madimpossibledreamer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
madimpossibledreamer) wrote2021-10-18 11:54 pm
madimpossibledreamer) wrote2021-10-18 11:54 pm
Entry tags:
Evil Plans Within Plans
Main Points:
Buffy/Devil May Cry/Resident Evil/Background NCIS Crossover
Chapter Summary: Those with ambition can't ever really leave well enough alone.
Word Count: 1083
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Leon/Xander
Warning: brief mention of Xander's previously less-than-stellar mental state (the 'expendable' notion)
“Can we trust them to keep their word?” It’s an important consideration to keep in mind during any negotiation, not that they’ve had him doing it in a bit. For whatever reason, sarcasm doesn’t seem to work so well.
Leon thinks of himself as pretty in shape, but while the effort of running with a decently heavy object can be suppressed without too much difficulty, for Xander, once again, their run seems entirely effortless. He swallows and quickly dismisses any non-PG thoughts about a half-demon’s stamina. Now isn’t the time, and he doesn’t need the distraction.
“Absolutely. I mean, they’re not the honorable types or anything. But the prospect of me hunting for them isn’t one they’re really going to pass up, and for me, it’s a win-win situation. I get to stop two different types of man-eaters from eating man.”
That gives Leon slight pause. “Would it be dangerous, then?” It sounds like it is, but then, he’s seen the man’s competence firsthand.
Xander’s smile is pleased, if slightly embarrassed. “Aww, you’re worried about me? That’s so sweet.”
“I know, I know, it’s ridiculous and unnecessary. You can handle yourself.” Leon smiles sheepishly.
Redgrave’s quiet for a moment before he asks, “Should I tell you something to put your mind at ease, or would that count as coercion?”
It sounds like it should be more of a problem than it is. Maybe he’s still not thinking clearly. “Not telling me things was the reason you got in trouble in the first place, Xander.”
The man nearly misses a step, but corrects himself pretty quickly. Good, because stumbling in this situation would be fairly dangerous, especially if they broke one of the eggs.
“You’ve made a huge difference already, Leon. I used to see myself as the expendable one, particularly, well. You’ve seen how hard it is to kill me. I’m not taking the kind of risks I would have a year ago because no matter how unlikely, I don’t want someone to have to call you and tell you I didn’t make it.” The voice is earnest and a little intense, and the sentiment blows him away.
“Good.” He doesn’t have anything else to say, here. Not yet, anyway. “Though, uh…same.” It hadn’t been as conscious, but Hunnigan had pointed it out. Though they’d both just suspected it was the fact he’d been distracted, even before he’d realized how he’d felt.
Shouts behind them make Leon roll their eyes. “Don’t they ever give up?”
“You’d know better than me,” Xander retorts with an exaggerated wink, then yells back, “You know, you might want to get back into the protective bunker. Pretty sure the giant snake demons aren’t going to be happy about the baby-nappage, and while I didn’t tell them they could eat you, they are demons.”
The shouts quickly turn to screams, and Leon hopes that the Umbrella personnel have a little more sense of-self preservation than they seem, just as a few of the Minos slither up and hold out their hands expectantly. Handing over the eggs could probably be considered a gesture of good will, he decides. Moment of truth. “The resssst keep off the other humansssss well, but there isssss another matter we had yet to shhhhhare.”
“Great,” Redgrave grumbles, but waves his hand. “Lay on, MacDuff.”
“A correct Shakespeare quote. I’m impressed.” Is he flirting? He’s probably flirting, he decides, given the glance Xander gives him. The jog is much, much better now that that they’re unburdened.
“Ehh, I think I might’ve misused it slightly. Besides, the real trick to remembering it is to have everyone do voices for the play. You don’t really forget squeaky witches—” And Redgrave just stops. Moving, talking, maybe even breathing. Leon runs directly into him.
It’s tall, maybe about as tall as that church in Spain. A giant obsidian slab of rock that both looks utterly natural, like it’s a part of the Earth before humans even walked it, and artificial, because natural rock isn’t nearly that smooth or polished. “Umbrella’s worse on the décor than I remembered,” the Agent mutters, because it feels like he has to say something, and Xander remembers he has to move and breathe again.
“Go. Get your people and mine, get them to a safe distance.” That’s—
He’s completely serious. Like that thing is some sort of bomb.
“What is it, Xander?” He puts a hand on the man’s shoulder because it seems like Redgrave won’t even turn to look at him otherwise.
“Seems Umbrella were even less happy with this living thing than you thought. They’re making an artificial Gate, and unfortunately, I don’t happen to have Yamato on hand. Alastor and I’ll do our fair best but traditional Gates are pretty hard to break. Artificial aren't as bad as real Gates, luckily, but still. Best case scenario, they haven’t activated it, and there’s no chance of a demon horde coming through. Worst case, it takes me too long to deal with an invasion force.” Xander sounds just a little too cheerful, and from experience Leon knows that means the man’s panicking a little. He forces a smile at the Agent’s stare. “Look, I just told you something really personal. I’m going to need you to trust in that and me and get out of here, okay? A few scattered Minos demons is nothing like a full-scale invasion force, and it only takes one to get lucky. I’ll be careful, but you have to go now.”
“We’ll bring him back to hissss people sssafely,” the Minos promise, and it’s absolutely terrifying, but Agent Kennedy doesn’t exactly have a choice.
“Fine. But you’re not allowed to die, okay?” On an impulse, Leon leans in slightly to kiss the man on the cheek. It’s weird, in a good way, to be doing that to someone who’s exactly the same height. “For good luck.”
Xander swallows before putting back on the brave face. “I got it. We’ve still got to have that talk, later.”
Leon hates it, but he gets it. They both still have a job to do.
Buffy/Devil May Cry/Resident Evil/Background NCIS Crossover
Chapter Summary: Those with ambition can't ever really leave well enough alone.
Word Count: 1083
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Leon/Xander
Warning: brief mention of Xander's previously less-than-stellar mental state (the 'expendable' notion)
It’s a trip, to be on the other end of a mischievous smile. A novelty, to be running away with a bunch of demon eggs. Xander’s introduced him to a lot of interesting situations since they’d become acquainted, but this one definitely beats the rest. Then again, given all the rest of the night’s revelations, maybe it’s not that much of a surprise after all, only novel.
“Can we trust them to keep their word?” It’s an important consideration to keep in mind during any negotiation, not that they’ve had him doing it in a bit. For whatever reason, sarcasm doesn’t seem to work so well.
Leon thinks of himself as pretty in shape, but while the effort of running with a decently heavy object can be suppressed without too much difficulty, for Xander, once again, their run seems entirely effortless. He swallows and quickly dismisses any non-PG thoughts about a half-demon’s stamina. Now isn’t the time, and he doesn’t need the distraction.
“Absolutely. I mean, they’re not the honorable types or anything. But the prospect of me hunting for them isn’t one they’re really going to pass up, and for me, it’s a win-win situation. I get to stop two different types of man-eaters from eating man.”
That gives Leon slight pause. “Would it be dangerous, then?” It sounds like it is, but then, he’s seen the man’s competence firsthand.
Xander’s smile is pleased, if slightly embarrassed. “Aww, you’re worried about me? That’s so sweet.”
“I know, I know, it’s ridiculous and unnecessary. You can handle yourself.” Leon smiles sheepishly.
Redgrave’s quiet for a moment before he asks, “Should I tell you something to put your mind at ease, or would that count as coercion?”
It sounds like it should be more of a problem than it is. Maybe he’s still not thinking clearly. “Not telling me things was the reason you got in trouble in the first place, Xander.”
The man nearly misses a step, but corrects himself pretty quickly. Good, because stumbling in this situation would be fairly dangerous, especially if they broke one of the eggs.
“You’ve made a huge difference already, Leon. I used to see myself as the expendable one, particularly, well. You’ve seen how hard it is to kill me. I’m not taking the kind of risks I would have a year ago because no matter how unlikely, I don’t want someone to have to call you and tell you I didn’t make it.” The voice is earnest and a little intense, and the sentiment blows him away.
“Good.” He doesn’t have anything else to say, here. Not yet, anyway. “Though, uh…same.” It hadn’t been as conscious, but Hunnigan had pointed it out. Though they’d both just suspected it was the fact he’d been distracted, even before he’d realized how he’d felt.
Shouts behind them make Leon roll their eyes. “Don’t they ever give up?”
“You’d know better than me,” Xander retorts with an exaggerated wink, then yells back, “You know, you might want to get back into the protective bunker. Pretty sure the giant snake demons aren’t going to be happy about the baby-nappage, and while I didn’t tell them they could eat you, they are demons.”
The shouts quickly turn to screams, and Leon hopes that the Umbrella personnel have a little more sense of-self preservation than they seem, just as a few of the Minos slither up and hold out their hands expectantly. Handing over the eggs could probably be considered a gesture of good will, he decides. Moment of truth. “The resssst keep off the other humansssss well, but there isssss another matter we had yet to shhhhhare.”
“Great,” Redgrave grumbles, but waves his hand. “Lay on, MacDuff.”
“A correct Shakespeare quote. I’m impressed.” Is he flirting? He’s probably flirting, he decides, given the glance Xander gives him. The jog is much, much better now that that they’re unburdened.
“Ehh, I think I might’ve misused it slightly. Besides, the real trick to remembering it is to have everyone do voices for the play. You don’t really forget squeaky witches—” And Redgrave just stops. Moving, talking, maybe even breathing. Leon runs directly into him.
It’s tall, maybe about as tall as that church in Spain. A giant obsidian slab of rock that both looks utterly natural, like it’s a part of the Earth before humans even walked it, and artificial, because natural rock isn’t nearly that smooth or polished. “Umbrella’s worse on the décor than I remembered,” the Agent mutters, because it feels like he has to say something, and Xander remembers he has to move and breathe again.
“Go. Get your people and mine, get them to a safe distance.” That’s—
He’s completely serious. Like that thing is some sort of bomb.
“What is it, Xander?” He puts a hand on the man’s shoulder because it seems like Redgrave won’t even turn to look at him otherwise.
“Seems Umbrella were even less happy with this living thing than you thought. They’re making an artificial Gate, and unfortunately, I don’t happen to have Yamato on hand. Alastor and I’ll do our fair best but traditional Gates are pretty hard to break. Artificial aren't as bad as real Gates, luckily, but still. Best case scenario, they haven’t activated it, and there’s no chance of a demon horde coming through. Worst case, it takes me too long to deal with an invasion force.” Xander sounds just a little too cheerful, and from experience Leon knows that means the man’s panicking a little. He forces a smile at the Agent’s stare. “Look, I just told you something really personal. I’m going to need you to trust in that and me and get out of here, okay? A few scattered Minos demons is nothing like a full-scale invasion force, and it only takes one to get lucky. I’ll be careful, but you have to go now.”
“We’ll bring him back to hissss people sssafely,” the Minos promise, and it’s absolutely terrifying, but Agent Kennedy doesn’t exactly have a choice.
“Fine. But you’re not allowed to die, okay?” On an impulse, Leon leans in slightly to kiss the man on the cheek. It’s weird, in a good way, to be doing that to someone who’s exactly the same height. “For good luck.”
Xander swallows before putting back on the brave face. “I got it. We’ve still got to have that talk, later.”
Leon hates it, but he gets it. They both still have a job to do.