FAKE Ficlet: Innocent Question
Title: Innocent Question
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Bikky, Ryo, Dee.
Rating: PG
Setting: Shortly after Vol. 7.
Summary: Bikky is concerned for Ryo’s safety, but perhaps he could have phrased things a bit better.
Word Count: 598
Written For: Challenge 342: Protection at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“You do wear some kind of protection, don’t you?” Bikky asked, watching his foster father tying his shoelaces, getting ready to leave for work.
Ryo almost choked. “What?” The word came out as a squeak. He and his partner had only recently taken their relationship to a physical level, and he was pretty sure Bikky didn’t know about that yet. He was going to tell the boy, really he was, it just wasn’t the right time yet. Bikky had only been back from basketball camp for a couple of weeks, and the relationship was still too new for Ryo to be comfortable discussing it with other people, especially an impressionable fourteen-year-old boy who wasn’t exactly a fan of Dee in the first place.
“When you got home yesterday, I overheard you and Dee talking about the big drugs bust you guys are gonna be involved in tonight. I just worry; I want to be sure you’ll be okay, that’s all.” Bikky eyed Ryo’s casual shirt and slacks, the shoulder holster housing his police issue 9mil automatic, the taser clipped to his belt. “I know you’re really good with a gun, but it’s not much protection if the other guy shoots first.”
The tension drained out of Ryo’s shoulders, and he smiled. Oh, THAT sort of protection. Right. For a moment he’d thought Bikky was referring to something else entirely.
“I’ll be wearing my vest when we go in, everyone will be, but it’s at the precinct, I don’t bring it home with me. I’ll get geared up there, along with the rest of the team, but there’s nothing for you to worry about, Biks; it’ll be fine. There’ll be a final briefing once we’re all ready, so everybody knows what they have to do. I’ve been involved in at least a dozen of these raids, and they’ve all gone smoothly. You shouldn’t believe everything you see on TV; real life is rarely like that. TV shows are supposed to be dramatic; they make everything look way more dangerous than it really is.”
“Oh.” Bikky smiled, relaxing too. “That’s okay then. Just promise you’ll be careful, and tell Dee, if anything bad happens to you I’ll blame him, and I’ll kick his ass ‘til he can’t sit down.”
“Business as usual then,” Ryo teased, ruffling the boy’s hair.
Bikky ducked away. “Cut that out! You’ll mess it up!”
“Since when did you care?” Ryo shook his head. “You’re growing up too fast.”
“Not fast enough.”
“Don’t be in too much of a rush; being an adult is nowhere near as much fun as you think. You’ll be okay keeping Melinda company tonight?”
“Yeah, I suppose. Y’know, my first dad used to leave me home alone all the time.”
“Well I don’t; you’re not old enough yet. I worry about your safety just as much as you worry about me. Besides, legally I can’t leave you alone overnight until you’re sixteen. If I did, I’d have to arrest myself for child endangerment, which would be confusing, and it wouldn’t look good on my record. I don’t want to lose my job.”
“Huh, I hadn’t thought about that,” Bikky said, frowning. “Okay, I’ll stay with Melinda so you don’t have to worry about me, but I’ll worry about you until you come home safe, got it?”
“That’s a deal.” Ryo picked up his jacket and slipped it on. “Melinda’s expecting you for dinner, so you’d better get going, and take the rest of your homework with you. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
Bikky nodded. “I’ll hold you to that.”
The End
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Bikky, Ryo, Dee.
Rating: PG
Setting: Shortly after Vol. 7.
Summary: Bikky is concerned for Ryo’s safety, but perhaps he could have phrased things a bit better.
Word Count: 598
Written For: Challenge 342: Protection at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“You do wear some kind of protection, don’t you?” Bikky asked, watching his foster father tying his shoelaces, getting ready to leave for work.
Ryo almost choked. “What?” The word came out as a squeak. He and his partner had only recently taken their relationship to a physical level, and he was pretty sure Bikky didn’t know about that yet. He was going to tell the boy, really he was, it just wasn’t the right time yet. Bikky had only been back from basketball camp for a couple of weeks, and the relationship was still too new for Ryo to be comfortable discussing it with other people, especially an impressionable fourteen-year-old boy who wasn’t exactly a fan of Dee in the first place.
“When you got home yesterday, I overheard you and Dee talking about the big drugs bust you guys are gonna be involved in tonight. I just worry; I want to be sure you’ll be okay, that’s all.” Bikky eyed Ryo’s casual shirt and slacks, the shoulder holster housing his police issue 9mil automatic, the taser clipped to his belt. “I know you’re really good with a gun, but it’s not much protection if the other guy shoots first.”
The tension drained out of Ryo’s shoulders, and he smiled. Oh, THAT sort of protection. Right. For a moment he’d thought Bikky was referring to something else entirely.
“I’ll be wearing my vest when we go in, everyone will be, but it’s at the precinct, I don’t bring it home with me. I’ll get geared up there, along with the rest of the team, but there’s nothing for you to worry about, Biks; it’ll be fine. There’ll be a final briefing once we’re all ready, so everybody knows what they have to do. I’ve been involved in at least a dozen of these raids, and they’ve all gone smoothly. You shouldn’t believe everything you see on TV; real life is rarely like that. TV shows are supposed to be dramatic; they make everything look way more dangerous than it really is.”
“Oh.” Bikky smiled, relaxing too. “That’s okay then. Just promise you’ll be careful, and tell Dee, if anything bad happens to you I’ll blame him, and I’ll kick his ass ‘til he can’t sit down.”
“Business as usual then,” Ryo teased, ruffling the boy’s hair.
Bikky ducked away. “Cut that out! You’ll mess it up!”
“Since when did you care?” Ryo shook his head. “You’re growing up too fast.”
“Not fast enough.”
“Don’t be in too much of a rush; being an adult is nowhere near as much fun as you think. You’ll be okay keeping Melinda company tonight?”
“Yeah, I suppose. Y’know, my first dad used to leave me home alone all the time.”
“Well I don’t; you’re not old enough yet. I worry about your safety just as much as you worry about me. Besides, legally I can’t leave you alone overnight until you’re sixteen. If I did, I’d have to arrest myself for child endangerment, which would be confusing, and it wouldn’t look good on my record. I don’t want to lose my job.”
“Huh, I hadn’t thought about that,” Bikky said, frowning. “Okay, I’ll stay with Melinda so you don’t have to worry about me, but I’ll worry about you until you come home safe, got it?”
“That’s a deal.” Ryo picked up his jacket and slipped it on. “Melinda’s expecting you for dinner, so you’d better get going, and take the rest of your homework with you. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
Bikky nodded. “I’ll hold you to that.”
The End