A/N: So I bet none of you realized I didn't add an a/n last chapter... I should have, though, considering I kinda vanished for a week with no updates. Sorry! Here is chapter 4. I got chapter 5 back from my editor already, so I'll be trying to get that one out later tonight or tomorrow.

Chapter dedicated to my two reviewers! Jollyolly and FortunateM! Reviews keep our spirits up here in the Sunny State of Satan's Ass, or America's Penis if you prefer, so please review if you like the story!

Midnight at the Precinct

Chapter 4: Rain Check Redeemed

A week had passed since they had started investigation of the suicide case, which, much to Dee's satisfaction, was now finally accepted throughout the precinct as such. Granted, there was only so much legwork they could do, considering the lack of evidence and witnesses, but it still managed to keep them fairly busy. It wasn't until the following day that they were able to contact and bring in the housekeeper for questioning. Apparently, her cell phone had died, but she was able to provide an alibi as to where she was during the declared time of death. In fact, all the possibly suspects' alibis checked out, which didn't surprise Dee, considering.

There was only the matter of releasing the body to the morgue and the last bit of paperwork for the two detectives to work on. It was certainly an irritating case for the brunette, despite its briefness. Of course, it wasn't the case itself that made it irritating.

Dee glared across their conjoined desks at his partner, who was too busy rifling through the reports for a specific piece of paperwork. Ever since he had called the blonde in an effort to plead his case, as well as possibly boost his ego, the two detectives had been at a nearly constant standoff over not only Dee's outrage on the phone, but also his extremely poor attempt at filling out his report on the venue. He hadn't given it any thought when he had taken the file with him to Ryo's, but the blonde had given him hell over his 'shitty job'. All mention of the commissioner ceased once Ryo saw it, but the tension behind the original argument remained throughout the week.

Well, most of anxiety had faded, but there was still the occasional griping and jeering every so often. Even if Ryo still denied that anything had happened when in the company of Commissioner Rose, Dee refused to believe him. He had even confronted the commissioner himself, who refused to talk to the younger detective, claiming he had no idea what Dee was nagging him about. That only made Dee more irritable, which in turn made Ryo more irritable.

Long story short, the past week was annoying as hell.

Fucking bastard, Dee mentally cursed a second before- speak of the Devil- the man himself passed through the room. He made a quiet, angry sound in the back of his throat as he watched the commissioner head into his office. The scowl that had pretty much ingrained itself onto his face over the past week deepening with the sound he made.

Ryo glanced up, looking at Dee over the rim of his reading glasses and could barely accept what he was hearing. Was Dee… growling? His eyes followed his partner's head and he caught the last swish of Berkeley's coat as he walked into his office. Seriously…? Ryo thought to himself and then smiled slightly as he found the folder the piece of information was in that he was looking for.

Dee had been acting like a two year old all week and would not stop bugging him about what had happened that night. In fact, Ryo had denied anything had happened enough to actually believe it himself. Of course, he wouldn't be able to pass a poly… but hopefully, his scatterbrained partner wouldn't think of stealing one from the interrogation room.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the file and slammed it down on Dee's desk, meaning to startle his inner animal to silence. "Please don't tell me you're going to start marking your territory, Dee." Ryo leaned back in his chair, stretching a kink out of his shoulder and sighing contently with the resounding pop. "Because if you are, give me some kind of warning so I can have the indecent exposure form ready," he added as he rubbed at his sore eyes, the glasses moving further up his nose as he hadn't bothered to remove them first.

"Or a hazmat suit," Dee muttered, the corner of his mouth twitching into a slight smirk for the briefest of seconds before drooping back one more. Ryo had managed to startle him, and, after a verbal complaint, he sat there breathing deeply while his heart rattled about in his ribcage. Not that his heart hadn't been doing all sorts of crazy things over the past week anyway…

"You find the file?" he asked absentmindedly, turning back toward his partner and lifting a leg to prop it up on the corner of the desk.

Ryo reached out and pushed the offending foot off the desk before Dee could get comfortable then grabbed one of his many pens that had seemingly materialized onto Dee's side of their conjoined workspace.

"Yeah," he said simply, adjusting his glasses and then pointed at the manila folder sitting in front of the brunette. "There's the autopsy report and I'm pretty sure Nick's forensic report is in there too." They were wrapping up the case and Ryo had flat out refused to do all the work, considering he had to spend all night last week fixing Dee's horrible excuse for a report.

With an audible sigh, Dee picked up the file. It was his "turn" to go through the reports and make sure everything was filled out correctly. Normally it was something Ryo did, not just because of his perfectionist nature when it came to his job, but also because he didn't trust Dee to do it himself; however, on their current case, Dee had more than his fair share of paperwork to do. Ryo had already stated that he wasn't in the mood to deal with his partner's usual- and recently unusual- antics.

Ten minutes or so passed before Dee started feeling antsy. He glanced up at Ryo, who was too busy to notice his partner's green eyes peering over at him. With another sigh, this one almost inaudible, he turned back to his own work. Crowds of words and signatures stared up at him, slowly making less and less sense as he stared back.

He needed a cigarette.

"I need a smoke," Dee said, voicing his thoughts as he rose from his desk. He didn't even bother looking at his partner as he left, brushing his hair from his face and looking reasonably more relaxed as he walked away.

The reports were in order, and Ryo had been busying himself with looking through the call log to see if he could turn up any new cases for them to take. Unlike Dee, Ryo enjoyed being busy. He looked up when Dee spoke, but was only met with the turning of his partner's head as he walked away. His eyebrows scrunched together somewhat and a short pang pierced his heart. He swallowed it away and waved slightly as he looked back down, knowing Dee wasn't going to turn back towards him.

It wasn't until he heard the door to their unit close that he leaned back in his chair and rubbed at his eyes. A dull pain soured his heart, but returning to his work only caused the pain to migrate to his temples. He hated arguing with Dee and not just because his partner pulled childish antics to get his way. It was... Well, he didn't really know why, but he hated it. It always made him feel like the bad guy when he fought with the younger brunette.

With a sigh of his own, Ryo rested his chin on his hand and gazed blankly at Dee's messy desk. With slight irritation he realized the file was only on the second page. He thought about getting up and dragging the lazy detective back into the building to finish going over the report, make him do the thirty minute job in twenty, but that would have included the ten he spent on the first two pages. Another grumble accompanied the refusal of that idea; instead, just took the offending file and placed it back on his own desk. Maybe if he just finished the case up, Dee would quit being so angry. He couldn't even understand why he was so enraged, it was just-...

Ryo's lips tingled as the memory returned, unbidden, into his mind.

No, he had to stop thinking about this! Dee was right. He really worried about things way too much... He thunked the pen against his own head in an attempt to get himself back on track. Looking at the file once more, he turned it to the fourth page, as he had already gone over the first three before handing it to Dee...

From his office, Berkeley was relieved to see that the younger of the two detectives finally decided to take a break. Well, it wasn't so much relief as it was gratification. For the past week, he had stayed in the shadows and kept himself busy with his own duties, not wanting to give Laytner any further reason to blow up on his undeserving partner. He had known even before Laytner had confronted him that he and Ryo had some sort of argument regarding himself. Then again, it wasn't as if the two detectives were keeping quiet over the whole ordeal. Well, Ryo was, and Berkeley was more than aware of the stress it was causing him.

But he had waited a week, which was longer than he had anticipated, and the two detectives were still clashing with one another, though thankfully not as loudly as before. It quite honestly put a huge damper on his plans. He had hoped that things would go more smoothly, that the younger detective wouldn't have been as perceptive or as presumptuous…

He could wait longer, but it would have been a lie to say he wasn't anxious. He didn't want to risk losing Ryo to time and a brat partner who couldn't keep his mouth shut.

Reentering the room, Berkeley wore his usual serious expression as he crossed the large office, mostly to ward off anyone who might interfere with his goal. It worked and he easily made his way to the older of the two's desk, the man himself too busy to notice his arrival, as per usual. He made a quick mental note that this was something he definitely needed to work on.

"Maclean, I need to see you in my office," he said aloud before he was even at Ryo's desk. He didn't want to risk wasting time and possibly Laytner returning before he was finished.

Ryo dropped the pencil he was using to make a note in the sidelines of one of the reports at the sound of Berkeley's voice. While it was obvious the older male would eventually need him for something, and though Ryo had been expecting it the first few days, he hadn't had time to prepare himself for the encounter. He looked up, his glasses just slightly askew on his nose from the jolt, and hunted for the source of his surprise. His eyes passed over Dee's empty chair and lingered there for a millisecond before finally finding and focusing on Berkeley's mundanely serious expression.

As always, there was a surprised look on the detective's face when he came upon him. Even though Berkeley enjoyed the dazed expression, he wondered just how long it would take for Ryo to become used to the sound of his voice. When would Ryo simply turn and… smile at him?

Now was not the time for sentimentalities, not in front of the other's co-workers anyway. He needed privacy with Ryo and hopefully he could say what he wanted before a certain detective discovered his partner's whereabouts.

"Sure," Ryo said as he pushed back from his chair. "Is this about the case? We're finishing it up now. It should be filed within the hour," Ryo half-explained, feeling sheepish for the fact the report wasn't already completed. If he hadn't forced Dee to actually do his work, they would have had this case filed and closed yesterday. A sour grumbling brewed in the pit of his stomach as he realized this and he hoped that the commissioner wasn't summoning him for a warning.

Or was that just because he was going into Berkeley's office and Dee wasn't around to... to…

To what?

Ryo scrunched his eyebrows together faintly as he remembered his partner storming out of the precinct because of what had happened last week. He had already had this conversation with himself before; how many times had Dee kissed him? The young blonde didn't need to go through this entire speech to himself again, and instead just gathered up the notes for the case and stuffed them into the manila folder.

"That and something else. Come with me," Berkeley replied before turning and heading back toward his office. He didn't bother looking back, knowing Ryo was not far behind.

Holding the door for the other, Berkeley closed it behind him. He debated locking it at first, but then decided against it. He had already weighed the odds of Laytner barging into his office and decided that an unlocked door would raise fewer suspicions. He only hoped that he could say what he wanted before they were intruded upon.

His solemn expression faded, turning into a slightly contrite one as he regarded the shorter male. "Before we get onto the topic of the case, I wanted to apologize for any stress I may have caused you over the past week," Berkeley told him without a hint of hesitancy. He didn't often apologize, but he was certainly man enough to acknowledge any wrongdoings he may have committed. He didn't want Ryo to think he was completely heartless.

Having been the first one in, Ryo settled the paperwork atop Berkeley's desk before turning back to face him. "Oh, uhm…" he started, his eyes flittering towards the bookshelf for a second before he forced himself back on track. "It's not a problem, sir. The case has been pretty stressful, so there's no reason for you to apologize." A sheepish smile settled over his features as he continued. "I'm glad it's over though. Dee was right all along—it was a suicide."

Even though Ryo was slow to catch onto things, he knew what Berkeley was talking about. Not like it had been on his mind for the entire week, considering Dee wouldn't let up about it. "As for the other thing…" he added before the older had a chance to fix him with that disapproving gaze he so often flashed at his friends. "Don't, uh, don't worry about it. Dee's kissed me ten times more, and if I got all bent out of shape over each one, I'd be one messed up detective," he joked, placing his fingers on the file he had brought in. Part of him didn't want to be having this conversation, especially not with Berkeley blocking the only exit to the office… but the other part...

Ryo didn't know what that other part was doing. His heart had sped up slightly and he could feel the hand atop the folder grow just barely clammy. What am I doing…? he chastised himself, kicking his mind back on track.

The light in the commissioner's eyes faded at Ryo's "confession". He could feel the energy slowly draining from his body, numbness seeping downward toward his feet, which felt like anchors against the carpeted floor. Disbelief flooded his thoughts as he stared at the blonde with an indistinguishable expression, finally mustering the strength to turn away from him and gaze off into nothing in particular.

"I see," he replied after a moment, his voice taking on an almost injured tone.

As soon as he finished speaking, the numb sensation immediately dissipated as molten lava seemed to suddenly shoot through his veins. The wall that he was staring at came back into focus and he was battling the harsh scowl that threatened to take over his features. His fists were already clenched tightly, his knuckles white and his palms stinging slightly from the pressure.

How… How could he…

Jealousy flared throughout his being as Ryo's words reverberated inside his head. How could Ryo admit something like that so casually, without a shred of dignity or thought for his feelings… Did he even acknowledge his feelings? Was he really…

If he wasn't a man of his position and temperament, he would have sought out the other detective and slugged him. The thought of causing harm to Laytner only made him even more irate. He didn't want to reduce himself to the childish detective's standards. The two partners weren't an actual couple, or at least, not that he was aware of. He wasn't completely out of the running yet.

Berkeley shook his head slightly before turning back toward Ryo. Raw emotion glistened in his hazel eyes, even though he had managed- albeit just barely- to keep the rest of his hurt expression in check. He even managed to detach his fingernails from his reddened palms, which he immediately shoved into his pockets in an attempt at acting casual.

Opening his mouth to reply, he suddenly realized just how parched his throat was. He swallowed and cleared his throat quietly. "Well, I… You might want to consider how to respond next time. Saying something like that might hurt somebody's feelings," he said with a small, forced smile, trying to play off his own injured emotions.

Ryo's eyes widened as he realized what he had said and heat flushed his cheeks in a mad rush to display his embarrassment. He hadn't meant to say that- hell, he hadn't even really accepted Dee's feelings towards him yet. How could he have just flat out divulged such a falsity that… that it didn't make his world feel so… so upside down?

He took a step towards Berkeley, his heart running a marathon in his chest attempting to catch up with the feverish speed of his thoughts.

"I—" He coughed, unintentionally taking a second half-step forward. His fingers twitched towards the older man, but Ryo found he didn't have the strength to lift his arm. He battled excuses, each one sounding worse than the last.

"I'm… I mean, I've been… trying to get my mind off it because… it, well… uhm…" Ryo stuttered a bit, the blood remaining strong in his face as he glanced away, back towards the bookshelf. "It really… I've been thinking about it all week, and I've been… trying not to let it affect me as much as it did… I guess…" he finally wound up saying, half expecting the truth to sound like one of those lame excuses he hadn't been able to say.

Berkeley stiffened as Ryo inched closer toward him, his defenses on high from the rush of emotions that he was slowly corralling. He really wasn't certain what to expect, though the other's sudden flustering was certainly better than the other reactions that played out in his head. He really wasn't certain how to take the detective's ill-at-ease admission. Watching the blonde try to explain made him relax somewhat, and out of nowhere, the corner of his mouth crooked upward.

"Well," he began, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to calm himself further, "at least you didn't try to punch me this time." Even though he was teasing, the commissioner sounded relieved and his smile spread even further.

Again Ryo looked off and this time backed up a step as the memory resurfaced. "Y-Yeah, uh… Sorry about that…" he muttered, looking back down at the folder he had brought in. After another second, he turned, the flush mostly dissipated as he seemed to remember where he was and what he was supposed to be doing.

"Is that, uh… Is that what you wanted to talk to me about…?" he asked, fingering once again the corner of his folder. Regardless of the kiss, from anyone for that matter, he was a workaholic at heart… and as such, if he was on the clock, especially with Dee's work to do, he would much rather be doing that than having a personal conversation. Unlike his partner, Ryo actually liked to stay pretty much on subject, when it concerned work, anyway…

"Actually," Berkeley began, taking a step toward Ryo. He pulled his other hand from his pocket and reached for the manila folder, nearly brushing his fingers against the other detective's as removed it from the desk. Holding the folder between them, it seemed as if the commissioner was going switch the conversation to the contents of the file.

But he didn't.

"I wanted to propose taking you to dinner once again."

Berkeley remembered the last time he had asked Ryo out, having been turned down for a reasonable excuse. It had been several months since then and, with the recent couple nights that they had spent together at the precinct, he had thought that now was as good a time as any to extend the offer once more.

He kept the file between them, suddenly being reminded of when Ryo's jealous partner had blocked him from what would have been his first kiss with the detective. Of course, he wasn't going to kiss him, not today anyway, and he was hoping that the "barrier" between them was a subtle enough hint for the blonde not to be concerned over it.

"Not tonight, of course," he added after Ryo didn't immediately respond." I actually have plans." Which wasn't a lie. "Not to mention I thought that you would most likely want to wait until your partner cooled down."

At first, Ryo was relieved that there would be a change of topic... but then that hope was brutally crushed as Berkeley spoke. He blinked, staring blankly at his superior as he was assaulted by his eyes above the folder. His mouth opened slightly, as if he was going to say something, but then suddenly realized he had no idea what to say. His eyes flittered to the door past where Berkeley stood, remembering Dee barging through the last time and saving him from having to answer.

He looked at the door for what felt like a minute, but was only a second or two. There was no knight in shining armor... or shining bullshit, anyway. No, the door remained closed, and Ryo found himself partly happy for that fact.

"Uhm..." Ryo started, cursing himself for using the filler-word so often today, and cleared his throat. "I guess that shouldn't be a problem... sir.." he tacked on the professional 'sir' at the end, a small part of himself trying to seed the idea that the dinner would be about a case or a business meeting... even though the rest of him knew he just agreed to a date. "What day did you have in mind...?" he added tentatively, his mind already trying to come up with what he would tell Dee...

Berkeley smiled at the other detective. It wasn't one of his usual haughty or forced smiles. In fact, one might even consider being handsome. In actuality, he was just happy that he wasn't shot down once again.

Not to mention Ryo was letting him choose the time for the date.

Was the blonde letting him do so because he had asked in the first place? Or perhaps Ryo suspected that he had looked over his schedule before asking him, he pondered guiltily. Granted, even though the idea of doing so poked and prodded at him for some time, the commissioner refused to pry into that information for his own personal gain. He was a much more respectable person than that.

"No particular day," he replied, lowering the folder to hold at his side. "But to be fair, how about your first available evening after the 23rd?"

Ryo thought about the date, his eyes taking on a faraway look as he mentally went through his schedule. His eyebrows furrowed together as he focused on the first evening shift he had off after the 23rd. In fact, it was the first evening he had off in over a week, unless it was one of his personal days.

"I work the morning shift on the 24th," he admitted, shifting slightly from one foot to the other as he did so, his gaze inadvertently following the path of his folder. "I don't have another evening until the 31st." Part of him wondered if Berkeley really had looked at his schedule, not that it would have been hard. It wasn't as if the shift times were confidential, but still…

"Then the evening of the 24th it is," Berkeley replied, the corner of his mouth quirking into a grin. That was fairly easy, he thought to himself. Convenient too. He hadn't expected that the detective would be off so soon.

Watching the dark eyes peer down at the report, Berkeley took the time to admire the blonde's visage. Ryo was truly such a handsome male. Perhaps the most handsome man he had the pleasure of knowing personally. The way his lashes fanned over his eyes, his slightly parted lips, how his hair fell just so… He was literally intoxicating to look at….

After finally tearing his focus from the folder, Ryo settled his eyes on the older detective before him and offered him a tentative smile. He had no idea what he had just done, and Dee…

Ryo's insides churned again with the nervous thoughts of his partner.

"So, uhm…" Damn that word again… "Was that all, or did you need to talk to me about the case…?" he tried again to switch the topic, hoping that this time it would work.

When Ryo finally returned his gaze, the other corner of his mouth arched up as well. How predictable, Berkeley thought to himself. So work-obsessed. He lifted the folder once more, giving it a momentary glance before handing it to the other male.

"Make sure this is filed before you leave work today," the commissioner replied in a lenient tone. "It's taken you two far too long to complete a simple suicide case."

Immediately, Ryo felt defensive over the report. Even though Dee had been the lead investigator, they were still partners; therefore he shared the responsibility of making sure the case was conducted and filed properly and effectively. Ryo had never before been privately reprimanded for a case, especially a case that wasn't even entirely his. Right after making personal plans, no less.

"Sir, I apologize for the delay," he answered as he took the folder. "With all due respect, the homicide department refused to let the case go, even after we presented all the necessary proof of a suicide." Ryo shifted a bit towards the door, instantly having switched back into 'work mode' and held Berkeley's piercing gaze easily as he explained the situation. "The case will be finished and filed tonight. I will personally make sure of it."

Another part of Ryo twisted slightly as he realized Berkeley had used the case to lure him, once again, into the privacy of his office for his own personal motives. Damnit… he thought to himself as he took another step towards the door. I really… really need to work on being more careful…

"Was there anything else you needed, Commissioner?" he asked, being sure to add Berkeley's title, hoping that would give him some reason to continue on the road of work. Plus, if he left Berkeley's office with nothing to tell Dee, he would never hear the end of it-

There was a sound at the door. Immediately, Berkeley's eyes were drawn to it, waiting for the door to come crashing open and Ryo's irate, over-protective partner to come flying in.

But neither happened.

The door opened, perhaps a bit briskly, but still nowhere near as violently as he expected. After such a docile display, the commissioner was honestly surprised that it was Dee on the other side of the door and not one of the other officers with some dilemma too important to knock first. The detective looked calm, for the most part, the scowl that liked to make its way onto his face whenever he was in the same room as the commissioner already present. Green eyes stared across the room at Berkeley, and at first, the older man wondered if Dee had been eavesdropping on their conversation, but the thought was mostly banished when he realized that the younger detective wasn't giving him anything harsher than the usual glare.

Berkeley smiled slightly. "No, Maclean, I don't believe I do," he finally replied, shoving a hand inside his pants pocket. Perhaps he really didn't have anything to worry about. It didn't seem like anymore than your standard superior-worker conversation. "Just keep what I said in mind."

Dee turned toward his partner, his dark brows furrowed so deeply that the contrast of colors made his eyes seem even greener. Or maybe that was just the suspicion and irritation gleaming in those verdant orbs.

Ryo actually mirrored Dee with a much slighter glare in the commissioner's direction. Regardless of what was going on, work was work, and while after hours was fine, calling him in during the day for a private conversation wasn't exactly something that he enjoyed.

"Yes, sir."

Of course, his glare was more of the 'work is work' glare than anything else and his jet black eyes refused to relinquish the sheen of anticipation that had glazed them a few minutes prior to his partner's entrance.

"Come on, Dee," he said as he turned towards the door, intent on pushing his partner's impassible frame out into the hall if he didn't move. "We have to file this report by the end of the day," he concluded, not turning to look back at Berkeley as he left the office. Of course, this meant that the commissioner couldn't see the slight flush that tinted the younger blonde's cheeks.

Dee moved aside and let the blonde exit in front of him. He glanced back at the commissioner, who was giving him an even stare. He wasn't sure what to say. Hell, he wasn't even sure what had just happened other than Ryo seemed angry with Berkeley.

He decided that, in this particular instance, it was probably best not to say anything at all. In his partner's defense, as well as his own irritation, he narrowed his eyes at Berkeley, nearly making a face at him before turning and pulling the door shut.

Once they were in the hall and the door was properly closed, Ryo turned and thrust the file back into Dee's hands.

"I read up to page four. You only need to go over the last few pages, okay?" he said calmly, fixing Dee with one of his heated 'you'd better do your work' stares. "I'm going to get some coffee. Do you want any?"

Dee gripped the file, having almost fumbled in surprise at its sudden reappearance. He stared back at the blonde with the same intensity he had shown to Berkeley for a moment before backing down slightly with one of his "yeah, yeah, whatever" expressions. He couldn't really bring himself to be mad. Even though he was feeling this way from the lasting effects of the nicotine and Ryo's less than pleased stare at the commissioner, he knew that Ryo was right. He had been slacking off long enough.

"Yeah," he said finally before turning to head back to their station. At least Ryo was being civil enough to get him some coffee, Dee thought to himself somewhat light-heartedly. "You know how I like it."