25A/N: Here's the next chapter. Review! It will be much appreciated
Disclaimer: I'm sure you already know.
Clinging v2.0
Ryo woke up next to a warm body breathing softly, a strong arm draped across his waist. He looked down to see black hair spread across the beige pillows that smelled faintly of Old Spice. The blonde tentatively reached down and brushed his fingers across Dee's slightly parted lips before kissing them gently. He moved his hands lightly across Dee's face, memorizing the angles and planes of it with his hands.
"That's a lovely way to wake up; if I pretend to still be asleep will you do it again?" Ryo chuckled as Dee opened still groggy, green eyes full of mischief and love for the being touching his face.
"Sorry Dee, but we have to get ready for work or we will be late." His lover's words were not the ones he wanted to hear. With a pout, Dee closed his eyes and tried to breathe evenly, pretending to be asleep again. Ryo laughed and bopped Dee on the head playfully, before an unpleasant thought crossed his mind.
How should I tell him that I don't want our relationship publicized yet? I have a feeling that I will hurt him if I tell him I want this kept quiet for awhile. I love him too much to want to cause him pain but I just don't know how to get around this. Curse my insecurities, I should have confidence but this is so new for me. "A penny for your thoughts…"
Ryo started slightly when Dee's voice broke him out of his reverie, he took his friend's hand before looking into deep emerald green eyes. "Dee I…I don't want everyone to know just yet. I will eventually, but I…I just need some time to get everything right up here." The blonde tapped a finger to his head and risked a look at Dee's face, expecting to see a dark stare of hurt and disappointment.
"Oh Ryo, I understand completely. I can accept the fact that you aren't as open about things as I am and that this is a major change for you. I have all the time in the world love, as long as you are here with me." Ryo blinked hard at Dee's loving words, unwanted tears stinging his eyes as he looked at his lover. The younger Detective chuckled as Ryo sniffed; enjoying how much his little speech had affected him. With another light kiss, Dee hugged Ryo to him before getting out of bed.
"As much as I hate to spoil the mood, we have to go to work. Drake and JJ are probably wondering where the hell we are, we are taking over their shift." Ryo nodded and sat up; mussing his hands through wavy blonde hair before beaming happily up at Dee.
"Okay, we have about an hour. You go hop in the shower and I'll make breakfast. Just don't take too long, I still have to get one too." Dee nodded and kissed the blonde on the forehead before heading over to the bathroom, whistling happily as he walked out. Ryo sighed and prepared to make a quick breakfast of bagels and fresh fruit, a smile on his face as he heard his lover sing in the shower. He had found heaven now that Dee was definitely in his life, as much more than a friend.
Dee growled as he finished yet another report, his least favorite part of his job. He would much rather be out in the action versus sitting in a stuffy office behind a desk. It was a beautiful spring morning, and he would rather be anywhere at this point other than at work, watching Rose not so subtly flirt with Ryo. Restless hands lit up a much needed cigarette, taking comfort in the nicotine that calmed his nerves. He glanced at the clock, noticing that their lunch break was in another five minutes and decided that it wasn't enough time to finish another report.
Smoke exited the Detective's lungs through slightly parted lips as emerald eyes watched the gentle figure concentrating on finishing the last report of the morning. His heart skipped as he gazed at the blonde, his mind still not registering what his heart was elatedly screaming, that Ryo was finally his. After two full years of pursuing Ryo, first in lust then in love, the beautiful Japanese-American had finally accepted his love, and better yet, reciprocated it. Ryo looked up to spot Dee staring at him, smoke curling around in the air and a small smile gracing his lips. "Hey..." The younger Detective whispered quietly, the smile growing wider as Ryo smiled back.
"Hey yourself, you ready to eat? I'm starving." The blonde stretched as he moved the finished report to the pile of similar ones, leaning back in his chair to watch his lover. Dee nodded and put out his cigarette, crossing the room to softly kiss his partner before getting their coats. Just as he turned to hand the coat to him, their office door was opened by Ted who waved cheerfully at Dee before turning to Ryo.
"Commissioner Rose wants to see you both in his office, he says it's important." It was then that the couple remembered the threat that had arrived to Dee in the mail. They glanced at each other before thanking Ted and preparing to go see Rose.
"We have received another letter. Here, does this mean anything to either of you?" Rose passed the letter to the Ryo, who read it and shook his head.
"I don't understand, it only says the alley behind West's Flea Market." Ryo turned to pass the letter to Dee but gasped when he saw how pale his lover's face had gotten. "Dee are you okay?" The young Detective came back from wherever his mind had gone when Ryo's worried voice reached his ears.
"Yea, I'm fine. I...I need to go to the bathroom. Be right back." Dee quickly brushed past Ryo and headed to the men's room, his hands shaking badly as he walked. He burst through the door and leaned heavily on the edges of the sink, splashing cold water on his face. He ran a shaky hand through black hair, and closed his eyes against memories he had tried so hard to forget. Memories brought back with stunning force upon hearing what the letter said.
Dee felt a hand on his back and turned his head to look at Ryo, a small smile offering encouragement. "Are you okay? You don't look so good." Ryo wrapped his arms around Dee's waist and kissed him on the forehead, allowing the spooked detective to rest his weight against him. "Rose said we can have the rest of the afternoon, I asked him a little bit after you left. We can go home and watch some movies if you want, Bikky is at Carol's all weekend." Dee nodded and nuzzled his face into Ryo's blonde hair, taking comfort from his lover's embrace.
"No, I still want to go out, I feel up to it." The blond smiled and kissed Dee's cheek before the pair headed out for lunch.
"Smokey's…is this place?" Ryo looked at the neon sign hanging over the stairwell that descended to what appeared to be a pub. The sounds of loud laughter and people talking drifted up from the open door.
"Yep, this is my favorite bar in all of New York, even though I haven't been here in about a year. Hopefully I won't get murdered for it. Well let's go in, the food here is awesome." Dee went down the steps and walked inside. The pub was pleasantly crowded, the beige walls accented by light blue trim. There was the classic pool tables and piano, the actual bar sitting in the middle of the room with stools all around. Tables were spread out around the room and couches lined the walls, the only clear space a small dance floor in front of a stage.
Ryo's eyes widened when he saw two men kissing at a nearby table, noticing that he was the only one actually staring at them, everyone around didn't seem to care. Before Ryo could ask Dee where they were, somebody called the taller man's name.
"Well call me a kitten and drown me in the river, it's Dee!" A black man with honey-hazel eyes and dreadlocks embraced the man in a tight hug, a wide smile on his face. "Where you been at man? You haven't been here to see old T.K. in almost a year, not so much as a hello!" The tall man pushed his gold rimmed sun glasses up on his head and grabbed Dee around the neck, giving him a relentless noogie.
Dee laughed and punched his attacker lightly on the arm, having to look up to see his extremely tall 6'4 friend. "Ryo this is Smokey, he owns the place."
"The name is actually Todd Kyran Brooks but you can call me T.K. Dee's the only fool here who calls me Smokey."
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Randy McLain, Ryo for short. You have a very nice place here." Ryo held out his hand but T.K. used it to pull him into a hug too. Dee laughed at Ryo's shock and explained that T.K. didn't like formalities that much.
"Naw the pleasures all mine. Seems like Dee has finally gotten enough sense to settle down, although a lot of the guys will be so disappointed to hear that; they were hoping they still had a drinking buddy. We have heard a lot you though Ryo and you must be one helluva guy to tame this wild cat." Ryo blushed and looked around again, wondering how many people knew about him and Dee. "Come on you two, Dee has a lot of catching up to do and I'm sure you didn't come here to just see me. I'll go get some food and drinks for you guys while you meet some people." T.K. clamped a hand down on the couple's shoulders and steered them to an empty table. Ryo smiled as Dee met up with old friends and past lovers, all of which were very eager to be introduced to Dee's new boyfriend.
Dee hoped desperately that Ryo didn't mind the amount of people who asked about them, not wanting to offend his partner or pressure him in any way. "Are you having a good time Ryo? If you don't want to stay we can leave," Dee whispered quietly to the blonde, green eyes searching brown ones in earnest. The older man smiled and kissed his lover full on the mouth, causing those paying attention to whoop and holler in his favor.
"Of course I am, I love it here. We should come back more often." Dee was shocked with his lover's new found comfort and smiled as he squeezed Ryo's hand affectionately. The couple was surprised to see Drake and JJ walk into the pub, and waved at them as they sat at a different table. The pair waved back and JJ winked devilishly at Ryo, giving him thumbs up. A few moments later, T.K. joined them again, bringing drinks and appetizers with him.
"Dee I brought you a Manhattan, if I do recall that is your drink of choice. Ryo I can get you something else if you don't like this but here. Dee told me you love tea so I made you my famous Tea Zinger, hope you like it." The two men nodded their thanks, and Ryo tried his drink.
"Wow this is wonderful! What's in it?" T.K. smiled as Ryo finished his drink and signaled to a nearby waiter to bring another one. "Just some lemon-ginger tea imported from Jamaica and a dash of whiskey. I'm glad you like it. So how have you been Dee? I honestly thought you disappeared off the face of the earth!" Ryo noticed the faint accent that flecked T.K.'s words when he started to talk fast, his voice changing into the islander's drawl that accompanied people from the islands. He also noted how comfortable Dee and T.K. were with each other, knowing there was more than what met the eye.
"So T.K. how did you and Dee meet each other? I'm curious now because I recall Dee has mentioned you from time to time." Said men exchanged glances before coming to a silent agreement to tell Ryo the truth.
"Well it goes like this, I was working at this place called Hopskie's as a bartender when Dee walks in looking down and out. So I did the cliché bartender bit and listened to his troubles, he was going through a lot of shit right then. By closing time he couldn't even remember his own name, more or less where he lived, so I took him home with me. Even though something was telling me I shouldn't have." T.K. grinned at Dee who slapped him in the arm, rolling his eyes at his friend. "So I took him back to the bar the next morning so he could get his car and go home, I never thought I would see him again."
"Well anyways, I did go back to the bar a week later and it became a habit. Go once a week, have a few drinks with a friend, you know the scenario. Well once a week became three times a week, and then eventually everyday. About two months after we first met, I got the courage to ask him out and we were together for about two and a half years before going our separate ways. Not over anything dumb but because we both new that we were not meant for each other. We could've stayed together, hell we did get along pretty damn well, but even though it was love, it wasn't the kind we were looking for. T.K. was my first love, as I was his, but now we are both pretty much spoken for, eh T.K.? Go on, show him. "
The bartender smiled and held up a slender tan hand, showing Ryo the silver wedding band on his ring finger. He laughed when he saw the astonishment printed on the blonde's face, having seen the same reaction a thousand times over.
"Oh that's wonderful! Who's the lucky person?" Dee observed the happiness, as well as the wistful look, that momentarily crossed Ryo's face. He hoped that one day he would be able to pop the question and see that same expression, only ten times more meaningful.
"Darren Quincy Davenport, he's working tonight at the hospital so I don't think you will get a chance to meet him tonight. Last time I called the E.R. was pretty full, most of the time he is here though. We have been married about three years, four in September."
"I would love to meet him sometime. Hey, do you think you would be able to come over for dinner tomorrow night? What about it Dee? We are both off this Sunday and I'm sure Bikky, my son, would love to meet you too, 6:30 okay?" Dee smiled and nodded his agreement, thinking how nice it would be to establish old ties.
"That would be awesome man! I can bring over Jamaican gumbo so hot that even Dee can't handle it, and that's saying something. Darren is off tomorrow and I can easily get somebody to watch over things while I'm gone. Thanks so much for the invite, I'll be looking forward to it. Well you have to excuse me, I'm sure there's something I should be doing right now. See you guys tomorrow!" T.K. waved and walked back to the bar, immediately starting to make drinks for the big group of people that just walked in.
"T.K. is so nice, he sort of reminds me of you Dee." Ryo put his hand over Dee's and smiled lovingly at his partner, leaning over to kiss him softly on the mouth.
"Yea, a lot of people say that, but the difference is in temper. I have a short fuse but T.K. truly knows the meaning of long suffering. When he does get angry though, look out! Thank goodness I only had to see it once."
"Really? What did you do?" The blonde couldn't imagine T.K. getting mad over anything; he seemed so happy and compassionate.
"Well, one day I got drunk off my ass and said some racial things about him being gay. I really felt horrible about it once I realized what I said, and apologized. I left and tried my hardest to avoid him; I was convinced he would break up with me. I was really upset, but I couldn't get the courage to go and talk it out with him. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and could barely keep anything down. Tell you what though, a week later he came by my apartment, took me in his arms and forgave me. I broke down and cried for the better part of two hours while he held me. He stayed with me and nursed my sorry ass back to health. You are completely right about him being a nice guy, and even now I still love him. But no way near as much as I love you baby."
Ryo smiled and reached out to caress the side of Dee's face, a bright smile highlighting Ryo's already gorgeous face. Dee smiled back and finished his drink before standing up. Waving goodbye to T.K., the couple left the bar with their arms wrapped around each other, not caring if the whole world saw that they were in love.