To Be Seen

[madimpossibledreamer]

No one pictured has a good relationship with violence.  Sometimes it’s necessary, sometimes it’s definitely not, and they’re both aware of it and not.

Main Points:
Buffy/Devil May Cry/Resident Evil/Background NCIS Crossover
Chapter Summary: Leon meets someone important, even if it's not particularly pleasant.
Word Count: 1357
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Leon/Xander
Warning: references what Faith did in Consequences though there's no actual detail.

 

        Walking through the halls, the lack of a formal chain of command comes in sharp focus, because it becomes fairly clear that while the few people they’d run into on the way in when Willow had been leading him were absolutely sure she was a superior officer, half of those they encountered weren’t sure about Xander.  Some of them, in fact, seemed to see Alexander Redgrave as beneath them, while Leon is fairly sure it’s unlikely any of them have higher seniority based on time with the organization or familiarity with its operations or experience, from what Xander himself had said.  From the sounds of it, this new branch was all himself and his friends trying to fix a bad situation and step up to the plate without much idea of how to go about it, becoming founding members of the new iteration of the organization.  They’d all had experience with the ground work, not the administrative stuff, which to be fair Leon had only had much of experience on his end lately, having recently transitioned to a position in the field, but also with added leadership responsibility.  And sure, they didn’t fully know what they were doing, but apparently neither had anyone else, which is why most of this hadn’t gotten fixed.
        He’s definitely looking forward to talking to the librarian, because while book learning does not under any circumstances completely replace experience, books on this had to be out there.  Why had none of them done this kind of work?  Were they all swamped?  …Yeah, that’s sadly probably it; they’re all so busy with the day-to-day minutiae that they don’t have the time to think about systemic improvements.  He will find all the books for them to read if he has to, because while they can keep doing this the hard way, it’s not sustainable.  Of course, putting in the work now is a pain, but it saves so much work in the long run it’s worth the effort.
        Hunnigan might laugh at him, but she’d definitely help.  Tease him a bit once she got over the shock of him going out of his way to impress a guy given the impressions she’d already gotten about him, but she’d help, which is why she’s the best.
        Xander didn’t seem to notice, either, which makes Leon reach out to hold his hand.  The man looks startled, but happy, which is something; Leon’s a fan of simple gestures too.  But this means Redgrave is used to it, used to being treated like he means nothing in the grand scheme of things, and that’s just wrong.
        It also quickly comes apparent once they have an encounter in the hallway that Xander wasn’t entirely kidding about the lack of NDAs or clearance or anything of the sort.  The Council doesn’t seem to even respect others’ attempts at keeping secrets.  He suspects that the higher level members with clearance for the things he can talk about don’t really attempt to make sure the news doesn’t trickle down to people who really shouldn’t have it, which is something he’ll probably have to mention at their little table talk.
        One of the Slayers, a dark-haired one that Redgrave flinches at and generally tries to hide behind Leon in a subtle way that is, in practice, anything but subtle, asks about evil corporations and zombies and other hunting tips.  He tries to be general about it, because he’s not sure her clearance and when he’d tried politely hinting at the issue she’d breezed right past without caring. When she starts grilling him about femme fatales and Xander’s hand in his grows to a death grip, it’s clear that she’s grilling him about Ada and the half-devil wants to disappear into the ground.  Leon had started out polite enough, but he doesn’t need the precise details to connect the dots.  He’s a smart Agent.  This is the Slayer from ‘the one time that turned out pretty badly’, and whatever it was, it was bad enough that Xander could take a knife to the chest but couldn’t deal with this.
        Then again, as wrong as it is to see pain or wounds on the guy he loves, and as much as physical pain has to matter in some capacity even if Xander won’t acknowledge it, it’s not the same as it’d be for a full-on human, either.  Not like emotional pain.  That’s why it matters so much—someone handing either of them normal, loyalty.  Leon had thought he was fine before, that Hunnigan had just been nagging, but he’d just been numb.  Now that he has the chance for something that really matters, he’s not walking away.
        “We really shouldn’t be late,” he finally interrupts her, polite steel in the tone, and her gaze, as she meets his, is challenging, like she’s ready to fight for Redgrave’s happiness here and now despite the fact that she clearly hadn’t been good at ensuring that in the first place.
        “I’m sure Buffy and Giles have some questions, too,” Xander adds, quieter than he’s usually been—and there’s another thought Leon hadn’t worked through, that a bad day in the field probably resembled one of Leon’s, and that was the probable source and cause of the times when his white-haired handsome friend was a little too quiet, a little too subdued.  He wants to punch something, but instead he shoves that thought away to unpack later.
        “Oh, far be it for me to stand in the way of Queen B,” she says with equal parts sarcasm and fondness, and walks off down the hall at a soldier’s pace. 
        Xander splutters a bit as he’s drawn into a hug, but Leon says nothing about the probable tears in his nice leather jacket.  He can bug Willow for a spell to fix it or something later, if he needs to.  Right now, the man he likes needs him.
        They don’t stand like that for long before Redgrave starts pulling away, physically but also, Leon would guess, emotionally.  “We, uh.  We should get going.  Don’t want to be late, like you said, and—”
        “I’m really glad Ada and I never…” he trails off, the boy scout he’d been unwilling to put crude words to it.  “But it’s not your fault.  And I’m happy to have you, scars and all.  And I promise you I will try not to put any more there.”
        The single blue eye is staring at him, glittering with tears and confusion and just a little hope.
        “I don’t have scars.  I heal, remember?” is what he says, mostly because he doesn’t know the words to say (you and me both, Leon thinks).
        “That just means they’re not visible,” the agent states gently, reaching out and solemnly placing a hand on the man’s chest over his still-beating heart.
        “Faith is my Ada.  Faith is my Ada.”  Xander tries saying it twice before beaming, grabbing Leon’s other hand and twirling him around once.  He goes with it, a little bemused, and even leans back into a dip, at which point it becomes obvious Xander has seen but not actually practiced ballroom dancing because he’s a little clumsy and panics a little when he catches Leon even though his reflexes are clearly faster than a human’s.  “You know, I don’t feel like throwing up anymore.”
        “Glad to help.”  Even if he still half-wishes he could have punched her in the face.  Some of his colleagues and acquaintances, like Chris, would probably be exclaiming about what a terrible thought that is, but he’d almost accept Buffy or Xander punching Ada in the face as long as they stop there.  He’s half certain Ada would even accept a single punch on his behalf.  He’s not entirely certain this Faith would stop him either; this protectiveness feels, maybe, like a misguided attempt at redemption, although she’d been going about it the wrong way entirely.
        “Leon, you always do.”  When Xander stands taller, confidence back in his step as he grabs Leon’s hand and leads the way, Leon begins to believe he’s managed to send some mental demons packing.  At least for today.