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  Suki Blue Fiction 

Just Dance

Super trouper, beams are gonna blind me, but I won’t feel blue, like I always do, ’cause somewhere in the crowd there’s you.

“Angel, are you sure this is the place?”

“Yes.”

“Really sure?”

“Yes.”

“Absolutely, positively, definitely sure?”

“Yes, Xander. This is definitely the place.”

Spike made a ‘pfft’ noise and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, well, either your informant is mistaken or he’s a complete twat. I mean, come on, look around. Not exactly a place that you’d expect an illegal arms deal to go down.”

Xander nodded in agreement, but Angel just shrugged. “Does it really matter what the meeting place looks like? And besides, the more unlikely a place is, the better chance these guys have of making a clean deal; no hassles.”

Xander pursed his lips in thought. “I guess you’re right, but…Really? The Pink Go Go? On Abba night? Really, really?”

“Xander,” Cordelia said, placing her hand on his shoulder. “You have to think like a demon arms dealer. Where better to exchange blood money and, um…illegal stuff?”

“I don’t know, maybe a seedy bar? An unlit back alley? McDonald's?”

“No. The Pink Go Go is perfectly perfect. They can do their deal and go unnoticed. Everybody in this club is either sucking face or grinding their totally gay tentacles; nobody is going to notice a few dodgy demons doing a deal in a corner. Like Angel said, only a total idiot would think to look here.”

“Actually, I didn’t…”

“Anyway,” Cordelia continued, with a flick of her hair. “I suggest that we quit arguing about something so painfully obvious and go blend. I’m going to the bar to get a drink; I’m thinking something blue with sparklers and a plastic monkey.”

“Hey, I’ll go for that!” Xander’s eyes were wide with enthusiasm and he was licking his lips as though he could already taste the spectacular drink.

“Thirsty, mate?” Spike asked with an amused grin.

“Umm, kinda. Blue drinks just taste better.”

“Yeah? Prefer red ones, myself. OW! What the hell was that for?” Spike rubbed the back of his head and scowled at his girlfriend.

“That was for the bad joke. Now, come on. Just for that, you’re buying.”

Super trouper, lights are gonna find me, shining like the sun, smiling having fun, feeling like a number one.

“Barman!” Cordelia shouted. “I’ll have whatever that girl is having and, Spike? What are you having?”

“Pint.”

“Clarify that for me, sugar?” the barman urged.

“Pint. Of. Beer.”

“Sorry, baby-cakes. No beer. Cocktails only.”

Spike gritted his teeth for a moment before he snatched up the flamingo shaped cocktail menu. “Then I’d better have a Death in the Afternoon.”

“Sure, sweetie. And for you two handsome boys?”

Xander grabbed the menu Spike was holding out. He looked over the drinks and hummed as he tried to make up his mind. “Wow. So many. What are you having, Angel?”

Angel glanced over Xander’s shoulder and slipped his arm around his waist. “I have no idea. Pick something for me. I’m just going to check out the rest of this place,” he whispered.

“Sure. Come get me if you find anything, though.”

“I will.” Angel kissed Xander’s cheek and slipped into the crowd, a swirl of black leather and lethal strength amongst a sea of pink, bouncing Abba fans.

“I think I’ll have aaaaaa…Monkey Gland. And Angel will have aaaaaa…Jolly Roger.”

“Good choices, sweetie pie. Be right back!” the barman said, winking at Spike

“Really wish you wouldn’t,” Spike muttered.

Xander grinned at him. “I think the barman has the hots for you, Spikey.”

“Bugger off.”

The drinks arrived and Spike hid behind Xander until the barman went away. It wasn’t the fact that he was being hit on by a guy that squicked him – hell, before Cordelia he’d been with a full range of humans, demons and vampires, all of different sexes. And yes, there were more than just the two. But something about this guy sent shivers down Spike’s spine, and not in a good way. Perhaps it was something to do with his third eye and pointy head?

“Hold my bag, Spike.”

“Eh?”

“My handbag. Hold it for me while I go to the restroom.”

“I ain’t holding your bloody handbag like some sodding poof! Why can’t you take it with you?!”

“Because you are supposed to be a gentleman…”

Xander choked. Only because his Monkey Gland had gone down the wrong way.

Cordelia glared and Spike wished he was at home with his feet up.

“Alright! Give me the bloody handbag. And hurry up, for Christ’s sake.”

Xander sniggered into his drink and leant against the bar in the spot that Cordelia had vacated.

“What?!”

“Nothing.”

Spike huffed and downed half his drink in one gulp. “Yeah, alright, I know. I’m under the thumb.”

Xander smiled and Spike continued.

“Can’t help it. I’d do just about anything for her. I’m such a prat.”

“Well, that goes without saying,” Xander said as he ducked Spike’s half-hearted swat. “But that’s not why you’d do anything for her.”

“It isn’t?” Spike said into his drink.

“You know it isn’t. And I know that because I feel the same thing. Not for Cordy, no, no. Because that would be very weird and so very wrong. I know me and Cordy were together once, but that was in high school and we’re into different things now, especially me, what the whole being gay thing and all. No, I meant Angel. I feel the same way about Angel. I’d do anything for him. Well, almost anything. He tried to get me to eat lettuce yesterday and *that* was just so wrong…”


Waterloo - I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo - promise to love you for ever more
Waterloo - couldn’t escape if I wanted to
Waterloo - knowing my fate is to be with you
Waterloo - finally facing my Waterloo

“So I had to tell him no. You know, I love him so much, but… In the words of the great Meat Loaf, ‘I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that’.

“Don’t think the geezer was talking about lettuce, luv.”

“Hm. I don’t think so either. But can we really be sure?”

Spike pondered the question and bobbed his head to the music as he thought about it.

My my, I tried to hold you back but you were stronger. Oh yeah, and now it seems my only chance is giving up the fight. And how could I ever refuse. I feel like I win when I lose

“Okay, didn’t take you for an Abba fan,” Cordelia smirked as she appeared in front of Spike and took her handbag from him. “I always thought of you as more of a…Bon Jovi kinda guy.”

“OI! There was no need for that!”

“For what?”

“The Bon Jovi insult. Bloody charming, that is. Bloke does nothing except hold your bloody handbag and what does he get in return? Insults.”

“Spike, I didn’t mean…”

“Not like I take the piss out of you, is it? Maybe I should, eh? Well, where should I start? How about with your bloody awful nail varnish; what’s it called again? Pepperoni Passion? The colour is putrid and it stinks to high heaven.”

Cordelia tensed and Xander picked up his and Angel’s drinks and attempted to slink away.

“Firstly,” Cordelia said, firmly, clearly and with only a small amount of spittle. “It’s *Plum* Passion. And secondly, it does not stink…”

“Yeah, it does. Gives poor Xan here a headache.”

Xander froze. He’d nearly made it out of sight, but now he could literally feel Cordelia’s wrath threatening to bear down on him.

“Xander? Is this true?” Cordelia asked.

“Um, um, um…” Well, what a predicament. Option one: Tell the truth and back up Spike, his best friend and confidant. Option two: Lie and weasel out of a potential fight with Cordelia.

“Um, um, um…Oh look! I see Angel! He’s over there! I’d better go over and see what’s the what. And bring him his drink because it’s thirsty work, you know, what with all the…Abba. Bye!”

Harris failsafe. When in doubt about which option to take, always go with surprise option number three: Run away.

Xander located Angel at a table at the side of the club. He sat staring at another group of tables, his face set in a miserable scowl.

Mamma mia, here I go again. My my, how can I resist you? Mamma mia, does it show again? My my, just how much I’ve missed you. Yes, I’ve been broken hearted, blue since the day we parted. Why, why did I ever let you go? Mamma mia, now I really know, my my, I could never let you go.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Nothing.”

“So what’s with the face?”

Angel shrugged and continued to stare.

“Not buying it,” Xander said as he placed the drinks on the table and touched his hand to Angel’s shoulder, massaging it with gentle strokes. “Tell me.”

“You.”

“You’re miserable because of me? Why?”

“Because tomorrow you have to go again.”

“I’ll be back.”

Angel nodded and stared down at his drink. “I know. It’s just…my heart breaks when I’m away from you. Sorry.”

Mamma mia, now I really know, my my, I could never let you go.

Xander smiled faintly and manoeuvred himself until he was sitting in Angel’s lap. “I love you. I will be back. But…it might be a while this time.”

Angel looked away and was surprised when Xander turned his face back and smiled with an expression of utter glee.

“Angel, don’t be sad. It’ll take time to pack up my entire life, work my notice, find a way to get out of my lease, say goodbye to all my friends and move all the way here to L.A. It’s not like in the movies, you know?”

“You…want to…You…you want to live with me?”

“Of course. You want me, right? I’m not making an idiot out of myself, here?”

“Yes!” Angel shook his head. “No! God, no! I mean… you know what I mean? Tell me you know what I mean?”

Xander laughed and bent his head down to capture Angel’s lips in a tender kiss. “I know what you mean.”

Angel wrapped his arms around Xander’s body and buried his face in his neck. “What made you decide, baby?”

Xander gave a half shrug and rubbed his cheek over Angel’s hair. “Because I like L.A. Because it was time. Because my heart keeps breaking too. Because I love you. And definitely because you keep dropping major hints and I just wanted to shut you up.”

Angel laughed and took Xander’s lips in a deep kiss that curled their toes and sent shivers down both spines. He pulled back and cocked his head as he listened to another song start.

“I love this song. Dance with me, Xander?”

“Really? You wanna dance? Or is it that I’ve given you a dead leg and you want me to get up?”

“My leg is already dead. Has been for a number of years. So, would you like to?”

“I would.”

Xander stood and allowed Angel to take his hand and lead him to the dance floor. They wrapped long arms around each other and swayed gently as the music played.

“I can’t believe that we’re going to be together. I can’t believe that you’re going to be with me.”

Xander sighed as Angel’s hands moved over his body and caressed his skin. Cool lips brushed at his neck and Xander tipped his head back and closed his eyes.

“Things changed. You changed. I changed. We’re meant to be together, Angel. We’re meant to move on.”

Like a roller in the ocean, life is motion. Move on. Like a wind that’s always blowing, life is flowing. Move on.

Angel kissed his way up Xander’s neck and settled on his lips, kissing tenderly and touching his face with shaking hands.

“I thought I was supposed to be in the darkness. I’ve always been in the shadows. And I’ve never minded that. It was the way of things. But now…now I have you. Now I can move on. Now I can live.”

Like the sunrise in the morning, life is dawning. Move on. How I treasure every minute, being part of it, being in it, with the urge to move on.

One last kiss as the music began to fade and Xander leant his forehead against Angel’s. “I love you.”

“And I love you.”

“And I want a cat.”

Angel pulled back and looked at Xander with twitching lips. “A cat?”

“Yeah. I’m only moving in if I can have a cat. Didn’t I mention that earlier?”

“No.”

“Oh. Sorry about that. I can have one, right? You don’t mind?”

“Of course not. If you want one then we can get one.”

“Great! I always wanted one, but I couldn’t have one in the apartment and I wasn’t allowed to have one at home. Well, actually, my mom did say that I could have one when the hamster died.”

“I take it she went back on her promise?”

“No, the hamster just never died. Fifteen long years that stupid little rat-bastard has been alive for. And it’s changed colour a whole bunch of times.” Xander sighed and smiled up at Angel’s bemused face. “Either it’s a Hellmouth hamster or my mom is such a liar. The odds there are about fifty-fifty.”

Angel laughed and squeezed Xander tightly. “Let’s get on with our mission. Then we can go home and…”

“Have lots of sex?”

“Yes.”

“Great. So, did you spot anything before you got all glum?”

Angel threw an arm around Xander’s shoulder as they walked from the dance floor. “Actually, yes. See those guys in the far booth?”

“The ones in the pinstripe suits, shades, with wads on cash on the table and some large boxes on the floor?”

“Yes. I’m assuming that’s the deal going down right now.”

“Really, Peaches. Whatever gave you that idea?” asked Spike.

“Hey. You’re still alive, then,” Xander observed.

“Yeah, no thanks to you. You could have stayed to help a bloke. It’s not like I…Shh! She’s coming!”

“Hey, guys. What’s going on? Have we…? Oh, is that Al Pacino?”

Everybody looked over at the table full of gangsters. “Which one, pet?”

Cordelia pointed. “The tall, red guy with the trunk.”

“Um, no, I don’t think so, Cordy,” Xander said. “Although…there is a really freaky likeness.”

Angel and Spike squinted and cocked their heads to the side. “Oh, yeah,” they said together.

“So, we gonna rock this joint? Take ‘em down? Mess with their mojo? Yeah?”

Angel folded Xander into his arms and kissed him passionately. “Oh, yeah. There’s no room for an arms dealer in my town. Let’s do this.”

Gimme, gimme, gimme a man after midnight. Won’t somebody help me chase these shadows away

“That’s 10K. I said fifteen for what’s in the box.”

“That was before I saw the goods. No way is that lot worth fifteen. Eleven, and I’m being real generous and real patient.”

“Insulting!!”

“Insulting?” Cordelia chipped in, plucking a cherry on a stick from one of the glasses on the table and popping it in her mouth. “That wasn’t insulting. If you really want to know what an insult is, I can show you.”

Spike nodded from behind. “Take it from me. This lady knows how to insult. She’s the best in the biz.”

“Oh, Spike,” Cordelia blushed.

Spike winked.

“Do you people mind?!” one of the gangsters bellowed.

“No, we don’t, but thanks for asking,” Xander replied.

“Why, you insolent human! I should wring your neck…”

“But you won’t get the chance,” Angel finished, grabbing the gangster demon by his throat and lifting him out of his chair.

There’s not a soul out there. No one to hear my prayer. Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight. Won’t somebody help me chase these shadows away. Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight. Take me through the darkness to the break of the day.

The demon flailed and squawked, punching uselessly at Angel with fists that came nowhere near.

“It is Angelus!” another demon cried. “And William the Bloody! Run for your lives!”

Xander caught the first demon by his shirt and pulled him close. “And I’m Xander Harris. Does my name strike fear into your heart?”

“I…I never heard of you. No, it doesn’t.”

“Oh. Never mind. It will now.” Xander released the demon and pulled out a long, iron blade from his jacket, plunging it into the demon’s heart. The creature exploded with a loud pop and a thick cloud of feathers rained gently down around Xander’s feet. “These are weird-ass demons.”

The club erupted, patrons clearing a large area around the sudden carnage. Two vampires and two humans fought against ten plus demons, wicked creatures that terrorised and murdered, all for the sake of money and business.

As the music played and the crowd sang and cheered, the demons were defeated; one by one they fell, bested not only by a race considered foul, but also by a race considered weak.

Flying high, high, I’m a bird in the sky; I’m an eagle that rides on the breeze. High, high, what a feeling to fly over mountains and forests and seas. And to go anywhere that I please.

The last gangster popped and showered Angel with feathers. “There. I think that’s it. Didn’t miss anyone, did we?”

Spike shook his head. “Nah. We got ‘em all, mate.”

Xander toed at the large box on the floor. “What do we do with this?” he asked.

“See if they can be returned, I guess.”

Spike motioned his head towards the box. “What we got, Xan?”

Xander opened the box and pulled a disgusted face. “Um, lots of arms, some legs, too – all on ice.”

“That’s great. Good job, everyone.”

“Are you Angel?” asked a three foot man with wild, curly hair and a skirt.

“Yes. You must be the owner. Thank you for the tip off.”

“Welcome. There’s one thing I won’t abide in any of my establishments – the illegal sale of limbs. Organs - yes. Limbs – no.”

“I see,” Angel said with a fair amount of unease. “Well, thanks again. We’d better get these arms back to their rightful owners.”

“Oh, no, please stay. I’ll have my boys drop off the box back at the arms factory. I hear it was shut down and is now in responsible hands.”

Angel turned and looked into the hopeful faces of his friends.

Xander approached and lightly touched his hand to Angel’s arm. “We don’t have to. But…I thought maybe we could celebrate. If you want to.”

Angel nodded and Spike rubbed his hands together, quickly heading back to the bar and pulling Cordelia with him.

“Wanna dance again?” Xander asked.

“To music?”

Xander laughed and wrapped his arms around Angel’s waist. “I think that’s the idea. Come on, you did it before.”

“That was to a slow song. I don’t think I can do fast.”

Xander glanced over to a corner booth that was unoccupied and relatively unobserved. “How about our own private dance?” he suggested with a waggle of his eyebrows.

“Sounds better. Much better.”

Hands wandered and lips touched. Moans escaped and words of love were uttered. Xander slipped his hand lower and caressed, teasing with just the wrong amount of pressure. “Please dance with me now?”

“Anything, baby. Anything for you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Just, please, just…keep touching me.”

Xander grinned a somewhat evil grin and pulled an oblivious Angel onto the dance floor, caressing and touching him all the way.

The beat kicked in and suddenly Angel opened wide eyes. “This doesn’t sound like a slow song. Xander?!”

“Shhh.” Xander silenced Angel with a deep kiss. “You’ll do fine. And I can make fun of you later, after all the sex.”

“Why do I get the feeling that I’m under the thumb?”

“Because you would do anything for love, and you will do this? Make it worth your while.”

“You really are a brat. Does your mother know?”

“Yeah, she does. I’m a big time brat. Spank me?”

Well I can dance with you honey, if you think it’s funny. Does your mother know that you’re out? And I can chat with you baby, flirt a little maybe. Does your mother know that you’re out?

The End.