Dark had yet to talk to Daisuke about what had really happened to the kaitou at the hands of Hel, but the young man had a good idea by now what had occurred. There was no shielding against such strong emotions and especially when Dark's guards were down, things leaked. Daisuke had had a hard time accepting what had happened to his symbiote. He still had.

And that growing difficulty finally alerted Dark to the cracked walls around his mind. He was horrified by his lack of control and he was scared.

Dark> Daisuke whispered softly. It's okay. But we need to talk. Please?>

There was a moment of hesitation, then the kaitou materialized outside his host's body. Daisuke wanted to reach for him, touch him, but he didn't want to immediately scare the other off.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, no accusation in his voice.

"I... I didn't want to... hurt you."

Daisuke gazed into the troubled, violet eyes. "Maybe. Maybe seeing and hearing all of this will hurt, but this is about you, Dark. You're part of me; you're a very vital part of me. I want to know because we are one soul, Dark. I appreciate that you want to protect me. Really, I do. Please... tell me what happened."

"You know already," Dark whispered.

"Tell me. I only saw fragments. They're open for interpretation."

Dark swallowed, hugging himself. Black strands hung into his face, shadowing his eyes, and Daisuke finally stepped forward, touching him.

"Tell me inside," he whispered, suddenly aware of where the problem lay.

Dark almost immediately merged with him again. For a moment there was nothing, then the presence that was Dark moved close to Daisuke, carefully enveloping him in a needy hug. Daisuke let him, answered it, and finally his kaitou started to talk.

And Daisuke listened, holding on to the slightly trembling soul as Dark told him what Hel had done. His voice was steadier than Daisuke had expected.

° ° °

It was a hard thing to chew on, to understand, to accept, to swallow.

Dark had been severely abused by Hel and Daisuke wondered how his demon had been able to survive this so intact. Dark was a fighter, he wanted to live, and Daisuke would make sure that something like this would never happen again. He would fight for Dark should anyone ever want to take the kaitou from him-- whoever that might be.

Hands stroked through his wild bangs and he smiled a little at the tender gesture, turning his head. Soft lips met his and he opened his mouth, pleased to find a playful tongue meeting his.

Satoshi drew back, those intense blue eyes watching him quizzically. Like Krad he knew what had happened and he had supported Daisuke the last two days in which the young man had to deal with the truth.

"Dai?" he murmured.

"I'm fine," he answered, feeling strangely lazy, relaxed.

Then again, Satoshi did that to him. He knew he was safe with his partner, that he could let all his guards down, that Satoshi knew him like no one else. He snuggled closer, sighing as Satoshi's hands splayed out over his back and stroked him.

"Okay," was the soft reply.

Daisuke let his own hands wander over the familiar body. He knew every little crevice of the tall, lithe form. His fingers remembered, as did his mouth, and he pressed his lips against the sensitive skin of Satoshi's throat. It drew a little whisper of appreciation.

"We'll be there for him," Daisuke murmured as he continued his caresses. "All of us. He knows it."

"Good," Satoshi replied and caught those teasing lips again.

It was a long, slow kiss, exploring and open. For a long time there was nothing but the soft mouth, the warm wetness, the growing heat between them. Clothes were removed and naked skin slid against naked skin. Daisuke moaned underneath his lover. He shuddered with need as Satoshi worshipped his body, his mouth teasing a nipple, licking and teething it gently until it was a hard pebble. Fingers stroked over the curve of Daisuke's ribs, tickling, teasing and scraping his blunt nails over the sensitive skin.

"Sato...!" Daisuke moaned. "No teasing!"

Satoshi chuckled. "Oh?"

Daisuke's eyes were dark with desire. "I want you. Now!"

The blond smiled and caught his lover's mouth in an almost savage kiss, a hot, oral assault. Daisuke answered it just as hotly, wrapping an arm around Satoshi's neck to keep him in place.

It didn't take long for Satoshi to break free, looking into the flushed face of his partner, a face that reflected his own desire.

°

Satoshi sank forward, breathing hard, and Daisuke's arms wrapped around the slender form, holding him as his own breathy gusted over the hot skin.

"Love you," he whispered.

Satoshi just closed his eyes, resting his head against his lover's shoulder. He placed a little kiss on it.

Daisuke didn't let him go, reveling in the hard warmth of his lover. He felt relaxed, pleasantly exhausted, and soon dozed off. He felt Satoshi slide to his side, gathering him into his arms as they slid under the covers, and soon he was asleep.

° ° °

Dark found his lover in his usual place in the library. Sitting in his favorite couch chair, totally engrossed in the book in his lap, pushing his reading glasses up every now and then when they threatened to slide down his nose.

Reading glasses?

"Since when do you wear glasses?" Dark asked, dumbfound. If it wasn't for looks...

"Since the fight against Hel," Krad replied, letting his book sink.

"But... why?"

Krad shrugged. "I suspect it's because I depleted myself in the fight."

"Are you telling me... you're going blind or something? We're magical beings!" Dark exclaimed.

"I'm telling you that we're not invincible, magical beings or not. Maybe it has something to do with the fact we're living outside our hosts most of the time, I don't know."

Another shrug.

"Is it permanent?"

Krad shook his head. "I don't think so. Your wings are better, too, aren't they?"

"Yeah. The bones needed some time to mend."

"See? I'm certain my eyes will recover in time as well."

Dark regarded him critically. "Hn. But the glasses fit you, though. You look... mature?"

"Thank you sooo much." The blond grimace. "Why don't you say ‘old'?"

Dark chuckled. "No. Mature is fine. And sexy..."

Sandy eyebrows arched and the book lay forgotten on Krad's lap. Dark grinned more.

"Mmm... tell me more," Krad teased.

The kaitou leaned forward and gave him a little kiss. "Nothing more to tell," he laughed. "Old man."

And then beat a hasty retreat.

° ° °

Research had continued, categorizing art was a given and the routine had settled in again. Satoshi, aside from running his small security business, was still digging into the numerous reference books, obscure data and strange scrolls to find dangerous artwork, keeping himself updated on occurrences of all kind in museums near and far. Krad had taken to reading in the library, now and then helping out his host, and Daisuke was busy with this term's finals. Dark, since he had never had any interest in art aside from stealing it, had started to assist Satoshi with his security matters. He was a thief; he knew how to get in and out of even top notch security buildings as he had proven so often in the past, and his insights actually helped boost business.

They didn't go out to seal anything, let alone steal it, but they kept their eyes open. Daisuke was not back to scaling walls and doing flip-flops yet.

It was throughout those days that Dark started to immerse himself in the world of high tech and security when he noticed something. Well, someone, actually.

Krad.

The demon had always been with him, holding him in their shared realm, calming him throughout recurring nightmares, just like Daisuke. Together they had formed Dark's safety net, his security blanket, but in the days he had now taken to separating from Daisuke, Dark had felt Krad's gaze on him more and more. They weren't sleeping together – yet. Dark still returned to be with Daisuke each night.

And they hadn't really talked about what had happened when Krad had confronted Hel. He didn't know that Dark had seen the kill, had felt the horror of what his other half had so cold-bloodedly done, and for now the kaitou was pushing that memory far, far away.

Since no one had had the time to repair the damage done to Dark's room when Krad had lost it and slammed the kaitou into the wall, the two entities had finally taken it upon themselves to do something about the dented wall and scorch-marked wallpaper.

Dark turned around when he felt Krad's gaze resting on him. Not only resting, Krad was-- checking him out? Golden eyes were wandering up and down his body, as if his lover hadn't ever seen him before. Or would never see him again.

Their eyes met.

Dark swallowed, his throat suddenly gone dry. It wasn't a feeling of fear but of... arousal?

There was a glint in those inhuman eyes, something almost feral, something-- hungry? And it was solely directed at him.

"Krad?"

It came out as a dry moan, and Krad smiled. Not feral. Not at all, but sweet and loving. And then the blond demon turned back to his work.

Dark needed another minute.

What had just happened here?

tbc...