Disclaimer: I don't own the D.N. Angel boys, I just like to play with them. And this is yaoi, don't like, don't read, then neither you nor I will have issues.

As your loving author, I feel somewhat obliged to write the intro here. I just finished watching episode 23 of D.N.Angel and I'm pretty sure at this point that I'm going to have a Satoshi x Krad Pairing in here.

I think D.N.Angel is the only English dub of which I've ever been wholly satisfied. Hey, they have Greg Ayres doing Satoshi, I couldn't be happier. He's my fav. And Krad's accent is just yummy.

I'm rambling now, I'll shut up and let you read the story.

Dark: You always ramble.

Whisper: You're making this longer. Be quiet! You're unconscious in this part anyway.

Oo.oO

Price of Angels

Heartstrings

Oo.oO

Oo.oO

"You came to save me?"

"I came for me."

"Of course."

………..

"I'll come back for you, Daisuke, I promise."

Oo.oO

Dark had been afraid, Daisuke realized now, afraid that he might let someone get too close again, but by the time that Dark had tried to push the boy away, it had been too late. The Phantom Thief already cared deeply for him, but had been unable to be honest with himself first, blinded by old feelings of love and loss. Blinded as Daisuke himself had been blinded, therefore causing an unbreachable separation.

Only losing the one that he had truly cared about had lifted the veil from his eyes. The purple-haired rogue had once told him that he needed to be honest about his own feelings, to establish them firmly. And yet again, like the thickheaded dimwit that he was, he had made one of the biggest blunders of his life. Dark had been his other half in more ways than one, he was simply not complete without him, like a part of his soul had been ripped away. A missing and vital piece in the puzzle of Daisuke's life.

Satoshi and he had become rather close during the past two years, the blue-haired boy now free of the malicious golden angel that had been his other half for so long. But the Hikari had confided in his friend that he too, somehow missed Krad in some indescribable way, like something was…lost, and emptiness of soul. Though Daisuke wasn't sure how that worked seeing as Dark's rival had never caused anything but trouble and pain for Satoshi. Nothing at all like how he and his half had been.

The redhead felt a pang of inner agony shoot through him as he cast a cautious glance to the handsome stranger sleeping on his bed. Well, the only good thing about this situation was that it had inspired him to paint. Something he hadn't done that much of since Dark's banishment into whatever realm he stayed before another Niwa reached the appropriate age. Daisuke once again dipped his brush in the paint, sheathing it in black liquid and delicately swiping it over a segment of the canvas. He had been at it for several hours, as he watched his unconscious visitor, the one who looked so much like his Phantom Thief.

He had snuck into the house using his most extreme caution, luckily, his mother didn't stick training traps all over the house anymore. There wasn't a thief in the house anymore, just one very talented teenager. He had tiptoed past his mother, who had fallen asleep on the couch, not even daring to lean down and give her a goodnight kiss for fear of waking her, or disturbing the injured young man in his arms. He was able to make it up the stairs without a sound, waking Towa, Kosuke or his Grandfather. He'd been in this house long enough to know which steps creaked so he avoided them with the utmost diligence.

When he had finally reached his room, he had gently slid his passenger onto the bed linens, taking the sheet from the top bunk and covering the other with an almost fond gesture, wishing all the time that it was truly his Dark which lay there, even hurt as the man was. With had been especially friendly and understanding, making a soft "Kyu" noise and nestling down on the pillow with his little nose brushing the sleeper's neck in a personal display of affection and welcome; one that almost tasted of familiarity. Apparently the small creature had also noticed the resemblance.

His mother was going to kill him.

Daisuke surveyed his painting with a critical eye. It was rather good if he did say so himself. Satisfied, he moved from his chair, walking slowly over to stand beside the bad. On impulse, he sat down, the bed shifting slightly as it adjusted to his weight. Without thinking, his fingers tenderly brushed violet strands of hair away from the sleeping youth's face. When his brain finally registered the move, he jerked his hand away, he had no right to be doing this, and to a complete stranger at that. But…

He made to get up, but as he did, the man stirred in his slumber, caught in the grips of a violent nightmare. "Please! It hurts! I don't… Ashiteru! Why?…I – I didn't ask for this… all I wanted was to stay…just stay…little longer…don't you want me? Please! No MORE!" he struggled as if to break free from the bedcovers, his face looked tortured, strained, eyes clenched tightly shut. Daisuke caught his flailing wrists and wrapped his fingers gently around them, bringing them to rest against the other's chest, leaning forward, ever so closely, his lips nearly brushing the man's ear, he whispered comfort softly, telling him that it was all right, no one was going to hurt him, ever, wishing that it was Dark that he could tell his sentiments too. He was nearly overwhelmed with the other's pain as if he could somehow sense it physically.

The violet eyes opened blearily, uncomprehendingly as his thrashing ceased. The redhead smiled sadly, so like Dark, so stunningly beautiful, an artwork with enthralling life of its own. But there was only a moment, then the amethyst orbs were darkened again and his eyes closed. Lingering only a second longer, the young man made as to get up and go to his own bed above, but he felt fingers catch at his sleeve, startled by the sudden move, he turned to see that the eyes were staring at him vaguely again.

"Please…stay…I-I know you'll be gone…but just this once…stay…" the weak grasp that the stranger had on Daisuke's sleeve slipped away as his breathing became regular, and unconsciousness claimed him once more, slipping into dreamless peace.

The voice seemed so heartrendingly familiar, something like he imagined Dark would sound like without the attitude that had been his trademark, a lost and lonely version of Dark Mousy this was, and it again made the teen angry. Who could have broken him like this, caused these vicious nightmares and made him plead for a complete stranger's company?

Whoever it was had no compassion.

A slight grimace twisted the sleeper's face again, causing Daisuke's heart to flinch in response. All protests flung to the side, he slipped into bed, carefully so that the frame wouldn't so much as creak and wake the man at his side. He rested his fingertips against his bedmate's arm, brushing every crease in the damp coat's sleeve. Unconsciously he moved closer, pressing his cheek against the stranger's shoulder, the comforting warmth lulling him to sleep and allowing him the fleeting luxury of dreams. Dreams that Dark was truly beside him.

Oo.oO

"DAISUKE!"

The teen's eyes shot open at the sound of his mother's voice, the sunlight was already streaming through the window and it was probably approaching noon. Ah well, what were Saturday's for anyhow? He sat up, "What is it, mom?" he hoped she didn't want to lecture him about being out late last night, that was the last thing he needed right now.

Which reminded him of the events of the evening, "It was real." His eyes drank in the features of the still sleeping figure beside him, the man could have been Dark's twin.

"Telephone! It's Satoshi!"

He got out of bed hurriedly, jogging across the room and sticking his head out the door he yelled his reply downstairs, telling Emiko that he would pick the phone up in his room. Putting the receiver to his ear he greeted his friend as cheerfully as possible, as possible as someone who had just been rudely awakened could anyway, "Hey there, Sato-san! How are –"

"Daisuke." The blue-haired young man cut him off, urgency in his soft voice, "I have a bit of a problem. Something very, very odd happened last night."

The redhead blinked, "Something weird happened to me too."

There was a long silence on the other end, "What kind of weird?" came the question, in typical Satoshi monotone.

Daisuke sighed, "Well, not too weird I guess, tell me what happened to you, you sound freaked."

"No I don't." A statement, not a protest.

"Well all right, you did. Past tense." He countered.

"Fine. Anyway, listen, I was on my way home from the party last night, I left earlier than everyone else as I'm sure you noticed, parties just really aren't my thing. But…I felt like I was being watched, I was about halfway home, so I sped up. But I knew someone was following me. It was…as if I could sense them. I'm afraid I must have gotten distracted because I stepped out into the street and was nearly hit by a van."

"Whaaaaaaaat?" Daisuke's voice rose a few octaves, "How on earth were you that careless?"

"Not like it's nothing you haven't done."

"well…"

"That's not important right now, Daisuke." A hint of tension crept into Satoshi's tone and it made Daisuke very worried, "I would have died. I don't think the driver even saw me and he was going entirely too fast to stop. I froze, for once I couldn't think of a single thing except the fact that I was going to die." A low laugh, "Not a pleasant thought at all. Then something crashed into me, driving me off the road and onto the sidewalk. It was a man. He landed beside me and I turned to thank him, but he had already gotten up, not waiting for me. I couldn't really see him well, but…" his voice became a hoarse whisper, "I could have sworn it was Krad, Niwa. But he didn't say anything, just moved away from me. I don't know if it was from getting clipped by the van or something else entirely, but he was stumbling, as if he was in immense pain. He turned a corner and by the time I gathered my wits and tried to follow him… he was gone."

There was no sound on either end of the line for what seemed an eternity, "Krad? Are you sure?"

"I'm almost positive, I've never seen anyone else with eyes like that." Satoshi's voice was thoughtful, "He looked…I don't know, sad I think. I've never seen him look that way before, I've seen him angry, gloating, gleeful, and several variations of those, but…never sad, or remorseful, and that's what it seemed to me that that was what was on his face at that moment, and incredible sense of…regret seemed to touch me like a living thing. As if I could still sense his emotions…like I used to."

Daisuke stiffened, remembering the night before, when he had been touched by the wounded stranger's emotions. It sounded eerily similar to what Satoshi described. The ever analytical young man would not just jump to conclusions, leading Daisuke to believe that perhaps it had been Krad who had come to his friend's aid. Which in turn…he looked quickly towards the bed and the still-resting figure. Could it be…more than coincidence?

"Sato…how could it possibly be Krad? He disappeared with Dark, you and I both know that."

"Hmmm…well, I'm not sure, but I'll be sure to study up on it. It's not as though I don't have the resources."

Daisuke could almost imagine the small smile that he knew the blunette was wearing, a look of self-satisfaction that he had perfected long ago. But the redhead knew him well enough to know that it was more that he had simply amused himself than any actual sense of superiority. Satoshi could still seem stand-offish at first, but he was rapidly getting over that, even developing a bit of an attitude, though it seemed wrong on him as he still spoke like the scholar he was.

But what would happen if his other half had indeed returned? The redhead had no wish to see his friend hurt again, and certainly not by Krad.

"Are you sure? You don't want to come over or anything?" concern for the other boy was natural for Daisuke, and he would go to great lengths to protect his friend.

Satoshi chuckled, "Thanks for worrying, but no, I think it will be all right. Just take care of yourself. See you later."

A soft click announced that he had hung up. Setting the receiver down, he exhaled forcefully, allowing some of his frustration to surface. When a low moan jerked him back to more pressing matters. Which was when he remembered, he hadn't told Satoshi about the look-alike he had picked up. Now, a small seed of doubt had been planted as to whether it was just a look-alike.

He scooted the chair next to the bed, studying the features of the sleeping man. So familiar. His heart clenched at the faintest possibility that this was the phantom thief who had been his constant companion for so long. He tentatively took a lock of unruly purple hair between his fingers, wrapping their softness around his index finger. It was such a deep vibrant color, and one that filled him with longing.

It hurt too much.

"You couldn't really be my Dark, could you?" sadness was apparent on his maturing features as he whispered into the silence of room.

Rising from his place, he exited the room, quietly shutting the door so as not to wake his visitor. Plodding down the stairs, he resigned himself to depression for the rest of the day.

Oo.oO

Slender fingers plucked away the sheet covering the canvas that stood basking in the sunlight, and a gasp of surprise escaped bruised lips, to be replaced by a smile, as a burning hope was renewed.Wetness leaked from under closed lids as tears of joy were shed.

TBC

Oo.oO

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