Title: Far Apart

Author: badly-knitted

Characters: Dee, Ryo.

Rating: PG

Setting: After Like, Like, Love.

Summary: Ryo is away from home and Dee is feeling lost and lonely in their big bed all alone.

Word Count: 850

Written For: samuraiter's prompt 'Author's Choice, Any, "Bed's warm with me in it, but it's a lot warmer with you in it",' at fic_promptly.

Disclaimer: I don't own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.

.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

.

Ryo was down in San Francisco, visiting his aunt and uncle; Dee would have liked to go too but the old badger wouldn't let them both take off at the same time. He'd only flown out that morning, but already Dee missed his partner like crazy, and somehow it was even worse at night. Of course during the day he'd had work to keep him busy, and in the evening there'd been the TV for company, or he could have gone out for a few drinks with the guys, except… he hadn't really want to. He wouldn't have been good company and then JJ would have wanted to know why he was being all gloomy.

So now it was almost midnight, and he was tucked up in bed. He should have been asleep by now, but Ryo's enormous bed seemed all wrong with only one of them in it, and loneliness was making itself felt. Dee was fine whenever Ryo was on late shift while he was home in their shared apartment alone, because at least then he knew his lover wasn't far away. Although New York was a big city, it wasn't like knowing Ryo was at the other end of the country, not to mention on the opposite coast. Right now they were separated by thousands of miles and Ryo would be gone for five long days and nights… Dee huddled further down under the covers; this was only the first night and he'd already had more than enough of being alone.

Closing his eyes, he tried to sleep, only to open them a few minutes later when his phone rang. He reached for the nightstand, snagged his phone off the top, and put it to his ear. "Laytner."

"Hey, Dee, hope I'm not interrupting anything."

It was Ryo! "Hey yourself! No, it's fine, I was just thinking about you. I'm in bed." Dee almost groaned; that didn't come out right. Thank goodness for Ryo's cluelessness because he didn't even seen to notice Dee's unintentional innuendo.

"Oh God! I forgot about the time difference! We had dinner at a restaurant down by the bay and we only just got back to the house, so I thought it would be a good time to call you. What time is it there?"

"Just after midnight. I wasn't asleep anyway, I've just been lying here awake."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but I miss you. It's not the same without you here; nothing feels right. The bed's warm with me in it, but it's a lot warmer with you in it too."

"I miss you too, but I'll be home again before you know it."

Dee can hear the warmth in Ryo's voice and it sends a glow throughout his body. "I know, but you're not here now, you're all the way over on the West Coast, where it's warm, and I'm all alone in cold and rainy New York. It's not fair."

"Poor Dee. I wish you could've come with me." Dee can tell Ryo means it.

"Me too, but I guess that was too much to hope for. So, what've you been up to without me?" Dee listened contentedly, making occasional comments, as Ryo told him about his trip so far, filling him in on family news too.

Finally, after half an hour of chatting, Ryo reluctantly brought the conversation to a close. "I should let you go; you need to get some sleep. Listen, I'll try to call earlier tomorrow, around nine your time, okay?"

"Okay, babe. Take care of yourself and give my love to Elena."

"I will. Love you, Dee. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Love you too, babe."

After they hung up, Dee set his phone back on the nightstand and pulled the covers over his head, burrowing into the warm cocoon he'd made for himself. Five days wasn't very long, he could survive that long without Ryo, provided he got to talk to his lover every day. The time would probably fly past.

He shook his head. No, it wouldn't; who was he trying to fool? It was going to crawl past at snail's pace and he was going to be miserable the entire time, he just knew it. But he wasn't going to tell Ryo that, it would only spoil things for his partner. Not for anything would he want to make Ryo feel guilty for visiting his family. He was lucky to have relatives who wanted to spend time with him, and Dee wanted Ryo to enjoy himself. It wasn't as if he got to see them often, because of the distances involved.

Determined to be more upbeat the next time they talked, Dee pulled Ryo's pillow under the covers with him and hugged it, catching the lingering scent of his lover on it. "Goodnight, baby. Sweet dreams," he murmured, closing his eyes and trying to imagine that Ryo was lying there snug and warm beside him. In a few more days he would be home, the big bed would no longer feel so empty, and then Dee wouldn't have pretend any more.

.

The End