Title: Two Sides

Author: badly-knitted

Characters: Dee/Ryo

Rating: PG

Setting: After the manga.

Summary: Ryo muses over the two sides of his lover.

Word Count: 500

Written For: Prompt 458: A Side / B Side at slashthedrabble.

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

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Slipping the CD out of its case, Ryo slotted it into its place in his music system and pressed play. The disc whirred as it spun, and then the room was filled with music in surround sound. He smiled in appreciation; technology had changed so much since he was a kid. Back then it was still LPs and singles, with some records also released on audiocassette. You'd play one side then have to turn the record or cassette over so you could listen to the rest.

He could still remember buying the latest chart releases by his favourite singers and bands, songs he'd heard on the radio. He'd play the 'A' side then flip the disc over to listen to the 'B' side, usually another song from the same album. As often as not, he'd find he liked that side even better, a different sound from the same artist, just not what was considered 'popular' or 'marketable'.

People were sort of like that too, he mused, dropping onto the sofa and letting the music wash over him. They had their 'A' side, the public face that was for general consumption, the one they wore at work, or when they were out on the town, the side of themselves they wanted everyone to see. That was the person they wanted to be, even if it took an effort at times to keep up the act. Then they had their 'B' side, their real self, the side of them that only those they were closest to ever got to see.

Take Dee for example. On the outside, he was loud, brash, confident, flirty, outgoing, larger than life… He drew attention to himself just by existing. How often had Ryo seen every head turn towards Dee when he entered a room? He exuded magnetism. But that wasn't all there was to Dee; just like a record, he had another side to him, a quieter, more thoughtful, romantic side that Ryo had started seeing more and more often as they'd grown closer, going from work partners, to friends, and finally to a committed relationship. Sometimes Dee could even be insecure, probably because of growing up not knowing who his parents were or why they'd abandoned him, but that very insecurity just made Ryo love him more. It warmed his heart that Dee trusted him enough to let that side of himself show when they were alone together.

Not that his occasional insecurity and vulnerability made Dee soft in any way; he was a strong-willed and unashamedly masculine kind of man, with very definite needs and desires, and he still flirted outrageously with every attractive person he met. It was in his nature to do so. But Ryo wasn't worried; he knew that flirting was as far as Dee would go with anyone but him. Others could see his public face, but only Ryo would ever have access to the other, more private side of his lover, which was just the way it should be.

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The End