FAKE Fic: Changing Partners
Jun. 5th, 2026 06:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badly_knittedTitle: Changing Partners
Fandom: FAKE
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Ryo, OCs, Dee.
Rating: PG
Setting: Before and throughout the manga.
Summary: Ryo has been lucky with his assigned partners, he’s gotten along well with all of them, but none better than Dee Laytner.
Word Count: 1173
Written For: My
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
genprompt_bingo square Partnership.Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
After graduating from the police academy, Ryo, just like every other rookie, had been assigned a training officer, an experienced cop who’d be responsible for guiding him through his first year on the job. No matter how thorough the classes at the academy were in teaching laws, procedure, weapons, and hand-to-hand combat, nothing could completely prepare a new graduate for the realities of working the streets of one of America’s biggest cities. Without the guidance of a training officer, rookies wouldn’t last five minutes.
Ryo’s TO, Marian O’Rourke, had been tough but fair, pushing him to his limits and further developing his skills, so that by the end of that first year he’d been well on his way to becoming a seasoned law enforcement officer. It had been a bit of a wrench to shake her hand at the end of his training, thank her for all the knowledge and advice she’d imparted, and say goodbye. Not that he’d never see her again, but they would no longer be working together.
Instead, he’d been paired with another police officer, Jimmy Sanchez, a fifteen-year veteran, and although they’d never become close friends, they’d developed a solid working relationship, patrolling their sector, breaking up fights, catching criminals, making the streets safer for the people who lived there.
With Marian, it had been teacher and student, but with Jimmy, Ryo found himself on slightly more of an equal footing. Jimmy was still the senior officer, he still called the shots more often than not, but they were partners, working as a team, watching each other’s backs. Ryo felt that he was still learning, he couldn’t imagine ever knowing everything there was to know about being a cop, but Jimmy would listen to what he had to say, sometimes even ask his opinion. Indeed, it was Jimmy who told him that with his sharp eyes and analytical mind, he should consider taking the detective’s exam.
“You’re a good cop, Randy. You’re smart, intuitive, but steady, you keep your eyes open, you pay attention, but you work things through instead of jumpin’ to conclusions the way a lot of the new kids do. Don’t get me wrong, bein’ a good, solid patrol officer’s nothin’ to be ashamed of, but you’ve got the makings of a great detective.”
“You really think so?”
“I sure do. I’ll hate losin’ you as a partner, but I’d be doin’ the NYPD a disservice if I tried to hold you back just ‘cause you’re makin’ my job easier. Probably be cursin’ myself for encouragin’ you when you’ve moved on and I’m stuck with some wet-behind-the-ears kid who still needs their hand holdin’, but your talents are goin’ to waste. The department could do with a detective who knows how to use the brains God gave him.”
Becoming a detective had always been Ryo’s goal, but he’d expected to remain in uniform for a few more years, honing his skills and gaining experience, before applying. On the other hand, even if he passed the exam there was no guarantee there’d be an opening available right away. He still might have to wait several years, so why not follow Jimmy’s advice and get the ball rolling now?
He talked to his Captain, put his name down for the exam, passed with high marks, but carried on with his job until a few months later Captain Harrison called Ryo to his office and told him there was an opening for a detective at the twenty-seventh, a small precinct covering one of the rougher areas of the city. People weren’t exactly beating down the doors to be assigned there, but would he be interested? Everyone above him on the waiting list was holding out for a better assignment, but if he’d be willing to accept it, he could leapfrog to the head of the queue.
Ryo’s answer was one word: Yes. It was one of the easiest decisions he’d ever made.
Jimmy congratulated him, took him out for drinks to celebrate. They’d been partners for two years, but although Ryo had no doubt he’d miss the older man, he was looking forward to taking the next step in his career.
Arriving at the Two-Seven on his first day, Ryo expected to be assigned to work with an older detective, someone more experienced who could show him the ropes. He thought he’d probably start off working smaller cases until he found his feet, misdemeanours, vandalism, stuff like that; nothing too complicated. Turned out he was wrong on all counts.
Instead of a senior detective, he was handed into the dubious care of a guy his own age, a young hothead who, judging solely on first impressions, seemed well used to being yelled at by his boss. Exactly what his new partner had done to earn the dressing down Ryo had inadvertently walked in on was unclear, and maybe he was better off not knowing, but it wasn’t the most promising start to his first day at his new precinct.
Just to make his situation even more nerve-racking, instead of the straightforward cases he’d been expecting, he found his partner, Detective Dee Laytner, was working a drug-related homicide case. Talk about getting thrown in at the deep end. There was a kid involved too, the victim’s ten-year-old son, who was now an orphan.
It wasn’t an easy case. Both his partner and the boy got abducted by a major drug dealer and Ryo found himself having to rescue them, which he managed more by luck than good judgement, but maybe it was the end result that mattered most.
What surprised Ryo even more than successfully closing his first case as a detective was how well he and Dee worked together, even if Dee did dump most of the paperwork off on him. It was an important part of the job though, something no detective could avoid. Ryo figured he might as well learn how it should be done right from the start, so he didn’t complain, just got on with it. Like Marian and Jimmy before him, Dee probably had his own methods of teaching the new kid. He might be young, but he knew the ropes and Ryo was determined to learn everything his new partner was willing to teach him.
Working with Dee was different from everything that had come before. Perhaps it was partly because they were so close in age, but aside from the whole paperwork thing, Dee didn’t seem to see him as a subordinate, to be ordered around. For the first time, Ryo genuinely felt it was an equal partnership.
For all that Dee was a hothead, over-friendly, and with no respect for personal space, Ryo couldn’t help liking him. He had a devil-may-care charm and an irreverent attitude towards authority, but he was completely committed to the job, and in the end, that was the only thing that mattered. Ryo knew he still had a lot to learn, but he had a feeling Dee would be just the guy to teach him.
The End
Ryo’s TO, Marian O’Rourke, had been tough but fair, pushing him to his limits and further developing his skills, so that by the end of that first year he’d been well on his way to becoming a seasoned law enforcement officer. It had been a bit of a wrench to shake her hand at the end of his training, thank her for all the knowledge and advice she’d imparted, and say goodbye. Not that he’d never see her again, but they would no longer be working together.
Instead, he’d been paired with another police officer, Jimmy Sanchez, a fifteen-year veteran, and although they’d never become close friends, they’d developed a solid working relationship, patrolling their sector, breaking up fights, catching criminals, making the streets safer for the people who lived there.
With Marian, it had been teacher and student, but with Jimmy, Ryo found himself on slightly more of an equal footing. Jimmy was still the senior officer, he still called the shots more often than not, but they were partners, working as a team, watching each other’s backs. Ryo felt that he was still learning, he couldn’t imagine ever knowing everything there was to know about being a cop, but Jimmy would listen to what he had to say, sometimes even ask his opinion. Indeed, it was Jimmy who told him that with his sharp eyes and analytical mind, he should consider taking the detective’s exam.
“You’re a good cop, Randy. You’re smart, intuitive, but steady, you keep your eyes open, you pay attention, but you work things through instead of jumpin’ to conclusions the way a lot of the new kids do. Don’t get me wrong, bein’ a good, solid patrol officer’s nothin’ to be ashamed of, but you’ve got the makings of a great detective.”
“You really think so?”
“I sure do. I’ll hate losin’ you as a partner, but I’d be doin’ the NYPD a disservice if I tried to hold you back just ‘cause you’re makin’ my job easier. Probably be cursin’ myself for encouragin’ you when you’ve moved on and I’m stuck with some wet-behind-the-ears kid who still needs their hand holdin’, but your talents are goin’ to waste. The department could do with a detective who knows how to use the brains God gave him.”
Becoming a detective had always been Ryo’s goal, but he’d expected to remain in uniform for a few more years, honing his skills and gaining experience, before applying. On the other hand, even if he passed the exam there was no guarantee there’d be an opening available right away. He still might have to wait several years, so why not follow Jimmy’s advice and get the ball rolling now?
He talked to his Captain, put his name down for the exam, passed with high marks, but carried on with his job until a few months later Captain Harrison called Ryo to his office and told him there was an opening for a detective at the twenty-seventh, a small precinct covering one of the rougher areas of the city. People weren’t exactly beating down the doors to be assigned there, but would he be interested? Everyone above him on the waiting list was holding out for a better assignment, but if he’d be willing to accept it, he could leapfrog to the head of the queue.
Ryo’s answer was one word: Yes. It was one of the easiest decisions he’d ever made.
Jimmy congratulated him, took him out for drinks to celebrate. They’d been partners for two years, but although Ryo had no doubt he’d miss the older man, he was looking forward to taking the next step in his career.
Arriving at the Two-Seven on his first day, Ryo expected to be assigned to work with an older detective, someone more experienced who could show him the ropes. He thought he’d probably start off working smaller cases until he found his feet, misdemeanours, vandalism, stuff like that; nothing too complicated. Turned out he was wrong on all counts.
Instead of a senior detective, he was handed into the dubious care of a guy his own age, a young hothead who, judging solely on first impressions, seemed well used to being yelled at by his boss. Exactly what his new partner had done to earn the dressing down Ryo had inadvertently walked in on was unclear, and maybe he was better off not knowing, but it wasn’t the most promising start to his first day at his new precinct.
Just to make his situation even more nerve-racking, instead of the straightforward cases he’d been expecting, he found his partner, Detective Dee Laytner, was working a drug-related homicide case. Talk about getting thrown in at the deep end. There was a kid involved too, the victim’s ten-year-old son, who was now an orphan.
It wasn’t an easy case. Both his partner and the boy got abducted by a major drug dealer and Ryo found himself having to rescue them, which he managed more by luck than good judgement, but maybe it was the end result that mattered most.
What surprised Ryo even more than successfully closing his first case as a detective was how well he and Dee worked together, even if Dee did dump most of the paperwork off on him. It was an important part of the job though, something no detective could avoid. Ryo figured he might as well learn how it should be done right from the start, so he didn’t complain, just got on with it. Like Marian and Jimmy before him, Dee probably had his own methods of teaching the new kid. He might be young, but he knew the ropes and Ryo was determined to learn everything his new partner was willing to teach him.
Working with Dee was different from everything that had come before. Perhaps it was partly because they were so close in age, but aside from the whole paperwork thing, Dee didn’t seem to see him as a subordinate, to be ordered around. For the first time, Ryo genuinely felt it was an equal partnership.
For all that Dee was a hothead, over-friendly, and with no respect for personal space, Ryo couldn’t help liking him. He had a devil-may-care charm and an irreverent attitude towards authority, but he was completely committed to the job, and in the end, that was the only thing that mattered. Ryo knew he still had a lot to learn, but he had a feeling Dee would be just the guy to teach him.
The End
