FAKE Ficlet: Sweet Enough
Title: Sweet Enough
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee
Rating: G
Setting: Vol 1 Act 1, and after Like Like Love
Summary: Ryo thinks back on the early days working with Dee.
Word Count: 557
Written For: My own prompt ‘FAKE, Dee/Ryo, Sugar,’ at
fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh
A/N: Although I posted the prompt at the community, it was actually given to me by FakeSailorFan. Hope you like the resulting ficlet!
“Sugar?” Ryo offered as he set a mug of coffee in front of Dee that first morning after his new work partner had slept over. Bikky was already wolfing down a bowl of cereal, too intent on eating to pay any attention to the two adults.
“No thanks,” Dee winked, “I’m already sweet enough.”
Ryo quickly looked away to hide the faint blush that heated his cheeks at Dee’s comment. Turning his attention back to breakfast cooking on the stove, he busied himself with scrambled eggs and bacon. He didn’t know what to make of Dee; there was something about the guy that just left him feeling confused and off balance.
‘It’s because you’re attracted to him,’ the annoying little voice in the back of his mind whispered, the one he’d been trying to ignore his entire adult life. He shook his head in denial. ‘I’m straight,’ he insisted silently. It was easier to lie to himself than to accept the truth.
Ryo never offered Dee sugar for his coffee after that, accepting that his partner preferred it black and unsweetened, just as Ryo himself did most of the time.
But sometimes, the coffee at the 27th precinct was so bad that it needed a little something…
OoOoOoO
“Ugh, this is foul!” Ryo screwed up his face at his first sip. The coffee was good and hot, but so bitter it almost brought tears to his eyes and he reached for the sugar, just to take the edge off. He was tired and needed the caffeine, but he couldn’t drink this swill neat.
“Drake can’t make coffee to save his life,” Dee chuckled, amused. “Sugar won’t help, trust me. C’mon, I’ll let you in on a little secret.” Dragging Ryo back to their desks, Dee unlocked his bottom drawer and after checking no one else was watching, pulled out a bar of chocolate, broke off two squares and quickly locked the rest in his drawer again. “Never leave consumables lying around on your desk. Drake’s a bottomless pit of hunger and eats anything that isn’t nailed down. Here you go.” He dropped a square of chocolate into each cup. “Just stir until it’s melted. Works way better than sugar.”
Ryo did as instructed, and when he tasted the coffee again, he had to admit Dee was right. The sweetness of the chocolate balanced out the bitterness of the coffee, making it almost palatable.
“Better?” Dee was grinning at Ryo over the rim of his mug.
“Much better. Thanks, Dee.”
There was that wink again. “Stick with me, bud, I’ll never let down.”
OoOoOoO
Puttering around in the kitchen after breakfast one morning, thinking back to those long gone days, Ryo found himself smiling. Dee had kept his word and now, years later, they were living together.
Dee was rummaging through the cupboards, looking for something and muttering curses. “We’re out of sugar, babe.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’re already sweet enough.”
Dee turned towards him.
“Yeah?”
“Definitely.” Ryo leant in for a kiss to prove it. “Love you, Dee.”
“Love you too, babe. C’mon, we’d better get a move on or we’ll be late for work.”
Ryo snatched up his coat and followed Dee out the door. Life had got so much better since he’d stopped ignoring what that little voice was telling him and started listening to his heart instead.
The End