Making Them Pay

by
Michele

Part Five

Xander tried very hard not to think about what he'd just done and went about the business of quickly brushing his teeth and then relieving himself before turning on the shower. He finished stripping off the last of his clothes when he heard Spike enter the bedroom on the other side of the door and start moving around. He couldn't tell exactly what the vampire was doing because of the noise from the shower but he decided it didn't matter. Xander was going to take his shower and go to bed, with or without Spike.

It felt good to wash the smell of smoke from the bar, and the lingering scent from the sewer, from his hair and body. He turned the water to just this side of scalding causing the room to fill with steam. After several minutes of just standing under the water and waiting, Xander stopped watching through the shower curtain in anticipation of a visitor and soaped up his hair. A blast of cooler air invaded the bathroom followed by the sound of the door clicking shut. "Decided to join me after all?" He leaned his head back under the showerhead and rinsed out the shampoo. "I think there's still plenty of hot water left."

There was no reply so Xander wiped the water out of his eyes and looked through the clear shower curtain. Spike was leaning back against the sink, arms across his bare chest, jeans unbuttoned and riding low on his hips, just watching him. "What, you don't like the water this hot?"

Spike just made a 'go on' motion with one hand and returned it to its previous position across his chest.

Xander shrugged, a little self-conscious at being watched, but continued with his shower anyway. He started to become very aware of his every motion and how it would look to the man on the other side of the curtain. Normally, washing his arms was something that took only a few seconds, this time he made a point of turning slightly sideways and extending his arm in front of him, running his other soapy hand up to his shoulder, under his arm, and then back down to his wrist, turning his arm a little with every pass until every inch of skin had been covered.

Soaping up his hands again, he turned to the other side and repeated the motions with the other arm, sneaking peeks at his silent watcher but never looking directly at him. He soaped his hands for a third time, turned to face the bathroom and raised his hands to his chest. He looked directly at Spike for a second before letting his eyes slide closed and tipped his head back, massaging the slick soap into his pecs with slightly more force than was needed just to get clean.

He heard a low moan from somewhere but kept his eyes closed and slowly moved his hands down to his stomach, swirling the soap in a circular pattern on the way down. This spontaneous exhibitionism and the feel of his own hands on his skin were really beginning to get to him and he felt his penis begin to fill and rise. Wanting to make sure Spike was still watching, he opened his eyes and again looked directly at the vampire, gasping at the sight that greeted him.

At some point, Spike had stepped out of his jeans and now had his left hand wrapped around his cock, stroking it slowly as he watched Xander intently. Xander gulped and felt himself become fully erect at the idea that he had the power to affect Spike this way.

"Don't stop, pet, it was just getting good," Spike husked out, his voice having dropped nearly an octave. The hunger Xander heard in it sent a shiver down his spine and even more blood pumping into his cock.

Gathering the remains of his courage, Xander picked up the soap from the shower caddy, pulled back the shower curtain and held the bar out. "You want to help me with the spots I can't reach?"

That certainly got Spike moving and he was climbing over the rim of the tub and pulling the curtain closed before Xander had time to get fully out of the way. A cool body pressed him back against the wall of the shower and the soap was snatched out of his hand, causing him to slip sideways for a moment. "Whoa! Fragile human here."

Spike righted him and stepped back enough to lather his hands. "Where are these spots you can't reach then, hmm?" Rapidly warming hands skimmed down Xander's stomach stopping about mid-way down. "Here? No, you reached there just fine." He rubbed lightly for a moment before he pulled the human away from the wall and slid his hands around the trim waist to the lightly muscled back. "Back here maybe?"

Xander blinked rapidly, clearing water out of his eyes. His ears were buzzing and he couldn't seem to take a full breath because of the heat of the room and situation and the tingle in his skin wherever Spike touched him. He did his best to answer despite having become distinctly light-headed. "Yeah, there. There and everywhere… I mean, anywhere. You want. Anywhere you want."

"Hmm…" Spike pulled Xander flush against him and buried his face in the crook of the warm neck. He felt Xander stiffen slightly and then relax when all Spike did was lick hot droplets of water from the equally hot skin and slide his still slick hands down to cup Xander's buttocks to hold him still against his slow thrusts. "What say we save sex in the shower for later and get to bed, heh pet?"

Xander couldn't have agreed more but currently lacked the ability to say so. He settled for a moan and an experimental flexing of his hips, driving his cock to slip slide against Spike's, which caused him to moan again.

Quickly stepping back lest it all be over too soon, Spike twisted and turned the human under the water in a businesslike manner until all the soap was gone from his body. He urged Xander out of the tub and then stepped under the water himself, washing his hair and body in record time.

By the time he'd finished, Xander was toweling his hair and looking a bit farther from the edge than he'd been a few minutes before. His skin was still deliciously flushed, eyes still wide and dilated and cock was still standing proud, but his breathing had calmed to almost normal and his heart no longer sounded like it was about to beat itself out of his chest.

"Go on out, I'll be right behind you." Spike took the towel from Xander, swiped it down the mortal's back once and then threw it in the corner. As Xander exited, Spike pulled a fresh towel out of the cupboard behind the door and began drying himself as he turned off the light in the bathroom and joined Xander in the bedroom.

The mortal had climbed onto the bed and was sitting in the center looking in confusion at several candles burning around the room. "Want you to be able to see but didn't think you'd want the light on," Spike explained.

"Oh. Um… thanks." Xander ducked his head, a little disconcerted by the thoughtfulness of the gesture from this avowed evil creature. But how had Spike known that doing this in complete darkness would have terrified him as much as having the light on?

Once again, Spike seemed to read his mind. "I've been there, Xander. Wasn't exactly the same situation but I had a first time, too. Several firsts in one night, actually."

"Oh." Xander was starting to feel nervous now that he had the ability to think again. Although he was no stranger to sex, even if it was exclusively with women, he didn't think that sex with a man could be all that different, but he really had no idea if sex with a vampire was even remotely similar. "So, um what do I…"

Spike tsked and shook his head.. "None of that now, you were doing just fine in the shower." He joined Xander on the bed and lay down with one arm behind his head. "Weren’t you…" Reaching out, he grabbed Xander's arm and pulled him down so that he was on top of him, groins once again pressed against each other. "…just about right there before we moved locations?"

"Yeah, just about there," Xander gasped out, suddenly breathless again. He closed his eyes and forgot everything but feeling the body beneath him as Spike lay still to let him adjust.

Xander finally opened his eyes again and looked down at the man beneath him. Once again he was a little confused about why Spike was being so patient and almost gentle with him. He'd assumed that Spike would take charge in this the way he did all other things and if Xander got some pleasure from it, that was fine, but not a requirement.

He resettled himself so that he could use his elbows for leverage and tentatively leaned forward to touch his lips to Spike's. The vampire reacted enthusiastically, bringing both hands around to the back of Xander's head, holding him still while the vampire plundered his mouth.

When Spike finally let him up for air, Xander had forgotten why he'd never tried this before. There was just something… more going on here. Was it a guy/guy thing? A vampire thing? Or maybe just a Spike thing? He didn't know, and at this moment, really didn't care. He just let his instincts take over, flattened himself to Spike and rolled them on to their sides.

"More. Now." He reached down and gripped a cool white buttock, pulling forward so that their cocks were trapped against their lower bellies, side by side. It was a wonderful feeling, the friction of firm stomach muscles surrounding him on both sides. But it wasn't enough and the thing he'd normally do once he got to this point Spike wasn't equipped for and his frustration was building up so quickly he thought he was going to pass out, something that hadn't happened since those first few times with Anya. "Do something! Anything!"

Spike removed Xander's hand from his ass and began to rock his hips slowly, not letting the other man speed up the pace as he wanted. "Don't say 'anything' unless you mean it, pet." He saw that Xander's eyes were getting a little wild and he couldn't help but grin. He briefly considered drawing this out but decided that, in the long run, the more Xander liked it, the more he'd want later.

Flipping Xander on to his back, Spike pulled himself to his knees and straddled the human, trapping his wrists to the bed. "Stay just like that, Xan, I want to look at you." And he did, but he really wanted Xander to calm down a little before he hyperventilated himself into unconsciousness.

After a few moments, Spike nodded his satisfaction as Xander's breathing slowed to just panting quickly. "More? Now?" At the human's somewhat dazed nod, Spike released Xander's wrists, schooched down his body until he was settled on the strong, tanned thighs beneath him and once again aligned their cocks. Only this time, he wrapped his left hand around both and squeezed lightly.

"Oh, god!" Xander felt his eyes roll back in his head and some small part of his brain was telling him he was overreacting to a simple hand job. Granted, someone else was doing the handing for the first time in months, but still, a hand job was… "Oh GOD!" Xander arched up as Spike slid his hand upward, swiped his thumb over the heads of their cocks gathering up the liquid there and then quickly skimmed it back down.

"Like that, do you?" Spike licked his lips, eyes greedily taking in every twitch, moan and gasp. It had been a while since he'd last been with a man, even longer since he'd been with a human, but the unique pleasures that both brought were quickly coming back to him. He tightened his grip a bit and made a few more passes up and down their lengths, pausing to swipe the pre-cum off their tips at the top of every stroke and spreading the wetness over them both.

When Xander was well and truly writhing beneath him, Spike let his right hand drift down to cup and fondle the human's balls, rolling them gently at first and then with more roughness as they started to draw tighter to his body. Xander began a low keening, mixed with a little begging, and Spike knew neither of them were going to last much longer. This was the most vanilla sex he'd had in… well, longer than he could remember, but it didn't seem to matter to his dick.

"That's it, Xander, come for me. Let me see you." Mindless words began to spill from his mouth as he increased the speed of his strokes and watched as the body beneath him tensed tighter and tighter. Suddenly, Xander froze and his eyes popped open wide, instinctively locking on to Spike's, a strange smile on his lips. A second later Xander threw his head back and came in heaving pulses, spattering creamy whiteness on his lower stomach and dribbling over Spike's hand.

That was all it took for Spike to join the human in release. With a growl, Spike let loose with his own orgasm, his cum mingling with Xander's after a few seconds. Then Xander did the most extraordinary thing; as the last jet pulsed out of Spike's cock, Xander once again opened his eyes and looked directly at the vampire. Only this time, after a second to make sure Spike was really seeing him, he closed his eyes again and casually turned his head, clearly offering his throat.

Spike felt his cock give another unexpected lurch and another bit of liquid bubbled out. He released their softening columns of flesh and took what was being offered, falling on Xander like a starving man… err vampire. Xander's arms came off the bed slightly when his fangs broke the skin but quickly dropped back down to the bed as his mouth filled with blood.

"Not too much, Spike. You promised," said a breathy voice from somewhere very far away from the heart beating so loudly in his ears. He wanted to rip and tear and get more and more and more of the elixir that gave him life but there was something… something…

"Spike! Stop now." Hands on his shoulders, pushing him away, trying to break his hold, but he wanted more than the three luscious draughts he'd consumed and he forced the hands away and held the body beneath him more firmly. "SPIKE!"

Spike heard and felt the rising panic and jerked with recognition, barely having the presence of mind to carefully remove his fangs without tearing any more skin. He pushed himself up and licked his lips, gathering up every precious drop, staring with a kind of horrified fascination at the man beneath him. "Why the bloody HELL did you do that, Xander?"

Xander grasped his neck and scowled when his hand came away bloody. It didn't exactly hurt, but it wasn't exactly painless either. "Me human, you vampire. Thought you'd… you know, like it."

"Did. Don't do it again unless you know I've fed. Hear me?" Spike turned Xander's head and inspected his neck. "Damn."

"What?" Xander sat up and placed his hand on his neck again. "Is it still bleeding?"

Spike batted Xander's hand away. "You'll have to stay away from the bloody white hats until this heals up. Hold still." He leaned back toward Xander's neck and noted with interest that the other man didn't even flinch. He swept his tongue across the wound a few times until it completely stopped bleeding. "A week, at least. Don't look too bad."

Reaching over the side of the bed, Xander picked up Spike's t-shirt and calmly wiped his hands, stomach and groin before folding the material over and handing it to Spike. "Shoulda thought of that, I guess. Bite somewhere else next time, okay?"

Confusion flashed over Spike's face before he managed to hide it again. "Yeah, sure." He wasn't sure what was going on with the young man and he wasn't even sure he should be questioning it. Xander was being everything he'd wanted, wasn’t he? So why borrow trouble? And yet…

And yet it just seemed so very wrong that Xander would so easily accept this aspect of being with a vampire. It was like he'd had an almost complete personality transplant. Finally giving in to the sex part maybe wasn't all that surprising; they had both been going without at least since this arrangement was made. But the biting and the blood and the almost detached attitude afterward… No, something happened tonight at the meeting and Spike decided he really should be trying to find out what it was.

Just not now.

He laid back down next to Xander, who now seemed to be dozing lightly, and turned on his side, propping his head on his hand so he could study the other man. After several minutes of silence, in which he discovered nothing except Xander looked relaxed, Spike finally asked, "So, have a good time?"

That was neutral enough, wasn't it? He was always bad at 'afterglow' talk, especially since the humans weren't usually alive to talk and the non-humans were usually in no condition to talk.

Xander stirred, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly. "Yeah. As if you didn't know you're fantastic in bed. Had me worried for a minute though. Didn't like that part."

Spike continued to study the relaxed face in consternation. "The biting part or the thought I wasn't going to stop part?"

"The not stopping part. The biting wasn't… pleasant until you starting drinking…. I can't believe I'm even having this discussion." He opened his eyes and sat up, shaking his head. "I'm really not sure what happened with me tonight or why but I kinda liked it. Okay? Can we leave it at that for now?"

"Sure, Xander, sure." Spike's eyes went to the mark on Xander's neck and he frowned. "Don't let me bite you there again. Understand?"

"Right. No more offering of the throat, I get it." There was an awkward pause, as if he were considering whether to say something or not. Spike flopped on to his back, stared at the ceiling and waited it out. Finally, "There's more, right? With the gay vampire sex I mean."

Spike smirked and pulled Xander down on top of him. "Oh, much more, pet, much more. We'll get around to all of it eventually. Didn't want you strainin' something yer first time out though."

Xander seemed to consider this for a moment and then nodded. "You know I'm not a virgin or anything, right?"

"There's virgin and then there's virgin."

"No, I mean, with Anya, sure, not a virgin with her. But, really, really, not a virgin with her. You know what I mean?"

Sometimes Spike's mind goggled trying to figure out what language these modern humans spoke. "Err… no."

The strange smile was back on Xander's face and he slid off to Spike's right side and threw a leg over the vampire's. "We had toys, Spike. Never a real live –or undead- guy but, you know. I don't know how, exactly, everything is done when the… uh… appendage is attached but….Sheesh, you know what I'm trying to say here, right?"

"Yeah, I got it now, you little slut you," Spike teased. "Here you were playing all innocent and 'tell me what to do, Spike' and you've had a dildo up your ass and god knows what else."

"Hey! No need to get graphic here. I really don't know. Like I said, never with a real guy. And hey, add vampires to that 'never' list, too. So I do appreciate the… consideration you gave me tonight. Unexpected, but nice."

"Not bloody 'nice'. Prudent. If you didn't like it this time, I wouldn't be getting' any later without a fight, now would I?" Spike was beginning to feel a right fool for underestimating this manchild once again. "Won't be so bloody 'nice' next time, you can count on that."

Xander's leg slid slowly up until his knee just nudged Spike's testicles. "So, when's next time?"

Spike found himself watching Xander closely for the next week. He seemed fine with the addition of 'sex slave' to his resume and even joked about it on occasion. There had been no more biting, Spike knew it was dangerous to take too often, even small amounts, and so had decided that since he wanted to keep Xander around for a while, it would be limited to no more than once a week. The other man had given him a strange look when he'd told him that but had agreed with the usual shrug and grin.

The young man also seemed a little introspective at times, but he generally maintained his usual sunny but sarcastic personality, and had only objected twice when Spike had made some suggestions for evenings activities. It was like Xander had suddenly decided that being a kept man had its advantages and was determined to enjoy them.

The bite on his neck was healing fairly well but there would be a slight scar. Which seemed to please the brunette if the times Spike caught him looking at it in the mirror and smiling that funny smile were any indication.

All in all, Spike really had nothing to complain about, unlife was generally good for the first time in a very long time. But strangely, he felt like he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop and for everything to go to hell.

Xander hung up the phone and burst out laughing, clutching his sides as he nearly rolled off the couch. "Is… is it wrong… " he gasped between giggles, "…to laugh… at the pain of …. oh god… complete strangers?"

Spike lifted an eyebrow inquiringly from his position in the recliner and put the television on mute. "For me, no. For you… Who were these 'complete strangers'?"

"The skunk demon thing didn't die in Buffy's room, it escaped into the old ventilation system and sprayed three more rooms this week!" That set Xander giggling and wiping his eyes again. "Buffy and Willow had just finished getting all their clothes cleaned and put back when the Dean announced they were closing the dorm and everyone had to move out until next term."

Lips quirking up, more from watching Xander laugh than the smelly dorm, Spike nodded in satisfaction of a dastardly plan that went even better than he'd planned. "Goin' back to mum's then?"

"Yeah. There's only two more weeks left till school was out and she was moving back for the summer anyway, but still…" Another snort. "She's super pissed and very determined to find out what that thing is and where it came from."

"I'm scared. You?"

"Oh, yeah, shaking in my Keds." Finally getting himself somewhat under control, Xander righted himself on the couch and rubbed his hands together like the cheesiest screen villain ever. "So, who and what are next?"

"Got something special on order for Mr. Don't-Put-Your-Feet-On-The-Table. Should get it in another week or so."

"Giles?" He nodded his head. "Yeah, Giles."

"Thought you liked him." Spike put his footrest down, got up and joined Xander on the couch. "What he ever do to you?"

Xander shrugged, "Oh, nothing specific. He's just too… I don't know… uptight? Repressed? Hypocritical?" He shook his head and thought about it for a minute. "He's not a bad guy, some times, but other times… But, you know, he tells Buffy 'good job', he tells Willow 'good job' but he never, ever tells me 'good job' even when I come up with some pretty damn good ideas. With me it's all sarcasm and surprise if I think of something that works."

"And you care about that, why?"

"I already have an asshole dad at home, I don't need another reminding me I'm stupid."

Spike accepted the explanation with a shrug. It didn't really matter to him one bit why Xander had a problem with Giles, Spike had his own reasons, but it was a bit of knowledge he tucked away for further use at a later time. "She ask where you'd been?" he asked, referring back to the phone call that started this conversation.

"Willow? Yeah, she did." Xander smirked and slid closer to Spike, looping his arms around the vampire's neck. "I told her I'd been too busy having orgasms with my vampire to hang around with boring old them."

"You did not! I heard your side of the entire conversation." Spike tugged Xander closer and situated the human so he was straddling Spike's lap.

Xander squirmed to get comfortable and then dropped his head to nip at Spike's neck. "If you heard what I said, then why'd you ask?"

"Dunno." Spike twisted his head to the right, giving Xander full access, and promptly forgot what they were talking about. "Harder… yeah… right there."

Xander chuckled and sat back. "You are so easy! I'll bet there's people who'd pay for this type of information. What'ya think?"

Spike growled playfully and twisted Xander so that he was on his back with Spike laying on top on him. "Not easy. Evil. Close, but not the same." He quickly stripped off Xander's shirt and then his own before lying flat on top of the human again. "And don't you forget it."

Xander licked his lips and nodded rapidly. He had no idea what he'd just agreed with, but if it would make Spike finish removing their clothes and fuck him stupid, he'd agree to almost anything. It briefly flashed across his mind that, maybe, there was something wrong with that concept. Then Spike's mouth was sucking on his nipple while pinching the other and Xander's brain melted.

Part Six

"You're sure he's not home?"



"You were lurking right next to me when he left, Xander."

"Yeah, I know, but I've just never broken in to anyone's apartment before and dorm rooms don't count. Are you sure this is going to work?"

Spike muttered something under his breath, pulled Xander out of the bushes and guided him forcefully around to the steps down to the courtyard of Giles' flat.

"Hey! No need to get rough, a simple 'yes' would have worked." Xander jerked his arm out of Spike's grasp but continued walking beside the vampire. "And I'm just nervous, okay? I mean, this is Giles we're messing with. Not only Giles, but Giles' books. If he ever figured out it was us… Well, I've seen his scary side a few times and it makes Buffy look like a walk in the park."

"He's not going to find out." Spike dropped down to his knees in front of the door.

"And after the whole Jenny thing, I'm not sure that breaking in is the best idea…What are you doing?"

"Gonna pick the lock, ain't I?"

"Uh… Did I forget to mention I had a key?" Xander pulled a key ring out of his pocket and jangled it in front of Spike's scowling face. "He got tired of having to hand over his every time he sent us here for a book or something."

Spike snatched the keys out of Xander's hand and glared until the human pointed out which key it was. Then he jammed it in the lock and pushed open the door. He hesitated for only for a second before crossing the threshold, smirking slightly at the fact that Rupert hadn't revoked his invitation.

Xander stepped inside and closed the door behind him, being sure to twist the deadbolt so they'd at least have some warning if Giles decided to come home early. "So…"

"What?" Spike was busy reviewing the titles on the small bookshelf.

"Which ones? Not the ones that might be needed to, you know, stop another apocalypse or something. Right?"

Spike tsked in irritation and pulled two books off the shelf, placing them on the coffee table before going to the other side of the room to look over the bigger bookcase. They'd already gone over this at the house with Xander insisting that, while he was all for messing with Giles, he didn't want to really endanger anyone with their pranks. Finally, after much 'convincing', Xander had gotten him to agree that the only books that they would deface were the ones that were in English and, therefore, could be read by someone else if necessary.

"Right?" Xander repeated.

"Right. Now, get your arse over here and help me." Spike pulled a few more books off the shelf and placed them next to the others on the coffee table. "I'll get started on these, you find a few more."

Spike picked up the stack of books and took them to the dining room table. He sat down, pulled out an old fashioned ink well and metal-tipped pen from one pocket and a glass bottle with a cork stopper from another.

Xander watched while Spike poured the contents from the glass bottle into the inkwell, face a study in concentration, when the thought hit him that Spike must have done that very thing when he was still human. No ballpoint pens and magic markers (and didn't that take on a whole new meaning on the Hellmouth?) in eighteen whatever when Spike was last alive.

"Stop gawking and get to work, slaveboy."

The bleached head bent over his work as Spike dipped the pen in the ink, tapped off the excess and began to write. Xander shook himself and turned back to the books. He found a few obvious ones that he remembered from one of the many research sessions and pulled them out. Next, he chose a three more random books from lower on the shelves that had titles in English.

"Here, I think this is enough." Sliding the books across the table toward Spike, Xander sat down opposite the vampire and quickly became engrossed in watching the other man. Dip, tap, write. Dip, tap, write. Spike barely looked up from the page when he rewetted the pen each time and Xander again got a flash of someone very different sitting in front of him. Even though he never really forgot that Spike was a vampire, it was sometimes hard to remember that he'd been once been a human over a hundred years ago and that he'd lived somewhere besides Sunnydale for all the time since he stopped being a human.

Finally, Spike closed the cover of the book he was working on and slid it across the table toward Xander. "Your turn."

"What? What my turn?"

"Got to do the spell that activates the ink." He pulled a crinkled piece of paper from his pocket and placed it on top of the book. "It's spelled out phonetically so you shouldn't have a problem. All you have to do is put one hand on the book and say those words."

"Funny how you forget to mention that I had to do a spell. Why don't you do it?" Xander stubbornly kept his hands in his lap, refusing to even touch the paper.

"The dead can't do this kind of spell because it's earth magic or some such." He held up his finger to stop any further objections from Xander. "I want you to do it and that's all you need to know."

Xander frowned and reluctantly picked up the paper to study it. He didn't know what Spike's problem was but he'd been a real prick ever since they'd gotten up that afternoon. Now that he thought about, Xander realized that Spike had been acting more surly than usual since he'd come back from picking up the ink the night before.

"Did something happen last night?"

Spike didn't bother looking up from the book he was writing in. "Just do the spell, Xander."

"This isn't going to make me all weird or anything, right?"

"Do. The. Spell."

Xander sighed, placed his left hand on the book and focused on the paper in his right hand. "Mellow ouch fingle man chick boned rizzo fitch." The book glowed blue for a second and then went out. He felt a slight zap when the light faded, like a static electricity shock, but it wasn't something he would have called painful. "What the fuck was that?"

"Ink activated."

"So when Giles opens the book it'll look blank?"

"Yeah." Spike pushed the second book over to Xander and reached for the next one in the stack.

"But everyone else will still be able to see it?"

"Yes."

"Way to communicate, Spike. How does the ink know when Giles is looking at the book and when it's someone else?"

"Mixed some of his hair in with the ink."

"Oh." Spike's warning about leaving hair lying around was suddenly starting to make real sense. "Remind me to clean out my hairbrush at home and burn the hair."

He repeated the spell on the second book much more quickly and by the fifth book he was almost sorry that he probably wouldn't be around the first time Giles opened one of the bespelled books to find it empty. Or the first time Buffy and Willow looked at their father figure as if he'd gone insane when he said the books were blank.

"This is a crossword dictionary." Spike held up the next to the last book.

"So?"

Spike's lips parted like he was going to say something but he just shook his head, opened the book and started writing.

"It'll drive him nuts next time he needs just the right word."

"What time is it?"

Xander blinked at abrupt change of subject and craned his neck to look at the clock on the microwave in the kitchen. "Almost ten. Why?"

"Watcher is usually back by eleven."

"Argg! Hurry up then!" Xander snatched the dictionary away from Spike as soon as he wrote the final word in it and quickly repeated the nonsense words over it.

When the last book was pushed across the table, Xander sighed in relief, did the spell and grabbed three books to put them back. Spike followed close behind and they soon had everything re-shelved, the chairs pushed back under the table and the few tiny drops of ink cleaned off the table.

Xander relocked the door behind them and nearly sprinted up the stairs, just knowing that Giles would choose tonight to get back early and they'd get caught on their way to the car or something.

When they made it to the car and then out of the parking lot, Xander finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Where does he go, anyway?"

"Who?"

Again with monosyllabic answers. "Giles. You said he's 'usually' home by eleven. Where does he go?"

"Sings at the Espresso Pump on Tuesday's and Thursday's."

After he managed to close his dropped jaw, Xander managed to sputter out, "Sssings? As in… out loud in front of other people sings?"

"What did I just say?" Spike snapped back. He took a corner too fast and automatically reached out to put a restraining hand in front of Xander's chest to keep him from being tossed across the seat. Realizing what he'd done, he snatched his hand back as if he'd been burned and growled.

"Ooookay. How about I just sit quietly until we get home and then you can tell me just what the hell is wrong with you today."

Spike ignored him and turned on to their street. When they pulled into the garage, he immediately got out of the car, slamming the door behind him, and stomped into the house.