Second Beginnings

The next day, life went back to normal for Ryo. He went to work as usual. When he got to the station, he sat at his office and began looking over a file. JJ stopped at his desk.
\"How are you doing?\" JJ asked.
\"I\'m fine.\"
\"What was up yesterday. You were in such a hurry to leave.\"
\"Nothing. I just wasn’t feeling that guy.\"
\"Pity. He seemed to like you. Well I got to go.\" JJ began to walk away. He stopped and turned around. \"Wait, I\'m such a spaz! Drake wants you in his office. I think it\'s time to meet your new partner.\"
\"Thanks JJ.\" Ryo got up and headed over to Drake\'s office. Over the years, Drake had been promoted to being chief. While not as gruff or grumpy as the last chief, he was still able to hold on to authority. Ryo\'s last partner was a woman named Melanie. They were partners for years and became close friends in the process. A few years ago, Ryo introduced her to an old friend of his from high school named Lindsey. They soon fell in love. They decided to move to Massachusetts to get married and start a family. While Ryo was more than happy for them, he was a little apprehensive about getting a new partner. With a new partner suddenly you\'re depending on this person you don\'t even know and they\'re depending on you in life and death situations. No matter what you think of the person, you end up having an incredibly intense relationship with them.
Ryo walked in. He saw the back of his new partner\'s head, who sat facing Drake at his desk.
\"Good morning Drake.\" said Dee.
\"Hey! Come sit, meet your new partner.\"
Ryo sat down in front of Drake\'s desk. His partner turned to face him. Ryo jumped in his seat. He couldn\'t believe it. It was the man from last night. He flashed Ryo a killer smile and put out his hand.
\"Hello! It\'s Randy, isn\'t it?\"
Ryo shook his hand in disbelief.
Drake rummaged through some papers. \"This is…um…Daniel Caldwell Lorrington the Fourth\".
The new partner gave an embarrassed laugh. \"I don\'t really go by that. Most people just call me Dee.\"
Ryo\'s eyes widened. Drake was also taken aback.
\"Dee…\"Drake coughed nervously \"Why do they call you that? Why not Dan or Danny?\"
\"Growing up as one of four Daniel Lorringtons in my family, there weren\'t many nicknames left. \" Dee smirked.
\"There used to be a cop at the station named Dee too-\" Drake glanced in Ryo\'s direction. \"How are you doing Dee?\"
\"I\'m alright.\" Ryo reassured. After a long pause, he said, \"So Dee…it\'s nice to meet you…\"
He looked at Dee uneasily. Dee just smiled back.
\"I\'m sure it\'ll be great working with you.\"
\"It will be my pleasure.\" replied Dee.
Drake sorted out a file from his drawer. He gave some paperwork to Dee and some to Ryo.
\"Here\'s your newest case. Start cracking.\"
\"Alright chief!\" Dee said cheerfully. \"Right away.\"
Ryo laughed nervously. \"See you later Drake.\"
Dee left the room. Ryo was about to follow when Drake stopped him.
\"I\'m sorry Ryo. I didn\'t know.\"
\"I\'ll be fine. It\'s no big deal. A name is a name.\"
\"Are you sure?\"
\"It\'s alright. I should get started with reading this. See you later Drake.\"
\"Good luck Ryo.\"

Ryo sighed as he sat at his desk. Of course Dee\'s desk had to be next to his and Dee was there. The case was sprawled all over his desk, but Dee hadn\'t even attempted to start shifting through it. He just leaned back in his chair, his feet propped up on the desk, waiting for Ryo with a knowing smile. Ryo ignored him and began working on the case. After a few minutes of the silent treatment, Dee grew restless. He considered making spitballs and throwing it at Ryo to get his attention, however he decided that wasn\'t the best strategy to get on Ryo\'s good side. He pretended to read through the case. While doing so, he softly sang \"The Way You Look Tonight\". This had always been there song. It was playing the first time they ever danced together. It had been at the wedding of one of Ryo\'s cousins. This had been soon after they had gotten together and Ryo was still uncomfortable with public displays of affection. Dee had promised Ryo that he would be alright with looking like only friends. At first Ryo wanted this, however when they got at the wedding and he saw the love between his cousin and her husband, he decided he didn\'t want to hide his love for Dee. This song began playing and Ryo timidly asked Dee if he wanted to dance. Dee swept him onto the dance floor.
Ryo blushed recalling memories.
\"Why are you humming that?\" he asked.
\"I like the song.\" Dee replied. \"What\'s wrong with it?\"
\"It\'s just hard to read with you humming.\"
\"Well good. How long were you going to try to ignore me for?\"
\"I was just working on the case.\"
Dee reached across the desk to caress Ryo\'s hand. He traced light circles on Ryo\'s palm, making him shiver. \"Let\'s talk.\"
Ryo snapped his hand away.
\"I\'m going to get some air.\" Ryo got up and practically ran for the elevator. Once he got there, he pressed the Close Doors button again and again. The doors began to close, and he let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly an arm made its way through the door.
\"Ow! Fuck!\" yelled Dee as he forced his way into the elevator.
\"I just want to be alone-\"
Dee pinned Ryo to the wall.
\"We\'ll have to talk about this. You just can\'t runaway…\"
\"I wasn\'t-\"
\"…and you can\'t ignore me this time\" With that Dee\'s lips met Ryo\'s. At first the kiss was a gentle exploration, teasing Ryo into submission. It was two people reacquainting themselves. Dee pressed against Ryo, his hands moving across Ryo\'s back. Dee couldn\'t restrain himself any longer and his kisses become more fervent. His tongue pushed through Ryo\'s lips. Ryo melted, unable to resist. His knees became weak and if it wasn\'t for Dee\'s arm at the small of his back, he would have sunk to the ground. Unbeknownst to Ryo, Dee had pressed the button to get back to the floor their desks were. The elevator door opened with a ding. The few officers still at the station looked up in surprise to see the new partners \"getting along quite well\". Dee finally went up for air, leaving Ryo panting. Why did you have to kiss like that?
\"I feel great about this partnership! I really do!\" announced Dee gleefully. \"Now let’s get cracking on that case!\"