FAKE Fic: A Good Friend
Title: A Good Friend
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG
Setting: After Like Like Love.
Summary: Dee is busy wallowing in self-recrimination when an unexpected friend shows up to give him a good talking to.
Word Count: 1534
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 334: Smoke at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
Dee stepped out onto the roof of the precinct house with a sigh of relief, glad to be out of the stuffy squad room where the air conditioning had yet to be turned on despite the hot weather, leaving everyone feeling sticky and irritable. Looking around briefly to make sure he was alone, he pulled a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one, feeling guilty even as he drew the smoke deep into his lungs. Good thing he had some breath mints in his other pocket.
He was supposed to be quitting smoking, had promised Ryo he would, but today was simply proving too stressful and he badly needed the calming effects of his long-time vice. He told himself he was only going to take a couple of puffs, just enough to satisfy his nicotine craving, then he’d extinguish his smoke, but one puff led to another, and another, and before he knew it, he was almost down to the filter.
“I’m weak willed,” he muttered, ashamed of having given in to temptation. “Should stub it out right now.” He knew he wouldn’t though; what was a couple more puffs at this point? Stubbing it out would be a waste. He set the cig to his lips again.
“Thought I’d probably find you up here,” a cheery voice said behind him. Damn, he’d been caught; that was all he needed. He didn’t bother turning around.
“What d’you want, JJ?”
“We decided someone should check on you, to make sure you were okay, so here I am.”
“Well, now you’ve seen I’m not about to throw myself off the roof, you can go away again. I came up here to be alone.”
“I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I did that.” JJ moved to stand beside Dee, where he was leaning on the surrounding wall, staring sightlessly across the nearby rooftops. “You have to stop blaming yourself, Dee. What happened wasn’t your fault.”
Dee snorted a laugh, but there was no humor in it. He took a final drag on his cigarette and blew smoke into the air before looking at the stub and deciding that was as much as he was going to get from this cigarette. If he wanted more, he’d have to light up another. Maybe he would, just say to hell with quitting; he’d been a smoker for half his life so why stop now? Only he’d already let Ryo down more than enough. One surreptitious cig in extreme circumstances could perhaps be forgiven, but not two. He crushed the stub out viciously on the top of the wall, almost burning one finger as he did so. Well, he probably deserved to suffer after what he’d done. Or rather, after what he’d failed to do.
“Not my fault? That’s easy for you to say. You weren’t there, and it’s not your partner who’s laid up in the hospital with a bullet in him. I should’a seen that guy. I was supposed to have Ryo’s back!”
“I hate to tell you this, my friend, but you don’t have precognition, or not that I know of. You’re not infallible, just human like the rest of us.”
“Yeah? Never thought I’d hear you say that. You used to think I could do anything.”
“You were my hero, plus I had a gigantic crush on you; of course I thought you could do anything. I was blinded by my infatuation.”
“Not any more though, huh?”
JJ shook his head, then shrugged. “Well, not like I used to be, but you’re still kind of my hero for rescuing me that time back at the academy. Probably always will be.”
A bitter laugh escaped Dee’s lips. “I’m nobody’s hero. I got my lover shot; he’s in the hospital because I didn’t do my job well enough.”
“Will you quit with the pity party?” JJ rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Ryo got shot because the two of you were ambushed. You thought you were meeting with an informant; you had no reason to think it was a set-up!”
“I should’a seen the gunman!” Dee yelled.
“You can’t look in every direction at once, Dee, or you couldn’t last time I checked. Maybe if you had eyes in the back of your head or something, but you don’t.”
“Ryo could’a been killed!”
“So could you. Ryo didn’t see the shooter either, not until the first shot was fired.”
The first bullet had missed simply because Ryo had been turning to say something to Dee just as the shooter fired. The second shot had hit him in the shoulder, but by then Ryo had already been returning fire. His aim had been a little higher than he’d intended, and his shot had clipped the shooter’s neck, shredding an artery. He’d bled out before anyone could get to him, because Dee had been too busy calling for backup and an ambulance, while trying to keep pressure on his partner’s wound.
“It should’a been me.” Dee closed his eyes, reliving that horrific moment yet again, the sheer terror he’d felt as Ryo had fallen to the ground, blood leaking between his fingers as he clutched at his shoulder.
“Dee, I know how awful it feels to see your partner go down, but Ryo’s going to be fine, the bullet didn’t hit anything vital. He’ll be home in a day or two, and then you can knock yourself out pampering him, but second guessing what you should have done won’t help him, or you. We’re cops; bad things sometimes happen. You didn’t shoot Ryo, and the guy who did is dead, so pull yourself together. There’s still work to be done, and it won’t get done if all you’re doing is moping about up here smoking your way through a pack of cigarettes.” JJ frowned at the former object of his adoration. “Didn’t you say you were quitting?”
“I had one cigarette, JJ, just one, and only ‘cause I was feelin’ stressed!” Dee corrected.
“Did it help?”
Shoulders sagging, Dee shook his head. “Not so you’d notice.”
“How about I make you a nice cup of tea instead? Drake says I make really good tea, and tea is a lot better for you than cigarettes.”
Ryo was usually the one to made tea for Dee when he was stressed, and he said pretty much the same thing about it.
Dee managed a weak smile. “Yeah, thanks JJ, tea would be great. You’re a good friend.”
JJ smiled ruefully. “I’m trying to be. I have a lot to make up for.”
“Just one thing… You won’t tell Ryo you caught me smokin’, will you?”
“Smoking?” There was a look of complete innocence on JJ’s face. “Were you? I certainly didn’t see any such thing. Would you like a breath mint? Having fresh breath is important, even when you definitely haven’t been smoking.”
“Got some of my own.” Dee dug the packet from his pocket and popped one in his mouth. Then he dug in his other pocket, pulling out the crumpled pack of smokes. “Do me a favor and get rid of these for me? I don’t need the temptation.” He’d been keeping them in the glovebox of his car, in case of emergencies.
“I’ll see to it. Discreetly.” JJ took the packet and made it disappear, like he was doing a magic trick.
Despite himself, Dee was impressed; apparently there was more to JJ than he’d ever realised. “One day you’ll haveta show me how you do that.”
JJ winked. “A magician never reveals his secrets. Here.” He held something out to Dee. “Nicotine gum; thought you might need it. I’ve heard it helps with the cravings. You should have thought of that yourself, but I guess you’ve had other things on your mind. Come on, I’ll make you that tea.”
“A hot drink on a hot day. You know I’ll probably melt, right?”
“But you’ll be relaxed.”
“Yeah, so relaxed all that’ll be left of me is a puddle on the floor.”
“The Chief said maintenance should have the A/C running soon, and then it’ll probably be so cold in the squad room we’ll all need hot tea to warm us up.”
Dee chuckled. “Ain’t that the truth.”
“A word of advice, Dee; when you go to visit Ryo later, don’t say anything about blaming yourself for what happened. You’ll just make him feel bad.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You do that.”
JJ led the way back down the stairs and Dee followed; the smoke may not have made him feel any better, but surprisingly, talking to JJ had helped him to put things into perspective.
Ryo would be fine; his injury hadn’t been anywhere near as bad as it could have been. They’d both gotten lucky, but any blame that might exist deserved to be laid squarely at the feet of the guy who’d set them up and tried to kill them, and he wouldn’t be getting a second chance.
Nevertheless, Dee made a mental note to be more alert in future when going to meet an informant. Cops could never be too careful, and next time he and Ryo might not be so lucky.
The End
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo.
Rating: PG
Setting: After Like Like Love.
Summary: Dee is busy wallowing in self-recrimination when an unexpected friend shows up to give him a good talking to.
Word Count: 1534
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 334: Smoke at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
Dee stepped out onto the roof of the precinct house with a sigh of relief, glad to be out of the stuffy squad room where the air conditioning had yet to be turned on despite the hot weather, leaving everyone feeling sticky and irritable. Looking around briefly to make sure he was alone, he pulled a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one, feeling guilty even as he drew the smoke deep into his lungs. Good thing he had some breath mints in his other pocket.
He was supposed to be quitting smoking, had promised Ryo he would, but today was simply proving too stressful and he badly needed the calming effects of his long-time vice. He told himself he was only going to take a couple of puffs, just enough to satisfy his nicotine craving, then he’d extinguish his smoke, but one puff led to another, and another, and before he knew it, he was almost down to the filter.
“I’m weak willed,” he muttered, ashamed of having given in to temptation. “Should stub it out right now.” He knew he wouldn’t though; what was a couple more puffs at this point? Stubbing it out would be a waste. He set the cig to his lips again.
“Thought I’d probably find you up here,” a cheery voice said behind him. Damn, he’d been caught; that was all he needed. He didn’t bother turning around.
“What d’you want, JJ?”
“We decided someone should check on you, to make sure you were okay, so here I am.”
“Well, now you’ve seen I’m not about to throw myself off the roof, you can go away again. I came up here to be alone.”
“I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I did that.” JJ moved to stand beside Dee, where he was leaning on the surrounding wall, staring sightlessly across the nearby rooftops. “You have to stop blaming yourself, Dee. What happened wasn’t your fault.”
Dee snorted a laugh, but there was no humor in it. He took a final drag on his cigarette and blew smoke into the air before looking at the stub and deciding that was as much as he was going to get from this cigarette. If he wanted more, he’d have to light up another. Maybe he would, just say to hell with quitting; he’d been a smoker for half his life so why stop now? Only he’d already let Ryo down more than enough. One surreptitious cig in extreme circumstances could perhaps be forgiven, but not two. He crushed the stub out viciously on the top of the wall, almost burning one finger as he did so. Well, he probably deserved to suffer after what he’d done. Or rather, after what he’d failed to do.
“Not my fault? That’s easy for you to say. You weren’t there, and it’s not your partner who’s laid up in the hospital with a bullet in him. I should’a seen that guy. I was supposed to have Ryo’s back!”
“I hate to tell you this, my friend, but you don’t have precognition, or not that I know of. You’re not infallible, just human like the rest of us.”
“Yeah? Never thought I’d hear you say that. You used to think I could do anything.”
“You were my hero, plus I had a gigantic crush on you; of course I thought you could do anything. I was blinded by my infatuation.”
“Not any more though, huh?”
JJ shook his head, then shrugged. “Well, not like I used to be, but you’re still kind of my hero for rescuing me that time back at the academy. Probably always will be.”
A bitter laugh escaped Dee’s lips. “I’m nobody’s hero. I got my lover shot; he’s in the hospital because I didn’t do my job well enough.”
“Will you quit with the pity party?” JJ rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Ryo got shot because the two of you were ambushed. You thought you were meeting with an informant; you had no reason to think it was a set-up!”
“I should’a seen the gunman!” Dee yelled.
“You can’t look in every direction at once, Dee, or you couldn’t last time I checked. Maybe if you had eyes in the back of your head or something, but you don’t.”
“Ryo could’a been killed!”
“So could you. Ryo didn’t see the shooter either, not until the first shot was fired.”
The first bullet had missed simply because Ryo had been turning to say something to Dee just as the shooter fired. The second shot had hit him in the shoulder, but by then Ryo had already been returning fire. His aim had been a little higher than he’d intended, and his shot had clipped the shooter’s neck, shredding an artery. He’d bled out before anyone could get to him, because Dee had been too busy calling for backup and an ambulance, while trying to keep pressure on his partner’s wound.
“It should’a been me.” Dee closed his eyes, reliving that horrific moment yet again, the sheer terror he’d felt as Ryo had fallen to the ground, blood leaking between his fingers as he clutched at his shoulder.
“Dee, I know how awful it feels to see your partner go down, but Ryo’s going to be fine, the bullet didn’t hit anything vital. He’ll be home in a day or two, and then you can knock yourself out pampering him, but second guessing what you should have done won’t help him, or you. We’re cops; bad things sometimes happen. You didn’t shoot Ryo, and the guy who did is dead, so pull yourself together. There’s still work to be done, and it won’t get done if all you’re doing is moping about up here smoking your way through a pack of cigarettes.” JJ frowned at the former object of his adoration. “Didn’t you say you were quitting?”
“I had one cigarette, JJ, just one, and only ‘cause I was feelin’ stressed!” Dee corrected.
“Did it help?”
Shoulders sagging, Dee shook his head. “Not so you’d notice.”
“How about I make you a nice cup of tea instead? Drake says I make really good tea, and tea is a lot better for you than cigarettes.”
Ryo was usually the one to made tea for Dee when he was stressed, and he said pretty much the same thing about it.
Dee managed a weak smile. “Yeah, thanks JJ, tea would be great. You’re a good friend.”
JJ smiled ruefully. “I’m trying to be. I have a lot to make up for.”
“Just one thing… You won’t tell Ryo you caught me smokin’, will you?”
“Smoking?” There was a look of complete innocence on JJ’s face. “Were you? I certainly didn’t see any such thing. Would you like a breath mint? Having fresh breath is important, even when you definitely haven’t been smoking.”
“Got some of my own.” Dee dug the packet from his pocket and popped one in his mouth. Then he dug in his other pocket, pulling out the crumpled pack of smokes. “Do me a favor and get rid of these for me? I don’t need the temptation.” He’d been keeping them in the glovebox of his car, in case of emergencies.
“I’ll see to it. Discreetly.” JJ took the packet and made it disappear, like he was doing a magic trick.
Despite himself, Dee was impressed; apparently there was more to JJ than he’d ever realised. “One day you’ll haveta show me how you do that.”
JJ winked. “A magician never reveals his secrets. Here.” He held something out to Dee. “Nicotine gum; thought you might need it. I’ve heard it helps with the cravings. You should have thought of that yourself, but I guess you’ve had other things on your mind. Come on, I’ll make you that tea.”
“A hot drink on a hot day. You know I’ll probably melt, right?”
“But you’ll be relaxed.”
“Yeah, so relaxed all that’ll be left of me is a puddle on the floor.”
“The Chief said maintenance should have the A/C running soon, and then it’ll probably be so cold in the squad room we’ll all need hot tea to warm us up.”
Dee chuckled. “Ain’t that the truth.”
“A word of advice, Dee; when you go to visit Ryo later, don’t say anything about blaming yourself for what happened. You’ll just make him feel bad.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You do that.”
JJ led the way back down the stairs and Dee followed; the smoke may not have made him feel any better, but surprisingly, talking to JJ had helped him to put things into perspective.
Ryo would be fine; his injury hadn’t been anywhere near as bad as it could have been. They’d both gotten lucky, but any blame that might exist deserved to be laid squarely at the feet of the guy who’d set them up and tried to kill them, and he wouldn’t be getting a second chance.
Nevertheless, Dee made a mental note to be more alert in future when going to meet an informant. Cops could never be too careful, and next time he and Ryo might not be so lucky.
The End