Uncommon Knowledge Chapter 4: Revelations and Propositions
Disclaimer: Don't own them. Wish I did, then I wouldn't be working more than fifty hours a week somewhere I hate. As it is, Xander and Marie are the respective properties of Mutant Enemy and Marvel productions. Despite a certain reviewer, who shall remain nameless, trying to kill her off, Tammy is mine, though she's for sale if you want her.
Dedication: To my wonderful and beautiful fiancée. I love you!
Special Thanks: To my wonderful readers and reviewers, thanks for putting up with me. Hence my trying to get this up before the weekend, I'd call it a special treat, but I'm not sure how good it really is.but you know how muses can be when they speak, you must write.
Her body went rigid, the straw through which she'd been drinking her milkshake dropping silently back into her glass. He'd asked the question. The one question who's answer she'd been running from since that afternoon with Cody three months ago; since her first kiss. Desperately, she tried to pretend that the words had had no effect on her. " A mutant?" she asked softly with a forced laugh, " Do Ah look like Ah have horns or a tail or something? Ah'm just a normal girl.just like Tammy." she paused " Ok, so maybe a little brighter than her but still, Ah'm human, honest." Carefully, she slid her hand under the tabletop, trying to surreptitiously grasp her duffel in case she had to run again. What she didn't expect was to feel her gloved hand slipping into Xander's, or to see the knowing, yet compassionate smile on his face.
"Hey, it's ok," he said softly, leaning towards her and giving her hand a gentle squeeze, " I'm not going to run screaming into the night because I'm sitting with a mutant. Even if you do have horns, or a tail hidden somewhere, and granted, I haven't seen the whole package here, it still wouldn't bother me. Given the things I've seen over the past three years, the things I've had to do, sharing a meal of sorts with an attractive young woman who just happens to be a mutant is way down there on the list of horrible experiences." He gave her hand another gentle squeeze before releasing it and leaning back, waiting to see how she'd react. Marie slowly pulled her hand back out from under the table, wrapping both of them around her milkshake and staring into it as if it held the answers to life's greatest mysteries. Finally, after several long moments, she raised her eyes to meet his, and seeing absolutely no judgment in them asked, " How did you know?"
The question took Xander aback for a moment, he'd expected her to try to run, to keep denying it, to try and change the subject; anything but the veiled admission. " Just put everything together so far. Your reaction to the Vampire in the alley, for starters, most people who aren't used to them generally beg for their lives. You on the other hand, tried to warn him away from something. And then there was how he reacted to touching you, almost like he was weakened. I've never been able to stake one that easily before. I usually end up with a few bumps and bruises before they turn to dust. Whatever you did, thanks for the assist." Something akin to pain flashed across her eyes as the words left his mouth * Great Xander, she obviously isn't comfortable with it and you're acting like she planned on being attacked. * Hurriedly he continued, " of course there was your reaction to the news report a couple minutes ago. But the clincher, that would be your reaction to me asking if you were. A little tip, never play poker Marie, you can't bluff to save your life."
A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, " So that really was a Vampire in the alley? Ah still can't quite believe it. Ah guess Ah shouldn't be surprised though, Ah'm obviously damned with this power, or whatever you want to call it, Ah guess it's only right that there are other damned souls out there too." She paused, studying him carefully, " And you say you've fought these things before, Ah'm guessing probably some things worse too considering how you've been talking about having to see and do horrible things. So it's my turn now. Are you a mutant too?" Xander was about to answer when he noticed Tammy walking back to the table. " Here's you're check, no rush. Just pay whenever you're ready" she said, setting it down and walking off again.
" I think we're being told in a very polite way that she wants us out of here," Xander said, raising a hand to forestall the protest he could see in Marie's eyes, " And no, I'm not just trying to avoid the question either. I'm not much of a poker player myself. I just think it might be a little better if we talk about things in private. I have a room at a cheap motel not to far from here if you're.." He trailed off as he noticed her slow and deliberate removal of her leather gloves.
" Ah should have known. You really think that you can buy me off with a milkshake and expect me to go to bed with you?," she stepped out of her chair and stood next to his, effectively cutting off any escape he had in mind. * She's good * the soldier whispered in Xander's mind. " Well come on, Mr. hero.," she continued, " why don't you try and take me? See if you like it any more than the last guy who.." She trailed off, shaking away the memory and bringing her hands closer to his face, not caring if Tammy realized just what she was. * Hell * Marie thought * It might just be worth it to see her face when she realizes that she served a mutant.* She expected him to try to talk his way out of it, to try to run, maybe even take a swing at her, anything other than just sitting there and waiting. There was something in the way that he looked at her that made her drop her hands back to her sides and sit down. " What?" She asked, clearly annoyed.
Xander let go the breathe he hadn't even been aware of holding, " I'm not afraid of you Marie." He said softly, " And I wasn't trying to get you into bed either. At least, not with me. I was going to say, if you were interested we could continue this conversation there. Or on the way there, anywhere but here really. And if you wanted, you'd be more than welcome to the bed for the night. I don't mind the couch, and it's fairly obvious that it would beat the streets, tonight anyway. That is, unless you want to try your luck with alleys again." He smiled. Marie sat back, shocked. * First he saves my life, and now he offers me his bed while he takes the couch. Maybe Ah died back in that alley and he's really an Angel* she thought.
" Ah'm sorry" she whispered. " Ah didn't mean to accuse you of..well.you know. It's just that it's not everyday a girl gets rescued by a modern day knight, or prince charming or something" She noticed the slight tensing of his muscles when she referred to him as a knight and made a mental note to ask him about that later. * Maybe he really is some sort of knight* she wondered * dedicated to fighting off monsters and saving women and all that. Ah hope dragons aren't real, Vampires are bad enough". Realizing that he hadn't spoken for a couple moments she added, " Ah'm fine with going back to your room Xander, Ah trust you. If you'll excuse me, Ah'll just hit the little girl's room and then we can head out." Xander nodded and grabbed Tammy's attention, indicating that they were ready to pay as Marie went off to the women's room. .
When she returned, she found Xander standing against the front door of the diner, her duffel slung over one shoulder. A careless smile spread across his features as she approached, making her go weak in the knees with the realization of how attractive he was. * And he actually doesn't give a damn that Ah'm a mutant * the thought flitted across her brain, followed closely by the darker * He'll care when he tries to kiss me and Ah put him in a coma for three months. Ah might as well forget him. Ah can't touch, no matter how much Ah want to.* With a smile of her own, she asked, " All set?" In response, his smile widened and he nodded, holding the door for her * And of course, he just has to be a gentleman* As soon as the door closed behind them, Marie whirled on him, " So, Mr. Not Avoiding the Question, are you or aren't you a mutant too"
Xander offered her his arm, only slightly surprised when she actually took it, and began walking towards his car, " Almost, but not quite yes. " he said, noticing the questioning look she gave him he explained " My junior year of high school, my friends and I were investigating the disappearance of members of our swim team. I decided to go undercover on the team to find out what the deal was. It turned out that the coach and school nurse were using a steroid mist, developed by the soviet union to improve their Olympic swimmers, on the team. Not a horrible plan, unless you count turning into a mutant fish man and ripping out of your skin after a few exposures to the steroid. A timely plasma transfer got it out of my system before I could change." Marie stopped, staring at him as if he was insane. " What can I say, I went to a pretty unusual school," he shrugged, managing to get her walking again. Opening the passenger side door of the beautiful old car, he added, " I guess you could say that I have a vague idea of what it's like to be a mutant."
Pushing the other questions that sprang to mind about his high school to the back of her mind for the moment, Marie waited for him to settle into the driver's seat before snapping. " How on earth could you have any idea at all what it's like to be a mutant? Because you almost were turned into one.which I don't quite believe by the way...big deal. You're still human. You don't have to worry about your rights being legislated because of some twist of genetics. You didn't put the first person you ever cared about into a coma with just a kiss." She began to break down a bit, tears freely flowing down her cheeks, though she didn't notice them, " You don't know what it's like to have your sleep interrupted because you steal pieces of people's minds when you touch them and you can't control it. You can't possibly have any clue what it's like to have someone else's thoughts in your head telling you to do things you'd rather die than do."
Xander glanced over at her, putting the car into drive and maneuvering out of the parking lot, " There are some tissues in the glove box," he said kindly," And, you're right. I never put the first person I kissed into a coma. I did however cause the first woman I truly loved to get impaled on a rusty spike when she caught me kissing my best friend. And, thanks to the wackiness of my home town, I do have an idea of what it's like to have your mind hijacked by someone else's thoughts . Sophomore year, we took a trip to the local zoo. Should have been a nice normal trip, right? " Marie nodded, wondering where this was going. " Well, thanks to the primal spirit worshipping Zookeeper, I ended up being possessed by the spirit of a hyena. During which time, I ate our live school mascot, and attempted to rape my friend Buffy because the hyena thought she would make a good mate. That would have been bad enough to deal with, in and of itself. But in our Junior year, thanks to a chaos worshipping Englishman, everyone in town almost became whatever it was they had dressed as for Halloween. I chose to be a soldier..and lets just say the back story I cooked up for the guy wasn't the nicest in the world. What I wasn't aware of was that I'd end up being kicked to the passenger seat in my own body as his persona took over. I still have all the memories of both the hyena and the soldier. In fact, they've become more active in my mind since I was almost car jacked in New Mexico. I've got a theory that it's to keep me alive now that they've returned to the forefront of my mind, their instincts and skills have kept me out of more trouble than I care to think about. And sometimes, like tonight for example, they come in handy and let me save someone. And here we are.." he said, pulling into a parking spot out front of a dingy motel.
Marie sat, stunned, in the passenger seat as he exited the car and walked to her side. Here was someone, who if he could be believed, actually did have a clue what she was going through. She looked up in surprise as he opened her door, and carefully climbed out, grabbing her duffel and following him up to the second floor room he rented. " You're serious?" she stated, more than asked, not at all surprised by the affirmative nod he gave in answer. " Just where the hell did you go to school that all this could possibly happen? I think I'll try and avoid that area if at all possible."
" Sunnydale California," he said, bumping the door open with his shoulder and holding it for her. " If you're interested, I can tell you a little more about the real reality of the world a bit later. And if you wouldn't mind, I have a few questions about being a mutant. You're the only one I've ever met who hasn't immediately tried to kill me, and who can speak. Kind of rare to find those traits in the same person in my experience," he smiled.
" Why later?" she asked, walking in and sitting on the god awful orange sofa in the room. It was surprisingly comfortable.
" I thought you might like to take a shower first," he said. " There's an extra towel in the bathroom and a fairly soft bathrobe thing in there too if you're worried about exposed skin or anything like that." Marie's eyes lit up almost immediately, a shower. A real shower, hot water. How long had it been since she'd actually felt hot water running over her body? However there was just one little problem.
" Ah don't exactly have much in the way of night clothes" she said sheepishly, looking away. " Ah usually just sleep in whatever Ah'm wearing, wherever I fall."
" Not a problem," Xander said, " That is if you don't mind showing a little school spirit for a school that you never attended." Walking to the dresser he pulled out his Sunnydale swim team t-shirt, which was more than long enough to reach past her knees and tossed it to the grateful young woman. " Go ahead, enjoy your shower. I'll still be right here," he said, plopping down on the arm of a faded green chair. With a genuine smile, Marie turned and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her
Disclaimer: Don't own them. Wish I did, then I wouldn't be working more than fifty hours a week somewhere I hate. As it is, Xander and Marie are the respective properties of Mutant Enemy and Marvel productions. Despite a certain reviewer, who shall remain nameless, trying to kill her off, Tammy is mine, though she's for sale if you want her.
Dedication: To my wonderful and beautiful fiancée. I love you!
Special Thanks: To my wonderful readers and reviewers, thanks for putting up with me. Hence my trying to get this up before the weekend, I'd call it a special treat, but I'm not sure how good it really is.but you know how muses can be when they speak, you must write.
Her body went rigid, the straw through which she'd been drinking her milkshake dropping silently back into her glass. He'd asked the question. The one question who's answer she'd been running from since that afternoon with Cody three months ago; since her first kiss. Desperately, she tried to pretend that the words had had no effect on her. " A mutant?" she asked softly with a forced laugh, " Do Ah look like Ah have horns or a tail or something? Ah'm just a normal girl.just like Tammy." she paused " Ok, so maybe a little brighter than her but still, Ah'm human, honest." Carefully, she slid her hand under the tabletop, trying to surreptitiously grasp her duffel in case she had to run again. What she didn't expect was to feel her gloved hand slipping into Xander's, or to see the knowing, yet compassionate smile on his face.
"Hey, it's ok," he said softly, leaning towards her and giving her hand a gentle squeeze, " I'm not going to run screaming into the night because I'm sitting with a mutant. Even if you do have horns, or a tail hidden somewhere, and granted, I haven't seen the whole package here, it still wouldn't bother me. Given the things I've seen over the past three years, the things I've had to do, sharing a meal of sorts with an attractive young woman who just happens to be a mutant is way down there on the list of horrible experiences." He gave her hand another gentle squeeze before releasing it and leaning back, waiting to see how she'd react. Marie slowly pulled her hand back out from under the table, wrapping both of them around her milkshake and staring into it as if it held the answers to life's greatest mysteries. Finally, after several long moments, she raised her eyes to meet his, and seeing absolutely no judgment in them asked, " How did you know?"
The question took Xander aback for a moment, he'd expected her to try to run, to keep denying it, to try and change the subject; anything but the veiled admission. " Just put everything together so far. Your reaction to the Vampire in the alley, for starters, most people who aren't used to them generally beg for their lives. You on the other hand, tried to warn him away from something. And then there was how he reacted to touching you, almost like he was weakened. I've never been able to stake one that easily before. I usually end up with a few bumps and bruises before they turn to dust. Whatever you did, thanks for the assist." Something akin to pain flashed across her eyes as the words left his mouth * Great Xander, she obviously isn't comfortable with it and you're acting like she planned on being attacked. * Hurriedly he continued, " of course there was your reaction to the news report a couple minutes ago. But the clincher, that would be your reaction to me asking if you were. A little tip, never play poker Marie, you can't bluff to save your life."
A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, " So that really was a Vampire in the alley? Ah still can't quite believe it. Ah guess Ah shouldn't be surprised though, Ah'm obviously damned with this power, or whatever you want to call it, Ah guess it's only right that there are other damned souls out there too." She paused, studying him carefully, " And you say you've fought these things before, Ah'm guessing probably some things worse too considering how you've been talking about having to see and do horrible things. So it's my turn now. Are you a mutant too?" Xander was about to answer when he noticed Tammy walking back to the table. " Here's you're check, no rush. Just pay whenever you're ready" she said, setting it down and walking off again.
" I think we're being told in a very polite way that she wants us out of here," Xander said, raising a hand to forestall the protest he could see in Marie's eyes, " And no, I'm not just trying to avoid the question either. I'm not much of a poker player myself. I just think it might be a little better if we talk about things in private. I have a room at a cheap motel not to far from here if you're.." He trailed off as he noticed her slow and deliberate removal of her leather gloves.
" Ah should have known. You really think that you can buy me off with a milkshake and expect me to go to bed with you?," she stepped out of her chair and stood next to his, effectively cutting off any escape he had in mind. * She's good * the soldier whispered in Xander's mind. " Well come on, Mr. hero.," she continued, " why don't you try and take me? See if you like it any more than the last guy who.." She trailed off, shaking away the memory and bringing her hands closer to his face, not caring if Tammy realized just what she was. * Hell * Marie thought * It might just be worth it to see her face when she realizes that she served a mutant.* She expected him to try to talk his way out of it, to try to run, maybe even take a swing at her, anything other than just sitting there and waiting. There was something in the way that he looked at her that made her drop her hands back to her sides and sit down. " What?" She asked, clearly annoyed.
Xander let go the breathe he hadn't even been aware of holding, " I'm not afraid of you Marie." He said softly, " And I wasn't trying to get you into bed either. At least, not with me. I was going to say, if you were interested we could continue this conversation there. Or on the way there, anywhere but here really. And if you wanted, you'd be more than welcome to the bed for the night. I don't mind the couch, and it's fairly obvious that it would beat the streets, tonight anyway. That is, unless you want to try your luck with alleys again." He smiled. Marie sat back, shocked. * First he saves my life, and now he offers me his bed while he takes the couch. Maybe Ah died back in that alley and he's really an Angel* she thought.
" Ah'm sorry" she whispered. " Ah didn't mean to accuse you of..well.you know. It's just that it's not everyday a girl gets rescued by a modern day knight, or prince charming or something" She noticed the slight tensing of his muscles when she referred to him as a knight and made a mental note to ask him about that later. * Maybe he really is some sort of knight* she wondered * dedicated to fighting off monsters and saving women and all that. Ah hope dragons aren't real, Vampires are bad enough". Realizing that he hadn't spoken for a couple moments she added, " Ah'm fine with going back to your room Xander, Ah trust you. If you'll excuse me, Ah'll just hit the little girl's room and then we can head out." Xander nodded and grabbed Tammy's attention, indicating that they were ready to pay as Marie went off to the women's room. .
When she returned, she found Xander standing against the front door of the diner, her duffel slung over one shoulder. A careless smile spread across his features as she approached, making her go weak in the knees with the realization of how attractive he was. * And he actually doesn't give a damn that Ah'm a mutant * the thought flitted across her brain, followed closely by the darker * He'll care when he tries to kiss me and Ah put him in a coma for three months. Ah might as well forget him. Ah can't touch, no matter how much Ah want to.* With a smile of her own, she asked, " All set?" In response, his smile widened and he nodded, holding the door for her * And of course, he just has to be a gentleman* As soon as the door closed behind them, Marie whirled on him, " So, Mr. Not Avoiding the Question, are you or aren't you a mutant too"
Xander offered her his arm, only slightly surprised when she actually took it, and began walking towards his car, " Almost, but not quite yes. " he said, noticing the questioning look she gave him he explained " My junior year of high school, my friends and I were investigating the disappearance of members of our swim team. I decided to go undercover on the team to find out what the deal was. It turned out that the coach and school nurse were using a steroid mist, developed by the soviet union to improve their Olympic swimmers, on the team. Not a horrible plan, unless you count turning into a mutant fish man and ripping out of your skin after a few exposures to the steroid. A timely plasma transfer got it out of my system before I could change." Marie stopped, staring at him as if he was insane. " What can I say, I went to a pretty unusual school," he shrugged, managing to get her walking again. Opening the passenger side door of the beautiful old car, he added, " I guess you could say that I have a vague idea of what it's like to be a mutant."
Pushing the other questions that sprang to mind about his high school to the back of her mind for the moment, Marie waited for him to settle into the driver's seat before snapping. " How on earth could you have any idea at all what it's like to be a mutant? Because you almost were turned into one.which I don't quite believe by the way...big deal. You're still human. You don't have to worry about your rights being legislated because of some twist of genetics. You didn't put the first person you ever cared about into a coma with just a kiss." She began to break down a bit, tears freely flowing down her cheeks, though she didn't notice them, " You don't know what it's like to have your sleep interrupted because you steal pieces of people's minds when you touch them and you can't control it. You can't possibly have any clue what it's like to have someone else's thoughts in your head telling you to do things you'd rather die than do."
Xander glanced over at her, putting the car into drive and maneuvering out of the parking lot, " There are some tissues in the glove box," he said kindly," And, you're right. I never put the first person I kissed into a coma. I did however cause the first woman I truly loved to get impaled on a rusty spike when she caught me kissing my best friend. And, thanks to the wackiness of my home town, I do have an idea of what it's like to have your mind hijacked by someone else's thoughts . Sophomore year, we took a trip to the local zoo. Should have been a nice normal trip, right? " Marie nodded, wondering where this was going. " Well, thanks to the primal spirit worshipping Zookeeper, I ended up being possessed by the spirit of a hyena. During which time, I ate our live school mascot, and attempted to rape my friend Buffy because the hyena thought she would make a good mate. That would have been bad enough to deal with, in and of itself. But in our Junior year, thanks to a chaos worshipping Englishman, everyone in town almost became whatever it was they had dressed as for Halloween. I chose to be a soldier..and lets just say the back story I cooked up for the guy wasn't the nicest in the world. What I wasn't aware of was that I'd end up being kicked to the passenger seat in my own body as his persona took over. I still have all the memories of both the hyena and the soldier. In fact, they've become more active in my mind since I was almost car jacked in New Mexico. I've got a theory that it's to keep me alive now that they've returned to the forefront of my mind, their instincts and skills have kept me out of more trouble than I care to think about. And sometimes, like tonight for example, they come in handy and let me save someone. And here we are.." he said, pulling into a parking spot out front of a dingy motel.
Marie sat, stunned, in the passenger seat as he exited the car and walked to her side. Here was someone, who if he could be believed, actually did have a clue what she was going through. She looked up in surprise as he opened her door, and carefully climbed out, grabbing her duffel and following him up to the second floor room he rented. " You're serious?" she stated, more than asked, not at all surprised by the affirmative nod he gave in answer. " Just where the hell did you go to school that all this could possibly happen? I think I'll try and avoid that area if at all possible."
" Sunnydale California," he said, bumping the door open with his shoulder and holding it for her. " If you're interested, I can tell you a little more about the real reality of the world a bit later. And if you wouldn't mind, I have a few questions about being a mutant. You're the only one I've ever met who hasn't immediately tried to kill me, and who can speak. Kind of rare to find those traits in the same person in my experience," he smiled.
" Why later?" she asked, walking in and sitting on the god awful orange sofa in the room. It was surprisingly comfortable.
" I thought you might like to take a shower first," he said. " There's an extra towel in the bathroom and a fairly soft bathrobe thing in there too if you're worried about exposed skin or anything like that." Marie's eyes lit up almost immediately, a shower. A real shower, hot water. How long had it been since she'd actually felt hot water running over her body? However there was just one little problem.
" Ah don't exactly have much in the way of night clothes" she said sheepishly, looking away. " Ah usually just sleep in whatever Ah'm wearing, wherever I fall."
" Not a problem," Xander said, " That is if you don't mind showing a little school spirit for a school that you never attended." Walking to the dresser he pulled out his Sunnydale swim team t-shirt, which was more than long enough to reach past her knees and tossed it to the grateful young woman. " Go ahead, enjoy your shower. I'll still be right here," he said, plopping down on the arm of a faded green chair. With a genuine smile, Marie turned and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her