FAKE Ficlet: Still Holding On
Title: Still Holding On
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG-13
Setting: Vol. 4, Act 11.
Summary: Sometimes Dee wonders if he’s wasting his time pursuing Ryo, until his partner lets his guard down a little and gives Dee a taste of how he truly feels.
Word Count: 962
Written For: Challenge 444: Flame at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
Shot down in flames yet again, Dee remembered thinking a few days ago as he’d wearily wended his way home after another misunderstanding involving his work partner, and now it was happening again! It was getting to be a bad habit. Honestly, he was starting to wonder if his tireless pursuit of the gorgeous Ryo was worth all the effort he was putting in. He might be better off repeatedly banging his head against a brick wall; he suspected that might prove more productive, not to mention less painful. Dee was sexually frustrated, his ego was in tatters, and his heart ached with longing for the man he adored. Maybe Ryo’s longsightedness was to blame and he literally couldn’t see what was going on right under his nose, because most of the time he seemed blissfully oblivious to the effect he was having on Dee.
Most of the time, but not today, judging by the blush that had suffused Ryo’s face when Dee had pounced on him, and he’d belatedly realised his invitation for Dee to spend the night had not been taken in the way he’d meant it.
And dammit, when was Dee going to learn? He knew what Ryo was like, and still he kept getting his hopes up, thinking maybe this time it would be different, maybe Ryo was finally beginning to reciprocate his feelings. Hah, as if! Maybe it was time he stopped torturing himself and accepted that it was simply never gonna happen, that he and Ryo were destined to remain nothing more than good friends.
Only, he couldn’t just give up, he was already in way too deep, wanting Ryo more than he’d ever wanted anyone or anything in his life. He was the moth to Ryo’s flame, irresistibly drawn to him even knowing he was only gonna get burned again. No matter how much it hurt him to have his advances repeatedly rejected, or worse, completely ignored, just a smile, a brief touch, or a peck on the cheek from Ryo was worth more to Dee than a night of unbridled passion with anyone else. When had he developed masochistic tendencies?
‘I’m a sick man, I need help. Maybe I should see a therapist, one with experience in treating delusional behaviour.’
He couldn’t even blame Ryo! Well, he could, but it wouldn’t be fair. His partner had never promised him anything, had made it clear from the start that he thought of himself as completely straight, even though Dee privately thought that was a case of wilful self-deception. Ryo was about as straight as the average corkscrew.
No matter. Everything Dee was going through was his own stupid fault for wanting something, or more accurately somebody, he couldn’t have. He was as bad as JJ, lusting after the unattainable, loving someone who would never feel the same way, and just like JJ, refusing to accept the truth even when he was being beaten over the head with it. Fools for love, the both of them. It almost made Dee feel a twinge of sympathy for his own personal lovesick stalker.
Then Dee got himself shot in the leg and trapped in a school that was rigged to explode. The fear and desperation in Ryo’s voice when Dee had talked to him over the radio, telling him to stay back and keep everyone else out, had been oddly heartwarming; at least his partner cared about him enough that he didn’t want him to die. It had made Dee even more determined that he was gonna survive this little misadventure and see his partner again, even if only so he could say ‘I told you so’.
When the bombs went off, the explosions were deafening; Dee felt like his whole head was ringing, not merely his ears, but that was okay, because he’d successfully disabled the bomb he was sharing a room with, and while the one next door had blown a pretty big hole in the wall, it hadn’t brought the ceiling down on top of him. Call that a win. The rest of the school might be a mass of smoke and flames, but even though he was trapped here, unable to escape under his own steam thanks to the bullet hole through his leg, the room he was in was a little island of relative safety amidst the chaos.
He was still sitting on the floor near the open window when Ryo found him, entering from the next room through the hole in the wall since the door to the room Dee was in was still locked. Dee grinned up at his partner, feeling pretty good, all things considered. Surviving being practically at ground zero while a building exploded around him made getting shot seem kinda insignificant.
“See? I told you I’d be alright.” Dee rambled on a bit while Ryo just stood there, staring at him, an unreadable expression on his face, and then…
Then he practically launched himself into Dee’s arms, kissing him right on the mouth and clinging to him like he never wanted to let go. Dee wondered briefly if he’d died and gone to heaven, it felt so good to have the man he loved in his arms, showing him how he really felt. But nah, his leg still hurt like crazy, and his eyes were stinging from the smoke and the dust in the air. This was real, and someday, if he was patient and didn’t give up, maybe Ryo would finally stop pretending and accept that this was how they were supposed to be, partners in every sense of the word. If this was what he could look forward to, Dee figured he could wait for Ryo to figure himself out, no matter long it might take.
The End
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG-13
Setting: Vol. 4, Act 11.
Summary: Sometimes Dee wonders if he’s wasting his time pursuing Ryo, until his partner lets his guard down a little and gives Dee a taste of how he truly feels.
Word Count: 962
Written For: Challenge 444: Flame at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
Shot down in flames yet again, Dee remembered thinking a few days ago as he’d wearily wended his way home after another misunderstanding involving his work partner, and now it was happening again! It was getting to be a bad habit. Honestly, he was starting to wonder if his tireless pursuit of the gorgeous Ryo was worth all the effort he was putting in. He might be better off repeatedly banging his head against a brick wall; he suspected that might prove more productive, not to mention less painful. Dee was sexually frustrated, his ego was in tatters, and his heart ached with longing for the man he adored. Maybe Ryo’s longsightedness was to blame and he literally couldn’t see what was going on right under his nose, because most of the time he seemed blissfully oblivious to the effect he was having on Dee.
Most of the time, but not today, judging by the blush that had suffused Ryo’s face when Dee had pounced on him, and he’d belatedly realised his invitation for Dee to spend the night had not been taken in the way he’d meant it.
And dammit, when was Dee going to learn? He knew what Ryo was like, and still he kept getting his hopes up, thinking maybe this time it would be different, maybe Ryo was finally beginning to reciprocate his feelings. Hah, as if! Maybe it was time he stopped torturing himself and accepted that it was simply never gonna happen, that he and Ryo were destined to remain nothing more than good friends.
Only, he couldn’t just give up, he was already in way too deep, wanting Ryo more than he’d ever wanted anyone or anything in his life. He was the moth to Ryo’s flame, irresistibly drawn to him even knowing he was only gonna get burned again. No matter how much it hurt him to have his advances repeatedly rejected, or worse, completely ignored, just a smile, a brief touch, or a peck on the cheek from Ryo was worth more to Dee than a night of unbridled passion with anyone else. When had he developed masochistic tendencies?
‘I’m a sick man, I need help. Maybe I should see a therapist, one with experience in treating delusional behaviour.’
He couldn’t even blame Ryo! Well, he could, but it wouldn’t be fair. His partner had never promised him anything, had made it clear from the start that he thought of himself as completely straight, even though Dee privately thought that was a case of wilful self-deception. Ryo was about as straight as the average corkscrew.
No matter. Everything Dee was going through was his own stupid fault for wanting something, or more accurately somebody, he couldn’t have. He was as bad as JJ, lusting after the unattainable, loving someone who would never feel the same way, and just like JJ, refusing to accept the truth even when he was being beaten over the head with it. Fools for love, the both of them. It almost made Dee feel a twinge of sympathy for his own personal lovesick stalker.
Then Dee got himself shot in the leg and trapped in a school that was rigged to explode. The fear and desperation in Ryo’s voice when Dee had talked to him over the radio, telling him to stay back and keep everyone else out, had been oddly heartwarming; at least his partner cared about him enough that he didn’t want him to die. It had made Dee even more determined that he was gonna survive this little misadventure and see his partner again, even if only so he could say ‘I told you so’.
When the bombs went off, the explosions were deafening; Dee felt like his whole head was ringing, not merely his ears, but that was okay, because he’d successfully disabled the bomb he was sharing a room with, and while the one next door had blown a pretty big hole in the wall, it hadn’t brought the ceiling down on top of him. Call that a win. The rest of the school might be a mass of smoke and flames, but even though he was trapped here, unable to escape under his own steam thanks to the bullet hole through his leg, the room he was in was a little island of relative safety amidst the chaos.
He was still sitting on the floor near the open window when Ryo found him, entering from the next room through the hole in the wall since the door to the room Dee was in was still locked. Dee grinned up at his partner, feeling pretty good, all things considered. Surviving being practically at ground zero while a building exploded around him made getting shot seem kinda insignificant.
“See? I told you I’d be alright.” Dee rambled on a bit while Ryo just stood there, staring at him, an unreadable expression on his face, and then…
Then he practically launched himself into Dee’s arms, kissing him right on the mouth and clinging to him like he never wanted to let go. Dee wondered briefly if he’d died and gone to heaven, it felt so good to have the man he loved in his arms, showing him how he really felt. But nah, his leg still hurt like crazy, and his eyes were stinging from the smoke and the dust in the air. This was real, and someday, if he was patient and didn’t give up, maybe Ryo would finally stop pretending and accept that this was how they were supposed to be, partners in every sense of the word. If this was what he could look forward to, Dee figured he could wait for Ryo to figure himself out, no matter long it might take.
The End