Possibly Maybe
By Vanilla Tiger
AN: Once again, blame Emony. Spec only for AtS S5.
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Gunn didn't know what the hell had come over him.
Drew had been working down at the office, and yeah he was a little over-eager at times but that went with being young.
The place may not technically be evil anymore but everybody, right down to Fred's science geeks, seemed to have something tainted about them. After all, that place had made Lilah, and Gunn had distinct opinions about that hellbitch.
Not Andrew though. Somehow he remained cheerful and enthusiastic, as innocent as that day he arrived from the ruins of Sunnydale, proudly bearing a letter of recommendation from that Slayer Betty or whatever - Angel's ex-squeeze.
Sometimes Gunn would wonder if he touched that pale skin enough, if he rubbed it all over himself, he might gain some of that innocence for himself again.
It wasn’t just Wolfram and Hart though, there was something about the city itself that destroyed people. Wes had lost it before the lawyers got involved. Gunn knew what had happened there. One benefit of his set-up was Angel’s mindwipe had quickly worn off. He didn’t mention it though. The vamp had had his reasons, and knowing about that fucked-up business hadn’t exactly improved Gunn’s view of humanity.
Besides, the rot had set in much earlier than that. Could any good come from a city where a guy had to stake his own sister? Gunn wasn’t about to give up the fight though. LA was his home, and there was no way he was about to leave. He wondered what that said about him.
Gunn noticed Andrew, his attention wholly absorbed by the conversation he was having with Knox. Gunn didn’t like that guy; the scientist had always struck him as slightly sleazy. He considered interrupting, asking Andrew out for a casual drink after work. Then later on that night they’d go back to his place and then…
But something felt off about that scenario. The whole seduction thing didn’t square with the bouncy little geek standing a little way off from him, no matter how many time it worked for Gunn before.
So maybe he’d slow down the pace.
They’d still go out for a drink together, but this time nothing more than a long conversation would come out of it. They might discuss work at the start, but not for too long. There wasn’t too much Gunn could say about what he did. The conversation might move on to their pasts then, but from what Gunn had heard about Sunnydale Andrew probably had as many ghosts vas he did. It’d be far too soon to share any of that with each other, so that would have to be left for a later date.
Perhaps they’d stick to safer topics, their shared interests. There would be intense debates about who was the best Green Goblin, whether Legolas could beat the Red Arrow in an archery contest and which dumbass thought Wesley Crusher could ever have been a good idea. None of these arguments would come to a satisfactory conclusion so they would obviously have to meet up again.
Soon they’d start hanging out at each other’s apartments, where Gunn would continually kick Andrew’s ass at DOA 4 (an advance copy received through one of Lorne’s contacts). Andrew would work his way through Gunn’s complete collection of Philip K Dick novels, and Gunn would marvel at the amount of Uncanny X-Men issues Andrew owned.
They would ignore the sly comments from their colleagues, or not even realise what they meant. Gunn would feel jealous when Andrew flirted with Lorne in order to score the original Star Wars trilogy in a DVD boxset. Andrew would get a strange look in his eyes whenever Gunn talked to Wes or Fred. Then one night Gunn would finally make his move and they’d get to put all that behind them.
“Is everything alright?” Andrew’s voice shook Gunn out of his reverie. A few yards away, a suspicious Knox was watching them. “But it looked like you were staring at me.”
His response flows quickly from him. “Nah, just thinking about a few things.”
“Well, okay then.” People tended not to question Gunn nowadays. Andrew returned to his previous conversation, pausing only to throw a puzzled glance over his shoulder.
Gunn watched them walk away, practically leaning into each other, and didn’t say a word.
It’s not fear of rejection that stopped him. The kid eagerly accepts every and all invitations. Things probably could have progressed like Gunn thought. It all might have even worked …for a while.
But nothing lasts in this town.
In the end, there’s just Gunn and the white room.