Title: Miles Apart

Author: badly-knitted

Characters: Dee, Bikky, Ryo.

Rating: G

Setting: After Vol. 7.

Summary: With Ryo away on a temporary assignment, both he and Dee are feeling alone.

Word Count: 500

Written For: Prompt # 417 - Lonely, at slashthedrabble.

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

A/N: Companion piece to my ficlet 'Temporary Assignment'.

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Dee let himself into Ryo's apartment and looked around. Somehow the place seemed as cold, empty, and unloved as Dee himself felt with Ryo away on temporary assignment in Washington.

It had been less than three weeks since he'd seen his partner off in a taxi. He'd wanted to drive Ryo to the airport, but hadn't been able to get time off; all he'd been able to do was spend the night and then say goodbye and good luck before heading off to work.

Dumping his takeaway dinner on the coffee table, Dee slumped onto the sofa, thinking back to that last morning; the rushed breakfast, helping with the dishes, and those few blessed minutes he and Ryo had been able to snatch for themselves between Bikky leaving for school, and Ryo's taxi arriving.

It hadn't been anywhere near long enough. They'd kissed and clung to each other until the last possible moment, knowing it would be the last contact they'd have of any kind for at least the next month, and possibly longer. Being apart was proving even harder to bear than Dee had expected. Loneliness had settled in like an ache deep inside him that nothing could alleviate. He wondered if Ryo was missing him too.

The door opened and Bikky burst in, skidding to a halt when he realised someone else was there. He frowned at Dee. "What're you doing here?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but Ryo gave me his keys and asked me to keep an eye on the place while he was away."

"So you brought dinner with you?"

Dee shrugged. "Gotta be at the precinct early tomorrow before my shift starts for an important meeting, so I figured Ryo wouldn't mind me sleepin' here tonight. It'll shorten my commute, and make the place look more lived in as well with the lights turned on." It was a perfectly reasonable excuse.

Bikky slouched over to the sofa and sat on the other end, suddenly looking small. "I miss him too."

"Wanna give Melinda the night off and sleep in your own bed?" Dee asked. He gestured at the takeaway bags. "I think there's enough here for two."

Bikky nodded. "Okay. I'll go tell Melinda." Jumping to his feet, he dashed out the door again.

Over two hundred miles away, in the small Washington apartment that was his for the duration of this assignment, Ryo lay on the sofa, the TV on in the background, thinking of home, wondering what Dee and Bikky were doing and if they were both okay.

From morning until late evening, when he was working, it was easier to distract himself, but alone at night the loneliness set in, feeling like a heavy, crushing weight on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

The first week hadn't been too bad, but since then…

Every night, when he crawled into bed, he prayed the assignment would be over soon so he could go home, to his family.

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The End