FAKE Fic: Arctic Weather
Title: Arctic Weather
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee.
Rating: PG
Setting: After Like Like Love.
Summary: It’s midwinter and in the middle of a snowstorm, but Dee and Ryo still have to work, which includes venturing out into the Arctic conditions, much to Dee’s displeasure.
Word Count: 1138
Written For: Theme Prompt: 083 - Below Zero at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“Fuck!” Dee tugged his collar up as far as it would go and tried to shrink deeper into his warmest winter coat. “We’re supposed to be in New York, not the frickin’ Arctic!”
“Tell me about it,” Ryo muffled, barely audible through the scarf wound around his face and neck. Between that and the woollen beanie pulled down low over his forehead and ears, all that was visible of his face were two dark eyes peering gloomily out at the winter night, snowflakes already catching on his eyelashes, settling thickly on his hat and the shoulders of his heavy winter coat.
Dee shook his head vigorously, scattering the snow from his hair before digging the hat Melinda had made him from his coat pocket and yanking it on. He hated the ugly black, green, and yellow monstrosity, with its massive multicoloured bobble on the top, but right at that moment wearing it and getting laughed at was preferable to freezing his brain and having his ears fall off. At least the bobble provided extra insulation.
“How come we still gotta work in this weather? You’d think even the most hardened criminals would have the sense to stay home where it’s warm. Only an idiot would be out and about in this, riskin’ catchin’ pneumonia!”
“What does that say about us?”
Throwing a glance his partner’s way, Dee had to hide a smile; Ryo reminded him of a fat, fluffy teddy bear, bundled up in his brown wool coat, scarf, and hat. Paddington Bear, maybe. The hat was the wrong sort, but the rest… Very cuddlesome. What he wouldn’t give to be home right now, in bed, snuggled up with his baby, keeping each other warm beneath the covers.
“Doesn’t say anythin’ except we’re the poor, underpaid, unappreciated schmucks gotta venture out in this ‘cause the worst elements of society happen to be bound and determined to commit crimes regardless of the weather. I plan on throwin’ the book at the next person I catch breakin’ the law in any way whatsoever, even if they’re just jaywalkin’. Someone’s gonna pay for makin’ us haveta freeze our toes off out here.”
Dee stamped his feet, trying to warm them up; they felt like blocks of ice. His boots were supposed to be insulated, but they weren’t doing a very good job of preventing frostbite. Then again, they probably hadn’t been designed with sub-zero temperatures in mind. They were made for city wear; polar explorers no doubt had boots that were far more efficient at keeping the cold out, with an appropriately exorbitant price tag. A pair like that would be very welcome right about now. If temperatures were likely to stay this low for any length of time, hell, even for a day or two, it might be worth investing in some, to hell with the price.
Ryo pulled him from his thoughts. “Come on, no use complaining. Work to do.”
“Yeah.” Sighing, Dee hitched his coat collar up again, hunched his shoulders, and checked he’d locked the car. “We pass anywhere that’s open, I’m buyin’ a scarf. Or possibly several. Wouldn’t hurt to have a few spares.” He’d had one on earlier, but it had gotten wet, so he’d hung it over a radiator to dry out and then forgotten it when they’d left the precinct a while back to go investigate the scene of a liquor store robbery. Now his teeth were starting to ache from breathing the icy air. Still, it could be worse; at least he had his gloves and the hat, since they’d been in his coat pockets.
Dee trudged doggedly through the drifting snow, silently lamenting the fact that it was too late to expect anyone to be out shovelling the sidewalks. With the snow coming down as heavily as it was, any attempt would probably prove futile anyway. If this kept up, they’d hardly be able to see where they were going when it came time to drive back to the precinct, and that was assuming the car didn’t get buried under a snowdrift. The wind was getting up, sending the snowflakes swirling around them in dizzying spirals; blizzard conditions were a distinct possibility.
“What’d we do to deserve this? We work our asses off all year round; by now we oughta be on some sun-drenched tropical beach, kickin’ back, sippin’ cocktails, and soakin’ up rays. A couple of weeks in the sun would do us a world of good.”
“We can’t afford that every year, Dee; not on our salaries.”
Living in New York wasn’t exactly cheap, not even with the amazing deal Dee had gotten when he’d taken on the apartment next door to his own; twice the floor space for only an extra fifty bucks a month. That would’ve been a steal in any sizeable city, but in the Big Apple it was nothing short of miraculous. Now with Ryo sharing the cost of rent and utilities, in theory they should have easily been able to afford an island vacation, but putting enough money aside for one had proved more difficult than expected. Furnishing and decorating the bigger apartment hadn’t been cheap. On top of that, Ryo was helping Bikky with living expenses now the boy was at college in L.A., and thanks to work related injuries he and Dee had both had medical expenses that weren’t fully covered by their insurance. Ah well, maybe by next winter. In the meantime…
“We could go visit the House Ape, have a week in L.A. It’s gotta be warmer there than it is here. Maybe he could put us up, save us rentin’ a hotel room.”
Kicking his way through the snow at Dee’s side, Ryo snorted. “He lives in a dorm room he shares with another student; there’d be nowhere for us to sleep, even if having guests was allowed, which it isn’t.”
“Damn.” Dee peered miserably through the gloom. “Guess that means we’re stuck here for the duration.”
“It won’t be winter forever.”
“You sure of that? Could be the start of a new Ice Age.”
“That seems unlikely.” Ryo tugged at Dee’s sleeve with a double-gloved hand and pointed across the street. “Might be able to get a scarf there.”
“Great!” Dee made to cross the street, but Ryo stopped him.
“No jaywalking; you’d have to throw the book at yourself. There’s a crossing at the next intersection.”
“But there’s no traffic!”
“So what? I don’t make the rules; I just enforce them.”
Dee sighed, giving in. “Fine. Lead the way.” He could survive a few more minutes without a scarf, but when they got to the store he was buying the longest, thickest, fluffiest one he could find. No way he was letting the Arctic conditions beat him. He wondered if the store stocked insulated boots as well…
The End
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee.
Rating: PG
Setting: After Like Like Love.
Summary: It’s midwinter and in the middle of a snowstorm, but Dee and Ryo still have to work, which includes venturing out into the Arctic conditions, much to Dee’s displeasure.
Word Count: 1138
Written For: Theme Prompt: 083 - Below Zero at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“Fuck!” Dee tugged his collar up as far as it would go and tried to shrink deeper into his warmest winter coat. “We’re supposed to be in New York, not the frickin’ Arctic!”
“Tell me about it,” Ryo muffled, barely audible through the scarf wound around his face and neck. Between that and the woollen beanie pulled down low over his forehead and ears, all that was visible of his face were two dark eyes peering gloomily out at the winter night, snowflakes already catching on his eyelashes, settling thickly on his hat and the shoulders of his heavy winter coat.
Dee shook his head vigorously, scattering the snow from his hair before digging the hat Melinda had made him from his coat pocket and yanking it on. He hated the ugly black, green, and yellow monstrosity, with its massive multicoloured bobble on the top, but right at that moment wearing it and getting laughed at was preferable to freezing his brain and having his ears fall off. At least the bobble provided extra insulation.
“How come we still gotta work in this weather? You’d think even the most hardened criminals would have the sense to stay home where it’s warm. Only an idiot would be out and about in this, riskin’ catchin’ pneumonia!”
“What does that say about us?”
Throwing a glance his partner’s way, Dee had to hide a smile; Ryo reminded him of a fat, fluffy teddy bear, bundled up in his brown wool coat, scarf, and hat. Paddington Bear, maybe. The hat was the wrong sort, but the rest… Very cuddlesome. What he wouldn’t give to be home right now, in bed, snuggled up with his baby, keeping each other warm beneath the covers.
“Doesn’t say anythin’ except we’re the poor, underpaid, unappreciated schmucks gotta venture out in this ‘cause the worst elements of society happen to be bound and determined to commit crimes regardless of the weather. I plan on throwin’ the book at the next person I catch breakin’ the law in any way whatsoever, even if they’re just jaywalkin’. Someone’s gonna pay for makin’ us haveta freeze our toes off out here.”
Dee stamped his feet, trying to warm them up; they felt like blocks of ice. His boots were supposed to be insulated, but they weren’t doing a very good job of preventing frostbite. Then again, they probably hadn’t been designed with sub-zero temperatures in mind. They were made for city wear; polar explorers no doubt had boots that were far more efficient at keeping the cold out, with an appropriately exorbitant price tag. A pair like that would be very welcome right about now. If temperatures were likely to stay this low for any length of time, hell, even for a day or two, it might be worth investing in some, to hell with the price.
Ryo pulled him from his thoughts. “Come on, no use complaining. Work to do.”
“Yeah.” Sighing, Dee hitched his coat collar up again, hunched his shoulders, and checked he’d locked the car. “We pass anywhere that’s open, I’m buyin’ a scarf. Or possibly several. Wouldn’t hurt to have a few spares.” He’d had one on earlier, but it had gotten wet, so he’d hung it over a radiator to dry out and then forgotten it when they’d left the precinct a while back to go investigate the scene of a liquor store robbery. Now his teeth were starting to ache from breathing the icy air. Still, it could be worse; at least he had his gloves and the hat, since they’d been in his coat pockets.
Dee trudged doggedly through the drifting snow, silently lamenting the fact that it was too late to expect anyone to be out shovelling the sidewalks. With the snow coming down as heavily as it was, any attempt would probably prove futile anyway. If this kept up, they’d hardly be able to see where they were going when it came time to drive back to the precinct, and that was assuming the car didn’t get buried under a snowdrift. The wind was getting up, sending the snowflakes swirling around them in dizzying spirals; blizzard conditions were a distinct possibility.
“What’d we do to deserve this? We work our asses off all year round; by now we oughta be on some sun-drenched tropical beach, kickin’ back, sippin’ cocktails, and soakin’ up rays. A couple of weeks in the sun would do us a world of good.”
“We can’t afford that every year, Dee; not on our salaries.”
Living in New York wasn’t exactly cheap, not even with the amazing deal Dee had gotten when he’d taken on the apartment next door to his own; twice the floor space for only an extra fifty bucks a month. That would’ve been a steal in any sizeable city, but in the Big Apple it was nothing short of miraculous. Now with Ryo sharing the cost of rent and utilities, in theory they should have easily been able to afford an island vacation, but putting enough money aside for one had proved more difficult than expected. Furnishing and decorating the bigger apartment hadn’t been cheap. On top of that, Ryo was helping Bikky with living expenses now the boy was at college in L.A., and thanks to work related injuries he and Dee had both had medical expenses that weren’t fully covered by their insurance. Ah well, maybe by next winter. In the meantime…
“We could go visit the House Ape, have a week in L.A. It’s gotta be warmer there than it is here. Maybe he could put us up, save us rentin’ a hotel room.”
Kicking his way through the snow at Dee’s side, Ryo snorted. “He lives in a dorm room he shares with another student; there’d be nowhere for us to sleep, even if having guests was allowed, which it isn’t.”
“Damn.” Dee peered miserably through the gloom. “Guess that means we’re stuck here for the duration.”
“It won’t be winter forever.”
“You sure of that? Could be the start of a new Ice Age.”
“That seems unlikely.” Ryo tugged at Dee’s sleeve with a double-gloved hand and pointed across the street. “Might be able to get a scarf there.”
“Great!” Dee made to cross the street, but Ryo stopped him.
“No jaywalking; you’d have to throw the book at yourself. There’s a crossing at the next intersection.”
“But there’s no traffic!”
“So what? I don’t make the rules; I just enforce them.”
Dee sighed, giving in. “Fine. Lead the way.” He could survive a few more minutes without a scarf, but when they got to the store he was buying the longest, thickest, fluffiest one he could find. No way he was letting the Arctic conditions beat him. He wondered if the store stocked insulated boots as well…
The End