FAKE Ficlet: Paying Respects

[badly_knitted]

 

Title: Paying Respects

Fandom: FAKE

Author: badly_knitted     

Characters: Dee, Ryo, OCs

Rating: G

Setting: During the manga.

Summary: Dee and Ryo attend the funeral of a fellow officer.

Word Count: 465

Written For: My own prompt ‘FAKE, Dee/Ryo, Dress blues,’ at fic_promptly.

Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.

It was a solemn occasion, the funeral of a fellow officer, a comrade in arms. They’d known him, but not all that well; they hadn’t been close friends, just colleagues. Worked one case with him the previous year, said hello in passing, shared a beer or two with him and a bunch of other cops from narcotics once in a while. That didn’t matter; all cops were brothers. He’d been killed in the line of duty, during a drugs raid that went sour, so they were here today to pay their respects, along with every other cop who wasn’t on duty. It was only right.

Dee and Ryo stood to attention, looking immaculate in their dress blues, flanked by other cops from the 27^th, both detectives and uniforms. Across the grave from them stood members of the deceased officer’s family, his wife and kids, his parents, his brother and two sisters.

He’d only been a few years older than Ryo, mid-thirties, far too young to die. It was a sobering reminder of the dangers of police work; no matter how careful you were every day could be your last.

The service was beautiful, a fitting tribute to a good cop and a caring family man. They said as much to the grieving family when it was their turn to shake hands and give condolences.

“Sorry for your loss.” The words sounded trite, despite coming from the heart. It was the family’s loss, yes, but theirs too. Another member of their brotherhood who’d lost his life trying to make the streets safer for everyone. Sometimes it seemed they were fighting a hopeless battle.

“Thank you for coming,” his wife replied, and she said it like she really meant it, standing there trying to be strong for her kids. They stood to either side of her, faces pale and streaked with tears, but holding their heads up. How old were they? Eight? Ten? Surely not much older than that.

Ryo crouched down, looking from one to the other. Children should never know such grief. “Your dad was a good and very brave man, he saved a lot of lives. I know that’s not much comfort to you right now, but you can be proud of him. He loved you both very much, kept photos of you on his desk at work. He was always talking about you.”

Dee nodded slightly; trust Ryo to notice details like that.

“He’ll always be with you in your hearts; never forget that.”

The kids smiled wanly and nodded. “Thank you.”

Ryo rose to his feet once more and side by side they left the cemetery.

With a lump in his throat, all Dee could do was hope and pray that he’d never be faced with saying those same words to Bikky.

The End