Title: Holding Pattern

Author: badly-knitted

Characters: Ryo, mentions Dee, Diana, and Ted.

Rating: PG

Spoilers: Vol. 7, Act 20

Summary: It belatedly occurs to Ryo that he and Dee might have got their wires crossed.

Word Count: 430

Written For: Prompt #44:What are you waiting for? at dove_drabbles.

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

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Ryo doesn't really know what they're both waiting for. He's fairly sure of the way Dee feels about him, and thanks to Diana's words a few weeks ago he's shed most of his own doubts; enough to spend that one amazing night with Dee at least.

That night should have been the start of something, taking their relationship to the next level, moving them forward from friends and work partners to being lovers, but somehow they seem to have stalled. In the almost three weeks since that night, things between them have just carried on as they were before, neither of them making a move or even mentioning what happened between them. It's weird and rather unsettling; Ryo wishes he could figure it out.

Was that all Dee had wanted? Just to get him into bed? Have his way with him? Surely Dee wasn't that shallow.

'Was I not good enough?'

Ryo doesn't want to consider that possibility, but now the idea has popped into his head it's unavoidable. Dee had seemed to enjoy himself, but Ryo has no illusions about himself; that night had been his first time with a man and he knows he still has a lot to learn. But then, if he wasn't disappointed, why hasn't Dee said or done anything since?

'Is he waiting for me to make the next move?'

The thought hits Ryo so suddenly that it literally stops him in his tracks. It seems obvious now it's occurred to him; Dee doesn't want to push him, he's let Ryo take things at his own glacially slow pace up to this point, so now he's probably waiting to see if Ryo is okay with what's happened.

'And I've been acting like nothing has changed. He must think I don't want to be with him, that I've changed my mind, but that's not true at all. So what exactly am I waiting for?'

He's left things hanging between them way too long already. If he wants to be with Dee, and he does, Ryo realises it's up to him to say or do something to make that clear. Otherwise the two of them are just going to stay stuck in this holding pattern, wasting precious time.

'I'll ask him to have dinner with me, maybe at that restaurant Ted was raving about. It'll give us a chance to talk away from work, and then we can take things from there.'

Mind made up, Ryo sets out in search of his errant partner. He has a pretty good idea of where he might find him.

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The End