tiredFandom: FAKE
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Dee, JJ, Mother, OCs.
Rating: PG
Setting: After Like Like Love.
Summary: Dee is back at the Police Academy for a very special occasion, but it brings back a lot of old memories.
Word Count: 1044
Written Using: The dw100 prompt ‘Genesis’.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
It was strange being back at the Police Academy after so many years; this was where Dee’s career had begun, in these very lecture halls, and on the training grounds, the assault course, the firing range… This was where JJ’s obsession with him had begun too, behind the equipment shed, where a group of older cadets had cornered the smaller man. Dee paused, staring out across the grass, thinking back on that day.
JJ had drawn attention to himself from the start, with his flamboyant behaviour and perky demeanour. A lot of people liked him because he was cheerful, optimistic, hardworking, and always willing to help out with anything, but he’d never made any secret of the fact that he was gay, and there were some who felt he had no business wanting to join the police force.
Dee didn’t much care about JJ either way; he was just another cadet, one of many. He didn’t hate the guy, despite ending up with a bloody nose the first time they met; that had been nothing more than an unfortunate accident, but he didn’t especially like JJ either. Nevertheless, when he saw the academy’s current bunch of troublemakers, led by a seriously homophobic moron named Clayton Perry, skulking across the campus late one evening, Dee had followed, wanting to know what they were up to this time.
When he’d caught up in back of the equipment shed, they’d already had JJ surrounded and Perry had been pushing him around, telling him it would be in his best interests if he dropped out of the academy, and threatening him with physical harm if he didn’t.
“And if ya tell anyone about this, I’ll make ya wish you were dead! Maybe I will anyway.”
Dee gleefully remembered the look on Perry’s face when he’d pushed past the band of laughing cronies and confronted the ringleader.
“What d’ya want, Laytner?”
“You got somethin’ against gays, why don’tcha pick on someone your own size?”
Perry had snickered. “You tellin; me you’re one o’ them perverts too?”
“Guys, girls, what does it matter? If they’re hot, they’re hot. I swing both ways. You’re not really my type, but if ya wanna try me on for size I guess I could make an exception. Who knows? You might like it.”
That had been like the proverbial red rag to a bull and Perry had launched himself at Dee, yelling something about putting him and all the other homos in their place.
The fight that had followed had been short but brutal. Dee had grown up on the streets and he fought dirty; a knee to the nuts, a kick to the knee, the heel of his hand snapping Perry’s head back… He hadn’t pulled his punches while Perry had mostly only succeeded in landing a few glancing blows. His cronies had wisely stayed out of it, although one had run off to report the fight to one of the academy instructors.
Perry had wound up in the infirmary with a concussion, broken nose, cracked ribs, and multiple contusions, while Dee had gotten five stitches after Perry had slashed at him with a pocketknife he shouldn’t have even had in his possession. Dee had been handed a reprimand too, although the subsequent investigation had cleared him of any serious wrongdoing. Perry had been the instigator and had been carrying a concealed weapon, so he was summarily kicked out of the academy.
A few years later he’d gotten himself arrested in a bar brawl when he’d once again picked on the wrong person. That had been just one more step on a slippery slope and the last Dee had heard, Perry had been serving time for assault and armed robbery. Some people just weren’t cut out to be cops.
Looking back, Dee thought he’d gotten off pretty lightly; the formal reprimand had been no big deal and hadn’t affected him once all the facts had been known. JJ had helped with that, being scrupulously honest about everything that had happened, and Dee had believed the incident behind him until JJ had started in with the stalking, the hero worship, and the declarations of undying love. So much for being the Good Samaritan.
‘I never should’a let him find out I was bi; then maybe he would’a settled for the hero worship and left out the other crap.’ Yeah, it was all very well to be wise in hindsight.
He shook his head and straightened his dress uniform. That was all water under the bridge now; JJ had long since found someone else to lavish his affection on, and Dee had someone special of his own. There was nothing wrong with reminiscing about his time here, it had been one of the major turning points in his life, but that wasn’t what had brought him back to the academy. Today was graduation day.
“Are you coming, Dee?” Mother asked, looking back at him where he’d stopped on the path.
“Right behind you, Mother.” Dee started forward again, hurrying to join her. “Bet this brings back a few memories for you as well.”
“It does. The day you graduated was one of the proudest of my life.”
“Mine too, and I owe it all to you. Still got no idea how you raised the money to send me here.”
“It wasn’t easy, but it was what you wanted, and you deserved the chance. You’ve been such a wonderful role model for the other children, and thanks to you, now another one gets to follow his dreams.”
This time it had been Dee who’d raised the money to send one of Mother’s charges to the academy. What goes around comes around.
“My way of repaying what I owe ya. Besides, Patrick has the makings of a fine cop; he’s gonna make us both proud. C’mon, we’d better get in there and find our places before the ceremony starts. Ryo said he’d save seats for us.” He offered Mother his arm, leading the elderly nun up the steps into the main building.
Dee’s career had begun here almost fifteen years ago, and today another young man would soon be following in his footsteps, promising to protect and serve. Dee had a feeling he wouldn’t be the last.
The End