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emerald_embersTitle: Role Reversal
Fandom: Petshop of Horrors
Pairing: D/Leon
Rating: PG
Word Count: 521
Summary: "Have you ever been out in the woods, detective?"
D might well claim not to care about humans, but Leon had his doubts. His gut still said something about D was wrong, but watching him with Chris turned the unsettled feeling into something he didn't entirely mind.
He also had his suspicions that Chris actively enjoyed provoking D into talking about his affinity with animals on a more personal level than he ever would under Leon's interrogations.
"Our friend here is lonely because he can never go home. His family were taken away by my ancestors and we have taken care of them ever since."
Chris' eyes were wide, concerned. Questioning.
"Because he belongs in Scotland but the rest of his kind were hunted down many years ago."
The answer wasn't good enough for Chris, his eyes still questioning, and D glanced up at Leon briefly; deceptively serenely too, before he turned back to Chris. "For the same reason any predator is hunted down. Because humans look out for themselves only - and because they do not stop to understand why a creature attacks or kills."
Chris nodded before stroking the dog's flanks until the other pets started demanding their share of attention.
Leon slurped at his tea, still feeling ridiculous holding something as needlessly delicate as a teacup, before catching D's eye. "What's so bad about being over here instead of Scotland anyway? Isn't it frozen half the time?"
D raised an eyebrow as elegantly groomed as his fingernails. "Scotland may frequently be cold, but it is by no means Arctic. Besides, what you may find cold with your near-naked skin would be quite comfortable to someone in furs. Our friend here should, by all rights, be back in the forest with his kin. Have you ever been out in the woods, detective?"
"Well, yeah, I -" On second thought, telling D about his first hunting trip? Probably not so smart. "Yeah."
D nodded, eyes distant and expression somewhat melancholic, which didn't help with the guilt unsettling Leon's stomach. "The woods in Scotland were even lovelier, detective. Dark and deep." Leon wondered why it was so easy to picture; a forest almost black, even in daylight, from growing so dense; dogs almost blending in against the muted colours, where someone like D with blinding white skin would look even less human, if not quite out of place. "The sort your Little Red Riding Hood or Hansel and Gretel might have been familiar with. Even in winter there were evergreens to tide over enough prey that the predators could find slim pickings. Of course, some still remain, but..." He trailed off, and Leon put down his tea, grabbed D's wrist and took a breath before reality smacked him in the face and asked him what the Hell he'd planned to do or why he hadn't thought twice about the grabbing thing.
D looked rather puzzled at being touched too, and Leon let go before kicking away Tetsu who'd apparently decided to leap to D's defence by savaging Leon's leg.
Wasn't until he was cleaning up the bite afterwards that he had to wonder to himself why exactly he'd been about to apologise to D on behalf of the human race.
The End
Fandom: Petshop of Horrors
Pairing: D/Leon
Rating: PG
Word Count: 521
Summary: "Have you ever been out in the woods, detective?"
D might well claim not to care about humans, but Leon had his doubts. His gut still said something about D was wrong, but watching him with Chris turned the unsettled feeling into something he didn't entirely mind.
He also had his suspicions that Chris actively enjoyed provoking D into talking about his affinity with animals on a more personal level than he ever would under Leon's interrogations.
"Our friend here is lonely because he can never go home. His family were taken away by my ancestors and we have taken care of them ever since."
Chris' eyes were wide, concerned. Questioning.
"Because he belongs in Scotland but the rest of his kind were hunted down many years ago."
The answer wasn't good enough for Chris, his eyes still questioning, and D glanced up at Leon briefly; deceptively serenely too, before he turned back to Chris. "For the same reason any predator is hunted down. Because humans look out for themselves only - and because they do not stop to understand why a creature attacks or kills."
Chris nodded before stroking the dog's flanks until the other pets started demanding their share of attention.
Leon slurped at his tea, still feeling ridiculous holding something as needlessly delicate as a teacup, before catching D's eye. "What's so bad about being over here instead of Scotland anyway? Isn't it frozen half the time?"
D raised an eyebrow as elegantly groomed as his fingernails. "Scotland may frequently be cold, but it is by no means Arctic. Besides, what you may find cold with your near-naked skin would be quite comfortable to someone in furs. Our friend here should, by all rights, be back in the forest with his kin. Have you ever been out in the woods, detective?"
"Well, yeah, I -" On second thought, telling D about his first hunting trip? Probably not so smart. "Yeah."
D nodded, eyes distant and expression somewhat melancholic, which didn't help with the guilt unsettling Leon's stomach. "The woods in Scotland were even lovelier, detective. Dark and deep." Leon wondered why it was so easy to picture; a forest almost black, even in daylight, from growing so dense; dogs almost blending in against the muted colours, where someone like D with blinding white skin would look even less human, if not quite out of place. "The sort your Little Red Riding Hood or Hansel and Gretel might have been familiar with. Even in winter there were evergreens to tide over enough prey that the predators could find slim pickings. Of course, some still remain, but..." He trailed off, and Leon put down his tea, grabbed D's wrist and took a breath before reality smacked him in the face and asked him what the Hell he'd planned to do or why he hadn't thought twice about the grabbing thing.
D looked rather puzzled at being touched too, and Leon let go before kicking away Tetsu who'd apparently decided to leap to D's defence by savaging Leon's leg.
Wasn't until he was cleaning up the bite afterwards that he had to wonder to himself why exactly he'd been about to apologise to D on behalf of the human race.
The End
