Listening to – Miley Cyrus: Adore You

The Morning Dew

It was weird being the first to wake up. Dee mused to himself as he yawned and stretched out his legs, sighing in contentment as clouds sailed away from the sun, allowing its warm rays to peek through the blinds and warm his body under the thin covers. It must have rained or had been really cold out while he was asleep because through the openings of the blinds he could see small droplets of dew sticking to the windows. Dee blinked tiredly and rubbed his eyes to get rid of any evidence of sleep. Usually Berkeley was the one who was awake long before him so when Dee woke up it was to the smell of breakfast blend coffee and the sound of the morning news softly coasting throughout Berkeley's apartment. And surprisingly enough, whenever he got out of bed and headed to the front after spending the night over, Berkeley wasn't hard at work filling out paperwork with his eyebrows drawn in concentration or on the house phone having important conference calls. When he first experienced seeing Berkeley sitting on the couch in the living room with his feet kicked up and playing Temple Run on his cell phone (which induced a quiet string of curses), he was a bit shocked. The ever proficient and business-like Commissioner Berkeley Rose just lazing around like a regular person. Of course that had been way earlier in their relationship when he stayed over the blonde's place for the first time. That was also the first time he'd ever seen Berkeley in his 'most natural state' so to speak. And that's probably what cemented his feelings for the other male, honestly. Seeing him in a loose fitted, grey v-neck shirt, basketball shorts and black socks made him feel like he was actually seeing the Commissioner for the first time since they had first met. He loved the way Berkeley did his hair on a regular basis but he loved how it was in the morning. He loved the way the normally swept back locks just barely fell over his left eye and how the other blonde strands of hair seemed to fall and tease his ears just above the lobe, and licked the nape of his neck, flowing freely in a way they never did when product was in it. His eyes were different too when he was off work, Dee had realized back then. They were softer, not as calculating. More accepting.

Dee smiled as he reached an arm over and pushed a thick layer of blonde locks away from the sleeping male's face, appreciating how the rays off light fell over Berkeley's face and exposed the faint tinge of pink in his cheeks that had been concealed by the shade. He had slept with Ryo before, just because he thought he was madly in love with the man, and he thought Ryo looked rather beautiful when he slept as well but it didn't have the same kind of impact on him. When he had woken up before Ryo that next morning, he wasn't awed as much because Ryo was so shy and kind, it wasn't a wonder to see him at peace and unguarded. Basically, he expected the male to be gorgeous and at ease even when he slept but with Berkeley it was different. With Berkeley, he didn't expect him to look so content and unguarded because he was normally so full of himself and always about his business. Always in some kind of thought and always planning for the next work day. Always immaculate and always straight faced. Usually all of those things happened when Berkeley was working – which was nearly every day – he worked even longer hours than the average homicide detective most of the time. And when he wasn't in the office, he was at home on his laptop, working from home. Just 'finishing up a few things' as Berkeley would sometimes put it. So it was really beautiful and surprising. Call him a sap, but perhaps it even took his breath away every time he actually woke up first and went to sleep last. Dee let a single finger trail from its place in Berkeley's hair and down the side of his jaw. He paused when the subject of his thoughts exhaled and began to stir, eyes fluttering open to reveal a pair of sleepy, icy blue orbs.

"My bad." Dee said, apologizing as he dropped his hand.

"It's …'kay." Berkeley mumbled, his voice still thick with sleep and he closed his eyes again and buried his face in the pillow. "…Morning."

The detective raised his brows and propped himself up with an elbow. "Why are you so tired? I'm supposed to be the one still sleep." He grinned, jade eyes twinkling in the sunlight as Berkeley reopened his eyes and sat up, stretching his arms and grunted in relief when his shoulders pushed forward and popped causing Dee to wince.

"Jeez!" Dee exclaimed as he grabbed his own shoulder and rubbed it as if it was his joints that had popped. "How do you crack your freakin' shoulders like that?! Doesn't that shit hurt?! I hate when you do that!"

Berkeley let his arms down and shook his head "Not at all." He said, looking over Dee's shoulder and towards the black and silver alarm clock sitting on his night stand. He read the big, blue digital numbers and blinked in surprise. "It's after ten."

"Well yeah …" Dee drawled, "That's why I was asking why you were so tired. It's probably due to your old age though." Dee breathily laughed as a bit of wind was knocked out of him when Berkeley punched him a little too hard in the stomach.

"I'm not old."

Dee smiled and rubbed his stomach. "Right, because that punch didn't just say 'old man'." Really, Berkeley wasn't all that much older than Dee was, only by about seven years, which was pretty remarkable considering his position in the police department. Usually commissioners – or at least the ones he ran into – were in their forties or early fifties at the start of their new career by the time they gained the experience and went through the ranks but here Berkeley was, thirty-two years old and had been a commissioner for a few years now. Maybe he went through some type of schooling early on like those ridiculously young lieutenants and captains in the military normally did. Either that or he was secretly smart Dee joked to himself and grabbed the blonde's forearm when he felt the mattress shift beside him. "Don't." He said, lightly tugging on Berkeley's arm as he reached over and opened the top drawer in the nightstand. "How about you just lay down with me for a while?" He suggested smoothly as he pulled out half a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Dee …" He said warningly, "Don't you dare."

Dee frowned lightly, tugging the male back down and pulling the cover back up to their mid sections. "Aw, relax man." He grunted when Berkeley, glared and dug his knuckle in the raven's sternum, snatching the pack out of his hands and placed it on the edge of the bed.

"I said, don't. Only on the patio or out front. You're acting like this is a new thing."

Dee rolled his eyes. Berkeley just refused to relent even a little, tiny bit when it came to the 'non-smoking areas' of his place, which was practically everywhere. He didn't mind as much as he let on though, as long as he at least had the patio. His mind drifted off the topic however, when he felt Berkeley shift away from him and lay on his back.

"C'mere." Berkeley murmured and raised and arm, nuzzling a mass of black hair with his nose as Dee scooted over and laid his head under Berkeley jaw. He breathed in the familiar and fresh scent of Dee's favorite mint shampoo and conditioner and began to rub small circles on the male's side as Dee made himself comfortable. He loved how perfectly Dee seemed to fit. It wasn't awkward feeling or uncomfortable as it usually was with other men and women he had dated shortly in the past. Slowly, he tucked a few locks behind Dee's ear, sighing as Dee nuzzled his neck in response. He didn't know what he would have had if he had actually somehow ended up getting together with Ryo, but what he did know was that the mornings would have never turned out to feel quite like this.

END