Broken

...Seventeenth Part: Dark...

Krad was losing it again. But this time, he was being overly defensive of himself. Gold magic glowed at his fingertips as he shouted at me. "What if they find me!?"

"They will find you if you don't cool it!" I snapped back at him. As I stepped closer, he stepped farther back toward the wall. He promptly shut up, and I noticed he was shaking. "Look," I said, "if anyone tries to hurt you again, I'll kill 'em. Got it?"

The door latch clicked. Oh, great...

Satoshi ducked as a ball of sunlight-colored energy can flying in his direction. It missed him and Daisuke jumped back out of its way. The doorframe now had a nice chunk missing from it.

"Nice shot," I told Krad sarcastically. "You almost took someone's head off."

"That could have been the plan," Krad muttered, gulping as Satoshi stood up again, glaring at him.

"That's the second time in the last half-hour that I could have been killed," Satoshi stated irately. "I know what this is about, Krad, but no one's figured out yet if they escaped the explosion or not. They're still searching for bodies."

"That's what I told him," I informed the Commander. "He's convinced they've escaped."

"There's no probable explanation why they wouldn't've!" he wailed. "And if they see me they're going to come after me again!"

I sighed. "Now you're just being paranoid."

"I am not!" he protested.

"Krad, they think you're dead," Satoshi reminded him.

"But –" I pressed my mouth over his to interrupt him. Unsurprisingly, in his panic-attack, he shoved me away and covered his face with his arms, sinking to the floor.

I stepped back, waiting for him to calm down.

"You didn't have to go and do that, Dark," Daisuke said, looking down at the blond guy with a hint of sympathy showing through his crimson eyes.

"Yes, I did," I argued. I knelt down in front of him. "Krad... Uncover your face, Angel; it's just me." When he only buried his face deeper in his arms, I reached over and tapped his wrist. "Come on, Krad. Look at me. You're okay, see?"

Slowly, he looked up at me again. "Why did you do that?" he accused.

"I needed to get you to calm down," I explained simply.

"By kissing me?"

"It worked, didn't it?" I pointed out, standing again and holding my hand out to him. "I know you like it when I kiss you – you told me that, yourself."

Krad took my hand and I helped him up, drawing him into my arms. "You scared the hell out of me," he told me.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, "but you were overreacting."

"Yes," Satoshi seconded. "You were." Daisuke nodded. I ignored them both.

. . .

Krad sat with me on the couch between my legs so that I could brush his hair. Satoshi and Daisuke sat squished next to each other on the other side of the couch. We had decided to put in another movie as a distraction and just something to do as the rain continued on.

I pulled the brush gently through Krad's long hair again. It wasn't tangled or anything, but it gave him something pleasant to focus on. That, and it gave me an extra excuse to mess with his hair. Setting the hairbrush on the arm of the couch, I combed my fingers through the gold silk strands, pulling it back from his handsome face.

Krad glanced at me sideways. "What?"

"I'm just admiring you," I said cheerfully, slipping my arms around his waist. His hair fell out of order again as I let go, cascading down his back. "Are you feeling better yet?"

"A little," he admitted, turning his head to look at me better.

"Good." I kissed the corner of his lips briefly. "You look tired," I noted.

"I am." Krad yawned, settling back against my chest and laying his arms over mine.

"Try not to have any nightmares?" I suggested.

"You know I can't control what I dream, Mousy – no one can."

I shrugged and rested the side of my face against his hair. "Just remember that I'm right here if you need me. Okay?"

"I'll be sure to take note of that when I'm unconscious."

"Don't be such a smart-ass," I retorted. "I only bug you because I care."

A slight grin crossed Krad's features. "You're starting to sound like Emiko," he remarked.

"Am not!"

He raised a skeptical eyebrow at me before laughing.

"Just shut up and go to sleep," I said, poking him in the stomach.

"I love you, too," he sniffed. Krad closed his eyes, threading his fingers between mine before drifting off to sleep.

I smirked, kissing the side of his hair.

"How sweet." Satoshi had a look on his face that consisted of a confused mix between amusement and something else that stated how bizarre he thought our relationship was.

I stuck my tongue out at him childishly. "You're just jealous," I taunted.

Satoshi nearly laughed. "Yes, Dark. Completely," he said, voice laced with heavy sarcasm.

I don't think Daisuke even noticed. He was still wrapped up in the movie.