Author's note: Chapter revised to conform to no NC-17 rule. The original lemon scene can be found at other fanfiction sites.

Crash and Burn

Chapter 21 – Try a Little Tenderness

Ryo had been gone for several minutes, leaving Dee in the living room trying to work out exactly what his lover was up to from the noises coming from behind the bedroom door.

"Ryo…" Dee complained; he hated being kept in the dark about anything. "What are you doing?"

Eventually Ryo re-emerged, dressed only in his robe. "Come on," he said, walking over to Dee and offering the bewildered man his hand.

Dee seemed to contemplate what Ryo was up to before he decided to trust the handsome blond and took his hand. He was about to tell Ryo to get his crutches if they were going somewhere before his lover had scooped him into his arms and carried him towards their bedroom. Ryo couldn't help but notice how light Dee even already knowing that his lover had lost a substantial amount of weight during his ordeal. He still looked a little gaunt in his face, with any attempt at weight gain hindered by the careful monitoring of his diet for his diabetes.

With a broad smile of confidence, Ryo kicked open the door with his foot. Inside, the curtains were drawn but the room was lit by several candles dotted around the room. The small CD player on the dresser was on; playing the soothing music that Ryo liked to listen to when he was relaxing in the bath. On the floor, Ryo had laid a large pillow, next to which sat a small assortment of bottles. When he saw Dee staring at them, he smiled and kissed him, distracting him temporarily as he set him down on the bed.

Without breaking the kiss, he began to take Dee's clothes off, divesting him first of his shirt, thankful that for once he was wearing something with buttons. The track pants came off with slightly more of a struggle but before long, Dee was sat in nothing but his boxer shorts and a half-leg plaster cast. He still looked puzzled until Ryo picked him up again and carried him over to the area he had prepared on the floor, laying the dark haired man down on the oversized pillow and encouraging him to turn over onto his front.

Touching the bare olive skin, Ryo could feel the tenseness in his lover's muscles and he set about remedying it as he removed his robe and sat astride the other man's body. "Just relax, baby," Ryo soothed as he uncapped one of the bottles and poured some of the scented oil into his hands, warming it first before he applied it to his lover's bare back. He smiled at hearing Dee moan gently as he started to knead the muscles in his shoulders, working them until the knots of tension began to break up.

"Is that good?" he asked, as he turned his attention to Dee's lower back, struggling to grab any flesh on the man's lean frame. A murmur was the response and Ryo chuckled to himself; pleased that Dee was enjoying his hastily thought out plan to help him relax.

He continued to work his magic for another twenty minutes or so, until Dee's entire back and arms were silky smooth and completely free from tension. With hands aching from overuse, Ryo leaned down and kissed the other man gently on the back of the neck. He felt Dee shudder beneath him as he turned his attention to an exposed ear, tugging at it playfully as he held it between his teeth. Dee groaned, squirming beneath him until he managed to flip over onto his back, freeing his sensitive lobe from its tormentor.

He looked up at Ryo, gazing down at him as he smoothed his wavy blond hair away from his eyes, and smiled. "You're so sexy, you know that?" He reached up and touched the blond man's face, before he smiled at a surfacing memory. "D'you remember when we first met and I told you that you had an unbelievably beautiful face?" Dee chuckled. "You almost smacked me."

Still sat astride his lover, Ryo laughed too. "Yeah I remember. I was secretly very flattered though."

"You hid it well," Dee grinned, recalling the number of times Ryo had threatened his life when he'd shown any affection towards him. "Who'd have thought we'd have ended up like this, with you seducing me on your bedroom floor."

Ryo feigned a look of innocence, although he was pleased that Dee's sense of humour was showing itself at last. "I wasn't aware I was seducing you, Detective Latener. I was merely trying to help you relax."

One dark eyebrow arched sceptically. "With candles and the whole shebang?" he asked, smirking as he gestured to the bottles and the CD player. Ryo looked suitably hurt, despite the smile twitching at his lips and Dee decided to play along.

"I'm sorry baby, how can I make it up to you?" he asked, sitting up slightly and draping his arms around Ryo's neck. The blond smiled as he shook his head. "You just have," he said, before his expression grew serious. "I miss your smile, Dee," he said quietly, as tears began to blur his vision. "I miss your laughter." The emotion suddenly gripped him as a lone tear slipped onto his cheek. "I miss you."

Dee looked away as his own eyes misted over. "I know," he said almost inaudibly. "I hate feeling like this…" He looked up suddenly, pained green eyes meeting brown. "I need to forget, Ryo," he said pleadingly, "Please, make me forget?"

Ryo reached up and took his handsome face gently in his hands before he leaned in and started to kiss every inch of it. When he came to Dee's left cheek, ravaged by infection and still scarred and inflamed from the recent graft, he didn't shy away; his lips gently grazing the repaired flesh to show he didn't care that his face was no longer aesthetically perfect. "You're beautiful, Dee," he said, pulling back for a moment so he could look into the other's eyes, brushing aside a tear with his thumb. "Inside and out. The only thing that's changed is that I love you even more than before. And I know that tomorrow I'll love you even more than today. It's a cliché I know, but that's how I feel."

Despite his emotion, Dee managed a smile, feeling safe and secure in Ryo's arms. They continued to kiss and touch as the music played in the background, providing the perfect accompaniment to their tender affections until Dee shifted slightly, so that his lips were at Ryo's ear.

"Make love to me Ryo."

"Anything for you, Dee," came the response as Ryo internally rejoiced that his lover was instigating such a level of intimacy. Although he'd never have said it, he'd missed that side of their relationship since Dee had been hurt. "Are you sure?" he asked, wanting to be absolutely certain that what they were about to do wouldn't cause more harm than good.

"Yes," Dee replied firmly, "More than sure."

Forty five minutes later, the two men had washed, changed and eaten and were awaiting the arrival of the investigators. As the appointed hour drew nearer, Dee had resorted to the comfort of cigarettes, smoking several in quick succession, much to Ryo's exasperation. He was just about to light up again when there was a knock at the door. Ryo emerged from the kitchen, wiping his hands on his jeans and casting Dee a nervous glance as he passed.

Recognising them from when he had seen them leaving after their last disastrous attempt to interview his lover, Ryo let the two investigators in and gestured for them to sit.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked them, trying to make the situation seem less formal.

"No thank you," Harris, the older man, replied with a smile. "I've already had about four cups of coffee today and I'm trying to cut down." His partner Shaun King also replied in the negative as Ryo came to sit beside Dee on the couch.

"How are you feeling, Detective Latener?" Harris asked, turning his attention to the anxious looking man fumbling with his packet of cigarettes. Green eyes shot up to meet the man's concerned gaze and he responded with a thin smile.

"It's Dee, really, and I've been better, but things are improving. I'm being well looked after," he replied, shooting a knowing smile at Ryo.

The blond man blushed slightly and cleared his throat, recalling just how well he'd been looking after his lover a mere hour earlier. Oblivious to the private joke, Investigator Harris opened his briefcase and took out a pad, pen and his dictaphone and set them down on the coffee table in front of him.

"Okay Dee, when you're ready and please, take your own time. I want you to tell me first of all, what happened on the night you were abducted. I'll ask questions as we go along but please tell me anything you can remember so we've the best possible case against your kidnapper. Are you ready to start?"

Dee took a deep breath and nodded resolutely, feeling determined to get through this now the burden of lying to protect Goldsmith had been lifted from him. Now he didn't have to lie to Ryo anymore either, the other man could stay with him; his strong presence offering Dee the support he badly needed.

"I… I don't remember much about the actual night," Dee admitted once Harris had started the dictaphone recording. He explained about the hoax call that had taken him to the abandoned diner before his mind turned to how he'd ended up as a hostage. "I got back in my car, intending to call Ryo to let him know what had happened," he said, glancing left at his lover who gave him a reassuring smile, "And then I was hit with something hard over the back of my head, knocking me unconscious."

"So you didn't actually see anyone then?"

Dee shook his head. "No. Whoever it was must have climbed into the back of my car when I'd got out to look around. When I woke up, I was bound and blindfolded, as I was the entire time I was held hostage."

"So you never actually saw who it was that took you?"

"No."

Ryo saw the two investigators exchange glances, knowing that this wouldn't help their case against the suspects. "Is that going to be a big problem?" he asked, looking worriedly at Dee.

Harris looked thoughtful before he shook his head. "There's plenty of other evidence that places our guy in the frame, including being arrested at the scene."

"But it's all circumstantial, right?" Dee asked, looking dubious.

King nodded before he reached down and paused the dictaphone momentarily. "Yes, but things have shifted slightly since we started the investigation. I don't think it's going to be a problem."

Both Dee and Ryo frowned at this cryptic response, forcing Harris to explain. "I don't know whether you're aware or not but the young man suspected of your kidnapping has made allegations against Henry Goldsmith in relation to the original crime his brother was arrested for. I think he knows they're both going down for their part in it whether they deny it or not and so, if Goldsmith's responsible like they claim, they're determined to take him down too. In order to do that though, the older boy has to admit that you and he were together at some point, Dee, although he's probably got some bullshit reason since he's still pleading not guilty to kidnapping you."

"Why's that?" Ryo asked, despite already having a good idea.

"Because apparently Dee was privy to a telephone conversation between Goldsmith and the kidnapper." Harris looked up suddenly. "Is this ringing any bells, Dee? I know we've jumped ahead, but d'you want to tell us anything relating to these allegations now?"

"Okay," Dee replied, as the recording device was started up again. He took several deep breaths before he started to speak, reminding himself that it was okay to tell the truth.

"The guy that kidnapped me explained how he and his brother knew Henry Goldsmith. He was bitter anyway because of the way his brother had been treated but since Goldsmith had double-crossed them over the plot to kidnap his family and make it look like the work of the De Lucas, he was hell bent on revenge. Although his argument was convincing anyway, I told him there was no way Goldsmith was responsible and that really made him mad. He told me he would prove it and so he called up Goldsmith and allowed me to listen in."

"And what exactly did Henry Goldsmith say that would corroborate the suspect's story?"

"Goldsmith called him a stupid bastard; told him he was going to go down for kidnapping a police officer and that none of this would have ever happened if he and his brother had just done what he'd paid them to do. When it was put to him that he'd set them up by calling in the police, Goldsmith just laughed and said they should have been more careful."

"I see," Harris said, looking across at King who nodded thoughtfully.

The rest of the interview proved to be relatively straightforward as Dee told how he'd spent increasing amounts of time unconscious due to the fever he had contracted. At one point he'd been on the verge of a panic attack as he was asked to recount how his leg had gotten broken, but with a combination of the breathing techniques Polly had taught him and Ryo sitting next to him, his hand supportively rubbing his back, he managed to tell them what had happened.

Ryo felt physically sick as he listened to Dee talk about his ordeal, horrified by the physical and mental pain his lover had been forced to endure. He was glad then, when the investigators announced that they had all they needed and prepared to leave.

"What will happen now?" Ryo asked, glancing at Dee who looked exhausted.

"Well," Harris said, slipping the dictaphone back into his briefcase. "I think it's about time we brought Henry Goldsmith in for questioning. See what he has to say about these allegations."

Ryo nodded, wondering how to broach the issue of them being in danger when Harris paused and looked up at them both. "I know this probably isn't want you want to hear right now, but I'd really careful if I were you." He stopped and offered them a humourless smile. "As you've probably gathered, Henry Goldsmith isn't all he appears to be."

Ryo looked across at Dee before he responded. "Yeah, we'd kind of been warned. In fact, we were advised to agree to being moved to a safe house until the trial is over."

Harris seemed to mull this over. "That's probably a sensible idea. Strictly off the record, but Goldsmith's name has come up time and time again in connection with a range of crimes from fraud and money laundering to murder. We're hoping that this case might open up a few more avenues in those inquiries so that bastard will finally get what he deserves."

"D'you think he'll try to get to Dee before the trial?" Ryo asked, truly worried now.

Harris and King looked at each other before the older man furnished the blond and his partner with an answer. "I think it's better to be safe than sorry," he replied somewhat vaguely. "Will you be able to arrange it?"

Ryo nodded, unconsciously giving Dee's hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'll get onto the precinct now. How long before you pull Goldsmith in for questioning?"

Harris shrugged. "Ideally we'd like to pick him up some time tomorrow."

Ryo looked at Dee, knowing that didn't give them much time. "Okay. I need to arrange it with my son's school but other than that we can be gone by the time he gets wind of what's happened."

"Fine," Harris said, nodding as he and King stood and picked up their briefcases. "If you've any problems and can't go straight away then call us and we'll hold off bringing Goldsmith in but we really do want to do it as soon as possible before he finds a way to cover his ass." Harris paused before he made to move away from the chair and looked straight at Dee. "I know that wasn't easy for you, but you did really well. We'll do our best to make sure everyone involved in this sorry mess pays for what they've done."

Dee nodded, grateful for the man's sincere desire to see justice done.

"Well thank you," Ryo said as he showed them to the door. After they'd left he turned to look at Dee who was staring outwards at the city skyline. "What are you thinking, love?" he asked gently.

Serious green eyes turned to meet him; his expression conveying both weariness and trepidation at what lay ahead. "I dunno," Dee said eventually after a long pause, "It kinda feels like I'm on one of those rollercoasters that go round in the dark." He offered Ryo a humourless smile. "I'm just trying to work out whether we're nearing the end or whether there's a few more loop the loops to go."

TBC…