Who: Leon, Count D and Alex What: Leon gets FUBAR'd by his dreams When: Today, September 19th Where: D's condo Warnings/Ratings: Highish; references to sex, lots of blood, illegal surgery Status: Complete
It wasn’t the first time that Leon had spent the night at D’s place since he’d finally admitted his feelings for the other man - in fact, he’d spent most of his nights there. It was a long drive back to Irvine from Anaheim, and his apartment was lonely - less lonely the nights that the stray cat Chris had started feeding before D had insisted Chris move in with him came to visit, but still lonely. Besides, it was nice being able to wake up and have breakfast with everyone before heading back to work, instead of needing to wake up an extra hour early just to make the drive from Irvine to Anaheim and back again.
So no, it wasn’t the first time Leon and D had slept together, but it was the first time they had slept together. Leon had dropped Chris off for his sleepover earlier in the evening to give him and D some privacy. It had been everything Leon had expected, and like nothing he’d expected, and when all was said and done, exhausted and sweaty and utterly contented with D in his arms, Leon passed out.
Leon hadn’t even realized that D had any property outside of the petshop. As far as he’d been aware, the Count ate there, slept there, lived there. But despite his surprise, he supposed it wasn’t completely impossible that D rented out the top three floors of one of the most expensive high rises in LA, and he was even less surprised that the apartment apparently contained a huge fucking forest. Maybe this was another one of D’s illusions.
D was acting off, though Leon couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He was surprised at the room full of taxidermied creatures that all looked like something that would step out of one of those B-horror movies that had always given Leon nightmares, and while he began to question it, he didn’t know that the person who was in front of him wasn’t D until he asked if Leon wanted sugar in his tea.
“You know the answer to that,” Leon said, lowering the tea cup from his mouth. “Who are you? You’re not D, are you?”
It wasn’t, as Leon soon discovered. It was D’s father, and it was fucking freaky just how much he looked like Count D.
“We are the painters of unseen images. The caretakers of what has been lost. We are that which you choose to ignore,” Daddy D said, just as Leon passed out from whatever drug Daddy D had put in his tea.
When Leon awoke, he found himself in the middle of a forest. He woke up, surrounded by the same monsters that he’d found stuffed in Daddy’s D apartment, and it took him a moment to realize that some of these were the same animals that he’d seen way back when he had first met D, the time he’d fallen asleep in a museum and shot some sabertooth skeleton. It hadn’t been his proudest moment, and he almost put away his gun, convinced this was another weird ass dream. At least, until something that looked like a dragon slashed open his leg, and then his shoulder. The pain and the blood were real enough. This wasn’t a dream. He pulled out his gun, and began to shoot.
“How does it feel,” Daddy D’s voice echoed throughout the forest, “to be chased and hunted? How does it feel to be dying, detective? In Eden, there is only one rule. Kill or be killed.”
At this rate, he was going to run out of bullets, and if he got out of this goddamn fucking forest, he was going to want at least one bullet ready for Daddy D, to either gently persuade him to take Leon to the hospital, or to take him out so Leon could escape. Realizing that, he holstered his gun, and started killing the animals the old fashioned way - with his fists, with rocks, and eventually, with a large branch he managed to find.
He was bleeding pretty heavily by the time he made it out of the forest, and there… there was Daddy D, Agent Howell and… he was flooded with relief when he noticed his D there. Maybe it didn’t bode well for Leon, but his first instinct was that D would be able to help him get out of this mess.
He tossed the carcass of some three-eyed lizard at the feet of Daddy D. “Kill or be killed, eh? Easy fucking choice.”
Leon woke up with a gasp, and the pain was immediate. It was sharper than in the dreams - he didn’t have the adrenaline running through his veins - and for a moment, he had no idea when or where he was, and then, realizing that it had been a Dream, capital D, he reached for his window sill for the bottle of whiskey that made its home there, and the pack of cigarettes that kept the bottle company.
His hand, instead of hitting his window sill, instead hit solid wall, smearing it with blood, and a half second later there was another thump and Leon realized he was still clutching the dead lizard - some sort of mini-dragon thing - in his closed fist.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Leon exclaimed, flinging it away from him and trying not to wince at the thump as it hit the opposite wall.
He sat up, his head swimming, and tried to wipe the blood from his eyes, wishing to god that he was wearing a shirt or something to make it easier. His leg was soaking, and he prodded it. It was too dark to see clearly, but it didn’t take much effort to feel the blood, thick and black, that was pouring steadily from the wound. It wasn’t spurting - a vein instead of an artery, most likely - but it was still bleeding heavily enough that it didn’t take a doctor to know that he’d bleed out if he didn’t get medical attention sometime soon.
He tried to sort out where he was, blinking in the gloom, and then remembered that he’d spent the night at D’s place. He swallowed, glancing at the form next to him, and, praying to God or Buddha or Vishnu or whoever was up there that he wouldn’t get another black eye to go with the lacerations that now criss-crossed nearly every part of him, he grabbed D by the shoulder and shook him.
“D, get up. I think I’m bleeding out,” he said loudly.
***
For D’s part, he was so out that he slept a Dreamless sleep there in the Detective’s strong arms. D had not made love with anyone in a very long time and he could admit to being slightly embarrassed by the undignified sounds that he’d made and everything the Detective saw. The Detective didn’t seem to mind any of it, though, so D had allowed things he might not have normally.
Before he’d drifted off to sleep, he wondered if this was love and thought surely that it must at least be headed that way.
He’s slept until he’d sensed something was not right. He was awake before the Detective began to shake him, the sharp smell of the Detective’s blood in the room. He had no time to think about how delicious it must be or why he would even have such a thought. Thin fingers reached for the lamp beside the bed. D said nothing and did not outwardly panic. No questions, not yet, there was no time.
D got up, naked, but pulled on a robe quickly. D did not drive, but he was about to learn how to very quickly, but first, he fixed a tourniquet made of the Detective’s discarded t-shirt just above the deep slash on Leon’s leg. An exposed artery pumped blood out from the wound. The Detective would pass out soon. D’s hands flew to the sides of the Detective’s face.
“Look at me,” he said to the man, fighting his own urge to start crying. “Stay with me. You have to help me get you down to the car. We’re going to the clinic to see Alex.” Speaking of Alex, D took out his phone and sent a quick text to Alex to warn him that they were on their way and why. Then he threw one of Leon’s arms over his own thin shoulders. Without strain, he began to stand up. If Leon couldn’t, they’d have to get an ambulance here and go to the hospital and D only trusted one person in this.
***
"Ask him to bring some booze," Leon muttered as D texted Alex, looking mournfully at his jeans, and then at the t-shirt that was already starting to turn red. There was no way that he'd be able to get his tight-fitted jeans on, but it wasn't as if he had any shorts of a spare shirt at D's place.
"Gimme a minute," Leon muttered, scooping up his boxers from the floor and managing to clumsily pull them on. He wasn't about to go out into the world stark naked. He considered asking D for a t-shirt, but he'd never actually seen D wear western style clothes, and even if he had, he doubted any of D's shirts would fit him. D was as slim as Leon was broad.
He grabbed his smokes from his jean pocket, and then his wallet - remembering about it only as his fingers brushed against the leather - and then he let D support his weight to lead him out of the room.
There was something else, too, but Leon was having trouble remembering exactly what it was. His mind was cloudy, like he'd had a couple too many drinks, and it wasn't until he spotted the linen closet on the way out that it came to him. "Towels," he exclaimed. "We should grab towels. I dun wanna… getting blood out of upholstery is 'spensive."
***
“Will you stop moving around!” D shouted, startled into action as his Detective began to poke around the room that way.
Hands were on Leon’s shoulders, guiding him back to sit on the bed. None of it mattered. Leon didn’t have to worry about his appearance right now. It had been D’s plan to get the Detective to the clinic as quickly as possible, but a message from Alex to stay put had him keeping his hands on the Detective’s shoulders.
“Stay there,” he demanded, “or I’ll bring T-Chan in to eat you.” And he would, too. D disappeared for an entire two seconds before he came with a robe. Another text from Alex told him to unlock the door. Leon would have to settle for a silken pink robe that was going to be too smell, but it was at least going to cover him up so he wouldn’t complain.
“Stay,” he said again. He didn’t know what else to do but to do everything he was told so he rushed out to unlock the door. All the animals were asleep on a pile, but T-Chan’s eyes were starting to open. “Go back to sleep,” he said, not wanting to upset Pon Chan as well. Once the door was unlocked, D returned to the bedroom, hoping his Detective was still in the same spot and still awake.
****
Leon scowled a little at the robe. He had his boxers on, and he'd already bled all over the bed so a little more blood wouldn't hurt it if they weren't going to go to the car after all, and so for a minute he debated just not putting it on. But, well, it would probably help slow the blood from the smaller wounds that crisscrossed his torso.
As D left the room again, Leon wiped the blood from his eyes, and, after a moment of hesitation - D wouldn't approve, but fuck it, Leon deserved it so fuck with D would or wouldn't approve of - Leon lit a cigarette and leaned over, eyes straying back to his t-shirt, now soaked through. Maybe if they worked fast, they'd still be able to salvage it. He did like that shirt.
His ears strained as he heard the door unlock, and then his eyes widened. "Wait!" he yelled through the door. "You didn't ask him to come here, did you?!" Not thinking about the fact that if that was Alex at the door, he'd be able to hear Leon just as well as D could. He'd told Alex about them before. Alex seeing them at the store, or even at the clinic, was different then him seeing Leon half-naked on D's bed, and Leon almost thought that he'd rather just bleed out if that's what it was going to come to.
***
Just then, Alex didn’t care if Leon and D were in the middle of fucking. They’d already been through this and, this time, Alex was prepared. Seeing D, actually seeing him was a bit of a shock. Though there was an emergency situation happening, D seemed almost calm, save for the tears standing in his eyes that were...different colors? He was pretty, too. Small and fragile looking. So this was D. Not what Alex had expected, but there was no time to expect.
Alex was still in work scrubs when he arrived. At this point, he was at least without crutches, limping around on his boot, a large bag slung over his shoulder. There were weird animals sleeping on the sofa and the place smelled heavily of incense.
“Where?” he asked.
D pointed a bony, long fingernailed finger down the hall, then led the way quickly toward a large bedroom where there was Leon, blood everywhere. Alex’s chest felt like it would cave in. Flashbacks of the same thing went through his mind, but more than that, he needed to take care of things.
“Dumbass,” he accused Leon, stealing the cigarette away for a second to take a pull from it, tasting Leon’s blood as he did. He set the bag down, then looked at D and tossed the skinny guy a set of keys. “Brown truck,” he told him as D caught the keys. “There’s a set of poles in the back cab. I need those,” he went on, putting the cigarette back into Leon’s mouth. D was gone quickly and Alex was pressing Leon backwards and opening his robe, not minding any sort of nudity. As soon as he found the wound, he set to work, opening his backpack and taking out a needle.
****
"Hey, you'" Leon said awkwardly, not even complaining when Alex stole his smoke. He curled his fingers into a fist, resisting the urge to run his fingers through Alex's hair as Alex knelt in front of him. "We've gotta stop meeting like this," he joked, though last time Leon had woken up bleeding in his bed, Alex hadn't been the one to stitch him up.
"You bring the booze?" He asked after a minute, assuming that of course D had listened to him when he'd asked him to text Alex about it.
***
Alex hadn’t begun stitching up anything. Instead, he was sticking Leon in the leg with a numbing agent and something to help slow the bleed. The tourniquet D had tied was doing an okay job, but it still needed to be removed. Alex had already pulled on a pair of gloves and was having a difficult time juggling everything, including his phone to text in for a surgeon to prep a room.
“You don’t get any booze,” he told Leon as he slid the needle underneath skin, aimed to block even more bleeding. “You get to go into surgery.” That artery was going to have to be clamped and sewn and that wasn’t something Alex was equipped to do.
For now, he removed D’s tourniquet and tossed it aside. He put the needle into a bag and made quick work of measuring out and cutting some tubing which he placed under the skin. There was alcohol, but only a small bulb with some inside of it for the blood to drain. Only then did Alex start to sew the skin around it shut for now.
D was back with the poles, but Alex decided he didn’t need them since they would have to go to the hospital. Alex didn’t look at D, he wasn’t ready to do that again just yet. At least the poles were out of the truck. “Get that cigarette out of his mouth,” he told D. D did as he was instructed and dropped the cigarette into a glass of water next to the bed. The weird animals were peering into the bedroom and D snapped at them to get out.
“Just put those aside,” Alex told D as he closed off his stitching and started on an IV line. “I’ll come get them later. Do you think you can help me get him to the truck?” He glanced over in time to see D nod.
***
"I can walk on my own," Leon muttered,though he wasn't sure if he could, vaguely annoyed as his half-smoke cigarette was plucked from his mouth. Even still, he made no effort to get up from the bed, frowning between D, then Alex, then D again.
"I don't want to go to a hospital," he said after a moment, and his brain was foggy but this thought, at least, was clear and loud. Nevermind the fact that the only injuries hospitals were required to disclose to the police were gunshot wounds, or the fact that they couldn't pin what was obviously a wild animal attack on D, or even the fact that it would be easy enough to cover this up, or to get the Agency involved. All he was thinking about now was the fact that the last time he'd woken up bleeding next to someone he loved, he'd ruined their life; having Alex here now made it impossible to ignore. "It ain't happening."
***
“Shut up,” Alex said to Leon.
D was nearby, Alex could feel him and he suddenly understood why it was Leon could never get the man out of his head. The only difference here was Alex was sure his own hatred toward D wasn’t a disguise for love. At least D was cooperative.
Now that he knew Leon wasn’t about to bleed out in the next hour, Alex stood and did start to set up the polls.
“What are you doing?” D asked.
“Not taking him to the hospital is what I’m doing,” Alex answered and, to his surprise, D gave a nod in agreement, then suddenly disappeared into another room. Where the hell D was going, Alex didn’t know and he didn’t care either.
“You’re going to have to do what I say or I’m knocking you out and taking you in against your will,” Alex told his ex, then briefly touched the man’s cheek to get that blue gaze on him. “You’re going to be okay. Okay? Do you believe me?” This time, Leon was going to be okay. Alex was going to make sure of it and he was about to break about twenty federal laws to do it. Leon could try to arrest him after.
***
Leon watched D leave and swallowed, not willing to admit that he wanted D there in the room with him, not quite willing to admit how much strength he drew just from having D's presence there. He wouldn't have admitted it if anyone else has been there, and he definitely wouldn't admit it with Alex there.
He relaxed a little when Alex's hand was on him, and he nodded. "I knew I'd be okay the minute you showed up," he said with a weak smile. "Hell, from the minute D texted you."
That was still a bit of a surprise, really.
***
D wasn’t gone for long. When he did return, he’d put on more clothes and had clean sheets along with some padding and some of that damn incense.
The incense, he placed next to the bed. Alex turned away as D touched Leon’s cheek, then moved silently to help Alex who moved as well. Together, the two men helped Leon to stand again, though Alex made sure that the leg spent as little time as possible underneath Leon’s heart. To do that, they moved Leon to a chair in the room, then moved an ottoman and pillows underneath the leg.
They didn’t need to speak to get the sheets changed. D moved swiftly and quietly, taking the soiled sheets away.
“He at least comes in handy,” Alex remarked when D was gone, but they didn’t have much time to discuss it before D was back to help spread pads on top of the new sheets so they could soak up more blood. From Alex’s bag, they took out disposable pads to aid even further.
Once it was all made, they helped Leon back to lie down on the bed again. For Alex, the process was taking entirely too long and he thought about texting Lily over to help, but he was already breaking a thousand rules by being here in the first place and he didn’t want to leave the clinic too short handed.
***
Leon's hand went up to grasp D's fingers when he touched Leon's face, but his coordination was clumsier than he thought and he didn't manage to do much more than brush his fingertips, unexpectedly clammy now, against D's hand as he pulled away. His hand was shaking, he noticed with some confusion, and he tried to make it stop but couldn't quite manage it.
He swallowed, trying not to let his nervousness about that show, and didn't resist as the two men moved him to the other side of the room. He breathed in - first a shallow breath, and then deeper once the incense hit him, the familiar scent managing to calm him down a little. He closed his eyes briefly to let the scent fill him, and then smiled a little at Alex.
"He's usually useless, so this is a bit of a surprise," he said lightly, not bothering to lower his voice when D swept back into the room. In fact, he even allowed himself a quick glance just to be sure that D had heard him.
When they helped him back to the bed, Leon was able to help a little more, limping awkwardly toward the bed. "Gotta say, this wasn't exactly how I'd hoped you two would meet."
***
“I’ll show you useless,” D said irritably.
Fucking weirdos, that was what Alex thought, but it was only brief because there was work to be done.
It wasn’t an idea situation by any means, but here they were anyway. “I wish I at least had some ether,” Alex mumbled as he searched his bag for anything that would numb the sensation further when he had to start actually clamping down on the artery.
“I have some,” D announced.
Alex stopped and stared at D. “You just keep ether in your-”
But D was gone again and back within seconds with a bottle labeled Ether. Alex looked at his ex in astonishment. “Do I trust it?” he asked because he didn’t trust D as far as he could throw him. Under the circumstances, he’d very much like to throw D, out the window.
***
"You pro'ly shouldn' trust anything D hands you," Leon said, with a shallow chuckle. His hands were shaking more now, and he clasped them together to hide it, though he couldn't hide how pale his skin was becoming. "But it pro'ly won't hurt anythin'."
He couldn't seem to draw a satisfying breath, but the shallow ones he drew smelled like D's incense, and it was enough to keep Leon's head clear - Agent Howell claimed the incense caused confusion and hallucinations, and Leon couldn't help but chuckle to himself at yet another thing that smug FBI asshole had been proven wrong about. Anyway, Alex was here, and Alex would definitely make sure everything turned out okay.
***
Everything from there on out was quick.
Alex didn’t have much choice but to trust what he was given since Leon was fading.
“Good night,” Alex said to Leon just before he soaked a cloth in ether and knocked his ex out. It didn’t take long, especially with D’s assistance. D’s hands were sturdier and smaller than Alex’s, but he had those damn nails that he was somehow working just fine with. Together, with Leon asleep, they clamped the bleed that threatened the life of the man they mutually loved.
After everything was sewn (it took a total of half an hour), Alex started Leon’s fluids and antibiotic, as well as a coagulant that would help Leon’s artery to heal. Alex wrapped Leon’s leg up and left the room to allow D to sit with Leon as they waited for the ether to wear off.
D slid his fingers into his beloved Detective’s hair and brought his lips to the man’s forehead. Now he allowed himself to worry. There was still blood everywhere and the other slashes had been dressed and sewn where needed. D wasn’t sure he knew how to cry, but he was sure he felt something slide down his cheek that he wiped away with the back of his hand.
If he lost Leon…
D didn’t want to think about it. He moved a hand into Leon’s.
“You’re not allowed to go anywhere without me,” he whispered to him, his voice shaking.
***
Leon dreamed. He didn’t Dream, not capital-D dreams, but when he woke up he had vague memories of monstrous, scaly creatures, long extinct, chasing him through the rainforest, and no matter how many he killed with his bare hands, they kept coming, and somewhere over head, D’s voice - though it didn’t belong to D - laughed and taunted him.
His fingers squeezed D’s weakly moments before his eyes opened, and when he saw D there over him, his first reaction was to recoil. It only took him a moment to realize that it wasn’t Papa D hovering above him, it was his D, and he relaxed again, gave D a weak smile and his hand another squeeze, and then looked around for Alex.
He didn’t see him, and he frowned a little, but he did take in the state of the rest of the room. “Jesus, it looks like one of your homicidal pets got ahold of another victim in here,” he said hoarsely with a half smile, gently tugging D’s to persuade him to come closer so that Leon rest his aching head against D’s lap.
***
There it was. That look of hatred, and, was that fear?
Something had happened while the Detective was out, something that had knocked him back to the reality that he hated D and D recoiled as well, ever molecule in his body filling with overwhelming emotion. It had been as if something had shattered and, even as the Detective came to more and that look faded a little, and even more, bit by bit.
But D gave the Detective whatever he wanted, moving until the man’s head was resting against him and D’s long fingers were gently combing through the Detective’s hair. Twice tonight, D was sure that he was going to lose the Detective and he couldn’t bear the thought.
The Detective’s comment did have him rolling his eyes, though. “I have no homicidal pets, Detective,” he insisted, but just then, Alex screamed from the living room. D was just about to get up when Alex came into the bedroom with T-Chan latched on his arm.
“What the hell is this thing!?” Alex exclaimed, trying to shake the tetsu off of his arm.
“T-Chan,” D said calmly. “Let go of the nice doctor.”
***
Leon nuzzled D’s thigh, pressing his forehead against the fabric of D’s clothes, and he snorted loudly when D said he had no homicidal pets. He’d opened his mouth to ask incredulously about T-Chan, when Alex’s scream rang in his ears.
He shot up automatically, his head swimming from a lack of blood and pounding from the ether, and he nearly felt like he would pass out again, but then Alex came back with T-chan attached to him, and Leon let out a sigh of relief and let himself lay back down, this time keeping an inch or two between himself and D’s leg, though he hadn’t yet let go of his hand.
“I see you’ve met the bastard goat,” Leon muttered wryly.
***
“I’m not a doctor!” Alex exclaimed as the goat demon thing released him at last. T-Chan gave what Alex thought might be a grin before trotting back out of the room. “That thing should be shot,” he went on, checking his arm which, surprisingly, wasn’t bleeding. “I won’t get rabies or anything?”
“Hmph,” D heruphed, still combing calm digits through his Detective’s hair. He could see why the two still loved each other so much, they had a lot in common, including threatening to murder animals. D also noted the flushed look on the not-doctor’s face when he looked at the pair of them, but he didn’t stop what he was doing. “Will he be alright?” D asked.
Alex sighed, pushing fingers through his own hair. “Should be,” he said, then handed D a script. “This is so fucking illegal,” he said, “but that’s a script for antibiotics and some Oxycodone. If he can stand the pain with some Tylenol, that would be better, but if he can’t, you can give him a couple of those a day. The antibiotic needs to be taken twice a day until they’re gone. I have two more bags of the antibiotics he’s on right now. Do you think you can handle changing it in his IV?”
D gave a nod. He also wasn’t about to have his dear Detective take any opiates when D had better things for him; Alex didn’t need to know any of that, though.
“Take it to Grey’s Pharmacy on La Palma, they’ll fill it,” Alex told him. “I have to get back to work, but is it okay to come by after my shift?”
“Of course, Doctor,” D answered.
“I’m not a doctor yet.”
D would always ignore that.
***
"Yeah," Leon exclaimed, a bit of a laugh in his voice and a crooked smile on his face when Alex said T-chan should be shot. That was a thought Leon had had more than once.
His smile faded a little when he noticed Alex looking over at them though. He wished D would stop running his hands through his hair, but not enough to actually ask D to cut it out.
"I'll be fine without the opioids," Leon assured Alex. Even if he did currently feel like he was in enough pain that he might just keel over because of it. He didn't especially like the idea of drugs, legal or otherwise, and he wasn't about to get Alex in trouble or lose his job by filling a script that shouldn't have been written in the first place. He had booze for that sort of thing anyway, and while he'd never actually smoked marijuana in his life (if on didn't count the time Liv had given him "special brownies" without mentioning their special ingredient), he was pretty sure that was supposed to work as a painkiller and it was legal now.
"Hey Alex?" he called, lifting his free hand for Alex to take with a grimace. "Thanks for all of this. I owe you a beer when I'm up and at 'em again," he added with a wry smile, because he owed Alex a lot more than a beer and they both knew it.
***
“You owe me a shitton more than that,” Alex said grumpily. “But, for now, just get better. Questions later, mate.” He turned to D. “Fill the script anyway,” he said, but somehow knew D wouldn’t. “Keep that elevated above his heart at all times for the next few days. After that, the artery should be healed. If his leg swells more than it should, bring him into the clinic. If he starts running a fever, bring him into the clinic. If he starts puking or sweating or fainting, bring him into the clinic. If anything turns black or green, bring him into the clinic. I’ll be bringing more dressings when I come back.” Alex had done everything he possibly could to keep infection out, but without the sterile environment of an actual OR, there was a much greater risk. If that happened, Alex was screwed and would probably end up back behind bars.
Neither D nor darling Detective would allow any of that, but Alex couldn’t read those thoughts. All he could do was be nervous and ignore the urge to kiss Leon before he took off, back to work. He’d be back in the morning, regardless of their guard demon goat.
Though silent the entire time, D knew what needed to be done and how he was going to do it. With the artery fixed, D was going to keep his Detective safe. Quietly and carefully, he slipped his lap out from under the Detective’s head and situated him on pillows, then began to clean everything up. He had to move the Detective around to change his padding out. Another top sheet was delivered to him and a clean blanket.
***
Leon watched Alex leave, part of him - a very selfish part of him, he knew, but still a big part of him - wished Alex could just stay for a while longer. It wasn't fair to Alex though, and it wasn't especially fair to D either.
And then D's warm lap was leaving and it was replaced by D moving him around. He didn't know if D was trying to be gentle, but it sure didn't feel like it, and Leon swore at him when appropriate.
And then his gaze fell on the dead, three-eyed lizard he'd woken up with and had tossed to the other side of the room. In all the excitement, it seemed like it had been forgotten about.
"I don't know if T-chan can eat that thing," he said, nodding toward it. "You might wanna get rid of it before he can try sinking his teeth into it."
***
That thing certainly didn’t go unnoticed. For the first time since they’d woken up like this, D’s attention was pulled away from his darling Detective. He frowned as he saw a dead animal hit the wall, then fall to the floor. The creature had already been dead, that much was evident, so it hadn’t been the Detective, but…
“A little respect, Officer,” he scolded, annoyed, then stood and crossed over to gently pick up the carcass. He held it in his palm, his hair covering the half of his face that was facing the Detective. He couldn’t very well start asking questions or anything else while his Detective was in this state.
***
“At least one of these scars was caused by that little bastard, so I think I’m showing it exactly the right amount of respect,” Leon muttered darkly, glaring at the lizard for a moment. But of course D would get all weepy about it. He tried to tell himself that he was being unfair in thinking that D probably cared more about the dead lizard than he did about how Leon had woken up - D obviously had been worried about him. He wasn’t sure if he’d actually seen D look that worried about anything. Still, he couldn’t help the unjust thought.
***
But for as much as D mourned the death of the creature and did wrap it into its own wings, then up in a silken cloth from his dresser drawer, then placed it on the dresser for now, he still went to his Detective and put his arms around the man’s neck as he sat down. They’d made love and his heart belonged here. For every animal he needed to protect, he would protect this man with equal fervor.
“Detective,” he breathed. “I want to hear about everything when you can.” Then, because he didn’t know how else to say that he was glad that his darling Detective was going to be okay, he said, “You’re an idiot.”
***
Leon frowned, wondering how much he really wanted to tell. D would dream about it eventually, he was pretty sure. At least, he thought he might. D never would talk about where he was in the Dreams, and the only reason Leon knew he dreamed at all was because of the odd creature that came through them. He ignored D’s comment, except to shoot him a glare which was probably more intimidating than normal, given the state of his face. He didn’t know if Alex had put any stitches in his face while he was out - everything part of his body hurt the same amount, except for his leg which had a deep throb to go along with the sharp pains - but given the fact that he wasn’t wiping blood from his eye anymore, he thought that maybe Alex had at least stitched the wound on his forehead that had been bleeding so heavily.
“If we ever come to that point in our relationship where it’s time to meet your parents,” Leon said instead, “Then that’s a hard pass from me.”
***
Why did it all have to be tonight?
It was no longer technically night, but why did it need to be when they’d gotten closer?
“Don’t look at me that way,” D said. He didn’t think he could stand the Detective looking at him like that again, especially when the Detective was stitched from head to toe, even the big gashes on his arm and shoulder.
The comment about his parents weren’t commented on. Instead, D stood and crossed to the other side of the room, unable to stomach the look on the Detective’s face anymore. “Get some rest,” he said. “You need it. I’ll have tea for you when you’re awake. I am not to let you up except to use the bathroom.”
***
Leon frowned in surprise, blinking when D got up so suddenly. He hadn’t meant anything by the look, or the comment. He was tired though - exhausted, really, and he was pretty sure that the ether nap he’d taken earlier hadn’t helped much.
“Wait, D, come back here,” he said, grimacing a little as he reached his arm out for him.
***
Before their night, D would have insisted that the Detective get his rest and might have even had T-Chan come guard the door, with the promise that if the Detective got up to do anything but use the bathroom, that he could take a chunk out of the man’s lovely rearend.
But that was before. This was now.
D had to fight the urge to do everything the same, but he found himself moving toward the Detective and standing next to the bed. “Stop moving around,” he said, noting the slight pain that registered on the Detective’s face. “You have stitches all over that arm,” he informed him.
***
“Yeah, I noticed,” Leon said, a touch of sarcasm in his voice, but despite D’s chiding he still reached further still to grab a hold of the front of D’s clothing, and while he didn’t have a whole lot of strength at his disposal, he used all of it so that he could pull D down for a kiss. It wasn’t quite a peck, though Leon wasn’t exactly up for anything more vigorous.
“At least stay with me until I fall asleep,” he said quietly.
***
“You’re going to pop your…”
Anything further was lost to the Detective’s mouth. D was still stunned by the way the Detective felt, like primal, wild instinct, stubble, and utter masculinity. D practically melted. If the Detective asked him to stand on his head, D would have done just that.
“Stitches,” he whispered against the Detective’s mouth.
D’s shoulders relaxed some and he gently pressed the Detective back. Later, he’d have to get up and give the creature in the silk cloth a proper burial and he’d have to make tea and take a day off from the shop to take care of the Detective. The Living.
“As long as you rest,” he promised, his lips back to their regular smile.
***
“Yeah, rest,” Leon muttered, already half-asleep now that he was sure that D would be there while he fell asleep. He let go of the front of his clothes so that he could find D’s hand instead to twine his fingers with him. Falling asleep on his own… well, it wasn’t something Leon especially wanted to do right now.
“You’re gonna have to go by my place to check on Gatolotto,” Leon murmured. “And maybe put some food out for the stray.” He had a bag of cheap kibble near the balcony door and a small, metal cat dish that he kept on the balcony, so it would be easy enough to figure out.
And then, with D next to him, he fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.