1 The Long Summer 8
"Okay, so let me get this straight. You killed the father, had tea with the mother, then killed both her and the baby?"
"No, well yes to the first part, but I didn't have tea with them. Dru did that."
'Man, that's – sick."
Spike shrugged. "That's the way it was. 'Sides, I figure that they would have probably died anyway. Where do you want these?"
"Over there." Xander pointed Spike and the wheelbarrow full of bricks towards the framing. "And what do you mean you figure they would have died anyway? Random accidentally falling onto paring knives?"
"No." Spike shook his head and started offloading the bricks into a neat stack. "It was winter. They were on the outskirts of Paris, not much in the way of supplies and not much help from the family in the city."
"But you don't know for sure." Xander walked in a circle around him and mixing the mortar with a long stick.
"So?" He finished emptying the wheelbarrow and pushed it back by the exit. You gonna need this wood out here?" He pointed a thumb towards the stacks in the back of the pickup.
"In a bit, you can stack them by the counter – well, where the counter was. I need to frame one up and reinstall it." Xander settled down and started to lay the brick with a fresh spate of mortar between each one. "And so – " He called after Spike. "You don't KNOW that they would have died. So that still makes them victims. I can't see how you did them a favor."
"Didn't say we did them a favor. We're vampires. We were hungry. They were available." Spike hoisted the 2x4s as if they were nothing and carried them in ten at a time. "It's the way it works, mate. You can shake it anyway you like, but vampires feed on humans. That's just the way it is. Anyway, it's your turn."
Sighing, Xander settled another brick neatly into place. "Cordelia broke up with me on Valentine's Day – a few years ago. I was pretty whacked about it. So I went to see Amy – she's a witch. Blackmailed her into doing a love spell."
He could feel Spike staring at him and shrugged a little.
"It was stupid. But I wanted her to fall in love with me so I could dump her and make her understand how much it hurt. Course, my luck being the brilliant thing that it was, she was the only one protected from the love spell and everyone and I mean EVERY other female in Sunnydale seemed to want a piece of me."
He paused in the silence and look over at the vampire who stood with one hand planted against the wall and the other obviously containing his mirth.
"It's not funny." Xander scowled. "They were like ravening lunatics. Even Buffy, she was going to beat the snot out of Amy and then Amy turned her into a rat."
That earned him an honest to goodness guffaw.
"It's not funny." But his lips started to twitch. "And Angelus was going to kill me – until Drusilla stopped him because she had a thing to." He almost couldn't hear himself over Spike's laughter and then he realized that he was starting to grin. "Okay, so maybe it's a little bit funny. But you should have seen Joyce with that axe."
"I have."
And both men laughed.
"Okay, so let me get this straight. You killed the father, had tea with the mother, then killed both her and the baby?"
"No, well yes to the first part, but I didn't have tea with them. Dru did that."
'Man, that's – sick."
Spike shrugged. "That's the way it was. 'Sides, I figure that they would have probably died anyway. Where do you want these?"
"Over there." Xander pointed Spike and the wheelbarrow full of bricks towards the framing. "And what do you mean you figure they would have died anyway? Random accidentally falling onto paring knives?"
"No." Spike shook his head and started offloading the bricks into a neat stack. "It was winter. They were on the outskirts of Paris, not much in the way of supplies and not much help from the family in the city."
"But you don't know for sure." Xander walked in a circle around him and mixing the mortar with a long stick.
"So?" He finished emptying the wheelbarrow and pushed it back by the exit. You gonna need this wood out here?" He pointed a thumb towards the stacks in the back of the pickup.
"In a bit, you can stack them by the counter – well, where the counter was. I need to frame one up and reinstall it." Xander settled down and started to lay the brick with a fresh spate of mortar between each one. "And so – " He called after Spike. "You don't KNOW that they would have died. So that still makes them victims. I can't see how you did them a favor."
"Didn't say we did them a favor. We're vampires. We were hungry. They were available." Spike hoisted the 2x4s as if they were nothing and carried them in ten at a time. "It's the way it works, mate. You can shake it anyway you like, but vampires feed on humans. That's just the way it is. Anyway, it's your turn."
Sighing, Xander settled another brick neatly into place. "Cordelia broke up with me on Valentine's Day – a few years ago. I was pretty whacked about it. So I went to see Amy – she's a witch. Blackmailed her into doing a love spell."
He could feel Spike staring at him and shrugged a little.
"It was stupid. But I wanted her to fall in love with me so I could dump her and make her understand how much it hurt. Course, my luck being the brilliant thing that it was, she was the only one protected from the love spell and everyone and I mean EVERY other female in Sunnydale seemed to want a piece of me."
He paused in the silence and look over at the vampire who stood with one hand planted against the wall and the other obviously containing his mirth.
"It's not funny." Xander scowled. "They were like ravening lunatics. Even Buffy, she was going to beat the snot out of Amy and then Amy turned her into a rat."
That earned him an honest to goodness guffaw.
"It's not funny." But his lips started to twitch. "And Angelus was going to kill me – until Drusilla stopped him because she had a thing to." He almost couldn't hear himself over Spike's laughter and then he realized that he was starting to grin. "Okay, so maybe it's a little bit funny. But you should have seen Joyce with that axe."
"I have."
And both men laughed.