This is Random Crack because and no other good reason exists

[element_wizard]

The spatula waved in the air as Alec sang the Beatles to the empty apartment. He was making a stir fry for dinner, under the assumption that Andrew would be back from work in time for dinner. If not he'd just save the rest for lunch the next day or snack later.

It didn't matter in the long run.

He just was cooking, having a good time, and singing about being a paperback writer while dancing horribly.

The day had been good. Quiet. He'd done well on his test in class. Andrew would be hopefully pleased. A little.

He'd even finally saved up enough money - when he got his allowance today - to get that laptop he wanted.

So.

He was happy.

Comments

[rianofski]

Jack looked up at Alec and nodded. "Yeah," he mumbled, looking a bit nervous, but still hungry, even though he'd finished his stir fry already.

[element_wizard]

Of course he's still hungry. It was veggies and Jack is seven. Alec would still be hungry. He was planning on making more but Jack.

"What kind?" He's being brusque... not intentionally, but he's learned a lot from Andrew on how to deal with awkward situations. Andrew wasn't the best of teachers.

[rianofski]

"Uh... pepperoni?" Jack says thoughtfully, sticking to that tried and true favorite of seven year olds everywhere.

[element_wizard]

Alec nods. "Pepperoni's good. I like pepperoni. I'll order it and then I guess... I can show you where you're going to sleep and stuff..."

[rianofski]

"Uh, uh, okay..." Jack said, looking first at Alec and then nervously at Andrew. "What's he gonna do?" he asked, gesturing at Andrew.

[element_wizard]

"Work. In his office down the hall. Where we won't bother him until the pizza arrives. He's always got work to do."

He is giving Andrew an out. He's a good son.

[rianofski]

Jack nodded. "Mommy works a lot, too. But..." he sighed heavily, sounding remarkably like Andrew when he was frustrated, "She's not here, I guess."

This was Andrew's time to escape, and he headed down the hall quickly, glad to have work to do, nodding his appreciation at Alec as he did so.

[element_wizard]

"No. She's not." He's not going to say that Jack'll see her soon or anything like that. He does notice the similarity in their sighing, but holds back any sort of frustration.

"Andrew works almost all the time, so you probably won't see him a lot."

[rianofski]

"Oh, okay," Jack said, nodding again. "I don't see mommy much either. I take care of myself a lot."

Andrew couldn't help but stand in the hallway and listen to the conversation for a moment, interested to see how Alec characterized him.

[element_wizard]

Ordering the pizza online from his phone so he could keep talking, Alec says, "I do too. As long as I behave and like get my homework done I can do pretty much what I want."

[rianofski]

Andrew was glad that Alec wasn't actively maligning him, although an adult might have raised an eyebrow about the children mostly fending for themselves, he thought Jack would probably be fine with it.

Jack frowned. "Can we... have candy whenever we want?"

[element_wizard]

Well, it's true.

He's not sure he likes the "we" bit. "If you buy it with your own money. But you still have to eat proper food," Alec says. "I don't know if Andrew'll give you an allowance or not. But you can eat whatever you want that's in the kitchen. Whenever you want."

[rianofski]

Jack's voice dropped to a whisper, and Andrew, who was still standing in the hall, had to strain to hear.

"And does he... does he hit you? Will he hit me?"

[element_wizard]

It really is a good thing Alec wasn't cooking stir fry right then. He'd have dropped the frying pan. Andrew has many, many faults. Alec isn't blind to that. He knows that. And he knows Andrew has a temper. But that?

"No," Alec says, suddenly feeling sorry for the kid. Whatever the hell happened to him. "He'll never hit you. Batya doesn't do that." He says this completely seriously and firmly. "Only weak people need to hit kids."

Which is true.

As far as Alec knows.

Jack's question startles him enough he doesn't realize what he just called Andrew out loud until after he said it. Thankfully Andrew isn't there to hear him.

[rianofski]

Andrew, from his hidden spot in the hallway, can't help but smile slightly at the firm tone in Alec's voice. There may be things that Andrew doesn't do well, that he overreacts about, that he doesn't handle the way a normal parent might, but hitting children has never even occurred to him as a good idea.

Jack nods slowly. "That's good. My mommy... she used to have some friends who weren't very nice."

[element_wizard]

"Yeah. Well..." Alec wants to say that Jack's mother's friends won't hit him any more, but he doesn't know if that's true or not. And he doesn't want Jack to stay either.

Sure the kid is kinda pathetic, but he doesn't want him to stick around.

"Ba... Andrew won't do that." He's started feeling awkward about this conversation. Too much emotional stuff.

[rianofski]

"Okay," Jack said. "I think I'm gonna go play until the pizza gets here, okay?"

And with that, he lept up from the table and headed into the living room to play with his action figures, leaving Alec there, and Andrew standing in the hallway for a moment before he went into his office quietly.

[element_wizard]

After watching him go, Alec goes to Andrew's office.

"He's making it very hard to make me want him to go away," Alec says.

[rianofski]

"He's a rather polite young man," Andrew agrees, nodding at Alec, "But there's every chance that he won't be here for the longterm."

[element_wizard]

"It's not that, he's just... like a wet puppy." He plucks at his shirt sleeve absently.

[rianofski]

"I suppose that means I can count on you to treat him reasonably well, then? He hasn't had the easiest time of it lately."

[element_wizard]

"As long as he doesn't get into my stuff, yeah." It's his stuff. "You're going to get his mom out? Or...?"

[rianofski]

"He won't get into your stuff. You know I'm not going to coddle the child."

A pause as he shuffles papers thoughtfully. "I would if I could, but she's being held without bail, and although I can hire her a good lawyer, I can't game the system well enough to get her out. It's a serious charge, I'm afraid, and hardly her first offense."

[element_wizard]

"You kinda are by not telling him what's really going on," Alec says.

"And he's got no other family?"

[rianofski]

"He's seven, Alec. What do you expect me to tell him? At that age, it would be easier to tell him his mother had died than that she'd been locked away. He knows she's in trouble, but that's the extent of it. No, he has no other family. She didn't speak to her parents."