Title: Open Doors – Part 11 – What the Hell?
Author: Xanfan
Fandom: Buffy/NCIS crossover
Rating: Potentially R/Mature
Pairing: eventually Tony/Xander
Summary: SLASH - When some doors slam shut, others open. Two men with a history of being pushed aside learn that it’s the small moments that can change everything.
Spoilers: up to Boxed In, season 3 of NCIS, All of Buffy, post Chosen
Warnings: Slash M/M
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Last Time:
Xander took off running towards the nearby alleyway while Tony stared for a moment, then pulled his gun from its holster at his back and followed.
He made it to the alley in time to see Xander pull a man off a struggling woman. He caught sight of mask-like features before Xander pulled something from his jacket and stabbed the man in the chest. Tony watched in horror, then shock, as the man his date had stabbed disappeared in a shower of dust.
“What the hell?” Tony said.
************
Xander’s head jerked up at the sound of Tony’s voice. His face flickered through various emotions, settling on wariness.
Tony walked slowly towards Xander, ignoring the woman who stumbled past him towards the street, dazed but unharmed. “What just happened here, Xander? And please don’t lie to me.”
“So, you wouldn’t believe that this is a really dusty alley and they should really sweep out here more?” Xander asked, trying to diffuse the tension.
“You just stabbed someone and they disappeared. Please give me an explanation that won’t involve me taking you to the police station,” Tony pleaded.
Xander rubbed a hand over his face, tired from his recent exertions. He raised his other hand and held out the wooden object to the NCIS agent.
“What is that?” Tony asked.
“It’s a stake,” Xander said quietly.
“Just tell me what’s going on, Xander. I’m really not in the mood to play 20 questions,” Tony said in frustration. “And again, don’t lie to me; if you do, we’re through.”
Xander’s lips twisted into a bitter mockery of a smile. “The real question is, will we be through even after I’ve told you the truth, or will you even believe the truth if you hear it?”
Tony sighed and reached out a hand, catching hold of Xander’s arm to pull the younger man slowly towards him. When he was close enough, he tilted Xander’s chin up and urged the brunet to meet his eyes. “Xander, please, tell me what just happened. Up until that scream, tonight was the best first date of my entire life, if not the best date period. From day one, I knew that there was more to you than meets the eye. And there is definitely more to your ‘school for girls’ and your odd friends than you’ve told me. I haven’t rushed you for an explanation, because I’d figured you would tell me when you could, when the time was right. What happened just now, it’s all connected to the other stuff, isn’t it? I can’t wait patiently any longer, Xander. The time to tell me is now. Because if I have to turn you in for murder, it’ll kill me. So please, please tell me you can explain this.”
Xander’s eye filled with moisture. He began to speak, telling the story the way he had been told, his voice that of someone reciting a speech they’ve heard and given over and over again. “The world is older than you know. It began, not as a paradise like many believe, but as something completely the opposite. It was hell on earth. Demons roamed freely. Then man came, and the demons tried to subjugate them like animals, but man eventually revolted. The demons were forced from this plane, this dimension. Legend holds that as the last demon left, he took a human and fed it his essence, imbuing the man with a portion of his demon, give him supernatural strength and an unholy thirst for human blood, creating the first vampire.”
“Was that what that man was?” Tony asked gently, recognizing from Xander’s distant monotone that he was using the long explanation to guard his emotions, not dance around the question.
Xander just nodded and continued. “The vampire preyed upon other humans and was only susceptible to sunlight, fire and a wooden stake through the heart. Like any beast, it had a biological imperative to reproduce. Unlike man and animal, it replicated by draining a human to the point of death and feeding the human its blood, reanimating the dead body with a demon. Soon, man was plagued by vampires and they sought a means to fight them and other lesser demons. So a group of old men took a girl, chained her to the earth, and much like how the first vampire was created, they created a Slayer by imbuing her with a portion of a demon spirit to give her the strength and skill to fight the vampires.”
Tony’s eyes widened in horror, not liking where this story was going; his mind flashed to Xander’s little girls and his stomach rolled.
“So the Slayer fought, killing vampires and other demons that had managed to find their way back into this dimension. She fought tirelessly until she was killed in battle and when she died, that which made her the Slayer passed onto another girl, who would take up the title and the fight in her place. And so, from then on, there was a Slayer, one girl in all the world to fight the vampires and demons. And when a Slayer died, another one was called. Until a little over a decade ago, they fought alone with just a Watcher to support them.”
“What happened?” Tony asked.
Xander’s eyes lost the faraway look of a man telling a legend and filled with emotion and memories. He whispered, “Buffy came to town and I found out about the things that go bump in the night and the girl who bumps back. Then my best friend died and I had to stake the demon wearing his face.”
Tony pulled the young man fully into his arms. He didn’t have words, so his embrace was the only comfort he could give.
“I couldn’t just walk away, neither could Willow. So we made Buffy the Vampire Slayer let us help her. Giles, her Watcher, was peeved, but there was nothing he could do or say to discourage us. Before Buffy, our classmates were disappearing and dying left and right; you went to school on Monday morning and part of the morning announcements was a list of the students who had been listed as missing or had died from mysterious accidents with barbeque forks or animal attacks over the weekend. Sometimes the reading of it took almost all of first period. By the time we graduated, our class had the lowest death rate in Sunnydale High history. We helped Buffy make a difference,” Xander explained, desperate to believe he had helped.
“But there’s not just one girl in all the world anymore, is there?” Tony asked, remembering Rona’s fierceness and how the girl seemed to radiate power, like many of the other girls in Xander’s care. “What happened?”
“A few years ago, the world was ending, and we just couldn’t fight it alone. The Big Bad of the moment was having potential Slayers killed, trying to end the Slayer line. We needed help, so we changed history. We activated them all. Every potential Slayer in the world became a Slayer, with supernatural strength and abilities. And we won, the world didn’t end.... And then we had to face the consequences. We didn’t think about how far reaching our actions would be. Or how young some of the girls would be.”
“The little ones? They’re all Slayers too?” Tony asked in disbelief.
“Yes, even them. And we can’t uncall them. There are hundreds of them, Tony. We traveled the world, finding as many as we could. Now we train them, make sure they know how to use the power they have, how to control their strength, how to fight the demons that are drawn to them because they’re Slayers. Eventually, some will return home to protect their villages and towns. Some girls were exiled from their homes because they are considered cursed or demonic themselves. Many of the littlest ones were abandoned as babies because their parents couldn’t handle them or they were seen as devil’s spawn,” Xander said sadly.
“And now they have you.” Tony’s voice was equally soft.
Xander snorted. He didn’t think that was a fair trade off.
“I’m guessing you’ve loved them more than enough to make up for it. You’re probably a better parent than their own would have been anyway,” Tony offered.
They stood together, their arms wrapped around each other for a long time.
“So that guy, he was a vampire, not a human, right? He was already dead? So you didn’t murder him, you killed the demon who was wearing his body?” Tony asked.
“Pretty much. Are you going to break up with me now?” Xander asked.
“No, dufus. I’m just glad I’m not dating a criminal. I don’t think they let you have conjugal visits if you’re a boyfriend,” Tony said with a smirk.
“Boyfriend? Dating? As in more than one date?” Xander asked hopefully.
“Uh-huh. Now let’s get to my car. We’ve had enough life changing conversations in dark alleys for the night.”
“Works for me. I’m guessing the naughty fun touching mood has been broken by the unfortunate intrusion and shortened existence of that bloodsucker, huh?” Xander questioned.
“Pretty much,” Tony agreed.
As they settled into his car, as Xander was buckling his seatbelt, Tony asked, “So what’s up with Angel and Spike?”
Open Doors by xanfan