relaxedPairing : Spike/Xander
Rating : NC17
Summary: The words of a prophecy force Spike and Xander closer than they ever thought they would ever become but will it be close enough?
Part: 1/?
A/N : Inspired by plot bunny/challenge posted here: http://spanderfiles.com/grp/challenges.html
Lady Q: Write a story based on the meaning of Xander's name. Alexander means: Defender of Men and Warrior. So I would like to see a story based on the meaning of his name and Xander coming to understand it
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The room was bland – magnolia would be his best guess if he was forced to say what colour it was. Xander stood up and moved to one of the walls. As he did so, he became aware of two other presences in the room, but couldn't quite make them out. Reaching the wall, he reached out with his right hand and touched it. As his fingers touched, the wall turned opaque, then into a mirrored surface. Now he could see he was definitely not alone. He turned his head and to his right was a man who looked a lot like him. Well, if he had a brush cut and wore army fatigues. And to his left, in a cage, was a naked but furred human-looking figure. The facial features were blurred and no matter how much he squinted he couldn't quite make them out.
“Huh, no fear yet” he found himself thinking. He turned back to the mirror to find that it had now turned transparent. And on the other side was the figure of Spike, reaching out the opposite hand. If the glass hadn't been there, their hands would have been touching, palm to palm. To Spike's right was a slight looking man, honey-coloured curls tumbling about his head and wire-rimmed glasses. To Spike's left was a creature in a cage. The creature – or demon – was quite fearsome looking, with gold eyes, ridged forehead and sharp fangs.
As Xander watched, the Spike in the middle moved forward until he was standing next to the glass. It was only when he felt the brush of leather against his trousers that Xander realised that he too had moved forward. Looking down, as always slightly surprised to find he was taller than Spike, Xander's eyes were caught by the diamond bright blue of Spike's eyes. As he watched, the eyes fluttered closed, making Spike look – vulnerable and open, a posture that Xander could never have imagined on the vampire before now. And without volition, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to Spike's......
“Holy shit!!!” Leaping up in bed, Xander reached out and slammed the alarm clock to turn it off. He felt muzzy-headed, lacking in sleep – a familiar state recently. He was plagued by dreams – dreams that he never remembered the next morning, only that he had dreamed quite vividly. Running his fingers through his rumpled dark hair, he flopped back down on the bed. Thank goodness it was Saturday – no work, just a Scooby meeting at the Magic Box to look forward to. He was looking forward to seeing the girls – college was keeping them very busy, and apart from the odd night of slayage and research parties he wasn't getting to spend as much time with them as he would have liked.
Energised by the idea of spending time with his ladies, Xander pushed himself out of bed and headed towards the shower.
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“Never fear, the Xan-man is here and I come bearing gifts of pastries and coffee!!” Kicking the door shut with his foot, Xander walked into the Magic Shop, arms full of goodies for the girls and Giles.
“Ah Xander, so glad you could make it - “
“Hey, Xan, did you get the ones with the sprinkles?” The normal scramble for the best choice in donuts was fought in silence as Xander shrugged off his coat and made himself comfortable at the research table. Silly though it might seem, it always pleased him to see the girls diving in to the goodies he brought. That and the smiles he could coax out of them with his goofy jokes often made his day.
“Hey G-Man, I made sure to get the jellied donuts cos I know how much you love them – in your understated Britishy way that is”.
“How many times must I ask you not to call me by that ridiculous name?”
“Always worth one more time Giles!” Giles rolled his eyes and smiled (score one for the Xan-man – making Giles crack his stiff upper exterior) before reaching for the jelly donut and heading back behind the counter where he had stashed his tea. He was most concerned by the latest prophecy but had had little to no luck finding out who the 'Defender' or 'Determined Protector' were meant to be. “So, what's the what?”
“No big. Just thought it would be good to catch up. Giles is all wiggy cos of his latest prophecy of doom but apart from that things are pretty calm”. Speaking around a mouthful of donut, Buffy sat down on the table next to Xander, swinging her leg and kicking him casually on each swing.
“And my Willowy type person – how goes the college studies?”
“Most excellent thank you Xander. I've made a new friend – well hopefully a new friend – she goes to the same Wicca group as me, and she seems to be as interested in the spell stuff as I am, which is not to say that I've been doing any spell stuff, just reading up on it in a purely supervised way – right Giles?!”
“What? Oh yes, yes, Willow, absolutely”. Xander and Willow grinned at each other – it was perfectly obvious that Giles hadn't followed her babble at all.
“So, Giles, what's this prophecy that has you in all in a bind? Anything we can help with – and by help with, I mean make you tea and pretend to understand”.
“Well actually, I'm really not sure. It's not very specific - “
“Pah, when are prophecies ever specific?”
“ - and I cannot find reference to either of these two beings anywhere. It just says they are meant to work with the Chosen One -”
“Yeah me!”
“Yes, quite Buffy. Unfortunately I think I've pretty much exhausted my library and may have to consult with Wesley”.
“Oooh, Watcher Road Trip ahead – better watch it when the two of you get together, I can imagine the stuff you two get up to surrounded by books!!”.
“Yes, quite Xander, thank you”.
“So, Tara and I got talking and she's really into spiritual stuff, and was telling me the meaning of names and stuff. My name is a Celtic for Joy or something like that, and hers is perceived as the unquenchable hunger that propels all life!”
“Whoa – getting a bit deep there, Wills!”
“What does my name mean then?”
“Err, there's no particular meaning for Buffy – don't laugh Xander! - but Elizabeth means God's promise which is of the good, especially with you being the Chosen One and all”. Buffy stuck her tongue out at Xander, and he retaliated, both of them ignoring Willow's pretend scowl. “Oooh, and get this, Xander, Alexander means “Defender, or Warrior for Mankind – now how's about that then?!”
The sound of a heavy book being dropped caused all of them to turn to look at Giles, who was standing with his glasses in his hand, looking rather shocked.
“Oh Good Lord, Willow, say that again!!”
“Say what?! Giles, are you alright? Because I don't know if you realise this but you just dropped a very old book and normally you tell us that - “
“No no, what you were saying. What's the definition of Xander's name?”
“Well, it was just in this book Tara was telling me about. It's something like Defender, or Warrior for Mankind which I thought was really cool because of Xander here working to fight the forces of evil here in Sunnydale and stuff. Why – Giles, you've gone really pale!”
“Quick, get him a chair!” and the three rushed to help Giles to sit down at the table. “Giles, what's wrong?”
“I – well, I hope I'm wrong but I think I may have been looking in the wrong places. You see, one of the beings referenced in the prophecy is called the Defender, or Warrior for Mankind”. Looking round at the three faces, Giles could see they were as stunned as he was. “Yes – it would appear that our Xander has made his way into a prophecy”.
“Well hell!”
Chapter 2