Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Fake, I just wanna date 'em real bad!
Warnings: Sex between two men, lots. Language. Angst. This is very, very sappy. Make sure you have Kleenex, lots of Kleenex!
Thanks to everyone who reviewed and e-mailed me. I'm glad you're enjoying the stories as much as I am. Review me again, and again, and again! Okay, way too much coffee today, sorry. :)
A hot tongue traced a sensuous line along Ryo's spine.
"No," Ryo mumbled.
"Yes," Dee insisted and two large hands caressed the long line of Ryo's torso, kneading, massaging, slowly coming to his hips. Once there, they gripped, squeezed, and then opened him.
"No," Ryo said, stronger as he tried to burrow under his pillow.
"Yes," Dee insisted again and a wet finger began lazily circling around Ryo's tender bud, scratching lightly, rubbing, entering just enough to excite the sensitive flesh inside.
"No!" Ryo exclaimed, but it was a moan too.
"Yes!" Dee retorted happily and began sliding his finger in.
"No!" Bicky shouted from the other side of the bedroom door. "Dee, you're supposed to take me to school early for tutoring! Get your lazy ass out of bed!"
Dee retrieved his finger as if it had burned him. He swore and glared at the closed door. "Are you sure we have to keep him?"
"Yes," Ryo snapped back and rolled out of bed. Dee had an enticing view of pale, perfect limbs, an angel's face, and Ryo's hard on as the man was ducking into the bathroom.
"Damn! I was getting somewhere!" Dee exclaimed and punched a pillow in frustration.
"Get ready, Dee!" Ryo called from the bathroom.
"All right! All right! I don't know how I'm going to put on my pants though," Dee replied plaintively. "Uh, you think you could take care of this for me, Ryo?"
Ryo came from the bathroom and began throwing on his clothes. "No," he replied shortly. "Now, throw some cold water on it and get dressed. The Head's going to chew me out if I'm late."
"The Head... Head, Head, Head!" Dee grumbled, "That's all you talk about lately." He grinned, realizing what he had just said. "No wonder head is on my mind. " He slid out of bed and stretched his long, lanky frame with a masculine grace. He noticed Ryo staring sideways at his impressive erection and he chuckled. "Sure you don't want to be late, Baby?"
Dee sidled up behind Ryo, wrapped arms around him, and pushed his erection between Ryo's thighs. Ryo blushed and ducked his head in embarrassment as Dee rubbed in and out between his legs. Ryo had on his pants and the soft material was heating up Dee even more as it brushed against his bare skin.
Dee reached into Ryo's waistband and found the man's erection. Dee rubbed it and Ryo moaned, leaning back, hips lifting submissively, suddenly ready for whatever Dee wanted to do with him. Grinning, Dee kissed Ryo's cheek lovingly and then released him. When he stepped back, Ryo staggered a little, blind with the need Dee had stirred up. He turned, looking at Dee dazedly.
"Just something to think about while you're working with Rose today," Dee said with an evil smirk. "It'll make you eager to leave him and come home with me."
Ryo recovered and scowled. "You..! I am so sick of your jealousy! How many times do I have to tell you that Rose is over me? We've worked on this drug case for two weeks and he hasn't said one inappropriate word or made any move to touch me."
Ryo's honey colored hair had fallen into his angry face. Dee gently brushed it aside and cupped Ryo's chin, frowning and serious. "Oh, Baby! You're beautiful inside and out. I'm the luckiest guy on Earth to have you... and everybody else knows it. Rose knows it too." Dee sighed and let Ryo go. He turned to put on his clothes. "You just don't see the bad in anyone Ryo. I love you for that, but it doesn't help you where guys like Rose are concerned. They'll take advantage of that in a heartbeat."
"I'm not a child," Ryo retorted as he strapped on his gun in its shoulder holster.
"No, you're not," Dee agreed. "You're just a really nice guy. I want to make sure you stay that way. I'm not going to let Rose, or anybody else like him, put their filthy moves on you."
"Hurry up, guys!" Bicky's voice shouted.
"Cal must be waiting for him," Dee grumbled as he strapped on his own gun. "He can't be that eager to get to his tutor."
Ryo slapped Dee's electric razor into his hand. "Shave on the way."
"What about breakfast?" Dee protested as he slung on his coat.
"Your own fault," Ryo growled, hopping as he tied his shoes without sitting down. "Because you decided to turn off the alarm and grope me, we're both going to go hungry."
"Like you didn't enjoy it!" Dee snorted as he opened the door of their bedroom and motioned Ryo to proceed him. Ryo paused on his way out and gave Dee a deep kiss. His dark eyes were full of love and Dee felt his heart constrict. He WAS the luckiest guy on Earth!
"I can take care of myself, Latener," Ryo said after breaking the kiss, "I did it long before you came into my life!"
"Sorry, Baby," Dee replied, "I just love you, ya know? I care about you too. Don't ever tell me not to, because that isn't going to happen."
Bicky was shoveling cereal into his mouth with one hand while his other was trying to slip a coat onto himself. Ryo, with the care of a mother, helped the blue eyed, part African American boy put it on and then began snapping the buttons closed.
Bicky shrugged away, dropping his spoon into the empty bowl. He said impatiently, "Mmm not a baby, Ryo," He said around a mouthful of cereal. "I can do for myself."
"Gomen. Sorry," Ryo said with a smile and let him go.
"Come on, Stupid!" Bicky snarled as Dee ducked into the kitchen. "You can feed your face AFTER you drop me off!"
Dee came back out of the kitchen with several pop tarts and a thermos of coffee. "Let's roll!"
"Those are mine!" Bicky protested.
"What?" Dee wondered as he headed for the door.
"The Pop tarts!"
"I don't see your name on them!" Dee snarled back.
"Boys!" Ryo shouted over them both and they paused to look at him. "Iku yo! Let's go! Save it for later. We are all late!"
Ryo went out the door. Bicky looked after him and then said aside to Dee, as he began to follow. "Jeez! He got up on the wrong side of bed!"
Dee frowned as Bicky snatched away one of his pop tarts. "Yeah, it WAS the wrong side. It wasn't MY side of the bed!"
"Pervert," Bicky said with a sneer.
"Delinquent," Dee responded.
They glared at each other and stopped in the doorway.
"Boys?!" Ryo's voice whipped back to them.
"Okay! Okay!" Dee growled as he saved his last pop tart from Bicky's snatching hand. "Me and midget here are coming!"
"At least I'm not a mental midget," Bicky retorted.
"That's not what I heard."
"Boys!"
"Glad you could join us!" The Chief snarled as they sat at their desks, the center of a whirlpool of commotion: phones ringing, computer keyboards clicking and clacking, voices rising and falling, and the general hubbub of a busy station all around them.
"Coffee?" Dee asked Ryo, nonplussed by the hulking Chief who was chewing on his unlit cigar so hard that they expected it to be cut in half at any moment.
"Onegai," Ryo responded just as calmly as he began to read all the sticky notes attached to his computer and his phone.
As Dee began to pour coffee from the thermos into their well used coffee cups, he held his pop tart in his mouth. Without looking up, Ryo reached out, broke off half, ignoring Dee's mumbled protest, and began calmly eating it as he read.
The Chief stared at them with fisted hands on hips and then he exploded. "I'd put you both on report, but no one else would do your stinking jobs for what I pay you!"
"We get paid for this?" Dee growled around his pop tart and handed Ryo a mug of coffee. "I thought that itty bitty check I get every week was charity from some nice old lady or something."
"Shut up, Latener!" The Chief roared, so angry he was almost purple. "You think you're funny, don't you?"
"Well..."
"Shut up!" The Chief roared again. "See how funny you think you are on wharf detail!"
Dee's mouth fell open. "What? What are you talking about? That's for rookies!"
"And you're acting like one! I don't take lip from anyone, boy, especially from you!" The Chief jabbed a finger at Dee for emphasis.
"You don't have an open case right now. You're partner is doing stake out with Rose. Seems you have some free time. Nobody else does, so... wharf detail!"
The Chief stormed away. Dee sat back in his chair and glared after him. "I can't believe this! This is so-so-"
Ryo sighed. "Genki dashite, Koi," he said. "Cheer up. I have to work stake out tonight," he waved a large note at Dee. He took a long sip of coffee and then added, "Wharf detail will keep you and your libido occupied until I get back."
"Ha, ha!" Dee growled and sank down into his seat, green eyes glowering under his unruly black hair and arms crossed angrily over his chest. "Where's your stake out?"
"Grange Hotel."
Dee sat up in disbelief. "Hotel?"
Ryo pushed his honey colored hair aside from his face and stood up. "Yes, hotel. The drug dealers Rose and I have been tracking have been using it as a base for distribution for the last few days."
"Let me guess," Dee retorted. "Wire taps, right?"
Ryo blinked at him. "Yes."
"So, you and Rose will be staying in a hotel room... listening?"
Ryo frowned. "I know where this is going, Dee! Please, just stop! I'm a detective. I have to do my job."
"Every time that Rose gets bored behind his desk,' Dee pointed out, "He chooses to partner with you and do something dangerous."
"Our job IS dangerous!" Ryo retorted.
"But he takes chances," Dee replied, not letting up. "Very dangerous chances. If something were to happen to you, I'd kill him."
Dee said it in such a cold, deadly tone, that Ryo glanced quickly around them to see if anyone else had heard. The only person looking their way was Dreig. The big detective stood up and came over. He looked down at Dee. Dee hunched into his arms and looked away, hard.
"I have to report that comment, Dee," Dreig said anxiously.
"Yeah, do that!" Dee replied. "I WANT Rose to know about it."
Dreig looked at Ryo helplessly. Ryo took a deep breath and then said evenly. "I have to go, Dee. We'll talk about this later. You can't- You can't treat me like this... not trusting my judgment. You can't go around threatening people because you're afraid for me either. I can't accept that kind of behavior from you."
"Where are you going?" Dee wondered, his anger dying and being replaced by a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"I have a meeting with Rose and then I'm going back home to rest before the stake out." Ryo picked up his coat. "I'll take the subway."
"I have to work at the wharf tonight now. I have to go home again too. I'll drive us," Dee said and began to get up from his chair. Ryo's shake of the head stopped him.
"No, Dee," Ryo said firmly. "I... I need some time, okay? I'm upset. You'll have to answer to Dreig's report anyhow. Hopefully...," Ryo turned away and Dee saw his shoulder shiver a little. "Hopefully, they'll realize that you weren't serious."
"But, I-" Dee began to reply, but Ryo cut him off.
"Hopefully,' Ryo repeated forcefully, "They'll realize that you weren't serious, Dee."
"Yeah," Dee replied. "Just a joke."
"Ja na, Dee."
"Yeah, later," Dee sighed and watched his partner leave him.
"Dumbass!" Dreig swore at Dee and turned to make his report.
"You have to meet with a counselor, have a psych exam, and pull wharf duty for a month... That is, if you pass the psych exam," the Chief growled around his unlit cigar. He tossed Dreig's report aside, chewed on his cigar, and then glared across his desk at Dee.
"Are you listening, Latener?!" Dee came back from his deep thoughts with a start. "Because if you aren't...!" The Chief pounded both fists on his desk. He had a cup of pens and pencils. They rattled, teetered precariously, and then settled unharmed. "I'll have to suspend you! I should suspend you right now and pull your gun, but I know you! I know you like to run your mouth. I know you didn't mean what you said. Since Rose has seen fit not to comment, I can only assume he thinks the same way. You're a screw up, Latener, but even you can understand how serious threats like yours are! They can't be tolerated! Say anything else about the Head, even look the wrong way at him, and I'll have you tossed out on your ass. Got that, Latener?"
"Yeah, Chief." Dee stood up dejectedly. "Can I go home now?"
"Get out of here!" The Chief ordered and waved a big hand at Dee dismissively. Dee had almost reached the door when the Chief said in an undertone. "Tell that partner of yours to watch himself. I don't like Rose either, but that's between you and me."
Dee nodded, feeling a little better as he left the Chiefs office, but the person he most wanted to understand was angry at him and didn't understand at all. As he made his way home, he hoped that Ryo had calmed down and , hopefully, forgiven him for being a jerk.
"He don't want to see you!" Bicky crooned with satisfaction as Dee came through the front door. Dee tossed his coat over the boy's head and headed for the bedroom door. He knocked cautiously.
"Ryo?"
"Hai?"
Dee took a deep breath at the trembling emotion in Ryo's voice. He leaned his cheek against the door and rested there as if he could somehow touch Ryo that way.
"I was an idiot," Dee began.
"Hai," Ryo replied.
"Threatening Rose was unforgivable," Dee winced, wishing he hadn't said that. "The Chief gave me my punishment. Wharf detail for a month. Psych evaluation.... Ryo, please open the door."
"The Chief let you off easy," Ryo said softly and Dee had to strain to hear him. "I'm not going to. You embarrassed me. You made me feel like you don't trust me, that you think I can't handle myself! There are a lot of Rose's in the world, Dee. You can't go around, beating your chest, and threatening them just because they show an interest in me. Ai shite iru, Dee. Forever. I love you for ever. Because I feel that way about you, they don't have a chance!"
"Ryo!" Dee begged. "Please let me in so I can really apologize. Let's talk about this."
"Ashita. Tomorrow, Dee."
Dee gave his head a little bang against the wood of the door and then he unstrapped his gun and holster. "The lock box for our guns is in the bedroom, Ryo. At least open the door so I can give you my gun to lock up."
Ryo opened the door for that at once. Dee could have done a lot of things just then, forced his way in, shouted at Ryo, pulled Ryo out. He didn't. He handed the gun to his lover. Ryo took it in a timid hand. Dee had a brief glimpse of his handsome face, eyes red with tears he didn't want Dee to see, a fall of honey hair softly framing those dark eyes, and a mouth set hard, but lovely for all that. Then Ryo was turning his face away and closing the door again. He didn't lock it. He trusted Dee to respect his wishes. That made Dee feel somewhat better. It was almost a symbol, hopefully consciously, that Ryo wasn't locking Dee out of his heart either.
"Order pizza?" Bicky wondered. "He's not going to be cooking."
Dee turned from the door, went to the couch, and stretched out on it full length, green eyes staring at the ceiling dejectedly. Bicky was leaning against the door of his own room, arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Dee.
"It's only ten o'clock," Dee growled back and then started and turned his head to narrow his eyes at Bicky. "Why aren't you in school? Didn't all of this start because we had to get you there early today?"
Bicky was sheepish. "Teacher Day. I forgot we weren't supposed to go in."
"Great!" Dee grumbled and stared up at the ceiling again. "Just great!"
"You screwed up, didn't you?" Bicky wondered and, for once, he didn't sound malicious. "Ryo looked pretty upset when he came home. He just grabbed a few snacks, said he'd be working late and he needed to sleep, and holed up in the bedroom."
"It's adult stuff," Dee replied evasively.
"Yeah, you screwed up all right!" Bicky sighed and then said in exasperation. "Ryo's easy, you dumb jerk, a pushover! I don't get how you keep messing up with him!"
"That's the problem," Dee retorted and then turned on his side, facing the back of the couch and not the irritating teenager. "He's a pushover! He wants me to trust him, to let him be a man and handle himself, but he's just so... Jeez! For a cop, he's just too trusting!" Dee felt his eyes stinging and he mumbled his next words, more to himself than to Bicky. "I'd die if someone hurt him because of that trust. I'd kill the person who did it too."
Bicky heard him. "Oh, man, I hope you didn't say that out loud at the cop station!" That made Dee even more upset, that the teenage, juvenile delinquent grasped the gravity of the infraction. "You did, didn't you?! That's why Ryo's upset! You threatened to kill a guy! Who was it? That Chief guy? Naw, he's married! Jim? Naw, I saw him with a girl! That creepy Rose?" He saw Dee's shoulders flinched and bunch. "It was big creep Rose, wasn't it?" Bicky whistled. "Threatening a commissioner! That was pretty stupid, even for you!"
"Shut up!" Dee snarled. "Don't you think I know that? Leave me alone. I have to work late. Call Ms. Hanover and have her babysit tonight."
"Ryo already called and I AM NOT A BABY!" Bicky shouted.
"Whatever. Just let me sleep." Dee pulled a comforter from the back of the couch onto himself and used his arm for a pillow.
"Make it good with him," Bicky finally said after a long silence, sounding angry and embarrassed, but worried enough to force the words out past that. "I don't want Ryo crying, ya hear me? I don't know why he wants your dumb ass, but he does, so... quite being such a jerk to him."
Dee closed his eyes on the pain. Jerk. Idiot. Dumbass. Why couldn't anyone understand? He didn't expect a boy too, but why couldn't Dreig, the Chief, and Ryo see what he could so plainly? Rose was a man who like challenges, conquests, and thrills of the dangerous kind. He skirted the law. Skirted rules. He used his position to further his personal desires. Tonight, Ryo was going to be in a hotel with that man, that wolf that didn't even bother putting on sheep's clothing, and Dee was going to be far away, walking the beat at a deserted wharf. The thought of that kept Dee from sleeping. As Bicky moved quietly about the apartment, he kept his face to the couch, frowning, simmering, worrying, wondering how he could change such a unacceptable situation.
"Wake him up after I leave," Ryo said softly and Dee was awake then, realizing blearily that he had fallen asleep some time during the day.
"So, what's up with you two?" Bicky wondered just as softly. "Should I pack the jerk's stuff and toss it out the door?"
"No!" Ryo's swift reply heartened Dee, but Ryo's pained voice kept him from cheering or even turning over and showing him that he was awake. "Dee and I have to talk, Bicky, and there isn't enough time tonight. Don't worry."
"Worry? I ain't worrying, Ryo. Everybody has a fight sooner or later."
"It's not a fight," Ryo replied. "It's just a discussion."
"Sounds like a fancy way of saying fight to me," Bicky grumbled. "Dee's on the couch, or didn't you think I noticed?"
"Sometimes," Ryo said, and his voice shook a little, "It's good to stay apart until things calm down. That way... That way you don't end up saying something that you'll regret later."
"Okay, but talk to him when you get back," Bicky replied. "He's bad enough when he's happy. When he's miserable, he's an even bigger dumb ass than usual."
"Bicky! Don't use that language!" Ryo's footsteps went to the door. "Be nice to Ms. Hanover and don't sneak out on her like last time. She was frantic."
"Okay, Ryo. See ya tomorrow."
"Ja na, Bicky. See you, then."
The door closed. Bicky's voice floated back to Dee. "You can quite faking now, he's gone!"
Dee rolled over and sat up, rubbing at his face. He glowered at Bicky. Bicky scowled back, his blue eyes fierce.
"If you two don't talk how's this stupid ‘discussion' going to get over with?" Bicky demanded. "Apologize again to him, get down on your hands and knees, kiss his feet even, just stop this stupid stuff!"
"I tried all of that," Dee grumbled as he stood up and stretched. His back popped in a dozen places and his neck was stiff.
"Ya mean this morning?" Bicky retorted. "That wasn't much of an apology! You didn't sound sorry."
"I wasn't!" Dee exploded and stormed into the bedroom. He showered and dressed in fresh clothes. It wasn't until he was strapping on his gun, that he began to feel sorry, sorry for taking it out on Bicky.
When Dee returned the living room, the boy was stretched out on the couch with a comic book in one hand, a snack in the other, and earphones blaring some rock tune. Dee pulled one of the earphones aside.
"Sorry, Bicky."
"Whatever." Bicky tried to retrieve his earphone but Dee held onto it.
"I know you have homework. It better be done before you go to bed."
"Yeah, yeah!"
Dee sighed. He felt very alone just then. He turned away and began heading for the door. Bicky's voice followed him, gruff, but sincere. "Watch yerself, Stupid!"
Dee found a small smile "Yeah, Delinquent, I will."
The hotel was nice. Ryo blinked at the queen sized bed in it's own room, the tastefully arranged furniture and appointments in the small sitting room, and the spotless, well mannered staff.
Their bags were put aside. Rose tipped the man. Another man showed them about the room. Rose tipped him. Yet another man took their orders for a late dinner.
"A bottle of champagne," Rose said in an undertone and slipped the man a bill. "A few roses as well." The man grimaced and nodded politely, though he shot Ryo a distasteful look as he passed him by.
When the door was finally closed, and they were alone together, Ryo began to protest. Rose quieted him with a raised hand and a serious look.
"We're in a hotel room together, McLain," Rose explained. "I can't think of a better explanation than that we're lovers being romantic. If any of the staff is in with the drug dealers, it will throw off suspicion."
Ryo went red in the face. He felt foolish. "Of course. Sorry Commissioner."
"Barkley," Rose corrected briskly as he picked up one of the bags and put it on top of a table. Opening it up, he began pulling out listening devices. "We're lovers. We don't want anyone accidentally hearing you call me Commissioner."
Ryo went even redder. "Gomen nasai."
"If that meant sorry... accepted," Rose replied distantly as he began setting up contacts.
"Yes, sorry," Ryo clarified and felt like a complete rookie, awkward and intimidated.
"I'll take the first spell. If you want to relax in the bedroom, go ahead," Rose said as he inserted a plug into his ear. "Don't get too comfortable though. We might have to tail them at any time."
"Yes, si-, uh, Barkley."
Barkley looked keenly at Ryo. He was such a big man, powerful, commanding, his shock of blonde hair and his blue eyes giving him a fierce, Nordic appearance. "Relax, McLain. I'll call you when the food arrives. Too bad we won't be able to take advantage of the champagne."
No drinking on duty. Ryo felt suddenly piqued. Rose didn't need to remind him of that! It banished some of his nervousness and, when he saw Rose's small nod, he wondered if the man had planned it that way.
Ryo went into the bedroom and sat dejectedly by the one window. Looking out at the darkness, he frowned irritably. Damn Dee anyway for making him distrust Rose! The man was obviously being a complete professional and it was he, Ryo, who was not doing his job well.
When Ryo thought of the wasted day, spent being angry enough to cry... God! How could Dee threaten Rose's life in the middle of the police station?! How could he not understand that he had stepped on and trampled the one thing that Ryo held almost as dear as Dee himself; the law? What was worse, Ryo knew that Dee had meant every word and that his faint apology hadn't been sincere. Dee HADN'T been joking, hadn't said the words carelessly, venting anger. He had only pretended contriteness to stop Ryo from being angry with him. That hurt as well, that Dee thought that he could forget something that terrible so easily.
Ryo leaned his face against the chill glass of the window. What was he going to do, he wondered? He still couldn't talk to Dee. He knew he was still too angry. Ryo didn't want to chance saying the wrong thing. He wanted Dee to understand, really understand, and to feel the same way that Ryo felt about what he had done. Ryo felt a harsh pain at the level of his heart. He took a shuddering breath and tried not to cry again. He didn't want Rose witnessing THAT on top of everything else.
Ryo forced himself to calmness and stood up, sinking hands into his pants pockets and pacing. Finally, he decided to return to Rose. Now wasn't the time for his personal problems, even though they were crushing him at that moment. He had a job to do and he intended to do it. Being a detective, and loving Dee, no matter how exasperating and maddening, was Ryo's life. If he couldn't do one, just then, he was determined to do the other.
Dee stared through the warehouse door at the frog shrouded wharf as he puffed on his cigarette. Men moved about sporadically, doing odd jobs, but it was a quiet place and he was pretty much alone. He paced, he patrolled, he thought of hundreds of ways that Rose was, at that moment, taking advantage of Ryo. His imagination ran the gamut from Rose simply trying to convince Ryo that he was a better lover than Dee to down and out rape. The latter made Dee tremble and it was all he could do not to call Ryo on the cell phone, and keep calling to check up on him. He knew better. That would have been the last nail in the coffin of their relationship.
Ryo was a man with a lot of pride. He needed Dee to believe that he was competent and strong, that he could take care of himself. Dee wished with all of his heart that he could, but he had grown up on the streets of New York and he knew how evil men could be, and how they could hide, completely, their true nature from their victims. Ryo's childhood had been rough too, with the murder of his parents, but he had never wanted for anything, especially love and family, and he couldn't, even after his years as a detective, spot the perpetrator before the crime. He trusted, he cared, he believed in people's innocence until it was absolutely proven that they had broken the law. He would believe in and trust Rose too, and he would continue to do so until the man...
"Stop thinking about that!" Dee growled savagely at himself. "Ryo's a black belt. He has a gun. He's smart, unlike you dumbass!" he swore at himself. "He CAN take care of himself. You have to trust in that. You have to stop making him feel like shit, like an incompetent baby, because you're jealous of Rose! Ryo's a man, dammit!"
And that was it, wasn't it? Dee felt a pain in his heart, if he had known it, the same time that Ryo did. Both clutched a hand to their chests, and both sighed. Ryo was a man, Dee realized, and, being man, he could get into bed with whomever he pleased, whenever he pleased... They weren't a man and a woman. They weren't married, even in the unconventional sense. Dee had shown Ryo the utter delights of sex, things that Ryo had never before imagined. There was nothing to stop him from pursuing and experimenting with Rose, or anyone else for that matter and Dee...
Admit it! Dee growled to himself. Admit that you think Rose is better than you. Admit that you think he actually has a chance with Ryo, that Ryo could easily fall for him and forget all about an obnoxious, idiotic, green eyed detective. Ryo was angry. Dee's behavior had gone over the top. Maybe, he was even angry enough to...
Dee rubbed at his eyes and swore. He was getting a headache from stomping on his own train of thoughts. When his cell phone rang, he started, fumbled to get it out of his pocket, and then pushed the on button with a trembling thumb.
"Hello, Latener here."
Rose's voice was precise and annoyed. "This is Commissioner Rose. Ryo's had an accident, Latener. He's at the hotel. " Rose rattled off the address. "He'll need you to pick him up. Nothing serious. Just a twisted ankle. I left him sleeping, so, take your time. Dreig and Jim are here. I don't have to tell you to be discrete. I let on to the staff that we were entertaining friends, so they won't be suspicious if they see people going in and out of the room. Be casual."
"Twisted ankle?" Dee retorted in alarm. "How did that happen?"
Rose took a breath to explain and then growled. "Let him explain, Latener. I have to do some work at the station and then get back to the stake out. I'm allowing Ryo the afternoon for downtime and to see a doctor if he feels like it, but then I need him back here to relieve Dreig and Jim."
Dee checked his watch. "I have to wait for my relief. He should be here in an hour."
"Good, a show of responsibility, Latener," Rose retorted. "Keep that up and I MAY not press charges for your threats against me."
"Sir," Dee forced between gritted teeth as Rose hung up on him. "I hate him! I hate him! I HATE HIM!" Dee roared at the phone as if it were a sympathetic ear.
'I left him sleeping.' that sentence suddenly repeated itself in Dee's consciousness. Ryo was asleep? Why? When? Before or after Dreig and Jim had arrived? A cold chill went down Dee's spine. He frantically began punching numbers on his cell phone.
"Kirk? Get down here now!" Dee ordered the person who answered his call. "No, I don't care how early it is! I'll pay you back. Whatever you want! Yeah, whatever! Just get down here!"
Dee tried to be calm, tried to be casual, smiling frigidly at any of the service staff he passed, but he couldn't stop from hurrying, couldn't stop from feeling very afraid for Ryo. When he finally reached the door of the hotel room, Dee felt as if he had run a long race and had finally reached the finish line. He knocked hard and pushed past Dreig when the man opened the door.
"Where's Ryo?" Dee demanded.
Jim pointed towards a half open door. Dee rushed in and almost flung himself at the bedside where Ryo was stretched out and softly breathing in sleep. He was like something in a fairy tale, Dee thought dazedly. Light from the one window, the orangy yellow glow of dawn, was making Ryo's skin and hair glow. His handsome face, a mixture of masculine and feminine that always made Dee burn with desire, looked young, androgynous, and innocent. Dee was afraid to touch him, as if some spell kept him there and breaking it would make him disappear. Instead, he called softly, "Baby?"
"Hottoite yo, koi, " Ryo mumbled. "Too early."
Dee smiled wanly at the gentle, loving irritation in Ryo's voice. "Come on, Baby," Dee persisted. "Wake up."
"Aishite iru, Dee, but you are worse than an ally cat! I don't want to do ANYTHING!" Ryo protested sleepily, but he was beginning to open up his eyes.
"Ah, I guess you guys want to be alone," Jim said from the door way, face red in embarrassment. Dee didn't even look around as he heard the door close. He didn't care what Jim or Dreig thought. He only cared about Ryo.
Ryo was blinking at the ceiling. Slowly, his sleepy mind beginning to register that something was wrong, he turned his head and saw that he wasn't at home. He frowned and it seemed to take just a little too long for him to remember where he was. That worried Dee.
"Rose called me and told me to come get you," Dee said, trying to pierce his partner's haze. "He told me that you twisted your ankle."
"My ankle hurts," Ryo moaned softly and one of his hands rubbed at his eyes.
"Because you twisted it," Dee persisted.
Ryo blinked at him, large, expressive, black eyes looking Dee up and down in confusion. "Dee? What are you doing here?" Ryo looked around them, memory coming back. He was suddenly embarrassed, ashamed, and angry.
"Rose called me and told me to come get you," Dee repeated carefully. "What happened?"
Ryo picked at the blankets underneath him, not meeting Dee's eyes. Dee's fear began to escalate. Rose HAD done something! He had hurt his Ryo! I'm going to kill him, Dee thought wildly, and almost said it when Ryo spoke up at last, "I tripped on one of the cords of the equipment."
Dee stared. "What?"
Ryo said furiously. "I tripped over a cord and twisted my ankle! I-I kept thinking about what you said, about Rose. When he turned towards me to say something, he was close... I, well, I backed up, thinking... I tripped and fell because I didn't trust him, because you made me not trust him! Now, he thinks I'm an idiot, that I can't do my job!"
Dee sat on the edge of the bed, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it, hoping that it wouldn't set off the smoke detector nearby. He needed the calming effects of the nicotine. "Did Rose say those things to you?"
"No, but what else would he be thinking?" Ryo retorted. He sat up and flinched as he reached down and touched his obviously swollen ankle. "Dee, we have to talk. Now is not a good time."
Dee's heart clenched. He took a long puff of his cigarette and then blew the smoke away from the smoke detector. "No, now is a perfect time. Let's have this out."
"Oh, that's good. Let's take care of personal business on a stakeout. Do you want both Dreig and Jim to think that I can't do my job too?" Ryo said angrily. He began moving to the edge of the bed, intending to get up and leave, but then he suddenly groaned and rubbed at his eyes.
Dee caught Ryo's wrist and pulled him back. Throwing down his cigarette, he ground it out into the carpet and then reached out and cupped Ryo's chin. He tilted it so that Ryo was forced to look at him. "Your eyes are dilated."
"Painkillers," Ryo explained. "Rose keeps them for his migraines. He let me have one."
"You know that's illegal," Dee pointed out, "Rose isn't supposed to dispense prescription drugs without a license. It's also stupid. They may not be good for you, Baby."
Ryo's mouth went into a thin line and then he nodded. Dee was right and he knew it. "It worked well, though. The pain stopped and, I guess, I fell asleep."
"When?" Dee had found his opening and he pounced on it.
"Nani?"
"When did you fall asleep?" Dee asked. "Before or after Dreig and Jim showed up?"
Ryo was angry again. He jerked his chin out of Dee's grasp with a toss of his head. His honey colored hair fell into his eyes and he looked very vulnerable. Maybe he was realizing possibilities too. "It was before, but if you're going to suggest that Rose might have molested me in my sleep, and I hope you aren't..."
"How would you know?" Dee replied quietly. "It was hard for me to wake you up. You're not really awake now."
"Dee, I won't listen to this." Ryo tried to stand up on the opposite side of the bed. He swayed. Dee flung himself across the bed and was in time to hold him up. Ryo's face was twisted in agony. A soft whimper escaped his lips. "Kuso! Ita!" Ryo bit out.
"Must hurt if you're reduced to swearing," Dee replied sympathetically. "Come on, sit down and I'll put on at least one of your shoes."
Ryo sat down heavily, his face pale and drawn. Dee knelt and began putting on his shoe. He looked up at Ryo. "I love you," he felt the need to say.
Ryo leaned forward and put his arms around Dee. He rested his cheek on the top of Dee's head and kissed him there tenderly. "I love you too, Dee, which is why we have to talk. We need privacy for that, our own home, not a hotel room with two other detectives in the other room and a bunch of drug traffickers nearby."
"Rose wants you back," Dee informed him. "He's just giving you enough downtime to see a doctor."
"He doesn't want me to blow our cover," Ryo explained.
"And what's that?"
Ryo flushed and sat back, releasing Dee and looking away with lips pressed hard together.
"And what's that?" Dee repeated harshly.
"We're a couple."
"Ah, a couple." Dee tied Ryo's shoe with a jerk of the laces and then stood up. "You couldn't be brothers? Cousins? Business associates? I think business associates, seeing fellow associates, would have been a much better cover, don't you?"
"I want to go home."
"We should go to the doctor first," Dee argued as he helped Ryo stand.
"No, it's just twisted," Ryo replied and then, harder, "It's more important that we talk, Dee."
"Yeah, maybe you're right," Dee agreed and felt his heart clench so painfully that he almost wished for some of Rose's pain pills himself.
"Thank you, Ms. Hanover," Ryo said patiently as the woman finished her long tirade about Bicky's attitude. "I'll talk to him when he wakes up, I promise."
Closing the door on the irate woman, Dee helped Ryo into the bedroom and settled him onto the bed. He pulled off Ryo's shoe and then reached for the zipper of his lover's pants. Ryo's hands caught his and pushed them away.
"I have to go back,"" Ryo reminded him.
"Rest for a few hours, at least. Rose should allow for that," Dee protested. "You still aren't very clear headed."
Ryo patted the bed next to him. Dee sat down, gritting his teeth, worried about what Ryo was going to say to him. It surprised him when Ryo asked, "Why are you so afraid of Rose?"
"Why aren't you?"
Ryo's face clenched irritably, but he stayed calm. "Why do you think I'm a liar?"
Dee blinked, confused. "I don't."
"Yes, you do." Ryo turned, wincing as his ankle moved against the bed. He faced Dee and took Dee's hands in his. He squeezed hard. "I've told you that I love you. I've told you Aishite iru, Dee. That means forever. I will never leave you, I promise, with all of my heart. Rose... he has NOTHING I want. I don't love him. I don't want him. I've told you all of those things and yet you persist in being jealous of him. So, you must think that I am a liar."
"I'm not good with words," Dee grumbled, looking down at their hands. "I guess I'm jealous of Rose because, well, I'm a screw up. I'm always making you mad at me. Sometimes... I feel like I can't do anything right with you. I'm just a-a street punk, orphan, ya know. Nothing special. I don't know why you love me. Why you bother with me at all. Rose, well, he's the Commissioner. He's good looking. He can give you things I can't. He can help you with your career. I know how important that is to you."
"Not as important as you," Ryo replied. He leaned against Dee's chest, slipped arms around him reassuringly. He was so strong and yet so gentle, Dee thought, masculine, certainly, but sensitive too, like a mother with a small child. "You know," Ryo said, his cheek resting against Dee's heart. "I loved you from the first time I saw you."
Dee scoffed. "You thought I was an obnoxious jerk and you know it."
Ryo chuckled, "That too, but, underneath, I felt something powerful. That's why I was so afraid for so long. It's why I made you wait, made you prove to me that you were serious and that this was going to be forever. I knew that, if I gave you all of me, if I gave into that powerful feeling of love inside of me, and you had... just done me and then left, chalking me up to another conquest, I... I would have died, Dee. It hurts when you think that I'm shallow, that I don't really feel that way about you, that I could just toss you aside for someone like Rose because he can do more for me. I-I don't know what makes you think that I'm that sort of person."
Dee rubbed gently down Ryo's back, returning his embrace and bending over him protectively, not wanting him to feel this hurt and certainly not wanting to be the cause of it. "I don't, Ryo. I really don't! The way I feel doesn't make any sense, because I do know that you would never do something like that and especially for those reasons. I can't help it though, being afraid. I don't know, maybe I think Rose is so powerful that he can MAKE you do or feel things you wouldn't normally or...," Dee swallowed and then plowed on, "I guess I just never thought that I was good enough for you. It makes me think crazy, stupid things."
"At least you realize that they are stupid and crazy thoughts," Ryo sighed and sat up, pulling away again until he was only holding Dee's hands. His grip was firm as he looked up into Dee's face, determined to make Dee understand and believe in his words. "Dee Latener, with all of my heart, I thee wed, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live."
Dee felt tears in his eyes. He flushed, turned red, squeezed Ryo's hands until he was sure he was hurting the man, but Ryo kept smiling gently at him. His beauty. His angel. He choked on the words, " Ryo McLain, I thee wed, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live... and longer if God lets me."
Ryo smiled and it was like sunshine, blinding, perfect, loving beyond words. Dee leaned forward and claimed his lover's lips in his. He sucked them in, parted them, stroked them with his tongue. They didn't need a church, a priest, official papers, or a fickle society to approve. In their hearts, their vows were binding, not with chains, but with love. It was the most beautiful moment of Dee's life. He wanted to sing, he wanted to cry, he wanted to pick Ryo up and swing him around, shouting to the world how much he loved this man. He had given Ryo doubt and distrust. In return, Ryo had given him this great gift, this ultimate affirmation that even Dee could understand and trust in. They were forever. No one could destroy that. No one could separate them. The Rose's of the world couldn't ever take Dee's place. Ryo wanted only Dee.
Dee reached out and grabbed Ryo by the front of his shirt. The buttons parted and scattered everywhere. Ryo's eyes widened and he made a small noise of alarm, but that noise turned into a moan as Dee clamped his lips on one of Ryo's pink nipples. He sucked, hard, fast, licking and swirling his tongue on the nub, needing his Ryo, needing the affirmation of sex, of bringing their bodies together as they had just brought together their hearts and minds.
Dee went to the other nipple, suckled that one, and then released it. They were both swollen, red, and erect now. Ryo was panting, eyes lidded with rising passion. Dee grabbed his lovers hips and pulled. Ryo fell onto his back on the bed with a small bounce. If his ankle hurt him, he didn't give any sign as Dee unzipped his pants and pulled them off. Flinging them aside, he found Ryo's erection waiting for him. He bypassed that. He needed Ryo too badly and for once, Ryo wasn't needing convincing and a long bout of foreplay. He was as caught up in the moment as Dee, spreading his legs submissively and gripping Dee's rounded shoulders, pulling him down to devour Dee's mouth with his and to insert a hot tongue.
Dee groaned as he fumbled to undo his own pants. His large, rock hard erection, drooling excitedly, sprang free, burning, needing, driving Dee wild for release. He hooked Ryo's knees with his arms and lifted them up, making Ryo bend and open as he put the head of his cock against Ryo's entrance. Dee bent down, pressing Ryo's knees against his chest, compressing the man into position.
A thought entered Dee's mind at that moment. He hated it, cursed it. He didn't want it. It was ruining a perfect moment; a moment he wanted to remember pure, untainted, and beautiful for the rest of his life. If Rose had taken advantage of Ryo, the evidence would still be there, inside of Ryo. Dee had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. If he didn't find out now, he knew, he would always wonder.
Without warning, Dee shoved his impressive length into Ryo's entrance. Ryo was dry. Dee could have shouted in relief, but Ryo was shouting already, back arching off of the bed as pain shocked through him. His lover shuddered, gripped at his shoulders, gasped and panted as tears sprang to his eyes.
"Dee?" Ryo moaned in confusion. The pain had shot up from his anus like lightning, a thundering wave sizzling and burning along every nerve until his head had felt ready to explode. A matter of heartbeats, but long enough to make Ryo try to suddenly get away, making Dee slide out of him, afraid of feeling pain again.
Dee gripped Ryo, holding him. "I'm so sorry, Baby! I didn't mean that! I thought I had enough to make you slick! I never meant..." Who was lying now, Dee thought? Who had ruined that perfect moment? Not Rose. It had been Dee's own doubt, his own mistrust. That mistrust had hurt Ryo!
Dee kissed Ryo's face lovingly, kissed his tears, tried to calm Ryo down. If he let Ryo run now... Dee didn't want to think it. Instead, he began to employ all of his skill to make it up to Ryo, to convince him that it HAD been a mistake and that it was never going to happen again.
Ryo was probably still too naive about sex to know what he had done, Dee thought, or what he had tried to find out. Ryo seemed to accept that it was a mistake, but, as he began to respond to Dee's reassurances and caresses, he was also reaching over to the nightstand and rummaging with one hand in a small drawer. After a moment, he handed a tube of lube to Dee as he slid under him again. Opening his knees, Ryo lifted up his legs invitingly, wanting to recapture the moment as badly as Dee.
Dee clenched the tube in one hand and hid his guilty face behind his other hand. "I'm sorry, Baby! I'm so sorry!"
"Make it up to me," Ryo replied huskily. "Come on, Koi, please... are you crying, Dee?"
Dee was crying, his hand shaking and his confidence slowly going down a mental rain. How could Ryo trust him, love him, and want him after that!
"You found out what you wanted to know," Ryo said and Dee lowered his hand and stared wide eyed at him. Ryo's gentle eyes were locked on his, knowing, understanding, not nearly as naive as Dee had thought. "Now, we can start again. Now, we can forget all about Rose. He won't come between us any longer." Ryo lifted his legs even more, eyes going soft and needy, wanting Dee. "I thee wed, Dee," he said again, with all of his love in his voice. "Time to consummate the marriage."
Dee nodded shakily. "Yeah, time to show you how much I love you, Baby."
"You do that all of the time," Ryo whispered as he closed his eyes and waited.
Dee lubed his fingers. Ryo wasn't bleeding, but, as Dee gently massaged Ryo's bud until he opened, and then slid one finger a little inside, Ryo moved uncomfortably. He was going to be sensitive, knew it now, but didn't lower his legs and didn't open his eyes. More trust, Dee realized, feeling the weight of the responsibility on his shoulders.
Determined not to hurt Ryo, Dee used a great deal of lube and took his time opening the man up. Ryo groaned, moaned, and flexed his hips, his breath shuddering with pleasure. Ryo was still embarrassed, Dee noted with a faint smile, even after the many times they had been together. He could see Ryo's cheeks flushing pink, his face turning towards his shoulder as he bit his lip: shy and guilty for liking another man doing such things to him. The Devil in Dee made him grin now as he bent and began teasing Ryo's balls with his mouth and tongue while his fingers began sliding in and out of the beauty beneath him. When he licked and teased the tender flesh just behind the scrotum, Ryo gasped and shuddered, hands going down to grip Dee's hair involuntarily. Dee thought for a moment that Ryo would pull him up, but, instead, Ryo's hands held him, urging him to continue.
Ryo's long, slim cock drooled onto his creamy expanse of belly. As Dee licked up to it, the sight sent a thrill through his hormones, an electric urge that went from his senses straight to his groin; a blooming desire that was unmistakable and one that no woman or man had ever been able to generate in Dee before. Every pore of Dee's body said, "This is your mate, claim him," and that desire didn't care about gender as he engulfed Ryo's cock and swallowed it down to his tonsils, flexing the muscles in his throat there, sucking expertly, making a tight, warm sheathe of his mouth and throat. At the same time, he thrust three fingers into Ryo as far as they would go and tickled his prostate.
"God!" Ryo cried out and bucked upwards, hands twisting and pulling Dee's hair as he threw back his head and rolled his eyes in ecstasy. "Onegai, Dee" he strangled, loosing all control for the first time Dee had ever seen. "Sugoi, Sugoi, Dee! Do it! DO IT, DEE!" Ryo shouted. "Ahhh! God! Arigato goziamasu, Dee! Arigato! I want it! Onegai, Dee, I want you!"
Dee chuckled as he swallowed Ryo whole again, flexing his throat muscles and then coming up to give a rough, rasping lick to Ryo's oozing cock head. That was all it took. Dee saw Ryo's cock turn purple and twitch. Dee grabbed it and pumped it with his hand while he held his mouth open on top of it, tongue thrusting into the hole. Ryo shot cum up like an exploding volcano, the hot liquid shooting into Dee's mouth, coating his tongue, oozing back onto Ryo's cock. Dee licked it, swallowed it whole one more time to suck out the last drops, and then released Ryo with a growl of satisfaction.
Ryo was panting, exhausted, but he knew and wanted what came next. He lifted his knees. "In me, Koi," Ryo gasped. "Be my man."
Dee went hard as a rock again. He slid between Ryo's raised knees, hugged his lover close, and then put his cock to Ryo's welcoming entrance. His large erection went in easily this time and Dee pushed it in all the way to his balls, slow and careful, watching Ryo's face for discomfort. Ryo winced, once, twice, but didn't tell Dee to stop. Instead, he captured Dee's lips with his own and their tongues danced together as Dee began to fuck Ryo.
Ryo made a small noise, like a kitten. Soft, submissive, needy. It made Dee wild, his cock twitching inside of Ryo, his every hormone catching on fire. He fought with himself, kept his thrusts slow and easy, but Ryo made that noise again, delicate, uke, and erotic. When he opened and lifted his legs, placing even his swollen ankle on Dee's shoulders, Dee couldn't hold back any longer. He broke the kiss and hunched down over Ryo as overpowering lust and instinct took over.
Dee began thrusting hard and deep, hips and butt muscles flexing, pelvis going up against Ryo with loud slapping sounds, balls swinging, and legs and feet braced firmly for balance, adding power to his thrusts. "Love you!" Dee kept forcing out along with his panting breath into Ryo's ear. "Love you, Ryo!"
"So good!" Ryo sighed, riding Dee's wild thrusts. "You're so big and hard! It feels so good. Make me yours, Dee! All yours. Only you, Dee. Only you!"
Again, Ryo made that submissive little mew of pleasure and surrender. That was all it took for Dee. He jammed himself in as far as he could go, thrusting with his legs and his whole body, bearing down on top of Ryo, bending him completely in half. He fucked that deep spot within Ryo, with short, sharp jabs, spurting cum, hot and thick, seemingly forever while he cried out into Ryo's honey hair and gripped his lover's body hard.
"Love you," Dee breathed after his heart had stopped trying to explode in his chest.
Still underneath him, Ryo whispered. "Aishite iru, Dee. Love you forever."
Barkley Rose rode the elevator up to the hotel room, leaning against the rail, alone with his thoughts. Ryo was going to be waiting for him. Rose licked lips nervously, remembering the night before, the accidental stumble that had twisted the man's ankle, the offered pills, and the resulting opportunity offered when Ryo had fallen deeply asleep on the bed.
Rose shivered, remembering his big hands opening Ryo's shirt, a button at a time, and then laying it open to expose the pale skinned torso, the perfect, pink nipples, and the delicate curve that had led into Ryo's pants.
Rose fisted his hands. His broad fingers had felt that creamy, baby soft skin, had roamed over the nipples until they had hardened, had leaned down to lap one and then the other with his long tongue. A dream come true, a longing, burning desire fulfilled, Rose had taken his time unbuckling Ryo's pants and sliding down the zipper.
The elevator doors opened. Barkley stood staring, not moving. When the doors began to close again, he reached out and punched the button to open them. He made himself walk out, face flushing and steps reluctant. Fishing out the key to the hotel room as he reached the door, he dropped it, bent, picked it up again, and fitted it into the lock.
Ryo was sitting by the listening equipment. He nodded curtly to Rose as he entered. His swollen ankle was on a cushion, propped on a chair seat. He looked tired, but glowing and Rose wondered about that.
"They're still not making any arrangements, but Dreig and Jim heard them talking to two other known drug dealers about money. It shouldn't be much longer until they make plans for a transfer." Ryo's voice was calm and professional.
"What did the doctor say about your ankle?" Rose asked and found it hard to talk. He rubbed at his cheek. Ryo stared at the motion and Rose saw a look of grim satisfaction cross Ryo's face.
"The ankle's fine," Ryo replied. "It's already feeling better, so I didn't go."
"It had better be," Rose replied, forgetting about his personal feelings in an instant and worrying about the case. "If we have to go after the drug dealers you had better be in shape for it."
"I have it strapped," Ryo replied coolly. "I can walk on it. I'll do my job, Commissioner."
"I'm counting on it." Rose replied sternly and walked towards the bathroom still rubbing his cheek. He couldn't help admiring Ryo even after... He was a good detective and committed to his job. Rose didn't have any doubt that the man would walk on that ankle even if it was broken.
Rose thought again of Ryo's soft skin and the promising bulge in the man's pants. He sighed. A deal was a deal. He paused and looked into the bathroom mirror. His handsome face was clearly marred by a huge bruise purpling his right cheek. It was split and oozing blood. Rose tore off a bit of tissue paper and dabbed at it with a wince.
Ryo had awakened the night before just as Rose had been pulling down the man's briefs. Rose's first indication of that had been the right cross Ryo had dealt him. For such a delicate looking man, Ryo punched like a mule, Rose thought blackly. The punch had been followed by a stream of irate Japanese. After Ryo had calmed down to switch to English again, they had struck their deal. Hands off from then on and no suspension or wharf duty for Dee. In exchange, Ryo had promised not to press charges. Rose didn't like to admit defeat, but Ryo had check mated him. It was time, Rose thought, to give up dreams of having that Japanese-American beauty. As badly as he wanted Ryo, his career was more important. Leaving the field to Dee galled him, but his own impatience had caused his own defeat. Temptation had overwhelmed common sense and now he had to pay the price.
Walking back into the main room, Rose saw Ryo smiling gently, eyes unfocused and lost in some memory. Rose's heart constricted along with his groin. No, he thought, I can't admit defeat. I can't let that street scum, Dee, keep-
Ryo sat up suddenly and began scribbling on a piece of paper. He motioned to Rose and handed it to him when he came close. Ryo listened for a few moments more and then jerked off his earphones. "They're moving. The deal's going down!" Ryo announced. He put his bad foot down and stood up. He winced, but he walked firmly to his coat and tossed it on.
Rose felt the familiar adrenaline rush as he began to follow and he chuckled. Ryo glanced at him and grinned back, feeling the rush as well. Better than sex, Rose thought, better than Ryo. He could never get enough of it. It was definitely worth losing Ryo over he realized. Rose made his choice then and there and he never doubted it was the right one. Appreciate this, Latener, he thought, I could have made Ryo mine sooner or later. You are no match for Barkley Rose and I always get my man!
***Owari***