A/N: Please don't sue; I'm not making any money off this. Again, if I have made any mistakes with the Kindred aspect of this story, please find it in your heart to forgive me and realize that I haven't seen the show in years, I am not into the RPG, and this is an AU for both Kindred and BTVS. Thank you to those that did take the time to review. Your comments helped to make my day. For those that did read, but chose not to review, thanks anyway. At least you took the time to check it out.
Warning: Potty language, but it seems that this chapter was light on it. I am sure I'll make up for it in the next chapter or so.
Chapter 2
That night, Larry, Reed, Xander, and Larry's roommates went out to some sports bar that was not far from the apartment that they shared. The place was crowded, catering to a mostly young crowd. Best of all, they did not card.
They had a decent time. The Giants, at Chicago, were on the big screen, loosing badly. It was the top of the eighth, one to seven, the Cubs favor. Despite the humiliation being served to the Giants, the crowd was in a pretty jovial mood.
Out of habit, Xander kept scanning the crowd, looking for anything off, anything that screamed vampire. Oddly, for him, he saw nothing. Maybe he had been in Sunnydale way too long.
What he did not see was the Gangrel by the bar, watching Xander. She wondered how the young human could carry such wild, almost animalistic, power. The raw essence of it sang to her, calling to her blood. She felt her feral, gypsy nature being drawn to the human. She wondered if the Prince of the city would allow such an embrace. She wanted the human to join his kind. She knew that it would be a perfect match. Now she only had to get Cash on board.
The guys sat in the bar well past the end of the game, soaking up the atmosphere. Dade, Jarrett, and Tyler (Larry's roommates) spent the time flirting with several women, hoping that they would be lucky enough to at least get a number. Larry and Reed kept trying to draw Xander out of his melancholy mood that he had drifted into earlier.
Eventually it was Xander's turn to get the next pitcher of beer. He stood up, steady on his feet for he hardly had anything to drink. He figured that if one fought the dead on a regular occasion, it would not do to be half sloshed in the process. That would easily get you killed.
As he was ordering a pitcher of Budweiser Select, an attractive woman sidled up next to him. She was a few inches shorter than him, with long dark hair that reminded him of Cordillia. Her eyes were an intense shade of blue and were framed by the longest set of eyelashes available. Her body was shapely and muscular. She wasn't skeletal-skinny, like Buffy, but thin and strong, more like Faith.
Oh God, Faith, he mentally groaned. Don't go down that road buddy.
"Hi. I'm Emily," she said and offered him her hand, which Xander took automatically.
The moment their skin made contact, Xander's hyena instincts kicked in to gear. He looked her over, appraisingly, judging for himself if she was worth his time. A growl of approval was barely held in check. He liked what he saw.
"Hi back. I'm Xander," he responded, stepping closer to her, taking in her light, airy scent.
"That's an unusual name. Is it short for something?" Emily asked, liking how he was responding to her, liking how she was responding to her.
"It's short for Alexander. A friend from grade school couldn't say my full name so Xander kind of stuck," he explained, smiling directly at her.
"I see. So are you from around here? I come here a lot and I haven't seen you before."
Xander shook his head. "I came here for the weekend. A friend needed me to pick up a book for him and I wanted to visit a friend from school. He and his friends brought me here."
"Well, I am glad that they did. Where are you from?"
"Sunnydale, the gaping maw to Hell," Xander replied, a touch of bitterness in his voice.
"Sunnydale sounds like it isn't the greatest of places to be Alex. Are you going back soon?" Emily asked. She knew the truth about Sunnydale, the same as all vampires of the Masquerade. That town was unofficially off-limits to all clans except Primordial clan, the soulless demon vampires. While going there was not forbidden, it was considered a bad idea to do so. She was hoping that the human wouldn't suddenly disappear, lost to her forever.
Xander smiled at Emily's use of his name. It was nice, in a way, to be known as someone other than plain old Xander, even if it only involved a name change. "I have to be back for work on Monday," he said, disappointed in himself. He was really attracted to this woman, and he hated that he had responsibilities that took precedence.
"That's too bad. Do you think you'll head back up here anytime soon?" she asked, feeling hopeful.
"Maybe," Xander replied, "if the end of the world doesn't occur anytime soon. Is there some reason I should come back?" he asked, enjoying the flirting that was taking place between them.
"The end of the world; isn't that a just a bit over dramatic?" she questioned, a teasing smile on her lips.
Xander smiled. "Not really," he said, but offered no real explanation. He wasn't sure how he could explain life in Sunnydale without coming off as a total psycho. Explaining things to Reed was different; Larry had already laid the foundation, all he needed to do was add the details in. Also, Reed, according to Larry, had already had a run-in with the supernatural before they had met.
"So are you free tomorrow, even just for a little while? Maybe we can get together and find something fun to do. I was planning on going to the Conservatory of Flowers at Golden Gate Park. I know it's kind of a girl thing to do, but I really like plants." Emily asked, her blue eyes sincere
"I think so. Do you want to meet somewhere?" Xander asked, calculating how long he could stay in town before having to go back to Sunnydale.
"How about we meet at Golden Gate Park at nine? Will that work for you?" Emily asked, hope in her voice.
"Sure. How do I get there?" Xander asked.
Emily grabbed a napkin and quickly sketched a map for him to follow. She also included her cell phone, just incase he needed it.
Soon they parted company. Emily had gotten a call, from her boss she said, and had to go. With a light kiss, she promised to meet him tomorrow at the park. Xander, strangely happy at the thought of spending more time with the beautiful and mysterious Emily, reluctantly said good-bye to her and rejoined his friends at their table.
-xoxoxoxoxo-
The next morning, after heartily thanking Larry, Reed, and the roommates for their hospitality, Xander loaded up his car and headed off to Golden Gate Park, following Emily's detailed map.
Within a half an hour, he pulled into the parking lot in front of the Conservatory. Emily was sitting on a bench off to the side, wearing a tight, brown, AC-DC t-shirt, low slung jeans, and sandals. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her eyes were shaded by a pair of dark, wrap-around sunglasses. Overall, the effect looked casual yet hip. Xander hoped that he looked good to Emily.
Larry and Reed made Xander wash his good jeans and "loaned" him a long-sleeved red University of San Francisco t-shirt. While he appreciated their concern for him making a good impression, he felt as if he was being dressed up like a play thing or a project – kind of like what Cordellia or Buffy would have done.
"Hey there," Emily greeted him warmly.
"Hi back," Xander replied, smiling at her. "Shall we?" he asked, gesturing towards the glass building. Emily linked her arm though his and guided him inside. Despite her protests, Xander paid their admission fees.
They spent the next few hours touring the conservatory and the outside gardens. Emily seemed to enjoy the butterfly exhibit the most while Xander enjoyed the lowland tropical gardens the most. They both agreed that the plant named 'Ted' was disgusting and smelled like a rotting corpse; it did not help that for the both of them, their sense of smell was elevated, thus intensifying the putrid odor the exotic plant gave off.
While they wandered the gardens, they talked about their lives, their families, but at the same time they were guarded in what they could say. Xander was careful to avoid mentioning any of the supernatural events of Sunnydale, while Emily was careful to not mention anything about the Kindred or the Masquerade.
Despite having big chunks of their lives off limits, they talked about their childhoods, their likes and dislikes, television shows that they both liked, and other normal stuff that people discussed on a first date.
Too soon, it was getting late and Xander had to get back to Sunnydale.
"So, do you think you might come back up here anytime soon?" Emily asked.
"Only if I get to see you again," Xander said, grinning at her. "Would it be okay if I gave you a call sometime this week?"
"That would be nice," she said smiling, internally praying that nothing would happen to him in Sunnydale.
"Cool," he said.
He wasn't sure on how to end this date. He wanted to kiss her; not shove his tongue down her throat, though that did have its own appeal, but he was not certain what her reaction would be.
Luckily, Emily solved that problem for him by leaning in and kissing him herself.
The kiss itself was tender and sweet, but held its own intensity. Her Gangrel nature, the passionate, gypsy side to her personality meshed nicely with his animalistic, hyena-tinged, yet intensely loyal nature. They fit, they could both tell instantly, together.
Xander could not wait to talk to her again.
A/N: Thanks for reading, and as ever, feel free to hit that shiny button and do the review thing.
