Andrew Ficathon Fic
I’ve finally finished my fic for the Andrew Ficathon! Apologies for the delay, and I hope you like it.
Request:
For: trkkr47
Two Andrew pairings you want to be written for you: Andrew & Giles (preferably shippy, but not necessarily), Andrew/Xander
A Request: Giles being mentor-y, or Xander being geeky, and, in either case, Andrew being sappy
A Restriction: No unending angst
Notes: So I went for Andrew/Giles - semi-shippy. Also hints of Andrew/OMC. Set just before Damage
Archive: FCFM, sure. Anyone else ask.
Giles sat at his desk, working: his head was bent over a pile of musty, leather books filled with the promise of ancient wisdom and excitement. He reached out and turned the page over, making a note in small, precise handwriting on the pad beside him. He paused, seeming about to turn around to look at the door, until some further snippet of information engrossed him once more.
Andrew stifled a giggle - he was watching - he was a Watcher. Therefore he had to watch Giles; it was in the job description. Quod erat demonstrandum. The slight noise he made drew Giles’ attention back to him, however. Andrew paused guiltily, but Giles smiled at him.
“Hello Andrew. How is your task going - young Elliott?”
“Alex? Oh, he’s great. We went to see The Two Towers again last night. It gets better every time. He likes Gollum best, but I...” Andrew trailed off; Giles was looking at him with a familiar expression of exasperation and amusement. Andrew continued, in deliberately, if not entirely successful, restrained tones, ‘I mean, I think he’s picking up the Watcher thing very well. He knows way lots about demons - like he can quote ‘Maxwell’s Demon Compendium’ nearly as well as I can.” Andrew glanced behind him; “He’s here now. Do you want to hear?”
“No, no, that’s fine. Come in,” Giles said, ushering the two boys into the office. “You two may as well help me with something. It’ll be good practice for you, Andrew, for your first major assignment in LA. Also a bit of on-the-job training never hurt anyone,” he nodded at Alex. “I need some help collecting a book from another dimension. It’s one of the most important books to have been lost in the destruction of the Watcher’s Council. Believed irreplaceable.” He looked at them. Andrew nodded to show that he was terribly interested, and Giles continued.
Andrew tried to listen. It was important, and he was going to be a crack member of the retrieval team. Along with Alex - as his junior - Benson to his Stabler; Blair to his Ellison; Scully to his Mulder. Yeah, they’d kick some demon ass together, and Mr Giles would know how much Andrew wanted to please him. He listened for a little bit longer; the book sounded incredibly... important. He hoped Alex was up to the task. He glanced over at Alex.
Alex didn’t look particularly strong, but he was wiry looking - sometimes as though he were holding in great masses of potential energy, just waiting for the moment to explode. Even his hair, soft, dark, falling in waves down to just above his shoulders, seemed vibrant as he shook it out of his eyes. His eyes, hazel, were focused on Giles. He was sitting there, with his legs twirled around the legs of the chair, his lips slightly parted as he listened to Giles. Andrew could hear him breathe, slightly fast, as though he were nervous. He seemed to catch Andrew’s gaze upon him, and he turned to look at Andrew, flashing him a quick grin.
Andrew noticed Giles had stopped talking. He didn’t actually want to ask Giles what he’d been saying; Alex was leaving the room, so he got up to follow him, and hopefully get the Cliff notes version.
“Andrew, give me a hand here,” Giles said, halting Andrew’s retreat. He shrugged and did his best to look as though he knew what they were doing. Giles lifted one end of the desk and Andrew grabbed the other. They struggled futilely for a moment; Andrew started pulling in the same direction as Giles, and the desk was moved easily against the wall.
As they cleared the floor, Andrew spoke, “So, uh, this book, you think we’ll really get it?”
“As I said, we should be able to open a portal directly over it, thanks to the tracking spells placed on it. As soon as Elliott is back with the ingredients we should be able to go straight there,” Giles said, only slightly impatiently. Andrew grinned. Score! Cliff notes version. Then he frowned slightly as Giles’ words sank in.
“Don’t you like Alex? Cos you never say his first name, and you don’t if you dislike people. Except you used to call me Andrew even when you hated me, and maybe you still hate me...” He trailed off disconsolately. Giles looked up.
“I don’t dislike you, Andrew.”
“Oh good, because I don’t dislike you either. I kinda like you,” Andrew said, ducking his head down nervously.
“I don’t dislike ... Alex either. I wasn’t overly fond of his uncle. An adequate Watcher, but Sirk was occasionally somewhat, er, unreliable.” Giles paused. “I like you too, Andrew.” Andrew grinned and suddenly launched himself across the room, hugging Giles rapidly, then pulling away.
Alex came back into the room, glancing quizzically at Andrew, and handed the box he was carrying to Giles. The spell to open the portal wasn’t complicated: Andrew had done far more difficult, although of course far less ethical, incantations to summon demons. They separated on exiting the portal, finding themselves in a subterranean tunnel; Giles going one way; the two boys the other.
They hadn’t walked far when Alex grinned and pounced on the book. “Got it!”
“Excellent, my Padawan, we should go tell Mr. Giles.”
“No, wait a little,” Alex said. Andrew couldn’t see why; he was about to protest when Alex kissed him. Naturally enough that delayed his protest somewhat. You can’t be thoroughly kissed and still be expected to rescue books, even terribly important books. Alex maneuvered him against the tunnel wall, settling himself down, with Andrew leaning against him. “I can’t stay here, but I don’t want to leave you.”
“Why do you have to go? Anyway, what do you mean you don’t want to leave me?”
“We don’t need the Watcher’s Council. You’ve told me how you nearly took over Sunnydale. Nobody will ever really trust you there ever. If you came with me, we’d be together. I’d trust you; I’d love you. This book could start a whole new order. Uncle Rutherford had this whole collection. Some of them - the demon summoning ones - will send you insane - literally. Come on, Andrew. It’d be brilliant,” Alex said, the excitement of persuasion lighting up his face.
Andrew thought about it. He wanted someone badly. A guy to laugh with; to share the same jokes; to go see movies with - Prisoner of Azkaban - X-Men Three; and Four; and Five... But he’d been tempted by experts. After Warren, Alex didn’t exactly compare. He considered his plan of campaign, and shrugged. He leant in and kissed Alex back. When he was fairly sure the book, he still didn’t know what it was called, was in his possession, he spoke.
“See, I don’t get how you could trust me if I started our relationship by betraying Mr Giles. How would you know I wouldn’t betray you? I could end up like the Master swapping sides any time I wanted. Even working with the Doctor when there’s something I could get out of it, and they’re supposed to be arch-enemies or something, although with them,” Andrew stopped, and got up, sidling away from Alex, whose face had darkened, in the direction of Giles. “So, no, I don’t think I’ll take up your offer. Thank you all the same.” He ran.
Alex pounded after him, catching him before he could get very far. Andrew did what any of the Doctor’s self-respecting companions would have done: he screamed. Alex punched him, trying to grab the book. Andrew fell heavily and didn’t get up. He lay there, feeling the stone cool against his face; disconnected from his surroundings, he heard, as if from a great distance, Giles running towards him, then past him after the retreating feet of Alex. He managed to gasp out a sound, and Giles returned to him. He felt Giles bend over him.
“Andrew, are you all right?”
Andrew shook himself slightly. The words seemed rather distant; his own even more so, but his voice felt distinct enough: he stammered out, looking up at Giles’ face, “Alex, the book.”
“It doesn’t matter about the book, Andrew.” But Andrew could see from Giles’ face that it did matter. He finished his sentence.
“It’s okay. I landed on it.” He managed to roll off the book and handed it to Giles.
The next thing Andrew remembered was waking up in his room at Giles’ house, only temporary accommodation, of course, Giles had told him when he moved in, seven months ago. Giles was sitting by his bed. He looked up when Andrew tried to shift himself into an upright position.
“I messed up, didn’t I?” Andrew said, looking at Giles.
“No, no, you didn’t. Alex was my fault - not yours. You saved the book, did everything right.”
“I can still go to Los Angeles? You still trust me to save this Slayer?”
“Do you still want to go?” Giles said, looking at Andrew curiously.
“Yes, yes, I do,” Andrew said fervently, “I won’t mess it up. I’ll get her back safely for you.”
“I know,” Giles said. He brushed a stray curl from Andrew’s forehead. “I know you will.”
Request:
For: trkkr47
Two Andrew pairings you want to be written for you: Andrew & Giles (preferably shippy, but not necessarily), Andrew/Xander
A Request: Giles being mentor-y, or Xander being geeky, and, in either case, Andrew being sappy
A Restriction: No unending angst
Notes: So I went for Andrew/Giles - semi-shippy. Also hints of Andrew/OMC. Set just before Damage
Archive: FCFM, sure. Anyone else ask.
Giles sat at his desk, working: his head was bent over a pile of musty, leather books filled with the promise of ancient wisdom and excitement. He reached out and turned the page over, making a note in small, precise handwriting on the pad beside him. He paused, seeming about to turn around to look at the door, until some further snippet of information engrossed him once more.
Andrew stifled a giggle - he was watching - he was a Watcher. Therefore he had to watch Giles; it was in the job description. Quod erat demonstrandum. The slight noise he made drew Giles’ attention back to him, however. Andrew paused guiltily, but Giles smiled at him.
“Hello Andrew. How is your task going - young Elliott?”
“Alex? Oh, he’s great. We went to see The Two Towers again last night. It gets better every time. He likes Gollum best, but I...” Andrew trailed off; Giles was looking at him with a familiar expression of exasperation and amusement. Andrew continued, in deliberately, if not entirely successful, restrained tones, ‘I mean, I think he’s picking up the Watcher thing very well. He knows way lots about demons - like he can quote ‘Maxwell’s Demon Compendium’ nearly as well as I can.” Andrew glanced behind him; “He’s here now. Do you want to hear?”
“No, no, that’s fine. Come in,” Giles said, ushering the two boys into the office. “You two may as well help me with something. It’ll be good practice for you, Andrew, for your first major assignment in LA. Also a bit of on-the-job training never hurt anyone,” he nodded at Alex. “I need some help collecting a book from another dimension. It’s one of the most important books to have been lost in the destruction of the Watcher’s Council. Believed irreplaceable.” He looked at them. Andrew nodded to show that he was terribly interested, and Giles continued.
Andrew tried to listen. It was important, and he was going to be a crack member of the retrieval team. Along with Alex - as his junior - Benson to his Stabler; Blair to his Ellison; Scully to his Mulder. Yeah, they’d kick some demon ass together, and Mr Giles would know how much Andrew wanted to please him. He listened for a little bit longer; the book sounded incredibly... important. He hoped Alex was up to the task. He glanced over at Alex.
Alex didn’t look particularly strong, but he was wiry looking - sometimes as though he were holding in great masses of potential energy, just waiting for the moment to explode. Even his hair, soft, dark, falling in waves down to just above his shoulders, seemed vibrant as he shook it out of his eyes. His eyes, hazel, were focused on Giles. He was sitting there, with his legs twirled around the legs of the chair, his lips slightly parted as he listened to Giles. Andrew could hear him breathe, slightly fast, as though he were nervous. He seemed to catch Andrew’s gaze upon him, and he turned to look at Andrew, flashing him a quick grin.
Andrew noticed Giles had stopped talking. He didn’t actually want to ask Giles what he’d been saying; Alex was leaving the room, so he got up to follow him, and hopefully get the Cliff notes version.
“Andrew, give me a hand here,” Giles said, halting Andrew’s retreat. He shrugged and did his best to look as though he knew what they were doing. Giles lifted one end of the desk and Andrew grabbed the other. They struggled futilely for a moment; Andrew started pulling in the same direction as Giles, and the desk was moved easily against the wall.
As they cleared the floor, Andrew spoke, “So, uh, this book, you think we’ll really get it?”
“As I said, we should be able to open a portal directly over it, thanks to the tracking spells placed on it. As soon as Elliott is back with the ingredients we should be able to go straight there,” Giles said, only slightly impatiently. Andrew grinned. Score! Cliff notes version. Then he frowned slightly as Giles’ words sank in.
“Don’t you like Alex? Cos you never say his first name, and you don’t if you dislike people. Except you used to call me Andrew even when you hated me, and maybe you still hate me...” He trailed off disconsolately. Giles looked up.
“I don’t dislike you, Andrew.”
“Oh good, because I don’t dislike you either. I kinda like you,” Andrew said, ducking his head down nervously.
“I don’t dislike ... Alex either. I wasn’t overly fond of his uncle. An adequate Watcher, but Sirk was occasionally somewhat, er, unreliable.” Giles paused. “I like you too, Andrew.” Andrew grinned and suddenly launched himself across the room, hugging Giles rapidly, then pulling away.
Alex came back into the room, glancing quizzically at Andrew, and handed the box he was carrying to Giles. The spell to open the portal wasn’t complicated: Andrew had done far more difficult, although of course far less ethical, incantations to summon demons. They separated on exiting the portal, finding themselves in a subterranean tunnel; Giles going one way; the two boys the other.
They hadn’t walked far when Alex grinned and pounced on the book. “Got it!”
“Excellent, my Padawan, we should go tell Mr. Giles.”
“No, wait a little,” Alex said. Andrew couldn’t see why; he was about to protest when Alex kissed him. Naturally enough that delayed his protest somewhat. You can’t be thoroughly kissed and still be expected to rescue books, even terribly important books. Alex maneuvered him against the tunnel wall, settling himself down, with Andrew leaning against him. “I can’t stay here, but I don’t want to leave you.”
“Why do you have to go? Anyway, what do you mean you don’t want to leave me?”
“We don’t need the Watcher’s Council. You’ve told me how you nearly took over Sunnydale. Nobody will ever really trust you there ever. If you came with me, we’d be together. I’d trust you; I’d love you. This book could start a whole new order. Uncle Rutherford had this whole collection. Some of them - the demon summoning ones - will send you insane - literally. Come on, Andrew. It’d be brilliant,” Alex said, the excitement of persuasion lighting up his face.
Andrew thought about it. He wanted someone badly. A guy to laugh with; to share the same jokes; to go see movies with - Prisoner of Azkaban - X-Men Three; and Four; and Five... But he’d been tempted by experts. After Warren, Alex didn’t exactly compare. He considered his plan of campaign, and shrugged. He leant in and kissed Alex back. When he was fairly sure the book, he still didn’t know what it was called, was in his possession, he spoke.
“See, I don’t get how you could trust me if I started our relationship by betraying Mr Giles. How would you know I wouldn’t betray you? I could end up like the Master swapping sides any time I wanted. Even working with the Doctor when there’s something I could get out of it, and they’re supposed to be arch-enemies or something, although with them,” Andrew stopped, and got up, sidling away from Alex, whose face had darkened, in the direction of Giles. “So, no, I don’t think I’ll take up your offer. Thank you all the same.” He ran.
Alex pounded after him, catching him before he could get very far. Andrew did what any of the Doctor’s self-respecting companions would have done: he screamed. Alex punched him, trying to grab the book. Andrew fell heavily and didn’t get up. He lay there, feeling the stone cool against his face; disconnected from his surroundings, he heard, as if from a great distance, Giles running towards him, then past him after the retreating feet of Alex. He managed to gasp out a sound, and Giles returned to him. He felt Giles bend over him.
“Andrew, are you all right?”
Andrew shook himself slightly. The words seemed rather distant; his own even more so, but his voice felt distinct enough: he stammered out, looking up at Giles’ face, “Alex, the book.”
“It doesn’t matter about the book, Andrew.” But Andrew could see from Giles’ face that it did matter. He finished his sentence.
“It’s okay. I landed on it.” He managed to roll off the book and handed it to Giles.
The next thing Andrew remembered was waking up in his room at Giles’ house, only temporary accommodation, of course, Giles had told him when he moved in, seven months ago. Giles was sitting by his bed. He looked up when Andrew tried to shift himself into an upright position.
“I messed up, didn’t I?” Andrew said, looking at Giles.
“No, no, you didn’t. Alex was my fault - not yours. You saved the book, did everything right.”
“I can still go to Los Angeles? You still trust me to save this Slayer?”
“Do you still want to go?” Giles said, looking at Andrew curiously.
“Yes, yes, I do,” Andrew said fervently, “I won’t mess it up. I’ll get her back safely for you.”
“I know,” Giles said. He brushed a stray curl from Andrew’s forehead. “I know you will.”