Title: Challenging Project
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ryo, Dee.
Rating: PG
Setting: After the manga.
Summary: Boredom has driven Dee to attempt something he’s finding surprisingly difficult.
Word Count: 400
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 309: Amnesty, using Challenge 11: Self-Portrait.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
A/N: Quadruple drabble.



“What’re you doing?” Ryo knew Dee could be a bit on the vain side but the last thing he’d expected was to find his lover, who was off work with a leg injury, sitting at the table staring fixedly into a mirror. Maybe he should’ve called first instead of stopping by unannounced, but he’d thought maybe Dee would like some company.

“I was bored,” Dee replied without turning around.

“So you thought staring at yourself might help?” That struck Ryo as a bit weird, although he probably wasn’t the best judge considering some of his own odd habits. So what if he automatically apologised whenever he bumped into something? Better to be polite just in case it was a person and not an inanimate object.

Dee did turn then, grinning. “No, doofus, I’m tryin’ to draw myself.”

“OH!” Now it made a sort of sense. “You mean like a self-portrait?”

“Exactly, only I can’t do it unless I can see myself.”

“But you can draw me from memory.” Dee had whole sketchpads full of Ryo in various moods.

“That’s different, I’ve made a point of memorisin’ everything about you; I could probably draw you in my sleep. I’ve just never made much of an effort to remember my own face.”

“Really? You spend enough time in front of the mirror getting ready to go out.”

“I like to look my best for ya, so I check I didn’t miss anywhere when shavin’, make sure there’s nothin’ stuck in my teeth, and that my hair looks okay. I see bits, not the whole, not how everything fits together. I’ve never studied the shape of my nose, the distance between my eyes, the curve of my eyebrows… Drawin’ you is easy; drawin’ my own face, I just can’t get it right. It’s like it keeps changin’!”

Ryo laughed. “Of course it does; you’re trying to concentrate on what you see, then transfer it onto the page, but your expression keeps changing. If you want to draw yourself, maybe you should work from a photograph.”

Dee blinked, surprised. “You’re right! Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Maybe because you’re a little too close to the problem,” Ryo teased. “Want me to take a few photos you can use for reference?”

“Maybe later. Right now I can think of better things to do, things that don’t involve pencil and paper. My self-portrait can wait.”


The End