Celebrations and Revelations
Apr. 25th, 2023 05:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerLeon called it.
EDIT: I forgot to change the chapter summary from the last chapter. whoops
Main Points:
Buffy/Devil May Cry/Resident Evil/Background NCIS Crossover
Chapter Summary: Claire and Chris get to know Xander a little better, and Leon has some news to share.
Word Count: 1310
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Leon/Xander
Leon’s learned enough about Xander to know that the reluctance isn’t simply humility, or anything personal. But he also doesn’t want to make Chris feel bad by stating personal boundaries or seeming ungrateful or anything.
“Maybe rain check? He seems pretty tired,” Leon observes, trying to give Xander a way out. Xander notices, and so does Claire, apparently, going by the odd look she gives him, but Chris remains oblivious.
“Just one? You saved my sister; I’d like to repay you somehow,” Chris insists, desperate to do something, and Redgrave laughs and nods reluctantly.
“Fine, though from what I saw when I was there, she was doing a pretty good job of saving herself.”
Claire looks a little startled, but Leon’s not surprised at all. Given the type of women he deals with on a daily basis, Xander’s more likely to expect competence than not.
It’s not as bad an excuse as it seemed, because Xander falls asleep in the backseat on the way there, slumped over with his head resting on Leon’s shoulder. Claire glances back again, raising an eyebrow without saying a word, and she’s probably cluing in. Leon just uses his best innocent smile in place of a shrug.
Chris talks the whole way there, about the last book he read and his new neighbors and whatever else comes to mind, probably trying to take his mind off the idea that his sister was in danger again. Leon answers softly when he can. Miraculously none of it wakes Xander up.
When they get to the bar, he asks them to get him a beer and promptly curls up in the booth. He’s probably in pain, Kennedy guesses, leading them to the bar rather than draw attention to it. In pain, and Xander’s body’s trying to send him into a healing sleep. It’s not like he can Devil Trigger here and heal that way. Not that there are any obvious wounds, but he clearly hasn’t replenished his energy after that healing.
Maybe Leon’s got a green herb on himself. If not, maybe Claire or Chris do.
When they get back to the booth, though, his boyfriend’s fallen asleep, and Leon smiles a little, suddenly unaware of anything else. It’s an instinct to take his own jacket off, settle it carefully over the handsome half-devil. Xander breathes in, smiles a little, and snuggles into the familiar scent.
Apparently that’s enough for Claire to connect the dots, though, because she exclaims, “You’re dating!”
Abruptly Leon remembers they’re not alone and slides into the booth as fast as he can, blushing. It doesn’t actually seem like anyone’s paying attention or even noticed over the chatter of the other regulars, but it’s still mortifying.
“Claire,” Chris scolds, but Kennedy shakes his head.
“She’s right. I wanted to tell you both, but hadn’t found a good opportunity.” He really cares about what they think, is slightly embarrassed with the scene they’re making, and hopes they don’t wake Xander up, but he absolutely will start a fistfight with Chris if he’s a jerk about this, even if Chris clearly has bigger muscles and would probably win.
“You’re gay?” Chris asks quietly, seemingly a little in shock as he sits down. Claire elbows him.
“I’m bisexual,” Leon corrects, left leg beginning to bounce a little.
“How long have you been not-single and didn’t tell me?” Claire follows up with a more appropriate question, stern tone undercut slightly by the fact that she’s grinning.
Leon takes a slight sip of the beer, trying not to go too quickly and actually get drunk. “Three months?” It comes out as more of a question than he’d like. It’s hard to remember, between the missions and the planning, but that sounds about right.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what I’m doing,” Chris announces abruptly, and Claire rolls her eyes.
“Like that wasn’t obvious,” Claire snipes. Leon doesn’t exactly need her to defend his honor, but it’s heartwarming all the same.
“We’re just kind of winging it ourselves, but it’s been going pretty well so far,” Leon tells them, trying just to be truthful, but blushes harder when Claire waggles her eyebrows at him. Chris does look a little happier at that; he’s the type to be happy for their friends as long as they’re happy. He’s still a little confused, and guilty about being confused, but he’ll figure out that there’s not actually too much difference, in the end. What else should Leon tell them? Oh, yeah, Chris might actually find this next part funny. “He meant to practice telling you about the wings bit first, then me, but I happened to get assigned to that mission. He was really nervous about it.”
“He’s on our side,” Chris insists, which means he is trying, even if he’s being awkward.
“I’d say to look after him, but you’re both kind of disasters, so it’s more a mutual thing,” she tells him, and Leon’s a little pleased. It means Xander’s managed to charm her already, even though they’d barely interacted.
“We’re working on it,” Xander yawns, blinking. He stirs a little, still exhausted. “The mutual thing is nice, though.”
That they’re equals, that they make each other better but don’t need each other. It’s a matter of complementing, not completing, each other, a distinction Leon hadn’t known or considered until he had it. Xander glares blearily at the few leaves of green herb Leon fished out of his jacket while Claire had been talking; the half-devil hates the taste, complaining it’s too bitter, but he takes it quickly anyway, and the effects are almost immediately noticeable.
“I’m sorry about talking behind your back,” Chris apologizes, and that’s an interesting parallel, the guilt behind the first meeting.
Xander waves it off sleepily, taking a sip of his own beer and mostly hiding the face he makes at the memories he tastes. (Probably. Leon knows it’s in the journal he was given, because he’s flipped through, but still hasn’t read that part yet.) “Saves me the trouble of actually having the conversation and the awkward that ensued. It’s fine.”
“I have your number so I can call you and make sure you’re taking care of yourself. Ask Leon,” Claire promises, leaning forward, and Leon nods, although it’s probably not needed. Xander probably assumes everybody works the way his friends do.
“Sounds good,” Xander agrees, before wrinkling his nose. “Well. Good in that it is good for me, but annoying in the way only the most good for you things can be. Either way, I resign myself to my fate.”
“I like you,” Claire declares, and the sweet smile and the way Xander perks up are honestly cute. “So. Magic.”
Redgrave grins, slipping his hand into Leon’s as he begins his story, lowering his voice and leaning in a little. Subtle, designed to not draw attention, but also just enough to make it harder for anyone else to listen in. Leon approves. “Actually, all of this goes way back when and some of it won’t make sense to you unless I start at the beginning, and when I say the beginning, I mean the very beginning. The way I’ve heard it, it starts like this: ‘The world is older than any of you know’…”
EDIT: I forgot to change the chapter summary from the last chapter. whoops
Main Points:
Buffy/Devil May Cry/Resident Evil/Background NCIS Crossover
Chapter Summary: Claire and Chris get to know Xander a little better, and Leon has some news to share.
Word Count: 1310
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Leon/Xander
“Join us for a drink!” Chris suggests, earnest and warm, and Xander shuffles a bit. It looks like he wants to hide behind Leon but doesn’t want to be obvious about it, which is a little funny and sweet. It’s hard to say no to Chris. While Leon pretty much had been a straight-laced boy scout type back in his academy days, Chris made him look like an amateur. It was impressive he’d kept it together this long, and Xander was keeping an eye out for the moment the guy cracked, but so far he’d shown no sign of that.
Leon’s learned enough about Xander to know that the reluctance isn’t simply humility, or anything personal. But he also doesn’t want to make Chris feel bad by stating personal boundaries or seeming ungrateful or anything.
“Maybe rain check? He seems pretty tired,” Leon observes, trying to give Xander a way out. Xander notices, and so does Claire, apparently, going by the odd look she gives him, but Chris remains oblivious.
“Just one? You saved my sister; I’d like to repay you somehow,” Chris insists, desperate to do something, and Redgrave laughs and nods reluctantly.
“Fine, though from what I saw when I was there, she was doing a pretty good job of saving herself.”
Claire looks a little startled, but Leon’s not surprised at all. Given the type of women he deals with on a daily basis, Xander’s more likely to expect competence than not.
It’s not as bad an excuse as it seemed, because Xander falls asleep in the backseat on the way there, slumped over with his head resting on Leon’s shoulder. Claire glances back again, raising an eyebrow without saying a word, and she’s probably cluing in. Leon just uses his best innocent smile in place of a shrug.
Chris talks the whole way there, about the last book he read and his new neighbors and whatever else comes to mind, probably trying to take his mind off the idea that his sister was in danger again. Leon answers softly when he can. Miraculously none of it wakes Xander up.
When they get to the bar, he asks them to get him a beer and promptly curls up in the booth. He’s probably in pain, Kennedy guesses, leading them to the bar rather than draw attention to it. In pain, and Xander’s body’s trying to send him into a healing sleep. It’s not like he can Devil Trigger here and heal that way. Not that there are any obvious wounds, but he clearly hasn’t replenished his energy after that healing.
Maybe Leon’s got a green herb on himself. If not, maybe Claire or Chris do.
When they get back to the booth, though, his boyfriend’s fallen asleep, and Leon smiles a little, suddenly unaware of anything else. It’s an instinct to take his own jacket off, settle it carefully over the handsome half-devil. Xander breathes in, smiles a little, and snuggles into the familiar scent.
Apparently that’s enough for Claire to connect the dots, though, because she exclaims, “You’re dating!”
Abruptly Leon remembers they’re not alone and slides into the booth as fast as he can, blushing. It doesn’t actually seem like anyone’s paying attention or even noticed over the chatter of the other regulars, but it’s still mortifying.
“Claire,” Chris scolds, but Kennedy shakes his head.
“She’s right. I wanted to tell you both, but hadn’t found a good opportunity.” He really cares about what they think, is slightly embarrassed with the scene they’re making, and hopes they don’t wake Xander up, but he absolutely will start a fistfight with Chris if he’s a jerk about this, even if Chris clearly has bigger muscles and would probably win.
“You’re gay?” Chris asks quietly, seemingly a little in shock as he sits down. Claire elbows him.
“I’m bisexual,” Leon corrects, left leg beginning to bounce a little.
“How long have you been not-single and didn’t tell me?” Claire follows up with a more appropriate question, stern tone undercut slightly by the fact that she’s grinning.
Leon takes a slight sip of the beer, trying not to go too quickly and actually get drunk. “Three months?” It comes out as more of a question than he’d like. It’s hard to remember, between the missions and the planning, but that sounds about right.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what I’m doing,” Chris announces abruptly, and Claire rolls her eyes.
“Like that wasn’t obvious,” Claire snipes. Leon doesn’t exactly need her to defend his honor, but it’s heartwarming all the same.
“We’re just kind of winging it ourselves, but it’s been going pretty well so far,” Leon tells them, trying just to be truthful, but blushes harder when Claire waggles her eyebrows at him. Chris does look a little happier at that; he’s the type to be happy for their friends as long as they’re happy. He’s still a little confused, and guilty about being confused, but he’ll figure out that there’s not actually too much difference, in the end. What else should Leon tell them? Oh, yeah, Chris might actually find this next part funny. “He meant to practice telling you about the wings bit first, then me, but I happened to get assigned to that mission. He was really nervous about it.”
“He’s on our side,” Chris insists, which means he is trying, even if he’s being awkward.
“I’d say to look after him, but you’re both kind of disasters, so it’s more a mutual thing,” she tells him, and Leon’s a little pleased. It means Xander’s managed to charm her already, even though they’d barely interacted.
“We’re working on it,” Xander yawns, blinking. He stirs a little, still exhausted. “The mutual thing is nice, though.”
That they’re equals, that they make each other better but don’t need each other. It’s a matter of complementing, not completing, each other, a distinction Leon hadn’t known or considered until he had it. Xander glares blearily at the few leaves of green herb Leon fished out of his jacket while Claire had been talking; the half-devil hates the taste, complaining it’s too bitter, but he takes it quickly anyway, and the effects are almost immediately noticeable.
“I’m sorry about talking behind your back,” Chris apologizes, and that’s an interesting parallel, the guilt behind the first meeting.
Xander waves it off sleepily, taking a sip of his own beer and mostly hiding the face he makes at the memories he tastes. (Probably. Leon knows it’s in the journal he was given, because he’s flipped through, but still hasn’t read that part yet.) “Saves me the trouble of actually having the conversation and the awkward that ensued. It’s fine.”
“I have your number so I can call you and make sure you’re taking care of yourself. Ask Leon,” Claire promises, leaning forward, and Leon nods, although it’s probably not needed. Xander probably assumes everybody works the way his friends do.
“Sounds good,” Xander agrees, before wrinkling his nose. “Well. Good in that it is good for me, but annoying in the way only the most good for you things can be. Either way, I resign myself to my fate.”
“I like you,” Claire declares, and the sweet smile and the way Xander perks up are honestly cute. “So. Magic.”
Redgrave grins, slipping his hand into Leon’s as he begins his story, lowering his voice and leaning in a little. Subtle, designed to not draw attention, but also just enough to make it harder for anyone else to listen in. Leon approves. “Actually, all of this goes way back when and some of it won’t make sense to you unless I start at the beginning, and when I say the beginning, I mean the very beginning. The way I’ve heard it, it starts like this: ‘The world is older than any of you know’…”
