Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Three Times A Charm ❯ Chapter 12

Title: Three Times A Charm: Chapter 12

Author: JadeHeart

Archived: found on AdultFanfiction.net. If anyone else would like it, please ask me first!

Fandom: Fake

Rating: X

Warnings: yaoi, angst

Timeline: follows on directly from the end of Vol 7

Summary: Sometimes you don't have to say it in words…

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this, they belong to the creators of `Fake', nor am I making any profits from this.

 

 

 

Chapter 12

 

Dee yawned wide enough that he heard his jaw crack. Gods, how he hated mornings! He slumped in his chair again, glaring down at the papers before him. No matter what shift he was on there were always reports to do! Cursing quietly to himself, he picked up his pen again and continued to write.

 

“Yo, Dee!” a voice called to him and looking up he saw Ted leaning in the doorway.

 

“Yo.”

 

“Whatcha doing here?”

 

Dee yawned again. “I traded with Drake.”

 

“What the hell for?” Ted looked astonished. “You hate mornings! In fact, I'm surprised you managed to get here at all!”

 

Dee scowled at him. “I'm here now, aren't I?”

 

Ted shrugged. “Sure, no big deal. Want a coffee?”

 

“Yeah. I'd kill for one right now.”

 

“Come on, let's hit the cafeteria for a break.”

 

“That's the best offer I've had all day.” Dee thankfully left his desk and joined his colleague.

 

“So you got something else planned for the rest of day, huh?” Ted said as they walked along.

 

“What makes you say that?” Dee asked, stretching his arms upwards in a bone-popping motion.

 

“Well, that's the only reason you'd have for swapping to a morning shift. So what's the big plans?”

 

“Don't have any. Just felt like having a bit of time off later this arvo to catch up on a few things. Nothing special.”

 

“Seems like you've gone to a lot of effort for nothing.” Ted pushed the elevator button to take them to the cafeteria.

 

“I don't know what you're getting at. I told you, I don't have any plans. Things are just pretty quiet here at the moment so I thought it would be a good opportunity to find the time to do a few things I've been meaning to. What's wrong with that?”

 

“Hey, I don't think there's anything wrong! What's up with you? You're like a bear with a sore head.”

 

Dee ran a hand through his dark hair, brushing it back from his eyes. “Sorry, dude. Just feeling out of sorts today I guess.”

 

Ted brushed his apology aside. “Probably having to be awake this early is bad for your health. I'm surprised your body hasn't keeled over with the shock!”

 

“You are living dangerously, pal.” Dee growled.

 

“Yeah, yeah, so whatcha going to do about it?”

 

Dee grinned evilly at him. “Oh, give me time, I'm sure I'll think of something. Like telling JJ you've got a crush on him!”

 

“Whaaaaat?!!” Ted's strangled cry reverberated down the corridor as they exited the elevator. “You can't say something like that!” Dee just smirked and kept walking. “You wouldn't?!” Ted said, then seeing the expression of malicious glee on Dee's face, his own fell. “You would, you bastard!”

 

“All's fair in love and war, my friend.” Dee said airily as they entered the cafeteria and made their way to the coffee machine.

 

Ted let out a deep sigh. “Fine, you win. I'll be nice.”

 

“Take back what you said.”

 

Ted rolled his eyes at Dee. “What are we, school kids?!”

 

“Take it back!”

 

“Fine! I take it back! Happy?”

 

Dee smiled at him. “Of course.” he said sweetly.

 

Ted just cast him a black look as they reached for their respective mugs. “So before you changed shift, did you get all your stuff done or are you leaving it to Ryo as usual?”

 

“I've done most of it.” Dee answered, pouring the steaming coffee for them both.

 

“So Ryo's going to be working with Drake today?”

 

“Guess so. Shouldn't be a problem for him.”

 

“Nah, Ryo gets along with everyone.”

 

“Yeah, I know.” Dee replied softly, thinking of his good-natured partner.

 

“Well, I'll catch you later, Dee!” Ted picked up his mug and with a jaunty wave, left the room.

 

Dee followed more slowly and returned to his office. It was still fairly quiet, most of the morning staff hadn't arrived yet. He hadn't been due to start till after midday, but had called Drake immediately upon leaving Ryo's the evening before and arranged to trade shifts. It had suited Drake as he was staying at his girlfriend's that night and it would give him the extra time to spend with her. That had caused a stab of jealousy to go through Dee as, if things had turned out differently, he would have been wanting to do exactly the same thing with Ryo. However, that was not to be, and so Dee had decided to work a shift without Ryo.

 

He was beginning to have second thoughts about his decision now. He had called Drake in the heat of the moment, he had still been furious with Ryo and what he had said. He was angry and hurting, and his only thought was that he didn't want to ever look at Ryo's sanctimonious face again. Hence, the call to Drake. Now though, in the light of day and with a few hours to cool down, he admitted that his response had possibly been a little childish. He did tend to act rather impetuously sometimes, and without thinking things through. Now he didn't know what he really wanted.

 

What Ryo had said last night had really hurt him. The more that he tried to talk to Ryo about their relationship and their future together, the more obstacles there seemed to be in their way. Why couldn't it be simple? They loved each other, so that should be all there is to it!

 

But, and the cold thought in the back of his mind swirled around, did they really love each other? Did Ryo really love him, or was it just a mistake Ryo had made, saying something he didn't really mean? He didn't know, and Ryo seemed just as confused about it sometimes.

 

Dee was finding that he was even beginning to doubt his own feelings. Did he really and truly love Ryo or had he been blinded by the chase, and upon achieving his goal just didn't want to give it up? Had he let his feelings for his partner through working together, permeate into his personal life and built things up in his mind more than they should have been? Had he just been using Ryo as a shield to get away from JJ? Had he been the one to wrong them both by being so pushy right from the start, always prodding at Ryo, prompting him to consider a relationship together when he hadn't been ready to do so? Had he actually managed to orchestrate and contrive the entire relationship scenario when there really wasn't anything there?!

 

He realized late last night, as he lay awake in the middle of his bed staring up at the ceiling, that he actually couldn't answer any of those questions.

 

That was when he realized that he really did need some time to himself to think properly, to step completely back from the situation, distancing himself from his emotions, and look at it with clear eyes. Only then, would he find the answers to those questions. Even if he didn't like the answers he found, he had to know that he had truly found the truth. Anything less would be nothing more than a deception - both for Ryo, and himself.

 

He took a sip from his cooling drink. He felt bad about storming out on Ryo the way he had. For all the times that they had fought and argued, they had never left each other like that before. They had had disagreements before certainly. They were two very different people, with sometimes very different views and opinions, but they had always been able to compromise and understand where each other was coming from. They had never had a full-blown argument which they had not resolved before parting ways. The fact that this time it did not occur that way left a bad taste in his mouth.

 

He had admitted to himself that he had run away last night. His mind had been in turmoil all that day, the injuries he had sustained were hurting despite the painkillers that he had been taking. His confession to Mother had left him feeling emotionally wrung out and vulnerable. So he had probably completely over-reacted to Ryo's comments, but he had so wanted to just stay with Ryo that night, just to be near him, to sleep in his embrace. He had missed Ryo so much!

 

“Glad to see that you're hard at work as usual, Laytner,” a dry voice said behind him.

 

Dee closed his eyes as though in pain. Not him! He couldn't handle facing him this early in the morning! He turned his head to look over his shoulder and scowled.

 

“My, what a sunny disposition you have on this fine bright morning.” Commissioner Berkley Rose stood there, gazing down at Dee.

 

“What do you want?” Dee growled, then added belatedly. “Sir,”

 

“Impeccable manners, as usual.”

 

“Whatever.” Dee grumbled, turning back to his coffee.

 

Commissioner Rose strode forward to stand before Dee's desk, then perched himself on the corner. “I have a proposition for you.” he said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

 

Dee raised an eyebrow at his superior over the rim of his mug. “Haven't you got the wrong guy? Thought that's what you've been trying to do to Ryo for the last couple of years?”

 

“Very funny,” Rose said flatly, no hint of a smile on his face or in his voice. “Unfortunately, your partner is rather shy.”

 

“Guess you just don't have the right touch.” Dee said with a small smirk, unable to resist baiting his rival.

 

Rose looked unconcerned and shrugged. “I can be patient. Sooner or later, I'll get my chance.”

 

Dee scowled at him, anger building. Nobody touched his Ryo! Rose had better watch out!

 

“Anyway, back on topic. The proposition I have for you is not romantic and, heaven forbid, that you would even think that it possibly could be. It is to ask if you would consider a secondment.”

 

“Huh?” Dee was caught by surprise. This wasn't what he had been expecting to hear.

 

Rose continued, “The 22nd precinct is down by a number of key staff and so the rest of us have been asked if we had personnel that would be prepared to work there for a while.”

 

“Doing what?”

 

“Same as you are now. They need to have experienced men to help train up the rookies coming through whilst they build up their personnel base again.”

 

A secondment, Dee thought, looking down into his now empty mug. Time away from the 27th.

 

“How long for?”

 

“Oh, probably a couple of months I would say.”

 

A couple of months, Dee mused to himself. Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

 

“Interested?” Rose asked.

 

Dee chewed on his bottom lip, twirling a pen absently in his fingers. “So there's really no difference to what I'm doing now? No pay drop you're not telling me about?”

 

Rose held out both hands, palms up, trying to look innocent. It didn't work. “No changes to your conditions of employment in any way what-so-ever.”

 

“So why me?” Dee asked suspiciously.

 

“Like I said, it needs to be someone experienced. I can't send Drake, he's the only one that seems to be able to keep JJ in line. I certainly can't send JJ - I would like this precinct to retain some semblance of a reputation for decorum!”

 

Dee grimaced at the thought of JJ running loose in the 22nd precinct and what they would make of him. “You're right. Probably not a good idea.”

 

“Ted is owed some time off so I can hardly send him, and as we've got another group of rookies due to come through here, I would like to keep Ryo to take them on. The rest of the fellas are also tied up with one thing or another, so it really came down to that you were the only one who didn't have anything pressing at present.”

 

Dee looked at Rose and scratched the side of his nose. “You do realize, don't you, that you pretty much just told me that I was your last resort because no-one else was available? Or, I could look at it this way, that everyone else you didn't want to lose and so that made me the most expendable?”

 

“Did I really? I don't recall saying anything of the sort.” Rose just looked calmly back at him. “How you take it is entirely up to you, Officer Laytner.”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Dee groused, leaning back in his chair.

 

“So, are you interested?”

 

Should he, Dee thought, thinking hard. It would only be for a few months and the time was bound to go past quickly. Would this be the best thing to do?, he wondered. It might be. In fact you could say that this had come at a most opportune time. This would give him the chance to take some time away from Ryo; to try and clear his own head and look hard at his own feelings. Until he knew with absolute certainty what he felt and wanted, he could hardly continue to expect Ryo to be able to make up his mind. This way, he could have the time away, without having to dodge Ryo at work. It would be a complete distraction to still be trying to work with his partner whilst he was trying to think things through! One look at Ryo's beautiful face, one glance into those worried eyes, and he would be immediately lost.

 

“Well?” Rose's query pulled him from his reverie.

 

He looked up. “Sure. Why not? When do I go?”

 

Rose stood and walked to the door. “You may as well just finish up what you're doing and head straight over today. I'll call and let them know to expect you shortly.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Rose left the room and Dee looked down at the papers before him. So, there it was. The decision had been made. Right or wrong, he was going.

 

He quickly finished the last of the reports he was working on and dropped it in the out tray. Gathering his few personal belongings, he snagged his jacket from the back of the chair, shrugging into it. He turned at the door to take one last look around the office. His eyes lingered on the empty chair where Ryo usually sat. He could picture his partner there without even trying, studiously bent over the reports, glasses perched on his nose, the skin between his brows furrowed slightly in concentration. The image brought a soft smile to his lips. Ah, Ryo…..

 

He turned away and closed the door behind him. He wouldn't just leave his partner without a word. He would send him a message, a message that hopefully Ryo would understand better than Dee could ever say in words.

 

**************

 

Ryo rubbed his eyes as he walked into the office. They felt gritty and sore. He hadn't slept all night, doing nothing but toss and turn, running over and over through his mind the argument he had had with Dee. The more he had thought about it, the more his stomach knotted so much it hurt. At one point, he had rushed to the bathroom to throw up, bile burning the back of his throat. He had remained slumped on the bathroom floor for some time, head held in hands, before he managed to drag himself back to bed. He felt so awful!

 

Upon reaching his office he slipped his jacket neatly across the back of his chair and glanced over at Dee's desk. It seemed surprisingly neat and tidy, not the usual clutter he was used to seeing. He frowned a little as he sat. Had someone cleaned things up for Dee? Oh, perhaps it had been JJ trying to do something nice for his idol. Yeah, that must have been it.

 

Ryo pulled a file towards him, opening it and flicking through some papers. He chewed the end of the pen, worrying. What was he going to say to Dee when he arrived?, he thought, chewing harder. What would Dee say to him? He didn't want to continue feeling like this. He wanted things to be right between them again, back to the way they used to be.

 

He glanced at his watch. It was already past the start of shift and still no Dee. Well, that wasn't completely surprising. Dee would probably be in shortly. Ryo made a few notes on the paper before him and turned to the next one. Was Dee all right? Would he still be mad at him? Dee might fly off the handle sometimes, but he was never one to hold a grudge so it would probably be okay.

 

Yet Ryo was still worried about him. He hadn't looked well at all yesterday, and not just because of his injuries. Ryo had seen Dee hurt before, he knew what his partner was like under those circumstances. There had been something else there yesterday, beyond the physical pains, something that Dee wasn't telling him, and something that Ryo was unable to determine. What ever it was, it made Ryo worry a lot.

 

“Hey, Ryo, there you are!”

 

Ryo turned his head as Drake walked in. “Hi, Drake, what's up?”

 

“That's what I was going to ask you. Thought you would have come over to see me at start of shift.”

 

Ryo turned in his chair to face Drake more fully. “Why?” he questioned.

 

“Well, if we're going to be working together today we really should sort out what needs doing.”

 

“Huh?” Ryo was confused. He was working with Drake today? Why? Where was Dee? Was he that sick still? Wait a minute…

 

“Weren't you supposed to be on early shift today?” Ryo asked Drake.

 

“Yeah, I was, but I swapped with Dee. Didn't he tell you?”

 

Swapped…Dee had swapped a shift, and didn't tell him.

 

“It…must have slipped his mind.” Ryo said quietly, turning quickly away so Drake wouldn't see the brightness of tears in his eyes.

 

“Not surprising.” Drake replied. “Sometimes Dee's got a mind like a sieve. He must have had something he wanted to get done later today. It didn't bother me.”

 

Dee hadn't told him, Ryo thought, his chest tightening. Dee must still be angry with him, so angry that he doesn't want to work with him anymore. He had gone so far as to move his shift so he wouldn't have to be with Ryo today. That hurt so much.

 

“Hey, buddy, you okay?”

 

“Ah, yeah, sure.” Ryo answered quickly, reaching up a hand and quickly running it over his eyes to erase any signs of tears. He turned a bright smile to Drake. “Everything's fine. So what have you got?”

 

Drake shrugged. “Nothing much, but I would appreciate you going over a couple of reports with me before I finish them up. Give them the once over if you could.”

 

“Sure, that's not a problem.” Ryo stood. “How about we get started then? The sooner we start, the sooner we can finish.”

 

“Sounds good to me.” and Ryo followed Drake over to his office, his thoughts spinning. Dee had come to work and already left before Ryo even arrived. Had he destroyed everything the two of them had worked so hard to build?

 

When he was able to, Ryo slipped up to the roof to gain some privacy. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Dee's number but only received the message bank. He looked at the phone. Was Dee ignoring him? He knew that his caller ID would show up on Dee's cell phone when it rang. Did Dee actually have it on and just wasn't answering it because he could see it was Ryo? Or was it just that he was busy? Ryo tried the home number but again there was no answer. He hung up without leaving a message, fearing that he would break down if he had to talk to the answering machine. At various times during the afternoon he kept trying, to no avail, and with every failed call his heart plummeted further into the pits of despair.

 

He despondently made his way back to his office, feet dragging. It was nearly end of shift, the day was almost over and it had seemed like it had been the longest day of his life. The closest time he could recall feeling like this had been the day that he had been told his parents had died. The time then had seemed to drag by in infinitesimal increments, a second seeming like a minute, and all the time his mind was praying for it all to just be over with.

 

“Oh, Ryo, will you come in here for a minute?”

 

Ryo raised his head at hearing Commissioner Rose's voice and he altered his direction to take him into that office. “Can I do something for you, sir?”

 

“Yes, take a seat for a moment.” Rose seated himself behind his desk, whilst Ryo sat before him.

 

“Sorry I haven't had a chance to speak to you before now, but I just wanted to have a word with you before you finished up for the day. How do you feel about working with Drake more permanently?”

 

Ryo felt his eyes widen in shocked astonishment. Permanently? What about Dee? “I…don't understand, sir.”

 

Rose leant back and steepled his hands under his chin, watching Ryo with all the intensity of an eagle eyeing its prey. “Officer Laytner has accepted a secondment to the 22nd precinct, so I thought you could team up with Drake. JJ's due to head off on a course in the next couple of weeks so Drake would be without a partner as well.”

 

Secondment…..Dee….he's gone! Ryo's mind was reeling. When did this all happen?! How did this all happen?!

 

“How…how long will Dee, I mean, Officer Laytner be gone?”

 

“A few months. Possibly longer. It's hard to tell just at the moment.”

 

“I see.” Ryo said softly, looking down at his folded hands in his lap. He could see the knuckles were white he was gripping them so hard. He looked up, keeping his expression serene. “I have no problem with partnering Drake. That's perfectly fine by me.”

 

“Good. I'm glad to hear that.”

 

“Will that be all, sir?” Ryo asked, getting to his feet.

 

Rose looked up at him from behind his glasses. “Yes, that's all.”

 

“Thank you, sir.” and Ryo walked out, closing the door gently behind him.

 

As soon as he was in the corridor he leant back against the wall and closed his eyes, taking deep calming breaths to try and still his pounding heart. Dee was gone! He was really gone! He had left; left his job, left his precinct…left Ryo.

 

Dee must really hate me now, Ryo thought, pained. He can't even bear to be near me. Dee! His mind cried out, sobbing internally. Don't leave me! Come back! Please!!

 

But there was no answer to his pleas.

 

He felt the tears gathering in his eyes, threatening to fall. He had to get out of here! There was still a half hour before the end of his shift but he didn't care. He had to get away from here - now.

 

He escaped to his office, pushing open the door, his vision unclear from the tears clouding his sight. He stumbled towards his desk to grab his jacket and keys and stopped.

 

There in the middle of his desk was a single red rose in full bloom. He reached out with a shaking hand and picked it up, noting that it was thornless.

 

“Whoa, Ryo, who's the admirer?” Drake's voice at his shoulder startled him. He turned his head to see not only Drake, but also JJ standing there.

 

“I don't know.” he answered, turning his attention back to the flower in his hand.

 

“Do you know what that means?” JJ said.

 

“Eh?”

 

JJ rolled his eyes, “You know, the language of roses and all that sort of stuff. People used to be able to have whole conversations with each other just through what flowers they sent to each other.”

 

“Yeah, it used to be very common ages ago. It's not used much now, but some people still take a lot of care to do it right. Perhaps the person that sent you that was trying to give you a message that way.”

 

“How come you know so much about it?” Ryo asked Drake, looking at him a little oddly.

 

“Hey, don't look like that! My girlfriend's a florist, it's part of her job to look into all this sort of stuff. Sometimes her clients ask her to set up the bouquets so it says just the right thing. Here,” he turned to a computer and quickly flicked into the internet and pulled up a site. “this is her shop's webpage. They give some information on it about the meanings behind some of the flowers.”

 

“DRAKE!!!” The name was roared out and Drake automatically winced.

 

“Shit!!. That's the Chief! We were on our way to see him and got side tracked. Better run. Catch ya later!' and he and JJ disappeared rapidly before the next bellow could be issued.

 

Ryo sat down before the site that Drake had pulled up and began scanning through. A single red rose in full bloom meant `I love you'; that the rose was thornless meant `love at first site'; coloured Amaranth red meant `long standing desire'.

 

He carefully placed the rose back on the desk and only then noticed the small pale envelope resting there. He reached out and carefully opened it, withdrawing the card. He recognized Dee's writing immediately.

 

“This says everything that I want to say to you, and everything that I feel.

Don't worry. I just need a bit of time to think about things, okay?

Be careful out there.”

 

A tear splashed down to bathe the petals of the bloom. Dee hadn't left him. Not really. He was just asking for some time to think. He wasn't saying he was never coming back.

 

Ryo picked the rose up again and held it to his face, drinking in the fragrance, tears continuing to trickle down his cheeks. He closed his eyes as he brushed the soft petals across his cheek, feeling as though it were Dee's gentle hand caressing him.

 

Dee hadn't gone away without saying anything. He was right; he had said everything with this one simple flower.

 

This one simple rose meant the world to Ryo.