"Bicky! I'm going!"

Ryo paused, his hand poised on the door handle, waiting for some response that said the teenage boy had heard him. "Bicky?"

"Yeah, yeah," the other replied, emerging from his bedroom. "I heard ya."

"Do you want a ride to Cal's?"

"No it's okay," the blond teen answered as he disappeared into the kitchen and returned holding the carton of milk which he chugged from as Ryo frowned.

"You could get a glass for that you know," the detective said shaking his head as he opened the door.

Bicky rolled his eyes before he looked his adoptive parent up and down. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a white shirt; more pop idol than policeman. "Where you off to?" he asked curiously.

"Just out to a bar," Ryo replied, somewhat vaguely.

"Where's the doofus?"

"If you mean Dee," Ryo said, still frowning. "He's already gone out."

The milk carton stopped at Bicky's lips and his wide blue eyes met Ryo's. "You're going out separately?"

Ryo smiled. "Bicky, just because we're married doesn't mean we have to do everything together. Sometimes it's nice to have some time apart."

The teen looked dubious. Apart to him meant splitsville. He couldn't imagine ever wanting to be apart from Cal so what was with Ryo and Dee? Sure, they'd been married a while but they seemed happy. Although they had had that argument the other week that resulted in Ryo disappearing into the bedroom and Dee stomping around the living room for several hours, swearing like a trooper... His thoughts were interrupted by the blond detective, who looked impatient to leave.

"So you don't want me to drop you off at Cal's?"

"Nope."

"Well okay. And you're staying over at hers tonight?"

"Yep."

"If you want me then ring me on my cell phone. I might stay over at a friend's if I have too much to drink and I don't want you worrying if you ring here and get no answer."

"Fine, whatever," Bicky replied, waving the other man off. He stood and stared at the closed door for a moment before he shook his head and wandered back to his bedroom to get ready for his date with Cal.

Dee entered the bar, his lungs filling with the smoky air that was as commonplace in these establishments as the beer pumps and bar stools. The place was dimly lit, allowing privacy in the booths that lined the outer walls. As he walked through the room, he could feel several sets of eyes watching him from those shadowy hideaways but his own eyes were fixed on the bar proper. He passed the pool table where an animated game was taking place and slid onto a bar stool, not looking at who he sat down next to. The bar attracted an interesting mix of gay and straight clientele and had been a popular haunt of his when he'd been single.

"What'll it be?" the barman asked.

"Um... Budweiser."

As he waited for his beer, Dee dug in his pocket for his cigarettes. He lit one and looked for an ashtray, noting the only one was in front of the customer sat to his left.

"Mind if I...?" he asked, hooking the ashtray with one finger but not moving it until he got the man's approval.

"Be my guest," the other answered with a smile. Dee didn't miss how the man looked him up and down, apparently approving of more than him just taking the ashtray.

"Thanks," he replied, smiling back.

Their eye contact lingered until the barman returned with his drink. He set it down in front of the dark haired man who turned back to his new companion. "Would you...?" he asked, gesturing at his own drink.

The other man smiled. "That's very kind. I'll have a Bud too, please."

Dee ordered the second beverage, surprised by how readily he had offered him a drink. There was silence until the barman returned. The man raised the bottle in salute.

"Thanks for the drink...?"

"Dee," the dark haired man replied, filling the gap. He held out his hand which the man took and shook firmly.

"You're married, Dee," the man observed, studying the white gold wedding band as he held Dee's long olive fingers in his hand.

"Uh... yeah."

"You don't sound too sure."

"I am, but to a guy."

The man nodded; clearly not put off by the information. Instead he smiled. "So why you here buying drinks for strange men then?"

Dee laughed, knowing it was a fair question. "You know how it is," he said eventually, not smiling anymore. "Life kinda gets in the way of fun. Working, trying to raise a teenager... before you know it, whole weeks have passed and you haven't taken any time for yourself. Or each other."

The man nodded understandingly. "I know how that is. So what's he like then? Your husband, I mean?"

Dee drew on his cigarette, Ryo's face swimming into view. "Stunningly beautiful. Great body. First class lover."

His companion raised his eyebrow. "Sounds like quite a catch."

"Yeah... yeah he is."

A comfortable silence ensued as the two drank their beers. Occasionally they would make eye contact, then smile and look away again, both aware of the spark of attraction between them. In the brief moments where he could look before the other man caught him looking, Dee concluded that the guy was hot, and he knew, with a terrifying sense of certainty, that the evening would not end with just one drink if he could help it.

As the hour grew later, the bar grew busier until conversation became difficult. Dee was worried that the man might want to leave; he did, but not before asking Dee if he wanted to come too. The dark haired man nodded as he slipped off his stool; his heart pounding in his chest. They walked in the darkness, watching the lights twinkling across the city. He recalled the first time he and Ryo had taken this walk; when for the first time, they had talked seriously about a future together. Those memories were for another time; not tonight.

"Hey," his companion said, sensing Dee's thoughts were somewhere else.

"Sorry." His heart lurched as the other man reached up and gently pushed his dark hair off his face.

"You have beautiful eyes," the man observed, studying the lush green pools. Dee couldn't recall how they had come to be stood so close. His breath caught as a hand trailed down his cheek.

"Thanks," he said eventually in response to the compliment. He realised that the man was waiting for him to make the next move. "Look, I er... we could go somewhere, get a room... if you want."

The man's existing smile broadened and he nodded his head. "I'd like that."

"Okay... good," Dee replied, his grin reflecting his nervousness. They found a motel and entered together, Dee stepping up to the desk to make the booking. The girl on the reception didn't seem shocked or curious at the two men wanting a room for the night; she had a pocket size TV under the desk and was missing Will and Grace. Dee paid cash, not wanting anything to show up on his credit card.

More silence between them as they passed through the corridors of the motel, their shoulders bumping occasionally. The sound of people talking and televisions playing filtered through the individual doors until they reached their allocated room. Dee entered first, playing with the light switches until he found the one for the wall lamps that gave off a more subtle glow than the overhead fluorescents. His companion closed the door behind them, his eyes studying the room before they came to rest on Dee, fiddling nervously with the key card after he had drawn the curtains.

"We should have got a bottle of wine or something," Dee mumbled, feeling wretchedly out of practise at this. How long had it been since he had last picked someone up in a bar and gone on to a motel? A long time he decided as the other man came close.

"Regretting this already?" he asked, the breath as he spoke, tickling Dee's face.

"No," the dark haired detective replied with a sudden rush of confidence as he took the other man's handsome face in his hands and kissed it soundly. When the man responded, Dee's hormones took charge and he began to pull at the other's clothing, anxious to see the well sculpted body he was certain lurked beneath his garments. The man responded in kind, pulling Dee backwards until they fell onto the bed together, the mattress protesting loudly at the sudden weight.

Clothing pooled in a heap on the floor, forgotten, unnecessary in this frenzied dance of tongues and limbs. On top, Dee lay across the other's chest, plundering his companion's mouth, raw with desire. When had he and Ryo last slept together? The answer didn't come readily. There had been a succession of difficult cases at work resulting in late nights and early mornings. Their relationship was suddenly right at the bottom of their "in" tray and his body ached at the involuntary abstinence. This was his release he needed, no matter how it made him feel.

He groaned as fingers started to stroke his arousal and he shifted his weight to allow the talented digits better access. With his own free hand, he pinched the already swollen nipples one by one, causing the man to sigh; the sound vibrating in his mouth as they continued their kiss. After several moments, Dee pulled away and encouraged the man to turn over. With well practised skill, he ran his tongue down the smooth curve of the man's back, until it disappeared between the crease of his ass. He remembered the first time he had been the recipient of this practise. He'd been young, a teenager, and experimenting with his newly discovered sexuality. He'd met an older man in a bar, much like tonight and they'd gone back to his place. Despite his inexperience, Dee possessed the brashness of youth that would see him through this encounter. The man that had picked him up wasn't particularly attractive; but what he lacked in looks, he made up for in carnal knowledge, and Dee would always remember this loveless liaison as where he had learnt the most about being a good lover.

He thought again of his mentor as he lapped at the sensitive entrance, his eyes looking past the smooth buttocks to watch the man thrashing beneath his touch, just as he had done as a curious and inexperienced teen all those years ago. Dee shivered at the sight; enjoying giving pleasure almost as much as he enjoyed receiving it. Soon though, the desire to receive overtook him and almost roughly, he snaked a hand under the man's stomach and pulled his rear end upwards and towards him, realising only now, that they didn't have any lubrication.

"Shit," he muttered, looking around the room for inspiration for something else to use.

"Jacket pocket," the man said, his eyes still closed as he clung to the memory of Dee's tongue sweeping over and around his most sensitive areas.

Dee slipped off the bed, retrieving the item in question along with the condom he had in his own pocket. For a moment he contemplated who had picked up whom; after all, they had both come prepared for carnality, with no hint of shame or embarrassment. Dominance was such a fickle mistress. With the sheath in place and the fingers of his right hand coated in the slippery substance, Dee returned to his former position, almost salivating over the smooth ass raised and ready for his delectation as he began to prep.

He couldn't prevent his sigh of ecstasy as he entered the inviting cavern and buried his swollen member up to the hilt. Their movements spoke only of lust; love was an alien concept in that motel room and neither man had any intention of inviting it in. They were here for sex, to pleasure and be pleasured and nothing more. Tomorrow morning they would go back to their normal lives and this encounter would be a memory.

"Harder," the man cried, bracing himself against the wooden bed head, ready to take Dee's response to his request. The dark haired man obliged, driving into the gasping, writhing body with increasing force and speed. With the other man's ass high in the air, Dee had access to his rock hard penis, which he began to pump in time with his own movements. It wasn't long before the man cried out and Dee felt the warm wetness of release spill across his hand.

With his companion satisfied, Dee concentrated on himself, pumping hard to find the heat he too craved. When his lover suddenly reached behind him to touch Dee's balls, the dark haired man found he could hold off no longer and he came with an unintelligible shout of bliss. Gripping the hips beneath him, Dee thrust one last time, revelling in wave after wave of ecstasy. As his pleasure faded he let go, guiltily noting the deep red marks where his fingers had been. The strength of his orgasm had taken him by surprise and he realised that he had lost himself for those few heady moments. Without a word, Dee headed for the bathroom, wrinkling his nose at the used condom held between his fingers. When he'd cleaned himself up, his eyes landed on his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Despite the unflattering glare of the overhead fluorescents, Dee studied his face, older and hopefully wiser than the teen that had sought cheap sexual thrills as a way of escaping his often miserable life. Everything had consequence and this was no different. Tomorrow he would have to face Ryo with the vain hope that this, this, wouldn't change them and what they had.

In the bedroom Dee found that his companion for the evening had gotten under the covers and fallen asleep. That was a relief. The awkward conversation could wait until tomorrow; when a person had to think of things to say that actually made sense rather than just words that indicated sexual gratification, the poetry of intercourse. He found his underwear in the tangle of clothes on the floor, put them on and got into bed. He was genuinely surprised when sleep didn't elude him for long.

Sunlight spilled through the chink in the hastily closed curtains, splashing onto Dee's face and drawing him from slumber. His foreign surroundings caused him a moment's confusion until he recalled the events of the previous evening. He looked across at the body lying next to him, hair mussed from sleep, the skin of one revealed shoulder almost luminous in the morning sun. Dee shifted slightly and the movement awoke the other man, who turned and offered him a sleepy smile.

"Hey, you," he said, reaching out and stroking several dark strands of hair away from Dee's eyes. "Did you enjoy last night?"

Dee nodded, seeing no reason to lie.

"Would you like to do it again some time?"

"Would you?" he replied, answering the question with a question.

A smile. "Sure. It was fun. Real fun."

Relief flooded him; he wasn't sure he could have handled the other's regret. He lay back down and opened his arms. "Come on," he said in invitation, sighing happily when his arms were filled with warm body. They lay there for a moment, lost in their own thoughts before Dee spoke.

"You know this... what we did last night?"

"Yes?"

"You wouldn't want to do it for real, would you?"

The body lifted from off his chest as dark eyes studied him carefully. "For real? You mean, like with a genuine stranger?"

"Yeah."

Ryo smiled and shook his head, amazed that his husband could be so insecure. "When I've got you? How could I ever want anyone else?" He reached up and stroked Dee's cheek tenderly. "It was role-play, that's all. It doesn't mean I want to go out and pick someone up for real." He paused and smiled shyly, "I was totally attracted to you when you walked into the bar though. I fell in love with you all over again."

Dee grinned. "Ditto." He lowered his chin and kissed Ryo's head gently. They continued to lie there in silence until Ryo commented, "I think Bicky thinks we're about to get divorced or something. He looked a little worried when I said we were going out separately last night."

"I thought Bicky wants us to split up?"

Ryo looked up and frowned. "You don't seriously believe him when he says that do you?"

Dee thought about it and shook his head. "I guess not. I wouldn't give the little punk what he wanted, even if he did."

"Me either," Ryo murmured into Dee's chest.

"So you're not going to run off with a tall, dark and handsome stranger that you might meet in a bar then?"

"Not unless it's you." Ryo said with a smile, as his fingers traced a pattern down Dee's bare chest before they disappeared beneath the covers. "Now what d'you say we make the most of this room before check out time?"

"Sounds good to me," Dee replied, throwing the sheets over their heads and wriggling down the bed until he was between Ryo's legs.

This time they made love. It was nothing like the previous evening; and Dee knew which he preferred as they moved with the grace and tenderness of true soulmates. Loving Ryo had changed him and although he had agreed when Ryo had suggested role playing his old lifestyle to spice up their love life, he knew then that he would move Heaven and Earth to never be in that position again.

End.