Collide
15-Ryo's Revenge
At five to seven, JJ trudged up many flights of stairs. The room he was supposed to meet the unknown person in was way up on the top floor. JJ had a strong fear that he knew who he'd meet up there. If his suspicions we're right, he had no idea how to respond.
JJ read the numbers on all the doors as he passed them. Once he got to 500, he stopped. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door. Footsteps approached from inside and the door unlocked. It swung open and JJ faced--
"Drake!"
"Hey." Drake relaxed against the door frame, sporting a scared face.
"What are you doing up here?"
"To see you," he answered, pulling JJ inside. He shut the door and locked it.
JJ stared at his surroundings. He had no doubt that this was the honeymoon suite. He was about to blurt out something; however, Drake maneuvered him over to the loveseat.
"Drake, why--"
"I need to talk to you," Drake answered the unfinished question.
"Okay…"
Drake sighed heavily. Quietly, he said, "I think I made the biggest mistake of my life."
JJ coughed into his hand. "Oh?"
Drake continued, "I know this is probably not the best way to say it. Nor the best time…But I realized, a little too late, that I've tried to fool myself into believing I was happy when I wasn't. I had suspicions, especially in high school. When Kyle tested my limits… and I wanted to test it this afternoon…uh, never mind about that…but…
"I know I've treated you badly and threw away your feelings like they were nothing. But I wasn't quite sure how to admit things. I was scared of you--not because your frightening or anything, but you wanted me so badly. I thought you'd push and push until I gave in. Actually, now that I think about it, I wished you had pushed me harder.
"I'm sorry for the months or years that you've been in heartbreak or whatever. But I hope that maybe you…and I…will be together forever. I…I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you; I don't want to cause you any more pain. But I have to say it. If I don't I'll go crazy. JJ, I don't love Cyndi. I don't and never will. I'll never be happy with her.
"Ryo was the one who told me I would regret it. He told me to get out. I do regret it; I wished I had listened to him. I wish I had listened to everyone. Kyle and Dee both told me, in less or more words, that someone better was out there for me, and loved me more than anything. Kyle told me--well, not exactly to me, but I overheard him say that I was throwing the best thing in my life. And the only place I belonged was…your heart.
"So, tell me. Do you? Do you love me like they all claim? I've never heard you say it, and I need to hear the truth from you. Do you love me?"
JJ couldn't believe his ears. He didn't know what to say. What could Drake possibly do when JJ told him that he loved him? He was married now, whether or not Drake loved Cyndi or not. Nothing could happen.
"I love you," JJ admitted. "I love you more than anything in the world. But it doesn't matter."
"It matters," Drake contradicted. "Because I love you too." He leaned forward and latched his lips onto JJ's.
A soft cry escaped the smaller man as warm lips touched his own. He stiffened in shock, while a thrill ran down his spine. JJ shut his eyes tightly and returned the kiss with fervor. This couldn't be happening; it was too good to be true; too grave to false. What would Cyndi think if she saw them like this? He hastily grasped at Drake's shoulders, embracing him tightly to keep the moment going as long as possible.
Drake was relieved JJ didn't push him away like he had feared. He was extremely thrilled when JJ's lips parted eagerly, letting him slip his tongue past to explore every inch inside that delectable mouth. He stroked a gentle hand down the other man's back, swallowing the groan he received. Drake wanted to remember the soft touches, scents, tastes for the rest of his life. More than anything, he wanted to be able to relive the memory over and over again; to be able to love him.
JJ arched his back when fingertips traveled down every knot in his spine. A shudder ran throughout his body. He slithered his tongue around the one assaulting his mouth, both struggling for domination. JJ ached for more contact, quickly unbuttoning Drake's shirt and running his hands over the span of skin. Drake broke off the kiss, dragging JJ to the bed.
He lowered the younger man to the mattress, who squirmed in delight when he pressed their bodies together. Drake looked down with fogged over eyes, catching his breath. JJ caressed his love's cheek fondly, leaning up to devour his mouth again. Drake complied passionately, ripping off JJ's button down shirt.
JJ's eyes closed again at the luscious feeling of soft lips on his skin. He whimpered softly as fingers worked at his pants, tugging them down. He tangled his fingers in the brown strands and yanked his head so their eyes met.
Breathing heavily, JJ asked, "Are you sure you want this? Now? After everything?"
"Positive."
"Where did Drakey go! Where, where, WHERE!"
As discreetly as possible, Dee stuck his fingers in his ear to drown out Cyndi's squeals.
"Do you know where!" Cyndi persisted.
"NO! NOR DO I CARE!" Dee bellowed and ran off to save himself from the torture. Keeping an eye out for his lover, he wandered through the dancing couples. He spotted Ryo over in a corner by himself. As he approached, Ryo raised his head and smiled.
"Happy to see me? Or too much too drink?" Dee asked, eyeing Ryo's grin skeptically.
"I'm always happy to see you," Ryo responded. "But that's not why I'm smiling."
"Why then?"
"Ted told me something very interesting about Drake."
"Oh yeah?" Dee was highly interested now. "What exactly did he tell you?"
"Drake gave him a note to deliver to JJ. Well, you know Ted is too curious for his own good. So he read it. Drake had told JJ to meet him up in his suite at seven. He suspects Drake wanted to say sorry."
"Seven?" Dee restated. He read from his watch, "Eight thirty. They've been gone one and a half hours. That's a looong sorry."
"So you think--"
"Oh, yes."
"And they are--"
"Definitely."
"So this entire thing--"
"Yep."
"And Cyndi is--"
"Screwed."
"I love how our minds work as one." Ryo grinned widely. "But that's not all."
"Oh?"
Ryo dragged his lover away from the dance floor to a secluded area. When he was sure they were completely out of earshot of everyone, Ryo leaned close. He whispered, "People are starting to notice things."
Dee's face scrunched up in confusion. "What?"
"Everyone had a special surprise underneath their plates. A few have found them, others haven't. The important people haven't."
"What special surprise!"
"Go check it out yourself."
Drake stretched out languorously, curling up to JJ's side. JJ smiled as he brushed through his lover's dark locks. He couldn't remember a time he had been so happy, so complete. Drake breathed in deeply, catching the unique scent of JJ.
Absentmindedly, he turned his head and glanced at the bedside clock. "Damn." Drake sat upright and stared at the numbers. "Is that really the time?"
Lazily, JJ looked at the clock and answered, "Yes, indeed."
"We've got to go face the music." Drake jumped out of the bed, stumbling around for his clothes. He snatched up the pieces of his suit, pulling them on. He shoved the remaining pieces of clothing on the floor in JJ's hands.
"This is romantic," JJ grumbled, throwing on his wrinkled attire. Irritated, he asked, "What are you going to do?"
"I dunno."
JJ suddenly felt very apprehensive about the future. He had jumped into a situation that had no guarantees. Drake had never mentioned anything about leaving Cyndi; JJ thought he had implied it though. But the way he was acting now made JJ think that Drake was brushing him off again. JJ wouldn't have any of that.
"You're going to tell them aren't you?" JJ prodded.
Drake sighed loudly. "Maybe."
"What? You told me that you weren't happy with her! Or did you lie to get your way with me!"
"No! I love you, I swear," Drake vowed. "But I just committed adultery--on the day of my wedding! Cyndi's family will turn me into target practice!"
JJ put the finishing touches on his suit. "When are you going to tell them?"
"In time…"
JJ groaned, walking away from the other man. Drake hobbled after him, still in pain after the previous activities. His legs gave way, making him tumble to the floor. JJ didn't bother to turn around and help him. He continued to stroll right out the door angrily.
"In time my ass," JJ mumbled to himself. He strolled through the hallways and took the elevator back down to the first level.
"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit." Dee stared openmouthed at the special 'present' people were supposed to find. "RYO!"
He ran across the ballroom to where his lover was carefully secluded by a mixture of plants. Ryo smirked when he saw the present in his lover's hands.
"Did you do this!" Dee interrogated.
Ryo smiled larger. "Maybe."
"You! HOW?"
Ryo grabbed the photocopies from Dee's hands and waved them around. "I'm a detective. It was easy."
"How did you know she was…and then JJ…Woooah."
Dee stared at the two copied pictures again. The first one was a photo of two people having sex. The electronic date on the picture was three days ago. With an arrow pointing at the woman, it had been labeled: Cyndi. The man above her was labeled: Her Cousin and Baby's Father, Bill.
"How did you know about this?" Dee asked.
"When we first met her, besides the snarls and yells at each other, there was something fishy about her. I happened to take the liberty to figure out exactly what. And hello! Look what I found." He motioned at the photocopy.
"How did you take this?"
"OHHH… you know. Detective ways."
"How did you find out about them? Just dug around?"
"Coincidence. I ran into them at the grocery store months ago. Way back in January."
"Alright." Dee waved the other copy at his lover. "What about this?"
"To be fair," Ryo answered. He smiled gleefully at the other picture. He had snapped the picture on Valentine's Day of his two coworkers lying on the floor making out.
"Oh come on!" Dee exclaimed. "Why'd you want to embarrass Drake and JJ?"
"I didn't," Ryo contradicted. "I just wanted to see Cyndi's face when she saw that her hubby was making it with a guy."
"Why'd you do this now? If you knew about this, and had evidence, why didn't you stop Drake!" Dee yelled angrily. He couldn't believe his lover would withhold crucial information like this.
"To get even."
"To get even?" Dee repeated.
Ryo chuckled. He explained, "Ignorance is one of my pet peeves. When Cyndi saw us that day, and with what she said, it really angered me. Then, to top it off, she comes between true love. I wanted to see her pay dearly for everything. So when I spotted her with that guy, I tailed them. They always went to the same hotel, the same room. Eventually, I planted a camera in there and got proof. It was not pretty to watch.
"Then I heard about Cyndi leaving in February. And if I knew JJ well enough, I knew he'd try something with Drake. I snuck in there Valentine's Day morning. They were on the couch drinking. I knew it was JJ's plan to get his way with Drake. I hid there for a long time, and finally the moment I've been waiting for came. Drake latched on to JJ, they scrabbled onto the floor, clothes discarded, one very hot moment. I snapped two pictures, they heard the shutters both times. I think I ruined the moment."
"Okay, but you didn't answer why you didn't say something before."
"I was getting there," Ryo replied coolly. "Telling them and showing them proof wasn't good enough for me. I wanted Cyndi to pay dearly. With simply informing her of Drake's actions would just be a blow to her ego. I wanted to blow a hole in her wallet too.
"Everyone knows the bride and her family pays the most in a wedding. And wow, look at this place. They must've paid a fortune. Aww, well. Let the egos and money burn!
"As for Drake…Well, I was annoyed at his obliviousness. If it took a wedding for him to see that JJ was the one who would make him the most happy, then so be it. I let him take it as far as he wanted. And he took it all the way. Hey, I warned him. But he didn't take my advice. Instead, he realized afterward that it was a mistake. I told him he'd regret marrying her. But secretly, I was telling him he'd regret it, because that picture would be shown to all three hundred guests."
"Who in the world are you! What happened to the sweet and innocent Ryo?"
Ryo replied, "I've lived with you for so many years that you've rubbed off on me. That's what happened."
"I guess now you're my evil, devious Honey Bunny. But I love you just the same. Maybe even more now…."
As the elevator dinged and doors opened, JJ spotted Ryo's kid with his girlfriend. They waved at him to signal him over. He stepped out and headed for the young couple.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Uh, we're supposed to be your guard," Bikky answered.
"My guard? Why do I need a guard?"
"Trust us," Carol began. "You really need to stay safe after what, uh hem, went down…"
JJ hoped that they didn't know what had just happened upstairs. There's no way they could…could they? He asked, "What do you mean?"
Carol unfolded two pieces of paper and handed it to him. JJ stared at the first picture, his jaw hitting the floor. "NO WAY! Cyndi cheated…Ew, and with her cousin!"
"That's, um, not all," Bikky said, pointing to the second paper.
JJ shuffled the papers in his hand so the second one was one top. His jaw smashed through the floor. "NO WAY! THAT'S ME! AND DRAKE! WHO TOOK THIS!"
"Dad," Bikky answered.
"Ryo!" JJ couldn't believe his eyes. His absolutely loved this picture. It was so beautiful. Their faces, their pose, the lighting, the angle were all perfect. "Ryo could be a photographer."
"I think you're missing the big picture here," Carol expressed. "You see, these were underneath everyone's plates. And once people started finding them, they didn't say anything at first. Then the bride's mother saw only the one of you and Drake. She burst out yelling and screaming you to Hell. You have a death wish."
"Oh." JJ laughed nervously. "Didn't see she the one of her daughter?"
"Yes, and she claimed it was taken years ago and the date had been tampered with," Bikky replied. "They realized, too, you and Drake had been missing for an hour or two. They think you two were doing it."
"We were."
"Ug." Their faces scrunched up in a That-was-way-too-much-information look. The looks disappeared quickly, both spotting something in the distance.
"We are to advise you to run away as fast as possible," Bikky stated. The young couple dashed off to the reception area.
"Oh great, leave me to fight off the dogs alone."
"You have me."
JJ twirled around slowly. Drake approached him with a shy smile. He patted JJ on the arm and laced their hands together. "You have me," Drake repeated.
"Do I?" JJ questioned. "Do I really?"
"Cyndi doesn't want me," Drake answered. "I don't want her. I want you. I hope you want me."
"I do. But…is it this simple?"
Drake snorted. "Nothing is that simple. Have to go through a divorce, but first," he glanced around fretfully. "We have to get out of here before we're skinned alive."
JJ and Drake made it outside safely. When they headed for the parking lot, both realized they had a problem.
"We don't have a car."
Drake gazed amongst the sea of cars. "Guess not. I came in here in a limo and you….how did you get here?"
"Ryo and Dee drove," JJ answered. "I left my car at the church."
"So we need to get to the church," Drake concluded. "But how?"
"Hijack a car?" JJ suggested.
"We'll get caught."
JJ smiled mischievously. "We won't if we know what we're doing."
He left for the rows of vehicles. Drake attempted to run after him, but ended up falling into a Mercedes. When Drake found JJ, he saw that he was hovering over an older Toyota.
"You can't do this!" Drake scolded. "We could go to jail! I would rather take my chances with death threats."
JJ laughed and scanned the inside of the car. "I've done this before, so don't worry," JJ assured. He was looking around on the ground, so he missed Drake's surprised stare.
"What do you mean you've done this before!"
"You could call it an old hobby."
"A hobby!" Drake saw the other man pick up a fairly large rock. "What are you doing!"
"Getting us out of here." JJ took back his arm with the rock clamped in his hand and slammed it against the driver's window.
"Shit!" Drake exclaimed as the window shattered, pieces flying at him. The alarm started going off and he was sure people would come running out. Even more frightening, the owners of this car coming out. JJ was currently sitting in the driver's seat, tinkering around with recently acquired scissors.
"Where'd you get those?" Drake asked when JJ stopped the shrill noise.
JJ glanced sideways. "In the middle compartment." He continued to dink around below the steering wheel.
"What if there were no sharp objects in there?" Drake asked curiously.
"I knew they were there."
"How could you have?"
The engine revved and JJ gave a triumphant yelp. "WOOHOO! I haven't lost my touch!"
"You scare me." Drake stood back when JJ reached out for him. JJ prodded his new lover roughly, urging him to get in. Reluctantly, Drake obeyed and got in the passenger's side. He looked over at the driver as he clicked the car into reverse.
"Off we go!" JJ announced.
Drake could have sworn he saw a very evil glint in those blue eyes. He was in the ride for his life. But it had started before they even got in the car. When Dee ran up to him on the stairs and showed him the photos, Drake had been mortified. At the same time relieved. At least he figured out Ryo's strange behavior.
His mind was reeling with the change of events and the current problem. He didn't mind that his wedding was crashed. Cyndi was probably fuming right now or maybe she was happy with her cousin. Drake shuddered. He wouldn't worry about his own family's thoughts though. Not yet. He was happy he had finally let JJ in his life completely. The one thing he was terrified of, besides JJ's driving, was this car and how JJ learned how to hijack.
JJ laughed heartily when Drake asked him about how and when he'd learnt his skills. "When I was a teenager," JJ answered. "Surprisingly, I had a car. Like I said, it was hobby."
"Nice hobby. You couldn't of had a more legal hobby? Like collecting stamps or something?"
JJ laughed harder. "Oh, no. Actually, it was a way my friends and I got even with anyone who fucked with us. We would steal their cars, usually two at a time, and go out to a secluded place and crash 'em. Fun times."
"Ah." Drake was very frightened of his love's past 'fun times.' "But you never got caught?"
"Nope."
"Wow." Drake was still troubled at the fact that he was riding in one of JJ's crime machines. "Do you think the owners will be mad?"
JJ giggled. "NO! They'll be thrilled!" JJ made a wild, wide turn, slamming Drake into the door.
"Was that sarcastic?" Drake wailed in horror as JJ ran a red light. It was beyond doubt, JJ was the worst driver in the world.
"No. Ryo and Dee will be happy, especially after they see the check I leave them."
"What? This is Ryo and Dee's car!"
"Of course."
"How long have they had this?"
"Couple months."
"And why didn't we just ask them for the keys?"
"No thrill," JJ answered. "And because we would've had to have gone through the moshpit to find them. Do you want to die? Especially when you have SOOO much to learn. Particularly gay sex."
JJ made another crazy turn and fiercely braked. Drake was thrown forward into the dashboard. He was suddenly aware that the car had stopped completely. Inside he thanked the heavens he was still alive. He unbuckled himself and bolted out.
JJ threw a set of keys at Drake and called from inside, "Take my car and meet me at the gas station near the hotel."
"You aren't leaving me are you?" Drake asked skeptically.
"Never." JJ blew him a kiss. "Now go."
Drake did as he was told and went over to JJ's brand-new Jaguar. It seemed long ago that he had learned JJ wasn't just loaded, but had a continuous river of money. Why he was still working was beyond Drake.. He glanced over and saw that his lover had already sped off.
"My lover," Drake whispered. A shiver ran down his spine. It was a nice, tingly sensation. Like he finally had something concrete in his life; the knowledge of love.
Drake sat in the driver's seat, completely speechless at the interior. The ride was even more remarkable and smooth. He drove around awhile, enjoying the car while he had it. But then he realized, if JJ's was his, this car was as good as his. Smiling to himself, he pulled into the nearest gas station by the hotel.
JJ pulled back into the same parking spot that, thankfully, was still there. He undid the rigged wires and the engine shut off. Digging into the glove compartment, he found a blank piece of paper. He dug around some more and discovered a pen. He wrote a brief note and slid it in the visor so it was visible.
As he got out, he brushed more of the shattered glass out of the car and onto the pavement. He thanked his friends again mentally and ran off.
He spotted his car parked at the place he had ordered. He quickly got in and smiled widely at the driver.
"So? Shall we go home? And figure out what exactly we have to do to get through this alive?"
"Where the hell are they! I'll kill them both!"
Dee glanced at Ryo and smirked. "Off screwing the Best Man." Ryo snorted but tried to cover it with a coughing fit.
"WILL SOMEONE FIND THEM!"
"We will!" Dee raised his hand and pointed at the half-Japanese as well.
"THEN GO!"
Dee grabbed his lover's arm and led the way out. He grumbled, "I swear if I ever hear Cyndi's shrill ever again, I'm cutting my ears off."
"Don't do that," Ryo opposed. "You have cute ears."
They went out of the ballroom and sat down in the lobby. They were relaxing when Bikky and Carol came from nowhere.
"Dad! You're gonna to be sooo upset!" Bikky yelled. Ryo raised an eyebrow, the look of a suspicious father.
"What happened?" Dee questioned.
"We were gonna take your car," Bikky explained, earning him dirty looks. "But when we went out, we couldn't find it anywhere. We looked everywhere!"
"Yeah, but I found something," Carol informed. "There was an empty spot where we thought it had been and it had broken glass everywhere."
"Shit," Dee cursed.
The four of them darted out of the hotel, searching through the parking lot. Ryo let out a sigh of relief when he saw their car in the same place.
"It wasn't stolen. Did you two just want to scare us?"
Bikky and Carol exchanged confused looks. They approached the car with the older men trailing behind. They all saw, quite clearly, the driver's window was gone.
Dee rushed over and looked the car over. "Who would take our car…and bring it back?"
Ryo noticed a piece of white sticking out of the visor. He pulled it out and unfolded it. A smile tugged at his lips as he read over it.
"That's JJ for you."
"Huh?"
Ryo handed his lover the note. Dee read:
Ryo & Dee,
I'm sorry for hijacking you car. But we needed a clear escape. I fully intend to pay for the damage plus some. Thank you for everything. Especially you Ryo, for your great detective skills and your scheming mind.
JJ
P.S. Drake is mine, ALL MINE! Evil cackling
Ze End