Part 54: Secrets

It took effort for Satoshi to pay attention to the road as the pavement whizzed by under them. Krad's solid weight sat in the passenger's saddle behind him, pale hands clenched over the shorter man's hips. Krad didn't rest his head on Satoshi's shoulder the way he had last night. The mental connection they'd managed to reforge last night lay silent as well. That much was no surprise, after the fight they'd had before leaving the hotel.

Satoshi leaned into a turn, taking them downhill onto Jirou Sakamoto's street. Krad's arms jumped around him, but he made no other sign of complaint over the maneuver. Satoshi leveled off guiltily. He wasn't used to riding with a passenger, and the blonde's arms still felt too hot where they baked through his shirt. After the insanity of the accident and everything that happened afterwards, of course the angel's condition was poor. Krad was definitely running some kind of fever, and had at least a few injuries he wasn't telling him about. His wings had been concealed since last night, and he wasn't sure what that meant. It would have been far better to call a cab instead of riding the cruiser back.

But Krad, infuriatingly, was insisting he was fine. Not only that, but the blonde was demanding they both go to work today, and he wouldn't take "no" for an answer. It made no sense. Why on earth was Krad so desperate not to miss work? Was his job that unforgiving? Demanding an explanation had only brought Krad's temper to a peak. They'd had a huge, old-fashioned screaming match about it outside the hotel.

To end the argument quickly, Satoshi had refused to go to work unless Krad kept someone else with him for the rest of the morning.

He'd never expected the angel to agree to it. He'd been sure Krad would never agree to be watched over by some human in his current state. Instead, the blonde had agreed to go to Jirou's place.

He'd agreed to let the kid help, but not him.

The angel had pulled obstinate stunts before, but this was officially the most infuriating. Sure, Krad could take care of himself, but Satoshi had never seen him sick like this. Last night, he'd opened his mind to the angel for the first time in months. Now Krad was pushing him away?

*You're sure this is what you want?* Satoshi asked between their minds. The wind and engine noise made it too loud to talk.

For several tight heartbeats, the bluenette wasn't sure if Krad would return the mental contact. Maybe it was too soon to use their link this way, but he felt the need to prove to them both that last night wasn't just a one-time connection.

*Yes,* Krad spoke inside his head. His voice was like melted silver.

Satoshi released the breath he'd held captive. The method of response was a relief, even if the answer wasn't. Don't push him, he censured himself sourly. It's his choice.

He pulled into a street space in front of Jirou's apartment building and cut the engine. His back felt sweaty where Krad had pressed up against it. Satoshi hoped the blonde's fever hadn't worsened during the strain of the long ride back into town. He turned to get a better look at him. The angel had released his helmet strap and was pulling the gear off his head. Blonde bangs fell loose around his face, which was a little more flushed than it should have been.

Krad glanced at him, amber eyes meeting his tamer's stare. Satoshi forgot how to breathe. That face called back the scent of the angel's skin beside him the night before. It was the smell of a grassy field on a summer night. .

"Satoshi-sama?"

"Nothing." Satoshi broke off the eye contact and turned to place the cruiser's kickstand. He sucked in a deep breath and led the way toward the Sakamotos' apartment door.

"You said you would go to work if I came-"

"I'm walking you in first. We don't even know if he's home," Satoshi snipped, marching forward to disregard Krad's protest. The outburst sounded petty, and Satoshi didn't care.

The tall angel followed him without further comment. Satoshi brought his thoughts under control and rang the doorbell. There were sounds inside, but it was almost a full minute before the door opened.

Mrs. Sakamoto was wearing a sun dress and apron, seemingly in the midst of preparing a meal. Her face fell slack as she recognized them. Based on her reaction, it was safe to guess that they'd been watching the news. "Oh!" she breathed. Her soft brown eyes flew over Krad's features like he might be a ghost. Her hand started to reach toward Krad, but she caught herself and cupped it over her chest instead. She didn't ask for an explanation. Smart woman. Krad wouldn't stay if he sensed her worry.

"Is he here?" Satoshi asked her.

The question seemed to refocus the woman. "Jirou! Come here," she called down the hallway behind her.

A few moments later, the boy appeared, stumbling like he'd lost his balance. "What happened?" Huge round eyes took in the sight of them in the doorway.

"Sorry we couldn't call in advance. Our phones are dead," Satoshi bowed politely. The bluenette looked up carefully at the boy and his mother.

"Krad! Satoshi!" Jirou gasped, limping to them as fast as he could move. His leg seemed to hurt him. "Are you both okay?" His eyes focused on the angel as he scanned him up and down. You could almost see the triage going on in the kid's head, and Satoshi couldn't really fault him for being concerned. He'd checked out some of the news footage at the hotel, and it didn't look good. Plus, Krad looked flushed and more out of breath than the small walk to the door should have warranted. His wings were also still conspicuously missing.

"Don't look at me like I'm dying," Krad scowled.

"You're not, then?" Jirou stared at him with huge eyes.

Krad snorted, and didn't dignify the question with a response.

"Don't take this so lightly!" Mrs. Sakamoto commanded like the mother she was. "You two come in and sit, right now." Krad shot her a wide-eyed look, but she didn't back down. "Sit!"

To Satoshi's surprise, the blonde didn't fight with her. He walked slowly into the boy's apartment, staring around himself at the unfamiliar home. Satoshi had known Krad and the boy had grown somewhat close, but he'd never imagined the angel stepping willingly into Jirou's family life like this.

That was when the other boy stepped carefully into the room from the hallway.

Satoshi caught sight of Jirou's friend first, and tensed. It was one of the kids from the incident in the park. He could already guess what would happen when Krad recognized him. "Sorry for barging in. We didn't realize you had company." He glanced at Krad, and sucked back an involuntary gasp.

Expecting the angel's reaction didn't make it less unnerving. Krad's expression was like the glare of a wounded animal, and his handsome back was rigid with displeasure. He probably hadn't expected other humans to be here, especially not one of the brats that had gotten Jirou into danger at the tower. He would never have come here in the shape he was in if he'd expected strangers.

"Uh, Jirou?" the other kid squeaked and edged a step back. The boy had not missed the disdain that now rolled off the blonde.

The angel's gold eyes flickered with distrust. "You," he muttered. Frost began lining the air around them.

"Krad," Satoshi warned.

Jirou touched the angel's elbow. "Krad, Eric came here because he was worried about me after seeing you in the news. He's here to be my friend."

"He sent you up that tower." The blonde spoke it like a death sentence, and Satoshi wasn't totally convinced he didn't mean it as one.

Eric's cheeks darkened. "That...I was wrong." He leaned back a step, looking suitably guilty, but managed not to run away. Point for him. Any other response might have gotten him attacked.

Jirou hung close to the angel's side and barely touched Krad's wrist to draw his demon glare away from Eric. "Krad, can you ignore him a second? I think maybe you should be sitting down."

The blonde met the boy's eyes and took a deep, frustrated breath. He acquiesced to the kid's light pressure on his wrist and followed him into the living room, where he compromised by perching on the arm of the sofa.

If anything, this small act of compliance doubled the concern of the humans surrounding him.

"Your skin is burning," Jirou murmured, looking at his fingers where they'd touched Krad's wrist.

"I'll get you something cold to drink," Mrs. Sakamoto fussed, rushing off toward the kitchen.

"I'm fine!" Krad snarled. He looked to Satoshi. "Go to work."

Ouch. The bluenette looked to Jirou. "Can he stay here? You're the only other person he trusts."

Jirou glowed at the idea of Krad trusting him, but his back straightened out, indignant. "You're going to work?" The tone came out accusing. He blushed, but didn't rescind his question.

Satoshi looked at Krad unhappily. "I…"

"You have to go in," Krad said.

Satoshi worked not to look injured. "Why is it so important to you that I go in today?"

"For one thing, you need to return the... cruiser you stole." The angel paused, his posture weakening for a moment. He blinked as though clearing his vision.

"Borrowed, not stole," Satoshi corrected. He bristled, but didn't retreat for the door. Was Krad worse off than he'd thought? He looked like he was about to drop out. Satoshi edged forward just beside the blonde's seat, just in case. "Since when do you care about my work so much?"

Krad didn't look at him or scold him for hovering. After a silent moment, he leaned his head sideways against Satoshi's waist, closing the narrow gap between them. The gesture was so thoughtless that it wasn't clear if he'd even meant to do it, or if he was just dizzy. It sent a shiver up his wing host's spine. "Satoshi, trust me, and just go in," Krad said.

Jirou and Eric both just stared at them. Satoshi clenched his hands, exasperated. He couldn't fight with Krad while the angel was acting like….like this. He wanted to stay there, with Krad's feverish breaths pressing through his shirt. He wanted to rest peacefully together, like they had last night. Would that even happen again? Once they got back home, would they share a bed like they had at the hotel, or should they sleep separately as usual? Was all of this special circumstances, or was it a precedent?

Satoshi frowned down at the back of the blonde's neck and had a terrible urge to stroke the soft hair at its nape. He hissed out a sigh instead. "I'm going, but only because I need to return the cruiser and file a report on last night. I'll meet you at home. Don't work any later than you need to. Do you understand?

Krad smirked. Any less feverish and he'd have looked downright triumphant. Satoshi stepped back, out of the warm contact, and made his way back to the door while he still had the nerve. He paused and looked back at Jirou. "Take care of him, please." He gritted his teeth and let himself out before he could change his mind.

-oOooOooOo-

Krad stiffened up, sitting very straight now that he was suddenly alone with Jirou and "Eric" in the family sitting room. With Satoshi gone, his eyes were now cooler, more feral.

Jirou walked to him carefully. "Eric's a friend. If you stay here, you can't hurt him, okay?" the kid asked quietly.

Krad looked at Eric and drew a slow breath. He put a hand on the cushion next to him to keep himself steady. He was freezing and exhausted. And, impossibly, he was happy. Satoshi's acknowledgement of their link had sucked the anger from his bones. He'd spent the whole night with Satoshi's gentle weight pressed to his back, and his wing host had even been too protective to let him return home alone. Even if ten of Jirou's friends had been here, he wasn't sure it could dent his mood. He could tolerate one brat. "Fine," he offered.

Jirou looked a little surprised, but turned to Eric and gestured for him to approach. The other boy crept over to them, avoiding eye contact with the angel. "Um...hello, K-"

"You're a hundred years too early to call me by that name," the angel snorted.

Eric flinched. "I'm sor-...uh...what am I supposed to call you, then?"

Krad showed him a twisted smile. "'Master' is good enough, for you."

"Mas..ter?" Eric turned to Jirou, uncertain if it was a joke.

Jirou rolled his eyes. "He did the same thing to me when I met him. He's a slow bonder."

"Like I'd bond with any of you," the angel rolled his eyes.

Mrs. Sakamoto returned to the room with a tall glass of iced tea and brought it to Krad. She looked around at the tense occupants in the room. "You'll all feel better once you've had some food. I'll add more meat to the stew. Krad, do you need anything? Do you want to lie down?"

The angel looked at the woman he barely knew. She was talking to him like he was one of Jirou's classmates, and not a centuries-old supernatural being. He should have hated it, but didn't. Maybe that was the fever affecting his brain. "No...thank you."

She looked unsatisfied, but turned back for the kitchen. "I'll work on the stew, then."

There was something Krad wanted to verify. The angel raised a brow expectantly at Jirou. "Go help her," he ordered.

Jirou looked after his mom, but then glanced back at Eric.

"I have vowed my peace," Krad sighed. "I'm not going to kill him."

"That's not exactly much of a comfort, coming from you," Jirou muttered, but seemed satisfied with Krad's answer. He staggered after his mother, half dragging his bad leg.

Krad studied the pained limp closely until the kid was out of sight. "His movements are worse than a few weeks ago." He looked to Eric fiercely. "Was he injured at the tower?"

Eric's jaw tightened. "No. His legs always get bad when he's under stress, ever since the earthquake."

Narrowed gold eyes focused on him. "What has caused him stress, then?"

"Are you kidding me?" Eric snarled, a surprising fire coming out in the 12 year old's voice. "They've been showing you half dead on the news, and no one knows where you are. What do you think has him worked up like this? The last time you got torn up on the news, you didn't show up again for months. Jirou didn't come to school for weeks. I'm here right now to make sure he wouldn't have to deal with it alone if it happened again."

The angel stared at him, sitting terribly still. "He did not tell me of this."

"Shocking, when you're just so approachable." The kid locked up, glancing at Krad with wide eyes. "I'm sorry. That was too much." He shrank a step back.

Krad didn't attack him. Quite the contrary, when Eric winced his eyes back open, Krad was analysing him in silence. His amber eyes betrayed neither anger nor guilt. When he spoke, his voice was calm. "What do you imagine would put him at ease?"

"Well, I don't suppose you can fix nerve damage," Eric laughed nervously.

"I'm... not sure yet," Krad said.

Eric's laugh grew genuine then. "What? Sorry, that was meant to be a joke. You're here now, at least. Show him you're okay. Can you bring out, uh, the wings?"

Krad exhaled. "Yes." With Satoshi and Jirou both gone, it was a good time to get it over with. He made eye contact with Jirou's friend, who nearly squirmed under his gaze. Krad raised two long fingers to his lips. "Not a word," he ordered. A long, gold feather materialized between his fingers.

Eric rocked a step back, staring in confusion as he nodded.

Krad closed his eyes and gathered a moment's focus. The feather glowed to life between his fingers and spread out like a fan behind him. His wings spilled back into reality, glowing until they became solid. They were every bit as wind-torn as they'd been when he'd dismissed them, and every bit as sore. All those hours of relentless flight, and the struggle against the impossible mass of the truck... it had been one thing to have the pain accrue over time, letting his body acclimate to each new ache. It was quite another thing to have it all returned now, in the space of a heartbeat.

Someone in the room whimpered, and Krad hoped to god it wasn't him. Was it possible that his back was actually on fire? The blonde let the abused limbs sag toward the ground, and immediately gave up his fight with gravity. He felt himself sinking sideways.

A pair of small hands caught him by the arm and hauled him back on balance. He blinked the blonde boy's shape into focus next to him. Krad gained his footing and then withdrew from the kid's grip. He clutched the arm of the couch, eyes aglow as he composed himself.

"They...they hurt more this way?" Eric asked, voice thin with guilt.

"It was necessary eventually," the angel said shakily. "Did anyone else hear me?"

"No." The boy's brown eyes were large and worried.

"Good." The angel stood up straight and extracted the pain from his expression. It cost him, but his wings gathered behind his back, and he didn't even wince as he returned a strong, calm gaze to the boy. "Do I look 'okay' enough now?"

"Shit." The kid looked ready to cry. "I'm sorry."

"Language," Krad huffed with a smirk. His opinion of the boy had improved slightly. "I'm fine."

"I don't believe you," Eric said. He went quiet as Jirou came back into the room. Jirou paused in the doorway, studying both of them.

"What happened?"

"Nothing," Eric said carefully.

Jirou looked to Krad and was quiet for several moments. "You seem better. How are your wings?" The question was pointed somehow, testing.

"Normal." Krad gave the huge feathered limbs a casual stretch and then folded them back into place with a neutral, Krad-like frown.

Jirou watched him quietly. "They really are beautiful." He stepped away from the doorway toward them. His expression sombered from admiration to something darker. "Krad...would you come with me for a minute?"

Krad regarded him with careful gold eyes. He wasn't used to that expression on the young boy's face. The angel could think of little reason to refuse him. When he stepped forward, Jirou turned and led him down the hall to a small, blue-painted bedroom. A bed sat in the corner next to a desk, but mostly the room was books. Shelves and shelves of them. The walls were collaged with posters and prints of various illustrated characters, none of which were familiar to Krad.

The angel followed Jirou in, watching him closely. It was strange to be surrounded by the kid's home, his things. He knew very little of Jirou's 'normal' life. When the boy stopped and turned to face him, Krad crossed his arms. "Well?"

"You said your phones were dead," he said, "so I'm loaning you a charger."

Krad faltered. "Oh."

Jirou went to a drawer in the corner and rummaged for a minute. Krad ignored the clicking and rattling, looking around the room. "Once you have a charge, you should probably call out of work today."

The angel frowned. "I'm going in. I start at 12." The thought made his eyes scan the wall reflexively for a clock.

"Any normal employer would give you the day off after what happened last night."

Yeah. Any normal employer.

"Does this job have something to do with why you were alone and injured in the middle of nowhere yesterday?"

"I am perfectly fine."

"Like hell you are!" Jirou countered. The boy spun in the doorway and glared back at him. "It's true that we don't understand you that well yet, but do you honestly think we won't notice and care that you're in pain?"

Krad froze to study him. Empathy was not his forte, but even he could read the naked anger in the boy's eyes. "What are you upset for?" he asked blankly.

"Something's not right. If you can't be honest with me, then I'm calling Satoshi back here." He drew his own phone out of his pocket.

Krad straightened up. "Don't call him. He needs to go in."

"Tell me why," Jirou demanded, holding his phone out. "He obviously wanted to stay with you, so why did you send him away?"

The angel gritted his teeth. The kid seemed to be past diplomacy, and Krad needed him to listen. "He needs to be there. They're giving him a promotion. If he just disappears after what happened last night, it could jeopardize it."

"How do you know he's getting a promotion?"

Krad hesitated. Jirou sounded suspicious, and that wasn't a good sign. He gambled on honesty. "Because I arranged it."

Jirou's gaze darkened. "How?"

"Good behavior," the angel sneered.

"What does that mean?" Jirou examined the blonde's expression warily. Krad sent him a warning glare in response. "Whatever you're doing, Satoshi doesn't know about it, does he? Which means it's something he wouldn't like."

"You're assuming a lot," Krad scoffed. Damn, he's sharp.

A long silence dragged between them. "You're in trouble, right? You're stuck in something dangerous. If you tell Satoshi, he can probably help you."

"I won't."

"Why shouldn't I tell him myself, then?" the kid demanded, retreating a step.

"Jirou." Krad used the name carefully. He could tell the boy expected his next line to be a threat. In a tempered tone, he said, "This situation... it's only for a few more weeks."

Jirou dropped his hand with the phone down to his side, deflated. "Yeah. I'll keep your damned secret," he croaked.

The angel grimaced at the pain in the boy's eyes. It was one thing to hear Eric say Jirou was being hurt by all this, and another thing entirely to see it proven so plainly in front of his eyes.

"Krad, this is scaring me."

The blonde bit back his next lie and instead appraised the young man in front of him. "I know," he said solemnly. "I did not intend to harm you. If possible, I would prefer to... protect you."

Jirou looked up at him and sighed. "Okay. Don't sweat it. Friends are supposed to worry about each other." He waved the charger he'd located and gestured toward the outlet. "Hand me your phone."

Krad complied numbly. Had Jirou just called them friends? Were they friends? Why didn't he want to argue it?

Jirou took the device from him and inserted the cord, setting it on the desktop to do its thing. "All set. Give me a sec." Jirou ducked into the next room, and eventually came back with something in his hand. He handed it off to the angel as he passed him towards the door. "Here, it's Tylenol and a few other things. There are cups in the bathroom over there."

Krad opened his fingers to inspect the handful of pills that had been dropped into his palm. "These…"

"Take them," Jirou said. "You're going to work soon, right?"

The angel clutched the medicine carefully and watched Jirou begin limping back toward the living room. He'd refused the boy a proper explanation, yet Jirou was choosing to protect his secrets. Just like that.

Krad, on the other hand, was less sure than ever about continuing the contract. After what happened in the lab yesterday, his stomach turned at the mere idea of going back, injured or not. He still remembered how his soul had retched when that machine activated. If reviving a mouse had rendered him outcold, how would he react to whatever they decided to try next? He was officially in over his head.

If he turned to Satoshi for help, the boy might actually know of a solution.

No. Any chance of backing out had died the moment he healed that mouse. He'd given them something too exciting to let go of, and they'd shown no hesitation to bend the rules thus far. He was up against a government here, and Satoshi's career was also on the line. There was no way to get out now. If he wanted to live with Satoshi, he just had to finish out the contract.

Krad walked to the bathroom sink and looked at himself for a long minute in the mirror. Then he took a deep breath, and swallowed his pills.

To be continued!

Up next - Brunch? With Hikaris and Niwas present? The horror!

oOoOoOo

I'm sorry for the wait on this part, guys X_X

Stormshadow13: I heart you. Since you are the queen of Dark/Krad interactions, I hope you will like the next chapter haha. And while there is no vet in this chapter, we have not seen the last of him! (I say that like it's good news….. but I guess it's technically terrible news?)

LDR321, welcome to my wacky story! I will update more often I SWEAR. Thank you for reviewing!

Yuki Hikari: I am glad you appreciated the fluff. There shall be more fluff incoming. :P

Knightless Silver: It means so much to me that you reread this thing and still care about it even though I've taken forever and ever to finish it!

AmethystNight: Thank you for finding this and for your kind review! I'm glad you like Krad and Satoshi! Developing their relationship is one of my big drivers for continuing past the original "end point" of the story back at chapter forty-somethingish.

Kes: You are the first person to tell me they found this monstrosity through my deviant fanarts! That is so cool! Thank you for your very sweet comments, I hope I can live up to them!

CNvIW: You are a good robot. Sit. Stay. Good robot.