Xander hesitated and then took the short cut down the alley. It was
getting late but somehow now that he knew what was lurking in the
shadows, he was less afraid of it. Carrying a stake around had taken a
bit of getting used to, but now the weight of it in his pocket was
comforting.
Heâd almost reached the well lit street when the shadows to his left
shook and shimmied and rearranged themselves. Heâd always thought of
vampires as being fast; heâd never realised quite how still a creature
who didnât need to breathe could be.
Then he looked at the face of the vampire who had stopped him and the
stake seemed as solid as sawdust.
“I know you,” Spike said, letting his game face dissolve and tilting
his head as he studied Xander curiously.
“Donât think weâve ever been introduced,” Xander said, surprising
himself by actually being able to form a sentence.
“Oh, trust me, pet...any friend of Angelâs is just one of the family.”
“Not a friend. More of a -” Xander came to a halt. Trying to describe
his feelings for Angel would get complicated. Of course, it wasnât
likely heâd live to finish the story.
“Not? Pissed you off too, has he? Canât say Iâm surprised. Always was a
bloody-minded bastard. Do you think he really would have let me take a
nibble? That whatâs bothering you?”
“It didnât help,” Xander admitted, edging to the side. Maybe he could
run really, really fast...might make it as far as that crate, bring it
crashing down behind him, so Spike tripped on it and fell down,
spitting curses as he, Xander, escaped to live another day...no.
Fantasies were all well and good but when your life expectancy was
measured in minutes it was time to concentrate.
“If you kill me, the Slayerâs going to come after you. Iâm one of her
best friends.”
Spike rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. Iâm the meanest vampire in this
town as Angelâs down with a bad case of soul-having. She should be
coming after me already. Girlâs got a sacred duty, hasnât she? And if
sheâs so much of a friend, how come she didnât tell you not to go into
places like this?” Spike glanced down and grinned. “Is that a stake in
your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?” he mocked.
“Itâs a stake!” Xander said, his voice squeaking high. OK, that
probably wasnât the best thing to do; telling Spike he had a weapon,
but the alternative was...well it wasnât an alternative.
“Really? Donât like them. Got this tendency to turn people like me all
dusty. Mind if I take a look?”
Spike shoved Xander backward, until he reached the wall, and laughed up
at him, letting his hand wander as he pretended to search for the
stake. “Not here...no...oh, now this is interesting...but itâs not a
good place to keep it. No time to unbutton...and unzip...and pull this
out when youâre in the middle of a fight.”
Xander squeezed his eyes shut. This wasnât happening. He wasnât up
against a wall, rock hard and aching, with Spikeâs cool fingers
stroking him harder and harder and ...
“Xander!”
His head jerked up, “What!”
Giles sighed and said, in the patient tone that made yelling seem
friendly, “I asked - twice - if you had anything to add to Buffyâs
account?”
Xander gave Buffy a hunted look as his fantasy was dragged into the
daylight. “No. She was just a few yards behind me. Spike grabbed me,
saw her, took off. End of story.”
Giles gave him an exasperated look, as if that hadnât been worth
waiting for. “I see. Well, we can only assume he was simply hunting and
happened to choose you by chance. I canât think it was premeditated.”
It was. I was offered to him and he wants me. Oh, God, heâll come
after
me again. Oh, God, I want him to.
“Yeah, thatâs it. Not like he really wanted my - me - my me - meat. Uh.
I gotta go.”
Xander left running and Giles stared after him. “Buffy, Iâve never
really felt I understood Xander, but did he just seem -?”
“Extra wigged? Yes.” Buffy nodded wisely. “Whole big, not liking to be
saved by a girl thing. When I caught up to him he looked sort of
disappointed, you know? As if he thought he could handle Spike by
himself.”
Giles looked shocked. “I think Spike would be more than a match for
him! Good Lord. I trust he was properly grateful when he realised how
lucky he was?”
Buffy pouted. “Not so you could notice.”
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