Language:English
Categories: Action/Adventure/Romance
Title: My Obsession
Summary: "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav?! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I?!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'
My Obsession
Yes, the last chapter was short-ish. I didn't see any reason to press the matter when everything was clear anyway; besides, I hate OC's in a fanfic so I try to limit their appearance as much as possible if they aren't absolutely important to the flow of events. Genny isn't. So. (coughs)...Either way, we just wanted to add some bits for Filia to show her end of the ordeal. Kinda like with Amelia, really. Ugh, though, I really hate the story right now. I've got the ending all prep'd, so all I have to do is update til I get that one posted and ta-da.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Never
"Where does he keep hiding? Lord Gaav demanded everybody be at the next meeting and if we can't find that prat, it's our necks on the plate!"
"I swear, he'll be the death of us if Lord Gaav finds out we lost him again."
"Shh, quiet; he can't find out!"
"It's like we're hunting out a human child."
"I think I found-! Oh, nevermind, it's just Marixa."
" 'Just' Marixa?! Why you-!"
These kinds of conversation had been going on for the past few days since the Demon Dragon King had finally recovered Valgaav's memories, and all of them generally resulted in Gaav's discovery of their failure in keeping up with the dragon whenever he went outside the relative safety of their temporary headquarters. Which, of course, typically resulted in the death of at least one of the search party. However, the more the mishaps occurred, the more Gaav was starting to catch onto the fact that it wasn't the incompetance of his followers to blame; it was the knack Val had for wit and cunning, which had always exceeded theirs by far. Come to think of it, he'd always been fairly difficult to track down if he didn't want company; Jillas had even experienced that first-hand when he'd gone looking for him and wound up lost in the tunnels.
Heck, even Gaav had occasionally experience difficulty in locating him if he didn't first locate the dragon's energy signature on the astral plane.
From where he sat a few rooms over, Val watched the searchers move away and chuckled. "Just like a child's game."
"A'right, you three, wherever you are, I'm comin'!" Gravos stated loudly, gazing around the empty room. From where she had ducked behind the book case, Filia gave a smile as she inwardly giggled to herself. She certainly had never thought she'd get to play hide and seek again, not after she'd taken up training for her role as a priestess! "He'll never find us, Jillas!" Val whispered in excitement, peeking through the window at the troll from where he hovered in the air. Though still only five or so, Val's dragon form was still at least two times bigger than the fox and Gravos, who were more than a little aware that that was plenty big enough to crush them with little effort, however accidental. So, Jillas clung to the Ancient's neck tightly as he gave a cheerful smile, more afraid of being unintentionally flattened by a less than graceful landing on part of Val should he fall than of the actual fall itself. "Jus' be careful, li'l boss." whispered the one-eyed critter, chuckling. "Ye don't want any accidents up 'ere." As the troll came out towards the yard, he spied the duo from the corner of his eye and inwardly smiled. It never amazed him how well they got along, but he had to admit: this stunt somewhat surprised him. "I found the boss, but I wonder where Val 'n Jillas are? They jus' disappeared!" In silent laughter, Val quietly made his way to Gravos from behind, grinning. Turning quickly to come face-to-snout with the young Ancient, Gravos called out triumphantly, "Ah-ha!" Startled by the sudden discovery, val yelped as he darted back quickly in an instinctual act of defense, eyes wide. He'd never expected that! As his feet met with the roof of the store unexpectedly and he made an unintentional shift back to his human shape, he noticed the lessening of pressure on his back with the passing of seconds. A quick glance back as he attempted to catch his balance told him that he'd not only lost said balance, but his passenger as well! Looking down told him Gravos had successfully caught a bewildered Jillas, but why wasn't he falling..? "Are you alright?" a worried voice above him asked, followed by a gentle nudge to the head. With a smile, the young Ancient noted that two golden limbs held him gently, though securely, to a sleek dragon's body. "Mother!" he cried happily, hugging the Golden as well as his arms would reach. Smiling down at the tiny boy in her arms, Filia softly nudged his head in a show of motherly affection. "Ooh, my little Val." she said softly, landing beside Gravos and Jillas and setting the youth down beside her. Once she had resumed her human form, she threw her arms around him in a warm hug. "I'm so happy we get this chance."
"VAL!" a booming voice interrupted the teen's thoughts, returning him to the present in surprise. Had someone found him?
Blinking, Val realized he was wrapped tightly in the Chaos Dragon's arms, feeling a little wet all over. As Gaav breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, the aqua-haired boy's brows furrowed; where was he? And how did Gaav find him?
Before he could pose these questions, however, Gaav tipped his chin up and kissed him fiercely before pulling back. Val watched curiously as his taller lover deftly unbuttoned his trench coat, tugging him against his chest and wrapping it about him to shelter him from getting too much wetter. Frowning, Gaav asked in a tone of voice dripping with frustration, "What the hell, Val? What's the point of trying to walk off a building in the damn rain?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack or what?!"
"Lord Gaav!" Val started, finally recalling his current situation. "What-"
"You can't keep doing that, Val; for Ruby Eye's sake, you may still be a dragon, but before you walk off the damn building you might want to think about sprouting those pretty little wings of yours! Remember how bad it was using your dragon half back when you were half Mazoku, too? Split it by just under a third, and that's about what you have from walking off the roof!"
"Yes, but last time it happened they caught us, so-"
Gaav frowned down at his lover, having no idea what he was talking about. Whatever it was, it wasn't anything that had happened during their time together, and it hadn't been during the incident with Dark Star. That left one option: it was one of Val's memories from this life, rather than Valgaav's, that he was thinking of. Even as the discovery was still being made, the frown grew wider. If Val ever did somehow completely revert back to the mentality of the full-blooded Ancient he had been, would he remember having met him, just as Valgaav had shown a bit of difficulty remembering to act on Val's memories? Or would he go back to before that point, to when the only people he'd thought really mattered to him were Filia, Jillas, and Gravos?
Gaav sighed, sparing a glance towards the sky. I've worked too hard to get back my precious Valgaav's memories to lose him again; no matter how many of Val's memories try to change him back, I'm not giving him up!
Looking back down to the dragon in his arms, Gaav inwardly kicked himself for what he was about to say. He knew very well that the young man would be far from thrilled with the demands, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Right?
"Val, you're not allowed to go out into public outside of the headquarters, that motel, and that dragon woman's place. I refuse to lose you to some stupid accident, and I'm damn sure not going to let you revert because of whatever might pop up. The only time you're allowed out is when that fox or troll, or one of my other followers is watching you."
Val's eyes widened, brows knitting together in anger as he snarled, "What?!"
The expression on Gaav's face was dead serious. He looked down into the teen's golden-amber eyes as if silently communicating to him the seriousness behind his order. He would have to listen to him, and he wouldn't tolerate an argument over it. So, understanding the terms, Val simply growled to himself at being forced to quietly submit to such an uncharacteristically over-protective order. "Of course, my Lord." With this, he started towards the window to go back in.
Mentally, Gaav rolled his eyes. He recognized the tone of voice used to reply to him; it was normally reserved for the fights they'd had in the past, and it always bothered him to no end that it reminded him of how a human would feel in seeing a puppy that's been abused its whole life being kicked by its saviours. What made it worse was that he got the feeling the dragon didn't even notice it, and worse still, he'd often spotted a pattern in which, when it was used, he wouldn't have much to do with Gaav for a good while outside of missions, much like a pouting child. No matter, he would have to rectify that in a bit; he didn't want anyone to see the two of them precariously perched on the roof's edge.
"Val, will-" Gaav began, only to be cut off as Val turned abruptly to face him. Sensing the forming storm in the horizon if he didn't choose his words carefully, he amended, "You could get in trouble if someone's not with you; someone might find out about our situation, or you could get hurt."
Rather than blowing up at him as Gaav had expected, Val nodded sharply and replied, "Understood, Lord Gaav." And with not another word, he slid back into the window and proceeded down the hall.
...Okay, the youth wasn't just pissed at him; he was beyond that, and seemed to be well on his way to an all-too-familiar furious rampage. Though he'd had many since he and the redhead had first met, the Demon Dragon King was never fond of them. The last one had been bad enough to get him killed! That thought, in itself, wasn't all that pleasant.
As Gaav made his way back inside and rung his hair out over the carpet a bit, one of the blue-eyed man's slightly higher-level followers arched a brow. "Fighting with the missus?" he inquired, earning a warning glance before Gaav strode briskly after the teenager.
As soon as he caught up to Val, Gaav's arms wound tightly around his waist in a hug, scowling across the room to the wall. "Val," he started, "listen to me: don't get anywhere too close to that woman, and be careful when you're alone. I don't want anything to happen to you; I lost you once, and I'm not losing you again. Not even to yourself. Never."
Quietly, Val glanced up into concerned blue eyes as his arms made their way gently around the taller's neck. "My Lord, are-"
Lips pressing against Val's, Gaav slowly backed him towards the wall and pulled down the blinds. Once they had slowly broken apart, he repeated, "Never."
He pressed the young dragon's back to the wall gently, smirking down at him as he took in the teen's appearance. As the anmber-eyed male brought one leg up and perched it about his waist, there was still only one thing coursing through the Chaos Dragon's mind.
No matter what happens or who you think you are, you're still mine, Val; I'm not going to let go that easily, even if you do. You're mine.
To Be Continued..