Chapter 3
Bargaining

Buffy stared at the two Englishmen with her mouth agape; trying to process how on earth they'd recognized each other. Why in the world had Giles called Spike 'William'? Even more bizarre, why had Spike referred to Giles as 'Ripper'?

"You two know each other?" Buffy managed to squeak out.

The bleached blond man smirked as he recognized the tiny woman; coming to a stop before her and the older gentleman he'd been searching for. He'd had an epiphany as he'd left The Bronze the other night; sleeping uncomfortably in the back seat of his rental car for the past week. His expenses were adding up; the rental car included. He missed school and still had plenty of studies left to complete. He'd been thoroughly dismissed by the woman he loved and practically stranded in a town he still didn't know for certain he even liked; but he had an opportunity here. UC Sunnydale was home to one of the most revered English professors in the country. And indeed, Spike would know.

Rupert "Ripper" Giles had once been his mentor; a mature graduate student during Spike's undergrad at Oxford before earning his professorial degrees and moving to the states. The older man was nearly fifteen years his senior, but that hadn't seem to stop the two from becoming close colleagues and mates back in the day.

The nickname that Spike had reverently applied to the older man had been revealed in confidence; alerting the younger man to his idol's more youthful and notorious reputation. In his own undergraduate years at the reputable institution, Giles had been quite the rebel. A bastillion of knowledge and revolutionary ideas that had more than once made the regimented establishment cringe. The most famous stunt the younger, self-proclaimed 'free world' despot enacted had gotten him arrested; and almost more frighteningly expelled.

After an enraged and undoubtedly influential religious group on campus had gotten wind of some potentially anti-Christian reading materials being made available to students in the school library, a bill had been passed by the University denying access to said materials. Naturally, the book banning propaganda had not settled well with Giles or his like-minded associates. And when they appealed to the school board and were immediately rebuffed; all hell broke loose. Rupert acted alone, despite his mates' protestations. What he'd planned to do need not involve them. He didn't care what happened to him, but he'd never forgive himself if his chums' records were forever tarnished by his ideas. Still, something needed to be done. The passed bill was an atrocity to the very notion of higher education. Banning a book simply because it contained information that disagreed with what you believed? Who'd ever heard of such totalitarian nonsense? Well then, he'd thought, why bother having any books, right?

So at precisely eleven o'clock that evening, March 7th, 1985, eighteen year old Rupert Giles broken into the Oxford University library; gathered every book he could reach from the shelves, their subject irrelevant, and ran every single one through the shredder, including the previously sequestered collection, before ultimately setting the ripped stack of volumes up in flames and running triumphantly into the night.

Had the billowing smoke not alerted campus security sooner, and thereby seeing a young man carrying a large knapsack running joyfully from the building; not a soul may have known who the suspect had been. As it was, Rupert Giles was apprehended and arrested; held up in jail for one solitary night, a university delinquency trial pending.

His exceedingly brief incarceration and the stunt itself would go on his permanent record, but the university board ultimately granted him amnesty; avoiding expulsion but not without sentencing him to academic probation and the threat of a proverbial Orwellian eye in the sky.

The student body; religious radicals and conservatives aside, reacted a bit more favorably to the young man's audacity. He became a legend overnight; overthrown with sycophantic proposals of all kinds. He took it all in stride; gleaming with pride at knowing he'd done the right thing but also knowing he'd somehow very narrowly escaped a much grimmer fate. The book shredding incident would prove notorious for many years into his matriculation, its reasoning eventually securing a moratorium on the banning of any book from the Oxford library shelves and supplying Rupert with the nefarious moniker, "Ripper".

As Rupert grew older, his anarchronistic tendencies dulled; though traces of his former self still resided in the now tweed-ridden Englishman, though it was beyond comprehension to anyone in his life currently. But Spike had been blessed, he was sure, to have been tutored by such a prolific figure. He supposed he'd subconsciously channeled the older man when he'd gone and set about creating his own dangerous alter ego. Of course, the nickname 'Spike' had merely been the tail end of a classmate's insult regarding a poem he'd written but, no one had to know that.

And the name suited his style. And Ripper had always been a champion of William's want to exceed his lowly existence and reputation as a second-rate poet. All of this and more is what had led Spike to his epiphany; crammed into the backseat of his rental car as he attempted to reason out his life.

Giles shook off his shocked stupor at seeing his old protégé standing before him and addressed Buffy, "Yes…" he said slowly, "Umm, William was a…well, I suppose you could say he's an old friend of mine."

Spike's smirk deepened as a mischevious glint appeared in her guardian's eye.

Buffy looked between the two men and grimaced, "This isn't gonna get all sexy is it?"

Spike laughed as Giles' trance broke and turned to give the girl a stern look, "What on earth are you talking about?"

"You've both got this 'cat that ate the canary' look on your face," Buffy protested. "And why'd he call you 'Ripper'?"

Spike opened his mouth to explain as Giles intercepted, "Just a…an old nickname. Youthful prattlin' and all that…" he said quickly, shifting under her gaze.

Buffy quirked a curious eyebrow before turning back to Spike, "And why'd he call you 'William'?"

Spike's smirk settled once again, "That's my name, love."

Buffy's accusatory stare softened as she cleared her throat sheepishly, "Oh."

"Though, I'd rather that not become public knowledge, Ripper," he said pointedly; shooting the old man a scowl.

Giles removed his glasses once again and sighed as he wiped them, "Just as soon as you stop calling me, 'Ripper', Spike," Giles shot back, emphasizing the younger man's own pseudonym. "I no longer respond to that title."

Spike snickered as he relaxed his shoulders, "Very well then, Rupert."

Giles rolled his eyes as Buffy suddenly remembered how she'd come to even contemplate Spike's existence. "What happened in L.A.?"

Spike started to speak before Giles' cut him off once again, his own confusion now setting in. "You two know one another?" He asked the girl incredulously.

Spike threw his hands up in defeat as his attempt at talking was interrupted yet again by the tiny blonde.

"He…he umm," Buffy stuttered; unsure of the appropriate title to give her association with the platinum haired man, "He knows Angel."

Giles' eyes widened in recognition of his ward's ex-boyfriend. He cast a furtive glance toward Spike, "I see."

Rupert had not interacted with Buffy's former beau save for a few minor occasions; but from what he had garnered out of his meetings with Angel, he did not approve. Of course, he'd never expressed his distaste for the man to him directly, or to Buffy for that matter. Although he was certain they both knew. He found Angel rather boorish and consumptive; thoroughly unsuitable in his energy and disposition for a vivacious girl such as Buffy. And though she valued his opinion and sought his approval as a daughter would to her father; he was not her father, not really. Sounding his displeasure in whom she chose to date felt inappropriate and tacky. So he relented. Though it was hard to hide his relief when she'd told him Angel had left for Los Angeles; effectively ending their relationship in the process.

Hearing now that his somewhat disciple was somehow associated with a man he loathed; Giles could not conceal his disappointment.

"Turns out yours and mine pulled a Houdini, pet," Spike addressed Buffy's question; ignoring the glare his old teacher was giving him.

"What's this, then?" Giles asked, anxious to be included in the seemingly cryptic transaction the two younger blondes were engaged in.

"Seems my bird flew away to be with Buffy's old boy toy," Spike clarified unceremoniously. "I came here to give the great poof a piece of my mind and found Buffy instead."

"I made tea," Buffy added bashfully, failing miserably to appease Giles' growing confusion at their situation.

Spike winked at her, "That you did, kitten."

Giles rolled his eyes at the nonsensical exchange, "And you're here now, because?"

Buffy looked from Giles to Spike, suddenly curious to know the answer as well.

Spike gave the pair a smirk, "Guess who's moving in?"

***

"Figure of speech, pet," Spike balked as Buffy watched him expectantly.

The bleached blond looked frantically at the three other people seated around him. He noticed the young, brown haired girl staring back at him dreamily before swiftly turning away to plead with Giles.

"Don't look at me," the older man said; his hands held out in surrender.

He'd given Buffy a lift back to her apartment after the reunion with Ripper earlier that day. Upon leaving; Giles had mentioned something about dinner plans and suggested Spike should join them. Buffy agreed, and after a minute of hazing once the old man had left them alone, Spike recounted his trip to Los Angeles.

Buffy offered him asylum at the loft as a thank you for the ride. Spike happily accepted and the two proceeded to chat further about his sudden return to Sunnydale and his intent to complete his graduate studies under the tutelage of Rupert once again.

Then, after bearing witness to a brief spat with some poor whelp who'd arrived to escort Buffy to dinner, Spike awkwardly drove them to a local pizza dive where they met up with Giles and Buffy's little sister, Dawn. Innocent chatter was made before Buffy unleashed an offer so extraordinary Spike thought he'd choke on his pizza, which he nearly did as Buffy reiterated the seriousness of her proposition.

"Come on! It's already paid for and everything!" She insisted.

Spike gave her a nervous laugh, "I don't know what to say."

Giles mused on the thought of Spike becoming Buffy's roommate. The older man's earlier assumption of Spike's involvement with Angel had been rectified through further investigation. Seems Spike cared for the twit about as much as he did, pulling the bleached blond aesthete once again back into Rupert's good graces.

"Say yes, Spike!" Dawn suddenly blurted, receiving a suspicious glance from Buffy.

Giles' rolled his eyes as Spike's nervous laughter rang louder. Buffy narrowed her gaze further at the young girl, already seeing the faint cast of a crush in the twinkle Dawn's stare had produced from looking at the blond man.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed after a moment, turning back to give him a pout. "Say yes."

Spike tilted his head and stared back at the young woman thoughtfully; sucking on his teeth as he considered her for the second time since meeting her officially. He'd called her adorable the first time he'd seen her. But now, regarding her from across the table staring back at him with hypnotizing hazel eyes and those deliciously pouty lips; he'd call her beautiful. Angel was off his bleedin' nut for leaving this girl.

"Yes," he said finally; an eruption of girly glee engulfing him as Dawn and Buffy both rounded his sides to embrace him in a clumsy hug.

Giles chuckled dryly as he saw Spike's impish grin emerge.

"Look at me, Rupes! Stuck right in the middle of a bloody Summers sandwich!"

Rupert snorted, "Indeed."

***

"Count me in," Willow mirrored the gleeful smile of her blonde counterpart. "I can't wait to meet your new roomie!"

"I'll save you the trouble Willz," Xander spat bitterly, "Billy Idol wannabe with a stupid accent and a leather fetish."

The two women shot their friend a dirty look, surprised at his venom for a man he did not know.

"Geez, someone's Mr. Grumpy today," Willow mumbled, eyeing Buffy with concern.

Buffy shrugged and focused in on Xander, remembering the hurt expression he'd worn when he'd shown up last night to drive her to the restaurant and found Spike there, already commissioned for a ride. The fact that Spike had also received an invitation to her cobbled family's weekly ritual was not lost on Buffy. Xander had never been invited; seeing as it negated the point of the meal being a 'family' thing. Even Willow hadn't been to a dinner before, and she was closer to the girl than he was! But Buffy hadn't been the one to break the tradition, and seeing as Rupert was the makeshift patriarch; Buffy saw no reason to fight with his suggestion of Spike's inclusion. Besides, she had kind of started to enjoy the sight of the handsome newcomer.

Giles' comment yesterday about Xander's feeling for her suddenly sprang to mind as Buffy gave the boy a soft smile and grabbed his hand, "You're not being replaced, Xand," she assured him.

As his melancholy faded and new hope rose at Buffy's words, the blonde quickly amended her statement; lest she run the risk of leading him on. "You're still my best friend," she clarified.

"After me, of course," Willow added with a cheeky grin.

Xander's face dropped slightly at the addendum; just a friend. That's all she saw him as. He supposed it could be worse; she could not be in his life at all. He gave the blonde a small smile. He'd take what he could get. But that still didn't mean he liked this new bleached blond menace. Who did this guy think he was? Showing up out of nowhere and enthralling his unrequited crush?

To be fair; Xander knew he was overreacting. Buffy had explained the situation to him and Willow about Spike's sudden appearance. It was bizarre, to say the least, but even Xander could admit to feeling somewhat sorry for the guy. What a way to lose your footing; dropping everything for the girl you love only to get burned repeatedly. Hello, story of his life, anyone? And Buffy's compassion for the guy only made Xander crush harder. But what the hell kind of a name is Spike, anyway? Did the guy lose a bet?

Xander snapped out of his daze just in time to hear the tail end of Buffy's question. He shook his head and stared at her blankly as she snickered.

"Xander? You with us?" She checked.

"Huh?" He asked.

"Aww, come on, Xander. Please don't be mad at me," Buffy whined.

"Yeah, Xander," Willow chimed in for the hell of it, "Nothing says 'Painting Party' like Xander's famous….err…well, please say you're still coming?" Willow finished bashfully; her attempt at quick wit failing.

Xander glanced back at Buffy; still looking at him pleadingly. He wouldn't dream of missing a chance to spend an entire day with his two favorite women; even if it was to commemorate Buffy's new peroxide laden roommate.

He flashed a goofy half grin at the girl, seeing her eyes brighten in hope, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

To Be Continued...