fandomweekly | [#056] Trip Of A Lifetime (FAKE)

Theme Prompt: #056 – High Seas
Title: Trip Of A Lifetime
Fandom: FAKE
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 999
Summary: Recovering from injury, Dee and Ryo set sail for an extended vacation on their boat.

“I still can’t believe we’re really doing this,” Ryo said, leaning on the bow rail and gazing dreamily out across the sparkling blue-green water.

“It was your idea,” Dee reminded him.

“I know; it just doesn’t quite seem real.”

“Yeah, it’s kinda like a dream, didn’t it? Too perfect to be true.” Dee came to lean against the rail beside his lover, handing Ryo a cold drink and sipping at his own, watching the sunlight on the rolling waves and feeling the faint, steady thrum of the engines through the deck

This was a much bigger boat than their first one, a yacht rather than the original cabin cruiser, with greater range and more space onboard, so they could go sailing with their whole family without being cramped.

Technically Bikky owned her, but she was moored at a marina in New York and they had the use of her any time they wanted, since Bikky never went sailing without having his dads along to pilot. He loved being out on the boat but hated having to navigate, read the charts, keep an eye on the weather, and deal with the sails. He preferred to have Ryo and Dee, who were both much more experienced at such things, do the difficult stuff so he and Carol and the kids could just relax.

Right now Dee and Ryo had the Free Spirit to themselves, and what felt like all the time in the world. They’d both been injured helping the FBI take down a terrorist cell, and now they were enjoying a two-month sabbatical afloat to complete their recovery. What could be better for that than sunshine and fresh sea air?

So here they were, cruising down the East Coast at around eight knots, not in a huge hurry because they had plenty of time. They’d reckoned on taking a couple of weeks to reach Fort Lauderdale with a few stops along the way to see the sights, then around the tip of Florida into the Gulf of Mexico, and spend a week or so in New Orleans, a city they’d long wanted to visit. Maybe they’d sail as far as Galveston before starting back; neither of them had ever been to Texas.

Most of that was still ahead of them though; they were happily drifting along off the coast of South Carolina, far enough out on the ocean that the land was just a faint line off to their right. Seabirds wheeled above them on the brisk breeze, and riding their bow wave were four or five dolphins, leaping and diving, like they were having the best time ever.

“Look at them!” Ryo laughed, delighted.

“Would be hard not to!” There was nothing much else out here to see, but even if there had been the dolphins easily captured both men’s attention. It wasn’t the first time they’d enjoyed the sight in their years of sailing up and down the coast, and a few times they’d even seen whales, but sights like this were something they would never tire of.

“They’re amazing!” Ryo flashed Dee a giddy smile. “They look so happy! Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be a dolphin, swimming free in the oceans.”

“Probably looks more fun than it is,” Dee mused. “Huntin’ for food all the time, riskin’ gettin’ caught in some trawler’s nets.” They’d passed a few fishing boats on their trip already, keeping well out of their way, although most had been either just heading out or on their way back to shore.

“I guess, but nobody can say they don’t know how to have fun when they get the chance.”

“Wiser than most humans,” Dee agreed.

Finishing his drink, Ryo set the empty glass aside and raised his camera, snapping off a few shots of the sporting dolphins.

Not to be outdone, Dee pulled out his phone to capture them on video; he’d send the footage to their friends in New York, give them another reason to be envious of their colleagues, off on the trip of a lifetime.

“Just be careful you don’t lose your phone over the side,” Ryo teased. Dee had managed to do exactly that a year or so ago, much to his embarrassment, leaning over trying to film a curious seal. The worst part was that the phone had bounced off the seal’s head, scaring the poor thing away.

“Hah, not gonna happen!” Dee grinned triumphantly, displaying the safety strap securely attached to the phone and looped around his neck. He’d learned his lesson the last time; replacing his phone had been a pain, especially since not everything stored on the old one had been backed up.

Ryo grinned. “Clever!”

“I have my moments.”

Taking a deep breath of the salty air, Ryo tipped his head back and closed his eyes, keeping a firm grip on the railing so he wouldn’t lose his balance as the yacht rode the swell. He felt better than he had in weeks; taking an extended vacation had definitely been a wise decision. By the time they went home he and Dee should both be back to full health, ready to get back to fighting crime on the streets of New York, but in a tiny corner of his mind Ryo wondered if he really wanted to do that.

Police work had been his life for almost twenty years, but it wasn’t getting any less dangerous. How many more times could he and Dee recover from injury and still be fit enough not just to do the work but to enjoy their lives? Maybe it was time they started thinking about retiring from the force; neither of them was exactly old, but they weren’t getting any younger either, and there was always the chance one or other of them might some day be a little too slow to react to danger. Even the most experienced cops could get killed in the line of duty.

It was something to think about.

The End

[#056] Trip Of A Lifetime (FAKE)

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