Chapter Text
Wayward Wolves Series – An Alpha Harris AU
The Wayward Bug
calikocat
Word count: 1843
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, Supernatural, Teen Wolf, Herbie, Diagnosis Murder or The Fast & The Furious.
A/N: Just a little fic where Herbie gets some closure. And messes with Dom. : )
A/N 2: So, the last 3 movies don't matter, they're not canon for Wayward Wolves. So, ignore Herbie Goes Bananas, the TV movie with Bruce Campbell and Fully Loaded. This does, however, tie in with the short lived Herbie TV series...which only had 5 episodes. : ( Its 1999 so before the first Fast & Furious movie happens.
A/N 3: Wanted to throw Dominic Toretto in there because once upon a time MissE wrote a Dom/Xander story. It’s still one of my favorites. : ) And I wanted Herbie to mess with Dom a bit.
Beta's Notes: I think I read that story too!
XXX
Herbie hadn't been this happy in a long time. After a summer adventure he finally got to go live with his best friend. Something he'd been waiting for since Xander had first found him in the scrapyard all those years ago.
When he'd first woke up in Singer's Salvage he'd been confused. He still wasn't sure how he'd gotten there. One moment he'd been in L.A. parked in the driveway, the next he was sitting in a scrapyard, his tires locked. Herbie always had his suspicions, that it was one final fuck you from Randy Bigelow. The Rat.
He thought his fate was sealed, that he'd be stuck in that scrapyard, left to rust away uncared for. Until Bobby Singer told his nephew to pick a car he liked, and someday, after lots of work that car would be his. Ten-year-old Xander had passed up a Mustang, a Pontiac, even a trusty Geo Tracker and came up to Herbie.
Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was because even then Xander had a way of changing fate. There was an energy around the boy that Herbie had never felt before. He knew the first time those little hands rested against his trunk that he was where he was meant to be. That his time with his dad, Jim Douglas, was finally over.
Xander had wasted no time opening up the driver door and sitting in the seat. Little hands on the wheel, sliding over it, and racing sounds coming from his mouth. Herbie was dusty and a little banged up from the mystery journey, he still didn't remember it, but that didn't deter Xander.
“You sure kid?” Bobby had asked.
Bright brown eyes were almost star struck when Xander answered back. “Yeah, Uncle Bobby. This is the car for me.”
And when Bobby had gone on to make lunch Herbie had popped open his glove box with the note explaining his name. Tennessee had put it there years ago, just in case this sort of thing happened. Good man Tennessee, Herbie still missed him, and was still glad he'd given Herbie his name.
Now though they were on the road to L.A. Sunnydale and college were ahead of them. He wondered what the Hellmouth had in store. More importantly, in two years Baby and Dean would be joining them.
Herbie couldn't wait. However, they needed to make one little stop before going to Sunnydale.
xxx
After parting ways in Northern California, Dean and Baby went to Beacon Hills. While Xander and Herbie went on to L.A. When he got there, he found a payphone so he could check in with Oz. He'd called before leaving Seacouver, but he'd covered a lot of ground between the two cities.
“So, what's the what?” Xander asked after he heard Oz answer. He'd already moved into the house he was sharing with the rest of the Dingos.
“Tor and Jono didn't get an apartment. They went with a small house.” Oz said.
“Just like Rhonda and Kyle?”
“Smaller. One bedroom, one bathroom.”
“Sounds cramped, even if it’s just for the two of them.”
“I've seen the place; they can still host full moons.” Oz offered.
“Still sounds like it'll be a tight squeeze. He tap into his trust fund for it?” Xander asked.
“Nope, Jono bought the house. He inherited some money from his grandparents when he turned eighteen.”
“Nice. Everyone else?”
“Buffy procrastinated so she and Willow aren't roommates. Larry and Wendell didn't procrastinate, so they're roommates.”
Xander laughed. “Sounds about right. And Harmony?”
“She's not going to UC Sunnydale. She's over at Crestwood, but she's living at home.”
Xander almost froze at those words. “Is she the only one at Crestwood?”
“No, Kyle and Rhonda are going to go there. You worried?”
“I just didn't want her on her own...any word from Cordelia?”
“She left a number for you to call, so she's settled into an apartment.”
“Okay, good. I'm in L.A. now...but I'll be back in Sunnydale in a couple of days. Just gonna check in with Cordy.”
“We'll be here.”
After he got off the phone with Oz, he called the number Cordelia had left for him. It went straight to her machine, so he left her a message. “Hey Queen C. I'm in L.A. Thought I'd take you to dinner tonight. I'll call back.”
xxx
“Well, now I'm not sure what to do Herbie. Any ideas?” Herbie beeped, and then took control of the wheel. Xander just went with the flow, not fighting or trying to take back control. Instead, he smiled. “So, lunch is out huh?”
Herbie didn't respond and just kept going, taking them out of the city and into a more suburban area. Eventually he pulled into a paved driveway behind a station wagon, with a small truck parked beside it.
Then he honked his horn, but...it was more of a yodel. Xander blinked. “Since when do you yodel?”
Not even thirty seconds later an older man, older than uncle Bobby even, came out of the house. He wore slacks, a button up shirt and a sweater vest. He stopped when he saw Herbie parked in the driveway. “Herbie?” His voice was hopeful, happy, and sad at the same time.
Herbie beeped happily in response and Xander got a sinking feeling in his gut. He'd known that Herbie had had other owners. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come with a name. He just didn't think Herbie wanted to go back to them.
“Buddy?”
Herbie opened the driver door as the older man came closer, though Xander didn't move. The man was looking happier now. “Susan!” He called out. “Look who's here!”
A woman came outside then and she looked to be the same age, wearing comfy lounge clothes in a soft pink. A comfortable retired soccer mom look. In fact, she looked like she gave good hugs. Her eyes lit up when she saw Herbie. “Herbie!”
Xander finally got out of Herbie and took a few steps back, wanting to give them time to reconnect. To let them have their reunion. The man gave Herbie's trunk hood a pat, then moved until his hand was on the roof. “Been a long time, my friend.” Then he looked over at Xander. “You've grown up quite a bit.”
He frowned. “Do I know you?”
The man was still smiling. “No, but I know you. Xander right? Mr. Singer's nephew.”
Susan was on the other side of Herbie, both hands on his roof and smiling. “We were just sitting down to lunch...Herbie why don't you drive around back and we'll join you in a minute.”
Herbie beeped and backed out of the driveway, then went around the side of the house.”
The man sort of shrugged at Xander's puzzled look. “There's a gate so Herbie can park beside the patio.”
“Oh.”
Xander was still a little floored over the revelation Jim and Susan had told him. “Herbie was stolen? How? Who?”
Susan didn't look happy. “By an ex-boyfriend of mine. Not sure what happened to him though.”
“Wow...so Herbie is your best friend.”
Jim's smile was softer now, kind and understanding. “And now he's your best friend. I guess he's always been more like a son to me.”
Xander swallowed. “So, you don't want him back?”
Jim shook his head, though his gaze went to Herbie. “We asked him back then, and he chose to stay.”
He didn't get it. “Herbie only saw me during the summer, for years.”
Susan just smiled. “But now he's yours full time, right?”
“Yeah, we'll be commuting from the apartment to college.”
“No dorm-life? Though all of our kids went to UCLA and commuted too, saved us a bit of money that way.” Jim laughed.
Xander shrugged. “No reason too, my boyfriend and I have an apartment.”
To their credit neither Jim nor Susan even blinked at that. Instead, Susan asked, “Oh? Will he be in classes with you?”
“No, he travels with his family, however once his little brother leaves for college in a couple of years he'll be living with me full time.”
“What are you going to school for?” Jim asked.
“I'm going to be a mechanic. Dean too, once he can settle down.”
Susan seemed to pick up on something. “You seem put off by us.”
Xander went for truth. “My own parents have zero interest in me...I haven't seen them since my dad shanked me with a broken beer bottle. So, this is a little weird.”
Their smiles were suddenly just gone. Kinda the way Uncle Bobby's and Giles' did when they heard about that incident. Jim looked livid even. “He what? He could have killed you.”
“I healed.” Xander went for truth again. “...I'm not human.”
That. That made them blink. Susan asked. “Then what are you?”
Xander let his eyes go red. “Werewolf.”
“And your beau?” Jim asked, sounding curious.
“He's human...but in the next few years he wants to make the change...because otherwise I'll outlive him...maybe by a century even.”
“Werewolves can live a long time then...good.” Jim smiled. “Then Herbie won't be lonely for a long time.”
“Speaking of partners.” Susan said. “I don't suppose Herbie has a girlfriend?”
Jim seemed amused at that. “Giselle is a hard act to follow...”
“Who the heck is Giselle?” Herbie whined and Xander whipped around to look at his friend. “Does Baby know you have an ex-girlfriend?” Herbie beeped. “Okay then.”
Susan raised a brow. “And who is Baby?”
Xander grinned. “Dean's car. She's a black 1976 Impala.”
Jim seemed surprised. “Well, that is quite a bit different from Giselle. She's a Lanche.”
“Where is she?” Xander asked.
“Oh no worries, she's still with her best friend and owner.” Jim assured them both. “An old girlfriend of mine, Diane Darcy. Giselle is like Herbie.”
“So is Baby.” Xander grinned when Herbie gave a surprised almost squeak. The little car even jerked a bit, like he was startled. “Don't be so surprised, buddy, you know I can see souls. Though I don't know why Baby is playing dumb, pretending to be an ordinary car. I can tell she's like you.” Herbie turned pink...which was new. “I had no idea he could blush.”
Jim laughed and it took a moment for him to calm down. When he did, he said, “The last time I saw him blush was in Monte Carlo after we won a race and recovered a diamond that had been stolen.”
“So, you guys have had some amazing adventures.”
Susan grinned. “I'll get some more lemonade and Jim can tell you how he first met Herbie.”
“I'd like that.”
XXX