FAKE Ficlet: Being Alone Is Lonely
Title: Being Alone Is Lonely
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee, JJ
Rating: G
Setting: Vol. 1 Act 4
Summary: Ryo’s sick and feeling very alone.
Word Count: 451
Written For: juliet316’s prompt ‘Author's choice, author's choice, sleepytime’ at
fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
Home, meds taken, and tucked up in bed, Ryo’s feeling a bit better already; Dee’s so good to him. The same can’t be said for the third person in the room.
JJ’s being a pain, which comes as no surprise really; Dee’s all for staying, taking care of Ryo all night long, but JJ is determined they should leave. He claims it’s because Ryo needs to sleep, but it’s clear enough that he simply wants to go home and has no intention of leaving Dee and Ryo alone together. What he thinks they’ll get up to, Ryo can’t imagine; he’s sick, and anyway, he’s not interested in Dee that way. (He isn’t, he insists to himself when that annoying little voice in the back of his mind whispers ‘liar!’) JJ can have Dee, for all he cares. Except, of course, that Dee’s not interested.
The argument doesn’t last long, but the end result is a foregone conclusion; both JJ and Dee leave, closing the bedroom door behind them, and suddenly Ryo is all alone. His bed has never seemed bigger or emptier. It’s bad enough that he’s sick, the fever making him dizzy and weak, but being alone just makes him feel worse. To cap it all, Bikky is away at summer camp.
Sitting there, propped up with pillows, Ryo can’t help thinking he really wouldn’t have minded if Dee had stayed a bit longer; the company would’ve been nice. But that’s just the fever talking, isn’t it? It’s not like he needs Dee or anything, he’s fine on his own. Loneliness threatens to overwhelm him and the night seems to stretch out endlessly; dawn is so far away. There’s only one thing he can do. Time for a nap; can’t go wrong with sleep
Settling down and pulling the covers up around his ears like he used to when he was a child, Ryo lies there willing sleep to come. Of course, it doesn’t; the apartment feels so cold and empty he can’t even bring himself to close his eyes. When the door opens with a muted click, Ryo’s startled, but it’s just Dee, creeping back now he’s managed to give JJ the slip. Ryo’s heart skips a beat and a warm sensation spreads through him that has nothing to do with his fever; Dee came back to look after him!
Knowing someone else is there, that he’s not completely alone, is more comforting than he’d like to admit. Listening to Dee bustling about somewhere in the apartment, cleaning and tidying, is surprisingly soothing; Ryo feels safe, protected, cared for. It’s a good feeling.
At last, with the background noises lulling him, he’s able to close his eyes and sleep.
The End