(no subject)

[misunderstanding]

[ it's maybe ten PM at the latest, and most bars in NYC are barely just starting to get crowded - but, in ryo's defense, he doesn't typically spend a lot of time in that scene.

so he'll text, which is maybe slightly anachronistic, but shhh. ]

Hey

[ which is maybe the only text he's ever sent without punctuation, but hey, cut him some slack here. he's trying Really Hard. ]

Comments

[misunderstanding]

[ dee is close. dee is really close, and ryo is definitely more distracted by that than usual. he gives him a strange little smile, cutting his eyes down as he sags into the cushions.

nah. best to just ignore that comment. ]

You're a really good partner. I appreciate that. I appreciate you. Y'know that, right?

[baddestcop]

Sure do, partner. I read between the lines.

[Cute. That's it, all Ryo always is and does to him and then he has to also be an adorable drunk on top of it all.

No fair.]

[misunderstanding]

[ ryo lifts his eyebrows, as if trying to read between the lines on his partner's face. ]

So read between them now.

[ a drunken, amused command. he's too comfortable; this is bad. ]

[baddestcop]

[Dee lets out a chuckle finally and leans forward, but only to end up leaning his foreheads against Ryo's.]

Don't ya do that to me when you're just gonna deny it all tomorrow. I only got the one heard and it's already set on you.

[misunderstanding]

[ oh, that's unfair. he can feel the heat on his face again, and he's reaching up, just catching the side of dee's cheek with his fingertips - definitely the kind of affection he's too uncomfortable to show most of the time. ]

I mean it, though. M'lucky I got you as my partner. Couldn't imagine doing it without you.

[baddestcop]

I wouldn't wanna imagine that.

[What he wants to do is close his eyes, focus on the feeling of Ryo's fingertips and pretend that this is what he gets every day.

What he wants to do is wake up to Ryo smiling at him like this.]

Much nicer, doing it with ya.

[misunderstanding]

[ ryo can't help it: he's sort of scandalized by the phrasing, but instead of getting upset, he just bursts into soft laughter, pushing at his cheek. ]

Always about sex with you.

[ he wants to kiss him. they're close, so he wants to kiss him. ]

[baddestcop]

[Yes, good.

Wait, no. Bad. Dee turns his head to the side, then ends up lowering it so he can lean it against Ryo's shoulder instead, finally sitting down on the couch next to him. The hardest thing he's ever had to do and he keeps having to do it.]

If this was just about sex, I'd be kissing you now.

God, Ryo. Why do you do this to me?

[misunderstanding]

I'm not doing anything. [ ryo's tone is almost exasperated. there's a delay, before he reaches up, catching the back of dee's head and raking the blunts of his fingernails against his scalp.

dee talking about kissing him was nothing short of tempting, and so he had to take a moment, breathing to compose himself. ]

We can't- [ he laughs again. ] We should get water.

[baddestcop]

That's what every guy wants to hear.

[What he wants is more of the feeling of Ryo touching him the way he's touching his scalp. He feels as if he could just melt against him. It's been a while since he's had a lot in the way of affectionate touching, a downside to his lifestyle change.]

Say please and I'll get you some.

[misunderstanding]

[ yep, this is the part he'll be humiliated about later, he decides distantly. he's okay with that. just because he's a little touch-starved when he's drunk isn't too incriminating, right? he can handle that.

he turns his own face to the side, nearly brushing Dee's temple with his mouth as he speaks in a low murmur: ]

Please, Dee?

[baddestcop]

[Oh, good. Great idea, Dee, make him beg, that was sure to help his issue.

Dee's groan thankfully ends up more frustrated than aroused and then he gets up, his skin cold where Ryo's warmth had just been.]

Stay here, yeah?

[misunderstanding]

[ ryo makes a reluctant little noise himself when dee stands up, because he'd really gotten used to the warmth of another body near his. ]

I'll find-- a movie?

[baddestcop]

Well-- Sure.

If you can find something other than porn.

[Look, the internet wasn't that useful back in the day and he's a very lonely man with a lot of neglected needs.]

[misunderstanding]

I'm not watching porn with you.

[ but he's laughing again, even as he stands up to grab the remote. just kind of - background noise. that would be great. ]

[baddestcop]

Definitely not. I'm not gonna make this harder.

[Just getting a glass full of water and moving back to see Ryo fumble with the remote.]

It's on sports. Probably not your thing.

[misunderstanding]

[ ryo yawns slightly, taking the water when dee returns. maybe a part of him knows that this is just an excuse to sit near him on the couch, to be in his presence without physically touching him. ]

You find something. I never watch TV this late at night.

[baddestcop]

[Drunk Ryo? Still too cute. It's pretty unfair, all things considering, given Dee is almost positive that drunk him has never been cute in any way.

But cute's not really his thing. These days, who knows what his thing is.

He leans over to take the remote, looking through the channels until he finds something that looks like the finale of an action movie.]

This late? It's not even eleven, live a little.

[misunderstanding]

[ ryo has no idea what his thing is, either, except that right now he's pretty content where he is. ]

I am. Came here instead of going home, didn't I.

[ he'll just be invading dee's space as subtly as possible when he returns to the couch. ]

[baddestcop]

You did. Now come here.

[Good thing about Ryo always? Easy to catch off-guard. Drunk Ryo even more so. Not surprising that Dee wraps an arm around his waist and pulls him back against his chest, holding him there and burying his nose in his hair, allowing himself the delusion that this is what they always do and what makes it worse is that it really feels that way.

As always when he's with Ryo, things just fall right into place.]

[misunderstanding]

[ yeah, ryo is definitely caught off guard, but he slumps pretty bonelessly against dee's chest anyway. he can't even really see the tv like this, his cheek smushed against him. ]

You really do like me.

[ the privacy affords him a little more boldness. maybe he just wants to hear dee say it. ]

[baddestcop]

I don't just like you, Ryo, and you really oughta know that by now.

[Dee keeps his arm around Ryo and wonders how he can be this drunk and still mostly just smell good. It's not even fair.]

You're everything, you hear?

good morning.... lmao

[misunderstanding]

[ ryo exhales hard, hesitating, before he drops one hand across dee's chest. his fingers skim over the other man's shirt, seeking out the steady thump of his heart in his chest. finally, he speaks, as if making a confession. ]

... really want you to mean that, you know.

[ because it's equal parts terrifying and thrilling to hear, but he always manages to convince himself it's probably not true. ]

[baddestcop]

Yeah? If you do, I really wish you'd not act as if it's a shock or trick every time I make it clear.

[He looks down at Ryo, watches his hand and tries not to focus on what the touch means to him and more on what it means.]

I've never said anything to you that I didn't mean, Ryo. If ya don't know what you mean to me, it's cause ya don't wanna deal with it.

[misunderstanding]

[ he holds his breath for a moment, just giving himself enough time to try to commit the feeling of being held like that to memory, before he moves to sit up away from dee a little clumsily. it's like he's trying to appear to pay attention to the movie. ]

People like us don't end up together. [ and then, without missing a beat, he adds: ] I'm not any good at relationships.