FAKE Fic: Habitually Lazy
Title: Habitually Lazy
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee
Rating: G
Setting: Somewhere in the middle of the manga.
Summary: Dee is lazy and Ryo is tired of doing everything himself.
Word Count: 806
Written For: My own prompt ‘FAKE, Dee, Lazy,’ at
fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
Ryo glared across his desk at his partner, napping in his seat while Ryo did all the paperwork pertaining to their latest case by himself.
“Why d’you have to be so damned lazy, Dee?”
“I’m not lazy.” Dee cracked open one eye and peered at Ryo from beneath his lashes. “I’m conserving my strength for chasin’ the bad guys.”
“I have to chase the bad guys just as often as you do, but I end up having to do all the paperwork too. What happens when I’m so tired from overwork that I can’t keep up and you’re left with no one to cover your back? You ever think about that?” Ryo was fed up with having to do the lion’s share of the work. “We’re supposed to be partners, shouldn’t that mean we share all the responsibilities that go with this job?”
“You’re better at paperwork than I am,” Dee reasoned. “Even when I do my share, I just make a mess of it and you wind up having to do it again. If you do it all in the first place, it’s right first time and doesn’t need re-doing, so it saves time.”
There was a twisted sort of logic to that, but it didn’t make Ryo any happier. He was tired and would have liked a nap himself.
“Besides,” Dee added, “I’m tired, it’s been a long day.”
“You’re not the only one who’s tired, Dee. I worked just as hard out there today as you did. I‘d like to get home at a decent time tonight, but I’ll have to stay late to finish all this,” he gestured at the stack of reports he was working on, “because the Chief wants our reports on his desk before we leave. I’ll be lucky if I get home before ten because my car’s in for repairs and I’ve got to take the subway tonight.”
Dee sat up and looked at his partner, noticing for the first time how worn out and frazzled Ryo looked and instantly feeling guilty. He loved his job, catching the bad guys, but he hated the paperwork that came with it, so he always tried to avoid it or made a mess of it so Ryo would take over. Ryo was so much more organised, it made sense to let him fill in all the forms. Dee hadn’t given a second’s thought to how exhausting it must be for his partner on top of all their other duties. Ryo was right; he was lazy, and worse, he was thoughtless and inconsiderate. He reached across the desk.
“You’re right, as always. Here, give it to me, I’ll finish up.”
“You’ll just make a mess of it,” Ryo sighed, shoving one hand wearily through his hair.
“I won’t, I promise. You can check it before we leave if you want. Get your head down for a bit, I’ll drive you home when I’m done, okay? Believe it or not, I can do things right when I try.”
Ryo looked at him dubiously, hesitating, but Dee looked sincere and he really was exhausted. “Okay.” He passed the stack of papers over to Dee, folded his arms on his desk and rested his head on them. He’d just close his eyes for a few minutes, take a quick nap then get back to work…
A hand was shaking his shoulder. Ryo blinked his eyes open, not sure where he was for a minute.
“Ryo? C’mon, bud, wake up. Time to go home.”
”Huh?” He sat up straight, rubbing his eyes. His back ached a bit and his mind felt fuzzy. “What time is it?”
“Just after half seven, you really zonked out. Grab your coat and let’s get out of here, we’ll pick up take-out on the way to your place.”
“What about the paperwork?”
“Done and handed in to the Chief. And before you ask, yes, I filled in everything correctly; I even double-checked it. The reports might not be as thorough and detailed as you’d have done, but I put all the important stuff in. Even the old badger was pleased. I could tell because he didn’t yell at me.”
“So does this mean you’ll do your share in future?” Ryo got up from his chair, stretching and trying to stifle a yawn.
“How about we just say I’ll help when necessary and leave it at that? You’re still better at the clerical side of things than I am, but I’ll try harder and I won’t always leave you to do everything. Sound fair?”
Ryo nodded. “Good enough. And Dee? Thanks.”
“Hey, we’re partners. Gotta be there for each other, right?”
“I’ve been telling you that forever.”
“Guess it’s finally sinking in.”
Yes, Dee was often lazy, but he came through for Ryo when it counted and that was all that mattered.
The End