He reached the bottom, and the door opened before he even had a chance to knock. He backed up quickly as a young couple walked out, the woman carrying a puppy. A voice emerged from behind them. "I wish you good luck with your pet, and do not hesitate to call if you need anything."
"Thank you," The man says, and the two walk up the stairs.
Chris looked into the doorway to see where the first voice had come from. It was D. No, wait, it wasn't. It couldn't be. He looked closely at the lovely creature standing in front of him. The man standing in front of him
could have been D's twin, and the deep violet cheongsam with a brilliant peacock dancing across it that he was wearing was reminiscnt of the former D's, gracing his elegant form just as well. But this was not him, even
discounting the 20 year difference. The elegant features of this stranger's face were not D's, as similar as the two were. Not to mention that both eyes were the same color, and the ebony hair was neatly parted and pulled
back.
"Hello, I am Count D; here you will find love, hope and dreams. How may I help you, sir?" The young shopkeeper asked in a soft, sultry tone.
At the sound of his voice, Chris blushed as his childhood crush on his former caretaker once again came to the surface.
He cleared his throat and concentrated on being professional. "Sorry, no love or dreams for me today. I'm Agent Chris Orcot with the FBI, and I need to ask you a few questions."
"Oh? Please, come in. I'll make some tea." The slender bishounen headed toward the back of the shop. Chris was startled to see a long pigtail swish through the air behind him as he turned, having expected a much shorter
hairstyle.
"Take your time." Chris looked around the petshop. It wasn't much different from the old one he remembered from his past. Only the animals were different. He sighed. Whoever this new shopkeeper was, he was a lot
like the old one.
He thought back to the time he had spent at the old shop. He had loved D, but it had been a childish emotion, more admiration than real love. Besides, even as young as he had beeen, he could see the veiled exchanges of
affection between his older brother and the pet shop owner. He knew he had never had a chance, even if he hadn't been so young.
*Poor Leon. I bet he never even admitted his feelings.* He had woken in the hospital a more quiet and subdued individual, but no less irritable, even more so, actually. Chris suspected that his detective brother had never
really gotten over the loss. As much as he had wanted to emulate his brother as a child, there were some things that Chris didn't want to repeat in his own life. That was one of them.
He turned his mind to more immediate problems. He knew he was attracted to this younger version of the count right off the bat, which was going to make his life very difficult. He reminded himself to be very careful about
falling in love with someone he knew was going to be under investigation for the indefinite future.
He finished wandering around the room and sat down. A long haired silver cat bounded up into his lap. He looked in surprise to see that she had two tails. *A mutation, or an exotic species?* "Well, aren't you a pretty
one," he said out loud, as he started to stroke her soft fur. She meowed something, then purred happily. *I remember seeing the pets in human form when I was little... Was that real, or just the effects of a childish imagination??* He certainly didn't see anything more than animals now.
The younger D returned just as the buxom, scantily clad catgirl rolled over in Chris' lap, and invited him to rub her belly, which he did. D barely managed to keep a straight face as the agent ran a hand up and down her
chest. The kitty looked up at the shopkeeper. *I like this one. Do you think he'll take me?* she asked. *He's not looking for a pet, I'm afraid,* D replied in Chinese, *now please get off him.*
With a haughty twitch of her tails, she bounced off Chris and disappeared somewhere in the shop. Chris watched her go, somewhat disapppointed, then shrugged. He had more important things to worry about. D poured them both tea, and sat down.
"That was a neko no oni, from Japan, a very rare species indeed. They are very good for protection."
"If you say so. Do they all have two tails?"
"Of course. So, Mr. Agent, you are related to Detective Leon Orcot?"
*He does know something about that.* "Um, yeah, I'm his little brother. If you don't mind me saying so, you look like the D I knew when I was a kid. You even use his name."
D smiled slightly. "That would have been *my* older brother. As for my name, it is a traditional nickname in my family. I see you also closely resemble your elder, Agent Orcot."
"But without the nasty temper," Chris said, "That's what I've been told, anyway."
D laughed lightly at that.
"How do you know what he looks like anyway?"
"Oh, my brother left a few pictures behind. Some of them had writing on the back by a woman named Jill."
It was Chris' turn to laugh.
"Would you like to see them?"
"Yes, but not right now. I do have to ask you some things about the case I'm working on."
D looked disappointed . "But you know, we can talk more about personal stuff later." Chris said quickly, "It's just that I have to get back to the office in about an hour, and I don't have the time now."
D's face brightened. *He's so beautiful* Chris thought. He wondered if he really would be able to stay on topic and find out what he needed to know before he had to go to the records office to get those documents he requested...
"What is it that you need to know?" The young count asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"Well, um.." He nervously fumbled through the folder containing the case papers. Suddenly his eyes lit on the package he had brought. "Oops. Here, I forgot to give this to you."
D raised his eyebrows, then beamed in pleasure as Chris hands him the box. "You really did not have to do this, Mr. Agent."
Chris was using the time D took opening the package to pull out what he needed from the file.
`"Wh-? Oh, it's no problem. I figured you probably had a sweet tooth, too. What I need to know is where I can find this man. He's a serial killer. The FBI has been trying to catch him for quite a while, now. A really
freaky character. He only kills at night, and his victims always look like they've been ripped apart by a wild animal. There's no pattern to the victims he chooses, either, or any apparent motive. My sources tell me he
paid you a visit a few weeks ago, so I'd like to know why, and if you have any indication of where he may have gone." He extended a photo across the table to hand it to D.
Instead of taking it, however, the young kami got up and moved over to Chris' side, sitting down next to him on the couch, then looking at the proffered picture. Chris' face, which had just barely returned to normal, once again turned beet red as the other man invaded his personal space.
D pretended not to notice. "Ah, the werewolf. Yes, he came here looking for a cure to his condition. Unfortunately, I could not help him, as the only way to stop his transformation is to kill him, I'm afraid. It's very sad; he has no control over what he does when he is in his other form."
Chris put a hand to his face. He had expected this, but it was no less aggravating. How was he going to put in his report that his suspect was a lycanthropic deviant? *Okay, next question...*
"Did he give you any indication of where he was going or what he was going to do before he left?"
"I am very sorry, no. He became quite upset when I told him I could not help, and ran out without another word."
Chris leaned back against the couch. "Another dead end. Great."
"Your suspect cannot control his instincts. He will expose himself again." D said, trying to be reassuring.
"Yeah, but how many more people is he going to kill before we stop him?"
"That, I cannot say. You are letting your tea get cold, Mr. Agent."
Chris picked up his cup and finished it off. "If there's nothing else you can tell me, I need to get going."
"Perhaps you can come back later?" D asked hopefully.
"Sure, I can call you tonight after I get off duty. Is that OK?"
"Of course." D clasped Chris' hand as they stood up. The agent gave a quick squeeze before pulling away and leaving the petshop.
D turned to the group of catgirls who had been watching the handsome agent leave. "I'm not sharing him, so do not get your hopes up, ladies." They mewled in disappointment and the group dispersed.
*******************************************************************************************
Some time later that evening came the knock on the petshop door. D opened the door to reveal the FBI agent in more casual clothing.
"Come in, Agent Orcot."
"I'm off duty now, you can call me Chris."
"As you wish."
They headed toward the sitting area, where tea had already been laid out. Out of the corner of his eye, Chris thought he saw a little boy running toward him. But it was a little brown monkey that jumped and scrambled up
to sit on his shoulder. Chris chuckled. "Hey there, little guy." *Hello, big brother* Chris blinked. *And now
I'm hearing things.*
"Not now, ryu-chan," D said to the animal.
"Oh, it's okay, I don't mind," Chris said.
Chris let the monkey sit in his lap as they sat down on the couch. They talked for a few minutes, enjoying their tea, and D pulled out the pictures he had mentioned before. They looked normal enough. Leon at the office, D and Leon talking, D and Leon arguing (that was a surprise, not!), a few others. Chris took a sip of tea, and then struggled not to spit it out as D showed him the next one. He managed to swallow, and burst out laughing.
Leon was carrying D in his arms at the station, probably because of the bandage that could be seen wrapped around the count's ankle. The really funny part was that D was kissing the detective's cheek, who looked utterly appalled at the gesture. Chris regained his composure and looked at the back.
//D, Leon doesn't know that I took this picture. So if you like it, don't let him see it. Who knows what he would do. Love, Jill.//
Chris laughed some more. "I'd ask you to let me take this and show it to Leon, but Jill was right; you probably wouldn't get it back in one piece."
D smiled softly in reponse. They finished looking at the pictures. While some of the others would have been embarrassing to Leon had he known about them, none had quite the shock value as that one. After they finished looking at them, D neatly slid them back into the package they came from.
The young count turned back to Chris and smiled pleasantly. The FBI agent stared into his deep violet eyes, and felt that he could drown in them... The next thing he knew he was liplocked with D. He wasn't even sure how it had happened. But he didn't didn't fight as a long, slender tongue slipped into his mouth, sliding along his own.
Chris hadn't kissed a lot of guys, but D was an incredible kisser, much better than any of his ex's. He kissed
D passionately, clutching the count tightly to him. After several minutes he broke away abruptly, gasping for breath. D's hands were still holding him by the sides of his face, and the kami tilted the agent's head back,
giving him access to his neck, and continued his feverish kissing there. Chris moaned softly. Then his cell phone rang.
He answered it, much to D's irritation. "Yes, this is Agent Orcot," he breathed, barely keeping his voice under control. "Shit! I'm on my way!" He turned to tell D he had to go, but he suddenly felt a compelling force
telling him to stay, and was back in D's arms in a second. After a couple more intense kisses, Chris remembered he was supposed to be leaving, but as he tried to pull away, he found it difficult, D being stronger than he seemed, and not wanting to stop just yet. "D! I have to go! They've found the suspect and they need backup!"
Finally, D let him go. "Be careful, Chris, werewolves have strong survival instincts."
"Can I kill it with normal bullets?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then I'm good to go! I'll see you later!" Chris yelled as he ran out the door.
D huffed in irritation as the door slammed. Why would Chris want to go back to work rather than stay with him? Humans had such odd priorities.
As Chris drove down the street, his head started to clear. *What the fuck was that?* he wondered. He never kissed anyone on the first date, or the second, third, or fourth for that matter. Shit, he went farther in those
few minutes than he did after dating someone for months. He could still feel D's lips burning on his skin. How could he give in to infatuation so easily? That was all it was, right?
When he arrived at the scene, the police and FBI had a decent sized park surrounded. He quickly found his partner.
"It's about time you got here!" he said.
"Hey, I was off duty and I had a date." Chris replied.
"Was he cute? It was a guy, right?"
"Yes, and a gorgeous one at that. What's the situation?"
"He's somewhere in the park. We've been assigned to sweep the southwest corner. The city police already have some people out there."
"Let's go, then."
Flashlights and guns in hand, they ran into the woods.
"Do you see those tracks?" Chris asked after a while.
"Yeah, and they look like they were just made, too." Both of them moved with more caution as they followed the tracks, making as little noise as possible. Chris' partner called in what he had found.
"Hey Chris," he said as he put his phone away, "they've lost contact with one of the cops out here, so keep an eye out."
"Got it." They didn't talk after that, but kept themselves constantly aware of their surroundings. Suddenly, a shrill scream broke the dark stillness. The two agents took off running toward the source of the sound. Chris saw a body lying on the ground up ahead. He waved to his partner, and they ran over to investigate. It was one of the local cops, presumably the one missing. He and his partner exchanged a look. The man was dead, but
fresh blood was still slowly oozed from the massive gashes on his body.
Chris was suddenly knocked back by a grey blur, and he heard his partner scream. He fired several shots at the beast. It howled in pain and turned toward him. It was a humanoid wolf, standing on two feet. He fired again, emptying his clip, but it still came after him, inflicting several wounds before it collapsed and died, reverting back to a normal wolf.
Chris found he didn't have the strength to push the corpse off of him. He distantly heard voices yelling, coming his way, but he was so tired...
*******************************************************************************************
Chris awoke in the hospital the next day. His boss got up from where he was sitting and walked over to the bedside, as he saw the agent was awake."Director Hamilton? What happened?" Chris asked groggily.
"You got mauled by a wolf, although the doctors swear the scratches look like they came from a hand rather than a paw."
"Sure looked like a normal wolf to me," Chris lied, "I didn't have any idea they could move so fast, though." There was no way he was going to tell his boss what he saw. He'd probably get reassigned to the x-files, if he was lucky.
"Well, the animal we found on top of you sure looked like an ordinary wolf. Did that petshop owner give you any information on the suspect?"
"Just some nonsense about him being a werewolf."
The director snorted. "Well, we still need to find Mr. Fenstein and see if he really did have anything to do with that wolf."
*Good luck* "I don't want anything more to do with this case. Send it to Spooky Mulder. I'm sure he would have a field day with it."
"Don't worry, I understand completely." He paused for a moment. "Look, I have some bad news for you...your partner didn't make it. His wounds were much more serious than yours...he bled to death before we even got him to the hospital. I'm sorry."
Chris nodded numbly. He and his partner hadn't been close friends, not having worked together for much time, but they got along, and worked well together. He certainly hadn't wanted to see him killed.
The director continued, "The doctors say it'll take a couple of weeks for you to heal up enough to leave the hospital, so take it easy, Ok?"
"Sure. Thanks for coming by."
"Oh, and one last thing. You're being permanently assigned to the San Francisco unit. Just so you know. We'll see about finding you a new partner, too. It might take a while, though. I'll come around every couple of days to see how you're doing."
"I'll see you then."
He leaned back against the pillow as the other man left. *They must've pumped me full of painkillers. I can hardly feel anything.* He stared at the ceiling. *Well, at least I'm closer to home now.*
Drowsily, he heard voices outside his room. Then D came in carrying a package of something wrapped in blue silk.
Chris tried to sit up, but D motioned him to stay put. He sat down next to the blond human and placed a graceful hand on top of the human's. "You should not have gone," he said.
"I had to. It's my job. The danger just comes with the territory."
"Hm." D lightly took Chris's wrist, lifting the injured arm slightly, and started to undo the bandages on Chris' arm, revealing nasty gashes that had been stitched up.
"What are you doing?!" Chris asked, startled.
"I have something to help you heal faster," D said calmly, opening the package, and pulling out a jar of some unidentifiable substance. He stuck several fingers into the goo, and spread it over the wounds. "Umm.." was
all Chris could say in response. Some of the redness disappeared almost immediately.
D replaced the bandages and repeated the process with the wounds on the agent's shoulder. Chris reddened slightly as D pulled the sheet down so that it barely covered his hips. But as D gently stroked his torso with
soft, smooth hands, Chris sighed and relaxed, enjoying the physical contact. Too soon D finished and replaced the lid on the salve. He then took up Chris' hand again and kissed the palm. Chris breathed softly at the contact
of those beautiful lips on his skin. Looking the agent directly in the eye D slowly and sensuously took a couple of fingers into his mouth, running his tongue along the captured digits.
This was going way too far for Chris. "D.." he started to protest,and tried to pull his hand away. He was cut off as his lips were smothered by D's. There seemed to be no such thing as a simple kiss with the count, as Chris
felt like he was being devoured by the kami's mouth as it moved against his own. He closed his eyes and all thoughts of protest left his mind as he surrendered to his lover's passion.
They were still kissing when Leon entered the room. "What the fuck?!" he exclaimed.
D stopped and looked at Chris' brother. Leon was hit with a sudden sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. The young kami looked exactly like Papa D. Not that D and his father were easy to tell apart, but there was something in those violet eyes that spoke of the father rather than the brother.
"Hey, could I talk to Chris for a moment?"
D nodded and politely left the room.
Leon turned his attention to his brother, who still looked pretty dazed, a combination of arousal and the foreign chemicals running through his system.
"You doing okay?" he asked.
Chris nodded.
"So that's the guy you were telling me about. Doesn't waste any time, does he?" Leon shook his head in disbelief. "Take my advice- don't get involved with a kami. It's more trouble than it's worth."
"Is that the voice of experience? I don't know what's gotten into me. I've hardly even met him, and last night we ended up necking on the couch like a couple of teenagers..." Leon gave him a disgusted that's-way-too-much-information look. "It's like there's some weird force drawing me to him."
That sounded all too familiar to Leon. "Yeah, the Count got under my skin like that, too. I couldn't stay away from the petshop, no matter how much I wanted to."
Chris looked at him in shock. In twenty years, he could count the number of times Leon mentioned D or the petshop on his hand, and never once had he mentioned his relationship with the Count.
Leon broke out in a fit of coughing, then was quiet for a moment, some indescribable emotion contorting his features. Chris wondered what he was thinking. Then he continued, "I'm not like you, you know, and I still
wanted him- I couldn't handle it. He'd try to get close to me...and I'd push him away." The older detective started to shake slightly. "I loved him, and I- I pushed him away...until it was too late..." he choked out,
tears starting to work their way down his cheeks. "And now he's gone. I don't know why I'm telling you not to fall in love with his brother; if I couldn't resist, I know you don't stand a chance."
He wiped the tears from his cheeks and fled the room, unable to speak anymore. A very stunned Chris watched him go. He'd expected a lecture from Leon, but breaking down like that...he'd never seen his brother do that
before.
D stood in the hallway feeling somewhat aggravated. He didn't understand it. The human wanted him- he could see it, feel it, smell it. And yet the FBI agent still resisted him. The night before he shouldn't have had the
capacity to answer his phone, yet he did. And even despite the fact D had exerted every force of his will to make Chris stay, he had left. How was it possible? Even now he was reluctant. Why? Why wouldn't he give in? And who knows what his brother was telling him right now. From what he had heard about the detective, it couldn't be good.
He jumped slightly as Leon burst from the room. The big man sat down on one of the chairs in the hallway and tried to get himself under control. D walked over and sat down next to him. "I will not harm your brother, or
allow him to come to harm, if that is your concern.
Leon's only response was to shake his head, sobs still choking him. Several minutes passed in silence. Finally, Leon was able to speak. "Look, Chris' love life isn't really any of my business. Personally, I'd rather not know
the details, but I will tell you this: Chris has been burned before. He's very cautious now, so don't push him too much."
"I would never-"
"Yes, you would. I'm no expert on your kind, but I know more than most people. You usually get what you want, one way or another. I'm just asking, don't push my brother anywhere he doesn't want to go. Your brother did that to me, and I'm still paying for it." Leon stood up and wiped the remaining moisture from his face. "That's my two cents. Take it or leave it. I hope things work out better between you two." And with that he left a very confused D sitting in the hallway.
*What does he mean, to not push him where he does not want to go? He wants very much to do what I want him to. How can that be harmful?* D got up and walked back into Chris's room. The agent had already fallen back to sleep. He brushed some of the stray locks away from Chris' face. *I will never hurt you* He kissed the human's forehead and left.