened his arms and smiled a little. "Of course."
Satoshi patted the other's chest, blue eyes meeting golden ones in a moment of complte trust, understanding and warmth. Krad's fingers trailed over his skin as he removed himself from the embrace, and Satoshi walked over to Daisuke, pressing a little kiss on his lips.
"Jealous?" he breathed.
"Nah. Envious. C'mon, I need to show you something."
Satoshi followed, curious, but he quickly glanced at Krad, who had remained standing where he was. There was a little smile on the pale features, both happy and longing, and Satoshi felt a spark of realization blossom.
Daisuke led him through the living room and into the kitchen, which was now spotless and empty, except for Whizz, who was happily munching on some cookies.
"Something wrong?" Satoshi asked.
"Yes and no. I think I know what's wrong with our two demons."
"You do?"
Daisuke grinned a little sheepishly. "Actually, it was Mom who found out. She thinks they're… well… in love."
Satoshi froze, the words trickling past his ear and into his mind. "Wh… what?" he stammered.
"Dark is in love with Krad, or at least he behaves like it, and Krad's probably horribly confused."
Satoshi had to sit down on a kitchen stool. "Damn, that explains a few things," he muttered.
"Yep."
"Now what?"
"Actually, I've got no idea…"