Chapter 3: Get a Clue
*****Several Weeks Later*****
Daryl wasn't quite sure how it happened, but he had definitely made a new friend. It was never easy for him to allow people to get close to him. Connie and Kelly were the last two friends that he had made. One was deaf, so her quiet nature suited him to a T. Kelly, her sister rarely spoke unless she had something to say, which was exactly the way Daryl himself was, so befriending the two was no hardship.
Xander Harris, however, was as different from Daryl as a person could be. For one thing, the man never stopped talking. Normally people like that annoyed the shit out of Daryl. Negan was like that. Eugene did that nervous talking sometimes. Negan talked because he liked the sound of his own voice. With Xander, it wasn't like either man. He just liked to talk. Spinning yarns was his gift, and when Daryl introduced him to Ezekial, the two men became fast friends. It was obvious that the two were kindred spirits.
He still didn't know what to think about the stories Xander told, but then one day, he walked into Xander's shop and saw the man without a shirt on.
"Damn, Xander. What the hell happened to you?" he asked. He had his own scars. Burn marks from his father's cigarettes. Whiplash marks and a hole from the arrow he shot himself with. Xander, though, had a different array.
"Oh, well, let's see," Xander said, looking down at his chest. "This sandpaper looking burn is from the time Willow was using her magic to raise this Satanic temple to destroy the world. I got in front of her magic, so it's a magical burn. This claw mark is from a demon. I forget which one." He pointed. "That one is Fyarl demon—got me good." He pointed to his back.
Daryl shook his head. "Christ, Xander. Yours is worse than mine," he muttered. He looked at him. "You're not full of shit, are you?"
"No, I'm not," Xander replied, for once serious.
"Damn," Daryl replied, his eyes looking at them all. "I've seen some stuff, but nothing like that."
"Got some battle wounds of your own," Xander said, eyeing him with interest. He really liked Daryl, but Daryl just thought they were buddies. Maybe, he should make himself more obvious.
Daryl nodded and pulled up his shirt. "Arrow here. Tortured back there," he said, turning.
Xander reached out and ran his hand gently over Daryl's back. "That's from Negan, huh?" he asked.
Daryl nodded again. It felt strange having someone touch him so intimately, especially a man.
He pulled his shirt down, and Xander moved his hand back to his own side.
Xander reached over and picked his shirt off the work bench, putting it back on. "So what are you doing this weekend?" he asked.
"Carol is cooking dinner at her place," he said.
"She's married to Ezekial, right?" Xander asked.
"Yeah, but they're separated. When their boy died, she didn't take it well," he said.
"Grief does that to some people," Xander acknowledged. "You and she are tight, right?"
Daryl nodded. "She's my best friend. We've been through a lot together," he said.
"Maybe some time, you could bring her by," Xander said. "I would like to meet her."
Daryl realized that Xander had a point—he hadn't seen Carol interact with Xander. "You should come to dinner Friday," he offered.
"She won't mind?" Xander asked.
Daryl shook his head. "No. She always makes plenty," he said.
"Great," Xander said, smiling. "Then it's a date. I have to go finish up a project a few buildings down. See you later."
He walked Daryl out, feeling a bit smug at how easily that worked out.
*****Friday*****
Carol was happy to welcome the guy the kids couldn't stop talking about. Although his one eye was a bit startling, his easy smile and friendly manner put her at ease. She was not surprised to see that Ezekial already knew him and the two were already friends. Her husband never met a stranger. It seemed that Xander was more like that than not. Judith and RJ, though, lit up in a way that she had not ever seen before.
Rosita was there, and she was telling a story about their training.
"Mercer's a good guy," Xander said.
They all looked at him. "Are you sure about that?" Rosita asked. "Sometimes, I can't tell."
Xander nodded. "He is. He's not too arrogant to take suggestions," he said. "I gave him several ideas to fortify the city, and he never dismissed me. Mercer will always put the good of the people first, not some agenda. The time I made the governor's son cry, he just smiled and ignored it."
"You made that arrogant twit cry?" Daryl asked. "I want to hear this."
"He was picking on a kid," Xander said with a shrug. "I hate bullies. I showed him what happens when he raises a hand to a kid in this city. I don't care who his momma is. Since the governor wouldn't be governor without me, she won't do a thing to me, and he knows it."
Now he had Carol's attention. "Why's that?" she asked.
"My best friend Willow and I helped her create this place. Willow is the main reason they had time to build the walls," he said. "She was a very powerful witch. She died doing it, and I was busy saving the governor's life, too far from Will's side. She and Will were actually very good friends, so she has a fondness for me. Of course, I am also the only one with the skill set to fix all the crap in this city that breaks down."
"Magic? You really believe in that?" Carol asked.
"It's not about belief. I saw it. I lived it. I have magical burns on my body," he said with a shrug. "I think she might've been the last of her kind, though. I've not seen anything like her since she passed."
"I believe you," Rosita said. "My grandmother had the second sight. She always knew what we were up to."
"I think the Commonwealth is a beautiful thing," Ezekial said, not wanting to debate a person's religion and spoil a nice dinner.
"You would say that," Carol said, giving him a fond smile. "They have animals."
He laughed. "True," he acknowledged.
"Now, Deputy Governor Lance is another thing," Xander warned. "He's like an evil Mr. Rogers. Don't ever let him get you in his web. He will do things for you, but it's really for him, some grand scheme. He only wants more power. He cares for no one but himself."
Carol was alarmed to hear that but glad for the warning. She began to pass around the dishes. Xander sat next to Daryl. They had to round tables put together, so the two kids weren't far.
Xander began telling stories at the kids' demand. "Have I told you about the time Dracula made me his butt monkey?" he asked.
"No," Daryl said, snickering at his ridiculousness.
"Is he serious?" Carol whispered.
"Mostly," Daryl said with a shrug. "I think he might exaggerate some for effect, but he insists he grew up on a hellmouth, and his best friend was a vampire slayer and that monsters were real before the fall. He was fighting them from the time he was fifteen when he had to kill his oldest guy friend, Jesse."
Carol didn't know what to think, but it was very clear that the children were under his spell.
She watched as he kept glancing at Daryl. When Ezekial helped her clear the table, she asked him, "What do you think of Xander?"
"I think he's wonderful," Ezekial said. "The animals love him. The children adore him. No one in this entire city will say a bad word about him. Some of the ones that have been here from the beginning will even confirm his story about his witch friend. I've asked."
"Really?" she asked, surprised.
Ezekial nodded. "Kelly was doing research on the city, and I told her about Xander and what he said about Willow. She is listed in the city archives as a founder," he shared. "I have spoken to two who knew her. She was a spellcaster of some kind. I can't say all his stories are true, but what he says about his friend is true."
Carol was reassured and passed around dessert.
As the evening progressed, she noticed something and smiled.
She asked Daryl to help her with the coffee, so he walked into the kitchen with her.
"Daryl, I like Xander," she said.
"I thought you would. He's a good guy," Daryl said. "He never shuts up, though."
"Like Ezekial," she said.
Daryl laughed. "That's crossed my mind," he said.
"You know he's courting you, right?" she asked as she put the coffee pot on the tray with the cups.
Daryl looked up, confused. "Huh?" he replied.
"Xander. He's courting you. This is a dinner date. He's meeting the family," she explained. "He likes you."
"Well, yeah, we're friends," Daryl said, still not understanding her point.
"You know how Aaron was married to a man?" she reminded him.
"What's that got to do with anything?" Daryl asked. "Xander's never even met Aaron."
Carol laughed. "God, you're cute," she said. "And slow. Xander likes you the way Ezekial likes me."
Daryl stared at her a long moment without speaking, and then he laughed. "That's ridiculous. He's had only female lovers. He's told me. I know all about his life," Daryl said. "Like I said, he never stops talking."
"Maybe so," Carol said. "But he likes you. It's obvious," she said, picking up the tray.
"We're friends," Daryl said, dismissing her absurd claim as he followed her back to the living room.
Did he notice that Xander gave him a warm smile when he joined him on the sofa? Sure. He was a friendly guy.
When they said their goodbyes, Daryl and the kids walked Xander home.
"Thanks for a great evening," he told Daryl. "Carol was great."
"She is," he said. "She liked you."
"Xander, is Dracula still alive?" Judith asked.
"Who knows?" he said. "I've not seen any vampires since the fall. I think most left this world and went to another. They realized they couldn't handle the competition for their food source."
"That's good," RJ said. "I don't want to have to worry about vampires and demons. Walkers are scary enough!"
"I guess," Judith said. "It'd be nice, though, to kill something that turned to dust."
"That'd be cool," RJ agreed.
When the kids went inside, Daryl told them to get ready for bed since it was late.
"So I had a great time," Xander said. "Thanks for the invite."
"You're welcome. Carol liked you," Daryl said. "But she said something crazy to me."
"What's that?" he asked.
"That you're courting me," Daryl said with a chuckle. "I told her that was nuts 'cause you only dated women."
"That's true. I've only dated women. I've never actually been with a man," Xander said. "But it doesn't mean that I'm opposed to it. Not for the right man. The world's too messed up, and there's too few people now to pass up a chance to be happy by being hung up on gender. I've always known that I could be into guys if the right guy came along."
"So what are you saying?" Daryl asked.
The two men were standing in his apartment doorway. The kids were in their room.
Xander smiled and stepped into Daryl's personal space. "I think we should grab happiness wherever we can, and I think you and I could be really happy together," Xander said, his hand on Daryl's shoulder.
"I'm not gay," Daryl said, frowning.
"Neither am I," Xander replied. "Why do we have to label things?"
Daryl felt confused and uncomfortable. He liked Xander, but he didn't think that he liked him in a romantic way. Finding out the guy liked him that way threw him for a loop.
"I don't know," Daryl said. "I don't what to say. I don't know how I feel."
Xander moved his hand from Daryl's shoulder down his arm in a gentle stroke. "That's okay. There's no rush. I'm not trying to put any pressure on you. If we're just friends, that's fine. I can always use a good friend," he said, his hand in Daryl's. "I lost my best friends. I know you miss Rick a lot, and you have a lot of people now, though, that care about you." He squeezed his hand and let it go.
"None of them are Rick," Daryl said.
"Just like no one is Willow or Buffy to me," he said. "If we're just buds, that's okay. If there's a possibility of more, that'll be really nice." He took a step away.
Daryl nodded, feeling relieved. "Okay," he said.
"Thanks again for dinner," Xander told him before he left the doorway. He flashed Daryl a warm smile and waved before sauntering down the road toward his place.
Daryl watched him walk away, unsure of how he felt.
I'm not gay, he thought.
He said goodnight to the kids, making sure RJ brushed his teeth. He got into bed himself and his mind couldn't sleep as he kept thinking of the night's events.
His last thought before he fell asleep was Xander's smile.
It was a nice smile.
*****A Few Weeks Later******
Buffy was ready to try the spell to find Xander, and Dawn was ready to do it.
"We'll find him," Dawn said. "I just know it."
"You know if Willow's go, the chances aren't good," Buffy said.
"They most likely were together," Giles agreed.
"Willow was stronger," Buffy said.
"Do not underestimate Xander," Giles said.
"That's right," Dawn agreed. "He is crafty, and he's a survivor. He faced off with Angelus, Spike, and Dru all while still in high school, and even Darla—that's the entire Scourge of Europe. He is alive. I just feel it. Willow probably died saving him or something."
"I hope so," Buffy said. Knowing Willow was really gone was hard.
She and Giles waited while Dawn worked her magic.
Then they began to see an image in her bowl. There was Xander.
"He's alive!" Dawn exclaimed in relief.
He was laughing outside with some children. A sign behind him said The Commonwealth.
"That's where he is! A place called the Commonwealth!" Buffy said excitedly. "He looks good. Strong. Happy."
Dawn held the image for a few minutes as they watched Xander. A scruffy looking guy came up to the children and said something to Xander, causing his eyes to light up. He said something back, and the man laughed.
"I wish we could hear what they were saying. I just want to talk to him so badly," Buffy said.
The image faded. "At least we know he is alive," Giles said. "It is a very good thing."
"Yes," Buffy said, hugging Dawn.
Dawn was relieved. "Now I have to figure out how to send a message," she said.
Buffy's eyes lit up. "Yes! We want to communicate with him," she said.
"Actually, I was thinking we write to Faith, and we send her to him. Faith is strong enough to travel safely," Dawn pointed out. "She can get to him, so we know that he is even safer. That they're all together. Without Willow, I know he's got to be lonely."
"He looked happy," Buffy pointed out.
"He was with kids and some guy," Dawn argued. "That's not his family."
"We don't know that," Buffy said. "It could be. That guy could be his husband for all we know. It's been a very long time, Dawn."
"Either way, Faith would want to be with Xander. We can let her know to tell him that we're all okay," Dawn said. "I know he will be very happy to know that."
Buffy nodded. "That's true. Let's get working on the letter," she suggested.
"Well, I have to figure out a spell to teleport it," Dawn reminded her.
Looking sheepish, Buffy smiled. "Oh, right," she said. "I'm just so glad he's okay."
"He's better than okay," Dawn pointed out. "He looked happy and safe. That's exactly what we were hoping for."
"It is," Giles agreed.
If they could not all be together, Giles hoped that his children would be safe and happy.
In the new hellscape of the world, it was more than most could have.
Willow was gone, but the rest of his children were okay.
That was enough for him; he was content.
*****Chapter End*****
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