What a parent feels
The weekend arrived faster than D had anticipated. It was Friday before he knew, and Leon was standing in the door at half past four.
"Hi D, where's Dana?" he asked and came inside, blinking a few times to adjust to the dim light in the shop. Outside the weather was great, the sun had been shining the whole day, and D had caught himself thinking about what they could do on the weekend if Leon was free. Back when Chris had lived at the shop, they had gone to the beach sometimes, or visited the park.
Not that he didn't have parks and beaches in the shop, too. But Leon didn't know that, and D was rather content to keep it that way. Explaining the shop to the blonde was not on his top list of things to do at the moment.
So when the detective arrived and suggested to go to the beach, he was more than willing to say yes. But then he remembered something. "But the beach is too far away to walk there," he objected and placed a teacup in front of Leon, who leaned back and let Pon-chan crawl into his lap. She closed her eyes in bliss as he started to scratch her behind her ears. D smiled. If anyone had reason to be jealous of Dana, it was Pon-chan. Before the girl's arrival, she had been Leon's absolute favourite. Not that she seemed to mind much. He had the distinct feeling that she felt like Dana's elder sister and actually was more than happy Leon loved her as well.
"Yeah, we'd have to go by car. What's the problem? I've got one," Leon said and sipped the tea, wrinkling his nose. "D, you put too much sugar in it again. When will you learn I hate that stuff?"
"When you will learn that I hate the language you use far too often," D gave back unimpressed. "The problem I'm having is that I won't let Dana into your car without the proper seat."
Leon, who had tensed up a bit, relaxed again and patted the raccoon's head. "You wanna come too, little lady? Stop fussing, D, I got a children's seat this week. Jill's friend had one her own kid has grown out of. She said it's for children between one and four years. Dana should fit in it, and if not, we're going to buy a new one."
Noticing that D was staring at him with surprise on his face, he growled. "What? I'm not that stupid, D. Remember, I'm one of the guys who bust people who let their children sit in the car without the proper seat."
D opened his mouth to reply, but a cry from the back cut him off. He stood, sighing. "Well, it seems Dana has woken. I will go fetch her, and then we can ask her if she wants to go to the beach today. Though tomorrow would probably be better, then we could spend the whole day there."
"Yeah, true," Leon said and chuckled because Pon-chan had rolled over on her back and was presenting her belly to him. D went to his bedroom and took Dana from her cradle, noticing that it was getting too small for her. She also was nearly two years old now. Perhaps she should start sleeping in another room. He couldn't keep her in his bedroom forever, she had to get used to sleeping on her own. Still, he was reluctant to do so. His child had always been near him, awake or asleep, and he hated the thought of not being able to look to the side and make sure she was alright.
"Hello Dana, did you sleep well?" he asked his daughter and put her on the changing table.
Dana hopped up and down a few times, smiling brightly. "Dana sleep well," she answered and peeked around. "Leon?"
"Your father is in the front room, Dana. He wants to take us to the beach, do you want that?" She tilted her head to the side.
"Beach?" she echoed.
D smiled. "Yes, I know, you've never been to a beach so far. But you like water, don't you? Do you remember the time I took you to the mountains and we bathed in that pool? You liked it a lot. There's the ocean by the beach, that's a lot of water, too, but it's salty. You know salt, it's the opposite of sugar."
Dana wrinkled her little nose. "Salt yuck," she said.
D chuckled and looked into the smaller cupboard to find something he wanted her to wear today. He decided on a skirt and a blouse that looked almost European and showed them to his daughter. "Here, Dana, what do you think? Do you want to wear these?"
She looked at the clothes critically, but finally nodded and D dressed her. "So, here we go. Now let's go to Leon, shall we?" he said and set Dana on the floor again. She took off almost the second her feet touched the ground, yelling "Leon, Leon!" at the top of her lungs. D followed at a slower pace, still chuckling.
Dana was just being flung through the air by her human father when he entered the front room again. She squeaked with joy and clung to Leon's arms when he put her down. "Again!" she claimed and hopped up and down. Leon complied willingly while D shook his head.
"I really do not know why being swung around like that seems so attractive to her," he voiced. "She got that from you. Humans are strange in that respect. Rollercoaster and such stuff. Why do you like it so much?"
Leon grinned and placed Dana on his shoulders. "You don't have to understand it, D, just accept it. I promise I'll get into the rollercoaster with her when she's old enough."
"I do really hope so," D said and his eyes twinkled, causing the blonde to stare at him speechless for a moment.
Then Dana pulled his hair and he winced. "Dana, stop that, please. I don't like that," he admonished the kid. "So, do you want to go to the beach, honey?"
"Salt yuck!" Dana announced from her position high on Leon's shoulders.
The blonde laughed. "You don't drink it, you go swimming in it, sweetie. We can build some sandcastles if you want to."
"Sandcastles?" the girl echoed and looked questioning. Leon craned his head to be able to look at her and she giggled when the movement caused her to slip down a little bit.
D was behind Leon in a second. "Be careful, Detective!" he cried and steadied the kid.
"Relax, D, she's not going to fall down. I've got her safe. Yeah, honey, sandcastles. I'll show you what that is when we're at the beach." Leon glanced at the clock and sighed. "But I guess your father's right, we should go tomorrow. So what about a nice little walk in the park instead?"
"I'm coming, too," Tetsu announced and wriggled out from under the sofa, surprising Leon, who hadn't noticed the totetsu there.
"Only if you behave," he said firmly and T-chan growled.
"I always behave. I just want to make sure you'll behave."
"Stop it, you two." D put a stop to their quarrel before they could really start. "T-chan, of course you can come. I will just get a jacket for Dana."
Five minutes later they were on their way to the park. D had insisted on taking Dana again, because it would be a little bit too suspicious if they came out of the shop with Dana on Leon's shoulders. So now the blonde was carrying a basket with a blanket and some sandwiches while the girl was sitting on D's hip, looking around with great eyes.
"She's never been out of the pet shop, has she?" Leon asked when she hadn't spoken for more than five minutes. D shook his head and smiled at Mrs Chang, who returned the greeting friendly and darted into the next shop quickly to spread the news that the Count was taking a stroll with his daughter and the detective. D sighed slightly.
"No, she hasn't," he answered Leon's question though and hoisted Dana up more comfortably. "Save the evening she got lost, she's always been inside the shop. I deemed it far too dangerous to take her outside." He felt the glance Leon gave him more than he saw it.
"Why? Why should anyone want to hurt your kid? I mean, other than that Taizu guy."
D considered that. Then he replied in a low voice, not wanting to be overheard, "Detective, I am not sure what Dana is able to do. I wanted to be sure I know what I have to expect before I take her into human company. You will have to be careful, too. If she does anything out of the ordinary, it might cause questions."
"Well, so far she's only strong and flies." Leon tried to loosen his shoulders. They were getting quite cramped by the weight of the basket. "I think I can handle that. As long as she doesn't start to do really scary things, like setting things on fire without matches or a lighter."
D chuckled. "We do have some powers not common to humans, but setting things on fire without any help is not amongst them," he said and brushed a strand of dark brown hair from Dana's face. "Do you like it out here, lovely? We're nearly there, and then you can play with Tetsu in the park."
"D, really. I can't understand a word," the blonde complained and D changed to English again.
"Detective, I am teaching her my language. You may teach her yours." He stepped inside the park, followed by a grumbling Leon.
When Dana saw the grass and the trees, she pointed to them excitedly. "Bàbà, trees!" she cried.
"Yes, lovely, they grow here, too, not only in the pet shop," D answered and strode through the people taking their evening stroll in the park. Some recognised him and pointed, but he ignored them and led the way to a less busy part of the park. There he stopped and sat Dana down. Leon placed the basket on the ground, too, and both watched their daughter.
Dana stood there, frozen to the spot, taking in her surroundings with wide blue-golden eyes. She seemed a little confused. Leon chuckled and nudged D. "She looks like a kitten being out in the garden for the first time," he whispered amused. D couldn't suppress a grin. The blonde was right. The expression on Dana's face was just the same mixture between wonder, confusion and shy curiosity. Then she took a hesitant step, and another, and reached a tree right besides them.
"Shù," she said and laid her hands on the bark, craning her head and looking up into the leaves.
Leon chuckled again. "Don't tell me she's gonna climb up there in a second and we've gotta call rescue to get her down again," he said and knelt down beside his daughter. "That's a tree, honey. And that's the bark. Up there are the twigs, and that here is a leaf." He plucked one and showed it to her.
D left him to teach his daughter the English words for things she already knew in Chinese and spread the blanket. Then he sat down, stroking the totetsu's fur absent-mindedly. He groaned in delight. "Yeah, that's the spot, Count," he murmured. "A little bit further down – oh yeah!"
A deep sigh of contentment came from his throat as D scratched a place right under his chin. "Could stay like this," Tetsu murmured. "The idiot taking care of the nuisance and we having our peace."
"T-chan," D scolded him. "How can you call Dana a nuisance?"
He chuckled and blinked up at him impishly. "You know fully well I love the kid, Count, but you've gotta admit that off lately she's become quite a bit of work. You're busier with her than with the shop. Not that that's a bad thing," he added hastily, seeing the kami's face darken. "But you haven't had any time for yourself since she was born. Perhaps now that Leon can look after her as well, you're gonna get some rest, too."
D's gaze wandered to Leon. He was just kneeling beside a bush, showing Dana something, and the girl was leaning into him trustingly. Perhaps the totetsu was right. He'd not had a minute to himself since Dana had been born. But he didn't know if he trusted Leon already enough to let him take care of their daughter all alone.
He still hadn't decided on what to think about that matter when Leon arrived early Saturday morning to pick them up. Dana was at first very reluctant to let herself be seated in the children's seat, but with a little help from T-chan and Pon-chan and a lot of bribery from Leon, they at last had her safely in it. By that time, D was already not so happy about their trip anymore, but the blonde wouldn't hear his complaints.
"D, be quiet and wait what the day will bring else," he said curtly and slipped into the driver's seat. Pon-chan on the backseat giggled a little while the kami blushed at having one of his sayings flung back at him.
"I am just saying that perhaps it wasn't the best idea. After all, we just arrived last week," he snapped and wouldn't stop pouting during the whole drive.
Still, when they arrived at the beach, he was soothed by the good weather, the slight breeze and the beautiful view. Of course the ice-cream Leon bought him after they'd settled down in one nice, not too obvious spot did a lot to calm him down again, too. Dana, though, was not happy with the fact that D kept a sharp eye on the amount of ice-cream she was eating. Before she could start to object, though, Leon took her to the water and she forgot about it. They splashed around at the rim for a while, happily accompanied by Pon-chan and Tetsu while D watched and fanned himself.
After a while, though, he got bored with sitting there all alone and called for them. "Detective, it is time for lunch! Would you come back, please?" Leon looked up and hoisted Dana up on his shoulders. It was obvious he liked having her there, and also that the girl enjoyed being so high up. Then he walked back to D, looking all casual and so father-like that D's heart made serious efforts to break through his ribcage. He was so beautiful, with his washed-out jeans rolled up so they wouldn't get wet, and the wide t-shirt, and carefully securing Dana on his shoulders…
"Do you want a sandwich?" he managed when they arrived and hastily turned so the blonde wouldn't see the blush that had crept up all the way to his hair. Tetsu, however, noticed and rolled his eyes, but grinned broadly.
Pon-chan smiled, too, as Leon sat Dana down and stretched. "Yeah, please. Didn't get any breakfast today," he said and followed Dana's tug at his jeans, sitting down besides his daughter. D handed him a sandwich and the blonde checked if there was meat on it. Only when he'd discovered the ham did he take a bite and then looked at the blue sky in bliss. "Damn, I've gotta learn how to do those myself."
"If you're really nice to me, perhaps I'm gonna show you how," T-chan answered and sneaked a sandwich out of the basket for himself. Leon looked as if he'd have to think about that twice. D smiled and tugged Dana into his lap to feed her. She was hungry and gladly opened her mouth.
Some minutes passed in comfortable silence, only disturbed by paper rustling when they unpacked another sandwich. Finally, Leon stretched out on the blanket, sighing contentedly. "Wow, could really stay like this. No idiot colleagues, no criminals, no Gavin McGallen," he breathed and closed his eyes.
"Not in front of Dana," D reprimanded, but his daughter was too busy munching on her sandwich to listen to what her human father was saying. Leon cracked open one eye.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll try to remember. Perhaps," he yawned. The pets chuckled while D sighed.
"Did your colleagues make any comments?" he inquired then, suddenly concerned. The blonde shook his head.
"Nope, doubt they even know yet. But I bet they'll know as soon as the weekend's over. Most of them go to Chinatown to party, and they'll snatch up the news. Jill, though, didn't tell anyone," he added affectionately. Dana was done eating and crawled from D's lap onto the blanket to stand beside Leon, patting his broad chest with her small hands. He blinked at her. "Whaddya want, honey?"
"Sandcastle!" she demanded.
"Oh yeah, I promised you one, didn't I? Well, we've gotta go down to the water again to build one." He looked up at D and indicated the girl's clothes. "You're gonna change her clothes or is it okay if she stays in those?"
D leaned back into his chair and picked up his fan. "I dressed her in those on purpose, Detective. She doesn't need to change," he answered.
Leon pushed himself up again. "Well, but I've gotta change if we're going down to the water again," he said and took his t-shirt off without warning. D's eyes went wide while Pon-chan started giggling hysterically.
When the blonde started to take his jeans off, D turned and hid behind his fan. "Detective!" he exclaimed indignantly. Leon laughed outright.
"Man, D, stop fussing! I've got my trunks on already. Whaddya think, I'd undress in front of my kid? Or you?"
D hastily turned back, intending to snap at him, but his response stopped in his throat. Why, why, why did Leon have to look so enticing?! Half-naked humans had no right to look so sexy. They just had no right, especially this particular human. It was just not fair.
"Be careful," he said faintly and watched as they went back to the water, Leon holding Dana's one hand and Pon-chan the other. Tetsu looked at his master and shook his head pityingly.
"Oh dear, Count," he said and went to have a look at the other food in the basket. "Really, one should think you'd have learned your lesson."
D would have answered, but he strongly suspected any kind of repartee would only have revealed too much. So he wisely decided to keep quiet and instead watched the three again. Leon and Pon-chan were busy with building a sandcastle while Dana hopped around them and enjoyed herself thoroughly. She lost interest in the sandcastle pretty soon, though, and took much more interest in the water coming in and retreating. Leon again took her hand and slowly coaxed her into the ocean some more, until the girl was standing in it till her chest.
D sat up a little more. "What is he doing?" he asked irritated. Tetsu opened one eye and yawned.
"Relax, Count. He's holding her, what should happen?" he murmured and rolled onto his back. The kami watched attentively as Leon placed Dana on his shoulders again and went in deeper. His daughter seemed suspicious at first, but she soon wanted to be let down. The blonde placed her on his hip, but she still wasn't happy.
At last he steadied her with his hands and she paddled around quite happily, accompanied by Pon-chan, who showed her what to do. D could hear her childish laughter and Leon's amused voice as he told her not to drink the salty ocean water. He wavered between being worried and delighted at the sight. Really, who could have known Leon would be such an – affectionate father? He'd underestimated the human from the beginning, it seemed…
"C'mon, honey, let's get somewhere less deep," he heard Leon say and the three returned to the rim of the water. The blonde sat down and let the waves roll over his bare legs, Dana safely tucked in between. She laughed and splashed around with the water. D smiled. Yes, his daughter liked water. And it was so – so – good, watching them play with each other, watching Leon take care of his child…
He had to put a hand over his heart before the sudden aching pain could really cause his chest to burst. A big wave rolled to the shore, and it tightened further, with sudden fear now. He watched the wave crash over Leon and Dana, completely engulfing them.
The kami shot up and searched the water anxiously. Just when he was about to leave his place, Leon appeared again, shaking his head like a wet poodle, blonde locks totally mussed. Then he carefully stood and returned to their blanket, carrying a crying Dana.
D hastily went forward and met them halfway. Leon was murmuring soothing phrases and the girl was already calming down again, but she still extended her arms and sniffed "Bàbà!"
"Be quiet, darling, it's okay," D soothed and pressed his child close to his chest, not caring that he was getting his own clothes wet. "It was just a wave, nothing more."
"I'm sorry, I didn't see it coming," Leon excused, looking clumsy and helpless besides them. D hummed and rocked Dana.
"It was not your fault, Detective," he said softly and turned to the blanket again. "We're at the ocean. Such things can happen. She is only surprised."
Leon still didn't look convinced, and the kami had to admit that though the words were reassuring, they had sounded more like "You knew it could happen, you should have been watching out for it." He wasn't sure himself how he'd meant them to come out. But now it was done.
He sat down in his chair again, sighing silently. Deciding to let Leon take care of his child and acting upon it turned out to be quite difficult. To take his mind off it, he fetched a cloth and dried the girl. She was exhausted and snuggled into him.
Leon watched him and cleared his throat. "If you don't need me, I'd go swimming," he said and sounded as if asking for permission.
D smiled up at him. "Yes, do so. When she wakes again, she will demand your attention," he answered, seating the already half sleeping child more comfortably on his lap. The blonde relaxed.
"Okay. You coming along, Pon-chan?"
The raccoon, who had been silent until now, brightened and followed him down into the water again, babbling and enjoying his undivided attention. D leaned back and let Dana rest on his chest. She murmured something indiscernible and was out like a light in a matter of seconds. Tetsu was either asleep, too, or pretending very good to be. D was again left to his own thoughts and musings.
He just couldn't help it. He'd always been a little bit protective where his baby was concerned, the pets had told him so more than once, sometimes amused, sometimes irritated. The kami, though, knew that he had to be on his guard to ensure her safety. The incident in Japan and Taizu's attack had not done anything to lessen his fear.
Leon was a good swimmer, and he obviously enjoyed the ocean water. Pon-chan was sitting on his back at the moment, and they were goofing around. D liked water, too, and he also liked the ocean, but he hated the mass of humans that were here, too, even though they were at a relatively hidden spot. He also didn't like undressing, and if he went swimming, he did so in the nude as was natural. He was not going to undress in front of their curious eyes. No, sitting here in the shadow was much better.
What would he tell grandfather when he arrived? He probably knew already that D had moved back to America, and he would most assuredly not be happy with that. The young kami sighed. The same dilemma he'd faced during his pregnancy, too. Either he hurt Leon or he hurt grandfather. It seemed impossible to make both happy. But Leon had been hurt worse until now. Perhaps it was time to reverse the situation. He could simply ignore Sofu D for the time being. After all, he owed him no explanations for what he did. He was grown, if still young.
When Leon was swimming like this, one could see the muscles working together perfectly, and see how well the human was in shape. The scars didn't distort the body, only told of many fights he'd gone through. Some of those scars bore memories for D, too. There were the three great scars on belly, chest and shoulder that had nearly cost Leon's life and would have, had D not given him the flower because of some dark foreboding.
The kami shuddered thinking about what would have happened had he not done so. To loose Leon, one of the two humans he truly loved…
Involuntarily he pressed his child closer to his chest. Dana sighed and fastened her small hands in the fabric of his cheongsam. D calmed down again. Everything was alright, at least at the moment. Both Leon and Dana were fine, and Chris was, too, otherwise Leon would have told him. There was no reason to worry.
Still, he couldn't help it, and he silently wondered when exactly he had started to be so afraid of so many things.
On their way back Leon turned the radio on and started humming to the tunes. Dana's blue eyes grew wide. She was clearly fascinated by those strange sounds. D barely suppressed a groan. "Detective, would you please refrain from letting Dana listen to your music?" he said sharply and reached to turn off the radio.
But the blonde stopped his hand. "Nope, I won't. 'S time anyway she gets to know some good music. Not your strange Chinese stuff. Real music. Like in rock music."
The radio guy announced the next song and suddenly the blonde was coughing so hard D was actually afraid he might choke and drive the car off the road. "Leon!" he exclaimed. "What's the matter?!" He snapped his fan shut and dared to lay a hand on the human's shoulder, but he just shook his head. D noticed he had tears in his eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.
Leon nodded, still grinning. "I'm fine. It's just – forget it. Nothing."
D settled back into his seat after shooting his daughter a concerned glance. But she was busy listening to the radio. Tetsu eyed both his master and the human suspiciously. Pon-chan was asleep, her head on Dana's lap. For some seconds the only sound was the music from the radio.
Then Dana started to sing along, startling both D and Leon alike. "Dude looks like a lady!" she crowed happily.
D's jaw dropped. He slammed the controls so hard the radio probably got broken, and Leon protested immediately. "Hey! That was my radio you just ruined!"
The young kami barely glared. "You will never turn on the radio again!" he gritted through his teeth. Leon's face twitched. He looked onto the road. Dana continued replying the sentence she'd just learned.
And then both Leon and T-chan burst into helpless laughter. "Stop it!" D screeched indignantly, but it was no use. Both human and totetsu couldn't help the chuckles that bubbled up.
"I'm sorry, D, I really am, but it's just – oh god, Dana singing that song, and you being her father…"
Leon's shoulders were shaking. Dana stopped, confused. Tetsu patted her head and murmured something in her ear, giggling loudly. The girl calmed and settled back, eyelids dropping again. Being in a car apparently made her tired. And right now, D was incredibly glad for that.
The blonde had calmed down again by the time they reached the pet shop, but there still remained a grin on his face. D kept on shooting him angry glances, but couldn't ruffle Leon's feathers for once. The girl woke once in the shop and demanded her human father's attention, tugging him to Honlon's room while D went about his chores in the shop.
Only when he'd seen to all pets did he join the three in the crystal palace. His tea-tray clinked softly when he opened the big doors and went inside. Leon was sitting on the floor, listening to Dana's tales which the girl told more with hands and feet than words, but apparently the blonde got what she meant. He heard D enter, though, and stood to help him with the tray, surprising the kami. He watched in silence as the detective set out the table. It was not perfect. But it was close to what D would have done.
Dana scrambled over, carefully guided by Kanan. "Food," she said and tried to grab one of the sandwiches.
D stopped her hand. "No, Dana. Only when we all are seated," he said decidedly and heard Leon chuckle.
"Lemme guess, your grandfather was pretty strict raising you, too," he said.
For a moment D felt like blushing, but he succeeded in keeping the colour out of his cheeks. "He raised me to have some manners, Detective," he replied stiffly. "And I will not let Dana grow up without learning some manners, too."
The human shrugged. "Okay, if you think you've gotta teach her such stuff. Who even cares if the spoon stays in the cup while drinking tea?"
And suddenly, though the situation was entirely new for all of them, they were back to old routines.
Only when Dana started to yawn did the two adults realise how late it already was. Leon hastily stood and scooped his daughter up. "Time for bed, sweetie," he told her with a smile and then looked at Kanan. "For you too, honey."
The dragon snorted, but she looked strangely content. "Yes, father," she teased and nudged the human. "Come back soon," she whispered. Leon winked at her and turned to the door.
"D, you're coming along?" he asked and the kami got to his feet, too, looking far more graceful than the human.
"I will take care of the tray. You can bring Dana to bed," he answered, but still followed Leon to the bedroom as soon as he'd disposed of the tray in the kitchen.
Dana was just talking to her father, telling him something, and Leon listened to the child already lying in the cradle. She'd taken one of his hands and was curiously examining it. "Many water. Dana like water," she said earnestly. Leon stroked her head.
"I'm glad you liked the beach, honey," he said softly. D smiled.
"It was indeed a wonderful day," he said kindly and Leon turned to look at him while Dana raised her head.
"Bàbà!" she cried. "Good night!"
D floated to the side of the cradle and bent to kiss his child. She let go of Leon's hand to wrap her arms around his throat. "Bàbà like Leon," she murmured.
The young kami blushed. "Ssh, honey, be quiet. You have to sleep now," he whispered and stood again. For a moment he thought he saw mischief sparkling in his daughter's eyes. But it could very well have been his own imagination.
Leon left the bedroom soon after D and silently closed the door behind him. "Fast asleep," he said and smiled. "But as long as she had a good day…"
"I think we all had a good day, Detective," the young kami replied softly. Their eyes met for a second, then Leon cleared his throat.
"Well, gotta go now. My apartment's in ruins," he said.
D accompanied him to the door and they stood in it quite awkwardly before the kami spoke. "Are you free tomorrow, too?" he asked. Leon shook his head.
"Nope, gotta work. My shift starts at two."
"You could come to the shop and have breakfast and lunch with us. Perhaps we could go to the park again," D offered and the blonde smiled.
"Yeah, I could do that," he said. "At nine again, then?"
"Yes, at nine," D replied. He watched Leon's back until the human was out of sight and retired, already planning what they would be having for breakfast. After all, it was Sunday, even if Leon had to work.
Leon didn't like Mondays. He didn't exactly hate them, he'd never understood why people did that. It wasn't as if Monday was a bad day, like in those Garfield cartoons. It was just another day of the week. The only reason why he didn't like Mondays was that most people had the weekend off. Traditionally, Monday was spent on exchanging the latest gossip. And that was something he just couldn't stand. At the moment even less than usual.
So he actually stopped for a moment and took a deep breath before he entered the precinct on Monday. Like he'd anticipated, a lot of the guys perked up once he entered the department, and Len sidled up to him innocuously. "How was the weekend?" he asked slyly.
Leon strode to his cubicle and tried to get rid of the man. "I didn't have a weekend like you, Len," he answered. "If you care to recall, I was on duty yesterday so that you could spend the day with your kids."
"And I'm very grateful for that, believe me, Leon. Alice is just learning how to ride a bicycle, and I wouldn't miss that for the world. Still, perhaps I'll have to work on Sundays in the near future, too. You might want to have it off sometimes, too."
The blonde detective sat down at his desk, ignoring the bait. "And why would that be?" he asked. "I've always worked Sundays."
"Yeah, but that was before the Count was back." Len had realised he wasn't going to get anything out of Leon with just hints. So he now tried the direct approach. Leon studied the post-it Jill had fastened on his screen and smiled. I'll be at work at eleven. Just hold down the fort until then. Keep a low profile, they'll be bored soon. Jill
He took it off and carefully placed it in his calendar. "And why would the Count being back require me to take the weekends off?" he asked Len, who sat down in the chair in front of Leon's desk and scrutinized him.
"Well, any explanation why he came back? You're his best friend, you know," the elder offered, but the blonde shook his head.
"Sorry, Len, I don't know."
That wasn't even a lie. He knew of course that D wanted to make up for keeping Dana a secret for so long. But why exactly he'd changed his mind, he couldn't tell. Only that in spite of all the chaos he'd created, he was kind of thankful Taizu had done it. Otherwise D might never have changed his mind, and there was no doubt as to who would have won that fight. D simply had the better hand.
"Well, you're probably glad, what with the way you two were always hanging out together, and he was looking after your brother…"
Len could be a nuisance sometimes, and he should know better than try the usual tactics on Leon. The blonde let out a slow breath. "Len, I've gotta work," he said. "So would you get your ass outta here and let me do my job?"
The other man held up his hands. "Yeah, yeah, sure. Man, the Count's back for one week and you're already irritable again. One would really think you'd be happier, even if he's got a kid now."
Leon glared. "Len, get out. If you want gossip, go ask someone else. I can give you a few addresses in Chinatown where you're sure to get all the information you want, but leave me alone."
"What a pity the Count's not homosexual at all, apparently…"
"Out!" the blonde bellowed and Len left his cubicle, chuckling. Leon clenched his teeth and muttered some of the words D hated under his breath while he started his computer. Even if he'd anticipated nothing else, he hated the grapevine with all his heart. Now he could only hope the suspicion that he was the father of the Count's kid hadn't spread into the plaza as well.
He was very grateful when Jill arrived shortly after eleven. By that time, four other colleagues had stopped by, trying to coax more about the Count's mysterious reappearance and child out of him, and Leon was getting real fed up with that.
"Thank god you're here!" he cried out at the sight of his colleague.
Jill chuckled and hung up her coat. "So, you had a nice day already?" she teased and the blonde grimaced.
"Len didn't even let me sit down before he started asking questions," he complained and his superior laughed out loud.
"Not surprisingly, Leon," she reminded him. "No one expected to ever see the Count again, much less with a child in tow."
Leon's blue eyes were weary. "Well, at least that they didn't ask," he grumbled and silenced at once. Christian had rounded the corner.
"Hey Leon, is it true the Count's back?" he called. "My wife said her friend saw him in the park last week! With you and a kid!"
Jill and Leon exchanged a glance, then the younger sighed deeply. "Yeah, it's true, he's back. Anything else?" he asked curtly. Christian stopped, looking confused.
"One would expect you'd be happier about that," he remarked and Leon growled.
"Considering that you're the sixth today who's been asking me the same stupid questions, no, I'm most assuredly not happy!"
"Oh." His colleague caught Jill's wink and retreated again. "Well, if you stop by the shop, make sure he's not going to leave again. You were unbearable."
The phone rang and Jill got the call while Leon's face grew red and angry. He snarled at Christian, grinning contentedly with the effect of his remark. However, before he could start to yell at the elder, Jill put down the phone. "Laura's mother," she informed her pissed colleague, whose face lit up a bit. "She says she wants to talk to the one leading the investigation. That would be you. D'you have time to pay her a visit? She says she's free the whole afternoon."
Leon heaved a deep sigh of relief. "Jill, you're a lifesaver!" he breathed. "Thank god I can get outta here!" The woman bit her lip so not to laugh out loud.
"Yeah, I can imagine. Get off. And try to take long enough that you can go straight to the pet shop after. I'll do what I can to shut them up."
She got a last thankful glance and then Leon was out. Jill shook her head and laughed out loud. She didn't want to be here on the day when her colleagues found out that Leon was Dana's dad. The precinct was going to explode.
D didn't like Mondays either. But that was for the simple reason that Westerners took Sunday off and never came to his shop on Sunday so that everyone who'd thought about getting a pet on the weekend turned up on Mondays. Consequently they were quite stressful days.
And today he'd not only had to deal with the usual customers, but also with some of his high-society acquaintances who'd heard about his return during the weekend. Right now Mrs Battory was occupying the spot on the sofa where Leon used to sit, and the kami had to admit that off lately, he started to think that maybe he would tell his customers to sit elsewhere. It was irritating, to see someone else sit in the detective's place.
"… my little Anessa, you probably remember her, dear Count, she wanted to come visit you too, but she's so busy at the moment with her studies…"
D smiled and nodded from time to time, keeping his thoughts about the things Anessa Battory was busy with to himself. He would pray the girl would not come visit him. He'd never liked her, and especially not after that kiss. How could she dare to impose a kiss on D? Couldn't she tell he was well out of her reach?
For a split second he wondered if Mrs Battory thought he was out of reach for her daughter. Probably not. Once humans had attained a place in high-society, not even god was out of their reach anymore, and certainly not a mere kami. If she knew that another one, not even a man from high-society, had claimed D for his own, though unaware of it…
The thought stirred unwanted memories of his grandfather's words. As much as I despise this uncouth human being, I am pretty sure you will regret this decision someday.
Well, if it made Sofu happy, he'd been right. But D somehow doubted his grandfather would rejoice at having been right in this respect.
Firmly he turned his attention again to the woman in front of him, counting the seconds until it wouldn't be impolite to turn her out. What luck that he'd laid Dana to sleep in his bedroom this time, remembering what had happened in Japan. Otherwise –
D shuddered for a second imagining what a woman like Mrs Battory would ask seeing the child. Better to have Dana out of immediate reach in the bedroom than in one room with that woman.
Unfortunately Sofu D wasn't likely to be ignored. By the time D had gotten rid of the curious woman and returned to the bedroom, a familiar figure was hovering over the cradle, causing the child in it to laugh. D clasped his hands in front of him and prepared for the storm to come.
"Welcome, grandfather," he said softly. Q-chan turned around, scrutinizing the young kami with little black eyes. Then a soft woosh swept through the room, accompanied by warm wind, and Sofu D stood before him, golden eyes and face blank.
"You and your child seem to be quite well," he said, bending over the cradle and extracting Dana from it. D's fingers twitched to snatch his daughter away, and he would have, had it not been for the fact that Dana made no sound of protest against being handled by a stranger. She just kept on laughing and settled on her great-grandfather's arm like she would on D's or Leon's. It was obvious she sensed no danger from him. Still, D stayed alert. If she made the faintest sound of protest, a cry, a complaint – he would push his grandfather away and bring his child somewhere else.
Sofu D noticed the tension in his grandson's body. A wry smile appeared on his face, so similar to D's own and yet, completely different. "I see your protective instincts are still working. You need not worry, at least not for your child. Her blood is soiled, but she still is of our kind. I won't hurt her."
D relaxed, but only slightly. And he remembered his manners. "Would you care for some tea, grandfather?" he inquired politely. Sofu nodded and stroked a finger over Dana's cheek. D flinched at the sight of the sharp long fingernail on the sensitive skin. But Dana didn't share her father's fear. She smiled at her great-grandfather and grabbed his fingers with her small hand. Blue eyes were turned up at him. Golden eyes looked back, finding golden spots in blue oceans.
Sofu's face softened. Hesitantly he pressed the girl to his chest, careful not to grip too tight, and almost as if afraid she would resent his caress. But she snuggled against him, leaning her head onto his shoulder. Perhaps the soft sound was a sigh of relief. But it could as well have been a rustle of silken clothes.
D, watching, relaxed at last. A small smile appeared on his lips and he unclasped his hands, making an inviting gesture to the front room.
"It will be more comfortable if we sit down there, and if Dana wishes to play, all of her toys are there," he said. His grandfather followed and sat down on the sofa, keeping his great-granddaughter in his lap. Dana seemed content enough for the moment, so D let her be, but reminded her that she couldn't go play once they'd started drinking tea. Sofu D hid a smile behind the girl at hearing his grandson's words. It was what he had been taught, too.
They sipped their tea for a while in pensive silence, D hoping that Leon wouldn't burst in right now. His grandfather had never really liked the human, and he remembered very well what his reaction to the pregnancy had been.
"So, you have been convinced to raise your child here." Sofu D sat his cup down and helped Dana conduct her spoon into her mouth.
D bowed his head in affirmation. "After Honlon lured the detective to Japan and revealed that he actually has two daughters, I decided I would let him have his chance. Dana was very happy about it."
Sofu D looked down on the child in his lap. "I do not want to discuss your education, my grandson. I realise that she as a hybrid requires different raising than you and your father. But why have you changed your mind so greatly? The last time we talked about him, you didn't even want him to know about her." He actually petted the girl's hair, busy with cake and spoon. "Not that I was unhappy with your decision."
He looked at the younger sharply. "I'd have preferred if you'd stayed with it."
"I have been forced to rethink my decision, grandfather," D answered softly. "I have been forced to rethink quite a lot of things. You do not know, probably, that Dana was kidnapped in Tokyo. Leon brought her back to me. The least I could do was permitting him to take responsibility for his child."
An eyebrow was raised over a golden eye. "And you do honestly think the human will be able to raise her in the proper way," Sofu stated flatly.
D sighed. "Grandfather, I know you never liked the detective." He ignored the snort that followed this statement. "But he is not as bad as you assume. He cared for Chris as well."
"He made you look after the boy," Sofu pointed out. "He is rude, inconsiderate, uses foul language and has no tact. He is in no shape to raise a child as precious as my great-granddaughter."
D's mismatched eyes went wide at his grandfather's words, and he sat and stared at him dumbfounded. The golden eyes were blazing and Sofu's arm clutched Dana protectively. D cleared his throat.
"Grandfather?" he asked, nonplussed. The eldest D smiled grimly.
"Why what, my grandson? What is it? Are you wondering why am I concerned about my great-grandchild?" The smile grew sad. "You could as well ask, why am I concerned about you? Why did I help you give birth to a marred child at all?"
He looked down on Dana again, small and vulnerable in his lap. His hand stroked the girl's hair. "A child is a gift, D. Every child, even one marred by human blood. I have come to realise this, though I still do not approve of the fact you got one. Perhaps she will be able to effect change, being two worlds in one. But I do not want her to be overly influenced by the human ways. It is bad enough I have lost you to a human."
D knew how to read kami eyes. What he read in his grandfather's eyes now was mostly worry, but also pain. He cleared his throat again.
"Grandfather, you have not lost me to a human. I am still your grandson," he said, voice quivering slightly. Sofu D smiled a sad smile.
"Then you want me to believe you do not love this human? The father of your child?" he inquired and held up a hand to forestall any answer. "No, do not answer. You would have to lie, and I would prefer you not lying to me, whether on purpose or not."
D closed his mouth again and waited what else Sofu would have to say. Dana had stopped eating. She knew something was going on. He wondered if his daughter understood what it was.
Sofu's gaze dropped again on the child. "I will not interfere with your decisions. She is your child, not mine. But I want you to know that I do not approve of the human's participation in her education. I admit he has his good points, but he is still a human, and a very questionable one."
"I have dealt with much more questionable human individuals," D pointed out softly. "And Leon has changed. He is not like you knew him anymore. I want Dana to know her father. I want him to know his daughter."
"You are very different," Sofu D said quietly. "You and the human. You will have to make many compromises. He will teach your child things you may not want her to know. He will teach her ways you cannot approve of. Do you not understand why I do not want this? He will hurt you and the child. On purpose or not, he will do or say something that hurts you. He will never be fully able to understand your very nature."
D took a deep breath and looked straight into his grandfather's golden eyes. He was like him in many ways. But he was also not like him. Neither was he like his father. Both combined, and yet, something completely new. Perhaps nature had meant him to be something different.
"I am aware of that, grandfather. But I am also aware that I will never be able to understand Leon fully. I – will hope for his acceptance and be content with that. He does not have to love me, or love what I am. I want him to love his child, and that he does. I do not ask more."
Sofu D stared at him for a long moment. Then he sighed. "I knew you were a dreamer since your childhood days. I can only hope your dreams will not be shattered."
It was then D realised what his grandfather wanted to tell him and was not able to say out loud. He laid a hand on Sofu's hand. He flinched, but did not pull away.
"Grandfather, I will not forget who or what I am. I will not forget you or what you taught me. Animals leave their parents when they grow, and most of them forget them. But I am no animal. You have to let me go, as I will have to let Dana go one day. But that does not mean you will loose me."
Sofu D bowed his head in affirmation. "It seems your parenthood has made you wiser," he said quietly. "Very well, then, my grandson. I have to return to my chores, as do you. I wish you luck with your task. Do take good care of my great-granddaughter and yourself."
He lifted Dana from his lap and handed her to D. The girl buried her fingers in his silken sleeve and looked up at him with pleading eyes. The younger kami carefully pried them loose.
"Stay!" she demanded with a small voice. D looked at Sofu' stricken face.
"I concur. You are welcome to visit anytime you wish, grandfather. You and father. Dana is your family as well, and perhaps father might be happy to play with his – sister."
"I will think about it." Sofu D turned on his heel, and Q-chan fluttered in front of D's face. He felt tiny whiskers brush his forehead as the little batbunny kissed him goodbye and then did the same with Dana.
He stood in the front room for a long while after grandfather had left again, Dana in his arms and deep in thought.
Leon sat down, feeling uncomfortable in these surroundings. Laura's mother resumed her seat opposite him and offered a cup of tea. Suddenly the blonde was glad D had taught him how to drink tea properly. Not that he'd ever done what the kami told him, out of sheer stubbornness, but he remembered what D had screamed at him when he did it wrong.
Mrs Miller looked pleased. He couldn't be doing bad. "So, what did you want to tell me?" he asked and sat down the cup. The black-clad woman flushed slightly and intertwined her hands. She was nervous, and a little embarrassed. Leon wondered what she was going to tell him.
"Detective, my daughter –" short pause, sniffle. "I mean, Laura. She – she might have been a little – wild, but that was just her youth. She was no bad girl, and I know she didn't do anything wrong." Her voice sounded defendant. The blonde stared and tried to find out why.
"Mrs Miller, of course Laura did nothing wrong." Other than spend good money on silly shoes and be stupid enough to open that closet, he added silently. "She surprised a burglar and got shot by him. It's tragic, but there's nothing your daughter could've done to provoke this."
"No!" The woman shook her head vigorously and pressed her lips tightly together. "My Laura wasn't shot by a burglar! Detective, I had a dream last night – a dream in which Laura told me what happened!" Her eyes shone with an almost fanatic light and Leon recoiled slightly. Oh good god, she's one of those women. Could've saved my time and went to Dana instead.
But now he was here, and there was no way he could escape before she had told him everything she wanted to tell him. So he prepared himself to listen to a lot of fantastic crap.
But surprisingly, Mrs Miller was quite accurate in fact. "My Laura never was a bad girl, Detective. She went to church with us, she prayed regularly and she wanted to become a nun. Until she met Gavin." She pursed her lips disapprovingly. Leon harked up. Perhaps this was going to be interesting anyway, though he didn't yet know what the woman would spill else.
Her face was determined and set, though it obviously pained her to talk about Laura's life so openly. "It was, I am sorry to say, our own fault they met each other. Gavin's parents own the seminary one of our sons went to, and they had a celebration to which we were invited. None of us knew he would be there. He was already living on his own back then, and the only reason that his parents hadn't disowned him was that they still hoped he would find his way to god again."
She didn't sound as if she thought it very possible Gavin McGallen would ever find anything but the highway straight to hell. Considering his own meeting with the guy, Leon had to concede with her. Gavin surely wasn't trying very hard, if he ever thought about seeking a way to god.
"Anyway, it was this celebration where they met each other. Laura fell in love with him at once, and from that on, she became a whole other person. Neither my husband nor I recognised the girl I had given birth to anymore. I prayed she would see Gavin for what he was, but god had other things in mind."
Now her voice was quivering. Leon kept silent, afraid that if he asked a question she would stop. The woman seemed to have forgotten his presence, her look was turned inwards as if she was reliving her daughter's life again.
"She didn't listen to anyone, not to me, her father, not even to her sister, who's been her best friend since they were children. She abandoned us, went to live on her own and started working in a gallery. I don't want to say it's a bad place to work at – in fact, it is a quite good gallery, and the owners are pleasant people. But now Laura was all on her own, without guidance in this world, for she stopped going to church, too, because Gavin thought it was not necessary."
Leon was pretty sure Gavin had used another word to describe what he thought going to church was. But he strongly suspected Mrs Miller would even be able to understand it. Or willing to understand it, rather, because she seemed to be familiar with the outside world, though she disapproved of it.
Now she lowered her glance again and blushed slightly. "I am afraid Gavin convinced my daughter – to conduct – certain actions which god has meant only to be conducted by married couples."
In short, Gavin had fucked Laura. Well, that wasn't quite news, but it surely explained why Laura's mother was pretty pissed by the guy. Her cheeks were burning red.
"I went to Laura about half a year after she had moved out. I wanted to talk to her about Gavin, I told her it was not too late to come back if she regretted her sins. But she laughed at me and told me for Gavin's love she would willingly burn in hell."
Though Leon wasn't particularly sympathetic towards people of Mrs Miller's beliefs, he felt sorry for her. If one believed in it, the thought one's own child was damned for all eternity must really be painful. For a second, Dana's face appeared in his mind, her sweet, innocent smile and the way she looked at Leon, so trustingly.
He gulped and quickly pushed the picture away. His own child had no place in this investigation. "I understand, Mrs Miller," he said, softer than he'd intended to. She glanced up at him, a quick, a bit tearful look.
"Tell me, Detective Orcot, do you believe in heaven and hell?" she asked and Leon shook his head. "Do you have children yourself?" she inquired further, clasping her hands tightly in her lap.
The blonde hesitated, then he nodded. "Yeah, I've got a little daughter."
It felt strange, saying this. I've got a little daughter. It felt so – unfamiliar. Like he still had to learn to say it. But it also felt good. Very good. Yeah, I've got a little daughter. She's my kid.
"Then even though you don't believe in hell, you must know how I felt about Laura," the woman said silently. "It hurt me, seeing her this way, dedicating all her life and happiness to this man who didn't even deserve it. I am not narrow-minded, Detective. My eldest son decided to leave us, too, when he was 18, and now he's living with a woman. I don't think it's right not being married, but he is still my son and I love him. I wouldn't have held it against Laura if she wanted to try it. I would have welcomed her with open arms if she decided to come back. But Gavin – he – I – he is just disgusting!"
Leon tried very hard not to imagine Dana with a guy like Gavin. Thanks goodness she was still a kid. Far too young to even think about getting herself a boyfriend, and without any doubt D would take care of any guy approaching her when she was old enough if he didn't treat their daughter appropriately.
For a second he stared, horrified, at the wall. What was he thinking here?! God, he'd never seen anything wrong with having a little fun, but he wanted to forbid Dana to have a boyfriend?!
No, that was not the point. He only didn't want Dana to have a boyfriend like Gavin McGallen. She was far too precious to be going out with that kind of scum.
God, he was becoming strange, too. What was it with that kid that she could change D and him so much?!
"I know what you mean," he told Mrs Miller nonetheless, who was watching him with interest. "He's – not quite what I would want as my daughter's boyfriend, too."
She nodded vigorously. "As I told you, Detective, I am not narrow-minded. But I have seen how Gavin treats his girlfriends. I didn't want my daughter to be one of his toys, but she was determined not to hear one bad word against him. Not even when I told her I had heard that Gavin – well, that he –" She blushed so furiously that Leon blinked astonished. Until now, she hadn't seemed that prude to him.
"That Gavin is what, Mrs Miller?" he asked and leaned forward.
She hesitated. "I don't want to tell wrong about another one, Detective, even though I have more than one reason to speak bad about Gavin. But well, I am – I must admit, I find it kind of believable that he – I have heard that Gavin does not only have girlfriends."
She glanced at her hands, blushing even more. Leon leaned forward eagerly. "You want to tell me Gavin McGallen is homosexual?" he asked unbelievingly.
She nodded, not looking at him. "It is what I heard, Detective. I cannot tell if it is true, but I have thought about it, too. It is just – a feeling. I cannot tell if I am right. But you see, even the thought that my daughter might – love a man who is – that way – it was nearly killing me. Of course, Laura would hear nothing of it," she added bitterly, the blush dying down again. "She laughed at me and said if I wanted to believe what my bigots are telling me, it was my problem and I should keep such vile things to myself instead of telling them to everyone."
Well, it seemed that Laura and her mother had had a quite difficult relationship thanks to Gavin. Leon disliked the guy more and more each minute. He had the feeling that he'd taken advantage of Laura's naivety and her inexperience with men. But on the other hand, it could as well be that someone from Laura's own family had felt she disgraced them and decided to kill the girl. Such things happened, and not as seldom as most people thought. Leon had had some cases like that himself.
Still, his gut was telling him that something was just plain wrong with the guy. Mrs Miller might be weird, but she seemed harmless enough to Leon. "What about your dream, now?" he inquired, deciding that it would be a good way to find out how fanatic she really was. She looked up at him and her face got dreamy.
"Detective, I know it's not considered proof in front of any court. But I swear, I dreamed my Laura appeared. She wanted me to know that Gavin killed her. She wanted him to be brought to justice. I am not crazy," she added, seeing Leon's unbelieving face. "I do believe in dreams and visions, but I know one has to be careful. They might as well have been sent by the devil to make one loose one's way. But I am sure this one was real. Laura really appeared. She said Gavin killed her to keep her quiet. I don't know why he should feel like he had to keep her quiet, for she was so in love with him she would've done anything he asked of her anyway, but I am convinced it is true all the same."
Leon sighed deeply and slumped back a bit. "Mrs Miller, as long as I can't find a reason why Gavin should have wanted his girlfriend dead, I can't do anything," he pointed out softly.
The woman nodded. "I know, Detective. Believe me, I am already very grateful that you even came here and listened to me," she assured him. "I know very well what most police officers think of people like me. Thank you for not acting like they usually do."
For a moment Leon wanted to tell her that he still thought she was at least a little bit nuts. But then he remembered D and the pet shop. He probably was nuts, too. He had a dragon kid, talked to animals as if they were humans and shared a biological child with someone who wasn't even human. That counted as 'nuts' in his opinion, too.
Well, then he was nuts. It was just as well. He couldn't help it now anymore anyway. Dana and Honlon were there, and D was here, too. Get used to it or die trying, that had always been his motto.
He was so busy realising the full extent of the changes in his life he nearly didn't notice Mrs Miller had started to talk again.
"Please, Detective, promise me you will at least try to treat this not like a common burglary. Please have a look at Gavin's alibi as well," she pleaded.
Leon smiled at her and got up. "I will, Mrs Miller," he said reassuringly. "Believe me. I don't want my daughter to grow up in a world with guys like Gavin either. And certainly not if they killed their girlfriends."
A/N: Yes, this time it was quite long. Do I have to apologize for that? Anyway, hope you had a nice weekend and thanks for the review, bc :-) I fully sympathize with too much studying... -.-