FAKE Ficlet: Peace, Perfect Peace
May. 15th, 2026 06:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badly_knittedTitle: Peace, Perfect Peace
Fandom: FAKE
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Ryo, Dee.
Rating: PG
Setting: After Like Like Love.
Summary: It was good having Bikky home for a visit, but it’s much quieter around the apartment now he’s gone back to college.
Word Count: 809
Written For: Jae's Monthly Drabble Challenge 243 - Peace And Quiet.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
Having Bikky home had been wonderful, Ryo had missed him so much since he’d gone away to college, and even though they spoke on the phone two or three times a week, catching up with each other’s news, obviously it wasn’t the same.
Still, with Bikky around, the apartment that seemed so spacious when it was just him and Dee suddenly seemed shrunk to less than half the size. Part of that was Bikky’s height; at six foot six and still growing, he couldn’t help but dominate any room he was in, except when he was among other basketball players, many of whom were even taller. But also, when Bikky was home, it often meant that Carol was there too.
Not that Ryo minded his son’s girlfriend being there; she was small, not overly loud, happy to help out with cooking for the hungry horde, and to Ryo ‘s mind, she was already family. He’d thought of her that way even when she and Bikky had been no more than friends. But two extra people in the apartment took some getting used to after only having Dee for company for months at a time.
It meant more work, of course, more shopping, more cleaning, although Bikky and Carol helped out around the place as well as keeping their own bedroom and bathroom clean, and doing their own laundry. It wasn’t like when Bikky had been a kid, and Ryo had done all the housework as well as working fulltime at a stressful job, and trying to be a good parent; everyone shared the chores, if not always willingly, at least without too much complaining. What needed doing got done, without Ryo having to remind anyone, or do it all himself, and yet…
It still seemed like Ryo was doing twice as much as when he only had himself and his lover to think about, which was probably the case. Even sharing out the chores, there was still more to do. It was inevitable. Maybe he hadn’t really needed to go overboard with the baking, but it was something he enjoyed doing, and Ryo knew his son looked forward to the homemade goodies during his visits.
As always, the time had flown by too fast, not helped by having to work five or six days a week, often long hours, and different shifts. It made Ryo wonder how he’d coped back when he was a single father to a young boy. He doubted he could juggle work and parental responsibilities now the way he had back then. It wasn’t a matter of him being too old, he was only in his mid-thirties, but he didn’t have as much energy as he’d had when he was in his twenties.
He’d loved having Bikky home, of course he had, but having dropped him off at the airport and taken Carol back to her aunt’s house, where she still lived during college vacations, stepping into an empty apartment felt like a relief.
“Listen to that!” he said as he and Dee took their coats off and hung them up, then removed their shoes.
“What?” Dee turned to his lover with a puzzled frown. “I’m not hearin’ anything.”
“Exactly! There’s no one here but us and the blissful peace and quiet we get to enjoy when we don’t have houseguests!” Wandering over to the sofa, Ryo collapsed onto the cushions with a sigh. “I’d almost forgotten what this was like!”
Dee laughed. “I thought you liked havin’ the kid home.”
“I did, I do, but I like this too, being able to relax in my own home without people coming in and out at all hours, doors slamming, feet stomping on the floor…”
“Carol doesn’t stomp,” Dee teased.
“Oh, but she does, when she’s annoyed with Bikky.” Ryo grinned at his lover. “She makes sure he knows. And Bikky stomps because he can’t help it. He tries not to, but he’s just too big to walk quietly.”
“He stomped even as a kid.” Dee sat down beside his lover.
“It was great having them here, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it was. They’ll be back when the next semester ends.”
“Mm. And until then, we get to enjoy the peace and quiet of having the apartment to ourselves.” Ryo got up. “I think I’ll make coffee. You want some?”
“D’you really need to ask that?”
“I guess not.” Ryo disappeared into the kitchen and for a couple of minutes, Dee stayed where he was, listening to the quiet sounds of his lover moving around, putting the coffee on. Then he levered himself to his feet and went to get the mugs out, slipping back into the easy routine of not having anyone but each other to look after. As much fun as the visits usually were, he preferred when it was just the two of them.
The End
Still, with Bikky around, the apartment that seemed so spacious when it was just him and Dee suddenly seemed shrunk to less than half the size. Part of that was Bikky’s height; at six foot six and still growing, he couldn’t help but dominate any room he was in, except when he was among other basketball players, many of whom were even taller. But also, when Bikky was home, it often meant that Carol was there too.
Not that Ryo minded his son’s girlfriend being there; she was small, not overly loud, happy to help out with cooking for the hungry horde, and to Ryo ‘s mind, she was already family. He’d thought of her that way even when she and Bikky had been no more than friends. But two extra people in the apartment took some getting used to after only having Dee for company for months at a time.
It meant more work, of course, more shopping, more cleaning, although Bikky and Carol helped out around the place as well as keeping their own bedroom and bathroom clean, and doing their own laundry. It wasn’t like when Bikky had been a kid, and Ryo had done all the housework as well as working fulltime at a stressful job, and trying to be a good parent; everyone shared the chores, if not always willingly, at least without too much complaining. What needed doing got done, without Ryo having to remind anyone, or do it all himself, and yet…
It still seemed like Ryo was doing twice as much as when he only had himself and his lover to think about, which was probably the case. Even sharing out the chores, there was still more to do. It was inevitable. Maybe he hadn’t really needed to go overboard with the baking, but it was something he enjoyed doing, and Ryo knew his son looked forward to the homemade goodies during his visits.
As always, the time had flown by too fast, not helped by having to work five or six days a week, often long hours, and different shifts. It made Ryo wonder how he’d coped back when he was a single father to a young boy. He doubted he could juggle work and parental responsibilities now the way he had back then. It wasn’t a matter of him being too old, he was only in his mid-thirties, but he didn’t have as much energy as he’d had when he was in his twenties.
He’d loved having Bikky home, of course he had, but having dropped him off at the airport and taken Carol back to her aunt’s house, where she still lived during college vacations, stepping into an empty apartment felt like a relief.
“Listen to that!” he said as he and Dee took their coats off and hung them up, then removed their shoes.
“What?” Dee turned to his lover with a puzzled frown. “I’m not hearin’ anything.”
“Exactly! There’s no one here but us and the blissful peace and quiet we get to enjoy when we don’t have houseguests!” Wandering over to the sofa, Ryo collapsed onto the cushions with a sigh. “I’d almost forgotten what this was like!”
Dee laughed. “I thought you liked havin’ the kid home.”
“I did, I do, but I like this too, being able to relax in my own home without people coming in and out at all hours, doors slamming, feet stomping on the floor…”
“Carol doesn’t stomp,” Dee teased.
“Oh, but she does, when she’s annoyed with Bikky.” Ryo grinned at his lover. “She makes sure he knows. And Bikky stomps because he can’t help it. He tries not to, but he’s just too big to walk quietly.”
“He stomped even as a kid.” Dee sat down beside his lover.
“It was great having them here, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it was. They’ll be back when the next semester ends.”
“Mm. And until then, we get to enjoy the peace and quiet of having the apartment to ourselves.” Ryo got up. “I think I’ll make coffee. You want some?”
“D’you really need to ask that?”
“I guess not.” Ryo disappeared into the kitchen and for a couple of minutes, Dee stayed where he was, listening to the quiet sounds of his lover moving around, putting the coffee on. Then he levered himself to his feet and went to get the mugs out, slipping back into the easy routine of not having anyone but each other to look after. As much fun as the visits usually were, he preferred when it was just the two of them.
The End
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