FAKE Ficlet: Don’t Do It!
Title: Don’t Do It!
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo, Lloyd
Rating: PG
Setting: Vol. 2 Act 6
Summary: Dee’s out for revenge and Ryo has to stop him.
Word Count: 492
Written For: lannamichaels’s prompt ‘Any, any, I can't let you do that.’ at
fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
A/N: Dialogue borrowed from the manga.
Dee has his gun aimed at the slimeball who blew up the orphanage, put Mother in the hospital; he’s itching to pull the trigger and Ryo understands how he feels. But taking Lloyd out won’t change anything, at least not in a good way. Dee would be throwing his career down the drain for no good reason and Ryo can’t let him do that.
“Don’t do it, Dee!!”
Dropping down from the wall, Ryo puts himself in front of Lloyd, blocking Dee’s shot. He only hopes he can talk some sense into his partner, get him to see reason. Lloyd’s days are numbered anyway, and while simply arresting him won’t satisfy Dee’s desire for revenge, at least he won’t be a murderer. How would Ryo ever break that news to Mother? It would destroy her.
Dee doesn’t want to hear it, his blood’s up and he feels he has a personal vendetta to settle. There’s no reasoning with him, he’s beyond rational thought, even going so far as to threaten to shoot Ryo as well. The situation’s deteriorating rapidly; they’ve gone from talking to screaming at each other in a matter of seconds. Even so, Ryo really doesn’t expect Dee to pull the trigger.
The gunshot sound deafening in the narrow alley and the tableau seems to freeze. Lloyd faints dead away, leaving Ryo and Dee just staring at each other in shocked silence. Dee’s the next to fall, sinking heavily to the ground as Ryo wipes blood from his cheek where Dee’s bullet grazed him. He’s trying to stay calm, not let Dee see how shaken he is. Nothing will be gained if both of them fall apart; someone needs to keep calm and take control, and as the only one left standing it looks like the ball’s in Ryo’s court. Dee can’t even look at him, too ashamed of what he almost did.
“I’m sorry Dee. But…” Ryo starts to apologise, but Dee cuts him off before he can finish. That’s okay; Ryo’s not sure what he would have said anyway.
Beckoning Ryo over, Dee examines the cut on his face. “Does it hurt?”
“It’s nothing. Just a scratch.”
Pulling him close, Dee speaks low in Ryo’s ear. “I owe you one, man.”
Returning the embrace, Ryo smiles softly. “I’ll just put it on your tab.”
They’re partners; this is what they do. No matter what happens, they’re always going to be there for each other, side by side against the world. When the chips are down, they both know there’s always someone they can rely on, whether it’s to keep them from screwing up or to be a shoulder to lean on after a bad day. Sure they have their disagreements, misunderstandings, even outright fights, but none of that matters; their friendship might take a few knocks along the way, but it just seems to make them closer, stronger.
And neither of them would have it any other way.
The End