FAKE Ficlet: Harsh Treatment
Title: Harsh Treatment
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo, JJ.
Rating: PG
Setting: Early in the manga.
Summary: Ryo doesn’t understand why Dee has to be so mean to JJ.
Word Count: 955
Written For: Challenge 425: String at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“Get the Hell away from me!” Dee snarled as JJ bounced towards him, all bright-eyed and eager to greet the man of his dreams. For once, JJ got the message and backed off, blue eyes wide with shock, and a hurt expression on his face.
“That was a bit harsh, wasn’t it, Dee? Couldn’t you at least try to be a bit nicer to him?” Ryo said mildly. He didn’t really feel he had the right to reprimand his partner, they hadn’t been working together all that long, but he was sure JJ meant well.
Dee threw an incredulous look Ryo’s way. “Why would I ever wanna do that? If I started bein’ nice to him, he’d get the wrong idea, think I was finally comin’ around to his way of thinkin’ when I’m not. By settin’ him straight I’m doin’ him a favour, even if he doesn’t see it that way. It might hurt now, but it’s better than stringin’ him along and keepin’ his hopes up over somethin’ that’s never gonna happen. Sometimes ya gotta be cruel to be kind.”
“But it’s like kicking a puppy. He really likes you.”
“That’s his problem, not mine. Look, I know he’s got a gigantic crush on me, but it’s not like I’ve ever given him any encouragement. If he just wanted to be friends, I’d be fine with that, he’s okay as a person, I just don’t like him the way he wants me to. Never have, never will.”
“Have you tried telling him that?”
“’Course I have, d’ya think I’m an idiot? He just doesn’t wanna hear it. I saved his ass one time at the academy, and what started out as a bad case of hero worship turned into some sort of obsession, but I’m not responsible for that: it’s all on JJ. He followed me practically everywhere until graduation, and I tried lettin’ him down gently, but it didn’t change a damn thing! I swear he only hears what he wants to hear.”
“You make him sound like some kind of stalker.”
“Now you’re gettin’ it! I thought I’d escaped from him when we graduated and he got assigned to some place in L.A. for specialist trainin’, but now he’s shown up here, not just in New York but right where I work! I’m not gonna reward him for trackin’ me down; that would send the wrong message. Fact is, I don’t want him here, and if I could, I’d tell the old badger to send him right back where he came from. The two-seven doesn’t need him!”
“He’s a trained sniper though, and a really good shot,” Ryo pointed out.
“So what? He’s not the only police sniper in the state, and you’re just as good a shot as he is.”
“Not really, I haven’t had all the training he has.”
“Maybe that’s ‘cause you didn’t need. He’s been trained, but you’re the one with the natural talent. I don’t see why you haveta wind up bein’ second string just because frickin’ JJ Adams got himself assigned to this precinct. Makes me wonder who he paid to get his choice of assignment.”
“Dee!” Ryo was genuinely shocked.
“What?”
“You’re practically accusing a fellow officer of bribery!” Ryo kept his voice low so that no one would overhear, not that there was anyone else around.
Dee just shrugged. “The kid’s rich, as in, he doesn’t even need to work for a livin’. I’m not sayin’ he actually did it, but he could easily afford to slip a few grand under the table to make sure he got assigned here instead of some other precinct.”
“Still, that’s a horrible thing to say about anyone, unless you can prove it.”
“I can’t, and I’m not gonna try so you can relax. I just wouldn’t put it past him. Obsessed people do crazy stuff.”
“And you’ve really never encouraged him?” That was hard for Ryo to believe; Dee seemed like the love ‘em and leave ‘em kind, seducing anyone he considered attractive enough to be worth the effort.
“Never, I swear. He’s thrown himself at me more times than I can count, but all the times he’s kissed me I’ve never kissed back, just pushed him away and told him I’m not interested. Doesn’t matter what I say though, it never works.”
‘I know the feeling,’ Ryo thought, but he didn’t say it out loud. “Yelling at him still seems cruel.”
“Yeah? You come up with a better alternative, one that’ll actually work, and I’ll do it. Hell, I’d do anything short of goin’ out with him if it would just get him to leave me alone.” Dee looked hopefully at Ryo, who could only shake his head.
“Sorry, but if I think of anything I’ll let you know.”
“You do that. In the meantime, just let me handle the JJ problem my own way.”
“Okay, just try not to kill him. We ARE supposed to be on the same side, remember.”
“Haha, funny guy.”
Making his way to his desk, Ryo sat down and turned his computer on. It probably would be best to keep out of Dee’s problems with JJ; it really wasn’t any of his business, and besides, he had his own problems to deal with regarding Dee. He wasn’t sure whether to feel disappointed or relieved that his partner wanted nothing to do with their new colleague. On one hand, it would solve his own problems if Dee and JJ were an item, but on the other hand, seeing JJ kissing Dee that time hadn’t been a pleasant experience.
Getting his reading glasses out he slipped them on and sighed. Why did everything have to be so hard to figure out?
The End
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo, JJ.
Rating: PG
Setting: Early in the manga.
Summary: Ryo doesn’t understand why Dee has to be so mean to JJ.
Word Count: 955
Written For: Challenge 425: String at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“Get the Hell away from me!” Dee snarled as JJ bounced towards him, all bright-eyed and eager to greet the man of his dreams. For once, JJ got the message and backed off, blue eyes wide with shock, and a hurt expression on his face.
“That was a bit harsh, wasn’t it, Dee? Couldn’t you at least try to be a bit nicer to him?” Ryo said mildly. He didn’t really feel he had the right to reprimand his partner, they hadn’t been working together all that long, but he was sure JJ meant well.
Dee threw an incredulous look Ryo’s way. “Why would I ever wanna do that? If I started bein’ nice to him, he’d get the wrong idea, think I was finally comin’ around to his way of thinkin’ when I’m not. By settin’ him straight I’m doin’ him a favour, even if he doesn’t see it that way. It might hurt now, but it’s better than stringin’ him along and keepin’ his hopes up over somethin’ that’s never gonna happen. Sometimes ya gotta be cruel to be kind.”
“But it’s like kicking a puppy. He really likes you.”
“That’s his problem, not mine. Look, I know he’s got a gigantic crush on me, but it’s not like I’ve ever given him any encouragement. If he just wanted to be friends, I’d be fine with that, he’s okay as a person, I just don’t like him the way he wants me to. Never have, never will.”
“Have you tried telling him that?”
“’Course I have, d’ya think I’m an idiot? He just doesn’t wanna hear it. I saved his ass one time at the academy, and what started out as a bad case of hero worship turned into some sort of obsession, but I’m not responsible for that: it’s all on JJ. He followed me practically everywhere until graduation, and I tried lettin’ him down gently, but it didn’t change a damn thing! I swear he only hears what he wants to hear.”
“You make him sound like some kind of stalker.”
“Now you’re gettin’ it! I thought I’d escaped from him when we graduated and he got assigned to some place in L.A. for specialist trainin’, but now he’s shown up here, not just in New York but right where I work! I’m not gonna reward him for trackin’ me down; that would send the wrong message. Fact is, I don’t want him here, and if I could, I’d tell the old badger to send him right back where he came from. The two-seven doesn’t need him!”
“He’s a trained sniper though, and a really good shot,” Ryo pointed out.
“So what? He’s not the only police sniper in the state, and you’re just as good a shot as he is.”
“Not really, I haven’t had all the training he has.”
“Maybe that’s ‘cause you didn’t need. He’s been trained, but you’re the one with the natural talent. I don’t see why you haveta wind up bein’ second string just because frickin’ JJ Adams got himself assigned to this precinct. Makes me wonder who he paid to get his choice of assignment.”
“Dee!” Ryo was genuinely shocked.
“What?”
“You’re practically accusing a fellow officer of bribery!” Ryo kept his voice low so that no one would overhear, not that there was anyone else around.
Dee just shrugged. “The kid’s rich, as in, he doesn’t even need to work for a livin’. I’m not sayin’ he actually did it, but he could easily afford to slip a few grand under the table to make sure he got assigned here instead of some other precinct.”
“Still, that’s a horrible thing to say about anyone, unless you can prove it.”
“I can’t, and I’m not gonna try so you can relax. I just wouldn’t put it past him. Obsessed people do crazy stuff.”
“And you’ve really never encouraged him?” That was hard for Ryo to believe; Dee seemed like the love ‘em and leave ‘em kind, seducing anyone he considered attractive enough to be worth the effort.
“Never, I swear. He’s thrown himself at me more times than I can count, but all the times he’s kissed me I’ve never kissed back, just pushed him away and told him I’m not interested. Doesn’t matter what I say though, it never works.”
‘I know the feeling,’ Ryo thought, but he didn’t say it out loud. “Yelling at him still seems cruel.”
“Yeah? You come up with a better alternative, one that’ll actually work, and I’ll do it. Hell, I’d do anything short of goin’ out with him if it would just get him to leave me alone.” Dee looked hopefully at Ryo, who could only shake his head.
“Sorry, but if I think of anything I’ll let you know.”
“You do that. In the meantime, just let me handle the JJ problem my own way.”
“Okay, just try not to kill him. We ARE supposed to be on the same side, remember.”
“Haha, funny guy.”
Making his way to his desk, Ryo sat down and turned his computer on. It probably would be best to keep out of Dee’s problems with JJ; it really wasn’t any of his business, and besides, he had his own problems to deal with regarding Dee. He wasn’t sure whether to feel disappointed or relieved that his partner wanted nothing to do with their new colleague. On one hand, it would solve his own problems if Dee and JJ were an item, but on the other hand, seeing JJ kissing Dee that time hadn’t been a pleasant experience.
Getting his reading glasses out he slipped them on and sighed. Why did everything have to be so hard to figure out?
The End