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Suki Blue Fiction From Out Of Nowhere Series
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Xander
stared wide eyed at his lover. It never
failed to amaze him how quickly things deteriorated from “Oooh, that can’t be
good.” to drop dead, out of control, seriously grim.
“Missing?
What do you mean missing? How can Angel be *missing*?” Xander’s tone had turned
high pitched and panicked.
“I
don’t bloody know!” Spike snapped.
Xander
lower his eyes to the floor and took a step back, a flash of hurt and dejection
streaking across his face.
“Luv.”
Spike pulled Xander back towards him and placed a chaste kiss onto his
temple. He ran his fingers through his
hair and lifted his chin. “Sorry, didn’t
mean to snap...”
“It’s
okay. I’m sorry too. I’m just freaking out.”
“Yeah,”
Spike agreed. “Me too.”
Giles
straightened his glasses. “What’s happened, Spike?”
“Cordy
said that Angel left five days ago, he was due to meet a Puggli demon down in
Timberton. He should have been back a couple of nights ago. He never showed. He’s
not bloody called or nothing.”
“Gods!”
Cried
“What
are we going to do?” Xander asked..
“I’m
gonna go look for him.”
Xander
opened his mouth to speak but found that it was too difficult with so many
different things that were aching to leak from his brain and spill from his
lips. He didn’t want Spike to go. He was worried about this so called man that
was coming for them in less than seven hours, but he was worried for Angel
too.
Xander
resigned himself to the fact that Spike needed to do whatever he could to find
his Sire. Maybe he would let him tag along. Xander opened his mouth again.
“Spike…?”
Spike
had heard Xander’s brain whirling and he knew his lover well enough to be able
to guess what was on his mind.
“I’m
going Timberton. Cordelia gave me Angel’s motel details. I can be there and back in a couple of hours
and no, you can’t come.” He turned to face the rest of the room. “None of you
can. I wanna go by myself. Buffy? I want
you to stay with Xan. The rest of you can bugger off and get some sleep. Be back here at two in case our unknown
visitor makes an appearance.”
Everybody
nodded their agreement. Spike was
tightly wound and any debate was likely to send him into fiery rage.
“You
will be back soon?” Xander asked
“Course,
luv, before you know it. Don’t worry, pet, Gonna find Angel and together we’re
gonna come back and tell this mysterious bloke to fuck the hell off. Ain’t
no-one gonna hurt us.”
Xander
sighed. He had the feeling that tonight
would be an extremely long night. He leant in and gave his lover a goodbye kiss
that he hoped would bring him back quicker.
“Be
careful.”
“When
am I ever not?
“Shall
I answer that?”
Spike
pretended to think about it. “Naah, best not.” He gave his lover a jokey smile
that held so much more than just humour. “See you in a couple of hours. Stay here and stay safe.” He turned to Buffy.
“You’d better keep him safe, Slayer, or you and me are gonna fall out.”
“Aww,
don’t want that, blondie. Consider it
done. And Spike?…Please bring back Angel.”
“Angel
will be here before you know it. I promise.”
With
a swish of his duster, Spike was gone.
**
The
highway was long, straight and deserted and Spike hurtled along it at a speed
that he would not have dared if Xander had been in the car with him. He gripped tightly at the steering wheel and
let his mind drift to places elsewhere.
This
should not be happening. This was not
how things should be. They were family,
him, Xander and Angel. How could Angel
have been missing for two nights without his family knowing? Spike growled, he had only just found his
Sire again after such a long separation and there was no way that he was going
to lose him again now. When things were
back to normal, and they would be, the three of them were going to sit down and
have a little chat about what being a family really meant.
Spike
glared at the open road and he frowned as the coloured lights of a motel came
into view. The Sleepy Rider. As Spike pulled into the tiny car park, he
wondered what an earth had possessed his Sire to rough it in such a sleazy,
piece of shit place.
Spike
stepped out of the car and unscrewed a piece of paper from his pocket. Room 12.
He looked around at the chalets lined up in front of him and spotted the
room number easily. He didn’t try the
door to see if it was locked; instead he gave it one hard kick, and slammed it
open. Stalking straight in, he faltered
slightly at the sight of the demolished room. It had been turned upside down.
Angel’s belongings were shredded and scattered everywhere. But Spike had no
time to even comprehend what could have possibly happened here as he felt a
sharp blow to the back of his head and his world abruptly fell into darkness.
**
“What
time is it now?”
“Nearly
two am. That would be only two minutes later
than the last time you asked.”
“Buffy!
Can you drop the playful sarcasm? Spike should have been back hours ago and
*also*? The seven hours is just about up, the guy the Trable Muckers told us
about? Well, he’s probably due to drop by anytime now and I doubt very much
that they were just talking about the pizza delivery guy!”
“Xander,
calm down. Think about it. It’s probably good that Spike’s not back, it
means he’s on to something. He’s
probably on his way back with Angel as we speak. And as for this other dude?
Well, even if he actually does exist and the Pixies weren’t playing a
mischievous and cruel little joke, then he’s got to come through me. Not an easy task Xan-man, as I’m sure you are
aware.”
Xander
felt himself relax slightly at Buffy’s confident words.
“Look,
you go make some coffee, I’m going to put on a DVD and together will watch it
and *not* think about Spike, Angel or any nasties, yeah? *Yeah?*
“Yeah,
okay.” Xander sighed and went into the kitchen to make the coffee. He tried desperately to close his mind to the
any number of things that could have happened to his lover or to his…Xander
paused with a spoon of sugar hovering over one of the mugs. What was Angel to him? Sure Angel was Spike’s
Sire, but what about him? Xander was
bound by blood to older vampire, surely that should have some sort of title? He
nodded inwardly. He would remember to
ask Angel when he next saw him. Xander’s
breath hitched and he exhaled a slow shaky breath. What if he never got the chance to see Angel
again?
Xander
was pulled from his dark fears by the sound of a quiet thud coming from the
other room and he walked cautiously into the living room to check it out. What
had that klutz of a Slayer dropped now?
“Buffy?
Where’d you go? Buffster?”
Xander
looked down at the DVD player; the tray was left open and the movie they were
going to watch sat half in and half out of its box. Out of the corner of his
eye, Xander saw a tall dark figure walk silently in from the hall. He spun around
to face it and his heart raced as he recognised the man that was now leaning
against the door frame. The man held his
arms open in a wide welcoming gesture and Xander ran straight into them,
hugging tightly at the hard cold hard body. He nuzzled into the man’s chest,
breathing in his scent, before pulling away slightly and staring into eyes that
were as dark as his own.
“Angel.”
The
vampire gripped the tops of Xander’s arms and Xander drew in a sharp breath at
the burning pain of the strong, icy fingertips.
The
man shifted into his gameface and slowly shook his head. “Try again, boy.”
Xander
paled and he felt like he wanted to vomit. “Angelus,” he whispered.
“Very
good. And they say you’re not a bright boy.
Well, don’t’ they just have egg on their faces.”
“Angelus,
what are you…?”
Angelus
placed a single finger over Xander’s lips. “Hush, child. *We* are going to sit down and wait for your
lover to come back. Then, the fun will begin.”
**
The
room span around in dramatic circles and Spike squinted and tried to remember
where he was. He seemed to be on the
floor staring up at a dancing ceiling. So
wherever he was, it couldn’t be good.
He
was grabbed and hauled to his feet and the room continued to dance at a
different angle. Spike finally managed
to focus and was appalled to find that he had been clobbered and knocked out by
a Puggli demon.
“What
the fuck?” Spike asked.
“S-Silence,
vampire. W-we a-ask the questions.”
Spike
quirked an eyebrow. “Is that right? What do you want to ask, hmm?”
The
huge pink, spotty demons tensed at the vampire’s cool calm words. Perhaps they could smell there own death
somewhere in the very near future “Where is Angel?” one asked, cautiously.
Spike
calmly lit a slightly bent cigarette and blew out a long stream of smoke before
he answered. “Funny, that. I was just about to ask the same thing. I’m guessing he came here to meet you. Am I right?”
“Yes. We had a business deal to discuss with him.”
“Business?
Now, what sort of business could a couple of ugly, lumpy lowlifes like you, offer
my Sire?”
Sire?
Ooops. The taller Puggli stepped back. In truth, neither of the demons felt quite so
cocky now that Spike was no longer blacked out on the floor. Damn vamps and their quick recovery time.
“We
have some tomes that Angel is interested in.
Tomes that were long ago lost and thought to be gone forever. We wanted
to arrange a trade.”
“For
what?” Spike growled.
“In
*Thanks* for us giving him the tomes, we only asked that Angel retrieve an
artefact for us.”
“What
artefact?”
“T-That
is none of your business, vampire.”
Spike
snatched at the Puggli. He pulled it
closer and head-butted the creature in the face, smiling at the sickening
crunch of bones. The other demon bore in on him and swung a powerful arm at his
head. Spike ducked and avoided the blow
easily, laughing all the while at the Puggli’s feeble fighting skills. He quickly
flipped up the heal of his palm with graceful precision and struck the demon’s
chin, snapping its head backwards with surprising force.
Both
creatures started to climb to their feet and Spike stopped them with a firm
hand in the air.
“No,
no, boys. Don’t get up, not on account of me.” Spike reached down to the floor
and picked up his cigarette, dusting off tiny pieces of fluff.
“Now,
where was we? Oh yeah, you were about to tell me about an artefact.”
The
two demons looked at each other. “We were?”
Spike
nodded, calmness completely restored.
“Oh
yeah! Of course we were!”
“We
wanted Angel to get us the eye of Caldra.”
Spike
laughed. “You must be bloody joking! Angel would never agree to that!”
The
demon lowered its eyes and cringed in preparation for the death that they were
about to know. “We know…But Angelus
would.”
Spike
narrowed his eyes and crunched up his cigarette in his hand. “You lured him here
and took away his soul.” It was not a question.
“Yes,
Angelus is the only one that can help us retrieve the eye.”
“Why?”
“Because
it was Angel that hid it.”
“And
what happened here?”
“Angelus,
he refused to help us still. He said
that he had better things to do now that he was feeling more like his old
self. He was laughing and then he took
off, he didn’t even take the books….”
The
other Puggli placed a plump hand onto its friends shoulder to get his
attention. “Err, he’s gone.”
The
babbling demon looked up and sighed out his relief. “Larry, we can only thank
the gods that these vamps don’t say proper goodbyes.”
**
“What
have you done with Buffy?” Xander asked, straining to keep his voice steady.
“Oh
she’s in the hall. Don’t worry, she’s just
sleeping. Actually that reminds me, I’d best put her outside; don’t want her
waking up and spoiling all the fun.”
Xander
was almost too afraid to ask. “You’re not going to kill her?”
He
shivered as Angel stroked a surprisingly gentle hand down his cheek.
“No,
not just now. Why don’t we call it a gift? A gift from me to you, for being
such a good boy. Now go and sit on the couch while I take your friend outside.”
Angelus
moved towards the hall to move Buffy’s unconscious body. He turned around once to face Xander who was
still standing in exactly the same place.
“I
thought I told you to sit.” His voice was cold and devoid of any detectable
emotion. “Shall I take back my gift?”
Xander
immediately started to walk backwards towards the couch. “No! *please.* I’m
sorry. I’m going!”
Angelus
turned back around and approached Buffy’s body.
As he lifted her up, the Slayer groaned.
Angelus quickly heaved her up and opened the front door.
“Godess!
What’s happened to Buffy? Is Xander okay? Did someone come already? Who was it,
Angel?”
“DEAR
LORD!” Angelus Shouted with some amount of amusement in his voice. “Do you
people ever stop babbling?”
“Angel?
What’s the matter? What’s happened?”
Angelus
frowned. “Clearly not,” he said, still referring to the babbling. “Okay,
*Scoobies* here’s the deal. I got rid of my pesky soul again. I knocked out
Buffy and was just about to dump her body in the street. And Xander is fine. Does that cover it? Or
have I missed something out?”
Giles
stepped forwards “I demand to know where Spike and Xander are.”
“Do
you, Watcher? Well, as I’m in a generous mood, I’ll share. Spike, it seems, has
disappeared on a mission to find me, and Xander is inside patiently waiting.”
Angel
threw Buffy’s limp body into the arms of her friends. “If you want Xander to
stay alive, stay out of this house, and don’t try anything.” Angelus half
closed the door before speaking again with a smile that was almost pleasant.
“Oh and if you do happen to see Spike on your travels, please send him in.”
**
The
drive back to Sunnydale was the longest drive of Spike’s un-life. The
speedometer hit
Spike
muttered to himself, going over and over the different scenarios that he could
be facing when he arrived back home.
Would Angelus even be there? Maybe the he’d gone on to pastures new,
perhaps to find a new Childe? Or maybe he had gone to find Drusilla? But Spike knew that he was kidding
himself. He knew Angelus well enough to
know that he would be waiting in Sunnydale for him. He was probably sat waiting for him in his
house. This last thought make Spike feel
sick to the bottom of his stomach. Did
Angelus have Xander? Or had his lover gotten away in time? Spike doubted
it. It was Angelus’ style to just walk
in bold as anything. And knowing
Xander, he would have just flung himself into the arms of the vampire that he
thought was his friend.
Spike
tasted bile building up in his throat and as he swallowed it back down he
realised that he was now driving like the clappers down his own road. He spotted his house and abruptly applied the
brakes. The car screeched to halt and
Spike bolted towards the house, not even bothering to close to car door behind
him. Seemingly from out of nowhere, Buffy stepped in front of him and blocked
his path.
“Slayer!
What the fuck are you doing? You’re supposed to be with Xan.” Spike took a
moment to look around him and finally spotted the rest of the Scooby gang,
minus Xander.
“Spike,
I don’t quite know how to tell you this, but, Angel...he’s…”
“Yeah,
I know, Giles. He’s Angelus again.”
Spike spoke with obvious impatience in his voice. “Where’s Xander?”
“WHERE
IS HE?” he screamed.
“He’s
in the house, he’s alive, Angelus has him. He said he would kill Xander if we
came near. But he said you’re to go in.”
Spike
let go of
Spike
turned to Giles. “Stay away from us. Find a way to restore Angel’s soul. But
stay away until then. I don’t wanna risk
that Angelus will hurt Xander.”
“We
quite understand. We’ll see if we can
find a spell to…”
“Track
down the Puggli demons that did this. They
might be able to reverse it.” Spike handed Giles the crumpled up piece of paper
that had Angel’s motel details on it. “Try here, that’s where I saw them
last. They’re not a particularly clever
breed, so they’re probably still there trying to work out where the hell Angel
went to.”
“Why
did they do this?”
“S’not
important. Just find what kind of mojo
they used and bloody well reverse it.”
Spike
went to walk away but Buffy stopped him. “Wait! What about Angelus?”
“Wot
about ‘im?”
“We
can’t just leave you and Xander. He
could kill you!”
“Yeah, he might, but then again he might not. But if you interfere with whatever he’s got planned, he’ll *definitely* kill Xander.” If he’s not dead already
“So
what are *you* going to do?”
“I’m
gonna play along until your can give him his soul back. You know that saying? Keep your friends close
but your enemy’s closer. Look, just go and do your thing, and *please* don’t
come near us unless you can re-soul Angel”
“Okay.
But please be careful. And take care of Xan.”
Spike
wasn’t listening; he was too busy storming towards his house. The gang let him go. Of course he would be
careful. Of course he would take care of Xander. There was no doubt. Or was
there?
**
As
Spike approached the house, he hoped to god that the Scooby gang would do as he
had asked and stay away. Not only was he
terrified that his Angelus would hurt or even kill Xander if they came to
close, it would be better all round if Buffy and the others stayed away until
they could really do something to help.
As much as it pained him to admit it, he didn’t want to lose *any* of
them. Still, he would keep that little
revelation very much to himself.
Spike
opened the door to his house and he sagged slightly with relief when he heard
Xander’s heartbeat, strong and healthy, coming from the next room. He lit up a cigarette and forced a calm and
sensible persona to rise to the surface.
Walking
into the living room, Spike took a moment to check his surroundings. Xander was
sat, curled up at the far end of couch.
He looked frightened, but he didn’t seem to be hurt. There were no
broken furnishings and there was no smell of blood. Spike assumed that this
meant Xander had been nothing but compliant.
That was good. Calm was good.
There was not much that was worse than when Angelus lost his temper.
“Ahh,
Spike. Good of you to finally join us.”
Xander
suddenly looked up; he had not heard Spike enter the room.
“Yeah,
well, I would have been here a lot bloody sooner if it hadn’t been for those
sodding Puggli demons. One of them
clocked me good and proper.”
Angelus
laughed. “Spike, Spike. You always did
have the worst luck.”
Spike
approached his Sire cautiously. Angelus
was sat on the arm of the couch, on the opposite side from Xander.
“Let’s
drop the chit chat just for a second here.
What’s going on?”
“You
know what’s going on here, Spike. I’m
back.”
“I
know that. But what do you want with
us?”
“Oh,
Spike, how can you even ask? I’ve come
to get you.”
“Yeah,
and?”
“We
are going to leave Sunnydale together and be a real family again. I have a good feeling that I know where Dru
is. She’s not far. We will travel the
world, Spike. It will be just like old
times.” Angelus had stood and was waving his arms in the air in a dramatic
gesture.
“One
thing, Angelus.” Spike moved to block the direct path between his lover and his
Sire. “What about Xander? Where does he fit in? He’s part of this family too
now.”
“I
am aware of that, Spike. His blood runs
though my veins and mine through his.”
Angelus
walked around his Childe and squatted down in front of Xander. “He is one of us.
Although you really should turn
him. I can’t say that I completely
approve of his human status.”
“No,”
Spike said, firmly. “I will not turn him.”
Angelus
shrugged and continued to try and catch Xander’s eye. It amused him that Xander would not look
directly at him. “Well, it’s your choice.
He’s your consort. I can
certainly see the benefits of having a young warm body to fuck. Of course, he won’t be young forever. What will you *do* when he’s dead?”
“Shut.
The fuck. Up.”
Angelus
stood up and turned to face his Childe. “Watch how you speak to me, Childe. I
will not tolerate your rudeness.”
“Then
don’t speak about my consort like that.”
Angelus
roared and lifted Spike in the air by his neck. “He maybe your consort, but you
are my Childe and I will speak to both of you however I like...”
A
sharp blow to the side of Angelus’ head caused him to drop his victim. Angelus
clutched at the bloody wound and staggered sideways. He growled and turned
slowly to face the source of the sudden attack. Xander stood just a few feet
away, holding onto a brass candlestick and wearing an expression of surprised
innocence.
“You
should not have done that, boy.”
Angelus
struck so quickly that all Xander saw was an angry blur. Angelus rushed forward
and backhanded him painfully across his cheek. The force of the blow knocked
Xander face down into the couch and he scrabbled to turn back around before
Angelus could take advantage of his vulnerable position. Angelus dragged him
forward by his legs and raised his hand to strike him again.
“NO!
Angelus! Please don’t hurt him!”
Angelus
paused to grin at Spike before deliberately landing another blow across
Xander’s face.
Releasing
Xander from his clutches, Angelus stood and regarded his Childe. “Your consort
needs some serious disciplining. I should flog him for what he just did.”
“He
was only trying to protect me.”
“And
that is the only reason that he can still walk. You will teach your consort to
show me some respect. Discipline him,
Spike. It will be kinder in the long run.”
Angelus
stepped aside and allowed Spike to tend to his consort. “I’ll just be in the kitchen. I notice you have some kind of weird yoghurt
in the fridge, think I’ll give it a go. Oh, and don’t even think of making a
run for it, Spike. I will Catch you both and break every bone in your consort’s
body.” Angelus smiled and disappeared into the kitchen.
Spike
sat on the couch and took his lover into his arms. “Xan, pet. Please don’t ever do anything like that
again, okay?”
Xander
pulled back and fixed Spike with his kicked puppy dog eyes. “But he had you by
the neck! I had to do it!” he protested.
“You’re
forgetting, pet, I’m a vampire. What
could kill you can barely even scratch me.
I would have been okay. Angelus
won’t kill either of us if we just play along, so you’ve just got to be patient
and not rock the boat, yeah?”
Xander
nodded. “Yeah, okay. Sorry.”
“Don’t
be sorry, luv. Just be sensible. Now, let’s have a look at the damage, shall
we?”
Spike
ran his fingers lightly over the darkening bruise over Xander’s cheek bone.
“Nothin’ broken there. Although it’s gonna swell if we’re not careful.” Spike
then traced his fingers across the small cut on Xander’s lip. “Anything hurt in
there? Loose teeth and what-not?”
“No
loose teeth. I bit my tongue, though. That
kinda hurts.”
“Yeah
I thought you might have. I can smell
the blood from here.” Spike pulled a tissue out of his pocket. “’ere ‘ar, pet.
Spit into that while I go get some ice.”
**
Spike
smashed the ice cubes into tiny pieces and wrapped them carefully in a cloth.
“Did
you speak with him?” Angelus asked
“Yes. He won’t be doing anything like that again.”
“Glad
to hear it. Now, if you two would like
to get your things together, we can make a move.
“Where
are we going?”
“Oh,
not far, a little place just outside of town. I just think I would sleep better
knowing that those fucking do-gooders outside aren’t lurking about.”
Spike
paused and turned to face his Sire. “Why haven’t you killed them yet?”
Angelus
raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you want?”
“No.
It just seems strange that you would come all the way back here and not bother
to even try and kill them.”
“I’m
not stupid, Spike. I came here to get you and Xander. And I plan on leaving with the minimum of
fuss. Xander would be very unsettled if
were to start slaughtering all of his friends.
He may try to leave us. I don’t want that. I would have to punish him severely. I would rather break the boy in gently. Get him slowly used to our ways. I don’t want him to fight me. It could get *very* unpleasant.”
Spike
nodded. He was surprised that Angelus
was being so logical
“Now,
time is short. Give the ice to your consort and then go and pack only what you
need and we’ll be on our way.”
**
The
two vampires re-entered the living room and Spike carried the ice pack over to
his lover and carefully placed it against his face. Xander winced at the cold
ice against his burning cheek.
“Sorry,
luv.”
“Its
okay, it’s just cold.”
Spike
stroked his other hand through Xander’s hair. “I gotta go upstairs and pack
some stuff for us. I’ll be two minutes,
tops. You gonna be okay here for a sec?”
Xander
chanced a quick glance over to Angelus then back to his lover. “He won’t hit me
again, will he?”
“Not
as long as you stay still, stay quiet and do whatever he says. Don’t worry, luv,
I’ll only be gone a sec. Here, hold on to this.” Spike replaced his hand with
Xander’s on the ice pack. He kissed his
lover’s forehead and walked out of the room and up the stairs.
Xander
slumped against the back of the couch and stayed as still as a statue.
“Tut,
tut,” Angelus said. He leant forward in
his chair and threaded his hands together in front of him. “You had been such a
good boy. But obviously you needed a
small demonstration of what happens if you cross me. But I’m sure you have
learnt your lesson now, yes?”
“Yes.”
Xander’s voice was nearly a whisper.
Angelus
stood and stretched. “Good.” He walked over to the couch and grasped Xander’s
arm yanking him to his feet. Xander
dropped the ice pack and stared wide eyed with sudden fear.
“Don’t
panic,” Angelus almost soothed. “I hear Spike on the stairs. It’s time we were all leaving.”
Angelus
tugged Xander into the hall and met with Spike on the way. “All packed?”
Spike
nodded.
“Good,
then I think its time that we weren’t here.”
Angelus released Xander’s arm and pulled out a large knife. He grabbed at Xander again and crushed his
back against his chest, positioning the knife carefully at Xander’s vulnerable throat.
“Oi!”
“Oh,
don’t get worked up, Spike. I’m not
going to hurt him. But I can smell the others outside. I want to be sure that they won’t try
anything. Now, open the door, there’s a good lad. You can go first.”
The
three of them stepped out of the house and edged their way to the car that was
still parked in the middle of the street.
From the shadows the Scooby gang began to emerge. Spike pointed at Buffy.
“Back
off, Slayer. Just let us go. He’s got Xander and he’ll cut his throat if you
come near us.”
Buffy
nodded and called to
When
they reached the car, Angelus shoved Xander into the back while he got into the
drivers seat next to Spike. “Pathetic,” he spat as he started the SUV. “Okay!
Are we happy campers?”
Spike
and Xander mumbled their yes’s and Angelus drove the car out of the street.
Xander looked out of the back window and watched his friends
disappear. He had only one thought.
Please hurry,
*please*</i>
**
The
SUV arrived outside an old abandoned warehouse and Spike huffed as he helped
his slightly battered lover out of the backseat. “Bleedin’ hell, does it
*always* have to be a sodding abandoned warehouse?”
Angelus
laughed. “Yes, it is rather cheesy. What
do you think, Xander?”
“Um,
yeah. Big with the cheese. And maybe a
little of the mac to go with it,” Xander said, his meek voice defying the
playful wit.
Angelus
laughed again and ruffled Xander’s hair on his way into the dark building. Xander looked at Spike, a confused expression
slowly crossing his bruised face.
Spike
explained. “He’s a bit Jekyll and Hyde. Just be glad he’s Jekyll at the
moment. C’mon, pet. We should go inside,
get settled for the day.”
Xander
nodded and they both followed Angelus into the warehouse.
“Um,
Spike?”
“Yeah,
luv, you okay?”
“Erm,
kinda. I can’t really see anything.”
“Oh,
sorry pet. Here take my arm.” Spike nudged his arm gently into his lover’s
side and Xander latched both hands onto it.
Spike
followed his Sire’s scent into the back of the warehouse where he found Angelus
sorting through a pile of blankets.
“Looks
like you’ve been here earlier,” Spike noted, taking in the candles and other
assorted items that were scattered about.
“Yes,
well, you know me. I like be prepared.”
He threw one of the blankets at Spike. “Come on children, bed down. We will all need our strength for tonight. Oh,
and do I need to remind you? No running away.
You know what a light sleeper I am.”
“Yeah,
yeah. We know. Don’t worry, we ain’t going nowhere.” Spike
led his lover to a spot that was well away from the other vampire. Pulling Xander
down to the cold floor, he wrapped the blanket around them both. He held his
lover tightly and tried to sooth the trembling youth with gentle hands on his
back. It was obvious that Xander’s
shaking was not just due to the freezing temperature in the warehouse. “Try to
sleep, luv”
“I’ll
try, but…”
“Sssh,
I know. Don’t fret, baby. I’m here.
Gonna look after each other, yeah? This will be over soon and we can go
back to normal”
“What
if it’s never over? What will we do?”
“Don’t
think like that. I will be over. Trust
me, my love. Trust me.”
**
The
night came around slowly and Spike was positive that Xander had not slept a wink,
he was too on edge. Spike himself, had
managed to drop off a few times, but each time he woke he could hear Xander’s
rapid heartbeat and his unsteady breathing, proving that his consort was well
and truly wide awake.
Spike
glanced over to where Angelus had been sleeping and he noted that his Sire was
gone.
Spike
curled around his lover and placed soft kisses across his face. “C’mon,
pet. Time to get up.”
“Where
are we going?” Xander asked with not a trace of sleep in his voice.
“Dunno
exactly. Maybe to find Drusilla.”
Xander
closed his eyes and swallowed hard. Dru.</i> How would Spike’s dark princess react to
the news that her former lover was technically hitched to a white hat?
Spike
read his mind. “I won’t let her near you.”
“Aww,
not even for a small taste.”
Xander
sprung to a sitting position, he had not heard Angelus returning.
“Sorry.
Did I startle you?” Angelus asked innocently.
Spike
was indignant “You know you bloody did, you git!”
“Now,
now, Spike, mind your manners.”
Spike
nearly choked in an attempt to swallow a batch of insults that would have
turned Ozzy Osborne pink with embarrassment.
He gritted his teeth and forced himself to look directly at his Sire.
“Sorry *Angelus*”
“That’s
quite alright, Childe. I remember how
grumpy you are first thing in the evening.” Angelus clapped his hands together
and was pleased at the flinch that it raised from Xander. Fear was the route to obedience. Smirking, he spoke again. “Well, now that we
are all wide awake, shall we get going?”
Spike
stood and helped his lover to his feet. “And where exactly *are* we going?”
“Well,
first I think we had better pop into town for a bite to eat and then we can go
get Dru.”
“A
*bite* to eat?” Xander asked.
Angelus
was beside him in flash, purring into his ear.
Xander would have jumped a mile if it hadn’t been for Angelus’ hands
holding him in a crushing grip. “Oh yes, I’m starving and if I don’t find a
nice tasty human soon, I’ll have to resort to something a little more *home
made*”
Xander
closed his eyes again and tried to wish Angelus away.
“Hey!
There *are* rules, you know! You can’t snack on my consort without my
permission and you bloody well know it!”
Angelus
released Xander and walked away. “Grumpy, grumpy. Relax, Spike, I was only teasing.” He turned
back and winked. “Be a good boy, Xander and bring the blankets.”
Spike
gathered up the said blankets and gave them to Xander. “There you go, luv. You had better take them. We don’t to give him any reason to flip.”
Xander
took them without a word.
“Hey,
c’mon. The others are working on how to re-soul him. He’ll be back to normal before we know it and
all this will be over.”
“And
until then?”
“And
until then, we just play it cool. I know it’s hard, pet, but try not to show
your fear; it’ll only make things worse.
Angelus thrives on it. He really *is*
teasing you and it’s because he knows you’re scared.”
Xander
looked at Spike helplessly. “Vicious circle, come chase me round and round.”
“Look,
Angelus may be many things, but he’s always valued his family. And you are part
of that now. He might tease you, he might hit you, he might even say things
that make your heart break, but he won’t kill you. So just keep quiet, try not to show how
scared you are and we will ride this through together.”
Xander
tried to smile. “I guess it’s not forever, right?”
**
The
black SUV pulled up unnoticed outside MacDonald’s and the vehicle’s three
occupants sat in silence for several minutes while Angelus decided what he
wanted to eat.
“Hmm,
I’m not sure. I’m just so indecisive
these days. Xander? We had better get
yours first. What would you like?”
“Dunno. Nothing,” Xander replied, somewhat
sadly. He knew what was coming
Spike
turned around from the front seat and sighed at his lover. “C’mon, luv. You’ve
got to eat sommit.”
“I’m
not hungry.”
Spike
knew his lover was lying. Never was
there a moment when Xander Harris wasn’t hungry. “Pet, you’ve got to keep your
strength up. Please eat something. For
me.”
Xander
lifted his head and opened his mouth to remind his lover that, as a week had
not nearly passed yet, Spike was not allowed to use the *do it for me* trick.
But a look that shone in Spike’s eyes told him that he really did need Xander
to eat and keep his strength up.
Spike
would need to feed soon and if he was to avoid feasting on the population, then
his only choice would be to feed from his consort.
“Xaaanderr,”
Angelus drummed his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel. “Do you want
something to eat or not?”
Xander
locked eyes with his lover one more time.
The message on Spike’s face was clear. Say yes</i>
“Um,
you’re buying, right?”
Angelus
smiled. The boy was quite sweet really, in a sickeningly human sort of way. “Of
course. What would you like?”
“Um,
I’ll have a Big Mac with large fries, six chicken nuggets and onion rings.”
Angelus
nodded and pulled over to the drive thru window. A muffled voice asked them for
their order. Angelus repeated it and the voice asked them if they wanted a
drink as well. Xander lent forward. “Uh,
yeah, large milkshake please. Strawberry.”
Angelus
waited for the voice to repeat the order back and then he drove to the other
window and collected and paid for the order.
For those few moments it almost felt like they had the old Angel back
and Xander could finally see what Spike had been saying. In his own unique way, Angelus would look
after them.
Angelus
turned the car around and pulled it into a parking space in front of the main
part of the restaurant. He gazed at the
seated patrons through the large windows and turned to Spike.
“What
about you? See any thing you want?”
“Not
really hungry.”
“Is
that so,” Angelus said with a touch of irritation in his voice.
“Look,
you know I haven’t been feeding from humans.
Just give me some time to adjust back to the idea.”
This
answer seemed to satisfy. “As you wish, Childe. Just don’t come complaining to
me when your stomach starts grumbling. Ahh, there’s a nice one.” As Angelus started
to climb out of the car, he was stopped by a large belch coming from the back
seat. Angelus’ face lit up and he roared
with genuine laughter. He turned to look at Xander and his laughter increased
in volume at the sight of the half drunk milkshake, the empty boxes of nuggets,
onion rings and fries and the half eaten Big Mac that was being held
protectively by the wide-eyed boy.
“Sorry,
it just slipped out.”
“That’s
okay, Xander. I admire a man that loves his food. You must really have been hungry.”
“Kinda,”
Xander said, suddenly embarrassed by his piggishness.
Angelus
frowned. “Hm, well say something next time. None one in my family *ever* goes
hungry.”
“Okay,
I will” Xander forced a slightly confused smile. Spike was right. Angelus was a
real Jekyll and Hyde character. One minute he was trying to smack his brains
out through his ears and next he was being all fatherly. Of course Xander
didn’t really know what fatherly behaviour felt like, but he could hazard a
pretty good guess.
“Good. Now it’s time for *my* food. Spike, are you sure you won’t join me?”
“Not
this time, Sire, but thank you anyway.”
“You
are most welcome, Childe.”
Angelus stepped out of the car and walked towards the
restaurant. Time for some fun</i>. He morphed into his game face and roared at
the passing patrons.
When
Xander heard the screams begin he forced down the last of his burger, knowing
that he would not have much of an appetite once Angelus came back reeking of
blood.
Spike
watched Angelus feasting on the population of Macdonald’s and to his surprise
he found himself feeling nothing but disgust for the blood sport that he had himself
played for more than a hundred years. How had he lived like this? And why the
fuck did it make him feel sick now? Was
it the consort blood that flowed through his veins? Or was it just being in
such close proximity with such a wonderful, warm human like Xander that was bringing
Spike’s own humanity to the surface.
The
car rocked and a lifeless body was flung onto the bonnet and unceremoniously
dragged off again. Spike heard a small whimpering sound coming from the
backseat and he turned to face his lover.
Xander’s head was bent down, his eyes were screwed shut and he had
clamped his hands tightly over his ears.
Spike climbed into to back seat and held his consort. “S’okay, luv.
It’ll be over in a sec.”
“How
can we do this?”
“How
can we do what?” Spike asked
“Let
him hurt and kill those people?!”
“We
don’t have a choice. He’ll do these
things regardless. All we’ll get out of interfering
is a bloody good hiding. Like I said, just play along until your friends can
re-soul him.”
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