::
"I could be mistaken, but I rather thought you went to the Riters when it came to needing help on your homework." Goddamn- Was it so hard to ask that Clockwork at least pretend to be surprised when Danny snuck up on him!
"All of time and space. You can see all of time and space, but you abuse your powers to follow me around like a worried parent. That's just sad, Clockwork." Throwing his bag into an armchair, Danny flew over and floated beside Clockwork, watching the time mirrors. He could never see anything but glimpses and flashes, but it was… It was calming, in a way. Relaxing.
"Yet you often find yourself attracting danger that affects the safety of both worlds. I believe my concern is warranted." Clockwork gave a small ruffle to Danny's hair, lips twitching into a smile. "And I guessed."
"I knew that." Danny shifted to lean back in the air, silence falling over the two before Danny was breaking it after less than a minute. "I mean, it makes sense, doesn't it? That I feel like this? It's normal. It's totally normal."
"We should never be ashamed or scared of our feelings, Daniel. They're a part of what makes us who we are." Mhm. Right. Okay. That made total sense. Not.
"It's not normal. I mean- I mean, he's- It's not right. Maybe it's just one of those things that come and go, ya know? Like, stuff like this doesn't last long! Andrew just happened to be the very happy exception!"
"Sometimes exceptions can happen more than once." Clockwork barely finished before Danny did his best to drown him out with loud and pained groaning.
"You're not supposed to be encouraging this! Less! Less encouragement! I mean- I mean it's so wrong to have a crush on my mate's brother!" Well… Danny wasn't sure he could call it a crush. "I just… It's…" It was so blurred. Before there had been lines. Very clear and precise lines about how they should act.
Randy was Andrew's brother. He was fun to be around, great to team up with, and always did his best to protect and look after them. The thing was, the thing was, that's how Andrew and him had been in the beginning. The way he was acting with Randy, that was just how he and Andrew had been for the longest time.
"Will it help if I tell you everything will work out in due time?" Chewing on his bottom lip, Danny glanced to Clockwork. As much as he made jokes about Clockwork acting like a worried parent, he… He could use the parental advice. "Even if you were to have similar feelings for Randall, would it be so bad? How would that change things between the three of you?"
"Andy would-!" Would… What? Break up with him? Never. Spectra could pick at him all she wanted, but one core thing Danny believed above all else was that Andrew would always stick by him. "But Randy…" Would leave? Never. Those two of all people knew what difficult situations were like, and they'd understand perfectly. "It'd be awkward."
"For a time, but you and I both know they'd support you and help you to work through these feelings if they ever become too much. You don't have to tell them, Daniel, but do try to promise me you'll speak to them if you get overwhelmed."
"I… I'll do my best." Because it would be awkward. Horribly so. He loved Andrew more than anything - anything - but… But Randy was beginning to become just as important in his life. He had made such an impact.
"If it helps any, I believe you've found the driving inspiration behind your latest Creative Writing assignment." Laughing, Danny gave a nod, and, yeah. Guess he had found the inspiration.
"Guess so, huh? Feel like giving me a few tips and pointers since I'm already here? Maybe help me with history a little bit?" The hand ruffling his hair was answer enough, Danny smiling brightly and flying over to get his bag. "Right, okay, so, we're doing this big whole thing on the founding of America where it's such a relevant topic right now. You know, that whole musical and all? So I need some dirt and gossip on the founding fathers."
"Powers over all of time and space and you wish to use them to complete your history homework." Clockwork shook his head as laughter bubbled out of him. "Daniel, you are the most interesting person I have ever met."
"I'll do my best to keep being interesting, then. Now, dirt and gossip, Clockwork. Dirt and gossip."
::
Andrew stared down at the paper he was reading, thoughts in a whirl as he tapped his pencil against the edge of his work desk in Vidya. "Danny, Danny, Danny… What am I going to do with you, mon cher." The paper in front of him was six pages typed font and easily over two thousand words. Andrew had asked for seven hundred and Danny had typed up two thousand about how Randy had made an impact on him and his life.
The tone conveyed was proper and professional with just a dash of sass, the structure was rock solid and perfectly put together, at least ten vocabulary words had been used from his English lists that week, and it was an essay worthy of a college freshman, let alone a high school junior. It at least explained why the teen had been so squirrelly the last few days, and Andrew would definitely make a note to take Danny aside and talk with him if it started to affect him. For now, though… "Randy! Could you come help me grade papers!"
Distant sounds came from the kitchen, Andrew able to hear the oven being fiddled with, bowls set aside, and a quiet swear as something clattered into the sink. "I don't exactly have a teaching degree, Andy! Especially not in English!"
Hmph. Always so stubborn. "S'il vous plaît, grand frère?" There was sudden silence, Andrew frowning and looking up to see that Randy was in front of him with this arms crossed, looking unamused.
"You have no concept of mercy, do you?" The only response Andrew dignified that with was a bright smile. "Alright, alright. I still don't see why I'm helping."
"Because Danny is at the movies with his friends and I don't trust anyone else." Heh, easy as could be. "Just take this stack and look through them? I already marked them, but I want you to check for any spelling or grammar errors before I give the final grade."
"You're just being lazy," Randy complained, taking the stack of papers and sitting in the spot they had been in. Tucking his legs underneath himself, Randy grabbed a red pen and began reading. He was halfway through the first one before Andrew heard him mumbling. "What the fuck… Why would you admit to that?"
"Welcome to the life of a high school teacher," Andrew snorted, brightening as he picked up Sam's. Huh, she went with a positive angle. Interesting, for her. Ah, when she was first captured by a ghost and how it tied into her gothic beliefs… She was stepping outside of her boundaries. Andrew made sure to scribble a little smiley face next to her rather high grade.
The room was quiet besides the occasional comment or laugh as they pointed out particularly good - or bad - bits. It was nice. Andrew had almost forgotten how fun it was to spend time with Randy when it was just the two of them, quiet and relaxed. It was nice. Peaceful.
A sharp inhale let him know Randy had reached Danny's paper. Keeping himself calm, Andrew turned the page on the paper he was grading, "Something interesting?"
"Ye- Yeah. You could say that." It was a few minutes of papers flipping carefully back and forth. It was a few more minutes of silence before Randy tried to speak. "Andy-"
"Save it." Marking a grade down, Andrew placed Mikey's paper into the complete pile. He would have to have a talk with him about not being so textbook about his work. "I already know what you're going to say, grand frère. You're going to attempt to apologize, you'll say how you'll speak with him about it, try to get him to understand. Some poor joke about one of our missions, a poor excuse to leave the room, and then you'll hide out in Liz for a few days. Sound about right?"
"And let me guess what you're going to say." Randy's voice was a wreck, the man running a hand through his hair as he stared down at the paper. "You'll say I have nothing to apologize for and that feelings can never be helped. You'll say that I shouldn't speak to him unless he approaches us, or it starts to hurt him. That it's alright if he doesn't understand yet because half the time we don't even understand. You'll shoot a self-deprecating joke back about our past to counter mine, pretend to believe my poor excuse, and then try to give me my space. Sound about right?"
"Now that we've established all of that, how about we try something different for a change?" Standing up, Andrew didn't give Randy a chance to move before he was wrapping the older up in a hug. "Does it matter what we name our feelings when we're all happy, and comfortable? If it bothers you we can talk about it. If it bothers any of us we can talk about it, but for now… Can't we just enjoy what we have?"
It was simple. They loved each other, that much was a definite fact. Anything else… Andrew didn't see how it mattered. Randy was just as important to him as Danny was. There was no comparing the two, no competition, no one above the other, they were just… They were his. Why should anything else matter?
"When did it get to be you comforting me?" Randy was wrapped around Andrew just as tightly, only pulling away to cup his cheeks and kiss him softly on the forehead. It was possible Andrew blushed, but he'd be taking that secret to his second death. "If you don't give him an perfect grade, I'm going to be disappointed in you."
"He gets a 94, there were places where he could show signs of improvement. Sentence structure that needs to be changed and moved around a little, and-"
"You're so cruel to your students." A small yelp escaped him as Randy pulled Andrew up into his lap, kissing at his cheek this time. "What did I ever do to earn you in my life?"
"Something horrible, no doubt." Andrew didn't need to see his face to know it was brightly flushed, or that he had a smile far too big. "I'm still trying to figure out the one good thing I did to earn you."
"Probably wasn't all that good," Randy snorted, the man's energy swirling and twisting around them before they were sitting on the couch a few feet away, papers stacked neatly around them. "I'm helping you grade from now on, I hope you know. This entertainment is too good to pass up."
"I figured." Hm. Andrew really needed to corner Randy one day and see just how his powers worked. Teleportation was one thing for powerful ghosts, but Randy always made it seem so effortless. "Pass me Baxter's. I'm going to be passive-aggressive."
"Favoritism among students is frowned upon," Randy handed the paper over anyways, snorting and laughing under his breath. "How many gold star stickers do you think I can get away with putting on Danny's paper?"
"I don't have any gold star stickers." Digging Danny's paper out, Andrew made sure to doodle a happy little ghost in the corner. Randy, the show-off, had to go and start drawing on the back of each paper. Considering his skills when it came to backgrounds and scenery work, Andrew wouldn't be surprised if Danny ended up saving this paper for the rest of his life. "You're really okay?"
It wasn't even a moment before the arms around him tightened, Randy pulling Andrew further back into his lap and tucking him close. "I'm really okay." The warmth and contentment in the words had Andrew relaxing at once, quiet sigh leaving him.
"Good. Now pass me the red pen, I have some idiots that need to pass high school." They would be okay. Names and labels weren't needed, they had each other, and that was all that mattered. They would be okay no matter what. Andrew believed that with everything in him.