A Burnett Anniversary
Disclaimer: Disney's, not mine, making no profit, yadda yadda yadda…
Summary: The Burnett's anniversary is just around the corner. What can an icy majordomo and an irrepressible trickster do to make this one unforgettable evening? Kristi's about to find out…
Note: This story comes a month or so after 'Reflections', set in mid 2004… I wasn't originally going to do chapters… but hey… plans change…
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David Xanatos glanced across at his friend in concern. The blond man had been… less than focused all morning. He didn't respond immediately when his name was called, he'd gotten to the meeting late and he'd nearly driven through a red light. It was like he was possessed by…
"Owen, you can go now, the light's green."
"Huh?" Just as he had suspected; that wasn't Owen's voice. He sighed.
"Something bothering you, Puck? You've been distracted all morning." Owen frowned slightly.
"I'm sorry sir. I'm just… finding it difficult to concentrate." Xanatos smirked. "Yes, well, we've established that. Now we're trying to find out why."
Owen raised an eyebrow at the billionaire's teasing tone. Wise guy, Puck thought silently. Owen ignored him and glanced across at the waiting man. A bicycle came out of nowhere, forcing the majordomo to slam on the brakes.
"Shit!" Puck's voice, of course; the small elf's language could get fairly colorful. Owen looked over at Xanatos, mortification written all over his face. Xanatos held up a hand.
"Just pull over. I think I'll drive."
Five minutes later, Xanatos was heading steadily toward the Aerie, questioning Owen, who was slouching in the passenger seat, eyes closed.
"Out with it. Kids, career, Kristi… feel free to stop me when I get close." A very un- Owen like smirk crossed the majordomo's face. "Why don't you just leave the man alone?"
Xanatos sighed. Puck could be so annoying. "Why don't you just mind your own damn business? I was talking to Owen."
Manners, Davie boy, manners. Puck thoughtWhat Owen said aloud was "Sorry sir; he's just being difficult." When Xanatos nodded, he continued.
"It's Kristi. Tomorrow's our anniversary and I want to do something special for her." Xanatos smiled. "I take it we're talking about more than just dinner and slow dancing, then." Owen sighed and sat up.
"She's done so much for me this year; I want to show her how much I appreciate that." He frowned slightly. "I'm just not sure if there's anything I can give her that really expresses how I feel."
Shaking his head, Xanatos turned left. Owen must really be worried; it wasn't often he let his feelings get so close to the surface. And if Owen was worried, Puck had to be in even worse condition.
"I won't believe you're completely out of ideas." Owen gave a faint smile. "I'm not. But none of them are plausible."
"Look," Xanatos said, turning the car into the Aerie's parking lot. "Kristi's crazy about you. Both of you. Whatever the two of you come up with, I guarantee she'll be thrilled."
Owen paused for a moment, considering the billionaire's words. Xanatos watched the light dawn across his friend's face. "Both of us…"
Locking the car, Xanatos raised an eyebrow. "I take it you've solved your problems." Owen gave a faint smile. "What problems, sir?"
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"Mommy! Tell Tori to leave me alone!" Kristienne Burnett sighed for the fifth time in as many minutes. She had volunteered to pick Tori up from school because she knew her husband wouldn't have gotten away from his meeting in time, but having both of her children in the Jeep was a recipe for disaster. She met their eyes in the mirror.
"Tori, honey, leave your brother alone. Kyros, stop trying to pull your sister's hair."
Honestly, she didn't know how Owen handled it. Then again, she doubted they gave him the same amount of trouble they gave her. Even Alex didn't give him trouble anymore. She had to remember to ask him his secret.
At that moment, her phone rang. Speak of the fairy… She attached her earpiece. "Hi, honey!" A smile worked its way onto her face. "Yes, I've got Tori."
She turned into an intersection and frowned slightly. "No, Fox hasn't called me. Why?" She raised an eyebrow. "She wants me to pick her up tomorrow? From where?" Listening to her husband's response, Kristi pulled off the highway and into a quiet housing area.
"Another photo shoot? But she had one last week!" She stopped to let an old couple cross the street.
"Well, ok. I haven't had a chance to have a real talk with her recently." She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Right, like you and Mr. X don't talk about us behind our backs."
Kristi stopped in front of a large cream house with a fountain in the middle of the driveway behind the gates. She pressed a button on her remote control and the gates swung inwards. "Whatever, trickster." The Jeep rolled quietly past the fountain and parked in front of the double French doors.
Kristi glanced back at her two children; Kyros was sleeping and Tori was staring out of the window. She smiled. "So you'll be home in an hour? Okay. Bye honey. I love you too." Opening the door, she sighed.
"Come on, sweetness; let's get your brother inside."
Fox Xanatos slid into bed next to her husband. "Night, David!" she chirped cheerfully, making herself comfortable. He stared at her back for thirty whole seconds before blowing out an exasperated breath.
"You're not going to tell me, are you?"
"Tell you what, dear?" David closed his eyes and counted to three before answering.
"What you and Owen were giggling about this afternoon." Fox made a sound that was somewhere between a giggle and a sneeze.
"David, you know as well as I do that Owen doesn't giggle."
"You know what I mean."
Fox turned, mischief glinting in her cobalt eyes. "What, I can't talk with my friends?" David raised an eyebrow.
"From since when was Owen your friend?"
"From since this afternoon." David glared at her. Fox chuckled and kissed him on the nose. "Go to sleep."
"No!"
"Suit yourself." The redhead rolled over and snuggled under the covers. David whipped them off. Fox turned around and gave him an incredulous look. "You're not serious!"
"Yes, I am! This is about their anniversary, isn't it?" Fox smirked at him. "You mean he told you what he was planning and not me?"
"Looks like it. Can I have the sheet back now?"
"No. Why would he tell you?" Fox's eyes glowed green and the sheet wrenched itself from David's grasp, settling over her.
"Because I'm the gorgeous one, remember?" David made a noise in his throat. Fox groaned. "He told me because I'm helping him. And he didn't tell you because Puck won't let him. He said something about payback for telling him to shut up earlier."
"Why that little…"
"You'll find out what's going on tomorrow. I'm not going to tell you and Owen can't tell you. Just let the surprises unfold."
"Surprises?" David turned off the light and wrapped an arm around his wife. Tomorrow was going to be interesting.
pppppppp
The scent of hot chocolate pancakes wafted into Kristienne Burnett's bedroom, rousing her from her sleep. Yawning, she sat up and looked at the empty pillow next to her. A grin slowly spread across the hybrid's face and she twisted her wedding ring. She knew he'd remember.
As if sensing her thinking about him, Owen appeared at the door holding a silver breakfast tray. His eyes met hers and he gave that faint smile which she still found adorable.
"Breakfast in bed? Careful, you might spoil me." The blond man raised an eyebrow.
"That was the effect I was hoping for." he stated, walking around to her side of the bed and giving her a kiss. "Happy anniversary, honey."
"Mmph," she giggled into his mouth. He always tasted like cappuccino in the morning, and she pulled away reluctantly. He set the tray down carefully on her lap and the aroma wafted upwards making the hybrid giggle again. "Well, if I wasn't awake, I am now." She glanced at the tray and cocked her head to the side, considering.
The pancakes were light pink and the chocolate syrup was blue and white. Picking up a fork, she poked at them gently. Owen chuckled. "They're perfectly safe." Kristi gave him an innocent look.
"Of course they are! I'm just not used to smelling chocolate and seeing pink pancakes." She gave him a sidelong glance. "You let Puck fool around in the kitchen, didn't you?"
Owen sniffed, but the twinkle in his eye confirmed what she suspected. Shaking her head, she speared a piece of pancake on her fork, wiped it in blue syrup, closed her eyes and put it in her mouth.
"Well?"
Kristi cracked open an eye. "It's pink." Owen shot her a disbelieving look, and the hybrid smiled. She put down the fork, placed her fingers under Owen's chin and pulled him in for a slow kiss, breaking apart only when she started to feel dizzy.
"I was just kidding, trickster," she said to a panting Owen. "They're delicious. Thank you." She ruffled his hair and started devouring the rest of them. The blond man smiled and got up.
"Don't thank me yet, I'm not finished spoiling you." Kristi paused, fork halfway to her mouth.
"There's more?"
Owen shot her a hooded smile over his shoulder on his way to the bathroom. "Eat your pancakes." Kristi pouted, but a grin forced its way onto her face.
"Naughty or nice?"
"You'll have to wait to find out," said Puck's voice as Owen closed the door. Kristi stared after him for a while. Something about the way he'd said that had just sent chills down her spine. She didn't have a doubt that today would be full of surprises.
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"Bye, Elisa!" Matt Bluestone called out to his partner as he walked out the precinct doors. He squinted at the sun and pulled on his shades. Finally, he had a weekend off.
"Matt! Matt! Wait up!" The redhead turned to see Elisa Maza running down the steps after him, raven ponytail flying. He smiled; she'd given up the black tee and blue jeans in favour of blue turtlenecks and black jeans. The sneakers were also gone, replaced by heeled black boots. She'd lost the red jacket last year and had replaced it with a black one.
A lot of changes, but she was still the same reliable partner.
"I forgot to tell you good luck," the tawny skinned detective panted, hand on hips. A nervous grin spread across Matt's face. Only Elisa knew about his plans to propose to Mandy tonight.
"I just hope she says yes," he said, climbing into his car. Elisa patted him on the shoulder.
"She'd be crazy not to."
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Eight year old Alexander Xanatos glanced from his mother to his father cautiously. The two of them had been acting… weirdly all morning. His mother was overly absorbed in her omelette and his father couldn't seem to keep still.
The table was too quiet; he missed their usual easy chatter. The only thing his mother had said this morning besides "Morning, sweetheart," had been "Could you pass the salt, please?"
He frowned. Maybe they were mad at each other. That option was dismissed as quickly as it came to his mind. His parents weren't ones to hide how they felt from him. If they weren't speaking, they wouldn't have come to the table together. Then where did all this tension come from?
It was almost as if they were waiting on something…
"You think too much, kiddo." Although he registered the clatter of his mother's fork and his father's muffled curse, Alex didn't look up.
"Mornin', Uncle Puck."
"Well that was enthusiastic." Alex looked up and smiled.
David glared at the grinning trickster floating above the breakfast table. "Don't you ever knock?" Puck smirked.
"There's no door, Davie boy." Before David had a chance to retort, Puck had changed into Owen who was smoothing wrinkles from his Armani suit, and throwing an apologetic look in David's direction.
"Good morning, Mr. Xanatos, Mrs. Xanatos." Fox sidled over to the majordomo, a sly smile on her face.
"Hello, Owen. We were just talking about you." Alex frowned.
"No we…" One glare from his mother finished his sentence. The young boy hurriedly corrected himself. "I'm gonna be late for school; bye mom, bye dad, bye Owen! Happy anniversary!" He disappeared in a flash of fire gold light.
Fox chuckled. "Poor kid."
David mumbled something unintelligible and went back to his breakfast. "You two aren't going to fill me in are you?" Owen raised an eyebrow and looked at Fox.
"You didn't tell him?" The redhead shrugged.
"Puck told me not to." A collage of expressions crossed the blond man's face- apologetic, self-satisfied, indignant, sly and, finally, defeated. This strange phenomenon took less than five seconds.
"Well?" Owen glanced at David.
"He's not happy, but he's agreed to your knowing about it."
Fox sighed. "And I was having so much fun."
"Knowing about what?" David asked, getting up. Owen and Fox shared a glance.
"Just follow us." With that, the trio disappeared in a burst of green light.
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"Are you two insane?" Puck grinned at Fox.
"I think he likes it."
"Of course I like it! But can it be done?"
Puck frowned slightly. "In theory, yes."
David raised an eyebrow. "In theory? You've never done this before?"
Puck rolled his eyes. "Of course I have. But I'm not doing it- she is."
"Huh?" David looked over at his wife who sat with her eyes closed as if she was trying to concentrate. "Why can't you do it?"
Sighing, Puck placed a hand over his eyes. Mortals could be so difficult sometimes. "Because," he said patiently, as if explaining something to a small child, "It would be the equivalent of performing open heart surgery on myself. I need someone to do it for me."
David looked at his wife doubtfully. "And you picked Fox?"
The redhead sniffed. "Your faith in my abilities is reassuring, David." He gave her a sheepish look. "Sorry."
"I had considered Alex, but the kid's just been too jumpy lately. And besides, he'd tell Kristi." Puck turned to Fox. "You ready?"
She let out a shuddering breath. "As ready as I'll ever be."
"You'll do fine." Puck assured her. He refused to think about all the things that could go wrong. He shot David a glance. "You might want to stand back."
Fox's eyes started to glow green and her hair was whipped by an unfelt wind. Puck forced himself to relax; nervousness wouldn't help.
Swirling specks of green light appeared in front of Fox and coalesced into two large, glowing balls of energy in her outstretched hands. She hovered about four inches off the floor as two glowing ribbons of blue energy looped themselves around her waist and arms; the still unfelt wind seemed to become stiffer, blowing the Halfling's hair behind her like a waves in storm.
David shielded his eyes from the glare of the light and glanced over at Puck. He hoped the small elf knew what he was doing.
Fox closed her eyes and the foxhead tattoo over her right eye started to glow. When she spoke, her echoing voice filled the room.
"Inside the Puck,
"Two men have merged;
"But I now command you both
"Diverge!"
Her eyes snapped open and the two balls of light flew from her hands, hitting Puck squarely in the chest.
The small trickster gasped and was enveloped in a blue and green whirlwind. Then he disappeared completely, leaving only a shower of sparks.
David looked over at his wife in alarm; the redhead was still hovering above the ground, eyes open, tattoo still glowing. Her eyes had gone wide with fear.
Suddenly, there was a rush of air and Puck appeared, still glowing blue and green. The small elf appeared to be in some sort of distress; his usually mischievous face was set in a grimace of pain. But his blue eyes locked with Fox's frantic ones, reassuring her.
The whirlwind started again, but this time David could make out the shapes of two people. Fox's eyes stopped glowing and both Owen and Puck dropped to the ground, looking dazed.
KKKKK
I think I'm going to be sick, Puck thought, attempting to sit upright. Waves of nausea racked his body every time he tried to move and he closed his eyes. He had seen the negative effects of this spell on others but hadn't thought it would have affected him in the same way. After all, he wasn't mortal.
He felt a movement next to him and opened an eye to see Owen sitting up. It worked! he thought to himself gleefully, momentarily forgetting about the nausea.
"Puck! Are you alright?" The platinum haired trickster groaned. So much for forgetting about the nausea.
"Owen, is this normal?" Fox's voice was right above him.
"I believe so, Mrs. Xanatos. He'll be fine in a few minutes." Owen's voice, also above him. For some reason the sound of the majordomo's voice caused the nausea to decrease. Puck sighed in relief. He opened his eyes fully to peer into three concerned faces.
Mentally checking himself to make sure he was in one piece, he floated next to Owen. "You okay?"
The blond man nodded. "Apparently."
Fox cocked her head to a side. "You know, Kristi's right. The two of you do resemble each other."
The two blond men gave her identical unreadable expressions and the redhead had to suppress a chuckle. David cocked his head to a side and considered. "So… what's next?"
"Well," both Puck and Owen began. Puck grinned, and Owen raised an eyebrow and nodded at the elf to continue.
"We've still got lots of things to do. We weren't even sure this would work properly."
"How long can you two survive like this?" David gave Owen a concerned glance. Fox answered for him.
"Until someone puts them back together again. Unfortunately, that's going to be tricky; it takes experience."
"Kristi would be able to do it." Owen said, adjusting his glasses. Puck nodded in agreement, then he grinned.
"C'mon, kids! We've still got work do!"
Kkiiiiii
Okay, here's the first chapter… the next one I'll hopefully have up soon (even though I'm swamped with tests sigh)… Love it? Hate it? Let me know… oh, and if you hate it… only helpful criticism… I really have no use for anything else…. Thanks…