Second Beginnings

((note: \"dialogue\" with quotation marks is in english, *dialogue* with asterixes is in japanese...i wish i knew a bit of japanese but i don\'t))

\"So what do you think a motivation might be? Why would someone want to kill this guy?\" asked Dee.
\"I\'m not sure. Here it says that a few years ago he had several arrests for drug peddling but those abruptly ended.\" Ryo replied.
\"He had either gotten good at not getting caught or he was finally able to get out is what your saying.\"
\"If he did try to get out, I wouldn\'t be surprised if there were quite a few people who were none to pleased about that.\"
\"This is good. I think we\'re getting somewhere.\"
\"Me too.\" Ryo smiled.
For Dee, it was a joy to see Ryo smile again. To say that Ryo was giving him the cold shoulder would be an understatement. Flirting was met with annoyance, joking was met with silence. The only thing left for Dee to do was to be professional. For the last hour he had been playing nice, only focusing on work. That at least got Ryo to talk to him.
\"So what to do you think of-\"
\"The case?\" asked Ryo.
\"Of me.\" Dee replied.
\"I don\'t know what to think. I don\'t really know anything about you except that you…\"
\"Except I what?\"
\"Never mind.\"
\"You can tell me.\"
\"Not here with everyone around us…\"
*You can tell me* Dee replied in Japanese
*You can speak Japanese?*
*Fluently,* Dee smiled. *And I don\'t think anyone else here does.*
*Except you make me flustered in a way that reminds me too much of-*
*Dee Latener?*
Ryo nodded.
*This is going to sound crazy but just hear me out. Dee Latener, the Dee you know, was killed twenty years ago in a drive by. His spirit was outraged. He didn\'t think it was his time yet. He barely found you and now you two were ripped apart. His spirit wanted to be with you all the time, but to an extent spirits are not allowed. Because of this he lived in limbo. However, there was one time where you felt so desperate that you almost wanted to die. He was allowed to come back to you in a form you can feel, to comfort you...to make love to you. *
Ryo\'s eyes widened at the accuracy of the story.
* He realized that he wanted his love for you to remain pure. In limbo his soul would have been twisted until he became an evil spirit. You saved him.*
*So what happened to him?*
*He allowed himself to be reincarnated. He begged to be reincarnated soon so he could see you again. In addition to that, he begged to keep his memories. Normally, this is not granted, but he pleaded that you were a part of him and his soul couldn\'t truly be in tact without those memories. His soul did get reincarnated and…*
*And?*
*And that\'s who I am today…*
*You\'re Dee? My Dee?* tears welled in Ryo\'s eyes. Ryo was close to shaking, he was so overcome with emotion.
*I remember our first kiss. It was after our first case. We were by a tree. My hand was wounded and you were taking a look at it. I couldn\'t help myself. But later I pretended I was joking. I remember every kiss after that. When I was little I remembered your face, your name, the fact that I loved you and you loved me. The thought of you comforted me. The older I got, the more I remembered, or more accurately the more I understood my memories of you. By the time I got to that age…* Dee laughed, *Woo! You inspired many a wet dream.*
Ryo blushed profusely. Dee stroked Ryo\'s cheek.
*How do you stay so beautiful, Ryo? You\'re more so than I ever remembered you. I can\'t believe-*
\"What are we chatting about here?\" interrupted JJ. \"It\'s not fair to keep everyone in the dark.\"
\"Dee was just showing me how good his Japanese is\" said Ryo.
\"Dee..like…\" JJ looked up at Ryo\'s partner. \"Why, he\'s the guy from the bar yesterday?\"
Ryo blushed again, this time in embarrassment.
\"I had seen a picture of Randy before while I was talking to the chief. I was just surprised to see him at the bar.\"
\"No worries. There\'s a surprising number of us at the station who are-\"
\"JJ!\" said Ryo.
\"Let me just say there\'s a number of us who appreciate a good man.\"
Ryo looked pleadingly at Dee who just laughed.
\"A man I appreciate quite a bit told me to come here to tell you too that you\'re free to go for the night\" JJ said.
\"The chief?\" asked Dee.
\"Of course!\" replied Dee.
\"Well I guess I’m going\" said Ryo. He began packing his things.
\"So will I\" said Dee. \"Wait I forgot my coat. I\'ll go get it\"
As Dee turned to start working he felt a firm slap on his ass. He turned around to see a blushing Ryo pointing to JJ walking off in the distance.
\"It was him…I swear!\" Ryo claimed.
\"Goodnight you two!\" JJ whistled.

Ryo went to the parking a lot alone. He got into his car and put his key into the ignition. Instead of starting the car, he found himself just staring off into the distant. Thoughts of Dee and what happened to him today swirled in his mind. It was all too much. He felt tear stream down his face. After all these years…I thought he was gone…He\'s back but he\'s someone else but he\'s still Dee…I don\'t know what to do...I can\'t believe he\'s actually back. Ryo gripped the steering wheel, sobbing, finally letting all the emotion of the last two days out. While he was confused about Dee, deep in his heart he was overcome with joy. It was more than he could ever imagine. It\'s almost too good to be true but if it wasn\'t true I don\'t think I could handle it. Losing Dee once was too much.
Suddenly someone was knocking at Ryo\'s car window. Ryo looked up with his tear stained face, his big, wide eyes filled to the brim with emotions, to see Dee. Seeing Ryo like this made Dee\'s heart well up. It always troubled Dee to see his Ryo crying, especially this time since it was probably over him. Yet at the same time it moved Dee to see that Ryo was still affected by his presence. Dee snapped back from his revelry.
\"Could you give me a ride?\"
Ryo\'s features transformed into annoyance. \"How\'d you get to the station?\"
\"The bus. I lost track of time and missed the last one.\" Dee gave his best sad puppy dog face.
Ryo had to smile in spite of himself, \"Get in.\"