madimpossibledreamer: Zhuge Liang concentrating and looking thoughtful. (concentrating)
[personal profile] madimpossibledreamer
Note that Willow didn't actually agree to anything she wouldn't have been doing already.  Because Xander didn't notice.
Also, I hope that everyone in Florida and everyone's friends/family in Florida are safe!
~Dreamer~

Main Points:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Iron Man Crossover (Self-Made Hero)
Summary: Willow and Xander deal with Buffy's death (or not) in their own ways.
Word Count: 1137
Rating: Gen

         “Xander?  You home?”  Willow calls quietly.
         Anya’s the one who emerges from the kitchen, though.  She looks upset.  “Willow.  I’m worried about Xander.  He hasn’t been patrolling, which I don’t necessarily approve of because he might get hurt but it’s also very weird for him.  He’s not sleeping, and he’s ignoring the possibility of orgasms, which happens sometimes when he’s working but I can usually distract him eventually.  I don’t think it’s healthy and I’m not used to going this long without sex.”
         Willow blinks.  That’s probably more than she ever needed to know about her friend’s sex life, but then, that happens most of the times Anya talks, so there’s not much difference there.  It takes her a few seconds to realize the takeaway from this is that Xander’s not doing so well (well, no, of course he isn’t; Buffy’s dead) and his insomnia seems to have gotten worse.
         “I’ll check on him, anyway,” she offers lamely, having run through the alternatives in her head and realizing that telling Anya she’s not sure if her revelation will help isn’t a thing she wants to do, ‘cause it’s kinda of the bad.
         “Thank you,” Anya sighs, then pouts.  “I’d stay, but he hasn’t noticed I’m here.  I think I’m going to go shopping.  Good luck, Willow.  Tell him that if he’s waiting for me undressed in our bed, I’ll forgive him all of this.”
         Willow winces, but Anya goes back to grab her purse and then leaves the warehouse before she even has a chance to respond.  She casts an uncertain look in the direction of the front door, then conjures the elevator with a wave of her hand and carefully makes her way to the top.
         Xander’s hair is even more out of control than normal, partly because he’s occasionally running his hands through it, frustrated, staring at what looks kinda like a map except it’s not any map she’s ever seen before, and she’s not sure what it has to do with Buffy’s death or not sleeping or anything else.
         “How’d the latest batch of probes go?” he asks, sounding sharp and completely awake, and it’s an illusion.
         “Still no sign of the Slayer, although it’s hard to tell whether it’s the fault of our probe design or a conspicuous lack of Slayers in the designated dimensions,” White Star responds.  “Two probes did not return, and one did with excessive damage.  I am analyzing all footage and the damage now, and have found nothing of interest so far.  I will notify you the moment I find anything of note.”
         “Probes?” Willow asks, and Xander frowns.
         “Uh, yeah, to look for the Slayer; it’s the protocol…”  His voice trails off and he turns to look at Willow.  His uncomprehending blinks and lack of expression change combined with the stupid look in his eyes suggests that he hasn’t slept since Buffy—
         Or at least, not much, since a few weeks would make him more than just manic and half-dead.
         “I’ve been looking up a spell to resurrect Buffy,” Willow says, mostly because of how out of it he seems, and, well.
         Instantly he seems awake and almost…shrewd.  He yawns and glances over at his bench, then strolls over to it.  He picks up the mug on it and takes a sip, then makes a face.  He stares at it for a few moments before he brightens and heads to the fridge.  She watches with confusion before he returns with ice and drops it in.  “If it’s gonna be cold, I might as well make it iced,” he explains, and she can’t find the words to argue with that kind of logic.  “And along those lines, we don’t know where she is.”
         “I didn’t mention that it’s nice having you back in all your Xandery goodness, did I?” she realizes, mostly because having Tara back was really distracting (and with that beautiful but amazing thought she blushes) and then there was just the thought of Buffy suffering all alone.
         The knowing look he fixes her with is deeply uncomfortable.  It’s not amused or sympathetic or even judging.  It’s just…knowledge without emotion which is a really weird look on Xander.
         “No, you didn’t,” he responds, taking another casual sip of coffee, and it’s all she can do to stop from becoming defensive because she’s feeling judged and it’s uncomfortable.  “But it’s okay.  Tony says thanks, by the way, since you’re the only thing that kept him sane during the whole thing and that’s not the kind of thing many people actually do for him.”  He’s on the verge of rambling, so he stops.  “About your proposition…”  He pauses and rolls his eyes, not actually looking all that judgey, just amused, “…And I was talking business proposition, seriously, Wils, you say I’m bad ‘cause I’m a guy but really, maybe we’ve been spending too much time in the sewers ‘cause your mind’s still in the gutter—could you maybe wait for a bit?  I’ve been trying to figure out where Buffy is.  Like you kinda accidentally overheard.”
         “We buried her.  It’d just be her soul stuck in hellish suffering, literally, and with this spell it doesn’t matter where she is; it’ll resurrect her,” she disagrees, and he’s still frowning and disagreeing with her, for some reason.
         “I’m not saying it’s a bad idea,” he corrects, and he better not be reading her mind because that’s anything but cool.  “I’m just saying I want some more time.  Because, you know, maybe she’s hanging out with cool demons like Clem for all we know, and I feel like we should figure that out first, if only so we can help her with the specific stress.  It’s maybe a little soon but as a victim I feel qualified to talk about this and it’s honestly surprising none of us has lost their mind due to everything we see every day.”  He sighs.  “Besides, I feel like necromancy is traumatic, and if we don’t have to pay the price for that kind of magic, we shouldn’t.  A soul restoration is a sight easier than a full resurrection, and if there aren’t nasties keeping her soul in place, that’s the better choice.”  It does sound like he’s put thought into this, and he has good points.  But…
         “I don’t like the idea of leaving her to suffer,” she points out, and Xander nods.
         “I understand, but we’re gonna do her no good if we get ourselves killed before we can save her, or get ourselves cursed or something.”  He shrugs.  “I know it’s really weird for me to be worried about not being reckless, but it’s probably not too late to start, right?”
         She sighs.  “It’ll take some time for me to gather ingredients, so it’ll be a few weeks anyway.”
         He smiles.  “Thanks, Will.”

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