A rather (very) short chapter this round, but next one is looking to be much longer. Normal ratings still apply and as always comments encourage the author-beast and make her a happy writer.

Chapter Three

"Alexia!" Something very solid, but also very plush, ran into him at full force, almost knocking him to the ground. In fact if it wasn't for the bar's convenient existence right next to his hand he probably would have been eating floor. With one hand grasping the bar for support the other wrapped around the plump form of his event manager.

"Tally, more warning before we play bumper cars," he groaned. Tahlia Sokoll was definitely the reason he had been hired as the Gilded Narwhal's newest bartender. As second in command, and the one who named the bar, Tally had been in charge of interviews and she didn't hesitate to let Xander know his application got as far as it did because Tally thought he was cute. And even if it was a little underhanded Xander liked the bar and liked getting paychecks enough to not complain about physical appearance getting him a job.

Though the more he worked with the chubby manager the more he realized it may have been less about his physical appearance and more because he had actually squealed when a man covered in fake blood and spikes came out of the office before his interview. One of his less impressive moments but he had been startled, damn it, and sometimes being startled resulted in cute noises.

With his employer safely in his arm and his own fall stopped by his other arm, Xander allowed the shorter woman to kiss his neck in a pathetic way. She must have wanted something.

"Lexi, my love, it's so dark out." She had her pouty face on. One which reminded him too much of Willow, even if the girls were very different.

"You want me to walk you home?" Xander guessed, grateful when his boss moved enough that he could stand properly. Her bright blush made him suspicious. "You want me to walk you to some sordid affair's house?"

Tally all but purred against Xander's chest. "You know me so well, my love. It's only a few blocks from your apartment and I'll give you tomorrow off."

That actually was tempting. And Xander didn't like Tally wandering the streets on her own. With her new bright pink dye job she was probably a neon sign for any baddies wandering around. Owning one's job, or at least half of it, helped with setting the dress code but bright pink did not make life on the Hellmouth easier. What Xander didn't understand about his boss was she knew all about the nasties that lived in the town and she still wandered around late at night with hair in the same shade as most glow sticks. He had seen her hid behind a bouncer when some demons gave her trouble a few nights before and not an hour later she was running off for a night of fun with what he assumed was distantly related to whatever originated in a hell dimension.

Most of his coworkers were like that. They played with the demons of the town and didn't seem at all scared when they left work at night. Well, he understood why the bouncers were never scared. They were twice the size he'd been as a man and actually got to carry weapons with them during their shifts. But his fellow bartenders didn't seem to know what fear was or why it was important in Sunnydale.

When he noticed that Tally was quick to walk herself home he had started insisting on accompanying her. And eventually that meant whenever any of the staff needed someone to walk with Lexi was the first person they'd ask.

And secretly, very secretly, he enjoyed it. Not being the weakest of his coworkers was kind of nice. Sure, there was a vampire on staff who was stronger than him and the bar's owner could break him with a sneeze, but he wasn't the one people babied when the meaner demons came out to play.

And he loved it.

"Let me get my coat." Xander said. It was actually nice to have someone to walk with. Tally presented him with the mindless chat he had been missing from his friends. Plus for being short, plump and adorable she was a dirty girl and Xander usually found himself laughing more with her than with any of his coworkers.

With a farewell to Scott, the actual owner of the club, the pair set out into the night. One of the best parts of the job was Scott lived in the apartment above the club which meant Xander never had to lock up. But that also meant a lot of nights he'd be pulled away from clean up to escort Tally to wherever she was spending the night. Or whoever needed an escort home.

Two hands took one of his, pulling them to cup his manager's cheek. "Oh darling, what's got you so blue?" Wide eyes looked over Xander for a physical reason that would explain the perceived problem, or maybe Tally just liked raking her eyes over Xander's body.

"I'm not blue. And if I am it's just because it's cold tonight."

"Liar, liar. Are you jealous? If you don't want to be alone tonight Scotty's back at the club. Or I'm sure wherever I'm going has a big old bed." She wiggled her eyebrows in a way that had to be practiced in the mirror and Xander couldn't hold back his laugh.

"Dirty minx." He teased, ruffling her mess of pink hair. "I'm just feeling a little lonely. I miss my friends, but I can't go see them."

The vague answer seemed enough to keep Tally from inviting him into the apartment she had stopped in front of. Almost two weeks and most nights he walked Tally to a different apartment. Someday Xander would have to find out where she really lived.

A chaste kiss on the lips and Tally grinned like the cat who could have caught the canary but preferred putting off the eating of the canary until a later time. "Go visit your friends, you silly head. Can't have a Ms. Grumpy Face distracting me from what is sure to be wild sex."

Another burst of laughter and Xander waved off his boss, pleased to see her make it into the building. And this apartment was a lot closer to his compared to the ones he'd taken her to before. Though once the door closed behind her Xander realized there was a large graveyard between himself and his home. Sure, there were graveyards all over Sunnydale, ridiculous amounts of graveyards, but this one he wouldn't want to tackle with a backpack full of stakes.

"Bugger."

And no, he didn't want to ponder just when Spike had crept into his brain and left little bits of British slang. So, in the relative safety of the steps in front of the apartment building Xander exchanged his heels for running shoes and pulled a stake from his bag. Just because he didn't hang out with the Slayer anymore didn't mean he had to run around unprepared.

But Sunnydale was strangely quiet. Maybe it was the light chill that hung over the city. Maybe it was the fact that with Spike helping Buffy patrol there was a lot smaller chance of escaping with only serious wounds and a bruised ego. Whatever it was, Xander enjoyed it.

Until he ended up in front of one of the biggest, meanest looking demons he'd ever seen. "Hi, ugly. Seeing as I forgot my sword at home maybe we just agree to disagree and go about our business, eh?"

The demon just laughed, the kind of laugh that reminded Xander of thunder, and slapped the bartender away as easily as a fly.

"Good work jinxing yourself." Xander groaned as his vision blurred and his hearing was dominated by the sound of roaring.