Title: Airman Harris
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Stargate SG-1
Pairing: Xander Harris/Daniel Jackson
Categories: AU, slash, supernatural, drama, crossover
Length: Super Epic (122,000 words)
Warnings: Mutually questionable consent (Aliens Made Them Horny), PTSD
Author Website:
LitGalAuthor Website:
Twisting the Hellmouth Summary:
After an alien attack drags Airman Xander into an battle when he only wants to deliver his peaches, Xander discovers a whole new world, and a new way of seeing the world and himself.
Review:
After Adam is taken down and the Initiative disbanded, Xander falls victim to Spike's mindgames and in a fit of insecurity joins the Air Force. With classic Xander timing he is delivering supplies to the Cheyenne Mountain complex when SGC is hit by invaders with a (ahem) unusual means of distracting the base personnel. In the confusion Xander ends up on entirely the wrong level, shares a closet with Daniel Jackson and eventually gets compos mentis enough to help save the day. And that's more or less chapter one.
As you can probably tell, this is not a "Xander joins the military and kicks ass" story. Xander does very little ass-kicking, although his unorthodox fighting style meets with Teal'c's approval. No, this is a story about people. It's about Jack O'Neill dealing with someone who uses the same tactics of annoyance as he does. It's about Daniel Jackson wrapping his head around the idea that someone who knows bits of Akkadian and Sumerian can be not a linguist. And mostly it's about Xander not being allowed to snark his way out of facing his past.
It's not pretty in places; such things never are. Everyone has their own opinion of the rights and wrongs of situations, and no one is completely correct or completely blameless. This goes double when the action shifts back to Sunnydale as Glory is making her move. The real surprise is Jack and Buffy: I expected to see two determinedly contrary people butting heads, forgetting that neither of them are stupid.
This is a long psychological piece with enough bursts of action and humour (and not too much sex) to keep it fresh. Thoroughly recommended.
Airman Harris