FIC: A Smile Tugs Upon My Soul (1/1) JC/XH
A Smile Tugs Upon My Soul
Summary: John Constantine goes to visit the Watcher’s Council…
Set: Post-”Chosen”
Rating: PG (tame for Constantine, I know)
Ships: X/John Constantine
Disclaimer: I own no one and nothing, but if anyone wanted to donate them to the “Danii is a a broke student” fund, the collection box is open and waiting.
Distribution: Put my name on it, put it up, and tell me where it is and we’ll be just fine…you’ll have another story in your archive, and I’ll be able to squee.
Dedication: To CCCarioca…who wanted more Constantine pr0n. I love his stories, so I’ll pander to his wishes ^_^
Notes2: As per usual, if you don’t know about John, you’re welcome to do a little research about “Hellblazer”, the lovely comic series from Vertigo from which he comes.
****
“I’ve brought your sorry arse to so many places, I can’t even count ‘em at this point, but even I can’t figure out what a piece of shit like you would be doing in a posh spot like where you told me to drop you.”
“Damn right…” John agreed as his eyes wandered out the window, the cigarette nearly falling out of his hand. It swayed in a loose grip as the cab gently weaved in the strong wind, and the smoke brushed past his face in a slightly gritty caress.
Six months ago, he would have had no business being in an area like this, with all the big posh houses and the sweeping landscapes. Six months ago, he would have been sitting in whatever pub had caught his morose fancy, drinking and smoking his life away in the knowledge that no one bloody wanted it anyway, especially not him. Six months ago, Chaz was so bloody pissed at him that he wouldn’t have had a snowballs chance in Hell of getting the ride here in the first place. But six months ago, to the day, he had met Xander.
The boy was prickly sometimes, John admitted with a crooked grin to his reflection in the rain-washed glass, but God above, if he wasn’t the most fun he’d had in a long time. Before Xander, he’d been turned off of men for a while, something he couldn’t exactly explain to himself let alone anyone else, but the boy had caught him at a particularly lonely moment, and that lonely moment had become a long, warm evening and one hell of a hot night.
It was only after they’d had a bit of fun that he’d found out that it was Xander’s first time with a bloke. Surprised the hell outta him. They’d woken up in each other’s arms, both slightly nervous as to what the other thought about that, and had discovered that neither of them really objected to the situation in the least. Xander was the flexible type, in more then one way, and he‘d always been a man who adjusted quickly, so they‘d managed to skip the awkward stage of things and had skipped straight to “pleasantly working relationship“.
It helped matters that the boy was a bizarre mix of his world and the world most people lived in. Xander, he’d learned right from the start, was pretty much your average human, but he was also friends with some of the biggest players on the occult map, which had gotten him more then an eyeful of the fantastical and the frightening. Vampires, Hell Goddesses, First Circle Demons…you name it, and the kid had probably bloody fought it or dated it. It was all at once interesting and disappointing to find someone with a past as bizarre as his own.
All of these factors (and more besides) boiled down to the fact that, for the first time in his life, a relationship seemed to be working on all fronts and was actually making him happy, and it was for this reason that he was making the journey out into the land of the rich and famous to meet the boy’s friends/family.
He’d already been briefed by a very nervous Xander on the four big names: Willow, Buffy, Dawn, and Giles. These were, for all intents and purposes, the four tests he had before him; if he got them to like him, he was free and clear to pursue his lovely little American for as long as they wished. Otherwise, he’d been told, things would be a bit stickier.
He wouldn’t be dumped, certainly, but apparently Xander’d had trouble with his mates not liking his choice of girlfriend before and it had caused some problems. They’d been a bit too drunk and more then a little preoccupied with each other when Xander had tried explaining the entire thing; all he’d heard was something about a troll before his boy’s work-callused hands had slipped past all his defenses and wiped any ability for processing from him.
Willow seemed like she’d be an all right lass, though the business she’d pulled the other summer with almost destroying the world had been rather disturbing to think on. Sure, like everyone else, he’d heard of the fire-haired witch who’d tried to send them all headfirst into the flaming abyss, but it was one thing to hear about the bloody dreaded harpy and quite another to have seen a picture of her as a four year old pouting over a Barbie her best friend, his boyfriend, had broken. But considering the trouble that he’d gotten up to in the years, John was willing to cut the girl a little slack even if the very idea had scared him a bit…really struck home with just how much trouble he’d stepped into by attaching himself to the boy.
Buffy, the second trial he had, didn’t seem quite so intimidating. If the girl had been willing to lie with two vampires, regardless of souls, she obviously didn’t have much to speak of when it came to standards. The fact that he was upright and had a pulse would probably satisfy her, and while that reassured him to some degree, a part of him was rather disgusted. Also, as much as Xander seemed to want to make it seem otherwise, it seemed to him that Buffy was a bit busy dealing with her own problems at the moment to really care so much or give him trouble.
Dawn, the young girl that he heard about often, was another of the tougher ones, but he figured that she trusted his Xander to pick someone who suited him. She seemed a good bit more sensible then the other two girls, and also a little more actively concerned with Xander’s welfare. John wasn’t as worried about her because he was pretty sure he was going to like her. Any teenager who’d threatened a master vampire with having him wake up “on fire” was a kid after his own heart.
The last challenge, he’d figured, was in this Giles bloke. Apparently a native, unlike the rest, this Giles was head of the new Watcher’s Council that was currently taking shape under the roof of the mansion he was just about get out at. According to Xander, Giles was the kind of man who treated his Slayer (and consequently, his Slayer’s companions) as his own children, which meant that he’d probably get the disapproving father glare from behind the glasses that Xander always joked about him cleaning.
His musing was ended by a rude shout from Chaz concerning pickup and the idea of a tip. As per usual, John brushed him off and told him that he’d probably be staying the night anyway…not to worry.
At least he hoped so.
Then, with a swagger he didn’t exactly feel, John swung out of the cab and slammed the door good and hard, which earned him another angry shout from Chaz that he took a bit of comfort from ignoring. Then, swagger in place, he started his long walk up the driveway.
“Buggering hell, no wonder he’s always bloody tired…” John muttered as he started his trek. Even from the driveway, he could see how much of the work on the building was new repairs, which was most of it. According to Xander, the worst damage was to be found in the back of the property, as the bomb had been placed in the main library in order to do the most damage, but John could still see some of the construction scaffolding in the front, as well as some burned rubbish that had yet to be pulled out.
Apparently, this was Xander’s main purpose of being at the Watcher’s Council HQ. They’d needed someone with the skills and the knowledge to do the work, and Xander had been unanimously chosen to supervise the job. He chose the workers, with some help from Mr. Giles in locating folks suitable for doing such a secretive job, and he had made the plans according to his own ideas of what the Watcher’s Council needed the most.
It was no surprise that, for the first time in it’s history, substance was going to take precedence over appearance. Although his boy had told him about some of his ideas already, John could already tell just from the front of the building. This house was built to be a fortress, a center of power, and a home to those who would live and work there. The strong lines and materials used, as well as the use of smaller windows and alcove-like front showed an excellent sense of defensive needs, yet the small touches of warmth and beauty spoke of a love for one’s home, as well as a welcoming embrace for those seeking aide.
It screamed “Xander”.
Once again, John felt a smile twist on his face, and he realized just how much that had to do with why he was here. The boy made him smile.
Not sneer. Not smirk. Not defiantly bare his teeth. Not even give his executioner’s grin which had been the last sight of far too many.
He smiled. He smiled when he was with Xander, and smiled when he thought of him. He smiled when he found the boy’s things at his flat, and when he realized that one of his ties was missing because Xander had felt the need for a souvenir while John’d traveled to New York as a favor to a friend.
Something about them just clicked, and John for once wasn’t about to examine what it was.
His thoughts brought him straight to the front door, where he gave a jolly knock and waited happily for his boy to come to the door. When the door opened, however, the smile was wiped straight of off his face.
“Constantine?” asked the older man who opened the door, his bloodshot hazel eyes wide and startled behind glasses that had seen better days. Dear God, no...
“Ripper?”
FIN
Summary: John Constantine goes to visit the Watcher’s Council…
Set: Post-”Chosen”
Rating: PG (tame for Constantine, I know)
Ships: X/John Constantine
Disclaimer: I own no one and nothing, but if anyone wanted to donate them to the “Danii is a a broke student” fund, the collection box is open and waiting.
Distribution: Put my name on it, put it up, and tell me where it is and we’ll be just fine…you’ll have another story in your archive, and I’ll be able to squee.
Dedication: To CCCarioca…who wanted more Constantine pr0n. I love his stories, so I’ll pander to his wishes ^_^
Notes2: As per usual, if you don’t know about John, you’re welcome to do a little research about “Hellblazer”, the lovely comic series from Vertigo from which he comes.
****
“I’ve brought your sorry arse to so many places, I can’t even count ‘em at this point, but even I can’t figure out what a piece of shit like you would be doing in a posh spot like where you told me to drop you.”
“Damn right…” John agreed as his eyes wandered out the window, the cigarette nearly falling out of his hand. It swayed in a loose grip as the cab gently weaved in the strong wind, and the smoke brushed past his face in a slightly gritty caress.
Six months ago, he would have had no business being in an area like this, with all the big posh houses and the sweeping landscapes. Six months ago, he would have been sitting in whatever pub had caught his morose fancy, drinking and smoking his life away in the knowledge that no one bloody wanted it anyway, especially not him. Six months ago, Chaz was so bloody pissed at him that he wouldn’t have had a snowballs chance in Hell of getting the ride here in the first place. But six months ago, to the day, he had met Xander.
The boy was prickly sometimes, John admitted with a crooked grin to his reflection in the rain-washed glass, but God above, if he wasn’t the most fun he’d had in a long time. Before Xander, he’d been turned off of men for a while, something he couldn’t exactly explain to himself let alone anyone else, but the boy had caught him at a particularly lonely moment, and that lonely moment had become a long, warm evening and one hell of a hot night.
It was only after they’d had a bit of fun that he’d found out that it was Xander’s first time with a bloke. Surprised the hell outta him. They’d woken up in each other’s arms, both slightly nervous as to what the other thought about that, and had discovered that neither of them really objected to the situation in the least. Xander was the flexible type, in more then one way, and he‘d always been a man who adjusted quickly, so they‘d managed to skip the awkward stage of things and had skipped straight to “pleasantly working relationship“.
It helped matters that the boy was a bizarre mix of his world and the world most people lived in. Xander, he’d learned right from the start, was pretty much your average human, but he was also friends with some of the biggest players on the occult map, which had gotten him more then an eyeful of the fantastical and the frightening. Vampires, Hell Goddesses, First Circle Demons…you name it, and the kid had probably bloody fought it or dated it. It was all at once interesting and disappointing to find someone with a past as bizarre as his own.
All of these factors (and more besides) boiled down to the fact that, for the first time in his life, a relationship seemed to be working on all fronts and was actually making him happy, and it was for this reason that he was making the journey out into the land of the rich and famous to meet the boy’s friends/family.
He’d already been briefed by a very nervous Xander on the four big names: Willow, Buffy, Dawn, and Giles. These were, for all intents and purposes, the four tests he had before him; if he got them to like him, he was free and clear to pursue his lovely little American for as long as they wished. Otherwise, he’d been told, things would be a bit stickier.
He wouldn’t be dumped, certainly, but apparently Xander’d had trouble with his mates not liking his choice of girlfriend before and it had caused some problems. They’d been a bit too drunk and more then a little preoccupied with each other when Xander had tried explaining the entire thing; all he’d heard was something about a troll before his boy’s work-callused hands had slipped past all his defenses and wiped any ability for processing from him.
Willow seemed like she’d be an all right lass, though the business she’d pulled the other summer with almost destroying the world had been rather disturbing to think on. Sure, like everyone else, he’d heard of the fire-haired witch who’d tried to send them all headfirst into the flaming abyss, but it was one thing to hear about the bloody dreaded harpy and quite another to have seen a picture of her as a four year old pouting over a Barbie her best friend, his boyfriend, had broken. But considering the trouble that he’d gotten up to in the years, John was willing to cut the girl a little slack even if the very idea had scared him a bit…really struck home with just how much trouble he’d stepped into by attaching himself to the boy.
Buffy, the second trial he had, didn’t seem quite so intimidating. If the girl had been willing to lie with two vampires, regardless of souls, she obviously didn’t have much to speak of when it came to standards. The fact that he was upright and had a pulse would probably satisfy her, and while that reassured him to some degree, a part of him was rather disgusted. Also, as much as Xander seemed to want to make it seem otherwise, it seemed to him that Buffy was a bit busy dealing with her own problems at the moment to really care so much or give him trouble.
Dawn, the young girl that he heard about often, was another of the tougher ones, but he figured that she trusted his Xander to pick someone who suited him. She seemed a good bit more sensible then the other two girls, and also a little more actively concerned with Xander’s welfare. John wasn’t as worried about her because he was pretty sure he was going to like her. Any teenager who’d threatened a master vampire with having him wake up “on fire” was a kid after his own heart.
The last challenge, he’d figured, was in this Giles bloke. Apparently a native, unlike the rest, this Giles was head of the new Watcher’s Council that was currently taking shape under the roof of the mansion he was just about get out at. According to Xander, Giles was the kind of man who treated his Slayer (and consequently, his Slayer’s companions) as his own children, which meant that he’d probably get the disapproving father glare from behind the glasses that Xander always joked about him cleaning.
His musing was ended by a rude shout from Chaz concerning pickup and the idea of a tip. As per usual, John brushed him off and told him that he’d probably be staying the night anyway…not to worry.
At least he hoped so.
Then, with a swagger he didn’t exactly feel, John swung out of the cab and slammed the door good and hard, which earned him another angry shout from Chaz that he took a bit of comfort from ignoring. Then, swagger in place, he started his long walk up the driveway.
“Buggering hell, no wonder he’s always bloody tired…” John muttered as he started his trek. Even from the driveway, he could see how much of the work on the building was new repairs, which was most of it. According to Xander, the worst damage was to be found in the back of the property, as the bomb had been placed in the main library in order to do the most damage, but John could still see some of the construction scaffolding in the front, as well as some burned rubbish that had yet to be pulled out.
Apparently, this was Xander’s main purpose of being at the Watcher’s Council HQ. They’d needed someone with the skills and the knowledge to do the work, and Xander had been unanimously chosen to supervise the job. He chose the workers, with some help from Mr. Giles in locating folks suitable for doing such a secretive job, and he had made the plans according to his own ideas of what the Watcher’s Council needed the most.
It was no surprise that, for the first time in it’s history, substance was going to take precedence over appearance. Although his boy had told him about some of his ideas already, John could already tell just from the front of the building. This house was built to be a fortress, a center of power, and a home to those who would live and work there. The strong lines and materials used, as well as the use of smaller windows and alcove-like front showed an excellent sense of defensive needs, yet the small touches of warmth and beauty spoke of a love for one’s home, as well as a welcoming embrace for those seeking aide.
It screamed “Xander”.
Once again, John felt a smile twist on his face, and he realized just how much that had to do with why he was here. The boy made him smile.
Not sneer. Not smirk. Not defiantly bare his teeth. Not even give his executioner’s grin which had been the last sight of far too many.
He smiled. He smiled when he was with Xander, and smiled when he thought of him. He smiled when he found the boy’s things at his flat, and when he realized that one of his ties was missing because Xander had felt the need for a souvenir while John’d traveled to New York as a favor to a friend.
Something about them just clicked, and John for once wasn’t about to examine what it was.
His thoughts brought him straight to the front door, where he gave a jolly knock and waited happily for his boy to come to the door. When the door opened, however, the smile was wiped straight of off his face.
“Constantine?” asked the older man who opened the door, his bloodshot hazel eyes wide and startled behind glasses that had seen better days. Dear God, no...
“Ripper?”
FIN