Xander woke up around 6am and started wiping the sleep out of his eyes, he took in his surroundings and noticed Bill sitting at the table quietly. It was honestly unnerving, and had it been any day before the last 72 hours he would have cracked a joke to break the tension. Moving forward, it seemed his life needed more Alex and a little less Xander. "Good morning Alex" said Bill , "Morning Bill, are you alright?" Xander asked.
"Yes, thank you for asking, I am a bit hungry but I didn't want you to wake up alone" Bill responded. Xanders' stomach chose this moment to growl loudly and they both chuckled.
Xander started talking "I miss my friends, I miss my brother Jessie, I miss how uncomplicated my life was two years ago. I used to dream about living a life where I was somebody, where the focus was on me, but I am realizing that comes with a price that I do not want to pay. The worst part of my life used to be the neglect and abuse from my parents but that feels insignificant compared to demons, mouths of hell, and now alien super powers. I may not be as smart as Willow but I do know I have responsibilities that come from this freak accident." As Xander finished talking, his shoulders started to sag as if his body realized the truth of his words.
Bill noticed this and decided to speak up "Alex, our lives will be forever different, we now have a gift and a burden to use that gift to help those who cannot help themselves." Xander smiled and thought of Uncle Ben's famous words. Bill continued "I have no memories of family, I have no memories of friends, everything that existed prior to this night is gone, all that is left is Shazaam, I don't know where this person was born, I don't know who his…my.. parents are.. All the wisdom of Solomon and the young man's body I inhabited is a mystery to me. You and I are in a situation only the other can understand. We may not be related by blood but we are by circumstances, and that is something I embrace. When I found out you were in trouble, I wanted to do whatever I could to help. Anytime you need me, anyplace you need me, I will be there. That is my promise to you, from this day on, we are brothers." Bill took a breath to steady his nerves, 'Courage of Achilles indeed' he thought. He felt like he had just poured his soul out.
Xander stood up and walked to Bill "Brothers from this day on."