Suki Blue Fiction

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Chapter 6

“Lighten up, will you? They’re only demons.”

The incredulous look on Xander’s face was almost comical. “Only demons? Only?” He looked around the bar and pointed to one demon in particular. “I know what that one is. Did you know it eats human intestines?”

“Yep.” Spike grinned and took a man-sized gulp of his lemonade. “And unless you want it to eat your intestines, I’d stop pointing at it. Right now.”

Xander quickly pulled his hand back and drummed his fingers nervously on the table instead. “I didn’t even know this place existed. I wonder if Buffy knows.”

Spike frowned. “Buffy? Tell me that’s not The Slayer’s name.” At Xander’s silence Spike blinked twice then laughed harder than he’d ever done in his un-life. “Buffy! Ha!”

“Hey! That’s my friend you’re laughing at! How would you like it if I laughed at you? You with your…leather and…stuff.”

Spike wiped his eyes. “Bloody hell, that really does call for a stiff drink. Sure I can’t stick a gin in this fizzy crap?”

“No.” Xander crossed his arms and deliberately wouldn’t meet Spike’s gaze.

“Auw, come on, luv. Don’t be mad. Not that I don’t like the angry look on you. Very sexy,” Spike purred as he reached over and stroked a fingertip down Xander’s arm.

A small gasp slipped out and suddenly Xander’s arms weren’t comfortable crossed. Or at his sides. Or resting on the table. Stupid spare arms!! Maybe he should use them to cover the tent in his pants that just kept growing as Spike kept looking and smiling and being gorgeous in all that leather.

“If you’re not comfortable here, pet, I’m sure we could go somewhere a bit more quiet. A bit more…alone.”

That damn sensual voice!

“Uh…um…”

“What do you say, luv? You up for it?”

Xander squirmed under Spike’s intense gaze. Those eyes were boring right into him and Xander felt like he was under a Vegas spotlight. It made him feel all the more angry. “Up for what?” he snapped. “Getting drained and left for dead? Or getting turned? No way, pal. Not a chance.”

Spike looked the boy up and down. Would he kill him? Drain him? No. Why? Because he was useful. And hot. And because he’d promised. He promised again, just because it was obvious that Xander hadn’t caught on yet. “I told you, not gonna kill you. You’ve got my word on that. And be grateful because I don’t give it often.”

Those piercing blue eyes looked away and Xander felt himself relax. Slightly. Well, parts of him were relaxed. Other parts were still…

“What did you want to know?” Xander asked as a distraction to the cursed hormones that relentlessly scuttled around his body and constantly turned his life into an awkward, torrid affair.

“The Master. Darla. And mostly Angelus. I want to know what the buggering hell is going on around here.”

“Okay.” Xander cleared his throat. “You should probably know that I’m not the best source. I kinda hate Angel.”

Spike shrugged. Of course the boy hated Angelus. There weren’t many people that did like him. “You hate him all you like, luv. Just tell me what you know.”

“Angel got cursed by gypsies. Him and Darla had themselves a sneaky midnight snack on a Romany girl and her clan kinda got pissed at them. Well, mostly at Angel. Angelus.”

Spike shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I knew that woman’s appetite would get them both in trouble one day. So, what happened?”

“They gave him a soul.”

And now Spike was back to blinking. “A soul?” he repeated back.

“Yeah. You know, like a conscience thing.”

“Yeah, I get it. Bloody hell. What a couple of tosspots. They never did have any control.”

Xander was confused. “Oh, and I suppose you have all the control in the world?”

Spike shrugged and knocked back the rest of his lemonade. “I got enough control not to go around doing crazy stuff like they always do. Did. Whatever.”

Xander frowned and cursed when he tried to lift his glass and found that it was stuck solidly to the table top. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I thought all vampires were stricken with the uncontrollable crazy bug. What makes you different?”

“I learned.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Angelus and Darla? They killed, maimed and tortured everyone and everything in their path. Fuck, there wasn’t a village or a family or clan where they didn’t eat the precious virgin daughter. Lynch mobs had to take numbers and wait their turn.” Spike snorted to himself. “They never learned. I bloody did. Ghana, fuck knows how many years ago. Dru and me offed some old village sage. We were hungry. We hadn’t eaten for days, so we chowed down on the first human we came across. And believe me, it really wasn’t worth the hassle. I’d rather have gone hungry.”

“An angry rising, huh?” Xander asked with a smirk.

Spike smirked back. “Exactly. And his beard got all caught in my teeth.”

Xander wrinkled up his nose and leaned back in his seat, sitting back up when the chair creaked and wobbled precariously under his weight. “So, moving on quickly, you learned the error of your ways and became a good little vampire? And, don’t tell me, you’ve got Casper in your address book?” He knew full well he shouldn’t be goading the serial killer he was having drinks with, but the Harris stupidity was kicking in yet again.

“Ha, bleeding ha. I’m still a killer, pet. Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking I’m not. I’m just not stupid with it.” The corners of Spike’s mouth turned up in a slow, evil smile. He could hear the rush of blood in young, ripe veins as Xander’s heart raced and his skin paled, and it made Spike hot as hell. It would be so easy to just taste.

“I got older, became a Master Vampire in my own right,” Spike continued, his gaze never leaving Xander’s. “I learned my control and some sense on the way. Angelus and Darla? They never learned. They’re ruled by their demons. Ain’t no control there. They’re like two bulls in a china shop. They see something and they go for it, bugger the consequences. And I’ll tell you what, luv, people with mojo are the worst kind to go for.”

Xander swallowed, conscious that his heart was hammering like a beacon to all would-be predators. Especially the one in front of him. “Like the gypsies?” he asked.

“Yep.”

Xander concentrated and began to bring his heart rate down. If Spike was going to kill him then surely he would have done it by now. Or maybe he was planning on doing it once he’d got all the intel? Or maybe fear wasn’t the main reason that Xander’s heart had hammered like a race horse on a track. “I gotta say, Angel never struck me as a bright sort of guy. More like dim in a really dull-like manner.”

“Thick as a brick, pet.” Spike genuinely smiled, looking at that moment every bit as human as Xander. It was unnerving and reassuring all at once.

“So,” Spike continued, “Angel is souled and presumably batting for the good guys now?”

“Bingo.”

“And this thing he’s got going with…” It was no good. He just couldn’t say her name and keep a straight face at the same time. “…The Slayer. It’s for real?”

“They’re dating,” Xander confirmed. “Angel tends to hang around like a bad smell before laundry day. You smell old sock and you know it’s him with the lurkage and the getting ready to pounce with his profound and well timed advice.”

Spike laughed and signalled to Willy at the bar for more drinks. “You really don’t like him, do you?”

“What’s to like? Dull as hell. Caveman brow – and that’s when he’s got his human face on. And he’s creepy. He’s always in the shadows, waiting, watching. It feels weird.”

“So you got a crush on him, then.”

Xander gaped. “Where the hell did you get that from?!”

“But you’re not actually denying it.”

“I am denying it! I deny it now! I am The Denying Guy! Angel’s a know-it-all asswipe. I hate him.”

“Yeah, you said that earlier,” Spike pointed out with another smirk. “Do you hate me?”

“Yes.” The arms automatically folded as the teenage snit took over once more.

Two more lemonades appeared on the table along with a bowl of cheesy nachos. It wasn’t long before the arms unfolded and reached for them.

“What do you know about Darla?” Spike asked, changing the subject.

Xander stuffed his mouth full of nachos and shrugged. “Nufghink,” he said before he swallowed. “Except that she’s not with Angel. They hate each other.”

“Heh. I bet. I can’t see the soul thing going down too well with her.”

“It didn’t. Apparently.”

“And now she serves The Master?”

Another shrug. “I guess. She lives down in his lair. He can’t get out, though. He’s stuck.”

“Yeah, know all about that. Very unfortunate, eh?” Spike said in the most sarcastic voice he could muster up.

“You don’t like The Master? Didn’t you say you were Angel’s family? Doesn’t that make you part of The Master’s family?”

“Yeah, so? You like your family?”

Xander’s expression clouded over and he looked away. He didn’t want to talk about that – about them. Not now. He knew it was only a matter of time before he calmed down and started to see sense again, but right at this moment he wasn’t interested. They could choke on their own barf as far as he was concerned. Except… Xander chewed on a nail and hoped they weren’t choking on their own barf right now. How would that be for irony?

“What’s your name?” Spike asked, jolting Xander from his thoughts.

“Xander.” The response was automatic and Xander internally shrugged and thought ‘what the hell.’

“Short for Alexander, I take it.”

“Yeah. But I don’t like Alexander.”

“Why’s that, then?”

“No big reason. I just haven’t been called that in so long. It doesn’t feel like my real name anymore.”

Spike nodded and picked at the tiny pieces of nachos left in the bowl. “I know what you mean. So, Xander, what were you doing wandering the streets when you should have been tucked up all cosy in your bed?”

“Nothing. Just walking. Strolling. Ambling. Enjoying the ambience of a Hellmouth night…” There was no way he was going to tell Spike anything personal. In all the years he’d never told anyone anything. And for a reason. There was nothing to tell.

“…Becoming wolf-bait,” Spike finished. “Nice night for it, I suppose.”

“Uh – yeah. Thanks for, you know, saving me. Ending up in Xander chunks wasn’t really what I had in mind for the evening.” Xander glanced at his watch. Wow. Late. Or early. “And I really have to go.”

Spike hadn’t finished with the boy, not by a long shot. For a start, there was so much more he wanted to know about Bu… nope, still couldn’t say it, The Slayer. Just out of curiosity. And also, he liked Xander. A bit of company while he was in town certainly wouldn’t hurt. Being on your own was lonely, and if it was a choice between Xander and the minions back at The Master’s lair, he would choose Xander in a millisecond.

“My pleasure, luv. It would have been a shame to let such a lovely arse go to waste.” Spike smelt the arousal that rushed in again. He wondered how easily Xander could be persuaded to drop his trousers.

“And again with the leching. Do you ever stop? No, don’t answer that. And stop undressing me with your eyes.”

Spike put his hands up in defeat. “You can go ahead and undress yourself. Again, I’d be happy to watch, but if you want a hand…”

“Please don’t finish that sentence. I beg you.”

“No need to beg, luv. I’m willing and able.”

“Good for you. And I’m leaving.” With a glare Xander got up from the table, carefully positioning his backpack at the front. He got halfway to the door before he felt a cool hand on his arm.

“Hang on, hang on. I’m sorry, alright? I come on a tad strong sometimes.”

“I noticed,” Xander muttered.

“Well, what do you expect?! I’m a vampire! Typically, my species takes what it wants. At least I bother with some sort of chat up.”

The glare remained, but some of the heat had slipped out of it. “I just don’t like being teased, okay? I know I’m not much to look at, but you don’t have to rub it in.”

Spike frowned and finally let go of Xander’s arm. “Wasn’t teasing, luv. At least not in the way you think. Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

Xander’s gaze turned sceptical. Ridicule was something he was used to. What he wasn’t used to was someone looking at him like they wanted to kiss him. That was not easy to believe, especially from someone that looked like Spike.

“I’m not going home. Not yet,” Xander said.

“No? Why’s that?” Spike asked.

“I’ve got things to do.” The lie was obvious and Spike would have caught on even if Xander’s heart rate hadn’t jumped again like a kangaroo on speed.

“Like what?”

“Stuff.”

“Stuff. Right. Okay, then. Thanks for the info and all that. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

Xander looked dubiously at the outstretched hand and the sincere expression on Spike’s face. Slowly and unsurely, he reached out. “No problem. Thanks for the saveage. And, uh, that was really cool, what you did with the uber-wolf. Those were some pretty awesome moves.”

“Cheers. I like to keep trim and all that. It isn’t often I get to smack down with a quality beastie like Mr Wolf. It made a nice change,” Spike said in the same tone that was usually reserved for when he drank Peppermint Tea instead of Earl Grey.

Xander looked surprised. “Really? Well, stick around. We have a vast array of beasties here at the Hellmouth. An ogre for even a connoisseur such as yourself. Do feel free to smack them down and bathe in their blood. I’m sure the Slayer will appreciate the decrease in her workload.”

Spike returned Xander’s grin and walked him outside. “Think I’ll do just that. It was nice to meet you, Xander.”

The grin stayed put. “You too. Apart from the terror part. And that lemonade was awful.”

“Coffee next time, then.”

It wasn’t a question and Xander didn’t bother to answer it. “Good night, Spike.”

“Watch how you go, luv.”

Spike stood outside Willy’s bar until Xander was out of sight. “I must be going bonkers,” he whispered to himself as he picked up Xander’s scent and followed at a discreet distance. The Hellmouth was a dangerous place.

TBC…