Christmas a few months later saw the pet shop bustling with business as clients poured in to find that special gift, the perfect pet. Many satisfied customers left with the pet of their dreams and a few more deserving left with the pet of their nightmares. Leon greeted as many customers as the Count did having taken a leave of absence to be with his wife during the last stages of her pregnancy. He was the talk of the entire police department as well as a few other government agencies as those with slack jaws yammered away about his sudden marriage and how everyone had believed the Count to be male if effeminate. Well wishes were made and snickers were kept well away from the hothead blonde who had showed no problem doing physical damage to the few who had made ribald comments to his face. Jiaoshu showed tremendous grace at being labeled a female to smooth things in the public eye. He was truly happy for once in his long life all of his family by his side as his and Leon's child kicked and moved within him.
All of them had made the petshop there own, each settling into various rooms and making themselves at home. Ning and Jill had claimed the room they had first made love in as theirs and spent an overt amount of time in the rain room. Eros had found a purple glass bottle in the kitchen of the petshop and claimed it as his territory flitting about dragging tiny bits of fabric into making himself a lovely nest in the bottom. Leon had taken quite a liking to the little pixie and had had many tiny pillows made as well as clothes for the firefly to include several hats with outlandish plumes and floppy brims. Ellandhra and Nana had moved into a corner of the basement settling in and getting to no one another all over again after a millennium of being apart. Ellandhra had refused to return to the world her kind dwelled on and was subsequently stripped of all her powers safe the smallest but true to her nature she blew it off in favor of Nana's arms. Alan eventually was brought round back to the world of the living by Q-Chan who never gave up on him, constantly diving into his subconscious and giving him his love and affection until the sealed off young man responded. They too had found a comfortable niche in one of the back rooms. A place with a large fireplace and several soft fur rugs in front of it where they would lay and talk and touch neither in a hurry, taking it slow working out the abuse Alan had suffered and finding comfort in each others caress. Not long after there arrival Tet-chan started sniffing about Daniel and the more he sniffed the more he wanted the timid young man finding him to have a scent so compelling that he wanted to constantly hold him. Daniel at first was resistant and afraid but Tet-chan's courting was consistent and persistent. Held close in the company of a group of people who loved him he found himself relaxing even as his body stomach swelled with his and Wu Long's child. He never questioned taking Wu Long, the boy to raise as his own and found Tet-chan a willing surrogate father for both babies. Daniel was permanently altered by his experiences and could not step outside of the petshop terrified of the world around him but found his own bit of peace in Tet-chan's strong arms and passionate love.
Christmas morning found them all around a great fir tree strung with Chinese miniature lanterns and decorated with paper fans the five year old Wu Long had made from pieces of brightly colored paper. Gifts were exchanged and much food was eaten by everyone as they all human, kami, dragon, pixie and whatnot celebrated what was important in life, hope, love, dreams and family. Most importantly family. Leon drowsed sleepy on D's antique couch watching Wu Long color on the floor opposite his brother Chris who had come for a visit around Thanksgiving and had never left. His arm was comfortably around D's shoulder and he was sharing in their bond their child's contentment inside D's belly. Across the room Alan and Ellandhra were playing Monopoly with Nana and Q-Chan and every now then you could hear sharp thwack and a snicker as one or both of them were kicked or hit by their kami partners for cheating or making lewd comments. Leon had to smile to himself at the sheer amount of trouble Alan and Ellandhra could get up to when left alone together the older woman more then willing to help Alan in all kinds of mischief. Ning and Jill were both asleep in one of the chairs, a mixture of limbs and hair curled together. Daniel was tucked up on the love seat mostly asleep one hand draped across Tet-Chan's chest who was sitting on the floor beneath him. The only thing not perfectly right was Eros who flitted in his bottle lonely in his tiny world.
A knock on the door roused Leon from his doze and he rather regrettably untangled himself from D to get the door. Although they were closed a feeling washed over him that he recognized was the petshop itself alerting him to a special customer, fortunately not in a bad way this time. Leon opened the door to find a puzzled looking young man on the stoop.
"Yes, can I help you?" He asked politely sizing up the person in front of him.
"Um, yes, I'm lost and I don't know how to get back to my hotel can you help me?" The boy asked a tinge of wistful hopefulness to his voice. Leon took in the long blonde hair, thick and ruffled and the mismatched eyes carefully. Eros was buzzing madly in bottle on the table and Leon just knew he'd found the perfect Christmas gift for the little pixie.
"Yes, I think I can. Why don't you come in? We have much to talk about."
End Notes: I end this with my favorite quote from the Last Unicorn. "Then let it end here......I can't because nothing ever ends...