Disclaimer: Do I own FAKE? Do I own me? Interesting questions that I have no answer to.
"Hey Ryou." Dee said, stumbling into the kitchen of Ryou's apartment. "'Mornin'." He found his way to the refridgerator and opened the door. Ryou smiled and looked up over his glass at his lover.
"More like afternoon, Dee. What happened? Been too busy late at night again?"
"You bet your ass I am." Dee replied, shutting the fridge door and smiling seductively while walking over to his partner in crime. "Keeping you full of pleasure is a full-time job." He then put his arm around Ryou as he passed and slowly slid his hand underneath Ryou's shirt. Ryou squirmed from the touch and tickleshness of it. His face also burned bright red.
"But no one asked you to do that, Dee." Ryou said, pulling Dee's hand away and looking at him, somewhat evilly. Dee did not even take a step back. Smiling and advancing once again, he said,
"You asked me to keep giving you pleasure. And I'm not complaining, Ryou. I like the job." Leaning against him, Dee then stuck out his tongue and licked Ryou's ear. Ryou's face flushed once again and he sighed heavily. His breathing became heavier and he melted into Dee's arms. Dee chuckled as he moved away from Ryou. "Thanks for the meal." As he started to walk away, he felt a sudden jerk on his arm and he was thrust backwards. He was pulled back and landed in Ryou's lap. There, Ryou kissed him, sticking his tongue into his mouth. Dee pulled away only momentarily to smile and say, "Yum. Seconds." Ryou and Dee then both laughed and Dee kissed his lover again.
While they kissed, there was a knock on the door of Ryou's apartment. Dee stopped kissing his lover and glared over at the door. "God dammit." He cursed. "I thought that we had decided no one was going to interrupt us anymore!" Ryou chuckled briefly.
"We didn't make that decision. And even if we had, Dee, we can't stop people from coming by."
"Of course we can!" Dee retorted. "Come spend some time at my house! I'll set a bomb outside the door so no one will bother us!"
Ryou sighed heavily and pushed Dee off him. "Just move, ya big ape." Dee fell to the floor and looked up at his lover, disgruntled. Ryou made his way to the door to see who it was when he was yelled at from behind by Dee.
"You're holding out on me, aren't you, Ryou? I know you are!"
"Just shut up." Ryou mumbled. He did admit that he loved Dee, but he was a big idiot. Sighing heavily, Ryou straightened his shirt that Dee had messed with before opening the door. He was surprised and confused when he saw who was standing there. "Uhm... hello...?" Ryou said, unsure of what to do. "Are you... trying to sell me something?"
"No." The man smiled. The smile made Ryou's heart skip a beat. He felt guilty as sin afterwards but the smile triggered something within Ryou that made him excited. "Uhm, I'm here to see Dee Laytner." Ryou was taken aback.
"De.. Dee? How did you know--"
"Who is it, Ryou?" Dee called from the next room. The voice alerted the visitor and he looked over Ryou's shoulders and into his apartment. "You're not making out with the milkman, are you?" Ryou's eyes narrowed.
"Of course not, dumb ass." He snapped back. "The person is here looking for you. Would you mind explaining to me why you have visitors coming to my home, Dee?"
"Uhm... excuse me..." The man tried to interject but was muted out as Ryou and Dee started bickering.
"I don't fucking know why!" Dee exclaimed in his own defense.
"It sounds like you do, Dee! Are you here when I'm not? Parading around like some street geisha!?"
"Fuck you, alright?!" Dee yelled, storming into the room.
"Uhm..." The visitor was drowned out again.
"I'm not some damned floozy! And I wouldn't cheat on you, Ryou! Besides, we're partners, you idiot! We work at the same times and we're always together!"
"Then explain this!"
"Hello...?"
"WHAT!?" Dee and Ryou then screamed, shouting simultaneously at the man. The man was taken aback and freaked a little.
"S-- sorry!" He stammered. "I just wanted to say that Dee had no idea I was coming!"
"Are you another one of his happy-go-lucky ex-partners from the PA, too?" Ryou asked, sounding like a jealous housewife with too much time on her hands.
"No. Actually--"
"Zack!" Dee finally exclaimed, startling them both. Dee had been standing there and staring at the stranger for a minute, trying to remember desperately who he was and why he looked so familiar.
"Uh... hi, Dee." The-man-named-Zack then smiled and looked nervously at Ryou.
"Haha! Zack! It is you! Nice to see ya, man!" Dee then walked up to Zack and hugged him. Zack tried to be greatful and happy during the reunion but it was awful hard to since Ryou was standing and glaring at him with much hatred and anger in his eyes. Ryou did get mighty jealous. Dee, who was oblivious to Ryou's anger at that moment, then turned to his lover. With a happy smile on his face, he said, "Ryou! This is Zack Henrey! Zack, this is my partner, Ryou MacLean. Zack and I are cousins, man!" Ryou was taken aback in confusion.
"Co-- cousins?"
"Yeah! I mean, we weren't in the orphanage together but he was one of my closest friends growing up!" Dee then went back to Zack. "It's so cool, dude!" Ryou's head slumped. He felt sheepish and ashamed. Not to mention uber guilty. He accused Dee of being some cheap fuck with this man who was like Dee's family. Face flushed and ashamed, he then started to leave the room. But something was still nagging at him. How did he know?
"Uh, Zack," Ryou said, interrupting the reunion once again between the two boys. "How did you know Dee was here? I mean, we don't live together, so how...?" Zack laughed and draped an arm over his shoulder, looking embarrassed.
"Sorry, dude. I knew that Dee was working at the 27th. When I came up here, I went to the office. I asked around and some weepy little guy told me where he was."
"Weepy... little... guy...?" Ryou repeated, confused.
"Well, yeah." Zack replied. "I mean, he seemed normal at first but when I asked where Dee was, he totally started crying and he blubbered about him being here and 'having fun riding his new love toy'." Ryou's face flushed at least ten shades of red when the message was repeated. Dee seemed little affected by it.
"Haha." He laughed. "You must mean JJ."
"That's what one of the other dudes called him." Zack agreed.
"That little punk. He was really crying?"
Ryou heard their fading conversation as he left the room. Zack laughed. "Totally, man! It was like, major water works! Like a theme park, or something!" Zack and Dee then both laughed. Ryou, on the other hand, could not shake some feeling that was over powering him about Zack. His smile seemed to send shivers down his spine and, as much as Ryou hated to admit it, he did like the feeling it gave him. There was something suspicious about Zack. Being a detective, he relied on feelings like that to help him get the truth. But he tried desperately to squash his feelings of uneasiness. He was Dee's friend, after all. And Ryou did not want to cause Dee any more pain than he had in the past. So he was going to let his feelings go. Perhaps if he ignored them, they would go away.
That night, Ryou went out with Bikky to the movies and Dee and Zack were alone to catch up. "What are you up to now, Zack?" Dee asked.
"I'm working as an insurance agent." Zack replied, laughing a little at the irony of the situation. Dee laughed as well.
"You? An insurance agent?"
"I know." Zack smiled.
"You? Who used to sell phony little deals to old ladies just to get their money?"
Zack shrugged and smiled. "I suppose it's still the same thing, isn't it? Only now, it's considered legal." He smirked and lifted the beer glass to his lips, drinking it. Dee laughed too and slapped him on the shoulder.
"I guess so."
Placing the beer back down on the table in front of them, Zack then studied Dee for a moment. "But what about you, Dee? You're actually a police officer."
"I know." Dee smiled.
"Isn't that... well... weird? I mean, no offense, dude. That is the LAST job I thought you'd have. Next to actually HAVING a job is surprise enough." Dee laughed with his friend.
"Yeah. It's kinda cool. I mean, I get to kick some serious ass but I have to deal with a lot of shit too. Like our boss. And that commisioner." Dee made a disgusted face at the mere thought of Berkely. He raised his glass to his lips and took a sip of it himself. Zack sat there and watched him.
"You like it, man?"
"Yeah." Dee agreed, after taking a moment to think it over. "I do. And if it wasn't for me being a policeman, I would have never met Ryou."
"Hmm." Zack looked thoughtful and almost hesitant until he said it anyway. "About this Ryou... that was the guy from earlier, wasn't it?"
"Yeah." Dee replied.
"So, what? Are you two like, lovers or something?"
"Truthfully?" The seriousness in Dee's voice and the look on his face caused the teasing smirk to vanish from Zack's. He was just playing a little game with Dee; he had not meant anything by it. In all honesty, he had expected to be punched in the mouth for saying such a thing. "Yeah. Ryou and I are lovers." Zack looked straight into Dee's no-bullshit eyes and was shocked.
"Honest?" Dee did not even have to verbalize his answer. "Wo-- wow..." Zack sat back and sighed heavily. He could not believe the truth. "I mean, I knew you were bi and everything, Dee. But who knew?"
"Who knew what?"
"That someone would actually want YOU for a boyfriend?" Zack asked. Dee's eyes narrowed and the mischevious smile appeared once again on Dee's friend's lips. "I mean, you are so sleasy, dude!"
"Shut the hell up." Dee snarled, glaring at Zack and tossing a handful of bar nuts at his face. Zack laughed and dodged the food.
"Sorry, man." Zack laughed. "I was just joking."
"Just shut up." Dee was more than a little annoyed at the comment. It was evident by the way that he then turned away from Zack, picked up his beer, and drank it while refusing to look at his old friend again. Zack then felt guilty.
"I am sorry, Dee." He said. Dee glanced over at him. "You... you really like him, don't you?" Dee did not answer again but, also like before, he did not have to; Zack knew the answer. "You love him. And I'm guessing he loves you. He seems the serious type, you know. Not getting involved unless he is completely, one-hundred-and-ten percent sure he knows what is going on." Dee sighed heavily and placed his glass back down on the table with a light 'thunk'.
"You have NO idea." He mumbled. Zack smiled.
"Okay. Enough of this. Let's get shit-faced, Dee!" Zack laughed. Dee agreed all-too-readily and they both raised their glasses high before chugging the contents down and calling for another round.
--Two Hours Later...--
There was a knock on Ryou's apartment door. "Coming." Ryou called, trying to get the knocking to stop; he did not want to wake Bikky. It took forever to get him to fall asleep after that psycho-serial killer movie they went to go see. Bikky was seeing a razor blade behind every crevice of his room and the entire apartment. Ryou was dreading going through that again. That was the last time he took Bikky to see a horror movie anytime in the near future.
When Ryou opened the door, he was shocked to see Zack. "Zack. Dee. What's wrong?"
"Augh..." Dee moaned.
"The idiot got sloshed." Zack said. ((Ryou: -.-))
"Somehow," He said in a monotone. "I am not the least bit surprised."
"Can he stay here?" Zack asked, struggling to drag him in Ryou's apartment. Ryou helped. "I didn't wanna take him to my hotel room and I didn't wanna risk leaving him alone in his apartment."
"Sure he can stay." Ryou said. He took Dee from Zack's arms and dragged him into his bedroom, putting him down on the bed. When he came out, Zack looked a little lopsided himself in the livingroom. Ryou, being concerned, rushed to his side. "Do you need something? Do you want some water? Or some Aspirin?"
"Uh... a damp cloth?" Zack requested.
"Sure." Ryou got it for him and Zack held it to his forehead, wiping away the perspiration and he collapsed onto the couch. "Sorry about this. Dee and I both got carried away, I guess."
"Well, you shouldn't go anywhere."
"It's okay. I'll get a cab."
"No. It's too dangerous." Ryou said, ending the subject. He always held that authoritive mood about him. "I'll make up the couch for you. It won't be much, but you can stay here until you're sober."
"Thank you." Zack said. There was silence between the two of them for the next several minutes as Ryou got some blankets and made up the couch for Zack to lay in and spend the night. When it was all done, Ryou made to his bedroom when he was stopped by Zack. "Hey Ryou?"
"Huh?"
"You like Dee, don't you?"
"Uh..." Although Zack could not see it in the dark, Ryou's face flushed deep red. "Yeah." He replied, flustered.
"I'm glad." Ryou was confused.
"What?"
"I'm glad." Zack repeated. "I can tell how much you mean to him. I'm glad you care about him as much too." Ryou smiled.
"Well... thanks." He started to go to his room again when something else was said.
"And you have my permission."
"Huh?"
"My permission." Zack said again. "You both have my permission to run off and get hitched somewhere. Like in Vegas." Ryou laughed lightly.
"Thanks." He said, for lack of anything else to say. With that, he went to his bedroom and left Zack alone in the livingroom.
With a smile playing on his lips, Ryou walked over to his bed and sat down. He watched Dee sleeping through the faded city lights in the windows and listened to his heavy yet raspy breathing. "I love you, Dee. I love you more than anything." He leaned down and kissed Dee's lips ever-so-lightly and then laid beside him in bed. "I love you." With that, he went to sleep.