#andi mack fic | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

i-am-church-the-cat · 1 month

Text

you can always go home again (or for the first time)

This is my fic for the Andi Mack gift exchange! This is for @paracosmicat, I'm so sorry that it's late, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Summary: She ruffles his hair as she leads the way back through the apartment. It’s small and crowded with trinkets, books and shoes, basketballs and art projects, and something that must have exploded from the kitchen. Three more people are waiting for them in the living room, less than T.J. expected from the level of noise he’d heard. “Hey guys, this is T.J., the dude I was telling you about,” Jonah introduces him to the group at large and he offers a small wave. “T.J., this is Andi, Cyrus, and Marty.” WC: 2674 Pairing: Gen mostly, but with pre-relationship Tyrus and minor Amris Tags: College AU, First Meetings, T.J. POV, Amber and T.J. are siblings Rating: Teen

---

He knew it was saving him money, but sometimes living with his sister and her girlfriend could be really annoying. T.J. had been trapped in his room for ages, Amber and Iris having fought and made up over the past several hours, both things he would rather not be witness to. At this rate, he was going to be locked in here until graduation.

Jonah

Hey man, you looking to hang tonight?

Something like relief passes through T.J. when he gets the message. He and Jonah aren’t the closest of friends, yet. They hadn’t gotten along when Jonah was dating his sister - between the compulsory heterosexuality and Jonah’s constant avoidance of anything even hinting at romantic in nature, it had been hell from start to finish - but since they were both studying kinesiology, they’d tried to be friendly. Today, that work had finally paid off.

T.J.

Yeah man, what were you thinking?

Jonah

Some of my friends are holding a get together at their apartment, just a small thing. You wanna come?

Another noise came from the living room. T.J. didn’t want to know if it was a yell or a moan.

T.J.

Send me the address, im omw

Since the path to the front door was locked, T.J. used the fire escape by his window. It dropped him right next to the motorcycle he probably shouldn’t be parking in the back alley. But hey, it hadn’t been stolen yet, and it made for a very quick getaway. T.J. set his phone to give him voice directions to the address Jonah texts him and then he’s off.

The apartment building is nice, an artist-y co-op on the west side of town. T.J. heads up to the third floor after texting Jonah again for the apartment number - Beck wasn’t always the most aware person. Both the bike ride and the jog up the steps do a lot for getting T.J. in a better headspace than he was in earlier.

He hears the apartment before he sees it. Jonah said it was just a small get together, but from the noise coming through the door, T.J. has some serious doubts. He considers bailing before remembering what’s going on at his own apartment and knocking on the door.

Surprisingly, it’s not Jonah who answers. It’s a girl with tight braids and wearing a Utah Jazz jersey. She looks like someone he should know, but it slips his mind. She looks him over and must find him wanting because her expression is thoroughly unimpressed.

“Can I help you?”

“Um, hi,” T.J. says, trying for a smile and probably failing short. “I’m looking for-”

“Oh, Buffy is that T.J.?” A thankfully familiar voice comes from inside the apartment. Jonah Beck pops his head around the girl - Buffy’s - shoulder and flashes his big signature smile. “Teej, glad you could make it! Come in, come in.”

“Just inviting people into my home now, Beck?” Buffy asks, clearly not amused, but she steps aside with a nod to T.J. He nods back, figuring it’s the best course of action, and he’s rewarded with Buffy’s expression going a little less intense and a little more accepting.

“Oh, yeah, sorry Buffy.” Jonah’s apologetic grin is too cute for anyone, even Buffy, to hold a grudge against. She ruffles his hair as she leads the way back through the apartment. It’s small and crowded with trinkets, books and shoes, basketballs and art projects, and something that must have exploded from the kitchen. Three more people are waiting for them in the living room, less than T.J. expected from the level of noise he’d heard.

“Hey guys, this is T.J., the dude I was telling you about,” Jonah introduces him to the group at large and he offers a small wave. “T.J., this is Andi, Cyrus, and Marty.”

T.J. opens his mouth to greet the group but the guy he’d thought looked familiar beats him to it. Marty hops up, big grin on his face as he offers up his hand for T.J. to slap.

“Hey, Kippen right? Aren’t you the new freshman starter for the basketball team?”

T.J. grins but can’t help the flush that takes his face. He’s proud of himself, yeah, but he finds it’s not always the best to introduce himself with his sporting career. It hasn’t always worked out the best in the past, which was mainly his fault to be fair. He hadn’t been a nice person on the court when he was younger.

“Yeah, I remember you from tryouts. You’ve got a great three-pointer, man.”

“Oh god, Jonah don’t tell me you brought another jock,” whines the other girl in the apartment, an Asian girl with short hair and paint on her t-shirt. “Now Cyrus and I are outnumbered 2-to-1.”

“I also invited Walker and Libby, but they both had things,” Jonah tries to defend himself, flopping down on the floor and grabbing a handful of popcorn from that half-empty bowl on teh coffee table. “It’s not my fault T.J.’s the only one free enough to join us.”

“I’m not totally sure if that’s an insult or not,” T.J. admits, looking around for space to sit. Andi and Buffy are sitting on the couch, Marty going back to sit in the third seat. Jonah’s on the floor. The only seat left is the loveseat, next to the only person here who’s voice T.J. hasn’t heard yet.

“Hi,” he greets, moving towards the other boy. “I’m T.J. Can I sit?”

The brown-haired boy has big eyes that seem to suck all the air out of the room. Either someone just started hitting a bass drum, or T.J. could hear his heartbeat in his ears. Soft freckles dusted the boy’s nose and his pink lips had teeth indentations in them, as if he’d been biting them only seconds before. Those same lips lift into a smile, crinkly his Bambi eyes at the edges.

“Sure,” the angel fairy boy said. “I’m Cyrus.”

“T.J.,” he mumbles, sitting down on the cushion. The other boy’s eyes fill with mirth.

“You said that already.”

“Right.” T.J. blinks, wondering it this is what deer felt when they get stuck in headlights. “Sorry.”

Cyrus is clearly laughing at him but he has the decency not to show it. Instead, he leans forward and grabs something off of the pile of snacks on the coffee table.

“Muffin? It’s chocolate chocolate chip.”

“Oh.” T.J. looks down at the muffin in surprise. It’s big and rich and somehow exactly what T.J. needs. His stomach growls in appreciation as he takes the treat in gentle hands. “Thank you, these are actually my favorite.”

Cyrus’s eyes twinkle. “Mine, too,” he says, grabbing another one and holding it out to cheers against T.J.’s own. T.J.’s grin is huge at the simple gesture.

“So, T.J.” The voice draws the two out of the little bubble they had gotten sucked in so quickly. T.J. turns to Buffy while his fingers tear off a bit of muffin and pop it in his mouth. “What do the T and the J stand for?”

He snorts, used to this line of questioning. T.J. leans back in his seat, one arm going across the back of the couch. He doesn’t the notice the way Cyrus looks at the arm in surprise, face going slightly red.

“Sorry, but that’s highly privileged information. Only four people on Earth know it.”

Marty leans forward with eager eyes. “Is it really that bad?”

T.J.’s face and voice are deadpan when he says, “Worse.”

“Amber told me it changes every month,” Jonah says from his spot on the floor.

“Oh wait, are you Amber’s brother?” Andi says, eyes going wide in recognition. Shoot. If she knows his sister this could either be really bad or… nah, just really bad. His sister’s kind of a dick.

“Yeah, younger, by two years.”

“How come we never met you when she and Jonah were dating?” Buffy asks. The way she’s looking at him is different now but T.J. can’t tell if it’s better or worse. “We met Iris.”

“And she was so nice, though obviously in love with Amber,” Cyrus says. This gets sounds of affirmation from all except Jonah who shrugs.

“I never saw it.”

“You never see it,” Andi, Buffy, and Cyrus all chorus back at him, different levels of fondness or exasperation. T.J. wonders what the story is there. Though, if it’s anything like the one he heard from Amber, he can probably guess.

“They’re actually dating now,” T.J. says, hoping to steer the conversation away from his and Amber’s relationship. He loves his sister, and even likes her these days, but that wasn’t always the truth. “They were roommates and finally admitted their feelings. When Iris moved out of her room, they had an extra, so I moved into their place when I went to college.”

Andi is nodding. “That’s smart. Cyrus, Buffy, and I all the split the rent here and we’re still eating mostly junk food we get on sale.”

“The stipend they give us on sports scholarship is not enough,” Buffy sighs and T.J. can commiserate with that. He holds up his half-eaten muffin in a toast.

“Hey, at least you and Cyrus are on scholarship,” Andi pouts. “Liberal arts college is the worst financial decision I’ve ever made.”

“But it’ll all even out when you’re a world famous artist and we can fly out to France to see your new art gallery in the Louvre,” Cyrus encourages in a way that feels more sincere than most.

“Yeah, and you can represent Jonah when he gets sued for what he’s done to his apartment,” Marty snickers.

Jonah kicks up a fuss and the others fall into bickering over something T.J. clearly does not have enough information on. Instead, he turns his attention back to Cyrus, where it had been threatening to float all evening.

“You’re going to college to be a lawyer?” He asks, taking a bite of his muffin. Cyrus turns to him as if surprised to be T.J.’s focus once again.

“Yeah! A civil rights lawyer, though, not a defense attorney.”

“That’s really cool.” He hoped he sounded as sincere as Cyrus had earlier, cause it’s true. T.J. wished he had a career path that was at least half as good for the world as Cyrus’s. He was only studying kinesiology because it’s what a bunch of student athletes did and his parents wanted him to have something to fall back on. He wasn’t going to be changing the world anytime soon.

Cyrus shrugs and blushes, ducking his head. He’s clearly not used to taking compliments which is a shame because they’re filling T.J.’s head like helium in a balloon. One poke and they’ll all come spilling out.

“Yeah, well, it was either that or become a psychologist. All four of my parents are psychologists.”

“Four?”

“Mom, dad, step-mom, and step-dad,” Cyrus says with a shrug. This topic of conversation he’s far too used to. “You know how it goes.”

“Nah, actually,” T.J. glances away for a second before back to Cyrus. “My parents are the kind that should’ve split up but never did. It kind of left a bad mark on Amber and I’s relationship with them, and each other.”

Cyrus looks up at him curiously. He’s curled towards him, leaning against the back of the loveseat and subsequently propping his head up on T.J.’s arm. The weight is nice, grounding.

“Is that why we’ve never met you before?”

“Yeah,” T.J. admits. It feels safer to tell Cyrus here, where they’re practically alone, instead of to the whole group. “I left to live with my grandparents in high school. The distance helped Amber and I a lot.”

“I’m glad.” Cyrus smiles up at him. “I don’t have any siblings but Buffy and Andi are basically like my sisters. We’ve been best friends for as long as I can remember.”

T.J. smiles, feelings bittersweet. “I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone like that.”

Cyrus considers him quietly. His face is serious and strangely more confident than it had been when their conversation began. “You should.”

They fall into silence then, just observing each other, gathering their thoughts and basking in the feeling their bubble had created. T.J. was still impressed by how quickly Cyrus had sucked him in. There was just something about the young man that felt authentic and calming, like everything was going to be okay. It’s a feeling T.J. has rarely ever felt in his life.

“You know, you’re weirdly easy to talk to.”

Cyrus smiles, teasing. “It’s the four therapists as parents. You get used to listening.”

Cyrus and T.J. don’t have an opportunity to be quiet together for the rest of the night. Once the other’s finished bickering, they drew the two into a game of Trivial Pursuit, and then Truth or Dare, and then Charades, which T.J. and Buffy weirdly dominated at, to Marty and Jonah’s chagrin. By the end of the night, T.J. was exhausted but happy. He’d left the house to escape the private going ons of his sister and her girlfriend and ended up meeting people he’d never believe he felt so at home with. The way they opened up and welcomed him in felt amazing, like nothing he’d ever experienced.

“It’s a great feeling, right?” Marty had said, halfway through the night, when they’d both stepped into the kitchen to grab a drink. “Andi, Buffy, and Cyrus have always been this trio. It should feel like an impenetrable wall to cross but they always open up and offer space to anyone who needs it. Jonah and I in middle school, Walker and Libby in high school, and now you.”

T.J. had blinked in surprise, looking back out to the living room. The three roommates were doing weird poses, trying to convince the others they were real formations used in yoga, or just trying to make the other two laugh. He watches with a warm feeling in his stomach as Cyrus laughs so much he topples out of the position he was in, sprawling across the carpeted floor.

“Can it really be that easy?”

Marty had shrugged and given him a welcoming smile. A beckoning smile. “Only if you let it be.”

And T.J. was going to let it be. He wasn’t going to question the new familiarity between himself and these people. He was just going to accept it and holds on as long as he could. By the time he left, he had four new numbers in his phone. When he got home, there was a text from one of them.

Buffy the Basketball Slayer

You better ask Cyrus out soon

He’s not known for making the first move and I can not handle three months of pining

Hop on it Kippen

T.J. grinned. He sent back a thumbs up emoji before pulling down the fire escape. He stumbles through his window and onto his bed, feeling dazed from both the climb and the night he had.

“Hvae fun?” Amber asks from the open doorway. That had definitely been closed when he left, but T.J.’s proud of the fact he didn’t startle at her sudden appearance.

“Yeah.” He knows he’s grinning like a madman but he just can’t help it.

“Good,” his sister says. She ruffles his hair, blonde matching her own. “Good night, little bro.”

“Night,” he calls as she exits the room. He sits up a little to make his next words heard. “Good night to you, too, Iris!”

There’s a pause, then, “Good night, T.J.! Sweet dreams!”

And well. There’s no doubt that they will be.

#andi mack #tyrus #tj kippen #cyrus goodman #buffy driscoll #marty from the party #jonah beck #amber #iris #my fic #my writing #andi mack gift exchange 2024

12 notes · View notes

david3096 · 1 year

Text

Even if I wanted to.

I wrote a Tyrus fic! Here´s the link to AO3 if you want to read it there 😁

“Do you really have to go?” He doesn't quite know how to answer that question, he can see in his boyfriend's face a combination of sadness and sweetness, the two of them are lying on the floor of his house, with too many pillows around them, the TV is playing Cyrus' favorite music.

“Do you mean now or on the trip?” TJ asks with sincere curiosity before giving his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. “Besides, wasn't spending all day together enough for you?” It's more a question to tease him than anything else and by the pout his boyfriend makes, he knows he's succeeded.

“No.” He answers, almost serious. “You know I never have enough time with you.” And okay, maybe that's one of the cheesiest things his boyfriend has said to him since they met, but, if he hadn't felt a rush of warmth start in his stomach and spread throughout his body, he would have teased him about it.

“I don't want to leave, Cy.” The truth is, it's a complicated situation. It's one of the last weekends they have off before going back to school, they had planned to go to the movies, eat at The Spoon, spend the afternoon making out and pretending to watch another movie... the ideal day for TJ.

But out of the blue, his grandmother decided to celebrate her birthday a month before her actual birthday. He thought it was kind of funny at first, but now he finds it annoying, he wants to spend as much time with Cyrus as possible, before school and other projects force them to see each other for an hour or two a day.

“I know.” That's his boyfriend's response, neither wants to admit how much the whole thing hurts. “It will be the first time we'll spend so many days away from each other.”

“I'll spend four days without you.” If TJ is honest, it didn't seem like such a big deal at first, but now that he has his suitcase packed and knows he has to go and not see his boyfriend for four days, plus put up with his relatives, he finds it boring and unbearable.

“We're kind of ridiculous, aren't we?” Cyrus has a big smile on his face as he says those words and TJ can do nothing but laugh and kiss him again.

For a few moments nothing is important, not the trip, not his family, not the time they'll spend apart, how cheesy they are, how sad it makes them. The only thing that matters to him is to feel and enjoy the touch of Cyrus' lips on his. Feeling his hands run over his body and him doing the same on his. All that matters is enjoying this moment to the fullest.

“Are you sure your grandmother can't celebrate her 75th birthday until next year?” That's the first thing his boyfriend says to him when they stop kissing and it only reminds him that he's the funniest guy in the world. Or maybe he's just in love but it's been over two years since they've been dating, so he thinks he's truly funny.

“I blame my Uncle Jack.” It's the only reason his grandmother has decided to bring her birthday forward, his Uncle Jack has lived in Spain for as long as he can remember and, truth be told, he's never spoken to him for more than an hour in his 16 years of life. So he's a little upset, but, his grandmother wants to have his whole family together and his father is excited to see his brother, so there's not much he can do. “I don't know him, but right now I hate him a little bit.”

“Don't hate him.” This is a good reminder that his boyfriend is the sweetest, most empathetic person he knows. “It will probably be a good opportunity to get to know him.”

“Or to get bored while everyone laughs and I text you telling you that I wish I was with you.” It's not the first time TJ has had to go out of town to a family reunion, but it is the first time he'll last more than two days with his dad's family so he pretty much knows what will happen.

“Honestly? That helps my self-esteem.” They both laugh and Cyrus surprises him by kissing him again and everything stops being important again, the only thing he wants to focus on is his boyfriend.

“You know?” TJ asks when his boyfriend ends the kiss. “I'm surprised that after two years your kisses still feel like the first one.”

“Like the very first one?” Cyrus arches his eyebrows and a wicked smile plays on his lips, he knows he shouldn't have said that. “You mean when you almost threw up from excitement and nervousness and we had to try again five days later?” He laughs too, it's one of those things he never thought would happen and it's also a situation he never thought could make him laugh, but with Cyrus anything is possible.

“You're never going to let me forget it, are you?”

“Nope.” He affirms, still with a smile on his lips. “I'll make sure Buffy mentions it when she makes her toast at our wedding.”

“Our wedding?” Now it's his turn to grin mischievously. “I didn't think that...” Before he can finish, his boyfriend kisses him again. It's unfair, he also wanted to tease him a little bit, but to tell the truth, he's not complaining. He wants to kiss Cyrus as much as possible, it's going to be a long four days.

For a while they remain silent, they look at each other without saying anything and TJ looks again at the clock on the wall of the living room of his boyfriend's house, it's almost ten o'clock at night, he should have been home an hour ago.

“Muffin...” He pauses, he doesn't want to say goodbye, he never wants to leave, but it's time. He knows it and he hates it. “I really have to go now.”

“Just...” Cyrus makes a funny gesture, as if he can't bring himself to say the words. “Give me five more minutes.” He decides not to say anything, he prefers to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek and hug him tight, his head rests on TJ's chest, he really doesn't want to leave.

They spend 15 minutes cuddling, he doesn't care much, he wants to stay with Cyrus as long as possible.

“Cyrus...” His voice is barely a whisper, he tries to sound calm and sweet.

“I know, I know.” Cyrus breaks the embrace sadly. “You have to go.”

“Yeah, but that's not what I want to tell you.” He decides to put his hands on his boyfriend's cheeks, they both stare into each other's eyes. “I just want to remind you that I love you.” Two months ago, it was the first time TJ confessed to him that his feelings had reached a new level.

“I love you too.” He decides to give him a small kiss on the lips, if someone had told him three years ago that he would be kissing the cute boy he met one day on the swings in the park, he would never have believed it. And not only that, the cute boy on the swings loves him back. Life is full of good surprises.

Cyrus stands up, gives him a smile and offers him his hand to help him up, he accepts it without second thoughts.

They walk slowly to the door, his boyfriend steps forward and takes his leather jacket that he left on the wooden coat rack between the window and the door, gives it to him and he puts it on in an automatic movement, then takes out of the jacket pocket the military green beanie that Cyrus knitted for him when they celebrated six months of being boyfriends and puts it on.

“You look so handsome with the beanie.” Cyrus looks like he can't wait to kiss him again and they might, they're used to this ritual, spending too much time trying to say goodbye, taking advantage of every second to allow themselves to linger a few more minutes.

“So without a beanie you think I look gross?” He jokes, to avoid another such long kissing session, he really has to go, he has to finish arranging his backpack, check his suitcase, chat with his parents and hope they're not furious. Cyrus laughs, loudly, he'll miss hearing his laugh, the way he wrinkles his nose when he tries to be cute, feeling the warmth of his body against his own, his lips touching his and sometimes, running down over his body.

“You got me.” Cyrus replies, putting his hands on TJ's shoulders. “I only accepted to be your boyfriend after I imagined you wearing a beanie.” He laughs, but falls to temptation and kisses him again, it seems to take Cyrus by surprise, but soon they are in the same rhythm as always.

They finish kissing and stay like that for a while, their foreheads touching, Cyrus has his hands on his neck and TJ's hands are on his boyfriend's waist.

He knows there's no way that in four days he'll forget the way Cyrus smells, the way he touches him, the way he cares for him and loves him. Nor the things he likes, the quirks that drive him a little crazy, there's no way he'll forget that in four days.

But he knows he will miss him, he will miss him in a way he has never missed before.

He breaks away again, it's time to go, he can't put it off any longer.

“Muffin, take off that sad face.” He says sweetly, with his index finger on his boyfriend's chin, forcing him to look him straight in the eyes. “We'll send each other lots of pics and we'll talk all day long. I promise.” He kisses him on the cheek. “You won't even notice I'm gone.” He knows it's a lie.

“Neither I or my lips agree with that.” He cannot help but laugh and gives him a small kiss on the lips, so fleeting that it could only have lasted two seconds. It's probably the last one they'll have for the next four days. “Try to have fun at your family reunion, okay?” He can't help but groan, he'd almost forgotten how boring and tiring these days would be, he loves the effect Cyrus has on him.

“I don't promise much.” By the face Cyrus makes, his boyfriend also knows he's not kidding. “I'm going to miss you so much. I love you Cyrus, don't forget that.”

“I love you too TJ.” This time, they don't kiss, they let go completely, Cyrus opens the door and watches him walk through it. “Don't forget that either.”

“I couldn't, not even if I wanted to.” He doesn't say a joke even though he's dying to. “See you Tuesday.”

“See you Tuesday, I love you.”

“I love you too.” He starts walking home with the cold January wind hitting his face, the feeling of regret creeping in without warning, he wishes he could tell his parents that he doesn't want to go, that he wants to stay with Cyrus for as long as possible. He knows he still can't, besides, he wants to see his grandmother.

He sighs, but before sadness and homesickness can take over, his phone buzzes three times, it's texts from Cyrus.

I love you TJ.

I miss you already.

Don't forget to bring me a gift when you get back.

He can't help but smile, the same warmth as always appears in his stomach and runs through his whole body, Tuesday can't come fast enough.

#Andi Mack #cyrus goodman #tj kippen #andi mack fanfic #tyrus #tyrus fanfic #tyrus fic #my writing

11 notes · View notes