FAKE Ficlet: Covert Couples
Title: Covert Couples
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ted, JJ, Drake, Ryo, Dee, Chief Smith, OCs.
Rating: PG
Setting: After Like Like Love.
Summary: Ted has made some surprising discoveries about his work colleagues over the last few months.
Word Count: 659
Written For: My own prompt ‘FAKE, Ted, “Is this a squad room or a dating service?”,’ at fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
You’re not supposed to get romantically involved with close colleagues; it’s one of the NYPD’s rules. Fraternisation sounds so clinical, and anyway, it doesn’t tell the whole story. You can’t help who you fall in love with. So okay, if you start to have those kinds of feelings for your partner, strictly speaking, you should own up and accept reassignment. Ted has seen that happen before. Having men and women working so closely together, depending on each other, forming a close bond… Well, it would be weird if some of those relationships didn’t take a turn for the physical and emotional at times.
He’d never tell on colleagues who cross the line though, he’s no snitch. Personally, he doesn’t see what the big deal is. Just because people fall in love doesn’t mean they can’t be professional at work, the guys of the 27th are proof of that, but then they’re a bit out of the ordinary anyway.
Two gay men, two bisexual men, two couples; their relationships are a secret, supposedly, but a few people know. Ted suspects the Chief is among them, but is busy maintaining plausible deniability. He doesn’t want to be compelled to split up his teams; they work too well together.
Ted had been surprised when he’d found out about JJ and Drake three months ago, because Drake had been getting dumped by women for as long as Ted had known him, which was way back to their uniform days. He’d thought his old friend was completely straight, and to be honest, Drake had thought so too until he and JJ had taken their partnership to a whole new level. They’ve been together more than six months now and not only are they thriving as a couple but they’re even stronger as a crime fighting team than they were before.
He’d been even more surprised when he found out two days ago that Dee and Ryo have been a couple for more than three years. He would have probably never guessed if he hadn’t spotted them out on a date, holding hands and kissing. When he’d confronted them about it, they’d fessed up and asked him to keep quiet about it. Naturally he’d agreed; what they did outside work was their own business. Turned out JJ and Drake already knew, and had since early in their own relationship. The thing is, at work Dee still flirts outrageously with Ryo, and Ryo still shoots him down; to look at them you’d think they were just good friends horsing around, there’s nothing to indicate that they’re head over heels in love with each other, even though they are.
“What is this?” he’d asked the four of them this morning. “A squad room or a dating service?”
Dee had just shrugged. “It can’t be both?”
“Seriously, Ted,” JJ had cut in, “you should maybe think about switching teams. I’ve seen the way Luca looks at you sometimes.”
Luca D’Angelo, the new detective in their ranks, just transferred from downtown. He’s young, newly promoted, and cute, but Ted is already dating someone, a nurse at Bellevue who is all woman, so he’s not currently interested. He’s never considered dating a guy, but… Well, why rule anything out? If he and Alison ever break up, maybe he’ll give it a try. His friends are all happy with their male partners; maybe they know something he doesn’t. It’s worth thinking about anyway.
In the meantime, he’ll keep their secret; he knows full well that he can count on each and every one of his colleagues to have his back in a dangerous situation, and he’d do the same for them no matter what. They have a closer bond than most detective squads; sure, they bicker at times, but they all genuinely like each other and often hang out together when off duty. When it comes right down to it, he couldn’t wish for a better bunch of workmates, or friends.
The End