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"Sorry again about interrupting your studying, Andrew." Andrew. He was talking to Andrew. Danny was talking to a living and breathing Andrew who didn't seem to have any idea as to who he was. "I didn't think anyone would still be here this late at night."
"Yes, well, technically I suppose I really shouldn't be here either, so I can't complain very much." Andrew's laugh did wonders in calming Danny down from the panic he was working himself into. "That's quite some story, though, James. How did you get so lost when trying to visit your family?"
"Trust me, the more ridiculous it sounds the more likely it's something I managed to do." Alright, okay, so Danny had used his middle name when introducing himself and had come up with some stupid story about getting lost after missing his bus, losing his luggage, and not finding the right directions to his family. Sue him, he was panicking- He was so panicking. It wasn't everyday that Danny crashed into a library and met a living Andrew Riter- God, of course it was in a library he met him. Again.
"Well, there's not much to be done for tonight," Andrew sighed, Danny reading through his actions and words clearly. He seemed uncomfortable, but there was also tired amusement. Nothing that could be called fond, though. No, the fondness wouldn't come for a while yet. "Why don't you let me get a bit more studying in and then you can spend the night in my dorm. I'll help you find your family tomorrow."
"R- Really?" That startled Danny. He knew all the stories, after all, and even his Andrew wasn't one to trust very lightly. "I, um… Yeah- Yeah, that sounds great. Take your time, though. I mean, library, right? I can find something to read to pass the time."
"Good, because I have a lot of studying to do." Andrew sighed and finally pushed himself to his feet, helping Danny to his own. "The few fiction books the school library has should be over there if you want to look through them."
"Thanks- Thank you." Giving as best a smile he could manage, Danny followed the vague directions before veering off and heading for the front desk as soon as he was out of sight. It took everything in him to just keep his breathing even as it sunk in just what had happened to him. It was really the only explanation, but it was so insane, but… But…
Danny had just time travelled to a time when Andrew Riter was still alive.
Okay, just- Fucking keep calm. He didn't have time to lash out and panic and drag this Andrew who didn't know him into his mess. Danny needed to keep calm, find a way to get home, and then avoid his Andrew and Randy for the rest of eternity- Information. He needed information first on just what was going on.
Getting to the front desk, Danny made his way through all the papers he could, putting together everything they were telling him. It didn't add up to a very pretty picture. He was in a college library - something Andrew himself had mentioned - and it was near the end of the school year. Danny couldn't much focus on the exact date due to the fact his eyes were caught on the year.
1983.
Okay, okay, so he was a few decades into the past, that- That was fine. That just meant he had stumbled upon a time portal. Those… Those were a lot more rare when they formed, though, and Danny really doubted a time portal would just 'randomly' put him in front of his human mate. Clockwork, might, but… He always warned Danny - even if it was something small and subtle he wouldn't see until later- The Observants?
It had to be. It wasn't like it could have been Danny, after all. Sure, alright, yes, he had time powers now, but they weren't- They weren't anything like what Clockwork could do! He couldn't just make time portals without even thinking about it! He could stop time and he could withstand the effects of stopped time. That- That was it. That was the limit of his time powers. So how the hell had he pissed off the Observants enough to end up this far back?
Okay, okay, nothing to do about it now. He just had to wait it out until Clockwork found him. He could do that. Andrew was giving him a place to say and Danny just had to stick to the name James and make sure Andrew didn't remember him - if he remembered him here, then… Well. Clockwork had been very thorough in his lectures of bringing disaster to the time streams. He just had to be careful to not interfere and not leave any kind of an impression - on anyone. Andrew especially.
Putting things back like he had found them, Danny went over to the fiction shelf, surprised by how many titles he recognized. Finally just grabbing one at random, Danny headed back towards the direction he had seen Andrew go off in, chewing at his lip as he did so. Clockwork had said he'd never have actual time powers unless it was under extreme circumstances. Did… Did bottling up his powers count as extreme circumstances?
God, Randy had been right. Bottling up his powers like this had ended up hurting him - it had ended up hurting everyone. Randy had been unsteady and ready to fall over when Danny had left and Andrew- God, Andrew… Randy was right. Not knowing about himself really was going to be his death. Shaking his head to try and clear it, Danny caught sight of the books he had knocked over and winced at their state.
"Leave them, they'll be taken care of tomorrow." Startling at Andrew's voice, Danny spun around in time to see the man give a quiet laugh. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you."
"R- Right." Oh, that- That brought up some- Focus. "Right, yeah, but, I mean, I still kind of feel bad for hurting the books." Setting his own down, Danny moved to at least fix the ones that had fallen open and were suffering cracked and bending spines.
"They're just books, you know." Glancing over his shoulder, Danny almost couldn't stop himself from smirking. He knew Andrew. He also knew how fond Andrew was of tests.
"And that means they don't deserve respect?" Righting and stacking the books, Danny finally let himself smile as he saw Andrew crouch down beside him and help him gather the books. "I thought you had studying to do."
"One can always take the time to help a book." Ah, there was the Andrew he had fallen in love with. "I am rather surprised, though. Very rarely do people care about knocking over a few books."
"I'm a bit unique." There was nothing to be done for the shelves - which seemed to be broken - but the books at least were now nicely stacked off to the side. Standing up, Danny looked for the one he had set down.
"A Wrinkle in Time?" Ah. Aah. Danny had- At random- Seriously? "Rather conceptually difficult - especially for a teenager."
"Hey, I'm a junior, I'll have you know." Danny huffed, crossing his arms and looking as offended as he could - he had a feeling his smile slipped out anyways. "I think I can handle it. I had a great tutor, after all."
"Let it be known I tried." Andrew handed the book over, clearing his throat when their fingers brushed and then quickly turning around. "Come on, then. My table is over here."
"Okay." Was… Was Danny- Was he seducing a younger Andrew? Quickening his pace, Danny just managed to see traces of red on Andrew's face and holy shit he was. Ha- Ha! He had managed to seduce Andrew! Twice! "So, uh, big test coming up?"
"Finals." Ah. No wonder Andrew looked like he had one cup of coffee too many. "No matter how much I study I never feel like I'm truly ready."
"Trust me, I know that feeling." Sitting at the table and trying not to laugh at the state it was in, Danny couldn't help it at Andrew's expression. "Sorry- Sorry! It just- Sorry." It was nice to see some things would always be the same.
"I'm usually much more neat than this." Oh, that was a lie. "Although I have a feeling you wouldn't believe that."
"I have a little theory," Danny grinned, leaning forward and smiling. "Anyone who spends their time in a library at night doesn't really do neat and orderly."
"And how did you come by this theory?" Oh, playing with Andrew was too much fun. It… It was so easy, too. It was like a game. He could pretend this was a game and it would all be okay.
"A lot of test subjects." Holy shit. Andrew just blushed at him winking. Danny couldn't tell if it was because he was tired or because a younger Andrew was just weaker to flirting in general. "So what are you studying?"
"I'm working towards my bachelor's in education with a specialization on English and a minor focus on Creative Writing." Well, if Danny had any doubts about this being his Andrew then they were gone now.
"Sounds pretty boring, but at least you're doing something that makes you happy." That earned him a laugh, Danny smiling and right. He just had to be careful. Andrew hadn't told him everything about his past, but Danny knew enough. He knew enough to be careful. This was an Andrew who had, not long ago, escaped the Sect of the Crow. Depending on when he was, this could also be an Andrew who had just lost Randy.
While the details of Andrew's death itself were sketchy at best, Danny should at least be able to avoid any major emotional minefields.
As the two talked and Danny got roped into helping with flashcards, he couldn't help but let his fear and panic drain out of him the more time he spent joking and laughing with this version of his mate. Jesus… He was already falling in love with this younger Andrew. While their physical age didn't look to be very different, this was an Andrew who had just escaped the Sect and was trying to live as a normal human and Danny was utterly captivated.
This Andrew had the Priest just lurking under his skin and waiting to be unleashed. Danny could see it in how Andrew moved and adjusted, the way he balanced his weight as if he was ready to leap into battle and how he no doubt had multiple knives hidden on his body. This was someone who walked between life and death as easily as he did - more easily than he did, it seemed.
It was kind of sad how Danny could easily picture him staying like this. It… It could happen. Easily. It could just be him and Andrew. This Andrew was human and Danny could keep him alive from whatever it was that killed him. They could live their lives out as humans, happy and together-
Ah, but Danny could never. As much as he wanted to, he could never because Randy. In this time, Randy was dead and possibly not even a ghost yet. As much as Danny craved something so simple and normal, it would never be right without Randy. It… Randy was gone right now and the more he watched Andrew, the more he realized something about the Andrew in his time. The more he watched, the more he realized that Spectra had been right about something else.
He- It was obvious now that he looked for it, but… White hair, blue eyes, a hero complex bigger than the sun itself, and a need to do what was right by those he loved. Not even Danny could be clueless in everything and there were so many parallels between him and Randy that it had been funny at first, but with Spectra's words cruelly swimming through his head all he could think now was that it was a very sick joke.
Not even Danny could be clueless to when he was nothing more than the substitute.
"You know, you don't have to keep agreeing to help me with the flashcards." Andrew had just - correctly - guessed the latest set and was watching Danny with amusement. "It can't be very fun for you."
"My sister used to use me for her flashcards all the time when she went to high school with me," Danny shrugged, shuffling the next batch and shaking himself out of his thoughts. "If you really wanna make it up to me, though…"
"I'm already regretting it," Andrew sighed, smile twitching on his lips. "Alright, go on and ask your invasive and no doubt personal questions."
"What's your favorite color?" The loud and startled laughter was perfect. "Hey, favorite colors are a serious matter!"
"Oh, yes, quite serious." It was a few more moments before Andrew calmed himself, finally giving an answer. "White."
"I knew- Wait. What?" White? No, it was supposed to be purple… Oh. "You know, white isn't really a color."
"No, it's all of them." There was so much warmth and love in that smile. There was just as much pain, too. "I suppose I'm quite fond of purple, but white will… White will always be the best."
"White is pretty great." How had Danny ever forgotten? While he and Andrew had been together first, Andrew and Randy had a relationship that Danny would never be able to touch. There was years of trust and love and tension between them that Danny would never have with them. Just another thing Spectra was right about. "So, uh, what year are you in anyways? Your last year?" Except- No, that couldn't be right. Andrew hadn't finished school, at least, not while alive.
"My third," Andrew smiled, some of the pain leaving his eyes. "I can only imagine next year's finals will be even worse than they are now."
"Always seems to be like that." Third year. Why did Danny keep feeling like that was important? "I have to say, I'm impressed. Not most people would sneak into the school library to keep studying."
"I would have stayed in my dorm but I kept getting yelled at for all my flashlights," Andrew laughed, shaking his head. "Truth be told, I think they'll be glad I'm bringing back a person instead of more books." A beat of silence passed and Danny watched with absolute delight as Andrew's face flushed a bright and brilliant red. "Not- Not that I- I didn't mean- Of course you're underage- Not that I was thinking-!"
Danny couldn't have stopped his laughter if he tried and oh, he so hoped he got to see more of this Andrew when he got home. "It's- It's okay, Andy, I know what you meant." Ah, his mate was so adorable. Already his nerves and tension were calm again. Andrew always had been able to do that for him. "Trust me, it's fine, I get it. My parents were the same way with my sister."
"I'm not sure how, but I seem to have quite the talent for sticking my foot in my mouth around you." Oh, poor thing. It was a shame that would one day go away. "Right, a few more rounds of the flashcards and we'll go."
"Hey, I'm in no hurry," Danny grinned, finally holding a flashcard up and flipping it over when Andrew got it right. Again. "This library feels almost familiar. It's nice."
"I don't see how it's familiar considering how, ah, unique the carpet is." Well, it was the eighties. Although, Danny could have sworn he had seen this carpet pattern before. It wasn't too recent, but… He knew this pattern, didn't he? "Next card."
"Right. Sorry." Flipping to the next one, Danny looked around the library they were in. The library itself felt really familiar. Almost like he had been inside it before - been inside it hundreds of times, in fact. "You said you were in third year, right?"
"Yes. Why?" Third year. Why did third year feel so important? Andrew had told him something about this time. Andrew had specifically told him something about the year 1983. "James?"
"Sorry, just trying to remember something." Danny flipped to the next card, smile not really able to stay in place. 1983 and Andrew was studying for finals in his third year. It all sounded familiar, didn't it? He remembered Andrew telling him a story from this time - maybe he had subconsciously remembered Danny?
A library. It had definitely taken place in this familiar library. He really should know that carpet, shouldn't he? It looked so familiar. Like he had seen it before when… When studying. It was 1983. Andrew had died in 1983.
It had been so long ago, but late one night Andrew had bundled Danny close and told him so softly and so quietly that Danny had thought he had dreamt it when morning came. Andrew said he was in his third year of school and studying for his finals. He had said it was 1983 and he had been in the school library.
It had been 1983 during his third year finals when Andrew Claude Riter had died in his college library.