Second Beginnings

At the door, Ryo stood stumbling with the keys. Dee came up behind him, wrapping one arm around Ryo\'s waist. He nuzzled Ryo\'s neck. Ryo tensed, his entire body quivering. With Dee\'s other arm, he caressed the length of Ryo\'s arm from the shoulder to Ryo\'s fingertips where Dee took the keys.
\"Let me try,\" he whispered into Ryo\'s ear. His hot breath against Ryo\'s skin made Ryo\'s face flush, which made Ryo glad that Dee was behind him and therefore couldn\'t see this. Dee looked through Ryo\'s keys and after all these years still was able to recognize the key to their apartment. He opened the door.
Dee wasn\'t sure what he was expecting. Would the apartment still be exactly the same as he remembered? Would it be completely different? In reality, the apartment was neither. Dee was struck by both a sense of familiarity and strangeness as he entered the apartment. The same coffee table was there, but Ryo had gotten a new beautiful set of sofas. However, one piece of furniture was sticking out like a sore thumb, a ragged flannel recliner.
Dee exclaimed, \"I can\'t you believe you kept that raggedy piece of shit!\"
\"A raggedy piece of shit that you loved more than anything…and that also turns out to be one comfortable recliner.\" Ryo smiled at Dee.
\"You finally warmed up to it!\" Dee said as he sat down on the recliner. He sunk into the comfortable cushions. He pulled the lever and reclined back. He sighed contently.
Ryo sat down on the couch. He picked up a throw pillow and began playing with it while he talked, \"I couldn\'t bear to throw it away. It\'s the chair I read in now…so don\'t get too comfortable now. It\'s mine now.\"
Dee stood up and sat down next to Ryo.
\"How\'s this?\" Dee grinned. His face leaned closer to Ryo\'s. As their lips almost began to touch, Ryo sat up in a rush, causing Dee\'s lips to miss their target and graze Ryo\'s cheek instead.
\"How about some wine?\" Ryo asked as he walked to the kitchen.
\"Er…yeah, sure,\" Dee replied, a bit flustered but not discouraged.
\"Red or White?\" Ryo got out two wine glasses.
\"Red.\"
Ryo returned to the living room. He poured the wine. He specifically chose to not sit on the same couch as Dee this time. Ryo definitely felt like he needed a drink. Being with Dee again…was again even the right word to use? This was all confusing. For years and years, he had to deal with the hard reality that Dee was gone and was going to be gone forever. It had been hard, it still was hard but Ryo was at least able to move on with his life and continue a normal existence. Now, Dee is back and everything had become topsy turvy. Dee\'s return totally went against how the world was supposed to functioned, how reality was like, etc. Not that Ryo was unhappy. He was just overwhelmed and didn\'t know where to begin making sense of all this. If he didn\'t relax, it felt like his head might explode, so Ryo dove for his glass.
\"Hey, hold on a sec,\" Dee stopped Ryo from taking a first sip. \"We need to make a toast.\"
\"Right.\" Ryo raised his glass.
\"I have a simple toast to night. To Love.\" Dee\'s glass clinked against Ryo. Dee then intertwined his arm holding the glass with Ryo\'s so now they were linked by the elbow. Ryo looked at Dee.
\"Drink up,\" Dee smiled. Dee took a sip from his glass while Ryo chugged half the glass. Because he was downing the wine so fast, soon Ryo became flushed. Ryo was also feeling a lot less uptight, which Dee picked on.
\"So I told you what I was up to for the last two decades, how about you?\" Dee asked, refilling his glass.
\"Nothing much.\"
\"Bull shit! Come on, Ryo!\" Dee snided, giving Ryo a playful jab.
\"I don\'t know where to begin…\" Ryo began, \"Bikky graduated from UCLA, which made me so proud. He had a lot of NBA offers during his time there, so he could have easily dropped up but he decided to graduate and get a degree first. After that he started playing for the Lakers for a year but then got traded to the Knicks. I think he became a lot happier being back in New York again. I missed him, so I love having him train so close by.\"
\"I remember in high school, we used to have a pool going on who\'d win in March Madness. Bikky was always on everyone\'s mind. I still can\'t believe that\'s the same twerp whose life mission was to be my nemesis and your cock block!\" Dee laughed.
\"I thought of him more as a much needed guardian from you advances, thank you very much!\", Ryo quipped. \"He and Carol got married last year. The ceremony was so beautiful. I have pictures if you want to see.\"
\"Yeah, sure.\"
Ryo stood up and suddenly realized how tipsy he was. His legs were shaky and he almost fell back into his seat. They both laughed. Over the years, Ryo\'s tolerance had not increased that much. Ryo went and got a photo album from a drawer. Without thinking, Ryo sat down next to Dee so they could both look at the pictures. Score one for me, Dee silently thought, excited about the delectable blonde inches from him.
Ryo went through each page of the album, giving anecdotes and explanations about the guests, the ceremony, Bikky and Carol, etc. For Dee, it was a trip to see the pictures. Carol was absolutely ravishing in her dress. She glowed in the photos. Bikky, despite all Dee\'s predictions to the contrary, was now a handsome, strong-looking man, especially in that tux. What got him the most, though, was how grown up they were! They were adults now and technically were older that Dee. All the pictures featured the happy friends and non-traditional family having a beautiful time, and he was missing from all of it. However, it made him happy to see the joy in those photos. Dee closed his eyes and just reveled in listening to the sound of Ryo\'s voice as he went on about the wedding. He opened his eyes and just gazed at the man sitting next to him. Ryo\'s dark eyes sparkled as gushed about Bikky and for the first time since they\'ve met again, Dee saw Ryo carefree from keeping his guard up.
\"It\'s great to hear about Bikky and Carol. I\'ve missed them….but, I asked about you.\" Dee mentioned softly.
\"Well…I...\" Ryo stammered. \"I still work at the station as you well know.\"
\"I\'m surprised they didn\'t promote you. You were always such a good worker! You had to be to compensate for a slacker partner like me.\"
\"I got an offer for a promotion as chief, but I wasn\'t really interested in it. I just wanted to get out there, solve cases, and help people directly, you know? I didn\'t want to be in charge of running the place and making sure everyone was doing their jobs, etc. I think Drake is so much better for the job than I would have been.\"
\"Besides work-\"
Ryo interrupted, \"Speaking of Drake, he and JJ have been dating for years now. It\'s been going pretty strong. They seem to be happy. JJ has definitely matured over the years…lemme see, what else? Oh! Berkeley and Diana married. They\'re living in LA. Berkeley is now chief of the LAPD, DeeDee\'s still with the FBI. They\'re also pretty happy it seems.\"
\"Everyone seems to have had a happy ending, how about you? Dee asked softly.
\"I-I…Why wouldn\'t I? I have Bikky, Carol, great friends…\"
\"I don\'t want to hear about anyone else. I want you.\" Dee said.
\"I don\'t know- I-\"
Dee leaned in and silenced Ryo with his lips. Dee\'s lips were soft yet forceful. His tongue gently coaxed Ryo\'s. Dee shifted so they were both now lying on the couch with Dee on top. Dee moved his mouth from Ryo\'s lips to his throat. Ryo gasped for air and then moaned at Dee\'s onslaught. Dee\'s kisses traveled up along the side of Ryo\'s face, from chin, to cheek, to nibbling on Ryo\'s earlobe.
\"Now talk,\" Dee whispered in Ryo\'s ear.
Ryo untangled himself from Dee\'s embrace, causing Dee to tumble back on to the couch. Ryo began pacing through the room.
\"What do you want me to say Dee?\" Ryo asked. \"That I\'ve started gardening at the community garden and that it\'s so satisfying to see a flower I planted blossom, a tomato that I\'ve watered everyday ripen? That I\'ve started a wine collection just like my dad? That every few years I redecorate this living room except for that damn recliner?\"
Dee laughed, \"That\'s more like it.\"
Ryo looked at Dee with tears threatening to fall from his eyes, \"Well, how about that the reason why I did any of this, the reason why I do anything at all is so that my life is not completely and utterly consumed with missing you!\"
Ryo collapsed onto the couch, \"No matter what I do, there\'s still this painful emptiness in my heart. Yes, it has become easier to smile again, to laugh, to live but that pain is always there.\"
Dee gathered Ryo into his arms and just held him as Ryo sobbed into his chest. Dee thought to himself, I haven\'t really thought about how Ryo would react to my coming back. I just assumed everything would go back to normal quickly. It must be different for him. I\'ve been thinking about and getting ready for this moment when we\'re together again all of my life. For him, it\'s all a shock. This moment shouldn\'t even be physically possible. How could I expect him to be completely ready for our relationship to come back? I need to give him space and slow down.
\"Oh Ryo, I want you to know that I love you. I love you more than anything in the world and I would do anything in the world for you. When times are hard for you, I will do anything in my power to be there for you.\" Dee rubbed Ryo\'s back to comfort him. It felt so good to have Ryo in his arms, even though he knew that kissing him would be a big no-no, no matter how tempting it was at that moment. Remember, take it slow, thought Dee.
In Dee\'s embrace, Ryo felt at peace for the first time in the last few days. Warmth and love surrounded him. Ryo looked up. Dee\'s face was so close to his. Maybe this is just the wine, Ryo thought. but this feels so right. He moved his hand behind Dee\'s head and lowered Dee\'s face to his. Ryo gave Dee what at first was a tentative kiss which soon became passionate. This took Dee surprise. A pleasant surprise, of course. Whatever Ryo wants Dee happily thought.
There was a knock at the door. Dammit! thought Dee. Ryo looked up as if coming out of a daze.
\"I should go get that.\" Ryo said softly, unable to look at Dee.
\"Wait.\" Dee said. He lifted Ryo\'s chin so he could look into his eyes. \"I love you.\"
Ryo blushed, \"I lo-\"
There was another knock at the door.
\"I should get that,\" Ryo said with a slight smile.