DISCLAIMER: Dee, Ryo, and cast are owned by Sanami Matoh. I do not have any legal connection to the staff of -FAKE-. And now...

Hello there! I don't know what to say here other than enjoy the story. Just be sure to read it to the end, okay? I'm not giving anything away!

"Ryo." Dee came into the living room from the kitchen, setting the mug of tea he had just finished making down on the coffee table in front of the dark blonde male. Sometimes Dee wondered if Ryo just kept him around to bring his tea out when he was working on a case. "I'm going out to get more smokes. I'm down to my last one." He waved his almost empty pack of cigarettes before stuffing it back in his pocket. "Need anything while I'm out?"

Jet black eyes relinquished their hold on the case file he had been agonizing over for the past few hours. Of course, Dee hadn't done anything to help, but Ryo was past the point of yelling at him for it. Well, at least today.

"No, I don't think so…" he answered, mentally going through his refrigerator and shelves. "How long will you be gone? We still have work to do. Well, YOU still have work to do." Ryo glared up at Dee, removing his reading glasses and trading them on the coffee table with his tea. Dee groaned and raked his fingers through his hair, the dark tresses falling right back in place over his face.

"Come on, Ryo! Do you have to bring the whole precinct's work back with you every night?" the non-work enthusiast moaned, bending over in a slump to look up at the workaholic in question. "Seriously, dude? It's every night. Even that pea-sized brain of monkey boy has seen the bags under your eyes. It's called 'off-duty.' It's what you're on right now, in case you didn't notice."

"I know what off-duty means, Dee," Ryo sighed, taking a sip of his tea and leaning back against the cushions of the couch. "Just go get your cigarettes and come back so you can continue to laze around my apartment and get nothing done," Ryo smiled, despite the truth of his sarcasm. With a grumble, Dee stood and Ryo made a move to pick his glasses back up.

"Hey," Dee started, grabbing the hand that now held the spectacles, which caused Ryo to look up into those deep green eyes he had grown to love. "Lay down for a bit. You can find all the details the rest of the team missed when I get back." Ryo blinked, then sighed and put his glasses back down.

"Okay, fine. You win." Ryo pulled his hand back and scratched his head. "I'll take a break, but if you're not back within a reasonable amount of time, I'm not waiting."

"Deal." Dee grinned triumphantly and wandered to the door. "I'll be back before ya know it, so I don't want to come back and find you still on that couch!" he threatened as he snatched his jacket from the rack and opened the door, then leaned back in a bit to add: "'cause if you are, I'll have to drag you to bed and force you to take a break, and then you'll be so sore you'll have to call into work tomorrow!"

"Just go!" Ryo threw a pencil as Dee shut the door, his laughing echoing through the hallway as he went. With a second sigh, the blonde glanced back down at the file before standing. Even if he wanted to continue working, he had made a promise. So instead, he wandered into his bedroom, went to the bathroom, and proceeded to flop onto his king sized bed.

Ryo didn't know how much later it had been since he had taken Dee's advice and laid down, but he was back in the living room working on that case before the brunette was back. A quick glance at the clock alerted Ryo to the fact it was past midnight, and unless he wanted to be a zombie at work all the next day, he should be going to bed. But…

Dee had first shift too, and he had yet to return.

"Yo! You've reached the amazing Dee's cell phone, but since I'm too busy to answer, you'll have to leave a message and I'll catch you when I have time!"

Ryo hung up his cell without leaving a message, honestly getting worried now. It had to have been at least three hours since his partner had left. Knowing Dee, he had certainly taken his time, but three hours? The store was right down the road. Hell, he didn't even take the squad car, Ryo confirmed as he spotted the keys on the table beside the door. It was just strange to see Dee gone for so long, and just to get cigarettes. The case no longer interested him and he instead looked out the window in a faint hope of catching a glimpse of the missing male outside somewhere. There was nothing except the faint light of police cars downtown. There must have been a robbery or something, since he hadn't gotten a call.

RIIIIING!

The sharp sound of his cell from the living room caused Ryo to jump slightly, his heart racing as he turned away from the window.

"Dee?" he answered the phone, not bothering to take note that the number was instead from the precinct.

"Detective Maclean," a calm, but obviously stressed voice filled his ear. After a few blinks, Ryo placed the familiarity.

"Commissioner Rose?"

"Are you at your apartment right now?"

"Well, yeah. What's going on? It's…" Ryo glanced at the clock. "One seventeen."

"I'm sending someone over to collect you. I will see you shortly." Berkeley hung up, and Ryo was left in a confused state of mind as he gathered up his own jacket, not forgetting his keys like his absentminded partner.

The entire precinct was alive when Ryo arrived, which was a surprise for a late Tuesday night. Usually around this time Kirk would be manning the front desk, watching a reality show on his personal laptop, and perhaps Drake and JJ would be arguing over who went to get coffee. But tonight, it seemed that every cop and investigator had been called in; and everyone was busy.

Except in the investigations unit.

Drake, Ted, Commissioner Rose, Chief… Everyone except JJ and Dee was there, and no one was doing anything. When he entered, they all looked up at him. Drake's eyes were red, and Ted looked like he was trying very hard not to meet his gaze. Berkeley stared at him, but the piercing eyes Ryo had trouble looking into held something he hadn't seen before. It was Chief who waved him over and told him to sit down.

"Randy, listen…" he started, clearing his throat before continuing.

"Where's Dee?" Ryo asked, having expected the brunette to show up as soon as Chief started talking.

"Well…" he stopped again and looked over at Berkeley… who looked away. Ryo furrowed his brows, looking around the room in confusion. After a few more seconds of silence, the blonde's anxiety got the best of him and he stood up, slamming his hand down on his desk.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" he said rather loudly, his voice bouncing off the walls of the room. A paper fluttered to the floor from where he had knocked it, but no one made a move to pick it up.

"Randy, Dee's dead." Chief didn't look at him as he gave him the news. Berkeley had his glasses off and was polishing them with a small cloth he must have retrieved from his pocket. Drake sniffled once and looked over at Dee's desk, and Ted had walked a little ways off, arms shoved into his pockets and glaring a hole into the wall opposite him. Ryo, on the other hand, was in shock. The tension he was feeling in the office dissipated into nothingness, and he returned to his seat, leaning back in it as he took in the news. His eyes were wide, focused on everything and nothing in particular.

"You're lying…" he said softly, his own voice sounding foreign to his ears. The bustle outside their office faded into the deafening sound of his heart hammering against his chest. His fingertips grew cold, ice traveling up the veins in his arms to settle in his lungs, making it hard to breath. "You have to be," he added, a twinge of desperation entering that voice he couldn't recognize. No one spoke, and no one looked at him. A sound drew his dying eyes to the right, where Drake was blowing his nose. "No…" Ryo said again, and only now did he notice JJ's badge and gun sitting on the desk beside Chief Smith.

"Detective Laytner…" Berkeley started, his glasses back in place and the small cloth nowhere to be seen. "Dee…" he corrected himself, turning to look at the disbelieving officer. "He happened to be at a convenience store at the time of a robbery. In his stubbornness, he went after the criminal instead of waiting for backup. The perp… had a hidden weapon. Laytner didn't even know what hit him," the older male explained, meeting Ryo's eyes for a split second before the younger looked away, shaking his head.

"No, I don't believe you. Dee wouldn't…"

"Yes, he would, Ryo, and you know it." Ted finally spoke up, turning around to reveal the reason he hadn't looked at him in the first place. Tears streamed down his face, his eyes both angry and upset. "You know how Dee gets. He thinks he's all that and can handle things on his own. Even after he called it in, he kept going, flying after the damn guy as if it impressed someone. Well you know what? It didn't! And now his cold body is lying in autopsy, a .45 bullet hole gouging his fucking chest." Ted turned back around, and Drake let out a mismatched sob. Chief's hand was over his eyes, thumb and forefinger pushing into his eyelids. Berkeley was the only one who seemed unaffected.

"You…" Ryo paused then stood up a second time. "No, I don't believe it. This is a great prank, guys. But seriously… grow… grow up. It's not funny…" he tried to tell himself, laugh it off. Ted stormed off with an exasperated, frustrated sound.

"Come with me," Berkeley spoke up again, standing from where he had been leaning against Ted's desk. "Maybe by seeing reality, you'll be able to believe it," he said as he walked towards where the autopsy room was, pausing to make sure Ryo was following him.

Tears couldn't come when Ryo saw Dee's body through the glass, a team of blue-clad forensics people working on collecting evidence on the person who shot him. Instead, he backed up, eyes still fixated on Dee's face. His expression was calm… as if he was sleeping, but… no… that wasn't right… Ryo knew what he looked like when he was sleeping… Peaceful, gentle… kind… Even when he was asleep, Dee looked kind. But now… The wall collided with his back and his knees gave way. Berkeley caught him before he fell, but Ryo pushed him away and collapsed onto a bench he hadn't noticed was there.

"No…" he croaked, his throat swelling with the amount of pressure his body was under. "No… No…" It was all he could utter as he stared, watched, transfixed as the team on the other side of the glass worked. The bullet hole… it was only one, but… visions of his parents, visions of this room… gazing from the other side of a wall of glass at the lifeless body of the person you love… The gun at his side felt heavy as he stumbled to his feet, and he suddenly had the idea that it could be the answer to all the pain he was feeling. All of it could go away, and…

"Maclean…" Berkeley said quietly, taking a step towards him. "Ryo… I'm sorry." Ryo stared at the glass, stared at Dee… felt the gun… It wasn't worth it. Nothing was worth it anymore. He had become a cop to stop this, to stop people from feeling the pain he was feeling right now… It wasn't fair… First his parents, now Dee… Bikky… Bikky would make it… He was a smart kid… he could…

"I… I need to go…" Ryo said, not looking at Berkeley as he walked past.

"Ryo," Berkeley grabbed his wrist, stopping Ryo short in his trek outside. He had already decided. The gun would finish it. There was no need to…

Out of nowhere, Berkeley kicked him. With a confused yelp, Ryo caught his balance, which was difficult in his state of mind, before he tumbled to the floor.

"What… the hell, commissioner?" he asked, picking up Dee's bad habit of cursing. But right now, he didn't care. Berkeley stared at him for a second, then opened his mouth… and snored.

Snored? Ryo blinked, his face twisting in bewilderment. "Sir…?" he asked again, but was met with an equally puzzling sound from the man before him.

Ryo blinked again, and his eyes had to focus on his surroundings. A ceiling, window off to his left that was letting in a small amount of light. And beside him…

"Dee…" Ryo sat up in his bed and realized his face was drenched with tears. Without taking into consideration the other's slumber, Ryo buried his face in Dee's chest, letting out a uneven sob as he heard his steady heartbeat against his ear.

"Wha-hey, Ryo…?" Dee mumbled as he woke up, rubbing his eyes with the hand that wasn't trapped beneath the blonde male. "What's going on, man…? I was having a nice dream about you an' me up in- wait, are you crying?" Dee sat up the best he could, now mostly awake as he realized his chest was wet. "Come on, man! You-You know I can't take cr-" He was cut off in his complaint as Ryo kissed him; not hard, but it sure shut Dee up. Ryo was trembling, and Dee wrapped his arms around him tightly in an effort to get him to stop.

"I… I thought you were dead…" Ryo's unclear stutter reached Dee's ears, and he couldn't help his next sentence.

"Pff, Ryo, seriously? I'm not dying yet. I've got things to do, and besides…" He grasped Ryo's head in his hands, holding him there and forcing him to look him in the eyes. "You just agreed to become mine. Now… what kind of man would I be to go and die right when I got that, huh?" Ryo laughed a little and gently placed a second kiss to his lips.

"You're right… You're too stubborn to die…" Ryo said, his racing heartbeat finally beginning to calm in his chest and his breathing becoming easier. Dee, on the other hand, had to make things difficult and flip him over on the bed, kissing him again before he had a chance to vocalize his irritation.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dee grinned, snaking a knee between Ryo's legs. "I can show you how stubborn I really am… How 'bout it, huh, Ryo?" Dee offered, but was shoved back to the other side of the bed.

"You are such a horny bastard, you know that?" Ryo sighed, although he couldn't wipe the relieved smile from his face. "We have first shift tomorrow… Don't get any funny ideas just because I woke you up," he instructed, although Dee wouldn't hear it and was once again stationed atop his partner with a determined smirk adorning his very alive face.

"No can do, buddy. You woke me up, so now you have to own up to the consequences!" He kissed him again, hard, and Ryo didn't mind; however, much to the blonde's surprise, Dee rolled to the side and pulled the still somewhat distraught male against him. "You're definitely paying up tomorrow… You got that… partner?" Ryo smiled and buried his face in the crook of Dee's shoulder, wrapping his arms around his muscular torso.

"I think we can arrange that…"

AN: So yes! I'm pretty happy with it... Thanks so much to my friend Amanda for editing it for me! Please review if you like it. It helps keep my happiness at a steady state. We are also writing a really long fanfic that is beginning to wind down to a close, so we'll be posting that sometime soon. Constructive feedback is always welcome!