That's gotta be disorienting. Reappearing like that.
( He frowns. )
Save for, like, you know - private time, I don't just want to send you back to sleep like a button I can push. Can you interact with things? Like, touch them?
I accidentally enslaved a male witch. There's an irony in that you can just never know.
( From not being him. )
You don't deserve the orb and the darkness, so, maybe. Stick around. Again, save for, like, alone time. ( Of which, he assumes he won't be having much of, now. ) Can I touch you?
( And, for the record, it's not because he wants to, he just needs to know the ins, the outs, the rules, and the regulations. )
[It's more complicated than that, but whether or not he breaks things down further is going to depend on how much Xander knows about Faerie to begin with.
He then pauses because, well ... no one has ever tried. October did, once or twice, but she hadn't been in control of the orb.]
( He thinks about it for a second, before crossing the room toward him and stopping by the wall he's leaned against. Holding his hand out, it's there for the shaking. Why not test every theory.
They will get back to the Faerie of it all because - que? )
[Simon eyes the hand curiously, unsure of how to proceed, what he should be hoping for. It would be nice, certainly, to be able to touch someone. But after having been stuck in this orb for decades, it would almost be too kind. Still, he reaches out to meet Xander's hand, lining it up with the touch of his fingers and trying to see if he can feel the warmth of his skin.
He thinks he feels something, perhaps just a glimpse of potential, before his fingers slip through Xander's, like he's a projection on a screen.]
Alright, another rule. I need to be conscious. Well... until next time.
( As a few weeks pass, Xander finds himself having more conversations with the Faerie-orb-guy - even in public, though always with an airpod in so he's not looked at as a crazy person.
Over time, he admits that he's from a small town in California that's now a crater. He hasn't really spoken to his family in a long time. They're not good family to have. Took him a long time to own that. He assumes that Simon probably notices he's not flush in the friend department. He helps the local slayer, gets assignments by E-mail and he's given the rundown from Zoom calls he's not on. He lives a smaller, quieter life. He drinks a little too much from time to time, but instead of talking to strangers at bars, he talks to Simon. Currently, it's him, Simon, and the bartender that can't see him.
It's a quiet Monday night. )
Really wish you could try this beer with me. Best on tap yet.
I was always more of a wine person, but it's been so long since I've had a spirit of any kind, I'd be willing to give it a try.
[Simon's positioned himself across from him in the booth, leaning back against the wall as he lets his eyes scan the room. It's been a lot of dark corners as it's hard for Xander to talk to him with a lot of other people around, but he finds he's enjoying these quiet intimacies.]
I miss food, as well. Many of the little pleasures you take for granted.
[Simon can be hit or miss on sex, not because he didn't enjoy it but more because the objectification of it in his last relationship had left him feeling less than desirable. But some simple human touch might be nice.]
Good company, when you can get it?
[Simon isn't sure he qualifies, but sometimes it can be nice to sit and talk with someone. To simply connect, when he can.]
( He was a bit thrown by Anya's death, then even more thrown by Renee's. And while he has his Xander-y, yammering charm, it didn't really do him good in Scotland. Or, on assignment. Plus, the slayers were young and Xander does not rob the cradle (outside of the comic, gross.) )
The... Oh. No. Not - um - his happened once before, except there was a giant werewolf elephant in the room and metaphors did not do me any good - but, you are company. Just not that kind of company. I mean I'd eat with you. That's something, right?
[That kind of company. No, Simon can't do much for him there, especially if he's not Xander's preference. But it seems as though there's a story there.]
Then why such a lack of that kind of company? You seem charming.
I do not, but that's a nice gesture. ( He can be. He used to be. ) I was in a longterm relationship once, technically, my second ever. I cheated on my first girlfriend. With my best friend. Lost her. Best girl friend - friend who was a girl. And then I left my second girlfriend at the altar. She died a year later in a siege on my old high school which again, now sits at the bottom of a government-watched crater. And then the next girl I was interested was considerably younger, she had that it factor, she got banter, you know, and banter's important! But, she also died. What I do, it's ... real adjacent to danger, a lot. Because I was best friends with at one-time the only vampire slayer on the planet and a witch.
( Maybe he'll catch the was. Maybe he won't. The story is long but not very winding. When he says it out loud like this, it looks bad. Couple that with his hypocritical attitude. And it is bad. )
( Lucia being a lady is a bit Aldonza-Dulcinea but he's not about to back away. )
I said something when I was a teenager, something immature, to my friend Buffy about my friend Willow - and in doing so, I didn't tell her that there was a... possibility of hope with her boyfriend. Who was a vampire. And usually had a soul, but because of transgressions and curses, he didn't then. And, Willow was working on restoring it. But, told her that Willow said to kick his ass. Willow had asked me to tell Buffy she was making the attempt. Maybe Buffy would have fought differently, tried harder to keep the soulless guy she used to suck face with further away from the latest maguffin of evil.
I've never loved Buffy's taste in men. Three separate vampires. And, I didn't like her latest. I got judgy - which meant Buffy, Willow, and me all rehashed high school with Angel all over again. And it came out. And things were said. And those things weren't nice. On all sides. But, instead of coming around, any of us, Buffy and Willow made the unilateral decision and relocated me. Buffy couldn't look at me. Willow never realized just how selfish and judgy I've always been. Cheese stands alone.
( That's how it works. )
I did like Riley, her college boyfriend. Had a bit of a mancrush at the time. But, Angel, Spike, Stefan... I didn't get it. And I still don't.
[Which he knows can be difficult when it comes to a dear friend. He's certain many people felt the same way about Simon and his wife.
... Maybe this is also not the best example as Simon's marriage is not a sparkling example of the institution, but this isn't about Simon, this is about Xander.]
It all sounds very complicated, and I'm sure I'm missing context, but ... it's interesting that this Riley is the only one you found suitable. Is he also he only one that was human?
He was, not including some one-timers in high school.
( He rolled his eyes at everyone who liked Buffy, but that was because of his unrequited thing, something he's convinced he's done with. He knows she'll never love him like that. And she said as much before he left their lives. )
It's not like I did better. Praying mantis substitute teacher, Inca mummy girl, Cordelia Chase - and if you knew her, you'd think she was a demon, too. And then Anya. Anya was it. For a long time. My experience with vengeance? Is her. Because, she was a former vengeance demon two times over. She lost her powers the first time and had them stripped the second. That... wasn't a great time. And I left her at the altar, so you can bet why she got her powers back.
[He can't say he blames Anya for choosing vengeance in that case. If someone had left him at the altar, he would have been upset too. But there had to have been a reason. Someone doesn't go through all of the hardwork of proposing not to walk down the aisle.]
Someone she'd cursed found me beforehand and fed me false visions about our future together. I didn't want to become my father. I'd seen too much and - and I had had my own doubts about my viability, at my... being able to provide. Take care of her. By the time she found me to tell me the visions were all fake, I had made up my mind.
( And made himself and everyone else miserable in the process. )
She got me back by also sleeping with Spike which was... super fun to stumble on to watching. ( And then learning that Buffy was with Spike, too... ) That was a dark year.
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( He frowns. )
Save for, like, you know - private time, I don't just want to send you back to sleep like a button I can push. Can you interact with things? Like, touch them?
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Handling them, no. I'm more of an illusion than anything else. But should you use me for my intended purpose, I can cast spells on things.
[But you seem to not want to do that.]
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( From not being him. )
You don't deserve the orb and the darkness, so, maybe. Stick around. Again, save for, like, alone time. ( Of which, he assumes he won't be having much of, now. ) Can I touch you?
( And, for the record, it's not because he wants to, he just needs to know the ins, the outs, the rules, and the regulations. )
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[It's more complicated than that, but whether or not he breaks things down further is going to depend on how much Xander knows about Faerie to begin with.
He then pauses because, well ... no one has ever tried. October did, once or twice, but she hadn't been in control of the orb.]
I don't know. No one's ever tried.
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( He thinks about it for a second, before crossing the room toward him and stopping by the wall he's leaned against. Holding his hand out, it's there for the shaking. Why not test every theory.
They will get back to the Faerie of it all because - que? )
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He thinks he feels something, perhaps just a glimpse of potential, before his fingers slip through Xander's, like he's a projection on a screen.]
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Now we know. Well, I need to get some shut eye. But, I could - I don't know, leave something on for you. Like on the TV? Or, play you music?
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[Out of thought, out of mind, out of view. He'll come back again when Xander wants to see him, however long that may take.]
But get some rest. I'll be fine.
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( As a few weeks pass, Xander finds himself having more conversations with the Faerie-orb-guy - even in public, though always with an airpod in so he's not looked at as a crazy person.
Over time, he admits that he's from a small town in California that's now a crater. He hasn't really spoken to his family in a long time. They're not good family to have. Took him a long time to own that. He assumes that Simon probably notices he's not flush in the friend department. He helps the local slayer, gets assignments by E-mail and he's given the rundown from Zoom calls he's not on. He lives a smaller, quieter life. He drinks a little too much from time to time, but instead of talking to strangers at bars, he talks to Simon. Currently, it's him, Simon, and the bartender that can't see him.
It's a quiet Monday night. )
Really wish you could try this beer with me. Best on tap yet.
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[Simon's positioned himself across from him in the booth, leaning back against the wall as he lets his eyes scan the room. It's been a lot of dark corners as it's hard for Xander to talk to him with a lot of other people around, but he finds he's enjoying these quiet intimacies.]
I miss food, as well. Many of the little pleasures you take for granted.
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( Really here. )
There is nothing better. Well, I mean. Food. Sex. Simple human pleasures.
( And man, he misses sex. He wonders for a second if Simon can smell. If he ordered something. Would that be sensation he'd like? )
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Good company, when you can get it?
[Simon isn't sure he qualifies, but sometimes it can be nice to sit and talk with someone. To simply connect, when he can.]
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( He was a bit thrown by Anya's death, then even more thrown by Renee's. And while he has his Xander-y, yammering charm, it didn't really do him good in Scotland. Or, on assignment. Plus, the slayers were young and Xander does not rob the cradle (outside of the comic, gross.) )
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I wouldn't say that. I'd like to think I'm delightful company, even if I wasn't bound to an orb and obligated to be in your presence.
[He's kidding, there's a lot of dryness in that tone, but it's also the truth, so that comment could land either way.]
Unless I'm not the company you're looking for?
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( Just... not sleep with you.
Yet, the narrative makes clear. )
But... thanks?
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[That kind of company. No, Simon can't do much for him there, especially if he's not Xander's preference. But it seems as though there's a story there.]
Then why such a lack of that kind of company? You seem charming.
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( Maybe he'll catch the was. Maybe he won't. The story is long but not very winding. When he says it out loud like this, it looks bad. Couple that with his hypocritical attitude. And it is bad. )
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[Simon can relate. He's had a fair amount of misfortune himself.]
Is that why you're here, only working with the Lady Lucia?
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I said something when I was a teenager, something immature, to my friend Buffy about my friend Willow - and in doing so, I didn't tell her that there was a... possibility of hope with her boyfriend. Who was a vampire. And usually had a soul, but because of transgressions and curses, he didn't then. And, Willow was working on restoring it. But, told her that Willow said to kick his ass. Willow had asked me to tell Buffy she was making the attempt. Maybe Buffy would have fought differently, tried harder to keep the soulless guy she used to suck face with further away from the latest maguffin of evil.
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And you're paying the price for it now?
[It seems as though it's a bit delayed, but Simon is aware that he's coming to this story in pieces.]
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( That's how it works. )
I did like Riley, her college boyfriend. Had a bit of a mancrush at the time. But, Angel, Spike, Stefan... I didn't get it. And I still don't.
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[Which he knows can be difficult when it comes to a dear friend. He's certain many people felt the same way about Simon and his wife.
... Maybe this is also not the best example as Simon's marriage is not a sparkling example of the institution, but this isn't about Simon, this is about Xander.]
It all sounds very complicated, and I'm sure I'm missing context, but ... it's interesting that this Riley is the only one you found suitable. Is he also he only one that was human?
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( He rolled his eyes at everyone who liked Buffy, but that was because of his unrequited thing, something he's convinced he's done with. He knows she'll never love him like that. And she said as much before he left their lives. )
It's not like I did better. Praying mantis substitute teacher, Inca mummy girl, Cordelia Chase - and if you knew her, you'd think she was a demon, too. And then Anya. Anya was it. For a long time. My experience with vengeance? Is her. Because, she was a former vengeance demon two times over. She lost her powers the first time and had them stripped the second. That... wasn't a great time. And I left her at the altar, so you can bet why she got her powers back.
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[He can't say he blames Anya for choosing vengeance in that case. If someone had left him at the altar, he would have been upset too. But there had to have been a reason. Someone doesn't go through all of the hardwork of proposing not to walk down the aisle.]
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( And made himself and everyone else miserable in the process. )
She got me back by also sleeping with Spike which was... super fun to stumble on to watching. ( And then learning that Buffy was with Spike, too... ) That was a dark year.
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