To Be Noticed

I do actually kind of ship it, but Xander!muse's insisting that they don't actually work out.  (They do attempt, though--that offhanded reference to Xander having taken Andrew out on a date was more than just rumor.  In the end, though, he is a man cursed [and occasionally blessed] with an eidetic memory.  With several geniuses with eidetic memory.  As much as he tries to let go of the past, the past won't let go of him.)  Other universes (like the fractured pharaoh one), sure.  Not in this lifetime.
~Dreamer~

Main Points:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Iron Man Crossover (Self-Made Hero)
Summary: It's the first time Xander's talked to Andrew since Sunnydale fell.  Of course, he ends up hiring the warlock.
Word Count: 414
Rating: Gen

         “I don’t blame you for Anya.”
         Andrew screams.  He glances back to find Xander standing there, with only his helmet removed.  He’d flown in.
         Wow.  He really is Paladin.  It’s one thing to know it intellectually, maybe see him in the suit once or twice, but it’s entirely different to be joined by him on the tenth floor of their temporary HQ.  And, of course, he’d still been dealing with Warren’s ghost and being a supervillain (how dumb is that?) and…
         Well.
         “Has anyone told you the eyepatch is sexy?” he blurts, because he’s pretty sure the answer is no, and, well.  Seeing Xander hurting with everyone’s reactions was slowly breaking his heart.
         He can see Xander’s brain stutter.  “Uhhh.  No.  Thanks, though.”
         “I’m really so—” he tries to say, but a gloved hand waves in his direction.
         “Like I said.  Don’t blame you.  I’d have to be mad at her for being a hero in the end, and I think that would break me, so you’re off the hook.”  He swaggers over to where Andrew is standing and leans against the railing.  Andrew thinks about saying something, worrying about it, but then realizes that this is a guy who can fly so even if he falls it’s not a big deal.  It’s a little uncomfortable, but not in a way that he isn’t enjoying.
         “We were all worried,” he confesses softly, unaware that he’s even going to say those words until they’re out of his mouth, and Knight chuckles slightly.
         “Well, I’m okay.  Just had a few things to get together.  Visit an old friend.”  He pauses.  “I don’t think I ever told you, that thing with the leech?  Inspired.  Also terrifying.”
         “How’d you get out of that one?” Andrew asks, curious.
         “Lucky for me, I knew there was a vampire nest nearby.  Just yelled enough until they came and accidentally got it on themselves instead of me when they were trying to crack my shell crab-style.  Barely had enough to fly home.”  He smiles.  “Thanks for the flirting, by the way.  I’m not in the mood now and I wasn’t then, but it still helped me feel better.”
         Andrew grins.  That means he might—maybe—have a chance, though he might not deserve it.  Still, that also means Knight might not mind having him around, which means—“That offer of a job still open?”
         “Always recruiting,” Xander grins, slings an arm around Andrew’s shoulders, and together they walk toward the stairs.