Chapter 2
Title: Botched Spell
Author’s:
cinderella81 and
batmanvinnie
Rating: Adult for yummy slashyness in this chapter!
Disclaimer: We are not Joss Whedon, we are not Mutant Enemy. We don’t own these characters and make no profit from this story.
Spoilers: Takes place after “Buffy vs. Dracula” in season 5. According to canon, Xander worked on that one construction job in the episode “Pangs” in season four. A few episodes later he was delivering pizza, then worked fast food again, before returning to construction., but assumes Xander didn’t start working construction until sometime in season 5, before episode 3, “The Replacement.” So this may be fudging the timeline a wee bit, but please bear with us.
Summary: Buffy casts a spell to create understanding between Spike and Xander. But it’s the Hellmouth, so of course something wonky happens.
Feedback: Please read and review! Constructive criticism welcome!
Spiked groaned, waking slowly. It was too early, probably no later than eight a.m.
Why the fuck am I awake? Oh, that noise. What’s that noise? Slowly, he opened his eyes, before slamming into full consciousness. He wasn’t in his crypt- he was in the Basement of Doom.
“Turn the alarm off,” came the whine. Looking to his right, he saw- Anya? Shaking his head in hopes of clearing it, he stared.
“Anya?” The former vengeance demon snarled, opening her eyes.
“What? Are you going to turn of the alarm Xander?”
Xander?! Looking down, Spike saw his body was suddenly broad and tan. Leaping from the bed, he ran to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. He leaned against the door, panting.
Okay, so I’m in Xander’s bedroom, in his bed. He looked down. Have his body. He smirked, running his, well, Xander's, but currently his, fingers down his body. Well well, young Xander has a nice body, and by the looks of things, he certainly isn't a boy anymore. A shiver of desire ran down his spine; sure he was suddenly in someone else’s body, but that didn’t stop him from getting hard at the knowledge that this was what Xander looked like naked. As he faced his reflection in the mirror, he was vaguely aware of Anya yelling at him while she turned off the alarm clock.
“Xander, you have to go to work in an hour! Remember, it's Saturday so you work at the restaurant all day. Oh, do you have time for more orgasms?”
Spike grinned, watching as Xander’s lips curled. Work, eh? Bloody Burger Barn. The boy- Xander, could do a hell of a lot better than that. Ideas flooded Spike’s brain and the possibilities were far too interesting for him to pass.
Jerking the door open, he quickly found and pulled on a pair of Xander’s boxers. Ignoring Anya’s questions, he jogged up the stairs and into the house. Listening carefully, he surmised that the fighting Harris’s were asleep. Quietly he made his way to the kitchen. He picked up the phone and dialed information.
“Sunnydale. I need the number for the Burger Barn.” As the operator searched, Spike smiled. No accent- he sounded just like the Scooby. Memorizing the number given, he hung up and then called the Burger Barn.
“Hey, this is Xander Harris. Can I talk to the manager?” He waited while the teenager with the cracking voice searched for the boss.
“Yeah, this is Don. What’s wrong Harris, another friend in the hospital? Or did you get jumped by hobos again? Either way, you’re not getting any time off so what the hell are you calling for.” Spike could hear the arrogant smirk in the manager’s voice. Suppressing a growl, he spoke.
“No. Just decided I’m tired of working of a tight assed idiot like yourself. I’m well-worth a better job; you don’t deserve me. I quit.”
“Yeah, like a dumb shit like you could-.”
“Fuck off, Don.” Spike slammed the phone into the cradle, then whistled as he walked back downstairs. He had a lot of work to do.
* * *
The road was filled with mist. He could see nothing to his left or his right, the fog an impermeable shroud, hiding all from Xander’s sight. He didn’t know where he was or what he was doing, but he kept walking. As he was walking, he passed Spike.
“What’s back that way?” Spike asked.
“Psycho girlfriend, psycho parents, lame-ass, stupid jobs. What’s back that way?”
“About a century of blood and killing, not to mention raping and pillaging, along with being deserted by all I’ve ever loved.”
“Creepy, yet somehow interesting.”
He turned and watched as Spike disappeared into the mist. Xander continued to walk, until he reached a dark area devoid of mist, a black and shapeless void. There was no where for him to go, nothing to do. So instead of searching for an exit, he simply dropped to the ground and sat. Somewhere in his life he’d given up, embracing the mediocre existence he figured was the destiny on the Harris family. He didn’t really have anything to fight to improve; he cared about Anya, but he didn’t see them going anywhere. Sooner or later she’d tire of him and move on.
A sudden foreboding drew him out of his morose thoughts. He looked up to find Spike crouched in front of him. Xander tried to speak, but Spike put his finger to his lips, stopping the babble that would have flowed. Gently, the vampire cupped Xander’s face with one hand, running his thumb over Xander's cheek. Xander's breath caught in his chest; the touch was so gentle, and Spike's eyes showed nothing but adoration.
Then the blond leaned forward and pressed his lips to Xander’s. The kiss was sweet and calm, with Spike's lips caressing his. Then a cool tongue flicked against Xander's lips. The human opened his mouth and met Spike's tongue with his own. Suddenly, Spike shoved him away. The Scooby landed on his back. He nervously watched the vampire still crouched at his feet. Spike's lips curved in a gentle smile that didn’t match the wicked gleam in the blue eyes. Skimming his hands up the jean-clad legs, Spike made his way up to Xander’s waist. He easily unbuttoned his pants, then leaned forward to nuzzle Xander's stomach. Spike raised his eyes, pinning Xander with his gaze, before using his teeth to unzip the fly.
A sudden spark of panic hit; Xander made a motion to sit up, but Spike used his unnatural speed and pushed Xander back down, plastering their lips together. Xander's lips parted without prodding, and he gasped as Spike devoured his mouth. He quickly fell into the kiss and forgot everything but the feel of the cool tongue sliding against his. Spike’s hands made their way down his body, tracing Xander's muscles before sliding into the boy’s jeans. The vampire slid his cool fingers into Xander’s boxers, stroking the hardened length. Xander whimpered, the noise swallowed by Spike hungry kisses. The fingers tugging on him were talented, touching the most sensitive areas. Arching his back, he felt his balls tighten.
Xander woke with a start, groaning. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the wet come sticking to his body and the sheets. Shit. Exhausted, he slowly opened his eyes. He immediately noticed that he wasn’t in his basement but in the basement of Spike’s crypt. What the hell am I doing here? Glancing over at the bedside table, he looked at the clock. Holy shit! It’s after noon! I’m so fired!
Jerking up into a sitting position, he winced. His body hurt; not too much pain but definitely a few bruised ribs. He looked at his arms; they seemed smaller, thinner. They had bruises all over them, and seemed paler. Did I get attacked by a vamp last night? He reached up to run a hand through his hair, he felt it plastered in place, crunchy from hair gel. Panic lodged in his throat and chest: a realization was surfacing, one that scared the hell out of him. Squeezing his eyes shut, he took a deep breath and steeled himself. Looking down, he raised the bed sheet. Eeep! That is not my penis! And I’m naked. Wow, I’m Spike, and Jesus, Spike really is the BIG Bad.
It was at that particular moment that everything sunk in. He was now in Spike’s body, which, if logic followed, would mean that Spike was in Xander’s body. Icy dread washed over him, deflating the erection that had mysteriously sprung up; Anya had been in his bed last night. What would Spike do to Anya? What would he do to his body? To his life?! He was now in a full-on panic; jumping out of bed and ignoring the various twinges of pain, he hurried over to the ladder and rushed up. Somewhere it registered that he was very naked and moving very fast . Throwing open the hatch, he saw the beam of sunlight right in front of him. He paused; he wasn’t breathing, so he was definitely a vampire. And having been a Scooby, he knew that vampires and sunlight were unmixy things.
Defeated, he went back downstairs and sat on the bed, groaning. He was hungry, very hungry. Studying the room, he noticed a small cooler in the corner. Standing, he went over and fished out a bag of blood. While his mind was revolted by the thought of drinking blood, his tummy was making happy rumbles of joy. Ripping open the bag, he poured the blood into a dented tin mug. A small hotplate rested by the cooler, plugged into an electrical outlet of dubious origin. All of it probably stolen, Xander thought. Walking over, he set the cup on the hotplate and turned it on. A few minutes later, the blood was warm.
“Well, here’s to being an evil, undead, blood-sucking fiend,” he toasted. He tossed the contents of the mug into his mouth. Gagging, he forced himself to swallow. The blood wasn’t maggoty-pork disgusting, but it tasted bitter, sour. It had a flatter taste compared to what he could recall of the taste of his own blood. After five years as a Scooby, he’d had enough busted lips to know what his own blood tasted like.
Yuck, pig's blood sucks. Must be the vampire senses; guess they do need human blood. Really isn’t that filling. Maybe I’ll get him some human for Christmas or something. If he doesn’t screw up my life too much.
Hunger satiated, he contemplated his circumstances. Xander put his hands on his head, and tried to think of what made this happen. No blind dates, not demon magic, no wierd cults... crap. He couldn’t think of a damn thing on his own, and he couldn’t leave until sunset. I’ll make a trip to the Magic Box tonight, and get Willow. Willow is smart, Willow is a witch, Willow will fix this. That decided, he sat in the bed and turned on Spike’s t.v. There were only soap-operas on, but it was better then nothing.
* * *
“What do you mean, you quit?” came the outraged screech.
“Anya, the job at the Burger Barn was crap,” Spike replied, trying to hide his anger.
“What are you going to use when you buy me gifts and take me out to dinner?” she yelled, searching the room. During her lunch break at noon, she’d returned to the basement. She was looking for her earrings, but found Xander not at work, tossing clothing into garbage bags.
Spike froze mid-reach, stifling a growl. That bitch had no respect for Xander. All she ever expected out of him was sex and gifts. Xander can do so much better than her.
“Working two jobs was killing me. I can get a better job, Ahn. I’m really getting the hang of this construction stuff.”
“Xander, you hardly even got either of those jobs! You need money!”
“What, you don’t think I can get a better job?” Chewing her lip, Anya looked at him.
“Well, of course you can, sweety, but maybe you should keep this job while you look for another one,” she said sweetly.
“You don’t think I can,” he whispered, understanding dawning. She thought Xander was worth a minimum wage job and mindless toil, nothing more. His anger surged forward. “You think this is all I’m worth! If that's all I’m good for, what the hell are you doing with me? Just using me for ‘orgasms?’”
Anya’s eyes flashed with anger and hurt. “Xander, I don’t- I don’t know. All I know is that you treat me like you don’t care what I was and I like that. But I hate this! I hate not having power, I hate being helpless, and I hate being afraid of ending up poor and homeless!” Tears filled her eyes as her chin trembled. “I care about you Xander, and you care about me. Can’t we just keep things the way they are?”
Spike’s anger melted; even when he was jealous, he’d always respected Anya’s honesty. “No, I can't live like this any more. Do you love me?”
She sighed, brow furrowed in throught. “I- I think so, but I think its like they say in Cosmo; I love you, but I’m not in love with you.”
“You’re human now Anya; you’re going to die someday. Do you really want to stay with me, or do you want to find someone who’ll love you?”
Her face paled slightly as her eyes darted around the room. “I guess someone who’ll love me,” she whispered. “So this is goodbye?”
“Yeah, it is.” Anya nodded sadly, approaching him. She enveloped Spike in a hug, before stepping away.
“Well, if you ever want to have orgasms together, you have my number.” That said, she turned and walked out the door. Spike watched her go before tossing the majority of the kid’s remaining clothes into the trash. He saved the novelty Star Trek and Star Wars shirts; he knew that he would eventually be forgiven for what he was going to do. But throwing away those shirts? He’d be staked for sure. Glancing around in disgust, he noticed a shoe-box marked “boring money stuff,” sitting on a bookshelf.
Spike grabbed it off the shelf and opened it. It was filled with bank statements and newspaper job clippings.
Huh, foreman, construction supervisor? Kid’s interested in that kind of work? He did some before, why the hell doesn’t he apply? Focusing on the bank statements, he observed that Xander actually had a good bit of money saved, probably hoping to find a place to live in. Slowly, a smirk that had one stricken fear into the hearts of Slayers, Watchers, minions and Nazis spread across his face.
He was owed a few favors by a Kilarian demon who was also a real-estate agent. She could probably get Xander a good place for a low deposit. He laughed; Xander wouldn’t recognize his life when he got it back.
* * * *
Giles unpacked some of the new merchandise. Anya was late coming back from her break, but she had mumbled something about going to Xander’s, and he certainly didn’t want to think too deeply on that. As he pulled out several books, he contemplated reducing the number of books for sale. According to the former vengeance demon, an antique bookstore was opening up in town, and Giles didn’t want to try to compete against a specialty shop. The bell rang as the door opened.
“Good afternoon, welcome-.” The words died on his lips as he looked up at the door. “What in the hell are you doing here Ethan?”