Title: Out Of The Storm
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo, OMC.
Rating: PG
Setting: After the manga.
Summary: While Dee and Ryo are on a camping trip, the weather takes a turn for the worse.
Word Count: 1228
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 454: Clean.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.



Over time, Dee had come to quite enjoy camping, although he preferred staying on an actual campsite where there were bathrooms, and he could shower with hot water, instead of making do with a quick wash in water heated over the campfire, which was how he and Ryo kept themselves clean when camped out in the wilderness.

This trip, however, had been less fun, due to an unexpected storm that had almost swept their tent away in the middle of the night. They’d had to wrestle with the flapping canvas for over an hour, battling gale force winds and torrential rain, before they managed to collapse the tent and bundle it up. Even then, they’d still had to carry it, their sodden sleeping bags, and their other belongings to where their car was parked, shove everything in the trunk, and go in search of a motel with vacancies. By then, they’d both been soaked to the skin and covered in mud.

An hour and three motels later, they finally found one with a friendly neon ‘Vacancy’ sign blinking at them, and Ryo pulled in, stopping as close to the office as he could, since the storm was still raging, and the rain had turned to hail.

Dee scrambled out of the passenger seat and ran inside to check them in. There was a guy behind the desk, reading a magazine, and he glanced up as the door opened, then did a double take.

“Shit! What the hell happened to you?”

Dee wiped at his face with a muddy sleeve, which didn’t improve his appearance, and managed a wry grin. “Me and my buddy were campin’ when the storm hit, nearly lost the frickin’ tent. Think we managed to rescue most of our stuff, but…” he glanced down at himself. “Things got a bit muddy. Hopin’ your sign isn’t lyin’, ‘cause we could really do with a chance to clean up and dry off, grab a few hours’ sleep.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem, we got plenty of vacancies. Looks like you could use a laundromat too. We got one around the back.”

The thought of getting their clothes clean as well brought a genuine smile to Dee’s face. “That’s great! Must be our lucky day.”

“Don’t know ‘bout that, looks to me like you’ve been a bit short on luck.”

“All depends on how ya look at it,” Dee said, signing the registration book, showing the receptionist his driver’s licence, which also meant showing his police credentials, and handing over his credit card to pay. “We’re alive, we didn’t get hit by lightnin’, or have a tree fall on us, so I’d say we’re ahead on points.”

“Well, when you put it like that, I guess maybe your luck’s not as bad as it could’ve been.” The man handed back Dee’s card along with a key. “You’re in number five. Hold on a minute and I’ll see if I can find you some extra towels.” He vanished into the back and came out a few minutes later with a plastic laundry bag full of worn but clean towels. “No extra charge,” he said. “State you’re in, you’re about due a break.”

“Thanks.” Dee accepted the bag. “We appreciate it.” Turning back to the door, he plunged out, ducking his head and wincing as the hailstones hammered down on him, diving back into the passenger seat, and slamming the door. The sound of the hailstones on the roof was deafening.

Ryo jerked upright, having almost dozed off despite the noise. “Did we get a room?”

“Yep!” Dee had to yell to be heard. “We’re in five.” He pointed through the rain and hail.

Putting the car in gear, Ryo nosed forward, pulling into the parking spot in front of room number five and turning off the engine. “What’s in the bag?”

“Extra towels, and they’ve got a laundromat round the back, so we can get our clothes and other gear washed in the mornin’. C’mon, let’s get inside, clean all this mud off.”

“You get the door unlocked, I’ll grab our bags from the trunk,” Ryo shouted over a loud crash of thunder.

Nodding, Dee dived out into the storm again, bag of towels tucked under his arm, and got the door to their room open. Barely a couple of minutes later, Ryo was running up onto the covered porch that ran along in front of the rooms, clutching the sports bags containing their clothes and toiletries. He dropped them on the mat just inside, shutting and locking the door behind him.

“I hope the rest of our clothes are still dry. The bags are supposed to be waterproof, but we had to gather everything so fast.” The outside of both bags was smeared with half-dried mud.

“We can check once we’ve showered,” Dee said. “First we oughta get ourselves warm and dry.” He was emptying his pockets, dumping everything on top of the dresser opposite the twin beds. “Gonna get in the shower as is, wash the worst of the mud off before I take my clothes off.”

“Good idea.” Ryo tugged his hiking boots off, leaving them beside their bags, and padded across to his lover, digging in his own pockets.

A few minutes later, they were standing together in the bathtub, the shower raining hot water down on them, mud swirling away down the drain. Stripping their wet clothes off and kicking them to the far end of the tub, they set about washing themselves and each other, feeling the warmth gradually soaking into their chilled bodies. The heater in the car had helped to a certain extent, but only the outside of their clothes had really gotten dry during the drive; they’d still had to endure the unpleasant clamminess of wet fabric next to their skin.

“Better?” Dee asked, washing the soap off Ryo’s back.

“Much better.” Ryo sighed. “I don’t want to leave the shower, but the hot water won’t last forever.”

“Least we’ve got those extra towels to wrap up in while we check the clothin’ situation.”

Ryo smiled at that. “Better than nothing.”

“If our clothes are damp, we can just turn the heater up and spread ‘em on one of the beds to dry while we share the other one.” Dee reached to turn off the water, then gave in to temptation, tickling Ryo’s ribs and earning a startled squeak. He laughed. “Just as I thought, squeaky clean,” he teased.

“You’re such a dork.” Shaking his head, Ryo reached for a towel and started drying himself off.

“But ya love me.”

“Yes, I do.” Ryo leaned over for a quick kiss, but dodged away before Dee could grab him. “Clothes first, then bed.”

Thankfully, most of the clothing in their bags was dry, only the things right at the top had gotten a bit damp where the heavy rain had seeped through the zip fasteners. They sorted out something to wear the following day, spread the rest of their things out to air, then crawled into bed, too tired after their battle against the elements to do anything but snuggle together and sleep.

As he drifted off, Dee sighed contentedly, glad to be thoroughly clean again. Camping could be fun, if the weather was good, but on a night like this, a hot shower and a warm bed were so much better.


The End