FAKE Ficlet: Not Feeling Festive
Title: Not Feeling Festive
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: JJ, Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG-15
Word Count: 824
Setting: After the manga.
Summary: It’s still November and already JJ is decorating the squad room, much to Dee’s disgust.
Written For: Weekend Challenge Prompt: Bah Humbug Day 1 at 1_million_words.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“Deck the halls with boughs of holly,” JJ warbled, practically skipping through the squad room at the two-seven, brandishing a long, thick, sparkly length of garland as he tried to decide where to hang it.
At his desk, Dee clenched his teeth, gripping his police issue ballpoint pen so tightly that the plastic casing cracked. He turned to glare at JJ.
“Will you cut that out? It’s not even frickin’ December yet! Way too soon to start talkin’ about Christmas, let alone decoratin’ for it!”
“You’re such a Grinch!” JJ accused the man of his dreams. “Where’s your Christmas spirit?”
“Still packed away in its box, which is where those decorations should be! Christmas comes AFTER Thanksgivin’, not before. Do ya even know how to read a frickin’ calendar?”
“Oh, bah humbug to you too.” JJ stuck his tongue out. “You can be all doom and gloom if you want to, but don’t go bringing the rest of us down!” Not that JJ looked as if Dee’s glares were bringing him down in the slightest. He was determined to bring festive cheer to the precinct, so that everyone could enjoy the color and sparkle for as long as possible. “I don’t know why you have to be in such a foul mood all the time. It wouldn’t kill you to smile and be happy!”
If anything, that just served to sour Dee’s mood further. “You wanna know why I’m not feelin’ cheerful? Among other things, I’m investigatin’ the abduction and murder of a four-year-old girl, snatched from her own backyard while the babysitter who should’ve been watchin’ her was too busy havin’ phone sex with her boyfriend to notice anything. Still think I should be smilin’ and happy?”
That sobered JJ momentarily. “Well of course that’s awful for the parents, but we’re all investigating at least one murder. We can’t let ourselves get personally involved, we have to remain objective so we can do our jobs. We deal with homicides all the time, and a lot of them are tragic, but isn’t that all the more reason to celebrate the good things in life, like Christmas? We all need some sparkle in our lives!”
That said, JJ continued his mission to make the squad room look like Christmas had exploded all over it, garland everywhere, and a Christmas tree, still in its wrappings, propped in one corner, waiting until JJ could persuade someone to help him put it in its tub. It would be a two-man job, since the tree was at least eight feet tall. Through it all, JJ carried on singing carols in an infuriatingly merry, if noticeably out of tune, voice.
Dee groaned, slumping forward across his desk, pillowing his head on his arms and fervently wishing he had earplugs. He almost jumped out of his skin when a hand came to rest on his shoulder, and he looked up into Ryo’s concerned face.
“Are you okay?”
“JJ is drivin’ me outta my mind.”
“He does go a bit over the top at this time of year,” Ryo agreed, smiling faintly.
“A bit? He wants me to cheer up, and even when I tried explainin’ why I’m not feelin’ merry and bright, he just brushed it off, said I shouldn’t get personally involved in the cases we’re workin’, like I can just shut off what I’m feelin’. Does he even have a heart?”
“I think all this…” Ryo gestured at the decorations. “It’s how he copes with all the terrible things we see on the job, sort of reminding himself that happiness CAN still exist, no matter how dark and sad the world might seem at times.
“I guess.” Dee heaved a sigh.
“We’re all different though,” Ryo added, perching on the corner of Dee’s desk. “What works for him doesn’t necessarily work for the rest of us. Sometimes it just makes us feel worse.”
“Yeah, exactly.” It was a relief to realise that Ryo understood him and felt the same way. “It might not bother me so much if he’d just tone it down a bit and stop with the singin’.” Dee winced as JJ totally failed to hit a high note. He saw Ryo actually flinch, a pained expression crossing his face, and patted his lover’s knee in sympathy. “Guess we’ll just haveta grit our teeth and try to endure the nightmare of JJ Adams in festive mode.”
“Come over for dinner tonight. I guarantee there won’t be any decorations, or Christmas music, just good food, and understanding company.”
“Sounds perfect. Thanks, babe.”
“We’ll find the killer, you know that, right? We won’t give up until we do.”
“I know, but it won’t bring the kid back.”
“No, it won’t, but it might keep other kids from suffering the same fate. Most of the time we can’t keep bad things from happening, but we can make sure those responsible pay for their crimes. Sometimes, that has to be enough.”
The End
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: JJ, Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG-15
Word Count: 824
Setting: After the manga.
Summary: It’s still November and already JJ is decorating the squad room, much to Dee’s disgust.
Written For: Weekend Challenge Prompt: Bah Humbug Day 1 at 1_million_words.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“Deck the halls with boughs of holly,” JJ warbled, practically skipping through the squad room at the two-seven, brandishing a long, thick, sparkly length of garland as he tried to decide where to hang it.
At his desk, Dee clenched his teeth, gripping his police issue ballpoint pen so tightly that the plastic casing cracked. He turned to glare at JJ.
“Will you cut that out? It’s not even frickin’ December yet! Way too soon to start talkin’ about Christmas, let alone decoratin’ for it!”
“You’re such a Grinch!” JJ accused the man of his dreams. “Where’s your Christmas spirit?”
“Still packed away in its box, which is where those decorations should be! Christmas comes AFTER Thanksgivin’, not before. Do ya even know how to read a frickin’ calendar?”
“Oh, bah humbug to you too.” JJ stuck his tongue out. “You can be all doom and gloom if you want to, but don’t go bringing the rest of us down!” Not that JJ looked as if Dee’s glares were bringing him down in the slightest. He was determined to bring festive cheer to the precinct, so that everyone could enjoy the color and sparkle for as long as possible. “I don’t know why you have to be in such a foul mood all the time. It wouldn’t kill you to smile and be happy!”
If anything, that just served to sour Dee’s mood further. “You wanna know why I’m not feelin’ cheerful? Among other things, I’m investigatin’ the abduction and murder of a four-year-old girl, snatched from her own backyard while the babysitter who should’ve been watchin’ her was too busy havin’ phone sex with her boyfriend to notice anything. Still think I should be smilin’ and happy?”
That sobered JJ momentarily. “Well of course that’s awful for the parents, but we’re all investigating at least one murder. We can’t let ourselves get personally involved, we have to remain objective so we can do our jobs. We deal with homicides all the time, and a lot of them are tragic, but isn’t that all the more reason to celebrate the good things in life, like Christmas? We all need some sparkle in our lives!”
That said, JJ continued his mission to make the squad room look like Christmas had exploded all over it, garland everywhere, and a Christmas tree, still in its wrappings, propped in one corner, waiting until JJ could persuade someone to help him put it in its tub. It would be a two-man job, since the tree was at least eight feet tall. Through it all, JJ carried on singing carols in an infuriatingly merry, if noticeably out of tune, voice.
Dee groaned, slumping forward across his desk, pillowing his head on his arms and fervently wishing he had earplugs. He almost jumped out of his skin when a hand came to rest on his shoulder, and he looked up into Ryo’s concerned face.
“Are you okay?”
“JJ is drivin’ me outta my mind.”
“He does go a bit over the top at this time of year,” Ryo agreed, smiling faintly.
“A bit? He wants me to cheer up, and even when I tried explainin’ why I’m not feelin’ merry and bright, he just brushed it off, said I shouldn’t get personally involved in the cases we’re workin’, like I can just shut off what I’m feelin’. Does he even have a heart?”
“I think all this…” Ryo gestured at the decorations. “It’s how he copes with all the terrible things we see on the job, sort of reminding himself that happiness CAN still exist, no matter how dark and sad the world might seem at times.
“I guess.” Dee heaved a sigh.
“We’re all different though,” Ryo added, perching on the corner of Dee’s desk. “What works for him doesn’t necessarily work for the rest of us. Sometimes it just makes us feel worse.”
“Yeah, exactly.” It was a relief to realise that Ryo understood him and felt the same way. “It might not bother me so much if he’d just tone it down a bit and stop with the singin’.” Dee winced as JJ totally failed to hit a high note. He saw Ryo actually flinch, a pained expression crossing his face, and patted his lover’s knee in sympathy. “Guess we’ll just haveta grit our teeth and try to endure the nightmare of JJ Adams in festive mode.”
“Come over for dinner tonight. I guarantee there won’t be any decorations, or Christmas music, just good food, and understanding company.”
“Sounds perfect. Thanks, babe.”
“We’ll find the killer, you know that, right? We won’t give up until we do.”
“I know, but it won’t bring the kid back.”
“No, it won’t, but it might keep other kids from suffering the same fate. Most of the time we can’t keep bad things from happening, but we can make sure those responsible pay for their crimes. Sometimes, that has to be enough.”
The End