"I'm not gonna die, Daisuke. Not anytime soon anyway." Dark said and wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulders. "That's … I just…" Dark hugged him tightly, perfectly aware that he was being held against his bare chest and as he continued down that train of thought he wondered out loud,
"But- Do you think there is any artwork, that is, that can do that? Turn me into a full artwork like you. I'm already halfway there anyway…" He held Daisuke for a moment longer, "But don't worry about stuff like that ok?" and waited until his body relaxed before letting go of him and scooping up the laptop he always kept on the divider between his living room and kitchen. "C'mere, let's look that up, ok?" He sat back down on the couch and Daisuke sat right next to him, leaning over his shoulder and flicking up his cat ears at the whirring noise it made. Daisuke had never really used a computer before but he liked the way Dark's fingers flitted around on the keyboard as he searched, his arched purple eyebrows drawing together. As he continued to search, running through a long list of the Hikari artworks, he found the Kitsune Yuusen and exclaimed, "Hey! This says that you can make illusions and control gravity's pull on whatever objects you choose… that is so cool!"
Daisuke flicked his tail, breathed in Dark's musky scent and clarified, "No, those are all…Krad's. Like I said, I don't really want to know what I can do, but he wanted to find out what he could do right after we got our human bodies." The thief reached over his shoulder to scratch an itch on one wing- they still felt sore and he wondered vaguely if they would ever stop growing. "Ah, here!" He finally found it and pointed to the text on the glowing white screen so Daisuke could see.
"The 'Mahou Shukkou'. It can transfer magic from one work to another and on one occasion has even transferred it to a human. But…"
He trailed off, and Daisuke read for him, "…This human immediately expired and the Shukkou was able to collect the freed magic."Daisuke swallowed and his hair drooped into his eyes. "So, he's not friendly. Not unless there's something in it for him." They both went quiet for a few seconds, and in that silence the loud growl of Daisuke's stomach could be heard clearly. He blushed as red as fire and wrapped an arm around his waist, "Um…It doesn't usually do that."
Dark laughed heartily and set the laptop aside. "Well, I guess it is almost time for dinner." He cooked some okonomiyaki in the kitchen as Daisuke went to find Wiz, and by the time he had returned it was ready. As he put the fork in his mouth his ears stood up in surprise and he managed, "This is really good!" Dark sat down in the stool next to him, "Yeah, my mom gave me this recipe." and dug in himself, holding back his questions until they were done eating. "Hey Daisuke…How old are you?"
Daisuke swallowed the last bit of his meal, stroked Wiz's head and asked, "How old in artwork or human years?"
"Um, human…" The redhead put his bowl in the sink. "Um, about…" He counted on his fingers. "200 years. So you know, pretty young…" He trailed off as he saw the look on Dark's face, and the phantom asked softly. "And did you age at all, during that time?" One of Daisuke's ears flicked sideways.
"No. We don't age. If you did want to become…like me, you'd be seventeen until your piece broke." Dark stared down at his empty bowl.
"How long do think I'm going to live- just being half?" The fox sat back down and adjusted his collar. "I don't really know. Magic always hurts humans, so I think you're the first. Maybe 500 years?" Dark mouthed Daisuke's words, then put his own bowl in the sink and slumped back down into the stool, his long hair hiding his eyes. "Dark?" Daisuke got out of his chair, his ears drooping, and dug both hands into Dark's long sleeve. Dark thought dejectedly, ~Oh man…five hundred years…~
then his eyes met with that innocent red and he placed his hands around the redhead's shoulder blades gently.
"Dai… I don't think want to live that long. I don't want to see all my friends and my foster parents passing away…" He put his head on Dark's shoulder near his neck, buried his face in his purple hair and whispered next to the shell of one tan ear, "Now do you understand how I feel- when I think about losing you?" Time seemed to freeze for a moment and as it finally kicked back into gear he stumbled, "Daisuke, we've hardly even known each other for a week-"He felt Daisuke's small hands grip his shirt again, almost crushing the buttons. "I know, but when I first saw you, under your cupboards, and you took care of me… I just wanted to be with you…"
Dark waited for him to say more, then tightened his grip on the kid and furrowed the skin on his forehead as he felt Daisuke grow heavy. "Um, Dai-"
Suddenly the redhead slumped into him, a dead weight, and he supported him up under his arms to get a better look at unconscious artwork. "Hello?"
For a second he didn't believe it- then he almost burst out laughing, a grin spreading across his handsome face.
Daisuke had eaten that big meal, and then gotten himself so worked up over what he wanted to say to Dark that he had fallen asleep standing up.
"Jeez, you're just like a baby…" He muttered and picked him up bridal-style, carrying him to his bedroom and laying him down slowly across the mattress.
He had promised that he would let him sleep here after all. As he brushed his teeth then yanked on a set of black-and-purple striped pajamas he thought about what the redhead had said ~I just wanted to be with you…~ and felt warmth spread through his chest, replacing the earlier fear of living for so long completely.
If Daisuke was here with him, he could take it. Hell, he could take anything. He spat toothpaste foam into the sink, washed it down and settled onto his side of the mattress, pulling the dark covers over Daisuke and himself and wondering when he would get to kiss him again.
~ Honestly, I'm scared as hell, but I don't want you to live to see me die, kid…so maybe, if you're gonna be with me forever…it'll be alright.~
Review and I'll post the next chappie qiucker!