I wasn't able to update sooner, cause I had the biggest writer's block, and my computer currently lacks interent, so I'm doing it form my school's computer (shh, don't tell) lol. I can't write responses though, so I'm sry. If I'm able to reupdate this chapter, I'll add responses.
DNAmusement Park
It was like the world was hanging on the delicate wings of a butterfly, which the gentlest flutter of the wind could topple, Krad Hikari mused, watching the world below from atop the green and yellow roller coaster ride they were now awaiting the plummet from. The wind scattered his glowing golden hair aside, as he looked on interestingly across the amusement park he, Dark, Satoshi and Daisuke were visiting that day.
"You know they take pictures of you on this ride?" Dark Mousy commented casually giving the sun-eyed demon a laughing smirk, the constant mischief shining in his eyes, a permanent highlight to his unavoidable charm, "So stay frosty."
"Frosty?" Krad snorted.
"Frosty," the kaitou affirmed with a grin.
"Oh, and careful to keep your hair out of the way, you wouldn't want to end up like 'them'," almost yelped and hugged his long golden braid closer to him. He'd heard about 'them' the night before- a horrifying tale, even to Krad, who never let anything get to him. Unfortunate people who'd died on these rides because they had stood up or leaned to far over, and a tree branch had whacked them out of their seats into their deaths. Or because their hair had gotten caught in the machinery, and their heads pulled off. He did not want that happening to him.
Dark was enjoying himself thoroughly. Not only was he with Krad, and that brought him immense pleasure no matter how you looked at it, but he was also with Daisuke and Satoshi, not that they didn't spend enough time together, on the contrary, they were a famous foursome, but it was also that they were at the Carnival, park, whatever you wanted to call it, and he was feeling the rush of his life.
He was looking forward to having a straight talk with Satoshi, about a very important subject, and spending some quality time with Daisuke, and maybe something with Krad- and despite himself, he blushed, looking away lest the taller boy saw the scarlet tinge on his face. The kaitou was fervently hoping for a chance to show Krad some of his heartfelt affection, discarding all the silly rues and tricks, the false cover.
In any case, he'd get to that later on, right now he was eagerly awaiting to see the Hikari's reaction to their first roller coaster ride. He'd laugh so hard if Krad got scared or threw up... he was sure that his horrifying tale about 'them' had gotten to the fair-haired young man by the way he'd acted protective of his hair.
Ahead of them, Daisuke Niwa smiled happily. The youngest of the four, but often times the most insightful, and as an aspiring artist, his vantage point over the rushing, colorful, lively amusement park beneath him gave him a spark of inspiration that made him feel electrified with the possibilities of a new painting. He breathed in a gulp of fresh, clear air, in anticipation at the upcoming fall of the ride.
Besides him, blue hair hanging over his eyes, mouth firmly pressed into a thin line, Satoshi Hikari wasn't having the best time, unlike the other three high-school boys around him. He let in a thin sliver of a wavering breath through the constricting passages of his lungs, his body very clearly protesting and dreading his choice to ride the really, really, tall and fast roller-coaster. The blue-haired commander ducked low against the seat's safety bar, the cool metal calming him almost insignificantly.
Yes, Satoshi Hiwatari-Hikari- was afraid of heights. And going 90 miles-per-hour didn't help that fact at all. He, who was a police commander and had been unfazed at seeing dead bodies at crime scenes in all sorts of gruesome examples of death, who had been shot, gone through many camps of self-defense, were some of their survival exercises comprised staying in the woods for a week alone, and dodging flying trajectories, and who normally displayed nerves of steel, was afraid of a roller-coaster ride.
"It's not that bad, you know, it's only scary at first, after a while you get used to it and it's fun..." the fire-headed boy next to him smiled lightly in amusement, and tried to console him by patting his back softly and running his fingers lightly over his shoulders in a comforting fashion. Satoshi began to let out a feathery sigh at the touch, but then decided that it'd be better for the sake of keeping his breakfast if he kept his mouth firmly closed.
And then the ride lurched forward and began a gravity-defying plummet to the ground.
Satoshi's hands flew, one to his mouth, the other to his stomach, as he felt it practically ram against the sides of his abdomen and swing upward as his whole body was slung forcefully against the back of the seat with enough strength to make him feel as if he was going to fly out from the seat.
Then a cheerful, child-like laugh reached his ears, and he slid his eyes open just enough to see Daisuke's laughing face as he squealed, hands tight on the bar. It was funny, he thought, how little Daisuke had changed in the three years he'd known him. Sure, he'd grown taller, and matured a lot, but he was still cheerful and tenacious, and though he had filled out his old wimpy frame quite a bit and become considerably less clumsy he still had bouts of klutziness, and the kindness in his heart had only grown. It was incredible how easily Daisuke's laugh could cheer him.
Behind them, Krad uttered a short yelp and unconsciously clung to Dark, grabbing his shirt tightly, who did the same to him, so that they were both grabbing onto each other, violet morphing into gold as the roller coaster reached its climax speed of 90 miles per hour.
The ride was simple enough, fast but with no inverted loops, just a numerous amount of high-speed unexpected turns, slamming them into the sides, and queasy jolts up and down hills, colors flying by with unexpected clarity, the wind rushing by, making their eyes squint as the once calm breeze buffeted them harshly.
Dark smiled, giving a short glance to the taller blonde now pressing tightly into his side. He knew that as soon as Krad became accustomed to the ride, he would let go. It was strange to think of it so bluntly, considering how hard Dark tried to conceal it and avoid the subject, but he'd regret when the flaxen-haired angel would remove his current hold on the thief. Krad was sometimes very cynical, he didn't believe in straight-from-the-heart gestures, acts without a personal purpose or gain. He didn't believe in selfless love. Somehow, someday, Dark would show him differently, that he could do something out of pure generosity, that there was kindness without personal gain behind the act. That there was love without lust. He knew he hadn't done a good job of showing him otherwise, but he would, sometime. It was odd though, because despite him being cynical with every one else, with Dark he was overly trusting. Too much sometimes... Once again throwing the subject into the back of his mind, under playful jibes and false-sounding comments and gestures, he concentrated all his attention on the current ride.
Krad was completely aware of his proximity with Dark. It wasn't anything new, since they been in positions more intimate than this, but the circumstance made it different, more intimate in an emotional way than any of their physical contact when they shared friendly kisses did. Right now, it was more of Krad depending on Dark for support, a rare situation in itself since the golden-eyed acted strong, being as prideful as he was, and that obviously did not include running to anyone for help, even someone as close to him as Dark.
It was ironically funny, he thought, because there was a strange distance between them as well as a closeness that many people didn't have with each other. The kisses they'd shared had been shared out of lust. Nothing more. It was like a temporary love, forgotten the next morning, nothing permanent about it, despite the strong feelings the night before. And that fact ached inside sometimes, in the night, during their rare solitude from each other. The blonde wondered more times than he'd dared admit if it was wrong to want there to be real feelings in their relationship. But that wasn't possible, after all, the only reason Dark ever did anything with him was to satisfy his own desire. There was no way he'd want anything to do with Krad out of love. And vice-versa. Love was a delusion, Krad told himself firmly. That was just the way it was.
But a sudden pull to the side as the roller coaster dove down again and took a sharp left rammed him back into Dark, and the angel couldn't help the light blush that swept across his face at the lean, hard chest beneath him.
"Sorry," he muttered softly. Above the din caused by the wind and jolting metal cart, Dark didn't hear, and only screamed louder in delight.
"Is it almost over...?" the blue-haired Hikari managed to whimper softly to the smaller boy besides him.
"Yes," Daisuke smiled sympathetically, continuing his gentle stroking of Satoshi's back, all the while enjoying the ride as only he could. As it was, the ride was beginning to slow down, and as the seconds passed, it slowed to a complete stop.
Dark looked down at himself, noticing that Krad still had a strong hold on him, and fought to hide a softened smile as he poked Krad and said, "You know, if you were that scared we could have not gone."
"I was not scared!" the blonde said defensively, falling for Dark's prod. He had been a bit at first, but it wasn't scary any longer.
"Then why haven't you let go yet?" At that, Dark was blessed, in his eyes, with the deepest blush he'd seen on Krad's pretty face since the first time Dark had kissed him. He immediately let go.
"Because I forgot I was holding on to you," the minutely taller boy said stiffly, composure regained.
"Um, guys, Satoshi isn't looking too well..." Daisuke interrupted as they disembarked, holding the taller boy carefully. Satoshi's face had taken on a sickly green tinge, his body swaying dangerously, arms wrapped around his stomach, mouth firmly closed.
"I think he's going to throw up, Dai-chan. You might wanna shove him to that trashcan over there-"Dark pointed, grinning widely. Satoshi would have glared at Dark had his attention not been diverted by the twisting of his stomach.
The ruby-haired boy obliged, leading the nauseated-looking police commander to spend a few minutes in close acquaintance with the trashcan.
"Maybe we shouldn't have given him breakfast," Krad mused, unfazed by it all, as usual, as Dark laughed, a mix between sympathy and pure mirth. Daisuke fretted to the side, respectfully turned away as he fiddled with his fingers and bit his lip.
"He's fine, Daisuke-kun," the ice angel grinned lightly, "I had no idea he was scared of roller-coasters."
"How would you if you've never been on one?" Dark grinned impishly.
"True."
"Are you alright now?" the younger boy rubbed Satoshi's back as he straightened, sapphire eyes clouded, wiping the corner of his mouth lightly.
"I-I'm fine now..." he muttered barely audibly, "Just don't make me ride another one..."
"Of course not!" Daisuke said softly, and Satoshi was surprised at the large amount of concern whirling inside the liquid amber of his eyes. Always for him. The first time he'd ever looked deeply into those molten eyes of ruby lava they'd been softened by the winds of concern.
"Let's stop and get some drinks," Krad suggested, taking Dark by the arm and pulling him away, "We'll be sitting there," he pointed to a food stand and the surrounding tables, "Come when you feel up to it."
"Yeah..." Satoshi muttered back, hanging limply onto a wooden rail. He caught the ruby-haired wing master's still-concerned look and grinned as well as he could muster at the moment with his stomach feeling like a squeezed-out bag, "I'm fine. I just need a second..."
"Oh, right," the younger boy grinned sheepishly, "Sorry about worrying so much..."
The light-haired commander shook his head slowly, turning away slightly, "No... I... kinda like it when you worry about me."
He quieted, leaving Daisuke to ponder over his words, smiling inwardly at them, before he turned back to find the smaller boy staring deeply at his eyes.
"What?"
"Your eyes... they change color..." the jewel-eyed boy murmured with fascination, "I've noticed it before."
"They do?"
"Aa," he proceeded to sit next to Satoshi, his gaze alternating between the multicolored-balloon-studded sky and Satoshi's own pools of reflecting sapphires, "Like, When you're hurt, or sick... they get this glazed look. And when you're angry they're dark blue, and..." his clear voice lowered, as did his gaze, his eyes glazing just the barest hint, "When you're really depressed, they turn this dull, almost grayish blue... and you have this dead look... and it scares me..."
Satoshi was shocked at the admitted whisper for a moment, before daring to ask, "Why?"
The small wing master sighed, "Because I'm afraid you'll fall into it, and go away... and not come back," his face turned away, knowing that he was reaching a sensitive topic, "You don't say much about it, but I know you've had it rough in your childhood, and you see a lot of things with your job and all..." he would know, thought Satoshi, because Daisuke was the first one he had ever revealed the pain seeing all sorts of horrible crimes committed caused him, "And I know that sometimes it hurts you, and you've thought about giving up... that's when their color is dullest..."
The sea-haired boy took Daisuke's chin, turning it towards him, "I did," he admitted, "I used to think about giving up. But not lately. Not since I have Dark, and Krad... and definitely not now that I have you..."
Daisuke stared openly at him, wonder and happiness registering deep in his fiery-red orbs, and then he grinned suddenly, his hand reaching up to linger over Satoshi's eyes, "They're prettiest when you're happy, because your eyes turn bright, clear, and shiny, like a real sapphire. I like them like that," his lithe body leaned over, sinking into Satoshi's as he hugged him, "I hope they're always like that..."
"As long as yours are, I think I'll be alright," the taller boy said softly, finally withdrawing from Daisuke's thin arms, "I've always said you have ruby eyes."
"Yeah," Daisuke agreed happily.
"I've only rarely seen them glazed... never dark, and... only once dead... But..." he paused, wondering if he should continue, "I think, I've been seeing them dull more often lately... you've been kind of down... moody as of late..." silence, "You know what I'm talking about," he added in a huff as Daisuke raised an eyebrow.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he lied, smiling to cover it up, but nonetheless, fire eyes lost their spirit and turned away, regretting having to cover up the truth from his best friend.
"Yes you do!" for once, Satoshi was losing his cool. He didn't want Daisuke to deny it, and it was getting harder for him to deny to himself that Daisuke's refusal to share what was wrong was hurting him.
"Look, you know how earlier you asked me what was wrong? It's the same thing, but I can't tell you what it is..."
Satoshi was about to refute it, to tell Daisuke that he could tell him anything, no matter what, but the distress and confusion apparent in his face stopped him in his tracks. In a way, it only made him more determined to find out what was wrong with Daisuke, but another part told him that was a warning sign, and he needed to step back. Both were for Daisuke's sake, so which one was he to listen to?
"Alright... but do you promise to tell me soon?" he had to contend himself with that.
"Yes," the smaller boy assured him with an empathetic nod, "Very."
"I don't like seeing you like that..." Satoshi said softly.
If only you knew why I'm like this... Daisuke thought sadly, wondering why he couldn't muster up the courage to tell Satoshi his feelings, why he was so hesitant... but hadn't he been asking for a sign that maybe Satoshi thought something more about him? This was probably about as clear as Satoshi could get. Maybe he should simply take the least and admit himself to Satoshi...
In any case, he needed to be more careful around Satoshi, he didn't want the tall lean-framed commander to worry about him, or realize what was going on with Daisuke.
"Why don't we go find Dark and Krad..." he muttered, for once the evasive one.
OoO
"What's taking them so long?" Krad muttered, sipping his sprite absently.
"Probably taking advantage that we're not there to majorly make-out. I think they've been hiding their relationship from us!" Dark responded, coke slurped up noisily.
"They wouldn't do that..." the angel looked off, trying to see if he could catch sight of their younger alter-egos.
"They might actually be taking a step forward in their relationship. You know it's going to be Daisuke who's going to make the first move."
"You'd be surprised, Satoshi can be quite possessive too."
"No, that's you."
There was a moment of silence before Dark noticed that Krad's sunlit, intense gaze was suddenly focused on him.
"What about our relationship?"
"What about it?" Dark said nonchalantly, sipping his coke to hide as his heart skipped a beat.
"Erm... well, where is it going?" the icy-demon asked suddenly sheepish, a barely perceptible blush tinting his face.
"Wherever you want it to," the amethyst-haired kaitou leaned over earnestly, surprised that the angel was actually being something other than cynical- here was where the trusting part of his character came in. Krad looked at him wonderingly for a moment, fighting inside himself whether to doubt or trust the shorter boy's words. The logical side of him told him to refuse them, but he could never openly reject Dark, there was something that kept him chained hands and feet to the bright amethyst-eyed boy.
"What does that mean?" he asked, sounding suspicious and hopeful and trusting all at once.
"I said wherever..." Dark's eyes fluttered closed as he kissed Krad softly, drawing the breath out of the yielding blonde steadily, tasting and breathing that sharp, cool essence that was only of the blonde, distracting him as he expertly and unnoticeably unscrewed the cap off his drink. Breaking the kiss off, he drank in the sight of Krad's flushed face, his breath panting just the barest.
"You're too trusting of me... why?" he whispered.
"I... I don't know," Krad murmured honestly, not caring about anything for the moment, his mind focused entirely on the burning feeling that tingled on his lips, but wondering why was it that he trusted Dark like no one else?
Dark gave an apologetic look to the ice-angel, which was received with a raised eyebrow and bafflement, but he couldn't resist. Right now just wasn't the right time for him to go around exposing his soft underbelly- aka his feelings.
So he threw the coke straight into that beautiful face.
OoO
"Uh oh, I think it's about time we got back..." Daisuke muttered sweatdroping as they both heard an outraged snarl and a sudden yelp.
"They don't waste a minute..." Satoshi muttered as they came onto the scene of one Dark Mousy being severely strangled by another Krad Hikari. The thief's face had turned a becoming shade of purple to match his hair. And the cause of the sudden suffocation torture? The brown, wet, large stains dripping from the demonic angel's clothes, hair and face, marring once perfect features.
"Aw, c'mon..." Dark tried to grin through the obvious pain of the large hands around his neck, "You look sexy dripping wet."
"With a sticky, dirty carbonated drink!" Krad growled dangerously.
The kaitou caught sight of Daisuke and Satoshi and signaled to Krad, "Neat Freak's gone crazy! Help me!"
"I have not, and they will not!"
"Sorry Dark, he's older," Daisuke laughed.
"Plus he's more dangerous," Satoshi gave the pleading thief a mischievous smirk, "And I think you deserve that, given the evidence and all."
"Meanies..." he chocked out in response. Finally, Krad let go, dumping the limp body at his feet.
"You better have learned your lesson!"
"Yes Ma'am..."
Daisuke and Satoshi just laughed, while Krad pouted and began treading his fingers through his now sticky, muddled hair. They all knew about his personal pet peeve- dirt or messiness. Accordingly, his room was the epitome of cleanliness, his work and personal belongings at home and school undeniably and perfectly clean and organized. Hence often dubbed the neat freak.
"Daaark!" he whined uncharacteristically, "Now I'm all sticky, and dirty!"
The dark-haired kaitou giggled hysterically, well aware of Krad's aversion to being, and loving the incident all the more because of it, sidling up to Krad and licking his face, pink lapping playfully and tenderly over the pale face, "You taste good," he ducked as the angel threatened to hit him.
"I'm dirty!" Krad growled.
"Chill, believe it or not, I was planning on doing something like this from the beginning," Dark winked.
"I believe it."
"So I brought you an extra shirt. White too," finished the kaitou, unbuttoning his black shirt, revealing a white one underneath, "So you can wear it."
"What do I do with the old one?" Krad said, taking of his sticky and wet once-white shirt off, pale muscles shifting as he removed it and discarded it on the table. Nearby, a girl squealed. Dark took off the replacement white shirt, tanned lean muscles stretching leisurely and purposely as a group of girls walked by, practically fainting at the sight of the two bare-chested teenage boys- good-looking muscled ones too!
"Shove it down Satoshi's back?"
"In your dreams, pervert," responded the former Hikari coolly.
"Whatever," Dark grinned, winking at the passing ladies. He thought he saw one actually fall in a faint, but was too busy admiring Krad's tall body, milk-pale skin glistening lightly with the remainders of the soft drink. Gorgeous. Krad's gaze too, lingered on Dark's frame for a moment, but he wasn't really the type to stare, even at Dark. It wasn't as if he didn't have plenty of chances anyway since they had physical education together.
"Do you guys work out a lot?" Daisuke asked idly.
"Yup, what do you think we go to the gym for? We're not thin little sticks like you," the merry-eyed kaitou grinned at the younger boy, showing he was only kidding, as he buttoned up his black shirt once again, flipping the collar to its right place.
"I have enough with Mom's training... and I am not wimpy."
Definitely not, Satoshi thought. It was just that Daisuke wasn't always showing off his muscles to other people. The only times Satoshi had seen him without his shirt was during physical education of course, and whenever they had to change in front of each other when they spent the night at each other's or something similar. He was actually a lot more muscled than anyone would have thought considering the way he looked on the outside.
"Did you get us drinks?" Daisuke asked, sitting down at the table as a fully-dressed Krad gathered napkins to blot at his hair and clothes, meticulously trying to cover every spot to rid himself of the coke stains. Dark waved his hand towards the table.
"Yeah. The Cherry Coke there is yours Dai-chan. And Krad got you Ginger Ale, creep."
"Hn."
"Antisocial much?" Dark grinned.
"Only at you," Satoshi flashed a small smirk back.
Daisuke smiled too. He remembered how things were a long time ago, when Dark and Satoshi couldn't get along at all, until Krad came along... Which all led back to when Daisuke and Satoshi first became friends, before Krad or Dark had come...
"Satoshi Hiwatari... is he not here today?" the teacher called out, looking around the classroom.
"No, I didn't see him come to school today either!" a blonde girl said, and Daisuke sweatdropped, knowing her to be one of the police commander's stalker-like posse who waited for him every morning as he walked to school.
"Hm, well that's strange. I need someone to take his work to him today..." she looked straight at Daisuke, "Would you mind taking this to him?"
"Who, me?" the short boy stuttered, surprised.
"Yes," the teacher smiled and Daisuke had nothing more to do than nod. He barely knew Satoshi, the only reason he even knew where they blue haired boy lived was because Takeshi had once brought him along when writing an article near Satoshi's apartment and they'd seen him walking home.
So, sighing, he picked up the stack of homework and papers and placed them in his bookbag.
OoO
Knocking softly on the door, the red-haired kaitou-in-training double checked the silver name plaque. 'Hiwatari Satoshi' read in black letters and Daisuke waited patiently for the door to be answered. He looked around the empty, solitary hall, no ornaments or paintings, only gray walls and white lights.
When nothing happened, Daisuke began to knock again harder, then wondered, if he was sick, then there was a possibility that he couldn't get out of bed. But wouldn't his parents...? Then Daisuke remembered. Satoshi didn't live with his father, he knew because he'd read about Commissioner Hiwatari in the papers and knew he lived somewhere else, and he knew that Mr. Hiwatari wasn't married either... so... did Satoshi not have a mother either?
It was shocking to realize that all this time, since who knew how long, Satoshi had been living alone. It was even more shocking to Daisuke, because even if his father wasn't there all the time, his mom was always there...
Now determined to check on the sapphire-eyed boy whether he answered the door or not, Daisuke checked the lock system- a computerized SL45- and dug into his pocket , slipping out a thin coil of wire and inserting it behind the corner of the card slot. This was some nice security system, he thought idly, pressing a couple buttons as he forced the wire deeper into card slot until a mechanical beep sounded and the lock clicked open.
Opening the door quietly, he slipped inside blinking at the blinding whiteness and sterility of the small living room. A soft clutter was heard as he set his bag down on the table and walked around, searching for any sign of the sea-haired boy. The apartment was immaculate, almost depressingly so, so bare it was almost as if it wasn't lived in at all.
Finally, Daisuke caught a low moan coming from behind a closed door and walked up to it, hesitating a second before opening it.
"Satoshi...?"
This room was as bare as the others, off-white curtains completely closed over the window, the only items in the room a discarded shirt at the foot of the bed, glasses, an alarm clock and a bottle of aspirin. The room was cold, and almost eerily clean- that same sterility that pervaded across the whole apartment. How could Satoshi live in such a dreary place?
The moan had come from the body in the bed, thin covers rumpled messily around the thrashing, shivering body, soaked with sweat, shallow breathing sounding harshly throughout the otherwise quiet stillness of the room. Daisuke stopped for a split second, amazed at the condition his classmate was in.
Kneeling at his side, he placed his hand on the pale police commander's face, frowning deeply at the heat radiating from it. Under the cool touch, Satoshi shivered more violently, groaning heavily as he cracked one glazed, dull gray eye. There was a pause, then-
"Who...?" there was a current of alarm in his voice, his head lifting up weakly.
"Er, it's Daisuke, Hiwatari-kun," Daisuke stuttered tried to be as comforting as he could, patting Satoshi's hand awkwardly.
"Niwa...?" he whispered faintly, confusion etched in his voice.
"Hiwatari-kun... um, I came to bring your work, but you're really sick so..." the wing master stopped as Satoshi's eyes closed, his head lolling to the side, whimpering softly to himself as his lean but sickly body trembled fiercely again.
"So I'm going to take care of you," Daisuke finished softly.
Well... I knwo this didn't have as much comedy as the last two chapters, but comedy isn't my forte, hehe. The next chapter's going to be iteresting, that's all I'm saying, and fluff lovers will love it. SO i'ts ok. But i have to go, so bye!