Pairing: Xander/Spike - preslash
Rating: R
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Warning: Graphic violence and character death

Patience

by
Truly Tazi

In the end, we were all that was left. Just my boy and I. There'd been no doubt in my mind how it would all turn out. Some things are just meant to be. This was one of them. All I had to do was wait.

I'm not known for my patience, or my brilliant plannin' technique. People like the Slayer, or my wanker of a sire, would laugh if you suggested I had either. I fooled them all.

Yeah, it's true. I don't have the patience to see a plan through when it comes to the little things. They're just not worth the aggravation to me. But the bigger things, the things really worth havin'...well...that's different.

Yeah, I can be patient. Especially when the end result is worth the wait. Like watchin' the Slayer die. Glad I stuck around for that. Definitely worth all the shit I had to put up with over the years from her and her pals just to be there when it happened. Shame I wasn't the one to kill her, but I guess you can't have it all.

See, the Slayer was the first to go. Stupid bint never saw it comin'. She actually started to believe all that garbage her Watcher and friends had been feedin' her. The Chosen One. The oldest livin' slayer. Special because she was surrounded by loved ones, yadda , yadda, yadda, gag. Got to admit though, comin' back from the dead a few times would be enough to boost anyone's ego. Getcha to feelin' like maybe you were immortal or some such bollocks.

Loved the look on her face when the truth came crashin' home. Bet you think it was another apocalypse, or somethin' as dramatic as the Hellmouth openin' up and releasin' the next big bad. Nope. She was stabbed. Killed by another human. A scared kid no less, who she had just saved from a fledge. Bled out right there on the street in front of me. Could see it in her eyes, you know, the fear. Always comes to them in the end.

There was somethin' else there, too. Somethin' anyone else would've been surprised to see, but not me. She didn't want to die. She knew this time was for keeps, and she didn't want to go. She begged me, silently pleading for me to save her. The look on her face when I just shook my head no and walked away, was fuckin' priceless. Smoked a few fags and grabbed a bear at Willy's before goin' for help. Wanted to make sure she was really gone this time.

The next to fall was Dawn. Never stopped to think what might happen when she died, bein' the Key, and all this pent up cosmic energy. It was really quite beautiful. Nice little light show. I'm probably the only one who thought so, though.

With the Slayer gone, Niblet had to try to prove herself. I think she believed sharin' the Slayer's blood gave her somethin' extra. It didn't. She died on patrol. Got taken out by a fledge. As soon as her heart stopped beatin' she turned back into what she was. Lit up the whole bloody neighborhood. I felt somethin' like a soft caress against my face before the light faded. I think it was her way of sayin' goodbye. Don't know if the others felt anythin'. Don't care.

Losin' both the Slayer and the Niblet in such a short period of time was too much for the Witch. The Watcher thought she would snap again and take out the world. He was half right. She snapped. Ever seen a Witch commit suicide? Not pretty. Well, I guess it kind of is if you're a demon, but it even squicked me a little. And that's hard to do.

It was like the Witch sucked up all the negative energy in Sunnydale and then just...I don't know....spontaneously combusted or some such shit. It looked like her body was burnin' from the inside out. Skin meltin', eyeballs burstin', and the screamin' went on forever. Surprised the bloody hell out of me. All the torturin' I'd done over the years and I had no idea someone could scream that long.

Broke the whelp, though. Turned him into a blubberin' idiot. Watcher had to hospitalize him. They pumped him full of drugs and put him on 24 hour watch. Watcher stayed with him the whole time he was there. When they released him, he was quiet, not the laughin', jokin', donut boy he was before it all went bad. Watcher moved the boy into his place so he could keep an eye on him.

I just patiently watched and waited. It was bound to happen, and time was on my side.

Didn't take as long as I thought it would. The old man is a Watcher at heart even if he is retired. He couldn't just sit idly by and let things happen. Had to try to keep the hellmouth under control.

I tagged along as usual. Had to look out for my interest, don't you know. Kept a close eye on the boy. Wouldn't do to have him go and die on me now, this close to gettin' what I wanted.

The fight didn't take long. The final ones never seem to. The Zerlecht demon went for the boy. I knew he would, damn little demon magnet. So I waited 'till the last minute to pull him out of the way, knowin' the Watcher would be runnin' over to protect the whelp, too. Neither the demon nor the Watcher were able to stop or change course in time. They collided into each other, idiots. The demon assumed the Watcher was attackin' him, so it lashed out and impaled the old man with one of its many stingers, pumpin' him full of venom. In the chaos, I was able to rip off one of the stingers and shove it through the demon's eye, straight into its brain, killin' it. Felt fuckin' great.

Nasty stuff, Zerlecht venom. Kind of like spider venom. They pump it into their prey and it slowly dissolves their insides, turnin' them into a thick liquid the demon can suck out and ingest. A slow, painful way to die.

The boy was kneelin' by the Watcher's side, holdin' his hand, quietly cryin'. The old man knew he was dyin', and by the look on his face the venom was already startin' to work. I knelt down and looked him in the eye. All he said was 'please'. There was nothin' else to say. I could have walked away from him and left him to his sufferin' the way I did the Slayer, but I wouldn't. Unlike the others, he truly loved my boy. And that counted in my book.

I reached down and placed my hands on the sides of his head. We locked eyes for a second, and I whispered, "I'll take care of him." He accepted my words as truth, and closed his eyes. A quick jerk to the left and his sufferin' was over. Damn glad the bloody chip sizzled out about a year ago.

I stood up and looked down at the sobbin', quiverin' boy, and waited...patiently. When the cryin' stopped and his body no longer shook, he released the Watcher's hand and slowly looked up at me. I didn't move. This is what I had waited all this time for, and I wouldn't blow it now at the last minute.

He used his shirt sleeve to wipe away the tears and snot runnin' down his face. He lowered his eyes and crawled across the ground to kneel at my feet. There was nowhere else for him to go. I was all that was left. He hugged my legs and placed his cheek against my thigh. That's all I needed. He was finally mine.

I grabbed him under his arms and made him stand up. I fisted my hand in his hair and pulled him tight against me, embracin' him. He let out a sobbed croak, "Yours."

"Yes," I growled in his ear, and held him until he calmed.

Now I stand in the shadows and watch another puppy-eyed brunette, as he buries the last of his 'family'. I can see the pain eatin' away at his soul. Soon he'll be mine, too. I can wait. I have the patience.

The End