Disclaimer: I do not own Fake, it belongs to Sanami Matoh.

Author's note: This is the new fic I promised. I hope you enjoy this little Christmas story I cooked up within three hours of typing and editing.

Warnings: SPOILERS for the third volume, ninth act. Some OOC and hey, yaoiness is prominent in this manga so don't blame me.

Right here

"Merry Christmas, Dee."

Holding the glass of red wine in my palm, I smiled down upon the man I've loved since...well...eternity. He was so serene and I love to see him this way. I held him close as we settled against the soft pillows of Ryo's bed as we drank to celebrate the festive season as we listened to the Christmas carols on the radio and the church bells ringing outside. I kissed his forehead gently as I gave my reply.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Ryo."

I thought that happy endings existed in fairy tales and children's stories, but I realized after an awfully long time that anyone could achieve that happiness if one can persevere. And I did with obstacles to boot. This holiday and the man in my arms brought me a trip down memory lane back to first Christmas I spent with him.

I recalled that his parents died around this time and that he spent a lonely Christmas that year. It made my heart ache when Ryo told me about it soon after we got together as boyfriends. That short period allowed us to understand each other further. I could remember it as though it was yesterday...

-----

I quirked my eyebrow with surprise when I found Ryo's apartment door unlocked. What kind of cop was he? I shrugged and turned the knob, expecting Bikky to lash out at any moment. But the brat didn't show up, must be with Carol, the devil. The apartment was neat and pristine clean as I remembered. I shivered slightly, it was cold outside and it was snowing a while ago before I arrived. I glanced around the room while hefting the shopping bag near my shoulder until I saw one of the doors close. Ryo's room. I strolled closer to feel some heat radiating from the small gap between the door and the floor. I pushed it open to find my partner sitting on the bed with a cup of coffee in his hands. He never looked more beautiful than this moment.

"Ryo?"

"Dee?" his dark eyes widened with surprise when he saw me, placing the mug onto the window ledge, "What're you doing here?"

"Thank God for the heat, it's nice and toasty in here," I sighed and took off my coat, setting the bag on the floor, "Haven't you heard that you should lock your doors at night?"

"I thought you have a back robbery to attend to."

"Oh that," I shrugged nonchalantly, "The creep gave up easily so I can retire early. Ta da!"

I took out the merchandise I purchased at last minute, presenting them to Ryo like I'm the three men journeying to Bethlehem to bless Jesus.

"I got us some champagne, munchies and a teeny-weenie Christmas tree I decorated just for you."

I grinned at him as I kneeled before him.

"What do you say?" I winked at him, "You wanna spend Christmas Eve with me?"

I can see many emotions crossing in his beautiful eyes, but the one that freaked me out the most was when I saw tears clinging to his eyelids as he struggled to hold in his sobs. I panicked, this wasn't the reaction I wanted to evoke from him, what had I done now to make him cry like that?

"Hey, come on...hey!" Ryo only kept staring at with tears and that made me freak out even more, "You're like over twenty-something! So stop, quit it, okay?"

"I-I'm sorry, I couldn't help it," Ryo began to smile even though tears were still running down his face, "It's just...it's just that, you made me so happy."

At this moment, I saw how vulnerable Ryo was. He was an insecure man and needed support although he didn't show it. I closed the distance between us and started to lick the tears trailing down his cheeks. I could feel how smooth his skin was, so baby soft...his eyes were looking like black-holes ready to suck my soul from within.

"Dee?"

His voice was soft and as I licked away the remaining traces of his tears, I gently pressed my lips to his, hoping to get a response from him. I was mildly and pleasantly surprised when he managed to kiss me back timidly as he wrapped an arm around my back. It felt sweet yet fleeting at the same time, knowing that it would take more than this gesture to make him accept my love. My eyes then averted to the nearby window, I could see tufts of white drifting down the sky like little white cotton balls.

"Hey look..." I whispered, making Ryo look at me curiously, "It started snowing again..."

"Wow..." Ryo was mesmerized by the sight, it made him look like a child which made me feel warm.

"Listen..." I could hear an echo in the air and I smiled, "It's the church bells. Can you hear them?"

"Midnight..." he turned away from the window and gazed at me, "It's Christmas, Dee."

I was beside with slight surprise when he wrapped his arms around my neck and leaned in towards me.

"Merry Christmas, Dee," he whispered against my lips.

The kiss we shared was heartfelt. Soon after that, I couldn't get him to stay awake for the next best stage, a big dipshit really. But indeed, it was a Merry Christmas.

-----

I admitted to myself that I hadn't traced this memory since then because of all the drama of our workload we faced after that. The warm and romantic atmosphere somehow cast a light upon it. I chuckled to myself of the past fantasy I cooked up of how Ryo and I were meant to spend Christmas of that year, how we were going to share wine within the basking glow of the candlelight, I would take him to the most discreet place of Central Park where we could see the Christmas lights and then we would make love and wake up the next day for gift-exchange. But now, it seemed unreal because...a large part of that fantasy came true today, although some bits weren't expected.

I recalled briefly of we ended up here in Ryo's bed, drinking red wine and just waiting for Christmas to roll in at midnight. The Chief was surprisingly lenient with us and allowed us to leave early. We ended up having Chinese takeaway for a meager Christmas dinner as we sat in Central Park where we watched children pass by with their parents and other couples under the lamplights. Ryo wasn't in for a roasted turkey dinner when I asked him why take Chinese takeaway. I took him to my favourite spot in the park. It was darkly shaded with pine trees but the lights peeping through the gaps of the figs made beautiful spotlights. We walked along the path as we held each other close. Since we got together, Ryo's been gaining little confidence about being open in our relationship, day by day, baby steps. We didn't know how long we walked but it was past eleven by the time we arrived back to the apartment. Bikky, not surprisingly, went to spend the holiday with Carol since they were officially together, but not before leaving two gifts underneath the makeshift tree we made in a hurry. I smirked at thought of Bikky, I had eventually grown to like that kid although he's still and always would be a pain in the ass. I called him a brat and he called me a pervert, it's something I could live with if it meant being with Ryo most of the time. We changed into more comfortable clothes as we settled. While I waited for Ryo to fetch the red wine I bought, I turned up the heater to get toasty warm and switched on the radio for a bit of noise in the background. And...that's pretty much where we ended up now as Ryo snuggled his head underneath my chin with a dreamy look in his eyes as we listened to the church bells.

"What were you thinking, Dee?" Ryo had a curious look in his eyes, "You were spacing out."

"Do you remember our first Christmas Eve, babe?" I grinned slightly, "You nearly opened up to me at that point."

Ryo blushed, "No baka, I just didn't know how nice you were to me."

I chuckled deeply as I carefully took away our glasses and placed them on the table beside the bed. I held him close in my arms as we sank onto the bed, just clutching each other.

"Dee," I smiled as he cupped my face and clambered onto me like a giant cat, "I love you."

"And I you..." I whispered as he claimed my lips for a kiss.

"Dee," we pulled back. Ryo had that twinkle in his eyes and my smile turned devilish, "Make love to me."

I was more than happy to oblige as I rolled on top of him and proceeded to show him over again and again physically how much I wanted and loved him. As we slowly took our time to intimately explore each other with our lips and tongues, I felt elated in cloud nine. I could never tire of our lovemaking sessions. My dream of Ryo reciprocating my feelings came true, not by sheer luck but through perseverance and prolonged days of being friends and partners in solving crimes.

Right here and now, I had achieved my happy ending, my heaven, you might call. I kept my promise to Jess and Penguin living an honest life and I was glad that I managed to get this far and to spend today, tomorrow and every single day after that to be with Ryo who I am VERY proud to call him my special friend, partner and boyfriend.

The End

Author's note: I just can't help it, I thought the Christmas scene in the manga is so sweet. Sorry if it spoiled you but I DID warn you at the beginning. Anyway, Merry Christmas!