All Good Things…
Disclaimer: Lost the lease bid, own nothing. Maybe Santa will bring me pressies.
Summary: Just a bit of fun.
Reviews: I love reviews almost as much as I love Christmas. Readers rock but reviewers RULE!!
A/N: I swear upon my chocolate covered cherries and my stuffed Eeyore that I have no clue where most of this chapter came from. After the soundproofing, I lost control of the whole lot of them. Guess after all the angst my muse put them through, they wanted a spot of fun.
Rowan Rice, I'm really sorry. I tried, but Spike being the stubborn vamp that he is, just wouldn't go back to Buffy in this fic. Most of my other fics are Spuffy so that should tell you that I usually lean that way, it's just the blond menace wouldn't do it this time. Guess he didn't want Angel to stake him. Thanks for reading. I'll try to do better next time. ;-)
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Willow's eyes returned to her normal blue and her hair changed back to red. Spike eased out from behind Fred and rushed over to his fallen Sire. Cordy knelt next to the blond as he turned the older vampire onto his back.
Glancing up at Willow, Spike asked, "Was he supposed to do this?"
She shrugged, visibly shaken. "I don't know. They didn't give me any details. I was told the spell would anchor his soul, but they didn't say anything else."
Spike nodded grimly. "Come on Peaches, wake up."
Angel's eyes fluttered open. He groaned. "Damn, she packs a punch."
Spike grinned in relief. "That she does, Sire." The grin disappeared. "How do you feel?"
"Like some witch smacked me with a spell." Angel began to sit up groggily. Cordy and Spike supported the dark vampire on either side as he stood up. They led him over to the sofa against the wall. Willow hovered nervously while Tara tried to assure her that she'd done everything right.
The three of them collapsed onto the sofa. Angel looked at his two helpers. He smiled at Cordy. "I love you. Did you know that?" He said softly. She kissed him passionately. Spike cleared his throat as the kiss dragged on for more than a few minutes. They paid him no attention, so he got up and motioned for everyone to follow him.
"Right then. Let's let them test drive that new anchor." He suggested as he herded the group back into the main portion of the shop. He closed the door behind them and opened his link. 'Hey, Peaches. Try to keep it relatively quiet, okay?' He closed the link as he felt Angel's mental snicker. The blond wizard erected an invisible soundproof wall just in case the couple couldn't stay quiet. He felt he still had a teenager to protect. He felt confident because he'd felt his Sire's new peace within the soul. He knew the spell had worked. Spike noticed Willow's continued unease.
He walked over to her and hugged her tightly. "You did good, Red. Don't think we'll be seeing Angelus when they're done. I could feel the difference."
She smiled in relief. "Really?"
Spike planted a kiss on her forehead. "Yes, really." He assured her. He looked around. "I'm hungry. Anyone else?" A chorus of 'yeses' echoed throughout the room.
"Right then, what's your pleasure? Want to eat here or go out? Don't worry about the Old Man and his lady. I put up some soundproofing. We should be relatively safe from corruption." After some discussion, they all decided to stay there. Spike created a table full of tidbits for them to snack on. In addition to the other goodies, Fred requested tacos, to the amusement of several people in attendance. Dawn wanted pizza. Willow and Tara wanted cookies, earning them a chastising look from Giles. For himself, Spike provided ample amounts of spicy chicken wings. Soft drinks and beer were abundant. Soft music was playing although no one could find the stereo.
Xander cornered Spike while he was talking to Dawn apart from the main part of the crowd. "You promised me that you'd share." The brunette reminded his friend.
"Oh, right you are, Mate. Niblet, go talk to Big Sis. Harris and I have something we need to do." Spike kissed the teen on the forehead and gave her a little nudge toward the Slayer.
He looked around. "Where's the best place for this? We need a little privacy." The blond vampire motioned with the hand holding a beer toward the front door. "I guess we're stuck going outside. Come on."
Fred waylaid them on their way out of the shop. "What's this? You're going to cheat on me? With him? Shame on you." Her brown eyes sparkled as she teased her favorite vampire.
Spike snaked an arm around her slender waist, pulling her close and kissing her deeply. "It's just a thing, Sweetling. Be all over in just a few minutes. Want to watch?" An evil smile lit his handsome face.
"Hey!" Xander protested. "I really want to savor this so it better last more than a few minutes, Pal. I've been waiting for this for two days so it better be really good." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Spike.
Fred giggled. She knew what the two men were going to do. Teasing them was just so much fun. "As long as you give him back in good shape when you're done, you can borrow him." She told Xander solemnly. She kissed her love and pulled out of his grasp. "See you two later."
"Won't be long, Babe." Spike assured her, grinning. The men left the building to find the solitude Spike needed to transfer the memories Xander wanted.
In the shop, Fred went back to the buffet table only to be bombarded with questions. Dawn was the only one who wasn't curious, having been there when Spike promised to share the memories of torturing Warren with Xander.
"What's going on? Why are Xander and Spike leaving?" Buffy began searching for weapons so she could follow and help if needed. Giles glanced up from the books that were continuing to absorb his attention, to Lorne's amusement. Wes had joined him, pointing out various aspects of the texts that he's previously discovered. Willow and Tara were sitting at the table talking quietly as Willow was pretty drained from the spell.
Fred smiled serenely. "They're not leaving. Xander just wanted to know something and Spike wanted some quiet so he could give him the information he wants. They'll be back in a little while." She looked over the table, searching for the tacos she knew her vampire would not let run out. 'Ah, there they are.' She thought.
"What information? Is there danger?" Buffy persisted, her concern for Xander startling some of the onlookers. Giles suppressed a smile at her tone, she really didn't have a clue.
The brunette scientist shook her head. "No. No danger. You'll have to ask them when they get back. It shouldn't be long." She placed several tacos on a plate and reached for a soda.
Outside, Spike looked Xander in the eye. "Are you sure you want to know this? It's pretty vicious if I do say so myself. I never really enjoyed torture. That was more Angelus's gig. But I did have fun with that little wanker."
Xander nodded. "I really want to know. He shot Dawn, Buffy, you. He shot me. Damn it Spike, he tried to kill us and I want to enjoy what you did to him. So give it to me."
Spike nodded once and closed his eyes. Opening his link, he selected the memories of that afternoon and sent them straight into his friend's mind. Xander paled slightly but recovered and grinned with wicked glee.
"God, you're good at that." The brunette whispered in awe. "Remind me never to piss you off." He added, unknowingly echoing Gunn's words. His hand unconsciously moved up to rub the spot on his chest where the bullet had entered.
"We still have a pool date, but tomorrow probably would be better. That okay with you?" Spike questioned.
Xander nodded absently. "Yeah, I'm gonna need some time to go over this info. Hope I don't have nightmares."
Spike looked concerned. "If you do, open your link, I'll fix it. Do not let this mess with your head. You hear me?" He grasped Xander's arm and forced him to meet his gaze.
Xander's brown gaze met Spike's blue one seriously. "I promise. If I have nightmares I'll let big daddy vampire get back into my head and fix the monsters in my mental closet." He dropped his sarcasm. "If the first memories didn't give me nightmares, this will make me sleep like a baby. The beauty of it all is, that the torture was more mental. You had him imagining what you could do to him if you wanted. The lightening and the bullet weren't half as bad as what he thought you were going to do. I could see it in his eyes. He thought you were going to flay him or something." He grinned. "Telling him you were going to keep the bullet just in case… well, gotta tell you, that was brilliant. He's not going to sleep for at least a year."
Spike matched his grin. "I was inspired. And I am keeping the bullet. If he ever gets out I'm using it. The thought that he hurt all of you just made me see red. I wanted to kill him, slowly and painfully. But Rupert was right. If I'd done that my unlife wouldn't have been worth the dust left after staking. So, do you think they're done gossiping about us?" He asked, inclining his blond head toward the building behind them.
"Really? Gossiping about us? Cool. We should really make them talk. Got any suggestions?" Xander bounced on his toes. Spike smirked. This Xander was far different from the one he'd met so long ago. That Xander was demon-phobic and would have died before wanting to promote gossip about himself with a vampire.
"Don't know. Should we go for the shock value or just mess with their minds? I personally like playing with minds, they're so much fun to screw with." Spike grinned evilly.
"Define shock value." Xander looked thoughtful.
"Well, I could do a glamour that would make them think that I drained you, carry your pale lifeless body in over my shoulder." Spike explained.
"There's a thought. Now, define mess with their minds." The brunette continued.
Spike reached up and whispered a completely naughty suggestion into Xander's ear, causing the male Scooby to choke on his laughter. "Oh yeah, that's the one."
Minutes later the two overgrown pranksters walked into the Magic Box and smirked at the total silence that met their entrance. Xander had a fang-shaped hickey on his neck (glamoured there). His hair was mussed and his shirt was buttoned crookedly. A goofy, sated-looking grin was plastered on his face. Spike's platinum hair was similarly mussed. He'd lost his black t-shirt and his ruby red silk shirt was unbuttoned exposing his rock hard abs and alabaster chest. They had their arms around each other's waists, leaning into each other as if they couldn't bear to be parted. The blond also had a hickey on his pale neck (another glamour). Gasps could be heard all over the room.
Fred wandered over to the men. Her bond with Spike was strong enough that she could tell a put on when she saw one so she decided to play along. Schooling her delicate features into a look of rage, she looked up at her vampire.
"How dare you?" She hissed. "You barely leave our bed and you jump on the first person you spend any time alone with. You think so little of me? And you!" She rounded on Xander. "I thought I told you not to damage him. Look at him. He's marked. I can't believe the two of you." She raged. "Why wasn't I invited?" She folded her arms across her chest and glared at them.
Spike pouted. "But I did invite you. I asked you if you wanted to watch. You didn't say you wanted to play too." He whined.
"Well I did. You ever do that again, I'll… punch your lights out. You fink." Fred sputtered, beginning to lose it.
Spike and Xander collapsed onto the step. It was too much. The looks on the faces of everyone there was priceless. Shock was the prevalent expression. They'd gotten their desired reaction. Fred's contribution had been an unforeseen bonus. They leaned against each other as their laughter weakened them. Fred's façade faded as she succumbed to the giggles bubbling up. Spike held his arms up and she melted into them and kissed him soundly. After coming up for air, Spike reversed the glamour he'd used and restored their appearances to normal. Fred pouted when Spike's sexy chest disappeared beneath the customary black cotton. He caught the look on her face and sent a mental promise to let her look all she wanted after they went home. She turned around and rested her back against his solid chest.
The realization that they'd been had slowly dawned on the others and they began laughing.
Willow and Tara walked over to the jokers. "That was a good one. Xander, for a minute there you had me worried." Willow told her best friend. She held her hand out for Xander to take and hauled him to his feet. They walked hand in hand to the buffet to see what was left.
Tara sat down on the step next to Spike and Fred. "That was a completely childish… and totally funny. Shame on you. I can't believe the two of you. When did you get to be such a prankster?"
"He's always been one. Used to drive me crazy wondering what he was going to do next. I'm surprised it took the two of them this long to do something like this." Unnoticed, Angel and Cordy had come into the room in time to see Spike and Xander's grand entrance. Everyone looked closely at the dark vampire, hoping it was Angel talking and not Angelus. Cordy's look of total satisfaction and the peace on Angel's face told the group that Willow's spell had been a rousing success.
"Will, I'm hungry." Angel told his Childe.
"It's on the table, Pops." His disrespectful brat stated absently as two mugs of blood appeared. He was nuzzling Fred's neck and couldn't be bothered to look up.
Buffy got up and walked over to Angel. She looked steadily up into his eyes. Satisfied by what she found there, she gave him a hug. Turning to Cordy, she hugged her as well.
"You hurt him, I'll have Willow beat you with her shovel." Buffy warned with a smile.
Cordy gazed up at her vampire with a besotted smile. "No chance. I'm keeping him." Angel smiled down at his seer. They wandered over to the table to see what there was to eat. Angel picked up one of the mugs and began to sip the nourishment in it.
Buffy walked over to the blond menace. She stood there with her arms crossed, frowning at the spectacle before her. "Spike." She said sternly.
Spike pulled his lips away from Fred's slender nape reluctantly. "Slayer." He sighed.
"You play with Xander's feelings and I'll have to stake you. If you're serious about him then you better treat him right." She warned, tapping her foot.
The blond vampire choked. His startled sapphire gaze flew up and met Buffy's sparkling green eyes. Tara snickered. A relieved smile spread over Spike's handsome features. He released his scientist and stood up. He moved over to stand in front of the petite slayer.
"You're really okay with all of this then?" He asked. At her nod, he swept her into a hug. "Thank you." He whispered fervently.
Giles and Wesley had been observing the antics of all the younger people from behind the counter. The older Watcher had procured a couple of chairs for them to sit on and they had been enjoying a deep discussion over to absorbing books. Amused blue eyes met bemused green ones.
"Do you see what I have to put up with?" The question was voiced in unison causing the two Brits to laugh at each other.
Wesley watched Fred as she talked to Buffy. His sadden blue eyes were filled with the acceptance of the pretty Texan's choice of the blond vampire. The only thing he could hope for now was that she be happy. He saw Buffy give Fred a hug and smiled. There would be no trouble from the slayer over Fred's decision. The object of his attention wandered over to the buffet. Wes tensed as he saw Gunn get up and move to intercept Fred. The look on Gunn's face was not a happy one.