Neutralizing Threats

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/NCIS/Arrow
Chapter Summary: Xander refuses to let a threat to his family continue to exist.
Word Count: 865
Rating: Gen

         Fortunately, Dawn, despite the wrapped shoulder, stays practically wrapped around him.  Course, she’s purposefully trying not to flinch, hide from him, but that kind of mental fortitude…she’ll have nightmares, but she’ll be fine.
         Buffy hasn’t stopped glaring at him since, and he has no idea what happened to Anya.
         He probably should be worried about retribution, given her former occupation, but in the end he wouldn’t argue.  He might honestly deserve it.
         He apologized profusely at the beginning, but is now acting like nothing happened, and he knows it’s making the others worry.  The thing is, he can’t think about it, has to compartmentalize it, or he’ll lose it again, and given the last time he did that today, they can’t blame him for not wanting that.  Still, he has to speak up.  And he can, just a little more than Ollie ever could, because people know.
         “This is never happening again.  Willow, you’re teaching me to protect my brain, because that was way too easy, and we can’t count on the bad guys not to try to use that again.”  His brain’s already moved on to the practical.  It was awful, it happened, but you have to keep moving.  Keep moving or you’re dead.
         She hesitates.  “We do that, and we won’t be able to go in your head to fix anything, either.”
         He bites his lip, concentrates on the pain.  “Yeah, okay, but is it really worth the risk?  Several of those were kill shots if I’d actually gotten them off.”  He doesn’t mention that Dawn was one of those kill shots.  Dawn knows, he can tell, because she snuggles closer like somehow if she stays close to him it’ll serve as some sort of good luck charm.
         “Dawn, get off him.  For the last time, you are not going to date him,” Buffy finally snarls, and yeah, he expected her patience to break any time now.  Honestly, he’s kind of surprised she lasted this long.
         “Well, duh, given that had been his wedding,” Dawnie snarks right back, and pats his shoulder when he freezes.  “Uh, sorry.”
         “You’re not the one who should be,” he responds gently with just a hint of an edge, telling himself that this isn’t the time to lose it and start crying.
         “Seriously, it barely hurts.  Pretty sure you’re the one who’s more in pain than I am, ‘bro’.”  She winks, and he’s tempted to start laughing hysterically.
         The thing is, she’s not wrong.  The thing is, what with her attitude and the shoplifting and a lot of other little details that add up, she reminds him so much of Thea, and she’s so important to him (just not in the way she’d wanted when she was younger).
         He settles for quirking a lip into a parody of a smile and wrapping an arm around her shoulders carefully.  “I’ll feel a lot better when I know I’m not a danger to any of you.”
         “Seriously, Buffy, if something called the First can use Angel’s past against him, you have no right to be mad at Xander,” Dawn continues, and Willow bursts into tears.
         He grabs her sleeve and shakes it slightly in the best imitation he can of patting her arm when it’s out of reach.  At least it’s not him who starts giggling madly.
         “Your wedding had better go better than mine,” Xander tells Willow, and she starts giggling even harder.
         “We’ll do our best,” Tara promises with a shy smile, voice slightly strained by the fact that she and Willow are carrying Andrew’s body, and in that instant he fully accepts her into the group, because she isn’t afraid of him.  At all.  Or judging him.  It could be the whole ‘thinking she was a demon all her life’ thing, but he definitely appreciates her attitude.
         “So, Xander.  Why are we toting around one of our Big Bads again?” Buffy asks, still furious, and, well, if he wasn’t worried she’d kill him at this point he’d give her a fight if he thought it would help her mood.
         “Long story, the shortest of which is that he sold out the Trio because he was worried about where they were heading, and he’s been helping the Archer out.  Which cannot be told to Warren or Jonathan because they don’t know about it.”  He yawns.  He’s suddenly tired, but then, he’s pretty sure his ribs are bruised and he can barely feel his left hand.  Sekhmet slammed it pretty hard at some point.  His fingers on his main hand are a little sore, but then, he’d done a lot of unintentional shooting today.  “Even if all he did was help out today, he’d deserve our help.”  He winces.  “Well, that, and he got my poison arrow.  It was you or him, and he’s the one that got more of my attention.”
         “Thanks for not shooting me with that one,” Dawn mutters, and he considers pointing out the truth for a moment—that he hadn’t considered her a threat, so he wouldn’t have used it on her.  That’s probably not a good thing to mention, though, so he doesn’t.
         “You’re welcome,” is what he says in response instead.  “Anytime.”