Mini Fic: Beer and Bisexuality
Crippling self doubt aside - I ficced! Oops.
Promised myself I'd stop playing with it and actually post it. So here it is.
(Please ignore any English-isms in here)
Title: Beer and Bisexuality
Fandom: Fake
Characters: Drake x JJ and Ted
Word Count: 2,283
Time Line: Set about 6 months before Like Like Love
Disclaimer: Not my characters, not my incredible manga, absolutely no money has changed hands other than me purchasing the entire series and OVA and loving every minute of them.
“Jesus, not you too!”
“Shh! Would you keep it down?!” Drake hissed, trying to hide behind his beer.
Ted didn’t seem to listen.
“First we get Dee, bouncing his sexuality off the walls, then JJ turns up and starts flouncing around, last month fucking Randy comes out of the closet, you wouldn’t believe half the rumours I’ve heard about the commish, and now you too?”
Drake eyed him glumly.
Ted paled. “Shit, does this mean I’m next?!”
“I, uh, don’t think it works like that.”
“Coulda fooled me.”
Drake raised the pint glass to his lips and took a mouthful. Maybe it wasn’t just coincidence, maybe it had something to do with the screening process. Maybe it was less some sort of cosmic force that brought together the high density of bisexuals in precinct 27, maybe someone higher up was sussing them out and shifting them all to the same office.
Couldn’t be possible, Drake thought stiffly, he’d only just worked himself out, until a month ago he could have sworn Ryo was straight and the stuff about Commissioner Rose were only rumours after all. Plus there was Marty and the Chief, they both had wives and kids, and Jim, that guy from the lab, he was pretty sure Jim was straight, and then there was Ted, good old reliable Ted - who was looking at him oddly.
“What..?”
“Why tell me?”
“Huh?”
“Well, considering the topic, why not Dee or JJ?”
“I uh,” Drake fished for the explanation that sounded most reasonable and came back to the one he had practiced twice that morning “I’ve known you the longest man, you know we go way back.”
The redhead stared anxiously at the bottom of his glass for a moment.
“So are you… interested in anyone? Or is this a general feeling of gayness?” Ted said with as much casualness as he muster.
Drake waved the waitress over. He indicated, with a polite two fingered gesture, that they wanted another round. He stared at Ted for a long moment as he weighed up his words. When the waitress reached them, he offered her a shaky smile as she cleaned up their empty glasses.
“Kind of interested… I think.” As soon as the words left his mouth Drake felt himself struggle with the implications of saying too much.
Ted looked momentarily panicked.
“Look, when you said you wanted to talk, I thought….”
“It’s not you.”
“Oh,” Ted exhaled and relaxed into his seat. He paused thoughtfully for a moment, then briskly straightened himself up and pointed an accusing finger in Drakes direction. “Well, why the hell not?!”
Drake smirked.
“Not my type.”
Sensing danger had passed, Ted met Drake with a warm, genuine smile. “You know I’m cool with you any which way right?”
Drake nodded and smiled with renewed confidence when the waitress handed him another cold beer. She returned his smile with a wink.
“Thanks.”
She was a pretty young thing, early twenties in Drakes estimate; probably a bit young, but definitely a possibility. He watched her head back towards the bar.
“Nuh uh.”
“What?”
“You don’t get to pull the whole ‘coming out’ thing then check out the waitress.”
“I am not ‘coming out’. I’m just curious is all.”
“You said you have a type.”
“No, not really… Well, sort of,”
“Ahh, I get it.” Ted said with a sly grin. “It’s not a ‘type’ it’s a particular guy isn’t it?”
Drake felt his cheeks heat. Ted pressed; “Anyone I know?”
“Ah, not really.”
Ted could recognise a lie when he heard one, no need for fine detective skills here, Drake never could bluff convincingly, it was one of the reasons Ted loved playing poker with him.
“Tell me about him.”
Drake looked sceptical.
“You really wanna know?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, well, he’s different. Kinda considerate I guess, sort of compassionate, at times anyway.” To Teds keen ear, it sounded as if Drake was struggling with himself over something, probably trying not to give too much away. “Handsome, confident, but not all over the top arrogant with it. Reliable.”
Ted studied Drakes description, most of that could apply to almost anyone. Not arrogant… that ruled out Dee at least. Reliable; that one stood out to Ted. He knew there weren’t many people Drake spent time with outside of work and even fewer he knew the other man could trust. That narrowed it down to work. Hell, almost everyone there was reliable. He hoped it wasn’t Ryo, that poor guy had enough on his plate with Dee and the Commissioner (if the rumours turned out to be true) and really didn’t need anything to further complicate matters. Belatedly, Ted realised Drake was still talking.
“He’s got this… well, this energy. It picks you up just being around him.”
Energy? There was only one person at the 27th Ted would describe as being overly energetic… Inspiration suddenly struck.
“Fuck it’s JJ!” he grinned “It’s JJ isn’t it?!”
“Shhh!” Drake spat across the table, “Tell the whole world why don’t ya?”
Ted erupted in laughter, rocking back on his chair as an expression of annoyance settled itself on Drake features.
“He’s all of like… five foot six,”
“Five four.” Drake corrected with a murmur.
“What?” Ted beamed.
“He wears those shoes with these heels on, gives him an extra couple of inches.”
“Dude, that is such a wife thing to say.”
“Hey now, It’s not like that.”
Ted seemed to collect himself, although he couldn’t quite get the grin to leave his face.
“Seriously? But you’re so laid back, and he’s all” he waved his hands about for dramatic flair “happy happy joy joy, the guy practically bounces.”
Drake reached for his glass.
“He could kick your ass.” He grumbled.
Ted opened his mouth to protest, but was met instead with a vivid memory of the last time he’d seen JJ at work. They’d been on the rooftop and the younger man had been poised, crouched over his rifle, focusing intently on the street below. Drake was down there somewhere, facing off a guy with a gun and a hostage. Ted watched as JJ calmly picked his moment, took aim, squeezed the trigger just once and pulled off the perfect shot. As the perp turned his gun towards Drake his knees buckled beneath him. He dropped like a stone.
It had been eerie how calm and still JJ had been, yet tense energy had vibrated just under the surface, how intent he was on his target, so focused; everything in Ted’s world shuddered at the sound of that rifle firing. Then JJ had gotten up, taken a moment to reassure himself that the situation was under control, pulled off his goggles and smiled up at Ted, asking the older man if he’d brought coffee. It was a small, much more subdued, almost relieved smile than Ted was used to. But it was still there. The very thought of it made him bristle.
It was true that JJ was normally so happy go lucky that most of the members of the 27th often forgot that he could drop a man without breaking a sweat. In Teds opinion that should never be underestimated.
“I dunno,” Ted conceded after giving the matter some thought, “maybe.”
They sat in companionable silence for a moment while he considered this.
Eventually Ted spoke up. “Are you going to tell him?”
“No, no I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“He’s my partner, it would make work awkward.”
“At least you know he’s gay.” Ted ventured. “No hurdle there.”
“Gay and obsessed.” Drake countered.
“Ah! But Dee’s with Ryo now. JJ’s going to have to accept that sooner or…” Ted paused, caught off guard by Drake’s thunderstruck look. “What? You didn’t know?”
The brunette shook his head.
“I thought…”
“Definitely doing it.” Ted nodded knowingly, holding one finger in the air as if to clarify his point. “Have you seen how happy Dee’s been lately? That’s definitely a guy who’s getting some on a regular basis.”
“Huh,” Drake lifted the glass to his lips, but paused thoughtfully before drinking. “Guess that explains why Ryo suddenly decided to out himself.”
“I think he was pushed.” Ted elaborated. “Reckon they were caught doing something not entirely work focused in the office, had to come clean.”
“Who’d you hear that from?”
“Janet,”
“Ah…” Drake sighed, and placed his glass back down on the table without taking a sip. “JJ’s going to be upset.”
“He’ll get over it. You’ve pulled him through worse.”
“Yeah.” Drake sighed and pushed his glass away, “Look at me though. I’m not Dee, I’m average looking at best.” He cast a brief reproachful look at his own hands and then began tugging absent mindedly at his sleeves, “JJ’s all Gucci and Armani and me…” He lifted his foot off the floor and waved it in Ted’s direction. “I’ve got holes in my boots.”
“Clothes aren’t everything.” Ted shrugged. “But what do I know, I’m no expert on gay romance. In fact I’m beginning to think I’m the only straight guy left in the precinct.”
“Less competition.” Drake offered, gesturing to the waitress as she passed them on her way to clean another table. Ted stared after her adoringly for a moment before his attention was draw by the shock of colour that had just made his way in through the door.
“Your boyfriends here.” He sniggered pointing a finger towards the bar. It was a useless gesture; JJ’s suit was sharp yellow with a lavender tie that matched his hair. Despite the fact he was small, it was impossible to miss him.
Drake swivelled in his seat to get a better look. When JJ spotted them he waved energetically before turning back to the barmaid and gesturing to his two colleagues. Drake slowly, sheepishly raised a hand and waved back.
Ted turned to the neighbouring table and liberated a chair.
When JJ reached them he placed a rather foamy beer in front of Drake and pushed it towards him with his finger. Ted looked at it with distress.
“Where’s mine?”
“Gee Ted nice to see you too.” JJ sighed, pulling up the spare chair and dropping gracefully into it, “I only have two hands and yours still looked full. Besides…” he reached for Drakes half-finished beer and pushed it towards Ted. “You can finish that.”
Ted glanced cautiously at Drake; there weren’t very many men you could separate from their drink quite so easily. “This one’s his favourite” JJ explained indicating the one he had just brought, “I asked the staff what you were drinking.” When Ted opened his mouth to complain JJ waved a dismissive hand in his direction. “I also paid off some of the tab. You’re welcome.”
Drake took a sip of his new drink and smiled gratefully. He’d let Ted pick the drinks when they arrived and he wasn’t about to complain about free beer, but this one was definitely his favourite. It was also more expensive, so he didn’t drink it often, preferring to opt for quantity over quality when drinking with friends. But when JJ was buying, he always ended up with his favourite.
Accepting that Drake had indeed abandoned his drink, the redhead wasted no time in picking it up and draining it without giving the other man chance to change his mind.
“Drakey,” JJ pouted, running his finger along the rim of his glass, the liquid inside was shocking pink, “Can I crash at your place? I’m meeting friends down the club at nine, and it’s going to be a late night.”
“Your place is closer to work.” Ted encouraged.
“I’ll cook you breakfast.” JJ smiled cajolingly.
The thought of his empty refrigerator briefly crossed Drakes mind. He’d have to go shopping tonight.
“Breakfast in bed,” Ted added with a small grin.
Drake stared across the table at the man he’d known since his police academy days, and briefly considered what it would feel like to strangle him.
“Oh sure.” JJ smiled brightly, somewhat obliviously “Breakfast in bed I can do, anything you want.”
“Bacon?” Drake tried.
“And eggs if you want them.”
“Sure kiddo, I’ll find a space for you.”
“Great.” JJ reached into his pocket. “I’ve still got your keys.” He illustrated by dangling them in front of Drakes nose for a second before snatching them back. “I’ll let myself in and crash on your fugly couch; you won’t even know I’m there.”
“Until he wakes you up with breakfast in the morning.” Ted smirked, pushing out his chair and getting to his feet. He stretched languidly and attempted to shake some of the stiffness from his shoulders. “Well this has been great and all but some of us are on first shift tomorrow.”
“Thanks for today Ted.” Drake offered with a grateful half smile.
“No problem. Later gentlemen.”
~
When Ted reached the bar, he stopped and fished a credit card from his wallet and asked for the tab.
He noted, with interest, that JJ had actually paid half of the tab; every one of Drakes drinks was absent from his bill. He risked a quick glance to the two other men at the back of the bar. The brunette’s stance had changed; he was leaning back in his chair, hands resting on his knees, face drawn into a tired but gentle smile. Ted recognised the ease of posture that came from years of practiced familiarity. JJ was still beside him, talking excitedly and gesticulating something with his hands. When he appeared to talk himself into a corner, Drake reached over and squeezed his shoulder.
Ted paid for his drinks.
“Just curious my ass.” He smiled to himself as he headed for the door.
~
Promised myself I'd stop playing with it and actually post it. So here it is.
(Please ignore any English-isms in here)
Title: Beer and Bisexuality
Fandom: Fake
Characters: Drake x JJ and Ted
Word Count: 2,283
Time Line: Set about 6 months before Like Like Love
Disclaimer: Not my characters, not my incredible manga, absolutely no money has changed hands other than me purchasing the entire series and OVA and loving every minute of them.
“Jesus, not you too!”
“Shh! Would you keep it down?!” Drake hissed, trying to hide behind his beer.
Ted didn’t seem to listen.
“First we get Dee, bouncing his sexuality off the walls, then JJ turns up and starts flouncing around, last month fucking Randy comes out of the closet, you wouldn’t believe half the rumours I’ve heard about the commish, and now you too?”
Drake eyed him glumly.
Ted paled. “Shit, does this mean I’m next?!”
“I, uh, don’t think it works like that.”
“Coulda fooled me.”
Drake raised the pint glass to his lips and took a mouthful. Maybe it wasn’t just coincidence, maybe it had something to do with the screening process. Maybe it was less some sort of cosmic force that brought together the high density of bisexuals in precinct 27, maybe someone higher up was sussing them out and shifting them all to the same office.
Couldn’t be possible, Drake thought stiffly, he’d only just worked himself out, until a month ago he could have sworn Ryo was straight and the stuff about Commissioner Rose were only rumours after all. Plus there was Marty and the Chief, they both had wives and kids, and Jim, that guy from the lab, he was pretty sure Jim was straight, and then there was Ted, good old reliable Ted - who was looking at him oddly.
“What..?”
“Why tell me?”
“Huh?”
“Well, considering the topic, why not Dee or JJ?”
“I uh,” Drake fished for the explanation that sounded most reasonable and came back to the one he had practiced twice that morning “I’ve known you the longest man, you know we go way back.”
The redhead stared anxiously at the bottom of his glass for a moment.
“So are you… interested in anyone? Or is this a general feeling of gayness?” Ted said with as much casualness as he muster.
Drake waved the waitress over. He indicated, with a polite two fingered gesture, that they wanted another round. He stared at Ted for a long moment as he weighed up his words. When the waitress reached them, he offered her a shaky smile as she cleaned up their empty glasses.
“Kind of interested… I think.” As soon as the words left his mouth Drake felt himself struggle with the implications of saying too much.
Ted looked momentarily panicked.
“Look, when you said you wanted to talk, I thought….”
“It’s not you.”
“Oh,” Ted exhaled and relaxed into his seat. He paused thoughtfully for a moment, then briskly straightened himself up and pointed an accusing finger in Drakes direction. “Well, why the hell not?!”
Drake smirked.
“Not my type.”
Sensing danger had passed, Ted met Drake with a warm, genuine smile. “You know I’m cool with you any which way right?”
Drake nodded and smiled with renewed confidence when the waitress handed him another cold beer. She returned his smile with a wink.
“Thanks.”
She was a pretty young thing, early twenties in Drakes estimate; probably a bit young, but definitely a possibility. He watched her head back towards the bar.
“Nuh uh.”
“What?”
“You don’t get to pull the whole ‘coming out’ thing then check out the waitress.”
“I am not ‘coming out’. I’m just curious is all.”
“You said you have a type.”
“No, not really… Well, sort of,”
“Ahh, I get it.” Ted said with a sly grin. “It’s not a ‘type’ it’s a particular guy isn’t it?”
Drake felt his cheeks heat. Ted pressed; “Anyone I know?”
“Ah, not really.”
Ted could recognise a lie when he heard one, no need for fine detective skills here, Drake never could bluff convincingly, it was one of the reasons Ted loved playing poker with him.
“Tell me about him.”
Drake looked sceptical.
“You really wanna know?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, well, he’s different. Kinda considerate I guess, sort of compassionate, at times anyway.” To Teds keen ear, it sounded as if Drake was struggling with himself over something, probably trying not to give too much away. “Handsome, confident, but not all over the top arrogant with it. Reliable.”
Ted studied Drakes description, most of that could apply to almost anyone. Not arrogant… that ruled out Dee at least. Reliable; that one stood out to Ted. He knew there weren’t many people Drake spent time with outside of work and even fewer he knew the other man could trust. That narrowed it down to work. Hell, almost everyone there was reliable. He hoped it wasn’t Ryo, that poor guy had enough on his plate with Dee and the Commissioner (if the rumours turned out to be true) and really didn’t need anything to further complicate matters. Belatedly, Ted realised Drake was still talking.
“He’s got this… well, this energy. It picks you up just being around him.”
Energy? There was only one person at the 27th Ted would describe as being overly energetic… Inspiration suddenly struck.
“Fuck it’s JJ!” he grinned “It’s JJ isn’t it?!”
“Shhh!” Drake spat across the table, “Tell the whole world why don’t ya?”
Ted erupted in laughter, rocking back on his chair as an expression of annoyance settled itself on Drake features.
“He’s all of like… five foot six,”
“Five four.” Drake corrected with a murmur.
“What?” Ted beamed.
“He wears those shoes with these heels on, gives him an extra couple of inches.”
“Dude, that is such a wife thing to say.”
“Hey now, It’s not like that.”
Ted seemed to collect himself, although he couldn’t quite get the grin to leave his face.
“Seriously? But you’re so laid back, and he’s all” he waved his hands about for dramatic flair “happy happy joy joy, the guy practically bounces.”
Drake reached for his glass.
“He could kick your ass.” He grumbled.
Ted opened his mouth to protest, but was met instead with a vivid memory of the last time he’d seen JJ at work. They’d been on the rooftop and the younger man had been poised, crouched over his rifle, focusing intently on the street below. Drake was down there somewhere, facing off a guy with a gun and a hostage. Ted watched as JJ calmly picked his moment, took aim, squeezed the trigger just once and pulled off the perfect shot. As the perp turned his gun towards Drake his knees buckled beneath him. He dropped like a stone.
It had been eerie how calm and still JJ had been, yet tense energy had vibrated just under the surface, how intent he was on his target, so focused; everything in Ted’s world shuddered at the sound of that rifle firing. Then JJ had gotten up, taken a moment to reassure himself that the situation was under control, pulled off his goggles and smiled up at Ted, asking the older man if he’d brought coffee. It was a small, much more subdued, almost relieved smile than Ted was used to. But it was still there. The very thought of it made him bristle.
It was true that JJ was normally so happy go lucky that most of the members of the 27th often forgot that he could drop a man without breaking a sweat. In Teds opinion that should never be underestimated.
“I dunno,” Ted conceded after giving the matter some thought, “maybe.”
They sat in companionable silence for a moment while he considered this.
Eventually Ted spoke up. “Are you going to tell him?”
“No, no I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“He’s my partner, it would make work awkward.”
“At least you know he’s gay.” Ted ventured. “No hurdle there.”
“Gay and obsessed.” Drake countered.
“Ah! But Dee’s with Ryo now. JJ’s going to have to accept that sooner or…” Ted paused, caught off guard by Drake’s thunderstruck look. “What? You didn’t know?”
The brunette shook his head.
“I thought…”
“Definitely doing it.” Ted nodded knowingly, holding one finger in the air as if to clarify his point. “Have you seen how happy Dee’s been lately? That’s definitely a guy who’s getting some on a regular basis.”
“Huh,” Drake lifted the glass to his lips, but paused thoughtfully before drinking. “Guess that explains why Ryo suddenly decided to out himself.”
“I think he was pushed.” Ted elaborated. “Reckon they were caught doing something not entirely work focused in the office, had to come clean.”
“Who’d you hear that from?”
“Janet,”
“Ah…” Drake sighed, and placed his glass back down on the table without taking a sip. “JJ’s going to be upset.”
“He’ll get over it. You’ve pulled him through worse.”
“Yeah.” Drake sighed and pushed his glass away, “Look at me though. I’m not Dee, I’m average looking at best.” He cast a brief reproachful look at his own hands and then began tugging absent mindedly at his sleeves, “JJ’s all Gucci and Armani and me…” He lifted his foot off the floor and waved it in Ted’s direction. “I’ve got holes in my boots.”
“Clothes aren’t everything.” Ted shrugged. “But what do I know, I’m no expert on gay romance. In fact I’m beginning to think I’m the only straight guy left in the precinct.”
“Less competition.” Drake offered, gesturing to the waitress as she passed them on her way to clean another table. Ted stared after her adoringly for a moment before his attention was draw by the shock of colour that had just made his way in through the door.
“Your boyfriends here.” He sniggered pointing a finger towards the bar. It was a useless gesture; JJ’s suit was sharp yellow with a lavender tie that matched his hair. Despite the fact he was small, it was impossible to miss him.
Drake swivelled in his seat to get a better look. When JJ spotted them he waved energetically before turning back to the barmaid and gesturing to his two colleagues. Drake slowly, sheepishly raised a hand and waved back.
Ted turned to the neighbouring table and liberated a chair.
When JJ reached them he placed a rather foamy beer in front of Drake and pushed it towards him with his finger. Ted looked at it with distress.
“Where’s mine?”
“Gee Ted nice to see you too.” JJ sighed, pulling up the spare chair and dropping gracefully into it, “I only have two hands and yours still looked full. Besides…” he reached for Drakes half-finished beer and pushed it towards Ted. “You can finish that.”
Ted glanced cautiously at Drake; there weren’t very many men you could separate from their drink quite so easily. “This one’s his favourite” JJ explained indicating the one he had just brought, “I asked the staff what you were drinking.” When Ted opened his mouth to complain JJ waved a dismissive hand in his direction. “I also paid off some of the tab. You’re welcome.”
Drake took a sip of his new drink and smiled gratefully. He’d let Ted pick the drinks when they arrived and he wasn’t about to complain about free beer, but this one was definitely his favourite. It was also more expensive, so he didn’t drink it often, preferring to opt for quantity over quality when drinking with friends. But when JJ was buying, he always ended up with his favourite.
Accepting that Drake had indeed abandoned his drink, the redhead wasted no time in picking it up and draining it without giving the other man chance to change his mind.
“Drakey,” JJ pouted, running his finger along the rim of his glass, the liquid inside was shocking pink, “Can I crash at your place? I’m meeting friends down the club at nine, and it’s going to be a late night.”
“Your place is closer to work.” Ted encouraged.
“I’ll cook you breakfast.” JJ smiled cajolingly.
The thought of his empty refrigerator briefly crossed Drakes mind. He’d have to go shopping tonight.
“Breakfast in bed,” Ted added with a small grin.
Drake stared across the table at the man he’d known since his police academy days, and briefly considered what it would feel like to strangle him.
“Oh sure.” JJ smiled brightly, somewhat obliviously “Breakfast in bed I can do, anything you want.”
“Bacon?” Drake tried.
“And eggs if you want them.”
“Sure kiddo, I’ll find a space for you.”
“Great.” JJ reached into his pocket. “I’ve still got your keys.” He illustrated by dangling them in front of Drakes nose for a second before snatching them back. “I’ll let myself in and crash on your fugly couch; you won’t even know I’m there.”
“Until he wakes you up with breakfast in the morning.” Ted smirked, pushing out his chair and getting to his feet. He stretched languidly and attempted to shake some of the stiffness from his shoulders. “Well this has been great and all but some of us are on first shift tomorrow.”
“Thanks for today Ted.” Drake offered with a grateful half smile.
“No problem. Later gentlemen.”
~
When Ted reached the bar, he stopped and fished a credit card from his wallet and asked for the tab.
He noted, with interest, that JJ had actually paid half of the tab; every one of Drakes drinks was absent from his bill. He risked a quick glance to the two other men at the back of the bar. The brunette’s stance had changed; he was leaning back in his chair, hands resting on his knees, face drawn into a tired but gentle smile. Ted recognised the ease of posture that came from years of practiced familiarity. JJ was still beside him, talking excitedly and gesticulating something with his hands. When he appeared to talk himself into a corner, Drake reached over and squeezed his shoulder.
Ted paid for his drinks.
“Just curious my ass.” He smiled to himself as he headed for the door.
~