Letting himself into Ryo’s apartment, using the key his partner had given him a few months ago, Dee stopped dead, frowning at his lover, who was busy dusting and tidying.

“You’re supposed to be relaxin’, not doin’ housework! It’s only been two days since you got shot!”

Ryo paused what he was doing to frown back at his partner. “What does that have to do with anything?” He pointed to his left arm, nestled snugly in its sling. “I got shot in the arm, that doesn’t mean I have to sit around doing nothing all day. The other arm’s perfectly fine. You went with me to rescue the Chief that time after being shot through the leg!”

Dee had the grace to blush at that. “That was different, there was a mad bomber on the loose. We already got the guy who shot you, so you should be takin’ it easy, not doin’ the frickin’ spring cleaning.”

“I’m not spring cleaning, it’s not spring and anyway, I can’t move the furniture one-handed. I’m just tidying up a bit and doing the vacuuming. The apartment won’t clean itself, and at least it gives me something to do.”

“So you’re cleanin’ because you’re bored?”

“I’m cleaning because if I don’t, it won’t get done, and then I’ll be sitting in the middle of a mess, feeling guilty for letting the place get into such a state.”

“You need to stop pushin’ yourself so hard.” Striding across the room, Dee whisked the duster out of Ryo’s hand. “Go sit, while I make coffee.”

“This is my place. I should be offering you a drink, not the other way around,” Ryo grumbled, but he slumped onto the sofa anyway.

“Let’s just pretend you offered, I accepted, and I’m makin’ it. No arguments.”

“And what am I supposed to do?”

“Relax, put your feet up.”

“I don’t need to put my feet up! I hurt my arm, and that’s already up. It’s not even that bad.”

Dee paused halfway to the kitchen to stare incredulously at his lover. “Not that bad? he bullet went right through!”

“Small calibre. It didn’t do much damage, didn’t even hit the bone.”

“Good thing too, or ya would’a needed surgery.”

“Why do you have to make such a fuss?” Already tired of sitting down, Ryo got up and followed Dee into the kitchen.

“Because I love you, you idiot!”

“And I love you, but I don’t appreciate being treated like an invalid, when all I have is a minor injury.”

Dee spun around. “When you were hit… When you went down… I thought that bastard had killed you. I wasn’t close enough to help! I was supposed to be your back-up, and I was too far away!”

“So what, now you’re feeling guilty?”

“Damn right I am!”

“Join the club. Maybe you’re the one who needs to relax.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We back each other up every day on the job, but we can’t always guarantee to be in exactly the right place, at exactly the right time, to protect each other. You got shot through the leg and almost blown up, and I wasn’t even in the building! That’s something I still feel bad about, but it happened, and I can’t change the past. My being there might even have made the situation worse. We don’t know, and we’ll never know. But what happened to me wasn’t your fault any more than what happened to you was my fault. You’re not superman, and you had your hands full with the other guy.”

“If that’s supposed to make me feel better, it’s not workin’.” Dee leaned back against the kitchen counter, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I wasn’t expecting it to. We do a dangerous job, Dee, and yes, sometimes that’s gonna mean one or other of us gets hurt. It sucks, but it happens. We do the best we can, but we can’t keep beating ourselves up over not preventing it. We’ll drive ourselves, and each other, crazy if we do that.” Ryo sighed. “Forget about making coffee, that won’t help either of us relax. Let’s just get outta here.”

“But…”

Ryo raised his good hand to keep Dee from interrupting. “And don’t start in again about me being injured. I’ve only been at home two days and I’m already going stir crazy. If you won’t let me clean, then at least take me someplace where I don’t have to look at the mess.”

“Like where?”

“I don’t much care. The movies, a walk in the park, a drive around the city… Hell, even grocery shopping would be better than being stuck in here, wishing I was at work. I don’t know why I have to take a week off just because of a tiny hole in my arm. I’m perfectly capable of sitting at my desk, answering the phone and doing paperwork. I only need one arm for that.” Ryo sighed. “I don’t even have Bikky for company, what with him being away at basketball camp. Save me from terminal boredom?”

Dee broke into a grin. “I can do that. Put somethin’ on your feet and I’ll grab your coat.”

“Thank you. So where are we going?”

“No idea. Let’s just get in the car and see where we end up.”

“Sounds good!” Already Ryo felt more relaxed.


The End