An Exchange (Andy x Reader - The Coffin of Andy and Leyley)

Burial

You sat up from Andrew's lap, moving yourself so that you sat beside him. For once, his body was warm, not cold like usual.

In front of you were toppled garbage cans and dirt encrusted litter. The smell was a mix of sickly sweet and stale, similar to the smell of your former apartment's toilet situation. The maintenance team did not enjoy their accomodations.

You brought your knees to your chest, wincing as a dull pain echoed across your right leg.

Andrew glanced over at your expression, his eyes trailing down to your throbbing limb. "The demon did say your leg would never feel the same," Andrew commented. He wasn't good with comforting, you could tell. But he wanted to say something that might ease your worries somewhat.

You lifted up the hem of your pants leg to see dark black veins tracing over the skin like roots. The sight was enough to make even a doctor flinch.

"It didn't mention that my leg would never look the same, either," you muttered. It looked like a severe case of gangrene or like you'd fused with Venom.

He leaned closer. "Well, hopefully you'll have someone to always be there for you. Maybe that someone can protect you from your other leg becoming demonically altered."

"Didn't you summon the demon?" you asked.

"Didn't you lead us to the evil cult?" he replied.

"Fair point."

Andrew glanced back down at your injury or...whatever the hell it was. "The leg kind of looks cool, don't you think? Does that make you part demon?"

"If I'm part demon, I want demonic abilities to go with it," you said. You slowly tried to stand up and quickly leaned against the wall behind you. Andrew quickly stood, making sure you didn't fall. You wrapped your arms around him for balance, leaning your head underneath the crook of his neck.

You tried to think on how this all started. A hook up was how it all began, and now the two of you were here. In an abandoned alleyway. Criminals on the run. And probably a lot worse.

"You look pretty like this," he murmured quietly, his hand reaching the small of your back. His fingers pressed into your skin like he wanted to keep you there.

"You can't even see my face," you replied. You tilted your head back to look at him.

"Shut up...I was trying to compliment you." His ears were slightly pinker than before as he looked back at you.

You grinned, tilting your head to the side so your hair would catch the wind (because you were going to use your good angles to your advantage!). "If you keep complimenting me like that I might just fall in love," you said. He raised his eyebrows, clearly at a loss for words. It was ironic how embarrassed he seemed to be now, when he could be so completely shameless at other times. Then again, you were no better in that regard. Before he could ruin the moment with an awkward reply, you kissed his cheek. "Now let's get out of this alleyway. We can't stay here forever."

"Got it," Andrew said, a small smile on his face that seemed more mischievous than genuine. Without warning, he picked you up bridal style with ease. Despite his twink build, he was surprisingly strong. While his expression would appear impassive to anyone else watching, you could tell there was a hint of growing affection in the way he looked at you. It was clear that while he wasn't the best at vocalizing how he felt, he cared for you.

You initially wanted to crack a joke, but another part of you rejected the impulse.

"Andrew...thank you. Really."

He swallowed and quietly said, "Any time."

He carried you out of the alleyway. It was early morning, the sky still a cloudless navy blue.