FAKE Ficlet: All Grown Up

[bk_forever]

Title: All Grown Up

Fandom: FAKE

Author: badly_knitted

Characters: Dee, Mother

Rating: G

Setting: Before the manga.

Summary: Dee is leaving for the Police Academy in the morning…

Word Count: 417

Written For: suzume’s prompt Author's choice, author's choice, they mark their children's heights somewhere in their home and say, "Look how much you've grown!" at fic_promptly.

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

They each had their own little strip of wall in the orphanage, marked with their name. Every year on their birthdays they’d stand barefoot, heels pressed in tight against the baseboard, pulling themselves up as straight and tall as they could while Mother made that all-important mark. How much would they have grown in a year? It was a birthday tradition as important to the children as their birthday gift and cake, proof that they were growing up, thriving on Mother’s love and care.

Dee stood looking at the marks that charted his growth from child to man. Of all the children Mother had raised, he’d been here the longest, but tomorrow he’d be leaving. How Mother had raised the money, he didn’t know and would never ask; he’d told her he wanted to become a police officer and she’d found the means to make his dream a reality. Now he’d been accepted into the Police Academy and he vowed he wouldn’t let her down. He wanted her to be proud of him.

“You’ve grown so tall! I remember kneeling to make that first mark; you were so small. You’d been here two years.” Mother’s quiet voice came from behind him and he turned to look down at the diminutive figure of the woman who had raised him from a baby.

“You’d have to stand on a chair to mark my height now,” he teased.

“Then that’s what I’ll do. Fetch a chair, boy, let’s do this properly.”

Doing as he was ordered, he kicked off his shoes and stood straight and tall, head up, back to the wall as mother reached above his head.

“There. My word, look at that! You must have grown a good two inches since last year! Help me down, dear.”

Smiling, Dee offered his arm as Mother stepped carefully to the ground.

“You’ve turned into a fine young man, my boy. But never forget, no matter where you go, you’ll always have a place here if you need it,” she told him, patting his arm.

He bent to hug her.

“I know, Mother. Thank you, for everything. I’ll write, I promise, and I’ll visit whenever I can.”

“I know you will; you’re a good boy, Dee.”

“I try to be.”

He looked back again at the marks on the wall. Everyone had to grow up and go out into the world eventually, but Dee knew that as long as those marks remained, he would always come back. This was his home.

The End



The Mother's Son Remix

Comments

[nightchild78.livejournal.com]

Wow! You brought tears to my eyes. It's so moving. Thank you for sharing this beautiful piece of work. :D

[bk_forever]

Thank you! *hugs* It was just a random prompt, but it really worked for FAKE.

(Sorry about the betaing delay, everything has gone crazy - two 3-day migraines in quick succession, trying to get a chimney sweep to do our chimney, and I had a deadline on one of my own fics, which ended up being over 4000 words by the time I'd finished it. I've gone over Ch. 6 once, just want to do another read through which I might do tomorrow if I don't have to go out.)

[lil-1337.livejournal.com]

That was lovely. It shows how the dedication of one person can really change lives.

[bk_forever]

Mother and Jess were like Dee's parents. They both had a tremendous influence on him and he wants to make them both proud of him, even though Jess is gone. He made a promise to Jess which he intends to keep. Even though he knows he's not been the easiest kid to raise, he knows Mother loves him unconditionally and he'll repay her by making something of himself.

I think Mother is completely dedicated to every single child she takes in, she gives them everything she can. She may be small, but she's tough and she keeps them in line. Dee's probably the one who's been with her the longest though, so he's really her son in her eyes.

thank you!

[timelordshines.livejournal.com]

Aww bless.
I love those measurement walls. And the picture you paint of mother standing on a chair to get the final measurement is just wonderful.

[bk_forever]

She's so little and dumpy! And Dee is over 6ft eventually, but probably not quite that tall yet. Mother really dotes on him, she raised him from a baby after all. In a way, he IS her son, moreso than the other children, because he's been there all his life.

Thank you!