FAKE Fic: Supportive Parent

[badly_knitted]

 


Title: Supportive Parent
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Bikky.
Rating: PG
Setting: During the manga and after Vol. 7.
Summary: Bikky’s first report card was pretty bad, but his grades have gone up since then.
Word Count: 1171
Written For: Challenge 343: Card at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
 


 
The first of Bikky’s report cards Ryo saw had been disappointing, and that was putting it mildly. It had mostly consisted of D grades, with one C and a couple of Fs. Seeing the way his foster son nervously shuffled his feet, avoiding looking at him, Ryo had swallowed his disappointment, not letting it show. Really, it wasn’t the boy’s fault that he hadn’t had much in the way of support for his academic efforts in the past, and on top of that, he’d just recently lost his dad. He was still grieving, trying to deal with far more than any ten-year-old should have to. What he needed was someone to guide and encourage him, help to set him on the right path; wasn’t that partly why Ryo had wanted to give the boy a home in the first place?

 
Instead of criticism, he’d crouched down and given his foster son a comforting hug.
 

“Don’t worry about this, Biks, it’s not the end of the world. You’ve had a rough time over the last few months so it’s hardly surprising that your grades are lower than you might’ve hoped. You’ll do better next time.”

 
“You’re not mad at me?” Bikky’s voice sounded a bit muffled against his foster father’s shoulder. Ryo let him go and smiled at him.

 
“No, I’m not mad. I know how hard it’s been for you, losing your dad, moving to a new neighbourhood, changing schools. It was bound to affect your grades, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
 

Bikky ducked his head, gnawing on his bottom lip. “They weren’t very good before either,” he admitted in a small voice. “I used to skip classes a lot.”
 

“I know, but you don’t now, and I’m going to help you as much as I can. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask your teachers, or ask me. I’ll bet by your next report card we can at least get rid of those Fs. Right?”

 
Standing up straighter, bolstered by the unexpected encouragement, Bikky grinned and nodded. “Yep! No more Fs, I promise; I’ll work harder in all my classes, you’ll see.”

 
“I know you will.” Ryo ruffled the boy’s hair. “Now, how about some ice cream to make up for your disappointment?”

 
“Ice cream? Yay!”

 
When Bikky’s next report card arrived, the Fs were indeed gone. Now there were two Ds, a D+, and the rest were all C or C+. Naturally, that success required a big celebration, with pizza and ice cream.
 

“Well done, Bikky! I knew you could do it!” Ryo praised the boy. “You should be proud of yourself.”
 

And so things continued, with each report card showing some improvement over the previous one, and being accompanied by a celebration. Bikky still grumbled about having to do homework, because kids always did, but Ryo was strict enough to make sure his foster son got it all done, and he took the time to explain anything the boy was struggling with, even when it meant having to research the subject himself.

 
Their combined efforts paid off. Gradually the Ds disappeared, and one or two Bs started to pop up among the various C grades, until at last the Bs outnumbered the Cs, and the only C- was for French.
 

Ryo shrugged that off. “Not everyone can be good at languages. What matters is that you’re trying your best.”

 
“I am, but French just won’t stick in my head,” Bikky sighed. “At least next year I can drop it and take something else instead. I mean, it’s not like I’ll ever go to France.”

 
“Even if you do, I think the French probably speak our language way better than most Americans speak theirs,” Ryo joked.

 
Bikky’s final report card before he graduated from high school contained mostly B grades, one single C+, and three As, in English, Chemistry, and Biology. Ryo’s heart swelled with pride; what an achievement!

 
“What’re you doing?” Bikky asked, coming in to find Ryo with a bunch of papers spread out across the kitchen table. “Something to do with work?”

 
Ryo looked up at his son with a smile. “No, just looking through your old report cards. You’ve come such a long way in the past few years.”

 
Leaning over his foster father’s shoulder, Bikky looked at the cards, laid out in order, the abysmal first one on the left and the most recent on the right.

 
“I can’t believe you still have them all! I was so scared when I brought that first one home. I thought maybe you’d yell at me, stop my allowance, or even kick me out because I was so useless. But you just hugged me and told me it was okay, and then we had ice cream.”

 
“You remember that?”
 

“’Course I do; it made a big impression on me. You always said you knew I could do better if I just had the chance, and I was so determined not to let you down.”
 

“And you never did. Look at this!” Ryo pointed to Bikky’s most recent report card. “A whole bunch of Bs and three As!”

 
“I couldn’t have done it without you, I hope you know that.” Bikky pulled a face. “I still suck at French though.”

 
Ryo laughed. “Want to know something? So do I. I can just about find my way around the menu in a French restaurant, but that’s my limit. The only reason I can speak Japanese as well as English is because I grew up with it. Both languages were used at home when I was a kid.”

 
“It’s not like you’ll need French any more than I will,” Bikky pointed out. “Like you told me years ago, we can’t all be good at it.”

 
“Yeah.” Ryo leaned back in his chair. “You’ll be graduating in just a few days.”
 

“I know! My schooldays are almost over. It’s kinda hard to believe; sometimes it seemed like they’d never end.” Bikky flopped into one of the other chairs at the table. “I’m not a little kid anymore; I’m practically an adult.”

 
“Not far off,” Ryo agreed. “Next stop college.”
 

Bikky sighed heavily. “Assuming I can get in anywhere. Even though my grades have improved, no college is going to offer me a place on the strength of them. My only hope is a basketball scholarship, and that’s far from guaranteed.”

 
“I don’t think you need to worry on that score, not with all the scouts who’ve been showing up to watch you play over the last couple of years,” Ryo assured him. “I believe in you, Biks. I did when you were ten and I do now, more than ever. You just need to believe in yourself.”
 

“I do, mostly; it’s just, you’ve done so much for me. I want to make you proud.”
 

“You’ve always done that, Bikky, right from the start, and when that scholarship does come through, because I’m sure it will, we’ll celebrate with ice cream, okay?”

 
Laughing, Bikky nodded. “Thanks, Dad. It’s a deal.”
 

 
The End