FAKE Fic: Lucky SOB
Title: Lucky SOB
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo, Rose.
Rating: PG-13
Setting: After Vol. 7.
Summary: Sometimes Dee still can’t quite believe that Ryo picked him over Commissioner Rose.
Word Count: 980
Written For: Jae's Monthly Drabble Challenge 207 - I chose _____ for a reason.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“Sometimes I still can’t believe I got so lucky,” Dee murmured, sprawled beside Ryo on the big, comfy bed, one arm draped over his lover. “Every time I wake up in the mornin’ to find you lyin’ beside me, I feel like I gotta pinch myself just to make sure I’m not dreamin’. I’m the luckiest sonofabitch in the whole of New York, maybe the whole country.”
Beside him, Ryo chuckled. “It wasn’t luck, it was persistence,” he teased. “You never gave up. In the end I had to stop hiding from myself and accept the truth: I like guys, and one guy in particular.”
Dee grinned lazily at that. “I can be pretty single-minded when I want somethin’, or in this case someone, bad enough, and I never wanted anyone more than you. That’s never gonna change. Sometimes I still wonder though. Why’d ya choose me?”
“What d’you mean?” Ryo rolled onto his side to face his lover.
“Well, in case ya didn’t notice, which, seein’ as it’s you, is entirely possible…”
“Dee!” Ryo mock-glared at his lover.
“Hey, ya gotta admit you’re not always on the ball when someone’s hittin’ on ya!”
“Okay, yes, I guess that’s true enough. So what were you saying?”
“Well…” Dee gave an awkward half shrug. “For a while there, ya had two guys tryin’ to win ya. On the one hand there was me, your loyal, fearless, and very sexy but practically broke partner. On the other hand, there was Rose, police commissioner, independently wealthy, penthouse apartment, private box at the theatre, patron of the arts, guaranteed a table at the most exclusive restaurants in the city whenever he wants… You could’a had all that and more. Servants, a limo with a chauffeur, pretty much anything ya wanted, but here y’are with me. Any way ya look at it, Rose would’a been the better catch. Wealth, power, prestige, the whole nine yards.”
“Berkeley does have it all, doesn’t he?” Ryo smiled. “There are certain privileges that come with wealth, and I won’t deny that a box at the theatre, or even the opera, might be nice. But the price would’ve been too high. Like a lot of people who grew up wealthy, Berkeley believes that he’s entitled to whatever he wants, he’s not used to people telling him no. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a decent enough person, and I like him well enough as a friend, but he can be kind of arrogant and dismissive of other people.”
“You noticed that, huh?” Dee hadn’t expected that from Ryo, who seldom had a bad word to say about anyone who wasn’t a criminal.
“It would be difficult not to. He’s the kind of man who just assumes if he shows interest in someone, they’ll drop everything and fall all over themselves to be with him, just because he has all that money and power. He buys people with expensive gifts and invitations to fancy parties, and maybe that would be enough for most people, but not for me.”
“Yeah, you’re not the kinda guy can be bought.” Dee pulled Ryo close enough to kiss. “Still, it would be a pretty cushy life, probably way better than anything I’ll ever be able to afford.”
Ryo snorted. “And if money was the only factor worth considering, I’d probably be living the high life with Berkeley now, but it wasn’t. Dee, I chose you over Rose for a reason, and not just because of your persistence. You’re the one I fell in love with, because of the kind of man you are. To Berkeley, I was a prize to be won, a trophy to be displayed. That’s not the kind of relationship I would ever want. You’re not like that. When you look at me, you see someone you want to share your life with, the good, the bad, and everything in between. You said it yourself, you’re loyal, someone I can trust completely. When you care about someone, there’s nothing you won’t do for them. You love without limits, holding nothing back.”
“Damn straight,” Dee agreed. “I’m yours, body, heart, and soul. Everything I have is yours. I’d give you the world if I could.”
“And I feel the same way, but I don’t want the world; I just want you.”
“Yeah?”
“Of course. Don’t you ever doubt it.”
“I’ll do my best not to. Love you, babe.”
“I love you too, Dee.” Ryo smiled. “You know, you and Berkeley are similar in a lot of ways.”
“Hey! I resent that!”
Ryo snickered. “Resent it all you want, that won’t make it any less true. You’re both confident in who you are, both very single-minded in going after what you want, both outgoing, but you’re more… genuine, I suppose.”
“Are you sayin’ Rose is a phoney?” Dee asked, incredulous.
“No, but he grew up being taught to think and behave in a certain way, it’s left him a little… narrow-minded, maybe. Definitely set in his ways. You’re just more open, more honest.”
“I’ve always tried to be, that’s how Mother and Jess raised me, but I guess I’m still a work in progress.”
“All the best people are, still working at being the best version of themselves that they can be.”
“Yeah, that sounds right. Still think I’m a lucky SOB though.”
“I’m lucky too.” Ryo shifted, settling against Dee, and stifling a yawn. “We should probably get some sleep. It’ll be morning before we know it.”
“Yeah.” Dee wrapped himself around the man he loved. “Sweet dreams, babe. Make sure they’re all about me.”
“Mm,” Ryo murmured drowsily, “That would be nice. Last night I dreamed I was a toaster oven.”
“You are so weird.” Dee chuckled. “But I kinda like that about you; keeps me on my toes. Don’t ever change, okay? I love ya just the way you are.”
The End
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo, Rose.
Rating: PG-13
Setting: After Vol. 7.
Summary: Sometimes Dee still can’t quite believe that Ryo picked him over Commissioner Rose.
Word Count: 980
Written For: Jae's Monthly Drabble Challenge 207 - I chose _____ for a reason.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“Sometimes I still can’t believe I got so lucky,” Dee murmured, sprawled beside Ryo on the big, comfy bed, one arm draped over his lover. “Every time I wake up in the mornin’ to find you lyin’ beside me, I feel like I gotta pinch myself just to make sure I’m not dreamin’. I’m the luckiest sonofabitch in the whole of New York, maybe the whole country.”
Beside him, Ryo chuckled. “It wasn’t luck, it was persistence,” he teased. “You never gave up. In the end I had to stop hiding from myself and accept the truth: I like guys, and one guy in particular.”
Dee grinned lazily at that. “I can be pretty single-minded when I want somethin’, or in this case someone, bad enough, and I never wanted anyone more than you. That’s never gonna change. Sometimes I still wonder though. Why’d ya choose me?”
“What d’you mean?” Ryo rolled onto his side to face his lover.
“Well, in case ya didn’t notice, which, seein’ as it’s you, is entirely possible…”
“Dee!” Ryo mock-glared at his lover.
“Hey, ya gotta admit you’re not always on the ball when someone’s hittin’ on ya!”
“Okay, yes, I guess that’s true enough. So what were you saying?”
“Well…” Dee gave an awkward half shrug. “For a while there, ya had two guys tryin’ to win ya. On the one hand there was me, your loyal, fearless, and very sexy but practically broke partner. On the other hand, there was Rose, police commissioner, independently wealthy, penthouse apartment, private box at the theatre, patron of the arts, guaranteed a table at the most exclusive restaurants in the city whenever he wants… You could’a had all that and more. Servants, a limo with a chauffeur, pretty much anything ya wanted, but here y’are with me. Any way ya look at it, Rose would’a been the better catch. Wealth, power, prestige, the whole nine yards.”
“Berkeley does have it all, doesn’t he?” Ryo smiled. “There are certain privileges that come with wealth, and I won’t deny that a box at the theatre, or even the opera, might be nice. But the price would’ve been too high. Like a lot of people who grew up wealthy, Berkeley believes that he’s entitled to whatever he wants, he’s not used to people telling him no. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a decent enough person, and I like him well enough as a friend, but he can be kind of arrogant and dismissive of other people.”
“You noticed that, huh?” Dee hadn’t expected that from Ryo, who seldom had a bad word to say about anyone who wasn’t a criminal.
“It would be difficult not to. He’s the kind of man who just assumes if he shows interest in someone, they’ll drop everything and fall all over themselves to be with him, just because he has all that money and power. He buys people with expensive gifts and invitations to fancy parties, and maybe that would be enough for most people, but not for me.”
“Yeah, you’re not the kinda guy can be bought.” Dee pulled Ryo close enough to kiss. “Still, it would be a pretty cushy life, probably way better than anything I’ll ever be able to afford.”
Ryo snorted. “And if money was the only factor worth considering, I’d probably be living the high life with Berkeley now, but it wasn’t. Dee, I chose you over Rose for a reason, and not just because of your persistence. You’re the one I fell in love with, because of the kind of man you are. To Berkeley, I was a prize to be won, a trophy to be displayed. That’s not the kind of relationship I would ever want. You’re not like that. When you look at me, you see someone you want to share your life with, the good, the bad, and everything in between. You said it yourself, you’re loyal, someone I can trust completely. When you care about someone, there’s nothing you won’t do for them. You love without limits, holding nothing back.”
“Damn straight,” Dee agreed. “I’m yours, body, heart, and soul. Everything I have is yours. I’d give you the world if I could.”
“And I feel the same way, but I don’t want the world; I just want you.”
“Yeah?”
“Of course. Don’t you ever doubt it.”
“I’ll do my best not to. Love you, babe.”
“I love you too, Dee.” Ryo smiled. “You know, you and Berkeley are similar in a lot of ways.”
“Hey! I resent that!”
Ryo snickered. “Resent it all you want, that won’t make it any less true. You’re both confident in who you are, both very single-minded in going after what you want, both outgoing, but you’re more… genuine, I suppose.”
“Are you sayin’ Rose is a phoney?” Dee asked, incredulous.
“No, but he grew up being taught to think and behave in a certain way, it’s left him a little… narrow-minded, maybe. Definitely set in his ways. You’re just more open, more honest.”
“I’ve always tried to be, that’s how Mother and Jess raised me, but I guess I’m still a work in progress.”
“All the best people are, still working at being the best version of themselves that they can be.”
“Yeah, that sounds right. Still think I’m a lucky SOB though.”
“I’m lucky too.” Ryo shifted, settling against Dee, and stifling a yawn. “We should probably get some sleep. It’ll be morning before we know it.”
“Yeah.” Dee wrapped himself around the man he loved. “Sweet dreams, babe. Make sure they’re all about me.”
“Mm,” Ryo murmured drowsily, “That would be nice. Last night I dreamed I was a toaster oven.”
“You are so weird.” Dee chuckled. “But I kinda like that about you; keeps me on my toes. Don’t ever change, okay? I love ya just the way you are.”
The End