Title: Like Looking In A Mirror
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee, mentions Commissioner Berkeley Rose
Rating: PG
Setting: Vol. 5 Act 8.
Summary: Ryo starts to understand why Dee and Commissioner Rose will never get along.
Word Count: 567
Content Notes: None necessary.
Written For: Challenge #101: Mirror.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.



It’s curious. On the face of it, Dee and Commissioner Rose couldn’t be more different if they tried. Rose is all suave sophistication to Dee’s street punk made good. While the Commissioner enjoys fine wines, nights at the opera, and expensive antiques, Dee is more of a beer and ball game kind of guy. His apartment is furnished as much with cinder blocks and ‘reclaimed’ wooden palettes as with actual furniture and he wouldn’t know an antique if it bit him. Just as well, seeing as antiques wouldn’t be affordable on a detective’s salary, especially if like Dee, you’d rather spend what you have while you’ve got it than save for a rainy day.

Looking at the two men, most people would think they were as different as night and day, and yet now that he really thinks about it, Ryo realises there are uncanny similarities between them.

They’re both well aware of their good looks, have strong personalities and an abundance of easy charm. They’re completely comfortable with their sexuality and neither lacks self-confidence. Attracting whoever catches their eye has never been a problem for either of them, even if the ways they go about it are somewhat different. In terms of the kinds of people they’re attracted to, their tastes are remarkably similar, Ryo himself being a case in point.

But it’s more than that; it’s in all the little things they do. There’s something in the way they carry themselves, a certain tilt of the head and that glint in their eyes. It’s in every gesture, each tiny change in their expressions, and most of all, it’s in the way they smile, sensual, seductive and knowing.

Ryo snickers softly, earning a frustrated glare from an increasingly curious and confused Dee. No wonder the two don’t get along. It must be like looking in a mirror and seeing themselves in a less than flattering light. All the qualities they admire in themselves, they hate in each other, even if only on a subconscious level.

Another thought flashes through Ryo’s mind. Wait a minute; maybe they’re not alike in everything… There’s only one way to be sure.

“Dee? Would you mind kissing me for a second?”

He regrets his impulsive words almost as soon as they’re out of his mouth; Dee predictably wants more than just a quick peck on the lips, but Ryo remains adamant and Dee reluctantly agrees. Just knowing that Dee is about to kiss him sets butterflies fluttering in Ryo’s stomach and he wishes he could figure out why his partner has such an effect on him. But then Dee’s lips are pressing softly against his own and Ryo sighs softly, melting into the kiss; it’s just as he thought.

As far as Ryo’s concerned, there’s one important difference between Dee and the Commissioner; it’s in the way they kiss. It’s not that Rose is a bad kisser, from what little Ryo has experienced; Dee’s kiss is simply sweeter, and that makes all the difference in the world.

Next time Berkeley Rose looks in a mirror, Ryo thinks to himself sheepishly, he’s not going to look quite as suave and handsome as he usually does, what with the bruising and the split lip. He can only hope he doesn’t get into trouble for punching his superior in the mouth.

Strange how he’s never had the slightest impulse to punch Dee that way…

The End