Title: All Adrift
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG
Setting: After Vol. 7.
Summary: Ryo and Dee’s cabin cruiser breaks down, leaving them adrift on the ocean currents.
Word Count: 684
Content Notes: Nada.
Written For: Challenge 359: Current.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.



Everything had been fine. Dee and Ryo had been cruising along the coast, heading south, enjoying a long weekend on the water, and then the engine of their cabin cruiser had started making weird noises before cutting out.

“What just happened?” Dee stared down at the deck beneath his feet, as if willing the engine to start up again. He turned the key in the ignition. Nothing. He turned it off again.

“We’ve stopped,” Ryo told him helpfully. They were dead in the water, drifting on the current.

“I can see that, dumbass! What I wanna know is why!”

“How should I know? It’s never happened before.” Ryo reached for the radio. “Guess I’d better call the Coast Guard for assistance.”

Dee caught his lover’s arm. “No, hold up, let’s not panic.”

“Who’s panicking? I’m just being practical. It’s not like we can call Triple A for assistance; we’re out on the ocean.”

“Yeah, but still, this is a boat with an engine. Can’t be much different from fixin’ a car. Before we start yellin’ for help, lemme see if I can figure out what the problem is. Long as there’s nothin’ busted beyond repair, we might not need help at all.”

“Okay, that’s fine with me. But if it starts looking like you won’t get the engine going before the current pulls us too close in to shore, I’m not gonna wait, I’ll call the Coast Guard.”

“Fair enough.” Stripping out of his t-shirt, Dee headed below decks to look at the engine.

There was little for Ryo to do except keep an eye on their position. He knew this stretch of coast had a lot of submerged rocks close to shore, and he threw out the sea anchor hoping to slow their drift, before checking the charts, finding and marking their current position.

The good news was that at this time of day the tide would be on its way out, and the ocean currents were predominantly southward, so the chances of their being run aground were slim. On the other hand, there was a possibility that if they continued much further without power in the direction they were heading, they could find themselves being pulled further out into the Atlantic.

There was indistinct banging and cursing coming from below decks, and Ryo frowned, worried that Dee might inadvertently make things worse. Not that he didn’t trust his lover, but boats weren’t the same as cars, and he had no idea how different the engines might be. They both should have probably made an effort to learn more about the mechanical side of boat maintenance.

When Dee came back up almost an hour later, wiping his hands on a filthy rag, he looked hot and sweaty, and had streaks of grease or engine oil on his face, arms, and chest. Ryo couldn’t waste time admiring his lover’s physique though.

“How does it look down there?”

“Cramped, hot, messy...” Dee grinned, “and a lot like an engine. You wanna give it a try?” he gestured towards the helm.

Ryo bit his lip. “It’s not likely to blow up, is it?”

Dee rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, have a little faith! I do know somethin’ about engines!”

“Right, sorry.” Ryo held his breath, turned the key in the ignition and… the engine roared into life. He turned towards Dee, with an almost disbelieving smile. “You fixed it!”

“Yeah, it was just a blocked fuel line. Took me a while to find my way around down there, layout’s different to what I’m used to, but the workin’ parts are similar enough I could tell what I was lookin’ at.”

“That’s good, but I was thinking; it might not be a bad idea if we asked someone at the marina to teach us how to fix the most common engine problems.”

“Yeah, we can look into that when we get back, but right now I’m gonna get cleaned up so we can enjoy the rest of our weekend. Why don’t you set a course and then come scrub my back?”

Ryo grinned. “Aye aye, Captain!”


The End