Charlie sat on the pier in Santa Monica and watched the sun slip into the ocean. He turned to see Sasha Suarez watching him. The blond haired young man smiled and asked "Dinner? My treat"

The japanese restaurant was small and intimate. Sasha Suarez ordered in Japanese. They ate and studied each other. Each enjoying the food and the secluded restaurant atmosphere.

Charlie pondered the blond kid adopted by a hispanic family "So is Sasha your given name or a nick name?"

"My given name was Alexander. I became Sasha when I was homeless and had no friends or family in Moscow. I was picked up by traffickers with another boy, Vlad. I never saw him again. They liked how I fought. I never backed down. I had spirit."

"So you teach karate and languages? Not going to college?"

"I'm a crap student. I got my high school certificate. High School was shit. I left home at 18. I was a bit wild back then. Parental boundaries were restricting. Ding did not like the fact I'd disappear and earn more money in a weekend than he made in a month. Not drugs but bare fist fighting. I'd dress up like a preppy asshole but as a sixth dan black belt I always won. The gangs liked the fact they made lots of sucker bets."

"I would have thought Ding would have sorted you out."

"Yeah he did. Him and four ex-marine buddies kidnapped me and showed me the error of my ways. Scared the crap out of my friends as well." Sasha then smiled showing a flash of slightly crooked, stained and chipped teeth. "So Detective Crews, would you like to come to my apartment for a nightcap."

Tidwell was the first to notice Crews whistling in the morning. Stark was the first to actually ask "Get laid last night? What was it one, two or three girls?"

Crews shook his head. "I went on a date. We talked and drank coffee."

"A date?"

Crews was over Jen, over Connie. He did not add any details for anyone to gossip about. Tomorrow he and Sasha were going hiking in the canyons to the north of LA.

They sat in the shade of an outcrop of rock, sparse scrub the only vegetation. The sun was shining but the temperature was OK, not hot, not cold. Four miles from the nearest road or track.

"So Detective. You want to know about my past."

"Did you cross paths with Roman Nebikov?"

"I met him once. In hospital here in LA." Sasha then took a long drink of water, then passed the canteen to Crews. "Roman was very interested in a kid who had removed two of his rivals in a thorough and efficient manner. He saw through my poor little victim act straight away." Sasha shifted position. "I said you looked like Yassen. You have to understand that he and I were not friends. I hated him. He destroyed my life. He killed my uncle in March 2001, when I was 14. It was not personal. Yassen was paid to kill lots of people. I went from good student with a good home to be at the beck and call of the people my uncle worked for. I worked as cover. Easier to smuggle items or people through borders if you look life a family. The stuff in the kids luggage or in the kid." Sasha knew his was speaking in generalisations and he sighed hating that period of his life so thoroughly he was still so jaded and bitter over his experiences. "I was anything they wanted me to be until I got too big, not cute enough anymore. Ended up on the streets. I stole to survive. My luck ran out." Sasha stretched out sunning himself. "Does that answer your questions, Detective?"

Crews then let out his secret, the one he had not said out loud since the drive through the orange grove. Crew's "I killed Roman." He'd killed him with the quick brutal efficiency that he learned in those first six months in prison.

Crews watched the kid smile and look straight into his eyes. "Good for you. Roman was a real piece of work and I nearly ended up working for him." Roman had visited him in hospital in 2002. Sasha had said straight to Roman's face that he could look after himself, just as he had after Malagosto. Roman had been very amused by this, stating Yassen would be proud of him. Roman had come to find out how Yassen had died. Roman and Yassen were friends from the early 1980's. Both street kids working their way up in the criminal gangs in Soviet Russia.

Sasha leaned back to sun himself, relaxing his body and enjoying the fact that Detective Crews was enjoying the view. "So Detective. I think you deserve a special thank you for ridding us of Roman Nebikov." Crews sat stunned as the young man showed off his long, lean and fit body. The kid was waiting for Crews to take the plunge; to decide if his affairs in prison were just desperation and lust or if it was something more. Crews made the decision to know this young man fully.

"I want you. Not just sex. I want you. Are you offering me the whole deal or just now?" Crews decided that his man was worth a complete change, a new start.

"You want the whole deal. I am yours to take and to keep." With that Crews crept forward to kiss Sasha brutally, possessively and completely. Crews opened the younger mans flies and pushed down his trousers and brought Sasha to climax with his hand while he kissed, bit and licked Sasha thoroughly, mapping the younger man's face, and neck.

"Do you want me to suck you off?" asked a panting and spent young man.

Crews smiled wistfully. "I can wait. Good things are worth waiting for. I have a huge bathroom, a king sized bed and a ridiculously large pool. I think I want us to go home to continue our conversation."

Sasha looked at the large unfurnished hall, the house looked un-lived in, before being led upstairs. It explained so much about Crews. Twelve years in prison and his bedroom furniture consisted a a king sized bed with top quality linen and nothing else. The bathroom was luxury personified. The towels were thick large and sinfully soft. Top of the range products on the shelves. Sasha stood in the shower and let Crews operate the several controls. "Can I taste you now, Detective?"

Crews watched as Sasha knelt and proceeded to make all distractions disappear as his world was reduced to the sensation of mouth, tongue and lips teasing, kissing, licking and sucking.

The low beams of the setting sun played on Sasha's blond hair and tanned skin as he dozed on the bed. Charlie gently touched the dark freckles avoiding the scars.

"You want to fuck me now, don't you?" Sasha watched Crews nod his head. "You have lube and condoms?" Again Crews nodded. "OK, some rules for you. Always safe sex. No condom, no fucking. If I say 'Krasny' I want you to stop what you are doing for a time out. Thats my safe word. If you don't stop I will make you. If you want to do anything beyond vanilla, we talk about it first. I have hang ups about certain things. Now you can take me to the moon and show me some stars."

Charlie woke to a knock on his front door. 9am, Saturday morning. Maybe it was Mormons. Crews put on a t-shirt and sweat pants. He'd invite them in for fruit and tea.

He opened to door to see Tidwell and Reese stood there.

"Hi guys. Come in. You want coffee?"

"Coffee would be great."

Crews noted a strange apprehension over his work mates as he fixed coffee and poured himself a glass of juice. The quiet made the movement upstairs ring through the house. The noise of someone showering quickly. Brushing teeth and noisily jumping stairs in their haste. Sasha stood in the entrance to the kitchen. "Late for work. I'll call you, Detective."

Tidwell looked stunned before stating "Your date?"

"Yes, that was Sasha. I think we are more than dating. Yeah, were a couple now. I guess."

Then Reese spoke "That was a guy. I'm sure that was a guy."

Crews actually smiled, looking at peace and happy. "Yes, Sasha is a guy. I think that means I'm out and proud now. Fruit anyone? I have cherries, kumquats, grapes, oranges and peaches"

Reese as usual drove them home. Tidwell then piped up "I guess I understand why Crews is seeing the shrink now. Falling for a guy. I'd be seeing a shrink." Kevin Tidwell then slapped his thighs and laughed "Shit. After he pulled that stunt with Roman. I was so fucking sure he was in love with you, Dani. God, I got that wrong. I can't believe I was jealous of you guys."

Reese sat thinking over her partner. His strong friendship with that fraudster, Earley made kind of sense. Crews trusted him. Earley, probably, was the only one who knew Crews was in denial over his sexuality. All that chasing of his ex, the string of girls. Charlie had come back to the job and had tried to shape his life to be the person he was before prison. Earley was there to keep Crews in connection with his real past, not the past he wanted to gloss over. Crews had saved her, not because he was in love with her, but because she and Tidwell were. She felt like a fool now, she had distanced herself from her friend to help him get over his unrequited love, when she was totally not what he was after. He had spent the last two years healing, getting over his anger, finding himself again. Reese then spoke. "We should go on a double date. You know to let Crews know we're cool with this."

"Sure honey. Anything you want. What does Crews eat except for fruit anyway?"

Reese could almost hit Tidwell. "We'll go for pizza or italian. Everyone likes italian."