aimeelicious (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
aimeelicious) wrote2004-10-18 03:33 pm
aimeelicious) wrote2004-10-18 03:33 pm
Grace, part 14 (fic post)
It's true, here is the next part of Grace. Got bogged down with freelancing over the weekend, sorry for the delay.
Title: Grace
Pairing: Oz/Xander
Rating: this chapter, R for violence & language.
Warnings: none, really. Post-Chosen, no planned mention of AtS season 5
Chapters 1-13: here
Not beta'd, any and all mistakes are my own. And of course, no profit to be found here either.
Previously in Grace:
The doorbell rang, unpleasantly breaking their comfortable silence, and he felt the body next to his tense immediately. So much for the afterglow. Xander seriously considered the idea that he was destined to never catch a break.
"Expecting anyone?" he asked, raising himself on an elbow to look at Oz, who had once more donned his blank face.
"No. Ignore it."
And they did, but then the unmistakable sound of glass breaking had them both out of bed in an instant.
--------------------------------
Oz unlocked the door and was gone before Xander got one long leg into his jeans. Of course, the werewolf hadn't stopped to get dressed, he'd just bolted out naked. Which would have been more enticing if Xander had been able to stare, but he supposed this wasn't a good time for his first contemplation of the male nude. Although it should have been, really. Damn intruders.
He hitched up his pants and moved quickly into the hallway. Xander knew from first hand experience that fighting bad guys was even less fun while wearing no clothes, especially if the bad guys were gooey. Assuming these were bad guys in the house. Which was most likely the case, since good guys rarely did the 'breaking and entering' thing. Funny how he didn't feel the least bit panicky about the situation. Old habits died harder than new ones.
By now Xander could hear a struggle, and hurrying around the corner he saw Oz fighting with a man who appeared to be almost twice his size. Well, at least there was only *one* bad guy.
"Can't take me, little man?" the guy taunted, as Oz weaved to avoid getting hit. Not surprisingly, he was holding his own, but Xander dove in anyway, landing a solid punch to their opponent's stomach that doubled him over and gave Oz the chance to get him in a hold.
Over the guy's head, he mouthed "Human?", and got a nod in response. That was a relief. Too soon after newly-minted blow jobs to deal with the demon population, although this fellow wasn't particularly welcome either, what with the sexus interruptus. Oz tilted his head toward the cellar door and and mouthed back, "Rope". Xander took the hint and retrieved some, and then between the two of them they managed to wrestle the struggling trespasser into the kitchen and tie him up tight to a chair.
Breathing heavily again, this time for less pleasurable reasons, Xander and Oz stood back to survey the prisoner, unknowingly assuming the same stance, with legs apart and arms crossed. Xander frowned when the laughter started, but looked at Oz and immediately realized the problem. Any intimidation factor Oz had going for him in a suit was lost when he was naked. Except for the eyes, which the stranger obviously wasn't paying attention to.
"Oz," he said, getting the other man's attention, "...pants". Xander flicked his eye as a visual clue, and was utterly shocked when Oz turned slightly pink.
"Be right back. Stay." Oz left, hopefully to get dressed, so Xander followed orders and went back to studying the intruder. This was one area in which he'd found the patch to be helpful--he invariably won staring contests, and today was no exception. Seemed that something about the one-eye deal freaked people out.
He looked pretty ordinary--dark blue jeans, black t-shirt, windbreaker, sneakers. Didn't radiate evil like, say, your typical chaos mage. So maybe he really was just human. What a concept! Of course, he was still very naughty for interrupting quality Xandoz time. And now that the adrenaline was fading, Xander was beginning to feel concerned. Oz had a lot going on, between his job and the wolf hunt and Paddy. Could this just be a junkie looking for some cash? Somehow he didn't think it was going to be that straightforward.
Oz returned, fully clothed, and sized up the situation before speaking.
"We'll call the police in a minute." Xander was glad to hear that. While the police tended to turn a blind eye to to supernatural events, a break-in they could handle. Apparently Oz wanted some answers of his own first, though.
"Who sent you?" he asked.
"Like I'm gonna tell you anything," the man said with a sneer.
Oz punched him in the face. Ouch. That had to hurt.
"Try again. Who sent you?"
The man just glared this time, and Oz sighed. "Better if you talk now."
"Not a chance."
Oz simply nodded, and then it was as if Xander could feel the air shudder in the room. For the first time in years he watched in amazement as Oz just...shifted. Not like in the old days, when there was much snarling and gnashing of teeth. No, this was a lot more subtle, and frankly, scarier. Hands and fingers elongated slightly into claws, ears grew pointy and Oz's eyes, well, even from this angle he could see they shone an unnatural color Xander was pretty sure he'd never seen before. Neat trick. Yikes.
He instinctively took a step back and Oz's head swung around to fix on him. Xander thought he might have seen sadness on that stretched face for a moment, but it was gone in a heartbeat as wolf-Oz proceeded to ignore him and go back to dealing with the man in the chair. Who was not enjoying this new development at all.
"Wh..what the fuck are you?" he stammered, trying to lean away. Oz didn't respond. Instead, he bent in and sniffed, while Xander took a moment to file away the fact that the stranger didn't seem to recognize vestiges of a werewolf when he saw one. Interesting.
"Who. Sent. You." Oz finally repeated, and all the hair on Xander's neck stood straight up. It hadn't been a question, more of a demand, spoken in a dark voice that sounded like gravel after a long night on acid.
"Guy named Alonso I think, he told me to get the bottle with the brown liquid, the small one, should be near the nightstand or maybe in the bathroom, bring it to him, that's all he said. Don't know him from before, met him at the Jukebox last night, I was just trying to score some cash. Thought you weren't here, no harm no foul right?" The man finished on one breath and gave a weak smile that quickly faded.
"Bottle means life. Or. Death." There was more sniffing, and the warning trail of a sharp fingernail along a neck, and Xander was beginning to see a potentially unhappy ending to this interrogation. He wasn't sure he should say anything though, was kind of afraid to. Was it Oz? The wolf? Could he reason with him/it?
Oz stood up abruptly and faced Xander again. "Call." he growled, and literally stalked out of the kitchen.
With shaking fingers, Xander dialed 911 and gave the address before hanging up.
The two men looked at each other.
"Did you...did you know that. About...him? What...?" The guy in the chair couldn't seem to get anything else out, and Xander didn't feel inclined to explain all the particulars.
"I've seen worse," he said. "Some free advice you don't deserve--next time, remember this before you go agreeing to do things for someone you don't know. Can open up a world of trouble for yourself."
Xander left the room, intent on only one thing now. Oz.
Title: Grace
Pairing: Oz/Xander
Rating: this chapter, R for violence & language.
Warnings: none, really. Post-Chosen, no planned mention of AtS season 5
Chapters 1-13: here
Not beta'd, any and all mistakes are my own. And of course, no profit to be found here either.
Previously in Grace:
The doorbell rang, unpleasantly breaking their comfortable silence, and he felt the body next to his tense immediately. So much for the afterglow. Xander seriously considered the idea that he was destined to never catch a break.
"Expecting anyone?" he asked, raising himself on an elbow to look at Oz, who had once more donned his blank face.
"No. Ignore it."
And they did, but then the unmistakable sound of glass breaking had them both out of bed in an instant.
--------------------------------
Oz unlocked the door and was gone before Xander got one long leg into his jeans. Of course, the werewolf hadn't stopped to get dressed, he'd just bolted out naked. Which would have been more enticing if Xander had been able to stare, but he supposed this wasn't a good time for his first contemplation of the male nude. Although it should have been, really. Damn intruders.
He hitched up his pants and moved quickly into the hallway. Xander knew from first hand experience that fighting bad guys was even less fun while wearing no clothes, especially if the bad guys were gooey. Assuming these were bad guys in the house. Which was most likely the case, since good guys rarely did the 'breaking and entering' thing. Funny how he didn't feel the least bit panicky about the situation. Old habits died harder than new ones.
By now Xander could hear a struggle, and hurrying around the corner he saw Oz fighting with a man who appeared to be almost twice his size. Well, at least there was only *one* bad guy.
"Can't take me, little man?" the guy taunted, as Oz weaved to avoid getting hit. Not surprisingly, he was holding his own, but Xander dove in anyway, landing a solid punch to their opponent's stomach that doubled him over and gave Oz the chance to get him in a hold.
Over the guy's head, he mouthed "Human?", and got a nod in response. That was a relief. Too soon after newly-minted blow jobs to deal with the demon population, although this fellow wasn't particularly welcome either, what with the sexus interruptus. Oz tilted his head toward the cellar door and and mouthed back, "Rope". Xander took the hint and retrieved some, and then between the two of them they managed to wrestle the struggling trespasser into the kitchen and tie him up tight to a chair.
Breathing heavily again, this time for less pleasurable reasons, Xander and Oz stood back to survey the prisoner, unknowingly assuming the same stance, with legs apart and arms crossed. Xander frowned when the laughter started, but looked at Oz and immediately realized the problem. Any intimidation factor Oz had going for him in a suit was lost when he was naked. Except for the eyes, which the stranger obviously wasn't paying attention to.
"Oz," he said, getting the other man's attention, "...pants". Xander flicked his eye as a visual clue, and was utterly shocked when Oz turned slightly pink.
"Be right back. Stay." Oz left, hopefully to get dressed, so Xander followed orders and went back to studying the intruder. This was one area in which he'd found the patch to be helpful--he invariably won staring contests, and today was no exception. Seemed that something about the one-eye deal freaked people out.
He looked pretty ordinary--dark blue jeans, black t-shirt, windbreaker, sneakers. Didn't radiate evil like, say, your typical chaos mage. So maybe he really was just human. What a concept! Of course, he was still very naughty for interrupting quality Xandoz time. And now that the adrenaline was fading, Xander was beginning to feel concerned. Oz had a lot going on, between his job and the wolf hunt and Paddy. Could this just be a junkie looking for some cash? Somehow he didn't think it was going to be that straightforward.
Oz returned, fully clothed, and sized up the situation before speaking.
"We'll call the police in a minute." Xander was glad to hear that. While the police tended to turn a blind eye to to supernatural events, a break-in they could handle. Apparently Oz wanted some answers of his own first, though.
"Who sent you?" he asked.
"Like I'm gonna tell you anything," the man said with a sneer.
Oz punched him in the face. Ouch. That had to hurt.
"Try again. Who sent you?"
The man just glared this time, and Oz sighed. "Better if you talk now."
"Not a chance."
Oz simply nodded, and then it was as if Xander could feel the air shudder in the room. For the first time in years he watched in amazement as Oz just...shifted. Not like in the old days, when there was much snarling and gnashing of teeth. No, this was a lot more subtle, and frankly, scarier. Hands and fingers elongated slightly into claws, ears grew pointy and Oz's eyes, well, even from this angle he could see they shone an unnatural color Xander was pretty sure he'd never seen before. Neat trick. Yikes.
He instinctively took a step back and Oz's head swung around to fix on him. Xander thought he might have seen sadness on that stretched face for a moment, but it was gone in a heartbeat as wolf-Oz proceeded to ignore him and go back to dealing with the man in the chair. Who was not enjoying this new development at all.
"Wh..what the fuck are you?" he stammered, trying to lean away. Oz didn't respond. Instead, he bent in and sniffed, while Xander took a moment to file away the fact that the stranger didn't seem to recognize vestiges of a werewolf when he saw one. Interesting.
"Who. Sent. You." Oz finally repeated, and all the hair on Xander's neck stood straight up. It hadn't been a question, more of a demand, spoken in a dark voice that sounded like gravel after a long night on acid.
"Guy named Alonso I think, he told me to get the bottle with the brown liquid, the small one, should be near the nightstand or maybe in the bathroom, bring it to him, that's all he said. Don't know him from before, met him at the Jukebox last night, I was just trying to score some cash. Thought you weren't here, no harm no foul right?" The man finished on one breath and gave a weak smile that quickly faded.
"Bottle means life. Or. Death." There was more sniffing, and the warning trail of a sharp fingernail along a neck, and Xander was beginning to see a potentially unhappy ending to this interrogation. He wasn't sure he should say anything though, was kind of afraid to. Was it Oz? The wolf? Could he reason with him/it?
Oz stood up abruptly and faced Xander again. "Call." he growled, and literally stalked out of the kitchen.
With shaking fingers, Xander dialed 911 and gave the address before hanging up.
The two men looked at each other.
"Did you...did you know that. About...him? What...?" The guy in the chair couldn't seem to get anything else out, and Xander didn't feel inclined to explain all the particulars.
"I've seen worse," he said. "Some free advice you don't deserve--next time, remember this before you go agreeing to do things for someone you don't know. Can open up a world of trouble for yourself."
Xander left the room, intent on only one thing now. Oz.
no subject
And... *sighs* wolfOz... *smiles*
So good sweetheart.
Good Xander.
Good fierce Oz.
Moremoremore.
no subject
So happy you're reading and enjoying, thank you for leaving feedback.
:: snergles you ::
no subject
Y'know, I'm a major Xander fan, but I found myself focusing on Oz this time. Fabulous details! The blush after realizing he was naked (he's not as unflappable as I thought), the description of changing into the werewolf, then "He instinctively took a step back and Oz's head swung around to fix on him. Xander thought he might have seen sadness on that stretched face for a moment" (heartclench!), then his display of control over the beast.
And there's plot, too! Who's Alonso, and what does he want with the brown liquid?
Please, ma'am, may I have some more?
no subject
Plot! Imagine that. *grin*
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So sorry, chica; I could've *sworn* I waited to read the comment after I posted it, to make sure it was there, but I guess I didn't. And stupid LJ was double-posting every comment I made to
::kicks LJ into oblivion::
I liked this very much, especially scary!Oz. Because erp! I liked the bit where he changed, just a little, and the way you had Xander thinking of the way he used to be; nice contrast between Oz's new control, but his also-new willingness to be a prick to the prowler.
no subject
So happy you liked this chapter. I wanted to make sure I showed Oz in control but still dangerous when threatened. Wouldn't want Xander to forget what he's dealing with...
no subject
Oh, nice.
Xander's voice is still so, so great.
no subject
:: snergles you ::
no subject
Okay, now that only child syndrom seems to be calmed for now... Damn. Yes I would indeed like more when you are ready to give us more. I am well and truely hooked.
Is Paddy okay? Did he wake up? Oooooo *bounce*
no subject
I love Oz running out without his pants and then blushing when Xander points it out. And Xander's nervousness about wolf Oz and his words to the theif. Nice.
no subject
I need an Oz icon SO badly. Must go hunt for one later.
no subject
no subject