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fandomweekly2024-07-05 01:20 pm
badly_knitted) wrote in fandomweekly2024-07-05 01:20 pm
Entry tags:
[#226] Secret Fear (FAKE)
Theme Prompt: #226 – Secret
Title: Secret Fear
Fandom: FAKE
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1000
Summary: Ryo likes most living creatures, with one major exception, but he’s always kept that a secret from his son.
It was great having Bikky home on summer break, even though he was so tall by now that he dominated any room he was in. They’d spent hours last night catching up on everything, and once the boy had finally surfaced this morning, he’d headed out to spend the day with Carol. That was only to be expected, of course Bikky was more interested in spending the day with his girlfriend than with the man who’d raised him, and Ryo was totally fine with it. There’d be plenty more opportunities to hang out with his foster son over the summer.
Still, he was feeling a little down this evening. It was past nine in the evening, Bikky was still out, and for all Ryo knew, might not come home tonight at all, and just to add to the emptiness of the apartment he shared with Dee, his lover was working a late shift, having swapped with Drake so his friend could attend a big family reunion.
It wasn’t the first time Ryo had been home alone at night while his partner was working, and it wouldn’t be the last, because there were times they were scheduled to work different shifts. That usually happened when the precinct was short staffed due to illness or too many people trying to use up their remaining vacation days. Some people were seriously disorganised about stuff like that. And honestly, most nights it wouldn’t have bothered Ryo in the slightest; he was perfectly capable of entertaining himself, reading a book, or doing Tai Chi, or baking for the ravenous hordes. I was just that tonight, unwanted company had moved itself in without Ryo’s consent.
A spider.
Ryo seriously didn’t like spiders, never had and never would. He could deal with them if he really had to, but he preferred not to get within a couple of yards of one. Normally Dee, knowing all about his lover’s phobia, would deal with any spiders that appeared, not judging him for being scared of them, because Ryo had never judged him for being terrified of snakes, but since he was alone, Ryo was going to have to get rid of this one himself.
That, however, did not mean killing it. He might be an arachnophobe, but he understood that spiders served a purpose, and anyway, smooshed spiders were as nasty as living ones, so…
Fetching a glass from the kitchen, one he’d be able to see the spider through so he’d know for sure that he’d caught it, Ryo grabbed a cereal box from the recycling, and stalked towards the creepy crawly in the middle of the floor, approaching it from behind so that hopefully it wouldn’t see him coming and run away. He still kept as far back as he could while placing the glass over it, but he breathed a sigh of relief once it was safely enclosed and couldn’t get away. Only then did he open the window, ready to throw it out.
Unfortunately for Ryo, just as he was carefully sliding the cardboard under the edge of the glass, encouraging the spider to step up onto it, the door flew open and Bikky came in, all smiles.
“Hey, dad! What’re you doing?”
“Bikky! Hi! Uh, thought I’d better catch this spider and put it out before someone stepped on it.”
“A spider? Cool!” Kicking his shoes off, Bikky padded over to look through the glass, frowning a little at what Ryo was doing. “That’s a lot of effort for something so small. Why don’t you just pick it up?”
Of course Bikky thought the spider was small. Everything looked small when you were almost six feet five, but to Ryo, it was a monster, with a legspan of a good three inches.
“Spiders are kinda fragile, Biks. I don’t want to break any of its legs off. This is the kindest way I know to catch one.” That was sort of true, even if it wasn’t the real reason for Ryo’s caution. Sometimes he wished he could be like Dee, catching even the biggest spiders in his bare hands, but the very idea made him shudder.
“They don’t break that easily,” Bikky commented, as Ryo straightened up, holding glass and cardboard carefully so as not to leave a gap the spider could creep through. It was trying to climb the inside of the glass. Gritting his teeth, Ryo strode across the room, and shook the spider out the window, making sure it was gone before closing the window again to keep it from getting back in. He sighed heavily before turning to face his son. Maybe it was time he came clean. He managed a sheepish smile.
“Spiders creep me out,” he admitted.
Bikky frowned. “Seriously? But you saved one from drowning when I was a kid. I’ve never forgotten that!”
“It was only a small one, and I hate harming innocent creatures. If it had been the size of that one, it would’ve gotten washed down the plughole.” Ryo pulled a face. “If it would’ve fit, which I doubt.”
“You’ve kept that a secret all this time?” Bikky could scarcely believe what he was hearing.
“Dee knows.”
“So why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Because I didn’t want you to end up like me, scared of something so ridiculous. It’s only spiders I have a problem with, I’m fine with everything else. Well, maybe not cockroaches, but most people hate those.”
“You are the most amazing dad ever.”
“What?” That was the last thing Ryo had expected Bikky to say.
“I mean it. All this time I never had a clue how you felt, you were so kind and gentle with everything. I remember you catching moths when I was a kid, and bees, and showing me all kinds on insects and stuff, even spiders, when we went on hikes. You made sure I wouldn’t be scared of anything. Next time though, if there’s a spider and I’m home, I’ll deal with it.”
The End
Still, he was feeling a little down this evening. It was past nine in the evening, Bikky was still out, and for all Ryo knew, might not come home tonight at all, and just to add to the emptiness of the apartment he shared with Dee, his lover was working a late shift, having swapped with Drake so his friend could attend a big family reunion.
It wasn’t the first time Ryo had been home alone at night while his partner was working, and it wouldn’t be the last, because there were times they were scheduled to work different shifts. That usually happened when the precinct was short staffed due to illness or too many people trying to use up their remaining vacation days. Some people were seriously disorganised about stuff like that. And honestly, most nights it wouldn’t have bothered Ryo in the slightest; he was perfectly capable of entertaining himself, reading a book, or doing Tai Chi, or baking for the ravenous hordes. I was just that tonight, unwanted company had moved itself in without Ryo’s consent.
A spider.
Ryo seriously didn’t like spiders, never had and never would. He could deal with them if he really had to, but he preferred not to get within a couple of yards of one. Normally Dee, knowing all about his lover’s phobia, would deal with any spiders that appeared, not judging him for being scared of them, because Ryo had never judged him for being terrified of snakes, but since he was alone, Ryo was going to have to get rid of this one himself.
That, however, did not mean killing it. He might be an arachnophobe, but he understood that spiders served a purpose, and anyway, smooshed spiders were as nasty as living ones, so…
Fetching a glass from the kitchen, one he’d be able to see the spider through so he’d know for sure that he’d caught it, Ryo grabbed a cereal box from the recycling, and stalked towards the creepy crawly in the middle of the floor, approaching it from behind so that hopefully it wouldn’t see him coming and run away. He still kept as far back as he could while placing the glass over it, but he breathed a sigh of relief once it was safely enclosed and couldn’t get away. Only then did he open the window, ready to throw it out.
Unfortunately for Ryo, just as he was carefully sliding the cardboard under the edge of the glass, encouraging the spider to step up onto it, the door flew open and Bikky came in, all smiles.
“Hey, dad! What’re you doing?”
“Bikky! Hi! Uh, thought I’d better catch this spider and put it out before someone stepped on it.”
“A spider? Cool!” Kicking his shoes off, Bikky padded over to look through the glass, frowning a little at what Ryo was doing. “That’s a lot of effort for something so small. Why don’t you just pick it up?”
Of course Bikky thought the spider was small. Everything looked small when you were almost six feet five, but to Ryo, it was a monster, with a legspan of a good three inches.
“Spiders are kinda fragile, Biks. I don’t want to break any of its legs off. This is the kindest way I know to catch one.” That was sort of true, even if it wasn’t the real reason for Ryo’s caution. Sometimes he wished he could be like Dee, catching even the biggest spiders in his bare hands, but the very idea made him shudder.
“They don’t break that easily,” Bikky commented, as Ryo straightened up, holding glass and cardboard carefully so as not to leave a gap the spider could creep through. It was trying to climb the inside of the glass. Gritting his teeth, Ryo strode across the room, and shook the spider out the window, making sure it was gone before closing the window again to keep it from getting back in. He sighed heavily before turning to face his son. Maybe it was time he came clean. He managed a sheepish smile.
“Spiders creep me out,” he admitted.
Bikky frowned. “Seriously? But you saved one from drowning when I was a kid. I’ve never forgotten that!”
“It was only a small one, and I hate harming innocent creatures. If it had been the size of that one, it would’ve gotten washed down the plughole.” Ryo pulled a face. “If it would’ve fit, which I doubt.”
“You’ve kept that a secret all this time?” Bikky could scarcely believe what he was hearing.
“Dee knows.”
“So why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Because I didn’t want you to end up like me, scared of something so ridiculous. It’s only spiders I have a problem with, I’m fine with everything else. Well, maybe not cockroaches, but most people hate those.”
“You are the most amazing dad ever.”
“What?” That was the last thing Ryo had expected Bikky to say.
“I mean it. All this time I never had a clue how you felt, you were so kind and gentle with everything. I remember you catching moths when I was a kid, and bees, and showing me all kinds on insects and stuff, even spiders, when we went on hikes. You made sure I wouldn’t be scared of anything. Next time though, if there’s a spider and I’m home, I’ll deal with it.”
The End
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