Long Lived Xander
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Chapter 3
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Xander walked into Joe's for his shift behind the polished mahogany bar. As usual it had already been lovingly wiped down by Joe. The polished wood gleamed with a deep red and brown hue which filled Xander with a warmth of longing for a home. Xander took a deep breath and sighed contentedly.
*Damn, but I love the smell of good cigars* he thought.
Xander sat down behind the bar on the provided stool and waited for his first customer of the day. He had been here for two months and had decided to stay. The town was attractive to him with all its quaint homey feel. The people were nice, the streets were clean except for the Zone, but that was being restored by Duncan MacLeod. MacLeod was another matter entirely. He was a good friend to Joe, Adam and Xander especially. The guy had so much money that he could afford just about anything.
*What I wouldn't give to be like that guy* Xander thought.
All those fancy clothes, the beautiful women, and the class the man exuded. Xander was grateful he could be called a friend.
Hours passed and Xander's shift ended without incident. Of course, if without incident included Adam being drunk and crooning pop songs to annoy the hell out of MacLeod. And there was no real knowing if Adam was actually drunk at the time anyway.
*Gotta love that* Xander thought.
After Xander's shift ended, he walked outside and pulled on his jacket. He checked the pockets for the ever-present stake and cross that he couldn't bring himself to leave behind, even in this quiet city. Then he groaned. Of course, a woman's scream to end a perfect night with $400 worth of tips.
He ran toward the sound blinking his eyes furiously to try and get them accustomed to the dark. Xander could see the struggle just ahead. A group of four vampires had this girl surrounded. To his eyes she was holding her own pretty well but he couldn't just let this one go. It wasn't fair.
Xander ran to the fight and took out the first vamp from behind with a quick staking to the heart. As that one crumbled into dust Xander jumped back to watch what was obviously a Slayer fight. Then it hit him, he knew this Slayer. It was Faith. Xander stepped back in nervousness to where he was partially covered by the shadows as his mind raced for an answer to the present problem.
Unaware of his presence the girl fought recklessly. Kicking and punching, spinning and blocking she finally took down the remaining three vampires. Spinning to where the first vampire had stood she threw the stake at the shape in the shadows.
Faith stepped up to collect her stake then stopped. This one didn't crumble into dust but wasn't moving and trying to kill her. She began to feel her heart slow indeterminably as she started to panic.
*Not again* she thought as she reached over to pull the body around to see the face. The cold, clear night was shattered by the piercing wail of a woman in distress. Xander was dead.
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Pain. Thud. More pain. Thud, thud. Excruciating pain!
Xander's eyes flared opened as he gasped for his first breath. He coughed and then sat up holding his chest. Xander frowned as his hands touched his bare chest where cloth should have been.
"Holy shit," Xander heard over his shoulder. He spun around to see Faith crouched against a wall shaking.
"Faith? Is that you?" he asked, confused.
"But you were dead, I killed you" she said with a panicked look on her face as she got up and began to pace.
Xander frowned again and shrugged.
"I guess the Powers That Be wanted me alive," he said and grinned. "Hey listen, I work at this bar around the corner. Let's go get a drink and you can tell me why you are here."
Faith looked up with her head cocked to the side searching his face for anything to betray his thoughts.
"Xander, last time you saw me, I tried to kill you and your friends. What's the deal? What's with Mr. Nice Guy all of a sudden? Looking to get some again?" Faith asked, a bit confused.
Xander just shrugged again and said, "Hey I just came back from the dead. I suppose I can afford to give you a little break. Besides I don't see the cops chasing you, so I assume you are here legal and all. And again, recently dead here, I might need your help."
Faith smiled what was her first genuine smile in years. "Okay," she said quietly and followed Xander out of the alley.
---
Sorry for the extremely long delay between updates. I just haven't felt like writing but the sheer numbers of crapfic that is out there finally disgusted me again. So, here is my attempt to even the score a bit. Please, read and review. More to come. BTW, I was re-reading the challenge for this fic and noticed Richie was supposed to be in it. Sorry all, I brought him back in another fanfic but I don't think it's right for this one. As much as I loved Richie's character, he was too much like Xander for him to survive in this story.
Chapter 3
---
Xander walked into Joe's for his shift behind the polished mahogany bar. As usual it had already been lovingly wiped down by Joe. The polished wood gleamed with a deep red and brown hue which filled Xander with a warmth of longing for a home. Xander took a deep breath and sighed contentedly.
*Damn, but I love the smell of good cigars* he thought.
Xander sat down behind the bar on the provided stool and waited for his first customer of the day. He had been here for two months and had decided to stay. The town was attractive to him with all its quaint homey feel. The people were nice, the streets were clean except for the Zone, but that was being restored by Duncan MacLeod. MacLeod was another matter entirely. He was a good friend to Joe, Adam and Xander especially. The guy had so much money that he could afford just about anything.
*What I wouldn't give to be like that guy* Xander thought.
All those fancy clothes, the beautiful women, and the class the man exuded. Xander was grateful he could be called a friend.
Hours passed and Xander's shift ended without incident. Of course, if without incident included Adam being drunk and crooning pop songs to annoy the hell out of MacLeod. And there was no real knowing if Adam was actually drunk at the time anyway.
*Gotta love that* Xander thought.
After Xander's shift ended, he walked outside and pulled on his jacket. He checked the pockets for the ever-present stake and cross that he couldn't bring himself to leave behind, even in this quiet city. Then he groaned. Of course, a woman's scream to end a perfect night with $400 worth of tips.
He ran toward the sound blinking his eyes furiously to try and get them accustomed to the dark. Xander could see the struggle just ahead. A group of four vampires had this girl surrounded. To his eyes she was holding her own pretty well but he couldn't just let this one go. It wasn't fair.
Xander ran to the fight and took out the first vamp from behind with a quick staking to the heart. As that one crumbled into dust Xander jumped back to watch what was obviously a Slayer fight. Then it hit him, he knew this Slayer. It was Faith. Xander stepped back in nervousness to where he was partially covered by the shadows as his mind raced for an answer to the present problem.
Unaware of his presence the girl fought recklessly. Kicking and punching, spinning and blocking she finally took down the remaining three vampires. Spinning to where the first vampire had stood she threw the stake at the shape in the shadows.
Faith stepped up to collect her stake then stopped. This one didn't crumble into dust but wasn't moving and trying to kill her. She began to feel her heart slow indeterminably as she started to panic.
*Not again* she thought as she reached over to pull the body around to see the face. The cold, clear night was shattered by the piercing wail of a woman in distress. Xander was dead.
-------------
Pain. Thud. More pain. Thud, thud. Excruciating pain!
Xander's eyes flared opened as he gasped for his first breath. He coughed and then sat up holding his chest. Xander frowned as his hands touched his bare chest where cloth should have been.
"Holy shit," Xander heard over his shoulder. He spun around to see Faith crouched against a wall shaking.
"Faith? Is that you?" he asked, confused.
"But you were dead, I killed you" she said with a panicked look on her face as she got up and began to pace.
Xander frowned again and shrugged.
"I guess the Powers That Be wanted me alive," he said and grinned. "Hey listen, I work at this bar around the corner. Let's go get a drink and you can tell me why you are here."
Faith looked up with her head cocked to the side searching his face for anything to betray his thoughts.
"Xander, last time you saw me, I tried to kill you and your friends. What's the deal? What's with Mr. Nice Guy all of a sudden? Looking to get some again?" Faith asked, a bit confused.
Xander just shrugged again and said, "Hey I just came back from the dead. I suppose I can afford to give you a little break. Besides I don't see the cops chasing you, so I assume you are here legal and all. And again, recently dead here, I might need your help."
Faith smiled what was her first genuine smile in years. "Okay," she said quietly and followed Xander out of the alley.
---
Sorry for the extremely long delay between updates. I just haven't felt like writing but the sheer numbers of crapfic that is out there finally disgusted me again. So, here is my attempt to even the score a bit. Please, read and review. More to come. BTW, I was re-reading the challenge for this fic and noticed Richie was supposed to be in it. Sorry all, I brought him back in another fanfic but I don't think it's right for this one. As much as I loved Richie's character, he was too much like Xander for him to survive in this story.