Brendon and Ryan had been at the park for a while just walking around. At some point, knowing Brendon would get hungry, Ryan bought the younger man a soft pretzel from a small cart near by and the two sat on a bench.

Brendon happily ate his snack and watched a dog playing fetch with its owner. He had on a content smile. Since he'd showered that morning, the gentle breeze was blowing through the man's fluffy hair leaving it slightly messy.

Ryan was leaning back, staring at his partner. As much as he wanted to look away, to get the man out of mind, he couldn't ignore the pull he felt toward Brendon. He couldn't stop the way his skin tingled when their hands brushed against each other when they were walking around or how his stomach fluttered when Brendon's eyes shined and smiled widely when the dog caught a ball in its mouth.

As each day passed since they arrived here, Ryan was finding it harder and harder to focus on his case and less on Brendon. He wasn't able to deny his attraction and the small moments that the pair shared. He wished for a moment that they weren't working on a case together and they had one night to just...

"Urie," Ryan found himself saying. Brendon turned to him with the happy smile still on his face.

"Yeah," he said as he took another bite from his pretzel. Ryan didn't say anything. His mouth was slightly open as if he were going to speak, but he couldn't produce words.

Brendon's smile shifted into an amused smirk as he tilted his head to the side. He waited for Ryan to talk and kept their eyes locked. Ryan felt his face warm up as he began to speak again.

"Would you like to have dinner with me?"

"Sure," Brendon beamed.  "I heard that pizza place downtown is a teen attraction and they serve some amazing -" Ryan shook his head and looked down.

"No work," he interrupted in a quiet voice. "I meant we could dress up, I take you to somewhere nice and buy you a fancy meal and we just.. talk." Ryan kept his gaze on his lap. He shut his eyes and prepared for a rejection when Brendon didn't say anything at first. He shouldn't've asked a co-worker out. Could he do anything more stupid?

"Like on a date?" Ryan's heart was pounding.

"Yea?"

"Oh," Brendon said softly. "Um, y-yeah. I-I'd really like that." Ryan looked up surprised to see Brendon now looking down with a smile and blush across his cheeks. Ryan bit his lip to contain his growing smile and excitement. He said yes.

˜˜˜

When they got back to the hotel, Brendon went to the bathroom and began getting ready. Ryan started looking through his bag, trying to find something Brendon would like. After fifteen minutes of throwing his clothes around, Ryan decided on a red plaid shirt with a brown vest over it, dark blue jeans and brown dress shoes.

He was looking at himself in the mirror, trying to style his wavy hair when Brendon stepped out of the bathroom. Ryan saw him in the mirror first before turning around to look the man up and down.

Brendon was wearing a button down with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, a gray vest over the top and a matching bowtie. Of course he was wearing his signature black skinny jeans and converse. The front of his hair was styled in a quiff.

Ryan found himself walking up and wrapping his arms around the shorter man's waist. Brendon brought his hands up to Ryan's chest, fiddling with the vest.

"Brendon, you look amazing," Ryan breathed out, letting his eyes moved over delicate features. Brendon looked down with a blush.

"Thanks. You look pretty handsome yourself." Ryan couldn't help but smile at the man's actions. Brendon had a habit of being confident one moment then doing a complete 180 into shyness. "Where are we going?" Brendon looked back up.

"Vecchia Roma. It's a little Italian restaurant on the outskirts of town. If you like Italian that is," Ryan added quickly. "We can go somewhere else if you want. It doesn't have to be Italian," Ryan rambled.

"Italian sounds great," Brendon said to stop Ryan. Ryan let out a sigh of relief. He led Brendon to the car, opening the door for him. In the car, Brendon sang softly to the radio and Ryan had to try hard to keep his eyes on the road and not stare at the man next to him.

When they were at the restaurant and got a table, Ryan pulled Brendon's seat out before sitting down himself. Ryan admired the man across from him as he looked around at the room.

"This is so beautiful."

"I couldn't agree more," Ryan responded, staring at his partner. Brendon looked and saw how Ryan was watching him. His cheeks grew red at the meaning behind his comment.

"I didn't know you were this romantic," he mumbled.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." Brendon chuckled softly.

"I wish I did." Ryan reach over the table and connected his hand with Brendon's.

"Here's your chance." The waiter came and they ordered their meals and a bottle of wine. While they waited, they sipped at their drinks, alternating asking questions. Ryan listened intently as Brendon spoke.

He was born in Utah before moving to Vegas. They actually grew up a few towns from each other. He was the youngest of five siblings. He was out to his family and had their full support in his sexuality. Even though they were nervous, they all encouraged him to pursue his career. Ryan soaked up all the information along with how happy Brendon looked talking about him life.

"Now Mr. Ross, I believe it's my turn to ask something." Ryan chuckled softly and nodded at Brendon. They had talked about his hobbies outside of work, his hometown and, because of Brendon's persistence of the question, how likely it'd be for him to go to a gay bar and sing karaoke with him.

They'd made it to through the appetizers and were half way through the main course. The questions were only delayed because they'd been enjoying the meal. They weren't even half way through their first glass of wine because they spent most of the time talking.

"Let's talk about your family. I know you have a sister, but don't talk to her anymore. Do you have any other siblings?" Ryan gave a small head shake and took a drink from his glass. "Do you still talk to your parents?" Ryan sighed and took another drink of his wine, tempted to just down the rest of it.

"I haven't spoken to them in years." He looked down at his plate, pushing the food around with his fork. He kept his hand wrapped around his glass.

"Why not?" Ryan could hear the caution in the other's voice. Brendon was obviously curious, but didn't want to push his luck. Ryan finished his wine and poured himself another glass.

"We got into a big fall out and we just never... it's complicated," Ryan said with a shrug.

"Maybe you could give them a call or something. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you again." Ryan kept his eyes down, not able to look at Brendon.

"I don't know. Maybe."

"What about your sister? From what you told me, you guys seemed really close. Why don't you try talking to her again?" Ryan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Gaby... s-she was," Ryan spoke in a shaky voice. "She was murdered when she turned fifteen." Ryan felt tears building in his eyes. He heard Brendon drop his fork onto his plate.

"Ryan, I'm so sorry. I-I shouldn't have brought that up. I d-didn't mean to.."

"It's okay, Bren," Ryan tried to sound relaxed, to help Brendon calm down. He sniffed and wiped a tear that slid down his cheek. It was silent for only a moment.

"They never found who killed her," he looked up when he spoke again. "Eventually, my parents gave up trying to get her case solved. I didn't though. I swore I'd find the bastard who did it." Brendon reach over the table and locked their fingers together. Ryan squeezed his hand tightly.

"I studied harder and ended up in the FBI. I work on the cases that were most similar to her's. I thought if I was able to solve those that they'd help me find new ways to try and solve hers." Brendon's eyes silently asking questions to which Ryan shook his head.

"It's been years and I haven't gotten anywhere. I kept thinking it was cause I wasn't trying hard enough. I wasn't working enough."

"That's why you always working," Brendon said in a whisper. Ryan let out a weak chuckle and gave a pathetic smile.

"Yeah. Jokes on me though cause all I got were dead ends and exhaustion. Honestly, this past week has been the best and most relaxed week I've had since she passed away." Brendon gave a smile and squeezed Ryan's hand again. Ryan returned the smile with a half-hearted one.

"How long has it been?"

"Seven and a half years." Ryan felt his eyes watering again. He let out an airy laugh and wiped his eyes. "Sorry." He went to pull his hand away from Brendon's grip, but the man didn't let him pull away.

"It's okay." Ryan gave him an appreciative smile.

"I just miss her. This week has been the first time in years that I haven't tried to do anything with her case. We've just been so busy going around town I just haven't had the chance." Brendon pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, gnawing nervously.

"This week hasn't felt real. It's like I was given a chance to just live or even breath without a weight on my shoulders. We're still working on a case, but I don't have that same stress. I know I should be happy about this and don't get me wrong I loved the time we spent together. It's just.. a part of me feels like she'd be mad at me, thinking that I'm giving up on her if I focus on her case. I just want to give her that peace she deserves."

Brendon was biting his lip almost hard enough to draw blood. His eyes were suddenly filled with guilt. His hand slowly pulled from Ryan's and settled in his lap. Ryan furrowed his eyebrows at the action. He didn't understand Brendon's sudden mood change.

"Brendon? Everything alright?" He noticed how the man's breathing seemed to pick up as his body shook slightly. Brendon wouldn't even look him in the eye anymore.

"Ryan, I..." He tired to keep his voice steady, but struggled. "I have to tell you something." Ryan's heart began pounding in his chest as he stared at the man across from him.

---

A/N:

Soooo I don't think I mentioned that they work Las Vegas and because of this case they are currently in the L.A. area. I wrote it down in my rough drafts and guess when revising took it out and never put it back in.

Also 'pologies for the longer chapter and cliff hanger (not really). With the extended weekend, hoping to get the next chapter written and uploaded so we shall see. For now, thanks for reading! Hope you're enjoying it.