Fic: And With This Legacy We Fight
Title: And With This Legacy We Fight
Author: Chosenfire
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN. All recognizable characters belong to their respective owners and I make no profit off this.
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: Xander/John - "Why?" - any
Word Count: 1317
Characters: Xander, John,
Spoilers: BtVS season 7, SPN season 1
Summary: John had thought he was leaving Xander behind to have a normal life but when he meets the man his son has become he knows that their all fighting the same war and his family are meant to be the soldiers.
A/N: I love this idea, Xander being John’s son. I did something similar to this is my story Beer Bad chapter Alexander Winchester but I loved that I got the opportunity to expand on it. I hope you guys like this and please do comment.
The first time John Winchester realized he had failed as a father was when his middle boy had told him to stay away from his graduation. Had told him he didn’t belong there, that he had nothing to do with the man he was becoming.
Maybe it wasn’t the first time he failed, there was Sam’s plea to play soccer and the dream Dean had forgot about to hunt (that boy always had a thing for fires it wasn’t any surprise he wanted to put them out).
It was the first time he hadn’t been able to find an excuse for his failure.
He had thought leaving the boy with his mother was the right thing to do, still did, but when his son didn’t want him at his graduation ceremony it had hit hard.
He had tried to forget about it though, tried to forget about the dark haired little boy he had raised for the first five years of his life than had signed over custody to his now ready to be a mother mom Jessica and her new husband Tony Harris.
Xander had been the result of too much alcohol and a brief separation from Mary.
He had never regretted the kid and when he had handed him over to Jessica he had believed that she could protect him from the life of a Winchester. That Xander wouldn’t have to grow up with monsters, broken bones, and a knife under his pillow.
Now as he stood before the man he had never raised he knew he was wrong. Because those brown eyes held coldness in them that John knew all too well, he was a soldier and he wondered how this 24 year old Winchester had become one without him.
“What do you want?” Xander stood stiffly in the doorway of the three story boarding school in Cleveland, Ohio.
John grimaced feeling the scorn blister across his flesh and matching Xander’s hardness with some of his own “What a man isn’t allowed to visit his own son?”
Xander’s lips twisted into a bitter smile “I have a father, granted he’s a drunken idiot who communicates with his fist more than anything else but it’s his last name I go by.”
It stung and it cut and it was a worthy dig of a Winchester. He might go by Harris but there was no denying where that boy came from. John considered tracking down dear ole Tony and teaching him to never touch his boy again.
He buried the guilt and surged forward just as stubborn and hardheaded “I had a job to do boy.”
“Oh yeah, how’s Casper, the Ghostbuster business must be hell on the pocket.” His voice was laced with sarcasm and betrayal flashed in those once trusting depths.
“Alex.” John narrowed his eyes trying to decide if he was joking or had finally figured something out over the years.
“It’s Xander,” he bit out “has been since I was five.”
“Xander,” a brown head poked itself under his arm long silky hair and bright blue eyes that shown with innocence and mirth “the girls tied Andrew up in the closet again.” She was young, too young to be looking at his boy that way, with such adoration and all out love.
“Dawn,” the boys face immediately relaxed and the smile he couldn’t hide made him look younger and like the kid John had barely began to know.
“Oh you have a visitor.” She teased and he saw a shadow in that innocence, wisdom behind the mirth.
“Dawn, this is my father,” Xander told her and something passed between them that soldiers in war had perfected. “Dad,” he turned to John the title sounding forced “this is Dawn Summers, she works at the school.”
Dawn grinned and with a surprisingly strong grip pulled John passed Xander and into the simple but well cared for home/school “Before you go with the whole she’s too young thing I’m 19 and Xander used to baby-sit me.”
She looked pointedly to Xander who rolled his eyes “Get Faith to cut Andrew down as you see,” he waved his hand in John’s direction “I’m busy.”
With a quick wink at John and a small punch at Xander she sighed “Fine but if you’re psychotic girlfriend lets the knife slip I’m telling Buffy you told me too.” She sauntered off a little firecracker wrapped in a soon to be irresistible package.
John turned back to Xander not knowing where he stood with the boy that tossed him hateful words and obviously knew how to treat a girl the right way.
Xander sighed shaking his head suddenly looking tired and for the first time John noticed the scar by his eye, curved and unnatural. A symbol he had read in on the books Jim had kept shoving at him.
“Why are you here, why now?” Dean’s little brother and Sammy’s older brother asked without the defiance Sammy often exhibited and the faithfulness that was a part of Dean.
“I heard about the town.”
Xander looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or yell “That was three years ago.”
John shrugged grinning “Yeah well cut me some slack, I’m old.”
Xander shook his head “Aren’t we all?” and while he delivered it with a smile there was honesty in his voice.
Too many things weren’t adding up and the safe life he had thought he’d given the boy was looking to be as about as safe as the life he had denied him. “Mind telling me how you know about the family business?” When all else failed be blunt, hell John didn’t even try subtle. Never had.
Xander gave him a small grin “Since I was 16 and remembered that you bought an awful lot of Holy Water.”
John swallowed his throat tightening “What happened at 16?”
Xander paused taking a moment to look around the room with a sad smile before he turned back to the man that despite all problems and denials would always be his father “One of my best friends was killed by a Vampire and I met Dawn’s older sister Buffy. Sort of a life changing experience.”
“I imagine.” John forced out and had to ask “So who’s Buffy?” from the say Xander said her name he could tell she was the difference between the boy he had left and the man standing before him.
“Buffy,” he apparently loved the girl just as much as sister if that smile was anything to go by “is small, blond, and used to be a cheerleader. She’s the Slayer, chosen one and all that and she’s the only reason I survived living on a Hellmouth.”
Author: Chosenfire
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN. All recognizable characters belong to their respective owners and I make no profit off this.
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: Xander/John - "Why?" - any
Word Count: 1317
Characters: Xander, John,
Spoilers: BtVS season 7, SPN season 1
Summary: John had thought he was leaving Xander behind to have a normal life but when he meets the man his son has become he knows that their all fighting the same war and his family are meant to be the soldiers.
A/N: I love this idea, Xander being John’s son. I did something similar to this is my story Beer Bad chapter Alexander Winchester but I loved that I got the opportunity to expand on it. I hope you guys like this and please do comment.
The first time John Winchester realized he had failed as a father was when his middle boy had told him to stay away from his graduation. Had told him he didn’t belong there, that he had nothing to do with the man he was becoming.
Maybe it wasn’t the first time he failed, there was Sam’s plea to play soccer and the dream Dean had forgot about to hunt (that boy always had a thing for fires it wasn’t any surprise he wanted to put them out).
It was the first time he hadn’t been able to find an excuse for his failure.
He had thought leaving the boy with his mother was the right thing to do, still did, but when his son didn’t want him at his graduation ceremony it had hit hard.
He had tried to forget about it though, tried to forget about the dark haired little boy he had raised for the first five years of his life than had signed over custody to his now ready to be a mother mom Jessica and her new husband Tony Harris.
Xander had been the result of too much alcohol and a brief separation from Mary.
He had never regretted the kid and when he had handed him over to Jessica he had believed that she could protect him from the life of a Winchester. That Xander wouldn’t have to grow up with monsters, broken bones, and a knife under his pillow.
Now as he stood before the man he had never raised he knew he was wrong. Because those brown eyes held coldness in them that John knew all too well, he was a soldier and he wondered how this 24 year old Winchester had become one without him.
“What do you want?” Xander stood stiffly in the doorway of the three story boarding school in Cleveland, Ohio.
John grimaced feeling the scorn blister across his flesh and matching Xander’s hardness with some of his own “What a man isn’t allowed to visit his own son?”
Xander’s lips twisted into a bitter smile “I have a father, granted he’s a drunken idiot who communicates with his fist more than anything else but it’s his last name I go by.”
It stung and it cut and it was a worthy dig of a Winchester. He might go by Harris but there was no denying where that boy came from. John considered tracking down dear ole Tony and teaching him to never touch his boy again.
He buried the guilt and surged forward just as stubborn and hardheaded “I had a job to do boy.”
“Oh yeah, how’s Casper, the Ghostbuster business must be hell on the pocket.” His voice was laced with sarcasm and betrayal flashed in those once trusting depths.
“Alex.” John narrowed his eyes trying to decide if he was joking or had finally figured something out over the years.
“It’s Xander,” he bit out “has been since I was five.”
“Xander,” a brown head poked itself under his arm long silky hair and bright blue eyes that shown with innocence and mirth “the girls tied Andrew up in the closet again.” She was young, too young to be looking at his boy that way, with such adoration and all out love.
“Dawn,” the boys face immediately relaxed and the smile he couldn’t hide made him look younger and like the kid John had barely began to know.
“Oh you have a visitor.” She teased and he saw a shadow in that innocence, wisdom behind the mirth.
“Dawn, this is my father,” Xander told her and something passed between them that soldiers in war had perfected. “Dad,” he turned to John the title sounding forced “this is Dawn Summers, she works at the school.”
Dawn grinned and with a surprisingly strong grip pulled John passed Xander and into the simple but well cared for home/school “Before you go with the whole she’s too young thing I’m 19 and Xander used to baby-sit me.”
She looked pointedly to Xander who rolled his eyes “Get Faith to cut Andrew down as you see,” he waved his hand in John’s direction “I’m busy.”
With a quick wink at John and a small punch at Xander she sighed “Fine but if you’re psychotic girlfriend lets the knife slip I’m telling Buffy you told me too.” She sauntered off a little firecracker wrapped in a soon to be irresistible package.
John turned back to Xander not knowing where he stood with the boy that tossed him hateful words and obviously knew how to treat a girl the right way.
Xander sighed shaking his head suddenly looking tired and for the first time John noticed the scar by his eye, curved and unnatural. A symbol he had read in on the books Jim had kept shoving at him.
“Why are you here, why now?” Dean’s little brother and Sammy’s older brother asked without the defiance Sammy often exhibited and the faithfulness that was a part of Dean.
“I heard about the town.”
Xander looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or yell “That was three years ago.”
John shrugged grinning “Yeah well cut me some slack, I’m old.”
Xander shook his head “Aren’t we all?” and while he delivered it with a smile there was honesty in his voice.
Too many things weren’t adding up and the safe life he had thought he’d given the boy was looking to be as about as safe as the life he had denied him. “Mind telling me how you know about the family business?” When all else failed be blunt, hell John didn’t even try subtle. Never had.
Xander gave him a small grin “Since I was 16 and remembered that you bought an awful lot of Holy Water.”
John swallowed his throat tightening “What happened at 16?”
Xander paused taking a moment to look around the room with a sad smile before he turned back to the man that despite all problems and denials would always be his father “One of my best friends was killed by a Vampire and I met Dawn’s older sister Buffy. Sort of a life changing experience.”
“I imagine.” John forced out and had to ask “So who’s Buffy?” from the say Xander said her name he could tell she was the difference between the boy he had left and the man standing before him.
“Buffy,” he apparently loved the girl just as much as sister if that smile was anything to go by “is small, blond, and used to be a cheerleader. She’s the Slayer, chosen one and all that and she’s the only reason I survived living on a Hellmouth.”