LBSBSS 07
Title: Little Bit Strange, But Still Special
Author: Feygan
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Anita Blake
Characters: Spike/Xander
There was something in the line of Spike's back that told Xander he needed a rescue. There was a lot of Angelus-shaped baggage in Spike's history, things he'd never dealt with. so even knowing it was a bad idea to draw attention to himself, Xander put himself forward.
"Fey?" Angelus raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Xander said. He forced himself to look relaxed even though the situation was weird: a bunch of angry vampires and lycanthropes ready to lunge forward at the first sign of an opening, Anita Blake held on her tippy-toes by Darla's hand clamped around her neck, and Angelus looking at him as though he'd found a new toy. Xander could have done without the interest--being fascinating to a psychopath was not a good thing at all.
"We're on what I suppose you'd call my walkabout or Rumspringa," Xander said. "I get to see the human world and Spike keeps me safe. Your William's is the last face he chose. We weren't expecting to see it here."
"And who are you that you need a bodyguard?" Angelus asked.
Xander shrugged. "I told them I would be find alone, but my family is protective." And how weird was it that he was thinking of Angel and Wesley when he said that? He wondered which one he saw as his mom and which one his dad, then had to hold back an inappropriate grin. Angel was definitely the hulking mama bear type, plus fey were matriarchal from what he'd read.
Spike must have been doing that weird Xander mind reading thing. "It would cause an incident if anything were to happen to us," Spike said. "His mother's the worrying sort, and I've seen her torture and kill the childer of her enemies before she even bothered with the ones she was after. She's a real queen of the night type. Master of vast domains and all that."
"If she's so important, then why would she bother with something like you?" William demanded.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Spike asked, thickening his accent to obnoxious levels.
William opened his mouth to say something--most likely an insult--but Angelus' raised hand silenced him.
"Why are you involving yourself here?" Angelus looked at Xander, scraped his gaze across him until Xander wanted to cover himself with his hands.
Xander licked his lips, then wished he hadn't when Angelus' eyes followed the motion. Don't tempt the psychopath, he thought half-hysterically.
"As you can see, I am a male of my kind," he said. "I don't much like violence outside of the Bloodlust. Plus we've been working here, which gives us some obligation to return Jean-Claude's hospitality. So I feel like I should tell you that killing the Executioner might not be a good idea."
"And why's that?" Angelus asked, intrigued.
"Because I'm a Seer, and I can tell you that killing Anita Blake does not end well for you." Xander kept his back straight and met Angelus' eyes.
There was a sense of pressure, but Angelus couldn't roll him. Xander kept his relief hidden, but he'd been afraid he was being a fool, that Angelus would be able to plow right through him. Thank Zeus for wacky demon powers coming to the rescue.
"Hm. You're an interesting boy, fey Xander. I wonder what you look like inside, all red and bones, or something new to play with." Angelus stared at him a minute longer, making Xander seriously worry about peeing himself. Finally Angelus turned to Jean-Claude. "Peace for now, dear friend. We'll take your human with us and leave her at the end of the block when we go. We'll have a tete-a-tete at your Circus in two nights."
"You're not taking me anywhere you urk--" Anita's shout choked off. Darla kept squeezing long enough that Anita went limp from lack of oxygen, but not long enough to kill her.
"Your word that you won't try to keep her?" Jean-Claude asked with what had to be forced calm. His eyes were glowing like a jack-o-lantern, an almost neon blue.
Angelus' lips curved up. "My word as an Aurelius."
Which probably means nothing, Xander thought. Though maybe things were different in this world than at home, where Angelus had been a lying murdering fiend.
"Very well. We will meet in two nights," Jean-Claude said.
"And you will offer proper hospitality?" Angelus asked.
"Oui. There will be much blood for you to sample."
"Let's go," Angelus said. He glanced at Xander. "You should come to our party, interesting boy. I haven't tasted fey blood in much too long." He grinned.
They left as suddenly as they'd arrived. Angelus boldly strutted toward Jean-Claude's guys, who parted before him like he was a king. William carried Drusilla in his arms like a fairy tale bride, her long dress fluttering against his legs. Darla took Anita, a couple of Jean-Claude's vamps going with to make sure he got her back. And Xander sagged against spike's side in relief that neither of them were dead--managing to slip Spike a mini-squirt gun in case they were about to have a close encounter of the fang-faced variety.
Jean-Claude stood in the middle of the room, his face blank and his body motionless. Asher was at his side, golden blond hair falling over one side of his face, hiding it. Richard was pacing in small circles, muscles flexing through his shirt. His werewolves echoed their leader's agitation. They'd been ready for a fight, and it would take time for them to come down from the adrenaline high.
Everything was a lock for about ten minutes. Then the doors reopened and the two vampires were back, one of them carrying a complaining Anita.
Life flooded back into Jean-Claude's face. "Ma petite." He rushed over to check on her as she was seated on a chair.
"I'm fine," she growled, slapping his worried hands away. "I'm going to kill that bitch next time I see her." She rested her elbows on the round table in front of her, massaging the reddened flesh of her neck. She was going to have an impressive set of fingerprint bruises.
Jean-Claude sighed and turned away from her, obviously used to her rejecting his fussing concern. Xander felt a bit sorry for him, except that Jean-Claude immediately turned toward him and Spike, finely drawn nostrils flaring.
"And who are you gentlemen, that have entered my territory without a single greeting?" Jean-Claude asked. "You, who have even gone so far as to seek employment at one of my establishments."
"It's like Xander said, we're fey." Now that Angelus was gone, Spike seemed to have his usual attitude back. "We don't follow the usual rules of men and beasts, now do we? We go where we like when we like, and we're outside of the normal laws."
Xander wished he hadn't shared that particular book with Spike. The etchings had been wonderfully detailed and they'd had a lot of fun acting out some of the scenes, but there was a chance Spike was going to get them killed. After all, if vampires were different in this world, the fey had to be too, and they hadn't put in a whole lot of research on the local fairy folk. Just enough to know that salt and iron was useful to keep around.
"Besides, it was good that we were here, otherwise you'd have lost your lady love when Angelus called your bluff," Spike said.
"Angelus? That was Liam of Aurelius," Jean-Claude said.
"Well pardon me," Spike said. "He reminded me of another sadistic bloke I once knew. A fellow that loved to play with his good and happily broke everyone else's toys just because he could."
"It seems as though you do know Liam," Asher said, laying a hand on Jean-Claude's arm. "Perhaps we should take this elsewhere. The humans are beginning to stir."
"You will come with us," Jean-Claude said, staring at Spike. He'd already figured out which one of them was the dangerous one, or at least the one more likely to go on a berserker rampage.
"What about the girl?" Xander asked. She was still huddled on the floor, her arms wrapped around herself. "She needs a hospital."
"I'll call Zebrowski," Anita said, not lifting her head from her arms. "We can drop her off at the hospital on the way. What's few hours of explanation tomorrow morning?" She trailed off into discontented muttering.
Spike moved in front of Xander. "Your word that you won't try anything against me and mine?"
"Unless you are an active danger, we will only be talking tonight," Jean-Claude said. From the close way he was watching Spike's face, he must have known that fey took promises seriously.
TBC...
Author: Feygan
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Anita Blake
Characters: Spike/Xander
There was something in the line of Spike's back that told Xander he needed a rescue. There was a lot of Angelus-shaped baggage in Spike's history, things he'd never dealt with. so even knowing it was a bad idea to draw attention to himself, Xander put himself forward.
"Fey?" Angelus raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Xander said. He forced himself to look relaxed even though the situation was weird: a bunch of angry vampires and lycanthropes ready to lunge forward at the first sign of an opening, Anita Blake held on her tippy-toes by Darla's hand clamped around her neck, and Angelus looking at him as though he'd found a new toy. Xander could have done without the interest--being fascinating to a psychopath was not a good thing at all.
"We're on what I suppose you'd call my walkabout or Rumspringa," Xander said. "I get to see the human world and Spike keeps me safe. Your William's is the last face he chose. We weren't expecting to see it here."
"And who are you that you need a bodyguard?" Angelus asked.
Xander shrugged. "I told them I would be find alone, but my family is protective." And how weird was it that he was thinking of Angel and Wesley when he said that? He wondered which one he saw as his mom and which one his dad, then had to hold back an inappropriate grin. Angel was definitely the hulking mama bear type, plus fey were matriarchal from what he'd read.
Spike must have been doing that weird Xander mind reading thing. "It would cause an incident if anything were to happen to us," Spike said. "His mother's the worrying sort, and I've seen her torture and kill the childer of her enemies before she even bothered with the ones she was after. She's a real queen of the night type. Master of vast domains and all that."
"If she's so important, then why would she bother with something like you?" William demanded.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Spike asked, thickening his accent to obnoxious levels.
William opened his mouth to say something--most likely an insult--but Angelus' raised hand silenced him.
"Why are you involving yourself here?" Angelus looked at Xander, scraped his gaze across him until Xander wanted to cover himself with his hands.
Xander licked his lips, then wished he hadn't when Angelus' eyes followed the motion. Don't tempt the psychopath, he thought half-hysterically.
"As you can see, I am a male of my kind," he said. "I don't much like violence outside of the Bloodlust. Plus we've been working here, which gives us some obligation to return Jean-Claude's hospitality. So I feel like I should tell you that killing the Executioner might not be a good idea."
"And why's that?" Angelus asked, intrigued.
"Because I'm a Seer, and I can tell you that killing Anita Blake does not end well for you." Xander kept his back straight and met Angelus' eyes.
There was a sense of pressure, but Angelus couldn't roll him. Xander kept his relief hidden, but he'd been afraid he was being a fool, that Angelus would be able to plow right through him. Thank Zeus for wacky demon powers coming to the rescue.
"Hm. You're an interesting boy, fey Xander. I wonder what you look like inside, all red and bones, or something new to play with." Angelus stared at him a minute longer, making Xander seriously worry about peeing himself. Finally Angelus turned to Jean-Claude. "Peace for now, dear friend. We'll take your human with us and leave her at the end of the block when we go. We'll have a tete-a-tete at your Circus in two nights."
"You're not taking me anywhere you urk--" Anita's shout choked off. Darla kept squeezing long enough that Anita went limp from lack of oxygen, but not long enough to kill her.
"Your word that you won't try to keep her?" Jean-Claude asked with what had to be forced calm. His eyes were glowing like a jack-o-lantern, an almost neon blue.
Angelus' lips curved up. "My word as an Aurelius."
Which probably means nothing, Xander thought. Though maybe things were different in this world than at home, where Angelus had been a lying murdering fiend.
"Very well. We will meet in two nights," Jean-Claude said.
"And you will offer proper hospitality?" Angelus asked.
"Oui. There will be much blood for you to sample."
"Let's go," Angelus said. He glanced at Xander. "You should come to our party, interesting boy. I haven't tasted fey blood in much too long." He grinned.
They left as suddenly as they'd arrived. Angelus boldly strutted toward Jean-Claude's guys, who parted before him like he was a king. William carried Drusilla in his arms like a fairy tale bride, her long dress fluttering against his legs. Darla took Anita, a couple of Jean-Claude's vamps going with to make sure he got her back. And Xander sagged against spike's side in relief that neither of them were dead--managing to slip Spike a mini-squirt gun in case they were about to have a close encounter of the fang-faced variety.
Jean-Claude stood in the middle of the room, his face blank and his body motionless. Asher was at his side, golden blond hair falling over one side of his face, hiding it. Richard was pacing in small circles, muscles flexing through his shirt. His werewolves echoed their leader's agitation. They'd been ready for a fight, and it would take time for them to come down from the adrenaline high.
Everything was a lock for about ten minutes. Then the doors reopened and the two vampires were back, one of them carrying a complaining Anita.
Life flooded back into Jean-Claude's face. "Ma petite." He rushed over to check on her as she was seated on a chair.
"I'm fine," she growled, slapping his worried hands away. "I'm going to kill that bitch next time I see her." She rested her elbows on the round table in front of her, massaging the reddened flesh of her neck. She was going to have an impressive set of fingerprint bruises.
Jean-Claude sighed and turned away from her, obviously used to her rejecting his fussing concern. Xander felt a bit sorry for him, except that Jean-Claude immediately turned toward him and Spike, finely drawn nostrils flaring.
"And who are you gentlemen, that have entered my territory without a single greeting?" Jean-Claude asked. "You, who have even gone so far as to seek employment at one of my establishments."
"It's like Xander said, we're fey." Now that Angelus was gone, Spike seemed to have his usual attitude back. "We don't follow the usual rules of men and beasts, now do we? We go where we like when we like, and we're outside of the normal laws."
Xander wished he hadn't shared that particular book with Spike. The etchings had been wonderfully detailed and they'd had a lot of fun acting out some of the scenes, but there was a chance Spike was going to get them killed. After all, if vampires were different in this world, the fey had to be too, and they hadn't put in a whole lot of research on the local fairy folk. Just enough to know that salt and iron was useful to keep around.
"Besides, it was good that we were here, otherwise you'd have lost your lady love when Angelus called your bluff," Spike said.
"Angelus? That was Liam of Aurelius," Jean-Claude said.
"Well pardon me," Spike said. "He reminded me of another sadistic bloke I once knew. A fellow that loved to play with his good and happily broke everyone else's toys just because he could."
"It seems as though you do know Liam," Asher said, laying a hand on Jean-Claude's arm. "Perhaps we should take this elsewhere. The humans are beginning to stir."
"You will come with us," Jean-Claude said, staring at Spike. He'd already figured out which one of them was the dangerous one, or at least the one more likely to go on a berserker rampage.
"What about the girl?" Xander asked. She was still huddled on the floor, her arms wrapped around herself. "She needs a hospital."
"I'll call Zebrowski," Anita said, not lifting her head from her arms. "We can drop her off at the hospital on the way. What's few hours of explanation tomorrow morning?" She trailed off into discontented muttering.
Spike moved in front of Xander. "Your word that you won't try anything against me and mine?"
"Unless you are an active danger, we will only be talking tonight," Jean-Claude said. From the close way he was watching Spike's face, he must have known that fey took promises seriously.
TBC...