Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Time for Healing ❯ Burying the Hatchet ( Chapter 22 )

Disclaimer: We do not own FAKE or its characters. They belong to Sanami Matoh, lucky girl! Any original characters belong to either Irish or Wildefyre.
Warnings: Thus far just Shounen AI but then again that's what FAKE is anyway. It may become Yaoi at any given time. This may have the guys out of Character somewhat, so Gomen for that and we are taking some creative freedom on histories & backgrounds and lives as they are now... Deal with it! ^_~

Lyn strode in the front door, glancing around the living room. "Cal Bikky and Dee I have a project. Grab Kei and follow me to the basement." He looked almost stern but Andrew glanced around the corner from the kitchen and saw a mischievous glint in his eyes and smiled. Lyn was planning something.

"What's up?" Bikky jumped up off the couch. "Hey how is Ryo doing? Is he getting better?" Bikky had only gone to see him twice because it hurt seeing him in so much pain. Cal was even worse for she'd break down crying if Ryo showed any signs of pain and well Dee would sometimes just sit there and hardly say a word. Dee was just too upset with himself because he knew that he was the cause of Ryo's pain.

"Now what is that evil mind up to?" Dee smiled as he followed everyone. Lyn lead the parade down to the basement where the equipment of Lyn and Andrew's hobbies was kept. A third had been turned into Andrew's wood working shop, a third into an area for Lyn's pottery and the last third had been made into a dark room. Lyn lead them into his dark room shutting the door behind him.

"All right. Here is the plan." Lyn rubbed his hands together grinning. "Ryo is going stir crazy and I have a brilliant plan. Little do you all know but I'm addicted to photography and I have about six rolls of film from the past month or so. We're going to develop them and then make some inspirational quotes and stuff to decorate Ryo's ceiling."

"What? Now I know that you lost it!" Dee shook his head. "Won't that just make him more homesick?"

"Lighten up Latener!" Bikky glared at him. "At least we talk to him! You just sit there like a zombie!" Turning to Lyn he smiled. "Let's go for it! Uh can we use the funniest ones that you've got? Especially if they make Bozo here look even more stupid?"

"We will develop all the rolls I have and then once we have that done we can make group decisions." Lyn said appraisingly. "Cal and Dee? You two can work with the chemicals while Tiger and I will expose the paper so put Kei under the table with some crayons and paper."

"Hold it... Dee work with chemicals? Is that safe?" Bikky smirked.

"Shut up brat or... Oh never mind." Dee gave up on the comebacks and simply walked over to the one bench. 'The kid means a lot to Ryo. If I expect Ryo to forgive me then I'd better start accepting him.' Dee thought to himself as he felt his way around.

Lyn gave them the basic instructions and showed Bikky how to use the developer. Then showed Cal and Dee how to use the chemicals. It took almost three hours, working at a fast pace to get all the photos developed that Lyn had taken onto 8x12 photo paper. Finally reeking of developing chemicals they emerged sitting down at the dinning room table as Andrew set out dinner while gazing over near 125 black and white shots and 25 color shots.

"So now how are you going to get these on his ceiling with him lying in bed? You just can't stand on the bed cause the ceiling is too high." Bikky asked as he picked up one photo and started laughing. "Look it's bozo asleep cuddling a teddy bear! That's funny!"

"Very cute Lyn! You stuck that in my hands while I slept! Thanks a lot!" Dee sat there, sadden by the fact that he couldn't help with the selection since he couldn't even see the photos. "I wish that I could see them. Are there any of Ryo?"

"I did no such thing. And yes I have quite a few of Ryo and you as well." Lyn took a seat next to Dee. "I can describe them if you want." It was an uneasy truce the two had come to. Lyn had been avoiding Dee as much as he could for living in the same house with him. Shooting him dirty looks whenever their paths would cross.

He and Ryo had talked a lot over the last week and Ryo was steadfastly unwilling to let Dee go and nothing Lyn said could convince him otherwise. Lyn had thought a lot over the last week as well. Part of his mind ever turning over the events of two weeks ago. He didn't trust Dee yet but had resolved himself with the fact that if Dee ever lay a hand on Ryo again. He would castrate him. End of discussion.

"Yeah right you didn't. Lyn is too innocent for such childish pranks." Dee smirked. "Would you please?" Dee sighed softly. "I miss him Lyn." Dee's sightless eyes lowered yet the sadness was clearly shining through them.

"Oh please Dee. Not at the supper table." Bikky made a face. "So which ones do we use?" He asked, eager to see this happen.

"Well why don't you and Cal go through the pictures and pick out the ones that you like while I describe some of these to Dee. We'll each pick a few and negotiate some others. It's pretty easy to tell the good pictures from the bad ones." Lyn settled in, completely ignoring Dee's statement while taking a stack of the photos and sorting through selecting the better ones to describe to Dee. Lyn picked up one of the prints.

"Let's see. This one is of Ryo and he's sort of sitting in a chair in his kitchen. There is the counter and stove behind him. He's sort of just flopped down but he's laughing really hard. There is a smear of flour over the bridge of his nose. His bangs are hanging in his face but he's looking right at the camera with his eyes sort of crinkled up. He's still wearing his work clothes but his sleeves are rolled up and his collar is open." Lyn watched Dee as he spoke, watching his expression.

"That was when you and he were making some apple dumplings and Keiry grabbed the flour canister. She got the flour all over herself and everything else for that matter. Poor Ryo couldn't stop laughing." Dee sighed softly. "He always looks so handsome when he's laughing. His eyes light up and if you look he has these light dimples."

"Oh god here we go with love struck Harry!" Bikky slumped down in his chair. "Get out the violins! God Dee you've become such a darn sap!" He started pretending to play a violin. "Besides where do you get off pining away for him anyway? It's your damn fault that he is in the hospital in the first place."

"Knock it off Bikky okay? I know I messed up but I'm trying. I'm... trying dammit! Why can't you... Never mind. What's the use anyway..." His voice faded. "Listen you guys just pick the ones that you like. I'm going to go listen to the TV for a while." He stood up, his knees creaking in protest.

Lyn grabbed Dee's wrist. "Come on and help us out with this. It'll mean a lot to Ryo. Besides I took some damn good pictures if I do say so myself. You helped develop them so you can help pick them out too." Over the past few days Lyn had started to warm up to Dee a little but tonight was the first time that he had actually acknowledged the man by talking to him directly or had been willing to touch him.

"Listen I know that all of you haven't been thinking very highly of me lately and I can't say that I blame you. I haven't been liking myself either. I'm sorry for what I did and if I could take it back I would... God I would." Dee buried his head in his folded arms that rested on the table. "I... I hate knowing that Ryo's been in so much pain and every time I hear him cry out another piece of my heart dies... I want to make it go away for him but I can't... I just can't and that makes it worse."

"We all hate seeing Ryo hurting but he will get better. You know him Dee. Ryo never lets anything get him down for too long." Bikky looked down at his hands, biting his lip hoping that that would be true in this case as well.

"Don't worry about it kid. I know you're upset with me and you are right, Ryo will get better. I'm sorry Bikky. I really am. I never meant for any of this to happen..." Dee rubbed his hands over his face trying to get ride of the moisture in his eyes.

"We all are Dee. He needs us now and so we have to do what we can for him. It's about time we repay him for taking such good care of us." Bikky smiled and looked at Lyn. "He deserves to be pampered for a change. Right?"

Lyn nodded. "Damn straight... Okay maybe not so straight but you get the idea. Now these photos aren't going to sort themselves boys..." Lyn grinned to Bikky and pulled a narrow pair of glasses from his breast pocket slipping them on. "We're gonna make a real art project out of this too."

"Let's go for it!" With renewed spirit they all sat around the table, picking and choosing, laughing and actually eating at times. Dee found the comments that they were putting with some of the photos to be hilarious while some were down right sweet. When Lyn described one particular picture involving a tender moment between Ryo and himself, Dee snatched it up and held it close. "This one I want framed for myself." He grinned.

"Yeah but you can't see it?" Cal remarked.

"True but I see it up here." Dee pointed to his head. "And I remember that scene very well. That's my Ryo! A man with a gentle soul with a tender heart."

Lyn smiled faintly. "No problem. We'll get a frame for it tomorrow." Among the many amusing snapshots there were other ones like the tender moment between Dee and Ryo where Lyn had truly showed his skill of a photographer. Two were of Dee that he had set aside just for Ryo's eyes. There were some excellent pictures of Bikky that had made it into the pile. One had caught him mid air jumping a tipped over garbage can. Another was of him practicing some martial arts forms with Andrew but the picture showed only Bikky. He was posed half way through the form, graceful and strong, an image of the man he would become. Another hour was spent coming up with inspirational quotes aside from just the captions, writing them out, mounting pictures and then making a final few decisions. Finally Lyn sat back. "Well kids. I think that we just may have something here."

"This looks so cool! Maybe after he comes home we can hang this in the living room at the apartment. Ryo would love that." Bikky smiled as he stood next to Lyn. "You're the coolest man! Thanks! This will really make Ryo happy." Bikky gave Lyn a big hug. "Can we get this in place first thing tomorrow? Please?"

Lyn grinned hugging the boy back. "That was the plan. I think I'm gonna add a few more things just for color but this is damn impressive boys." The arrangement was done on several sheets off tag board that occupied the entire length and width of the dinning room table. "Now I just have to plot how to get it into place."

"Ask someone at the hospital to have a maintenance worker help you put it up. I bet they'll do it! At least I hope that they will." Dee suggested.

As Bikky and Cal ran off to wash up and get ready for bed, Lyn turned to Dee. "So I've got this bottle of whiskey and a couple of packs of smokes... You game?" Lyn still didn't trust the man next to him but Lyn was of the firm conviction that what kind of a drunk a man was told a lot about their personality. And Lyn knew without a doubt knew that he could drink Dee under the table.

"Now you're talking my language." Dee grinned. "Where should we go? Back porch? It's a warm night out and we can avoid the rug rats for awhile." Cocking his head to one side he chuckled.

"Yup that was my thinking. Let me go grab the goods and I will meet you out there." Lyn unfolded from the chair and went to the kitchen, acquiring the bottle of whiskey his mothers had sent him recently per his request plus a pack of Dee's smokes and a pack of cloves for himself. He wasn't really a smoker. He was a social smoker and he knew that that annoyed Andrew even more but whiskey just needed cigarettes. It was a silent rule.

Snagging his guitar he slipped out the sliding glass door sitting down on the steps next to Dee with Duke at their feet and over looking the backyard.

"You know if Ryo and I manage to make it through all of this one day we'll get a house of our own. Maybe out of the city. Somewhere where Ryo can have a garden and all. He's talked about how he would love to have a koi pond and an area decorated like a Japanese tea garden." Dee sighed, smiling at the memories of him and Ryo just sitting out on the fire escape and talking.

"Yeah?" Lyn made no pretense of the fact they were about to get toasted in a big way and just poured some of the amber liquid into two coffee mugs handing one to Dee along with his pack of smokes. "I told Andrew that if we were going to have kids we were getting a backyard. Kids need yards." Lyn trailed off as he lit a cigarette the spicy smell of cloves filling the warm air.

"Well even though it'll only be Bikky we still need a yard. The yard is for Ryo." Dee took a swig of the whiskey smiling from ear to ear. "Damn that's some good stuff!"

"Straight from the emerald Isle boy-o. Be grateful because I rarely share." Lyn took a swig of his own before settling the guitar in his lap and petting Duke with a foot. He had discovered that over the last year with two kids and his husband out of commission if he didn't have three out of four limbs busy that he didn't quite know what to do with himself. "So here's to getting extremely sloshed."

"Here! Here! I echo that one!" Dee grinned. "Of course if you really want a laugh. Get Ryo drunk! The things that man will say when buzzed are down right funny!" Dee started laughing as he lit up a cigarette and took a slow and lazy drag. "One of these days I'll have to get my guitar out of storage over at the orphanage. I haven't played it in years!"

"A guitar is like a man Dee. If you don't strum him now and again you loose your touch. If I can be so cliche." Lyn chucked with a cigarette dangling from his lips as he pulled a few chords from the instrument. "You were thinking about something in there at the table though. I could hear the wheels turning. What's on your mind?"

Dee stiffened. He wasn't prepared for that at all. "You really don't want to know. Trust me on that one." Dee frowned and looked away. "I don't want to make waves nor do I want to ruin friendships over this." Emptying his cup Dee leaned down and looked at the ground. "I need to be sure that that won't happen first."

Lyn opened his mouth and then shut it again reminding himself to think before he spoke. He had been about to tell Dee that he had all ready fucked up that friendship in a big way but further reflection brought to mind the fact that he still trusted Dee with his children and with Bikky and Cal. He realized that deep down he felt that this was truly a one-time occurrence and that Dee truly wouldn't ever hurt Ryo in his right mind. That however didn't excuse what had happened. Then again it was Ryo's forgiveness that Dee needed to earn not his own. "Well you've already done a number on our friendship the way it is. But unless you're sleeping with Andrew I doubt that you could make it worse."

"I know Lyn. God I know. And I know that it doesn't mean jack that I'm sorry either. I know all abusers apologize afterwards but if it makes any difference I know that it's all my own fault and that I haven't been dealing with this. I have a lot of demons to slay before I can honestly say that I am back on track. Anyway, what if I told you that someone told me that they saw you kissing Ryo?" Dee turned to the sound of Lyn's guitar playing. "I realize that Ryo and I are not together right now but still... I figured you to be faithful to Drew."

There was the sound of Lyn's guitar practically being dropped to the deck as he begin to laugh and then the sound of Duke's dog tags as he scrambled to get out of Lyn's way. Lyn was laughing so hard that he had fallen off the steps. "Y-You... y-you...." He couldn't get further then that with laughing so hard.

"Hey it's not funny! JJ said that he had stuck his head into Ryo's room just to say hello and that there you were bent over Ryo's bed and lip locked! Granted Ryo's one hell of a kisser and anyone would want to have a go with him whether he likes that or not... BUT... He's mine Lyn! You've got Drew! I know Ryo is handsome and sexy as shit... Downright desirable actually but come on now..." Dee poured himself more whiskey and drank half the cup down in one swig.

Lyn tried desperately to catch his breath and stop laughing as he wiped tears from his cheeks. "That's absolutely ludicrous Dee! I can't believe that you even have to ask! Good lord! I think I may have kissed his forehead the other day like a sick kid but I'm European so I'm allowed. JJ is shitting you in a big way Dee." Lyn was still chuckling. "As if I would ever want anyone but Drew. I can't find time to have sex with him. I simply couldn't have two men at once I would never sleep!" Lyn was still rolling in the grass with amusement.

Dee was truly embarrassed now and a little angry as well. "Damn that JJ! God Lyn I'm so sorry." Dee sighed, feeling like shit at the moment. "I wouldn't have even given it a second thought except I know how close you and Ryo have gotten and well... I was jealous." Dee blushed. "I know that Ryo thinks very highly of you and I was going to ask him about it but I didn't want to do anything to make him fearful of being friendly to another man. That wouldn't solve anything."

Lyn sighed softly and pulled himself back onto the step, picking up what was left of his smoke. "I would never, ever be unfaithful to Andrew." Lyn took the rest of his own mug down in a gulp and poured more for both of them. "Listen I didn't want to tell Ryo this because... Well... it's kind of hard to explain... But long story short. I slept around a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean that you could put the question 'Have you had Sex with Lyn' on a census survey and get a percentage large enough to be represented on a pie chart." Lyn took another long drink. "So I've had more then enough of that. Andrew is all I will ever need."

"Well I wasn't exactly a one-person man either. There were nights when I'd go out pick up a woman and wake up the next morning with us in bed then later on that night I'd go out and find a hot ass in jeans." Dee drank his whiskey, feeling it go to his head. "It's the one reason Ryo feared making a commitment to me."

Lyn swirled his whiskey watching the liquid form a small whirlpool. "If I wasn't with Drew... If I weren't with Drew I would probably be one of the homicides or suicides in the filing cabinet at your office." Lyn finished off his whiskey yet again in a long drink. "You know Dee? I think that Ryo's about the sweetest guy ever, Andrew excluded! You're a lucky man Dee and you would do well to remember that too."

Dee puffed out his chest with pride. "He is that no doubt about it. Shit the first day we met I took one look into his eyes, fell instantly in love and remained celibate until that night he and I made love." Dee's face beamed while speaking of the man who had such a tight reign on his heart. Finishing off his drink he held his cup out for more.

Lyn poured him more. "Watch it there buddy. I'm not holding your hair while you puke. Yeah well, now that you've got him for the love of Gaia treat him right." Lyn set aside his own mug picking up his guitar again. "Waiting is what makes it worth while. I'm telling you. Andrew and I... We knew each other almost as long as you and Ryo before we made love."

"I just hope that Ryo and I will have a second time... And many more after that." Dee sighed woefully. "I just know that once he would warm up to what he's feeling, that man could be dominant if he wanted to be. After all I don't want to be regulated to that role. I want us to switch." Dee listened as Lyn strummed his guitar, smiling at its sweet sounding chords.

Lyn chuckled. "Do I hear a uke in there just crying out 'dominate me'?" He teased, lighting another smoke. "Well not having slept with Ryo I'm not sure. With Andrew and I though a lot of who did what was sort of re-evaluated after the bashing. Gay sex takes a certain degree of mobility..." Lyn trailed off, fingers picking the strings absently.

"You can sit on a counter can't you?" Dee smirked. "I had a friend who broke his leg. He was... what's the word? Seme! Yeah that's it. Anyway with the leg he had a hard time playing his role until his partner found a counter in their apartment that was the right height and soon they were making like bunnies once more." Dee laughed softly, feeling quite giddy from drinking. He was getting drunk there was no doubt about that and boy did it feel good to do that.

"Well I have slept with Ryo and damn he leaves you wanting to go a second round! I mean he's satisfying and all but so hot you just want to do a marathon bang!" Dee wasn't shy about who he was or his sex life. That part of him would never change.

"And I'm sure that he would be looking for the nearest rock to hide under. Though I kind of wish that I had caught that on tape. He really needs to hear that right now." Lyn broke into 'Last Dance with Mary Jane' by Tom Petty, singing around the cigarette in his mouth as he strummed away on his guitar.

"Yeah if you played that back for him I'd be looking for the next bus out of town. Ryo is ultra shy when it comes to sex. Though I wish that he weren't. Granted our first time was down right hot and he seemed confident with what was happening and all..." Dee smiled as he listened to Lyn sing. "I never beat around the bush when it comes to my sexuality but Ryo needs time to be comfortable with it all. I'm bi and damn proud of it and if those narrow-minded assholes have a problem with it, well they can just suck this!" Dee grabbed himself and laughed.

"Fill me up and I'll harmonize with you." Dee smirked and held his cup out, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "I'm sure that in time Ryo will feel the same way about his own sexuality. I just need to be patient.

Lyn paused his playing and poured Dee another cup. "Yes I believe that I have a bumper sticker that says 'Jerry Farwell can suck my tinky winky'. " Lyn grinned. The alcohol easing his Irish temper the anger and fear he had had towards Dee lately. "I don't suppose that you play harmonica. That's what this song really needs."

"I used to as a kid. My one buddy showed me how. Got one on you?" Dee grinned. "Yeah this street raised punk was musically inclined. What can I say? Penguin started that." Dee lit another cigarette. "She thought that by getting me involved in music that it would make me smarter and maybe a little less wild. Don't know if it worked but I actually enjoyed it. Though I'd never let her know that."

Reaching into his pocket Lyn produced a harmonica. "Ryo plays piano and flute in case you're wondering." Lyn offered, despite being sworn to secrecy. "Though don't tell him that I told you. I think he wanted to tell you."

"Are you serious? I mean I knew about the flute. I saw this photo of him in his high school yearbook in his band uniform. He was a looker even back then. The piano bit is a surprise though. I wonder what his specialty was?" Dee couldn't stop smiling. That was the fun part of a relationship, finding out new things about the one you loved and Ryo was surprising him at every turn. Taking the harmonica he warmed up a little, playing some old blues tune he had heard before looking at Lyn and smiling. "Is that good enough for you?"

"He studied classical piano. And hell yeah, works for me. You're no hack on that thing. Although a blind man with a harmonica should be outlawed. It's so cliche." Lyn laughed. "Hang on. Let me grab my electric for this. It's the only thing that will do it justice." Lyn was back in a wink, electric guitar scratching in his hands as he sat back down. "Ready to play this mutha?"

"You got it man!" Dee had slipped on his sunglasses, grinning like a fool now. "Hey if I'm going to play the part I may as well look the part." He laughed as he settled in and got ready. Lyn picked up the tune, his voice took on a certain stoned edge appropriate for it as his fingers stroked over the guitar, one bare foot keep rhythm on the wooden step. Dee waited for his cues, playing along and even stopping to join in on the singing every once in awhile. It had been a long time since he had jammed and he found his rhythm coming back very easily.

"Well I don't know but I've been told/ you never slow down.You never grow old. Tired of screwing up, tired of going down, tired of myself tired of this town. Oh my, my oh hell yes, honey put on that party dress. Buy me a drink/ sing me a song/ take me as I come/ 'cuz I can't stay long." It was one of Lyn's favorite songs, and he bet it was likely that it was one that Dee was fond of as well. He sung it through making the guitar sing. His heel on the step was a poor substitute for a drum set but he only had so many hands. Rocking to the beat Lyn played the last chords for all they were worth.

He and Dee were the perfect pictures of rebels in their black clothes and cigarettes and once they had finished Dee let out a sigh. "God I love that song." He grabbed his mug and held it out. "Here's to great tunes and hot sex with the gorgeous men we love." Dee just couldn't stop grinning, whether it was from the booze or the feelings he had for Ryo was hard to tell.

Lyn gladly clinked his mug with Dee's. "Indeed. Now we just need to get you back to actually having hot sex with the man you love. Have you brought him flowers yet? That would be a good start."

"No I wanted to but I don't trust Bikky's taste. Besides Ryo's not into anything that would make him feel feminine. What I mean is, he wouldn't want to be seen as the female role of our coupling." Dee knew he was getting smashed, talking was getting harder to do coherently. "Does that make sense?"

Lyn who had been drinking stuff a helluva lot stronger then this was definitely buzzed but still had his wits about him. He grinned, just waiting for Dee to start slurring his speech. "Yeah it does though Andrew brings me roses all the time and visa versa. Except his favorite flower is the Daffodil so go figure. So... Manly flowers? What's that? Like a cactus or something?" Lyn snickered. "All right what about a single red rose or just a red rose and a white rose. I wouldn't say that that's terribly feminine."

"Ryo loves plants. Maybe a nice plant in a container would be more his style." Dee slipped on the steps and slid down to where Lyn was. "Oops..." He started laughing. "A bonsai tree! He would love that! Have you seen the two that he has? Damn it's amazing how he trims them and all." Dee was quiet a minute. "Shit! Has anyone been stopping by his apartment to water his plants? It'll bum him out if they die."

"Careful there buddy." Lyn giggled steadying Dee. "Yeah I've been stopping by on the way to the hospital and that sound like a good idea. Or a bamboo tree... For the lower maintenance factor though the kind of plant that boy really needs tends to be legal for medicinal purposes only. If you catch my drift." Lyn giggled harder. All right maybe he was more drunk then he thought.

"Oh god that would be funny! Imagine his face if I took a pot plant into him? God!" Dee leaned against Lyn as he laughed. "I wonder what he would be like if he were high? Though those pain meds of his do a good job of it! Man listen to me! I arrest people for that shit... Or I used to anyway!" Dee began grinning. "Bikky thinks that I just sit there but that's only when he's there! The other day I was sitting on Ryo's bed and the next thing I knew, Ryo's running his hand up the inside of my thigh!" Dee's words were starting to slur as he spoke. "Can you say instant boner?"

"Instant Boner." Lyn said with perfect clarity and seriousness before bursting into fits of laughter. "Yeah I bet that he's a regular little tease under those button down shirts and ties..."

"God is he ever! The funny thing is that he doesn't even know it!" Dee giggled harder. "Anyway, I tried to be a gentlemen and remove his hand. That lasted for a full 5 seconds and wham!" Dee slapped his thigh. "He's got a hold of my nuts! I almost walked out of that frigging hospital with a wet spot in my jeans!" Dee drank down the rest of his drink and turned towards Lyn. "I want that man so badly Lyn... God I want him."

"Well that may be a long time in coming. No pun intended I assure you." Lyn's Irish lit normally a faint undertone just to certain words and phrases was damn near unintelligible with booze. "You're flying solo for at least another week." Lyn snickered.

"Thanks for reminding me! Waxing the pole in this house is damn near impossible. Even in the shower I have Bikky banging on the door and yelling for me to hurry it up!" Dee laughed. "I remember catching Ryo doing that once. Boy was he embarrassed! Especially when I asked him if he was thinking of me and if he needed some help!" Dee went to stand only he wound up staggering and flopping right back down and across Lyn's lap. "Boy it's good thing no one is here to witness this!" Dee actually blushed as he righted himself.

"Yeah I know that you just can't keep your hands off of me." Lyn snickered. "You better not move too much. Drunk and blind are not a good combo. You actually caught him whacking off? Damn! Well did he say if he was thinking of you or not? And if you think trying to find time to jerk off is hard, try finding time to have sex."

"He wouldn't say! He chased me out of the bathroom using a string of cuss words, in Japanese no less! I assumed that he finished. Gee I hope that I didn't cause him to lose it. That always sucks." Dee frowned and then grinned. "We have Bikky to deal with. Try getting your man into the sack when his 12-year-old charge is dead set against it. He wanted Ryo to find a nice girl to settle down with not a man who looks damn good in tight jeans." Dee grinned even more over describing himself.

"Oh and Lyn dear? If you want me to keep my hands to myself then you shouldn't be so hot looking!" Dee began laughing hysterically holding onto his abdomen and listening to Lyn's gasp of surprise.

"You have no clue what I look like! Ya nut. For all you know I have a third arm and a bad hairpiece."

"You're tall, I'd say about 6'5" or so and thin, quite thin for your height actually. You have short hair that's dark in color. Your hair holds the heat more and even though it's nighttime, your head is warm yet." Dee reached out and placed his hand on the top of Lyn's head. "With your piercings you probably look fierce have a very strong yet narrow chin with somewhat delicate and pale features." Dee stopped for a moment. "How am I doing thus far?" He grinned as he tried to hide that laugh bubbling up.

Lyn's eyebrows were raised. "I'm impressed. I'm actually 6'6 but close enough. Now the real trick. What color are my eyes." Lyn smirked. Most people found his eyes disconcerting and he usually wore contacts to even the color.

"Uhm... Time to use my great and powerful psychic ability." Dee placed his hands on either side of Lyn's head closed his own eyes and started humming. "HUMMM... The great Latenerdini says that they are blue and green! Right and left respectively!" Laughing softly, Dee removed his hands and waited.

Lyn laughed. "Not bad. Who told you? Latenerdini my arse!"

"Actually Ryo did. He found them 'fascinating' as he put it. He described you and Drew to me in quite a bit of detail actually. In fact if I remember correctly he said that you were quite handsome. Now you didn't hear that from me. I do not want my head bitten off. Either one of them thank you!" Snickering, Dee leaned back on his elbows, wishing that he could see the night sky. "I'm sure that he had to be blushing like crazy after saying that.

"Yeah I usually wear contacts so that they are the same color." Lyn too leaned back on his elbows gazing up. "Don't worry you're not missing much. Too much smog and light pollution. Crescent moon tonight, waxing I believe..." Silence lingered for a moment. "So what's your story Dee? I got Ryo figured out pretty well but you on the other hand... I mean I know how you react to things. That's pretty predictable but the 'whys' and 'what-for' are more elusive."

"Me? I'm just boring old Dee. Abandoned as a baby and found by a policeman as I lay in some crud filled alley. He took me to the orphanage and had Mother raise me. Jess, the man I wound up calling dad even though he never adopted me or anything, would stop by and make sure that I was being taken care of." Dee sighed. "I was your average rebellious street punk who stole and got into fights. When a friend of mine was killed and then Jess, I decided to go into the police academy. It was after that that I started at the 27th and I had been working there for quite some time before Ryo came on board."

Dee looked down at his hands. "I always had to share everything, including love, especially in an orphanage full of adoptable ready kids that no one seemed to want. So I guess now I get possessive when it comes to Ryo. I also don't always know how to deal with these feelings I have for him. I have never been this much in love... Never." That was the truth. Dee had never fallen so quickly or deeply in love as he had with Ryo. 'Yeah and I go and do stupid shit to blow it all... God Latener you're such a fuck up!'

Lyn nodded, quiet for a moment, tossing his hair out of his eyes. "I don't think anyone knows what to do with that kind of love. It's totally different from anything else. You know what I always thought to be the ultimate kind of love is? People always say lame shit like 'I'd die for so and so...' That's bullshit man. Dying is the easier of the two situations. I think real love is being the one willing to be left alive to put the pieces back together. But I suppose it's just not very romantic to say 'I love you so much I would live on with out you...'" Lyn snorted and took another drink. "Anyway. Beside the point. I guess that when I really want to show Andrew how I feel about him I try and think what he would do when he really wanted to show me that he loves me? And do that."

"Also real love is accepting a person regardless of what an asshole they have a tendency to be and loving them even when they wind up hurting you. Ryo has shown that over and over again." Dee sighed.

"Dee to be perfectly frank. You don't deserve forgiveness for what you did. Not from me, not from Andrew and sure as hell not from Ryo. They have forgiven you and you damn well better spend ever goddamned day of your life counting your blessings that they have."

"I know Lyn. Believe me, I know what a fuck up I am. I won't take any of you for granted ever. I love Ryo so much. I find myself falling deeper in love with him Lyn. Every time I think that I have lost him, he comes back to me. He forgives me and goes right on loving me." Emerald eyes misted over and Dee quickly dabbed at them. "I don't deserve his love yet there it is, waiting for me to come to my senses. How did I ever get so lucky? Lately I can't stop thinking of him and when I do, I feel empty not having him with me."

"Most people don't deserve the love they get. Ryo and Andrew are exceptions to that rule. I won't dick around Dee. You've fucked up in big ways. But yeah, Ryo forgives you, yeah he wants you back and yeah he still loves you. Though for the life of me I can't figure out why? Most people would have been long gone by now but Ryo... Well he has a hell of a lot of faith in you Dee. The question is... What are you going to do with that knowledge and to show how special he is to you? Most of all what are you going to do to show just how damn sorry you are?"

"That's just it Lyn. I suck at this stuff. I'm rough around the edges and I don't beat around the bush. I don't know how to be romantic and I know that that's what Ryo wants. I don't mean in a pussy sort of way but more of a sweet way. For me romance is romance and I fall on my face every time I make an attempt at it." Dee lowered his head and sighed. "I want to show him just what he means to me. How much I appreciate all that he does for me. I want to let him know that my love for him runs deeper then anything known to man and that my heart beats for him and him alone..." Another sigh had Dee near tears. "Help me Lyn please? I don't want to lose him. I can't lose him. He's everything to me and more. I know I don't deserve his love but I need it."

Lyn rubbed his face. This was hard. Andrew and he hadn't been nearly so worried about gender roles as Ryo was or seemed to be but that could just be the simple fact that he was still getting used to everything. Lyn liked Roses so Andrew bought him roses. Andrew liked Japanese food so they'd get take out and eat on the floor.

"Hey that's not a bad idea..." Lyn said out loud. "What about this? It's a little cliché but I bet Ryo would actually kind of like cliché. Japanese take out with no Bikky. Candles lit and sit on the floor around the coffee table... And I will have to check Ryo about the flowers. I love flowers and I really can't imagine not wanting to get flowers but hey maybe I'm fem or something." Lyn shrugged. "Some quiet music a little slow dancing. Let him lead if gets his boxers in a bunch. And roses with the thorns removed can be fun in bed."

"Keep in mind you and Andrew were okay with your sexuality. Ryo never believed he would fall for another male. I think the whole lifestyle change is a shock to him. Once he's comfortable with it I'm sure flowers and such will be okay with him but yeah talk to him and get a feel for things." Dee thought about that for a moment. "Hey there's this romantic getaway place down in the Pocono's! They have pools and whirlpool baths in the rooms. They even have rooms where the whirlpool bath looks like a champagne glass. I heard you get in it from a balcony." Dee sighed. "Then again I have no idea if he'd go for something like that. I want to pamper him... The food idea is good with the dancing. Maybe later going into the bedroom and I could give him a massage, to ease those aching muscles... Hmmm?"

Lyn nodded. "Not bad. And I'm sure Ryo would like it. Who the hell wouldn't? There is always simple stuff too. Ritual and habits can be amazingly endearing." Lyn smiled gently laying back fully on the cooling grass. "Like... Well... I used to work a lot more, like 60 hours a week and basically I only saw Andrew for about an hour and a half in the morning while I was getting ready. We always had breakfast together before the girls got up. It was a little thing but it was our thing. And I sing to him a lot. " Lyn shrugged. "Romance is hard because it's so individual. What An and I do might not be what you guys do or like..."

"Yeah that's it! Ryo likes little things. As corny as it may sound to some he likes to sit and cuddle. He's a regular cuddle slut actually and I'm sure that one day you'll find that out. He also likes to talk about things. Cuddling and talking... Maybe we can set aside time each night and just enjoy having each other close. Shit we don't even have to make love for all I care. Just having him with me is enough." Dee's mind filled with all sorts of images. "I get the feeling that Ryo is a lot like Drew. Quiet, soft spoken... Etc.

"That sounds like a nice little ritual to start Dee." Lyn felt a little woozy and reminded himself to drink a couple of glasses of water before he went to bed and to shower as well. Andrew wouldn't let him in bed smelling like he had rolled around in a bar.

Dee realized that he had to go to the bathroom big time but was wondering if he could even stand without falling over. "Hey I may need help getting inside. Not that you're any sober. But you can see at least. I have to pee like a frigging racehorse! Shit my eyeballs are floating!" Dee chuckled as he sat up.

"Yeah and I'm not quite as drunk as you are." Lyn laughed getting carefully to his feet and holding onto Duke's collar for balance then grabbing Dee's hand with the other. "Come on then." He gave Dee's hand a tug and pulled him to his feet."

Dee shot up faster then expected and wound up right smack in Lyn's arms. "Awe didn't know you cared." Dee grinned devilishly and grabbed Lyn's face kissing him on the forehead. "Hehe now I'm even! You kissed Ryo's forehead and I got you now!" Dee laughed heartily. "Oh better be careful or I'll piss my pants if I laugh too hard!"

"Boy I'm glad that it's Andrew's turn to do laundry tomorrow." Lyn said with dry humor and a smirk on his face as he put an arm around Dee's waist while still holding onto Duke who seemed to know his job. Lyn carefully maneuvered the three of them back up onto the deck then into the dinning room from the sliding glass door though if the truth were known, it was Duke doing most of the maneuvering. Across the room he deposited Dee at the door to the bathroom. "Do I need to hold you up while you piss too?" Lyn snickered.

Dee went to open his mouth and then smirked instead. "I like you Lyn but not that much! Though if I was just a little more drunk..." He laughed and quickly went into the bathroom, leaving Lyn standing there.

Lyn shook his head and slid down the wall to sit on the floor scratching Duke's ears. "We've got to get him back into Ryo's bed before he ends up in me and Drew's!"

"Awe you don't go for threesomes?" Dee shouted through the door. "When you're drunk Lyn you talk loud!"

"I'm dumb not Deaf! I knew that I was talking out loud!" Lyn called back defensively. Duke just quirked an eyebrow as if to say 'I'm just sober cab.'

"As fun as it may sound. I'll never be unfaithful to my Ryo. He's got lips soft as rose petals, hands as skillful as a musician and an ass to die for! Though the front is pretty impressive too." Dee stood there, trying to keep on his feet. "So do we drunks try to make it up the stairs or crash in the living room?"

"I'm not real positive Andrew will let me in bed anyway. He frowns on drinking and smoking. Since I reek of both I think Duke will get my spot in the bed tonight."

"Come on then bud we can share the couch. Just keep your hands to yourself. Got that? I mean I like you and all... But not that much or in that way!" Saying that still didn't stop Dee from flinging an arm around Lyn's waist and grinning. "I'll take one end, you take the other and as long as we keep our pants on we should be fine!" Dee gave a long sigh. "Damn I need to get back on Ryo's good side! I need to get laid and badly too!"

"That is becoming quickly apparent. I'm sure that once Ryo is healed he'll be thinking the same thing." Lyn chuckled. Lyn dropped Dee off on the couch. "I'll be right back. I need pre-emptive hangover measures." Lyn moved carefully but completely devoid of his usual grace to the kitchen, returning with two very large glasses of water and a bottle of aspirin. He handed a glass and four aspirin to Dee. "That should keep the hangover to a minimum."

"Jeez you take the fun out of drinking don't you? Though being that I can't see, racing to the bathroom to blow chunks would be a little difficult anyway." Dee popped the aspirin into his mouth and downed the water. "Thanks Lyn." He set the glass down. "You know I'm glad you and Ryo have gotten so close. He needs a friend like you." Dee smiled and lay down at one end of the couch, yawning and feeling very sleepy.

Lyn curled up in a small ball his lanky frame folding into an impressively small area. "You know I kind of need a friend like him... And one like you too."

"Thanks." Dee replied sleepily. "For god's sake! Stretch out Lyn. I don't bite!" Dee remarked when he realized just how little of the couch Lyn had taken. "I won't molest ya in your sleep I promise! Now if you were Ryo..." He chuckled. "Anyway goodnight and let's do this again some night. Okay?"

Lyn grinned. This was just the way that he slept but he stretched out a little for Dee's piece of mind. "Sounds like a plan." Lyn replied around a big yawn already drifting off himself.

Dee smiled to himself as images of Ryo floated in his head. 'Soon Ryo... We'll be together again.' He sighed and before he knew it, his soft snore joined Lyn's.

Wildefyre: Okay listen up guys! Irish and I have talked about this and because this story is getting so huge we have decided to split it into books/sagas to make it easier to understand. We have a few more chapters to put with this and then we will be starting a second saga... It is tentatively titled "Time for Healing-The Aftermath" and we are planning at least 3 more sagas to this. They won't all be as long as this but it may be better to split them up... For you guys and for us. When we finish this up we will let you know what title to really look for in the continuation of this.

Irish: Man... Some of my favorite times were sitting around smoking and playing music. Well things are looking up. Even Lyn managed to bury the hatchet with Dee... kind of. More next chapter.