Part 8
The call from LA came when they were all at the magic shop. It sent them
into serious research mode. Spike thought about pointing out that if large
green demons with moldy faces existed, he would know about it. But all his
time with Dru had taught him that visions were tricky things, so he kept
quiet. He wondered if the prom queen would accompany the Poof in this
unasked-for visit. It might be interesting to see how Xander and his other
ex reacted to each other, or at least amusing. Xander, at the moment, was
idly flipping through a book written in a language which had died over a
millennium before his birth. He had started to get that desperate ‘there
must be something I can paint, or move, or refinish' look. When their eyes
met, Spike inclined his head toward the back of the store, then casually
headed to the kitchen. Moments later, after he not-so-subtly asked if he
could get anyone a soft drink, Xander followed. Spike tracked the boy's
progress by sound. Facing the counter, Spike was aware the instant the boy
entered the small kitchen and soon felt Xander's hands slide around his
waist. Spike turned toward him, not even having made the pretense of heating
blood - that wasn't what he was hungry for. Xander kissed him and pushed him
back against the kitchen counter. The kiss heated up when their groins made
contact through two layers of denim and one pair of boxers. The underwear
hadn't been his fault. Although it had been amusing, both the sight of the
boy in his petal pink bloomers and the ‘only in Sunnydale' idea of a laundry
demon. With both hands full of Xander's tight, young ass and his senses
swimming in the boy's arousal, Spike was surprised along with him when Dawn
popped her head around the corner.
"I thought it might be quicker if I got the drinks." She giggled at catching
them unaware. "You," she continued, indicating both of them, "might want to
make coffee. Willow says its going to be a long night and no one will drink
mine."
Spike had released Xander immediately upon her appearance. Xander, on the
other hand, had tightened his hold and had pointedly not stepped away,
though he had blushed and had to try twice before he stammered out, "No
problem. Think this calls for a food run?"
"Pizza?" Dawn asked, as she pulled cans of soda out of the fridge.
"Tacos?" Xander countered with an item that didn't deliver.
*If he thinks he is escaping into the sun, and leaving me here to research
with the girls….* "Chinese." Spike interjected, knowing that they were in
the delivery area of three Chinese restaurants.
"You don't eat, " Xander and Dawn said in unison.
Dawn laughed, "That's twice in one night Xan, you must be on everyone's
wavelengths."
"I eat. Don't have to, but it's variety. Order me some sesame beef, Pet, and
make sure the tossers don't put in any garlic." Spike purred in Xander's
ear. He refused to be outdone by a twenty-year-old. If Xander wasn't going
to let Dawn's presence make him self-conscious about their physical
relationship, he would just get over his ‘Victorian' inhibitions. After all,
he was evil.
"Ooooh, I want dumplings." Dawn bounced, cocked her head and asked, "Do you
want me to get everyone else's order?"
"Sure, I'll call it in." Xander grinned indulgently. Dawn darted back to the
others, on a mission.
"Sesame beef?" The boy's grin became slightly evil as he bumped his forehead
lightly against Spike's. "You're gonna dip that in blood, aren't you?"
*Well, of course. I'm evil. Not like I need to eat, it's mostly for
entertainment purposes.* Instead of answering, Spike decided to take
advantage of Dawn's absence and began to nibble on Xander's bottom lip.
~~~~
Angel and his minions arrived in a little over two hours. The Poof was as
large as ever and twice as gelled. Spike thought it was a good thing that
the nancy boy didn't have a reflection anymore, otherwise they would never
get him out from in front of a mirror. He entered the shop flanked by his
minions, with a dark coat billowing around him. *It's ninety-five fucking
degrees with the humidity so thick you can slice it and spread it and he
thinks that what? Makes him look human? Blends in? Asshole.* Xander was
halfway through greeting his ex when his scent plummeted into a panic, and
his heart rate raced. Spike almost let out a growl at the girl, before he
realize that the only thing wrong was that Xander's babble had backed him
into a social faux pas. Angel hadn't missed Xander's reaction, by the way
his nostrils flared. Spike was not at all comfortable with the way the Poof
was eyeing what was his. He wondered if soul-boy was having a similar fight
or flight moment or if the reason Angel was sizing him up was purely based
on past experience. Their minions socialized and seemed unaware that the
predators in the room had yet to decide if they were going to kill each
other, let alone if they could work together.
The Watchers went off to the office and the witches, after asking a few
polite questions, went off to the storage room. Xander gave both Angel and
Spike an appraising look and seemed to leave Dawn to baby-sit, before
leading the remaining minions on a tour of the facilities. Since they had
been tied up with a case, none of the LA crew had returned for the service.
Spike knew that Angel had been a frequent visitor at Buffy's grave, since
little happened in Sunnydale at night of which he was not aware. But this
was the first time either group had met face to face since they had lost the
Slayer. Angel awkwardly approached Dawn, and offered condolences over both
the lose of Buffy and Joyce. As he loomed over her with his hands shoved in
the pockets] of the needless trench coat he made what Spike found to be an
uncomfortable picture. Souled or not Spike knew just how dangerous what was
standing over his Nibblet was. He felt himself morph to gameface and
tightened his grip on the metal banister of the staircase to prevent him
from launching himself at the wanker. When the growl escaped him Dawn
ignored it, being quite used to how overprotective he could be, but Angel
seemed to think he was out of line. *Again? What a surprise.*
"Problem, Spike?" Angel now regarded him, but hadn't retreated from his spot
next to the girl.
In retrospect, Spike might concede that the Poof couldn't help looking like
Angelus, and that the smirk he normally wore whenever addressing Spike was
reflexive, but then Spike growled, "Back off you tosser, you're practically
on top of her!" Which turned out to be the most congenial of the exchanges
which rapidly increased in volume and degenerated in vocabulary. Before the
others could interrupt they took their disagreement outside. After killing a
dumpster and taking a few chunks out of a building, Spike found himself
pressed face first into the wall across from the shop's back entrance. *Now
this is more like the family reunions I remember.*
"This stops now." Xander never had sounded that angry, not with him. Angel,
lacking the ability to read Xander's tone, had no idea just how deep the
shit was that they were in, otherwise he wouldn't have told Xander to go
back inside. Spike took the brief second provided by Angel's distraction to
give the Poof the opportunity to kiss the wall, but Xander's scent prevented
him from taking advantage of the situation. Xander had a tight grip on a
rage that Spike feared would spill out at any moment. His voice was oddly
calm when he lay a hot hand on Spike's arm and asked him to go inside. Spike
was so relieved that, judging by the touch, Xander wasn't angry with him
that he froze. Xander added, quietly and with equal calm, "Dawn is really
upset." So he did, go inside that is. One minute he had been ready to rend
something he saw as a threat to his mate and his minions and the next he had
had an unbelievable pang of sympathy for Angel. Xander was pissed,
apparently at Angel. *Glad it's not at me.*
When he entered through the back door into the practice room, Dawn threw
herself into his arms. Angel's minions stood open-mouthed as she cooed at
and petted him. He was worried until he discovered that all that was the
matter was she had been worried about him. *Odd that.* He knew he hadn't
been in any danger. His unlife was more in jeopardy from one of Willow's
experimental spells than from anything Angel might do to him, especially
when the soul was attached. He hauled her out to the research table and
pulled her into his lap and with teasing words set about quieting her fears.
When Xander and Angel didn't immediately follow them, he began to worry
about just what was going on out in the alley. It was strange to see Xander
angry. Spike wasn't sure, as he quickly reviewed his memories of the boy, if
he could recall ever seeing that white-hot rage even before they were
lovers. Spike had spent quite a bit of time purposely irritating the boy and
even after the whole betrayal with Adam, Xander had never sounded more than
annoyed or exasperated. Anger, real anger, just didn't seem to be in tune
with his sunny disposition. At times Spike had scented unbelievable grief,
deep fear, and a wealth of happy loving emotions, but the scent his lover
had emitted in the ally was new. It seemed only the magnificent poof was
capable of inspiring such intensity of feeling in his Xander. While he
stroked Dawn's hair, Spike watched for the two of them. Angel came in from
the back room only a moment after Xander. Spike wondered if he was jealous
of the past that Xander shared with his Sire. Granted, it had all been bad,
but it was time Angel had with Xander the he would never be able to erase.
He was less than pleased by the way Angel was watching his Xander; he was
paying far too much attention to him for Spike's comfort. Hate and love were
often the flip sides of the same coin. Intense love could often turn to
equally intense hate. Spike had seen quite a bit of that - it was one of
Angelus' favorite games. *So what does this tosser think he knows, hum? He
can't have my boy. He tries any of his tricks, he's dust.*
Dawn seemed to notice Spike watching Angel and Angel watching Xander, and
she shivered in her spot on his lap. After a moment she whispered to him,
"You know the sooner we slay, the sooner they leave." Spike nodded, but kept
a wary eye on Angel and his minions.
~~~
Spike was relieved when Xander stepped down from his battle of wills with
Rupert and took Dawn out of potential danger. When they had decided to give
Red's plan for gathering more information a go he had a flashback on just
how successful her ‘will be done' spell had been. Not that ending up with a
lapful of amorous Slayer was such a bad memory - no matter how many times
Xander teased him about the ‘Wind Beneath My Wings' incident - but all his
instincts said to keep Dawn far away from any untried spells. The first part
of the evening wasn't too exciting. It involved Rupert producing a detailed
map of Sunnydale and the surrounding area. Tara spread it on the research
table, chanting over the fist-sized crystals that she used to ring its
edges. Willow's voice was a soft descant to Tara's chant, and she dowsed
with a sky-blue piece of agate hung on a silver chain. Once both witches
were in agreement that the spot to perform their as yet untested spell was
Lainer's bluff, they packed up the huge scrying bowl and various magic
ingredients, along with the book in which Willow had discovered the spell.
Angel and his minions piled into his car while Spike and the witches rode in
Giles' convertible.
Once at the bluff they parked the cars and headed up to the moonlit cliff.
While the witches walked the area to chose the best spot to attempt the
summoning, Wesley and Giles compiled a list of questions. If it worked, the
trick would not be getting information, but getting the right information.
Willow had proposed summoning air elementals called sprites. Any elemental
was dangerous. The fact that this particular elemental was a well-known
gossip and privy to all sorts of useless and useful information did not mean
they were incapable of doing harm. Spike had crossed paths with any number
of supernatural creatures over the course of his unlife; that was what
accounted for his impressive knowledge of languages and cultural nuances. He
had never come across sprites, though. It might have something to do with
them not liking vampires. *Now, should I mention that to the Poof? No.* It
wasn't just the usual bad karma associated with vampires and their blood
lust; apparently the little critters took the whole not breathing thing as
an insult.
The witches picked a flat open space about thirty feet from the lone gnarled
tree that fought for purchase on the windswept bluff. They filled the bowl
with bottled water and the girls took turns adding the ingredients. Spike
cautiously stepped back to keep his minions in view and lit a cigarette,
sucking in deep and exhaling a cloud of smoke. Slowly, their soft feminine
voices were joined by first one and then many whispers and giggles. The
voices were of indeterminate gender and had no fixed direction from which
they originated. Small, glowing blue lights emerged from the moonlight and
swirled around the witches and then spread out to dip and bob around the
rest of the group. The ones who swooped near Angel darkened and their
giggles became scolding chatters. Spike exhaled a billowing cloud of smoke
as the critters approached him and those sprites wheeled away to join in
chastising Angel. The sprites hovering near Cordelia brightened and made a
trilling sound. The noise seemed to summon the others and soon the whole
glittering cloud was swarming around the seer. Since the leggy brunette had
their attention, Giles handed the girl the list of questions he and Wesley
had compiled. The questions were specific and the whole mass of tiny
elementals answered yes or no in unison. Things were going swimmingly until,
in exasperation Cordelia asked a question not on the list. The sprites
formed a whirlwind of light and sound. They took off in a million different
directions and returned at random each trying to convey a separate message.
As the sprites all homed in on the girl she crouched down and covered her
head, squealing in frustration at her inability to understand them. Angel
came to her rescue, lifting her up into his arms. This, while not acting as
sprite repellent, did slow their swooping and lower the excited volume of
their chatter.
"Spike, this isn't going as I planned." Willow tugged on his arm and pulled
him back away from the swirling mob. Tara looked frightened and stood near
Giles and Wesley.
"Does it ever?" Spike snorted and was instantly contrite when he saw tears
form and her lip quiver. He pulled the little witch under his arm and added,
"It's not going that badly. You got some of your questions answered."
"But they told us about that thing, the one that would help stop the
Hellmouth from opening or could be what is going to be used to open it. That
doesn't do any good if we don't know which it is or what it is or where it's
at." While she babbled, Tara carefully skirted the storm of sprites that
surrounded Angel and Cordelia. They had now been joined by Gunn, as he
shielded Cordelia's other side from her chattering friends.
Tara took Willow's hand and said, "This isn't getting us anywhere. Do you
understand what they're saying?" She directed the question to Spike and
looked at him with hopeful eyes.
"You understand what they're saying, we all do." Spike sighed needlessly.
"Trouble is, you can't get just one of them to talk. This sounds like a New
York metro terminal during rush hour."
"If we could have only got one more question asked. If we knew the location
of this ….thing, maybe we could find out the rest in research." Willow said,
still looking about to cry. The fact the she hadn't shaken off his arm clued
Spike in more than the way she tightly clutched at Tara's hand.
"Well, the conversation is over, but we can still see them. Go on, Red, ask
them to show you where this thing is." Spike gently propelled the witches
toward the cloud of sprites. Oddly enough, it worked. Not the first time,
when Willow asked, but once Cordelia caught on and voiced the question, the
creatures responded. As before, they began to leave and return but this time
it was not at random. The mass of sprites swooped first in one direction
then the other. They swirled back and forth until even Spike was regretting
the recent solid food he had consumed. When Cordelia took a tentative step
in the direction which they were undulating in, they broke into ecstatic
chitters and swirled faster. The sprites led them to the single tree and
after pulsing up and down above the ground and showing signs of their
returning frustration, Gunn suggested that they dig. Not having come
equipped for this contingency, it was up to the vampires to move the soil by
hand. As they peeled back the covering sod the sprites burst in to a
glittering display of light and sound. Gunn had interpreted the movement
correctly. Once the object - a grapefruit sized sphere of indeterminate
origins - was revealed, a sigh passed through both the sprites and the
living members of the supplicants.
Giles recommend not asking any more questions, as, if they did not luck into
a solution a second time, they may not have to worry about the Hellmouth,
having been destroyed by angry elemental. Tara emptied the bowl of water and
herbs into the hole and Spike helped her refill the hole with dirt. The
spell had been hacked together by Willow from three others and the herbs
assembled on short notice when they stopped at a supermarket on the way to
the bluff. From the offerings she had picked up there, Willow now scattered
rice, pistachios and endive over where the hole had been and Tara gave Cordy
a bag of brightly colored feathers to give to her new friends when she said
thank you. They headed back to the store and the Watchers immediately set
about trying to find out what the sphere was and what it did. Willow
answered the store's phone, which had been ringing when they entered. Spike
heard her reassuring Dawn that no, there had not been a disaster; yes, they
had got some information; yes, they were all fine; and no, Angel and Spike
had not dusted each other. Spike waited only to hear that the girl was
safely ensconced at a neighbor's, with whom she was spending the night, and
that Xander had opted to fill the time with one of his ongoing projects at
the Summers' house.
He immediately set out, leaving by the back door. He wanted to fill Xander
in, letting him know that the dangerous part of the evening was probably
over and that he could come join the others since Dawn was safe. It had
never taken him long to travel from the shop to the Summers' house. When he
traveled alone, unlike when he had Dawn with him, he could make the trip in
a matter of minutes. It was quicker on foot, owing to the fact that he
rarely used the streets. Like when he hunted, Spike's route gave little
thought to the established boundaries of personal property and often took
him across roofs, through trees, sewers and back yards. Spike strolled into
the back yard of the Summer's house, noting the light spilling from the
kitchen windows. He had lost count of the number of nights he had stopped by
that back door and Joyce home alone, with the girls out living lives of
their own, had invited him in for a mug of hot chocolate. In the process of
sharing her day with him she often asked the questions it had never occurred
to the children to ask. Not just how he was doing physically but if he still
had heard from any friends he had when he and Dru were together and whether
he was ‘socializing', as she had so discreetly put it. He knew she read a
lot of her own relationship with her ex into him and Dru, but he never tried
to set her straight. He wasn't sure he could have made her understand how he
was less lonely after they had split. He didn't have the words to show what
it had been like when they had been together, how he had spent all his time
trying to connect with someone who so seldom seemed aware that he was any
more than a large male version of Miss Edith. No, he definitely was not
ready to visit Joyce's kitchen.
He circled around to the front of the house. The front porch light shown,
just like it always had when Joyce was waiting for Buffy to come home from
patrol. His boy had done some work on the front walk though and the crooked
flagstone had been relayed and was level with the rest. Xander stopped by
the house a couple times a week, usually sometime after work but before they
either patrolled or went home for the evening. Never less than an hour but
never more than three. His visits were supposed to be getting the house
ready to sell. Spike suspected he was delaying but didn't mention it the way
Willow did. He figured Xander had his own happy memories of this house,
which he was just as reluctant to part with. The front door held its own
significance to Spike and he paused before it. He remembered that night,
standing there in the doorway, content to wait outside just relieved that
Buffy trusted him enough to let him accompany her that far. He had seen her
start up the stairs and then turn to him. How often had he played those few
earth shattering words "you can come in Spike."? What had she been thinking?
He longed to ask her and wished there had been time that night. Did she
think it didn't matter because the world would end? Had she realized his
sincerity? Had she thought about it at all? It was entirely possible that
the single most important event in his life, until that moment, had meant
nothing at all to her. He shook off that line of thinking, wondering how
long he had stood wool gathering on the porch. Steeling himself, he opened
the front door and stepped resolutely across the threshold.
Part 9
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