Title: Bright Spark
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee.
Rating: PG-13
Setting: After the manga.
Summary: Deep in the woods on a camping trip, Dee’s having a little trouble lighting the campfire.
Word Count: 730
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 356: Spark.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.




By the time Ryo had finished setting up the tent, Dee had gathered a good pile of dry, dead wood. He’d also cleared a patch of dirt and arranged rocks in a ring for the campfire. This wasn’t the first time he and Ryo had been camping, so he knew to be careful when building a fire. A stray spark could cause all kinds of trouble, but Ryo had taught him well. There was just one tiny snag; he’d quit smoking last winter and had given up carrying his lighter everywhere with him. Now he had the kindling laid and no way of lighting it.

Ryo came out of the tent, having just put their backpacks and sleeping bags inside. He zipped the flaps closed to keep snakes and other wildlife out, then frowned as he approached their would-be campfire; Dee was hunched over beside it, banging two rocks together.

“Dee? What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m tryin’ to light the fire, what does it look like?” Dee glared at his lover, exasperated, before banging his rocks together again. “You’re supposed to be able to make sparks by strikin’ two pieces of rock together, but it’s not workin’.”

“Of course it isn’t; you have to use flint, and that’s limestone.”

“It is? How d’you know that?”

“I know the area, I’ve camped here before. This whole range is limestone; you won’t find any flint around here.”

“Well, damn. How’re we gonna get the fire goin’ then? I don’t have my lighter with me, and it’s a bit far to go home and get it.” They were a couple of hundred miles from New York.

“Don’t worry about it; I don’t need flint to start a fire. Rubbing two sticks together can work just as well, as long as it’s done right. I learned how when I was a Boy Scout. Why don’t you get the sausages ready for cooking while I get the fire going?”

“Yeah, okay, I can do that.” Dee turned away to get the sausages out of the cooler, and when he turned back moments later, wisps of smoke were rising above the campfire, the kindling beginning to burn, small flames licking at the sticks Ryo was carefully adding. Dee didn’t try to hide his amazement. “That was fast! You really did that just by rubbin’ a couple of sticks together?”

Ryo looked up with a grin. “Of course not, that method takes ages, and I’m too hungry to wait. I used a match.” He held the box up.

“You had those on you all the time, and you didn’t tell me? You’re such a bastard.”

“Sorry, the temptation was too much to resist.” Ryo laughed at the expression on his lover’s face. “Seriously, I’ve been going camping since I was a little kid; how could you think I wouldn’t have brought something to light the fire with?”

“Yeah, okay, I guess that was kinda dumb of me. It’s just, I’ve always been the one to light the fire.”

“Only because your lighter was quicker and more convenient than me having to dig through my bag to find the matches. I never go camping without them.” Ryo fed more sticks to the fire. “We’ll soon have a good blaze going, and then we can eat.”

Dee brought the packet of sausages over to the fire, sat down beside his lover, and started peeling and sharpening two green birch sticks he’d cut to use for cooking their food. When they were ready, he set them aside and stared into the crackling flames, watching the occasional spark drift upwards and extinguish itself.

Eventually he broke the comfortable silence between them. “D’you really know how to start a fire usin’ a couple of sticks?”

“I do, it’s all to do with friction-generated heat, but it takes time and a lot of effort. I can show you in the morning if you like.”

“Yeah, okay; might be useful to know.” Dee flashed a grin at his lover. “Speakin’ of friction-generated heat, bet we could create some of that ourselves to keep warm later.”

Ryo snorted, throwing an amused glance towards the man he loved. “I should’ve known you’d find a way to bring sex into the conversation.”

“It’s a talent.” Dee grinned, unrepentant, but he didn’t miss the spark of desire his words had kindled in his lover’s eyes.


The End