Title: Mountain Fun

Author: badly-knitted

Characters: Ryo, Dee.

Rating: PG

Setting: After Like Like Love.

Summary: The spring weather's wonderful and Ryo doesn't want to waste it.

Word Count: 999

Written For: Challenge 13: Green at slashficlets.

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

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Everything was green and growing now spring had finally arrived. It made Ryo feel good, alive and energised after the long, grey months of winter.

Dee, as usual, had been less enthusiastic about the warmer weather, the cheerful flowers everywhere, and abundant blossom on the trees; he suffered badly with hay fever in spring and summer. However, since JJ had introduced him to an antihistamine nasal spray, which worked far more rapidly than his usual meds ever had, his mood had lightened considerably. Now he could breathe, wasn't constantly sneezing, and his eyes no longer itched to the point where he felt like clawing them out just to get a few minutes' relief, he was almost back to his normal laid back, horny self. That boded well for their two days off this week.

"Wouldn't it be good to get out of the city for a couple of days? Or at least for a day trip somewhere," Ryo said as he and Dee clocked off after their shift. It was Sunday evening, the pair of them having been on duty over the weekend, and they wouldn't have to be back at work until second shift on Wednesday, which gave them the best part of two and a half days to enjoy themselves.

Dee raised his eyebrows. "Thought you said you had chores you wanted to get done while we had some downtime."

"I did, but… Well, the weather's so beautiful, and the forecast looks good for the coming week, and you're always saying I should relax more." Ryo blushed faintly; he knew he could be a bit of a workaholic, a habit Dee had been trying to break him of for years. Now they were living together he finally seemed to be making progress on that score.

"I'm sure as hell not complainin' about your sudden change of plans. Matter of fact, I approve; a day or two gettin' away from it all sounds like a great idea. You have anywhere in mind?"

"Nowhere too far afield, I thought maybe the Catskills? Trees and mountains, lots of greenery… There're plenty of well-marked hiking trails; we can go up to the Kaaterskill Falls, maybe to Pratt Rock, or just enjoy the scenery. Maybe even go to Hunter Mountain."

"Isn't there some kind of record-breaking zipline there?" Dee's green eyes brightened with enthusiasm.

Ryo grinned back. "The highest, fastest, longest canopy tour in North America. Fancy giving it a try?"

"Hell yeah! What're we waitin' for? Let's head home and pack so we can leave first thing in the mornin'!"

They set out early so they could arrive in the Catskills in time for breakfast. Ryo had gone online the night before and booked them in at a small resort hotel not far from Hunter Mountain. They spent their first day mostly hiking, enjoying the peacefulness and the cool green shade beneath the leafy canopy of the trees. The Falls were impressive, and Pratt Rock was interesting; they breathed deeply of the clean mountain air feeling the stresses of their job fall away amid the unspoiled natural beauty. It was a world away from the hustle and bustle of New York and Ryo knew he'd been right to suggest they make use of their free time to get out of the city. As beautiful as the parks were in spring, they couldn't begin to match this.

Their second day they dedicated to the zipline adventure. Neither man was bothered by heights, and they'd been on shorter, lower ziplines before, but this one would take them above the trees and at speeds up to fifty miles an hour, so there was safety training to go through first. It also wasn't a quick trip, taking approximately three hours; once they were up there that was it, no way down until they reached the end.

Waiting their turn, they watched a couple of youths getting unhitched to stumble away and slump to the ground, looking a little green around the gills.

"Still up for this?" Ryo asked.

"You bet! This is gonna be awesome!"

Dee was right; it was. A little scary at times too, looking down at the treetops, the wind whipping past almost taking their breath away, but the views were spectacular. Ryo wished he could have brought his camera, but he wouldn't nave had a hand to spare for it. Even over the hum of the zipline and the sound of the wind he could hear Dee whooping with delight, and he joined in. It was kind of like flying in a way, and Ryo got a little giddy through trying not to miss anything until he got the hang of turning his head slowly, scanning the view, feeling a bit like a security camera swivelling from one side to the other.

The time seemed to fly past; before they knew it they were on the return leg of the trip, so acclimatised to dangling from a thin wire that when they reached the end and touched down, standing felt weird.

"WOOHOO!" Dee whooped, grinning so wide his face felt like it might split in half. "That was unreal!" He grabbed Ryo in a one-armed hug, pulling him close and planting a kiss on him that curled his toes in his hiking boots.

Ryo looked dazedly at his lover when the kiss ended. "What was that for?"

"This!" Dee waved one arm extravagantly. "One of the best ideas you've ever had, babe. We're gonna do this again, right? I mean, not right now; after three hours up there I'm starvin' and I gotta pee, but we'll come back another weekend, maybe in the summer?"

Ryo nodded. "Great idea, we can see the trees when they're in full leaf, then maybe come back in the fall if we can afford it?" Riding the zipline wasn't cheap.

"We can save up. C'mon, let's go eat. This mountain air really works up an appetite!"

Hand-in-hand and laughing, they set off in search of food.

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The End