Disclaimer: Don't own them and don't make any money off of this.
Warning: Male/Male sex. Graphic. Language. Violence. Bad dog! Bad! No biscuit!
Dee's strong hands slipped through honey colored hair, drawing an achingly beautiful face towards him to devour the sweetest lips in the world. Skin against skin, hot, masculine scent, straining erections doing battle like jousters at a tournament as they rolled in silken sheets with passionate abandon.
"Oh, Baby!" Dee groaned as he reached between them and stroked his lover's hardness until it wept. Ryo moaned into his mouth and then slipped in a tongue, tasting Dee as he uttered a needy, kittenish, sound of desire.
That was all the encouragement that Dee needed. Hooking his lover's legs with his arms, he pushed Ryo's knees back and positioned himself between them. "Make it good and hard, Dee!" Ryo begged. "I want you so bad!" Dee grinned, licked his lips in anticipation, and then began to enter into his lover and partner, the man he loved most in the world.
"Dee!"
Dee blinked. He was sitting at his desk, coffee cup poised, staring over the rim at Ryo. Sitting at his desk and facing him, Ryo was staring back, dark eyes like liquid pools and handsome face set in an expression of puzzled concern.
"Are you all right, Dee?" Ryo wondered. "You've been staring at me like that for almost five minutes!"
"Uh..." Dee sipped his coffee, hissed when it burned his tongue, and then put it down on his desk as he looked everywhere but at Ryo. "Just thinking and waiting for my coffee to cool off."
Ryo narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing him. Dee swallowed and felt a hot blush under his skin as he pretended to look for a file on his messy desk. Well, damn Ryo anyway! Dee thought grumpily. The man always turned him on when he wore his starched, white, buttoned down shirts and dark pants. Ryo usually wore conservative dress shirts and nondescript suits. It was a treat when he relaxed enough to do away with the coat and tie. On such a hot day, a regular suit would have been torture anyway.
Dee was wearing a black t-shirt, with rolled up sleeves, and dark blue jeans. He had switched to a butt holster, letting his t shirt hang loose so that he could cover it up when he left the station. Ryo still wore his shoulder holster and Dee knew that he would wear his coat over it when he went out, no matter how hot it was. Ryo had always been a stickler for looking professional.
"Dee?" Ryo said abruptly.
Dee blinked.
"You're staring again," Ryo pointed out.
"Kind of creepy!" Dreig drawled from his desk nearby. "Maybe you should report him as a harasser, Ryo?"
Dee scowled at the big detective. "Ha, ha!" he replied sarcastically.
Ryo said in exasperation, "I know these reports are tedious, Dee, but they still have to be finished before this weekend."
Dee shoved at the stacks of files on his desk and they slid sideways, scattering some papers onto the floor. "I don't do stolen bicycles and escaped iguanas, Ryo! I'm bored!"
"It can't be helped," Ryo replied as he went back to his own files stacked neatly in front of him. "The Chief told us that we had to be free and clear to take on a new assignment."
"Yeah, but where is this new assignment?" Dee wondered angrily. "It's been over a week! I could have solved two cases by now!"
"In your dreams," Dreig muttered.
Dee began to stand up angrily, but J.J. broke the moment by stepping between them. He put a hand on Dee's elbow and asked quickly, "Dee? Can you help me in the records room? Some of those boxes will give me a hernia if I try to budge them on my own."
Dee glared at Dreig, who was completely ignoring him. Dee then looked down at J.J. as the smaller man's words sank in. Thrusting his black hair out of his eyes with a masculine motion of one hand, Dee nodded, growling, "Yeah, whatever, let's go."
J.J. led the way down into the depths of the station to the records room, saying, "Some day they'll get their butts in gear and get all of this transferred to the computer system."
"I dunno, I like paper," Dee grumbled. "I always lose stuff in that damned computer!"
They paused at the heavy door. Dee scowled and J.J. raised eyebrows at him in question.
"J.J.," Dee warned, "If you brought me down here to declare your 'love', grind against me, or try to convince me to leave Ryo, then I'm going back right now."
J.J. shook his head and smiled as he opened the door. "This is strictly business, Dee."
"Why don't I believe you?" Dee replied a he followed J.J. into a room crammed full of metal shelves and old, decaying cardboard boxes. The smell of something wet, and pungent mold, was thick on the air.
"Here," J.J. said as he turned and suddenly sat on a stack of boxes. Opening is legs, he leaned back on his hands suggestively as he said to Dee, "I saw you earlier. You were horny as Hell, weren't you? I could tell by your face and, well, I was close enough to notice something else that was pretty impressive."
Dee put hands on hips. "J.J!" he snarled.
J.J. smiled sensuously and ran a hand across his own crotch. "Like I said, 'strictly business'. Ryo's not giving you any, is he? I know you have very strong 'needs', Dee. I can satisfy those needs. I'm not asking for love. I'll take sex if sex is all you want to give me. Come on Dee, Ryo will never find out and you'll stop having a rocket in your pocket twenty four seven."
Dee shook his head and turned away. "You just don't get it, do you, J.J.? What I have with Ryo is more than about 'getting off'. Pull a stunt like this again and I'll do more than report you to the Chief!"
"Dee!" J.J. called after him in anguish as Dee strode for the door.
"Get your own damn boxes!" Dee shouted back and then ran straight into Ryo.
They collided, recovered, and then Dee had a chilling realization that Ryo had probably heard everything. He gripped his lover's arms and looked into Ryo's face, expecting disgust or anger. Instead, he saw a bright, satisfied smile.
"I guess J.J. wasn't as tempting as he thought," Ryo whispered with a quick look to make sure that J.J. was still with his boxes.
"No one is more tempting than you, Baby," Dee replied as he hooked an arm around Ryo and led him out into the hallway. "Is something up? Why did you come down here?"
Ryo grew serious then and Dee knew that it was work even before Ryo told him, "Chief wants to see us. He says the case is ready for us to take on."
Dee grinned in anticipation, "About time!"
"I quit!" Dee stalked towards the door of the Chief's office.
"Dee!" The Chief thundered, huge, hairy hands slamming down on his desk and cigar working back and forth between gritted teeth. "You walk out that door and you can kiss your career goodbye!"
Ryo, sitting in a chair in front of the Chief's desk, said quietly, trying to defuse the situation, "It's just a dog, Dee, not the head of a crime syndicate."
Dee glared over his shoulder at them, one hand on the doorknob, "That animal is the dog from Hell and he is not going to be living with us again!"
"Just two days, undercover-" Ryo began to argue with barely leashed irritation, but Dee cut him off.
Turning back towards them completely, Dee snapped, "No! That's not what the Chief said! He told us that there would be a small period of orientation while we familiarized ourselves with the dog again. How long is that?"
The Chief glared. "Three days."
"Five days all together? The Hell with that!" Dee snarled back. "When I signed up, it didn't say anything about putting up with over bred mutts!"
"At least listen to the Chief's reasons for assigning Princess to us," Ryo begged. He patted the empty chair next to him. "Please, sit down, Dee, and don't argue until the Chief has had a chance to tell us about the case, all right?"
Dee stalked back to his chair and sat down hard, not relaxing as he crossed his arms over his chest and nodded at the Chief, angrily prompting him to speak.
The Chief worked on his cigar for a moment and then shoved a folder over the desk at Dee and Ryo. Ryo leaned forward to flip through it, but Dee remained judgmental. "Drug dealers," the Chief explained. "We had a tip that they are having a big get together at the Grunmen Hotel. It's a perfect opportunity for us to tag the big bosses and follow them back to their operations."
"The dog?" Dee persisted.
"He's a drug sniffer!" The Chief snarled. "You're a detective, Latener, put it together! No one will suspect a guy, walking a little pooch, to be a detective with one of the best drug sniffers on the force! Princess will identify the drug dealers by residue on their bodies, you report their identities to us, and then we'll attach surveillance to them."
Ryo chuckled. "Princess will yap at them Dee, and they will react just like you do, with annoyance. It's a beautiful plan, Chief!"
Dee glared. He balled his fists. His face turned a deep, red color. Finally, he let out an explosive breath, "Shit! It actually makes sense!"
The Chief tapped his name plate on the front of the desk, grinning at Dee's discomfiture. "That's why it says, 'Chief', on here, Latener."
"When do we start?" Ryo asked in amusement.
"Now," The Chief replied. "Take the file, get info on the hotel, make reservations for an efficiency room, and get down there with the dog. They allow pets for a fee, so you won't have any trouble keeping the dog in your room. The meeting is in three days, so you will have time to get familiar with the floor plan of the hotel, the staff, and Princess's mode of operation."
"I'll have to find a sitter for Bicky," Ryo replied as he took the file. "Will I be restricted to the hotel or will I be able to return to our apartment and check up on things?"
"You can leave, but keep it brief," the Chief told him. "Your cover will be two friends scouting the area for an apartment, so it won't look unusual if you leave the premises periodically or receive phone calls and visits from 'realtors'."
"Yes, sir." Ryo stood up with the file. "We'll get started right away."
"Yeah, I guess my torture begins now," Dee grumbled as he stood as well, but then he told Ryo angrily, "You take care of the pooch, though, and keep him the Hell away from me!"
Ryo sighed in exasperation as they headed for the door. "Dee, I know that you're really a softie deep down. I know you don't really hate the dog. Princess actually helped you in our last case together. I know that you appreciated that help, so you don't have to put on this silly macho display."
Dee scowled. "Yeah, well, I'd like the dog a lot better if..."
"If what?" Ryo wondered.
"If it were fried, maybe, and on a bun," Dee finished angrily.
"Dee!" Ryo exclaimed.
"Remember!" The Chief snarled from his desk, pointing a beefy finger at Dee with his cigar clutched in that, hairy hand. "That dog is more valuable to the force than you are, Latener. If it gets a hair on it's little head out of place, I'll have your badge!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Dee growled dismissively. "I'll give you my badge as a side dish, okay?"
"Dee!" Ryo exclaimed again, but Dee shrugged with a 'bad boy' grin and wasn't contrite at all.
"I'm worried, Dee," Ryo said as he carefully put the pet carrier onto a table.
When wasn't he? Dee wondered sourly as he put their luggage down on the floor and then surveyed the hotel room. It wasn't a five star, but it was close to a four and very well appointed. All that Dee cared about at the moment, though, was the bed. He launched himself into the air, flipped over onto his back, and landed on a firm mattress. Sighing, he put his hands behind his head and asked, "What about?"
"Bicky seemed too pleased," Ryo explained. He picked up a suitcase and placed it on the bed, shoving Dee's legs out of the way in the process. Opening it, Ryo began taking out the neatly folded clothing inside and placing them in a dresser.
"Parents gone, apartment empty..." Dee smiled at the possibilities he would have taken advantage of in his youth. "He's probably just planning on having some friends over for a little partying," Dee suggested.
Ryo paused with a shirt in his hands, halfway between the dresser and the suitcase. "Partying?"
The fearful look on Ryo's face caused Dee to scramble to find words to reassure his partner. "That's what someone, who wasn't taught better by someone like you, would be doing, I meant. Bicky will be studying for his math quiz just like you told him too. Besides, he has a babysitter."
Unfortunately, the seed of doubt was already planted. Ryo flipped out his cell phone and began dialing.
"Who are you calling?" Dee wondered.
"The Chief," Ryo told him. "It would look suspicious if we went anywhere our first night here, so I'll have him swing by our apartment and make sure that Bicky is behaving himself."
Dee relaxed, visions of Ryo blowing their cover and storming off, put to rest. He should have known better, he thought, as he snuggled into a soft pillow and closed his eyes. Ryo was a professional.
Ryo finished his call and went back to unpacking. Dee, falling into a doze, said around a yawn, "You aught to cut Bicky some slack and stop being so strict all the time, Ryo. A kid has got to be a kid, ya know? He might have had his friends over, but it's not like he could have done much damage. He doesn't have any money and we don't keep alcohol in the apartment. Besides playing loud music, there isn't much trouble he can get into."
Ryo left off his unpacking and sat down on the bed beside Dee. When Dee felt long, strong fingers interlace with his own, he opened his eyes and looked at Ryo in concern. Ryo said, carefully, "You had a very unstructured childhood Dee, and so did Bicky. I know I'm tough on him, but he has so very little time left to learn the things that no one bothered to teach him when he was younger. I have to raise a responsible, intelligent, and decent human being in only a handful of years. That's a tall order. I wish I could relax and let him have some freedom, but the reality is that I can't let up on him until he graduates college and lives life on his own. He teeters on the edge of a life in the slum full of crime, and a life with opportunities and a chance to be what he wants to be. I have to be there for him, Dee, making certain he doesn't fall the wrong way."
"Yeah, I know you're right," Dee acknowledged, contrite. "I guess I'm looking at it from my own perspective, because of my own life roaming the streets. There was danger, but I liked that freedom. If the nun who raised me had cracked the whip a little more.... but, hey, who am I kidding? If she had, I probably would have run away."
Dee felt Ryo's fingers tighten. He met his lover's dark eyes and Ryo was looking frightened. "Do you think... Am I really being that tough? If Bicky runs away..."
"He won't!" Dee reassured him, kicking himself mentally for upsetting Ryo again. "Me and Bicky are different, Ryo. I was a rebel who thought that he knew everything. I was stupid. Bicky... Bicky's smarter than I was. He knows who butters his bread and who... well, loves him," Dee added with a furious blush. "He's not going to ruin that by running away."
Dee wasn't sure that Ryo was comforted. He pulled his lover into his strong embrace and smoothed his honey colored hair from his handsome face. "You can only do your best, Ryo, but it's really up to Bicky in the end."
Ryo nodded against Dee's chest, sliding arms around Dee's long waist and nuzzling with a sigh. Dee kissed the top of Ryo's head, trailing kisses along Ryo's cheek while his hands slowly began to wander over Ryo's body. Ryo was ready for love, ready to think about something else besides Bicky and the day to day challenge the boy represented. Time to break in the bed, Dee though with a gentle smirk.
Princess barked and growled. Dee winced, ready to ignore the dog, but Ryo was sliding out of his arms in concern and leaving the bed without a second thought to go to the dog.
"Princess needs a walk," Ryo said as he opened the door of the carrier. He reached in, snapped a leash onto the dog's collar, and then let the dog come out. The pomeranian carefully stepped out of the carrier, little black eyes suspicious. When it saw Ryo, it wriggled happily and licked Ryo's hands.
"All right!" Dee groaned, "But we'll continue where we left off when you get back."
At the sound of Dee's voice, Princess growled and peeled back lips to reveal tiny, sharp teeth. "I'm afraid not, Dee," Ryo said apologetically. "Princess doesn't trust you. You need to spend a few hours getting to know each other again."
"The dog didn't like me when it did know me," Dee growled.
Ryo gave Dee a look as Princess jumped down to the floor from the table. As he headed for the door, Ryo said, "We are on a case, Dee. The job comes first and that job includes making friends with Princess."
"I'll do my job!" Dee snarled after the retreating pair, "The dog better do hers!"
"All right, dog!" Dee seethed. "Get the treat!"
Princess growled at him, suspicious, yet intrigued by the dog treat Dee dangled in front of the closet. She inched forward, sniffing, but showing sharp little teeth as well.
"Two nights of 'Princess this and Princess that' " Dee muttered. "Two days of getting bit, growled at, and not trusted, and that just from Ryo! Now you, little puff ball, mutt, you've made me miserable long enough in more ways than one. Tonight, you are going to shut up and I'm going to get some bouncing the bed springs in before out time is up and it's all work and no play. So... get the Hell in the closet!"
Princess glared at Dee with little, black eyes and didn't budge.
"I am bigger than you," Dee warned. "I can just force you, but..." He motioned to the pillow in the closet. "Look, I'm even giving you my pillow to sleep on. A few doggie treats, a nice pillow, and a long walk in a smelly ally afterwards. Dog heaven, right? It's all yours if you just cooperate."
Princess seemed to consider it. Dee put the treat and a few others on the pillow. Princess licked her chops and then made her decision. She walked into the closet with a superior air. As she passed by Dee's ankle, she suddenly lashed out and nipped him hard, pinching the skin and drawing a bit of blood.
"Son of a-!"
As Dee hopped on one foot, clutching his injured ankle, Princess seemed to grin, flipped her tail in the air, and curled up on the pillow with a satisfied little noise. Dee glared at her from under his rakish black hair, his green eyes snapping irately, but she ignored him and began delicately eating her treats.
"Yeah, go ahead and gloat!" Dee snarled, "But you'd better start doing what I tell you. If you mess up this surveillance job, the Chief, not just me, will want a doggie barbecue!"
Princess was unmoved. Dee shut the closet door on her, mission partly accomplished, and then stripped off his clothes. Slipping into a black silk robe, he then stretched out on the bed with a sheaf of papers. When Ryo returned, Dee tried to look worried and motioned Ryo to join him.
"Come here and tell me what you think about this," Dee asked.
Ryo put his ice bucket aside, slipped off his shoes, and then walked on his hands and knees from the foot of the bed to where Dee was lying. Sitting back on his heels, he held out his hand for the papers.
Luscious, was all Dee could think coherently. Ryo was like sunshine made into flesh, his honey brown hair a soft, shinning fall over his handsome face. His dark eyes were almost reflective of the lamplight, soft and warm, and his pale skin glowed as muscles flexed and slid underneath. When he had crawled over to Dee, he had displayed an unconscious sensuality. He was an innocent angel with a body that could drive Dee mad from wanting it. It made Dee feel like a devil, a wicked devil, as he smiled and patted the blanket next to him. "Come over here and we'll read it together."
Ryo complied, stretching out beside Dee and leaning in close to read the papers. "What's up?" Ryo asked, curious.
Dee knew what was 'up' and he swallowed hard as Ryo's hair brushed his cheek and his creamy neck came within devouring range. After two nights of having Princess defend Ryo from the Dee, the man she hated, and even going so far as sleeping next to his lover despite Dee's protests, it was close to nirvana to know that he could reach out and touch his lover and not have needle sharp teeth sink into his flesh.
"I wondered if Giralde was with the Frulio family," Dee said, not even hearing himself, "or that Kinson gang? Do you think..." Dee saw Ryo's pulse. He tried to keep the thread of his thoughts coherent. "Do you think we should try to find out their affiliation or just worry about them as separate entities..."
Dee couldn't resist any longer. As Ryo began to reply, confused, Dee took his hot tongue and lapped it against that incomparable neck, feeling Ryo's pulsing heart beat just below his lover's ear. He let his tongue trail down the artery and then he sucked and nibbled ever so gently at the base between shoulder and neck. Ryo shivered with goose bumps.
"Dee," Ryo breathed. "What about..."
Dee slid a hand up under Ryo's shirt, taking hold of his nipple between thumb and forefinger. Teasing the bud out, Dee clamped it as he continued to suckle Ryo's neckline. Papers slid to the floor, forgotten, as Dee used his free arm to gather Ryo close to him.
Ryo moaned, resistance melting as Dee's finger and thumb milked his small nipple until it was hot and hard. Ryo turned towards Dee and pressed an eager erection against Dee's leg. "Been awhile," Ryo whispered throatily.
Dee smiled wolfishly. "Too long. Don't mind, do you?"
Dee wasn't sure what he would have done if Ryo had decided that he wasn't in the mood or that they were on a case and sex shouldn't distract them, but Ryo didn't hesitate to bow his head against Dee's chest and say softly, "Mind? Of course not."
"Love you!" Dee sighed happily and then, with a sexy growl, he said, "Clothes: Off!"
Ryo chuckled and complied while Dee released his nipple, but didn't leave off from teasing Ryo in other ways. As Ryo undressed his beautiful body, Dee's big hands were touching, caressing, and kneading each revealed inch. When Ryo's cock sprang out of hiding and Ryo tossed his pants aside, Dee's warm hand closed tightly around it at once and gave Ryo a tug by it to get him closer to him. Ryo complied with a soft smile, liking that bit of domination.
"Want me, Baby?" Dee asked as he put their cocks together in one hand and began stroking them together. He smiled as Ryo colored all the way to the tips of his ears.
Ducking his head, still shy and embarrassed by Dee's bold sexuality even after all of their time together, Ryo whispered back, "Yes, Dee."
That shyness thrilled Dee and he hoped that Ryo never lost it. It made Dee feel so very masculine and so very protective of his lover. He thoroughly enjoyed taking the initiative and showing Ryo the heights of sexual pleasure.
Dee's free hand ran along Ryo's spine and then squeezed Ryo's rounded ass cheek hard. Ryo jumped and reddened even more. Dee didn't relent in his pressure. He kissed and nipped Ryo's neck, licking up to Ryo's mouth. Kissing that tender mouth deeply, Dee then broke away and asked suggestively, "Hungry?"
Ryo looked down the length of their bodies, at Dee's caressing hand on both of their swollen cocks, and replied, voice filled with desire, "Yes."
"So am I," Dee told him.
Smoothly, Dee flowed down the bed, stretching like a panther until he was facing Ryo's dripping erection and Ryo was facing his. Looking down as he took hold of Ryo, he saw Ryo lick lips in desire and then open that beautiful mouth to take him inside. Dee jerked and groaned at the sight, at the feel of moist warmth, the sudden tightness, and the rasping tongue of Ryo as the man showed Dee that he wasn't as innocent as he appeared.
"Jeezus!" Dee moaned, clutching at the blankets in pleasure as Ryo began sucking and bobbing his head, making a wonderful suction that was threatening to send Dee quickly over the edge into orgasm. It was all Dee could do to turn to Ryo's erection and return the favor.
Dee was determined to make the act last as long as possible. Knowing Ryo's temperament about such things, and the damned dog's presence, he was afraid that another chance wouldn't come again for days. Taking out a package of lube from his robe pocket, Dee opened it with his teeth, thought hard about baseball scores to keep from cumming explosively as Ryo's tongue dived into the slit of his cock, and squirted the slick substance over his thick middle finger.
"Relax, Baby," Dee warned as he slid that thick finger along Ryo's ass and then rubbed it around Ryo's tight opening.
Dee teased Ryo's anus, rubbing, scratching lightly, and slowly working his way inside. Ryo opened to him and writhed, panting, moaning, and forgetting to suckle Dee's cock as he was caught up in complete pleasure. Finally, Ryo pushed up on hand and knees and gave Dee a dark eyed, lust filled look. Dee found himself facing Ryo's perfect backside as Ryo bent down and clutched at his pillow, begging without words and bracing himself.
Dee continued to tease and play, moving his finger in and out and pausing only once in awhile to grab and squeeze Ryo's ass or fondle and lightly run shortened nails over Ryo's engorged genitals. Ryo moaned and squirmed each time, burying his face into his pillow and biting back louder noises.
Finally, Ryo said what Dee had been waiting to hear. "Dee! Stop playing!"
"Oh?" Dee wondered. "What do you want me to do instead?"
"You know!" Ryo exploded with a whine.
"Tell me," Dee demanded.
"I want you... I want you inside," Ryo begged shyly. "I need you... God! Dee! Fuck me! Fuck me, already!"
Dee started, shocked, and then he chuckled when he realized that Ryo had mortified himself. Dee knew he wasn't going to see Ryo's face out of that pillow for some time, at least not until Ryo was satisfied and no longer dying of embarrassment.
"You only had to say so," Dee replied and then rose up on his knees, cock more than ready, libido over primed and threatening to cum without much more stimulation.
Think of the Chiefs face, Dee thought to himself, trying to control himself as he pulled Ryo's hips towards him, smiling at Ryo's happy, relieved sigh. Dee imagined The Chiefs teeth grinding endlessly into his wet cigar. It did the trick. Dee felt a stepping back of pressure, but not so much that he couldn't push a hard cock into Ryo up to the hilt and make Ryo moan and hiss at the invasion.
It was Ryo's tight ring of muscles that gave Dee the stimulation and being deep and touching Ryo's prostate that gave Ryo his, so Dee stayed in deep, thrusting only slightly as he found the right spot inside of Ryo and rubbed at it with the head of his hot cock. Ryo thrashed, gripping the pillow with one hand while he reached back and began jerking his own cock off in time to Dee's movements.
Dee waited, trying to think of old rock tunes, the names of saints, all the names of detective Murray's kids, and what kind of dog Princess actually was, to keep from exploding. At last, Ryo was the one to explode, body jumping up against Dee's, hand abusing his cock as he spurted against his own belly.
Dee kissed the back of Ryo's neck and then straightened, hands on Ryo's hips as he began thrusting in and out of his lover in earnest, using Ryo's tight ring of muscles to stimulate his cock over the edge. When he came, he rose up on his feet and pulled Ryo's hips up with him, slamming in deep and hard as he filled his lover with his hot seed. Ryo moaned at the sensation, cock still twitching and being massaged in his own hand.
Spent, Dee collapsed onto his back and covered his eyes with one arm, breathing heavily as lights flashed and the world lost focus in waves of intense pleasure and satisfaction. "That was the best, Ryo!" he panted. "God, I love you, Baby!"
Ryo slipped into Dee's arms and pillowed his cheek against Dee's chest, nuzzling like a contented kitten and smiling lovingly. Dee caressed him, all right with the world again. Nothing could compare with that moment.
"Where's Princess, Dee?"
Dee stiffened, caught of guard. Shit! he thought and then sighed, resigned. Time to pay the piper.
"Iie, wakarimasen!" Ryo exploded, holding Princess close to his heart. Both dog and lover glared at a flustered Dee. After Ryo had rescued Princess from the closet, all loving, sexual afterglow had disappeared in an instant. "Doshite no!"
"Ryo, just calm down!" Dee soothed, holding up his hands and making motions like he was trying to put out a fire. "I gave her some treats. She didn't make a sound. She was perfectly-"
Ryo struggled to calm down, for the dog's sake, Dee suspected, and not for his. He saw Ryo take a deep breath and try to speak in a lower tone, yet, as he continued to speak, it rose higher and higher until he was shouting again. "You were completely irresponsible to do something like that, Dee. May I remind you that we are on a very important assignment and that priority one is keeping our cover! That means that you have to get along with Princess and look as if she belongs to you when you go out and try to spot the drug traffickers!"
Dee scowled. "Why don't you shout that a little louder, Ryo? I'm sure the drug kingpin on the first floor didn't hear you good enough!"
Ryo gritted his teeth and seethed silently, knowing Dee was right, yet determined to point out how wrong he was about the rest. "This dog," Ryo tried to explain, "Aside from being the top drug sniffer on the force, is a living, breathing animal, Dee! You can't just shut her up in a dark closet when the mood strikes you!"
"What else was I supposed to do?" Dee demanded. He raked a hand through his dark hair and turned away as he dug his pack of cigarettes from the clothes he had strewn over a chair. Dressed once again in his black silk robe, it was loose and open in the front, giving Ryo a full frontal view as he turned back and began to light up a cigarette.
"No smoking in the room!" Ryo snapped. "You'll set off the alarm."
Dee almost crushed his cigarettes in one hand as he replied, "That dog is making me miserable! I'm a human being, and, unlike Mr. Dutiful Ryo, I can't go for days without 'getting some'. That dog has been in my face, biting me, growling at me, and gluing itself to your lap so much that I haven't even been able to touch you, let alone ride you." He ignored Ryo's sudden blush and they way his partner ducked his head at Dee's crude words." I assure you, Ryo, that locking that mutt in a closet was the least of what I wanted to do to her!"
"This is not working out," Ryo said in angry disappointment. "If you can't get along with Princess, and you're reduced to pulling such childish stunts, I don't have any choice, but to call the Chief and have you replaced, Dee."
"And have that go on my record?" Dee exploded. "That dog runs and hides behind you every time I try and make nice. She doesn't trust me and now you don't trust me, either. I think you're the ones who should get the bad mark on your records, not me!"
Ryo motioned to the dog, his handsome face set in an expression of disbelief. "It's a dog, Dee! Are you going to tell me that a decorated, top notch, detective can't convince a dog that he likes him?"
Dee looked uncomfortable as he retrieved his clothes and put them on. "Animals just know, Ryo. They have some sort of weird mojo sense."
Ryo let out an exasperated sound. "I don't think that Princess needs any 'mojo sense' to tell her that you hate her, Dee, the way you shout at her. You need to calm your voice, get down to her level, and be friendly. Get to know her. She's really a very sweet dog when she isn't afraid."
"Afraid?" Dee turned as he zipped up his black jeans. "Do you think that little monster is afraid of me?"
"Animals often react aggressively when they feel threatened," Ryo explained.
Dee eyed the small, reddish brown ball of fur in Ryo's arms. Princess bared her teeth and growled. Dee tried to imagine what he must look like to such a small creature, especially when he was shouting angrily. "I guess..., well, crap, Ryo! I don't want this assignment to go down the drain. Fine! I was being childish to lock Princess Mutt up. I was being irresponsible. I was being stupid.... but, it was worth it. I really needed you, baby, and, I think, you felt the same way, right?"
Ryo's intense blush of embarrassment was some recompense to Dee for giving in, but Ryo negated any pleasure he might have had from it by saying, "I'll always need you, Dee. I need you now. I need you to be my partner, so stop being a baka, all right?"
Dee deflated. He did feel like an idiot. "Sorry."
Dee picked up the leash from a table. Ryo raised eyebrows. "Dee?"
Dee shrugged as he risked a bite to snap the leash to Princess's collar. "I promised the mutt that I would take her for a walk in a stinky ally, if she kept quiet. I'm holding up my part of the bargain."
Ryo found a smile then, relieved. "Good. We only have one more day Dee. I'm going to trust you to work it out with Princess. If you can't manage, I'll have to try it alone."
Dee winced. Someone would notice a handsome man like Ryo walking a dog constantly up and down the hotel hallways. Someone would figure out that Ryo was a cop. Dee knew that he couldn't allow Ryo to risk himself like that. The men they stalked were ruthless. They killed, without mercy, anyone who they considered a danger to them.
"Don't worry," Dee replied gruffly. "I've got your back, Ryo. I won't let you down."
It hurt Dee that Ryo looked grateful. He shouldn't need to feel that way, Dee thought guiltily. Ryo should be taking Dee's full participation for granted. Mentally, Dee kicked himself. He was an idiot for letting a punk dog get under his skin and for making Ryo doubt him.
"Be careful," Ryo said softly as Dee opened the door. "I'm sure some of the drug dealer's have probably sent scouts to secure the hotel before the meeting."
That gave Dee a chill of premonition. The hairs stood up on the back of his neck. Holding Princess's leash tight to keep her under control, he leaned and gave Ryo a deep kiss. Ryo still tasted like sex and that made Dee smile as he looked deep into Ryo's dark eyes. "I'll be right back, baby, don't worry."
Dee puffed angrily on his cigarette as he stood at the entrance to an ally. Princess sniffed and did her business and he glared at her. She ignored him, small feet making it appear as if she were tiptoeing as she delicately stepped over debris and cracked cement.
"I'm not getting a bad mark on my record because of you," Dee grumbled. "You are not going to win this one, mutt. We are going to make nice, from now on."
Princess growled.
Dee bit on his cigarette and pointed to Princess in warning, "Don't give me any lip, mutt! I'm the master. You are the dog!"
Princess wasn't looking at Dee, though, but down the ally, ears pricked. Dee lowered his hand and took a step forward, squinting and trying to see through the shadows. He heard voices, very low. It seemed to be an argument. Curious, Dee tightened his grip on Princess's leash and crept forward as quietly as he could, hoping that Princess wouldn't take it into her head to bark.
Three men. Dee stopped and pressed against a brick wall. They were dressed well for men having a conversation in a filthy ally. Refuse from the hotel restaurant was stinking in bins nearby and steam gouted from a pipe, but they were all oblivious as two of the men converged angrily on the third.
"If you think you are going to back out now...!" One man snarled, pulling out a very large gun. Dee automatically reached for his own and then swore. He had been so angry that he had left everything back in the hotel room.
"Not here!" The second thug growled and nodded at the open door of the restaurant kitchen. The first man nodded and they moved further down the ally. Dee couldn't hear them, especially when machinery of some sort, perhaps heavy duty mixers, began whirling and squeaking from the open doorway.
"Shit!" Dee swore. He took a close look at the ally, trying to think how he could get closer without getting spotted. Looking Heaven ward angrily, when he couldn't think of a way, he spotted a rusted fire escape. It wasn't close enough, but, higher up it came close to another fire escape that was. If he was quiet, Dee thought, he could be right on top of the thugs without them being the wiser.
There was only one problem. Princess stared up at Dee as if sensing his frustration. "You are a police dog," Dee said quietly as he kneeled to be at Princess's level. "I have a feeling, if I left you tied up, you'd bark and draw attention, so, I'm going to have to take you up with me." Dee cautiously reached out and smoothed a hand over Princess's head. She looked suspicious, but allowed it. "Let's get along for just a few minutes, okay?" Dee asked plaintively. "No noise. No biting. Just us working together as a team." He tried to think of a phrase that a trainer might use, but all Dee could think of to say was, "You're on duty now. Let's do our job."
Princess cocked ears at him and trembled a little. Dee cautiously picked her up and tucked her under his arm. He waited, expecting a bite or a struggle, but Princess remained perfectly still, hardly even seeming to breathe.
"Good, dog," Dee whispered and struggled one handed to get up onto the fire escape.
It wasn't easy and Dee began to have misgivings as soon as he climbed to the second landing of the fire escape. It was clearly almost rusted through at certain points. It swayed away from the building, anchors rusted through at several points there as well.
"Someone's getting a damned citation for this one!" Dee whispered angrily and then remembered Princess. Hoping that he hadn't excited her, he lowered his voice and said gently , "So'kay, Princess. Good dog. We still have a job to do."
Princess remained quiet, but her body continued to tremble. Excitement or fear, Dee wasn't sure what the dog was feeling. When he reached the cross over point, Dee had a dangerous, awkward moment as he juggled Princess from one arm to the other as he stretched and climbed to a fire escape even worse than the one he had just left.
"Did you hear something?" A low voice snapped fearfully. Dee froze.
"Don't worry about no damned pigeons! We got a deal to go down!" The other man snapped.
Dee sighed in relief and moved to the end of the landing he was standing on. Crouching, he found himself almost right above the three men. They had the third man up against the brick building. None of them looked happy.
"I was told ten grand, no more," The third man protested. "You're asking for twenty! I go back minus that kind of cash and I'm going to get my head blown off." He laughed nervously. "You understand, right guys? You don't do nothing unless your boss says it's okay, right?"
"My boss don't need to buy blow from no ally," the second man snarled in contempt. "He goes to the source and gets it cheap. You and your peanut boss don't have a source, so you have to pay top dollar."
"I'll talk to him," the third man assured him and tried to walk away. The first man caught his business suit coat in one fist and stopped him. "Come on!" the third man whined. "You know I can't give it to you just like that."
"You will," the second man told him, "because I already told my boss that we were scoring some cash. He don't like to be disappointed."
"Wrap it up!" The first man urged irritably. "Get the money or kill him and get the money. We have to go case the hotel and set up the rooms before the boss's arrive for the meeting."
"Shut up about that!" The second man snarled.
"W-What meeting?" the third man foolishly asked.
Without warning, the second man fired his gun. It had a silencer, but it still made enough noise for Dee to start violently. The third man hit the pavement with a messy hole in his head, eyes open and staring in shock. The second man swore as he bent and began searching the twitching body. "Can't keep your damned mouth shut!" he growled at the first man. "It don't do no good killing the freakin' customers!"
"Does he have the money on him?" the first man asked, unconcerned by the second man's criticism.
"No!" the second man snarled and straightened. "Course not! This is just fucking lovely! Come on, let's get back to the hotel. Good thing I didn't really call the boss about this one!"
The second man put away his gun under his coat and then both men walked down the ally towards the street, leaving their victim behind as if he were as unimportant as the trash all around him.
"Good dog," Dee whispered, fighting with a surge of disgust and a flood of adrenaline that had almost made him jump down to help the dead man. Without a gun, they would have killed him just as easily.
With a creaking of metal, the fire escape gave way. Dee let go of Princess in surprise as they both fell. The dog yelped. Dee grunted and then bit down on a cry, afraid that the men would hear and come back. It was his last clear though before something tightened painfully on his leg and lights exploded behind his eyes as his head connected with metal.
"Dee!" A voice screamed. "Dee! God, no! "
Dee opened his eyes. Dim light. Aching head. Bad, stale cigarette taste in his mouth along with the tang of blood from a bitten tongue. Something... Something was wrong.
Someone was shouting in panicky Japanese. Dee frowned, tried to concentrate, and managed to say, "English, baby! I can't- can't understand you!"
It was Ryo, Dee's confused mind told him, but he was having a hard time figuring out anything else.
"Dee, don't move!" Ryo shouted in English. "I'm calling for help!"
Help? Why did he need help? It came back to Dee then; the drug dealers, the dead man, and a collapsing, rusted fire escape. He blinked and focused on a world gone crazy. It was upside down!
"What the-" Dee struggled, but Ryo's voice snapped out making him freeze.
"Dee! Don't move! I don't know what's holding you up there, but you are very close to taking a two story fall! It doesn't look safe. I can't climb up after you! I might bring down the entire fire escape with my extra weight!" That last was said with pure anguish and Ryo sounded as if he were choking on tears.
Two stories? Dee concentrated and his mind slowly made sense out of his predicament. He was hanging upside down, coat around his head and flapping slightly. He was facing a bloodied bit of rusted metal, the piece that had connected with his head. Dee stared at it for a long moment and then attempted to look past his coat to see what had saved his life. He stifled a hysterical laugh when he saw Princess's dog leash wrapped about his leg and part of the fire escape. When he saw the empty collar, Dee looked down frantically.
"Ryo!" he called hoarsely, "Where's the mutt?"
Ryo was hurriedly talking on the phone, without pausing in his frantic conversation, he lifted up an intact Princess for Dee to see. Lowering her again, Ryo agitatedly finished his conversation by saying, "Hurry! I'm not sure how long he'll stay suspended!"
Slipping his phone back into his pocket, Ryo stood under Dee, face white and dark eyes, large and frightened.
Dee sighed. "I guess you wanna know what happened?"
Ryo's beautiful face contorted as he choked on a sob. He gained control of himself with an effort and then attempted a sickly laugh, "Only-Only you could take a dog for a walk and end up with a dead man and hanging from- from a building!"
"Yeah, I know," Dee replied, wincing at the throbbing pain in his head, but also at his own short comings. "I don't know why you put up with me."
"I think loving you has something to do with it," Ryo replied, "and the fact that you do have good moments... few and far between, but they do happen."
Dee nodded and smiled, but then he was frowning in puzzlement. "How did you find me?"
"Princess must have slipped out of her collar, landed safely, and gone to find me," Ryo explained. "She appeared at our hotel door, scratching to get in."
"You're kidding me?!" Dee exclaimed in shock, "Just like a damned dog on t.v.! Did she bring you back here?"
Ryo shook his head. "No, she only wanted some water and a treat. I remembered you saying something about smelly alleys and, luckily, I checked here first."
"Still..." Dee stopped talking as the metal groaned. Ryo exclaimed in Japanese and dropped Princess as he rushed to the fire escape, intending to climb up and save Dee somehow. "Stop!" Dee shouted. "Two of us are not going to die, Ryo. Wait for rescue workers!"
"Iie!" was Ryo's sharp reply and he was scrambling up the rusted, twisted metal in the next instant. He moved carefully, eying the separating joints and popping bolts, knowing he was making the right decision. If he was careful, and kept his weight towards the center of the fire escape, he reasoned, where the most bolts held it to the wall, then he had a chance....
"Ryo, baby, don't do this!" Dee begged.
"Shut up for once and let me pull the crazy stunt this time!" Ryo snapped back.
Ryo was smaller than Dee, but he was strong. Climbing up the damaged portion of the fire escape, he carefully braced himself and then began untangling Dee's leg. It was tricky. He had to hold Dee so that he wouldn't fall, yet keep from falling himself as he worked the knotted leash free. Ryo was wet with sweat by the time he saw the leash slip off. Every muscle in his body screamed protest as he leaned back, holding Dee's lower leg and taking Dee's full weight in his arms.
"Okay, Dee!" Ryo gasped out. "What do we do now?!"
Dee was incredulous. "Now you fall down on the job, Mr. Always Plan Things Out First?!" Dee turned his head this way and that, trying to think of something. The idea that finally came to him didn't inspire confidence, but he knew that he didn't have a choice. "Okay, Ryo! Do exactly what I tell you."
"Dee?" Ryo warned, knowing his partner's penchant for trying the impossible. When another bolt popped out of the brick wall, Ryo swallowed hard, and said, "Okay, hurry."
"Give me the leash," Dee asked.
"Leash," Ryo echoed as he fumbled to hold it within Dee's reach. Dee took it and Ryo gasped. "I- I don't think I can hold you much longer, Koibitto!"
That chilled Dee. "Safety net," he explained as he leaned towards the wall and fastened the leash to a rusted bracket embedded there. "Hold tight, whatever happens," Dee warned as he wrapped the free end of the leash around one wrist. "I'm going to try and swing myself down now. I need to get hold of something solid, so I'm going to have to swing a little."
"Ready," Ryo gritted out unconvincingly.
The fire escape chose that moments to fall out from underneath them completely. It hit the pavement with a loud metallic sound as Ryo and Dee swung down hard against the brick wall and then hung, Dee by the leash, and Ryo by his one leg.
"Kuso!" Ryo swore as he tried to firm up his grip.
"Well," Dee panted, the circulation being cut off from his wrist by the tightly wound leash, "At least we weren't smashed by the fire escape."
"What now?!" Ryo exclaimed, staring down at the hard pavement below.
"We're a little further down," Dee replied. "We might just break our legs if we jumped."
"You're in no condition to-" Ryo began, but a timid voice interrupted.
"You boys need a ladder?" Both Dee and Ryo looked down and saw an old man in a chef's hat staring up at them, garbage bag in one hand. "I have one inside the kitchen. Sometimes, the pigeons fall into the smoke stack and I have to pull them out."
"What do you think, you id-" Dee began with a snarl, but Ryo talked over him quickly.
"That would be very nice of you, sir. Thank you," Ryo replied smoothly.
"Be right back," the man said with a skeptical look at the hanging pair and went back into his kitchen.
"How embarrassing!" Ryo snapped. "When we get back on the ground, Dee, I'm calling the Chief! I'm demanding a new partner! This is just-just..."
"Love you too, baby," Dee sighed.
Ryo deflated. "I just never imagined that asking you to get along with a dog would be too much for you and that it would lead to... to this!"
"This didn't have anything to do with Princess," Dee protested. He felt weak, dizzy, and glad that he had knotted the leash around his wrist. He didn't think he could have held on otherwise. "It was just dumb luck." Dee glanced down at Princess. She was sitting and staring up at them curiously. "She's actually... Okay, I'm going to admit it, that dog may be a lousy pet, but as a cop, she's top notch."
The cook came out of the kitchen lugging his ladder. Princess growled at him.
"This dog bite?" The man asked nervously.
"No!" Ryo lied, "Please, hurry, sir."
The man eyed Princess warily and positioned the ladder. It was slow going as Ryo found his footing and then helped Dee untangle himself and climb down. Once they were on the ground, Dee crouched wearily, hand on his cut and aching head. In the distance, he could hear the sirens of the approaching rescue workers.
"Dee?" Ryo said in concern, crouching by Dee and slipping arms around him to support him.
"I'm okay," Dee replied. "There's just something I have to do before I pass out or get carried off by the rescue squad." Dee held his hand out to a wary Princess. "Thanks, Princess. You saved my butt, literally."
Dee tried to give Princess a reassuring pat on the head. Princess sniffed his hand, stepped forward delicately, and then buried her sharp teeth into Dee's flesh.
"Why you miserable...!"
Owari