Disclaimer: I'm not making any money off of this, honest
Part 21
Act Three:
At the shooting range, Ryo aimed his police revolver with a perfectly steady hand, eyed the target, and confidently squeezed the trigger. It was an effortless bullseye into the center of the practice target. Taking off his ear protection, Ryo waited for the next target to move into position. As he did so, his nose itched. A slow burn warned him and he secured his revolver before he sneezed explosively.
Wiping at his nose, Ryo muttered to himself, "I must be coming down with a cold. I feel like I have a fever."
A hard slap on the back almost made Ryo drop his gun. He turned to find Dee standing beside him, smiling warmly as he held up a score sheet. "Ryo, the chart came out," Dee told him. "You got the top score at the shooting competition."
Ryo took the score card and looked it over. "Oh, yeah," he said as he remembered the contest and then saw Dee's name lower on the list. "You placed fifth," he observed, trying to sound congratulatory in return, but unable to help feeling surprised that Dee had ranked so much lower than himself.
Dee wasn't fooled. He scowled and retorted, "Are you being sarcastic? I'm good when it comes to the real thing!"
Ryo saw that Dee was having a case of stung pride and tried to make him feel better by shrugging and minimizing his own win, "It was praise. I was just lucky this time."
"If it's just luck, it doesn't have any meaning then, does it?" a stranger's voice said.
Both Ryo and Dee turned to see a young man taking aim at his target on the range. He was a handsome man, slim and petite, his hair a rough cut fall of chestnut almost covering an intense set of eyes that were trained along the sight of his revolver. He fired smoothly and hit the target dead center.
"Wow! Impressive, " Ryo exclaimed.
Dee was frowning, as if he wasn't pleased to see the man, though he observed with grudging respect, "A pinhole shot."
The young man seemed to notice Dee for the first time. His entire demeanor changed from serious to extremely excited in a heartbeat. Dee glared and said nothing. Ryo looked from the gushing young man to the annoyed Dee, beginning to suspect something that he didn't like. He should have expected that a man as handsome as Dee, and with Dee's personality, would have several lovers already. If this was one of them, then Ryo could understand why Dee looked so irritated. He wouldn't want one lover running into someone he was trying to make into a new one.
Ryo's suspicions were confirmed when the young man suddenly launched himself at Dee, wrapped arms around the taller man, and french kissed him, his tongue obviously delving deep. Shocked, Ryo tried to turn away even as Dee was forcibly trying to pry the young man off of him as he exclaimed, "Son of a...!"
"Get off!" Dee continued as he tried to shove the young man away from him. "What are you doing, you jerk? Let go!"
The young man clung like a leach, smiling happily as if he thought Dee was making a joke. Dee twisted in the young man's grip, suddenly wondering what the scene looked like to Ryo. When he saw Ryo's expression he thought that he could see disappointment mixed in with embarrassment.
"I'm innocent!" Dee exclaimed hurriedly. "Ryo, you're misunderstanding! This isn't what you think!"
Ryo was surprised by his own reaction. He was confused by how hurt he was feeling and the disappointment was so strong it was painful. Not understanding himself or the situation, Ryo decided to hide behind a forced smile and some sarcastic good humor. "You two take your time, I'll be going now."
Dee watched Ryo calmly walked away and close the door to the shooting range behind him. Dee tried to follow, but the young man was a dead weight holding him back. Finally, Dee twisted back around, lifted an angry fist threateningly, and shouted furiously, "J.J.! You bastard! This is all your fault! What did you do that for? I went to a lot of trouble trying to bring him around, damn you!"
J.J. finally released Dee and stared pensively at the closed door as if he could see through it to the retreating back of his rival, hardly listening as Dee continued his tirade. "Hmph," J.J. muttered, "That worked." Then he asked Dee, loudly enough to break through the man's ranting. "Who was that?"
"My partner!" Dee shouted furiously. Damn! he thought as he gave J.J. a rude hand sign and stalked away, Ryo looked like he was feeling rejected, I can't ignore that. I have to go talk to him.
Outside in the hall, Ryo leaned his back against the door to the shooting range and felt a wave of depression. He hardly heard when Dreig called his name.
Ryo pulled himself together enough to answer at last, "Yes, Dreig?"
Dreig gave Ryo an odd look and Ryo wondered what he looked like as Dreig informed him, "There's a meeting in the Chief's office for the whole Investigation Division. Even Dee, he says."
Ryo nodded and replied, "Got it."
As Dreig moved down the hallway to tell another officer, Ryo felt a flush creep across his face. His hand moved to automatically cover it in embarrassment as his confusing thoughts finally crystallized. It's strange, he thought, something has changed. For some reason, seeing those two together, makes me sad. I don't understand myself. Dee's only my partner, but... Yeah! That's right. Why should I feel sad?
Ryo began walking down the hallway deep in thought, not really paying attention to anything around him as he remember that time with Dee, when the man had given him that electrifying kiss and then had warned Ryo, `I'm not joking, Ryo.'
"So, that... that wasn't serious," Ryo murmured to himself and felt the sadness inside of him grow.
"Ryo!" The call went unnoticed by Ryo, who was thinking in amazement at himself, that it seemed like he wanted Dee to say things like that seriously.
"Hey, are you ignoring me?" A hand clamped onto Ryo's shoulder. Ryo spun, startled, and saw Dee standing there looking concerned. "That thing that happened a bit ago... well.." Dee fumbled for words.
Ryo looked down at his feet, uncomfortable and unable to meet Dee's intense green eyes as he assured Dee, "You don't need to explain. I'm just your partner. I don't care how many lovers you have."
Dee scowled. "Is that really what you think?"
Ryo felt himself go suddenly hot and he bit out as he walked away from Dee, "I don't care!"
Dee was stunned for a moment, watching Ryo's stiff back retreating, and then he realized: Ryo's angry! If Ryo was angry, then that meant that seeing J.J. kiss Dee had upset him. He was acting jealous, Dee thought with sudden hope, it's great that he's worrying about what I'm doing.
Dee chased after Ryo. "Ryo! Wait up!" he called and grabbed hold of Ryo's wrist to stop him. Dee had a moment to register that Ryo had a small, delicate wrist and that the skin was fever warm under silky smoothness, before Ryo was snatching it away.
Ryo's voice was chill as he informed Dee off handedly, "I almost forgot. We have a meeting in the Chief's office."
Dee put his hands into his pockets and walked quietly beside Ryo, despondently feeling that he had blown it with Ryo and that it was all J.J.'s fault. He said, in absent concern, even though his thoughts were on a suitable revenge for the petite officer, "You should take some medicine."
Ryo stopped, confused, and Dee continued a few paces without him as Ryo realized to himself in amazement, My fever. I guess he knows about it. Dee must have guessed from touching the heat of his wrist. That showed a level of sensitivity in the man that Ryo would never have guessed at. It seemed all at odds with a man who had lovers pouncing on him shamelessly in shooting ranges.
Part 22
"I'm Jeremy J. Adams. You can call me J.J."
The man seemed pleasant now, standing in the Chief's office and addressing the gathered officers with confidence. Ryo thought that he could like the man, but he couldn't help a niggling voice deep down that wished that he had never seen J.J. Adams. He tried to stifle that voice, not wanting to admit that what he was feeling was jealousy as he tried to concentrate on what the Chief was saying.
"He was in the SWAT team," The Chief told them. "Randy is the only one who's his equal in shooting. So, who's gonna take care of him?"
J.J. gave Ryo a look. It was cold, the cheerful good nature of the young man absent for a moment.
The Chief saw it and warned, "Don't get in competition with each other! You need someone to show you the ropes."
J.J. replied, "I agree. I already know Dee. We were in the Police Academy together. I want to learn from him."
Dee was immediately upset, "Hey! J.J., you jerk!"
The Chief said, not knowing the trouble his choice was about to create, "Okay, you three can make a team."
"Chief!" Dee protested.
The Chief had automatically included Ryo, because he was Dee's partner, but it was obvious that J.J. hadn't counted on that. His arm was already hooked in Dee's arm as if he were prepared to lead the man away. Dee was putting up a struggle. Ryo thought a scene was about to be made and that it needed to be stopped. He also wanted to prove to himself that J.J. had not managed to get under his skin enough to keep him from being a professional.
"I got it," Ryo spoke up suddenly and all eyes turned to him in surprise. He swallowed nervously, ignoring J.J.'s glare, as he added, "I'll show you around the department."
"What are you saying?" Dee exclaimed, getting furious now and obviously not liking Ryo's offer to help J.J.
J.J. confronted Ryo as the other officers began to leave. "Thanks," he said suspiciously, clearly doubting the sincerity of Ryo's friendliness, and then he asked point blank, "but I want to know what your relationship with Dee is?"
Relationship? Ryo was startled. The man was demanding an answer to something Ryo didn't even want to acknowledge or think about. He decided to be flip and turned away as he said, trying to make it sound like a joke, "He gave me a kiss once, but we aren't a couple." He blushed at his own words, not liking to talk about something like that, even under the disguise of a joke, but his words made J.J. angry.
"I'm going to say this only once," J.J. warned. "I won't let him go easily. We make a better couple."
Ryo felt the sting of that, but he kept his face impassive as he replied, "You don't have to say things like that. I'm sure you won't have any trouble keeping him."
"What are you talking about?!" Dee demanded, angry and confused.
"Come on," Ryo said to Dee as he began walking.
Dee followed anxiously, muttering, "Things have changed."
Ryo heard and shot back stiffly, "NOTHING has changed."
"Huh?" Dee exclaimed indignity and then he warned, "You're not getting rid of me that easily."
J.J. looked after the two. He had expected Ryo to fight for Dee, or to at least get upset. Ryo's cool, unemotional response had taken him by surprise. "Hmm," he said softly to himself, "You're going to be tough..."
At their desks, Ryo was building a barricade of case books and office supplies between himself and the disgruntled Dee. Chin propped on his hand, Dee watched the stack getting taller and then growled, "I told you, it was nothing!"
When Ryo snorted in disbelief, Dee tried to look over the barricade at him as he tried to make Ryo understand. "I didn't have an affair with him!" he argued. "He just chased after me at the academy like a pest!"
Ryo slapped a pencil holder full of pencils and pens on top of the stack, blocking Dee's view completely.
Dee erupted in exasperation, "You're acting like a school kid!" Dee exclaimed. "He's the one that kept forcing himself on me, telling me how much he loved me."
"I just love to hear how popular my partner is with another guy!" Ryo retorted sarcastically.
"I even moved away after the academy to get away from him!" Dee told Ryo.
Dee could see the pinched nose and the strain around Ryo's lips, but Ryo's words were cold and indifferent as he replied, "I don't care."
Frustrated, Dee refused to let Ryo get away with his deception. He shoved the barricade aside with a violent sweep of one arm, and leaned forward to face Ryo squarely, as he demanded, "Then why do you look so ANGRY?"
Dark eyes met green ones and they became motionless. There was an expression on Ryo's face, acute astonishment, as if Dee had somehow made him naked to the world with his words.
"Hey!"
Dee started, the moment broken, and glared at J.J. who was coming towards them, "Don't sneak up on me, you idiot!" Dee fumed.
"What's wrong with you?" J.J. wondered, taken aback, and then he recovered and told them, "There's an incident on East street. "He looked over at Ryo, "Ryo, you need to come with me."
It was a tense situation. When Ryo and J.J. arrived on the scene with their rifles, they found that robbers had taken refuge in a hotel room and that they had taken a woman hostage. The situation was tense and not many people were betting that the woman was going to come out of the situation outside of a body bag. Ryo and J.J. were her only hope. Taking up a position in a building opposite of the robber's room, Ryo and J.J. occupied the windows and used binoculars to get a clear fix on their targets. The plan was to shoot the robbers and allow officers standing by to rush into the room and rescue the woman.
Ryo lifted his rifle to his shoulder and sighted outside of the window. When a wave of dizziness made the sight of his rifle blur, He lowered the gun and blinked rapidly, rubbing at his eyes. The fever was making him disoriented, he realized. That wasn't good, he thought. He had to do his job. He had to save that woman. Ryo raised his rifle again, determined, and looked sideways at his watch, propped up on the sill to tell him the time. He and J.J., at opposite ends of the room, were synchronized to shoot at the same time. Both he and J.J. counted down the seconds.
Ryo's eyes flicked back to the hotel room window. Through his magnified sight, he could see the woman struggling with one of the robbers. The robber turned his back towards the window. Ryo had a feeling that the woman was about to become very dead. Making a quick decision, he ignored the time and fired his rifle.
J.J. started and cursed, "What the hell..?" at the unexpected shot, even as the hotel window across the way shattered and the robber jerked as a bullet plowed straight into his heart with deadly accuracy.
Dee, standing with the other officers in the hotel outside the room, waiting for their cue, didn't hesitate to storm into the room and take out the second robber when he heard the shattering glass. As the other officers grabbed the second robber and helped the traumatized woman, Dee whipped out his cell phone and quickly called the Chief, "Chief? We did it. The hostage is okay."
"Good job," The Chief replied in obvious relief.
Back in the room where Ryo and J.J. were stationed, Ryo was sitting on the floor, his fever making him so hot and dizzy that he was loosening his tie and leaning back against the wall beneath the window.
J.J. confronted Ryo in angry disbelief. "That was very reckless. You could have shot the hostage!"
"But, I didn't," Ryo replied simply, knowing that there was nothing else he could have done differently, "She's okay."
J.J. was suddenly shoved hard from behind and Dee was standing there, growling angrily, "Hey, Ryo's sick! Go easy on him!" and then in concern as he saw Ryo sitting on the floor and sweating with fever, "I told you to take some medicine." He glared at J.J. "Give me a hand with him."
The last thing that J.J. wanted to do was to help Ryo, but he obeyed Dee and put a shoulder under Ryo's arm to help him to his feet. It was obvious, quickly enough, that Ryo was too sick to walk far even with J.J.'s support.
Dee turned his back to Ryo and crouched.
"Dee?" Ryo said in confusion.
Get on," Dee told him briskly, "I'll carry you."
"What?" Ryo felt a chill air beside him and turned his head to see J.J. glaring at him. It was obvious that the man was not liking the turn of events at all.
"Uh-okay," Ryo murmured and climbed awkwardly onto Dee's back. Dee braced him with strong hands and stood up easily. "Thank you," Ryo whispered against Dee's broad back and couldn't help a smile.
As they made their way out of the room and into the hallway, J.J., carrying both his and Ryo's gun cases, complained bitterly, "Ryo's done for the day, already! Why do I have to carry his case?"
Dee cut J.J. off. "Shut up and let's get out of here!"
When they arrived at Ryo's apartment, Ryo put on pajama's and gratefully crawled into his large bed. Dee hovered, trying to make him comfortable, while J.J. glared and continued to complain.
"You need to get some sleep," Dee told Ryo. "You've taken your medicine, so your fever should go down now." Dee sat on the edge of the bed, not liking how bruised Ryo's eyes were and how pale he looked, but trying to be reassuring for Ryo's sake. "Is there anything you want?"
Ryo smiled at Dee's concern. "Nothing right now," he replied.
J.J. seethed at how close Dee was to Ryo and at how attentive the man was. "Hey!" he protested.
Dee glared at him. "What?"
"You don't need to stay. We need to get back and finish our work," J.J. replied plaintively.
"No," Dee protested, "I'll need to take care of him tonight."
J.J. wasn't about to let Dee stay the night in Ryo's apartment. He wasn't going to give Ryo that kind of chance to take Dee away from him. He grabbed Dee by the arm and tugged at him. "If we don't go back to work, there will be trouble tomorrow. You say Ryo needs to sleep, but if you stay, you'll just be disturbing him."
Dee shoved J.J. off of him angrily and Ryo thought that it looked as if a fight was about to start. He was too tired for it. He tried to think of something to say, but he only mumbled incoherently, "Ah... well..."
Dee knew what J.J.'s real motivation for taking him from Ryo's side was, but it seemed that Ryo was agreeing with J.J.. Dee deflated and he sighed as he stood up. "Son of a...", he muttered irritably and then in resignation, "Okay, I'll go home if that's what you want. If you need anything, you can call me any time, Ryo."
J.J. was grinning in relief and leading the way out of the apartment as Ryo lamely replied, "Okay, thanks."
Dee turned at the door and gave Ryo a last look, not liking the situation at all. Ryo did NOT look good. An idea formed. Dee smiled and said simply, "Bye," and then was gone, closing the door softly behind him.
Ryo sighed as silence settled over the apartment. Bicky was at camp. Ryo didn't like to be alone. He felt suddenly depressed. I guess I would have liked Dee to stay with me, he thought, for just for a little while. ..
Ryo suddenly blushed furiously, realizing where his thought were leading him. He didn't want to go there, not yet. I'm not thinking straight because I'm sick, he thought as he burrowed under the blankets. Yeah, that's it. All I need is some sleep.
A footstep alerted Ryo to an intruder. He started up in alarm. "Who's there?!"
"It's Dee!" Dee called out as he came into the bedroom. He leaned against the doorjamb, jacket thrown rakishly over one shoulder, as he grinned triumphantly. "I just pretended that I was going back to work until I got rid of that jerk J.J., and then I came back here."
Ryo smiled, feeling relieved, "Thanks. I was feeling lonely..."
Dee grinned then as he saw Ryo blush, glad that he had made the right decision. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he said briskly, "Leave everything to me, then. I'll stay here all night in case something needs to be done. How are you?"
Ryo touched his own warm forehead as he replied, "I feel better. The fever has gone down, I guess."
Dee stared intently into Ryo's face. "Let me see...," he said and then he suddenly reached out a broad hand and slipped it behind Ryo's neck. Before Ryo could react, Dee pulled him close, moved Ryo's hair away from his forehead, and placed his forehead against Ryo's. He stayed that way for a long moment, eyes closed in concentration, as Ryo floundered in confusion. Just when Ryo finally comprehended that Dee was gauging his temperature, Dee said teasingly, "You have a beautiful face."
Ryo recoiled, but Dee's hand on the back of his neck wouldn't let him go far. "Hey!" Ryo protested in embarrassment, "don't tease somebody who's sick!"
Dee let him go reluctantly. "I won't take advantage of you," he assured Ryo as he stood up. As he headed for the door he said, "I'll go take care of your dishes for you. You rest."
The door closed and Ryo stared at it. He smiled gently, feeling suddenly very warm. It had nothing to do with his fever, he knew. The warmth was in his heart.
Dee finished the dishes and unrolled his sleeves wearily. Going back to his patient, he opened the door to Ryo's bedroom and called softly, "Ryo?" The one lamp shone softly on Ryo's sleeping face.
Dee slowly sat on the edge of the bed so as not to wake Ryo and felt the man's forehead. It felt as if Ryo's fever had broken. Dee felt relieved. He hadn't wanted to admit even to himself how worried he had been for Ryo. Sleeping, the man looked pale, fragile, and very beautiful. Dee couldn't help brushing the soft, honey colored hair from Ryo's forehead. The man, he thought, was irresistible, and Dee found that he couldn't resist any longer.
Dee gave a guilty glance around the room, as if he feared that someone might see what he was about to do, but even guilt couldn't stifle the urge that was welling up inside of him.
Dee leaned down and kissed Ryo's lips. They were luscious, soft, and sweet, just as he remembered. He had longed for another taste for too long. Thank you, God, he thought, for the opportunity. I am so lucky...
Ryo woke groggily to tender, warm, softness against his lips and a searching tongue tasting the inside of his mouth. It was sweet. It was wonderful. It was Dee! Ryo started, but not enough to alert Dee that he was awake and aware. Still half in and half out of a sick daze, Ryo relaxed and wondered if he might be dreaming, as he allowed himself to drift asleep once more. It's okay, he thought, this time...