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madimpossibledreamerMain Points:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Iron Man Crossover (Self-Made Hero) Feelgood
Summary: Xander revives an old tradition that he, Willow, and Jesse shared.
Word Count: 880
She’s always loved playing with Xander’s hair, especially now that he’s growing it slightly longer. So naturally that’s what she’d do during their movie sessions, even now that Buffy has joined them (Buffy insists on painting his nails—he lets them but the second the movie night’s over he’s diving for the remover). But this—she knows what this is, and it takes her breath away. She’s pretty sure he can hear her gasp; sees the way his hand clenches onto the fabric of his jeans, but he’s utterly, willfully, still.
“Xander?” Buffy asks, worried, and that’s right, she doesn’t know the Rules.
When they were young, Xander, Jesse and her, they’d have a System. On Movie Nights (all the important things were capitalized), once the lights had been out for an hour they could start talking about everything and anything. It didn’t have to be a conversation—in fact, sometimes it was best when it wasn’t; that way Jesse could talk about his crush on Cordelia without either of them having to comment, and Xander could talk about his life at home, and Willow could worry about being a lab rat for her parents.
The best part of it was afterwards. “What happens at Fight Club stays at Fight Club,” Xander jokes in a goofy accent, and Willow softly corrects him that “…actually, it goes with us wherever we do,”, and Jesse laughs and calls them both dorks and ruffles their hair. Which starts a wrestling war with Xander.
…That may have involved Xander’s shirt riding up a bit, but luckily neither of them heard her ‘yeep’. Or maybe, like everything else, they just don’t talk about it.
Willow’s torn. On one hand, she wants to tell Buffy, because it’d be weird and worriful just to leave it there, and Buffy’s their friend and deserves the safety of the Rules too. On the other hand, it feels like sacrilege to explain them.
She’s worried and doesn’t know what to do and runs her hand through Xander’s hair. Judging by the quiet, almost silent sigh in return, it feels nice. She makes up her mind.
“When it’s been an hour of lights-out for a Movie Night,” she says, voice quiet against the accusation of irreverence bearing down on her from the silence, “…you can talk about whatever you want to, and it can be addressed here, but won’t be brought up again unless the person who said it brings it up. It’s the Rules.”
Buffy’s quiet. Maybe she doesn’t know how to react. Hopefully she likes it. It is super nice. Willow doesn’t even realize she’s missed it until now. “I’ve been worried I’m going to lose you,” she admits, quiet and insecure, and doesn’t even realize Xander’s turned around until she feels his strong arms holding her tight, running down her arms in an attempt to get her to calm down.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he promises so fiercely that she can’t help the tears that have begun.
“I know I’m not supposed to say this,” Buffy says slowly, hesitantly, like this is all some kind of trap, “…but I wonder sometimes whether Mom is a good mom. Like, I know that I’ve made it harder on her and all, but I didn’t do it on purpose. I don’t have a choice, and she doesn’t seem to realize that.” At their stares, she amends, “…Not that I told her about Slaying. Because I definitely didn’t. But she seems to think things are willfully acting out and…well, she’s mostly listening to all the wrong people about what kind of person I am.”
Xander’s smile is so blinding, Willow can see it in the dark. So she asks him a question. It’s kind of unorthodox, but it’s allowed. “How’s living on your own?”
“Pretty much like rooming with my parents, aside from the fact that I don’t have to try to hide bruises from you guys or explain them away.”
Buffy clearly wants to wrap him up in a blanket and hide him away from the world, but restrains the impulse in favor of patting his shoulder. “I didn’t know.”
“I’m a man of mystery,” he responds, and Willow can tell he’s wiggling his eyebrows.
The idiot.
He’s been dropping not-so-subtle Xander-sized hints for weeks. About how they’re messing up as a team, about how they’re not as close as they had been. Willow had taken that as an insult and kinda ignored him. Now she feels bad. He was right.
Apparently they’d been too dense to take a hint, because he’d moved on to the next phase of his plan, and she can see Stark’s hand in it. A grandiose gesture that would bring all the attention on to him. Subtle in its brute force honesty. And now she feels lighter than she has in a while.
“I hacked our school records,” Willow begins again. Old Xander would yell at her for that. Well, not during the System, but still. She’s pretty sure New Xander looks proud. It’s hard to tell in the dark, but that’s kinda the point. “You will not believe what I found…”
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Iron Man Crossover (Self-Made Hero) Feelgood
Summary: Xander revives an old tradition that he, Willow, and Jesse shared.
Word Count: 880
“I’m pretty sure my IQ went up by at least twenty points,” Xander blurts out abruptly into the dark, and Willow’s hand instantly stills.
She’s always loved playing with Xander’s hair, especially now that he’s growing it slightly longer. So naturally that’s what she’d do during their movie sessions, even now that Buffy has joined them (Buffy insists on painting his nails—he lets them but the second the movie night’s over he’s diving for the remover). But this—she knows what this is, and it takes her breath away. She’s pretty sure he can hear her gasp; sees the way his hand clenches onto the fabric of his jeans, but he’s utterly, willfully, still.
“Xander?” Buffy asks, worried, and that’s right, she doesn’t know the Rules.
When they were young, Xander, Jesse and her, they’d have a System. On Movie Nights (all the important things were capitalized), once the lights had been out for an hour they could start talking about everything and anything. It didn’t have to be a conversation—in fact, sometimes it was best when it wasn’t; that way Jesse could talk about his crush on Cordelia without either of them having to comment, and Xander could talk about his life at home, and Willow could worry about being a lab rat for her parents.
The best part of it was afterwards. “What happens at Fight Club stays at Fight Club,” Xander jokes in a goofy accent, and Willow softly corrects him that “…actually, it goes with us wherever we do,”, and Jesse laughs and calls them both dorks and ruffles their hair. Which starts a wrestling war with Xander.
…That may have involved Xander’s shirt riding up a bit, but luckily neither of them heard her ‘yeep’. Or maybe, like everything else, they just don’t talk about it.
Willow’s torn. On one hand, she wants to tell Buffy, because it’d be weird and worriful just to leave it there, and Buffy’s their friend and deserves the safety of the Rules too. On the other hand, it feels like sacrilege to explain them.
She’s worried and doesn’t know what to do and runs her hand through Xander’s hair. Judging by the quiet, almost silent sigh in return, it feels nice. She makes up her mind.
“When it’s been an hour of lights-out for a Movie Night,” she says, voice quiet against the accusation of irreverence bearing down on her from the silence, “…you can talk about whatever you want to, and it can be addressed here, but won’t be brought up again unless the person who said it brings it up. It’s the Rules.”
Buffy’s quiet. Maybe she doesn’t know how to react. Hopefully she likes it. It is super nice. Willow doesn’t even realize she’s missed it until now. “I’ve been worried I’m going to lose you,” she admits, quiet and insecure, and doesn’t even realize Xander’s turned around until she feels his strong arms holding her tight, running down her arms in an attempt to get her to calm down.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he promises so fiercely that she can’t help the tears that have begun.
“I know I’m not supposed to say this,” Buffy says slowly, hesitantly, like this is all some kind of trap, “…but I wonder sometimes whether Mom is a good mom. Like, I know that I’ve made it harder on her and all, but I didn’t do it on purpose. I don’t have a choice, and she doesn’t seem to realize that.” At their stares, she amends, “…Not that I told her about Slaying. Because I definitely didn’t. But she seems to think things are willfully acting out and…well, she’s mostly listening to all the wrong people about what kind of person I am.”
Xander’s smile is so blinding, Willow can see it in the dark. So she asks him a question. It’s kind of unorthodox, but it’s allowed. “How’s living on your own?”
“Pretty much like rooming with my parents, aside from the fact that I don’t have to try to hide bruises from you guys or explain them away.”
Buffy clearly wants to wrap him up in a blanket and hide him away from the world, but restrains the impulse in favor of patting his shoulder. “I didn’t know.”
“I’m a man of mystery,” he responds, and Willow can tell he’s wiggling his eyebrows.
The idiot.
He’s been dropping not-so-subtle Xander-sized hints for weeks. About how they’re messing up as a team, about how they’re not as close as they had been. Willow had taken that as an insult and kinda ignored him. Now she feels bad. He was right.
Apparently they’d been too dense to take a hint, because he’d moved on to the next phase of his plan, and she can see Stark’s hand in it. A grandiose gesture that would bring all the attention on to him. Subtle in its brute force honesty. And now she feels lighter than she has in a while.
“I hacked our school records,” Willow begins again. Old Xander would yell at her for that. Well, not during the System, but still. She’s pretty sure New Xander looks proud. It’s hard to tell in the dark, but that’s kinda the point. “You will not believe what I found…”
