Fifteen

Dean watched Roman snuggled closer to him, his one arm gripping his shoulder tight. He leaned closer and kissed him on his forehead. He had finished his shower and towel dried his hair a few minutes ago before getting into bed. "Roman?" he said softly.

A beat later, Roman replied, "Yeah?"

"Do you know how to fight?"

"...No. I've always been good at staying out of trouble."

Dean chuckled. "Okay. Do you want to learn how to?"

"Who's going to teach me?"

"I've got a friend who works at a rehab centre for trauma victims. I think he can help you out. I'm not trying to push you but I hope it's something you can consider."

"Okay."

"I'll bring you today, alright?"

"Alright."

Dean stroked his boyfriend's long hair, his thoughts on getting back at those two men.

"Dean?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"I hope you get them good."

On the outside, the Gold Heart Centre looked like a regular mansion. But on the inside there was a spa like ambience to the place.

Bill Goldberg greeted both Dean and Roman at the door warmly. "Dean!" He pulled the auburn haired cop into a huge bear hug. "I was so happy when you called. It's been ages since we hung out."

Dean scratched his head. "Sorry, man. Work and stuff. Anyways, Bill… this is Roman."

Bill hugged a surprised Roman. "Hey, the boyfriend!"

Dean smiled at the sight of a flushed looking Roman.

"Look," Bill said. "You can trust me, man. I'll take good care of you and teach you some fighting techniques… simple enough for self defence. Come on in."

Roman started for the door but looked back at Dean. "Dean-"

He pressed his lips against Roman's. "You'll love it. I've known Bill for close to ten years. He's good at what he does. I'm heading back to the hotel."

"You'll be picking me up?"

"Of course. Goldberg will be teaching you stuff and so will I. Then when I get those bastards, I'll let you hit them."

Roman smiled a little. One more kiss and Dean walked towards his car.

He'd let Bill work his magic.

"First," Bill said once he closed the door. "I would like you to relax. Dean told me what happened. And I'm proud of you for taking the first step."

Roman nodded. "What's second?"

"Thank you."

"Thank you?"

"For loving my friend. Dean is a real nice guy even though he can be so headstrong that it puts people off. But his heart is in the right place. I never thought I'd see him in love but you did that, man. You must be something special that he just fell for you."

"No. I don't think so…"

"How long have you guys been dating?"

"Two weeks."

"Oh… okay. Interesting."

Maybe Bill thought that it was just a crush. "It's love."

"Oh I don't doubt that," Bill replied. "I've never seen Dean look at anyone but you that way. He dated Zack since forever. And he didn't look at him that way. Come on. Let me introduce to a few other guys. There are three of them here, all here for recovery."

Roman followed behind him. There were three men talking to each other animatedly at the breakfast table. "Gentlemen," Bill greeted them. "If I could introduce you…"

Roman took in their appearances. There was a blond who looked very well groomed, a man with a beard who reminded Roman of a hippie for some unknown reason and another man so ridiculously good looking that he had to do a double take.

"Roman, this is Tyler, Daniel and Johnny," Goldberg introduced. "Gentlemen, this is Roman and he's our newest member. Well for today. Be nice to him. Roman I'll leave you here for a bit. Let me grab you some stuff."

Johnny - the ridiculously good looking one - smiled. "Nice to meet you, Roman."

"Nice to meet you too," Roman greeted him back.

"Won't you join us?"

"I can't," Tyler said, standing up. "I want to go swimming."

Daniel nodded. "Me too. See you guys later."

The two men took their plates and headed for the kitchen. "Don't worry," Johnny said "It's always about this time that they go swimming. Here. Have some rose petal tea." He poured a cup for Roman. "Don't worry. It tastes delicious."

Roman accepted the cup and inhaled the sweet smell. "Wow."

"I told you. And it's not just the smell of it. Once you taste it… why are you here if you don't mind me asking?"

"I don't mind. I was almost raped twice. My boyfriend suggested coming here to learn some self defense. What about you?"

"I was raped. By my ex- boyfriend."

"I'm so sorry."

"No, don't be. It happened and it's in the past."

"I was raped when I was a teenager so…"

Johnny nodded. "That's rough. I can assure you that Bill is good. He's an ex SWAT team member who helps people to get back on their feet. He runs this place with his good friend, Dr Eric Bischoff. Doctor Bischoff is licensed, don't worry."

"Yeah, my boyfriend speaks fondly of Bill. They're friends."

"How long have you been together?"

"Two weeks."

"That's nice."

"I hope so."

They both laughed. "What attracted you to him?"

"It's hard for me to pinpoint. Dean is a good guy. I could sense that almost immediately when we first met. He's got a cheeky side to him but he can be intimidating as hell."

"That's one hell of a crush," Johnny remarked.

"It's not a crush."

"Hmmm…"

Dean ate his pancakes at a fast pace. He poured more maple syrup on top and continued to shove the flat cake into his mouth before drinking cold milk.

Beneath the table, he clenched his left fist.

"Ummm… Jon, what is going on?" Damien asked as he chewed on his brioche thoughtfully.

Dean glared at him. "Nothing. I was out early this morning for a run when I saw two men trying to do something to that pastry chef."

Damien's eyes widened like saucers. "Jon-"

"So I kicked their asses."

He noticed Damien's hands fidgeting then. "That's… noble of you. Where's the pastry chef now?"

There was no way Dean was letting anyone go anywhere near Roman. "No idea. I didn't particularly care."

"Something the matter?" he asked.

"Why do you say so?"

"Because you've been glaring at me."

"I wanted to see you but you didn't leave a message. You always do early in the morning."

"You know."

"Because of that, I'm going to punish you."

Damien threw his napkin on the table. "Let's go back to the room. My meeting starts at one."

"Nah. You can wait."

"Jon!"

"You can."

"No… I have no self control whatsoever."

"Do you now?" He stood up. "Well you gotta learn how to have some."

Damien followed behind him as he walked towards the business centre. "I always get what I want, Jon."

"What a coincidence. So do I." Dean winked at him and entered the business centre. He stood by the newspaper rack and counted to ten as he picked up a copy of the Wall Street Journal.

Damien entered on the tenth count. "Jon…" he pleaded.

"Okay. Let's go."

"The best place to hit a person on are his eyes and nose," Bill explained as he walked with him at the Zen Garden, a garden with lush greenery and piped in spa music before lunch. "When you aim for their eyes, thrust your fingers into them."

"And their nose?" Roman enquired.

"Use the heel of your palm. Here. I'll show you." Bill stopped and stared at him. "You're a fairly big guy."

"Yeah…"

"Hmmm… you a footballer?"

"No."

"Okay. I'm going to teach you something I've never taught anyone and it's something only I use."

"What's it called?"

"Spear. Basically you use you use your shoulder to strike your opponent down via his abdomen with force."

Roman had practised the spear a few times on a dummy after being taught by Bill. He was starting to get a hang of it when it was time for lunch.

Bill had a chef prepare Wild Mushroom & Goat's Cheese Tagliatelle for the main and Sticky Toffee Pudding topped with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Roman ate his meal with Bill. Johnny joined them a while later and the three men chatted about Bill.

"Were you on the same team as Dean?" Roman asked as he twirled his pasta around his fork.

Bill nodded. "Yep. Shame he didn't continue. He was up for a promotion but after the whole thing with Zack… Dean went through months of therapy before he made the decision to transfer. But hey. At least something came out of it."

"What?"

"You. I love Dean like a brother. I know he's rough around the edges but if you knew what his family was like-"

"I do."

"Then you can see why he's the way he is." He sipped his water. "How did he find you?"

"A tracking app. I don't even know when he had downloaded it-"

"That's shady, man," Johnny remarked. "So he's able to track you no matter where you go? Where's your privacy?"

Bill said nothing for a moment. "He was probably worried about his boyfriend."

"Bill-"

"I'm not saying it's right. I'm not saying it's wrong. It's subjective."

Roman kept quiet. Who was Dean really? How much did Roman even know about him? "So he's good at what he does."

"Dean is especially good for using a sniper and surveilling. But you're safe with him. I haven't seen him going out and attacking anyone, have you?"

"Aargh!" Damien screamed in the room.

Dean had his hands squeezing his length and the man howled in pain. "Oh sorry. I gripped it a little too hard." He let go and Damien started to roll over, hands clutching his pained member. Inwardly, Dean smiled. He certainly was not sorry.

"I'm sorry," he apologised again. "But you were so passionate and I guess I was caught up in the moment." Not.

"It's… it's okay. Why haven't you removed your clothes?"

"Oh. I wanted to pleasure you first." He paused. "Do you want some ice?"

"That would be nice. Thanks."

Dean got up and headed to the small kitchenette to take some ice from the freezer. He used a kitchen cloth and placed the ice inside before handing it to Damien. "Here you go." The crime boss immediately pressed it against his member, a soft sigh escaping from his lips.

"Listen, I have to go. I have a meeting to go to myself so I'll just let myself out and see you tomorrow."

Damien seemed upset. "What? Can't you cancel it?"

"Do you cancel yours?" Dean countered. Silence. "Exactly. Adios!"

Out of habit, his eyes scanned his surroundings before he made his way to the suite. After a warm shower and making a cup of coffee, he took out his laptop and switched it on. There was still this report to finish up and he had to pick Roman up from the Bill's place.

He started to type in his findings so far. Okay so there was the mysterious Mr B. Adam was already out of the picture. Dean wondered if Roman had heard any name while those two men were attacking him.

He picked up his phone and pressed the number but he remembered Bill always requesting phones to be put on silent. Grabbing his car keys, he headed to the parking lot to drive over to the centre.

It was just a thirty minute drive and he didn't mind as he blasted Meatloaf's music in his car, singing along:

And I would do anything for love

I'd run right into hell and back

I would do anything for love

I'd never lie to you and that's a fact

But I'll never forget the way you feel right now,

Oh no, no way

And I would do anything for love, but I won't do that

No, I won't do that

Anything for love

Oh, I would do anything for love

I would do anything for love, but I won't do that

No, I won't do that

Some days it don't come easy

Some days it don't come hard

Some days it don't come at all, and these are the days that never end

Some nights you're breathing fire

Some nights you're carved in ice

Some nights you're like nothing I've ever seen before or will again

Maybe I'm crazy, but it's crazy and it's true

I know you can save me, no-one else can save me now but you

Whenever this song played, Roman always came to his mind. Two weeks and he was a mush. He parked his car by the side road and knocked on the door. Bill opened after a while. "Aren't you early?" his friend teased.

"Ha ha," Dean replied. "Look, can I talk to Roman? It's strictly police work."

"Really?" Bill said before calling out, "Roman! There's an officer here to ask you questions." Roman was smiling at some guy behind who eyed Dean with mistrust. Bill laughed. "Badge or we ain't letting you ask him questions."

"What?" Dean was flabbergasted. "Bill… don't make me bring up that incident with you and the spaghetti sauce."

"Sorry, Deano. Rules are rules."

"I'm going to kick your-"

"After this." Bill smiled at Roman. "Deano's got a red belt in taekwondo. Badge, Dean."

Dean sighed and took his police badge before flashing it. "Now can I ask questions?"

He was taking delight, the scoundrel. "No. Have you heard of identifying yourself? Our eyesights need fine tuning."

"Then go to a damn ophthalmologist," he replied through gritted teeth.

"We're closing the door-"

"Detective Ambrose," he said in an authoritative voice. "I'm here to ask your patient some questions… about last night."

"He's all yours."

Dean rolled his eyes. "He is mine." He sighed. "Come on, Roman. I need to ask you some questions."

He brought Roman to the Zen garden and they sat down on the granite bench. Something was different about his boyfriend. Dean couldn't tell what it was but he could feel it.

"I need to ask you questions because I have to write a report to Captain," he said. "Do you remember if any names were being mentioned? I know it's hard-"

"Braun."

Dean wrote down on the paper. "That's all?"

Roman nodded. "Well, yeah."

He stared at his notebook. How funny, he thought. Damien's friends were all in alphabetical. There was Adam who was A. Braun had to be B. Damien himself was a D. "So that means blondie is a C," Dean said aloud. "Fuck."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Dean, there's something else. Ummm… you know Braun. He had something green near his finger-"

"Holy shit. What did you say?"

"He had something green on his finger."

This whole thing was bigger than just a sex trade business. Braun was the guy they had been looking for. Two things stood out to him: witnesses' reports suggested that only one man - Braun - was involved. So when did blondie get into the picture? And why kill those men? What motive did they have for killing them? Or as he had learnt some people didn't even need reasons. They were just sick.

"Can I go already?" Roman asked.

Okay this was weird. Roman didn't want to be near him? "Well… umm… sure." Dean felt saddened. He knew something was wrong but he didn't even know how to ask Roman without offending him.

He didn't say goodbye to Roman but just left him there in the garden. Bill was standing there in the door. "What's wrong?" his friend asked.

"Did something happened here? He wasn't like this in the morning."

"I think it's all starting to sink in… what happened."

"Right."

Roman came out front and Bill left them alone. "If you want me to pick you up or not, just let me know."

He opened the door.

"That's it?" Roman said.

"Well, what else do you want me to say? You seem to be upset with me. There's no need for me to stay here any longer than I should to aggravate you."

"Did I come off that way?"

Dean remained silent. He was afraid of saying the wrong thing.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I… I'm glad that you found me, Dean. If you hadn't, I would have been-"

"Don't say it!"

"But it's true. Although I am going to delete that app because I'd like some privacy. No one likes to be monitored."

"You think I monitor you twenty four seven? I only track you when I can't find you."

"There's always a phone call. Dean, we need to have some trust between us."

"I'm not monitoring you because of your social life, Roman."

"But it may end up like that."

"That goes to show how much you know me."

Roman looked sad. "But that's it, isn't it, Dean? We don't really know each other."

That he hadn't been prepared for. "I know that I love you. That's all I need to know."

"But why? Why do you love me?"

"Why? Because you're a beautiful person - inside and outside."

"There are lots of beautiful people out there."

"Are you seriously questioning our love right now?" Dean rubbed his face. "I better go before I say something I'll regret."

"Dean-"

He ignored his boyfriend and stalked out of the house.

"Dean, wait!" Roman said from behind him. He could hear footsteps so he stopped short and Roman bumped into him. "You didn't let me finish."

"After what you said? You think I'd want to stand there a while longer to listen to you spit on our love, Roman? Is that it? Then why did you agree to go out with me? Why did you agree to move in with me? Why did you look so upset when I initially refused to say those three words? Why, Roman? Why? Was it because you thought I was being assertive then? If that's the case, you're free to go. You don't have to be stuck in a relationship you don't want to be in."

His boyfriend was looking at him in surprise.

"You have my house keys. You have the suite key. Do whatever you want. I don't care."

"Dean, shut up!" Roman slammed his back against the car and kissed him. Dean kept his mouth shut, refusing to kiss him back. "Dean," he said pulling back. "Open your mouth."

"I'd rather skydive naked than to kiss you after what you insinuated."

Roman smiled. "That can be arranged."

His smug look irritated Dean to no end. "Let go of me now or I'll push you."

"No. I think I like you like this."

He pushed Roman aside. "Your implication that I don't trust you makes me so mad. I was worried about you. There are psychos running out there and this case isn't closed yet so forgive me if I'm being overprotective."

"There's a difference between being overprotective and controlling."

Dean stared at him. "You think I'm controlling you?" All this time, he had thought he had been doing it right. Why did other people make it seem so easy? Clearly he didn't know this love relationship business.

Maybe he should quit before he messed up even more.

"Dean, I know it seems-" Roman was explaining before he was cut off.

"No, it's okay. You live your life, I'll live mine. Just as we had before we met."

"What-"

He got into his car, the slammed door drowning out Roman's words and started the engine. Don't look back, don't look back, he told himself. It's better this way. He'll be happier that he doesn't have to put up with you and you… Fuck he needed to get out of town.

After what was a two week relationship? Roman would probably be sighing out of relief.

A/N I will be out of town so I'll be giving double chapters. As promised more intensity ahead - relationship and as for Damien… well, you'll see! Thank you for the favorites/follows/reviews. Don't worry; they love each other too much to let go.