Work Text:
It had been another “normal” day for Andy Trudeau—the kind of normal where you get up, eat breakfast, solve a bizarre case with an impossibly neat ending, and then write up a report that somehow explains it all without ever mentioning witches, demons, or exploding furniture. Just another day.
As usual, the story was airtight. No holes, no inconsistencies, nothing that would raise more than a casual eyebrow. No mention of the Halliwells, of course. They were never part of the story—not on paper, not out loud. Just the facts… or at least, the version of them Andy could safely share.
And as always, there was the person he told these things to: Darryl Morris.
Darryl stood behind Andy, listening quietly as he read over the report. A pause. Then he leaned down just enough to whisper into Andy’s ear, voice low and dry:
“You don’t actually expect me to buy this, do you?”
Andy smiled to himself. Not a smug smile—more of an exhausted, amused, “well, here we are again” kind of smile. He didn’t expect Darryl to buy it. Not really. But he appreciated that Darryl hadn’t pressed for more… yet.
He glanced up, gave a small shrug, and replied simply, “For now.”
Darryl studied him for a second, like he was trying to read between the lines.
Then he smirked, raised his eyebrows, and tilted his head in that way that said: I don’t believe you—but I believe in you.
Andy smiled back, something honest and worn in his expression. They didn’t need to say more.
As Darryl walked off, Andy turned back to his desk, his face shifting through a mix of emotions: one-third “did that just work?”, one-third relieved, and one-third uncertain about how much longer he could keep this balancing act going.
Because deep down, he knew it was only a matter of time. The world he’d been trying to protect Darryl from—the chaos, the danger, the magic—would be revealed to him soon.
Until then, this unexpected passing the torch moment would have to do for now.