And here's chapter 4 after such a long wait. I rather like the ending of this chapter – so I hope you all do as well. Oh, and to Izzu – fixed some of the typos in earlier chapters. This one shouldn't be as bad considering I didn't post it at three in the morning like the others. Heh.

A note on pairings: Most likely this'll be as canon as I can make it with a slight embellishment – which means you'll probably see more one-sided DxLeon as the story progresses.

In any case – thanks so much for reading and reviewing! It really makes my day!

Chapter 4

Count D stroked T-chan's fur softly as he sipped his tea with a free hand. His highness Rau Wu Fei had decided to let them be for the moment and D, for one, was enjoying the peace and quiet around the shop. Well, the relative peace and quiet that was around the shop. Leon was currently sitting across from him fighting Pon-chan for a piece of cake and making a ruckus. Not that this was anything more than entertaining considering how often it occurred. Even T-chan was snickering softly to himself as he sprawled out along the Count's lap.

Guy's a moron. The Totetsu yawned into D's thigh and let out a contented the jerk of an American hanging around, the Count had been in a really good mood lately. But, he still had an image to maintain. Should throw him out for all noise.

D rapped a knuckle on T-chan's forehead for the rude comment, but his chuckle betrayed him. It was nice to see even T-chan loosening up around Leon. He was hard to hate when he wasn't being a pompous boar of a man. Though, as amusing as that was, D still had a few things he needed to get straight with his dear friend. "Are you alright over there, Leon?"

"Yeah!" Leon grit through his teeth as he tried to hold his cake away from Pon-chan. He wondered if Chris had to put up with this theft of food while he stayed in the pet shop. That might explain why the kid was so scrawny! And considering that Leon was currently getting all of his food from D due to limited funds and had no intention of loosing his manly physique: he wanted his cake! "Hungry though."

D chuckled pleasantly. He and the detective had not had a fight in a few days now and he was enjoying their time together immensely. Not to mention it was a riot watching Leon and Ra Wu Fei go head to head. His highness wanted information and Leon was too dense to pick up on it. In the end, the poor businessman only succeeded in aggravating Leon and starting a few one-sided shouting matches. However, his human guest had been staying put in the shop for quite some time now, and D was curious to just how long it would continue. Not that he particularly minded. It kept him from doing more drastic measures to keep the man's company and he enjoyed feeding the man. "So, Leon. Do tell me how long you plan to stay in Japan?"

"Not sure, actually." Leon chuckled as the little badger finally wrestled the cake away from him. She was a resourceful little thing, that was for sure. He watched her munch on the piece of cake and lick the frosting off of her paws. He tried desperately to see that little human girl with the blonde curls again, but it just wasn't working. Leon rubbed his eyes and turned back to the Count. "To be honest, I never really thought I'd find you so I never thought about what I'd do after I did. This whole search the Earth thing was supposed to never end. Granted, I am sort of glad it did, even if I don't know what to do with myself."

"That does seem like you." D smiled coyly while clinking his cup in its place on the saucer. He reached over T-chan's back to set the cup onto the table. "But I assume you'd been at least thinking about the future since you've been here?"

"A little, I guess." Leon slunk back into his seat and watched Pon-chan eating her spoils. She had now settled into his lap to eat the cake and he scratched behind her ears absently. If he had been Chris or D it probably looked like he was ruffling the hair of a small girl, but Leon could only guess that's what they saw. Leon was sort of glad that he couldn't see that. The idea of a little girl in his lap was weird and wrong. A large-chested bikini blonde maybe, but not a tiny girl in curls. "I'm not sure what I can do. I guess I have to find another job, but I'm not qualified for much."

"Have you thought about going back to school? You're not that old, yet."

Leon tapped the side of his head. He didn't need to be told that he wasn't the brightest in bulb in the bunch. Intuition didn't do so well on tests that aren't multiple choice. "I don't think I'm up for school. I'm not quite up for failure again."

"Well, maybe you are not giving yourself enough credit?" Leon glared straight at him and lifted an eyebrow. The pet shop owner scratched T-chan's ear as he stretched out along the couch. He bit his lip to keep from smiling too widely at the pout on the detective's face and the look of Pon-chan content with the last bites of his cake. "Alright, alright. Maybe we can think of something else. What are your strong points? Other than being stubborn?"

"Ha ha, very funny." Leon snorted. Ignoring D's attempt at making him feel better with light teasing, Leon reached for a tiny pastry off of the dish in between them. D actually had some really good cakes in the shop today; they weren't as sweet as usual. Almost had a cinnamon, spicy, blend to them. "I'm still in shape, pretty much. I could always stock shelves or something. You know, heavy lifting and stuff."

"Hmm." D hummed to himself before taking another sip from his cup. For some reason he couldn't see Leon doing manual labor all the time; it didn't seem fair to him. Especially since his knee still bothered him. If the man had any manners he'd suggest he work as a host since he was rather dapper when cleaned up...but then again he didn't need to put the detective around such temptation. Best to let things run their course. "Well, you're welcome to stay until you find an alternative."

"Thanks, D." Leon stretched after wiping a bit of crumb from his mouth with a thumb. He had discovered the finger sandwiches under a platter cover and was now more content than he had been. Leon was still hungry though; finger foods did not a meal make. He threw his one arm over the back of the chair while his free hand continued to pet the little badger. "Ah, this is nice. I could totally just take a nap."

"Well, it is getting late." D looked up to an ornate clock sitting on a shelf. "It's almost eight, now."

"Are you serious?" Leon looked over to the same clock. He had walked in around noon and just started talking to D about nothing in general. Had he really been in the shop for eight whole hours? "Wow, talk about time flying."

"Indeed."

"No wonder I was so hungry."

D laughed and the sudden startle caused T-chan to glare at him. The totetsu slunk away from D's lap and headed towards the back of the shop with a pout. Perhaps they were being too loud for him. "Are you still hungry? A late dinner wouldn't be out of the question if you're interested."

"Actually, that sounds kinda nice." Leon grinned and rubbed under his nose. His stomach took that moment to cue a growl in agreement. He stuck a hand over top of it and pretended it hadn't happened. "But can we go somewhere that doesn't cost twenty to thirty dollars a plate? All this rich food is starting to spoil me."

D pondered that for a moment. It was hard to find good vegetarian dishes at fast food and more middle class restaurants, but he supposed Leon was starting to feel guilty from accepting all the charity. Even if D was rich enough to pay for it, the other man still had a pride streak. "I suppose that would be alright. Any suggestions?"

"Someplace that serves burgers."

"I should have known."

Ra Wu Fei leant back in his chair looking out over the city. The sun was long gone behind the shadows of the buildings and the lights glittered under the clear sky. Taizu leant his head into his hand and let out a breath. His mind was clouded with various thoughts, but he was mostly thinking back upon the last few days and his wonderful failures. With not only the Count but now his blonde boyfriend as well.

So far, he was pretty sure the Count had sold two women and one small child over the past few days. He couldn't prove it, but he could have sworn he watched those people exit with people and not animals. However, upon further exploration he found two cats and a small rabbit in the homes of the buyers. There was some trick to this; there had to be a trick or the businessman really had no explanation for what was going on. Taizu gripped his fist. He'd figure out just what was going on in that pet shop if it killed him.

Sadly, his lead with the blonde American, Orcott, had proved a useless venture. The man was too stupid to tell him what he wanted to know. Stupid and loyal; a dangerous combination. The businessman turned back to his desk and licked his lips. Not that he hadn't tried oncountless occasions to get information out of the man. The moment the Count came up in conversation he'd clam up and switch the topic. And when Taizu pressed for more information, he'd start a fight; Taizu rubbed his chin from where the man had nearly decked him. If the businessman wasn't so used to people coming after him, that would have been one painful hit to the chin.

Though, that brash loyalty could be used to his benefit.

If the man wouldn't talk, that didn't mean he couldn't use the blonde in other ways to get what he wanted. Ra Wu Fei smiled to himself and tapped his finger on his desk. Yes, that could work just as well. Maybe even better than trying to wring water from a rock by talking to the detective. Taizu could feel his IQ dropping every second he spent in that man's company. And he was always at the Count's. It was like he lived there. Taizu snorted to himself; he could definitely use that blonde to get to the ice-queen count.

"Oh for goodness sake." D moaned as he held his eyes in his hands. He still could not figure out how the detective talked him into eating at a fast food restaurant. They were sitting at a corner booth in a tiny crowded building and D was questioning the other man's sanity. It was dirty, it was loud, the food was mass produced and frozen and it was cramped. How could he possibly prefer this to eating out someplace nice? At the very least, to D's one pleasure, he chose an eating establishment that served salads. However, that did nothing to mask the other man's public eating habits. "Darling, Leon, could you please try and at least eat with some dignity? They can hear you eating in America and you've got ketchup on your lip."

Leon licked the corner of his mouth to remove the offending condiment. He brushed it with the side of his thumb to make sure it was all gone. "Lighten up, will you. No one cares." Leon took another bite of his sandwich and tried to chew slower and softer. D was nice enough to not complain about his choice of restaurant so he could behave a tiny bit. After swallowing he tagged on an afterthought. "And knock off that 'darling' crap."

"Oh, but whatever for? Come now, Darling, it suits you."

"I'm serious." Leon spoke around french fries. "It's really starting to bug me. It's worse that that 'my dear detective' stuff from before."

D shrugged and finally dug his fork into his salad. He supposed he owed the poor greens a taste. They died for his consumption so he should at least give them the benefit of the doubt. He winced slightly after tasting but let it go; they were edible at least. In any case, Leon owed him a dessert. And something nice that didn't come from a fast food restaurant. Maybe a torte or a sweet bread; a slice of chocolate cake with rich frosting sounded heavenly as well. Granted, D wasn't permitted to entertain his dreams of sweet desserts for long.

"Hey! Are you listening?"

"What was that, Leon?" D smiled at the pouting man. Darling Leon didn't like being ignored; how cute. "I believe I 'zoned' as you'd put it for a moment."

"I was asking if you wanted to see Chris." Leon crumbled up his foil sandwich wrapper into a ball and set it on the table next to his soda. He'd been meaning to bring the subject up for a while, but never felt comfortable enough to do it. Being surrounded by the crowed of people and familiarity of fast food gave Leon the boost needed to ask. "Like go visit him or have him come here, or something." Leon's last few words were mumbled.

D set his fork down on the table and crossed his fingers together. It was easy to tell that Leon was embarrassed about asking by the red adorning his upper cheeks. As much as much as he would like to see Chris (not to mention Pon-chan and T-chan would be thrilled), he wasn't sure if it would be a good idea. "Are you sure we should get his hopes up?"

"No, I mean." Leon groaned and ran his hands through his hair over the top of his head. "Just a visit with him knowing it's just a visit. So he knows you're okay and didn't just drop off the face of the planet." Leon averted his eyes to a dirty corner of the restaurant where a french fry lay abandoned and dirty. "He was really worried about you. And he's older now so I'm sure he'll understand things better."

"Well," D hummed. He weighed the pros and cons of this in his head. There was no way he could leave the pet shop. Who knows what his highness Taizu would do if he were to be absent for an extended period of time. Not to mention the consequences of Chris getting attached again. But, maybe if Chris understood that it was just a visit it would be alright. Besides, dear Leon probably missed the lad himself. Who knows when the last time he actually went to visit his family was; if he remembered correctly they weren't too fond of Leon. "I suppose he could come here for a visit. If he wanted."

"Really?" Leon perked up like a large dog. He hadn't actually expected D to agree; he was just throwing it out there. Leon felt the need to clarify just in case this was some sort of cruel joke. "He can come visit?"

D cleared his throat and picked up his fork again. He suddenly needed something else to do with his hands. He plucked a tomato from the green lettuce bed; it was sour. "On the condition he understands it's a visit only and that I'm not coming back."

"Yeah, totally." Leon smiled and finally went for his drink. He hadn't realized his throat was so parched. The caffeinated beverage went down smoothly and his throat appreciated the attention. "Chris'll be ecstatic."

"I'm sure." D crunched a piece of old lettuce. Leon definitely owed him a dessert. "How are you going to get him here?"

"Auntie and Uncle." Leon grinned and crossed his arms on the table. "They've been planning a big vacation for some time off in the next few weeks. I figure I'd drop off the suggestion of Japan and then beg and plead if they didn't go for it."

"If that's the case, I can recommend some nice hotels." D put his fork back down. He'd given it his best; but that salad was barely edible. "And some good family vacation sites so it's not just me they're coming to see."

"Yeah! That'd be great."

D watched Leon grin and felt warm inside. It was nice to see the man smiling so naturally for a change. He looked younger again; D was finally starting to notice the extra wrinkles now that he'd had time to study his face more. They didn't look so bad when he was happy; Leon looked more mature. "Well, not that's been settled, why don't we leave this horrid establishment and go find a place that sells decent desserts?"

"It wasn't that bad." Leon laughed and started to clear his trash onto the tray. "Though with as little as you ate, I'm sure you're still hungry. I guess a pastry or something could help that along."

"A nice pastry."

"If anythings' open. It's past nine." Leon checked his watch before picking up the trash littered tray. D put his half-eaten salad on top of the pile and pushed out from the table; somehow managing to keep his outfit clean down to the tips even if the floor and chair were a bit dingy. Must be part of that whole earth-spirit-god-thing.

"If not you'll owe me double tomorrow." D smiled coyly and waited for the blonde to deposit the trash in the proper receptacle.

Leon lit up a cigarette the moment they were out of the shop. Those no smoking signs were really a pain sometimes. He inhaled the nicotine deeply and blew out the slivers of smoke slowly. It did wonders to warm the body on a cool night. He turned to D who was just behind him before pulling the smoke away from his mouth. "So where's this late-night bakery of yours?"

"I'm not sure, but I've got a few desserts back at the shop that need tending." D looked up at the bright moon and was reminded of some of their times back in Los Angeles. It was a lovely night. "But for now, why don't we go for a walk?"

"Sure." Leon walked beside the shorter man and noticed just how comfortable it felt. In fact, the past few days had been really nice. They hadn't yelled at each other or fought or had to deal with crazy pets attacking. They mostly just sat together quietly, and Leon liked it. But, before he could think about just what that meant, his attention was caught elsewhere by a very pretty sight.

D frowned when he realized the Detective, Leon, was no longer following behind him. He turned to see the man stopped on the side of the street staring intently at something. His eyes were lightly glazed and he had a smile on his face. That D didn't put there. At first, D felt pangs of jealousy when he thought Leon was looking at that harlot of a woman on the roadside to his front. However, his eyes softened and he smiled when he realized Leon wasn't looking at the woman. He was looking at something with far nicer curves. The Count found himself walking back to the man's side to lean next to his shoulder. "You really do like flowers, don't you?"

"Wha?" Leon jumped a bit at the man's face in such close proximity to his own. He'd been staring at the plant so hard he didn't notice the other man slink over. The man had that all-knowing smile on his face and D knew that he had scared the blonde. Leon grasped his printed-tee with his hand as his breathing evened out. "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry, but that is a very lovely specimen." D smiled. "I can see why she'd catch your attention. You always did have a thing for flowering plants."

"Shut up." Leon mumbled as he started turning red. It wasn't his fault he liked plants. It was all D's fault with that first plant! Gattolotto. Leon really missed that plant; he wished D would have told him what he did wrong to kill it. She really was a beauty- either way that wasn't the point! D was to blame for this whole unmanly flower thing. "I don't have a thing for plants."

D laughed at the other man's face. He was red as a beet and it was a delightful mismatch to the angry pout that had contorted his face at being caught. "Of course you don't." D gave the little plant with it's soft green leaves and baby blue petals one last glance before turning back to Leon. His eyes matched the plant's petals. "Let's be on our way, shall we? I'm in the mood for a nice slice of blueberry pie."

"Pie? Now you're talking." Leon shoved his hands in his pockets and cocked the cigarette to one side of his mouth. He gave the plant one quick little glance before he trailed after the man in the dress.

Okay.

So maybe Leon liked plants. That didn't make him any less manly! Nope. Not one bit. Men could like plants.

"Hurry Darling Leon! I'm going to get jealous if you keep all your attention on the foliage!"

"Shut up, D!"