Title: Too Tired

Author: badly-knitted

Characters: Dee, Ryo

Rating: PG

Setting: After Like Like Love.

Summary: Dee and Ryo have been working overtime along with most of the NYPD, trying to catch a serial killer. Now they're too tired to do anything but sleep.

Word Count: 1202

Written For: Prompt 492: Exhaustion at slashthedrabble.

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

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Climbing the stoop into their building and hoping against hope that the elevator would be working, Dee felt drained, exhausted, near enough dead on his feet, and from the way Ryo's shoulders were drooping, it was a safe bet he was feeling the same way. Some weeks just wound up being so much harder than others, and this one had pretty much been hell on wheels.

A serial killer had been striking seemingly at random across the city, targeting young women on their way home late at night; clubbers, waitresses, barmaids… The Commissioner had wanted all hands on deck for the investigation, which meant the majority of the city's detectives working double shifts until the bastard was caught.

It had taken far longer than it should have to figure out why the murders were so spread out. The killer seemed to have no particular hunting ground, and it had been almost two weeks before the officers of the various precincts where the bodies had been discovered had even become aware that the murders all shared a strikingly similar M.O. and were therefore likely the work of a single person. Finally something had clicked. Who had access to all areas of the city at all hours of the day and night? Who would these young women have been most likely to encounter and trust, even actively seek out, late at night? The answer was suddenly so obvious everyone wondered why nobody had thought of it before: the murderer had to be a taxi driver, or at least someone the victims had believed to be a taxi driver.

The taxi the murderer drove proved to be a fake, a car of the correct make and model painted to look like a yellow cab, but its plates and licence had been stolen off a wrecked cab waiting in a junkyard to be scrapped. It had been the perfect disguise; with his vehicle looking the business, the murderer had blended right in. All he'd needed to do was drive around late at night looking for his next victim and ignore anyone flagging him down who didn't fit his criteria. People were used to cabs going straight past them; they might curse and shout threats, but they wouldn't bother complaining to the company. There'd always be another cab.

After tonight though, the killer's spree was ended. He wouldn't be taking any more young lives; he was safely behind bars where he belonged and the detectives of the NYPD had an airtight case against him, having caught him in the act and rescued the woman who'd been about to become his next victim. She was in the hospital but the doctors were confident she would recover from her injuries, which was more than could be said for the eight other women the killer had targeted. All the detectives who'd been working overtime were relieved to know another monster was off the streets, making them a little safer for the citizens of New York. Perhaps now they could go back to working their regular eight-hour shifts; it was about time.

Dee almost cheered when he and Ryo reached the elevator and found it not only working, but on the ground floor waiting for them. Piling in and pressing the button for the top floor, Dee slumped wearily against the wall. "Good thing it's workin', otherwise I think I would'a just gone back out to the car and slept there. No way my legs are carryin' me up four flights tonight."

"Yeah," Ryo agreed, slumping opposite Dee, his eyes closed, exhaustion etched across his pale face. "Wake me when we get to our floor?"

"Sure, assumin' I'm not asleep by then too." Dee snorted softly. "With our luck, someone might find us in the mornin', still right here, asleep, holdin' up the walls."

Ryo forced his eyes open again with a weary groan. "Mm, hadn't thought of that. Guess I'd better not doze off quite yet then."

Dee chuckled tiredly. "Probably best, otherwise we could spend the whole night goin' up and down."

"Doesn't sound very restful. I'd far rather spend the night lying down in my comfortable bed."

"Just the night? I plan on stayin' there right through tomorrow too; don't intend on gettin' up until we haveta go back to work on Thursday mornin'."

"But what about…" Ryo stopped himself mid-protest and shook his head. "No, on second thought, chores have already waited this long, they can wait another day or so, it's not like they're going anywhere; catching up on sleep is way more important."

"You're preachin' to the choir, babe; I don't have the energy for anything but sleepin', and possibly eatin'. Gotta keep our strength up."

Ryo nodded. "Sleep and food, in that order. I'm too tired to even think about eating right now."

As the elevator jerked to an abrupt halt on the top floor, both men staggered, so exhausted that just staying on their feet was an effort. Sliding the elevator grille aside, Dee shambled along the hallway to their apartment, Ryo trailing behind him. Fumbling with the lock, he let them in and dropped the keys on the table just inside the door, kicking off his shoes before leading the way to the bedroom. He didn't even bother turning the lights on; there was enough illumination coming in through the windows for them to find their way without falling over anything.

They started pulling their clothes off before they'd even reached the bedroom door, dropping them on the floor as they went and leaving them to be dealt with later, when hopefully they wouldn't feel quite so done in. Usually, Ryo would have made a fuss about that but not tonight, he was too exhausted to care about the mess they were leaving in their wake. The bed loomed before them, looking like a moonlit paradise, and they wanted nothing more than to crawl beneath its welcoming covers and get some badly needed rest. They'd more than earned it.

As they finished undressing, Dee paused suddenly, half out of his trousers, and turned to his lover with a horrified expression on his face. "I must be gettin' old! I'm even too tired for sex!"

Ryo managed a wry but sympathetic smile. "Probably a good thing, because it would be a bit one-sided. I don't think I can stay awake long enough to even start anything, never mind finish it."

"Never thought I'd see the day when you'd be stood there practically naked and all I'd want to do is go to sleep."

"I'm sure your libido will recover after a good night's sleep."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Stripped down to their boxers, they crawled onto the bed, slid under the covers, and flopped back against the pillows.

"Ohhhhhh," Ryo groaned. "This is heaven! I hadn't realised how much my feet hurt until I wasn't standing on them anymore."

"I'd offer you a foot rub, but…" Dee trailed off into a massive yawn.

"Maybe tomorrow," Ryo mumbled. "Pretty sure my feet'll still be here."

"Prob'ly. Night, babe."

"Mm, g'night, Dee. Sweet dreams."

There was no reply; not that Ryo would have heard it if there had been. Like Dee, he was already asleep.

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The End