FAKE Fic: Curry And Games
Title: Curry And Games
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG-13
Setting: After Like Like Love.
Word Count: 1256
Summary: A severe storm knocks out the power, leaving Dee and Ryo wondering how to fill the long evening ahead.
Written For: Weekend Challenge Prompt: Happily Hunkering Down at 1_million_words. I got Board Game Night.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
They’d barely gotten in from work, glad to be out of the wind and rain, when the lights flickered, steadied for a moment, then went out completely. Beyond the apartment windows, the entire neighbourhood was plunged into darkness, not a glimmer of light showing anywhere.
Straightening up from taking his boots off, Dee blinked as his eyes adjusted to the sudden lack of light. “Welp, there goes any hope of a night on the town. Everywhere’s gonna be closed; power will probably be out most of the night.”
A spark of light illuminated the dark as Ryo turned on the tiny flashlight attached to his keys. In the soft glow it emitted, Dee could see his lover staring at him incredulously.
“What?”
“I know we had plans, but you weren’t seriously thinking about going back out in that, were you?” Ryo waved one hand in the direction of the windows. “It’s blowing a gale, and the rain’s coming down so hard, last I heard they were issuing flood warnings!”
Dee shrugged. “Hey, I told ya earlier that I’d take ya out for dinner tonight so ya wouldn’t haveta cook. I keep my promises.” He gave a wry smile. “Whenever possible.”
“Extenuating circumstances.” The flashlight beam meandered away across the room, heading for the kitchen as Ryo added, “Besides, no one’s gonna be cooking tonight anyway; our kitchen’s all electric. We’ll have to make do with sandwiches.”
With a sigh, Dee shoved his feet back into his boots. “I think the curry place on the corner cooks with gas. If I’m quick enough, maybe I can get us somethin’ from there before they close up shop. Least that way we’ll get a hot meal.” He dug a flashlight and batteries from the drawer of the occasional table by the door and headed out, calling back over his shoulder, “I won’t be long.”
“I’ll send out a search party if you’re not back in fifteen minutes.”
“Make in twenty. The elevator won’t be workin’ so I’ll haveta take the stairs.” Four flights down and four flights back up; Dee was fit enough that it wouldn’t be a problem, but that didn’t mean he was looking forward to it. Down was okay, but coming back up, drenched almost to the skin and loaded down with bags, was something he could do without. He wouldn’t even get to take a hot shower when he got back, would have to make do with a quick rubdown, and a change of clothes. Stupid weather.
By the time he arrived home with dinner, out of breath from battling the gale and running up the stairs, the apartment was lit by at least two dozen candles and tealights, scattered across every available surface. Ryo was waiting for him just inside the door with a towel for his hair, swapping that for the bags of food.
“I left more towels and a change of clothes for you on top of the dryer.” He frowned at the loaded bags. “What’s all this? Did you buy up everything on the menu?”
“Nah, they threw in some extras for free, on account of havin’ a ton of food and nobody bein’ willin’ to venture out in the storm, kind of a valued customer bonus. ‘Sides, with the heat out we’re gonna need plenty of food to help us stay warm for the duration.”
“We won’t be able to re-heat the leftovers though, not until we get power back.”
“So? Soon as they get cold enough, shove ‘em in the refrigerator. There’s probably enough there for lunch and dinner tomorrow, save us havin’ to go out again.” Dee pulled his boots off for the second time that evening, shucked out of his coat, and taking it with him, made for their small laundry room.
Sure enough, dry clothes were piled on the dryer, beside a stack of towels. Stripping, and shoving his wet clothes in the washing machine to be dealt with later, Dee towelled himself off and pulled on what Ryo had dug out for him: underwear, his warmest fleece-lined sweatpants, thick socks, t-shirt, sweater, and his one hoodie, which he seldom wore because it messed his hair up. Tonight, he would have willingly worn the most hideous woollen bobble hat in the universe, which he happened to own, a gift from Ryo’s old neighbour, but with luck the hoodie would be enough. If not, he knew where he’d hidden the hat.
Dry and dressed, he joined his lover in the living room where Ryo had plates, knives, and forks set out on the coffee table among the takeaway containers and tealights. Snuggling under a couple of blankets for warmth, the two men dug in, relishing the steaming curry and rice that spread warmth throughout their chilled bodies. When they’d eaten as much as they could manage, and the empty plates and leftover food had been returned to the kitchen, Dee flopped onto the sofa, dragging his blanket around him again.
“Now what? Don’t know about you, but I’m too stuffed to move, and we got the whole evenin’ ahead of us with nothin’ to do. Can’t even put the TV on, and I don’t wanna sleep yet, it’s too early.”
“I’ve still got some of Bikky’s old board games,” Ryo suggested. “He didn’t take them with him to college. We could play Clue or something.”
“That’s an idea.” A grin lit up Dee’s face as inspiration struck. “Hey, you got Scrabble?”
“Of course I do. Why?”
Dee’s grin widened into an outright smirk. “Wanna see who can come up with the filthiest words? Five extra points for every X-rated word we use, the dirtier the better.”
Ryo’s face turned scarlet. “Dee!”
“Aw, c’mon, babe, it’ll be fun and it’s not like anyone else is ever gonna find out.”
“It won’t be much of a contest. You’re bound to win, I’m sure you know way more rude words than I do.”
“Regular words are allowed too, just forget the rules, anything goes, okay? No restrictions. Just because a game has rules doesn’t mean we always gotta follow them, not when we’re the only ones playin’.”
Giving in, Ryo nodded. “Fine, we’ll play it your way.”
“Yes!” Dee punched the air. “This is gonna be great!”
Shaking his head, Ryo fetched the game, pulled the coffee table closer, and set the board out on it. “Do we still take the same number of tiles?”
“Might as well, to start with anyway. Can always change our minds on that later if it’s not workin’ out. Who goes first?”
“You can. It was your idea.” Ryo tucked his feet up on the sofa, bundling his blanket around him, and waited for his partner to pick out seven tiles before taking some himself.
“Shit!” Dee muttered. “Not sure I can make ANY word outta these. Maybe you’d better go first.”
“You’re sure?”
“Someone’s gotta start or we’re not gonna get anywhere.”
Ryo soon forgot about being embarrassed, and it wasn’t long before they abandoned all thoughts of scoring because what did it really matter who won? They played one game after another until the vast array of explicit terms filled their heads and they could no longer think straight. Then they blew out most of the candles before retreating to bed to put into action what they’d spent the last three hours spelling out in plastic tiles. They never even noticed when the power came back on sometime in the early hours of the morning; by then they were far too busy.
The End
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG-13
Setting: After Like Like Love.
Word Count: 1256
Summary: A severe storm knocks out the power, leaving Dee and Ryo wondering how to fill the long evening ahead.
Written For: Weekend Challenge Prompt: Happily Hunkering Down at 1_million_words. I got Board Game Night.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
They’d barely gotten in from work, glad to be out of the wind and rain, when the lights flickered, steadied for a moment, then went out completely. Beyond the apartment windows, the entire neighbourhood was plunged into darkness, not a glimmer of light showing anywhere.
Straightening up from taking his boots off, Dee blinked as his eyes adjusted to the sudden lack of light. “Welp, there goes any hope of a night on the town. Everywhere’s gonna be closed; power will probably be out most of the night.”
A spark of light illuminated the dark as Ryo turned on the tiny flashlight attached to his keys. In the soft glow it emitted, Dee could see his lover staring at him incredulously.
“What?”
“I know we had plans, but you weren’t seriously thinking about going back out in that, were you?” Ryo waved one hand in the direction of the windows. “It’s blowing a gale, and the rain’s coming down so hard, last I heard they were issuing flood warnings!”
Dee shrugged. “Hey, I told ya earlier that I’d take ya out for dinner tonight so ya wouldn’t haveta cook. I keep my promises.” He gave a wry smile. “Whenever possible.”
“Extenuating circumstances.” The flashlight beam meandered away across the room, heading for the kitchen as Ryo added, “Besides, no one’s gonna be cooking tonight anyway; our kitchen’s all electric. We’ll have to make do with sandwiches.”
With a sigh, Dee shoved his feet back into his boots. “I think the curry place on the corner cooks with gas. If I’m quick enough, maybe I can get us somethin’ from there before they close up shop. Least that way we’ll get a hot meal.” He dug a flashlight and batteries from the drawer of the occasional table by the door and headed out, calling back over his shoulder, “I won’t be long.”
“I’ll send out a search party if you’re not back in fifteen minutes.”
“Make in twenty. The elevator won’t be workin’ so I’ll haveta take the stairs.” Four flights down and four flights back up; Dee was fit enough that it wouldn’t be a problem, but that didn’t mean he was looking forward to it. Down was okay, but coming back up, drenched almost to the skin and loaded down with bags, was something he could do without. He wouldn’t even get to take a hot shower when he got back, would have to make do with a quick rubdown, and a change of clothes. Stupid weather.
By the time he arrived home with dinner, out of breath from battling the gale and running up the stairs, the apartment was lit by at least two dozen candles and tealights, scattered across every available surface. Ryo was waiting for him just inside the door with a towel for his hair, swapping that for the bags of food.
“I left more towels and a change of clothes for you on top of the dryer.” He frowned at the loaded bags. “What’s all this? Did you buy up everything on the menu?”
“Nah, they threw in some extras for free, on account of havin’ a ton of food and nobody bein’ willin’ to venture out in the storm, kind of a valued customer bonus. ‘Sides, with the heat out we’re gonna need plenty of food to help us stay warm for the duration.”
“We won’t be able to re-heat the leftovers though, not until we get power back.”
“So? Soon as they get cold enough, shove ‘em in the refrigerator. There’s probably enough there for lunch and dinner tomorrow, save us havin’ to go out again.” Dee pulled his boots off for the second time that evening, shucked out of his coat, and taking it with him, made for their small laundry room.
Sure enough, dry clothes were piled on the dryer, beside a stack of towels. Stripping, and shoving his wet clothes in the washing machine to be dealt with later, Dee towelled himself off and pulled on what Ryo had dug out for him: underwear, his warmest fleece-lined sweatpants, thick socks, t-shirt, sweater, and his one hoodie, which he seldom wore because it messed his hair up. Tonight, he would have willingly worn the most hideous woollen bobble hat in the universe, which he happened to own, a gift from Ryo’s old neighbour, but with luck the hoodie would be enough. If not, he knew where he’d hidden the hat.
Dry and dressed, he joined his lover in the living room where Ryo had plates, knives, and forks set out on the coffee table among the takeaway containers and tealights. Snuggling under a couple of blankets for warmth, the two men dug in, relishing the steaming curry and rice that spread warmth throughout their chilled bodies. When they’d eaten as much as they could manage, and the empty plates and leftover food had been returned to the kitchen, Dee flopped onto the sofa, dragging his blanket around him again.
“Now what? Don’t know about you, but I’m too stuffed to move, and we got the whole evenin’ ahead of us with nothin’ to do. Can’t even put the TV on, and I don’t wanna sleep yet, it’s too early.”
“I’ve still got some of Bikky’s old board games,” Ryo suggested. “He didn’t take them with him to college. We could play Clue or something.”
“That’s an idea.” A grin lit up Dee’s face as inspiration struck. “Hey, you got Scrabble?”
“Of course I do. Why?”
Dee’s grin widened into an outright smirk. “Wanna see who can come up with the filthiest words? Five extra points for every X-rated word we use, the dirtier the better.”
Ryo’s face turned scarlet. “Dee!”
“Aw, c’mon, babe, it’ll be fun and it’s not like anyone else is ever gonna find out.”
“It won’t be much of a contest. You’re bound to win, I’m sure you know way more rude words than I do.”
“Regular words are allowed too, just forget the rules, anything goes, okay? No restrictions. Just because a game has rules doesn’t mean we always gotta follow them, not when we’re the only ones playin’.”
Giving in, Ryo nodded. “Fine, we’ll play it your way.”
“Yes!” Dee punched the air. “This is gonna be great!”
Shaking his head, Ryo fetched the game, pulled the coffee table closer, and set the board out on it. “Do we still take the same number of tiles?”
“Might as well, to start with anyway. Can always change our minds on that later if it’s not workin’ out. Who goes first?”
“You can. It was your idea.” Ryo tucked his feet up on the sofa, bundling his blanket around him, and waited for his partner to pick out seven tiles before taking some himself.
“Shit!” Dee muttered. “Not sure I can make ANY word outta these. Maybe you’d better go first.”
“You’re sure?”
“Someone’s gotta start or we’re not gonna get anywhere.”
Ryo soon forgot about being embarrassed, and it wasn’t long before they abandoned all thoughts of scoring because what did it really matter who won? They played one game after another until the vast array of explicit terms filled their heads and they could no longer think straight. Then they blew out most of the candles before retreating to bed to put into action what they’d spent the last three hours spelling out in plastic tiles. They never even noticed when the power came back on sometime in the early hours of the morning; by then they were far too busy.
The End