aimeelicious (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
aimeelicious) wrote2004-03-08 06:57 pm
aimeelicious) wrote2004-03-08 06:57 pm
fic
On my drive home from work tonight my brain started writing a story. The pairing is Oz/Xander, which is extremely odd, and I think inspired by my Angstathon assignment which also involves Oz, a character I've never written before. But the muse will not be ignored even though I tried to interrupt and demand vampires, so on with the show.
I have no name for this yet, and honestly I'm not sure if it will degenerate into smut, or stay more of a friendship thing. Basically it's sometime past 'Chosen', at this point I have no plans to mention anything from the current season of Angel.
Xander looked at the crumpled paper in his hand, and back at the house. It seemed so...neat. Not at all like someone with purple hair might live inside. Then again, the hair might be blue these days, or pink, or even back to normal, whatever that was. Were those *flowers* planted by the front steps? Xander shook his head and shut off the car. He hadn't driven all this way just to sit in the street.
Walking up to the door he couldn't help but peer around at the neighborhood. Typical suburbia, lots of green lawns and painted shutters. Weird. He knocked first, then noticed the doorbell off to the side and rang that too. Might as well cover all the bases. After a few minutes, no-one answered so Xander wandered around the side of the house, still marveling at the evident existence of landscaping, and found his goal snoozing in a hammock, oblivious to the pleasant if bland world around him.
He sat down on the steps of the deck and watched the man sleeping peacefully. Oz was usually pretty still anyway, except when going all wolflike, but he seemed even more still in a state of rest. Xander marveled at that too, since he almost never got rid of his need to fidget, even if it didn't actually translate into movement. In fact, he was feeling twitchy after only a few minutes of sitting.
"Oz" he said quietly, trying to wake him up without startling him.
"Xander", said Oz, without opening his eyes.
"How'd you know it was me? And, hey, you're awake!" Xander was bit put off by the fact that he'd been caught staring, although he really hadn't since Oz hadn't actually seen him and he looked pretty good with brown hair and...Xander put the smack down on his brain. This really was not the time for internal babbling.
Oz slowly sat up and swung his feet over the hammock to reach the ground. He rubbed his eyes and asked "Coming?" Without waiting for an answer he was off and into the kitchen, so Xander trailed behind, impressed as always by Oz's ability to not only avoid answering questions, but generally manage communication with two words or less.
There was amicable silence as Xander took in his surroundings and Oz got himself a soda from the fridge.
"So, I have something to tell you," Xander said, tilting his head unconsciously in a Spike-like way.
"Figured you might," replied Oz. Xander waited for more but when none was forthcoming he spoke again.
"We need you to come back."
There was a pause, and then "Why?" asked Oz, his face as blank as Xander remembered.
Xander decided to go with the synopsis, which was pretty much all he had to work with anyway. "Willow needs you to balance her so she can do some big spell against a Thyrajian demon."
Something flashed in the other man's eyes at the name of his former girlfriend, but there was no other sign of response.
"What do you mean by balance?" Oz inquired, no inflection in his voice.
"Well, not totally clear on that but she said it has something to do with the whole dark magick thing affecting her...wait, you know about that right? Someone filled you in?"
The corner of Oz's lips curved up slightly. "Yes Xander. Willow keeps in touch."
Xander frowned at the shiver that went through him when Oz said his name, but he was too puzzled about the 'Willow keeps in touch' statement to dwell on it. He had been under the impression that Willow and Oz hadn't spoken in a long time, since way before she went all bad & veiny. Of course, she'd made up for it with the whole make-lots-of-slayers-from-one-scythe-spell, but...again with the mental tangents! There really should be focus. Maybe he needed Ritalin. Or a nap. He scratched at his eye patch absently.
"When was the last time you guys talked?"
"Three days ago. She told me to expect you."
This time Xander was really baffled. If Willow had been talking to Oz, why had he been sent all the way across the country to talk to him too? Unexpectedly, Oz volunteered information for the first time.
"She said you needed to come here."
Xander didn't feel like that helped, because his message could have easily been delivered over the phone from the very person it pertained to! He looked into hazel eyes that held a hint of mirth at Xander's confusion.
"Why?" it was Xander's turn to ask this time.
"Don't know, but I'm not supposed to let you leave until we figure it out."
"We?"
Oz apparently decided to treat that one as rhetorical.
Xander sank down into a chair. There was nothing for him out here. And Oz, while an ok guy, had never been his favourite person for what he'd done to Willow. So what crazy mission had his red-headed buddy sent him on?
"So...does this mean there's no Thyrajian demon?" he inquired of the shorter man.
"Not to my knowledge."
"Huh. So I'm in Oregon with someone I haven't seen in years for some unknown reason my best friend hasn't told either of us?" Xander muttered, almost under his breath.
"Yep."
"Why aren't you the least bit wigged about this? There could be some nasty prophecy or apocalypse involved, I always seem to find out about them on the late side when they involve me. Lot of demons usually, they get sucked right into my tractor beam. You don't want any part of that." Xander's rambling ran out of steam.
This time Oz genuinely smiled, then simply said, "Dinner?"
I have no name for this yet, and honestly I'm not sure if it will degenerate into smut, or stay more of a friendship thing. Basically it's sometime past 'Chosen', at this point I have no plans to mention anything from the current season of Angel.
Xander looked at the crumpled paper in his hand, and back at the house. It seemed so...neat. Not at all like someone with purple hair might live inside. Then again, the hair might be blue these days, or pink, or even back to normal, whatever that was. Were those *flowers* planted by the front steps? Xander shook his head and shut off the car. He hadn't driven all this way just to sit in the street.
Walking up to the door he couldn't help but peer around at the neighborhood. Typical suburbia, lots of green lawns and painted shutters. Weird. He knocked first, then noticed the doorbell off to the side and rang that too. Might as well cover all the bases. After a few minutes, no-one answered so Xander wandered around the side of the house, still marveling at the evident existence of landscaping, and found his goal snoozing in a hammock, oblivious to the pleasant if bland world around him.
He sat down on the steps of the deck and watched the man sleeping peacefully. Oz was usually pretty still anyway, except when going all wolflike, but he seemed even more still in a state of rest. Xander marveled at that too, since he almost never got rid of his need to fidget, even if it didn't actually translate into movement. In fact, he was feeling twitchy after only a few minutes of sitting.
"Oz" he said quietly, trying to wake him up without startling him.
"Xander", said Oz, without opening his eyes.
"How'd you know it was me? And, hey, you're awake!" Xander was bit put off by the fact that he'd been caught staring, although he really hadn't since Oz hadn't actually seen him and he looked pretty good with brown hair and...Xander put the smack down on his brain. This really was not the time for internal babbling.
Oz slowly sat up and swung his feet over the hammock to reach the ground. He rubbed his eyes and asked "Coming?" Without waiting for an answer he was off and into the kitchen, so Xander trailed behind, impressed as always by Oz's ability to not only avoid answering questions, but generally manage communication with two words or less.
There was amicable silence as Xander took in his surroundings and Oz got himself a soda from the fridge.
"So, I have something to tell you," Xander said, tilting his head unconsciously in a Spike-like way.
"Figured you might," replied Oz. Xander waited for more but when none was forthcoming he spoke again.
"We need you to come back."
There was a pause, and then "Why?" asked Oz, his face as blank as Xander remembered.
Xander decided to go with the synopsis, which was pretty much all he had to work with anyway. "Willow needs you to balance her so she can do some big spell against a Thyrajian demon."
Something flashed in the other man's eyes at the name of his former girlfriend, but there was no other sign of response.
"What do you mean by balance?" Oz inquired, no inflection in his voice.
"Well, not totally clear on that but she said it has something to do with the whole dark magick thing affecting her...wait, you know about that right? Someone filled you in?"
The corner of Oz's lips curved up slightly. "Yes Xander. Willow keeps in touch."
Xander frowned at the shiver that went through him when Oz said his name, but he was too puzzled about the 'Willow keeps in touch' statement to dwell on it. He had been under the impression that Willow and Oz hadn't spoken in a long time, since way before she went all bad & veiny. Of course, she'd made up for it with the whole make-lots-of-slayers-from-one-scythe-spell, but...again with the mental tangents! There really should be focus. Maybe he needed Ritalin. Or a nap. He scratched at his eye patch absently.
"When was the last time you guys talked?"
"Three days ago. She told me to expect you."
This time Xander was really baffled. If Willow had been talking to Oz, why had he been sent all the way across the country to talk to him too? Unexpectedly, Oz volunteered information for the first time.
"She said you needed to come here."
Xander didn't feel like that helped, because his message could have easily been delivered over the phone from the very person it pertained to! He looked into hazel eyes that held a hint of mirth at Xander's confusion.
"Why?" it was Xander's turn to ask this time.
"Don't know, but I'm not supposed to let you leave until we figure it out."
"We?"
Oz apparently decided to treat that one as rhetorical.
Xander sank down into a chair. There was nothing for him out here. And Oz, while an ok guy, had never been his favourite person for what he'd done to Willow. So what crazy mission had his red-headed buddy sent him on?
"So...does this mean there's no Thyrajian demon?" he inquired of the shorter man.
"Not to my knowledge."
"Huh. So I'm in Oregon with someone I haven't seen in years for some unknown reason my best friend hasn't told either of us?" Xander muttered, almost under his breath.
"Yep."
"Why aren't you the least bit wigged about this? There could be some nasty prophecy or apocalypse involved, I always seem to find out about them on the late side when they involve me. Lot of demons usually, they get sucked right into my tractor beam. You don't want any part of that." Xander's rambling ran out of steam.
This time Oz genuinely smiled, then simply said, "Dinner?"