As Dark slept beside Daisuke in their bed, the redhead stared up at the wood canopy with his hands on his abdomen and thought.

He knew exactly the extent of Dark's powers, and Krad's, and though the phantom thief had been honing his skills he was really only half as powerful as the blonde.

He would get hurt and badly, even if by some miracle he was able to get away with the painting. Worry for Dark weighed heavily in his heart. He knew he couldn't go with him, especially not with-this-he gave the swell a single stroke-but maybe…He should go. Just sneak in and be there to help in case something goes wrong.

~But, Krad will be there and…~ As his heart sped up at the thought he felt the baby's heart speed up too and calmed himself.

~If he sees me like this it's all over. He'll find out. I'll never see Dark again.~ He turned to one side and pulled his pajama top down over the bulge.

~But I can't just sit here not knowing. I'll just go, and stay hidden, after he leaves to steal it tonight.~ He looked at Dark's bare back and the two black streaks that were his wings folded discreetly between his shoulder blades. ~If I had never sunk my nails into you that day, you'd still be human. But I'm so glad that I met you, and I hope that as the years go by you won't…come to resent all this time. ~ He curled up as best he could and closed his eyes.

~And if it wasn't for you, my baby would probably …not have lived.~ Without warning, almost instantaneously, Daisuke was asleep.

Dark got up early as usual and slid out of bed to make sure not to wake Daisuke up, then went to the bathroom to start his morning routine.

He'd been thinking as usual and wondered if in fact they should sell this honking mansion and buy a smaller house instead. The only problem was Towa and Argentine- but he could probably use the money he'd get from the sale to get them settled somewhere and keep the rest of it for Daisuke, the child, and himself.

But mostly for the baby. He'd have to sell all the artwork underground too. The thief spat in the sink, adjusted his collar and sighed. This double- job thing was wearing him thin so it was probably the best idea. If they were going to move it'd have to be soon too- once Dai got much bigger he wouldn't be able to hide it under coats and jackets, and then the questions would start, and then…He gave his hair four sharp strokes with a hairbrush and headed back to the bedroom, pausing as he saw ruby orbs underneath Dai's shock of hair. "Hey, sorry…Didn't mean to wake you up." Dark pushed hair off his forehead and kissed him lightly.

"I have to bring the Mahou home, so I won't be back until real late, Dai." He closed his eyes happily again and asked, "When we're you going to go get it…?"

Dark rubbed his head and tucked the covers over Dai's shoulder before stepping away. "Around seven. Now remember what I said Daisuke- I will not risk you and the baby getting hurt, so stay here."He didn't make eye contact but nodded and pulled the covers up closer to his neck. Dark smiled at him and then left, his smell still lingering in the room. At around six- thirty he dressed and prepared to leave, not bothering to inform Argentine or Towa of where he was going.

He'd snagged a recent map of the museum, and the Mahou was on the third floor, so it wouldn't be too difficult to sneak in as long as he got there early.

Dark would be distraction enough- nobody would be looking for a chubby redheaded kid. He wound his way through the enormous crowd and resisted the urge to keep his hands around his belly, being herded forward by news groups and throngs of people. Eventually he managed to break away and get around the back of the building and then he slipped a hairpin out from behind his ear and jiggled it in the doorknob until it opened. ~Their security really does suck.~

He shut the door quietly behind him and discreetly avoided the group of policemen on the first floor, hiding behind a statue of a giant before heading up the stairs and settling on the third floor between a huge stone pillar. The pillar had deep people sized grooves in it and he sat in one of them, the one closest to the wall.

Here, he was able to see the 'Mahou Shukkou' across the room but nobody could see him unless he wanted to be seen. Daisuke tightened his red and orange scarf and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his white jacket, pausing to look at the time. Only fifteen more minutes now. His heart was pounding-maybe he shouldn't have come at all; after all he was pregnant now… It wasn't just about his safety anymore, and if Krad really started to hurt Dark he didn't know if he could just sit here.

Just as he stood up to leave though Krad himself stepped into the room in his usual police attire, his large eyes sweeping across the room in an arc, and Daisuke sank back down. Even now he could feel that piercing gaze analyzing, searching, taking notes of the small imperfections of the room for use later.

The blonde walked over to the 'Mahou Shukkou' and ran his large hand over the glossy grey surface of the mirror, checking to make sure the piece was still genuine. Daisuke heard him give a small snort of satisfaction after running one finger along the frame of the piece and then he left, his own personal scent lingering in the air, something sharp and lemony. Despite himself he cupped the bulge in his abdomen under his jacket and felt a timid sort of thrill at seeing Krad again.

~You didn't even sense it. This life in me that belongs to you.~ He tuned in to the warmth and prepared himself for Dark's arrival- he needed to stay quiet because of this. Daisuke waited for a while longer and Dark did indeed appear, slipping into the room from a low air vent on the left hand side of the room and taking off his shoe, throwing it at the mirror. It flew about to the center of the room and suddenly split into two halves that landed on the ground one after the other. ~What…?~

He heard a soft curse, then a flurry of feathers flew across the room as well. About half of them were abruptly cut partially and fluttered down to the stone floor dejectedly. ~Wires! But when did they-~ Dark suddenly shot across the room, his form twisting and jerking away from the invisible lines until he was nearly all the way over to the mirror- when some unseen force slammed him into the window. Daisuke brought his hands up to his mouth and tears sprang into his eyes as he forced himself not to scream. ~DARK!~

He could see the dull sheen of what must have been at least six wires trapped under his body, sawing into his flesh, and red liquid stained the lines so he could see them much more clearly. "Well, well…" A familiar velvet voice purred, and Daisuke didn't even need to crane his head to see who that voice belonged to.

"Gh-Krad! Why can't you just leave me the hell alone?" He didn't struggle though- if he did, the wires would just dig themselves deeper, so he did nothing as Krad made his leisurely way over to him. "Because you have something in your possession that I want back, mousy." Dark couldn't do anything besides flinch and grit his teeth angrily as Krad nuzzled along the curve of his neck. "Although, I do hope you've had as much fun with him as I have…" The thief finally recoiled away from him and spat, "He doesn't want to be with you anymore Krad, why the fuck do you think he ran away?" Krad backhanded him, hard- Daisuke could hear the sound of skin hitting skin from there, and as Dark spat on the ground he saw streaks of pinkish-red mixed into the saliva. "You're beautiful, but that mouth of yours-"

He sighed and rubbed his raw hand, then placed it on Dark's ribs. "So tell me…where is he?" The phantom started again, "Why in –" then broke off into a scream as Daisuke heard a small delicate snap. "I said, where is he? I'll break every one of those pretty ribs if I have to." The tears were flowing freely down the redhead's cheeks now, he just couldn't take it. Krad was literally torturing him. He didn't know how- well, he did- Krad was increasing the weight of gravity around each of Dark's ribs until they cracked under the strain. He knew he shouldn't have come. "Maybe I should break some in the back too-"

Dark fought as best he could but he was virtually crucified by the strings and Krad's hand eventually snuck up and touched his right wingtip, stroking the feathers he'd caught with his thumb. " Hmm? What's this?" He used one of the wires to cut through the rest of Dark's shirt and took the article off with a flourish, throwing it to the ground. "Get …off …me!" The purple-haired Kaitou panted but was ignored as Krad investigated his captive ex-lover's back thoroughly, feeling out the tight curve of the wings at the top and the way the tendons tapered out near the ends. " Wings? How splendid. Can you fly with them?" Dark looked the other way and Krad pushed in where he had broken the rib until he whimpered again. "Answer me."

"Yeah, I can, ok!" Dark blurted angrily and Krad grinned at him.

"Lovely. And tell me…How would you feel if you were trapped here on the Earth once more, now that you have tasted freedom?" Dark's eyes widened as the meaning hit him. "You wouldn't…" Krad faked deep thought and continued to touch and fondle the delicate appendage. "Well, let's see, if you disclose the hiding place of a certain redhead…" The thief's face hardened, "He's with me ok? That's all you need to-" Krad grabbed his chin with his other hand and hissed,

"I need the address, fool. Either that, or you can simply hand him over." They both went quiet for a moment and Daisuke held his breath until Dark finally answered, predictably, "G-Go to hell."

The blonde pouted, "Ah, I see. Then say goodbye…to flight." and twisted his right arm until Daisuke heard a very audible, bone-grinding CRACK.

Dark screamed again, a thousand times worse and before reason or thought could catch up with instinct he was out from behind the pillar and running to his kind master, adding in a scream of his own.

"DARK!" Then, those golden eyes turned to him and the angel smiled kindly, warmly, as if welcoming him home. "Oh, hello Daisuke."

:( Sorry Krads such a bastard in this one...A well. Reviews would be lovely!