Want to Believe
May. 11th, 2020 09:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerit's probably a good idea to reread parts of this series after I post. this is the only one I'm rereading and rewriting less than years later (minus Shadowed Suspicion, since it's usually beta'd late).
in my personal life once more unto the breach dear friends
Main Points:
Buffy/Devil May Cry
Chapter Summary: The aftermath of the demon fight.
Word Count: 1549
Rating: Teen
“You’re okay!” Oh, yeah, he’s done goofed, because that’s Will’s seriously injured voice and it will take many batches of guilt cookies (on her end) and at least three tubs of ice cream (on his end) to make this okay. “I tried to heal you, but I still don’t know what I’m doing, and you were healing so I figured you’d be okay but you were stabbed in the chest and I’ve never seen you pass out from a wound before and it looked like it hurt—”
It’s only when he attempts to sit up that the cop reacts, passing a hand over her eyes and getting back to her professional stance. She’s good. “So, that was magic.”
“Little bit. Hang on just a second.” He squeezes Willow’s hand, pleased to find his strength’s returned to, well, not full, but acceptable levels. “Sorry about scaring you, Willow-tree.” She’s concentrating on breathing now, so that’s something, anyway. Hopefully she won’t have a panic attack over this, or maybe she already did. If that’s the case, he feels kinda guilty.
“Look, Alisha, right? Officer Sullivan. Pretty sure you saw that whole fight, so let’s stop pretending I’m fully human, okay? I’m wiped and need food and probably a good soak in a tub and then a snooze, but I’m not gonna just keel over dead.” He gets to his feet, stretching and wincing. He’s sore, which is probably the most annoying point.
“How old are you?” He pauses in the middle of limbering up, glancing in Sullivan’s direction, because that is not the first question he’d expected.
“…Uh. Sixteen. Is that really relevant?” He can pull off older. Usually does. But in her case, he figures she’s allowed a few grounding questions.
“You’re sixt—you’re sixteen.” She’s really having problems with this concept. “What are you?”
And there’s the winning question. “Wish I knew. All I know is, not fully human, but I haven’t figured out the gene donor yet.”
“…All right, what is a half-human teenager doing fighting monsters and claiming to be a private eye?” she asks, arms crossed.
“Demons,” he corrects helpfully, trying his best to take this seriously, but the whole situation is a little funny—which, okay, yeah, might mean he’s a bit screwy in the head, but still. “Teenage rebellion?” he tries, irrepressible grin back, and Willow slaps him lightly on the arm. “Eh, I’m not sure how many more questions I should answer before I hear what you’re planning to do, Officer Sullivan.”
“Well, I’d have called an ambulance for you, but my radio got broken.” She glances pointedly at a broken mess on the ground, and Xander glances at Willow with a raised eyebrow. “I obviously can’t report…demons.”
“What, there’s no X-Files division or anything?” Serious, Xander, serious.
“No, there’s not.” He’s a little surprised when she smiles slightly, until he remembers the joke she’d made. Maybe that connection hadn’t been false or fake. “What about you, honey?”
Willow interrupts her muttering to stare with wide eyes for a second before answering brightly, “I’m a human!”
“Take me to your earth leaders,” Xander snickers, and gets another elbow for his efforts.
“Oh, I’m a witch, though. I am so sorry I broke your equipment! I just kind of panicked. I might be able to fix it. That was a healing spell you saw me trying to cast, though honestly it just kind of sped up his natural healing factor. Ignore Xander, he gets stupid sometimes.” He’d think about protesting…but nah, he kind of earned that one, and if it helps her feel better about what he’s now calling the Stabbing Incident in his head, she can go for it. “Oh, and I’m also sixteen. So is Buffy, I think, although I don’t talk to her much because I’m always at the library rather than at the hotel, and Xander and Buffy can bond over weapons and I don’t think she knows how to talk to me…”
“Willow, the babble beam, it is out of control,” he interrupts, because that might be a little too personal and she might not actually want to share that information.
“Whoops. Sorry.” She smiles nervously, and he can’t help but ruffle her hair a little. “Hey!”
That very nearly dissolves into a tickle war until he abruptly realizes that there’s an officer of the law still standing right there and steps away, clearing his throat.
She’s got her eyes narrowed and is staring, and normally he wouldn’t care but right now that’s making him feel self-conscious. “I can see it,” she announces. “You’ve got a really good act. But you didn’t answer my question.”
He shrugs a little. “Some variation of Uncle Ben’s catchphrase. I’ve got power; why shouldn’t I use it for the good of the people? And I didn’t just claim to be a private eye—I am working as one, unlicensed.”
“And I’m his sidekick!” Willow announces proudly. “I research stuff. And given that Buffy’s fighting off the rest of—those are Shaede, right? Buster, I don’t know what you did to get cursed like that but another cluster tried to come after you and you’re lucky I had a panic attack and wanted to go looking for you and Buffy pestered Giles into coming looking for you because we arrived and Buffy got all angry and grabbed your newest Devil Arm and went after them and Giles went all grrrface and they’re beating the rest of them. Giles is our adult figure, although it’s kinda reluctantly on his part,” she explains to Officer Sullivan. “…I’ve never seen a Shaede in real life, but they look really close to one of the illustrations in the books in Giles’ room I definitely haven’t snuck in and memorized…”
“Yeah, those are Shaede, though I really don’t want you in harms’ way, my Ent friend. Not until you’ve mastered some combat magic at least. It makes me nervous.” He’s actually serious for once. He really doesn’t want to live in a world devoid of Rosenberg.
She puffs out her cheeks and glares in retaliation. “Only if you promise the next time you get stabbed you get all spiky. I want you to have the best chance of surviving.” At his raised eyebrow, she rolls her eyes. “Mister, I know you. You’re gonna get stabbed again.”
“…All right, fair enough. Although, and this should make you happy, though I definitely will not go out of my way to be stabbed, I know it is survivable now. I get a little stronger as I age, and spiky form will definitely be of the help when it comes to healing. So don’t worry so much about me, okay?” It’s an impossibility, what he’s asking, though he’s got to try.
“Yeah, no. Even if it doesn’t even leave a physical scar behind, even if you don’t even have nightmares, I’m gonna keep worrying about you. You’re my only Xander-shaped friend.” She realizes something abruptly and turns back to the cop. “Oh yeah, I didn’t finish my sentence. I think our humble little detective agency doubled, given that Buffy’s going for the rest of the Shaede and even Giles is throwing around spells, and I kind of wanted to stay around and watch, but Xander kind of had the priority, so.”
“Light-based spells are extremely effective when it comes to dealing with Shaede,” Giles’ voice joins them, sounding like a lecture. Noted. He doesn’t have any light-based Devil Arms yet, though. Closest he’s got is Asmosaos, and that twin’s just lightning. (Well, no, Eghira, there is no just about that, but it’s still probably not close enough to light element-wise to work.) “It makes them more aggressive but weakens them.”
“I’m so happy you’re all right. I’d hate to have to train another half-demon to work well with me,” Buffy’s next, and she’s tired and a little bloody but fierce and, yeah, definitely relieved.
“Half-demon?” the officer repeats, raising an eyebrow in his direction, and he shrugs. Guilty as charged, almost, although someday he’s gonna have to sit them down and have a conversation about the distinction between demons and devils because it just might save their lives one day (well, Kryvi might be wrong about his heritage), but he was trying to ease her into it rather than just dumping it all on her at once.
“Why don’t you accompany us to our place of residence, and we can see about answering your questions. I’m sure young Xander here would like the opportunity to sit down after a rough evening,” Giles suggests with a tone that is the spider inviting in the fly.
“Keep on your toes. Nobody here but the FBI’s most unwanted,” he whispers to her, and that gets a laugh.
in my personal life once more unto the breach dear friends
Main Points:
Buffy/Devil May Cry
Chapter Summary: The aftermath of the demon fight.
Word Count: 1549
Rating: Teen
When he wakes, it takes him a second to put it all together. Sullivan’s just kind of staring at him blankly like she’s in shock. The expression doesn’t change much when he groans and starts to move around. But she’s not the only one, because his head is cradled against something and either it’s raining or someone’s crying on his cheek. “Aw, man, I liked this vest,” he mumbles, taking a breath and feeling his heart beat like it’s supposed to and lungs inflate like they’re supposed to.
“You’re okay!” Oh, yeah, he’s done goofed, because that’s Will’s seriously injured voice and it will take many batches of guilt cookies (on her end) and at least three tubs of ice cream (on his end) to make this okay. “I tried to heal you, but I still don’t know what I’m doing, and you were healing so I figured you’d be okay but you were stabbed in the chest and I’ve never seen you pass out from a wound before and it looked like it hurt—”
It’s only when he attempts to sit up that the cop reacts, passing a hand over her eyes and getting back to her professional stance. She’s good. “So, that was magic.”
“Little bit. Hang on just a second.” He squeezes Willow’s hand, pleased to find his strength’s returned to, well, not full, but acceptable levels. “Sorry about scaring you, Willow-tree.” She’s concentrating on breathing now, so that’s something, anyway. Hopefully she won’t have a panic attack over this, or maybe she already did. If that’s the case, he feels kinda guilty.
“Look, Alisha, right? Officer Sullivan. Pretty sure you saw that whole fight, so let’s stop pretending I’m fully human, okay? I’m wiped and need food and probably a good soak in a tub and then a snooze, but I’m not gonna just keel over dead.” He gets to his feet, stretching and wincing. He’s sore, which is probably the most annoying point.
“How old are you?” He pauses in the middle of limbering up, glancing in Sullivan’s direction, because that is not the first question he’d expected.
“…Uh. Sixteen. Is that really relevant?” He can pull off older. Usually does. But in her case, he figures she’s allowed a few grounding questions.
“You’re sixt—you’re sixteen.” She’s really having problems with this concept. “What are you?”
And there’s the winning question. “Wish I knew. All I know is, not fully human, but I haven’t figured out the gene donor yet.”
“…All right, what is a half-human teenager doing fighting monsters and claiming to be a private eye?” she asks, arms crossed.
“Demons,” he corrects helpfully, trying his best to take this seriously, but the whole situation is a little funny—which, okay, yeah, might mean he’s a bit screwy in the head, but still. “Teenage rebellion?” he tries, irrepressible grin back, and Willow slaps him lightly on the arm. “Eh, I’m not sure how many more questions I should answer before I hear what you’re planning to do, Officer Sullivan.”
“Well, I’d have called an ambulance for you, but my radio got broken.” She glances pointedly at a broken mess on the ground, and Xander glances at Willow with a raised eyebrow. “I obviously can’t report…demons.”
“What, there’s no X-Files division or anything?” Serious, Xander, serious.
“No, there’s not.” He’s a little surprised when she smiles slightly, until he remembers the joke she’d made. Maybe that connection hadn’t been false or fake. “What about you, honey?”
Willow interrupts her muttering to stare with wide eyes for a second before answering brightly, “I’m a human!”
“Take me to your earth leaders,” Xander snickers, and gets another elbow for his efforts.
“Oh, I’m a witch, though. I am so sorry I broke your equipment! I just kind of panicked. I might be able to fix it. That was a healing spell you saw me trying to cast, though honestly it just kind of sped up his natural healing factor. Ignore Xander, he gets stupid sometimes.” He’d think about protesting…but nah, he kind of earned that one, and if it helps her feel better about what he’s now calling the Stabbing Incident in his head, she can go for it. “Oh, and I’m also sixteen. So is Buffy, I think, although I don’t talk to her much because I’m always at the library rather than at the hotel, and Xander and Buffy can bond over weapons and I don’t think she knows how to talk to me…”
“Willow, the babble beam, it is out of control,” he interrupts, because that might be a little too personal and she might not actually want to share that information.
“Whoops. Sorry.” She smiles nervously, and he can’t help but ruffle her hair a little. “Hey!”
That very nearly dissolves into a tickle war until he abruptly realizes that there’s an officer of the law still standing right there and steps away, clearing his throat.
She’s got her eyes narrowed and is staring, and normally he wouldn’t care but right now that’s making him feel self-conscious. “I can see it,” she announces. “You’ve got a really good act. But you didn’t answer my question.”
He shrugs a little. “Some variation of Uncle Ben’s catchphrase. I’ve got power; why shouldn’t I use it for the good of the people? And I didn’t just claim to be a private eye—I am working as one, unlicensed.”
“And I’m his sidekick!” Willow announces proudly. “I research stuff. And given that Buffy’s fighting off the rest of—those are Shaede, right? Buster, I don’t know what you did to get cursed like that but another cluster tried to come after you and you’re lucky I had a panic attack and wanted to go looking for you and Buffy pestered Giles into coming looking for you because we arrived and Buffy got all angry and grabbed your newest Devil Arm and went after them and Giles went all grrrface and they’re beating the rest of them. Giles is our adult figure, although it’s kinda reluctantly on his part,” she explains to Officer Sullivan. “…I’ve never seen a Shaede in real life, but they look really close to one of the illustrations in the books in Giles’ room I definitely haven’t snuck in and memorized…”
“Yeah, those are Shaede, though I really don’t want you in harms’ way, my Ent friend. Not until you’ve mastered some combat magic at least. It makes me nervous.” He’s actually serious for once. He really doesn’t want to live in a world devoid of Rosenberg.
She puffs out her cheeks and glares in retaliation. “Only if you promise the next time you get stabbed you get all spiky. I want you to have the best chance of surviving.” At his raised eyebrow, she rolls her eyes. “Mister, I know you. You’re gonna get stabbed again.”
“…All right, fair enough. Although, and this should make you happy, though I definitely will not go out of my way to be stabbed, I know it is survivable now. I get a little stronger as I age, and spiky form will definitely be of the help when it comes to healing. So don’t worry so much about me, okay?” It’s an impossibility, what he’s asking, though he’s got to try.
“Yeah, no. Even if it doesn’t even leave a physical scar behind, even if you don’t even have nightmares, I’m gonna keep worrying about you. You’re my only Xander-shaped friend.” She realizes something abruptly and turns back to the cop. “Oh yeah, I didn’t finish my sentence. I think our humble little detective agency doubled, given that Buffy’s going for the rest of the Shaede and even Giles is throwing around spells, and I kind of wanted to stay around and watch, but Xander kind of had the priority, so.”
“Light-based spells are extremely effective when it comes to dealing with Shaede,” Giles’ voice joins them, sounding like a lecture. Noted. He doesn’t have any light-based Devil Arms yet, though. Closest he’s got is Asmosaos, and that twin’s just lightning. (Well, no, Eghira, there is no just about that, but it’s still probably not close enough to light element-wise to work.) “It makes them more aggressive but weakens them.”
“I’m so happy you’re all right. I’d hate to have to train another half-demon to work well with me,” Buffy’s next, and she’s tired and a little bloody but fierce and, yeah, definitely relieved.
“Half-demon?” the officer repeats, raising an eyebrow in his direction, and he shrugs. Guilty as charged, almost, although someday he’s gonna have to sit them down and have a conversation about the distinction between demons and devils because it just might save their lives one day (well, Kryvi might be wrong about his heritage), but he was trying to ease her into it rather than just dumping it all on her at once.
“Why don’t you accompany us to our place of residence, and we can see about answering your questions. I’m sure young Xander here would like the opportunity to sit down after a rough evening,” Giles suggests with a tone that is the spider inviting in the fly.
“Keep on your toes. Nobody here but the FBI’s most unwanted,” he whispers to her, and that gets a laugh.
