FAKE Fic: Paid In Full
Title: Paid In Full
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee.
Rating: PG
Setting: During the manga.
Summary: When Dee saves Ryo’s life, Ryo returns the favor.
Word Count: 1078
Written For: Challenge 319: Debt at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“Thanks,” Ryo murmured, slowly getting to his feet and dusting himself off. “I owe you one.”
“What for?” Dee didn’t look at his partner, instead following the getaway car with his eyes as it sped away, weaving in and out of traffic, causing other drivers to slam on their brakes. He was thinking they could add speeding and reckless driving to the arrest warrant once they tracked the driver down, if they ever did. He’d made a mental note of the licence plate but as it was most likely a stolen vehicle it probably wouldn’t do them much good.
Ryo’s reply dragged Dee back to the here and now. “What for? I’m pretty sure you just saved my life. They’d be scraping what was left of me off the road if you hadn’t been so fast on your feet.”
Now Dee turned to face the man he loved; the getaway car was already almost out of sight. “You don’t gotta thank me for that, bud. We’re partners; if it’d been me about to get mown down by some asshole in a piece of crap SUV, you’d have done the same.” There wasn’t a trace of doubt in Dee’s voice; he knew Ryo had his back, come what may. That was how a partnership worked.
“You know I would,” Ryo agreed. “Every time. But I still appreciate the save.”
“Yeah, because everyone just loves bein’ grabbed by the arm and thrown headfirst into a pile of trash.” Dee picked a scrap of paper out of his partner’s hair; at least it hadn’t rained recently so everything was dry and marginally less disgusting than it otherwise might have been.
A wry chuckle greeted Dee’s words. “Not top of my list of fun things to do, I’ll admit, but it still beats getting run over.”
“True.” Dee grinned suddenly. “Fine, next time you can save my life and we’ll call it even; how’s that sound?”
“Fair enough.” Ryo grinned back at the man he considered his best friend as he rubbed his shoulder. It was sore from having his arm wrenched so violently, and he’d probably have a few bruises in interesting places, but that was nothing compared to being hit by a speeding car.
“Good. Okay, c’mon, better get back to the precinct and start the paperwork on this one. I wanna run the licence plate, put out an APB. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Ryo wasn’t any more optimistic than Dee on their chances, probably the best they could hope for was finding the car abandoned, but you never knew; some criminals weren’t too bright. “Worth a try. Here, you can drive.” He held out the keys.
“Don’t mind if I do. I’m a damned sight safer behind the wheel than that lunatic. It’s a miracle he didn’t cause an accident, the way he was drivin.”
“He still might.”
Dee grimaced. “Yeah. How’s the arm?”
“Still attached. It’ll be fine.”
OoOoOoO
A couple of months later, Ryo’s flying tackle brought Dee crashing to the ground, his partner landing heavily on top of him, practically knocking all the breath from his lungs. Under other circumstances Dee would’ve had no complaints at being pounced on by the object of his so far unrequited desires, but it was raining, and he’d landed on his back in a muddy puddle, probably ruining one of his favourite jackets, plus it felt like he might have cracked a couple of ribs. Although Ryo weighed less than Dee, that didn’t mean he wasn’t still heavy enough to cause damage.
Before Dee could get enough breath back to protest about his partner’s uncharacteristic behaviour, or even to push Ryo off him, a massive explosion rocked the street, fragments of glass, brick, and other debris raining down around them, and he instinctively clenched his eyes shut until he judged it safe to open them again.
Raising his head slightly, his ears still ringing from the blast, he viewed a scene of devastation. The air was filled with smoke and there were small fires burning around them, some of them already fizzling out in the relentless drizzle.
“What the Hell was that?” he wheezed painfully. Ryo was a dead weight on top of him and Dee awkwardly shook his shoulder, trying to rouse him. “Ryo? You okay, bud?”
It took several worrying minutes, but at last Ryo stirred and groaned, just as Dee was carefully trying to ease out from underneath him. “Ow. Dee? What just happened?” He sounded a bit muzzy and confused.
“Not too sure of that myself; think somethin’ exploded.” Sitting up, Dee got a good look at his partner and immediately stopped him from trying to move. “Easy, bud, maybe you should stay put; looks like you got the worst of whatever that was.”
“No, I’m okay. I think. Sorry about that.”
Chunks of masonry rolled off Ryo as he shifted, and several sharp glass shards appeared to be embedded in the back of his jacket, although as far as Dee could see none of them seemed to have penetrated the leather.
“Don’t apologise, idiot. Looks like this time you’re the one saved my life.”
“That’s good.” Smiling faintly, Ryo sat up, wincing, and reaching for the back of his head, fingers coming away stained with blood. “Ow,” he said again. “That smarts.”
Dee took a look. “Yeah, not surprised. Doesn’t look deep, but you know what scalp wounds are like; they bleed like a sonofabitch.” Pulling out a wad of tissues from his pocket he pressed them to the wound and put Ryo’s hand over the top. “Hold that.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.” Dee shook his head. “Anyway, I’m the one should be thankin’ you. You sure as hell don’t mess about when it comes to payin’ your debts, do ya?”
“Huh?” Ryo looked confused.
“Told you a couple months ago next time you could save my life; looks like you just did.”
“Oh, that.” Ryo looked about himself, bemused. “The way things are going right now, maybe we shouldn’t bother keeping track.”
“Yeah, this keeps up we’re gonna need score cards. Guess we should maybe try and figure out what just blew up.”
Sirens could be heard in the distance, growing closer.
“Might be a good idea,” Ryo agreed. “Better check for casualties while we’re at it.”
They dragged themselves painfully to their feet to begin their investigation. Battered and bruised though they were, there was no rest for the forces of law and order!
The End
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee.
Rating: PG
Setting: During the manga.
Summary: When Dee saves Ryo’s life, Ryo returns the favor.
Word Count: 1078
Written For: Challenge 319: Debt at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“Thanks,” Ryo murmured, slowly getting to his feet and dusting himself off. “I owe you one.”
“What for?” Dee didn’t look at his partner, instead following the getaway car with his eyes as it sped away, weaving in and out of traffic, causing other drivers to slam on their brakes. He was thinking they could add speeding and reckless driving to the arrest warrant once they tracked the driver down, if they ever did. He’d made a mental note of the licence plate but as it was most likely a stolen vehicle it probably wouldn’t do them much good.
Ryo’s reply dragged Dee back to the here and now. “What for? I’m pretty sure you just saved my life. They’d be scraping what was left of me off the road if you hadn’t been so fast on your feet.”
Now Dee turned to face the man he loved; the getaway car was already almost out of sight. “You don’t gotta thank me for that, bud. We’re partners; if it’d been me about to get mown down by some asshole in a piece of crap SUV, you’d have done the same.” There wasn’t a trace of doubt in Dee’s voice; he knew Ryo had his back, come what may. That was how a partnership worked.
“You know I would,” Ryo agreed. “Every time. But I still appreciate the save.”
“Yeah, because everyone just loves bein’ grabbed by the arm and thrown headfirst into a pile of trash.” Dee picked a scrap of paper out of his partner’s hair; at least it hadn’t rained recently so everything was dry and marginally less disgusting than it otherwise might have been.
A wry chuckle greeted Dee’s words. “Not top of my list of fun things to do, I’ll admit, but it still beats getting run over.”
“True.” Dee grinned suddenly. “Fine, next time you can save my life and we’ll call it even; how’s that sound?”
“Fair enough.” Ryo grinned back at the man he considered his best friend as he rubbed his shoulder. It was sore from having his arm wrenched so violently, and he’d probably have a few bruises in interesting places, but that was nothing compared to being hit by a speeding car.
“Good. Okay, c’mon, better get back to the precinct and start the paperwork on this one. I wanna run the licence plate, put out an APB. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Ryo wasn’t any more optimistic than Dee on their chances, probably the best they could hope for was finding the car abandoned, but you never knew; some criminals weren’t too bright. “Worth a try. Here, you can drive.” He held out the keys.
“Don’t mind if I do. I’m a damned sight safer behind the wheel than that lunatic. It’s a miracle he didn’t cause an accident, the way he was drivin.”
“He still might.”
Dee grimaced. “Yeah. How’s the arm?”
“Still attached. It’ll be fine.”
OoOoOoO
A couple of months later, Ryo’s flying tackle brought Dee crashing to the ground, his partner landing heavily on top of him, practically knocking all the breath from his lungs. Under other circumstances Dee would’ve had no complaints at being pounced on by the object of his so far unrequited desires, but it was raining, and he’d landed on his back in a muddy puddle, probably ruining one of his favourite jackets, plus it felt like he might have cracked a couple of ribs. Although Ryo weighed less than Dee, that didn’t mean he wasn’t still heavy enough to cause damage.
Before Dee could get enough breath back to protest about his partner’s uncharacteristic behaviour, or even to push Ryo off him, a massive explosion rocked the street, fragments of glass, brick, and other debris raining down around them, and he instinctively clenched his eyes shut until he judged it safe to open them again.
Raising his head slightly, his ears still ringing from the blast, he viewed a scene of devastation. The air was filled with smoke and there were small fires burning around them, some of them already fizzling out in the relentless drizzle.
“What the Hell was that?” he wheezed painfully. Ryo was a dead weight on top of him and Dee awkwardly shook his shoulder, trying to rouse him. “Ryo? You okay, bud?”
It took several worrying minutes, but at last Ryo stirred and groaned, just as Dee was carefully trying to ease out from underneath him. “Ow. Dee? What just happened?” He sounded a bit muzzy and confused.
“Not too sure of that myself; think somethin’ exploded.” Sitting up, Dee got a good look at his partner and immediately stopped him from trying to move. “Easy, bud, maybe you should stay put; looks like you got the worst of whatever that was.”
“No, I’m okay. I think. Sorry about that.”
Chunks of masonry rolled off Ryo as he shifted, and several sharp glass shards appeared to be embedded in the back of his jacket, although as far as Dee could see none of them seemed to have penetrated the leather.
“Don’t apologise, idiot. Looks like this time you’re the one saved my life.”
“That’s good.” Smiling faintly, Ryo sat up, wincing, and reaching for the back of his head, fingers coming away stained with blood. “Ow,” he said again. “That smarts.”
Dee took a look. “Yeah, not surprised. Doesn’t look deep, but you know what scalp wounds are like; they bleed like a sonofabitch.” Pulling out a wad of tissues from his pocket he pressed them to the wound and put Ryo’s hand over the top. “Hold that.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.” Dee shook his head. “Anyway, I’m the one should be thankin’ you. You sure as hell don’t mess about when it comes to payin’ your debts, do ya?”
“Huh?” Ryo looked confused.
“Told you a couple months ago next time you could save my life; looks like you just did.”
“Oh, that.” Ryo looked about himself, bemused. “The way things are going right now, maybe we shouldn’t bother keeping track.”
“Yeah, this keeps up we’re gonna need score cards. Guess we should maybe try and figure out what just blew up.”
Sirens could be heard in the distance, growing closer.
“Might be a good idea,” Ryo agreed. “Better check for casualties while we’re at it.”
They dragged themselves painfully to their feet to begin their investigation. Battered and bruised though they were, there was no rest for the forces of law and order!
The End