This Is What You Get: Chapter 2
Title: This Is What You Get
Chapter 2: That Meant To Be Stuff
Author: AngelsRebellion
Pairing: Xander, Spike
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: I'm only allowed to play with them. Mommy says I have to give them back when I'm done.
Written for: spring_with_xan
Summary: Spike and Xander spend a little guy time in front of the tube.
Xander cursed under his breath. Anya was counting the till, stacking the bills in hundreds as she usually did. She peeked at him between stacks and Xander knew what was about to come. It’d been two weeks since Anya had last mentioned relocating to L.A. so the Magic Shop could turn a bigger profit. Two weeks since their huge fight about that very subject. He’d come home from the bar after his, dare he say it, conversation, with Spike and apologized to her for walking out the way he did. They’d hugged, they’d kissed, they’d had makeup sex and the subject hadn’t come up again.
As Xander watched Anya put the money back in the till, he had a feeling the subject was about to come up now. The Magic Shop was closed for the night so it was just the two of them. Xander was about to suggest they head home when Anya made her move.
“Xander, we need to talk,” she said, coming out from behind the counter.
“What’s up An’?” he asked, preparing himself for the argument that was soon to come.
“I was hoping you had thought more about what I said.” When Xander didn’t respond she added, “About moving to Los Angeles.”
Xander shook his head. Here we go. “I told you how I felt about that Anya.”
“Yes,” she said sweetly, resting her palms against his chest, “but I was hoping you had changed your mind.”
“I haven’t.”
Anya pushed away from him and stomped her foot. “But Xander! The Shop will never reach its profit potential if my customers keep getting eaten by demons!”
“Our lives don’t need to revolve around money An’. What about our friends?”
“Oh please,” she huffed. “They’re your friends Xander. They don’t even like me. They only tolerate me because we’re together.”
“That’s not tr-”
“And you know, I don’t much care for them either.”
Xander’s mouth fell open. “Wh-Huh?”
“Yeah. I mean, Buffy’s stuck up in her little ‘I’m the Slayer’ ego trip and Willow’s all snobby with her magic.” She was in full rant mode, pacing back and forth, her voice getting higher after every breath. “Tara’s the only one who really talks to me and that’s just because she’s so freakishly nice to everyone. And don’t even get me started on Giles.”
“I can’t believe you’re just now telling me this,” Xander said dumbstruck.
Anya stopped her pacing. “Well I am a nice person Xander. I’m not just going to blurt out that I don’t like your friends.”
“Isn’t that what you just did?”
“Oh it’s not the same.”
Xander shook his head. “I have no idea what to say right now.”
“Say you’ll move to Los Angeles,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Anya-” He was cut off by a loud banging at the shop’s entrance.
Spike stood on the outside, his fist pounding on the glass door. When he saw them looking at him, but not moving to let him in, he pounded harder and yelled through the glass, “Open the bloody door ya halfwits!”
Xander made to open the door, but Anya crossed her arms and yelled back at him, “We’re closed stupid! Come back tomorrow!”
Spike growled. “S’not like I can just pop on over during the day now can I ya crazy bint!”
Anya lifted a shoulder and said icily, “You know where the sewer entrance is.”
Spike’s face changed from royally pissed to eerily calm, his voiced raised just enough for them to hear him through the door. “If you don’t open the door, I’ll smash the bloody glass. Don’t need an invite for public buildings.”
“Xander raised an eyebrow towards Anya.
“Oh whatever,” Anya huffed, “Tell him to make it quick. I’ll be in the back and we’ll finish talking once he leaves.”
Xander waited until he heard the storage door open and close before unlocking the door. “What’s so important that it can’t wait, Spike?”
“Nothing really, just felt like pissin’ her off.” Spike shrugged as he walked over to the checkout counter. “Do need some burdock root though.”
“Isn’t burdock root used as a diuretic?” Xander asked as he went behind the counter where the burdock root was on display in the glass casing.
“Don’t be smart. Vampires don’t need diuretics. I use it as a cleanser.”
“To cleanse what?”
“Toxins from the pigs’ blood I’m forced to swill.”
“Oh. That’s…kind of intelligent of you.”
“Gee, thanks ya ponce. Just gimme the stuff so I can get out of here.”
“Whatever.” Xander filled a paper bag with a cup of burdock root and sealed it. “I’m not even going to pretend you have any intention of paying for this, so here,” he said, tossing the bag on the counter. “Just don’t tell Anya I gave something away for free.”
Spike pocketed the bag into his coat. He really hadn’t had any intention of paying for it. He nodded towards the storage room. “What’s up her arse anyway?”
Xander sighed. “You noticed huh?”
“Yeah, coz the bitch fit she threw at me was oh so subtle.”
“She brought up moving to L.A. again. Right before you got here. Oh and fun fact of the day: she hates my friends.”
“Can’t really blame her there,” Spike smirked.
Xander raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, cuz calling Dawn ‘Lil’ Bit’ says hate all over it.”
“An exception among idiots,” Spike huffed.
“Whatever,” Xander said, rolling his eyes. “You better go before Anya comes out and forces you to pay for that.”
Spike made to leave and hesitated. He turned back to Xander and asked, “You that eager to be cozied up alone with that bundle of joy?”
Xander’s eyes widened, wondering if he was hearing correctly. “Are you inviting me to hang, Vampire?”
Spike shrugged nonchalantly. “Just doin’ my ‘good deed’ of the century Harris. ‘Sup to you.”
Xander took a whole second to weigh his options. He grabbed his coat and yelled to the backroom, “An’, I’ll meet you at home in a few hours!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, all in all, hanging out with a vampire was pretty much the same as hanging out with your regular guy friends. Or, at least it would be the same if Xander actually had guy friends…
Xander and Spike were currently sitting in Spike’s “living room,” watching the Sports channel and drinking beer. Well, Xander was drinking beer and Spike was alternating between blood and beer. So with the ew. “So tell me again how you get cable in here?” he asked when a commercial popped up. They’d arrived at Spike’s crypt just in time to catch the start of a football game. Or as Spike preferred to call it, “Yankee Pansy Ball.”
Spiked grabbed a beer from the cooler between them. “S’pretty simple really. The groundskeeper has a cable wire running to the shed he works out of. I’m close enough to tap into the same wire s’all.”
Xander nodded, moderately impressed. “And I’m guessing the same goes for the electricity.”
“You’d guess right Harris.”
“So, this is what William the Bloody does in his free time,” Xander said, sweeping his arms out to the side. “Sits in front of the Sports channel with a cold beer, er, warm blood, and just chillaxes.”
Spike shrugged stiffly. “Not much a vampire on a leash can do for kicks.”
“So if you weren’t chipped you’d probably be out snacking on the locals.”
“Sounds ‘bout right, yeah,” Spike said with a wistful grin.
“Well,” Xander nodded, raising his beer bottle, “cheers to you being chipped then.”
Spike snorted but took a pull off his beer. “Ponce.”
“Speaking of ponces, what happened with the girl?” Xander asked.
“Girl?”
“The one you were having ‘woman troubles’ with.”
“Ah, that girl,” Spike said casually. “Tha’s over with, good riddance.”
“Yeah, you don’t sound bitter at all. What happened?”
Spike mentally recapped the last time Buffy had ‘dumped’ him. Course she’d done that plenty of times before, but this last time had been different. There’d been a finality to the words and for the life of him, Spike just didn’t have any more will in him to chase after someone who didn’t want him the same way he wanted them. “Didn’ work out is all.” He shrugged and added, “Wasn’t meant to be.”
Xander raised an eyebrow. “You believe in that ‘meant to be’ stuff?” he asked skeptically. One just didn’t look at Spike and think ‘Happily Ever After.’ Hell you didn’t even think it after staring at him for a few hours.
Spike looked at Xander, his head slightly tilted, his eyes showing complete sincerity. “Tha’s the most important ‘stuff’ Harris,” he said quietly, “The ‘meant to be’ is what makes this entire existence worthwhile.”
The last of the commercials ended and the Sports Announcer’s voice blasted through the silence that had followed Spike’s words. And just like that, Spike was yelling curses at the players on the screen and Xander was yelling at Spike for cursing out the home team.
-Ta-