![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerMain Points:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/NCIS/Arrow
Chapter Summary: Andrew commits to working against Warren in an odd way.
Word Count: 850
Rating: Gen
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/NCIS/Arrow
Chapter Summary: Andrew commits to working against Warren in an odd way.
Word Count: 850
Rating: Gen
Warren doesn’t quite approve of Andrew’s clear obsession with the Archer, but it’s easy enough to explain his interest away. The Archer’s newfound, almost spooky ability to know where they are and stop their plans, the fact that he’s the only superhero in Sunnydale taking them seriously, and his effectiveness are all very good reasons to learn more about him. It’s a bonus, really, that all of it serves as a reminder of why Andrew Wells serves as the Defector from Within.
So he knows. Things like Xander can’t eat things with artificial ingredients anymore because of the lingering traces of the Halloween possession, but he’ll force himself to eat food Willow or Buffy offer him and occasionally makes himself sick doing so. Things like all those selfish spells he cast, or the way that the Archer is the Slayer’s strongest supporter and can easily Slay vampires or demons from a distance, given his accuracy with a bow. No one else notices that the Archer is the only one who is ever effortlessly relaxed or calm. Xander has to actually attempt to slouch, to act normal, to not actively search out threats. The Archer unlike the Slayer leaves alone the vampires and demons that behave by the rules. Humans who hurt others, on the other hand, can expect no mercy. Generally, unless they kill others, he just tries to scare or hurt them, not kill (and the humans he tends to leave alive, just hurt). He has figured out the Archer’s general patrol schedule, though he changes the information up a bit for Warren.
He’s figured out Xander and the Archer’s weakness, though this is a piece of information he tells no one. It’s exhausting for Xander to be around people because of the constant need for the ‘I’m totally fine’ mask, and between that and the occasional times he goes rigid and kind of vacant and empty, like he’s remembering something, he gets overwhelmed. He’s trained himself to be able to rejoin the conversation, usually with some sort of quip if he’s really lost, like he never left, and the rigidness is just a little twitch and drift of the eyes, but it’s still something Andrew notices what with all the surveillance and all. It’s then that Xander’s control slips, just a little, and the feral animal beneath peeks out just a little from the eyes. He has to resort to biting his lips or clenching his fist, the pain keeping him in the moment and in control. Physical exertion also helps, the outburst of pent up, violent energy grounding him in the moment. Still, that’s not even always enough, and he seeks out a little training (for example, practicing basic kata) coupled with music. The actual music choice is pretty eclectic and if there’s a rhyme or reason to it, Andrew hasn’t found one. He’s not sure where the tendency came from, since it doesn’t seem to have been from the original possession, and other than a likelihood of listening to country when he was upset, music didn’t seem to have played a big part in Xander’s life, either. When he can’t handle emotion, he shuts down, boots into robot mode. Or Terminator mode, maybe. He does his best to avoid that, though, because Xander had always been pretty expressive emotionally and the more he does it, the more obvious it is that there’s something wrong. And he does his best to let Buffy and Willow and everyone else live with the delusion that he’s still the same Xander, even if he’s not.
He dreams of Xander in a suit, mostly because the Archer doesn’t joke around enough to be Hawkeye, and some of the other stuff screams ‘Green Arrow’ to Andrew. He keeps his Xander facts separate, and doesn’t share any of the Xander facts with Warren, because Xander’s secret identity is more important than even his crush.
He likes Anya, he really does. He fantasizes about being Anya, being with Xander, and he knows the way he and the Archer flirt in their capacity as Superhero and Supervillain (On the Way to Being Reformed) is maybe a step too far, but it’s even better because both he and the Archer know nothing will happen. At least, he’s pretty sure the Archer is flirting back, and even if he isn’t, Andrew can imagine he is. It’s safe to flirt, safe even, maybe, to fall in love. If nothing’s really happening, no one can actually get hurt.
Something in him says that’s wrong. Something in him says someone’s going to get hurt, but he’s good at not listening to that voice, and he’s certain, just as the Archer is, that whatever happens it’ll be better than the happy little clueless minion just following orders, so he’ll stick to the path he’s committed to.
So he knows. Things like Xander can’t eat things with artificial ingredients anymore because of the lingering traces of the Halloween possession, but he’ll force himself to eat food Willow or Buffy offer him and occasionally makes himself sick doing so. Things like all those selfish spells he cast, or the way that the Archer is the Slayer’s strongest supporter and can easily Slay vampires or demons from a distance, given his accuracy with a bow. No one else notices that the Archer is the only one who is ever effortlessly relaxed or calm. Xander has to actually attempt to slouch, to act normal, to not actively search out threats. The Archer unlike the Slayer leaves alone the vampires and demons that behave by the rules. Humans who hurt others, on the other hand, can expect no mercy. Generally, unless they kill others, he just tries to scare or hurt them, not kill (and the humans he tends to leave alive, just hurt). He has figured out the Archer’s general patrol schedule, though he changes the information up a bit for Warren.
He’s figured out Xander and the Archer’s weakness, though this is a piece of information he tells no one. It’s exhausting for Xander to be around people because of the constant need for the ‘I’m totally fine’ mask, and between that and the occasional times he goes rigid and kind of vacant and empty, like he’s remembering something, he gets overwhelmed. He’s trained himself to be able to rejoin the conversation, usually with some sort of quip if he’s really lost, like he never left, and the rigidness is just a little twitch and drift of the eyes, but it’s still something Andrew notices what with all the surveillance and all. It’s then that Xander’s control slips, just a little, and the feral animal beneath peeks out just a little from the eyes. He has to resort to biting his lips or clenching his fist, the pain keeping him in the moment and in control. Physical exertion also helps, the outburst of pent up, violent energy grounding him in the moment. Still, that’s not even always enough, and he seeks out a little training (for example, practicing basic kata) coupled with music. The actual music choice is pretty eclectic and if there’s a rhyme or reason to it, Andrew hasn’t found one. He’s not sure where the tendency came from, since it doesn’t seem to have been from the original possession, and other than a likelihood of listening to country when he was upset, music didn’t seem to have played a big part in Xander’s life, either. When he can’t handle emotion, he shuts down, boots into robot mode. Or Terminator mode, maybe. He does his best to avoid that, though, because Xander had always been pretty expressive emotionally and the more he does it, the more obvious it is that there’s something wrong. And he does his best to let Buffy and Willow and everyone else live with the delusion that he’s still the same Xander, even if he’s not.
He dreams of Xander in a suit, mostly because the Archer doesn’t joke around enough to be Hawkeye, and some of the other stuff screams ‘Green Arrow’ to Andrew. He keeps his Xander facts separate, and doesn’t share any of the Xander facts with Warren, because Xander’s secret identity is more important than even his crush.
He likes Anya, he really does. He fantasizes about being Anya, being with Xander, and he knows the way he and the Archer flirt in their capacity as Superhero and Supervillain (On the Way to Being Reformed) is maybe a step too far, but it’s even better because both he and the Archer know nothing will happen. At least, he’s pretty sure the Archer is flirting back, and even if he isn’t, Andrew can imagine he is. It’s safe to flirt, safe even, maybe, to fall in love. If nothing’s really happening, no one can actually get hurt.
Something in him says that’s wrong. Something in him says someone’s going to get hurt, but he’s good at not listening to that voice, and he’s certain, just as the Archer is, that whatever happens it’ll be better than the happy little clueless minion just following orders, so he’ll stick to the path he’s committed to.
