Good Match
Dec. 5th, 2022 04:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerMain Points:
Buffy/Devil May Cry/Resident Evil/Background NCIS Crossover
Chapter Summary: Willow gives an excuse for Leon and Xander to hang out again, and probably brought popcorn.
Word Count: 1590
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Leon/Xander
And then, the second time he shows up, this time in a t-shirt and an old set of sweatpants he’d previously worn to the gym, ready to be thrown against a Slayer…Xander had been there.
It looked like they had the same thoughts, because he’d been wearing an outfit Leon recognized, too, practical and easy to move in. Not that the leather wasn’t a good look for him; it was. But apparently they’d both wanted to be comfortable and both were feeling sentimental.
“Surprise,” Xander had told him with a wolfish grin, and Leon shakes his head, amused, dropping into a ready stance.
“You sure that’s a good idea?” he asks, slightly cocky. Sure, he’s up against a more powerful opponent; he’s seen Redgrave fight. But that’s nothing new. Sure, he might have an edge thanks to the aftermath of the Las Plagas infection, but that’s all it is. An edge. Compared to the Lord Saddlers and Redgraves and demons and Tyrants and even the Krausers of the world, that’s barely anything at all. But sometimes, all you need is creativity, determination, and an edge.
“What’s the matter? You don’t have your gun or your knife, so you can’t shoot me or stab me, and there’s witches on hand to fix anything.” Leon has seen bluffs. He has even seen Xander bluff, the one time they’d tried to play cards. The man is nervous, but he’s trying so hard Kennedy will let him think he hasn’t noticed, for now.
A quiet moment of anticipation stretches and breaks, and then they move.
When it comes down to it, Leon does better than he has any right to do. He’s fully aware of this fact. A good part of it is that they’re employing the same tactics, both used to opponents who are stronger, faster, meaner. The issue here is that the tactic works more for Leon than it does Xander.
They’re more closely matched on strength than Leon thought, a fact that makes itself clear when they somehow end up on a spontaneous wrestling match on the padded floor and Xander smiles, sheepish but shy, up at him before throwing him (carefully) into one of the padded walls. Redgrave is certainly stronger, but Leon’s brief feeling of inadequacy watching the man fight disappears. He’s still a competent fighter, and this is reassuring. Maybe that’s why this was all organized, a further demonstration than his box-lifting demonstration.
The former police officer also realizes in that moment that he has it bad, because his brain is taking a moment to admire the industrial strength padding because he’s heard Xander talk passionately about building and architecture and knows, given the slightly haphazard way they’ve gone about the rest of this, that it wasn’t because of some governmental contractor or regulation, it was his—what is it, now, boyfriend? Partner?—saw a need, somewhere he could be helpful, and stepped in to fix it. He smoothly rolls and gets to his feet, trying not to show the goofy affection on his face. From the raised eyebrow, it didn’t really work, but it was worth a shot.
But even then, Xander’s just enough stronger to make a difference, and there’s how much further he can push himself. Leon’s had training to not follow his instincts, the ones that say ‘you’re hurt, choose flight’. Xander, on the other hand, it seems didn’t need that training. He doesn’t need to overcome instincts that tell him to avoid the pain. So he can have his elbow dislocated and not pause or even break a sweat.
On the other hand, it’s clear he’s had no formal training, despite the slightly breathtaking grace in the way he fights. It’s all self-taught, and he’s excellent as far as that goes, but he’s got some small openings Leon doesn’t hesitate to exploit and he’s looking forward to training Xander in that, too. Sure, he can heal if he leaves an opening and gets hit, but what if that’s just enough delay to put innocents at risk? And isn’t it better to just avoid getting hurt in the first place? Redgrave hadn’t needed to learn to avoid that, so he hadn’t, but if nothing else Leon’s pretty sure he can serve as a good motivation.
The tactics to use an enemy’s strengths against them backfire a little for Xander in the way they don’t for Leon, between the training specifically in that kind of fight and the fact that Redgrave is, in fact, stronger and faster. More than once Xander tries to use Kennedy’s momentum against him only to find, to his frustration, that the agent hasn’t quite built up as much momentum as he’d been expecting, so the attack is weaker than anticipated. If he’d been spending training time fighting Slayers and time in the field, no wonder. He’s not used to having to adapt to different strength levels because they’ve always been as strong or more powerful in different ways, not weaker, and from a comparison seems to be better at figuring out how to put himself in harm’s way as a shield or how to kill something than actually adapting strategies for fighting, which means if, say, human bigots ever came for him he’d be woefully unprepared.
He seems frustrated, but proud, which is good, because as it drags on Leon finds himself conserving more of his energy to keep going. While Redgrave is holding back a little, he was still throwing a little too much into the fight, showing the same burst of enthusiasm he had before that Leon now identifies as a weakness. Not enough to make that much of a difference, not in the short term, but he has to wonder how bad it got once he’d been ordered to leave, what shutting down a Hellgate or fighting through zombie hordes without chugging herbs would do. Even then, though, half-devils seem to have a lot of stamina. It becomes easier, Leon realizes, not to think about the dirty implications of that word when you’re weaving out of the way of a fist coming at your face.
Probably the biggest advantage Leon has, though, is that he’s not as conflicted. Xander seemed cocky and to be fair he had good reason to be, but more than anything he was fighting with himself as to whether or not he actually wanted to put his whole strength into it. He’s not hiding away enough of his strength that Leon’s too worried about being broken in half, but Redgrave still seems to be trying to convince himself of that fact. The faster reflexes don’t mean anything when the half-devil hesitates before elbowing Leon in the gut just long enough for Leon to deflect the attack. It’s not every time, and the blue-eyed beauty is definitely getting frustrated with himself, because it honestly seems to be a reflex, like the human reflex against pain. He’s getting in a few good hits, though, so the whole exercise doesn’t seem to be a complete waste of time, whatever the point of it all is.
And while it’s not as pronounced as it would be for your average human, the missing eye is a slight advantage for the agent. He gets in most of his good hits coming in from the blind side, and while he’s not sure about what test exactly is going on here, he refuses to fail it. Sure, maybe failing it was agreeing to fight in the first place, but he’s pretty sure it’s not that kind of mind game.
They’re both, Leon evaluates, used to using weapons. He doesn’t need to be told why they’re not; half-devil strength is dangerous enough without adding guns or swords. As guilty as he still slightly feels from the whole stabbing incident, he knows Xander would feel a lot worse about accidentally hurting Leon, which might, he realizes, be part of the point, here. The man had already started to look gloomy enough about the lucky hit on Leon’s cheek that will almost definitely bruise unless Willow heals it, despite the fact that Leon intends to wear it as a badge of honor. Fortunately, the lack of concentration had allowed Leon to break through his guard and land a blow on his boyfriend’s ribs that would bruise if Xander was fully human, which was apparently enough to distract him. On that front, they’ve both got a handicap.
They’re still putting on enough of a show to keep the Slayers entertained, apparently, although given some of the blushes he suspects the wrestling might have been part of that, but when it’s been almost half an hour he calls it. He’s starting to get thirsty and a little breathless.
“Good fight,” he tells Redgrave, holding out a hand to pull the half-human to his feet. It takes Xander a moment, and his hand is sweaty, but he allows himself to be pulled to his feet. Whatever had been bothering him is gone.
Buffy/Devil May Cry/Resident Evil/Background NCIS Crossover
Chapter Summary: Willow gives an excuse for Leon and Xander to hang out again, and probably brought popcorn.
Word Count: 1590
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Leon/Xander
Leon’s actually not too surprised when, somewhere along the line, it’s suggested that he spar. What surprises him is the fact that, despite the distinct disappointment at the lack of entertainment, Willow insists, loudly, that at the moment he’s a guest and he can show off on one of his other visits because honestly it’ll take a lot to get all of the new suggestions up and running and he’d want to keep an eye on the progress, of course he would, they’re his suggestions. Clearly, the ‘scary redhead’ is used to getting her way.
And then, the second time he shows up, this time in a t-shirt and an old set of sweatpants he’d previously worn to the gym, ready to be thrown against a Slayer…Xander had been there.
It looked like they had the same thoughts, because he’d been wearing an outfit Leon recognized, too, practical and easy to move in. Not that the leather wasn’t a good look for him; it was. But apparently they’d both wanted to be comfortable and both were feeling sentimental.
“Surprise,” Xander had told him with a wolfish grin, and Leon shakes his head, amused, dropping into a ready stance.
“You sure that’s a good idea?” he asks, slightly cocky. Sure, he’s up against a more powerful opponent; he’s seen Redgrave fight. But that’s nothing new. Sure, he might have an edge thanks to the aftermath of the Las Plagas infection, but that’s all it is. An edge. Compared to the Lord Saddlers and Redgraves and demons and Tyrants and even the Krausers of the world, that’s barely anything at all. But sometimes, all you need is creativity, determination, and an edge.
“What’s the matter? You don’t have your gun or your knife, so you can’t shoot me or stab me, and there’s witches on hand to fix anything.” Leon has seen bluffs. He has even seen Xander bluff, the one time they’d tried to play cards. The man is nervous, but he’s trying so hard Kennedy will let him think he hasn’t noticed, for now.
A quiet moment of anticipation stretches and breaks, and then they move.
When it comes down to it, Leon does better than he has any right to do. He’s fully aware of this fact. A good part of it is that they’re employing the same tactics, both used to opponents who are stronger, faster, meaner. The issue here is that the tactic works more for Leon than it does Xander.
They’re more closely matched on strength than Leon thought, a fact that makes itself clear when they somehow end up on a spontaneous wrestling match on the padded floor and Xander smiles, sheepish but shy, up at him before throwing him (carefully) into one of the padded walls. Redgrave is certainly stronger, but Leon’s brief feeling of inadequacy watching the man fight disappears. He’s still a competent fighter, and this is reassuring. Maybe that’s why this was all organized, a further demonstration than his box-lifting demonstration.
The former police officer also realizes in that moment that he has it bad, because his brain is taking a moment to admire the industrial strength padding because he’s heard Xander talk passionately about building and architecture and knows, given the slightly haphazard way they’ve gone about the rest of this, that it wasn’t because of some governmental contractor or regulation, it was his—what is it, now, boyfriend? Partner?—saw a need, somewhere he could be helpful, and stepped in to fix it. He smoothly rolls and gets to his feet, trying not to show the goofy affection on his face. From the raised eyebrow, it didn’t really work, but it was worth a shot.
But even then, Xander’s just enough stronger to make a difference, and there’s how much further he can push himself. Leon’s had training to not follow his instincts, the ones that say ‘you’re hurt, choose flight’. Xander, on the other hand, it seems didn’t need that training. He doesn’t need to overcome instincts that tell him to avoid the pain. So he can have his elbow dislocated and not pause or even break a sweat.
On the other hand, it’s clear he’s had no formal training, despite the slightly breathtaking grace in the way he fights. It’s all self-taught, and he’s excellent as far as that goes, but he’s got some small openings Leon doesn’t hesitate to exploit and he’s looking forward to training Xander in that, too. Sure, he can heal if he leaves an opening and gets hit, but what if that’s just enough delay to put innocents at risk? And isn’t it better to just avoid getting hurt in the first place? Redgrave hadn’t needed to learn to avoid that, so he hadn’t, but if nothing else Leon’s pretty sure he can serve as a good motivation.
The tactics to use an enemy’s strengths against them backfire a little for Xander in the way they don’t for Leon, between the training specifically in that kind of fight and the fact that Redgrave is, in fact, stronger and faster. More than once Xander tries to use Kennedy’s momentum against him only to find, to his frustration, that the agent hasn’t quite built up as much momentum as he’d been expecting, so the attack is weaker than anticipated. If he’d been spending training time fighting Slayers and time in the field, no wonder. He’s not used to having to adapt to different strength levels because they’ve always been as strong or more powerful in different ways, not weaker, and from a comparison seems to be better at figuring out how to put himself in harm’s way as a shield or how to kill something than actually adapting strategies for fighting, which means if, say, human bigots ever came for him he’d be woefully unprepared.
He seems frustrated, but proud, which is good, because as it drags on Leon finds himself conserving more of his energy to keep going. While Redgrave is holding back a little, he was still throwing a little too much into the fight, showing the same burst of enthusiasm he had before that Leon now identifies as a weakness. Not enough to make that much of a difference, not in the short term, but he has to wonder how bad it got once he’d been ordered to leave, what shutting down a Hellgate or fighting through zombie hordes without chugging herbs would do. Even then, though, half-devils seem to have a lot of stamina. It becomes easier, Leon realizes, not to think about the dirty implications of that word when you’re weaving out of the way of a fist coming at your face.
Probably the biggest advantage Leon has, though, is that he’s not as conflicted. Xander seemed cocky and to be fair he had good reason to be, but more than anything he was fighting with himself as to whether or not he actually wanted to put his whole strength into it. He’s not hiding away enough of his strength that Leon’s too worried about being broken in half, but Redgrave still seems to be trying to convince himself of that fact. The faster reflexes don’t mean anything when the half-devil hesitates before elbowing Leon in the gut just long enough for Leon to deflect the attack. It’s not every time, and the blue-eyed beauty is definitely getting frustrated with himself, because it honestly seems to be a reflex, like the human reflex against pain. He’s getting in a few good hits, though, so the whole exercise doesn’t seem to be a complete waste of time, whatever the point of it all is.
And while it’s not as pronounced as it would be for your average human, the missing eye is a slight advantage for the agent. He gets in most of his good hits coming in from the blind side, and while he’s not sure about what test exactly is going on here, he refuses to fail it. Sure, maybe failing it was agreeing to fight in the first place, but he’s pretty sure it’s not that kind of mind game.
They’re both, Leon evaluates, used to using weapons. He doesn’t need to be told why they’re not; half-devil strength is dangerous enough without adding guns or swords. As guilty as he still slightly feels from the whole stabbing incident, he knows Xander would feel a lot worse about accidentally hurting Leon, which might, he realizes, be part of the point, here. The man had already started to look gloomy enough about the lucky hit on Leon’s cheek that will almost definitely bruise unless Willow heals it, despite the fact that Leon intends to wear it as a badge of honor. Fortunately, the lack of concentration had allowed Leon to break through his guard and land a blow on his boyfriend’s ribs that would bruise if Xander was fully human, which was apparently enough to distract him. On that front, they’ve both got a handicap.
They’re still putting on enough of a show to keep the Slayers entertained, apparently, although given some of the blushes he suspects the wrestling might have been part of that, but when it’s been almost half an hour he calls it. He’s starting to get thirsty and a little breathless.
“Good fight,” he tells Redgrave, holding out a hand to pull the half-human to his feet. It takes Xander a moment, and his hand is sweaty, but he allows himself to be pulled to his feet. Whatever had been bothering him is gone.
