Ryo knew it was tactless, but still, he couldn’t quite manage to hide his grin at the sight of his lover, balancing precariously on top of a rickety pile of junk, trying to keep out of reach of something on the ground.

Okay, yes, wildlife did exist in the middle of the urban jungle. Rats were a common sight, foxes and raccoons foraged in dustbins, and who knew what else might slink and slither through the alleyways after dark? But it was mid-morning on an overcast day, the light wasn’t particularly good, they were searching an alley behind a boarded-up warehouse for anything that could be a murder weapon, when Dee suddenly yelped and scrambled to the dubious safety of higher ground.

“You can wipe that grin off your face,” Dee snapped, briefly throwing an injured look his lover’s way. “I don’t smirk when you get freaked out by a gigantic spider, so the least you can do is not smirk when I see a snerk! Snake!” Dee hurriedly corrected himself, blushing furiously at his slip of the tongue as Ryo burst out laughing. “It’s not funny, damn it!”

“I’m sorry!” Ryo wiped his eyes, trying to get his laughter under control. “I’m not laughing at your phobia, that’s not a laughing matter, and honestly it’s an easy enough mistake to make considering the lack of light, but it’s not a snake.”

“It’s not?”

“No.” Ryo crossed the alley, bending to pick up the offending object, holding it so Dee could get a better look at it. “See? Just a piece of garden hose.”

The tension drained out of Dee’s shoulders, and he grinned sheepishly, picking his way carefully back to ground level.

Grinning, Ryo tossed the hose to his partner. “Meet the scourge of suburbia, the garden snerk.”

“Asshole!”


The End