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Fic: Dating the Cleverest Boy in the World. Chapter 12.
Posting this now, as I figure that tomorrow we'll all be too busy talking about the fact that The Show Is Back!!! Hope you'll forgive the work-man-like writing. These past weeks have been too busy for words...
Fic index here if anyone wants to catch up. And on AO3 here.
Summary: Allison had always thought that university would be an adventure. But she'd not imagined that she'd end up dating Harold Saxon's son.
Setting: Autumn 2026 (AU post-Sound of Drums)
Characters: OCs (Alex, Allison, others)
Rating: PG-13.
Wordcount: 3500 words approx.
Feedback: *looks hopeful*
Chapter 12
Cambridge, start of the new term, Autumn 2026
The ADC Theatre bar was nicely full, and Allison weaved her way through the chatting groups towards their regular table, pleased to see that nearly the whole gang was there.
She managed to secure the last armchair, and waved to the others, all of them busy listening to Mike who was relating his summer adventures as an intern with Google (part of his obligations as a recipient of their scholarship was a duty to be an intern - thankfully this was something he relished, rather than resented). Even better (from Allison’s point of view) was the fact that apparently he’d started to date one of the other interns and hopefully would now no longer pine after Chelsea.
When Mike’s tale came to an end, Chelsea turned to Allison eagerly.
“So, what did you do? You seemed to fall off the face of the Earth, no one knew where you were...”
“Allie and I-” said a voice behind her, “ran way with the circus.”
Turning she looked up at Alex, who winked and said “Budge up, Love”, before looking round the others.
“Oh my god, you made up!” Chelsea said, almost clapping in delight, as Alex, still smiling and eyes dancing, walked around the chair and, when Allison got up, seated himself and placed her on his lap.
“Well you can’t be mad with someone for very long when they’re a circus star,” he said glibly, and this of course released a barrage of questions.
There was a part of Allison which told her that she shouldn’t go along with his carefully edited version of their summer, and yet... And yet, she understood the need for subterfuge now. There was no way they could tell the truth after all - it was far too odd and private.
Jamie, who happened to pass by (hir hair was an odd, metallic blue), didn’t join in the questions, but instead shot Alex a warning look.
“Alex? If you start doing acrobatics or juggling the glasses, I will personally throw you out the door.”
“Jamie! Good to see you - and on form as usual.”
Jamie winked and went hir way, as Alex pulled out his phone to share some of the footage Allison had taken of him ‘flying’.
She watched him, and marvelled. She’d seen the clouds settle as they got closer to England again, seen the weariness, seen... oh so many things, and yet the show he was putting on now was no less of a feat than those he’d done up on the trapeze in the big top.
It was almost like watching in stereo, especially when she remembered that last evening - and the following morning.
***
The morning after the night before
He woke her up with waffles and tea.
It took her a moment to get her bearings, and he smiled at her beatifically.
“We need to talk,” he said, as - trying to process the presence of waffles - she frowned and ignored him.
“Where did you get waffles from?”
“I made them!” he replied as he with a flourish of his hand indicated the waffle iron she could now spy on the tiny work top of the camper van.
“But... where did you get a waffle iron from?”
“A shop,” he answered, still perfectly calm, and then, when he noticed the look on her face, expanded.
“I got up early to talk to Jack. And since I like waffles, I got a waffle iron. Waffles are good. Like I said, we need to talk. And I thought waffles might help?”
“Thank you...” she said slowly, taking a bite, and the smile on his face dimmed a little.
“When I say talk, I mean about last night. Some of the things...”
Swiftly reaching out, she took his hand.
“Alex... I had no idea about what you went through when you were younger. I can’t imagine how you’ve managed to cope as well as you have.”
For a moment he just stared at her, as if he didn't have a clue what she was talking about, and then made a gesture which could only be described as dismissive.
“Oh. That. It’s... not important.”
Waffle halfway to her mouth, her hand stopped.
“Not important? Alex, you were practically abused!”
This time he didn’t try to hide the wincing.
“Well... yes and no. It’s... complicated. It was also the best day of my life. Allie-”
Oh no he didn’t.
“Don’t you ‘Allie’ me! You don’t get to just dump something like that on me and then dismiss it-”
She wasn’t even sure what she was saying as she threw her hands up in the air, nearly hitting the tea cup by her side, and he sighed deeply.
“OK. It was...” He stopped, and looked into the distance for along moment, “...it was like a baby bird being pushed out of the nest. And at first it’s just falling, and it’s the most terrifying thing imaginable. But then it discovers that it has wings and that it can fly. And that is the best thing in the world. However, it can’t ever return to the nest. It has to fly forever more.”
He bit his lip, letting his eyes return to her face.
“That’s the best I can do when it comes to an analogy. It’s not terribly accurate, but at least it gives a... basic idea. I hope you see why having a nightmare about falling brings it all back. Does that make sense?”
“I guess...” she said cautiously, and he took a deep breath.
“Good. Because I need to ask something of you. And I hate that I have to do this, but it’s incredibly important. You...” he laughed shakily, “you hold my freedom in your hands. I’ve never asked anyone except Jack to keep my secrets - well apart from Matt and Josh, obviously, but they stumbled into things the same way you did, more or less. Although far less important things, relatively speaking.”
Her brain - already struggling with peculiar metaphors at a time when she would rather be asleep - wilted.
“Alex- are you going to tell me what on Earth you are talking about?”
Slowly pressing his palms together, he closed his eyes briefly.
“You can’t tell anyone about last night. Ever. Especially not my parents or my uncle. I can’t... begin to explain what would happen.”
She looked at him nonplussed, then remembered how seriously he had taken everything. Her very own Mr Peculiar.
“OK,” she replied, and took another bite.
“Allison!” he said, with more force than she had ever heard, and a second later grasped hold of her face (his touch gentle, but insistent), eyes full of that intensity which had thrown her so the previous night.
“I mean it. Promise me you’ll never tell anyone. Ever. Please.”
Looking into his eyes, she thought to herself that she ought to research psychiatrists when they got back. This really was... not normal at all.
“I promise,” she said, as carefully as she could, and he studied her silently for a long moment.
“Thank you,” he said finally, letting his hands fall, before aiming for a smile and failing.
“I’m sorry to be so melodramatic, but it can’t be helped...”
After that day he had never mentioned the tarot session, although he had - for his own peculiar, unexplained reasons - listened to Holst’s ‘The Planets’ on repeat most of the way home, until she’d threatened to delete it from his playlist.
***
First day of term, Professor Trinder’s Office
“You wanted to see me?”
Flawlessly polite as always, the boy had knocked on the door, and then waited for her to ask him to come in before entering.
Studying the most unusual student she’d ever had, Professor Trinder nodded and indicated that he could take a seat on the other side of the desk.
“Ideally I’d wanted to speak to you in the spring, but you appeared to vanish...”
His response was a bright smile.
“I ran away with the circus,” he grinned, and she told herself to ignore any and all attempts at a charm offensive.
“I wanted to talk about your homework - one assignment in particular. I’m sure you know which one?”
His face fell, and she nodded in satisfaction, before extracting the paper from a folder. Apart from the date, his name, and the subject heading, the paper only bore four words:
‘This theory is incorrect.’
“Do you care to explain this?” she asked, holding it forward, and he shook his head.
“It’s incorrect. I’m not going to expand on something that’s wrong.”
She tilted her head. The theory had been established a good few years before, and, although it was hardly proven beyond doubt, no one had ever challenged it.
“So... would you know how to correct it?”
He sat for a moment in silence, as if fighting with himself, before sighing.
“Yes, of course I know.”
“And it didn’t occur to you to share?”
He shook his head vehemently.
“Can’t.”
Carefully placing the paper on the desk, she rested her chin on her folded hands.
“Listen Alexander. You are without a doubt one of the brightest-”
“The brightest!” he amended, still looking obstinate, and she closed her eyes briefly.
“I hope you appreciate that it is hard to take that at face value when you refuse to prove it. If you could write out the improved theory I would be happy to help you get it published...”
Once more he shook his head.
“Told you I can’t do that. I’m not allowed to interfere.”
It was an odd choice of words, and her eyes narrowed.
“Interfere?”
Looking like any student caught doing something he shouldn’t, he studied her with pure pleading.
“Please Professor, just... Just leave me alone. If I tell you the correct version of that theory, my Uncle will be furious. If you really want it...” he waved a hand. “Ask Luke Smith. He won’t mind working it out for you.”
Curiouser and curiouser.
“I seem to remember you mentioning your uncle before... He’s your legal guardian, isn’t he?”
The boy nodded, unmistakable resentment blazing in his eyes, although it was mixed with a hefty dose of imploring.
“I’m not sure exactly what I told you then, but my being here is basically a punishment. Please don’t make it worse for me by asking me to do something I can’t do without getting into further trouble.”
Professor Trinder slowly leaned back in her chair, trying not to let on how confused she was. Their first meeting a year before had left her with a clear impression of charming cock-sure-ness (mixed in with some father-issues, but that was only to be expected), and nothing since had altered that. She’d expected the non-assignment to be an excuse to show off (what was it he’d said last year - something about trying to bribe her with plaudits?) - certainly not... this.
Looking at the kid, clearly deeply unhappy (had there been something about him quarrelling with his girlfriend? No wait, she’d spotted them just the day before, looking as happy and couple-y as ever) she tried to work out what to do now. She could just ask outright what had happened, except that was the quickest route to getting him to clam up completely. Young people needed handling with kid gloves, and this was no exception. Quite the opposite. Time for Plan B.
“Alexander,” she finally said. “I have a proposition.”
His eyes regained focus immediately.
“What kind of proposition?”
“Well, as you are not getting anything out of the course itself - as your non-attendance since Christmas is more than proof of - I was wondering if you’d maybe like to become attached to my research project? As I’m sure you know we’ve made enormous headway since your input last year, and I wouldn’t mind some of that on a regular basis.”
He mulled his over, then nodded.
“That... could be interesting. Would you mind explaining in more detail?”
For along time after Alexander Saxon had left the office, Professor Trinder sat in silence, turning things over in her mind. Something had happened - something that had shaken the boy’s confidence deeply. She wished she knew what it was. And there were the issues with his uncle... Although she’d better leave those alone for now. Going behind the boy’s back would only antagonise him, and that was the last thing she wanted. She’d not had a student like this since Adelaide Brook, and she was suddenly very eager to see him succeed.
Maybe the girlfriend was the way to go? The girl was top of her class (excepting Alexander of course) and seemed exceedingly sensible. Surely she’d want to help Alex?
But when she asked Allison the next day, the girl looked rather uncomfortable, even as she tried to smile.
“We had a really nice time at the circus. He wasn’t happy to return...”
She shrugged, then added, voice oddly loaded as she shot the Professor a look that was impossible to gauge.
“He can’t fly here, you see.”
It took a moment, then Professor Trinder said a slow: “Thank you Allison” and let the student go, silently pondering what lay behind the words.
At least she now had young Alexander close enough to keep tabs on.
***
The Autumn progressed much like the Spring had, except...
Except the feeling of seeing in stereo didn’t go away. Allison vaguely remembered Josh saying something about Alex being a caged tiger, but the image she kept being reminded of was a caged bird. And she could see it. See the way he chafed at being stuck; see how some of the banter and smiles were only skin-deep; see how he’d often get lost in thought as a way of escaping...
When she finally mentioned it to Alex, he smiled one of those private smiles that somehow didn’t look like a smile at all, and said:
“Welcome to my world.”
Realising that she wasn’t sure how to respond, the smile turned warmer, and he leaned forward and kissed her nose.
“Mind you, my world also has waffles and miracles, so it’s not a bad trade overall.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t know about miracles... Although possibly miraculous waffles.”
At this he laughed, and they made their way into the ADC bar, then looked around in vain for Matt and Josh.
The owner, who spied them from behind the bar, beckoned them closer.
“They’re in the back. Jamie’s pretty boyfriend got in a fight, and sie’s looking after him.”
“A fight? Josh?” Allison asked, shocked, and the owner nodded grimly.
“Had some new kids in, who’d obviously had a bit too much already. It’s not good for business.... Need to get a bouncer maybe. Just for a while. And that’s gonna cost too.”
“I’ll see if I can do something,” Alex said. “I know some people... Although I suppose we better go see Josh first.”
They found him on a plastic chair in the sparse kitchen, an ice pack held to the right side of his face. Matt was sitting next to him, and Jamie hovering behind him. Sie looked up when the door opened, and smiled.
“Oh look, someone’s here to see my knight in shining armour!”
“It’s not funny,” Josh bit out, and Jamie patted his shoulder, laughter still in hir eyes.
“Of course it isn’t. You were extremely fierce.”
Josh scowled.
“I did it for you!”
Alex walked forwards, and crouched down in front of Josh.
“OK, what happened?”
There was pause, then Matt spoke.
“There was this guy - six foot something - rugby player by the look of him, who came in with a whole group of mates. I think they’d won a big game, they were very merry. Six Foot Guy starting hitting on Jamie, and then - when sie tried to shut him down - began getting... inappropriate. At which point Josh stepped in.”
“Didn’t realise he’d be so fast, considering how drunk he was,” Josh said ruefully, and Jamie patted his shoulder again.
“Well you knocked him out quite beautifully once you’d recovered from the shock.”
Turning, Josh stared at hir, incredulous.
“How are you so calm? After what he called you-” He swallowed angrily, but Jamie merely looked back, composed as ever.
“I’ve been called worse, and fought bigger. This is hardly my first time...”
Lowering his eyes, Josh leaned more heavily on the hand that held the ice pack, and then winced as the pressure evidently hurt.
“Sometimes I could just go to the 51st Century and stay there, you know? None of these bloomin’ prejudices...”
“Don't run away,” Alex said, concerned, then caught Josh’s eyes.
“Besides, we can make sure that Mr Six Foot Idiot gets what he deserves. Maybe a gym teacher in Wolverhampton would be a good future for him?”
“Sounds perfect,” Josh replied, holding Alex’s eyes with grim satisfaction, and Allison found herself needing to intervene:
“Excuse me, how about no? No more manipulating people’s lives!”
Alex sighed.
“Sorry. Allison has spoken, and her word is law. Women, eh?”
“I beg your pardon?” she asked, and then glowered silently when she realised that she’d fallen for his bait.
“Allison has a point though,” Matt said quietly, much to Allison’s gratification, and Josh rolled his eyes, then winced again.
“Hey, let me have a look,” Alex said, and Josh cautiously lowered the ice pack, revealing a nasty gash surrounded by a large purple bruise which was already swelling.
“Is it bad?” he asked anxiously, as Alex inspected the injury, and Alex’s eyes narrowed.
“Nothing I can’t fix.”
The relief on Josh’s face was evident, and he bit his lip.
“How soon can you have it better?” he asked, and Alex sighed.
“Afraid you’re gonna have to wait for it all to heal naturally - if there’s any kind of underlying damage I’ll have to sort it that later... Remember, I can’t go anywhere, and I’ve got sod-all resources here.”
Josh’s face fell, and he suddenly looked almost ready to cry.
“But... this could take weeks. I can’t go out like this! And it's our anniversary tomorrow...”
“Well them’s the breaks. I’ve got nearly two more years of lock-down,” Alex said, somewhat bitterly, but Josh didn’t react how Allison expected.
The upset seemed to vanish beneath a look she couldn’t quite describe - part calculating, part appealing, part charming, as he studied Alex carefully.
“Oh. I thought...”
”What?” Alex said warily.
“Well you’re...” He paused, held Alex’s eyes, stretching the moment, “Alexander the Great. I thought you could do anything... Or at least, that you were going to try.”
Alex shook his head, a slow smile spreading across his face.
“Damn, Jack taught you well. Fine my little peacock, I’ll see what I can think up. Everyone shut up please.”
Seeing the mirrored confusion on Jamie and Allison’s faces, as Alex closed his eyes and put fingertips to temples and thumbs to cheekbones, Matt whispered “He’s going to his mind palace!” and Allison had to bite back a giggle as Jamie mimed ‘They’re all mad’ at her. Although she did remember Alex bringing up Sherlock at some point...
After the silence had stretched for long enough for Allison to consider grabbing a chair, Alex’s eyes snapped open, and without a word to any of them he brought out his phone.
After dialling, he waited for who-ever-he-was-calling to pick up, and then smiled widely.
“Hi Sylvia - could you get me Ianto please? Thank you.”
Another moment, during which Allison slowly remembered that Ianto was Jack's boyfriend, which meant that she almost missed Alex's instructions.
“Ianto? I need you to do me a favour. In the archives, in... Room 24, Shelf 17, you should find item #45XCR. It’s a small, silvery instrument, Vinvocci in origin, and I need you to send it to me as soon as you can. Use one of those courier services - UPS or FedEx or whatever you deem best. It’s mildly damaged, so I’ll need some tools too - get Jack to include some. I’ll need to be able to re-calibrate it to human.”
Ianto’s response made Alex smile.
“Do you honestly think I’d ask for something dangerous? It’s a rather basic skin-modifying implement - to smooth out scar tissue after an operation, for example. And I need it because Josh got into a fight defending the enchanting Jamie, and needs some TLC for his face.”
A beat, and Alex pulled as slightly peeved face.
“Hey, I’m just being a good friend. And by the way, I have a name - plus, how exactly am I spoiled when I’m forced to ask for help for something as basic as this?”
Mock-pouting, he rolled his eyes, then said his goodbyes, with the added admonishment that Ianto should keep an eye on Jack.
Putting the phone back in his pocket, he smiled triumphantly.
“There you go - Josh I should have you back to normal sometime tomorrow.”
Lowering the ice pack again, Josh shook his head, awe in his eyes.
“Seek and ye shall find... Sometimes I forget-”
“-how good I am at miracles?” Alex filled in, so swiftly that Allison wondered if he was trying to stop Josh from saying something he shouldn’t. But what secrets could Josh know that Alex hadn’t told her? Or maybe it was because Matt and Jamie were there too?
She was distracted by Josh’s laughter.
“Yeah. You’re my very own miracle maker.”
"That'll do me," Alex said, and Allison knew she ought to say something... But he looked happier than he had since summer ended, and it was probably just some male-bonding thing.
Besides it was their anniversary the day after tomorrow, and she knew that Alex had something marvellous planned.
Chapter 13
Fic index here if anyone wants to catch up. And on AO3 here.
Summary: Allison had always thought that university would be an adventure. But she'd not imagined that she'd end up dating Harold Saxon's son.
Setting: Autumn 2026 (AU post-Sound of Drums)
Characters: OCs (Alex, Allison, others)
Rating: PG-13.
Wordcount: 3500 words approx.
Feedback: *looks hopeful*
Chapter 12
Cambridge, start of the new term, Autumn 2026
The ADC Theatre bar was nicely full, and Allison weaved her way through the chatting groups towards their regular table, pleased to see that nearly the whole gang was there.
She managed to secure the last armchair, and waved to the others, all of them busy listening to Mike who was relating his summer adventures as an intern with Google (part of his obligations as a recipient of their scholarship was a duty to be an intern - thankfully this was something he relished, rather than resented). Even better (from Allison’s point of view) was the fact that apparently he’d started to date one of the other interns and hopefully would now no longer pine after Chelsea.
When Mike’s tale came to an end, Chelsea turned to Allison eagerly.
“So, what did you do? You seemed to fall off the face of the Earth, no one knew where you were...”
“Allie and I-” said a voice behind her, “ran way with the circus.”
Turning she looked up at Alex, who winked and said “Budge up, Love”, before looking round the others.
“Oh my god, you made up!” Chelsea said, almost clapping in delight, as Alex, still smiling and eyes dancing, walked around the chair and, when Allison got up, seated himself and placed her on his lap.
“Well you can’t be mad with someone for very long when they’re a circus star,” he said glibly, and this of course released a barrage of questions.
There was a part of Allison which told her that she shouldn’t go along with his carefully edited version of their summer, and yet... And yet, she understood the need for subterfuge now. There was no way they could tell the truth after all - it was far too odd and private.
Jamie, who happened to pass by (hir hair was an odd, metallic blue), didn’t join in the questions, but instead shot Alex a warning look.
“Alex? If you start doing acrobatics or juggling the glasses, I will personally throw you out the door.”
“Jamie! Good to see you - and on form as usual.”
Jamie winked and went hir way, as Alex pulled out his phone to share some of the footage Allison had taken of him ‘flying’.
She watched him, and marvelled. She’d seen the clouds settle as they got closer to England again, seen the weariness, seen... oh so many things, and yet the show he was putting on now was no less of a feat than those he’d done up on the trapeze in the big top.
It was almost like watching in stereo, especially when she remembered that last evening - and the following morning.
The morning after the night before
He woke her up with waffles and tea.
It took her a moment to get her bearings, and he smiled at her beatifically.
“We need to talk,” he said, as - trying to process the presence of waffles - she frowned and ignored him.
“Where did you get waffles from?”
“I made them!” he replied as he with a flourish of his hand indicated the waffle iron she could now spy on the tiny work top of the camper van.
“But... where did you get a waffle iron from?”
“A shop,” he answered, still perfectly calm, and then, when he noticed the look on her face, expanded.
“I got up early to talk to Jack. And since I like waffles, I got a waffle iron. Waffles are good. Like I said, we need to talk. And I thought waffles might help?”
“Thank you...” she said slowly, taking a bite, and the smile on his face dimmed a little.
“When I say talk, I mean about last night. Some of the things...”
Swiftly reaching out, she took his hand.
“Alex... I had no idea about what you went through when you were younger. I can’t imagine how you’ve managed to cope as well as you have.”
For a moment he just stared at her, as if he didn't have a clue what she was talking about, and then made a gesture which could only be described as dismissive.
“Oh. That. It’s... not important.”
Waffle halfway to her mouth, her hand stopped.
“Not important? Alex, you were practically abused!”
This time he didn’t try to hide the wincing.
“Well... yes and no. It’s... complicated. It was also the best day of my life. Allie-”
Oh no he didn’t.
“Don’t you ‘Allie’ me! You don’t get to just dump something like that on me and then dismiss it-”
She wasn’t even sure what she was saying as she threw her hands up in the air, nearly hitting the tea cup by her side, and he sighed deeply.
“OK. It was...” He stopped, and looked into the distance for along moment, “...it was like a baby bird being pushed out of the nest. And at first it’s just falling, and it’s the most terrifying thing imaginable. But then it discovers that it has wings and that it can fly. And that is the best thing in the world. However, it can’t ever return to the nest. It has to fly forever more.”
He bit his lip, letting his eyes return to her face.
“That’s the best I can do when it comes to an analogy. It’s not terribly accurate, but at least it gives a... basic idea. I hope you see why having a nightmare about falling brings it all back. Does that make sense?”
“I guess...” she said cautiously, and he took a deep breath.
“Good. Because I need to ask something of you. And I hate that I have to do this, but it’s incredibly important. You...” he laughed shakily, “you hold my freedom in your hands. I’ve never asked anyone except Jack to keep my secrets - well apart from Matt and Josh, obviously, but they stumbled into things the same way you did, more or less. Although far less important things, relatively speaking.”
Her brain - already struggling with peculiar metaphors at a time when she would rather be asleep - wilted.
“Alex- are you going to tell me what on Earth you are talking about?”
Slowly pressing his palms together, he closed his eyes briefly.
“You can’t tell anyone about last night. Ever. Especially not my parents or my uncle. I can’t... begin to explain what would happen.”
She looked at him nonplussed, then remembered how seriously he had taken everything. Her very own Mr Peculiar.
“OK,” she replied, and took another bite.
“Allison!” he said, with more force than she had ever heard, and a second later grasped hold of her face (his touch gentle, but insistent), eyes full of that intensity which had thrown her so the previous night.
“I mean it. Promise me you’ll never tell anyone. Ever. Please.”
Looking into his eyes, she thought to herself that she ought to research psychiatrists when they got back. This really was... not normal at all.
“I promise,” she said, as carefully as she could, and he studied her silently for a long moment.
“Thank you,” he said finally, letting his hands fall, before aiming for a smile and failing.
“I’m sorry to be so melodramatic, but it can’t be helped...”
After that day he had never mentioned the tarot session, although he had - for his own peculiar, unexplained reasons - listened to Holst’s ‘The Planets’ on repeat most of the way home, until she’d threatened to delete it from his playlist.
First day of term, Professor Trinder’s Office
“You wanted to see me?”
Flawlessly polite as always, the boy had knocked on the door, and then waited for her to ask him to come in before entering.
Studying the most unusual student she’d ever had, Professor Trinder nodded and indicated that he could take a seat on the other side of the desk.
“Ideally I’d wanted to speak to you in the spring, but you appeared to vanish...”
His response was a bright smile.
“I ran away with the circus,” he grinned, and she told herself to ignore any and all attempts at a charm offensive.
“I wanted to talk about your homework - one assignment in particular. I’m sure you know which one?”
His face fell, and she nodded in satisfaction, before extracting the paper from a folder. Apart from the date, his name, and the subject heading, the paper only bore four words:
‘This theory is incorrect.’
“Do you care to explain this?” she asked, holding it forward, and he shook his head.
“It’s incorrect. I’m not going to expand on something that’s wrong.”
She tilted her head. The theory had been established a good few years before, and, although it was hardly proven beyond doubt, no one had ever challenged it.
“So... would you know how to correct it?”
He sat for a moment in silence, as if fighting with himself, before sighing.
“Yes, of course I know.”
“And it didn’t occur to you to share?”
He shook his head vehemently.
“Can’t.”
Carefully placing the paper on the desk, she rested her chin on her folded hands.
“Listen Alexander. You are without a doubt one of the brightest-”
“The brightest!” he amended, still looking obstinate, and she closed her eyes briefly.
“I hope you appreciate that it is hard to take that at face value when you refuse to prove it. If you could write out the improved theory I would be happy to help you get it published...”
Once more he shook his head.
“Told you I can’t do that. I’m not allowed to interfere.”
It was an odd choice of words, and her eyes narrowed.
“Interfere?”
Looking like any student caught doing something he shouldn’t, he studied her with pure pleading.
“Please Professor, just... Just leave me alone. If I tell you the correct version of that theory, my Uncle will be furious. If you really want it...” he waved a hand. “Ask Luke Smith. He won’t mind working it out for you.”
Curiouser and curiouser.
“I seem to remember you mentioning your uncle before... He’s your legal guardian, isn’t he?”
The boy nodded, unmistakable resentment blazing in his eyes, although it was mixed with a hefty dose of imploring.
“I’m not sure exactly what I told you then, but my being here is basically a punishment. Please don’t make it worse for me by asking me to do something I can’t do without getting into further trouble.”
Professor Trinder slowly leaned back in her chair, trying not to let on how confused she was. Their first meeting a year before had left her with a clear impression of charming cock-sure-ness (mixed in with some father-issues, but that was only to be expected), and nothing since had altered that. She’d expected the non-assignment to be an excuse to show off (what was it he’d said last year - something about trying to bribe her with plaudits?) - certainly not... this.
Looking at the kid, clearly deeply unhappy (had there been something about him quarrelling with his girlfriend? No wait, she’d spotted them just the day before, looking as happy and couple-y as ever) she tried to work out what to do now. She could just ask outright what had happened, except that was the quickest route to getting him to clam up completely. Young people needed handling with kid gloves, and this was no exception. Quite the opposite. Time for Plan B.
“Alexander,” she finally said. “I have a proposition.”
His eyes regained focus immediately.
“What kind of proposition?”
“Well, as you are not getting anything out of the course itself - as your non-attendance since Christmas is more than proof of - I was wondering if you’d maybe like to become attached to my research project? As I’m sure you know we’ve made enormous headway since your input last year, and I wouldn’t mind some of that on a regular basis.”
He mulled his over, then nodded.
“That... could be interesting. Would you mind explaining in more detail?”
For along time after Alexander Saxon had left the office, Professor Trinder sat in silence, turning things over in her mind. Something had happened - something that had shaken the boy’s confidence deeply. She wished she knew what it was. And there were the issues with his uncle... Although she’d better leave those alone for now. Going behind the boy’s back would only antagonise him, and that was the last thing she wanted. She’d not had a student like this since Adelaide Brook, and she was suddenly very eager to see him succeed.
Maybe the girlfriend was the way to go? The girl was top of her class (excepting Alexander of course) and seemed exceedingly sensible. Surely she’d want to help Alex?
But when she asked Allison the next day, the girl looked rather uncomfortable, even as she tried to smile.
“We had a really nice time at the circus. He wasn’t happy to return...”
She shrugged, then added, voice oddly loaded as she shot the Professor a look that was impossible to gauge.
“He can’t fly here, you see.”
It took a moment, then Professor Trinder said a slow: “Thank you Allison” and let the student go, silently pondering what lay behind the words.
At least she now had young Alexander close enough to keep tabs on.
The Autumn progressed much like the Spring had, except...
Except the feeling of seeing in stereo didn’t go away. Allison vaguely remembered Josh saying something about Alex being a caged tiger, but the image she kept being reminded of was a caged bird. And she could see it. See the way he chafed at being stuck; see how some of the banter and smiles were only skin-deep; see how he’d often get lost in thought as a way of escaping...
When she finally mentioned it to Alex, he smiled one of those private smiles that somehow didn’t look like a smile at all, and said:
“Welcome to my world.”
Realising that she wasn’t sure how to respond, the smile turned warmer, and he leaned forward and kissed her nose.
“Mind you, my world also has waffles and miracles, so it’s not a bad trade overall.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t know about miracles... Although possibly miraculous waffles.”
At this he laughed, and they made their way into the ADC bar, then looked around in vain for Matt and Josh.
The owner, who spied them from behind the bar, beckoned them closer.
“They’re in the back. Jamie’s pretty boyfriend got in a fight, and sie’s looking after him.”
“A fight? Josh?” Allison asked, shocked, and the owner nodded grimly.
“Had some new kids in, who’d obviously had a bit too much already. It’s not good for business.... Need to get a bouncer maybe. Just for a while. And that’s gonna cost too.”
“I’ll see if I can do something,” Alex said. “I know some people... Although I suppose we better go see Josh first.”
They found him on a plastic chair in the sparse kitchen, an ice pack held to the right side of his face. Matt was sitting next to him, and Jamie hovering behind him. Sie looked up when the door opened, and smiled.
“Oh look, someone’s here to see my knight in shining armour!”
“It’s not funny,” Josh bit out, and Jamie patted his shoulder, laughter still in hir eyes.
“Of course it isn’t. You were extremely fierce.”
Josh scowled.
“I did it for you!”
Alex walked forwards, and crouched down in front of Josh.
“OK, what happened?”
There was pause, then Matt spoke.
“There was this guy - six foot something - rugby player by the look of him, who came in with a whole group of mates. I think they’d won a big game, they were very merry. Six Foot Guy starting hitting on Jamie, and then - when sie tried to shut him down - began getting... inappropriate. At which point Josh stepped in.”
“Didn’t realise he’d be so fast, considering how drunk he was,” Josh said ruefully, and Jamie patted his shoulder again.
“Well you knocked him out quite beautifully once you’d recovered from the shock.”
Turning, Josh stared at hir, incredulous.
“How are you so calm? After what he called you-” He swallowed angrily, but Jamie merely looked back, composed as ever.
“I’ve been called worse, and fought bigger. This is hardly my first time...”
Lowering his eyes, Josh leaned more heavily on the hand that held the ice pack, and then winced as the pressure evidently hurt.
“Sometimes I could just go to the 51st Century and stay there, you know? None of these bloomin’ prejudices...”
“Don't run away,” Alex said, concerned, then caught Josh’s eyes.
“Besides, we can make sure that Mr Six Foot Idiot gets what he deserves. Maybe a gym teacher in Wolverhampton would be a good future for him?”
“Sounds perfect,” Josh replied, holding Alex’s eyes with grim satisfaction, and Allison found herself needing to intervene:
“Excuse me, how about no? No more manipulating people’s lives!”
Alex sighed.
“Sorry. Allison has spoken, and her word is law. Women, eh?”
“I beg your pardon?” she asked, and then glowered silently when she realised that she’d fallen for his bait.
“Allison has a point though,” Matt said quietly, much to Allison’s gratification, and Josh rolled his eyes, then winced again.
“Hey, let me have a look,” Alex said, and Josh cautiously lowered the ice pack, revealing a nasty gash surrounded by a large purple bruise which was already swelling.
“Is it bad?” he asked anxiously, as Alex inspected the injury, and Alex’s eyes narrowed.
“Nothing I can’t fix.”
The relief on Josh’s face was evident, and he bit his lip.
“How soon can you have it better?” he asked, and Alex sighed.
“Afraid you’re gonna have to wait for it all to heal naturally - if there’s any kind of underlying damage I’ll have to sort it that later... Remember, I can’t go anywhere, and I’ve got sod-all resources here.”
Josh’s face fell, and he suddenly looked almost ready to cry.
“But... this could take weeks. I can’t go out like this! And it's our anniversary tomorrow...”
“Well them’s the breaks. I’ve got nearly two more years of lock-down,” Alex said, somewhat bitterly, but Josh didn’t react how Allison expected.
The upset seemed to vanish beneath a look she couldn’t quite describe - part calculating, part appealing, part charming, as he studied Alex carefully.
“Oh. I thought...”
”What?” Alex said warily.
“Well you’re...” He paused, held Alex’s eyes, stretching the moment, “Alexander the Great. I thought you could do anything... Or at least, that you were going to try.”
Alex shook his head, a slow smile spreading across his face.
“Damn, Jack taught you well. Fine my little peacock, I’ll see what I can think up. Everyone shut up please.”
Seeing the mirrored confusion on Jamie and Allison’s faces, as Alex closed his eyes and put fingertips to temples and thumbs to cheekbones, Matt whispered “He’s going to his mind palace!” and Allison had to bite back a giggle as Jamie mimed ‘They’re all mad’ at her. Although she did remember Alex bringing up Sherlock at some point...
After the silence had stretched for long enough for Allison to consider grabbing a chair, Alex’s eyes snapped open, and without a word to any of them he brought out his phone.
After dialling, he waited for who-ever-he-was-calling to pick up, and then smiled widely.
“Hi Sylvia - could you get me Ianto please? Thank you.”
Another moment, during which Allison slowly remembered that Ianto was Jack's boyfriend, which meant that she almost missed Alex's instructions.
“Ianto? I need you to do me a favour. In the archives, in... Room 24, Shelf 17, you should find item #45XCR. It’s a small, silvery instrument, Vinvocci in origin, and I need you to send it to me as soon as you can. Use one of those courier services - UPS or FedEx or whatever you deem best. It’s mildly damaged, so I’ll need some tools too - get Jack to include some. I’ll need to be able to re-calibrate it to human.”
Ianto’s response made Alex smile.
“Do you honestly think I’d ask for something dangerous? It’s a rather basic skin-modifying implement - to smooth out scar tissue after an operation, for example. And I need it because Josh got into a fight defending the enchanting Jamie, and needs some TLC for his face.”
A beat, and Alex pulled as slightly peeved face.
“Hey, I’m just being a good friend. And by the way, I have a name - plus, how exactly am I spoiled when I’m forced to ask for help for something as basic as this?”
Mock-pouting, he rolled his eyes, then said his goodbyes, with the added admonishment that Ianto should keep an eye on Jack.
Putting the phone back in his pocket, he smiled triumphantly.
“There you go - Josh I should have you back to normal sometime tomorrow.”
Lowering the ice pack again, Josh shook his head, awe in his eyes.
“Seek and ye shall find... Sometimes I forget-”
“-how good I am at miracles?” Alex filled in, so swiftly that Allison wondered if he was trying to stop Josh from saying something he shouldn’t. But what secrets could Josh know that Alex hadn’t told her? Or maybe it was because Matt and Jamie were there too?
She was distracted by Josh’s laughter.
“Yeah. You’re my very own miracle maker.”
"That'll do me," Alex said, and Allison knew she ought to say something... But he looked happier than he had since summer ended, and it was probably just some male-bonding thing.
Besides it was their anniversary the day after tomorrow, and she knew that Alex had something marvellous planned.
Chapter 13