The next morning, Rokuro Okajima awoke to the sound of a knock at his door.

"What the hell?" Rock said weakly.

His eyes went in and out of focus as he looked to his clock radio. When his eyes finally focused, he immediately sprung upright in bed, "9:30?!"

"You alright in there Rock?" Dutch called from the opposite side of the door.

"Oh fuck," Rock muttered.

Dutch listened on while items crashed to the floor of Rock's apartment as he desperately tried to get himself dressed, "Be right there!"

"What the hell is he doin' in there?" Dutch asked quietly just seconds before the door flew open.

There was no polite way to say it; Rock looked like shit. His shirt was half-tucked, his hair askew, and his tie was merely draped around his neck.

"You alright, Rock?" Dutch asked of his disheveled negotiator.

"Yeah, long night. Sorry about that," Rock replied.

"Not a big deal really. We don't have any work lined up, truth is you didn't check in at 0700 like you always do, so I was starting to get a little worried about you," Dutch replied.

"Really?" Rock asked feeling mighty important for a moment.

"Well, that and Lalana's is buy one, get one this morning," Dutch replied as he took a bite out of an apple.

"Oh," Rock replied.

-

Benny piloted the GTO with Dutch riding shotgun and Rock in the backseat on the way to Revy's apartment.

"So what time did you get in last night? You two must've been pretty sorry excuses by the time you left," Dutch said.

The events of the previous night replayed in Rock's mind. Drinking till he was almost blackout drunk and then…Revy. Revy like he'd never known her before.

"Oh fuck; Revy. What the hell are we going to say to each other?!" Rock thought.

"Yo, Rock! You awake back there!" Dutch barked.

"Yeah, sorry. What was the question?" Rock replied.

"You and Two-hands; what time did you get out of there last night?" Dutch asked again.

"Oh, uh…" He found himself struggling to think of anything other than the sound of Revy's pleasure laden cries, "…about four, I guess?"

"Now I see why you weren't at the office this morning," Dutch chuckled.

"About that--"

Dutch cut him off, "Doesn't bother me none. If we had work it'd be another story, but I got no problem with my employees cuttin' loose every now and again."

"If you only knew the half of it," Rock thought.

The GTO came to a halt outside Revy's apartment building and Dutch exited the car, folding the seat forward for Rock to get out. Upon exiting the car, Dutch quickly reclaimed his seat. Rock needed no explanation from the boss as he headed up the stairs towards Revy's door. Every step he took felt like a step closer to the hangman's noose. He and Revy's relationship was finally starting to border on normal and he had to go and screw things up…literally.

He came to the top of the stairs and swallowed the lump in his throat before knocking at the door.

As usual, there was no reply from the Lagoon Company's lead gun. Prepared for the worst, Rock tried the doorknob. The door slipped open revealing the site of Revy's barren bed and the sound of running water; probably a sink. He quietly crossed the threshold into her room and suddenly, she leaned out from behind the bathroom door with a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth and no clothes save for an insignificant pair of panties and a towel.

Rock quickly turned away bringing Revy to smile and comment, "Awe, that's sweet." She spit into the sink and placed her towel on Rock's shoulder as she walked past him, "You had no problem dumping a load of daddy juice in me last night…"

Rock's eyes widened in what appeared to be shame and Revy finished her thought, "…but you won't look at me unless I'm dressed."

Revy slipped her clothes on and snapped the towel from Rock's shoulder, "What? Now you've got nothin' to fuckin' say to me either?"

Rock stared into her eyes for a moment. Again the events of the prior evening came to mind forcing a smile on his face. No two ways about it, this would be far too difficult to deal with, but good god was she right when she said it was fun.

"What?" Revy asked in a more subdued tone.

"Good morning, Revy," Rock said with a smile.

His smile, his face, that amazing round of sex the night before; Revy's inhibitions were gone. She leaned towards Rock and without the slightest of thoughts; Rock leaned to her in desperate anticipation of their first kiss. Unfortunately, Dutch called from downstairs, "Rock, what's takin' so long? Is she here or not?"

They both quickly shrugged off their impending kiss and Revy finally greeted Rock with a smile and a gentle punch to the shoulder, "Morning, partner."

Revy and Rock appeared at the top of the stairs, and Revy shouted down to Dutch, "We're here, bossman."

-

The Lagoon Company headed to the office with Revy having joined Rock in the backseat.

"So what's on the schedule, Dutch?" Revy asked.

"At the moment, prayin' that the fuckin' phone doesn't ring. Much as I hate slow times, that bullshit yesterday has me grateful for a day off," Dutch replied.

"Sounds good to me," Revy replied.

Upon entering the office, Dutch's plans for a slow day were squashed by a flashing red light on the answering machine.

"Fuck. Check the machine, Rock? Unless it can't wait, tell'em we're closed for the day," Dutch ordered as he took a seat on the couch.

Benny took a seat at the computer, and Revy collapsed onto the other couch as Rock put the phone to his ear. A few moments later, he hung up the phone and relayed the message; "It was Gustavo from the cartel."

"What'd he want?" Dutch asked.

"He asked if we'd be interested in assisting with an exchange for Abrego," Rock replied.

"And I want to help that asshole why?" Dutch asked.

"He said he's offering cash up front for any expenses incurred and 10 flat for the day's work," Rock replied.

"When and where is this going down?" Dutch asked.

"1400 hours, off the coast of Kuala Lumpur," Rock replied bringing Dutch to check his watch.

"Give him a call back, see what kind of trouble he's expecting. If we're just making sure shit goes smooth, I got no problem. If he's expecting a fuckin' blood bath, tell him to double his rate or find another company," Dutch replied.

Rock made the call, worked out the details and by the end of the conversation, had earned his company another 5 grand for what was to be a relatively simple job.

As Rock hung up the phone, Dutch couldn't help but comment, "Gotta admit, we've been making a shitload more money since you've been on board, Rock."

Rock smiled, "Happy to help."

While he wasn't looking at her and she had no reason to do so, Revy smiled as she discreetly observed Rock; wholly satisfied in her choice.

-

Several hours later, Rock leaned against the rails of the PT boat's crow's nest, binoculars in hand. They were slowly approaching a small yacht just a few miles off the coast.

Rock pressed a finger to his ear switching in his microphone, "I've got nothing on deck except the two gunmen Gustavo warned us about."

Revy stood beside Dutch in the bridge and asked, "What do you think, Dutch? Can we trust these assholes?"

"I try to avoid putting too much trust in the word of the cartel, but there's no hiding it; that's a yacht and this is a torpedo boat. They'd be pretty stupid to try and fuck with us," Dutch replied. "Still, you should get topside to make the deal with Rock."

Revy drew one of her cutlass and racked the slide before re-holstering it with a reply, "You got it bossman."

Revy joined Rock on the deck of the Lagoon and Rock blushed slightly, still not entirely comfortable with the sight of her after last night's little indiscretion. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of her partner as he squirmed.

As they walked to the end of the deck, Rock asked quietly, "So are we going to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" Revy asked.

"Last night. I think we shou--"

Revy cut him off, "There's nothin' to discuss. It was a great time, that's all."

"But you said we should do it again. I don't think--"

Again she cut him off, "I'll make you a deal, Rock. Yesterday, I didn't say 'no' when you decided you wanted to fuck me. When I decide I want to fuck you, you can just say 'no'."

"But Revy--"

"Shut up," she quietly interrupted as an older man holding a cigar and wearing a very fine white suit appeared at the end of the yacht. "You're up partner."

"Lagoon Company?!" The older man shouted.

"Captain Delgado?" Rock shouted in reply.

"I understand you have some merchandise for me?" The suited captain replied.

"That's correct, do you have the payment?" Rock asked as the two vessels came to a halt, parallel to one another. Revy tossed a line to one of the yacht's deck hands and he proceeded to tie the vessels together.

The man raised a suitcase into view and replied, "250, in non-sequential US dollars; and you?"

Rock raised the suitcase he had received from the cartel, "You'll have to forgive me, but in our line of work, we don't ask questions concerning our cargo."

"Fair enough. Do you mind waiting while I check the contents of the package?" The captain asked.

"With all due respect sir, your deal is with Abrego; we're just the delivery company. We were sent here to handle an exchange; our involvement ends at the contents of these cases. We're not counting your case because we're paid for our time either way," Rock replied.

Captain Delgado took an extended look at the torpedo equipped PT boat, and the guns strapped to Revy's shoulders. After a few seconds, he gave Rock his answer, "Very well."

They made the exchange and as Delgado's deck hand tossed Revy back the line, Rock added to their negotiations, "You'll understand when we ask that you leave first."

Delgado smiled as he replied, "You're pretty good at this kid. Take care."

Rock smiled as the yacht began to drift away from the Lagoon.

"Rock?" Dutch asked over his earpiece.

"Deal's done, Dutch," Rock replied.

"Nice work my man. You two c'mon in and take a load off," Dutch replied as he checked his watch and screwed a cigarette into his lips. "At this rate we'll be back in time for dinner."

"Fuckin'-A Dutchy," Revy replied.

Revy and Rock descended the decks of the Lagoon heading off to their separate bunks.

Rock lay back in his bunk with the lights off; his head still pounding from last night's drinking binge. Then there was Revy. Try as he did, he couldn't get her out of his head. He knew that no matter how she played it down, their relationship would never be the same. He had crossed into uncharted waters and his already high anxiety only grew higher by the second.

The door to Rock's bunk creaked open and he could just barely make out the form of Revy's silhouette before she closed the door behind her.

Now's probably as good a time as any to mention that I'm trying to improve my comma usage. I know they're probably one of the most basic devices in writing, but, I have a really hard time with them. Here's hoping I'm doing alright.