The FAKE Drabble Files

by badly-knitted

A collection of FAKE drabbles to go with my Torchwood drabble collection. They'll probably be mainly Dee/Ryo and I've rated the collection T to cover anything I might write. If you've read any of my Torchwood drabbles, you'll know I live for variety and anything goes, though my writing is primarily on the fluffy side.

1212. Tears Aren't Weak

Title: Tears Aren't Weak

Author: badly-knitted

Characters: Ryo, Bikky.

Rating: PG

Setting: Vol. 1, Act 1.

Summary: As Ryo comforts Bikky, he realises there's a lot more he can do to help the boy, if the authorities will let him.

Written Using: The dw100 prompt 'Weakness'.

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

A/N: Triple drabble and a half, 350 words.

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OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

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Bikky is just a little kid, and he's trying so hard to be brave, to be strong, to not let anyone see how much he's hurting. Like far too many young boys, he's been raised to think that crying is a sign of weakness, that real men don't cry, but as far as Ryo's concerned, that's a load of bull. Boys taught from an early age to repress their emotions usually suffer for it later in life, unable to express their feelings in a healthy manner. Well, that's not going to happen with this kid.

"You don't have to keep everything bottled up just because you're a boy," he explains, telling Bikky how he'd cried all day when his parents were killed, and he'd been eighteen at the time.

Despite being determined not to cry, the dam bursts and Ryo comforts the boy as best he can. He knows nothing he says will take Bikky's pain away, it takes time to heal from the grief of losing a parent at such a young age, and Dick Goldman wasn't just Bikky's dad but all the family the kid had left. Still, it's a start, and as he hugs Bikky he feels tears stinging the backs of his own eyes in sympathy, because he still remembers that awful day like it was yesterday. Seven years on and it still hurts. Like Bikky, he never even had the chance to say goodbye.

Perhaps that's what puts the thought in his head in the first place. Ryo knows what Bikky is going through, the grief and the feeling of being all alone in the world. He can't bring Dick Goldman back, but maybe he can help this small boy deal with the loss of his father in a healthy way.

What young Victor Goldman needs most right now is support and understanding, and there's no guarantee he'd get that in foster care or a group home, where he might get picked on by the older kids.

"I know it doesn't feel that way right now," he tells the boy. "But you're gonna be okay."

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The End