FAKE Fic: Bargain Buy

[badly_knitted]

 

Title: Bargain Buy
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG
Setting: Just after Like Like Love.
Summary: Dee has a proposition for his lover, but will Ryo dismiss his idea as an unnecessary expense?
Word Count: 996
Written For: Challenge 404: Screen at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
 


 
“I’ve been thinkin’,” Dee said over breakfast at his lover’s apartment a week or so after asking Ryo to move in with him.
 

Ryo paused, coffee cup halfway to his mouth and a vaguely worried expression on his face. “Oh.” He slowly set the cup back on the table without drinking.
 

“Oh? What d’ya mean by that?” Dee wasn’t sure whether or not to be offended.
 

Blushing, Ryo shook his head. “Nothing really, or nothing bad, it’s just… I always get sort of a sinking feeling whenever you say that.”

 
After a moment’s reflection, Dee gave a rueful grin. “Okay, I guess that’s an understandable reaction, knowin’ me as well as ya do, but I swear this time I wasn’t thinkin’ anything of an adult nature, or anything bad…”

 
“I’ve heard that before.”

 
“D’ya wanna know what I was thinkin’ or not?”
 

Although he still looked uncertain, Ryo nodded. “Sorry, go ahead. There’s no harm in listening.”
 

“Good. So, like I was sayin’, I was thinkin’ when you move into my place, we should get a new TV.” Dee drained the last of his own coffee and leaned back in his chair, waiting for Ryo’s reaction. He didn’t have to wait long.

 
“What? Why? We both already have a TV; we don’t need three.”
 

“Maybe not, but the one I’ve got is practically on its last legs, the DVD player only works when it feels like it, and now the sound’s gone wonky.”

 
“So we get rid of yours and use mine instead.” As far as Ryo was concerned, it was the obvious and most practical solution.

 
“We could do that,” Dee agreed. “But…” He dug in his pants pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper and sliding it across the kitchen table. “There’s a sale comin’ up, big screen TVs at less than half price.
 

Ryo looked at the prices listed on the flyer. “They’re still pretty expensive.”
 

“I know, but we can afford it. Look, we’ll be savin’ money by livin’ together, each of us payin’ hardly more than half the rent and utilities we’re forkin’ out at the moment. Plus, ya won’t have Bikky to feed, so you’ll be spendin’ less on groceries.”

 
“Not so sure about that; you eat almost as much as Bikky does.”
 

“Yeah, but I’ll be payin’ my share, just like with everything else, so you won’t be footin’ the whole grocery bill every week. When ya think about it, now’s the perfect time to upgrade our home entertainment. I’m not sayin’ we should get a hundred-inch top of the line high-def plasma screen; that would be too big for our place even with havin’ more space, but maybe a forty-inch. Imagine watchin’ an action movie on a big screen, or sports. It would be awesome! Not sayin’ ya haveta make up your mind right this minute, the sale doesn’t start until the weekend, but we might never get a better chance at such a great deal.”
 

“What would we do with my TV? I’ve only had it three years; it’s too good to throw away.”
 

“So we’d put it in out bedroom, that way if we both wanted to watch different things, we could. Then whenever the kid’s home he can have it in his room. Should save a few arguments.”

 
“You really have thought this through, haven’t you?” Ryo sounded impressed.
 

“You bet I have.” Dee grinned. “Not sayin’ you’re stubborn or anything, although y’are. So am I, but that’s not the point. You’re all about what’s practical, which is a good thing ‘cause y’know I sometimes get carried away. You keep me grounded, just like Mother’s always tried to, but I can’t keep relyin’ on you for that, especially now we’re gonna be livin’ together. I’m gonna need to start payin’ more attention to the practicalities, so this is me tryin’.”
 

Ryo nodded slowly. “Alright, I can see that having two TVs could be a good idea, especially when Bikky’s home. Watching TV on a laptop is okay, but the screen’s too small for some things, and sound quality isn’t the best. A forty-inch screen though…” He trailed off, and Dee felt his heart sink. Just for a moment he’d allowed himself to hope he might be winning the discussion.

 
He did his best to hide his disappointment. “What d’you think we should go for then?”
 

“Well, I’ve been looking at the prices, and there’s only a hundred dollars difference between the forty-inch and the fifty. Specs are the same for both, so why don’t we go for the bigger screen? I don’t think an extra hundred split between us would break the bank.”

 
Dee sat there staring blankly at his lover, scarcely able to believe what he was hearing. “A fifty-inch? Are you serious?”
 

“Of course. If we’re doing this, we might as well get the best we can comfortably afford, and it would make you happy.”

 
“I frickin’ love you!” Dee yelled, jumping out of his chair and leaning over the table to plant an enthusiastic kiss on Ryo’s lips.

 
“Dee! Table!” Ryo yelped, making a hurried grab at his coffee cup as the table tilted.
 

“Oops!” Dee straightened up, letting the table drop back onto all four legs again. “Sorry. Got a bit overexcited there.”
 

“I noticed. No harm done. It’s a good thing we already cleared the plates away.” He stood, finishing his coffee and picking up Dee’s mug to take to the sink. “Come on, we should get to work, earn some money if we’re gonna be buying ourselves a brand-new big screen TV at the weekend. We might want to get a set of surround sound speakers for it too, if there are some available at a reasonable price.”

 
“Yes!” Punching the air, Dee whooped for joy; his day was getting better and better.
 

Ryo just laughed and shook his head; if this morning was anything to go by, living with Dee was going to be quite an adventure.
 

 
The End