Title: Open Doors – Part 3 – Curiouser and Curiouser
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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Tony glanced sideways at Xander, watching the man pretend to study the passing scenery as they drove towards his home. He knew the younger man was trying to overcome his embarrassment over the spanking comment. Tony snorted, as if he'd ever let that happen. Although the fact that Xander had basically admitted to having been spanked and liking it gave the NCIS agent a weird feeling in his stomach that he chose not to identify. Instead of going for the straight teasing, Tony decided to put aside that touchy subject for now.
"So Mark said you usually get a ride home? Roommate, significant other, family member, who?" Tony asked.
Still looking out the passenger side window, Xander answered, "None of the above and a combination of the first, third, and last options."
"Well that cleared that up," Tony said sarcastically.
"I don't really have any family that I'm actually related to, but I have family that I've kinda chosen or who have chosen me for some reason. A bunch of us all live in the same building, but not necessarily ‘together' so not really a roommate and sort of family, one of them usually picks me up," Xander explained.
Tony thought over what had been said and what hadn't been. "How'd you manage to live in the same building?"
"Someone's got to look after all the girls," Xander said vaguely.
"Girls?" Tony asked, his curiosity not allowing him to let that slide.
"It's like a boarding school for special girls, except they go to regular school and we just have extra classes and they live in the building. I help run it, along with a couple of others," Xander answered.
"Why are you working at the bar, then?" Tony asked curiously.
"Need some extra dough, ‘cause I basically get room and board at the school and not much beyond that, most of the budget goes to feeding, clothing and training the girls. Plus, I needed to get out of the house and away from the hormones on a regular basis, or I'd go completely insane," Xander said with a shy grin.
"How'd you end up with that gig, and what are you training them for?"
If Tony hadn't been a naturally observant person, he might have missed Xander momentarily tensing at the question, because it was almost over before it began.
Xander looked over at Tony, as if assessing how much he should say, before answering. "We teach them self-defense and martial arts and stuff. A couple of my best friends and I and our mentor-slash-father-figure set up the program. We have a couple other locations all over the world; I'm not sure why I got D.C. but I guess it's better than Cleveland."
"Why a girls' boarding school and why the self-defense?" Tony asked, trying not to sound too much like he was interrogating him, but something was… hinky as Abby would say. He didn't think Xander was doing anything bad, it was just… weird.
"Because the world can suck and the girls need to be able to defend themselves. Plus some of them need a home and people to care about them," Xander said simply.
Tony digested this statement. There had been a touch of bitterness in Xander's voice, but he didn't think it was directed at the girls, but at the fact that the world required that the girls learn to protect themselves.
When they pulled up in front of the address Xander had given him, Tony looked over the building. "It looks like an apartment building."
"Yeah, we bought it and converted it. We left a couple of floors as apartments to give some of the older girls some privacy and opened up the rest to allow us to supervise the younger ones better," Xander explained as he struggled a bit with the door. Tony noticed the younger man wincing when he lifted his arm.
"Broken ribs too, huh. That must have been some fight," Tony commented.
"How'd you know?" Xander asked.
"About the ribs? I was an athlete and I work in law enforcement, I've had my share of broken ribs, and I know the signs," Tony explained. "Come on, I'll help you get out, even walk you to the door."
Between the two of them, they got Xander out of the car without too much pain or fuss. They walked slowly towards the front door to allow for Xander's injuries. Just as Xander was about to put his key in the lock, the door was pulled open.
"Xander, what the hell are you doing home this early and who is this guy?" the large man asked abruptly, his voice laced with suspicion.
"This is Tony, he's one of the regulars at work, I told you about him, remember?" Xander answered.
Tony struggled to suppress the smile that wanted to break out on his face at the thought of Xander telling people about him.
"Hmm. He's that CSI guy?"
"NCIS, not CSI. People make that mistake a lot," Tony answered with good humor, having heard it all before.
"But that doesn't tell me why you're home early, Xander," the guy pointed out.
Xander flushed a little. "I kind of greeted Tony with a babble-fest and he pointed out to my boss that I shouldn't be working while on pain meds and that I didn't look well enough to be working anyhow. He offered to drive me home when he heard I usually get a ride. And if you say ‘I told you so' I will slap you silly."
The man just smirked, a little evilly, if Tony did say so himself. It was almost attractive on the youngish man, which was a little disturbing. He didn't usually find evil smirks to be all that attractive, but it worked for this guy. "I wouldn't dream of pointing out that Gunn and I and a few of the others advised you to call in sick tonight because you were in no shape to be on your feet for ten hours."
"Smartass," Xander mumbled. If Tony hadn't been standing right next to him and didn't have exceptionally good hearing, he wouldn't have heard it, so he was a little surprised when the dark haired man's smirk got a little bigger.
"Selene and Michelle just finished bathing your little terrors and I believe they are getting stories read right now, so you have time to grab a bite to eat and still be able to tuck them in yourself," the man said, as if to make up for his earlier comment.
"Little terrors?" Tony asked curiously.
"Some of the girls are really young. But they don't have families, so we took them in. I take care of the youngest ones. My little sweethearts aren't terrors," Xander shot a glare at his co-worker. "They're just toddlers, who have a lot of energy."
The man had the gall to not look in the least bit sorry.
"Hi, I'm Tony," he said to break up the potential squabble, as he offered his hand to the man that he hadn't been introduced to.
Both Xander and the man looked embarrassed at their own lack of manners, although only Xander blushed.
"Tony, this is one of the guys who run the place with me. He helps with the training and some of the tutoring. He also has night watch, since he likes to sleep during the day. Tony, Angel. Angel, Tony," Xander said in way of introduction.
Tony tried not to choke at the name Angel. He noticed that Angel didn't bother to shake his hand, instead he nodded in acknowledgment. Interesting. The guy wasn't Hispanic; he looked Anglo-Saxon, maybe Irish in descent, so it wasn't a cultural name thing. Sounded more like a stripper or porn star name. The guy was big and had a bit of a threatening air to him, so Tony definitely wasn't going to mention that.
"Nice to meet you, Tony. Thanks for bringing the stubborn one home," Angel said with a nod towards Xander.
"Nice to meet you too. And it wasn't a big deal, I wasn't really in the mood for drinking anyway. I usually go in for Xander's running commentary on the people there and the various ridiculousness of some sports," Tony said. He then felt a rush of heat to his face as he realized he had admitted to only going to that bar to see Xander.
Xander must have realized it too, but Tony was glad to see the shy, pleased smile that flashed across the bartender's face.
"Anyway. I better get going. Let Xander get some food so he can go see his little terrors, er… uh… toddlers," Tony said as he patted Xander on back before heading out to his car. As he looked back, he was pleased to note that Xander had glanced back at him over his shoulder before going inside.
Now Tony just had to go home and think about why he was pleased by that. He also wasn't going to think about how he hadn't been involved with a guy since he had joined NCIS and started working for a former marine. Maybe a beer wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Open Doors by xanfan