Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Father and Son ❯ Part 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Author's Notes: Here's the last chapter everyone! Thank you again to all of the people who have given me encouraging reviews.

 

 

The click of the key in the lock echoed down the silent hallway, making Bikky wince. Pushing the door open, he mentally whispered his nightly thanks that the hinges never squeaked. As usual, he pulled off his shoes before stepping inside and silently shutting the door behind him. Weeks of practice had taught the boy that socked feet caused less noise than shoes and made creaky floorboards easier to avoid. It also helped to know every inch of the apartment's layout as Bikky carefully sidestepped the coat rack. He held his breath as he paused at Ryo's bedroom door, ears straining to pick up any signs that his guardian was awake. When he only heard the sounds of deep and even breathing, he continued to tiptoe his way past the door.

 

As he continued the perilous trek to his bedroom, Bikky automatically swerved past a spot on the floor that he knew would squeak…and slammed his hip into an end table.

 

“Shit!” He hissed before quickly covering his mouth with his hands.

 

As soon as his hip had connected, the sudden impact caused a small pile of change to fall from the table to the floor. Bikky froze in horror as each coin hit the wooden floorboards with an echoing “ping”. Frightened eyes sought out Ryo's door in the darkness, waiting for the man to wake up. Seconds passed and no sound could be heard from beyond the door. Bikky allowed himself to quietly release the breath he had been holding. As he willed his heartbeat to slow down, the boy couldn't help but wonder why he had hit the table. He had snuck through the living room enough times to memorize where every piece of furniture was located in the dark, so it must have been moved since last night. The thought of his pathway being altered unnerved Bikky greatly

 

Once he was sure that Ryo had not woken up, Bikky turned around and continued to follow his memorized path through the living room. As he stepped down, a sudden popping noise shattered the silence. Bikky jumped at the sudden noise. His other foot came down, only to be met with a series of the same pops. It was then that he realized that a sheet of bubble wrap was beneath his feet. Bikky swallowed back a curse as he realized that this would definitely wake Ryo up. His only chance of not getting caught now was to sprint to his room.

 

As he tore off down the hall, his foot stepped on a small plastic object in the middle of the floor, causing him to slip backwards onto a conveniently placed cushion. The radio suddenly lit up and heavy metal music was blasted through the apartment. Before Bikky could recover, the living room light was switched on. The boy cringed and slowly turned around to see Ryo standing by his bedroom door, arms crossed and a triumphant smirk across his face.

 

“Good evening, Bikky.”

 

“Oh God…” Bikky whimpered. “Ryo I can explain everything.”

 

“Oh you will,” Ryo's voice was deadly serious beneath the smirk as he gestured to the couch. “Please, sit.”

 

Knowing that he couldn't weasel his way out of the situation, Bikky meekly complied and sat obediently. Ryo walked toward him slowly, eyes locked on the boy's as though he was trying to strip away all defenses. Bikky squirmed beneath the scrutinizing gaze of the midnight eyes. The older man stopped a few feet away and stood there, looking very imposing in his pea green pajamas. Minutes passed silently as Ryo simply stared at his foster son and Bikky stared at the floor.

 

“It's a nice night out there,” Ryo's voice suddenly shattered the stillness of the air, making Bikky visibly wince. “At least it must be nice if you insist on staying out there until…” He glanced over at the wall clock. “two thirty-six in the morning.”

 

Bikky remained silent, knowing that he hadn't actually been asked a question.

 

Grabbing the discarded backpack on the floor, Ryo reached in and pulled out two cigarette boxes. “Hmmm…you're a bit young to be smoking. So young that it is, in fact, illegal.”

 

Bikky squirmed a bit in his seat, but still did not dare answer.

 

“It's time to end this, Bikky. Time to end the lies and the deceptions. You are going to answer my questions and you will not stop until you have thoroughly explained what the hell you have been doing these past few weeks. Now start talking.”

 

At this point, Ryo's face was directly in front of the boy's. His expression was harsh and cold, drastically different from his usually gentle features. Bikky gulped as he looked into the stern face above him and realized that he wasn't speaking to Ryo, his foster father, but Detective Randy MacLean. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Ryo could see that Bikky was struggling to answer and decided to give him a little prompting.

 

“No answer, huh? Then why don't we start with an easier question. Why don't we start with this?” The wooden, weed smelling box from under the bed was firmly set on the table in front of Bikky.

 

Ryo could see the horror in Bikky's eyes as he realized he was completely screwed now. With a rough shove, he pushed the box toward the boy. “Open it.”

 

Bikky slowly took the box in his trembling hands, his eyes silently pleading for it to disappear. Seeing his hesitation, Ryo shoved it closer. “Open it.”

 

Gulping, the boy reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a tiny metal key. He carefully placed it within the lock, which released with an audible click. Averting his eyes, Bikky held the box out for his guardian to see.

 

Taking the box from his foster son's shaking grip, Ryo pulled the lock out of the latch and released the metal catch with agonizing slowness. Ryo pulled the lid back, never once taking his eyes away from Bikky's, and reached a hand inside. The boy looked like he was on the verge of tears as that hand came back out.

 

“Cards?”

 

Bikky paled and bowed his head in embarrassment as Ryo examined one card in particular.

 

“The Dark Magician?” He turned it over. “You-guy-oh?”

 

“It's Yu-gi-oh!” Bikky growled. “And the Dark Magician is the most kick-ass card in my deck!”

 

Ryo turned back to the box and shuffled through it. There was no weed, no dirty money, just a large pile of playing cards with pictures of monsters and the word “Yu-gi-oh”. Blinking in obvious surprise and confusion, he looked back at the trembling boy on the couch.

 

“All right,” His stern tone was replaced by a softer, more uncertain one. “Open those cigarette packs now.”

 

Groaning, Bikky flipped the packages open and held them upside down, spilling more of the strange cards onto the coffee table. Ryo stared at the dozens of intricately drawn creatures and shapes for a moment before turning back to his foster son. All strategy and police decorum flew out the window as he said exactly what was on his mind.

 

“What the fuck is going on?”

 

With a defeated sigh, Bikky flopped back on the couch. “It's a card game that I've been playing with my friends every night. There, are you happy now that you've completely annihilated my existence on Earth and ground it into dust?”

 

“Yes…no…wait…How have I…I mean…” Ryo took a deep breath as he racked his brain for some sort of logical sentence. “OK, one thing at a time. First; these cards are a game. What kind of game?”

 

“Only the greatest game ever invented!” Despite his dejected posture, the boy's cerulean eyes lit up. “You use the monster cards to attack your opponent and the one with the strongest monster wins. There are also these spell and trap cards to make your monster stronger and give you an advantage. And my monsters are a lot stronger than my posse's.”

 

Ryo raised one eyebrow. “Your posse? You mean Mac and Tank?”

 

“How did you…? Never mind. Yeah, Mac and Tank are my friends from school. Those are just their nicknames, though. Their real names are Mackenzie and Travis. But we call each other by nicknames cause they sound a lot cooler.”

 

“So you've been sneaking out every night to play this card game with your friends?” Ryo scratched his head as he sat down on the other end of the couch, trying to let the information sink in. “Then what's with the cigarette packages and this box that smells like weed?”

 

“Is that what that smell is?” Bikky held up the box and gave a little sniff. “Eeeeew. I guess that's what I get for pulling it out of a dumpster, but it's great for storing my cards. And I found the cigarette packs in the same trash pile. They're the perfect size for holding my active deck and discard pile when I play with my friends.”

 

“So you're not doing drugs?”

 

Bikky wrinkled his nose in disgust. “No way. Those things killed my dad, so why would I want anything to do with them?”

 

“And you're not smoking?”

 

“And turn out like Dee? I don't think so.”

 

“Then what about the money I give you for cab fare? Why don't you use that instead of walking home through the back alleys? And don't deny it. I have eyewitnesses who have seen you walking around late at night. You know how dangerous the streets are at night.”

 

“Oh…” Bikky shrugged guiltily. “I was using it to buy more cards.”

 

Ryo sighed. “OK, but if you're at your friends' houses, then why are you sneaking home so late? Why don't you call me, so I can pick you up?”

 

Bikky blushed as he ran a hand through his blonde hair. “We get so involved that we completely lose track of time. I don't want you to worry about me, so I try to be really quiet when I come back every night.”

 

Ryo could feel his eye tick in annoyance. “Worry me? Worry me!? You're sneaking out at night, receiving `mysterious' phone calls, walking around the back alleys at night, and lying to my face all over some card game!? You have gone far beyond worrying me, mister!”

 

Bikky pulled a pillow over his head in embarrassment. “I'm sorry,” he wailed. “I didn't want anyone to know about it. I really love the game, but a lot of people at school think it's dorky. And Mac and Tank are the biggest geeks. Mac's on the mathletes team and Tank does all of his science reports on dust mites. I have a reputation as a bad-ass that I need to keep up. If the other guys at school knew that I was hanging out with two twerps and playing a card game, they'd tar and feather me.”

 

“Ooookay…So why couldn't you tell me about this?”

 

“Because if you knew, then Dee would find out and tease me about it every waking minute. I wouldn't put it past him to start up rumors about it at school too.”

 

Ryo had to agree with that. When it came to embarrassing Bikky, he wouldn't put anything past his partner.

 

“And then there's you,” Bikky's voice lowered to a whisper.

 

Ryo glanced up, his brow etched in concern. “Me? What about me?”

 

“You've done so much for me. You took me in when no one else wanted me, gave me a home and a family, and looked out for me every step of the way. I'm really grateful for that. You have no idea how grateful I am. I just…” His voice wavered as he tried to hold back the tears forming in his eyes. “I just didn't want you to think that I was a dork. You're so cool, Ryo, and I want you to think that I'm cool too.”

 

Ryo sat there on the couch, staring at the shaking boy in stunned silence. He watched as Bikky pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face in his arms as he failed to keep his sobs at bay.

 

“I'm sorry,” he whimpered. “I'm so sorry, Ryo. I know you're mad at me, but I'm so sorry for disappointing you and acting like a complete shit head.”

 

“Bikky…” Ryo could feel his heart catch in his throat as he shuffled across the couch and pulled the sobbing boy toward him in a half hug. He said nothing for a long time; simply holding the boy to his shoulder with one arm. The apartment was silent, broken only by the tick of the clock and occasional whimpered hiccups from his foster son.

 

After awhile he finally spoke. “You know, Bikky, I think you're cool too. You're the coolest kid I have ever met, and nothing you do could ever make me think you were a dork. In truth, the real dork here is me.”

 

Bikky peeked up from his arms. “You? No way.”

 

“I mean it,” Ryo smiled. “When you think about what I used to do in college, I'm a bigger dork than any nicknamed, card playing, bad ass brother like you could ever be.”

 

A tiny smile graced the boy's face. “Nuh-uh. I don't believe you.”

 

“I'll prove it,” The older man chuckled as he pulled himself off the couch and headed to his bedroom. A minute later, he came back carrying an unmarked cardboard box that he dropped to the floor with a loud thud. Curiosity piqued, Bikky lifted the lid to peer at the contents inside.

 

“What's `Dungeons and Dragons'?”

 

“Dungeons and Dragons,” Ryo stated proudly. “was the most brilliant and innovative game ever devised by the minds of men.” He started pulling out dusty manuals and rule books, folders of papers covered in numbers, several tubes of multi-sided dice, binders full of monster pictures, and a shoebox full of tiny pewter figurines. “This wasn't like your new-fangled card games. This was a true RPG. Back in college, my friends and I would sit around for hours rolling dice to battle monsters and creating new heroic characters. I'm surprised I kept my grades up considering how much study time I wasted by analyzing my character sheets.”

 

“Really?” Bikky smiled as he paged through a folder of numbered papers. “So what was your character?”

 

A blush crossed Ryo's face. “Oh…I was an elf.”

 

“Did you do all kinds of cool stuff?”

 

“Actually, my character just sort of shot random arrows and received advice from squirrels,” Ryo paused as he saw a look of light-hearted disgust on Bikky's face. “Hey, I said I played, but I didn't say I was any good at it.”

 

The boy laughed. “Wow. I thought that Dee turned you gay, but it looks like you were a pansy long before you met him.”

 

Ryo fixed him with a hard stare, his cheeks pink with embarrassment. “We're having a bonding moment, Bikky. Don't mess it up.”

 

“Sorry,” The boy replied sheepishly. “These binders are really cool though. They really keep everything in order.”

 

“Tell you what,” Ryo smiled as he watched his foster son page through his collection. “I'm off on Saturday. Why don't the two of us go down to the hobby shop on 15th street and pick up some binders to organize your cards. It'll be a lot more effective than cigarette packs and a weed boxes.”

 

“Can I get some more cards too?” Bikky grinned hopefully.

 

“No,” Ryo stated simply, watching Bikky's face fall. “Don't forget that you're still in big trouble, young man, and that means no more sneaking around at night. We'll discuss how to organize a proper gaming session with your friends in two weeks, when you're no longer grounded.”

 

“Damn. I was hoping you'd forgotten about that. But despite that, I still think you're cool, Ryo.”

 

“And I think you're cool too, Bikky. You're right about keeping Dee out of the loop, too. He'd be merciless to both of us if he found out about this. So, if you promise not to tell him about my Dungeons and Dragons collection, I promise not to tell him about your You-guy-oh cards.”

 

“Yu-gi-oh. And it's a deal.”

 

The late hour finally caught up with both of them as they admired each others' collections. As they both stood to go to bed, Ryo turned back to his foster son.

 

“I'm glad we finally talked, Bikky. I'm so relieved to know that you haven't been smoking, or doing drugs, or looking at adult magazines.”

 

“Well, Tank did show us that one issue of `Playboy' two nights ago…”

 

“WHAT!?”

 

THE END

 

 

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed my story. I was really surprised at how few stories there are about Ryo and Bikky's relationship, and I really wanted to explore it. Forgive me if any of my information on Yu-gi-oh or Dungeons and Dragons is horribly inaccurate. I've never played either game, so my knowledge comes from a few randomly watched Yu-gi-oh episodes and rooting through my brother's old D&D collection.

 

Reviews are always welcome, but flames will be mocked and then forgotten. A huge thanks goes out to my beta and buddy LadyDragonphire, without who I never would have gotten this done.