FAKE First Year Together: A New Day (May)

 

 

FAKE First Year Together: A New Day (May)

 

Chapter 30 


 

Pairing:  Dee/Ryo

Fandom: FAKE

Rating:  Very NOT WORKSAFE!  Explicit sexual relations between 2 men who love each other.

Spoilers:   To Volume 7

Timing:  Set in May directly after Book 7 ended

Summary:  Ryo is coming to terms with the changes in his relationship with Dee, as well as his new sexual identity. Meanwhile, Dee and Ryo are trying to find enough evidence to expose a crooked cop. This story explores homophobic attitudes but is primarily a love story between two men.

Disclaimer:  I do not own FAKE or any of the characters created by Sanami Matoh (Tina Greenspan, Mike Abernathy, Ned Shaver and Essien Ibo are mine, however). No one gives me money or even chocolate to write this story. *Sigh.*

Author's notes:  No cliffy this time.  The fever has left me.  But it'll be back!  Please read and review.

 

Thank you to Mtemplar. 
 

 

A New Day  

 

Chapter 30 
 

 

           Both hands wrapped around his gun, Dee stood poised for action, every muscle in his body taut and ready. To hell with regulations -- he was damn well going to shoot first and ask questions later. Assuming, of course, that anyone was still alive and able to speak after the dust cleared, including himself.  And if Shaver had any sense, he would have puked his way over to his spare gun as unobtrusively as possible and gotten himself ready to provide backup. If he and Shaver between them managed to get off the first couple of rounds, they might be able to even the odds a little.

"Hey man, don't go in there -- my kid's in there!" Shaver's voice pleaded.

"Your kid?" To Dee's amazement, Ibo's voice actually sounded concerned. "Hold up, Jimmy. What the hell's your kid doing here? It's fucking Monday. He should be in school."

"Yeah, that's what I"--Shaver made another retching sound. "That's what I told him too... Oh... Urghllhh!" It sounded to Dee as though he were puking up half of his internal organs.

"Aw, fuck that's gross." It was Jimmy's voice, and he was obviously still right outside the bathroom door.

Figuring he had nothing to lose at this point by playing along, Dee called out in his best imitation of Bikky's voice, "Dad? I'm scared!"  

"Holy fuck!" came another voice. "There IS a fucking kid in there."

Dee suddenly realized he should drop down a little in case they were able to discern that the 'kid's' voice they heard was issuing from the wrong height. Sitting down on the edge of the bathtub, he waited, semi-automatic pistol cocked and ready to fire, in case the bastards came in anyway. He had locked the door, naturally, but one good kick would fix that.

"Stand down, boys," he heard Ibo mutter. "We're done here anyway." Then the man called through the door, "It's okay, sunshine. We were just having a little fun with your dad. Everything's fine out here."

"Go away!" Dee called out once more in Bikky's voice.

Detective Shaver had risen to his knees from an all-fours position, vomit dripping from his chin. He couldn't believe Ibo was actually buying this, although he had to admit that Laytner was doing a pretty good acting job in there. He didn't sound like Kev, of course, but he sounded passably like a kid.

"We're goin', kiddo, don't you worry." Ibo chuckled, and turned back to Ned, his eyes hard again. "Wednesday night," he said in a soft but chilling voice. "Eleven o'clock. I was able to reschedule Rizzo.  If you miss this one, your kid in there's gonna grow up without a daddy." He brought his leering face close to Shaver's. "But I'm sure his mama will find him a new daddy, eh?"

Detective Shaver could feel his eyes narrowing and his lips twisting back from his teeth in a snarl, but despite the fact that there was nothing he could do to stop his features from forming an expression of naked hatred, he managed to keep his mouth shut. He knew when he was outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed in the muscle department.  It also didn't help that he was on his knees in front of a puddle of his own vomit. Although he badly wanted to drive his fist into Ibo's scarred but still handsome face for the threat and the trash talk, he knew it would end up being the last thing he would ever do. And if it was revenge he wanted, a simple punch in the nose wasn't going to cut it. Not after everything he had been through with these bastards.  So he swallowed what was left of his pride, and nodded. "Okay, Wednesday," he growled, and then ruined the effect by gagging as the bile rose in his throat again.

"What about the fruit, boss?"

"Get it."

One of the goons disappeared out into the hallway and returned with a large, beribboned basket of fruit, which he dumped on the floor in front of Shaver.

"Compliments of the Stone Bloods. Get well soon, you useless sonofabitch."

And they were gone, the heavy tread of their boots drowning out all other sounds on the third floor.

The door had barely closed behind them before the phone started ringing. Dee yanked the bathroom door open and looked about warily, his eyes alighting on the basket of fruit with a keen look. He and Shaver glanced at each other, and Dee thought they were probably both thinking the same thing, which was that they'd been damn lucky. Neither of them was really in any condition for a fight. Shaver staggered to his feet, wincing, and drew his sleeve across his vomit-smeared mouth.  On his way to the phone, he managed to stumble over the fruit basket, which brought on a fit of cursing. A quick look at the call display appeared to make him even angrier. 

"Shit. It's my fucking bitch of an ex-wife. Jesus, can this day get any worse?" He picked up the phone, however, and growled, "Yeah."

Dee waited impatiently, hoping this call wouldn't take too long. Not only had they just had an incredibly narrow escape, but a couple of things were also not adding up. He needed some answers from Detective Shaver, who appeared to be getting quite steamed up over his phone conversation.

"Sheila, I TOLD you I'd go to the fuc-- to the garden shop when I was feeling better. I'm injured; don't you understand that?'

Dee could hear a strident female voice reciting what sounded like a litany of complaints, and whatever she was saying was making Shaver's face and neck turn beet red and his teeth grind together. He interrupted her to holler, "No you don't have to tell me again! Potting soil and fertilizer, right? And a stupid planter that weighs a ton and apparently has your name on it! Do you realize I can barely lift a mug right now? I can hardly fucking walk! I've been puking my guts up!"

Sheila's voice rose again, quite operatically this time, and Shaver interrupted her to yell about what a heartless bitch she was and how he hoped she didn't treat Kevin as badly as she treated him. The decibels in the room reached such an acute level that the neighbor began pounding on the wall again, and Dee was forced to wave his arms in front of Shaver to bring his attention to this fact.

"I gotta go, Sheila. I'll call you when I'm physically able to be your little errand boy again," he snarled sarcastically into the phone, and hung up swearing.  

"Come on, man, take it easy," Dee said. "You're gonna burst a blood vessel."

"Women! That fucking cow acts like I gotta be her slave for life just because I didn't turn out to be the kind of wallet-on-legs husband she wanted. You got a wife, Detective?"

Dee held up a hand in mock horror. "Nope, and I don't intend to have one, either."

"You're a wiser man than I am." Shaver's voice was as bitter as three-day-old coffee.

"Look, Detective... Can we not talk about women right now? I mean, we both almost got done in back there and I wanna know what the hell just happened." Dee lit two cigarettes and handed one to Shaver. He suddenly realized that he had a throbbing headache that he had had no awareness of while the Stone Bloods had been on the other side of the wall. 

"Yeah, right. Sorry. I had to take that call. It could've been about my son."

"Yeah, whatever," Dee said. "I thought you said your pals there knew you were too hot to touch. But it seems like they want you at their little party on Wednesday night real bad."

Shaver was silent, so Dee continued. And what the hell did you mean when you said if they found me here we were both dead? I mean, what the fuck is that about? They know you're a cop and that you work in a building full of cops. What's so wrong about you having a fellow cop come over to visit you?"

Shaver looked uncomfortable. "Ibo's got a major job he wants me to do, but he recently found out that Mike owns me. Since Mike's doing some business with the Devils, this is a problem for Ibo. He trusts me a whole lot less than he used to. I was supposed to go to a meeting on Sunday night. I was off work for the weekend and Ibo had told me not to go near any other cops until after the meeting. He promised that if I did, he'd blow my fucking head off. Fuck. Like I couldn't just pick up a phone. But I got his point." He took a drag of his cigarette, inhaling deeply. "But neither of us knew that the Devils were gonna do a number on me on Saturday night. After they got through with me, there was no way I could make that meeting. Ibo freaked and demanded I be there anyway, beating be damned.  I got mad and said that if he and his people had been looking out for me the way they should have, it never would have happened in the first place."

"Bet he loved that."

"Well, I hung up and then pissed him off even more by not going to the meeting and not answering his goddamn calls. I had a feeling he'd come round today, but I didn't know whether it would be to kill me or get me for another meeting. And if he'd found me with another cop, he definitely woulda killed me. And you too, in case I'd told you the details about what he's trying to set up."

"Sounds big."

"It is. And he can't afford to have it screwed up by a flunky  like me."

"You gonna tell me about it?"

"Get me a fucking deal first. You got until Wednesday afternoon."

"As you mentioned earlier, I could put a tail on you."

"Don't. Your guys'll get popped. I guarantee it, and I already got enough on my conscience. Your best bet is if I go in wired. It's a huge risk for me, and I ain't willing to take it if all you got waiting for me is jail. Got it?"

Dee nodded.

"Wednesday afternoon," Shaver repeated. "Now, I hate to be rude to a guest, Detective, but I think you'd best get the hell outta here before I get any more fucking visitors. The way my luck is going today, it's likely to be Mike next."

Almost as soon as those words had left his mouth, there was a sharp rap on the door, which caused both men to jump and eye each other cautiously.

"Who the hell is it?" Shaver yelled.

"Manager."

Shaver strode to the door and opened it, only to have a piece of paper thrust into his hands. "What the---?"

"You're evicted, sir," the manager said. "I don't care if you're a cop. You've been nothing but trouble and this is a respectable building. I want you out by the end of the month."

"The end of the month? That's fucking Wednesday!" 

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Dee was asleep on the sofa in his own apartment when he became aware that someone was knocking on the door. The events of earlier in the afternoon must have still had a hold on him, because the knock caused a rush of adrenaline. He reached convulsively for his gun, but he wasn't wearing his holster and in fact, his gun was locked up in his bedroom.

"Dee, it's me." It was Ryo, his soft tenor voice cutting through Dee's sleep-fuddled anxiety like a ray of sunshine. Dee sat up carefully and swung his feet onto the floor. He was going to have to get his darling a key. It would have been wonderful to have been woken up by kisses. Except he probably would have freaked and come up swinging. He knew it would probably take him a couple of days to stop being so jumpy.

"Hang on, babe."

He walked barefoot to the door and opened it, drinking in the sight of Ryo. Damn, that man looked good in a suit. He was going to look good out of it, too.

"Dee, I---mmph!" Ryo found himself being hauled across the threshold while being kissed in much the same way as he had in the doctor's office that morning. His first reaction was one of startled annoyance, but it was very quickly replaced by affection and the stirrings of desire. Dee just wouldn't be Dee without the frequent surprise seduction attacks.

"Hey, come on," he murmured, when Dee's lips finally left his and moved to his neck. "Let me at least get through the door."

Dee pushed the door shut and locked it with one hand while biting the side of Ryo's neck very gently. As he had anticipated, this caused a shiver to run through his partner's body. But a moment later, Ryo was trying to push him away.

"Dee, it's nice to see you too, but --oh no you don't--" He brought a hand up in front of his mouth to prevent another kiss, and then smiled at Dee's disappointed look. "Would you please invite me in first and offer me something to drink? It's been a long day."

Dee sighed and stepped back, since Ryo seemed determined to fend him off. "Can I help it if I missed you?" he complained, moving over to the refrigerator to see what he had for drinks.

"It was only a few hours, and I'm sure you spent most of that time sleeping," said Ryo, who nonetheless seemed pleased that he had been missed.

"I did manage to get a nap or two in, yeah," said Dee. "My meds are making me extra sleepy. OJ okay?"

"Yes, thank you. And I see you got yourself some lunch, too." Ryo indicated the pizza box on the floor next to the sofa. He felt happy that Dee had had the kind of quiet, restful day that his body needed in order to heal.

"How did it go with the bodacious Tina and the restaurant owner?" Dee grinned at the little flash of ire that suddenly shot into Ryo's eyes. God was probably frowning down at him for doing it, but he loved pushing Ryo's buttons.

Ryo watched Dee pour orange juice into a glass. "That glass had better be clean," he muttered, thinking bodacious?

"It's fairly clean," Dee said. "But I think I oughta warn you that I've been drinking straight out of the carton, so there's probably germs all over it." He lifted the juice container and blatantly licked the spout while looking at Ryo in amusement.

"You and Bikky both! Tell me something I don't know." Ryo tried to pretend he hadn't noticed, but the sight of Dee's tongue had started his mind moving in directions that he didn't want it to go. He turned away and carried his orange juice over to the sofa. Dee followed him and picked up the pizza box.

"Are you hungry? Got leftover pizza here."

Ryo eyed the pizza with trepidation, wondering how long it had been denied the benefits of refrigeration. "No thanks," he said. "I just want to update you on developments and then ask a favor."

"Whatever it is, the answer's yes."

"Are you sure? Maybe you should hear what it is first before you agree to anything."

"I'm guessing it's got something to do with Bikky, right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Well, spit it out. How bad is it?"

"Uh...It involves you missing your game tonight. Possibly."

Dee sighed. "So I'll record it. I probably record half of my games thanks to our crazy work schedule. What do I have to do, babysit or something?"

"Well, kind of. You remember I told you I was gonna start going back to Karate again? I've got a class tonight from six to eight. But Bikky wants to go out fund-raising again for the funeral."

"And you want me to go with him, is that it?"

"Yeah. What Abernathy did this morning was really...out there. And calling Detective Greenspan yesterday to imply that Bikky had somehow been involved in Eddie's murder... It's got me worrying just a little. I feel strange about letting B go tramping around that dangerous neighborhood he used to live in all by himself."

"I don't blame you. I'll be glad to go with him. I'm sure nothing's gonna happen, though." He smiled reassuringly because he was pretty sure he was right. IF Abernathy was going to do something to Bikky at some point, he probably wouldn't pick the same day as his big rant at the 27th to do it. Also, the kid hadn't yet made his statement to the police, and since Abernathy had been the one to tell Detective Greenspan about Bikky's connection to Eddie, that did seem to indicate that he didn't care whether Bikky talked to the police or not.

"Thanks, Dee. See if you can get him home before dark."

"What time does he want to go out?"

"He said right after dinner. And speaking of dinner, did you have plans?"

"Only to call you and try to mooch an invite," Dee said.

"Well, let's get going then. Dinner's at five and my class is at six."

"What? Don't we even have time for a quickie?"

Ryo gave him an exasperated look. "Is that all you think about? I bet you've been lying on this sofa all day just thinking about sex!"

Dee's mind flashed back to his close call at Detective Shaver's apartment earlier. "Not exactly, Ryo. There's a couple things I oughta tell you."

Ryo listened to him, looking more and more appalled as the account went on. When Dee had finished, his partner's face was positively thunderous. There was a daunting moment when he thought Ryo might even be going to hit him, but then the next thing he knew, his lover was in his arms, holding him tightly and kissing him passionately. It was almost like that time when Ryo had found him still alive in the bomb-wreckage of Bikky's school. Surprised, but determined to take advantage of this fortuitous turn of events, Dee kissed him back and started undoing the other man's shirt buttons in between caresses.  Ryo didn't come to his senses until Dee's finger and thumb fastened around one of his nipples and began rolling and twisting it gently.  Then he suddenly seemed to wake up to what he was in the middle of.

"Dee, stop that! We don't have time," he protested.

"Sure we do," murmured Dee, kissing his lover's throat and successfully wedging him into one corner of the sofa.

"No we don't. If we leave right now, I'll have just enough time to throw a quick pasta dinner together -- Dee! Get out of there!"

Dee, who had gotten his partner's pants open and was rummaging around inside, pretended not to hear him. He stepped up the nipple stimulation and was rewarded by a low moan when he got a grip on Ryo's penis. It was only semi-hard but that would change once he had wrapped his hand around it and jacked it a few times... God, Ryo was irresistible at times like this.  His partner's protests and attempts to push him away were accompanied by gasps and little cries and the most delicious half-naked writhing a man could ask for.

"Dee...you bastard...let me go...oh Jesus that feels good...Stop it...I-- I have to cook...mmmmhhh..."

Dee lifted his mouth from Ryo's just long enough to say, "Take out. On me," before resuming his efforts to drive his lover mad with desire.

What he was doing was evidently working, he thought with a mounting excitement of his own, as his lover's penis got harder and harder in his hand, and his body temperature became warmer. He spared a thought for Ryo, still mostly in his now quite wrinkled suit, and considered that it was high time to get him out of it. Ryo had not yet stopped trying to find the willpower to shut everything down, and Dee wouldn't have put it past him to do just that. He suddenly moved backwards off Ryo and pulled him to his feet, almost in one motion. 

"Dee --wha--" Ryo's eyes widened in surprise. 

"Let's go to the bedroom, " Dee panted. "Wanna... get your clothes off --get you off--" 

But Ryo was resisting, looking up at one of the many clocks on the wall. "Crap, Dee...look at the time. Bikky and Carol are waiting for us. I told them to be ready to eat at 5 pm and it's twenty after four!" 

"We're getting take-out, don't forget." Dee continued persistently tugging Ryo toward the bedroom. It didn't help that Ryo's pants were practically falling down, which made walking difficult. 

"Even, if we get the fastest take-out in the Western Hemisphere, we still should leave right now!" Ryo was trying to do up his pants, but his large, excited erection was getting in the way. 

Dee seized him by both shoulders. "Ryo," he said, "I know this is a helluva time for me to tell you this, but I'm always horny as hell after a near-death experience, or in fact, ANY kind of experience that involves death.  I --I don't know why. There's probably some kind of psychological explanation for it." 

"Dee...what? Really?" Ryo was looking at him suspiciously, but after a moment his face changed, as he evidently came to the realization that Dee was not only sincere, but also as horny as he'd ever seen him. 

Dee closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Ryo's. His whole body was tense, and a tremor ran through him as Ryo reached up a hand to steady him.   

"It wasn't so obvious in the hospital, I know," Dee said. "But I think I remember them saying I'd lost some blood.  But now...Ryo, sweetheart, I need you. Beating off by myself ain't gonna cut it. I need to feel alive. With you."

Ryo hesitated. It would be exactly like Dee to make up something like this to get laid, and he would be so angry if that was all this turned out to be. However, his instincts were telling him that Dee was in a true state of need, as was he himself. 

"Look at me, Dee."   

Dee did.   

"You'd better not be lying to me."   

Dee just shook his head mutely, without breaking eye contact. 

"Okay, then. Fifteen minutes. But no more, do you understand? I told Bikky not to fill up on after school snacks. I don't want those kids to be hungry, AND I hate to be late for things; you know that." Ryo let his trousers fall, and kicked his way out of them. He was touched when Dee immediately picked them up and laid them over the back of the sofa. 

They came back together in a kiss that was sweet, wet and urgent. This time it was Ryo who took the lead, gently propelling Dee backwards into the bedroom. Once there, Dee shrugged out of his shirt and lowered his sweat pants to mid-thigh, allowing his erection to spring free. Ryo helped to balance him while he stepped out of them and tossed them, Dee-like, onto the floor with his shirt. He then returned the favor, helping Ryo to remove his jacket, tie, shirt and boxers.  When they were both naked, save for Dee's bandage, they stood before each other, running their hands up and down each other's bodies. Ryo experimented by touching Dee's penis, stroking his fingertips firmly up and down its taut length a couple of times, while watching Dee closely to gauge his reaction. 

"Umf," said Dee, flushing, and rocking closer to Ryo. Ryo tentatively closed his fist around Dee's penis and began jacking him.  He was fascinated when his partner's eyes dropped shut and Dee began moving rhythmically into his hand.  Ryo had been celibate for so long before circumstances had led him to Dee's bed that he had almost forgotten this key pleasure of sex: the enjoyment to be derived from turning one's lover on. His previous lovers hadn't been men, of course, but the principle was the same.  

"Baby," Dee moaned. "Baby...I love it when you touch me."  

Ryo almost whispered I love touching you too, but lost his nerve at the last minute. He had become so wrapped up in Dee's need that he had practically forgotten his own.  He was brought to an abrupt reminder of it, however, when Dee reached for him. He flinched, then melted as his lover's fingers found his balls and cupped them, hefting their weight in the palm of his hand and moving his thumb over the front of the sac. When Dee's other hand came between their two bodies and caressed his penis, Ryo leaned against Dee and moaned softly against the side of his neck. Dee's hair tickled his face and he reached up to caress it. 

"Let's get on the bed, okay?" Dee's voice was husky.  Ryo nodded in response and the two of them climbed onto Dee's big queen-sized bed. Dee hadn't missed Ryo's quick glance at one of the bedroom clocks, though, so he got right to the point. "How do you wanna come, love?" he asked reaching up a hand to cup the side of Ryo's face. 

Ryo immediately blushed and averted his eyes. "Doesn't matter," he mumbled. "As long as it's fast." 

Dee grinned at him. "Speaking only for myself, I'd say it's gonna be embarrassingly fast," he said. "But I've got a suggestion. Something new. New for us, that is. I'm sure you've done it before." 

"What?" asked Ryo, half nervous, half excited. 

"Sixty-nine.  You can take top position, because I really need to lie down. Just be careful not to bump your hands or elbows against my left side when you start getting all excited, okay?" 

Ryo stared at him for a moment, trying to summon up enough courage to move into position, but it was another quick look at the clock that galvanized him. He moved carefully so that his knees were on either side of Dee's neck.  He felt quite uncertain what to do. Dee was right; he had done this before, but never on top, and certainly not when he was facing a penis. It had been a long time since he had been in a sixty-nine situation with anyone.

"Like this?" he asked, sounding less than confident.  

"That's fine, sweetheart. Are you comfortable?" Dee's voice came back a little muffled. 

"Yeah," Ryo replied and leaned forward onto his elbows. It wasn't strictly true. The position wasn't uncomfortable, but he felt awkward and self-conscious facing away from Dee like this, knowing that his ass was in the air and his balls were hanging down on Dee's face. However, those feelings receded significantly as soon as he felt Dee's tongue on his cock.  It felt wonderful, as usual. Dee was so talented with his mouth. None of Ryo's previous lovers had had a fraction of his skill. He moaned as he felt Dee's touch on his balls again. He rocked his hips back and forth so that his cock slid against Dee's stroking tongue, and then he suddenly started with guilt as he remembered he was supposed to be doing the same thing. There was no time to think about it and mentally prepare himself this time; he just leaned down and did it, licking Dee's shaft and sucking on the head. Dee made a long, low sound of excitement when he did that, and because his mouth was full of Ryo's penis at that moment, Ryo felt the vibration of the moan as an extra tingle of pleasure that spread from his cock to his scrotum and deep into the muscles of his belly. 

He found it very, very difficult to do two things at once, but he did his best, only twice needing to remove his mouth entirely from Dee's shaft to let out a small cry. The first time was when Dee swallowed his whole length down his throat and the second time was when Dee's spit-soaked finger penetrated his anus and found his prostate. It was at that point that Ryo perceived that it wouldn't be long before he had an orgasm.  Everything Dee was doing was so perfectly in tune with what his body needed. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold back, and the knowledge that Dee didn't want him to hold back, that Dee didn't regard his orgasm as something icky or distasteful filled him with a wonderful sense of joy and abandon that he was still getting used to, even after almost three weeks of regular sexual contact with him. 

He began moaning non-stop on Dee's dick, doggedly keeping his mouth and hand moving, while rocking his hips back and forth ever more quickly over Dee's face. Dee had been periodically pushing up on Ryo's hip ever since he had begun the deep-throating, just to get oxygen in and out in between Ryo's rapid and excited thrusts. Now, however, he forewent oxygen entirely because experience told him that Ryo was less than 30 seconds from blowing his load. As always, Ryo's eagerness increased his own arousal exponentially, and as his lover's penis convulsed in his throat and his anus contracted around his finger, Dee could feel his own load boiling up inside him. At the last moment, he pushed up on Ryo's hip again so he could breathe out, then in, and then he was able to let out a low growl as he came explosively in Ryo's mouth. 

It must have caught his baby by surprise, because there was a choking sound on the first surge and that sweet, wet mouth abruptly disappeared off his dick. The second jet went God knew where, and then Ryo's mouth was back for the third and fourth ones. Dee gripped one of the globes of Ryo's perfect ass and nuzzled his face against that sticky, softening cock that had just been in his mouth, while the final tremors of intense pleasure gradually faded away from him. Ryo's tongue continued to move slowly up and down his shaft, cleaning him off and helping to calm him down. Dee turned his head and bit Ryo's thigh, eliciting a yelp from his lover, who quickly clambered off him and gave him a look that was half indignant and half indulgent. 

"Come up here," Dee murmured. "Let me hold you just for two minutes, okay?" 

"In a sec," Ryo whispered, and licked up a stray splash of cum from Dee's chest. 

"You don't have to do that, baby. I can't believe you're doing that. You've done enough. Really." 

"I want to, Dee. Everything about you is just so...so..." he hesitated, feeing shy. 

"Just so what?" 

"Sexy," Ryo finished, and buried his burning face against Dee's shoulder. 

"Ryo, you make me so happy," Dee whispered fiercely, clutching his lover close to him.  

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They arrived home at ten after five with bags of fish and chips to find a pair of hungry teens waiting for them. Bikky's eyes lit up at the sight of the take out bags, and Carol leaned over the table to sniff the fragrant warm air that wafted from them.

"What did you get? Fish and chips? Cool! That's better than the veggie tofu pasta that Ryo said we were gonna have."

"But I LIKE tofu," Carol said. "I was looking forward to it."

"Sorry, Carol," Ryo said, kissing her cheek. "Next time, I promise. Can you do me a favor and organize this stuff onto the table? You know where the plates and knives and forks are."

"Sure, Ryo. Anything for you. Can Bikky be my slave-assistant?"

"Absolutely!" Ryo said as he left the kitchen. "Bikky, do whatever Carol tells you."

"Huh?"

While Ryo changed out of his work clothes, Dee sat on the sofa, randomly flipping channels on the TV while thinking about Ned Shaver and how the hell they were going to get the Commissioner to agree to a deal. He and Ryo had discussed it in the car, and Ryo had said it was worth talking to him again, maybe through the Chief. The Commissioner would be able to save face by saying 'yes' as a special favor to a lieutenant he often worked closely with, whereas his pride would force him to say 'no' to two lowly detectives. They might not even have to deliver on Shaver's deal anyway, since the narcotics detective was clearly up to his eyeballs in shit and seemed to have 'future murder victim' printed on his forehead in big red letters. On the other hand, Dee, thought, he had seen Shaver's type before. They were tenacious. Hard to kill.  But not lucky. That's the biggest difference between you and me, bud, he thought.  For whatever reason, I got the lucky gene. 

Dee was a big believer in luck. He had even contradicted Mother when she had admonished him about his 'pagan belief' and told him it was God's interventions he should be thankful for, not luck. He had insisted to her that if God loved everyone equally, then he wouldn't rescue some people while letting others, who were equally deserving, suffer pain, loss and death. Had God loved Jess and Arnon less? He didn't want any part of a God who played favorites, he'd told her, so therefore luck had to be a completely separate thing from God. She had just sighed and said that someday he would come to recognize that there was no luck, only God's will. She was sure he would understand when he got older. But he never really did. He had had a crisis of faith after losing Jess and Arnon and had quit attending services for a while. He had been unable to forgive God for taking them away, and for not saving them somehow. He and Mother had finally come to a compromise, and the concept of angels had been the bridge that brought him back to his faith. He couldn't accept that God hadn't given a shit about Arnon, but he could accept that Arnon's guardian angels had perhaps fallen down on the job and were feeling sorry about it. In any case, he didn't like to think too much about the details, and he had always counted on his innate luck to pull him through the various scrapes he had gotten into over the years.

"Dinner's ready! Come and get it!" Carol called, interrupting his reverie. "Bikky's eating all the fries, so don't drag your feet."

"Am not," mumbled Bikky around a mouthful of food.

Ryo offered milk to the kids, poured iced tea for himself and Dee, and dinner began. After all the rushing of the last hour, it certainly felt nice to sit and relax for a few minutes with the people he loved. He watched as Carol tried to squeeze lemon on Bikky's fish and Dee dipped a large french fry into tartar sauce. He noticed that there was a speck of tartar sauce on his partner's lip, and for a moment he wished it were possible to lean over and lick it off.

"Ryo, can you pass the ketchup? That is, if you're not too busy staring at the moron?"

Ryo looked quickly at Bikky. Had he been staring? He probably had. He couldn't seem to stop thinking about how he could have lost Dee today. That made two near misses in too short a time. But Dee was alive and well, and Bikky was looking hopefully at the ketchup bottle, so Ryo forced those dark thoughts out of his mind.

"If I let you have the ketchup, do you solemnly promise that there will be no more incidents like we had on your birthday?"

"Hey, that was all Dorkhead, here! If he hadn't--"

"Bikky, this attitude of yours is doing nothing to convince me that you're ready to be trusted with ketchup again."

Bikky rolled his eyes. "All right, all right. I solemnly promise on my grandma's shorts not to squirt ketchup anywhere except on my french fries. Can I have the bottle now, please?"

"Okay, here you go. I have to leave for Karate in a couple of minutes, and I expect you to remember your promise even when I'm not in the room, understand?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Bikky, who was busy drowning his food with his favorite red condiment.

"Hey, last chance to stare at me before you go," Dee said to Ryo, who glared at him with a look that clearly said traitor.

"I think it's so cute the way he's been gazing at you," remarked Carol as she picked up a forkful of fish.

Bikky snorted in disbelief. "I just don't get why anyone would wanna burn their eyes out looking at a monkey-butt face like that."

"Well, you see, Bikky, Ryo thinks I'm hot," Dee explained, with a wink at Carol that sent her off into a peal of laughter.

"Aw, gross! How am I s'posed to eat if I have to listen to crap like that?"

"That's your problem, twerp. Hey Carol, what's your opinion? Does Ryo perhaps feel that I am a blazing bonfire of uber-hotness?"

"No, I wouldn't go that far," she said. "He just thinks you're hot."

"Cut it out, you two," said Ryo, standing up and removing the ketchup from Bikky's suddenly menacing grip. "I have to get going and I want everyone to behave themselves in my absence."

"But you didn't finish your dinner," Carol protested.

"I'm not that hungry," Ryo said over his shoulder as he disappeared into his bedroom.

Dee and Bikky looked at each other. "Dibs on his fries," said Bikky quickly.

Ryo heard the shouting from the bedroom, where he was rolling up his Karate gi and belt and putting them into his gym bag. When he emerged, it was to see french fries and green peas all over the floor, and Bikky and Dee both loudly blaming each other for the mess. He sighed. At least no one was in a headlock.

"Make sure that gets cleaned up before anybody goes anywhere," said Ryo sternly as he headed for the door. "See you tomorrow, Carol."

She waved encouragingly. "Have fun, Ryo."

As Ryo locked the door behind him, he heard Carol's voice saying in a sarcastic tone, "Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE having dinner with you guys?"

 

 &^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^

 

 end of chapter 30

 

 Chapter 31 is on my LJ page.  I'm going to start work on chapter 32 tomorrow.  I expect to be able to post in two weeks.  Thank you for reading!