Disclaimer: I do not own FAKE and Gravitation, and I do not profit from writing this story. It's just in sad and crazy fun.

Author's Note: A bit of a prequel to First Christmas. I may actually delve into another, multi-chaptered story with Ryo and Shuichi that's also a prequel to First Christmas. I haven't decided yet. I just have to wait and see what happens.

For Ryo, it should have simply been another regular day at work. In fact, it started out as a regular day. He recalled each and every one of his actions with vivid clarity. Ryo always stopped at the bakery and coffee shop one block from his apartment complex. Always. For some reason, since his relationship with Dee began, Ryo had developed a taste for cream cheese streusel muffins with a regular cup of coffee. Of course, breakfast had to be a rather quick affair, with Dee keeping him up as late as possible. The man had a voracious appetite when it came to sex, and Ryo found himself scrambling every time he worked the morning shift.

Then again, Ryo did not mind quite so much. All of Dee's love belonged to him, and his partner even learned how to deal with Bikky. In essence, life could not have been sweeter.

Ryo blinked as he thought of that day, that horrible day. It truly had been no different than any other day. Dee dropped him off at the bakery and coffee shop he was partial to, and his partner promised to drive Bikky to school after he bought them breakfast at McDonald's. Both Bikky and Dee waved to him as the car pulled away from the curb, and Ryo walked to the precinct with little incident. The weather was nice and warm, and the walk allowed Ryo to think, whether his focus was on a case or his partner. It simply depended on his mood and the complexities of either his life or a current case.

Upon entering the 27th, his fellow officers offered hellos and the usual morning greetings, and Ryo found himself smiling. With his cup of coffee in hand, he strode towards his desk and settled in to await Dee's arrival.

It was then the call came in about an accident. No one knew much else other than it was a two-vehicle collision, and one car had flipped at least once, landing on its roof. For Ryo, it should have been like any other call, but this time . . . this time it was different for upon reaching the scene, he recognized the car laying upside down. He knew every inch of it from the feel of the leather-bound steering wheel to a few of the cigarette burns in the backseat upholstery. Its giveaway to the owner was the bright streak of red running along the driver's side of the vehicle, the handiwork of Bikky from one of his temper tantrums over something. His heart leapt into his throat as he ran towards the car, his mouth unable to work and form the words he desperately wanted to cry out. A part of him wanted to deny the truth of what he was seeing. It could not be Dee's car. Dee was at Bikky's school, dropping the boy off as he promised he would. Surely it was another car of similar design with similar graffiti on the side, but the horrible sinking sensation within the pit of his stomach told Ryo not to fool himself. It would not end well if he did. His stomach lurched as he dashed forward, his head spinning, and his breathing laboured. It could not be happening.

Strong arms grabbed a hold of him as he tried to race towards his lover, and Drake's voice filled his hearing. He told Ryo there was nothing he could do, that there was nothing anyone could do. Somehow, he had been on patrol and closest to the accident site when the call arrived at the station. He knew who was inside the car, and he stopped Ryo from reaching the smashed in vehicle.

In sickening slow motion, Ryo watched as the fire department righted Dee's car and proceed to rip it apart to reach the occupants inside. A little too late, Drake started dragging him away from the scene, but not before Ryo saw the bloodied messes that were Dee and Bikky. The paramedics were checking for pulses, but they found none. A wave of nausea assaulted Ryo when he heard one of the women say the two were dead, and he blacked out.

A drop of rain landed on Ryo's nose, pulling him from his painful reverie, and he glanced towards the sky. Dark clouds rolled overhead, and thunder rumbled, as if echoing his mood. It had been two months since Dee and Bikky had been taken away from him yet the pain and loneliness had not eased in the slightest. If anything, both had grown worse with each passing day, and Ryo felt himself slowly suffocating from the sensations. He was no longer sure of himself any more. Ryo knew as much, and often found himself questioning Dee's belief in things such as the supernatural and God. It was silly, it was stupid, and it was a waste of time to believe in things one could not see with either the naked eye or a microscope. In his opinion, Dee was an adult and should have known better.

After all, if God existed, why had He taken Dee and Bikky away when there was so much left to live for?

* * *

"It's raining."

Dee glanced towards the sky and shrugged. He lit a cigarette then handed it towards his blond-haired partner. The man became quite cranky if he did not have his fix. Amber eyes gazed at him questioningly but accepted the cigarette.

They must have looked quite the odd pair, Dee mused, he and Eiri "Yuki" Uesugi. Of course, if anyone could actually see them, that person would be pissing his pants. The two were quite the bloody mess, appearing as they had on the days of their deaths. A bullet hole graced the center of Eiri's forehead, and Dee knew his skull was caved in from the car accident. Fortunately, Bikky's soul had not remained with him. Dee was not sure if he could have handled the thought of the boy not taking his proper place with the angels. He watched as the rain started to hit the ground with a fervor.

"So it is," he replied nonchalantly. "Where is yours again?"

Eiri paused for a moment, his eyes surveying the area. Then he gestured towards a form sitting on a bench. The person had his knees drawn towards his chest, and his face lay buried under his arms. Dee nodded.

"You think they'll be good for each other?" he asked. To that, Eiri shrugged.

"It's hard to say," the novelist replied. "But they can't stay like this forever. Even if they don't make it as a couple, at least they'll have something to give them hope."

"Awww, that's so sweet," Dee teased. He knew the author was not fond of romantic clichés. Dee found it a little hard to believe, given the man's profession in life, but it gave him a small amount of amusement.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Eiri grumbled. "You ready to do this or not?"

"As ready as I'm ever going to be."

"Then let's do this. I hate seeing him so sad."

Eiri did not need to mention who he was. Dee already knew.

"All right then. Let's do this."