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2021-06-02
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2021-08-14
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Champion's Heart

Summary:

“I wish we had someone to help us fight this demon. Someone who believes in demons, who's fought them before, someone who could help me help Mac.”

Chapter Text

Champions Heart – A Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Highlander the Series crossover
calikocat

Word count: 2549

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Highlander or Buffy.

A/N: So in December of 2020 I had a need to write a couple of fix-it fics to help me deal with a death in the family. My Mommaw died just before Thanksgiving (though 2020 sucked all the way around because we had some pets die as well). And also quarantine but yeah. But I had trouble facing the first Christmas without her so I wrote 2 fix-it fics. This was the second one...the first was a Wayward Wolves fic and you'll get that one later in the year. So have a fix-it fic to fix the stupid Ahriman story arc of Highlander the series. :D

XXX

Richie grit his teeth in frustration at the older men. Why did they have to be so skeptical about all this? Why couldn't they accept that something was going on, that Mac wasn't just losing it. Methos had even been the one to help Mac get over his dark quickening with that mystical cavern and its healing spring. Why couldn't he accept that Mac was being tormented by a demon and the spirits of the dead?

“You agree with Joe, you think MacLeod is crazy.”

Methos sighed. “I think he's hallucinating Richie. He's seeing people he's killed and who knows what else he's doing.”

“He did not set that fire.” Richie tried again to appeal to them. “What if all this stuff is real?”

“So, there are demons running around. Dead people walking.”

“You're walking around, aren't you?” Richie asked him. “I'm walking around. How many times have you been killed?”

Methos gave him a look. “Richie, that's not the same, and you know it.”

“No, no, no. I don't know it! Nobody knows the reason why immortals exist
and maybe this is it. Maybe we're here so that one of us can fight this thing.”

Joe spoke up, voice even more skeptical that Methos'. “Yeah, this has been going on for thousands of years, and no one has ever heard of it, not watchers, not immortals.”

“Basically, yes. Seems kinda obvious really.”

They exchanged looks and he knew they still couldn't believe it. Richie sighed, wondering why he was the only one on Mac's side. “I wish we had someone to help us fight this demon. Someone who believes in demons, who's fought them before, someone who could help me help Mac.”

A waiter stopped by their table with the bill and he smiled at them, chuckled even as his face changed to something inhuman, covered in veins. Methos and Joe leaned back and Richie wondered if this was Ahriman. The waiter, demon, was still smiling. “If that's what you want kid, I'll grant your wish.”

There was a flash of light and the demon waiter disappeared, in his place was a fourth chair and sitting in that chair was a young man. A teenager really, eighteen or nineteen. He had dark hair, dark eyes, a tan and he vaguely looked like he could be related to Duncan MacLeod.

The poor guy looked confused and freaked out, looking around like he was expecting an attack. “What? How?” He blinked and looked at them. Methos and Joe were just staring. “Where the heck am I? Who are you guys?”

Richie held up his hands. “Easy man, calm down, we'll talk about it. What's your name?”

“Xander.”

The first thing out of Joe's mouth was, “What kind of a name is Xander?”

Methos rolled his eyes. “Really Joe, obviously it’s a shortened form of Alexander, though its been a while since I've heard it.”

Xander made a face at him. “In defense of my friends we were five and Xander was easier to say than Alexander.”

Richie offered a hand to Xander. “I'm Richie Ryan.”

Xander accepted. “Xander Harris. So, Richie Ryan, where exactly am I?”

“Paris.”

Xander's jaw dropped and he let go of Richie's hand. “Paris, France?”

“Yeah kid,” Joe said. “There a problem with that?”

“Well yeah, seeing as how a few seconds ago I was Southern California, in a midsize town about two hours south of L.A.”

“That explains the tan then.” Methos leaned back starting to relax. “So, do you know how you got here in an instant?”

Xander sighed. “Probably magic...but I don't know anyone with enough mojo to zap me to the other side of the planet.”

“You believe in magic?” Joe's disbelief was really annoying.

“You have a better explanation for me suddenly sitting here with you and why is it so cold in Paris.” Xander shivered. “I was not dressed for Paris in May.” And the button up he was wearing did look a bit thin for the weather.

Methos stood and took off his long coat before walking around the table to drape the coat over Xander's shoulders. “Better?”

Xander blinked at him, brown eyes wide. “Yeah, thanks.”

Methos nodded and took his seat again. “So, magic exists but you don't know anyone with enough power to transport you from California to France.”

“Right.”

Richie bit his lip. “Do wishes count?”

The poor guy paled a little. “Who made a wish?”

“I did.” Richie admitted and winced when Xander's hand shot out and smacked the back of his head. “Ow!”

“Never, ever say a wish out loud.” Xander scolded him. “There are things that grant wishes. There are demons that grant wishes. Those wishes tend to end badly.”

“Really.” Joe snorted. “Do tell.” Xander's gaze snapped to Joe and it was as sharp as a knife, it told Richie that the kid had been through some major crap, even at his young age.

Xander's voice was even hard as he spoke. “My ex-girlfriend broke up with me after I cheated on her, which she was right to do. However, she made a wish, and a Vengeance Demon called Anyanka, Patron Saint of Scorned Women granted her wish.” Methos made some sort of sound and Xander glanced at him. “I see you've heard of dear Anya.”

“The name does ring a bell.” The oldest immortal admitted.

Xander continued. “My ex ended up in an alternate reality with vampire versions of me and the girl I had an affair with. Our vampire doubles ended up eating her. The only reason she's alive and not trapped dead in that world is because she told someone about it, and he destroyed Anyanka's pendant which was the source of her power. The wish was undone, and my ex is alive and well.”

“And this Anyanka chick?” Richie asked.

“She's stuck in the persona of a twelfth-grade girl and re-learning how to be human. She's having some issues because it’s been over a thousand years since she was human.”

Joe was finally starting to look fascinated. “Humans can become demons?”

“Her people were Vikings back in the day and she was a human witch named Aud. When her lover was unfaithful to her, she turned him into a troll. D'Hoffryn, the King of the vengeance demons, was impressed and offered her a job.” Xander shrugged. “But now she's human again and that's not gonna change.”

“And you just happen to know all this,” Methos commented, smiling.

Xander shrugged. “Like I said she's re-learning to be human and needed a date for the prom. Since she blames me for her situation, she felt I owed her...and I didn't have a date.”

“How did it go?” Richie felt he had to ask.

The guy shuddered. “She told me how she tortured and mutilated men for a millennium. Not my worst date actually but I don't plan on seeing her again, because after I dropped her off last night, I hardly slept at all.”

“What was your worst date?” Methos asked.

“One I don't want to talk about.” He turned to Richie. “So, you made a wish huh, what was it?”

“We have a demon problem.” Richie told him. “Or at least our friend Mac has a demon problem. These two don't believe in demons, which is stupid considering what some of us are.”

“So, you're not a demon?” Xander asked.

“What? No, why would you think that?”

“Because you and chivalry guy feel wonky to me.”

Methos muttered “Chivalry guy?” under his breath but was laughing about it. Out loud he cleared his throat. “I'm Adam Pierson by the way, you can really tell that Richie and I aren't ordinary people?”

He nodded. “Yeah, just like I can tell this guy,” He pointed at Joe. “Is human.”

“This guy is Joe Dawson.” Joe offered.

“Nice to meet you. So, Adam, what are you and Richie?”

“We're immortals.”

“Come again?”

“Immortals. We're human, we're just long lived.” Methos grinned. “I've been around a few centuries. Richie here is still a baby.”

Xander looked at him and Richie shrugged. “I turned nineteen in 1993, and then I had my first death.”

“Which triggered his immortality,” Methos added.

“So, you're twenty-five?” Xander asked.

“Check your math kid.” Joe told him. “Richie is twenty-three.”

Xander was frowning. “But its 1999, my math skills aren't so bad that I couldn't figure that out.”

“Its 1997.” Methos corrected him.

The poor guy paled again. “Really? It’s not May 1999?”

“Its May 1997.” Methos wasn't smiling now. “Are you saying you've time traveled as well?”

“Magic tends to do weird crap when I'm involved.” He sighed. “Then again if you have a demon problem it’s better that you have 18-year-old me instead of 16-year-old me. If you'd gotten Xander from May '97 he wouldn't be much help because I only found out magic, demons and vampires were real three months before then.”

“You really believe in this stuff?” Joe asked.

Xander fixed that hard stare on Joe again. “When I was 16 my best friend Jesse was turned into a vampire. When a person becomes a vampire, the soul is gone and a demon takes its place. The demon will have the persons memories and maybe even parts of its personality, but the part that made them, them...that's gone.”

“What happened to him?” Richie asked.

“Jesse was my first kill.” Xander looked at him. “The stake went into his heart and he turned to dust.”

Richie gulped. “Jesus. I'm sorry man.”

“Me too.” He sighed again and sat back, settling deeper into Methos' coat. “So, you have a demon problem. Tell me about it.”

“It’s a Zoroastrian demon called Ahriman.” Richie offered.

“Yay, words I don't know or recognize.”

Methos gave him a small amused smile. “From ancient Persia, today's Middle East.”

“Gotcha, so what's this Ahriman doing to your friend? What's it look like? What’s the ultimate goal?”

“If this is for real,” Joe said “The ultimate goal is the end of the world.”

Xander slumped in his chair. “I hate Apocalypse season.” That made all three of them stare at the kid.

“Apocalypse season?” Methos asked, voice a little bit higher than it had been.

“The month of May, every year someone or something wants to try and end the world. Like it’s not bad enough we have finals, we also have to save the world every year. Go on, what's the demon doing to your friend? What's his name anyway?”

“Duncan MacLeod.” Richie told him. “Most people call him Mac and right now the demon is just trying to drive him crazy. We don't know what it looks like because only Mac has seen it...and it looks like people he's killed.”

“If this is all for real you mean.” Joe said, ever the skeptic.

Methos and Richie however were watching Xander closely, he'd gotten even paler, but his mouth set in grim determination. “I've never heard of this Ahriman...but that tactic has been used by The First.”

“The First?” Methos questioned.

“The First Evil, it’s a non-corporeal big bad.” He shivered. “Have you seen anyone in robes lurking around? Weirdos who are blind because they have carvings on their eyelids?” They shook their heads. “Well, that's good I guess.”

“What did it do?” Richie asked. “And why would there be weirdos like that?”

“The weirdos are called Bringers, or Harbingers, they were henchman of The First. The First took credit for bringing a Champion back from a Hell dimension...then tried to drive him crazy by appearing as people he'd murdered when he'd been evil. Nearly drove him to suicide.”

“Hell dimension?” Methos asked.

Xander sighed and then went into the tale of a vampire named Angelus.

xxx

As Xander talked they'd ordered him food and drink, and they were fascinated by the tale. Methos seemed the most surprised.

“The Scourge of Europe were vampires?” He asked.

“Yep.” Xander replied. “Darla's dead, Angel is currently fighting for the good guys. Spike and Dru are places unknown. You heard of them huh?”

“Distantly. Never met them. I assumed they were just immortals.”

“Well, technically, what with the not aging.” He shook his head. “Thanks for the food, but we need to talk about your demon problem. What other information can you give me?”

Richie was still reeling from the vampire revelation, but he managed. “There's a prophecy--”

Xander groaned. “I hate prophecies.”

Methos laughed outright. “Have experience in those as well?”

“Kinda? As in I kinda broke one? There was a prophecy that said a friend of mine would die. She's a bona fide Champion of the light.”

“Really?” Joe asked.

Richie leaned forward a bit. “What happened?”

“She died. An ancient vampire, the head of the Aurelius clan, the clan that spawned the Scourge, killed her. He drowned her.”

“And then?” Methos questioned

Xander grinned. “Well, the dumb-ass who wrote the prophecy didn't know about CPR. So, I brought her back from the dead and she killed the Master right back.” He relaxed a bit. “Now tell me about this prophecy.”

Richie recited the words Mac had heard from Cassandra. “An evil one will come. To vanquish all before him. Only a highland child born on the winter solstice who has seen both darkness and light can stop him.”

Joe added his two cents. “Another immortal tried to kill MacLeod when he was a child, 400 years ago to stop him. I think the guy assumed he'd be the evil one. Or maybe the seer Cassandra, another immortal thought that way.”

“Except now we think.” Richie paused and glared at his friends. “Or I think this Ahriman demon must be the great evil.”

“There's another wording for the prophecy.” Methos stated and continued when Xander signaled him to carry on. “A highland foundling, born in the winter solstice, who passes through darkness into light and survives to challenge the voice of death.”

Joe shook his head. “According to you though, a prophecy can be broken.”

Xander shrugged. “They can also be self-fulfilling. The whole reason my friend died in the first place is because she went to the cavern where the Master was trapped and faced him alone in battle. If she hadn't gone, he would have stayed trapped until he found another way to get out. It was her blood that freed him from the magical barrier.”

“So, what do we do?” Richie asked.

“Take me to Duncan MacLeod.”

XXX

Chapter Text

Champions Heart – A Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Highlander the Series crossover
calikocat

Word count: 2427

A/N: So, when I first envisioned this story, I pictured it as a nice long one-shot. However, I decided to go the chapter route. I hadn't figured on more than two maybe three chapters, but it’s more than I figured it would be. I don't just want to stop it with Xander helping to save the day. I want it to continue beyond that.

XXX

Before they left the cafe Xander had given Methos his coat back with a heartfelt thank you. Then Richie took off with the young man to buy him a coat of his own, promising to meet them at the barge to talk to MacLeod. Methos had stared after them a bit in wonder.

Joe stood shaking his head. “What do you think?”

“About what?” Methos asked.

“About Xander.”

“I think he's a young man who's seen a lot of horrible things in his short life. You?”

Joe seemed to think about that for a moment. “Reminds me of a soldier, despite the wise cracks and the attitude. Maybe because of them. He seems a little more grown up than Richie.”

“They've had vastly different experiences Joe. Its sounds like Xander grew up in a war zone.”

“It does, doesn't it. Wonder what his worst date was.”

“Not sure I want to know that Joe. Come on, let’s get to the barge.” He slipped his coat on, still warm from where Xander had worn it.

Joe walked along with him. “Seems to me like you like the kid.”

“He does have a certain something that is very likeable.” Methos admitted.

“And your uncharacteristic chivalry?” Joe wanted to know.

“He really wasn't dressed for May in Paris, Joe.”

“It seemed more than that.”

Methos sighed. “Sometimes I'm a sucker for youthful exuberance and expressive brown eyes.”

“And he's less pigheaded than Mac.”

“Possibly.”

xxx

Richie had so many questions but he didn't want to overwhelm Xander. The poor guy had had a hell of a day already and it was Richie's fault. He didn't regret the wish he'd made though, not if Xander could help him, could help Mac. Richie would do anything for Mac.

“You really care about him huh?” Xander asked as he slipped on another jacket, it was the third one he'd tried on. “Your friend Mac.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Xander checked out his reflection in the mirror. “How'd you meet?”

“I was a month away from turning 18, and I was a thief.” At the shocked stare Xander gave him Richie shrugged. “Like you've never broken in somewhere.”

“Only to save lives.” Xander told him. “A friend's mom was dating a weird guy and we checked out his address.”

“How weird?”

“Well Ted had four marriage certificates, but no divorces...and no death notices for his previous wives.”

“He was a serial killer?”

“He was a robot that kept trying to get his original wife back and his programming forced him to go after women that resembled her. I found his dead wives in a closet in his little time capsule 1950s bunker of love and horrors.”

“I... that...”

“When I said original wife, I meant the woman the real Ted had been married to. He got sick and she left him. So, he went crazy, and built a better Ted.”

“You've met a serial killer robot.”

“Who kept most of us mellow by drugging the mini pizzas and cookies he fed us.” Xander shrugged off the coat and put it back.

Richie noticed that each coat he looked at was cheaper than the one before it. “You want to be warm while you're here Xander, you don't have to get something cheap that's gonna fall apart. Get a coat that's mid-length, leather, and has a good warm lining.”

Xander blushed, but nodded. “Sorry, not used to expensive gifts.”

“The least I can do since it’s my fault you're here.”

Xander tried on another couple of coats and Richie helped him decide on one. He paid for it and Xander wore it out of the store. “Thanks Richie.”

“Like I said, I already owe you. You ever break in anywhere else?”

“My ex-girlfriend and I liberated a rocket launcher once.”

Richie stopped and stared at him. “What?”

“What, what? We needed it to kill a demon.”

xxx

It was dark by the time Methos and Joe stepped inside the barge. MacLeod had turned to face them, having sensed Methos approach. The Highlander just glared at them. “So, where are the men in white coats?”

Methos held back a chuckle, shoving his hands in his coat pockets. “We might all need them at this point.”

“We know you're in trouble Mac.” Joe started.

“Trouble? You think I'm in trouble?” MacLeod's smile was bitter.

“We know you need help.” Methos clarified. “Richie, believer that he is, made a wish.”

“A wish?” Mac shook his head. “Did some fairy grant it?”

“Well, a demon did.” Methos grinned

“We don't know it was a demon.” Joe grumbled.

“Joe the guy's face changed to something at least vaguely demonic and when he disappeared, he left Xander behind to help us.”

“Who or what is Xander?” Mac asked.

“A young man with a few years of fighting demons and vampires under his belt.” When Mac just stared at him Methos continued. “Richie wished someone with experience fighting demons was here to help him help you. Alexander appeared and he was as surprised as us. Poor boy was dressed for warm and sunny southern California, so right now Richie is buying him a proper coat.”

“You're serious?”

“I know what I saw Mac.”

MacLeod huffed at him. “I've been saying that for days Methos.”

“I know.” Methos nodded. “And I'm sorry.”

“So, you believe now?” Mac asked, the smallest of hope in his eyes.

Methos smiled. “I'm a bit more opened minded now.”

“And you Joe?”

Joe sighed. “I don't know what to believe.”

“Come on Joe, you can't ignore Xander appearing out of thin air and then smacking Richie for making a wish out loud.”

“This boy hurt Richie?” Mac demanded to know.

“A smack on the back of his head Mac. Apparently, the wishes that those demons grant can end badly for the wisher.” Methos told him.

“Kid even gave an example.” Joe muttered.

“Tell me...” Mac said. “And tell me why you're willing to believe a stranger over me.”

“Well, he did appear out of thin air.” Methos grinned.

“And Methos thinks the kid is cute.”

“Oh really?” Mac rolled his eyes.

“He's more fun than you too.” Methos remained unrepentant.

xxx

Richie and Xander climbed out of the cab they'd taken to the barge and were walking toward it when Richie stopped and stared ahead in horror. Xander followed his gaze and saw...an empty car driving by with glowing red headlights. Also, it felt evil.

“Joe! Oh god, Horton is alive.” Richie made a move like he was going to start chasing the car from hell and Xander whapped him on the back of the head again. “Ow, what was that for?”

“What did you see?”

“Joe in the back of that car, James Horton was holding a gun on him.”

“Richie all I saw was a car with red lights driving itself.”

“What?”

“Looks like Ahriman is on to us and was trying to keep you away from your friend.”

Richie looked at the car as it turned off the street and around a corner. “I hope you're right, because he's getting away.”

“Would it make you feel better if I said the empty car from hell felt evil?”

“Not really.”

“Then let’s go inside and see if Joe is there.” Xander said and got a grip on Richie's arm and forced him to walk. “Come on.” Richie finally started to walk willingly and let Xander drag him to the barge.

This had a been an exceptionally weird day for Xander and he knew it wasn't over yet, and wouldn't be until the demon was defeated. When they got inside Richie relaxed and even smiled.

“Joe! You're okay?”

Joe, Adam and Duncan MacLeod were standing around a free-standing fireplace watching them with interest. Joe raised a brow at Richie's question. “Why wouldn't I be?”

“I just saw you in a car with Horton, he had a gun on you.” Richie shook his head. “It was so real.”

“Just the demon playing tricks. Now let me get a look at this journal Richie told me about.”

“You must be the mysteriously appearing boy,” MacLeod stated.

“Yeah, that's me.” Xander spotted the journal on a low table. “That must be it.” He wasted no time and went straight for the old book and started flipping through it.

MacLeod frowned at him. “In a hurry?”

“Yeah, my high school graduation is coming up and I don't want to miss it. Hopefully
after this is done the demon that granted Richie's wish will send me back to my own
time.”

“Oh, he's a time traveler too?” MacLeod rolled his eyes, voice exasperated.

“Didn't we mention that?” Adam grinned.

“No, you didn't.”

Xander huffed at them. “Be glad there was time travel because I've been facing demons, vampires and the end of the world for over two years now. Current 18-year-old me, is superior to 16-year-old me.” He paused. “Also, back in May of '97 we were dealing with the Mouth of Hell opening up so 16-year-old me was a little busy.”

They stared at him and Xander kept skimming through the journal. MacLeod finally asked. “Can you even read any of that?”

“I can recognize portents of doom in about 10 dead languages, 6 demon languages and a few modern ones. English, German, Italian.” Xander peered closer at a page he'd stopped on. “Hey, look at this. Possible loophole.”

MacLeod nearly rushed him. “What? Where?”

Xander pointed to some scribbles. “What's that say about something belonging to the champion that's supposed to face Ahriman?”

Adam was the one who looked over his shoulder to read the old prose. "To fight Ahriman, the Champion's Heart must beat true, must beat in sync with the Highlander. Only when the Highlander and his heart are one, can Ahriman be vanquished for a thousand years. A child of hell, will show them the way, and be their guiding light."

Xander couldn't help the sigh he let out or the disappointed groan. “I hate my life.”

Joe rolled his eyes. “What, are you the Champion's heart?”

“Pfft. No.” He scoffed at the man. “I'm the child of hell. I was conceived, born and raised on a Hellmouth...and I've already trashed one prophecy.” Xander looked up at MacLeod. “I'm your guiding light.”

“Right, you're gonna show me how to fight a demon that can take the form of the people I've killed.”

Before Xander could comment Richie asked. “So, what's the Champion's Heart?”

“My guess?” Xander shrugged. “It’s sort of like...a Champion's Champion. Someone who'd follow the Champion into hell no questions asked.”

Riche's blue eyes hardened in determination. “That would be me then, since no one else believed Mac.”

“Richie.” Mac's voice was softer, pleading.

Xander glared at him. “His choice, not yours.”

Joe raised a brow at that. “You sound like you've had this conversation before.”

“Yeah,” Xander admitted. “I'm the only one of my friends who's normal. No powers, no abilities. So sometimes they try to push me aside for my own good.”

“But you didn't let them?” Adam asked, as if he knew the answer already.

“The last time they tried that crap they were trying to keep the Hellmouth closed. Meanwhile I was trying to keep a bunch of zombies from setting off a bomb in the high school. If the bomb had gone off while the Mouth of Hell was open the world probably would have ended.”

Riche was staring at him, eyes wide now. “How did you stop the zombies?”

“Decapitated one with a mailbox during interrogation.” At their confused looks he shrugged. “I was driving. Smooshed another’s head with a coke machine. One got torn apart by a demon sisterhood. The last one, well he was the most preserved...”

“And?” Joe asked.

“We played chicken over the bomb until he disarmed it.”

“That doesn't make sense.” MacLeod insisted. “He was already dead, wasn't he?”

“There's a difference between being a zombie and being in pieces. Zombies don't heal. Now, has the demon said anything to you that might give us some clues?”

MacLeod sighed. “It caught me off guard when it took the form of a woman it killed. Like it was trying to seduce me...until Horton's voice came out of her mouth.” He shuddered.

Xander had to agree that was pretty ooky and he flipped through the book some more until he had a plan...sort of. “Okay, this Ahriman is an ancient evil... but it existed since the earth was a thing. So, it’s not The First Evil.” He had a thought. “It could be that the battle with it won't be physical, but in your own head.”

“Seriously?” MacLeod demanded.

“Think about it, it’s got you all twisted up and you think you're losing it. Your friends think you're nuts, except Richie, because he's your heart.” He peered at a picture and his plan cemented in place. “Huh.”

“What is it?” Adam asked, still peering over Xander's shoulder at the book.

Xander looked at MacLeod though. “So, the last immortal to face this thing was kinda broken after the fight?”

MacLeod nodded. “He was a hermit and mad.”

“Hmm. So, he was mentally strong enough to fight it, but tormented by all the bad stuff it showed him. So, this time around you need the help of the Champion's heart.”

Richie grinned. “So, what do we do for our hearts to beat as one.”

Xander did his best not to blush. “Well according to the picture here you need to have sex.”

Richie’s eyes were a little wide. “With?”

“Each other.” Xander stated. “You and MacLeod.”

A shocked silenced followed his statement and Xander wondered what sort of explosion was going to come.

XXX

Chapter Text

Champions' Heart – A Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Highlander the Series crossover
calikocat

Word count: 2886

XXX

“I don't think so.” MacLeod declared.

Richie turned to look at him. “Am I that repulsive?”

MacLeod's eyes softened. “Richie no, that's not...”

“That's our cue to leave.” Adam said, taking Joe by his arm and guiding him out. Xander, however, stayed; MacLeod and Richie continued as if he wasn't there.

“I won't take advantage of you; you're my student and I've already hurt you.”

“I'm not a kid anymore Mac, and we've made up. You're not getting rid of me that easy.” He moved closer to MacLeod and put his hand on the older immortal's shoulder. “Please don't turn me away.”

Xander watched the interaction with fascination. It was a good technique, but Richie really need to work on his puppy eyes. However, it seemed enough for the other immortal.

MacLeod sighed, took Richie's hand in his and held it over his heart. “So, Richie and I have to have sex.”

Xander nodded. “Make love not war, isn't that how it went in the '60s?” He grinned at MacLeod's grimace. “Cover your bases. I'm guessing immortals have a fast recovery time?”

Richie was grinning like a loon, still holding hands with his friend. “Like I said, I died at 19, I'll always have a fast recovery time.”

Wow, lucky. Xander shook his head. “Okay, got any olive oil around?”

“That's a bit crass.” MacLeod grumbled, a slight blush on his tanned cheeks.

Xander rolled his eyes. “As your guiding light I can use it to paint protection symbols on your bodies. And, to be crass, you can use it for lube. After arts and crafts I'll step outside for the evening’s entertainment.”

They started to take off their clothes and even Xander removed his new coat, not wanting to get the olive oil on it. Once they were naked and both blushing Xander got the olive oil that Mac had directed him to in a kitchen cabinet. He rolled up his sleeves, poured it into a small bowl and approached both immortals.

He tried to be professional, clinical even, but it was really, really hard to keep naughty thoughts at bay. Duncan MacLeod and Richie Ryan were both pretty yummy specimens as his girls would say. Maybe MacLeod not so much, because his eyes and eyebrows reminded Xander of his view in the mirror every day. He only wished he was as built, as sculpted as the Highlander.

Still, he did his best as he dipped his fingers in the oil, and started to paint every frickin' protection symbol he could think of on MacLeod's chest. From there he moved to his back, his arms, and even knelt down to paint the oil on his legs. He ignored the way MacLeod's body was responding to what was essentially a slick caress.

Richie was already standing at attention when Xander finished with MacLeod and moved on to him. The younger man had a little more chest hair than MacLeod so that slowed Xander down a bit, but he got the job done and continued the pattern from before. Soon Richie's back, arms and legs had matching symbols on them. They didn't really show up, except to glisten in the dim light of the room.

When he was done, he put the bowl on the counter, grabbed the bottle and handed it to MacLeod. Then he quickly washed his hands, put his coat back on and started to head out. Except he thought back to something he'd seen in the cabinet and before he could talk himself out of it, he grabbed the two cans of cooking spray. Then he joined Adam and Joe in the mist outside.

xxx

Richie relaxed the moment Mac touched him, taking his hand and laying down in front of the fire place. He followed Mac, until he was straddling the older man, their cocks touching and Richie couldn't stop the gasp as he exhaled. Mac smiled at him and reached up to touch his jaw, his cheek and pulled him closer for a kiss, the first. Maybe they were moving a little backwards with this but Richie was okay with that.

His mouth opened up and Richie tried not to smile as Mac practically devoured him, lips and tongue working him over. Richie had often wondered what it would be like to be at the center of Mac's attention, wondered what it would be like to have that mouth on him. It was better than he imagined.

Mac pulled back and looked up at him. “We don't have to do this Richie. Our first time together shouldn't be about saving the world.”

Richie frowned, but leaned in for another kiss, letting out all the passion he'd been holding back for years. First because he loved Tessa and wasn't the kind of guy to poach. Second because he'd been too young and Mac was his mentor. Now though, now there was no reason not to let Duncan MacLeod know how much he meant to Richie. He licked into Mac's mouth as his hips moved to rub his cock against Mac's again.

When he pulled back to meet Mac's eyes there was a sudden understanding. “This isn't about saving the world for me. This is about getting to be with you, do you really understand Mac? I don't just want this one night. I don't want you inside me just this once. I want you forever. I want to be with you in every way that I can for the rest of my life. I want you inside of me, I want inside of you, physically, emotionally...every way.”

Mac smiled. “I love you too Richie.”

“You better let Amanda know, because I'm not into time shares.”

Mac laughed and a slick finger probed at him, slipping inside him for the first time. Richie moved into the touch making the finger slide in deeper and he moaned in appreciation. Mac laughed but nodded in agreement. “I'll let her know.”

xxx

Xander got to work the moment he got outside. Joe and Adam watched him, openly curious as he shook the can of cooking spray. When he started painting protection symbols on the outside of the barge Adam got up from the patio table to get a closer look.

Joe's strangled gasp made them both look up and there was a man Xander had never seen before. Or at least it looked like a man, someone Joe and Adam both recognized. Xander, however, only glanced at the image, knowing somehow it wasn't real, because he could see behind its mask. So, he kept moving around and painting the symbols.

“Horton?” Joe asked.

The image of Horton disappeared and reappeared beside Xander, making Methos jump a bit. “You think you can stop me with cans of cooking spray? Really? I hadn't realized you were so foolish, White Knight.”

He rolled his eyes and kept working. “Whatever, I just need to keep you away long enough for the Champion and his heart to beat as one.”

Ahriman smirked at him. “Like you and your champion? Her heart will never beat for you. Even if you are her heart.”

“Pfft. I know, but I'd still follow her into hell. As long as she's living, I'm satisfied. She's my friend.”

“But that's all you are to her, a dear friend. You'll never be anything more.”

“There are different kinds of love, but then you wouldn't know anything about that.” He pointed out, feeling that was rather obvious. “I love her as a friend. She loves me as a friend. I have a place in her heart. She lives, she has a chance at happiness. That's enough. Her happiness doesn't need to be with me, I know I'm not meant for her.”

xxx

Richie sank down on Mac's cock again. It filled him in a way he'd never thought he'd experience. Already he'd lost count of how many times he'd taken it, moving his legs, keeping his body open to ride Mac. He was just where he wanted to be, here with Mac, making love.

Suddenly Mac's grip on him changed and he rolled them over, somehow staying inside Richie's body. Richie gasped as he ended up on his back and the angle of Mac's thrust changed. He saw stars and wrapped his legs around Mac's waist. “More. Harder.” He demanded.

Mac grinned and complied, even as he leaned in for a kiss.

xxx

“But you wanted more from her.” Ahriman taunted him.

Xander scoffed again, he'd moved on to another part of the barge, he was on the second can of cooking spray. “I was a horny 16-year-old boy. I was thinking with my penis. Now get out of my face.”

Suddenly Horton's form changed to a heart-achingly familiar one. Jesse. “You really want me to leave Xan? Come on, we're buds.”

He didn't look at the image and kept spraying. “Jesse was my best friend. You're not Jesse.”

“Are you sure?”

Finally, he looked up. “Yeah, because I can see you.”

The demon contorted Jesse's face into a look of confusion. “What?”

“It doesn't matter what form you take. I can see you.” His vision flashed green for a second and he made a face at the demon's true figure. “Now go, away.”

He assumed it was still wearing Jesse's form, even though he could see the truth of it. “You're not just the White Knight, are you? You have a version of sight. You really can see my true face.”

“And you're definitely looking your age.” Xander quipped.

With a snarl Ahriman revealed its true form and roared at Xander, who just went back to spraying the symbols. The can of baking spray was almost empty, he might as well finish it up.

xxx

They had taken a few minutes to catch their breath. Richie had told Xander the truth, that they had a very fast recovery time. It hadn't taken long to get worked up again and they took the young mortal's advice and covered both their bases.

So now Duncan was on his hands and knees thrusting back and taking Richie ever deeper into his body. Richie slowed them down enough though so he could leisurely grind into him and place several kisses over his back and shoulders.

It had never been quite like this and it made Duncan wish they'd done this a lot sooner. He also decided that it would be a long time before he let Richie Ryan go, if he ever did at all. Richie tilted his hips then and Duncan lost himself in the feeling of Richie making love to him.

xxx

“My god. It was real.” Joe muttered, practically collapsing back in the patio chair. “It was all real.”

Methos didn't say anything, instead he watched as Xander finished up his work. When the last can of cooking spray was empty the young man tossed it aside, then sat down against the wall. He curled up on himself and Methos could finally see the tears silently streaming down his face. He didn't even think about holding still, didn't hesitate to sit beside Xander and wrap an arm around his shoulders. Xander didn't fight and leaned his head on Methos, his tears soaking his coat.

“So that's what Jesse looked like.” Xander nodded but didn't speak. “He was a handsome lad.” A strangled sound emerged, but there were no words from him. That was okay though, Methos had no problem with silence.

xxx

Duncan and Richie were laying on their sides, curled together, Richie was spooned behind him. He had an arm wrapped around Duncan's waist and his softening cock was still nestled inside of him. He was comfortable, completely at peace and his mind wandered. Distantly he could feel his heart beating...and against his back Richie's heartbeat echoed. In fact, it was beating in sync with Duncan's.

Suddenly he found himself in the cave Methos had taken him too before, where he'd healed from his dark quickening. He was going through a series of katas; Richie was at his side. They were moving in sync, just as their hearts beat. They moved as one being.

Beyond them Horton circled, walking around, looking for a weakness. Stalking them like a shark searching for blood. Then Allison was there, scantily clad, with a sinister smile as she reached for him. However, the protection symbols that Xander had painted on them glowed a pure and calming white.

Kronos was there but the light blinded him, and throughout it all they kept moving as one, never faltering. The shining light from their bodies seemed to banish him. Horton's form, however, was a bit stronger.

The red scarf he wore shot out, lengthened as if it was going to strike them. A hyena with glowing green eyes materialized between them and Horton. With a snarl it grabbed the scarf in its teeth and tore it shreds. Horton screamed in rage, even as he faded away. The hyena yipped and kicked at the remains of the scarf until it too faded. It gave Duncan and Richie another happy yip before it bowed and disappeared.

xxx

Xander's eyes glowed green for a moment, then he slumped into Adam's arms. “It’s over.”

“So, we can go back in?” Joe asked, staring at Xander in shock.

“Not while they're still naked we won't.” Xander muttered.

Adam chuckled and kissed the top of his head. Xander didn't comment, just snuggled deeper into him. They waited a while and eventually Richie poked his head outside.

“It’s all okay, we're decent.”

Joe stood and went inside, but he gave Adam and Xander a strange look. “I'll tell them you need a few minutes, since your eyes were glowing that creepy green.”

Xander nodded and neither spoke until Joe was inside. Adam's fingers found their way into Xander's hair, and started to play with it. “You sure you're the normal one among your friends?”

“I may have a few remnants from a former possession or two. The stronger one was an ancient hyena spirit that got trapped inside me. Once you've had that kinda power in you, demons are manageable.”

“How old was this spirit?” Adam asked him, voice nothing but curious.

“Hyenas have been around a long time, like 22 million years. Don't think she was that old though. Maybe somewhere between 5 and 10 million years instead.”

“And you're still sane?”

“More or less.” Xander shrugged and pulled back a bit so he could see Adam. “So, what's with the snuggles?”

“I thought you just needed a little human contact.”

“Yeah, I did. Thanks.” He started to pull further back, to get up even but Adam pulled him back into his arms and pecked a kiss on Xander's lips.

“Thank you for helping my friends, for believing them when I didn't.”

“You're welcome.” Xander grinned, he couldn't help it and kissed Adam back. “Rain-check? Now that it’s all over I'm hoping to end up back home.”

Adam grinned back. “So, I should look for you in two years?”

“May 17th, 1999. Sunnydale, California.” Xander confirmed. “I'll have graduated by then and be free and clear. If you come any sooner, I won't know who you are and I'll be a lot more immature.”

“Can't have that can we?” Adam asked, still smiling. “Do you have plans for college?”

“College?” Xander snorted. “Me? Hah! You need brains and money to go to college.”

The smile on Adam's face faded a bit and he grew more serious. “I think you're selling yourself short.”

“All the things I know I learned for self-preservation. I didn't want to die.”

“You're more capable than you know Alexander Harris.” He stood and helped Xander to his feet, keeping Xander's hand in his. “Come on then, let’s check on the Champion and his heart.”

They went inside and separated because Richie had his hand out to shake Xander's hand and it morphed into a hug. When he let go Duncan did the same. Joe offered him a handshake of his own, and Richie suggested a toast.

“We need to celebrate.” Richie grinned.

“Which wine do you want Richie?” Mac asked.

Xander shook his head. “Only 18 here.” He shivered. “Besides, I think some magic is happening.”

Adam reached for him and Xander was glad to hold his hand. Though the immortal brought it to his lips and kissed his palm. Before he could say anything, the world went dark. Damn it.

xxx

Methos looked at his empty hand, then the space where Xander had been standing only seconds ago.

Joe cleared his throat. “So, all that really happened.”

Methos nodded, feeling sad. “It did. A remarkable young man from the future helped Richie and Mac fight a demon.”

Richie stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder. “You okay Old Man?”

“I will be in two years.”

XXX

Chapter Text

Champions' Heart – A Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Highlander the Series crossover
calikocat

Word count: 1856

A/N: Like I said I wanted to go a bit further. So, the story doesn't end with Xander being sent back to his own time.

A/N 2: So, this chapter is shorter and more show than tell, consider it a transition that couldn't be avoided and don't bite my head off for it. Some people get touchy about this stuff, just giving you a heads up.

XXX

Xander blinked as his vision returned and he looked around him. He was back in his room and it was just as he'd left it hours ago. In fact...he checked his alarm clock. It still read 9 a.m. “Holy crap.” It looked like he'd been returned to the exact time he'd been taken. With that he made a decision. “Screw it I'm going back to bed.”

xxx

It hadn't taken them long to get back to the states and once stateside they made their way to Sunnydale, California. The four of them drove down to the midsize town, making it to the high school a couple of hours after sundown.

For a long moment they sat in the rental car, Methos behind the wheel, Joe riding shotgun with Mac and Richie in the back. Methos had parked the car in the back-parking lot and they stared at a ruined pair of double doors that had been bashed in.

“Wonder what happened?” Joe asked.

No one answered, they just watched as a shiny car suddenly backed out of the hallway and ruined doors. A pretty brunette was behind the wheel.

Richie laughed. “That girl may be my hero.” He didn't stop chuckling, even when Mac smacked his shoulder.

A moment later they saw Xander with a group walk out of the school. This wasn't the Xander they'd met a day ago in Paris. This was a younger Xander who seemed much more innocent. His hair flopped in his eyes as he and his friends divided and got into various cars and left.

“Let’s go check out the school, shall we?” Methos got out of the car and the others followed him. They followed the trail of destruction the car had left through the hall all the way to the library entrance. Inside was another mess. The floor was torn up in one spot, and stuck on a jagged piece of wood was a skeleton with fangs.

Joe gestured to the bones. “So, the Mouth of Hell is underneath a high school library.”

Methos nodded. “So, it would seem.”

“When does he graduate?” Mac asked.

“He said to come around May 17th, 1999.”

They left the school but didn't leave town right away. Instead, they got some dinner, then a couple of hotel rooms. Joe begged off any more exploring, he was jet lagged and wanted to sleep. They left the car just in case Joe changed his mind and the three immortals went for a walk. Methos walked ahead, leaving the love birds to walk a pace behind him hand in hand.

Not surprisingly they caught sight of Xander again, obviously walking home. With a quiet look between the three of them, they started to follow at a discreet distance. They tailed him for a few blocks and almost sprang into action when a vampire jumped the boy. He tumbled and struggled with the demon for a moment before managing to stake it.

He stood, dusting himself off and coughing a little, muttering something that sounded like “Stupid vampires.” It made Methos smile and he was fairly certain Mac was trying to keep Richie from laughing out loud.

Xander started walking again and arrived at a house where the lights were all on and there was some sort of fight going on. Even as far back as they were the three of them could hear the screaming and glass breaking. Xander stared at the one-story dwelling for a moment before his shoulders slumped and he changed directions.

A few streets over he went up to a more upscale two-story house. They watched as he climbed up to a balcony with no trouble, something he'd obviously done before. He tapped on the door and a pretty red headed girl answered. They recognized her from the school. She looked ready for bed, and wore a long t-shirt with a teddy bear on it, they moved closer to hear the following conversation.

“Hey Willow, can I crash on your floor tonight?”

“Your parents?” She asked, voice low.

“I could hear them fighting from the street, didn't bother going in. Figure I'd end up dodging a beer bottle.”

“I got a new sleeping pad so the floor won't be as hard under the sleeping bag.”

“Thanks Wills. You're my best friend.”

“I know.”

He went inside and a few minutes later the lights went out. They moved away from the house and started walking back to the hotel.

Richie looked over his shoulder a couple of times before shaking his head. “How unfair is it that a kid who helps save the world on the regular has a crappy home with screaming parents? I think I had better foster homes than that.”

Mac's arm went around the youngest immortal. “It’s very unfair Rich. Not much we can do about it right now.”

“You sure Mac?”

Methos was the one who answered. “Think about it, Richie. If we interfere at all we might change the timeline and he won't be able to help us and who knows what that might lead to.”

“It’s still not right.” Richie said, a child's protest.

“No, it’s not.” Mac agreed.

“It’s just two years kids. In two years, his life is going to be a lot better. I swear it.” Methos said with conviction.

Richie shot him a grin. “You really like him huh Old Man.”

“I do.”

Mac smiled as well. “Let’s get back to the hotel and Joe. We have a plane back to Seacouver in the morning.”

Methos shook his head. “I'll be staying a while. I only have two years to get things ready. I'll drive you to the airport though.”

xxx

The next morning after Methos dropped the others off at the airport he got to work. He already had a new identity lined up since it was time for Adam Pierson to disappear. With paperwork in hand, he got started on establishing himself as Adam Hill.

He returned the rental car, and bought a blue jeep that he figured would serve him well on the Hellmouth. From the dealer ship he went straight to a realtor and gave the woman assigned to him an idea of what he wanted. Beatrice Miller was all too happy to sort through the properties for him. While she got to work, he drove to Sunnydale's more prominent bank and opened an account and transferred some funds into it from Switzerland. Everything required money, and he'd managed to save quite a bit in his lifetime, despite the ups and downs of the world's economy.

 

It took a week for Beatrice to find the perfect house, and there were many vacant homes to choose from. Most of them very affordable. He met her there and he couldn't help but smile during the entire tour.

At a glance he could tell there was plenty of room inside. Three full stories and if the roof and windows were any indication a fully walk-in attic. The outside was in need of a coat of paint, but that would be an easy fix.

She led him not to the front door, which surprised him, but instead around to the back of the house. There was an empty pool waiting to be filled, typical for southern California. More interesting was the greenhouse, or atrium really, that was attached to the back of the house. A marvelous place to have breakfast Beatrice insisted.

“And wait till you see the inside.”

From there she led him to the basement entrance. He hadn't even realized it had one until she showed him the stairs that were almost hidden by a shrub. It was one large open room with a surprisingly high ceiling. He idly thought MacLeod would approve of it as a dojo. There was even some plumbing in a corner that could be modified into a full bathroom.

The ground floor, or first floor, had the typical kitchen. However, it also had a dining room, parlor, sitting room, a full bathroom and a library. The walls were lined with empty shelves just waiting to be filled with all his books. There was one small room that could be converted into a guestroom he decided.

“It shows its age with all the parlors, but you can alter the rooms to suit your needs.”

“I was just thinking about converting one to a guestroom, I have a friend who has prosthetics and stairs are a little much for him sometimes.” Methos smiled. “I don't suppose this place has its own elevator.”

“That's probably the one thing it doesn't have...but I can look for a place that does.”

“No, no. Let’s finish our tour of this house first. I'm rather liking it.”

The second floor had the master suite, a large bedroom, sitting room and a full bathroom with an old-fashioned claw foot tub and a walk-in shower. There were two more bedrooms that shared a full bathroom and another parlor that opened up into the hall.

The third floor was much different. Half of it was gutted, walls removed leaving a huge open space, perhaps an unfinished attempt at a ballroom? The wood floor was going to need some work, but it would be perfect for sword work. The other half he decided would make an excellent home theater with attached full bathroom.

“This is probably the house's most unattractive feature.” Beatrice admitted about the gutted space. “I'm not sure what the previous owner was thinking.”

“I think it’s perfect.”

“Oh, well, good.”

Methos had been right about the attic. It was a walk in, and light and airy. Perfect for a home office, especially with the half bathroom. Whoever originally designed the place didn't want to walk far to reach a toilet. In short, the house was indeed perfect.

He signed for it that day and Beatrice looked so happy she almost danced a jig to her car. Before leaving the joyous realtor put him in contact with a contractor/renovator company. It was going to take time to renovate it, but he had a whole two years. He was probably going to need every moment of it.

 

Now, what Methos needed was a job to keep him occupied. Something respectable, something local so he could watch over Xander until the time was right. He thought it might be time to become a medical doctor again. So, while he waited for the house to be ready, he made inquiries at the two local hospitals.

Sunnydale Memorial had an opening for an anesthesiologist. Not surprising really. There was no telling how many vampires ended up in the morgue. Hospital staff probably went missing all the time. He'd have to do something about that.

So Methos settled in to wait. Two years might seem like a long time to someone like Richie Ryan, especially since he couldn't interfere. However, after 5,000 years Methos had learned to be very patient.

XXX

Chapter Text

Champions Heart – A Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Highlander the Series crossover
calikocat

Word count: 4013

A/N: We'll pretend that Prom was May 8th, on a Saturday. After his adventures he decides to
sleep through the following Sunday. I mean after a day of time traveling and demon fighting I certainly would.

XXX

Xander woke as the sun was coming up and groaned because it was Monday. It didn't matter that he'd spent Sunday in bed recovering from his surprise time travel and demon slaying adventure. Mondays were always worth a groan of misery or two, besides, he had finals this week and Graduation on Saturday. Hell, the whole week was worth a groan.

Still, he rolled out of bed, showered as quietly as he could and dressed for the day. He almost left then, but the leather jacket Richie had bought him caught his eye. It was the most expensive thing he owned, probably, some sort of French brand. He eyed it and decided to go ahead and put it on, it was still early enough to be cool. Also, if he left it in his room and his dad found it Tony would probably pawn it for booze money.

He walked to school, backpack over his shoulder, not really trusting his car. It might be pretty to look at, but Uncle Rory was notorious for letting things go and the engine wasn't sounding quite right. Of course, that could be because he'd run over a demon with it. Still, he was half afraid that it would stop working in the middle of the street so he left it parked in front of the house.

xxx

Despite sleeping for a day, he felt like he was in a daze, he was still processing that he'd time traveled two years to Paris and helped a Champion save the world. Well, helped a Champion and someone he loved make whoopee and save the world. Honestly Xander had just been in a support role, still Mac and Richie had never dealt with demons before. He supposed he'd been a pretty good guide.

Even with the coffee and donuts he'd picked up to eat on the way to school his mind wandered. Not to the confrontation with Ahriman, which had indeed shaken him up, but to what had happened after. The cuddling. The moments he'd let Adam Pierson hold him; he'd practically hidden in the immortal's arms.

He'd never been able to publicly acknowledge his attraction to men. Not at school, not in Sunnydale. It was too dangerous. There was always a chance that word could get back to Tony, which would have resulted in a beating if he was lucky, or a shotgun if he was unlucky. Xander liked breathing and keeping his blood and brains in his body too much to risk being involved with a guy, or even look at a guy while living with his parents.

So, letting Adam hold him had been new territory. Letting Adam kiss him had been a dream he'd never hoped for. Kissing Adam back, well that was freaking daring. He wondered if Adam would show up after graduation, if he was going to accept the invitation. Xander hoped he did, he wanted to see Adam again. He wanted to be held, and he wanted a real kiss from Adam. He'd just never be able to go back home if he did.

 

As a result of his introspection, he didn't talk much to anyone, too lost in thought, and he didn't really interact with anyone until he got to the library later in the day. In fact, he'd just sat at the table beside Buffy when she commented on his jacket.

“That looks new.”

Xander blinked and looked up. “What?”

Buffy reached out to pat his arm, hand running over the soft leather. “The jacket, it looks good on you.”

“Better than the rest of your outfit.” Cordelia commented from across the table. “How'd you even afford it.”

“It was a gift.” Xander replied and made a decision to share his adventure. “It’s actually a funny story. See I woke up on Sunday morning and was about to take a walk when there was a bright flash of light, and suddenly I was in Paris, France.” He had everyone's attention now and shrugged. “Basically, someone made a wish because they were having demon trouble and one of Anya's former co-workers sent me to Paris 1997 to help a couple of immortals save the world. May in Paris is chillier than May in Sunnydale and one of the immortals bought me this nice warm jacket. Then I advised them on how to defeat the demon they were facing.”

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “Whatever Xander. I'm just surprised you picked out something that looks good.”

Wesley looked unimpressed as well. “We have the Mayor's Ascension to worry about and you're telling tall tales? Really Xander.”

Xander blinked, the attitude of those two shouldn't surprise him. However, when he met the eyes of Buffy, Willow and Giles and saw the same disbelief...well...it kinda stung. “You don't believe me?”

Buffy shrugged. “Well...”

Willow at least looked a little guilty. “It is kinda farfetched.”

“But it’s true,” He insisted.

Giles sighed. “And what demon were they facing?” His voice was skeptical and it made Xander's heart hurt a little more.

“A Zoroastrian demon called Ahriman. There was a prophecy and everything. Which we thwarted.”

The older Watcher stared at him for a second before shaking his head. “I'm glad you're so familiar with my books Xander, but what we need to be focusing on is the Mayor and his plans.”

Xander stared at Giles, sure he couldn't keep the betrayal off of his face. Buffy always had been the favorite, being the slayer and all. Then Willow because she was the research prodigy. Xander was the guy who made jokes. He shook his head; a pity party wasn't going to help anyone. “You know what, never mind.” He stood up and shoved the chair back into place. “It’s not even worth it to convince you I'm telling the truth.” The bell rang then, thank god, and he went to his next class. He didn't talk to anyone else the rest of the day.

xxx

By the time classes were over Xander was wrung out. He'd forgotten about his history final in his last period. Despite that he felt pretty good about it after all the research he'd done over the past year. When you looked through history books often enough, some things were bound to stick.

As he walked by the library he peeked through the window in the door, briefly entertaining the idea of joining them. However, when he saw the gang all gathered inside he lost his nerve. He was still tired and introspective from his adventure, that no one believed him about and wanted to just relax.

So, he walked away from the library and headed outside, fully intending on walking home and going back to bed. He got halfway down the front steps when a car horn beeped, and he looked up. A horn going off wasn't out of the norm or anything, but still he looked around and his jaw dropped when he saw Adam. Adam looking just as he had two years ago, except today he was leaning against an expensive little silver two-seater sports car.

Adam waved him over and Xander started moving, barely remembering to look both ways before crossing the street. It wouldn't do to get run down on accident right in front of an immoral, talk about embarrassing. Especially when Adam looked so damn good in his jeans and baggy sweater, with the sleeves rolled up, showing off the muscles in his lean arms.

Xander got to him and stared. “I... you...why?” Oh yeah, that was coherent.

Adam seemed to agree as he was smiling in amusement. “This is oddly reminiscent of our first meeting.”

Xander gulped, he'd been unprepared for that smile. “I told you to show up after the 17th...which is next Monday.”

“Ah, but this way I can be here to help you with your finals...and for your graduation.
And any plans you want to make afterward.”

Plans? Adam wanted to make plans with him? He wanted to do a snoopy dance right there in the street but that would be uncool. So, he stomped on the urge. “Crap. Adam there's a reason why I didn't want you here before graduation.”

“Which is?"

“We might not survive it, literally.” He sighed at the way Adam's eyes widened in surprise. “Can we go somewhere we can talk?”

Adam nodded, expression a little more serious. “We can go to my house.”

Now he was the one surprised. “You have a house in Sunnydale?”

“I've had two years to wait for you Alexander, I made the most of it.”

Xander couldn't believe what he heard. Adam was serious about him? A snuggle and two kisses and the guy came to Sunnydale and bought a house? He smiled and moved closer to Adam. Well, if the guy had a house Xander could take a chance, so he kissed Adam. It wasn't a peck like before in Paris. Mouths were open and Adam seemed to want to taste every part of Xander he could reach. When Xander pulled back he couldn't help but smile.

“It’s only been a couple of days for me, I can't imagine having to wait two years for just
a kiss.”

“I'm hoping for more than a kiss.”

It really hit Xander then, that Adam was immortal. Sure, he'd known that, but Adam would never look any older than a late 20-something. He probably didn't believe in wasting time since Xander's was limited in comparison. So, he nodded. “Me too. So, take me to your house and I'll tell you what's up on the Hellmouth.”

xxx

Xander stared at the house as Adam drove past an old-fashioned iron gate that closed once they were on the property. That would have been impressive all on its own if he hadn't seen the house. The house made him stare, it was three stories at least and probably had a basement like most houses in Sunnydale. He didn't say anything until Adam parked the little sports car in the garage, next to a dark blue jeep.

“You alright?” Adam asked.

Xander turned to look at him. “You have a mansion.”

“That's quite the compliment, but I wouldn't go that far.”

Xander disagreed. “It’s a freaking mansion.”

Adam just smiled. “Come, I'll fix dinner and you can tell me what’s happening.”

Xander followed him from the attached garage into the house, once again in a daze. Adam led him into the kitchen, gently shoved him into a chair at a table, gave him a coke and started cooking.

While he cooked Xander told Adam all about Faith, the Mayor, the Ascension and how they were probably all gonna die on graduation day. By the time he was finished with his rather lengthy tale he found they'd finished eating and Adam was watching, eyes worried.

“And I can't convince you to run away with me? Cut our losses?”

Xander wanted to be offended, but Adam's tone hadn't been serious. “We don't know each other very well, but you should know me better than that.”

“I like to think I do, after what you did for my friends in Paris. However, I had to ask.” He sighed. “Just my luck I fell for boy scout. So, if you're going to stay, I guess we shouldn't waste time...my true name isn't Adam Pierson.”

“I never was a scout, and I kinda figured that about your name. I mean MacLeod seems to use his real name but-”

“MacLeod is an idiot. Even Richie has an alias or two. My current alias is Adam Hill by
the way.”

“So, what's your real name?”

“I'm called Methos, but I prefer to be called Adam in public.”

Hmm. “Why? Are you notorious or something?”

“Or something.” Adam smiled, as if laughing at a private joke. “I may be the world's oldest immortal. I don't know exactly how old I am....my memory gets fuzzy if I try to go back more than 5,000 years.”

Xander was glad they were done eating, as he would have choked on something otherwise. “Jesus. I can never again give Buffy a hard time for dating a guy over 200. Not after prom with Anya and now you.”

Adam's smile became softer at that. “Are we dating?”

“Isn't that why you're here?”

“Well at my age...I'm very painfully aware how short mortal life is. I didn't want to waste
time. I was involved with a woman a few years ago. Alexa. She died just weeks before
we first met. Cancer.”

Xander had figured something similar. “I'm sorry for your loss Methos.” He said, trying out the name.

“Thank you. I've found you this young, and we could have a good life together, years
and years. If you wanted.”

“There's a few things we need to talk about. But I'm up for it.” Xander admitted.

“Agreed, we do need to talk. We didn't tell you everything about immortals.”

“That's fair, because I haven't told you everything about Sunnydale.”

“So, we'll talk later.”

xxx

Xander helped with the cleanup, putting leftovers away and loading the dishwasher. He kept exchanging looks with Adam, Methos, and they seemed to be charged with tension that he wouldn't hesitate to call sexual. He couldn't blame the guy; he had been waiting two years after all.

When there was no more to do in the kitchen Methos took his hand and led him to the master suite on the second floor. They stepped into the room and Xander froze at the sight of the king-size bed.

“I've only had sex once...and when she was done with me, she kicked me out of her
motel room, clothes in my hands. I don't know if I'm ready for-”

“No worries.” Methos held Xander's face in his hands. “I have no problem being on the bottom.”

Xander tried not to let his brain short circuit at the thought of sex, but it was really hard the further they went. Methos was so different from Faith, where she had been wham, bam, get out I need a shower, Methos was...gentle.

Every time a piece of clothing was stripped away Methos would kiss his shoulder, slide a hand over his skin. Each touch was hot and felt like fire that burned but didn't hurt. In no time at all they were naked and Methos pulled Xander onto the bed, on top of him even. They continued to kiss, hands roving over skin, not able to get enough of one another. It made Xander wonder how touch starved the immortal was. Xander knew he was, at least a bit.

“Lubes on the table.” Methos said between kisses.

Xander's brain froze a bit. He knew the mechanics of this kind of sex, but he'd never thought that he'd be involved in it. His eyes shot to the bedside table and he crawled over to it, which took some doing considering how big the bed was. Once it was in his hands though he looked at Methos and felt lost.

He seemed to understand and smiled patiently. “Put some into your hand, let it warm a bit before you get started.” Xander did as instructed and Methos grabbed a pillow to shove under his hips, then spread his legs. All that pale perfection was on display and Xander almost dropped the lube. “Xander.”

“Guh?”

Methos laughed a little and wiggled. “It should be warm enough now, come closer.” He nodded and moved back to Methos who reached out to grab his wrist and guided his hand to parts unknown. “One finger at a time.”

Xander rubbed at his entrance, slicking up the outside first before slipping one finger inside. Methos seemed to grip at it, almost as if greedy for more, so Xander slid it deeper before pulling it out and starting again.

“Another.” Methos demanded, his green eyes were a shade darker than they had been minutes ago. So Xander added another, dipping them in and twisting them. “Good. Spread them now, like a pair of scissors.” Xander did and Methos twitched his hips, taking him deeper, even as he twisted again. “Three fingers.”

“Shouldn't we slow down?”

“I've waited two years, thinking of you while fucking myself on various toys. Three fingers.” Xander felt his cock twitch at the mental image his brain supplied at Methos' words. He apparently even made a strangled sound because the immortal laughed at him. “Like that thought, do you?”

Xander added a third finger and pressed deeper, twisting a little harder in retaliation. He must have done something right, found his prostate or something because Methos stopped laughing and bucked up with a strangled sound of his own.

“So, was that a good thing?” He knew he was grinning.

“Cheeky brat.” Methos caught his breath and held out his hand. “Come here.”

Xander pulled his fingers out, put some lube on his cock, the cold of it calming him down a little before he approached Adam. Carefully he lined himself up and started to press into the hot and slick channel that was waiting for him.

Methos had other ideas, wrapping his legs around Xander and pulling him close so that he bottomed out right away. Xander nearly fell onto the other man who chuckled and held him, arms wrapping around him as well so he could keep him in place for a kiss. He didn't mind and stayed where he was and enjoyed the kisses until Methos was moving his hips, making it obvious he wanted some friction.

Eventually Xander raised up a bit and started moving. He tested different angles and changed the depth of his thrusts. He spared a thought to his one hour or so with Faith who hadn't really cared if he'd gotten off or not. He had, but only because it was his first time and slayer muscles were nothing to laugh at. Still, to her he might as well have been a dildo with a body attached.

Methos, however, seemed to want all of him. As the passion between them built Methos tried to keep his legs locked around Xander, hips working to take him ever deeper. Xander finally managed to start hitting his prostate on almost every thrust and the way Methos' eyes glazed a bit in passion filled him with pride. The older man became so lost in sensation he scratched up Xander's back a bit when he came.

Xander was only a minute behind as he started pounding into the relaxing body underneath him and cried out when he came. He collapsed on Methos again, and Methos wrapped around him as he had before.

They lay there a while, catching their breath, Methos slowly let go so Xander could pull out and rest beside him. Methos even seemed like he was about to fall asleep, but Xander felt the need to fill the silence, despite how comfortable it was.

“So, my friend that's a champion. She's a vampire slayer. The one girl in all the world
with the strength and skill to fight vampires. She has the strength of 10 men, she's super
fast and her sense of hearing is slightly enhanced.”

“How is a slayer chosen?” Methos asked, words a bit slurred.

“Magic, I guess. The Watchers might know, or they might not. They didn't find her before she was called so she's not council raised. Which means she has a will of her own and wasn't forced to become a living weapon.”

Methos sat up suddenly, green eyes wide and staring at Xander. “Watchers?”

“From the Watchers Council, based in London. They've been around as long as the Slayers, I think. They're supposed to guide her and train her in the fight against evil. They got power hungry somewhere along the way.”

“Tell me?”

Xander grit his teeth, as he saw red every time he thought about the 'murder ritual'. “It’s called the Cruciamentum. When a slayer turns 18, she's drugged so that her powers are gone and she's locked up with the most vicious vampire the council can find. If she survives, she passes. If she dies a new girl is called, mostl likely a younger one they can control.”

“Your friend passed?”

“Her Watcher loves her too much, he's kinda like a dad to us all. Well, the girls at least. He told her when he saw how scared she was getting. By that time the vampire had gotten loose and kidnapped her mom.”

“Is everyone alright?”

“She and her mom are safe. The watcher got fired, but he's still our librarian. The Council sent some snobby newbie to take over. He fucked up with the other slayer.”

“Hold on, you said there was only one at a time.”

“Yeah.” Xander sighed. “That prophecy I messed with? Well, she died...drowned...I just used some CPR to bring her back, remember? But she was dead long enough for the next slayer to be called. Except...”

“Except?”

“She died last year...and when she died the newest slayer was called. She went dark-side on us. I mean we screwed up, all of us...but no one screwed up more than the Watchers. Faith, the younger slayer, is kinda a street kid. I don't know how she paid for her motel room or food. My friend Buffy has a mom, and a dad, he pays child support...or he did. The council never bothered to do anything for Faith. She's working for the Mayor now, and he actually takes care of her. I don't blame her for going to the other side.”

“You didn't help her?”

“Methos, I had nothing to offer. What spending money I have I earned. My dad's a mean drunk and I wouldn't let him near a teenage girl. He's also a bigot and a homophobe. I don't feel safe at home. I couldn't offer up the basement or anything.”

“I understand, thank you for telling me.”

Xander nodded and a thought popped up. “What about the Watchers made you take note?”

Methos grimaced. “The fact that you called them Watchers. I've never heard of your Council, but I know of a group calling themselves Watchers. They follow immortals around and record their history.”

Xander shuddered. “That is so...stalker-y...and creepy.” He made wide eyes at Methos. “Do you have a watcher? Is he sitting outside thinking about what we're doing?”

“I don't think I have a watcher...I infiltrated them for a while. To avoid fighting other immortals. I was strictly a researcher.”

“Tell me?”

Methos nodded and told him everything he knew about Watchers, Immortals and The Game. It was kinda just as horrifying as what went on in Sunnydale.

“So, there are two groups calling themselves Watchers and they're unconnected and
have no idea the other exists. One works with vampire slayers and occasionally tries to
kill them. The other stalks immortals and occasionally tries to kill them.”

Methos gave him an unhappy smile. “Humans tend to kill that which they fear and what they can't control.”

Xander groaned. “Ugh. I hate humans. Vamps and demons are so much easier to figure out.”

Methos laughed, his smile changing to a happy one, his eyes even seemed to light up. “Come, lets shower and tend to those marks on your back.”

“Sure.” He looked at the clock beside the bed. “How good are you at chemistry?”

“I've gone to medical school more than once. Why?”

“Wanna help me cram for my final?”

“After we shower.”

XXX

Beta's Notes: I just found out the Cruciamentum is the shortened name of the ritual which is Tento di Cruciamentum. I feel like I learn something new every time I dive into fandom.

Chapter Text

Champions Heart – A Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Highlander the Series crossover
calikocat

Word count: 2336

XXX

Methos woke up first, glanced at the clock and saw it was just after five. With a mischievous grin he threw the covers off of them and slid down Xander's body to wake him. It didn't take much to get the young man going once Methos' mouth was on him. His cock came to attention quickly, growing and filling Methos' mouth.

By the time Xander's eyes had opened he was lightly thrusting into the warmth Methos had provided. He whined in disappointment when Methos backed off to speak. “Good morning.”

“Morning. Are we stopping?”

Instead of answering Methos grabbed the lube, slicked himself up, added a bit to Xander and then lowered himself down on the throbbing flesh.

“Guh.”

“You seem to make that noise a lot.” He commented as he started rocking, raising up only to slide back down.

Xander's hands raised up to grip his hips and help him move. “Brain fried; sex too good.”

That made Methos laugh until one of those hands moved to his own cock and started to squeeze. He moved into the warm grip, then back onto the hardness inside of him. Despite the night before it had been a long time since he'd had a male lover.

They came almost together this time and Xander kissed him deeply as they caught their breath.

“Thank you.”

“Oh, trust me, it was my pleasure.”

Xander laughed and wrapped his arms around Methos. “So, it’s early, did you have something else in mind besides the awesome wake-up call?”

“I thought we might pack your things and move them here today?” He frowned. “Unless I misunderstood something, though I don't think I did.”

“Don't worry, we're on the same page.” Xander assured him. “We better do it when my dad's not home. We also need to get my car.”

“Oh? You already had one?”

“Not because I wanted it. Uncle Rory has too many DUIs so my parents made me buy his car.”

“Not a good one I take it?”

“It’s a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, Aqua Blue convertible. It’s considered a classic I guess and the body of it is spotless, but I don't like how the engine sounds, and I don't know a thing about cars.” He seemed thoughtful for a second. “Of course, the demon I ran over might have something to do with it sounding wonky.”

“You used a car to kill a demon?” Methos snickered.

“It was the only weapon I had on me.”

“I like how resourceful you are.” He wiggled out of Xander's arms to sit up. “Will your father be home now?”

“Actually, he's probably at Uncle Rory's. He's losing his place soon to the bank. The plan was for him to take over my room while they shoved me in the basement and made me pay rent.”

Methos didn't hide his displeasure at that. “Looks like I contacted you just in time. Should we grab a few things this morning?”

“Sure, you're totally my hero by the way. Besides my car can hold more stuff than yours.”

“I only really plan on using the Porsche when we go out on the town.”

“That little silver number is a Porsche? You have a Porsche?

“Yes. We have a Porsche.”

Xander was staring at him, still surprised and Methos was starting to worry he'd broken the young man. “I rode in a Porsche.”

 

Jessica Harris was sleeping when they got there, and Tony Harris was nowhere in sight. Probably a good thing as Methos had a thing or three to say to the man, unless he just decided to skewer the wretch on principle.

Quietly they packed his jeep and Xander's BelAir. Most of his clothes, which were horrendous, were left behind. However, there were a few boxes of comics, all of them in good condition. A chest of weapons that were of decent quality, a box of photos and mementos, childhood memories.

From there they drove back to the house and Methos agreed that the convertible did sound like it was having engine trouble. Something that should be looked at sooner rather than later. Once they were back, they carried Xander's belongings inside and unpacked them in the master suite.

Then Methos drove Xander to school in the Porshe again, the young man didn't even hesitate to kiss him goodbye. It was a good feeling that filled his ancient heart as the lad smiled at him before climbing out of the small car.

xxx

Xander felt pretty good about his chemistry test as he was taking it. Even if he hadn't spent all night cramming for it. They'd only spent a couple of hours studying really when Xander remembered he also had a math final today. Methos had given him an amused, if exasperated, smile before they switched gears to the math.

Even as good as he felt about it, he was glad when it was over, he even gave a sigh of relief as he handed it in. Then, still feeling light, giddy even, he made his way to the library.

He barely even walked in before Cordelia was verbally accosting him. “Why did you ride to school in a Porsche?”

Xander blinked and stated the obvious. “Because that's what my boyfriend was driving.”

“You don't have a boyfriend.” She insisted. “You don't have enough style to suddenly be gay.”

He leaned against the counter. “Stereotyping much?”

“You also went to prom with Anya.”

Xander shrugged at her. “It’s complicated.” He looked over his shoulder as the library doors swung open and Buffy and Willow came in.

“What's complicated?” Buffy asked as they came to a stop beside him.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “Xander's imaginary boyfriend.”

Willow turned to him, confused. “When did you get a boyfriend?”

“Sunday, technically.”

“Already? What about Anya?” Buffy punched him on the shoulder lightly, he still winced though. “Xan, you okay?”

“Adam scratched me a little during fun times last night. I'm okay.”

Cordelia couldn't seem to let it go. “Oh please. Like any gay guy would be desperate enough to have sex with you. Most of them have better taste than Faith.”

Buffy was frowning at him now. “Have you been patrolling on your own again? We talked about that.”

He stared at her. “You didn't believe me about my little weekend adventure, and you don't believe I have a boyfriend?” His eyes moved to Willow who looked guilty.

“Well...”

Buffy was still giving him disappointed face. “Xander...”

“I'm outta here.” He started to leave, but a bit of pettiness took him over. “By the way, just because I'm injured doesn't mean I was patrolling. My drunk of a father likes to beat the crap out of me every other week. Luckily I won't have to worry about that anymore as I've moved in with Adam.” He turned and left them, not bothering to look back. Besides he still had time to look over his notes before his math final.

xxx

Xander went outside for lunch to find Methos waiting for him at one of the concrete picnic tables across from the school. On the table were boxes of take out and Xander couldn't help but smile. He kissed Methos quickly before sitting across from him.

“Thanks for lunch, it looks good.”

“You're welcome, you were frowning before you saw me. What's wrong?”

Xander sighed. “So, Monday morning Buffy noticed the new coat and I told them about my Paris adventure. No one believed me of course. Even after everything we've seen and done, they didn't believe a word of it.”

“We can convince them later.” Methos offered.

“Won't be easy. My ex-girlfriend saw me get out of the Porsche this morning and didn't believe me when I said my boyfriend dropped me off.”

Methos smiled a little. “To be fair, she might not have seen us kiss, it’s not as if it’s a convertible.”

He nodded. “So, Buffy and Willow come in during the boyfriend conversation and Buffy playfully punched my shoulder, which jarred my back and a couple of those scratches you gave me twinged.”

“Sorry about that.”

“No big. Anyway, now they think I've been patrolling on my own and they're upset. No one believes you left love marks on my back because gay guys have too high standards to ever be with me.”

Methos reached for one of his hands and held it. “I'm over 5,000 years old Alexander. Gender and sexually don't mean the same things to me as they do to your generation.”

“Thanks.”

“So, what finals do you have left?”

“I've already taken care of history, chemistry and the math. Just have English this afternoon.” Xander paused at the small glare he got for that. “No worries, I'll pass it. Then I'll be done and classes will just be lazy chill time.”

“Right then, so I'll pick you up after school, say in the library?”

“Sounds good, and then?”

“We can go shopping for some clothes, since you left most of your wardrobe behind, thank god.”

Xander grinned. “Walmart here we come.'

“I was thinking of the mall instead.”

He shook his head. “The mall is expensive. I'm okay with Walmart, it’s a step up from the thrift stores.”

Methos comprised. “We'll go to Walmart first, then the mall.”

“Okay...but there's not much trunk space in the Porsche.”

“We can take my jeep. I'd suggest we'd take your jeep, but it hasn't been delivered yet.”

Xander couldn't help it, he stared at Methos in surprise. “You bought me a jeep?”

“It matches mine, only its white.”

“White?”

Methos gave him a little smirk. “You are the White Knight, aren't you?” Xander rolled his eyes and threw a wadded-up napkin at his lover.

xxx

School was over and Xander was sitting at the table, head down, wiped from the English final. It hadn't been too hard, just long with lots of writing required. So, he wasn't up to talking or research. Something Wesley seemed to disapprove of.

“Xander if all you're going to do is nap you might as well go home.”

Methos voice responded, surprising Xander. “I'm sure he'll wake up once he has this.” He sat up just in time to see his lover place an iced coffee in front of him. The word mocha stamped on the side made his heart dance in glee.

“Ooo, chocolate caffeine! Yay!” He grabbed it up and took a big slurp only to realize everyone was staring at him and Methos. “What?”

Buffy frowned at him. “Well, it’s a little odd that you just accepted a drink from a total stranger.”

He rolled his eyes. “I told you I had a boyfriend. I have no problem accepting a drink from my boyfriend, especially since we're going shopping and I need to be awake for it.” His explanation just gained him more stares.

Methos seemed to find the entire situation funny and offered a hand to Giles. “Adam Hill.”

Giles nodded at him and shook his hand. “Rupert Giles. How exactly did you meet?”

“Xander told you already. We met in Paris two years ago, though for him it was only a few days ago. I just didn't want to interfere in the timeline by approaching him sooner.”

More staring and Xander just grinned and slurped more of his iced mocha. Giles sighed. “Good Lord. I am sorry Xander.”

“No big, I guess I just joke too much for anyone to take me seriously.”

Wesley wrinkled his nose at Xander's words. “Then maybe you shouldn't act so childish?”

Xander raised brow at the younger Watcher. “If I don't make inappropriate or dumb jokes everyone including Buffy acts too serious. If everyone is serious all the time, they get too tense. If they're too tense, they make mistakes and could get killed. I don't want my friends to die because they have no fun or no simple things to look forward too. And frankly, being the comic relief and looking after everyone else’s happy moods is exhausting.”

Buffy blinked at him for a moment, surprised by all the words. “That's why you do that?”

“Yep. What? Did everyone just think I was a complete idiot?” At their blank looks he winced and glared at them. “Ouch. I thought Willow would at least know me better than that.”

“Ready to go then?” Methos offered his hand to Xander. “I brought my jeep instead of the Porsche.”

Xander let Methos help him to his feet. “Yeah, I don't wanna be here right now.”

Cordelia was the only one glaring at him. “So, is he your boyfriend or sugar daddy?”

Methos laughed and pulled Xander towards the door. “Somewhere in between perhaps. I'm hoping I can convince him to go to college on my dime.”

“One thing at a time Adam. I'm still getting used to the house and the sex and now the shopping.”

“Of course.” They left and didn't bother saying goodbye.

 

Willow shook herself, her eyes wide in worry. “Didn't Xander say he worked with immortals when he was time traveling?”

Buffy frowned at Giles as she recalled the memory. “So is Adam Hill an immortal?”

“Good Lord.” Giles took off his glasses and began to polish them. “I suppose I need to have a talk with Xander.”

Cordelia scoffed and folded her arms. “How unfair is it that loser got a sugar daddy to buy him a house?”

XXX

Chapter Text

Champions Heart – A Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Highlander the Series crossover
calikocat

Word count: 2254

XXX

This morning Xander woke up the moment Methos started a trail of kisses down his stomach. He was eager to play and follow the immortal's lead and soon Methos was on his back. He had one leg up and over Xander's shoulder while Xander straddled the other leg and thrust into him. They'd gotten quite the work out the last two mornings, and this one was really following a pattern. Also, in this position Methos couldn't leave scratch marks on his back.

After he came, he finished Methos off, hand pumping quickly until the other man came in his grasp. Without thinking he licked his hand clean, that action was enough to make Methos clench him tight in excitement.

“Guh.” Xander shuddered and carefully pulled out, a little over sensitive at this point. Then he carefully lay down beside Methos. “You're something else.”

“Thank you.”

Xander rested a hand on his smooth chest over his heart. “I figured you'd insist on switching at some point.”

“Not until you're comfortable with the idea of me being inside you.” Methos told him. “And not until after your graduation.”

He frowned, confused. “Why?”

“The first time hurts a bit Alexander. No matter how much stretching and lube you use. It’s an intrusion your body has never had before. If you know you're going into battle I want you at your best, not wincing every time you move.”

Xander couldn't help the smile that crossed his face and he leaned close to kiss Methos. “Thank you.”

xxx

After a shower and breakfast Xander drove himself to school in his brand-new white jeep. It was Wednesday and he was free and clear, no more finals, no more studying, the only official high school duties he had to do that day were retrieve his cap and gown.

As he was signing for said articles Cordelia came up beside him to get her own. He waited for her to sign the dotted line, knowing she'd have something to say.

“So, you have a boyfriend slash sugar daddy now who's immortal.” She stated.

He didn't argue. “Something like that.”

She raised a brow at him. “You gonna cheat on him?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because he likes who I am. We don't snark. He's gentle and treats me like a person. Look, I'm sorry things ended badly between us, and not just because you got impaled with rebar. We probably never should have given us a second chance last year.”

“You got that right.”

“Cordelia, I've known him less than a week and I've never been happier.”

“Why didn't you at least tell me you like guys?”

He gave her a look. “I couldn't risk it. I was always afraid we'd break up and you'd use that information to hurt me. Like the Christmas thing.”

“You're not wrong.”

“See, now if you'd started rumors about me liking guys, you know what my dad would have done, if word got back to him?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “He'd probably beat the crap out of you again.”

Xander glared at her. “No Chase, he once told me that if I ever turned fagot, he'd come in my room while I was sleeping and blow my face off with his shotgun.”

Cordelia got pale, a little green even as she stared at him horrified. “Xander.”

“The only reason I'm so open about Adam, is because he got everything ready while he waited 2 years for me. He bought a house, cars, I have a home where I'm safe. I've never had that before.” He shook his head and walked away.

xxx

He stopped by the library later only to have Giles pull him into his office and shut the door in Wesley's face. Then he locked it. Xander looked from a pissy Wesley through the window to a serious Giles who was gesturing him toward one of the chairs.

“Uh...no offense...but this is kinda creepy.”

Giles rolled his eyes. “Have a seat Xander.”

Xander did, eying the former Watcher carefully. “What's up?”

Giles dove right in. “Is Adam Hill an immortal?”

“Yes.”

They made eye contact for a long moment before Giles sighed and sat down across from him. “Are you sure about this Xander, are you sure it’s wise?”

“Who knows.” Xander shrugged. “He likes me though, and treats me well. I'm not exactly used to that.”

“There are different types of immortals...is he part of The Game?”

He nodded. “Only if he has no choice.”

“And if another immortal does challenge him?”

“Adam is good at surviving. I'm not too worried about it.”

“Oh?”

Xander smiled and rolled his eyes. “Giles, he's older than Anya, and she's over 1,000.”

“Ah. Right then. Just be careful.”

“That's not code for safe sex is it? Because Immortals don't get sick like that? Also, it’s a little too late.”

“No, no it’s not. So, I suppose we should skip that part.”

“Why are we having this talk?” Xander asked. “I know I'm at the bottom of the tier. Buffy will always be your slayer, no matter what the council says. And Willow's a prodigy all the way around. I know I'm not the favorite.”

“You speak as if you're all my children.”

Xander snorted. “Giles. My parents are drunks. Willow's parents are hardly ever home. Buffy's dad is out of the picture. You and Mrs. Summers are the only real parents we have.”

Giles' eyes widened, as if he hadn't considered that. “Well—I... I’m honored I suppose. So, I want you to be careful, if not with your body, then your heart.”

“Okay, thanks.” Then Xander grinned. “So, how’s Wesley taking it?”

“He's a little perturbed.”

“Well, here's something else for you. There's a whole other group of Watchers that stalk and record the histories of immortals.”

Giles leaned back, shocked. “What?”

“Yeah, scary huh?”

xxx

Xander got home that afternoon to find Methos waiting for him in the living room, reclining on the couch. He joined the older man, crawling on top of him to give him a hello kiss.

“So, my finals are over, and I don't need to study. Do we have plans for the night?”

“I thought I might finally give you the grand tour of the house. You've only seen the ground floor and the master suite.”

Xander bat his lashes and kissed him again. “Well, I did get a grand tour of your body, I was pretty satisfied with that.”

“Cheeky. Well?”

“Sure.”

So Methos made him rouse up and led him to the basement, Xander hadn't even realized they had a basement. Not like this anyway. The floors and walls were padded and one wall had weapons galore hanging on it.

“Do you want to bring your weapons down here?” Methos asked.

“This is great, don't get me wrong, but I like to have weapons closer. So, if we could keep a few stashed on every floor that would be great.”

“Agreed.”

Back upstairs on the ground floor Xander finally got the official tour of it. He found the atrium/greenhouse thing especially impressive, and finally got a glimpse of the pool. “We have a pool? Neat.”

“You like to swim?”

“I did a stint on the swim team last year.”

“Sounds like there's a story there.”

“Oh yeah...I'll tell you later, just not around food.” Methos nodded and led him through the sitting room, the parlor, the library which was filled to the brim with books. “Holy crap, I think you have more books than my school does.”

“One tends to accumulate things over the years, and I like books.”

“Not a problem, books have saved my life more than once.”

Methos showed him another room that had a double bed in it. “It was second parlor, but I turned into a guestroom. Each sofa we have is a foldout by the way.”

Xander eyed him. “We expecting company at some point? I know there are two guestrooms on our floor.”

“The others want to be here for your graduation.”

“Uh...”

Methos smiled, amused. “They've already made travel plans.”

“Do they know about the Ascension?” Xander asked.

“Not yet.”

“Well not only is it on graduation day, but it will actually be at our graduation.” Xander told him.

“So, he plans to kill your entire class then.”

“Standard evil guy stuff.” He agreed. “We're supposed to be the big sacrifice so he can keep his demon form.”

“Joy.”

“Pretty much my reaction.”

Since Xander had already seen the second floor Methos took him to the third. “I mainly picked the house for this room. It’s a good place for sword work.”

“I can see that.”

“Now for the big surprise.” He led Xander to a door and opened it. It was dark inside with no widows. Methos switched on the light and Xander's jaw dropped.

“We have a movie theater. In our house.” He looked at the raised rows of seats on either side. “We have an awesome theater in our house.”

“There's a stage down there too, in case you or your friends take up drama.”

Xander turned around and kissed Methos. “This is perfect.” They didn't leave the room for an hour or so, as they were testing the softness of the red carpet.

xxx

Xander drove to school on Thursday and everything seemed normal...except for an underlying tension that seemed to fill the whole school. He wasn't sure if it was graduation jitters or word had gotten out that that Graduation was D-Day.

No one spoke to him until he got to his second class. Anya surprised him when she came over and sat beside him. “Hey.”

He gave her a small nod. “Hey.”

“I was thinking maybe if you liked we could hang out, do some sort of entertaining thing tonight.”

He blinked, surprised. “You asking me on a date Anya?” He wondered if turning her down would result in vengeance.

“Yes.”

Oh boy. “Anya, we had fun at prom...but I met someone over the weekend.”

She frowned, disappointed, but not devastated. Good. “Really? Already?”

“It’s a complicated story in its entirety. The short version is, someone made a wish and I got transported back in time 2 years to help a couple of immortals fight a demon called Ahriman.”

She made disgusted face. “He's a nasty piece of work.”

“You're not wrong.” He agreed. “Well, I kinda fell in love with one of their immortal friends while I was there. When the demon was defeated, I was transported back here. Then when I got out of school Monday, the immortal I fell for, Adam, was waiting for me. He's been in Sunnydale two years waiting for me, waiting for the timeline to catch up.”

“That’s quite the story, even for the cliff-notes version.”

“Check with some of your old coworkers for a few more details. Also, the immortals I helped were Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod and Richie Ryan of Seacouver. Adam doesn't want me giving out his real name...but he's older than you.”

She nodded in understanding, and he figured she was in a unique place where she really could understand. “You really like him?”

“Yeah. I do. Besides, we might not be around after this weekend if the Ascension gets off the ground.” He tried to make it a joke, but Anya gave him look of such horror it fell flat. “What?”

xxx

Xander dragged Anya to the library the moment class was over. She had information the others needed like yesterday. He practically burst through the swinging doors. “Giles!”

“Really Xander, we're busy.” Wesley chided.

“You want information on the Ascension, right? Well Anya's been to one.”

The Scoobies, Giles and Wesley listened in horror as Anya told them about the ascension, she'd witnessed 800 years ago. She told him the scariest thing he'd ever heard. Ascensions meant a human became pure demon, like one of the Old Ones that were on the earth before vampires. They were bigger, and scarier. There was no doubt in his mind now that people were gonna die.

When the Mayor walked in, he tried not to whimper. How someone so jolly could be so evil was beyond him. It didn't help that he distinctly remembered the guy playing Santa every Christmas during the local toy drives. He was pretty sure he remembered sitting on the guy's lap and asking for a puppy.

So, to hear him tell Giles he was gonna eat Buffy and the rest of them...well Xander was gonna have a nightmare or two about this for sure.

xxx

The moment he got home he dove into Adam's arms and just clung to the immortal. He needed a hug and was glad his boyfriend was happy to oblige.

“What happened?”

Xander told him everything, and then asked, “You up to help Giles research the Ascension?”

Methos smiled. “Of course.”

XXX

Chapter Text

Champions Heart – A Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Highlander the Series crossover
calikocat

Word count: 2884

A/N: So, this fic ended up being longer than I thought it would. I'm totally okay with that.

XXX

Friday morning Xander woke to the smell of breakfast cooking, how he could smell it all the way on the second floor he had no idea. He groaned and rolled out of bed, already exhausted. He'd spent most of the night at the hospital, until dawn when Buffy had recovered from feeding herself to Angel. She'd apparently put Faith in a coma and made him drink her own blood to cure him of the mystical poison Faith had got him with.

Two hours sleep was not enough and Xander had a vague plan to sneak into the stacks of the library and take a nap if he could. Or to drink so much coffee he imitated a jackhammer, whichever worked better.

Slowly he dressed and tried not to stumble down the stairs, it would really suck if he fell and broke something important, like his neck. Methos hadn't even been in his life a week and that would be a sucky way to go.

“Morning.” Methos kissed him before giving him a gentle shove into a chair at the kitchen table.

“Oh, god. You're a morning person, aren't you?”

The immortal laughed. “Hadn't you noticed?”

“No, you distracted me with sex, mind blowing sex I might add.”

“We'll have lots of sex after your graduation, and you will survive. Do you hear me Alexander?”

“Yep. I hear you.”

Methos nodded and placed a plate full of bacon, eggs and hash browns in front of him. “Great sex and great food. Is it too soon to say I love you?”

He looked at Xander closely. “Would you mean it?”

“I think so. I already turned Anya down when she asked me out again. I told her I time-traveled and fell in love with an immortal who's even older than her.”

Methos smiled, and it looked like there might be a touch of color to his cheeks. “I love you too Xander. Now eat.”

They were about half finished with their plates when Methos sat up straight, a pensive expression on his face. The doorbell rang and Xander wondered what he was sensing. “You okay?”

“There's at least one immortal at the door. Or two, it’s hard to tell when they stand so close together.”

“Mac and Richie?” He smiled at the thought of seeing his new friend again.

Methos stood and reached for a sword on the wall beside them. “Should be, but just in case.”

“If it’s an immortal salesman he'll probably never come back.”

Methos chuckled as he left the kitchen. Xander took another bite of eggs and listened to a murmured conversation. A moment later he was back with their guests and he put the sword back on the wall. “Just some friendlies.”

Xander shook his head as he looked at Richie, Mac and Joe; obviously Joe was the only one who had changed. “I still can't believe you guys actually came.'

Richie grinned. “Come on man, it’s your graduation. Good to see you by the way.” He offered his hand and Xander accepted, finding himself pulled from his chair and into a hug. Then he was passed to Mac and Joe for handshakes.

Joe even clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Wouldn't miss this kid.”

Mac, however, looked confused, or suspicious...it was kinda hard to tell which. “Why wouldn't we come?”

“It’s not gonna be safe. Mayor Wilkins is a sorcerer who's over 100 years old. That might not seem like much to you guys, but he didn't come by his immortality honestly like you. He's big with the black magics and he plans to ascend tomorrow and become a huge freakin' demon so he can eat my entire graduation class.” Xander sighed and caught his breath. “We were so proud of our low mortality rate too. Lowest number of deaths in the history of the school.” He was not prepared for the looks of horror from the other four men. “What? Vampires, demons and the Mouth of Hell remember? My school paper has an obit section for crying out loud.”

Richie seemed to shudder in revulsion. “That's terrifying.”

“You have no idea.”

“If you three are hungry there's plenty food left.” Methos offered. “We have things to do today, such as prepare for the ascension.”

xxx

Xander drove to school in his jeep, Methos followed in his, and their guests brought up the rear of their little caravan. Once they were inside the school, he led the way to library, they were the last to arrive, except for Wesley and after a brief introduction Buffy told them all her plan for graduation. For a moment it looked like Mac was gonna protest, but Richie put a hand on his arm and shook his head.

Then Buffy met Xander's eyes. “Xander how much of your military training do you remember.”

“Last time I checked I could still take apart and put together an M16 in record time. I'm guessing the M16 I have and the rocket launcher I gave you aren't gonna cut it?” For the moment he ignored the bug-eyed looks his Seacouver friends gave him.

“No, we need more fire power than that.”

“I could swing a bomb with Willow and Oz's help.”

“You can make a bomb?” Richie asked.

“With some help a good fertilizer one.” Xander shrugged. “I mean C4 would be more controlled, but if we want it to look more like an accident and gas leak gone bad, fertilizer is the way to go.”

Joe shook his head. “It’s terrifying that you know that.”

“It’s terrifying to have memories of a war that I never fought in, and have all sorts of deadly black ops crap in my head.”

Methos huffed at him in exasperation. “You haven't told me that story, and you must have the M16 in a weapons cache somewhere as I haven't seen it yet.”

“You will definitely hear that story soon. If you don't mind, I'll leave the M16 where it is for now. I do have a request though, for Giles.”

“What is it?” Giles asked.

“Can you de-rat Amy? With the same spell you used on Buffy last year? I'd like her to have the option to run away if she wants.”

“I'll get the spell book.”

xxx

Most of the senior class spent the day packing up the library and putting Giles' books into his storage place at his apartment. Everyone pitched in, moving books, collecting weapons, Methos even helped Xander pay for the bomb supplies. By the end of the day Buffy ordered everyone to get a good night's sleep. Saturday afternoon was going to be a mess, no matter who won.

Tucked away in their bedroom, curled together catching their breath Xander had no doubt that Mac and Richie were doing much the same thing in the guestroom furthest from them. Joe was probably still hanging out with Giles, sorting through books.

“After we survive your graduation, what do you want to do?” Methos asked him.

Xander snuggled closer. “Either sleep or have sex.”

“Brat, I meant longer term. Though have no doubt there will be sex.”

He lay there and thought about it for a moment. “When Jesse and I were kids we always wanted to go on a road trip of the US, the parts we could get to anyway.” Methos shifted, as if he were restless. “You okay?”

“Alexa and I traveled a bit. We had an old bus that we toured the states in. She loved it.”

“Oh.” Xander rose up a bit to look at him. “So, I guess you don't wanna do that again so soon.”

Methos took his hand and held it. “When you do something with someone for the first time, or go somewhere that's new to them, it’s like the first time for you as well. With Alexa I got to see the world through her eyes, through her joy.”

“And me?”

“You, Xander, are not Alexa. You see the world differently. Seeing it through you will be an entirely different experience.”

“And if we find the occasional vampire trying to eat someone, we'll dust it.”

“Guess you'll be brushing up on your hand to hand then.”

Xander couldn't help the grin. “You'd spar with me? You'd train me?”

“I'd do whatever it takes to lengthen your life.”

Xander leaned in to kiss him. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome. So, I think we should take one of the jeeps on our cross-country road trip. Not just for the states, but maybe some parts of Canada as well.”

“That sounds great.”

“And then, maybe I can convince you to tour Europe a bit, parts of Asia and Africa. Even Australia and South America.”

“I thought you wanted me to go to college.”

“Some things you learn by doing, if we tour the world think of all the things you'll see. The history and language you'd learn before you even set foot in a university classroom.”

“You just wanna stealth teach me, slip me knowledge in the guise of fun.”

“I've spent more than a decade as a researcher Alexander, I love to learn.”

“Okay, I guess I'll have to give it a shot. The road trip first though. Once we've been to the Grand Canyon, Seacouver, and Niagara Falls, then we'll talk Europe.”

“Fair enough.”

xxx

It was almost time to go out there. Xander was wearing his robe and had never felt more nervous in his life. They were going to have a full out battle in less than an hour. Methos was suddenly at his side, fixing his hat and giving him a kiss.

“You're ready? And armed?”

“Yep. You guys?”

“We immortals never go anywhere without a sword; they'll be fine for fighting vampires.”

“Yep, take their heads and they're dust. Just don't lose yours. I mean I don't think they'll be armed. Most vampires think all they need is their fangs and super strength.”

“I'll be fine. See you on the battlefield.” He was gone again and Xander took a steadying breath as everyone started to move. Show time.

 

The Mayor's speech, inspirational as it was, kinda went off the rails as the eclipse happened and he started to change into a giant snake. There were screams of course from the few parents that had shown up, none of theirs were among them. Willow's were, of course, out of town, Buffy had made her mom leave and Xander liked to pretend his didn't exist. Either way they ran right out of the quad, leaving the students to face the monster in the dark alone, typical of Hellmouth parents really.

“Now!” Buffy yelled. Suddenly they were all moving, shucking off their caps and gowns to reveal their weapons. The Mayor wasn't going to take them down without a fight. Xander suddenly flashed to that scene in Dragon Heart where the dragon ate the knight, or tried to, but the knight kept him from biting down with his sword. He doubted anyone would be that lucky though.

Also, the Mayor didn't look as awesome as Sean Connery's dragon.

“Flame Units!”

Larry and the others got the flamethrowers they'd cobbled together going. The machine shop kids and lab rats had really outdone themselves.

“Xander!”

He nodded at Buffy. “First wave!” A volley of arrows, spears and other projectiles hit the Mayor. The big snake roared when an arrow got close to his eyes.

Xander had a crossbow of his own ready, unloaded weapons were traded for loaded ones and he yelled out. “Second wave!” Another volley hit the monster in front of him.

Oz yelled out from the back. “Xander!”

He looked over his shoulder at the approaching force of vampires. “Bowmen!”

The bowmen lit their arrows and took the first wave of vamps down with their flaming projectiles. Some of the vampires decided to flee, they obviously hadn't expected to end up flaming kabobs. The sound of swords being unsheathed and used in battle made him smile. The immortals had joined the fray.

“Third wave!”

After the third volley one of the flamethrowers crapped out and the Mayor killed Larry. Shit.

“Fall back!” Buffy commanded. “Xander! Take'em down!”

“Everyone, hand to hand! Take their heads or stake their hearts!”

The battle devolved into madness as the students ran from the Mayor and right over the vampires. He was pretty sure he saw Jonathan outright tackle a vamp that was trying to eat Amy, who promptly staked the bastard then helped Jono up.

He couldn't see Methos, but a good number of vamps were losing their heads to Mac's katana. Xander caught sight of Richie too, taking the head of a vamp that bit Harmony. He helped her up and got her running again.

Xander staked vampire after vampire. Getting in cheap shots at their groins and knees so he could go for their hearts. He heard some crashing behind him back toward the school and figured Buffy was leading the Mayor to his doom.

“Keep going! He yelled. “Get away from the school!”

The mass of students kept pushing the vampires back, running them down as they went. Xander heard glass breaking and then all hell broke loose as the first explosion went off. He turned back to watch his, Willow and Oz's handiwork.

“Holy shit.” Richie was beside him. “I never thought I'd see someone blow up their high school.”

“Well, it was for a good cause.” Xander muttered. They watched as the explosions just kept going, completely and permanently wrecking the building.

“I think you're a little too good at demolitions.” Mac commented as he joined Xander and Richie.

“No such thing as being too good at demolitions. Not if it saves lives in the long run.” Xander countered.

“I certainly feel safer with a bomb expert in the house.” Methos wrapped his arms around Xander. “Glad to see you unharmed.”

“Yeah. We lost Larry though.”

“The snake guy ate your principal too.” Richie told him.

“No one will miss Snyder. He put us in danger too many times...but Larry.”

“We'll take him to my kinsman Connor MacLeod once we explain things to him.” Mac told him.

Xander turned to look at the highlander. “His neck went crunch when he hit the ground.”

“Take a look.” He nodded towards the school and Xander turned, only to gape.

There was Larry walking toward them, looking confused and rubbing his neck as if it hurt. “Larry!”

“Xander!” He practically ran toward them and Xander pulled away from Methos so he could hug Larry. “Holy shit Xander, I thought I died.”

“You did.” Methos told him. “But sometimes, people get back up. You're immortal now, and nothing will ever be the same for you.”

Larry pulled back from Xander and stared at Methos. “Are you immortal?”

“I am.”

Mac offered Larry his hand. “I'm Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod. I'm over 400 years old.” They shook hands. “We'll give you a couple of days to adjust, accept what's happened, and then we'll have to talk.”

“There are rules huh?”

“Indeed, there are.”

“I can live with that.”

xxx

Sunday morning Xander slept in, not waking up until it was almost 9 a.m. He groaned still feeling tired from the battle. Then he sat up a bit, realizing that Methos had let him sleep in.

“Good morning.”

“Hey. You realize I've known you a week now?”

Methos smiled. “Technically. I've been here two years after all.”

Xander leaned in for a kiss. “The battle is over.”

“Yes, it is.”

“I believe you said we could have more sex after the battle. Specifically, where you're inside of me.”

“You sure? I can be infinitely patient.”

“Ah, but I'm very young and very impatient.”

“I shan't keep you waiting then.” He tackled Xander and Xander laughed, happy, happier than he'd ever been. His laughs turned to moans though as Methos touched him in places that had never been touched. And when his immortal lover slid inside of him for the first time, it was an aching bliss that he'd never experienced.

But he knew he'd feel this way again, and again. He had a lifetime with Methos to look forward to. “I love you Methos.”

Methos paused above him, inside of him. “And I love you, my Champion, and I'd be honored if you accepted me as your heart.”

Xander didn't argue that he was no champion, if Methos saw him that way, that was enough for him. “Always.”

“Then let’s see if we can make enough noise to wake up Mac and Richie.”

Xander grinned. “You're on.”

XXX