It's been a while - Xander

Dedicated to @Xander <3

For Xander it had been a long week, and that was without the family drama itself. He still didn't feel completely at ease when he was walking alone, but taking the routes through the park that he knew quite well was helping a lot. He was on his way home, having finished another appointment with his assigned psychology. Ever since his kidnapping and subsequent forced relationship, he had found it hard to actually be intimate with his girlfriend. Or, well, to be fair, he wasn't even sure if him and Aiden had a label like that in place. She was just what his heart desired, and he hoped that it would stay like that forever. He was fighting himself internally, wanting to heal not only for his own well being, but also for the hybrid that had managed to capture his heart. Despite her being part daemon, the seraph part in her seemed to over shine everything else. She was good, not because she was born to be, but because she chose to be. He wanted to repay that by getting better. By showing her what he could be, and what things he could offer her in the future. His sister had already managed to have her first child, and he felt a little distraught still thinking of the summoner that she was with, but the world was truly a strange place.
He was walking mostly in his own thoughts, admiring the beautifully sculpted fountains, in which some young children were playing in to combat this sudden warm weather. It felt good to know that Summer was finally happening, and despite not having many plans for his vacation, he knew that he was going to spend a lot of time with his family and friends. Thinking of friends, he noticed a particular set of ears in the distance, making him crack a small smile. Halcyon and him had known each other for quite some time, mostly because his mother was a seraph. Walking closer, he lifted his hand to greet the mythical, chuckling a bit to himself. "Fancy seeing you here; I don't think I've seen you outside the opera for a few months now," Xander joked as he got closer, stopping in front of the dancer. While Halcyon didn't look much more than five years older than the nephilim, Xander knew that he was much older. How old he had never really asked, but it didn't really matter in his eyes. He saw the mythical as his cousin in many ways, like a part of a close knit family. "How are you? You look a little skinny," he teased him.

Xander couldn't help but chuckle at the mythical's words, shaking his head a little. Of course it was typical for him to be caught up in his work, and truth be told, Xander admired his passion for dancing. The nephilim had only ever been interested in herbs and healing ways, but he knew the importance of art in society. He understood that as much as healing the body was typically done by a doctor, healing of the soul was primarily done through artistic ways of expression. Xander now stood besides Halcyon, looking at the flowers that he had just touched. It was quite the garden up here in Northern District, everything seemed almost enchanted, and rightfully so. This part of Churchill was well known for its riches, not only money wise, but also culture wise.
He nodded as Halcyon went on to explain his need for nature to calm him down. Xander had known the mythical his whole life, so it wasn't really all that strange to see him relax amongst flowers and trees. In fact, the nephilim had always wondered why the guy hadn't become a gardener or perhaps a florist, but in the end it seemed like ballet was the perfect option after all. Xander admired his work ethic, one that he had adopted himself when involved with his studies, however he seemed to have been slacking a bit these couple of weeks. Safe to say, having a girlfriend seemed to take up some time as well. Scratching his neck as the mythical threw a question at him, he shrugged lightly, mostly because he didn't really know where to begin. "I've been quite busy, as always - A lot has happened since my mother's death back in November, and hell, I think I could really just use a vacation by now," he said, breathing out. His mother had been brutally killed in an attack by daemons on the seraphim meeting they had held out in Western District. Only strange thing was that she hadn't been killed by a daemon, rather a lycan, one that was still on the loose. "But we're keeping our heads high, and I've even managed to get a girlfriend and become an uncle in the same year," he said. He still found it odd that Buffy had had a child, especially considering how young they both were, but alas, things weren't always as they seemed. "Would you believe me if I told you the father of her child is a summoner?" he scoffed, shaking his head as he still didn't know how to feel about it all.

"Safe to say, our lives have been turned upside down recently," he chuckled, scratching  his neck lightly. His sister was a fenix, so she didn't have the innate rivalry with daemons like a seraph did. Breathing out through his nose he felt like there was just so much to talk about, so much in fact that he didn't really know where to begin.
One thing was for sure, however, he agreed with Halcyon's statement. He actually felt like he needed to get away for a while. It didn't need to be anything specific, but he just felt like he needed a breath of fresh air. Maybe take a chance to just relax and do nothing but have fun, but another part of him felt selfish for thinking in those lines. His family relied on him, and he couldn't just up and leave them, not in this moment at least. The suggestion of going together made the seraph hum agreeing. "Could be fun, it's been ages since I've been to the beaches out in Western ... Or perhaps I should ask my father if we could borrow the vacation home in Korinthia," he said, clearly considering the different options. The Elior family was quite widespread, mostly because of its large female line, so they had traveled many times when Xander and Buffy had been children. Chuckling a bit to himself, he turned his gaze towards the garden itself. The many colorful flowers stood magically as ever, blooming and stretching their petals and leaves towards the sun above. It felt so calming here, and he wondered why he didn't spend more time here in Northern, but he guessed it was because most of his life was in Central. Studies, his apartment and most of his friends lived there. His family mostly lived in Northern however, and he could understand why. The architecture alone stood out from the rest of the cities of Churchill, and besides that it was nice and close to the temples of Raleska.
"Would you like to go and grab, I don't know, a coffee or something? I get a feeling like I need to catch up on your life, you've been so busy with performing and such," he chuckled. Truth be told, Xander had missed seeing Halcyon around. The mythical gave some calmness to him, some sort of familiarity that he longed for. And perhaps it was because he reminded him of a simpler time before everything was turned upside down. Xander nodded with his head towards a vendor selling by the entrance of the gardens. "Don't worry, I'll pay," he added as he walked towards the vendor.

Xander couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head a little at the mythical. "I can't go traveling right now, I need to have some passports in order before I can even think about getting on a plane," he chuckled, but he did like the idea. "But maybe we should go to the beach - maybe next week?" he suggested, mostly because his next couple of days would be quite busy. He didn't want to shoot down the idea, mostly because Halcyon was always quite fun to be around.
As they walked towards the booth, the mythical once again managed to make the nephilim smile. It was no secret that Halcyon had quite the amount of money to spend, but frankly Xander had never seen it as his place to ask where that money came from. And on another note, he hoped to believe that the money was coming from perhaps a patron of the dancer's work, or maybe the work itself. Xander ordered a coffee for himself and ordered something for the mythical as well. Handing the small cup to the mythical he stepped away from the booth and gestured for them to just walk around a bit. It was warm out, but not too bad because of the casual wind blowing once in a while. "So tell me of your latest show, I've barely heard from you, so I know you're busy," he said, taking a careful sip of the coffee, but ultimately burning his tongue a little.

"I don't think I've seen that show before, but it does sound interesting - I know the story though," Xander said with a warm smile gracing his lips. He had always admired Halcyon for his passion, and not to mention his work ethics. He was a inspiration, that was for sure, but as any good friend did, sometimes the nephilim did worry that he was working too hard. It was alright to take a break from time to time, but it seemed like the nephilim didn't even listen to his own advice, so he remained silent on that part. "Nikolay, is he the guy with the curls or the one with the black hair?" he asked, taking a sip of his coffee. He had met some of Halcyon's co-wokers from time to time, but putting faces to names and vice versa could sometimes be hard.
He kept walking however, the park around them alive with families and friends gathering on this rather sunny day. In fact if he hadn't spent his day busy, he would've probably have went for a picnic with Aiden. Or perhaps spend some time with his sister and his niece, it had been a while since he had just dropped by for a visit randomly.

Xander made a small "aaah" sound as Halcyon confirmed who Nikolay was. "I know I can always call, but I guess it just feels wrong - I don't know, I like buying my own ticket," he chuckled. He had been and seen quite a few of Halcyon's ballets, at least one per show they had, and while Xander wasn't the ballet type, he did want to support his friend. One thing he knew a lot about was having someone cheering you on. It could make a world's difference. "But for your next ballet, I think I might bring a date, if you wouldn't mind," he chuckled. He had wanted to introduce Aiden to all of his friends for some time, but time just seemed to get in the way, along with his studies that was.
"Her, uhm, her name is Aiden, and she's ... Wow ... She's really great," he said a bit nervously, scratching his neck a little as he took a sip of his coffee. Swallowing he chuckled, shaking his head as he felt like a lovestruck teenager. Truth was, he probably acted like one, but why shouldn't he?

Halcyon swung an arm around him, but instead of leaning in to it, he leaned away, chuckling nervously as he reached out to keep him at an arms distance. "I'm very sorry my friend ... But I can't handle anything physical at the moment," he confessed. Ever since that psycho of a vampyre had kidnapped him, he hadn't been the same in regards to physical affection. "As I said ... A lot of things has happened," he said with a sigh, closing his eyes to gather himself, using some of the grounding methods his psychiatrist had provided him with.

"I'm working on it though, hence why I'm up here in North; I've been seeing a specialist, trying to get me to react positively to touch again," he said, waving his hand as he didn't want to worry the mythical. These recent months he had felt rather emasculated, not able to touch and kiss Aiden like he had before everything with the vampyre. Now he just felt like pushing himself. He was tired of waiting for himself to feel better, but alas he didn't have the balls to actually just jump in to it. "But ... What kind of show are you doing in the fall?" he said, wanting to redirect the conversation to something more pleasant.

Xander appreciated what his friend was trying to do, but alas he couldn't really blame him either. Halcyon had always been a hands on type of person, and the nephilim had never really told him off. The gesture of a shoulder to cry on was nice, but honestly he was struggling even opening up lately. Perhaps that was why he was trying to steer the direction of focusing on the mythical. He listened as his friend spoke about the ballet, nodding as he found it very interesting.

Then he saw a blonde woman approaching, and he couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Can't I have a moment with an old friend without you snooping around?" he chuckled, looking to his twin sister. Buffy giggled, greeting Halcyon with a warm hug. "What can I say, I get jealous when you run in to old friends and I don't get to steal the spotlight," she teased her brother. Buffy and Xavier had always been rather close, but after she had chosen to be with a daemon, their relationship had been a bit strained. But both still loved each other, that was clear. Buffy looked like she was radiating, looking at Halcyon with a genuine smile. "What were you talking about?" she asked. "Halcyon's next ballet," Xander said with a slight shrug. "I saw a notice for it! Are you still looking for extras? One of my friends at the Institute tried to get in, but she haven't heard back," Buffy said with a chirpy tone.

Buffy nodded at his reply, making a small humming sound as she looked at the mythical in front of her. She had only fond memories of him, but she also knew that him and Xander were much closer. Part of her was perhaps jealous in that regard, but she had made her choices, and it had driven a rift between her brother and her. "I'll be sure to tell her," she spoke softly, smiling as polite as ever. She was actually rather relaxed, her body not showing signs of any discomfort in being there. She turned her green eyes to look at her brother, seeing he was a bit vacant in the eyes. "Xandy, you alright?" she asked in a more concerned voice.
Xander didn't know why, he just seemed to zone out a lot around more than one person. Perhaps because it was hard to keep a focus, even when he knew the people around him. "Oh, uhm, I'm sorry - I just had quite the session, I guess I'm still trying to cope with it all," he apologized, a small tired smile creeping up on his lips. "Maybe I just need some sleep, a nap before dinner," he explained, feeling like his eyes were a little drowsy.

Xander breathed out, feeling like he might need to take a couple of hours just to process it all. Buffy smiled at the mention of Halcyon's offer, but sadly she already had plans. "I got a kid to get home to, and I think if I leave Baal alone for too long he might start to lose it," she chuckled, politely declining the sweet offer of the mythical. Any other day she would've come with, but frankly being a mother took a lot of her time lately. Maybe it was just hard for her to balance her social life with her family life, but she did enjoy it. "And Aiden is waiting at home too, so I guess you're coming with me, or?" she asked her brother, frowning as she didn't know what he was thinking. Xander nodded, smiling softly before looking at Halcyon. "Some other time then," Buffy said, reaching forward to give Halcyon a brief parting hug. "I'll see you soon I hope," she whispered before letting go and waving as her and Xander headed away and home towards Western District.