Title: Golden Boy
Author: Dragonmaster
Rating: Hard R.
Genre: Drama/Romance
Fandom: BtVS
Feedback: Yes, please. or
Distribution: Nummy Treats archive, Moist and Delicious. Anyone else, just ask.
Pairing(s): Spike/Xander, Buffy/Angel, Willow/Tara.
Spoilers: None that I can think of. Dru is Spike's Sire.
Warnings: Slash, Alternate Universe.
Disclaimer: Pray to Joss, for he created the Buffyverse.
Summary: Major AU. Xander is found as a baby and raised by a pack of vampires who move into Sunnydale.
Golden Boy
By: Dragonmaster
Prologue: Greece, 1980.
William the Bloody was having the time of his unlife.
When Drusilla had expressed her desire to visit the white city of Athens, Spike hadn't exactly shared her enthusiasm; he was quite content to remain in his home city of London, where his name was a legend. When he told Dru this, she simply smiled coyly and proceeded to persuade him. A week later, the Master, his lover, and his pack arrived in Greece.
Spike watched in amusement as the man whom he had just been feeding from gasp for air and crawl toward the door. The vampire still had the man's wife and child captive, but he no longer seemed to care. Spike let his prey reach the door before pouncing. He darted in and tore the Grecian's throat out with his fangs, his victim's scream abruptly cut off.
Contently licking blood off his hands, Spike turned to the young woman and her child, letting the corpse drop to the floor with a dull thud. She was attractive, probably only nineteen or twenty, with bright, liquid brown eyes and shimmering black hair. She looked at him, meeting his alarmingly blue eyes without any trace of fear. She was past fear now; Spike could see the look of defeat in her eyes. The baby too, was remarkably quiet.
"What? No screaming? No begging for y'life?" Spike asked, his voice a sultry purr. He prowled around the young woman, his amusement easily visible on his angular features.
The woman shrugged. "What is the purpose?" she said tiredly in strongly accented English. "You are just going to kill me anyway."
Spike nodded. "True. Just unusual." He turned his attention to the baby in her arms. The infant met his gaze with bright chocolate coloured eyes and cooed quietly.
A faint smile appeared on the vampire's face as he reached out and gently brushed the babe's cheek with his fingertips. "He's a good li'l Nibblet," he said softly. "Wot's 'is name?"
The woman hesitated before answering. "Alexander."
"That's not a Greek name."
"His father was American." She studied Spike intently. "What are you waiting for?" she asked.
Spike raised his scarred eyebrow. "You to start begging," he replied. "It's not as fun without audience participation."
She stared defiantly into his blue eyes. "Spare my son," she said quietly. Spike blinked in surprise. He had seen mothers offer their children to him in order to be spared, yet this woman did not seem to fear death.
Picking up the baby, Spike morphed into his gameface, mouth millimetres away from the infant's neck. "What makes you think I will?"
The woman closed her eyes. "You still have humanity left in you; I can feel it."
A chill ran up Spike's spine and he lifted his head to stare suspiciously at the young woman. "What are you?" he hissed.
"Human; as is my child."
For the second time that night, Spike had doubts about killing the girl. Adjusting the baby in his arms, he stood warily. Alexander giggled and patted Spike's cheek, distracting the vampire for a split second.
The young woman stood and caressed her baby's head, tears starting to form in her eyes. "Take him and go," she whispered. "I do not have the money to support him, and he would only suffer in a foster home. At least with you, he will be safe."
Bewildered, Spike stared at her, then back at the infant, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder. "What makes you think I won't kill you?" he asked, his voice equally quiet.
"Your thoughts give you away," she responded. Abruptly, she backed away, eyes widening with fear. She pushed Spike and Alexander roughly toward the door, shoving both infant and vampire out into the hallway.
"Oi! What the bloody hell do you-"
"You must go, now!" the woman said urgently. "Your pack has been discovered, your Sire has been killed!"
Spike stopped as if he were hit, shock dulling his senses. It couldn't be true; Drusilla was safely guarded by three of his strongest minions! "How do you know this?" he snarled, rage replacing his shock.
"I am a mind-reader, a telepath." She quickly glanced down the hall. "There is no time to talk, the guards have already reached this building. Go!"
Spike's survival instinct took over, moving all other emotions aside. Tightening his grip on the child, the British vampire took one final look at the young woman. "I will take care of the boy," he promised her before turning and racing down the hall and out of the building, vowing to once again return to Greece. Blood would run freely in the streets as William the Bloody avenged his dark princess' death.