Part 8
The routine changed over the next few weeks, or rather evolved. Dawn’s
school let out, Tara and Willow started a new summer schedule. The patrols
continued, but usually ended with Spike coming home with Xander. Giles hired
Jonathan of all people to help in the shop. ‘Well it’s not like he doesn’t
have an interest in magic, and at least this way we can keep an eye on him.’
Dawn was with them in the evenings, but spent most days with her friends;
swimming, shopping, girl stuff. Xander was surprised she came to him
instead of Giles to ask things like, ‘can I go to the mall, can I sleep over
at Stephanie’s, can I go to the concert?’ ‘Yes you can go to the mall, just
be back before sunset. Who’s Stephanie? You’re staying inside all night
right? You’ll call if her parents are aliens or demons or robots? You can go
to concert only it you promise not to get pissed when Spike and I follow
you; those things are a freaking smorgasbord. You don’t want to get eaten do
you? Err... wait -- you don’t...erm ah Spike help me out here.’
All in all Dawn was amazingly tolerant of their smothering, ah hovering, err
concern. The first time she caught Xander who had, oh so casually, stopped
by the mall after work to buy...um shirts, yeah shirts, she had let him lie
himself into a corner. She had spotted him unobtrusively using one of the
security mirrors to watch her, while pretending to check out the
merchandise. Dawn had been with a group of three other girls, and had
disengaged herself with to the sound of catcalls and giggles.
“What. Are. You. Doing. Here.” Poke. Poke. Poke. A sharp little finger to
the rib cage punctuated each word.
“What? Shopping.” Disbelieving look, and raised eyebrow. ‘Hey that’s
Willow’s look.’ “Dawn I shop.” ‘Oh oh, arms crossed, foot tapping, time for
a defensive diversion.’ “You think it’s easy to look this good? The Xander
style takes constant maintenance.” ‘Okay it wasn’t that funny’
“You are not buying that shirt.” ‘Dear God, she sounds like Cordelia. Wait,
what’s wrong with this shirt?’
“You don’t like orange and pink?”
~~~
This just proved lying was bad. The whole ‘Willow said to kick his ass,
Buffy’ thing and the Amy spell deal, which in addendum had been blackmail
not lying but still spooky scary end results, so the you go. Here he was,
shopping with Dawn, Spike and the witches. The whole hell concept was so
overrated. Why worry about the after life when you could suffer immediately
for the consequences of you action, right here on Earth. ‘I should have
stuck with the truth. Yes Dawn, I am stalking you. It’s not that I don’t
trust you, I just wanted to make sure none of your friends was going to turn
into a hyena. But no, I had to go with the I desperately need new clothing
excuse. So help me if any of them shows me one more black shirt I’ll start
bang my head against the wall. You’d think they’ve forgotten I have a
pulse.’
“How about this one?” Tara held up a dark gray, loose knit sweater, and
Xander when over to look at the display from which she had selected it.
“Hey, it comes in green.” ‘Well light green, but it’s a larger size and
that’s what’s important.’
“Spike.” Dawn cupped her hand in front of her mouth and whispered loudly.
“Do you think Xander is colorblind?”
After two hours and buying more clothes than he could possible ever need,
Xander manipulated ah manuvered the gang into the food court. Willow had
gone to the Potato Patch to get fries and drinks and had dragged Spike with
her to help carry. Tara and Dawn were having a hushed discussion about
Willow’s birthday dinner. It wasn’t a surprise. Willow had suggested that
they stay in this year, but Dawn and Tara were keeping the menu secret.
“I’ll get the cake.” Xander said, when he heard they were now having salmon.
“Xander.” Dawn gave him the junior varsity version of the Buffy pout.
“I want to do something too.” Xander saw he pout and raised her big eyes.
She laughed; “you want to get the cake so that you can be sure it’s
chocolate cake with chocolate icing.”
“Dawn.” ‘Busted’
“You supposed to try to get something Willow would like.” ‘Yes, Joyce.’
“I think I know what Willow likes.” ‘Did she really think she could win
this?’
“Okay what does Willow like?” Dawn had that girls remember everything about
each other smile, and was daring him to guess wrong.
“Willow likes to make people happy. Chocolate makes me happy. Therefore
Willow likes chocolate.” Xander folded both arms on the table and was
leaning forward when he finish, because Spike and Willow were on their way
over.
Tara laughed. “Well you can’t argue with that flawless logic.”
~~~~
The dinner was subdued. The food was excellent, and it felt so good to be
together with no prominent crisis, but something was missing.
Obviously.
Xander kept looking around expecting to see her. When Tara and Dawn had
splashed water all over the kitchen, and then shrieked with laughter as they
tried to clean up before the party started, he could picture Buffy with them
right in the thick of things. When Giles toasted Willow and commented on
‘what a wonderful young woman she had become’ he could see the tears that
would have formed in Buff's eyes. Even when Spike had said ‘you’re all right
Red” he almost heard the classic Buffy comeback of “she much more than all
right, bleach boy.”
Tara had brought videos, so they grouped around the television the way
Victorian family must have gathered around the fire. He would have to ask
Spike about that. Xander sprawled on the couch next to Spike. Giles sat in
a rocker to the right of the reading lamp and was paging though Xander’s
yearbook; it had been on the end table. Willow took and oversized chair to
the right of the couch. Tara and Dawn sat at her feet. Xander felt his eyes
droop, and he forced them open, thinking it would be in bad form for the
host to crash at the party. But it was a Julia Roberts film, with no sex,
and no car chases and for as quiet as it had been, the evening had been
emotionally draining. Willow was French braiding Tara’s hair. Dawn had
asked to be next. The movement of the brush through the golden strands was
mesmerizing. Xander felt hypnotized watching Willow’s fingers weaving the
hair back and under.
The next thing he knew Willow was looking down, wearing a concerned look,
and stroking his face. “Xan, we’re leaving. Don’t get up. I had a really
good time.” Xander was never at his best when he first woke. He blinked,
and decided he should probably try to say something.
“Happy Birthday, I love you.” ‘Well that must have been coherent she
smiling.’ He had almost rolled over and went back to sleep. I fact he
started to, but got a face full of Spike’s lap. He sat up and ran both hands
through his hair, and ventured a look at Willow. ‘Great she smirking.’ Since
he was felt like living dangerously he decide to see how Giles was handling
his head gravitating into Spike’s lap while he slept. ‘Yep, that is
definitely a we will talk about this later look.’
Dawn took it in stride, she kissed him on the cheek before saying “Good
night Xander, get some sleep.” She kissed Spike and led the others out the
door.
“You all right, Pet?” ‘What no smirk, no snort, no merciless teasing for my
lap diving?’ He looked into Spike’s eyes, occasionally, like now, he was
almost certain that he saw what William had been like before he meet Dru in
that dark alley. Xander remembered how when Jessie had been turned, there
had been something of him there. Not a soul; but something, something that
made him Jessie and not Bob or Steve. That was there in Spike’s eyes, some
memory of humanity.
“I..I just;” Xander hated that he never seemed to have the words. He never
could hold on to the emotions long enough to choke them out.
“I’m....really
glad your hear.”
“What brought this on Luv?” Funny how the softer Spike spoke the closer he
felt.
Right now, right now felt so good. Just, this. This, was good. If he only
had the words. “I... tonight.. When the shit hits the fan, and hey the shit
always hits the fan, you look back on times like these and you think of the
people you lost,’ his voice broke, Xander took a steadying breath. “You wish
you ... you wish you had told them how much it meant....how much they
meant...how important.....I ...I’m just really glad you here.”
And it was all right, because Spike was petting him. Running his fingers
through his hair, across his chest, up his thighs, and it felt so good to
have him here. It wasn’t always like this. After patrol, there was frantic
scrambling that started before they finished undressing and ended in the
shower, on the floor, even the kitchen table or against the wall. But
sometimes, it was almost like the first time again, reverent and hushed.
Xander pulled Spike up to face him from where he’d been dipping his tongue
in Xander’s navel. “It’s just, important, you know?”
And Spike had nodded, “I know, Xander. I know.
~~~
It was his own fault. With Dawn staying over at Stephanie’s and the witches
engrossed in spell books at the research table, he should have known he was
walking into a Giles lecture.
“How did you get it in the first place?” ‘He never asked how I get over
fourteen units of whole human blood a week, but he want to know where I got
the beer? Can you say priorities G-Man?’ The blank look had worked and Giles
continued in a more reasonable tone. “She looks up to you Xander, you must
realize that your actions speak louder than your words. The fact that
you’re only a few months under age and she is several years is not a
justifiable excuse.”
“Hey, I told her it was Spike’s” ‘An improvisation I was rather proud of.’
“Really? As in the community property sense?” ‘I am so not ready to have
that conversation with you. Time for a diversionary tactic.
“I gave her the ‘Beer Bad’ speech. I told her how it de-evolves people into
cave slayer.” ‘Take that Ripper.’
“Did you also give her the ‘Boy Smells Good’ lecture?” ‘Erp? Sex? Talk about
Sex with Dawn? Help?’
“I thought you’d do that, you are the adult.” ‘Ha! I still have the sex with
Joyce on the hood of a police car in my arsenal.’
Giles looked at Xander. Xander looked at Giles. Blink. Blink. Blink. Ding!
Light bulb!
“Willow?” ‘Oh look, stereo.
Part 9
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