FAKE Ficlet: Clean And Tidy
Title: Clean And Tidy
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Bikky.
Rating: G
Setting: Vol. 1.
Summary: Bikky’s off to summer camp in the morning, but his packing leaves a lot to be desired.
Word Count: 500
Written For: Prompt 65: Fold at anythingdrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“Bikky!” Ryo exclaimed, exasperated. “FOLD your clothes please, don’t just screw them up and shove them in your bag! Do you have any idea how long I spent ironing everything to get all the creases out?”
His foster son frowned, confused. “What does it matter? They’re only gonna get creased when I wear them.” To a ten-year-old boy, neatly pressed clothes were hardly a priority.
“The point is that I don’t want people thinking I’m not looking after you properly.” Ryo emptied Bikky’s bag and started to re-pack it, folding each item if clothing carefully, smoothing out creases. “What are people going to think if you show up at camp with clothes that look like they’ve been slept in? I had enough difficulty persuading the authorities that I’m capable of raising a child on my own; single men aren’t their first choice as foster parents. It wouldn’t take a lot to make them decide I’m unsuitable.” He fussed over packing everything his boy would need for the next few weeks at camp as Bikky stood by the bed, a worried expression on his face.
“They might take me away from you?” he asked in a small voice.
Abandoning the packing, Ryo knelt down in front of the boy. “Not if I have any say in the matter,” he said firmly, “I just don’t want to give anyone any reason to have second thoughts about you living with me. That’s why I always try to make sure you leave the house each day looking clean and tidy.” Grinning, he ruffled Bikky’s hair. “Even though you come home looking anything but.”
“I can’t help it, school is messy!” The boy looked pleadingly as his guardian. “I don’t know how to not get dirty!”
Ryo laughed. “It’s fine, Biks. I don’t expect you to come home spotless; you’re a kid, you need to play and have fun, so you’re gonna get dirty. What matters is that I send you to school looking well cared for, with clean clothes and a good lunch and all your homework done. It’s the same now you’re going to camp; you should at least arrive there with your clothes clean, pressed and properly folded. I know they won’t stay that way, but it’s the first impression that matters. It shows everyone that I’m doing my job as a parent. Understand?”
Bikky nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Good. Now, let’s get the rest of your things packed, there won’t be time in the morning.” Standing up, Ryo returned to the packing, making sure the boy had everything he might need, including towels and toiletries. “I’ve put a washcloth, soap, shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste in your wash bag. I expect to find them all well used when you get home,” he said firmly.
“Okay, I promise I’ll use them.” A pause. “Does it have to be every day?”
Ryo just about managed not to laugh. “Teeth brushed morning and night, shower before bed.”
“Fine. Ryo?”
“Mm?”
“I’m glad you’re my dad.”
The End
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Bikky.
Rating: G
Setting: Vol. 1.
Summary: Bikky’s off to summer camp in the morning, but his packing leaves a lot to be desired.
Word Count: 500
Written For: Prompt 65: Fold at anythingdrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“Bikky!” Ryo exclaimed, exasperated. “FOLD your clothes please, don’t just screw them up and shove them in your bag! Do you have any idea how long I spent ironing everything to get all the creases out?”
His foster son frowned, confused. “What does it matter? They’re only gonna get creased when I wear them.” To a ten-year-old boy, neatly pressed clothes were hardly a priority.
“The point is that I don’t want people thinking I’m not looking after you properly.” Ryo emptied Bikky’s bag and started to re-pack it, folding each item if clothing carefully, smoothing out creases. “What are people going to think if you show up at camp with clothes that look like they’ve been slept in? I had enough difficulty persuading the authorities that I’m capable of raising a child on my own; single men aren’t their first choice as foster parents. It wouldn’t take a lot to make them decide I’m unsuitable.” He fussed over packing everything his boy would need for the next few weeks at camp as Bikky stood by the bed, a worried expression on his face.
“They might take me away from you?” he asked in a small voice.
Abandoning the packing, Ryo knelt down in front of the boy. “Not if I have any say in the matter,” he said firmly, “I just don’t want to give anyone any reason to have second thoughts about you living with me. That’s why I always try to make sure you leave the house each day looking clean and tidy.” Grinning, he ruffled Bikky’s hair. “Even though you come home looking anything but.”
“I can’t help it, school is messy!” The boy looked pleadingly as his guardian. “I don’t know how to not get dirty!”
Ryo laughed. “It’s fine, Biks. I don’t expect you to come home spotless; you’re a kid, you need to play and have fun, so you’re gonna get dirty. What matters is that I send you to school looking well cared for, with clean clothes and a good lunch and all your homework done. It’s the same now you’re going to camp; you should at least arrive there with your clothes clean, pressed and properly folded. I know they won’t stay that way, but it’s the first impression that matters. It shows everyone that I’m doing my job as a parent. Understand?”
Bikky nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Good. Now, let’s get the rest of your things packed, there won’t be time in the morning.” Standing up, Ryo returned to the packing, making sure the boy had everything he might need, including towels and toiletries. “I’ve put a washcloth, soap, shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste in your wash bag. I expect to find them all well used when you get home,” he said firmly.
“Okay, I promise I’ll use them.” A pause. “Does it have to be every day?”
Ryo just about managed not to laugh. “Teeth brushed morning and night, shower before bed.”
“Fine. Ryo?”
“Mm?”
“I’m glad you’re my dad.”
The End