Note: takes place post-'Gone'
~~~~~
"I thought I could trust you."
The kid had been sulking for twenty-four hours now. Well, technically they'd both been sulking, but Andrew was being much more vocal about it, like Warren had betrayed him personally or something.
Which was ridiculous because he hadn't done a thing to Andrew, or Jonathan. What difference would it have made to them if he'd removed the Slayer from the equation?
"I mean, I thought we were all about trust now." Andrew was still ranting as Warren reviewed his notes. "What with the, the sharing of secrets, and everything." He'd dropped his voice to a whisper, even though they were the only two in the lair. Jonathan was on his second long walk of the day. Warren decided that was kind of worrying, but he was too preoccupied at present to decide what to do about it. The Plan needed some serious revisions.
Evidently not ready to let the whole thing drop, Andrew had stepped right up into Warren's personal space, one sneaker-ed foot tap-tapping impatiently on the floor.
"I don't think I wanna trust you with stuff anymore." Suddenly there was so much venom in the boy's voice that Warren could have believed he was channelling Jonathan. He pushed away from the desk so that his chair spun around until he was facing Andrew. The kid was working up to a super-charged pout, arms folded over his chest like a protective barrier.
"Hey, whoa," he replied, hands up to say 'hold on a minute'. Trust was kind of an essential part of The Plan. "Why would you think that? C'mon, man, you can trust me." He rose carefully to his feet, making Andrew back up a step.
"But…you lied." There was a definite shake in Andrew's voice now, and Warren worked hard to hide his pleasure. If only everyone was this easy to intimidate.
Evidently realising his resolve was failing, Andrew jutted his chin forward, drawing a deep breath and refolding his arms, shifting his weight over on to one foot. All it did was put Warren in mind of a little kid demanding candy.
"I didn't lie." Which was in itself a lie, even more blatant than the one in question, but then what was honesty to a crime-lord? "I just… I messed up."
Hopefully it would be vague enough to confuse Andrew, which was all Warren really needed. Just throw his twisted mind off the real track and on to something entirely new, and he'd soon get distracted.
He could see from Andrew's shifting expression that he was already glancing in the new direction Warren had shown him.
"Messed up?" Andrew's voice suggested confusion and hope, and Warren took that hope and ran with it.
"Look, you can't bail on me, man. I need you."
The brief moment of hesitation was a clear enough sign that Andrew was ready to follow the breadcrumbs Warren had dropped.
"You mean, you need me and Jonathan, right?" The kid unfolded his arms and glanced down at his hands, twitchy fingers lacing together.
Warren stepped closer, and dropped another crumb.
"I need you, Andrew. I need your help." He reached out and wrapped a hand around Andrew's arm. Distractedly, he took stock of just how thin Andrew was beneath his flannel shirt. So breakable. "Figuring out some stuff."
Andrew squirmed under his touch for just a moment before asking, "What kind of stuff?" Warren responded by raising his free hand and brushing the tips of blunt fingers along the line of Andrew's jaw. He felt the boy twitch, then relax as understanding dawned.
He had time to breathe an "Ohhh" of acknowledgement before Warren braced himself and moved in.
Warren kept his grip on Andrew's arm, applying the same kind of softly persistent pressure as he did with his lips. Not so much as to overwhelm the boy, not so little that he'd forget who was in charge. Then again, Warren felt certain that this was Andrew's first, and he doubted Andrew would be in any rush to assume control.
When he was done, he pulled back and found himself vaguely amused by the way Andrew's eyes refused to open, his lashes fluttering faintly as he basked in the remains of sensation. He mustered another "Ohhh," quieter this time, every bit the kid in a coming-of-age movie, even down to the faraway smile tugging at his mouth.
He waited patiently for Andrew to look at him again.
"Wow…" Andrew was hooked, no doubt about it. Warren felt certain. He nodded in agreement. Sure, it was fantastic, incredible, amazing, whatever Andrew wanted it to be. "Warren, that was…"
The boy's face clouded for a moment, and before Warren could ask what was wrong he asked, "Are you serious?" Damn. The continual paranoia of the insecure. Warren remembered that feeling all too well.
Acting quickly, he slid the hand on Andrew's elbow downwards to take hold of the boy's hand, and gave it a quick squeeze. Andrew melted into a wide smile, sagging visibly with relief. A moment's indecision, then he darted forward and pushed his lips against Warren's. Warren decided to allow him this one liberty.
Afterwards, Andrew resumed beaming at him, Warren's hand still holding his.
Oh, yeah. Hook, line, sinker, rod and copy of 'Angling Times'.
They were interrupted by the door opening. He couldn't have timed it better if he'd tried. Warren dropped Andrew's hand before Jonathan appeared at the top of the stairs, and flashed the boy a wink before turning back to his work. This would definitely make things easier.
~~~~~
tbc
~~~~~
"I thought I could trust you."
The kid had been sulking for twenty-four hours now. Well, technically they'd both been sulking, but Andrew was being much more vocal about it, like Warren had betrayed him personally or something.
Which was ridiculous because he hadn't done a thing to Andrew, or Jonathan. What difference would it have made to them if he'd removed the Slayer from the equation?
"I mean, I thought we were all about trust now." Andrew was still ranting as Warren reviewed his notes. "What with the, the sharing of secrets, and everything." He'd dropped his voice to a whisper, even though they were the only two in the lair. Jonathan was on his second long walk of the day. Warren decided that was kind of worrying, but he was too preoccupied at present to decide what to do about it. The Plan needed some serious revisions.
Evidently not ready to let the whole thing drop, Andrew had stepped right up into Warren's personal space, one sneaker-ed foot tap-tapping impatiently on the floor.
"I don't think I wanna trust you with stuff anymore." Suddenly there was so much venom in the boy's voice that Warren could have believed he was channelling Jonathan. He pushed away from the desk so that his chair spun around until he was facing Andrew. The kid was working up to a super-charged pout, arms folded over his chest like a protective barrier.
"Hey, whoa," he replied, hands up to say 'hold on a minute'. Trust was kind of an essential part of The Plan. "Why would you think that? C'mon, man, you can trust me." He rose carefully to his feet, making Andrew back up a step.
"But…you lied." There was a definite shake in Andrew's voice now, and Warren worked hard to hide his pleasure. If only everyone was this easy to intimidate.
Evidently realising his resolve was failing, Andrew jutted his chin forward, drawing a deep breath and refolding his arms, shifting his weight over on to one foot. All it did was put Warren in mind of a little kid demanding candy.
"I didn't lie." Which was in itself a lie, even more blatant than the one in question, but then what was honesty to a crime-lord? "I just… I messed up."
Hopefully it would be vague enough to confuse Andrew, which was all Warren really needed. Just throw his twisted mind off the real track and on to something entirely new, and he'd soon get distracted.
He could see from Andrew's shifting expression that he was already glancing in the new direction Warren had shown him.
"Messed up?" Andrew's voice suggested confusion and hope, and Warren took that hope and ran with it.
"Look, you can't bail on me, man. I need you."
The brief moment of hesitation was a clear enough sign that Andrew was ready to follow the breadcrumbs Warren had dropped.
"You mean, you need me and Jonathan, right?" The kid unfolded his arms and glanced down at his hands, twitchy fingers lacing together.
Warren stepped closer, and dropped another crumb.
"I need you, Andrew. I need your help." He reached out and wrapped a hand around Andrew's arm. Distractedly, he took stock of just how thin Andrew was beneath his flannel shirt. So breakable. "Figuring out some stuff."
Andrew squirmed under his touch for just a moment before asking, "What kind of stuff?" Warren responded by raising his free hand and brushing the tips of blunt fingers along the line of Andrew's jaw. He felt the boy twitch, then relax as understanding dawned.
He had time to breathe an "Ohhh" of acknowledgement before Warren braced himself and moved in.
Warren kept his grip on Andrew's arm, applying the same kind of softly persistent pressure as he did with his lips. Not so much as to overwhelm the boy, not so little that he'd forget who was in charge. Then again, Warren felt certain that this was Andrew's first, and he doubted Andrew would be in any rush to assume control.
When he was done, he pulled back and found himself vaguely amused by the way Andrew's eyes refused to open, his lashes fluttering faintly as he basked in the remains of sensation. He mustered another "Ohhh," quieter this time, every bit the kid in a coming-of-age movie, even down to the faraway smile tugging at his mouth.
He waited patiently for Andrew to look at him again.
"Wow…" Andrew was hooked, no doubt about it. Warren felt certain. He nodded in agreement. Sure, it was fantastic, incredible, amazing, whatever Andrew wanted it to be. "Warren, that was…"
The boy's face clouded for a moment, and before Warren could ask what was wrong he asked, "Are you serious?" Damn. The continual paranoia of the insecure. Warren remembered that feeling all too well.
Acting quickly, he slid the hand on Andrew's elbow downwards to take hold of the boy's hand, and gave it a quick squeeze. Andrew melted into a wide smile, sagging visibly with relief. A moment's indecision, then he darted forward and pushed his lips against Warren's. Warren decided to allow him this one liberty.
Afterwards, Andrew resumed beaming at him, Warren's hand still holding his.
Oh, yeah. Hook, line, sinker, rod and copy of 'Angling Times'.
They were interrupted by the door opening. He couldn't have timed it better if he'd tried. Warren dropped Andrew's hand before Jonathan appeared at the top of the stairs, and flashed the boy a wink before turning back to his work. This would definitely make things easier.
~~~~~
tbc