FAKE Ficlet: Out Of Cash
Title: Out Of Cash
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee, Bikky
Rating: G
Setting: After Vol. 7.
Summary: Ryo usually pays for breakfast when he and Dee work the night shift, but this morning there’s a problem…
Word Count: 500
Written For: Prompt 470: Past Prompts Revisited 161-200, using 174: Broke(n) at slashthedrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
Ryo opened his wallet to pay for breakfast and stared in disbelief. Where was all his money? Had he fallen victim to a pickpocket while he and Dee had been eating? No, of course not. A pickpocket would have taken his wallet too, not just emptied it of cash and put it back. But then, why was it empty? His credit cards were there, but not so much as a single dollar bill remained, and he distinctly remembered stopping at a cash-point machine yesterday morning, after he got off work.
“Something wrong?” Dee asked, probably puzzled about why he was just sitting at the table staring into his wallet.
“I don’t have any money!”
Dee snorted. “You’re broke? That’s gotta be a first. Ryo Maclean, always prepared for anything, can’t pay for breakfast!”
He was way too amused for Ryo’s liking. “It’s not funny, Dee!”
“Hey, don’t worry, babe. I’ve got you covered; my treat, you don’t even need to pay me back.”
“You don’t understand!” Ryo was becoming increasingly agitated. “I should have money, I only drew some out yesterday; I wanted to make sure I had enough to buy groceries and pay for… Oh.”
“What, oh?” Dee had one elbow on the table, resting his chin on his hand, staring at Ryo with a kind of bemused curiosity, making him feel like some strange specimen in a zoo.
“Bikky’s school trip. He needed to hand in the permission slip and payment yesterday, so I gave him the money for that when I got home, and it cleaned me out. I meant to draw more on my way to work last night, but I had to drop Bikky off at Carol’s and I guess I must have forgotten.”
“Don’t worry about it. Like I said, breakfast’s on me.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome; you pay too often anyway.”
“Only because you’re usually the one short of cash, and I don’t mind paying, because I know whatever you can spare each month goes to help Mother.”
“She’s always tellin’ me I shouldn’t, but I know how tight money gets with so many hungry mouths to feed, and she’s the closest thing to family I’ve got.”
“I know, and you’re right to do whatever you can to help. I know Mother appreciates it, she just worries that you’re not leaving yourself enough to live on.”
“It’s not like I leave myself flat broke or anything. I hold enough back for my living expenses, plus a little extra; it’s just that I don’t have much in the way of savings. She thinks I should put money aside for the future, but why bother? I’m relyin’ on the House Ape to support us in our old age. He’ll be rollin’ in it once he turns pro.”
“Dee!”
“Jokin’! Still, you know he would. You’ve raised him right. Even when he’s pullin’ in the big bucks, I don’t think fame and fortune will go to his head.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Trust me; I am.”
The End
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee, Bikky
Rating: G
Setting: After Vol. 7.
Summary: Ryo usually pays for breakfast when he and Dee work the night shift, but this morning there’s a problem…
Word Count: 500
Written For: Prompt 470: Past Prompts Revisited 161-200, using 174: Broke(n) at slashthedrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
Ryo opened his wallet to pay for breakfast and stared in disbelief. Where was all his money? Had he fallen victim to a pickpocket while he and Dee had been eating? No, of course not. A pickpocket would have taken his wallet too, not just emptied it of cash and put it back. But then, why was it empty? His credit cards were there, but not so much as a single dollar bill remained, and he distinctly remembered stopping at a cash-point machine yesterday morning, after he got off work.
“Something wrong?” Dee asked, probably puzzled about why he was just sitting at the table staring into his wallet.
“I don’t have any money!”
Dee snorted. “You’re broke? That’s gotta be a first. Ryo Maclean, always prepared for anything, can’t pay for breakfast!”
He was way too amused for Ryo’s liking. “It’s not funny, Dee!”
“Hey, don’t worry, babe. I’ve got you covered; my treat, you don’t even need to pay me back.”
“You don’t understand!” Ryo was becoming increasingly agitated. “I should have money, I only drew some out yesterday; I wanted to make sure I had enough to buy groceries and pay for… Oh.”
“What, oh?” Dee had one elbow on the table, resting his chin on his hand, staring at Ryo with a kind of bemused curiosity, making him feel like some strange specimen in a zoo.
“Bikky’s school trip. He needed to hand in the permission slip and payment yesterday, so I gave him the money for that when I got home, and it cleaned me out. I meant to draw more on my way to work last night, but I had to drop Bikky off at Carol’s and I guess I must have forgotten.”
“Don’t worry about it. Like I said, breakfast’s on me.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome; you pay too often anyway.”
“Only because you’re usually the one short of cash, and I don’t mind paying, because I know whatever you can spare each month goes to help Mother.”
“She’s always tellin’ me I shouldn’t, but I know how tight money gets with so many hungry mouths to feed, and she’s the closest thing to family I’ve got.”
“I know, and you’re right to do whatever you can to help. I know Mother appreciates it, she just worries that you’re not leaving yourself enough to live on.”
“It’s not like I leave myself flat broke or anything. I hold enough back for my living expenses, plus a little extra; it’s just that I don’t have much in the way of savings. She thinks I should put money aside for the future, but why bother? I’m relyin’ on the House Ape to support us in our old age. He’ll be rollin’ in it once he turns pro.”
“Dee!”
“Jokin’! Still, you know he would. You’ve raised him right. Even when he’s pullin’ in the big bucks, I don’t think fame and fortune will go to his head.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Trust me; I am.”
The End