( far above the world )

indie andrew detmer ↳ post-canon ↳ dane gang origin ↳ multiple verses ↳ all styles welcome sidebar background by @osomance

[oddiity]

runningmontgomery:

‘’Compared to that day, everything else that has ever happened to me seems dull. Seriously, dude, sometimes it’s hard to even believe it happened. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life,’’ he says, smiling fondly, his brown eyes crinkling at the corners. He thinks he looks ridiculous, but he can’t stop. He finds himself repeating himself, trying to get his point across stumbling.

‘’And, like… Having lots of friends doesn’t mean they’re good. Or even entertaining. Most of them are carbon copies of each other. But you’re not like that, I guess, you’re more complex, interesting. You shouldn’t doubt yourself so much, ‘Drew. I like you. You should like you, too,’’ Steve insists, shifting in his spot, unable to look away from Andrew’s downward turned head.  

He feels silly almost, admitting these things without much thought. He believes he can trust the other boy, so his words come out unsteadily but otherwise certain. Being able to speak so freely reminds him of life before football games and student council. That time was over, but it still feels close, just out of reach. 

[ andrew’s gaze flickers upward as steve speaks, his pale irises searching his friend’s face for truth from beneath the safety of his eyelashes. the fond smile steve flashes him almost breaks his resolve to keep looking; like his words, it’s too sweet, too gentle, so much so that he finds himself feeling like he doesn’t deserve it and his cheeks burn brighter at the realization that steve’s affectionate expression and admiring words almost remind him of his mother, the only other person who’s ever spoken to him this kindly. the rush of reciprocal feelings that flood him have him embarrassed and even more nervous than he was when steve first entered the room, albeit for an entirely different reason. he’s afraid to open his mouth for fear of making a fool of himself, and the first defense mechanism to come to his aid is sarcasm. with a short chuckle, he mutters, ]

Woah, dude, don’t get all mushy on me, now...

[ but as much as he tries to use it to distance himself from the emotions welling up inside him, the tease feels empty, lame and ineffective without matt to back him up with a laugh and a complementary jab at steve to lighten the serious mood. he realizes, slowly, as he tries to look away from steve again and can’t, that the honesty and genuine care that steve is showing him now, that he’s shown him every time they’ve hung out together, is exactly the kind of real human connection he’s been longing for for so long. dropping the facade, the forced grin fades from his lips and he passes his tongue over them nervously before finally dropping his eyes to his lap again and mumbling, ]

But, uh, thanks...

[ though this response is genuine this time, he still feels embarrassed and out of his element, and the best thing he can think to do is let another smile touch his lips, more authentic this time, and add in a voice tinged with tentative amusement, ]

I like you, too.

[oddiity]

runningmontgomery:

‘’Of course, Andrew,’’ Steve reassures, giving him a curious look. “Why would I lie about that?’‘ 

Steve hasn’t been questioned often. Other people took his word as concrete because they were, without hesitancy, honest. But Andrew seems to overthink his compliments, doubt his praise. Something close to empathy rises in the back of Steve’s mind, suggesting that maybe Andrew questions him so often because he either hadn’t heard it before or was told otherwise in school hallways, maybe even in his own home. 

It felt invasive to assume these things, but it was in his nature to figure things out before they were said. It was a way to stay on top - to remain steady, to brace himself before the real conflict downpours onto him. He wanted to be a good friend. A sturdy person to be leaned upon. But Andrew, without meaning to, made it so hard to remain silent while waiting for the truth. 

Steve wants to make Andrew feel confident in their friendship. In life. But it was easier said than done. He smiles gently, watching the other boy with interest, trying to make himself look as honest as possible. He needs to convey how much that day matters to him, how much Andrew matters to him. 

[ andrew twists around in his chair to better face steve, but finds it difficult to maintain eye contact with him once he does. looking down at his hand in his lap, he takes a measured breath and tries to explain his reasoning in an uncertain, stumbling voice. ]

Well, I dunno, you’re just -- you’re just really popular, you know, and you have so many friends, so I just... I just thought you probably have a lot of other great days to choose from.

[ he doesn’t mean it in a bad way -- hell, he would kill to have as many friends and admirers as steve, and he wishes he could think of more than just a few good days in his life, let alone great ones. it’s not that he doesn’t believe steve, it’s that he can’t fathom how he could choose a day spent flying with a couple of nerds over football game wins and kissing his girlfriend and epic house parties. well, okay, the flying part he can understand. it’s the nerd part, he realizes with a self-conscious squirming in his stomach, that he’s having trouble accepting. ]

[runningmontgomery]

‘’I’ve never felt so instantaneously happy and relieved thinking about a day, so yeah, I think so. I connect you with the memory, too, so you indirectly make me happy without needing to. It’s - like - strange, in some way, but I mean it.’’  

Steve maintains eye-contact with the other boy, his eyes hopefully depicting his sincerity in earnest. This moment felt incredibly important, and he almost feared that he wasn’t coming off as honest. He didn’t often feel unsure, but Andrew seemed to bring out the insecurity in him. He had an unnatural urge to be overly compassionate towards him, but it was something he had learned to contain - sure that it would seem slightly pathetic. 

There was no proper way to express his gratitude without seeming incredibly sappy, or worse, creepy. He and Andrew were close, but where was the line between them? They were connected by rocky circumstances, and he understood that telekinesis didn’t make them blood-brothers, but he was trying and he figured that was all that counted. 

[oddiity]

[ andrew begins listening to steve’s answer with his eyes on the screen, but when he says andrew himself makes him happy by association, he turns his head to look up at him, cheeks dusted with pink warmth. ]

You really mean that?

[ even though it makes sense that steve would feel happy when thinking about him -- he feels happy whenever he thinks about steve and how lucky he is to have him in his life now that they’re friends -- he still finds it hard to believe or accept that steve feels the same. logic says he would, but andrew’s own longstanding self-doubt says he probably has plenty of other friends to enjoy, plenty of other best days to remember with fondness. ]

[arrowedagent]

             ❝ Yeah… it kinda will be. I’m pretty strong,                             but I only got 2 hands. ❞

He taps his hands against the wheel for emphasis. Slowly but surely they putter along, and Clint is relieved to find that they’ll be getting back at a reasonable hour. Clint may be perfectly content to not have any powers, but seriously, telekinesis is the only one that makes him jealous. Hard to not envy people who don’t have to stand up and walk to grab a snack.

Knowing he won’t crash into anything in the middle of this empty field, he looks back at Andrew, asking a question he’s been meaning to ask.

           ❝ So, do you like film everything you see? Cause                             this farm is probably the least exciting material                             to get on camera. ❞

[oddiity]

[ a slight grin crosses andrew’s face as he looks out across the farm over his camera and jokes, ]

I’ve got as many hands as I need.

[ the next question is standard, and he rattles off a standard, mumbling reply that trails off aimlessly by the end. ]

Uh, yeah, I guess -- I just film everything I see and do, you know...

[ he feels the need to contradict him, however, and adds on: ]

And it’s not -- uh, I mean, I like it here. It’s... it’s nice.

[ that sounds kind of lame, he realizes as he says it, but he really does like the remote location for its peace and quiet... minus to droning of the tractor engine. ]

[runningmontgomery]

Steve relives that day as it plays out vividly in front of him onscreen. He thinks of the suffocating drag of free falling, of knowing you’d hit the ground, and then recalls the feeling of being swept up frantically, of gravity finding itself in Andrew Detmer’s thin arms, of finding himself in those arms. He was close to dying, close to forgetting the life he had built for himself, but he had been saved by the nerdy kid sitting beside him and it felt whole. It felt secure. 

‘’Damn, ‘Drew, I don’t think I’ll ever forget that day,’’ Steve admits, watching the colors blur on the computer as they collapse onto the ground. It’s such a solacing moment that Steve tries to commit it to memory, he tries to put concrete into his words, solidify them even more. 

[oddiity]

[ andrew relives the experience as well in his own mind, remembering how his heart had stopped the moment he saw steve falling, how his name had torn from his lungs in the wake of engine’s roar. he hadn’t thought, hadn’t blinked, he’d just lunged for steve like nothing else mattered, not himself nor the camera he dropped. it wasn’t until steve was twirling him around and lavishing him in exuberant praise that he’d realized what he’d done was at all heroic; he’d just thought it was necessary. he wasn’t about to lose the first best friend he’d ever had -- not when he knew he had the ability to save him. a warm smile crosses andrew’s face as he watches steve shout and pick him up in the video. ]

Me neither.

[ as matt joins them on screen, andrew is reminded of the words they shared later that night as they lay in bed together. after a moment, he turns to steve and asks, ]

...Do you really think it was your best day ever?

[runningmontgomery]

‘’Do you have the footage from the day you saved me?’’ Steve asks, and then immediately regrets it. There was something too giving about the question; perhaps it was the implication of a rescue successfully done. Steve had always been a self-assured guy, but it felt as if nothing was concrete with Andrew. He was intrigued with the boy, albeit slightly unsure. What if Andrew didn’t count that as the day he saved Steve’s life? What if Steve was glorifying it for seemingly no reason?   

He clears his throat, ‘’Or, y’know, we could watch something else…’’ 

[oddiity]

No, that day was pretty cool.

[ a small but growing grin tugs at the corners of andrew’s closed lips at the memory of hurtling through the sky to catch steve in mid-air, at the memory of how the other boy had twirled him around in dizzy celebratory glee afterwards like he was some kind of hero. he supposes he kind of was, at least on that day, and he looks back on it with as much pride as bewilderment. ]

Hold on, I’ll pull it up.

[ a couple of clicks brings him to the right folder, and, after sorting through a couple of cloud-filled thumbnails, he finds the one containing steve’s rescue. another click, and it’s playing full-screen. ]

Here.

[ reaching forward, he turns his speakers down low so that the drone of the plane flying past the camera doesn’t drop the bass  and wake up his mom; but even then it’s still loud enough to inspire residual fear in his lungs, and he holds his breath as he watches the steve on the screen fall. ]

[runningmontgomery]

Steve moves to stand dangerously close to the other boy, peering down at the computer screen curiously. He wonders if he should slip down to his knees to comfortably match Andrew’s field of vision but decides against it. Despite having recently flown to this kid’s house, he’s still uncharacteristically excited to see past events play out in front of him. A warm feeling resides in the centre of his chest, reminding him of how lucky he is to be here in this moment. 

‘’What are we watching?’’ Steve asks, wondering which memory will play out in technicolor in front of his eyes. He’s never been this close to Andrew before, and he tries not to relish in the comfort of knowing that the other boy doesn’t see him as a nuisance. 

[oddiity]

[ andrew’s spine stiffens as steve moves in, nervous despite the fact that he gave him permission. but once steve has settled beside his shoulder, his presence warm and comforting instead of cold and tense like his father when he leans over him to criticize whatever he’s doing, he relaxes with a soft exhale. for a minute he just scrolls thoughtfully through the folders and thumbnails on his computer, each a tiny colorful square that contains a piece of his story -- or rather their story, now that steve’s a part of it. some of the squares, (which he quickly scrolls past with a flickering frown), represent bad things; some represent good things. the ones with steve in them tend to be the good ones. eventually he shrugs and turns his blue eyes upward toward his friend. ]

Well, what do you wanna see?

[runningmontgomery]

Steve smiled, ‘’Of course I do,’’ 

He closes the distance between them, carefully stepping over the items that were littered on the floor. He stands beside Andrew, unsure of how to proceed. He hopes the other boy will take action because otherwise, he’s just going to stand motionless and stare down at the computer screen. He’s not as smooth as everyone thinks he is… 

[oddiity]

[ andrew watches steve cross the room, not really acknowledging that it may be hard for him to do so due to the clutter. it isn’t until he’s standing awkwardly beside him that andrew registers that he should move, and he lurches for the chair nearby and sits himself down, scooting in toward the screen. shaking the mouse to rouse the machine, he logs in with his password and then types in another password to access the hard drive. as he hits enter, he glances back at steve and tilts his head toward the computer, inviting him closer. ]

Come ‘n see.

[runningmontgomery]

‘’You seem to be super prepared for government leaks or something, ‘Drew,’’ Steve muses, swaying slightly as he stands. Andrew’s bedroom is different from what he expected, but everything seems to fall into place like it should, despite the clashing posters and drawings, it works. It reminds him distantly of Andrew himself, who seems to falter continuously but remain standing regardless. 

There’s a slight pause before he asks, ‘’How often do you watch the stuff you record? I imagine it’s kind of amazing to see, even if it happened just hours before.’’ 

[oddiity]

Well, growing up with Matt made me know a lot about conspiracies...

[ it’s half sarcasm, half truth -- as steve should know by now, matt, especially when high, has a knack for talking ridiculous theories. after setting the hard drive on the desk, andrew looks from it to the computer screen and then down to the camera in his hand. he gives a little shrug. ]

Uh, I watch it sometimes. Usually just when I’m copying it over, I guess.

[ his gaze shifts slowly back to the computer screen that he’s sat in front of countless times, whether to play video games, to watch tv online or to watch himself go through his day. ]

It is kind of amazing. Uh, when we’re using our powers, I mean.

[ sometimes he can hardly believe his own eyes when they see the crazy stuff they’re doing played back on-screen, even when he performed it mere hours before. glancing back toward steve, andrew asks tentatively, ]

...Do you wanna see some of it?

[viisionarie-blog]

“Either way, we’ll only need a sprinkle of it.”

[ personally, lu’s never liked the smell of ginger– so he’s just a little relieved that he’s not the one who has to crush it. instead, he focuses on stirring the mixture until it begins to change colour; making sure to hastily withdraw the stirring rod when it does. in the moments of leisure that follow, he takes the opportunity to look around the classroom– one of their classmates (a gryffindor, he thinks) has forgotten to take the mixture off the fire before adding porcupine quills, causing the cauldron to melt. as snape stalks over to the disaster of the potion, lucien finds that he’s not sure which is more overwhelming– his urge to laugh, or the urge to watch on and simply judge the debacle. ]

“Remind me to avoid doing whatever it is that he did.”

[oddiity]

[ after breaking off a chunk of the ginger root and smashing it down just as violently as he had the fangs, he looks up from the mortar with raised brows at the debacle across the room. ]

Uh, don’t do that.

[ he reaches over, then, and sprinkles a bit of the root he’d pulverized into their cauldron. as it begins to change color, he gives lucien a nervous nudge, hoping they’re not about to meet the same fate as their classmate. ]

Keep stirring.

[viisionarie-blog]

“I’ll stir, but only because of  that excellent show you just put on for me.”

[ he has to admit it– andrew is wildly proficient at spells, and it almost instills a sense of jealousy in lucien, at times. almost. he slides the bottle that contains ginger root across the table, before reaching for the stirring rod. making  sure to stand as far away from the mixture as possible (he isn’t particularly in the mood to be the victim of any unfortunate accidents), lu tentatively dips the rod into the cauldron and begins to stir the potion as vigorously as he can actually be bothered to. ]

[oddiity]

[ andrew rolls his eyes at lucien’s comment, but is too proud of the skill he just demonstrated to feel any kind of embarrassment. taking a root out of the corked bottle, he eyes the lumpy thing skeptically, then glances back at the mortar and pestle he crushed the snake fangs with. ]

I guess I have to smash this too.

[viisionarie-blog]

[ it’s lucien’s turn to express his amusement, now; he adds the nettles to the mixture with an easy flourish before stepping back and watching andrew attempt to transfer the mucus into the cauldron. when his friend begins to poke at the ingredient with his finger, he finally dissolves into laughter, and wrinkles his nose in slight disgust as andrew then starts  to use his wand to try and extract the slime. mucus. whatever. ]

“Don’t waste all your energy, you’ve still got to– what was it the book said?” 

[ he glances down at the book of potions (and blindly reaches out for the ginger root as he does so) before looking up and smirking across at his classmate once more. ]

“Ah, yes. After this, you’ll have to ‘stir the mixture vigorously’.”

[oddiity]

[ shooting a glare over at lucien, andrew tries once more to yank his wand out of the goop to no avail. tired of tugging and not about to make a fool of himself in front of what might be his only friend, he decides to do what he’s best at and cast a spell. gripping his wand tighter, he hisses, ]

Relashio!

[ with a flash of purple sparks, the strand of goop breaks and plops into the warming cauldron, freeing andrew’s wand at the same time. a sigh born of both triumph and relief leaves him as he wipes his fingers on his robes, eyes flitting over to lucien to make sure he saw how cool that was before he scoffs, ]

Uh, I thought you were going to stir.

[viisionarie-blog]

[ he’s still haphazardly wiping away a few stray tears as the tease reaches his ears, and he aims a rather put-off glare towards his classmate as andrew moves to add the fangs to the mixture. ]

“Do shut up.”

[ he rolls his eyes heavily, resisting the urge to smack andrew over the head with the book that he’s taken into his hands. instead, he aims a great deal of effort towards re-reading their next set of tasks as one final sniffle sounds from his nose. ]

“Heat the cauldron and deal with the flobberworm mucus, I’ll add the dried nettles.”

[oddiity]

[ with a final amused snort, andrew draws his wand and waves it beneath the cauldron. ]

Incendio.

[ instantly a fire sparks to life and a brief grin of triumph crosses andrew’s face before he frowns over at the jar of flobberworm mucus. he glances back at the book to determine that he only needs to add “a dash,” which can’t be much. hopefully he won’t have to touch it. the jar itself, when he reaches over to grab it, is already sticky from the disregard of students who has used it before, and andrew wrinkles his nose in disgust as he uncorks the bottle and tilts it over the cauldron to dump some in. turns out the mucus is very thick and comes out in one stretchy glob instead of a drop, and andrew ends up prodding the dangling strand with his finger and then wand as he tries to detach it from the bottle. ]

[viisionarie-blog]

“If you laugh at me, I will not hesitate to hex you.”

[ of course, lucien doesn’t even know how to perform any hexes that are powerful enough to cause real damage quite yet– but that’s definitely not a piece of information that his desk partner needs to find out. he cuts the onions rather choppily, but swiftly, not wanting to suffer from the side-effects for longer than necessary. ]

“Just– hurry up and finish  grinding the bloody fangs, already.”

[ after another minute or two of silence, his eyes dart to the instructions, and a quick glance tells him that they’ll need to heat the mixture after adding the fangs and the onions (thus, he won’t be able to do much else until andrew has finished with his task). he puts the knife down and exchanges it for his wand in order to cast another ‘wingardium leviosa’ and levitate the pieces of onion into the cauldron. ]

“Your turn, Detmer.”

[oddiity]

[ andrew continues to stare at lucien a minute longer, even when he threatens to hex him, still sort of stunned by the sight -- and, of course, thoroughly amused. a grin is still threatening to break on his face, twitching the corners of his lips as he tells him: ]

I’ve just never seen you cry before...

[ he manages to wrench his gaze away and finish with the snake fangs after that, and as he overturns the mortar to dump the resulting powder into the cauldron, he asks, grin now slowly breaching his features, ]

...Need a tissue?

[viisionarie-blog]

“Fine.”

[ lucien rolls his eyes halfheartedly and raises his wand, clearing his throat in a way that’s loud enough to draw attention, yet still not quite loud enough to make it clear that he’s actively trying to gain the attention of his peers. ]

“Wingardium Leviosa.” 

[ with an effortless flick of his wand, the onions lift themselves from the pile of ingredients and float towards him, before slowly situating themselves on the desk in front of him. as he lowers his wand, the roots become inanimate once more, and he (very reluctantly) takes it as his cue to take hold of the knife near the cauldron.  he inhales a deep breath, fully intending to hold it for as long as possible, before  beginning to cut the onions. it isn’t long, however, before he begins to tear up, and every single quiet sniffle that sounds from his own nose is like a betrayal against  himself– in lucien’s perspective, at least– and he furrows his eyebrows in disgust as his vision starts to blur. ]

“This is the worst side-effect ever.”

[ his comment doesn’t seem to have much effect, though, since he finds himself interrupted by his own sniffles after every two or so words. ]

[oddiity]

[ andrew goes right back to smashing the pestle against the fang shards with vigorous intent, entirely ignoring lucien’s vie for attention as he absorbs himself in his job. it takes the sound of sniffling to finally tear his attention away, and he looks up with wide, confused eyes as he scans the room, searching for the source. when his gaze finally lands on lucien, whose red-rimmed eyes are brimming with tears as he prepares the next ingredient, his heart drops. for a moment he’s frozen in time, unsure what to do, completely flabbergasted at the sight of the usually over- confident lucien sniffling over his classwork -- but then his gaze drops to said classwork and he puts together what's happening. apparently, pungous onions are just as eye-watering as regular onions -- possibly even more so, judging by the tears trickling down his friend’s cheeks. recoiling slightly so as to not suffer the same fate, andrew sets his bowl down as an amused smile begins to curl the corners of his mouth. ]

Dude...

[runningmontgomery]

Steve quirks a smile at him, ‘’Well, not exactly. But I did manage to shatter three or four of my mom’s beloved glass dishes while trying to juggle them mid-air.’’ 

He glances down at the ground, the smile on his face threatening to falter as the reality of the memory sets in. ‘’I don’t think she’ll notice, though, so I’m safe for now,’’ he tries, a watery kind of humor laces his words. 

As if to dissolve the hint of emotion that flashes on his face, he switches the attention back to Andrew. ‘’Do you ever worry that someone will find the footage you record? Do you think the government would do creepy experiments on us?’’ 

The inquiry is meant to be playful, but he almost shivers at the thought. Although, he could add ‘Alien Test Subject’ to his long list of occupations and skills. It wouldn’t be too bad, in fact. A politician with telekinesis would be a force to reckon with. 

[oddiity]

Oh, shit.

[ andrew can’t help but crack a tiny smile at the thought of the incident, though it turns to more of a grimace as he considers the repercussions. but the subject change has him displaying a different emotion altogether, shock and sudden worry flashing across his features. he shakes his head quickly. ]

They couldn’t, I mean -- it’s all password protected.

[ moving instead toward the desk where his computer sits, (stepping over the various computer parts scattered on the ground around it) he picks up the external hard drive plugged into it that he stores all his old footage on and shows it to steve. ]

My whole hard drive’s encrypted.

[viisionarie-blog]

“I think I can handle that. Tell me when you’ve finished.”

[ at andrew’s next inquiry, he reaches for the book again and pulls it closer to the edge of the desk. instead of immediately looking at the next step in the list of instructions, however; lucien’s eyes slide to the introduction at the top of the page. ]

“’Care should be taken when brewing. Prepared incorrectly, this potion has been known to cause boils, rather than cure them.’ Dear God. I refuse to deal with the embarrassment of getting this wrong.”

[ he gives the bridge of his nose a nervous rub with the back of one of his fingers before scanning the rest of the page. ]

“–Alright, it says here that the next ingredient is chopped Pungous Onion. ‘Chop carefully before adding. Be sure to pick up the pieces with your wand, not your hands, as the ingredient is very pungent.’ After that, we have to put the cauldron over a fire. …You wouldn’t happen to want to chop these, would you?”

[ the elf in his manor has used pungous onions more than once, and he’s well aware of the effects of slicing them. ]

[oddiity]

[ andrew isn’t surprised when lucien finds another thing in the instructions to complain about, but doesn’t comment, still busy crushing snake fangs. they seem to be breaking into little shards instead of powder, which frustrates him and makes him smash them even harder, maybe even violently. he pauses, concentration broken, when lucien asks him a question, and with a quirk of his furrowed eyebrow and a pointed raise of the bowl in his hand, he says: ]

Kinda busy, dude.