FAKE Ficlet: Life Lessons
Title: Life Lessons
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Mother, Ryo, OCs.
Rating: PG
Setting: Before and during the manga, and after Vol. 7.
Summary: Mother instilled in Dee some very valuable life lessons, and he credits her with giving him the tools he needed to win the love of his life.
Word Count: 500
Written For: Prompt 631: Character at slashthedrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
As he was growing up, Mother always used to tell Dee that not getting the things he wanted handed to him on a plate would help him build character.
“It may seem unfair now, but I simply don’t have the money to give all of my children everything they want, Dee. I make sure you all get the things you need the most: food, clothes, a warm bed, a good education, and all the love I have, but there are always going to be things I can’t afford. When you grow up, you’ll find that life is about working for the things you want, and the effort put into earning them makes finally getting them so much sweeter.”
Naturally, at the time Dee had thought it sucked, and he’d hit Jess up for pocket money whenever he could, but as he’d gotten older and had started earning money by doing odd jobs around the neighbourhood, he’d begun to think that maybe Mother was right after all.
With a pocketful of money, knowing he could finally afford to buy all the CDs he wanted, as well as something to play them on, he’d paused on his way out of the orphanage, heading to the shops. He’d never gotten his CD player; instead, he’d taken a couple of the younger kids to get new shoes. He could listen to music on the radio, or at Barry’s place. Shoes were more important.
When he and the other kids had arrived back, with the shoes, and enough ice cream for everyone, Mother had hugged him, told him what a fine young man he was, and how proud she was of him. Maybe that was what she’d meant about building character.
Whatever it was he’d learned, it had served him well over the years, but never more so than in his pursuit of the man of his dreams. Dee kept telling himself that whatever he had to go through to win Ryo, it would be well worth it in the end. He just needed to be patient, caring, and as selfless as he could be, while working hard at breaking down the walls of denial Ryo had built up around himself.
Every time Dee felt like giving up, he reminded himself how good it would feel to win Ryo’s heart and teach his partner everything he’d been missing out on by refusing to accept his true sexuality. As much as he wanted Ryo for himself, he also wanted to break open the cage of self-deception Ryo had trapped himself in by trying to repress his desires. It wasn’t healthy. He deserved to have a happy life and a fulfilling relationship, and Dee wanted to give him both.
‘Even if it ends up not being with me.’
After all, loving someone meant being willing to let them go.
Thankfully, letting go turned out to be unnecessary, because here Dee was, with the love of his life still in his arms.
Worth the effort? Without a doubt.
The End
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Mother, Ryo, OCs.
Rating: PG
Setting: Before and during the manga, and after Vol. 7.
Summary: Mother instilled in Dee some very valuable life lessons, and he credits her with giving him the tools he needed to win the love of his life.
Word Count: 500
Written For: Prompt 631: Character at slashthedrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
As he was growing up, Mother always used to tell Dee that not getting the things he wanted handed to him on a plate would help him build character.
“It may seem unfair now, but I simply don’t have the money to give all of my children everything they want, Dee. I make sure you all get the things you need the most: food, clothes, a warm bed, a good education, and all the love I have, but there are always going to be things I can’t afford. When you grow up, you’ll find that life is about working for the things you want, and the effort put into earning them makes finally getting them so much sweeter.”
Naturally, at the time Dee had thought it sucked, and he’d hit Jess up for pocket money whenever he could, but as he’d gotten older and had started earning money by doing odd jobs around the neighbourhood, he’d begun to think that maybe Mother was right after all.
With a pocketful of money, knowing he could finally afford to buy all the CDs he wanted, as well as something to play them on, he’d paused on his way out of the orphanage, heading to the shops. He’d never gotten his CD player; instead, he’d taken a couple of the younger kids to get new shoes. He could listen to music on the radio, or at Barry’s place. Shoes were more important.
When he and the other kids had arrived back, with the shoes, and enough ice cream for everyone, Mother had hugged him, told him what a fine young man he was, and how proud she was of him. Maybe that was what she’d meant about building character.
Whatever it was he’d learned, it had served him well over the years, but never more so than in his pursuit of the man of his dreams. Dee kept telling himself that whatever he had to go through to win Ryo, it would be well worth it in the end. He just needed to be patient, caring, and as selfless as he could be, while working hard at breaking down the walls of denial Ryo had built up around himself.
Every time Dee felt like giving up, he reminded himself how good it would feel to win Ryo’s heart and teach his partner everything he’d been missing out on by refusing to accept his true sexuality. As much as he wanted Ryo for himself, he also wanted to break open the cage of self-deception Ryo had trapped himself in by trying to repress his desires. It wasn’t healthy. He deserved to have a happy life and a fulfilling relationship, and Dee wanted to give him both.
‘Even if it ends up not being with me.’
After all, loving someone meant being willing to let them go.
Thankfully, letting go turned out to be unnecessary, because here Dee was, with the love of his life still in his arms.
Worth the effort? Without a doubt.
The End