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Earlier, Alec had mentioned that he was inviting a friend over. The indication of the way he said friend was 'someone I like so please don't scare the shit out of him before I can get to know him
better'.

As there was noise coming from his room, clearly the friend was now visiting.

The noise was mostly the aimless strumming of a guitar, followed suddenly by Alec snorting and giggling and several sour notes were hit.

"Stop that! It's tickles," he says.

In Russian.

"Only if you stop having such adorable toes, Sasha," someone else says.

Also in Russian.

His door is locked. He's learned his lesson.

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"I want to be seen as your caretaker, yes. And I am the closest thing you have to a father, now that yours is dead."

Say what you will about Andrew -- he doesn't mince words.

"Caretakers aren't fathers. You're the only thing I have as a father. You've been a father to me about as long, if not a bit more than my..." he hesitates here.

He's not sure if he should say real one or not because they were both real to him.

"Do you want me to replace him, then? To be the person you refer to as your father, when you talk about me, without explanation? I know that your real father will always be first, that you'll always say that I'm the man who adopted you, that I'm not biologically related to you. Why should I want to be your father, when I'll never live up to the standard?"

He doesn't sound angry or hurt about it. Just confused.

"You don't have to worry about living up to the standard. You already do. You were who my father wanted to be like. He wanted me to be like you," he says.

This is hard for him to explain because he's not really sure of it all. "I'm more afraid of not living up to your standards than you meeting mine."

"My standards?"

Andrew actually looks baffled by this. "My only standards involve you doing something you're good at, and sticking to it. Being a hard worker, being ambitious, not giving up. Not letting yourself become someone who uses the system. Not letting other people use you."

"That's a lot harder to do than it sounds," he says.

"I know," Andrew says, "That's why it's my job to guide you. I don't expect you to do everything at once. How could you? Everyone fails the first time they try something."

"Just like my father would have done."

A sigh.

"Fine. Like your father would have done."

"Or he would have swatted me about the ear for being lazy," Alec adds, trying to shift the mood a little.

"I could do that, too, if it'd make you feel really at home," Andrew said, smiling slightly.

Alec snorts a laugh. "I don't think you're the hitting type."

"Not unless exceedingly provoked, no."

And you've never provoked him to that level, luckily for you, Alec.

Something about that statement clashes with Alec's mental picture of Andrew, but he shakes it off quickly.

"Then you shouldn't try hitting me about the ear," he says.

"I don't intend to, unless you severely displease me."

And it would take something extremely severe. He doesn't think Alec is likely to push those limits. He hopes.

As far as Alec knows if he hasn't pushed those limits yet, it'd take something pretty stupid on his end to displease him.

"I hope I never do that, sir."

"So do I. Now, I'm going to get some work done. In the meantime, you think of a good night for Henri to have dinner with us. I haven't forgotten."

A brief nod, and then he's headed towards his office.

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