Title: A Beautiful Sight
Author: badly-knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo, OCs.
Rating: PG
Setting: After Like Like Love.
Summary: Dee comes home from a night out with friends to a beautiful sight.
Word Count: 1218
Written For: Jae's Monthly Drabble Challenge 228 - See, Sleep, Smile.
Disclaimer: I don't own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
.
Just because they lived together, and worked together, didn't mean that Dee and Ryo did every single thing together. Yes, they sometimes shared chores, even went grocery shopping together on occasion, especially if there was a lot on their list, because having two people to carry all the bags made life simpler. But they still had their own lives, their own friends, and neither felt the need to tag along when the other was invited out, unless they were specifically invited too.
One of Dee's friends from his police academy days had gotten in touch to invite him to a kind of fifteen-year reunion, which was meant to be just the people who'd trained together, comparing notes, talking about cases they'd worked, just seeing how their group was getting on with their lives. It was to be dinner at a not too expensive restaurant, followed by a few drinks, nothing elaborate, and in fact it was a pact they'd made during training, which Dee had almost forgotten about in the intervening years.
Ryo had been happy for his lover to go without him, teasingly reminding him they weren't joined at the hip, and Dee was free to go wherever he wanted.
"It'll give me a chance to catch up on my reading without interruptions," he'd joked when Dee had first broached the subject.
Dee had laughed at that. "Babe, when you're really into a book, the rest of the world might as well not exist. Gettin' your attention is near impossible."
.
OoOoOoO
.
"Go, have fun, try not to drink too much," Ryo had said earlier, as he'd kissed Dee goodbye at the door. "You won't want to be hungover in the morning; we do have work."
"Yeah, we do, which is too bad, but there's nothin' I can do about it. Don't know what time I'll get in, so you don't gotta wait up for me."
"I won't, in fact I'll probably get an early night, take my book to bed with me and read until I fall asleep."
"Sounds nice. Now I'm almost wishin' I was stayin' home myself."
That had gotten a chuckle from Ryo. "If you stay home, I know for sure I won't even get to open my book, never mind read it. Go. You promised the rest of your class you'd be there; you don't want to be the only one who doesn't show up."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Sweet dreams. Just in case you're asleep when I get in."
That had been somewhere around six hours ago, maybe more; Dee had kind of lost track of time in all the catching up, re-hashing their academy days, laughing and joking, re-visiting old rivalries. Three of his classmates were also detectives by now, one was a desk sergeant following an injury that had left him with a bad limp, another was a training officer, and the rest were still in uniform, with no ambitions for anything more.
"I look good in a uniform," one of them had pointed out. "Turns my girlfriend on like you wouldn't believe."
Dee chuckled to himself as he made his way up the stairs in his building. Dinner had been excellent, and the talk, at a bar around the corner from the restaurant, had been fun. He'd been careful not to overdo the drinking, using the fact that he was on early shift the next day as his excuse for switching to soft drinks after the first few rounds, and the others had accepted that, despite a bit of gentle ribbing. Now, he half-hoped his lover might still be awake and up for a bit of action, even though it was already gone one in the morning, and they'd have to be up at seven if they weren't going to be late for their shift…
Unlocking the door to their apartment, being as quiet as he could, because if Ryo was asleep Dee knew it wouldn't be fair to wake him, he closed the door just as quietly behind him and was taking of his boots when he realised Ryo hadn't simply left the light on for him.
There was his lover, sprawled in the big armchair, book still open on his lap, head tipped to one side, sound asleep. Dee couldn't help but smile at the sight, Ryo looked so peaceful, so contended, although if he slept like that all night, he was gonna have one hell of a sore neck when he woke up. Much as he hadn't wanted to disturb his lover by coming in so late, looked like he really would have to…
Padding barefoot across to the chair, having turned off the wall lights, leaving only the lamp on the end table illuminating the room, Dee leaned over to brush a soft kiss to his lover's lips, his smile widening as Ryo stirred, eyelashes fluttering before his eyes opened, blinking sleepily.
"Dee?" Ryo frowned, confused. "Whassa time?"
"After one-thirty, babe." Dee rescued Ryo's book before it could slide onto the floor and tucked the bookmark between the pages.
"Why'd you wake me up?"
"Had to. You're gonna get a stiff neck if ya sleep here all night."
"What?" Ryo blinked again, focusing on his surroundings… "Oh. I was just gonna finish the chapter then get into bed, but…" He shook his head. "Must've conked out."
"Yeah, I came in expectin' you to be tucked up in bed by now, nice and cosy, and instead…" He trailed off, grinning. "I meant it when I said ya didn't haveta wait up."
"I know, and I didn't mean to." Ryo shifted, stretching, easing the kinks out of his back and neck.
"Book not excitin' enough for ya?"
"Some days, it doesn't matter how exciting a book is, I still can't stay awake. I must be getting old."
Dee snorted. "Not even. You still look the same as the day we met."
"Flatterer. Did you have a good time tonight?" Ryo pushed his lover back and unfolded himself from the chair, stretching again, then looking around for his book.
"I put it on the end table for ya. Don't worry, I marked your page. And yeah, it was fun catchin' up with the rest of my class, they're a great bunch. Don't know why we lost touch, too busy with our jobs, I guess. But you know what the best part was?" he added, as he steered his lover towards their bedroom, Ryo still just groggy enough from being woken up that Dee's steadying hand was welcomed.
"What?"
"Comin' home and seein' you sound asleep in that chair, lookin' like some kind of fallen angel, the way the light was catchin' your hair. So goddamn beautiful."
Even now, after over a year of living together, such compliments still made Ryo blush.
"Dee!"
"I mean it babe, nothin's ever gonna be better than gettin' to come home to you every night."
Ryo shook his head. "And the other week you were calling ME a sentimental goof."
"Hey, never claimed I wasn't one too. C'mon, let's get to bed. We both need to get some sleep before mornin'."
"We do. But maybe we don't have to go to sleep right away."
Dee grinned. "I can roll with that."
Laughing, Ryo turned to kiss his lover. "I just bet you can."
.
The End