Revenge Exchange

A/N: Hello, everyone. This is my first story in the Pet Shop of Horrors fandom, but I can hope that I don’t mess anything up…Anyway, this first chapter is primarily to set up things. But I like it just fine, because just like in the rest of the story, I get to use my favorite character, Ten-chan. My Ten-chan is a sneaky, meddlesome little guy, who likes to push people’s buttons. This might be out of character. I’m not sure. He seems like he could be that kind of person, if you ask me. Hm. On to warnings, which will be specific to each chapter...

Warnings:

FL--Foul Language
S-ai--Slight Shounen-ai hinting.

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Title: Revenge Exchange
Author: antilogicgirl
Series: Pet Shop of Horrors
Date Started: 9-7-2007
Date Completed: 10-6-2007

Summary: In which Chris has a birthday on the Chinese New Year, Leon’s past comes back to haunt him, and D is caught in the middle of it all.

Mood Music for writing: Regina Spektor’s album, Begin to Hope.

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Chapter 1: Homecoming

“There’s no place like home…”
--Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz

“I’m bored,” a gruff voice from behind the couch said. When D turned his head slightly, he saw Tot-chan standing with his arms crossed over his chest, and an annoyed look on his face. Sighing slightly, he set down his cup, and turned his body to the right, so that he might better be able to look at the disgruntled goat-boy.

Things had been a bit strained as of late in the shop. Christopher was visiting with his aunt and uncle, and since the boy was usually the one to keep him occupied, Tot-chan had been exceedingly restless for the past three days. However, D had one piece of information that would brighten his day. “But you know, it isn’t so bad, Tot-chan.” He toyed with the edge of his sleeve, the blood-red silk tickling his skin slightly, and the corners of his mouth curved upward. “Christopher is coming back tomorrow.”

A dull red color rose in Tot-chan’s cheeks. “Why do I care when that brat’s gonna be back? He can stay with those stupid people for all I care.” D’s right eyebrow rose, lending his smile a wry quality. Tot-chan simply grumbled under his breath and stomped out of the room. D’s smile widened. It never ceased to entertain him the way Tot-chan was absolutely adamant about how much he did not care for the human boy, and yet he was only truly content if he was harassing the child.

A slender finger ran playfully down the back of his neck, leading to a hand that then slid onto his shoulder. In his left ear, he heard a sultry voice. “And what are you up to?” D did not need to look to know that Ten-chan had decided to grace the front of the shop with his presence. He also did not ask why. The little trickster would let him know in time. No doubt it was for some mischievous reason of his own. The changeling fox gracefully settled himself onto the cushions of the couch, laying his head in D’s lap.

His silvery white braid fell down D’s left thigh, and he closed his eyes when D began running his nails through the wild hair that escaped the plait. A deep almost growling purr rose in the back of Ten-chan’s throat before D decided to answer. “It has been a slow day, Ten-chan. There have only been three customers, and no one purchased anything. Grandfather would be ashamed of me, I think.”

The golden eyes behind pale lids opened, and Ten-chan smiled. “Not everyone needs the kind of pets in this shop, you know. But it’s rather boring around here without…certain people, isn’t it, D?”

D’s eyes narrowed, not enjoying Ten-chan’s tone, or the insinuation it produced. “So you miss Christopher as well?”

Ten-chan’s smile widened, forming a grin. In a sing-song way, he said, “That’s not who I meant.” Now, D’s eyes had become thin slits, showing only the smallest bit of gold and violet. His mouth turned down into a frown, and his fingers ceased their movement.

Fixing Ten-chan with a hard stare, D’s voice came as a warning tone. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you came out of your room simply to vex me…”

“Come now,” Ten-chan said around his smile, “you must admit. There is never a dull moment when that loud-mouth is around.”

Now D shared the mirth in which Ten-chan seemed immersed. “That is true. Leon Orcot is probably the most unpredictable human I have ever come across.” D’s lips curved upward once more. He thought over all the meetings he had with the detective. There were times when the police officer would storm through the front doors, demanding that he come quietly, because Leon had finally found something for which he could arrest D. These incidents always ended in the same way. Detective Orcot often got a scolding from his Captain, and always bought D sweets as an apology. Whether Leon did this as an order from his superior or if it was something done out of guilt, it did not really matter. The worse the infraction, the better the treats he was given afterward.

Then there were the times when he simply came over to impose himself upon the shop’s—and D’s—gracious hospitality. The man could eat his own weight in Madame Crousset’s highly expensive custard tarts, and drank more tea than was healthy when he wanted to. Still, there were those odd moments when he surprised D, not with his ineptitude or utter tactlessness, but with his immeasurable kindness. One image in particular sprang to the front of D’s mind: Leon Orcot barging once again into the shop, hefting a sack full of gifts for Christopher, all the while wearing a cheap dime-store Santa Claus hat.

It took quite a lot to keep from giggling at the thought. But it had been the look on Christopher’s face that had surprised him most. The boy, though much gentler than Leon, obviously adored his brother, and every ounce of that emotion showed. When the boy had gaped in surprise, and then nearly cried out of happiness, it made D quite warm inside. Perhaps what the world needed was a bit more of that feeling.

D sighed again. “Yes…very unpredictable.” He started scratching Ten-chan’s head again, and leaned back against the arm of the couch. The purring sound intensified in volume, and he felt the fox-boy’s face nuzzle at his leg. “But,” D mused, “that does not mean that it is a bad thing. We have had some very interesting times since we met the Detective and his brother.” Ten-chan nodded his agreement. “And I am sure,” D leaned his head to the side, against the back of the brocade couch, “that our adventures are not over yet.”

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Leon Orcot leaned back in the chair at his desk, glancing around the station room. Everyone bustled around, delivering files to the records department in the basement, or rushing off to deal with one case or another. His desk was curiously free of paperwork, for he had taken a few days off, and had just finished doling out his load to several other detectives. Now, all he had to do was let the Captain know he was going.

Having rarely taken any vacation time, Leon had plenty saved up. He decided that since the Chinese New Year was approaching, it might be nice for Chris if they could go to the festivities. The fact that it coincided with the kid’s birthday made it a double-whammy, and he wanted it to be something special for him. After all, they could retire to D’s pet shop when they got tired. His brother seemed to like playing with the animals there, and it was doing him a world of good. Chris seemed happier when he was there, and Leon was grudgingly grateful to D for that. Not that he would hesitate to put handcuffs on the guy if he caught him doing something illegal…One look at his watch told him that Chris’s plane was going to be landing in half an hour. He stood and grabbed his jacket. The captain was across the room, talking to Jill. “Hey Cap, Jill! I’m out! See you on Monday!”

The Captain nodded, and Jill waved, calling, “Say hello to Chris for me, Leon! And if you see D, tell him that I’ll bring him some of my mother’s raspberry tarts!” Leon nodded, laughing. Sometimes, he thought that Jill liked D a bit too much. He expected to walk in that shop one day, and see her sitting there, trading makeup tips with the Chinese man. Thoughts of slumber parties and feminine silliness filled his head as he made his way to the elevator, and Leon wasn’t sure if he should laugh or wince.

The early morning was clear, without a cloud in the sky. It was actually pretty nice. Leon got into his car, and jammed it into gear. He might have to get the transmission looked at soon. The first gear was getting a little sticky, and it was hard to get it out sometimes. But that, he decided, could wait. What was important right now was getting through the first rush hour of the day to pick up Chris at the airport.

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The little hallway led out onto the main portion of the arrivals and departures area, and Christopher Orcot held the hand of a woman he had never really met until today. Her name was Grace. Grace was a flight attendant, and she was there to ensure that he did not get lost. She also was to make certain that he got his suitcase and did not leave with anyone besides Leon. As they walked down the hall, Grace asked him a few questions. “What does your brother do, Chris?” After a moment of thinking, he mimed an arrest. “A policeman?” Chris nodded. “Is he a nice man?” Another nod, this one more vigorous.

Leon was really nice, even if he had problems. If you believed everything Count D said, you’d think that Leon was some kind of caveman that didn’t know how to behave himself. While Chris did think that his brother’s table manners weren’t as good as D’s, he loved his brother all the same. Now they were in the baggage claim area. He watched for his suitcase as the loud conveyor belt trundled along, and after about ten minutes, the small black bag came into view. He recognized it because Leon had put a bright red tag on the handle, with a picture of the two of them at Christmas.

He reached for his case, but a larger hand got there first. He turned, his eyes finding the front of a black Van Halen t-shirt. When he looked up, he saw Leon’s face, smiling. “Heya, kiddo.”

“Leon!” Chris thought, throwing himself at his brother. His arms tightened around Leon’s waist, and he felt his brother laughing before he heard it.

“Hey…I’m glad to see you too. What’s say we get home?” Leon’s voice above him was reassuring. The plane ride had been a little scary since he was alone. He was talking to Grace now. “Thanks for taking care of my brother. Can I take him home now?”

Grace’s voice seemed a little different now. “It’s just a formality. I need to see your driver’s license.” After another moment, Chris disengaged himself from Leon’s waist so that his brother could get his wallet. Then, they were off.

When they got to the car, Leon asked, “How was your trip?”

“It was nice. We went to the zoo, and had birthday cake, even though my birthday isn’t until tomorrow.” Leon nodded. Chris then looked out of the window. He couldn’t wait to tell Tot-chan all about his trip to the zoo.

When he asked how long it would be until they got to go to D’s shop, Leon grinned as he eased the car into the traffic that had already started clogging the street. “I thought…maybe soon. The Chinese New Year is this Saturday—which is tomorrow, Chris—and there will be fireworks and all kinds of other fun stuff in Chinatown. D probably won’t go to the big street party, but I guess we could go and visit him when we’re done there. What do you think?” Overjoyed, Chris bobbed up and down in his seat. Leon chuckled. “I thought you’d like that.”

“I like visiting the Count, Leon. He’s really nice, and everyone else is fun to play with, even if Tot-chan gets a bit nippy when he’s annoyed.”

Leon cursed lightly as he swerved to avoid being hit by a large truck. “That weird goat thing try to bite you, Chris?” He was distracted, and Chris was pretty sure that Leon should be concentrating on the road, but he answered him anyway.

“Only sometimes. Like I said, he’s a little impatient, so he bites.” Leon nodded, and then his attention waned, since he was keeping his eyes on the road. It was not very long before they were back at the apartment building they lived in. On the way up, Leon got the mail, and then they took the elevator up to the sixth floor. When they got to the door, his brother unlocked it, then pushed into the place. It was unusually clean. Maybe Leon had put in some extra effort since he was coming home?

But then, Chris saw that Leon looked confused, too. His voice suddenly became serious. Quietly, he set the small suitcase in the hallway, pushing Chris back outside as well. “Chris, hold the mail and stay right there.” Confused, but wary now that Leon had pulled out his pistol, Chris nodded, and pressed himself against the wall to the left of the door.

Leon left the door open, so Chris could hear his footsteps (muffled by the carpet) as he entered the place, and the click of the switch as he flipped on the lights in the living room to get a better look at the place. His hands started to feel sweaty. Was something wrong? Chris felt nervous, like something was going to jump out at him at any moment. Then he heard a familiar voice. “My dear Detective…is there really any need for the gun?”

“D! What the hell are you doing here?!” Leon’s voice boomed throughout the apartment, and into the hallway where Chris stood. If it was the Count, could he go in now? Just as he was thinking that, Leon yelled, “It’s okay, Chris! Come in!” When Chris pulled the door behind him, he saw Count D sitting in a chair. He was wearing one of his pretty long shirt-things, and it was a dark blue. His legs were crossed, as were his arms, and he was looking rather exasperated.

“Someone has to make this place livable, Detective. I wonder sometimes how Christopher has not caught typhoid fever, or something even worse, with some of the bacterial colonies that you had living in your kitchen sink.” Chris made a confused face at this. He wasn’t sure what D meant by it, but whatever it was, he was sure that D was not really angry. His purple and gold eyes turned to where Chris stood, and the count smiled gently. Nodding his head politely, he said, “Good morning, Christopher.”

“Good morning, Count D. Did you clean?” Chris asked, looking around at the freshly dusted surfaces, the vacuumed carpet, and a vase of fresh gladiolas on the kitchen table.

D nodded again. “I did. It was the least I could do, since I understand that your birthday is tomorrow. No one likes to come home to a dirty house. Well, almost no one…” Chris watched D’s eyes drift to Leon, who looked annoyed. But after a moment, he shook it off. Leon and D were always being snippy with each other.

Suddenly, Leon was looming over D as he took off his gun holster and dropped it on the nearby table, the thud of the gun’s butt hitting the table echoing in the room slightly. “Never mind how dirty the place was, D. How did you get in?” His arms crossed over his chest, and Leon glared down at their guest. Chris edged back toward the couch, and set the mail down. He felt something brush his arm.

“Hey, kid…” Tot-chan whispered in his ear, “…maybe we should go to your room?” Chris nodded. Leon was not happy right now, so he figured it would be a good idea to leave him alone, and let him yell. Sometimes, that was the only way to deal with him, unfortunately.

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Vaguely, he was aware of Christopher and Tot-chan retiring to the boy’s newly cleaned room. D was rather thankful for that. At least he would not need to worry about the child witnessing one of Leon’s outbursts when it got into full swing. Once the man got going, he could bluster for close to half an hour. Of course, when he did that, Leon lost track of what he was saying completely, and there was no getting it back. D looked up at a pair of very annoyed eyes that looked to be the approximate color of a mid-summer sky. Had he not been equally irritated by the human’s complete lack of gratitude, he would have enjoyed their hue.

With a sigh, D said, “I know the manager, Leon. He is an old friend of my grandfather’s. When I explained the situation, Mr. Hong was more than happy to let me in. I apologize if I moved anything important, but I assure you that my intentions were innocent.” This information put an almost instant stop to the man’s rant. A smile crossed D’s lips. “Now, if you will calm down, I have brought breakfast.”

Leon blinked, completely flabbergasted. He nodded, trying to take it in. D watched as emotions played openly over masculine, yet not un-pleasing features. First, there was lingering anger at the intrusion into his home. This, D could understand. Then came resignation. One large hand ran through unruly blonde hair, and Leon shut his eyes, calming himself visibly. “Shit, D…” he said in a defeated tone, “…just tell me next time, okay?” Once he was calm, Leon Orcot was surprisingly easy to handle. D smiled and stood to move into the kitchen.

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Watching D move around the kitchen was like seeing some kind of desperate bird attempting to gather all of its toddling hatchlings. For all of the man’s grace, Leon had finally discovered his weakness. Count D could not cook. Perhaps that was why he constantly ordered sweet things from the upscale bakery scene? Leon smiled faintly as the slender man’s attempt to re-heat a small pot of miso soup was almost laughable, but really, he had no wish to see him catch himself (or the kitchen) on fire.

“Do you want some help?” Leon asked, trying not to let D see how funny he thought it was. The slightly shorter man stopped, and then his face turned toward Leon. There was so much gratitude in D’s nervous smile that the detective suddenly felt sorry for him. Pointing at the disposable pan of food, Leon said, “Put that in the oven, and turn the center knob to the left until it reads 325º, okay D?” D quickly relinquished his hold on the pot, and moved to follow Leon’s directions.

The shopkeeper had brought them a nice breakfast, though Leon was not used to this sort of thing. Even if D didn’t eat meat, he did realize that it would be one of the easiest ways for Chris to get a good bit of his vitamins. He had included some eggs, which had been scrambled, and some fancy little meat pies. Chris would probably eat most of it. That kid could eat almost as much as Leon could. When D had followed his instructions, Leon turned to the stove. He made sure that the gas was on, and then lit the burner. It was not long before he was stirring the soup, and the smell of the miso began filling the kitchen.

Now, all that remained was to wait about ten minutes before the food in the oven was heated through, and they could eat. The soup was on a very low flame, simply to keep it warm, and he was supervising as D made toast. When the third batch popped up, Leon buttered the bread, and set aside two pieces from the rest. A curious expression came over D’s face. “What are you doing with them?”

Leon’s lopsided smile was met with a raised eyebrow and a quirk of D’s full lips. “I’m making you a treat.” D cocked his head to one side, and dark hair fell over his purple eye. Under the Count’s watchful gaze, Leon prepared a mixture of sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkled it over the melting butter in a thick layer. He set the plate in front of D, who eyed the sliced bread dubiously. “Try it,” he said flatly. The next thing he knew, D was munching merrily on his cinnamon toast. Leon snorted. All it really took to make D happy was a little sugar. “My mother used to make this for me when I was a kid,” he explained, “and I do it for Chris every now and again.”

D paused, mid-bite. He looked at Leon so long that his strangely colored eyes almost seemed to glaze over. Leon glanced around nervously, unsure of what to say to dispel the odd feeling that he got under such scrutiny. Then, the man’s slender hands set down the toast they held. Using a napkin to dab at the corners of his lips, D murmured, “You never cease to surprise me, Detective.” this enigmatic statement left Leon puzzled, but he knew better than to ask for any kind of explanation. D never gave him a straight answer, except when he was asking about a crime, and then the guy’s answer would always be something that Leon would never believe anyway.

“Chris! Come and eat!” He called, and went to the oven to take out the rest of the food. It was perfect. Leon watched D put the food on plates, and Chris took them into the dining area. He served the soup himself, since D had burned himself on the pan, forgetting to use the potholders. They ate in relative silence, with only occasional requests for certain items being passed. After everything had been consumed, Chris went into his room to sleep, since he was rather tired from the plane ride. The odd goat creature D had brought with him went trotting after Chris, seeming altogether pleased with the fact that Chris would be around to pay attention to him.

D, on the other hand, walked to the window, and pulled the curtains aside. “It is getting on,” he mused as if to himself, “but I am not opening the shop today.” This gave Leon pause as he was clearing the plates. His hand froze just as he touched Chris’s soup bowl, and he looked over to where the Chinese man stood. “I wonder, Detective…” the lilting accent of D’s voice trailed off, and Leon watched him for a long moment. The light from outside cast a warm mid-morning glow over skin that would otherwise have resembled fine, delicate china. His mismatched eyes almost closed, and he seemed to watch the cars on the street through long, coal-colored eyelashes. If Leon could forget a few key facts, he could really get used to seeing things like that. But D was still a criminal, as far as he was concerned. That, and he was one of the most infuriating people Leon had ever met. And he had to be full of shit most of the time. Though, if he was really going to be honest with himself, he would have to admit that he did forget these things. He also seemed to forget this one little detail that had been part of his life’s philosophy since he hit puberty…that D was a man, and Leon didn’t like men.

Shaking himself a little, D turned his eyes away from the street. He seemed more like himself, and not so…distracted. “I wonder, Detective, if you and Christopher might be my guests to the New Year’s celebration?” Leon set down the dishes he was already holding and stared openly at D. He had been wondering himself how he would broach the subject of their barging in. For all Leon had known, D would want to be alone on a day that was sure to be filled with noise and crowds. It appeared, however, that he had been wrong.

D’s lips curved upward, the sun painting them a very pleasant shade of pink as he continued to look out of the window at the street. “It will be an auspicious day, I think. Not only is it the start of a new year, but it is also your brother’s birthday. And…I understand that my grandfather may actually pay a visit. You will be able to see that I am indeed not the person who owns the shop.” There was a wry twist to D’s mouth now, and Leon pretended not to see. He was pretty sure that D told the truth about that, at least.

Instead of taking the bait as D no doubt expected him to, Leon nodded. “I don’t see why not. It was kind of the plan to take Chris down there to see the fireworks and the parade, anyhow.” After a single nod from the shopkeeper, D went to extend the invitation to Chris, and collect that odd goat thing. When he walked them to the door, Leon gave a little wave and a sarcastic smile as usual. “See ya, D.”

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A/N: Hey…did you like it? Drop a comment/whatever in the Review box, please. That way, we can see how our boys are doing, and give me some incentive to keep posting!!! Don’t make me use the puppy-eyes…