Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Nightmare ❯ Dare ( Chapter 2 )

The first chapter of my first endeavor into fan fiction in more than five years was very meditative and thoughtful. So I decided to go and destroy that by turning this fic into a tripe, overdone FAKE fanfic situation! Yay! I swear, I'll get back to the thoughtful stuff later on in their game. I sweeeaaaarrrr….

 

I don't own FAKE or its characters. They belong to Sanami Matoh; I am forever grateful to her for creating them.

 

Dee and Ryo both watched silently as Bikky fell into a more peaceful sleep, and then Dee walked away from the door and back into the living room, Ryo following close behind.

 

“So, what did you come over for?” Ryo asked, after they had sat down next to each other on the couch. Dee could clearly hear the nervousness in Ryo's voice now that they were alone together, and he had to hold back a snort of laughter. Ryo was constantly guarding himself from his own feelings, and Dee was almost positive that it wasn't just because he was afraid to start a relationship with another man.

 

“Oh, nothing,” Dee said, still trying to hold back his laughter. A snicker escaped, though, and he watched as Ryo's gaze turned icy. “Really! I just got off of work and had nothing to do. This visit was a product of sheer boredom.”

 

“Heh, yeah right, Dee. You've been king ulterior motive lately,” Ryo muttered. Dee was surprised that Ryo was talking about their relationship (or lack thereof, Dee admitted bitterly) at all. He didn't think that the other man had it in him. Realizing that he may have stumbled on a prime opportunity to get Ryo to open up about himself, Dee scrambled to find something to ask him. Then a brilliant thought struck him.

 

“Hey, Ryo, I have a great idea.” Dee said, ignoring the title that Ryo had given him. He also ignored Ryo's eye roll. “You ask me a question about anything, and I have to tell the truth. But as a reward, I get to ask you one back. Whoever refuses to answer first looses.” For a moment Dee felt tense with anticipation, hoping that Ryo would have enough in him to humor the request.

 

“Of all the stupid things to do at ten o'clock at night,” Ryo started, then got up and walked into the kitchen. A small tide of disappointment washed over Dee; he really had been looking foreword to learning more about Ryo, and he thought that the idea of a competition would be enough to get his partner into it as well.

 

“Right, whatever,” Dee said. He had tried to sound casual but he could hear his voice giving him away. Ryo had left the room without giving a reason, and Dee hoped that it wasn't because he had just wanted to be away from him. “What the hell are you doing in there?” Dee asked.

 

The sound of the coffee machine starting filled Ryo's apartment and ended the small silence that had lapsed between the two men. Ryo lean against the doorframe of the kitchen and said, “I'm making coffee. I'm sure this is going to take us a while, because I'm not going to let you win so easily.”

 

Dee laughed out loud, half out of surprise and half out of relief. Ryo was always doing things like this, surprising him, saying encouraging or funny things when Dee least expected him to. It was one of Ryo's most endearing qualities. That and the blushing, of course. That was just goddamn sexy. “Oh yeah?” He asked, chuckling maniacally. “I'm going to kick your ass at this game.”

 

At the sight of Dee's dedication to the challenge Ryo laughed, then said, “While the coffee's brewing I'm going to change into pajamas. Do you want me to bring you some to borrow?” He began to walk back towards his bedroom, but paused before the door, waiting for Dee's answer.

 

“Oh, so now you want me to stay over? Finally!” Dee exclaimed, knowing full well that that wasn't what Ryo had meant. He watched as Ryo stiffened visibly, his face flushing with that special brand of anger and embarrassment. “Kidding, kidding,” Dee corrected himself, knowing not to push things to far or else incur Ryo's wrath. “Yeah, some sweats would be great,” He finished, then watched as Ryo walked quickly into his bedroom, his feet making a determined tamp-tamp-tamping sound against the floor. Amazingly, Dee was able to contain the urge to sneak into his partner's private quarters and surprise him with a tackle. There were more important things at hand, namely getting some facts out about that man he had recently become infatuated with, a man who also happened to be very private and almost secretive.

 

In a moment Ryo had returned, now wearing a loose, white t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. In his hand was a darker pair for Dee. As he handed them over Dee wondered whether or not he should go into the bathroom to change. He didn't see the big deal; they were both guys and it's not like he was getting naked or anything, but he wondered if Ryo would feel the same way. Deciding to screw it, he stood up to pull off his jeans and put on the sweatpants over his blue boxers. Folding the jeans carelessly and putting them next to him on the couch, he looked back at Ryo and found him watching idly, seemingly not too embarrassed by the show he had just received. He handed Dee one of the mugs of coffee he had gotten, took a sip of his own, and said, “Okay, let's do this.” There was a look of determination mostly hidden on his face, but Dee couldn't help but pick up on it. Uh-oh, he thought, sniper Ryo had been activated.

 

“You first,” Dee said, trying to maintain his confidence. He told himself that Ryo probably wouldn't be able to think of too many questions that he wouldn't want to answer, but a little flicker of worry rose inside of him.

 

“What's your favorite color?” Ryo asked, seemingly without any prior thought. Dee was caught off guard, of all the questions he could've asked, why such a simple one. He concluded that Ryo was trying to put him at some sort of ease, like they did when they were interrogating clients. The first questions were always simple and easily answered; they made the suspect more likely to open up about more serious questions.

 

Smirking at his masterful deductive reasoning skills, Dee replied, “Black. Everyone always looks good in black, no matter what. It's a very sexy color.”

 

“It does look nice on a lot of people,” Ryo agreed calmly. “Okay, your turn.”

 

Dee took a moment to choose his question; there were many he wanted to ask. The whole reason he had started the game was to ask Ryo one question in particular, but he knew that it had to be saved until the very last, until they had both opened up a little. It may have been trickery, but this mock truth or dare was the only way Dee could think of to get Ryo to talk about the things he wanted to know. “Okay,” He said, pausing for a little added tension. Ryo seemed unfazed. “When you were a little kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?”

 

A small laugh worked its way out of Ryo and he said, “I think first I wanted to be a doctor, until I realized that it involved cutting people open. And people actually dying. Kind of ironic, though, now I see dead people much more often even that if I had become a doctor.” As he had spoken a look had come across his face, a pained expression that disappeared once he got into what he was saying. Dee noticed it, though. He had been memorizing every word that had escaped his partner's lips since they had been assigned together, and expressions were no different. “My turn,” Ryo said, taking a minute to think. “Which did you like first, men or women?” He asked.

 

Dee was taken aback by the directness of the question; the very though that Ryo could say such a thing without dissolving into a mad blush impressed him. He had forgotten that Ryo was taking this seriously, though. Somehow he had opened the Pandora's Box that was Ryo Maclean's competitive side, and although he was enjoying the show he hoped that his friendly, airheaded partner would come back eventually. He answered, “Women first, they were a lot easier to get into relationships with. Men came later, but it wasn't like I was suddenly attracted to them. Both sides were there from the start.” It wasn't a particularly hard question, mostly because Dee didn't have to provide any of the details of his first encounters and attractions. He braced himself, though, if this game went on for long he would have to be prepared to share other details like them. And some definitely still stung even after years.