Death Moves to Sunnydale 6
Author:
Tohonomike
Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owners... Joss/ME characters and others. I do not and cannot make money off of this, but for feedback I try to churn out a quality product.
And all of you thought I'd forgotten you… Well, here's more…
Saturday,
November 1st, 1997 – 8:30 PM
Cordelia had been amazed that Xander was so complicit in her shopping selections; not once did he complain about the style, merely the quantity of the purchases. Attired as someone 'worthy' of her grandfather's sponsorship, she'd insisted on a quick stop at The Bronze to show off her handiwork and perhaps find out more about this new Alexander Harris.
After the craziness of the previous night, none of her flock was there, but surprising enough, Buffy, Willow and many others from school were. The Slayer looked morose and Willow seemed to be unsuccessfully trying to cheer her up. The redhead looked up first with a bit of surprise.
"Xander?! What are you doing here? And why are you with Cordelia?" she asked, Buffy looking up.
"I'm here because Cordelia wanted to stop here Willow," he replied in an Alexander sort of way. "And as she was driving, it would have been impolite for me to leap out and continue afoot."
Buffy interrupted Willow's possible reply, "Angel left town."
"And?"
"And it was because of what you told him."
"I don't understand how you would like for me to respond."
She paused for a moment, "I don't know either. Are you sure about what you told him?"
"Yes."
"Okay." They stood staring for a minute, Cordelia taking the opportunity to hook her arm with his and shift him back toward the door.
"Alexander, we better go see if my grandfather needs you for anything," she hurried, looking at the others. "Bye."
Buffy sighed and went back to her teenage angst, Willow unsure of things sitting down next to her and stirred the ice in her soda as she watched 'Death' walk out the door with Cordelia Chase.
Cordelia felt a cold chill as they stepped out into the warm Pacific Coast breeze and wondered why until she noticed four very large demons with horns curled like rams approach in what she could only describe as a reverent manner.
"Xander!" she whispered loudly. "Let's go get Buffy!"
"No need," Alexander stated and stared at the lead demon and nodded. It approached and spoke in the language of Chaos Demons.
"Great One, we were able to kill only fifty of those that troubled you. Do we have your favor in this? Will we prosper for it?"
"Do you use human money? Or do you seek knowledge?" he asked the demon with an expression of innocent curiosity.
"Knowledge, Master. What must we do to live as long as possible?"
"Take your clan to the other Hellmouth and only prey on vampires and lesser demons. I will not have to notice you there."
The demons beamed, which caused Cordelia to faint. The shortest and most subservient demon moved forward and caught her, lowering her to the ground with his eyes on the ground.
"Forgive me Master Death. I did not wish your companion to have ill befall her unless it is at your command."
"Thank you," Xander laughed, which really unsettled the demons but reinforced the 'chaotic' nature of their meeting. "You should leave now, before the Slayer comes after you."
The demons bowed and left. A few moments later, and Xander was bringing her out of her faint.
"Cordelia? Harpy? Beautiful?"
"Beautiful?" she smiled slightly, then rolled her eyes. "How did you get a reaction like that out of me?"
"I was honest with you?"
She was about to snap out a comeback, and realized he was telling her the truth, and one she liked.
"Oh. In that case, okay. And don't think you get off so easy," she told him as he led her almost imperceptibly toward her car. "You talk to demons in their own language and they leave you alone?"
He nodded.
"And you're hanging around with my grandfather learning how to become a business leader?"
Another nod from the young man, and she thought about it as they left. She drove, and they sat it silence. As they reached the Chase Estate she decided for now not to ask the important questions. She was afraid that the answers might break whatever spell it was that left her comfortable with this new Xander, no, Alexander Harris.
Around two in the morning, Alexander wandered through the house, looking at everything as though for the first time seeing anything. Paintings, statuary, antiques, and he knew of those who'd made them if he wanted. He wandered until he sensed peoples still up and about, in the kitchen. He stepped through, and servants hushed as the guest of the eldest Chase—whom they respected—entered their domain.
The staff was at ease with itself, a few smoking cigarettes with the leftovers from their dinner across the table. Coyle, the butler, was turned away from the guest, and so continued to spread generous amounts of peanut butter on Wonder Bread, and mixed in bananas by carefully layering them to cover the peanut butter underneath. Xander found himself quite fascinated that someone in a house such as this, even an employee, would be so precise and yet so normal in food choice. The silence became quite prominent, and the butler looked back to fins the young man watching him. He stood and addressed Mr. Chase's apparent protégé.
"Yes, sir?"
"Hi, I'm, I'm AleXander Harris. Nice to meet you."
"Yes sir, Mr. Harris, a pleasure," the man replied, the rest of the staff also murmuring 'good evenings' to Xander.
"What are you eating?"
"You mean this, sir?" he responded with a little embarrassment. "Just bananas with Laura Scudder's Peanut Butter. Like a taste?"
AleXander nodded back, "I've never had that before, and you did an amazing job making sure to line it up so every bite is the same."
Xander smiled as the man handed him the sandwich and they watched the young man try to chew and smile at the same time, the boy nodding.
"You're a peanut butter and banana man now, eh, sir?"
"Yes, I am. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting you." He looked at the sandwich, "May I?"
"Certainly sir," the butler smiled, the boy reminding him of the respectable Mr. Chase when he was younger. The eighty-year-old butler nodded with approval as the boy left.
The Chase Olympic-Size Pool
Cordelia was swimming laps quite competently in a black one-piece suit, AleXander noted as he stood in the door eating his sandwich. It took her a minute to notice his silhouette in the lit doorway.
"What are you doing out here so late?
"I'm lost. This is a large home."
"You seem to be everywhere."
"I'm sorry," he shrugged, then softer, "And you have no idea how true a statement that was."
She started to climb out and pointed to a stack of towels.
"Could you hand me one of those, X-Alexander?"
After stuffing the sandwich in his mouth so he could hold up the towel for her and not just hand it to her, she shook her head in bemusement as he wrapped it around her.
"You must have something really big going on with my grandfather; I've never actually known him to take on an apprentice or whatever you are."
"Big?"
"You appear with him at the restaurant when I'm sure you never met him before, stay at the house, eat dinner with us. It's a first, Xander. You're like in the middle of big time business and I thought you were just Xander.
"Nobody is just any thing, Cordelia," he replied as he finished his sandwich and seemed to get a far off look for a second. "I'm still me."
"Not the same one I've known forever; you're not being nice to me just to get at my grandpa's money—or me, are you?"
"That is not my intention."
"What are your intentions? You sound like my grandfather, or even Giles when you speak. I don't mind admitting I like it a lot. But I don't get it. You, my grandfather, here in this house, and not knowing what's really going on it, it's making me upset, and I don't like being upset. Who are you anyway? And what are you eating?"
"Peanut butter with bananas. But it's gone now." He looked up to see her waiting for a better response. "I'm sorry. But, but right now it is something just between your grandfather and myself. But regardless of that I guess what I'm trying to say is I'd like us to be friends."
"I've got plenty of friends."
"I don't have many friends since Buffy came to town."
"That's no surprise," she smirked with an amused glint in her eye.
Alexander looked back at her after a short smile.
"I have a certain function I can perform, that has been expected of me but no one really takes seriously until I show up. And that seems to take all of my time. But sometimes I wonder what else I can do. How do others make the most of their lives? Your grandfather is one of those people."
They stared at one another for a moment, standing very close.
"Cordelia? Do you realize you still have a wet spot on your shoulder from your hair?" he asked, and as she glanced at it, he slowly took another towel, and gently patted her dry before handing the towel back. "There."
Cordelia flashed him an unexpected (not that you pervs!) nervous smile at the simple and yet kind gesture, his eyes very Xander-like at that moment.
"Goodnight, AleXander."
"Goodnight to you, Cordelia."
