Title: Cinder-Alan

Summary: when Swacit and Fairytales fuse: Alan gets a visit from his fairy god...er, mothers?

Rating: G

Spoilers/Timeline: AU that would take place during the first book

Characters: Alan, Rufus, Nik, Geoff, Mel, Gael

Note: Prompted by a crazy sleepover hypothesis

 

Once upon a time, in a land not as far away as one might expect, there lived a young man named Alan. He was a kind and generous person who had the misfortune to live with his not so kind or generous aunt and uncle and their miserable and cruel sons. Living with these people, his only surviving family members within thousands of miles, was not the worst of his troubles however. He also was forced by his aunt and uncle to work day and night cleaning, cooking, and doing various forms of general hard labor. If his work was unsatisfactory, or he caught one of his relatives in a bad mood, Alan was beaten.

 

Thankfully Alan was able to escape this despicable house every once in a while in order to be with several of his close friends. They all loved Alan very much and did what they could to make life a little better for him. Most importantly, they gave him the courage and determination to keep going when things got rough.

 

One day, Alan received an invitation to the Fairchild Manor in honor of their youngest daughter Melanie’s birthday. Melanie and Alan had been friends since childhood and so, of course, Alan was delighted to be invited to attend. He went instantly to his aunt and asked her permission to go. She paused thoughtfully for a moment after Alan had implored her to allow him to leave, and then turned to him with a sickeningly sweet smile. “Well of course you can go,” she told him. Her own sons eyes widened in shock, their expressions proving that Alan only got his way in this house once in a double blue moon. “After you clean out the attic, wash all the windows, mop and polish the hardwood floors, plant and weed the flower bed in the back, and reorganize the pantry of course.” Alan’s hopeful smile faded. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was one o’clock in the afternoon now and all those chores would surely take the rest of the day and well into the next. He would never make it to the party if he completed all those tasks. He sighed to himself as his evil cousins snickered at his dilemma.

 

Knowing he had no choice but to finish these chores assigned to him, Alan merely hoped beyond hope that he would finish in time. The afternoon dragged on and the sun was beginning to set. His relatives had all left the house (the eldest of his evil cousins calling him “Cinder-Alan” as he walked across the nicely washed floor in his muddy boots) and Alan, though thankful that they were gone, still had much to do. There was no way he would finish his chores in time to go to the party. He just hoped that Melanie would forgive him for not coming. Besides, he chided himself, I haven’t even got a birthday present for her.

He sighed and knelt on the floor with a rag and a bucket of water to wash off the muddy tracks in the hallway. All of a sudden there was a blinding flash and a loud thud as two figures tumbled onto the floor, one of them knocking Alan head over heels into the wall behind him and the upending the bucket of water. Groaning audibly, Alan sat up in the large puddle to find a boy his own age with feathery brown hair sprawled across his midsection. “Rufus?” Alan asked confused. “Where did you come from? And what are you doing here?” He considered his friend for a moment before adding cautiously, “And what are you wearing?”

 

“It’s a long story,” came a voice somewhere to his right that had only the faintest trace of an accent. Alan didn’t even have to squint into the semi darkness to realize that the voice had come from Nikolaj, Rufus’ boyfriend.

 

“Which I can explain!” Rufus replied giddily, struggling to disentangle himself without tripping over Alan’s legs. “We’re here to rescue you!”

 

“Uh-huh…” Alan said slowly, not quite sure how that explained anything, especially Rufus’ outfit that went to a whole new level of cross-dressing. He was clothed in a powdery blue tunic with gossamer sleeves and a threaded gold sash was tossed casually around his waist. His trousers were what looked like white pajama pants. Around his shoulders was a cloak that Alan was certain Rufus had borrowed from the theater’s wardrobe because it looked just like the one that had been used in the last production of The Phantom of the Opera. Soft felt slippers were on his feet. His wrists were adorned with bangles and in his hand was a very frilly plastic magic wand that looked like a toy for a five-year-old girl.

 

“I am your fairy godparent this evening and we’re here to rescue you from this drudgery and take you to the party!” Rufus said with a flourish that was so theatrical that it was almost laughable.

 

“That’s um, really nice of you Ru, but I’ve actually got to clean up still and I’ve got chores and…” he trailed off helplessly.

 

“Nonsense,” Rufus said waving his ridiculous wand about. Nik darted forward and grabbed his lover’s arm but it was too late, suddenly the whole hallway was a very ugly color of orange. “I told you to be careful with that thing Rufus,” Nik said softly, still gripping Ru’s wrist firmly.

 

“I’m always careful,” Rufus replied, pouting.

 

Alan’s mouth was agape. Had Rufus really just turned the hallway a different color or was he hallucinating?

 

“A pumpkin colour house for Cinder-Alan!” Rufus said in a very irritating, sing-songy voice.

 

Alan had had quite enough unexpected surprises for one day, but he swallowed his exasperation and said very slowly and clearly, “Rufus. What did you do to the house, can you fix it, and why does everyone keep calling me that nickname?”

 

Rufus looked like he was about to launch into another of his fabulous rants, but Nikolaj foresaw this danger and lovingly clamped a firm hand over his boyfriend’s mouth and being ever the cool, calm and collected one took over the explanation from there. “Mel’s birthday party has a theme this year. It’s a costume party where you have to come dressed like a storybook character. Which is why we’re dressed like this.” Now that Alan looked at Nik properly, he noticed that he was also very oddly dressed. He had a shiny but flexible silver plate armor on his chest and arms accompanied by chain mail paints. He carried a helmet, complete with a flip down visor, under one arm and had a sword buckled to his belt. “I’m a ‘knight in shining armor’,” he added noting Alan’s unspoken query.

 

“So the wand thing is…?”

 

Nikolaj sighed and reached a hand up to scratch his neck, his usual gesture when he could not think of a word or phrase to describe something. “We went out looking for costumes yesterday. Rufus found an antique shop and there was this thing,” he pointed to the plastic wand that Rufus waved about happily, the young man at his left kept quiet, not daring (or perhaps too busy swishing his costume about and grinning madly at his boyfriend) to interrupt. “So he bought it. Then this afternoon we were getting ready and he picked up the wand and was playing with it. All of a sudden there was a big white horse in my room!”

 

“Well I was thinking about how absolutely fantastic it would be if Nik had a horse. It’s always in the fairy tales, you know. A brave knight comes to save his true love riding his noble steed. Then the horse just sort of showed up…” Rufus cut in.

 

“What’s worse is that we couldn’t make it disappear again, so we brought him with us. He’s outside,” Nik said. “In any case, Rufus’ wand is obviously unnatural but he keeps insisting on using it.”

 

“Well I like it! Besides, I’m getting pretty good at using it. Watch,” he pointed it at the ugly orange walls and flicked his wrist. Thankfully, the walls faded back into their normal shade of cream rather than exploding or any other of the number of horrible outcomes Nikolaj and Alan were expecting. “With this wand we can do good!” Rufus crowed triumphantly. “But first, we’re using it to rescue you and bring you to the party Alan!”

 

“I’m dreaming, aren’t I?” the befuddled redhead asked. “Because this is all utterly ridiculous. This simply cannot be happening.”

 

“Do you have a costume, Alan?” Rufus asked, ignoring Alan’s feeble attempt at reasoning the situation out.

 

Alan just shook his head. “I told you I can’t go. I have chores and I don’t have a gift or anything…”

 

“Taken care of!” Rufus replied. Then he whirled around and called, “Let’s go!” before heading out the front door. Nikolaj grabbed Alan’s shoulder and steered him out after Rufus, muttering quietly that everything would be seen to and not to worry.

 

In the front yard, Alan found that there was indeed a white horse with a gray mane and tail. “What in the… All right, wait. Maybe you do have a magic wand and maybe you did conjure up this horse from nowhere, but there’s no way we’ll all fit on that horse and make it to Mel’s place.”

 

“He has a point,” Nik conceded. “Three is too many.”

 

Rufus was way ahead of them. With a flash of light, a carriage appeared, harnesses and all, attached to the white gelding. “Your carriage awaits you, dear lady,” Rufus said, turning to Alan with a wicked grin.

 

For a moment Alan was confused, but then he looked down and his confusion was washed away in a sea of embarrassment and panic. He was wearing a dress and it was purple. He was actually so upset and taken aback by the audacity of his friend that for several moments he was speechless. “Well, you needed a costume,” Rufus told his very red-faced friend as Nikolaj turned away, trying his utmost not to burst out laughing. “Cinderella, or in your case Cinder-Alan.”

 

“Ru- I---you--- Ahhh! Get it--- Take it back!” Alan spluttered.

 

“Nope. Get in!” Rufus was pushing Alan from behind and into the carriage. Nikolaj had already jumped into the driver’s seat. Holding a ranting Alan still long enough for him to shut the door, Rufus called up to Nicky and the carriage rolled away from Alan’s house. “Rufus!!!!” Alan yelped frantically trying to find the zipper or the buttons to take the dress off. “This looks awful! I’m not going to a party looking like this!”

 

Rufus was sitting across from Alan and he mused for a moment about what poor Alan was saying. Indeed, Alan did look quite awkward in just the dress. “All right,” Rufus replied, “you’re right. How about a wig and a tiara? Do you think that would complete the outfit?”

 

“Wha? NO! I don’t want to complete the outfit. I want to take it OFF!”

 

“It won’t come off until midnight, Cinderella, you know how the story goes! So you can either take the wig and the tiara or I can turn you into a woman for the night. Which would you prefer?”

 

Alan lapsed into an unmoving silence at the horrifying suggestion. “Oh God. Please, no!” he said softly.

 

“Oh, you’re no fun at all,” Rufus told him in an exasperated tone. Instead he handed Alan a wig and a tiara and a mirror all of which had appeared beside him. Nik reached a hand back to Rufus, his eyes still on the path. “I think you’re done for now, love,” he told his boyfriend. “You’re going to give Alan a heart attack if you don’t put it away.” Rufus sighed, but handed over the mystical object without complaint. Alan could have kissed Nicky. Being kidnapped and forced into a dress by his friends was one thing, but being threatened into gender-changing was a whole other level that he just could not even conceive. With a sigh, Alan put on the curly red wig and the jeweled tiara.

 

“Hey, don’t be so down,” Rufus said with a smile. “We kidnapped you so you could have fun remember?”

 

Alan grumbled a couple of choice sentences on how much fun he thought this whole affair was and remained in a sulky silence the remainder of the trip.

 

They pulled into the drive shortly thereafter. Rufus was bouncing up and down excitedly at the thought of showing off his human masterpiece. Alan was trying to make himself less noticeable by squishing himself into the furthest corner of the carriage. All too soon, Nikolaj opened the door. “The ball awaits you Cinder-Alan,” Nik said with a wide grin after helping Rufus down. Alan sighed audibly, his face nearly as red as his wig. He knew he couldn’t hide in the carriage all night. Eventually someone would notice the fact that there was a carriage (a carriage for goodness sake!) parked out front and would want to investigate. So he allowed himself to be helped down and braced himself for the biggest embarrassment of his young life. He mentally noted that all photos taken would be burned.

 

Jennifer Fairchild opened the door for them. “Well don’t you all look absolutely charming!” she exclaimed. “Alan, is that you? Quite the elaborate costume!”

 

“It was Rufus’ idea,” he replied quickly, pointing an accusing finger at Jennifer’s nephew who merely beamed.

 

“Well please come on in! You’re the last ones to show up. The others are in the ballroom.” She closed the door behind them and then turned toward the kitchen. With Alan in the rear, they made their way down the hall and into the wide ballroom. The room was bright with decorations. Balloons were tied to the banisters and streamers hung from the ceiling. A disco ball even hung in the center of the room, glittering in the bright lighting. There were quite a few people here. Nearly all of Melanie’s siblings had come, Geoff, Gael, Adrien, Gina, Michelle, several people from Robert Fairchild’s theater troupe, all were in costume and were dancing or talking over the loud music that spun across the room from a stereo in the corner. Nik spotted Mel first, holding hands with Adge. They were quite the pair, dressed as Robin Hood and Maid Marian. With a firm hand on Alan’s wrist, Nicky dragged Alan over to them. “Hello! Quite the party!” he told Mel after she had hugged him.

 

“You look very dashing Nicky!” she told him, admiring his armor. She turned her eyes to Alan who then turned his eyes to the floor, unable to stand the shame.“Alan?” she whispered at long last, stunned.

 

“Um, happy birthday Mel,” he replied. She giggled and then threw herself at him.

 

“This is too funny! Oh my gosh! What a costume! You might win when we do the costume contest later! Where did you come up with this? Who are you supposed to be?”

 

“Cinder-Alan!” Rufus answered in a sing-songy voice. “And I’m his fairy godmother!”

 

“I have the sneaking suspicion this was your idea Rufus. Alan’s not the type to wear a dress, no offense,” Adge told him bluntly.

 

“But he looks like the vision of beauty, does he not?” came a voice from behind him. Alan jumped slightly, not aware that Geoff was in the vicinity. He strode forward on his long, gangly legs and paused for a moment to take in the whole effect. “My dear lady,” Geoff continued, hamming it up as he always did and grinning his patented shit-eating grin, “I do believe you’ll have to save a dance for me later.”

 

“And who are you supposed to be?” Alan demanded hotly, tired of being the center of attention already. He was glancing suspiciously at Geoff’s outfit. He was wearing a loose white shirt with lace at his throat and on the edges of his sleeves. A cape swept back off of his shoulders that was a royal purple color and came down to just above his knee length hunting boots. He had a stage rapier clipped to his belt and a plumed hat rested jauntily on his head. “A bard perhaps?”

 

“I’m wounded dear Cinder-Alan. I am your prince charming come to rescue you from your harsh life of drudgery and endless toil. I will whisk you away to my castle where we will live happily ever after. You, me and our servant boy,” Geoff answered, clapping a very clueless Gaél on the shoulder. The poor boy had just entered the conversation and had been too busy staring at Alan in a dress to listen to Geoff’s incessant blather.

“Now, now Geoff. Who says we should let you have the first dance? There are four other men here that might like to dance with the lady. Perhaps we should duel for Cinder-Alan’s hand?” Adge suggested jokingly. Mel smacked him lightly on the shoulder. Alan spotted Gina a couple paces away chatting amiably with a couple of people from the theater and ducked away.

 

The Amazon goddess was playing Little Red Riding Hood for the evening. She really seemed too tall for the role, but the red velvety cloak she was wearing was beautiful. She even carried a picnic basket with her. As Alan trudged over to her, in order to shield himself from his friends’ taunts, she caught sight of him and began to laugh uncontrollably when she recognized him. “A… Alan?!?” she gasped after a moment, trying to regain her breath. “You’re… you’re wearing a dress! And a tiara!”

 

“Yes…” he replied gratingly. “Um, I didn’t have a costume and Rufus refused to let me come unless I wore it.”

 

“Poor Alan,” Gina replied with a straight face that seemed rather sympathetic. “Oh, where’s a camera when you need one? I would love to have a photo of this,” she added with an impish grin.

 

“Har har,” Alan replied. “You see, the biggest problem with storybook characters is they are 97% female.”

 

“Not true!” Michelle piped in, joining their conversation. She was wearing a witch hat and a long black robe with drooping sleeves.

 

“Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Goldilocks, Red Riding Hood, Thumbelina, The Princess and the Pea, Alice in Wonderland,” he said, ticking them off on his fingers.

 

“Robin Hood,” Gina told him. Alan pointed at Adrien who was now having a mock duel with Geoff.

 

“Peter Pan,” Michelle suggested. Alan looked to Gaél who was a bad imitation of Captain Hook. He had a bandana over his head and a ruffled shirt and tattered pants of a sailor, he even had a hook poking out from his sleeve, but he didn’t have the look of a captain. Nor did he look that fearsome.

 

“Rumpelstilzken,” Melanie chimed, coming to join their circle. “Aladdin, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Pinocchio…”

 

“Okay! All right, you have a point but still. Princesses and “beautiful maidens” outnumber any men in those stories.”

 

“Is that why you decided to wear a dress in protest?” Mel asked bemusedly. The lights dimmed and Robert’s voice was heard above the chatter of the party. “We’re going to have the costume contest in a minute, so why don’t you line up over here please!”

 

Alan shuffled off toward the far wall, but was caught by Geoff who steered him toward the group of people in the middle of the dance floor. He saw a Sherlock Holmes, a blind mouse, three fairies, and a Pied Piper with his instrument to his lips before he was swung into place among the bustling line of frills and sequins and soft cloth.

 

“Listen to me everyone!” Robert said once the shuffling and rustling had calmed considerably. “Now, the contest will be judged by these lovely ladies over here! My wife Jennifer,” Jenny raised her hand and people clapped and whistled, “Our daughter Wendy and our dear friend Ivy Hewitt.” The other two women stood and waved. Alan was surprised that he hadn’t noticed Mrs. Hewitt here earlier. Geoff was the spitting image of his mother, but he had his father’s lanky frame. “The winner will be the most creative costume and also the most original.”

 

The girls went down the row glancing at each of the costumes and making sure they knew exactly who each person was supposed to be. Alan’s friends had all opted out of the contest and were standing on the sidelines grinning broadly at him. Rufus was still twirling his fairy wand in his long fingers. Nik noticed this and clasped his lover’s hand warmly to get him to stop fidgeting. There would be more than a few questions if the ceiling started raining ducks or some other strange phenomenon. In the back of his mind, Nik was trying to procure a plan to get rid of the wand. There would be no more horses in his room if Nikolaj had anything to say about it. The judges came to Alan and Wendy and Ivy both hid the smile that passed their lips behind their hands as they recognized him. He gave them his most sheepish of smiles and when they asked his character he said automatically, having heard himself referred as such all night, “Cinder-Alan.” Suddenly realizing his mistake he corrected himself hastily, “I mean Cinderella! Cinderella.” They laughed and Alan blushed. After viewing his outfit, they moved on. In several minutes they had finished their notes and their checks. The crowds dispersed whilst the judges went to deliberate.

 

The music came back on to the stereo and Alan found himself finally starting to enjoy himself. He danced with his friends, who had finally stopped teasing him, and ate crisps and sweets that were out on the refreshment table and talked and laughed with the theater troupe and even ventured conversation with Geoff’s father, Paul. The night flew by. As Alan was listening to Adrien tell a story about one of his particularly unpleasant schoolteachers, Robert’s voice again rose above the tumult. “The judges have come to their decision. The winner of the costume contest is…” he glanced at the paper in his hands, “Cinder-Alan. Alan Hart! Where are you Alan?”

 

Alan was confused, but was shoved and jockeyed along until, holding the hem of his purple dress, he stood in front of Robert. Everyone clapped and he thought he heard a wolf-whistle in the back of the room. Robert handed him a blue ribbon for him to pin to his outfit and also presented him with a gift card for a popular bookstore in town. Flushed with pride and embarrassment, Alan accepted his award and then fled to the back of the room as the music turned back on. Amongst his group of friends, Alan found Rufus tucked into his boyfriend’s embrace. Seeing their red-headed, red-faced friend approach, the disengaged themselves and looked at him. “Here Rufus,” Alan told him, shoving the gift card into his hands. “You dragged me here and dressed me up so you deserve some of the credit.” Rufus stared at the card and then again at Alan as though not comprehending. Seeing that Alan did not waver, Rufus smiled, “Fabulous! Books! I can buy more books!” he exclaimed. His wand also seemed pleased, for several miniature fireworks sparked around the wand in brilliant colors. Before Alan was allowed to say another word on the subject, a the dashing blond prince charming came back to claim his dance with the “beautiful maiden”. “A prize for my prize,” Geoff said softly into Alan’s ear as he snuck up on the dress-wearing stocky redhead for the second time that night .

 

“Geoff!” Alan gasped.

 

“I’ve come to claim you as my own,” Geoff replied. “I wish to dance the night away with my best friend while he’s still dressed like a girl.”

 

“Should I be concerned for your sanity or for my virginity?” he asked wryly, a coppery eyebrow raised.

 

“I promise I’ll be gentle,” Geoff teased as he dragged Alan onto the dance floor. Alan was too tired and content to put up a decent struggle. Melanie watched the scene with a little laugh and dove into the crowd to go find a camera. Alan would certainly kill her if he knew she would get photographic evidence of this, but she couldn’t resist the urge. Rufus watched the “couple” glide onto the dance floor and discreetly flicked his magic wand. The lights dimmed and strange classic music floated across the room. Geoff grinned and put his hand around Alan’s waist. Alan chuckled and decided why not. He put his arm on Geoff’s and they awkwardly began their dance. Hiding behind Adrien, Melanie snapped a photo of the would-be princess and his prince. They looked like they were having fun. Alan was actually smiling, a rare occurrence these days.

 

In the midst of all this, a horrible thought occurred to Alan. His aunt and uncle and their horrible offspring would be home around midnight. If he didn’t have his chores done by then…. If he wasn’t home by then… he’d be doomed. He could quite possibly be killed. Aunt Linda hated the Fairchilds as it was. If he were found at their home when he was supposed to be working, the results would be most unpleasant. Without another thought, Alan shoved Geoff away and with a hurried apology, dashed out if the room.

 

“Alan! What the devil?” Geoff called feebly after his partner. But Alan was already running down the steps and onto the lawn. He forgot that he was wearing a dress. He even forgot that he lived a good several miles away from Mel’s. The carriage was gone and the horse as well. Alan suspected that Nik had made Rufus get rid of it. Having no other way to get home, Alan began to run.

 

After awhile, Alan began to tire. It was hard to run in the heavy material. Just as this thought passed through his head, the costume shimmered and then disappeared, his old clothes that were too big and baggy took its place. This didn’t even phase him. There was no time to question it. As he flew through the front door, the clock in the hall chimed twelve. The house was dark. Alan sighed his relief. He carefully took off his shoes, making sure that he didn’t get mud all over the floor he had so painstakingly cleaned. He just hoped that the rest of his chores had either been magically completed or that his aunt wouldn’t notice the difference. As he began to climb the stairs, the lights flared above him. At the top of the stairs stood a very peeved looking Aunt Linda and a rather drunk Uncle Steven. He was busted.

 

***

 

The next morning, the doorbell rang. Alan, stumbled down the stairs and caught himself on the door handle. He edged the door open only to find Melanie, Geoffrey, and Robert standing on the doorstep. “Um, hey guys, “ he said awkwardly, not daring to open the door all the way.

 

“Alan, come out here,” Jennifer said softly.

 

“We found something of yours, my dear Cinder-Alan,” Geoff said tauntingly, holding up Alan’s blue ribbon.

 

Alan unthinkingly let go of the door and went to grab for it. Geoff swore rather loudly when he saw the bruises on Alan’s face. “Oh, I um…” Alan had no more excuses.

 

“We’re here to rescue you Alan,” Melanie said kindly, trying not to scream her fury at Alan’s evil guardians.

 

“Yes, I’ve come as promised to save you from your drudgery and to take you to my castle by the sea. Where we will eat bon bons and have Gaél wait on us hand and foot,” Geoff told him, a goofy grin once again on his face.

 

“Come on Alan, let’s go home,” Jenny said, taking him by the hand and leading him to the car.

 

And so Cinder-Alan lived happily ever after with his prince charming in their cottage at the Fairchild Manor.

 

THE END

 

Epilogue:

 

“Nicky? Where’s my wand?” Rufus whined, flipping through the drawer of his bedside table. Nikolaj was laying on his stomach on the bed, smiling contentedly. “I have no idea, mien skat.”

 

“I could swear I left it right here,” Rufus said, a worried frown flitting across his forehead.

 

“Don’t worry about it my darling, it will show up eventually. Now come to bed.”

 

“Hmm… all right!” Rufus flopped down on the bed and snuggled close to his Danish knight in shining armor. And all was right with the world.