I don't beta, because I don't know many of the english-speaking type of people. I don't post often, because RL is kicking me in the reara lot lately. There is a likeliness of a plot here, but I don't do much of that either. Gah.
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Methos had arrived about an hour ago, right on time for dinner, and had hardly directed a glance in his direction since then. He didn't know what to make of it, really. If last night had been nothing but some wild occasional sex, then there would be no reason why Adam would pay any attention to him whatsoever; Adam did not usually pay attention to him, as much as he could tell, and it had been really a shocker that he had cared enough to fuck him in the first place. Still, he tried to convince himself that the oldest immortal had better plans for him than a one night stand, however hot it had been, so he adjudicated his current indifference towards him as concealing maneuver.
After they finished eating dinner, he moved to the couch and Giles started offering drinks. He could have used a beer, but all he got was some Coke Joe had purposely bought earlier that evening; a little revengeful prank for his disappearance the night before. Both for his pleasure and his discomfort, the other immortal sprawled on the double couch where he had chosen to sit, his body barely far enough not to make contact with his. However, nothing in the old guy's appearance indicated that he had sat there because of him, or that it was any different to him than any other place.
"Bloody hell, this itches... tell me again why I had to have this damned thing done yet once more?" Adam complained, waving his recently re-tattooed wrist around in a gesture that resembled that of a person asking someone to hurry up. He wondered who had made the tattoo, and how had they not noticed the fact that it started healing almost instantly, but it was not a possibility to ask. Maybe later on he would.
"Stop whining like a girl, Adam" Joe laughed "When you had it removed you knew you would have to get it done again, unless you changed your name and settled permanently in Bora Bora. It's not like you get out of the watchers that easily..."
"Bora Bora is beautiful at this time of the year" the old guy replied, either truly annoyed or masterly faking it "I wish you had suggested it before you came to me with a job..."
From there on, the conversation passed him by. He was barely conscious of Giles asking a question to Adam, one of those that got the oldest immortal in deep-lying mode, and then a vain attempt of Joe's to cut the matter short before Adam got too exited about it, but to no avail. He didn't know Methos as well as Joe, and yet he knew that whenever the old timer got an opportunity to show off how knowledgeable he was, he would not be stopped. However, he had other things in his mind to actually pay attention to the words. All of them had to do with the speaking man.
Methos in the Bronze the night before, casually offering him a blow-job as one would offer a beer. Methos reclined on the side of his car, waiting patiently outside the nightclub. Methos leaning over and kissing him, so much like he had imagined it would be and yet so deeply unlike it. Methos' naked body against his, tongues battling with each other as very expert hands played with his cock, making him beg for more. Methos inside of him, fucking him painfully slow at first, and then hard and fast until they both came in an unison. Methos asleep next to him, Methos kissing him tenderly in the morning before they parted...
He managed to pull away from those thoughts just in time to avoid the growing bulge in his pants to become painful, and shifting carefully to hide the confession of his thoughts he became aware that the oldest immortal was no longer talking, but was rather staring at him with curiosity written in his expression. Casting a glance at the two mortals, he realized they were playing their guitars and singing together, oblivious to the two younger –make that younger-looking- men. For the looks of it, they had been playing for a while, and it looked like his one-time lover had been watching him intently for quite a long while as well.
"I take it you don't like that song" Methos eventually spoke, not taking his eyes off him "You have a request?" he asked with a grin, the look on his eyes saying way more than his words
He was at a lose for words, not knowing how to read the expression the oldest immortal wore, and thanked God with a sigh when the two players stopped momentarily, Joe putting an angry act that was far from believable.
"Okay Adam, we get the message... you don't like the song" the watcher said "Any suggestions?"
"Joe don't be unfair, you know I love everything that you do" the ancestral guy replied with faked indignation "But since you ask..." he added with a grin, momentarily thinking before blurting out the name of a song that came out incomprehensible to him, but obviously not for the older men, who shook their heads in disbelief but all the same started playing at once as Methos himself improvised a drum of sorts, marking the rhythm with a book that had been lying on top of the coffee table and his foot on the floor. The lyrics to the song were barely short from making him faint.
"I don't know what it is that makes me love you so,
"I only know I never wanna let you go
"'Cause you started something, can't you see
"That ever since we met you've had a hold on me
"It happens to be true,
"I only wanna be with you
In that moment, he just wanted to run. No matter where, just run like hell and hide away before he was too blushed to make a clean exit. Not to mention hard. The mere thought that Adam might actually mean any of those words, was enough to get him a bit overly enthusiastic for an unknown man's house. Make that an elder unknown man's house. As soon as the song was over he got to his feet, making good use of his coat to cover a certain part of his anatomy that just didn't work at his command.
"Look at the time" he tried his best to sound surprised "I really must be going! I have a, um, thing to do... and I'm late! Joe, I'll see you at the hotel..." he said on his way out, scolding himself for been so bad an actor "Dinner was great Rupert, thanks..." he murmured before crossing the threshold and taking a deep relieved breath, just after the door closed behind him.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!, he damned himself as he hastily walked away from the librarian's house and to the Bronze. He should have listened to a certain friend from his 10th grade who had told him: never sleep with your teachers, your parents' friends, or people who are way out of your league. Stupid! He had done all three things at once, and the kid had not even put in his list 'people who are five thousand years old and can chop off your head'. Stupid!
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"Kids!" Methos exclaimed the instant Richie closed the door behind him "They wouldn't know good music if you shoved it up their ass!" he stated with an odd grin in his face as he headed for the kitchen to fetch another beer
"Rather crude way of putting it, but yes..." Rupert had to admit, refilling his own glass with some scotch "All they listen to nowadays is noise"
"Good idea of yours to bring some beer, Joe..." the young look-alike man congratulated him, reentering the room and dropping himself in the couch once more
"Don't get too comfortable, Adam... you are going after Richie, you know?" he said, trying his best too sound serious
"You're all work and no fun tonight, Joe..." Methos complained, making a great deal out of standing up "I hate this job... researching Methos was so much easier..." he sighed, grabbing his coat without abandoning his bottle of beer
He had decided from the beginning to let Rupert know that Richie was the immortal Adam had been assigned to, thinking it better for the kid that way. His old friend had assured him the secret would stay with him, and he would trust Rupert with his life, so there was no problem there, and it was much better to put the cards on the table if a slayer was involved.
"I was thinking, Joe..." the annoying old bastard insisted, turning his back on his way out to sound casual "Since you're the kid's guardian and all... can't you just ask him in the morning what did he do?"
Yeah, right. 'I was just thinking', my ass. "I'm your superior, too, and I'm asking you to go" he put his foot down, asking himself whether the old guy did ever do anything if he could avoid to.
Truth of the matter was, he knew Richie would probably go meet whoever it was he had slept with the night before and Methos would be able to call it a quits in no time, but he wanted some time alone with Rupert. The song that the immortal watcher had randomly asked had made old memories stir within himself, and he could tell by the look on Rupert's face –a look he knew too well- that they would probably have a lot to talk about if only the ancient annoyance decided to leave.
"What the hell!" Methos sighed, amazingly easy to convince for some reason "I'll see you two in the morning... Rup, Joe..." he said as a goodbye, walking with long steps strangely free of manipulative intentions "Just don't drink too much, since you don't want my recipe..."
Then he was gone. He would have to ask himself in the morning why had the old bastard been so easily convinced to go, but right now he had more important things to think of. For example, the knowing look Giles was suddenly giving him.
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It had turned out wonderfully. First of all, he had been just delighted by the way Richie had been staring at him throughout dinner, and then the way he had been obviously fantasizing about him in the couch. He could tell it was about him by the way the kid freaked when he realized he was staring at him, and the deathblow had been delivered instantly when he had asked his mortal friends to play that song... it had been hilarious.
And now again it seemed like luck was on his side, because the two men had seemed about as eager that he left as he had been about leaving. He had insisted that he wanted to stay, of course, but he had taken his chance because it seemed rather obvious that nobody was going to second him in that; there were sparks flying all over the place, which had been a real shocker. Still, he would have time to figure that out in the morning. Right now, it was playtime.
By the time he arrived at the Bronze he was not surprised to find Richie sharing a table with the slayer and her two friends; he had counted on that. After all he was a guy who enjoyed a good challenge –of the kind that didn't involve swords of course- and he just wanted to see what the current status of his relationship with Richie was. If he could make it more than a one-night stand he certainly would, slayer or no slayer. And he secretly hoped that he could.
He chose his way to the bar carefully, taking the path that would let them see him all the best. It wasn't always good that yours students saw you in a place like this, but he had been seen in worse, and it wasn't like snoozer actually respected him at all already. On the other hand, it was part of his strategy that Richie got a good look of him. Little to lose, much to win.
In the bar, as it couldn't have been any other way, he found the undead patron of whom he had grown quite fond of late. From the distance he could already tell that the vampire was in quite a better mood than he had been the night before. Without any direct greeting he took the stool next to the blond, and ordered a beer. He could use a few more –or a dozen.
"Your friend seems overly friendly with the slayer..." Spike stated casually, acknowledging his presence "Can't be good for a bloke's health... unless he wants an easy shag. I hear the slayer's pretty easy"
"Must be all that adrenaline from the fighting" he grinned, trusting Richie wouldn't settle for easy shag if he could have him "There's just so many things you can do to make it go away..."
"Sounds like the voice of experience..." the vampire said, looking at him for the first time, an eyebrow raised as he spoke "But you don't look like the fighting type... and, where do you get such boring clothes?" he chuckled
"All part of a deliberate strategy to remain unnoticed... most of the interesting activities don't require clothing anyway" he replied with a grin "Speaking of which, where is Xander?" he asked, truly interested
"Having dinner with his parents... sods remembered he existed for some reason" the undead answered, sounding quite pissed "He's supposed to come afterwards, but I don't think he'll make it to the bar with the slayer and her friends sitting that close to the door..." he sighed.
Was that a sigh? A vampire sigh? This was getting more and more interesting by the minute. In five thousand years, he had never seen a lovesick vampire, and had honestly never thought he would see one. If Spike hadn't admitted it himself, he would have started suspecting he had misjudged him, and he was only just a guy. And not even the kind of guy that dresses the way this one did.
"Hope you have someone too" the vampire interrupted him in his musings "Sunnydale's not the place to get a date. Half the population is either dead or not human, and the slayer either shags them or kills them, so there's not much left"
"How about the other half?" he asked, finding the idea of the slayer fucking demons before killing them quite amusing
"Either underage, dislikable, married, or gay. Hope you like blokes" the blond said ironically "'Coz the gay-meter in town is scarier than most of the inhuman things in it"
"I have someone in mind already..." he replied absentmindedly, noticing that the slayer and her friends were saying their good-byes to Richie
"Good luck then" the vampire said, raising his beer in a symbolic toast "I know I'm in a lucky night, since the slayer's made an early retreat..."
"She would... I made sure she had enough homework for a lifetime..." he grinned, taking a good drink as he carefully followed with his eyes the approaching figure of Richie. It took just a few minutes before the young immortal took the seat next to him, looking quite cool for someone who had just ran out of a house in panic a while earlier. To avoid the kid further humiliations, he ordered a beer and offered it to him; getting carded was probably the last thing he needed, and he liked Richie nervous, but not about anything that he wasn't directly involved in.
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"She would... I made sure she had enough homework for a lifetime..." Adam grinned, taking a long drink as he turned his head towards the place where the slayer had been only seconds ago.
He was going to love this guy! He had never asked what did Adam do for a living, and he had certainly not suspected him to be an educator. Anyway, it soon became obvious to him that Adam had ulterior reasons to curse the slayer with tons of homework, other than the fact that he didn't appear to be crazy about her. All the same it worked for him, so no complaints.
The boy was a cherub, with the curly blond –or was it red- hair and the huge blue eyes; he recognized him immediately as the same boy who had been sitting in that very same place the night before, listening to way too much of his brief conversation with Xander. He did appear a little young for someone Adam's age, but who the hell was he to judge! One thing he sort of regretted was the joke about gay people though, because he honestly liked Adam –he felt like the guy could actually understand him very well- and didn't care to lose a friendship he was already starting to feel as such.
"I didn't catch your name last night, mate" he told the kid, feeling somewhat in the mood for a good deed. The boy was raving nervous; he did a good job concealing it, but vampire senses didn't miss that kind of thing.
"No, um, Richie... Richard, but people call me Richie" the boy replied
"So... you're with Adam, right?" he asked matter-of-factly, too tempted by the kid's embarrassment. Against his expectations, the older human just chuckled at the indiscrete question, while the younger one opened his eyes to the point they almost looked like they were going to pop out of the sockets, and remained silent.
"You're a damned creature" Adam finally said, obviously too amused to give the sentence the proper tone "Remind me to ask your Xander the same question"
Well, he had it coming for abusing the kids' state. All the same, it would probably be a while before Xander managed to escape his parents and come to the Bronze; the assholes didn't usually remember he existed, but whenever they seemed to recall they had a son they would suffocate him for a while. He turned his back to Adam to order another beer, when suddenly the guy's voice reached him, making the hairs on his back stand on end.
"Hi Xander" the bastard said, and before he could interrupt him "I take it Spike and you solved your lovers' tiff last night"
Now it was the time for beautiful brown eyes to stare wide open in shock, just like blue ones had short minutes before.
"I'm going to kill you, you know that?" he said in his best threatening voice, at which Adam just laughed. To his surprise, Xander recovered almost instantly from the blow, and then quite dexterously redirected it;
"Is your boyfriend always this annoying?" the scooby said to Richie, which made Adam chuckle again; but not for long
"Yeah, he can be a pain in the ass" the blue-eyed wonder conceded, a grin on his face as he finished his beer
"Next time I'll be gentler..." he heard Adam say under his breath, not loud enough for Xander to listen but more than necessary to make the other kid choke on his drink. He couldn't help it to laugh at that...
"What? What?" Xander asked confused, not able to get why Richie was coughing and the two older men were laughing
"We're gonna get going" Adam said before anyone else could speak, standing up to go "We'll leave you two kids to have some time for yourselves... it's late anyway, and someone has a lot of homework to do"
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"What?" he insisted, once Adam and his friend were gone; he hated it when people laughed and he didn't get the joke
"Nothing luv, come here and have a beer" his lover offered, patting the stool next to him
Damn, he had missed the asshole. Dinner with his parents had been a nightmare –well, more of a nightmare than usual. As a rule, he hated the times when his folks remembered his existence and acted nice towards him, because he was not used to it and not particularly interested anymore. As a kid, he had wanted more attention, but now... now he had friends who cared, and he had Spike. It had seemed absurd to waste time with his parents when he could have spent it with Spike.
"You pay?" he asked jokingly, glad to take the seat that was offered
"Not bloody likely" the vampire hissed "Don't have that much money... and that bastard just went away without paying his tab"
"Sounds like someone I know" he chuckled, taking some money out of his pocket to pay for the drinks
"Not the same" Spike stated, indignant "I am an evil creature of the night, you should expect me not to pay my tab... I should be drinking the bugger's blood instead of beer!"
"I would advice against it though... I don't think I'd want to kiss you with Adam's blood in your mouth" he said teasingly, immediately reminding himself he was at the Bronze! Idiot.
"In a good mood, are we?" Spike said surprised, one eyebrow raised in his characteristic expression of disbelief "Maybe we should forget the beers and go home..."
It sounded like a definitely good idea, and he was about to reply when suddenly he heard a voice he knew too well calling out his name. Willow. Willow?
"Will!" he jumped to his feet, shocked to find the redhead walking towards them "What are you doing here?" he asked before he could stop himself "I mean, were is Tara?" he hurried to say
"Oh, she's busy with some homework..." his friend answered smilingly, obviously unaware of what she had interrupted "I finished mine early, so I thought I might spend some quality time with my friend Xander... your mom said you'd be here" she explained, taking the seat Xander had just vacated and ordering a soda, which the bartender delivered along with his beer
Having no place else to sit he had to take the next stool, letting Willow sit between him and Spike, and noticing the vampire's annoyed look at the redhead's intrusion. For some reason, he was quite embarrassed to take the beer he had ordered in front of her, and he considered telling the guy at the bar he had made a mistake, but then reminded himself he was old enough to do what he pleased and grabbed the bottle.
"Since when do you drink beer?" she asked curious, making him regret that he had not returned it
"Bloody hell, he's old enough to drink whatever he likes!" Spike exclaimed before he could come up with a worthy excuse; for some reason it warmed his heart that Spike had defended him, in his own special way of course.
"I know" she blushed, obviously not expecting the vampire's reaction "It's just you never drank beer before... I guess I'm not been paying as much attention to you as I used to, with collage, and Tara... I haven't been such a good friend to you of late" she said remorsefully
"Will... it's okay, really" he assured her, moved by her concern "We're still good friends... I understand you have a lot in your mind now that we're older, and you can't be all day with me. Really..."
"I know, it's just..." she started to say, and then turned to look at Spike, as if realizing for the first time he was actually there "Why are you having beers with Spike?" she suddenly said, using the very same words Buffy had used only a few night ago.
"What? I have him living at my place, but I can't have a beer with him?" he replied, aware that he did not want to be defensive as he had been when Buffy had asked the same question; he had no reasons to excuse himself, and it would hurt Spike. For some reason, he was loath to hurt Spike.
"Yeah, I know, sorry..." she apologized "I know it must be annoying to you, but Giles really needed to take a bath every once in a while, and besides Spike was driving him out of his mind"
"I'm sitting right here!" the vampire exclaimed, notoriously pissed as he asked another beer and lit a cigarette
"I'm sorry, Spike" the girl apologized, yet once again "It's just I have trouble getting used to the fact you're not lethal anymore..."
"So, Will, how's school!" he nervously interrupted her before she kept on screwing up; he could see where the conversation was going, and it would end up with Spike leaving or Willow crying, neither of which sounded particularly appealing.
"Um, good" she answered, a little surprised by the change of subject "We have this new teacher... Mr. Pierson? He's great, but he's a little tough on us... he's always giving us loads of homework, and he asks these difficult questions all the time... I think he hates Buffy" she explained casually, he eyes wide open for emphasis
"I've heard of him... they say he's a cheap bastard too" Spike declared with a grin
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"So, um, maybe I should go do my homework..." he said tentatively as they stood in front of the hotel's elevator
"If you want to..." Adam replied casually, his eyes on the red light that indicated the floor the elevator was in "If you have something better to do, I can always not ask you any questions in class..."
"I don't know..." he said somewhat nervously "Got any plans?"
"Maybe..." the oldest immortal grinned, just at the same time as the elevator doors opened.
"Like what?" he insisted as Adam pressed the button to his floor
He thought he was going to faint when the elevator doors closed and Methos walked slowly towards to him, stopping so close he could feel the older immortal's breath in his face.
"I'm open to suggestions" Adam whispered softly, placing his hands on the elevator wall on each side of his head
The old man looked so incredibly tempting, standing there in front of him, his lips an invitation that couldn't be refused. He kissed him passionately, Methos' mouth instantly open to his exploration, his hands descending from the wall to rest on his shoulders; he didn't know when he put his own hands in the small of the old man's back.
Then the elevator door opened, and much against their will they pulled apart to meet two giggling teenager girls, who stood outside the elevator without daring to step in.
"Ladies..." Methos said politely as they walked out of the elevator and towards his room, the old man's arm holding him by the waist all the way.
The two girls were still staring at them when they stopped in front of the door, Methos looking for his keys, but he didn't pay much attention to the girls at all; after the kiss in the elevator, he could hardly think of anything other than the man beside him.
"Come here..." Methos whispered as he locked the door behind them and took both his hand in his, slowly walking backwards towards the bed with his hazel eyes fixed on his. He didn't know if he was been pulled by Methos' hands, or his eyes. Then they stopped, and the hands that had guided him pulled him closer, going to rest in his waist. When Methos' mouth met his there were no doubts as to what he wanted; Buffy did not exist, none of his past lovers existed. It was only Methos.
Then the experienced hands of his immortal lover traced their way slowly to his ass, pulling him closer to increase contact. Methos was as hard as he was, and the arousal of the other man did nothing but add to his own. They rubbed their erections against each other's for some time, their hips moving of their own will, until the older man pulled away from the kiss, and before he could complain he found himself sitting on the bed.
"I believe I owe you something..."
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Second night in a row! I'm not twenty anymore... he reminded himself as he awoke to a killer headache. Dog hair was starting to sound appealing, if only it would take the hangover away. Still, as the previous morning, he did not regret the course of events that had led to it in the very least.
Rupert and him had been friends for years, and lovers for a good portion of that time. It had not come as a shocker that they could still be friends, still understand each other and have fun together, and still feel attracted to one another when given the proper circumstances. They were not getting any younger, but somehow when they were together it didn't seem like they had grown any older either.
As soon as Adam had closed the door behind him, they hadn't needed anything but a glance at each other to know that the old flame was still burning, and it was still surprising how easy it had been. Decades were blown away, and they were again the two kids, playing their guitars together, getting drunk together, and comforting each other with hugs and kisses afterwards. They had made love as if they had never been apart, and they had fallen asleep cuddling like they would have almost thirty years ago. In the morning, it hadn't been awkward in the least.
Hold on. Rewind. Methos, the most annoying immortal ever, had left with almost no complaining. When did Methos ever do something that someone asked him to? Only when he had personal motives to actually agree with that hypothetical someone. And even with his hangover he could certainly remember he had promised himself to figure out why the old man had been so nice. With that in mind, he took a quick shower and left his room.
He knocked on Methos' door for some minutes with no success, which he had of course expected. The old guy was not an early riser, and he had not knocked loud enough to awake him if he was indeed asleep. Not only because he didn't want to wake up the entire hotel, but because he smelled a fish and just wanted an excuse to come in uninvited. He had stopped by Richie's room on the way, and had received no answer, so he had headed downstairs and asked a lovely receptionist for a key to Methos' room. She had been reticent to provide it at first, but had proved very enthusiastic to help when offered a modest monetary compensation for the trouble.
After five minutes of no answer, he took the key from his pocket and let himself in. For some reason, he wasn't at all surprised by the sight he met; the oldest immortal and Richie, entangled in a confuse knot of naked limbs, both asleep in the king size bed. He cleared his throat, and was rewarded with Richie's startled awakening, followed by the oldest immortal slower counterpart.
"Oh, my God, Joe!" Richie snapped, grabbing the sheets frantically in an attempt to cover his flagrant nudity "This is so not what it looks like!"
"Okay, so they didn't steal your clothes in the elevator and dropped you here after rendering you both unconscious... then what?" he asked mockingly, slightly annoyed that they hadn't told him, and somehow trying to figure how he was going to tell MacLeod about it. Maybe he just wouldn't.
"Oh puh-leez, Joe..." Methos chuckled, not making the slightest move to modify a situation that would have been awkward for someone a little self-conscious "I seriously doubt we were the only ones getting some last night..."
"Very observant, old man" he chuckled, unable to get mad at the annoying bastard "You should have told me about this!" he complained, walking towards the refrigerator and grabbing a bottle of iced water "I really was worried about you, Richie..."
"Oh, c'mon Joe!" the kid sighed, obviously aware that he had no way out if this "What was I supposed to tell you? Hey Joe, I just got a roll in the hay with Methos?"
"You damn well should have!" he scolded the blushing kid "Listen, Mac was very specific on the fact that I should keep an eye on you at all times, because of this ability of yours to get in trouble wherever you go... I never thought I'd hear myself saying this, but with the history you have it's relieving that you're only having sex with Methos!"
"Oh please Joe, give the kid a break" the old man exclaimed, unselfconsciously getting out from under the sheets and putting on his discarded boxers "And what do you mean only having sex with Methos?" he said offended as he walked towards the refrigerator "I'll have you know there's plenty of people out there who would consider themselves lucky to sleep with me..."
"I can see why..." he grinned, receiving an arched eyebrow from the oldest immortal and a painful blush from the kid "Now listen, seriously, I'm not gonna make a fuss of this... but you have any idea how Mac could react to this?"
"Oh come on, Joe!" Adam complained, returning to the bed and sitting on the edge as he drank some water from a bottle "MacLeod is a big boy..." the old man paused for a minute, then concluded "And he doesn't have to know"
"I'm not telling him, if that's what you mean" he assured them, noticing the sigh of relief from Richie "I don't want to see your head on a spike just yet, Adam..."
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She had just gotten back from a trip, half business, half pleasure. It had been only a couple of days, and Dawn had been more than thrilled to stay a few days at a friend's house, but all the same she felt somewhat guilty for going away. She had gone to Seacouver to purchase some pieces for an exposition, and in hurry to finish everything as soon as possible and return home to her daughters she had almost gotten killed while crossing a street. A tall man had pushed her aside from the car that would have most certainly ran her over and pulled her to the sidewalk. Imagine her surprise when she had recognized him as Duncan MacLeod.
They had first met some five years ago, when he and his girlfriend, Tessa, had been running a quite unique antiques store, containing pieces which belonged to a museum more than to a shop. In successive trips she and Tessa had become very good friends, and she had been devastated to learn of Tessa's death in one of her visits, after which she had never again attempted to contact Mac. Not because she didn't care about him, but because she had noticed that her presence did more harm than good, as she seemed to remind him of Tessa –a thing for which he was not ready yet.
He had recognized her at once, and once safely on the sidewalk he had held her in a bear hug for a couple of seconds, before a discernible coughing sound was heard coming from behind them. Then he had introduced her to Amanda, an old friend he had said, but for the looks of it more like a girlfriend. She had been happy that Mac had been able to move on, and had promised to give him a call when she got back home, but for her tight schedule she had been unable to spend much time with him. She would call him as soon as she finished the last touch-ups of the exposition.
She was taken from her thoughts by a loud knocking on the back door which she at once answered, to find a blanket-covered Spike hurrying inside. He was smoking as he entered, but greeted her with a huge smile and a quick hug.
"It's great to have you back in town, Joyce... I kind if missed you" he said smilingly as he took a seat in a kitchen stool
"You look happy Spike" she smiled back, putting the kettle on to prepare some of the hot cocoa the vampire loved "What happened?"
"Oh, you missed a lot while you were away..." he told her, his eyes glinting with a kind of excitement she had never seen in him "I really don't know if I should be this happy, I mean, I don't even know where any of this is going..." he started to babble "...don't tell anyone that I said I'm happy, by the way, evil master vampires are not supposed to be happy... just morbidly amused at best..."
"Spike" she interrupted him, trying to avoid laughing at the vampire's pride "What is it?"
Truth of the matter, she really liked Spike. Sure, they hadn't met in the best of circumstances, what with her hitting him with an axe and him trying to kill them all, but she had gotten to see pass all that evil-vampire nonsense. Hearing enough of his stories, it was plain to her that most of the evil things Spike had done during decades on end had been nothing but an attempt to do what he was supposed to do, to please Angel –that was one vampire she did not trust-, and find his place in the world.
Fortunately, he now had the chip; he might complain about it, but as far as it concerned her it was an excellent excuse to start finding himself back without the need to prove how evil a vampire he was lest he should be mocked or found inadequate. Electronic rationalization.
"Well, I found someone..." he grinned, accepting the mug of hot cocoa she offered him
"Well, I'm happy for you Spike" she congratulated him in a motherly way "Is she human?" she asked curiously, and was surprised when he choke on his drink
"Are you okay?" she said concerned
"Yeah, vampires can't choke to death..." he grinned "And yeah, he is human"
"Aw" was all she could think of to reply. She had not seen that one coming. Now at least she knew in a way what Willow's mother had felt like when she had learned about her daughter and her friend Tara. Just when did she start feeling this motherly towards a vampire, anyway? "Someone I know?" she asked halfheartedly, still trying to process the idea of Spike liking men. How unlikely was that?
"Actually, yeah..." he sighed "Listen, Joyce, I need you to promise you will not tell anyone... ever"
"Well, of course, I've never told anyone any of the things we talk about..." she said serenely, taking a sip from her own cocoa mug and reminding herself there could be no worse shocks that.
"Okay... It's Xander" the vampire said suddenly, and it was her turn now to choke on cocoa.
(¯·.(¯·.(¯·. 9 .·´¯).·´¯).·´¯)
"Oh, here you are Buffy" he said with a soft smile, not having noticed her presence before; he was pretending to read a book, but the hangover and the memories of the previous night were keeping him from actually doing any real work.
"Hey Giles. You were so into your book I didn't want to disturb you..." she smiled back at him, and then frowned as she caught a better look of him "You look... you don't look good" she stated, walking closer and removing the book from his hands "Are you sick, Giles?"
"No, I am quite fine Buffy" he assured her, noticing with weary eyes that Xander walked into the library as well, followed by Willow and Tara "I received a large book shipment at the Magic Box yesterday, and I probably stayed working late... but that is all"
"I thought Anya was helping you..." Willow said with a concerned look on her face "You really look bad, Giles... maybe you should take the day off.."
"No, no, I'm perfectly fine, you need not worry..." he insisted, for a moment fearing they would never drop the subject. Fortunately for him, they had classes to attend...
"I just came by to tell you I won't be coming after classes" Buffy announced on her way out, following Willow and Tara "Mom just got home today, and I want to visit her"
Then they were gone, leaving only Xander behind. He looked up at the boy, and noticed he was grinning as he stared at him.
"What is it that you find so amusing, Xander?" he asked, somewhat annoyed
"Easy, G-man" the boy laughed good-naturedly "I was just wondering what happened last night that you got so wasted..." then the boy laughed again, this time probably at his shocked expression "Oh, come on! Family of alcoholics here! I can tell when someone is having a bad hangover!"
"Well, very interesting... is there something you needed?" he asked, trying to sound as neutral as possible while he just begged for the ground to open up and swallow him.
"I was bored at home, so I figured maybe there was something I could help you with... you know, research and stuff" for a moment the boy paused, then concluded "Okay, I don't tell anyone you got real drunk last night, and you won't tell anyone I was so bored with my pathetic life that I actually asked to help with research"
"Alright Xander" he smiled thankfully "There is a prophesy I am currently researching, something about great evil been released... chaos, destruction, death... it's supposed to be imminent"
"Sounds like good hellmouthy fun..." the boy said ironically, letting himself fall on a chair next to him "Any clues...?"
"Not that I can find" Giles sighed in frustration "The prophesy in itself is rather cryptic. 'When the oldest and the youngest join their blood/the jaws of hell shall be unlocked;/the four shall raid the earth once more/bringing death to one and all'" Giles recited
"That's all?" Xander said surprised by the brevity of it
"That is all that I have access to" he confessed "It is a rather new prophesy, written barely a few years ago by a mysterious seer, a woman... she went to the Council around the time Buffy was called, in a terrible state of distress, and kept babbling about the end of the world for weeks on end. Then one day she disappeared, the same mysterious way she had arrived, leaving only that small piece of writing and the few and quite incomprehensible records some of the scholars at the Council had managed to make of her ranting"
"Do you have those? The records?" the boy insisted "Maybe we can make sense of some of it..."
"Yes, perhaps..." he said hopefully, walking his way to his office to bring the notebook in which everything was written. He really wished he didn't have to deal with something of this magnitude in this precise moment, but when the Council had sent it along with the notes on the seer's ramblings with a character of urgency he had just known it was a pressing matter. The Council was not known to overreact, which meant the situation must be extremely compromised for them to ask the matter be addressed directly and with extreme caution.
(¯·.(¯·.(¯·. 10 .·´¯).·´¯).·´¯)
Oh, bloody hell. He had to do something to get the blond bitch away from Richie before she raped him, he thought as walked towards his classroom and found his boy talking with Snoozer and redhead in the hallway. As he passed them by, he gave her a killer look, and then disappeared inside of his classroom where most of the students were already sitting and waiting for him. When he saw the slayer following Richie and pulling her redheaded friend along, forcing her to sit next to his boy as well, he just knew he had to start the class asking her something she didn't know.
For the most, the class flew by and he was thankful to see the embarrassed look on Richie's eyes every time he looked at him; so much for that, the kid was not thrilled either to be followed around by the slayer. He gave them considerable homework, and then headed off towards the library without even looking at the three teenagers on his way out. He was more than surprised to find Xander in the library, going through some books with Rupert.
"Rup, Xan..." he said offhandedly, dropping himself on a chair after doing the same with the books he was carrying
"Hello Adam", "Hey Adam..." both men answered at once before actually realizing he was there. Then they looked up and they both remained like that for a moment, staring at him.
"You know each other?" Rupert finally asked, obviously surprised
"Yeah, we've seen each other around..." he replied casually, giving the boy a knowing look as to explain he was not going to talk about his vampire lover; the kid obviously understood, and relaxed "So, what were you up to?"
"Uh, not much... prophesy research, you wouldn't be interested..." the watcher explained as he returned to his book... notebook, whatever it was "We're having quite a hard time translating parts of it, but we're managing..."
"Here, let me see that..." he smiled, taking the notes from Rup's hand "If it's written, I can read it"
"He knows? About Buffy?" Xander asked concerned, watching in awe as he carelessly made his way to the pages
"It's complicate, Xander..." the librarian sighed, probably not at his best by the looks of it
"I'll explain later Xan" he smiled at the boy "Just don't tell your friends you saw me here..." he suggested as he continued to go through the book's pages, until he finally came to halt "What are you researching?" he asked concerned, not liking at all what he was seeing.
"It's... we don't know what it is" Rupert confessed somewhat embarrassed "All we have is a four-lines prophesy, a record of the things the seer talked about during her brief time with the watchers, and what you're reading... those were the seer's personal notes, but what we could read did not make much sense, and most of it is written in too many different languages, most of them dead tongues..."
"This can't be good..." he interrupted the librarian, seriously regretting it as soon as he realized he had spoken. Maybe he was wrong, and this all lead somewhere else; he hoped it did. Cassandra's handwriting in the few paragraphs that actually contained letters didn't really calm him, though.
"What? What can't be good? Is this regular hell-mouthy not-good, or most-likely-apocalyptic not-good?" Xander inquired nervously, trying unsuccessfully to conceal his concern
"Listen, I don't really know what this is..." he sighed, and he truly didn't know for sure what it meant, but if it was as he feared it would definitely help to be the one translating it "It's mostly written in Akkadian... some Summerian... ancient tongues from all over Mesopotamia..." damn you Cassandra, you finally lost it "It's mostly nonsensical... says something about a ritual gone awry been the trigger of it... the redeemed one's blood..." damn you twice over, bitch "...the redeemed one's blood will break the barriers of death... the dead will rise to join the living, and they will be four again..." Oh. Gods "This doesn't make any sense, Rupert" he said with an indifferent tone perfected over many a millennia, while on the inside he was screaming and kicking and one step away from running off in panic; but that would not do, and it would probably look rather suspicious.
"You don't think the redeemed one means..." Xander stammered, growing very pale all of a sudden.
"Angel" Rupert finished for him, a somber look setting on his usually amicable face; that was a look he did not want to be on the receiving end of.
Of course, he preferred it everyday to be the recipient of Kronos' wrath, and unless he was wrong he was up for a little get-together with his brothers in no time. Unless he managed to stop it somehow, that is... which would be as easy as to not get involved in any rituals for a while, which he did not, as a rule, get involved in. So he should be fine. Or maybe it was not about them, seriously... there must have been hundreds of foursomes killing and maiming and bringing chaos along the millennia, right? Yeah, right! And Cassandra been involved could just be a bloody happy coincidence. Why are you still here, Methos? You should be on your way to Siam!
"Adam are you alright?" Xander's concerned voice interrupted his musings
"I am alright..." he assured them "What were you saying