Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Three Times A Charm ❯ Chapter 14

Title: Three Times A Charm

Author: JadeHeart

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

Fandom: Fake

Rating: X

Warnings: yaoi, and not too much angst for this chapter!

Summary: Finding your way slowly …

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 it.

 

 

Chapter 14

 

 

Ryo pushed the door open, juggling the box in his arms.

 

“Hello?” he called out, using a foot to close the door behind him. He looked around the crispness of the lab and spotted no-one so he called again, “Hello?”

 

“In here,” a muffled voice answered this time.

 

Ryo made his way to the door at the far right corner, dropping the box onto the counter as he passed. Opening the door he stepped into a very small office and the man seated there swung around on his swivel chair.

 

“Hey, Ryo!” Jim said in a cheerful tone. “Long time, no see! Thought you guys had forgotten about me?”

 

Ryo perched himself on the edge of Jim's desk. “No, nothing like that. Things have just been pretty hectic over the past few months.”

 

“Yeah. I was so glad when that last bugger of a case was closed and I could actually leave this place before dawn!”

 

“It was pretty rough on everyone. I'm just glad we don't have cases like that all the time. We'd all be ready for early retirement due to stress!”

 

“Amen to that!” Jim responded heartfeltly.

 

“I thought you would have packed up and gone back after it was all over.”

 

“Nah,” Jim waved a hand towards the outer lab. “When I was asked to come over here to help out and saw the way you had this place kitted out I just couldn't leave! This place may be an antiquated dump overall, but you spent up big in the last budget on this lab. When I clapped eyes on the latest top-notch spectrometer out there, I nearly fell on my knees and wept tears of joy!” Jim grinned broadly at Ryo, a twinkle in his eye. “There was no way I could pass up the opportunity of sticking around here so I could play more with these bright sparkly new toys!”

 

Ryo chuckled at Jim's obvious enthusiasm. “Weren't they going to miss you back at the 9th?”

 

“Not really. Most of the work for them is coming through here anyways so it's no big deal. Besides, I convinced them to give me a pay rise as well for taking on the double workload.”

 

“Now that is a feat in itself!” Ryo said, surprised. “Trying to get money out of them is usually like getting blood from a stone!”

 

“Look at it as a form of alchemy!” Jim said with a wink, tapping the side of his nose knowingly.

 

“Next time a salary review comes up I'm going to ask you to negotiate for me!”

 

“I charge a commission fee!”

 

“Should have known there would be a catch!”

 

“Your untrusting partner would have figured that one out right from the start! Speaking of which,” Jim looked past Ryo as though expecting to see someone else. “So how's Dee?”

 

“Fine, I guess.”

 

Jim raised an eyebrow. “You guess?”

 

“Haven't you been told? He's on secondment to the 22nd.”

 

“Oh, man, nobody told me! So that jerk just went off and didn't even say good-bye? When did he go?”

 

“Three weeks ago.”

 

“That hurts, man, that really hurts. He owes me a lunch!”

 

“Yeah, well it was sort of sudden, so no-one knew he was going.”

 

Jim looked intently at Ryo. “Really. So you didn't know either?”

 

Ryo shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “No. I had a day off so didn't find out till I got in for the next shift.”

 

“Hmm,” Jim twirled a pen in his right hand as he continued to look at Ryo.

 

“What?” Ryo finally said, beginning to feel a little uncomfortable under Jim's scrutiny.

 

“Oh, nothing,” Jim said, turning away. “Just thought Dee would have told his partner about something as big as a move to another precinct. Is there some trouble between you boys?”

 

“What…what do you mean?” Ryo felt his face blushing and quickly turned his head to one side, hoping Jim wouldn't notice.

 

“Hey, man, I don't have a problem with you two. I've known for some time.”

 

Ryo looked quickly back at him. “How …did you……? Has Dee been…?”

 

Jim held up a hand to forestall Ryo's angry words. “Dee didn't say anything. I just figured it out, that's all.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“If it's any consolation, I don't think it would be obvious to that many people.” Jim stood and made his way out to the main lab, with Ryo trailing after him. “So there must be trouble in paradise for Dee to take off like this, huh?”

 

Ryo rummaged around in the box he had entered with, refusing to look at Jim. “I don't think that is any of your business.” he said calmly.

 

Jim shrugged. “You're quite right, it's not. Just think of it as a friend asking. Dee was pretty concerned about it all last time, but judging from your reactions, I would say that he finally got his wish but things haven't exactly gone smoothly since.”

 

Ryo snuck a glance over at the intense scientist. He fought the urge to spill everything out to Jim, feeling the need to speak about it to someone, someone who knew and might be able to offer some advice, but sharing something so intimate with someone who Ryo couldn't say he knew particularly well just didn't come naturally to him. “How come you think you know so much about it?” was what he finally said.

 

“Oh, I don't, believe me. As I said, Dee didn't go into details or anything, and I wouldn't pry, but it was pretty obvious to me back then when the two of you were at the 9th, that he was head over heels for you, and you were given him one hell of a chase.” Jim stepped closer to Ryo, reaching into the box also and pulling evidence bags out one by one, checking the labels and laying them in order on the counter. “He came through for you though, didn't he? Back then?”

 

Ryo thought about that time, how he had desperately been seeking the truth about the deaths of his parents. The trauma of finding that truth out, the killing rage that had burned through his very soul when confronting Leo; and Dee standing there, gun to Leo's head, preparing to take the burden away from Ryo for the death of the monster that had destroyed his young life.

 

He remembered Dee's voice, he remembered the feel of Dee's arms around him as they had knelt in the rain whilst he had screamed his anguish into his partner's chest at his inability to take the revenge he had sought for so many years.

 

He remembered going back to Dee's apartment, the foolish way he had acted, trying to force himself upon the other man, and the anger and hurt he had seen in Dee's eyes for his actions. He hadn't fully understood why Dee had looked like that back then, why he had acted like that when Ryo was offering exactly what he thought Dee wanted, with no arguments, no fighting - just complete surrender.

 

Now…now, he had a far better understanding, and he was ashamed and horrified of what he had tried to do, and loved Dee all the more for having the strength to turn away from his advances and continue to wait.

 

That would have been the first time that Ryo had realized just how much Dee truly did care for him and it was beyond just the sexual that Dee always put up as a front. It had taken Ryo a long time to realize that most of the time when Dee was pouncing on him or trying to kiss him, it was a façade to feelings that were much deeper and he was afraid of revealing fully, afraid of showing that vulnerability.

 

The second time they slept together, Dee finally decided he was not going to hold back anything any more and opened himself up completely to Ryo at that moment. That had been a beautiful, wonderful night, and one that Ryo remembered vividly.

 

“Earth to Ryo.”

 

“Huh?” Ryo came back with a start to realize that Jim was standing before him, bags in hand.

 

“Boy, were you off with the fairies just then!” Jim smirked at him. “Must have been one hell of a fantasy to make you tune out like that! Wasn't by any chance of a naked Dee?”

 

“Jim!” Ryo blushed hard, eyes wide, unable to think of anything to say.

 

Jim just laughed hard, and plucked the bags from Ryo's unresisting fingers. “Well, that got you to let go of my evidence anyway!” He laid them down in order and glanced over his shoulder at Ryo. “Now get out of here and stop cluttering up my nice clean lab. Some of us have got work to do!”

 

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Ryo began to make his way to the door.

 

“No sweat.” Jim kept his back turned when he spoke again and stopped Ryo before he left. “Hey, Ryo, don't give up, and don't let him go.” Jim looked over his shoulder, his face serious. “It's rare in this world to find you soul-mate. When you do, don't be afraid to grab hold of it and hold on tight. Don't ever let it go, because if you lose it, you'll never get it back. Everything is worth that, don't you think?”

 

Jim looked away again, bending to his work. Ryo stood for a moment longer looking at Jim's back, then turned and opened the door. “Thanks, Jim,” he said quietly.

 

“Any time, pal,” was the muffled response as Ryo closed the door.

 

Ryo wandered along the corridor, thinking about Jim's parting words. Soul-mates, was that what Dee was to him? How do you know if you find your soul-mate? How can you tell?

 

He glanced at his watch and his eyes widened as he saw the time. He hurried his steps as he almost ran out to the parking lot. He had better not be late. Bikky would kill him!

 

He negotiated the traffic and pulled into the first free bay he could find, before sprinting to the front of the school. Bikky was waiting for him in the front foyer where he paused for a moment to catch his breath.

 

“Geez, Ryo, I thought you weren't going to make it!”

 

“Sorry, Bikky, just got caught up a little at work. I'm not late, am I?”

 

“Nah, the old baldy's still talking to someone else.”

 

“Bikky, that's no way to speak about your principal.” Ryo scolded the boy. Bikky just snorted and Ryo sighed. Trying to teach the youngster good manners was an uphill battle that waged constantly.

 

“Come on, this way,” and Bikky led them down the corridor. Just as they were arriving a man and woman were leaving.

 

Bikky let out a deep sigh. “Looks like they're done now. Damnit, I was hoping they would take up all the time and this would have to be rescheduled!” The boy looked up at Ryo with a scowl. “Why couldn't you have been late?!”

 

Ryo smiled crookedly at him. “Because you told me that I wasn't to be late, remember?”

 

“Well, yeah, but that pervert of a partner of yours usually tries to take advantage of you whenever there's something important for you to do, so why couldn't the deviant decide to pull something today of all days!”

 

“Bikky…”

 

“Ah, Mr. Maclean,” The elderly man standing in the door way beckoned them forwards. “Do come in and take a seat.” Ryo heard Bikky gulp audibly and rested a comforting hand on his shoulder as he steered the boy inside.

 

The next half hour went past quickly as the principal spent time discussing Bikky's progress in school with Ryo as his guardian, and the possible future directions that the boy could take. Bikky for once held his tongue and kept most of his answers monosyllabic, which meant there was less chance of him saying something that he was liable to regret later on. Finally he was dismissed to return to the final class of the day whilst Ryo remained to have a private word with the principal.

 

“I'm very glad you could make it today, Mr. Maclean. I appreciate how busy you must be and how it may have been difficult to find the time to come, but I think it is commendable that you have been able to do so. I wish that all the parents of our children showed the same dedication.”

 

“It was fine, really. I didn't do anything special.”

 

The principal stood and went over to pour some coffee that his secretary had discreetly brought in. “Coffee?”

 

“Yes, please,” A second cup was poured and passed to Ryo.

 

“I just wanted to have a word quietly with you about Bikky.”

 

“He's not in more trouble, is he?” Ryo asked worriedly.

 

“No. Well, no more than usual,” Ryo grimaced a little but didn't say anything. “No, what I mean to say is that I have unfortunately over the years seen far too many children with similar circumstances to Bikky who were not so fortunate to have someone such as yourself take them in and give them a firm hand in their upbringing. And I don't mean `firm hand' as in beating some sense into them, but in providing some clear guidance in their lives.

 

“It was a great relief to see Bikky return to school and to learn that you had taken on the role as his guardian. Having a police officer as his surrogate father has done him a world of good. He was always what you would call a `good kid', just a little wild which is quite normal for most of the children from that neighbourhood, but that doesn't make them bad. It just needs people to see that, just as you have done.”

 

The principal sipped his coffee, leaning back in his large leather chair. “There has been a significant change in his behaviour and approach to school since he began living with you, which is very pleasing to see. Bikky talks well of you, and your partner.”

 

Ryo choked a little, hurriedly placing the cup back on the saucer. “Partner?” he spluttered a little.

 

“Yes, I understand that your work partner spends time with Bikky also.”

 

“Well,” Ryo frantically fumbled for something to say. He didn't think that the principal wanted to hear about the swearing, pillow fights, or any of the other abuse that Dee and Bikky subjected each other to. “They do see a reasonable bit of each other I guess.”

 

“I thought so.” The principal took another sip. “Bikky seems to be very fond of him also. There is definitely a lot of respect there, and as you would be only too well aware, Bikky is not the sort of child that gives respect to just any adult.”

 

The principal glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed softly, setting his coffee down on the desk and standing. “I hate to cut this short, Mr. Maclean, but I have another appointment waiting for me.”

 

Ryo placed his own cup down, standing to shake the offered hand. “I did just want to make the time to offer you my utmost gratitude in helping give Bikky a second chance to make something of his life. You and your partner are to be commended for providing the boy with such a stable life and giving him two role models in his life, which is more than many children have. I truly do wish that more of my children could find the same support you and your partner have given to that boy. Thank you again.”

 

Ryo felt his face growing warm with embarrassment at the principals kind words. “I really don't think I've done anything special.” he said with a nervous laugh.

 

The principal smiled gently at him as he steered Ryo towards the door. “Those that do these things rarely realize just how special it truly is. Good bye, Mr. Maclean, and thank you again for taking the time to come down.”

 

“My pleasure,” and Ryo turned to leave as the principal greeted the young woman sitting outside his office.

 

Ryo was glad that Bikky was doing better. He wasn't a great academic but he also wasn't stupid and he had been actually taking the time to do his homework over the years. Ryo had helped him where he could, and even Dee had sometimes given a hand, although most of those study sessions usually ended with Dee chasing Bikky around the room, throwing things at the boy. Ryo had learnt long ago to remove all breakables from the main room if he was to preserve anything of value.

 

So perhaps the principal was right, that in a way Bikky didn't mind having another police officer as a role model. Ryo frowned in despair, he wasn't quite certain he wanted Bikky to start taking on some of Dee's less desirable traits! That thought was just down right scary!

 

But perhaps, just perhaps, Bikky might start to get to …like Dee. Perhaps then….. Ryo held onto that thought as he went back to the car to wait till end of school to take Bikky home.

 

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

 

“Hey, over here!” The call made Ryo look around and he spotted Dee perched on a stool in the far corner of the counter. He squeezed past the other patrons to see Dee with one leg draped over the stool next to him, a broad smile on his handsome face. Ryo felt his own face smile back and his heart thumped faster in his chest. He felt his cheeks begin to flush as a delightful shiver ran up his spine.

 

“Whoa, man, you've just got here and you're already blushing! I hope it's because you saw the hotness of me and not because you've been perving on some hottie in here!” Dee darted a suspicious glance around the crowded café. “Although if there is someone that hot in here to make you blush you had better be pointing her out to me!”

 

Ryo playful punched Dee's outstretched leg. “Knock it off. You know there's no-one else for me!” Ryo bit his lip in surprise and clamped a hand over his mouth at his own words. He hadn't meant to say anything like that!

 

He snuck an embarrassed glance at Dee, to see him smiling happily directly at him. “Hell, pal! Do you know how to sweep a guy off his feet, or what? That is the sexiest thing anyone's ever told me!”

 

“Yeah, well, don't let it go to your head!”

 

Dee removed his leg so Ryo could seat himself on the now vacated stool. “Which head are you talking about?” Dee leant in close to him, hot breath caressing his ear.

 

Another shiver coursed through his body and his cheeks flushed hotter. “Dee, if you're going to deliberately try and embarrass me I'm leaving.” He made to stand when Dee's hand clamped around his arm.

 

“Aw, come on, Ryo, I was just teasing! It's been nearly a month since we've seen each other, I couldn't help it!”

 

“Try!” Ryo mock growled at him.

 

Dee leant back and held up his hands in surrender, “Okay, promise. I'll be good.”

 

Ryo rolled his eyes. “As if.”

 

Dee just smirked at him, “So what are you having? Your usual?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“You are so predictable, you know that?”

 

“And what is wrong with that?”

 

“Oh, nothing. But you know what they say, change is the spice of life!”

 

“Well, what about you? You have exactly the same thing each time as well!”

 

“Yeah, but I spice up my life in other ways!” Dee disappeared to place their order before Ryo could respond.

 

He watched Dee, thinking about the last comment he had made. Was Dee trying to tell him that he had found something else in his life, to spice it up? Or could it be…someone? Ryo felt the first tendril of panic squirm in his stomach. Could Dee have found someone else? Could he be in another relationship already? Was that what he was trying to tell Ryo?

 

Should Ryo ask him outright? Ryo chewed his lip. If he asked and he was wrong, Dee would be really upset with him, and understandably so. It would probably ruin everything that they had both worked so hard with over the past month. Their phone calls had become quite regular, each taking turns to make the first move. They had tentatively discussed various aspects of their previous time together, parts of their pasts, but they had yet to really delve into the areas that had caused the difficulties for them both in the first place. Both of them still felt uncertain if it was the right time to broach such topics. As Dee once said - when the time is right, they'd know it.

 

It was from those phone calls that they decided that it was time to actually meet in person again and so hence this luncheon. Sometimes it was too easy to distance yourself over the phone and everything seems so right again. Eventually you still need to come to terms with each other face to face.

 

Ryo had been quite nervous all morning at the prospect of seeing Dee again, and had found himself blushing frequently just thinking about his old partner. Dee still affected him in that way. One look at those deep green eyes and he felt himself being swept away, and he still didn't know if he should be struggling or just let himself be carried off.

 

Dee returned to his seat. “Damn, it's busy in here! You know, I practically had to fight people away from trying to take your seat.” He nodded to the stool Ryo was perched on. “I thought I was going to have to pull my gun on this big fat woman who demanded that I let her sit there. I swear she was this wide!” and he held his hands out in a large circle. “If I had let her sit down on it I would have had to call the paramedics to remove the biggest butt-plug in history!”

 

“Dee, that's gross, and really unkind.” Ryo tried to chide his partner, although his own lips were twitching in a smile.

 

“I'm serious! It wouldn't have been a pretty sight, and it would have ruined my appetite completely!”

 

Just then their order arrived. Ryo opened the roll on the plate before him and reached out absently for the condiments. His fingers closed instead around warm flesh, and with a start he looked down to see his own hand wrapped around Dee's, which was holding the shaker he had been reaching for.

 

“Oh, sorry, my bad!” Dee said quickly and slipped his hand away. “You go ahead. I wasn't paying attention. Sorry.”

 

“You don't have to apologise, Dee,” Ryo said, trying to keep his voice steady and his hands from shaking. “You didn't do anything wrong. I was the one that wasn't paying attention.” He held out the shaker with a smile. “Here, you go first.”

 

“Nah, it's fine, you use it.”

 

“No, I insist.”

 

“It's okay. I mean it.”

 

“Dee, you had it first, you should use it first.”

 

“Ryo, for gods' sakes, will you just use the frigging shaker! Please!” Dee dropped his head to the counter where his forehead landed with an audible thump.

 

Ryo remained staring at him in complete shock as Dee rolled his head to one side to look at him, and a crooked smile settled on his face. “I don't know of any other two grown men who could end up having an argument over who was to use the salt shaker first!”

 

“It wasn't an argument,” Ryo insisted.

 

Dee rolled his eyes. “Fine then, a discussion.”

 

“And besides, I wanted the pepper.” Ryo said quietly, picking up the other shaker and pushing the first one towards Dee.

 

Dee looked at the shaker now only a mere centimeter from his nose and began to laugh. He sat up and reached for the shaker, still laughing. “Gods, Ryo! I've missed you, buddy!”

 

Ryo smiled back at him. “Me, too.” he said quietly, eyes sparkling.