Devoted to You

Keeping Pace

   Two hours later, Chen Yu and Detective Xi are sitting across from a fairly attractive man in his late twenties. He has dark brown hair peppered with blonde highlights in a shaggy style. His hazel eyes dart between the men, Xi confused by the heavy liner he's wearing. Chen Yu notices a recent manicure, with short pale pink nails shimmering. The man snorts at them, rolling his eyes.

"What, never seen a feminine gay before boys?" He asks, winking at Chen Yu.

"Nah, just not my type." Chen Yu says, shrugging his shoulders at Xi's raised brows. "Don't you dare call my lao gong feminine to his face." He warns in a low voice, Xi trying not to chuckle.

"Oh, so you're batting for my team, Dective? Interesting." He grins, taking a better look at Chen Yu, before sighing. "Not my type though."

"I'm married anyway, sweetheart." Chen Yu snarls, flipping open a file before him. He nods at Xi, but gets only a grin. "We know your type. Clean cut, muscular, business men, with caramel eyes." He watches the man across from him swallow with difficulty. "Just like your ex. The one who dumped you to marry a woman, right?" He says leaning forward and watching the man's jaw clench repeatedly.

"And yet, he still hasn't married her." He grins, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "Maybe, he can't get over me after all." Chen Yu tosses a newspaper clipping across the table.

"Or maybe it just takes quite awhile to plan such an extravagant wedding." Chen Yu says, the man looking at a photo of a newlywed couple in a lavish ballroom. He sees the tears start to fall and caves a little, passing a box of tissues over. "He's not coming back to you. I'm sorry and, you can't replace him with a similar man. That's not fair to the new guy." The man nods slowly and visibly crumbles. "Why kill them, because you realized they weren't him? Or were they to much like him?" A shaking hand reaches for a tissue, hysterical laughter bubbling up.

"The first one, I found out he was into some seriously kinky shit." He confesses, a shudder running through his body. "He tried tying my up, I was okay with that." He rolls up his shirt sleeve, a dozen small burn marks marring his fair skin. "Then he started putting out cigarettes on my body. Freak didn't even smoke! Then, he pulled out this huge knife and, I was so sure he was going to kill me. Said he just wanted to leave his mark on me. That was self defense, honestly. I was terrified." He shakes his head to clear the memories.

"And the other three? Were they self defense as well?" Chen Yu asks, his voice holding no judgement at all.

"Uhm, no. They weren't." He sighs and fiddles with the tissue. "The second guy, he was alright. A little clingy, but sweet. He was an accident." He chokes out, wiping feverishly at his eyes. "Idiot. I could have been happy with him. He couldn't hold his liquor for shit. I tried taking him upstairs to bed and he was just dead wait. We fell. He, he panicked and broke my fall, with his own body. I hit my head and blacked out." Tears are flowing like a river down his cheeks. "When I came to, I was in his arms. He was smiling at me. I asked if he was alright, but he didn't answer. He didn't even blink. I checked for a pulse, but he was gone. I panicked, okay?!" His shoulders shake, the sobs devastatingly heartbreaking. Chen Yu pours a cup of water and kneels beside him.

"I'm inclined to believe you, so far. Which is good for you." Chen Yu says, the man taking a sip of the water and trying to calm himself down. "Two counts of murder are better than four."

"I admit to killing the last two." He grits out, making a fist. "They weren't the good men they pretended to be." He takes a deep breath, then releases it. "Third guy, I... I walked in on him with a kid! I don't mean eighteen year old consenting young adult. A thirteen year old boy! And it wasn't consensual at all. I got the kid outta there and the guy went ballistic. Saying I was going to have to make it up to him, since I let his tasty little treat go. That kid probably wasn't the first, but I was going to make sure he was the last." He's breathing heavily, rage fighting with earlier grief. "So yeah, I killed the creep. I should've gone with the kid, made sure he got somewhere safe." He says sadly, bowing his head. "Last guy, I knew he was hiding something from me. During our last date he confessed he wasn't divorced, but his wife was out of town on business. I didn't want to break up a marriage and I told him so. He claimed they had an open marriage and I was skeptical, but wanted to hear him out. I figured I could always approach the wife as a straight and see if they really were open." He shrugs, pulling a face. "He pulls out a pile of clothes and asks me to wear them for him. Lacy women's under garments and a dress. Complete with heels." He takes his shirt off, showing bruises from a man's hands on his upper arms. "I told him I'm not into that shit. Freak wanted me to dress up like a lady, in his wife's clothes! Got angry and physical when I refused, trying to leave. I threw a glass at him, trying to get the hell out of there. But it barely phased him. We fought, he dragged me outside and I finally got the upper hand. Just before he tried locking me in his garden shed. Animal."