InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I see myself as the anti-dad."

Barbara Gordon (alwaysabat) wrote in wariscoming,
@ 2010-03-19 01:03:00

Entry tags:

barbara gordon/oracle, xander harris

Who: Barbara Gordon and Xander Harris
What: After-slaying distractions
When: October 18-19, 2009 (Depending on what time they get back), After the 'Hunt for Dru')
Where: Barbara's apartment (106)
Why: Because everyone is frustrated and frustration usually doesn't fester if there is distraction.
Status: Closed, incomplete

The anger was burning. After hours it hadn't stopped and she knew exactly why. Kids. It was a soft spot for Barbara. And having been an orphan herself - the fact that this vampire had done this to a group of not only innocent children, but ones who truly had so little (and had lost so much), it made her blood boil.

The tea she'd made hours before say forgotten on the table - now cold to the touch - and Barbara herself was in her chair behind her computer. She'd spent the last few hours ravaging the city grid for anything that might be helpful. It was all she could do! In the old days she might have been able to go out there and help in the search, but this? This was not a villain, and truth was that she felt largely powerless. Magic trumped technology. And what was worse was what footage she did find? It was unclear, and she didn't have the tools to sure it up.

While she was having issues with her own project, hacking the city database without any trace had been easier than she'd expected. And that was the reason she was in the Lawrence PD database right now, trying to get a handle on the situation, how it was being handled and spun. She was limited in her ability to help in this sort of thing. She was well beyond her area of expertise, but damnit, she wanted this woman locked away if not worse. Thus far there had been no news. Nothing new on the survivor in the hospital, no nothing. It was only a matter of time before something else got added. The police had categorized it a homicide. Given the time of night not statement had been made... It would be the lead story in the paper tomorrow. The police couldn't handle this... She knew it. It would be up to them.

Barbara felt like throwing something... Frustration was running high.

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xander_shaped
2010-03-19 06:18 am UTC (link)

It seemed that anger was the running emotion when it came to reacting to what had happened at that orphanage. Immediately, as soon as Xander had caught wind of what was happening, he contacted Buffy and declared that he was going with her and the others to help seek Drusilla out. It was probably a foolish move, considering that it was indeed Drusilla that they were dealing with - not some typical, every day vamp - but Xander didn't much care. A threat like that had to be taken care of as quickly as possible, otherwise they were bound to deal with more occurrences like the one that they had all been faced with that night. Screwing around with kids? It just didn't happen. Everyone knew that. You mess with a kid and that's it. You're royally fucked. Except Drusilla already was that, wasn't she? She was absolutely insane. Xander had learned that the hard way back in high school, back when she and Spike had spent their time trying to murder Buffy and everyone else who dared stand alongside the Slayer. Both good and bad times all around. Mostly bad. Kind of like how things were turning out around here.

Having spent most of his night searching for Drusilla, Xander finally decided that their leads weren't going to get them anywhere. Why? Because they didn't have any leads. Not really. It was mostly the crime scene that they had to go off of, along with their usual 'ideas' on where to seek vampires in general out. The cemeteries and crypts didn't do them any justice, however, so Xander decided to retreat for the night and continue on with the search tomorrow. Picking up a pizza on the way back, Xander began moving for his apartment. Then, quite suddenly, he decided he really didn't want to be there. Alone. Sitting around, fuming about what had happened. Xander knew that he wasn't going to be able to just throw himself in bed and sleep it off, so he figured the best way to deal was find some company and just...talk. Or rage. Whatever came first, he didn't care. He just didn't want to be alone right now.

So, without really thinking about it, Xander decided to track down Barbara's apartment. He didn't know her too well (outside of comic canon, that was), but he figured that if anything out there could keep his mind off of something like this, it was meeting one of his favorite comic book characters come to life. Reaching her door, Xander balanced the box of pizza on one hand and used the other to rap at the space just below the numbers that marked her apartment. Then he stepped back quietly, shifted the box into both hands, and waited.

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alwaysabat
2010-03-19 06:43 am UTC (link)

She'd been halfway through reviewing the finally-updated crime scene report when there was a knock at her door. She looked at the clock and was slightly surprised. She knew it wasn't Tim. She'd given him a key. Over the last few hours while the rage had lessened , the urge to have this woman's head on a platter hadn't. And she was wrestling with that. Largely becuase she didn't want to snap at the person who'd just knocked. That would be bad and make a bad impression, but at this hour? Generally it meant something was up...

She rolled toward the door, carefully as not to hit anything - she's managed to get her apartment set up so that there was more than enough clearance. It was sparcely decorated but given what she was doing at that point in her life? It made sense. She was tempted to track down an unclaimed pile and just use the funds for her own use, but that was dishonest... Instead she'd started putting up ads for her own internet security site - like the one she'd had in Gotham, and she already had two rather low-level clients. but it was growing via word of mouth. She'd gotten a TV but that was about it. And it was mostly so she could tune into news channels. But none of that mattered tonight. The story would be everywhere in the morning. It was already all over the web now...

Getting to the door, Barbara reached for the knob to open it. She worried that something had happened. Had someone gotten in? Were they evacuating? She momentarily wondered if there was even a system to alert them to threats within the building itself? But they weren't targeting the building at the moment and that meant that other steps had to be taken. But again? Not now. She pulled the door open and standing there was a dark-haired man - clearly taller than her own 5'8" (not that she seemed that tall given the chair) - who was holding a pizza box in his hands. "Um... Hi," she was rather confused here. It was late. Was he looking for someone else? "Can I help you?" Yes today just kept getting more and more off...

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xander_shaped
2010-03-19 07:01 am UTC (link)

The door swung open and Xander found himself looking...at nothing. Just across. There was a room opposite him - at least, there was a room opposite him until he reminded himself that he had to look down. Mentally kicking himself, Xander lowered his gaze, eyes falling upon the woman seated in the wheelchair. Almost at once, it felt like his heart was going to stop. It was her. It had to be her, right? Wheelchair. The freaking wheelchair. For a moment, Xander could do nothing more but stare at her. Sure, she wasn't the first superhero that he had run into since he'd gotten here, but she was one of the few within the city that were more involved with one of his favorite comic developments ever. After all, what was more awesome than Batman? The X-Men might've tied with him, maybe, but even then...

"Hi." Xander forced a smile. "I...yeah. I'm Xander. I don't know if you remember me from the boards -" He shook his head, then shrugged sheepishly. "I mean, of course you don't. But we did talk. And I thought...hey, gotta visit you eventually, right? Or I should. And I am. Sort of." Smooth. Real smooth. Again, he mentally kicked himself. And, while he was at it, he threw in a good old mental slap in the face for good measure. "I, uh...it's late. Kinda. Sorry. But I brought pizza and..." He lowered the box just slightly, just so that she could see it properly. "I thought I'd share. 'Cause...do you mind the company? I'm not interrupting anything, am I? I could come back. If you want me to." Wow. If he wanted to sound like a gibbering idiot? He was doing a damn good job of it.

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alwaysabat
2010-03-19 07:34 am UTC (link)

It seemed to take the man a minute to realize that he had to look down and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. But the fact was that he seemed to recognize her - just from the look on his face - and she assumed he either did have the right apartment or he had just stumbled upon hers by mistake, a good mistake but a mistake none the less.

She worried for a moment that he might have lost his voice, or his ability to speak, but once he started talking she realized he'd just forgotten how to make a coherent sentence. It was something that she did remember from the boards, and the man as well, thus when he finally stopped she paused for a moment before her lips quirked slightly and she looked at him. "Xander you need to remember to breath," she said with a laugh - the first time she'd laughed since the news had come in.

She rolled back slightly, clearing the doorway. "Don't really mind the company, come on in." Yeah it was late, but she was a night owl. It came from years of nocturnal schedules. She often didn't get to sleep before three in the morning, unless she was really tired, or had to be up early the next morning. "Wasn't really doing much, the police finally updated the crime scene report, I was just reviewing it." She said that as if it were the most casual thing in the world... which to her it was. Her laptop was set up on a table in the area she'd dubbed the 'living room'. There was a couch she'd gotten... somewhere. Actually it had been here when she'd moved in and she'd just gotten some cleaner and done a really good job of cleaning it. A table, and the television was set up there. She didn't have her whole system set up but in the corner there was an area that was very clearly her 'Oracle' system. It wasn't elaborate. It wasn't any more than a docking port (and a few baterangs scattered on the shelf) but it was a start.

"I wasn't really expecting company this late. The only ones who ever drop by at this hour are usually people coming back from patrol, and well... given the way things are, we haven't been doing that recently." But if she had her way that would change and soon. The slayers couldn't be everywhere at once, but if they took to the sky? Things could be monitored much more easily. She glanced around. The apartment wasn't in that bad shape. "Um... have a seat anywhere I guess. I'll get plates. Do you want anything to drink?" She had had someone going on a food run bring her back some soda and a bottle of wine, she was really hoping for something stronger but it was what what she had.

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xander_shaped
2010-03-19 09:03 pm UTC (link)

A sigh of relief escaped him when she reacted in a way that wasn't as poorly as he had expected. He hadn't really given much thought to the hour when he decided to drop in on her, but the fact that she wasn't immediately pointing the other way and declaring that he had to leave now was something that Xander had to admit was more than relieving on his part. Freaking Oracle was laughing at him! And inviting him into her apartment. As soon as she pulled back in her wheelchair, Xander had to look the other way to stifle the grin that was plastering itself across his face. Even with all the bad that was going on right now with Drusilla, this was definitely one surefire way to guarantee that he didn't go out there and react to all of this badly. Well, more badly. Clearly, he had reacted to all of this pretty badly if his first reaction was to grab the nearest crossbow and start for the door the second he had heard about what happened. But still, that was beside the point, wasn't it? He was here now with a comic book goddess and he was determined to ensure that he didn't make himself look like more of a jackass than he just had throughout the duration of his visit. Because, damn it all, if he was gonna hang out with Barbara Gordon? He was going to make it an awesome experience. An awesome experience where he was awesome. Hopefully.

Drawing in a deep breath, Xander quietly moved inside behind her. He paused, briefly, to push the door shut once he was safely inside. Xander then followed Barbara further into the apartment, looking around curiously as he did so. The place didn't look much better off than his own did by way of being furnished, but some of the stuff in there alone was enough to make Xander feel the need to hide another grin. Clearly, she had to make do with whatever was available for her supposed system, but to Xander it was like staring at the most kickass awesome piece of equipment in the world. And the batarangs! He tightened his grip on the pizza box, doing all that he could to keep himself from taking off and trying to get his hands on one. He would not geek out in front of Barbara Gordon. No way. "I wasn't really expecting to be anyone's company this late, if it makes you feel any better?" He started, somewhat lamely. "I was out looking for the vampire behind the attacks and....I just knew I couldn't go up to my apartment and sleep afterward. No leads, no nothing. Thought that hanging out with someone would...you know, keep me from acting like a crazy person and going back out there on my own."

Xander found the table by the TV and sat the box down. Then he ran a hand over the back of his neck, rubbing at the space there nervously. "Crime scene report, huh? Didn't know you could get those from -" Yes. Yes, she could. Xander laughed, as though he had said something incredibly stupid, then shook his head. "Never mind. I'm pretty sure I know how you got them." That said, Xander slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans and shrugged. "I'll take whatever you're having. And thanks for not...telling me to go screw myself for showing up this late. I probably should've contacted you ahead of time or something, but I've just been all over the place since..." He waved a hand in the air. Yeah, that was real descriptive, Harris.

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alwaysabat
2010-03-19 10:56 pm UTC (link)

"I'm a natural night owl," she called over her shoulder, she pulled the plates - paper since she hadn't really had the time to get anything else - from the cabinet as well as some plastic cups which she filled with the wine. IF he wanted what she was having? And she didn't have anything stronger, it would have to do. She needed to make a mental note to pick up some vodka or whiskey. Something stronger. It was entirely possible that she would need it in the future. Barbara carefully wheeled back to the table and placed the items down. "Sorry I don't have anything stronger... I haven't exactly had the chance to find a liquor store. Someone else picked this up for me." She wheeled away, grabbing her laptop before coming back.

"I don't blame you for slip up, you've had one hell of a night," She frowned at it... Kids. You never messed with kids. Only the really psychopaths did. She settled the computer back at the table and sighed. "Cases where kids are involved..." She swallowed. "They're always the hardest. It doesn't matter whether you're chasing villians or vampires." No child deserved to die like that. "The police have labeled it a homicide, but," she shook her head looking at the computer, "you didn't come here for a talk on the events." It was pretty clear. Pizza, his body language. He'd seen enough that night. He didn't need anymore. She moved to minimize the window she had open. she had been working on that and the algorhythm that night. Hacking the satelite was tougher without the resources but she could do it. Always.

"I was just doing what I could on my end," She frowned. "Not like I can go out and run after that bitch," she frowned. "Wouldn't know what to do if I caught her." She handed him a plate, hastily trying to change the subject. If he wanted to talk about it she'd listen. It was what she did. "So what did you get?"

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xander_shaped
2010-03-21 04:58 am UTC (link)

Wine wasn't really what he expected. Not that it was a bad thing; Xander just hadn't really given wine much thought. He liked wine well enough, however. So, with a grateful smile, Xander picked one of the cups up and sipped some of the wine down. It wasn't bad. Not at all, actually. "Thank you," Xander said appreciatively, setting the cup back onto the table as he did so. Hands diving into his pockets once more, Xander cast a curious look back at the makeshift Oracle space. He wasn't really super tech savvy. Not like she was. He probably wouldn't have had any idea on where to begin when it came down to the stuff that she did to look into what was going on around the city. Probably? Nah, definitely. Not even Willow could rival Oracle's skills and she was pretty damned good with computer stuff. Although, Xander had to admit, she was better when it came to her Wiccan practices. But since, the last that Xander had seen of her, she had been trying to end the world and all...yeah. She was really better off without the magic in her life, wasn't she? God, he hoped so. He wanted her to get off that stuff as soon as possible. It was for the better.

"No, I really didn't." Not that talking about it with her would have been bad. But judging from the way that things were right now, there really wasn't much that either of them could do. They could stand around and bitch about how much they hated the disaster and how badly they wanted to run off and give Drusilla hell. It'd probably make them feel all right for maybe a second, before they got all determined and riled up and stupid. Xander knew about the stupid. Oh, yes he did. "But I get what you mean. I know what I'd do if I caught her." He'd pour a bottle of holy water down her throat. For starters. "Kinda spent the entire night imagining it. Not pretty. And not up for discussions since I was kind of hoping that we could avoid the discussing, as it leads to bringing on more bad. Bad is bad. I'm tired of the bad. Let's focus on some good."

He looked over at the box, then pushed the lid open to reveal the pizza inside. It was a pretty simple looking pie, actually. "Pepperoni. Is that all right with you?"

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alwaysabat
2010-03-21 10:22 pm UTC (link)

She thought for a moment. Wondering what she'd do if she came face to face. If Drusilla had been a human, there would have been no question. She knew. But a vampire? That was a whole different ball game. She was so far out of her element that it wasn't funny. But she was trying. God knew she was trying.

Focusing on something else. It seemed like a very good idea, and when he opened the pizza her eyes widened slightly. She hadn't realized just how hungry she was until she saw the food. "No that's fine," she insisted. "More than fine actually! I haven't eaten since..." she paused trying to do the math. "It's been a while." She had decided to keep some food in her apartment at all times, given the elevator situation she didn't exactly have the time (or the ability) to go out and get it any time she felt like it. But given everything that had happened today, she - as happened occasionally - had just simply forgotten to eat. She handed Xander a plate, noticing his eye wandering around the apartment. Perhaps some distraction would be a good thing, for both of them

"If you'd like you can take a look around," she'd noticed the look in his eye the instant that he'd seen the baterangs upon entering. She could understand it. While it was common place for her. And she had six of them with her - why? She had no idea, but they'd been in the computer bag, just like they always were. For emergencies. She was almost certain that was where he was going to go first, a knowing smile found its way to her lips as she took a sip of her wine.

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xander_shaped
2010-03-27 03:51 am UTC (link)

Xander sure didn't hesitate once he got that plate. Scooping up a slice of pizza, he dropped it onto the plate, then reached for another. Always reach for another. He had learned about that strategy the hard way. Even though there were two people here rather than a household full of Scoobs, Xander knew better than to leave himself short a slice. It was habit. Ordering pizza within the Summers home on a slow research night? Always a bad plan. Especially when Willow was in the room. She might have been a teeny thing, but that girl could eat. It was part of what made her so awesome, wasn't it? People didn't exactly expect someone like that to have the capability of wolfing down a few slices of pizza all on her own. Come to think of it, all those girls could probably eat him under the table. Anya, especially, had been...well, Xander didn't want to think about that. Thinking about Anya made his stomach hurt. As he was trying to eat, he really didn't want to go there right now.

"Help yourself. There's a whole box here." He had his two slices. All was good with the world. Taking a bite out of his first piece, Xander flashed Babs a sheepish grin before he moved forward and began to observe his surroundings a bit more closely. Swallowing, he turned and said, "Without even trying, your apartment is already ten times cooler than mine is ever going to be." That system in itself looked pretty awesome. And those batarangs...

Setting his plate aside on the table, Xander moved forward and peered at them. He wiped his hands on the legs of his jeans, as if he planned on picking one up. He refrained from doing so, however. Touching a batarang was like sacred ground for someone like him. It was a freakin' batarang. So rather than doing so, Xander stared at them all in awe. A subtle awe. At least, he hoped it was subtle. "And these...these just take the cake right here."

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alwaysabat
2010-03-27 05:01 am UTC (link)

Barbara grabbed a slice, taking a bite before watching him move about. She was enjoying watching him. He had this enthusiasm that she hadn't really felt since arriving. He seemed to be entranced by both her system bay and... well... the Baterangs were having an effect on him. "This set up isn't anything like my last one," she admitted. "But you work with what you got."

But she knew what he was really talking about. He was eyeing them, looked as if he were slightly afraid to touch them. She could understand it, but to her they were tools. Nothing more, nothing less. "They are pretty cool. I'm lucky they got sent with me... Would have been a pain to explain why I needed this alloy in this particular shape," she said wheeling herself over a bit more.

She paused, deciding that it was a good idea before speaking again. "You know, you can touch them if you want to, Xander. They won't bite, I promise." She smiled broadly. She knew why - or had an idea as to why he hadn't yet. But her permission should clear that up... but his enthusiasm, it gave her an idea. She was here. Why not try to make someone's life better in an overt way...

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xander_shaped
2010-03-27 05:39 am UTC (link)

"Oh, I can imagine," Xander replied in amusement, "I mean, judging from the comic books alone...I'd have loved to see your whole system at full throttle." He shot Barbara a grin, looking as though he were twelve years old all over again. He couldn't help it. This? It was a huge deal for him. And if anything out there could make him feel less cranky, it was this. Just being around her was already making Xander forget about the failworthy presence of Drusilla and Glory just outside these apartment walls. Both of them were highly concerning situations, but he didn't really feel that here. Not when he was hanging out with one of the most awesome comic book characters of all time. Call him a geek (just not on Andrew's level, please and thank you), but this was just a few steps short of heaven for a guy like Xander Harris.

"Are you sure?" Xander looked back at Barbara in surprise. He was expecting her to tell him to be careful. Or to not touch - because that was bad. Touching the unbelievably awesome batarangs would have been bad. But the offer was there. And Xander wasn't exactly interested in giving Barbara a chance to change her mind. Reaching forward, he lifted one of the batarangs up. The manner in which he grabbed onto the bat shaped weapon was very cautious - he didn't want to screw anything up, even if it looked like the batarang would be more likely to screw him up. He held it in front of himself with both hands, fingers gripping at the sides of the weapon carefully.

Xander was holding a batarang. Not the crappy, plastic ones you could get for Halloween at the stores. But a real one. Used by a real former Bat. Holy crap. Someone needed to hold him or something, because if he didn't get a grip on himself he was going to pass out in shock. Exaggeration. Maybe. "This is the most beautif - awesome thing I've seen since I've gotten here. And that includes Superman lifting a car." Xander looked back to Barbara, grinning. "Correction: you are awesome.

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alwaysabat
2010-03-27 07:40 am UTC (link)

She couldn't help but smile. "At full throttle? The system could have kicked some NASA computers' assess... except that I hacked in at some point to use their systems. So I guess that's a bit redundant." She laughed taking another bite of her pizza. She felt a bit better. "Got really lucky during the Quake that it didn't crash completely." Parts of it? definately. But she'd had all her backup systems running and the generators, and the building had been quake-proof. Otherwise she would most likely hve not only lost everything but her life as well.

She was amused that Xander didn't wait for her to repeat herself before going for it. Not that she would have taken back the offer. There wasn't really any damage he could do with it. Not unless he threw it, which she didn't see happening. What was she going to do? Say no? They were a tool, functional to her, but clearly more to him... he was... as much as it threw her to say it - a fan. And now, in this time of crisis, a friend. And it seemed that that was how she made a lot of her friends. The irony hadn't gotten passed her.

She wheeled up behind him, taking some joy in the joy he was feeling. "I found them in the bag with my computer when I got here," she explained. "Wasn't quite sure what to do with them but they're mine so I wasn't about to give them to Robin. It always pays to have a few Baterangs on hand. You never know what might happen." She laughed and felt herself blush slightly at the compliment. The truth was that she liked the man. And despite it all she could see in his eyes that there was more maturity there than he was currently showing. There was a wearyness there that she knew all too well. One that usually caused her to worry about Tim and Bruce... even Dick a lot of the time. But she knew it. She had it herself.

"I don't know if you have anything like it here, but we make them out of a mixed alloy that doesn't flex but is sturdy enough to..." she paused smirking, "make an impression when needed?" if he was a fan he knew what they were used for, what they did. She picked one of the remaining five up off the table. "I was thinking of bringing them with me to Bobby's training camp. Seeing what I could do with them. He said to bring your own weapons. Maybe teach a few people," she pausedl ooking up at him. "Given everything you and your friends have seen, you have to know all about thrown weapons," she shrugged. Sometimes they were more effective than a gun.

(ooc: Next reply she'll make the offer!!! HEEE)

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xander_shaped
2010-03-27 09:12 am UTC (link)

Xander looked positively delighted at her statement about hacking into NASA. Not that he was surprised, but it was still damn good to hear from her anyway. She had absolutely no idea as to how thrilling this all was for him, did she? Xander was kind of hoping that one of Barbara's idols would show up her one day. Then he could gently prod her in the shoulder and point out that whatever it was that she was feeling then was exactly like what he was feeling now. "It's a shame we're not back in Sunnydale," he pointed out, turning the batarang over in his hands, "then I could give trying to swindle you into hacking into the government so that you could un-relate me to my family. Legally." Xander glanced over at her. "And I guess upping my GPA and high school diploma status would be frowned upon, huh? Ah, well. Records. Who needs 'em?"

Give them to Robin? "Hey, he's running around in the streets doing his thing. I'm sure he's covered on the weapons front." He probably was, too. Besides, Xander figured that even though she was in a wheelchair, she could still make use of them. If someone broke in and tried to attack her or something, she could make a nice game out of it by tossing the batarangs at their faces. Though he doubted anyone would bother her here. Of course, he'd said the same for the Summers' home once before and they had gotten attacked there quite often.

When she spoke of alloys, Xander looked up from the batarang and shrugged. "Heck if I know. I'm not from here either. But if we do..." He put on a sheepish sort of look. "I wouldn't object to making a few. For you. And maybe one for me." He shrugged. "Maybe. As a...thing. A decoration. A - you wanna do what?" Teach people? Hey, now. If she was going to teach anyone to use a batarang? It should have been someone who could appreciate their awesome. Like himself. Xander laughed a little, shoulders rising and falling into yet another shrug. He did that sometimes when he was nervous. Let's of flaily hand gestures and shrugs. "I know about crossbows. But you don't throw those. The closest thing we've got at home is a stake and I was never the biggest expert at doing the..." He lifted a hand - not the one that was holding the batarang - and made a throwing gesture with it. "Thing. That Buffy does. It's pretty neat, actually." If he tried, he'd probably end up hitting a tree or something. Major suckage. "So...if I wanted to learn..." Xander looked down at the batarang awkwardly, doing his best to sound as casual as possible. "You'd teach me? Maybe. Possibly." He winced. "Hopefully?"

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