"Well I think it's great."

Dee looked dubiously across at his partner and snorted. "You think it's great that they're dressed up like idiots?"

"It's for charity," Ryo argued, gesturing towards the people in fancy dress on the sidewalk and more specifically at the sign that proclaimed "All Saints' Hospital - Sponsored Walk".

"Your point?"

"I'd have thought that was obvious but I guess you wouldn't understand."

"Hey!" Dee said, looking wounded. "I do stuff for charity."

Ryo shot him a dubious look. "When? Give me an example."

The dark-haired detective fell into thoughtful silence for a moment. "I gave that old homeless guy half of my hotdog the other day."

Ryo rolled his eyes. "Well I think it's good to see young people doing something productive instead of getting involved in crime."

"You wanna be out of a job?" Dee said pointedly as he crushed his cigarette in the car's ashtray.

Ryo rolled his eyes as the traffic lights changed and he accelerated across the busy junction. "Do you always have to be so cynical?"

"Sure I do. It's written into my contract," Dee replied before leaning across and pressing the horn as a cab cut in front of them. A series of hand gestures followed.

"I wish you wouldn't do that," Ryo grumbled, his dark blond eyebrows drawing together to form a disapproving frown. "One day you're going to get us both beaten up."

"Assaulting a police officer, that's at least one year in the slammer. Then who'll have the last laugh?"

Ryo didn't respond, resorting to a long wearied sigh instead. He was relieved when the precinct came into view and he indicated, before guiding the car into the parking lot, frowning as he passed Dee's own car, parked crookedly across three spaces. Dee saw the look.

"I was late, okay?" he said, as if that excused his atrocious parking.

"Don't you have an alarm clock?"

"Doesn't work," Dee said casually as he climbed out of the car and stretched, cracking his joints noisily. He paused thoughtfully and then grinned, unable to resist making his next comment. "Maybe I should stay at your place more often. You make a damn good alarm clock if I remember rightly."

Ryo all-out blushed. He ducked his head, trying to avoid letting Dee see the heavy stain on his cheeks as he locked up his car, but it was futile. Damn Dee. Ever since that night when he had let Dee stay and he had unconsciously rolled over and snuggled up to him... well would Dee let him forget about it? Like hell he would!

"Let's go and get these reports done," he said quickly, changing the subject as he hurried up the steps, leaving Dee trailing in his wake. The dark haired detective smiled and shook his head, never failing to be amused by how uptight Ryo could become when he brought up that incident. Despite his teasing, Dee was fervently hoping that it would happen again. His heart had almost burst when he had awoken to find Ryo snuggling into his shoulder, his arm draped across his chest. He had been pondering exactly what to do about this Heaven-sent opportunity when Ryo himself had woken and, once he had become fully aware, jumped back as if he'd been electrocuted. Before Dee could broach the subject, he'd scurried from his bed, red-faced and muttering something about needing a shower and not wanting to be late. That had been over a month ago.

Dee eventually caught up with Ryo in their office on the fourth floor. The blond was hanging up his coat as Dee entered, noting at once that their shoebox of an office was unusually busy. Drake and Ted were at their desks, although neither of them seemed to be doing much work as they listened to Marty telling a joke that was far from politically correct. Dee waved a greeting to the group as he slumped into his chair and pulled a cigarette from the packet.

"Busy morning?" Drake asked the two new arrivals when Marty had finished his joke to a chorus of half-laughs and groans.

"Totally," Dee responded, rolling his eyes. "Man, I need a vacation." He threw a screwed up ball of paper at his colleague when Drake pretended to play the violin in sympathy. "Ha, ha, Parker. You're a real comedian, d'you know that?" Drake had his mouth open to respond when the office door opened. Jenny, a uniformed officer from downstairs, came in brandishing a clipboard. She smiled happily at seeing the office so busy.

"Hi guys," she said cheerily. "I'm here about the Valentine's Ball the precinct's having."

"Really?" Dee replied, blowing a long stream of smoke into the air, as he recalled someone mentioning the function arranged for the day before Valentine's Day. "I hope you"re not here to invite me as your date. I"ve kinda got my eye on someone else."

He looked across at Ryo who continued to stare at the report on his desk as if he hadn't heard. Only the slight reddening of his ears told Dee that he had.

"No," Jenny giggled, blushing a little herself. Dee had quite a large number of female fans at the precinct, despite the widely-known fact that he was bisexual. If anything, that seemed to intrigue them more. "I'm recruiting people for the love slave auction."

Dee made simultaneous eye contact with Drake, one dark eyebrow quirking upwards. "Love slave auction?" he enquired.

"Yeah," she replied, seating herself on the edge of Dee's desk and grinning. "We're gonna auction people to be someone's slave for Valentine's Day. I've got quite a few names already."

"You said 'love slave'," Dee interjected.

"Yeah, I know, but it's just a term to tie it in with the Valentine's Ball."

"So the slave doesn't have to... you know." Dee flicked his head to one side and winked.

Jenny blushed even harder. "No! Well, not unless they want to..."

More raised eyebrows.

"Come on, Dee," she cajoled. "A good looking guy like you would raise a lot of money and it's for charity."

Dee found that Ryo was looking straight at him as he bathed in the glow of Jenny's blatant ego-massaging. So Ryo was impressed by good guys who did things for charity? The office door opened again and a male office asked for Ryo. The blond stood and left the room, their own office too hectic to hold a separate conversation.

"I think you should do it," Drake said, eye-pointing towards Ryo as he stood just beyond the glass-panelled door. "You never know where it might lead."

Dee's eyes narrowed, wondering what he should read into that statement. Drake sounded like he knew something - something Ryo was planning...

"Sign me up," he said suddenly as Ryo re-entered the room. "I'm game. Like you say, it is for charity."

He stared straight at Ryo and grinned, hoping he would be greeted with a similarly pleased expression. His blond partner looked, well, disappointed, with only Jenny's expression mirroring his own.

"You serious? Oh wow, wait 'til the girls hear about this!"

Dee chuckled, embracing a strong sense of satisfaction. "Well, I have a feeling they might have a little competition," he replied, winking at Ryo.

When Jenny had gone, Ryo came and sat down. "Oh yeah? And who exactly would this competition be?"

Dee frowned, wondering why Ryo was playing dumb. "You, you idiot."

The blond shook his head. "Fraid not. I've agreed to be auctioned too."

"What?" Dee spat, standing so quickly his chair toppled over. "When?"

"When you were being late this morning," came the reply.

Dee looked at his colleagues, overwhelmed by the feeling that he'd been set up. The humorous twinkle in Drake's eyes told him he was correct.

"You bastard..." he started to say. "What the hell is going on here?"

His question was answered as Jenny met JJ on the stairs and broke the news of the newest auctionee to the lilac-haired detective.

"WOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!!" was all Dee heard, confirming his suspicions that he had indeed walked straight into a trap.

Ryo couldn't deny that Dee was an extremely handsome man. Dressed in a black tuxedo and matching bowtie he looked very debonair, radiating an intense aura of masculinity that ensured that he was attracting a healthy amount of attention. Since he had found out that Ryo wouldn't be available to "buy" him, he had tried every conceivable excuse in order to get out of his agreed fate, but had eventually accepted that escape was hopeless. The one brief respite had been when he and Ryo had spent the afternoon choosing their hired outfits for the evening. He had kept his drooling to a minimum as he had watched Ryo try on his own tux, complete with a gold bowtie and cummerbund that brought out the lighter tones of his hair.

The function room at the hotel was decorated with hundreds of red love hearts and a huge banner strung across the stage that declared "Twenty-Seventh Precinct's Annual Valentine's Ball". At the halfway point of the night, the music died away and Berkley Rose took to the stage to announce the start of the evening's entertainment, namely the love slave auction. The event had been eagerly anticipated, with some of the bidders clearly hoping that love would be on the menu, despite the light hearted manner in which it had been intended. Dee swallowed hard as he glimpsed JJ checking his wallet. He was almost knocked over as Drake clapped him squarely on the back.

"Good luck, buddy!" his friend and colleague chuckled, clearly the worse for drink. "I think my partner's got big plans for you!"

"Great," Dee muttered unenthusiastically, able to quickly conjure up a million and one places he'd rather be right now. Come to think of it, his toilet did need cleaning...

He suddenly lurched sideways to catch a passing arm. "Hey Steff, you said you were going to bid for me, right?" he said, fluttering long dark eyelashes and a winning smile in her direction.

The girl looked contrite. "Sorry, Dee. JJ said he'd come round and put up some shelves for me if I didn't bid for you." She escaped his hold quickly before she could see his response.

"Kelly?" he said, calling out to another of his female admirers, who pretended not to hear him and kept on walking.

"Shit..." he muttered, realising he was well and truly sunk as he dug his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"Nervous?" he heard a voice say, and he turned to see Ryo stood just off to his right, smiling gently.

Dee shrugged non-committally. "You?"

Ryo's expression was difficult to read. 'It's for charity," he replied, indicating to Dee that he was indeed a little worried about what was about to happen. He'd never admit that he wished Dee hadn't signed up. In fact, he wouldn't have minded if Dee had bought him...

He was pulled from his thoughts by a touch on his arm and he looked round at Dee to see him gesturing in the direction of the stage. "Come on," the dark haired man said ominously, 'I think we're wanted."

The partners joined the group of men and women on stage, all wearing similarly dubious expressions about what they had let themselves in for. Rose had disappeared, leaving Jenny, the event's organiser, to get things underway.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" she said, beaming at all before her. "And welcome to the Twenty-seventh Precinct's first Love Slave Auction!"

There were cheers and wolf-whistles, forcing her to pause until they had died down. "My name is Jenny and I'll be your announcer for the evening. So I hope you have your money at the ready because have I got some love slaves for you!"

Supposedly sexy music started up and Dee almost laughed. Sexy wasn't an adjective he'd have used to describe how he was feeling at that precise moment. He waited in line as the people before him went under the hammer. A man he vaguely recognised from narcotics stepped forward as his name was called, before Jenny started to give out his vital statistics. The man in question was 'bought' by a gaggle of women from the administration department. The mind boggled at how they were going to share him for the day. Eventually it was Dee's turn.

"May I present Detective Dee Latener," Jenny crowed, clearly loving her moment on the microphone as Dee took centre stage. "A sexy six feet four inches, Dee Latener is a member of our homicide division. But you don't have to commit murder to get this hot-blooded twenty-eight year old's attention, oh no! All you have to do is open your wallet so what say I open the bidding at fifty dollars?"

Dee wasn't prepared for the silence that greeted Jenny's last sentence. He scanned the audience but like Steff and Kelly, all his usual admirers seemed to be reluctant to make eye contact with him.

"Anyone?" Jenny implored, amazed that the delectable Dee Latener wasn't even going to make the opening bid.

"Yes," came a clear voice from somewhere in the crowd. Dee groaned in response.

"Godammit, JJ," he muttered as people started to laugh. He'd known it was going to happen. It was as inevitable as Ryo pushing him away when he tried to kiss him.

"Well, if there are no more bids then Dee is... sold! Bidder, please come forward and make your payment!"

JJ strode forward, smiling from ear to ear. Sure, he had a lot of favours to repay to the seemingly hundreds of women who had wanted to bid for Dee, but it was worth it. Dee was his for a whole twenty-four hours!

The dark haired man in question put his own poor fortune on hold as Ryo stepped up next. Jenny introduced him before starting the bidding at fifty dollars.

There was a rush of bids, mainly from the same group of women that had bought the guy Dee recognised from narcotics. Presumably they had pooled their resources as they bid against Janet and Sarah who worked the front desk.

"Seventy five dollars!"

"One hundred!"

"One twenty five!"

"Five hundred dollars."

There was a loud collective gasp as the last bid came in. Heads swivelled to find the owner of the voice, notably male. Like Dee, Ryo already had a good idea who was bidding for him.

"Sold to Commissioner Rose!" Jenny almost screamed in excitement. "For five hundred dollars!"

Ryo gulped.

Dee swore.

The large collection of police officers were cheering loudly as Commissioner Rose came forward and made good his bid by handing over the money in cash. He turned to Ryo and offered him his usual self-assured smile. The blond was blushing furiously as he attempted to smile back, before excusing himself to go to the bathroom. With Ryo gone, Rose couldn't resist coming across to speak to Dee. Even Dee's best glare couldn't halt his approach.

"Congratulations on your successful sale, Detective Latener."

Dee barely overcame the urge to embed Rose's glasses in his face with his fist. "Well, it is for charity," he replied icily. "That of course being the reason you outbid everybody for my partner, right?"

Rose smirked. "Of course. Well, that and the fact that I intend to show him what life would be like with me as his significant other. Maybe then you'll give up on this absurd notion that you entertain about you and him being a couple one day. I mean, what could you offer a man like Ryo?"

He walked away, intercepting the subject of their conversation as he came out of the bathroom but not before turning and shooting Dee one last smile, his expression clearly communicating that he felt - no - knew, he'd won. Dee scowled and looked away, loathing the self-doubt that Rose seemed to whip up inside of him. He hated when he found himself agreeing with the bastard. He had nothing to offer beautiful, sweet Ryo - nothing that Rose himself couldn't provide anyway. He grimaced as JJ appeared from nowhere and latched onto his arm, blabbering about how much fun they were going to have together.

Dee sighed. Tomorrow was promising to be a very long day. His only consolation was that when he looked at Ryo and their eyes met, the other man's face seemed to be communicating a similar sentiment.

Dee was groping for the alarm clock when he realised that in fact it was the phone that was ringing, the handset screaming for attention on the side table next to his head. He eventually answered it, his voice gravelly with sleep.

"What?"

"Hello, handsome!" came JJ's voice. Dee winced. The younger man was too damn chipper for so early in the morning.

"What the hell d'you want?" he muttered, face still buried in his pillow.

"Just wanted to instruct you in what I'd like you to wear today. I've been thinking about it all night and I'd...."

"Whoah, hold it. What the hell are you on about, you purple-haired pain in the ass? I'll wear whatever the hell I want to, you hear?"

"Fraid not, my vision of loveliness," JJ replied, still beaming into the phone and not the least bit wounded by Dee's lack of enthusiasm. "I paid good money for you to be my slave today. I'm sure you took the time to read the contract before you signed it?"

"Contract?"

Thank God it was his day off. If had to go anywhere near the station, he was certain he might end up killing Jenny.

By mid-morning, Dee was convinced that time had stopped proceeding in a forwardly direction. It felt like hours since JJ had picked him up from his apartment and a whole lifetime since the younger man's phone call had rudely dragged him from his slumber. JJ had been nothing short of joyous, behaving as if they were genuinely dating rather than fulfilling a paid agreement. He hung on Dee's arm as they strolled in the park, ate a picnic lunch in the sunshine and went to the movies to watch a chick-flick that Dee had previously told the guys he wouldn't go and see if his life depended on it.

Being Valentine's Day, the movie theatre was filled with couples, who would no doubt start to whisper when they realised the two men had come together. He wasn't embarrassed about it, but he'd have preferred to have been there with someone else. As JJ queued for popcorn, Dee thought of Ryo and wondered what he and "Repugnant Rose" were up to. He smiled bitterly to himself. Repugnant Rose... he'd remember that one for later. He quickly found his cell phone and texted Ryo a message.

Happy Valentine's Day. I wish I was with you. Dee

He sent it before he could change his mind. Ryo knew he was the honest type - hell, he told him often enough. He jumped when the phone started to vibrate in his hand, signifying an incoming message. It was from Ryo.

Same here. R

Dee stared at it blankly for a moment. Same here what? Was Ryo just wishing him Happy Valentine's Day too? Or... dare he hope it meant what he thought it meant, correction, wanted it to mean? He shook his head in frustration as JJ walked over.

"You'll have to turn that off," JJ said, nodding towards Dee's phone, his arms laden with drinks and a huge bucket of popcorn.

"Where's mine?" Dee said, looking at the salted snack. JJ grinned. "I thought we'd just get one and share it. You know, like real couples do."

"JJ..." Dee said wearily, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, I know," the other man pouted. "Just humour me, okay?"

Dee sighed and nodded as they went to find their seats. What had Ryo meant?

Two hours later they emerged, JJ beaming happily at the love story that had unfolded on screen. Grudgingly, Dee admitted that it hadn't been as bad as he thought. He was hoping JJ might let him off the last few hours of his slavery - he wanted to go and find Ryo - but the other man was determined to get his money's worth and so they returned to his apartment together. Dee was surprised to find it wasn't quite as tidy as he'd assumed it would be as he sank into JJ's worn but comfortable looking couch.

"What d'you fancy to eat?" the younger man asked. "Takeout?"

"Fine with me," Dee replied, his mind a million miles away.

"Chinese? Indian? Pizza?"

"Chinese. You choose; I'll eat anything."

JJ nodded and went to find the appropriate menu as Dee wondered if he should text Ryo again and demand clarification of his partner's last message. He heard JJ on the phone, presumably ordering their meal before the other man came back into the room, frowning slightly.

"I've made the order but they can't deliver it. Apparently the delivery guy's car has broken down. It's only a couple of blocks away..."

"Fine," Dee said, standing quickly, realising where this conversation was going. "I'll go and pick it up. I could do with the walk."

He immediately regretted his words when he reached the lobby of JJ's apartment block and discovered that it had started to rain. Cursing under his breath, he pulled up the collar of his jacket and headed out into the downpour. He found the Chinese restaurant and waited for five minutes until their order was ready. Once he had paid, he headed back into the rain.

He had walked a block when he passed an alleyway that he realised could potentially cut minutes off his journey. He had walked about twenty yards in when he glanced back to see if anyone was following him, his cop's instinct forcing him to always be alert. No one was, but a flash of blond that passed by the entrance quickly caught his eye. The man also turned before he disappeared from view and there was a brief pause when two and two made four, and the man doubled back.

"Dee?" Ryo said, stepping into the alleyway. "What are you doing here?"

Dee held the bag up. "Fetching my master's dinner," he said, rolling his eyes. "What about you?"

Ryo produced a plastic bag with a bottle of wine and some of the cigars Dee knew Rose favoured. He'd forgotten JJ and the commissioner lived in the same district.

"So how's your day been?" Dee asked.

"Oh... okay," Ryo replied, trying to blank out the images of Rose's not-so-subtle advances.

"I see." An awkward pause followed. "I got your message."

Ryo's nod of acknowledgment was almost imperceptible. He pushed his wet hair out of his eyes but didn't say anything. Dee studied him, unable to gage anything from his partner's expression; frustrating really, since he was normally so good at reading people.

"You were just wishing me Happy Valentine's Day, right?"

"... No."

After all the silence, Dee was surprised to hear a response. He met Ryo's gaze and held it. "Well what then?"

The intensity of his stare forced Ryo to look away. The rain seemed inconsequential now as they both stood there getting wet. "I wanted to be with you."

Dee processed this but his expression gave nothing away as Ryo continued, wanting to be honest about his feelings for once.

"I agreed to be in the love slave auction because I was sure you'd buy me. I guess I didn't stop to think that Rose might have had other ideas."

"I'd probably have had to re-mortgage my apartment if I'd had to compete against Rose," Dee mused glumly. "That bastard's probably got more money in his nickel jar than I've got in the bank."

Ryo smiled but his dark eyes remained serious. "It's not about money, Dee," he said quietly.

"So care to enlighten me what it is about?" Dee knew he was being infuriating but he couldn't help pushing. He didn't want to make assumptions, whether they turned out to be correct or not. He wanted to hear the words pass Ryo's own lips.

The blond watched as Dee stepped towards him, invading his personal space, but he stood his ground. He didn't even flinch when Dee's lips pressed gently against his own. They felt good - wet, but soft and warm, and he found himself leaning in for a better taste. Dee sensed the non-verbal permission and pushed on, pressing Ryo against the wall to anchor them both as his tongue began to probe more forcefully now. The bag of Chinese food dropped the floor, landing in a puddle that splashed water up their legs. Neither man noticed, and before long Ryo discarded his own bag, wanting to put his hands to better use. The appendages in question went to Dee's thick hair, raking through his soaking locks as Dee's own hands clawed desperately at Ryo's shirt, revealing the milky-white skin of his chest.

Ryo gasped as Dee's warm breath cut through the chill that the rain brought to his body. He shuddered as the expert mouth came into contact with his nipples, sucking playfully at one, before transferring its attention to the other. He threw his head back and groaned, the sound drowning out the little voice that kept a rein on his normally impeccable conduct. As a hand went to his belt buckle, Ryo regained some of his senses.

"Dee..." he said; regret clear in his voice. "We shouldn't."

"Why?" the other argued, still buried in the blond's chest. The sound of a police siren coming closer gave Ryo the excuse he needed. "That's why. How would it look for two policemen to be caught committing indecent acts in a public place?"

Dee stopped what he was doing and looked up, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "So you're saying, if we were to go somewhere private, say, my apartment, you wouldn't mind if we continued?"

Ryo couldn't help but smile at the hopeful look on Dee's face. He wasn't about to disappoint him, not when he wanted this as bad as Dee did. After his plan had backfired and he had ended up spending Valentine's Day fending off Rose's advances, Ryo figured Dee's candid way of dealing with things wasn't so bad after all.

"What about...?" Ryo said, gesturing to the Chinese meal, wine and cigars all scattered on the floor.

Dee looked around, before he snatched up the bags and jogged away from his partner. "Hey! Hey, you!" he said, calling to someone Ryo couldn't see. The blond quickly fastened up his shirt and hurried after him, just in time to see Dee handing the bags over to a bemused looking homeless couple that were passing the alleyway entrance. "Happy Valentine's Day," Ryo heard him say. When the two elderly people opened the carrier bags and saw the contents, their eyes widened as if they couldn't quite believe this was all really for them. They said their thanks and hurried away, clearly not hanging around in case the rain-soaked young man changed his mind.

"That was sweet of you," Ryo said with a smile as he drew close. He couldn't resist pushing Dee's wet hair off his face so he could see him better. "So what now?"

"My place," Dee said firmly. "It's nearer."

Ryo nodded, silently acquiescing to Dee's suggestion. They hailed a cab and climbed in, the driver shooting dubious glances at their drenched clothes, which they ignored.

"How long before you think Rose will notice?" Dee said, lighting a cigarette, despite the sign telling him not to. The car's ashtray next to the driver was almost bursting and he would have no compunction about pointing out the hypocritical nature of the driver's argument, if he were to make one.

"I don't know. Give it another ten minutes and he'll probably start getting suspicious. What about JJ?"

Dee rolled his eyes. "Same."

"I feel a little mean; after all, they did pay to spend the day with us."

"So we'll refund them. Besides, JJ basically bribed everyone into not bidding for me and Rose... well, Rose just deserves it," Dee replied unsympathetically, thinking about the heated exchanged he had had with Rose at the ball.

"Okay, maybe I don't feel bad about Rose, but JJ..." Ryo said, appealing to his partner. "He can't help being in love with you. Wouldn't you have done the same if you'd have been bidding for me?"

Dee looked like he'd eaten something bad before he nodded in grudging agreement. "Fine. I'll ring and order him some more food, then call him and explain."

Ryo listened as Dee called up a local Chinese restaurant he knew and arranged for them to deliver food to JJ's apartment before he dialled the detective's home number.

"Uh, JJ? Look, I had a bit of an accident..."

"What? Dee, are you okay?" came the response, almost deafening the man holding the cell phone.

"Yeah, chill okay? I just tripped over. Anyway, the food got ruined and I'm soaked. I've ordered you some more Chinese that's gonna be delivered to you and I'm going home to get out of these clothes. I'm really sorry."

"Okay..." JJ replied, clearly disappointed. "I've had a really good day."

Dee felt a pang of guilt, wishing he felt differently about his younger colleague. "Yeah, I have too as it goes. Thanks, JJ. I'll make it up to you sometime."

"I'll hold you to that..." JJ chuckled. "Good night, Dee."

Dee ended the call, glad that Ryo had persuaded him to ring. "What about Rose?" he said eventually.

Ryo made a face. "He'll probably be slipping between his black satin sheets as we speak, waiting for me to return." Rose's attempts to seduce him, although flattering, had grown tiresome within about an hour of Ryo being in his company. What had turned him off most however, was Rose's constant put-downs of Dee, the commissioner clearly wanting Ryo to view his partner in a similarly unfavourable light.

"He what? Holy shit, that goddamned pervert!" Dee growled, thrusting money at the cab driver as he pulled up outside the apartment block. Ryo, he noticed, had started to shiver. "Come on, let's get inside."

They climbed the stairs up to Dee's apartment in silence.

"Take your clothes off," Dee instructed after he'd let them in. "You'll catch a cold," he added, when he saw Ryo's expression.

The blond looked away, embarrassed at the product of his own imagination as he began to strip to his underwear. He couldn't resist looking up when Dee started to do the same. He'd seen Dee's body before, but something about the firm olive planes and slim but muscled lines made him unable to tear his eyes away whenever Dee disrobed. The effect it had on him was recognised down below and he blushed, knowing he couldn't hide it stood just in his boxer shorts.

Dee saw the direction of his gaze and grinned. "I'm flattered," he chuckled, if possible making Ryo blush even harder.

"Shut up," Ryo complained, although he was smiling too. He wrapped his arms around himself as he started to shiver again.

"Come on," Dee said, reaching for his hand and pulling him towards the bathroom. "Let's get you warmed up."

Ryo watched as Dee ran the bath, pouring in copious amounts of foam. "Keep an eye on this," he instructed as he left the room.

The blond dipped his hand into the water and swirled the bubbles around as he waited for Dee to return. He looked up as Dee's head appeared around the door, immediately concerned by the deep frown on the other's face.

"What's wrong?"

Dee pouted. "Granted, I never expected to be in this situation with you tonight but now I am, I want it to be romantic, you know, music, candles, wine.. The music I got but I ain't got candles or wine. Shit, if only I hadn't given that bottle of wine away..."

"Well I'm glad you did," Ryo said firmly. "You made that old couple's night." Seeing Dee didn't look convinced, he offered him an encouraging smile. "Improvise. I'm sure you'll come up with something." The smile grew sexy, a deliberate plot to stop Dee sulking. "I like a guy that's resourceful."

The dark head disappeared in seconds and the crashing sound associated with cupboards being haphazardly emptied soon followed. Ryo winced as something smashed. Footsteps approached.

"Okay..." Dee replied, grunting as he dragged his stereo system into the bathroom doorway. He started a CD playing as Ryo turned off the taps. The blond's expression was one of amusement. "Now for the romance. Feel free to get in," Dee said, gesturing to the now-filled bath.

Ryo removed his shorts and sighed blissfully as he slid into the foamy water. He closed his eyes but opened them again as quickly as the darkening beyond his eyelids told him the lights had been turned off. What he saw caused him to laugh out loud.

"What?" Dee said innocently as he continued to set the torch on its end, its beam pointing up to the ceiling. "You told me to improvise!"

"You're right, I did," Ryo chuckled.

"And now for the wine," Dee continued, handing Ryo a long stemmed glass from behind his back.

Ryo's fair eyebrows knitted together. "I don't recall wine being blue."

Dee grinned. "No, but Powerade is."

"Improvising again, right?"

"Damn straight!"

They both laughed as they clinked glasses and took a sip. Dee put his glass down. "Close your eyes," he instructed, before taking Ryo's drink off him.

Ryo did as he was told, sighing again as a strong pair of hands began to massage his shoulders. As Dee worked on him, he listened to the music, the words of the song striking a chord with him.

Waiting for hours,
Hours turn to days,
Days turn to years,
And I'm still here.

Wasn't that just how Dee had been with him? Waiting patiently for him, but letting him know all the while that he was there, and would be there for as long as it took. Dee seemed to think he had very little to offer him, particularly when compared to their esteemed commissioner, but Dee was putting too much value on material things. Dee didn't even realise that he was offering more than he could ever need. Ryo relaxed into his partner's touch, realising that he had finally accepted a side of himself that for a long time he had denied even existed.

"Ummmm, that feels so good."

Behind him, Dee smiled. From the disastrous day he'd been expecting, it had turned out pretty okay after all. Better than this was the declaration from Ryo that he wanted him as clearly more than just a friend or work colleague. He wouldn't forget this Valentine's Day in a hurry... His happy musing was interrupted by Ryo's voice, sounding sleepy but happy.

"Dee... don't get cold. There's room in here for you."

"You sure?" Dee asked, not wanting to rush this new development.

"Sure. Now get in."

He moved forward to allow Dee to climb in behind him, settling in between his legs once Dee was seated. He sighed happily as strong arms encircled him, rough calloused fingers tracing light patterns on his dampened chest. Despite his drowsy state, his desire was reawakened. He knew he was blushing when he did it, but he couldn't help placing his own hand on Dee's and guiding it towards the hardening flesh between his legs. Dee understood what the action was requesting, and he smiled as he leant in to kiss the back of Ryo's neck... just as Ryo's cell phone started to ring.

"Shit..." he muttered, feeling Ryo's body instantly tense up again. No prizes for guessing who this would be...

"I should get it..." Ryo said, somewhat reluctantly. "He's expecting me back so he's bound to think something bad has happened. I don't want people out looking for me thinking I've been mugged or something."

"Fine," Dee said glumly, unsnaking himself so Ryo could climb out. It was a nice view to see the naked, glistening body hurry into the other room to retrieve his phone. It was still ringing as he came back in.

"What should I say?" he asked, climbing back into the bath before he got cold again.

"Tell him you're with me and we're naked..."

"Dee!"

"And, maybe it's not such an absurd notion after all."

Ryo frowned, ignoring the phone for a minute. "What's an absurd notion?"

"Me and you being an 'us'. He told me I couldn't possibly offer you anything that he couldn't."

Ryo snorted in indignation, not realising that the things Rose had been saying all day, he'd actually said to Dee's face.

"But he's right I guess. I mean, look at us! No candles, Powerade instead of wine. Jeez, Dee, what the hell were you thinking?" he grumbled, slapping a hand to his head in dismay. "What could I possibly have got that he hasn't?"

Ryo swivelled around as best he could sandwiched between Dee's long legs, to face the other man. "Me," came the resolute reply, his dark eyes serious. "I'm sick of Rose and his supreme confidence and belief that he's so goddamned attractive to anything that breathes." He looked angry, but a blush was creeping up onto his cheeks. Dee wondered at it, but Ryo was already about to explain. Maybe it was the brandy Rose had been plying him with all afternoon, but he felt confident in his decision. He held out the still ringing phone.

"Now.." he said, his voice calm and measured as he placed the handset on the side of the bath, next to the soap. "I'm going to answer the phone, but I want you to continue where we just left off."

"You mean...?"

"Yes... We're going to let him listen. Maybe he'll realise that even he can't buy someone's affections."

"Ryo... are you sure?"

"Positive."

Across town, Berkley Rose paced back and forth as he waited for the phone to be answered. Ryo had been gone for ages now, surely it wouldn't take him this long? He peered out of the window, frowning at the sight of an elderly couple, clearly transients, giggling like teenagers as they shared what looked like a bottle of wine on the park bench. The man had a cigar clamped between his grubby fingers and they were surrounded by the detritus of a takeaway meal. Rose let the curtain fall back into place. He was about to give up when the ringing suddenly stopped. Funny, he was expecting Ryo's voicemail after so many rings but the phone had actually been answered. He pressed the handset to his ear in an attempt to hear better.

It sounded like water.

He almost hung up before he heard a sound, a human sound, that sounded suspiciously like a sigh of pleasure. Intrigued, he continued to listen. From the accompanying noises, Rose deduced that someone, and it did indeed sound like the owner of the phone, was having a much better time that he had had over at his own luxury apartment earlier that day.

He had tried all his best techniques on Ryo but all had been doomed to failure. The man was completely unresponsive. Rose had naturally been frustrated after all, nowhere in Ryo's personal file did it say he had vowed a life of celibacy and he was used to only positive results when he turned his attention to someone. He, Ravishing Rose, had failed. It was a bitter pill to swallow. But nothing - nothing - compared to the huge dent his ego received when, down the phone, he heard a rapturous cry followed by the glorious praising of the name of the one that sent him to Heaven...

End.

Song lyrics - "Can't Explain" by Longview.