Dee turned from the scrutiny he was giving his own reflection to the direction of the voice that had spoken to him. Detective Drake Parker stood there, leaning heavily on the bathroom door.

“Yup.”

“Got a hot date for Valentine’s Day or something?”

Dee grinned. “Something like that.”  

--Flashback--  

“Penguin! Penguin!”

The woman known to most as “Mother” turned to watch a twelve-year-old Dee Latyner run towards her, his arms flailing about.

“Yes Dee , what is the matter?”

The small, green-eyed boy grinned, holding up a red heart made out of construction paper and decorated with a single, pink ribbon.

“Happy Valentine’s Day!”

It wasn’t as if Mother didn’t know Dee to be a sweet boy, he was and even at his most troublesome, Mother felt a strong attachment to him.

“Why, thank you Dee . Did you make one for Anne and Liz too?”

Anne and Liz were two of the young girls also under the care of Mother. Both girls seemed to enjoy following Dee around, giggling and blushing all the while. Dee , for his part, seemed to enjoy the attention that was lavished upon him.

“No.”

“Why not?” The shock apparent in Mother’s voice.

Dee shrugged. “I like them okay, but you should really only give hearts to people you love.”

“Dee …”  

--End Flashback--
 

True to his word, Dee showed up at the church at exactly 7:30 p.m. Greeted by his Mother with a warm embrace and an invitation inside.

“I brought you something,” Dee told her, handing her a heart shaped box of Joseph Schmidt truffles he had bought at a specialties store just an hour before.

Mother smiled. “You didn’t have to do that. You know, I still have that construction paper heart you gave me all those years ago. Best Valentine I ever received.”

Dee smiled and took his Mother’s hand. “Too bad I’m not like that anymore, huh?”

“Oh, I think you are. You just need someone to bring it out in you,” Mother assured him. “Oh, what about that young man you brought over that one time? Ryo was it? He seemed like a good man.”

‘Ah yes, Ryo,’ Dee considered. ‘Beautiful, beautiful Ryo. Beautiful, sweet, uptight Ryo.’

“No, Mother. He’s not the one,” Dee replied, a hint of sadness escaping his tight smile. “He doesn’t want me.”

The subway ride home was quiet and empty, as were the streets of New York City .

‘Looks like I’ll be the only guy in the city spending the night alone in his sheets,’ Dee thought, a surge of uncharacteristic bitterness collecting in his gut.

The three flights of stairs he scaled to his apartment seemed particularly arduous. As his key slipped into the lock, Dee resigned himself to his solitary state. It wasn’t a particularly new feeling, but a disheartening one nonetheless. Taking his first step into his apartment, his ears perked at a crunching sound that he had produced underfoot. Lifting his leg up, he discovered a small, now crumpled, heart cut out of neon pink printer paper. Turning the thing over he read the words scribbled on the back, “ Dee , I was helping Bikky make a Valentine for Carol and I thought I’d make one for you too. Happy Valentine’s Day. Ryo.”

Dee turned the heart over and over again, inspecting it as if he couldn’t believe it was real. “Well I’ll be damned.”

        

Through half-lidded eyes Ryo glared blearily at the phone. It had rung about four times before he had registered the sound in his sleep. He reached for it, knocking its cradle to the floor in the process.

“Moshi moshi .Maclane residence.”  

Silence. “Darn those crank callers,” Ryo mumbled, about to hang up when a familiar voice responded.

“Ryo?”

“Dee ?” Ryo asked, awakening at an instant. “What’s the matter? Is it about the case?”

“No no ,” Dee replied immediately. “Nothing like that. I just. I just called to wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

After a moment’s silence, Dee heard the click of a receiver going off and the dial tone sounding.

“Stupid Dee ,” Ryo grumbled crawling back into the warmth of his sheets, “calling me at 11:30 to wish me a Happy Valentine’s Day. The nerve of that guy.”

On the other end of the line, Dee Latyner was neither discouraged nor distressed. In fact, he was grinning. The chase was on.       

* * *  

“So that’s when you knew, Dee ?” Ryo asked breathing in the scent of Dee ’s skin as the two lay sprawled in the bed they shared.

“Yup.”

Ryo shifted so that his dark eyes met Dee ’s intense green ones. “Thank you.”

Dee arched a dark brow in bewilderment. “For what?”

“Believing in ‘us.’ Loving me,” Ryo replied with a shrug. For a moment a ghost of something passed over Dee ’s face, something so passionate and stunning that it brought a shiver down Ryo’s spine.

“Thank you, for giving your heart to me when I needed it.”

For a moment the two lovers simply laid in each other’s arms, lolled by the silence. It was short lived. A devilish grin pressed on his lips, Dee pounced.

Dee ’s lips were sweet when Ryo’s tongued probed the roof of his mouth. “Well,” Dee spoke between gasps of breath, “there are ways you can pay me back for my good faith, you know.”

“Dee …”  

 

End.

A/N: Happy Valentine’s Day to all and to all a good night.