A Road Covered With Blood
Jun. 18th, 2007 12:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sevendeadlyfunPairing: Xander/?
Rating: NC-17 overall
A/N: This was written in response to the Just Rewards/Fang Fetish Round 7 Alternate Universes/Dimensions Challenge. I know that the first chapter doesn't seem like it fits the challenge. All will be made clear in the next chapter. Trust me?
Summary: What if everything you thought was true was a lie?
Xander shuffled down the sidewalk, not really paying attention to the press and rush of people around him. It was Friday night. Date night. It was spring with hints of summer, a subtle thickening in the air stirring hormones on dance floors. Xander just kept walking, head down. No need to watch the spectacle if he couldn’t join in; and he couldn’t.
He’d gotten tired of enthusiastic speeches and well-meaning pep talks. Africa had been his salvation and his destruction. It got him away from the go go Xander chats, but dropped him straight in the middle of war, famine, disease, and preternaturally strong girls with little trust for a super-pale man wanting to take them far away to “train”. He’d learned, though.
Africa was familiar in a way he couldn’t explain. Leftover hyena bits, perhaps or maybe it was just DNA memory that made those grassy plains and gigantic sky seem like home. Eventually, he found what little balance he could out there under the stars and decided to pack it in.
He’d requested a transfer back to the States. Anyplace with hot water on demand, television shows in English, and a few bad guys to fight. He’d thought long and hard about just giving up. It certainly would be easier, after all, to just pretend that nothing big or bad lurked in the shadows. In the end, he’d decided that he needed to keep fighting. There are some things you can’t unlearn and if he didn’t fight, what else would he do?
Giles had listened, really listened, to him. He heard what Xander said, and Xander suspected he also heard what he didn’t say. Giles could be spooky like that.
“Yes, well, I wondered when this would happen,” Giles had told him gently. “You’re a grown man, Xander and it’s only right that you should want to go your own way. I admit, I feared you’d…”
Xander smirked as Giles sought delicately for the right word. “Thought the Xan-Man would give up, huh? Nah, I’m not that smart.”
“Indeed,” Giles met his eyes. “I thought you would give up. I’ve noticed a certain bitterness creeping into your reports and Buffy has told me of your conversations. I was…concerned.”
Xander sighed at that. “Buffy ratted me out.”
“Not precisely,” Giles smiled. “She simply passed on her worries that you were becoming burnt out with your Slayer retrieval.”
“Well,” Xander shook his head. “No, not that. Well, okay, yeah I don’t want to do that anymore. But, it’s just…there are some things you can’t un-see, you know?”
“Yes,” Giles agreed sadly. “I do know.”
Giles had sent him to Cleveland. Faith and Robin were working to contain the Midwestern Hellmouth and doing a pretty darn good job. Cleveland wasn’t Sunnydale, wasn’t anything like it. Robin pointed out that while Cleveland had some spectacularly incompetent politicians, not one of them had been bent on world domination. Well, at least not the demonic kind.
“This is quieter,” Faith told him when he arrived. “Ohio is…weird, but not in the same way. The monsters keep it quiet. I’m pretty sure that it’s some Midwestern code or something, the whole quiet and polite thing. I even had a vamp stop and give me directions when I got turned around in a cemetery. Let me tell you, that is way freakier than anything in Sunnydale.”
Faith and Robin had a thing going. Xander wasn’t sure if they were dating or screwing or just ended up as the bestest of friends. Whatever it was, it was cautious and clean. Nothing like the scary Faith and hellbent Robin he remembered. They were…nicer, calmer than they had been before.
Still, he wouldn’t live with them. They’d both offered to put him up, told him it was no big. Xander turned them down. He needed his own space and he wasn’t living on a Hellmouth ever again. He lived in a non-Hellmouthy town about 45 minutes south of Cleveland.
Akron still got its share of beasties, baddies, and plain old demons. Nothing that approached Hellmouth level, just a random assortment of slay worthy candidates and average demons that left you alone and went about their lives. Nothing he couldn’t handle without a Slayer. When they called for back-up, he went. Beyond that, he just kept to himself.
He couldn’t work, in the traditional sense of that word. Losing an eye meant losing options. He debated going to college and had even taken a few courses online. But in the end school still didn’t interest him. He no longer thought he was stupid, but his tastes didn’t run to academia. He wanted to do things, not study them.
So, he took his salary from the Council and bought a house. A house that needed lots of work, and it was nice to get his hands on tools again. Tearing down drywall and installing cabinetry reminded him of when his life seemed set, simple, and sweet. Back when he had two eyes, good friends, and a normal job. Back when he remembered how to love and how to be loved.
Lost in thought, Xander didn’t see the large figure as exited the night club. He just kept walking, head down. The collision was jarring, and Xander bounced backwards, a ready apology on his lips. Great, he thought sourly, the gimp does it again.
“I’m s….Clem?”
The pink floppy skinned demon smiled, and waved excitedly.
“Hey! Xander, right? Wow, didn’t expect to run into you. Well, I meant I didn’t expect to see you here and I didn’t expect that run into you. What brings you to Akron? Is the Slayer here? I’d sure like to see her again. She was nice,” Clem finished his monologue with a smile.
“Uh, hi,” Xander waved, a little dazed by the flow of words. It had been a long time since he’d had to deal with babble on this scale. Hell, on any scale as he most didn’t talk to people these days.
“Did you come for the show,” Clem asked him curiously. “He’s still in there, and it’s open mic night. Usually you need an appointment or an Otherwordly intervention, but sometimes he just lets you in. I wasn’t gonna come, but you know how sometimes you just want to hear someone else tell you? It helps.”
Xander shook his head, but smiled. He had no idea what Clem was talking about, but this was the first conversation he’d had in a while that hadn’t seemed like a minefield of memories. He had forgotten what it was like to just talk, shoot the shit, pass the time and not have it all blow up in your face.
“Nah, I’m not here for any particular reason,” Xander said easily. “Just taking stroll. What are you doing here? In Akron, I mean, not standing on this particular sidewalk.”
“Oh, well Spike told me to split. He said just because the world was going to hell was no reason to stick around for the pre-show. I have some family here and this seemed as good a place as any. No more Hellmouths for me, that’s for sure,” Clem explained.
“Same here,” Xander agreed. “I’m Hellmouth free and lovin’ it.”
“You know,” Clem began awkwardly. “It’s probably none of my business and I know you’re real close with the Slayer and all so maybe I shouldn’t say this. But, you don’t look so good. You’re all wavery.”
“Wavery?” Xander wasn’t sure that was really a word and if it was he didn’t know what it meant.
Clem sighed heavily, scratching behind his ears. “You know, this would probably be easier if you talked to more demons. I mean, not right this second but just in general. I figured Anyanka would have explained…uh, not that I’m saying anything bad about her. Anyanaka’s a fine woman and even if you didn’t marry her, I’m sure you had excellent reasons and this isn’t going so well, is it?”
Xander snorted and tried to smile. Clem meant well. There wasn’t a mean bone in the demon’s body. Of course, Xander wasn’t really sure what was in Clem’s body. He knew there were tentacles involved somehow, someway but beyond that, he was pretty uncertain.
“Okay, let me try this again,” Clem pleaded. “Go inside, see this guy, all right? Something’s off with you, and maybe he could help. There, that came out not so bad!”
Xander matched Clem’s grin with one of his own. He’d been there, struggling for words and trying to explain the unexplainable. It was tough, but getting it right was a pretty sweet moment.
“You think I need some whatever this guy does,” Xander asked skeptically.
“He’s like a psychic, only not. He helps you figure out your path,” Clem explained cheerily, obviously happier now that the conversation was on solid footing. “He’s pretty good.”
“What did he help you with?”
“Oh, he got me to see that I should take this new job,” Clem bounced excitedly. “I was worried it wouldn’t work out, but Lorne told me to take a chance. So first thing tomorrow I’m going to call and see if they still want me.”
“New job, huh? Doing what? “ Xander smiled, catching some of Clem’s infectious good mood.
“Managing the pet store,” Clem told him proudly. “Two Turtles, the one in the little plaza.”
“Clem! You eat kittens! Isn’t managing a pet store a bit…well, not good,” Xander finished lamely.
“I was sorta worried about that myself. There’s only so much temptation a demon can take, right? But this store does aquatics and reptiles only, so no temptation. Lorne helped me see how right this was for me. Maybe he could help you too?” Clem shrugged, obviously trying not to be pushy.
“So I just go in there and ask for Lorne,” Xander mused.
“Yep,” Clem confirmed. “Can’t hurt, right?”
“Oh it could hurt,” Xander disagreed. “But what have I got to lose?”
After a promise to catch-up later and a lengthy good-night good-bye session, Xander watched Clem walk away and looked up at the sign above the door.
“Babylon,” he groaned. “Just what I need, a mystical counselor set up in a gay bar. This could go so wrong in so many ways.”
He shrugged and opened the door. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he told Clem he had nothing left to lose. What else could the world possibly take from him?
Rating: NC-17 overall
A/N: This was written in response to the Just Rewards/Fang Fetish Round 7 Alternate Universes/Dimensions Challenge. I know that the first chapter doesn't seem like it fits the challenge. All will be made clear in the next chapter. Trust me?
Summary: What if everything you thought was true was a lie?
Xander shuffled down the sidewalk, not really paying attention to the press and rush of people around him. It was Friday night. Date night. It was spring with hints of summer, a subtle thickening in the air stirring hormones on dance floors. Xander just kept walking, head down. No need to watch the spectacle if he couldn’t join in; and he couldn’t.
He’d gotten tired of enthusiastic speeches and well-meaning pep talks. Africa had been his salvation and his destruction. It got him away from the go go Xander chats, but dropped him straight in the middle of war, famine, disease, and preternaturally strong girls with little trust for a super-pale man wanting to take them far away to “train”. He’d learned, though.
Africa was familiar in a way he couldn’t explain. Leftover hyena bits, perhaps or maybe it was just DNA memory that made those grassy plains and gigantic sky seem like home. Eventually, he found what little balance he could out there under the stars and decided to pack it in.
He’d requested a transfer back to the States. Anyplace with hot water on demand, television shows in English, and a few bad guys to fight. He’d thought long and hard about just giving up. It certainly would be easier, after all, to just pretend that nothing big or bad lurked in the shadows. In the end, he’d decided that he needed to keep fighting. There are some things you can’t unlearn and if he didn’t fight, what else would he do?
Giles had listened, really listened, to him. He heard what Xander said, and Xander suspected he also heard what he didn’t say. Giles could be spooky like that.
“Yes, well, I wondered when this would happen,” Giles had told him gently. “You’re a grown man, Xander and it’s only right that you should want to go your own way. I admit, I feared you’d…”
Xander smirked as Giles sought delicately for the right word. “Thought the Xan-Man would give up, huh? Nah, I’m not that smart.”
“Indeed,” Giles met his eyes. “I thought you would give up. I’ve noticed a certain bitterness creeping into your reports and Buffy has told me of your conversations. I was…concerned.”
Xander sighed at that. “Buffy ratted me out.”
“Not precisely,” Giles smiled. “She simply passed on her worries that you were becoming burnt out with your Slayer retrieval.”
“Well,” Xander shook his head. “No, not that. Well, okay, yeah I don’t want to do that anymore. But, it’s just…there are some things you can’t un-see, you know?”
“Yes,” Giles agreed sadly. “I do know.”
Giles had sent him to Cleveland. Faith and Robin were working to contain the Midwestern Hellmouth and doing a pretty darn good job. Cleveland wasn’t Sunnydale, wasn’t anything like it. Robin pointed out that while Cleveland had some spectacularly incompetent politicians, not one of them had been bent on world domination. Well, at least not the demonic kind.
“This is quieter,” Faith told him when he arrived. “Ohio is…weird, but not in the same way. The monsters keep it quiet. I’m pretty sure that it’s some Midwestern code or something, the whole quiet and polite thing. I even had a vamp stop and give me directions when I got turned around in a cemetery. Let me tell you, that is way freakier than anything in Sunnydale.”
Faith and Robin had a thing going. Xander wasn’t sure if they were dating or screwing or just ended up as the bestest of friends. Whatever it was, it was cautious and clean. Nothing like the scary Faith and hellbent Robin he remembered. They were…nicer, calmer than they had been before.
Still, he wouldn’t live with them. They’d both offered to put him up, told him it was no big. Xander turned them down. He needed his own space and he wasn’t living on a Hellmouth ever again. He lived in a non-Hellmouthy town about 45 minutes south of Cleveland.
Akron still got its share of beasties, baddies, and plain old demons. Nothing that approached Hellmouth level, just a random assortment of slay worthy candidates and average demons that left you alone and went about their lives. Nothing he couldn’t handle without a Slayer. When they called for back-up, he went. Beyond that, he just kept to himself.
He couldn’t work, in the traditional sense of that word. Losing an eye meant losing options. He debated going to college and had even taken a few courses online. But in the end school still didn’t interest him. He no longer thought he was stupid, but his tastes didn’t run to academia. He wanted to do things, not study them.
So, he took his salary from the Council and bought a house. A house that needed lots of work, and it was nice to get his hands on tools again. Tearing down drywall and installing cabinetry reminded him of when his life seemed set, simple, and sweet. Back when he had two eyes, good friends, and a normal job. Back when he remembered how to love and how to be loved.
Lost in thought, Xander didn’t see the large figure as exited the night club. He just kept walking, head down. The collision was jarring, and Xander bounced backwards, a ready apology on his lips. Great, he thought sourly, the gimp does it again.
“I’m s….Clem?”
The pink floppy skinned demon smiled, and waved excitedly.
“Hey! Xander, right? Wow, didn’t expect to run into you. Well, I meant I didn’t expect to see you here and I didn’t expect that run into you. What brings you to Akron? Is the Slayer here? I’d sure like to see her again. She was nice,” Clem finished his monologue with a smile.
“Uh, hi,” Xander waved, a little dazed by the flow of words. It had been a long time since he’d had to deal with babble on this scale. Hell, on any scale as he most didn’t talk to people these days.
“Did you come for the show,” Clem asked him curiously. “He’s still in there, and it’s open mic night. Usually you need an appointment or an Otherwordly intervention, but sometimes he just lets you in. I wasn’t gonna come, but you know how sometimes you just want to hear someone else tell you? It helps.”
Xander shook his head, but smiled. He had no idea what Clem was talking about, but this was the first conversation he’d had in a while that hadn’t seemed like a minefield of memories. He had forgotten what it was like to just talk, shoot the shit, pass the time and not have it all blow up in your face.
“Nah, I’m not here for any particular reason,” Xander said easily. “Just taking stroll. What are you doing here? In Akron, I mean, not standing on this particular sidewalk.”
“Oh, well Spike told me to split. He said just because the world was going to hell was no reason to stick around for the pre-show. I have some family here and this seemed as good a place as any. No more Hellmouths for me, that’s for sure,” Clem explained.
“Same here,” Xander agreed. “I’m Hellmouth free and lovin’ it.”
“You know,” Clem began awkwardly. “It’s probably none of my business and I know you’re real close with the Slayer and all so maybe I shouldn’t say this. But, you don’t look so good. You’re all wavery.”
“Wavery?” Xander wasn’t sure that was really a word and if it was he didn’t know what it meant.
Clem sighed heavily, scratching behind his ears. “You know, this would probably be easier if you talked to more demons. I mean, not right this second but just in general. I figured Anyanka would have explained…uh, not that I’m saying anything bad about her. Anyanaka’s a fine woman and even if you didn’t marry her, I’m sure you had excellent reasons and this isn’t going so well, is it?”
Xander snorted and tried to smile. Clem meant well. There wasn’t a mean bone in the demon’s body. Of course, Xander wasn’t really sure what was in Clem’s body. He knew there were tentacles involved somehow, someway but beyond that, he was pretty uncertain.
“Okay, let me try this again,” Clem pleaded. “Go inside, see this guy, all right? Something’s off with you, and maybe he could help. There, that came out not so bad!”
Xander matched Clem’s grin with one of his own. He’d been there, struggling for words and trying to explain the unexplainable. It was tough, but getting it right was a pretty sweet moment.
“You think I need some whatever this guy does,” Xander asked skeptically.
“He’s like a psychic, only not. He helps you figure out your path,” Clem explained cheerily, obviously happier now that the conversation was on solid footing. “He’s pretty good.”
“What did he help you with?”
“Oh, he got me to see that I should take this new job,” Clem bounced excitedly. “I was worried it wouldn’t work out, but Lorne told me to take a chance. So first thing tomorrow I’m going to call and see if they still want me.”
“New job, huh? Doing what? “ Xander smiled, catching some of Clem’s infectious good mood.
“Managing the pet store,” Clem told him proudly. “Two Turtles, the one in the little plaza.”
“Clem! You eat kittens! Isn’t managing a pet store a bit…well, not good,” Xander finished lamely.
“I was sorta worried about that myself. There’s only so much temptation a demon can take, right? But this store does aquatics and reptiles only, so no temptation. Lorne helped me see how right this was for me. Maybe he could help you too?” Clem shrugged, obviously trying not to be pushy.
“So I just go in there and ask for Lorne,” Xander mused.
“Yep,” Clem confirmed. “Can’t hurt, right?”
“Oh it could hurt,” Xander disagreed. “But what have I got to lose?”
After a promise to catch-up later and a lengthy good-night good-bye session, Xander watched Clem walk away and looked up at the sign above the door.
“Babylon,” he groaned. “Just what I need, a mystical counselor set up in a gay bar. This could go so wrong in so many ways.”
He shrugged and opened the door. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he told Clem he had nothing left to lose. What else could the world possibly take from him?