synapticjava (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
synapticjava) wrote2005-07-22 07:29 pm
synapticjava) wrote2005-07-22 07:29 pm
Learn to be Lonely, Chapter 3/?
Title: Learn to be Lonely chapter 3/?
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chocgood84
Rating: PG-13ish at the moment
Pairing: BtVS Spike/Xander
Author’s Note: Because I’m lame and can’t find a way to fit my stories into canon at all, this piece is sometime after Spike is chipped and while he’s enjoying his stay at the lovely Chateau D’Harris. Also, a huge spanking thanks tokitty_poker1 for volunteering to be my official L2BL beta. Also, previous parts are up at my website.
Disclaimer: These character’s aren’t mine, never were; I don’t get any profit for this hobby, so don’t sue – Thanks.
Warning: None for now, other than it’s a little slow on the ship front for now. But we are eventually headed for equal parts angst and schmoop, because really, can I even write anything else?
“…Xander?” Willow asked, tapping him on the wrist lightly.
“Huh?” He startled. Oh, crap. How long has she been talking? he wondered. “Oh, sorry Will, what were you saying?”
“Just that I think we might be taking the wrong road, here,” she said with concern. “Are you alright, Xander? You seem sort of…not here.”
“What? Yeah, I’m fine,” he lied. “Just kind of out of it, I guess. Didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Oh,” she said quietly, trading one book for another from the stack. “Wanna talk about it?”
“Nothing to talk about,” he lied again. “Just a weird dream I had; no big.”
“What kind of dream?” she asked despondently, her eyes scanning back and forth across page after page of the text she’d selected.
“Just a dream,” he clarified. With a grunt of frustration and weariness, he slammed the book he was reading shut. “I don’t think this guy’s in here. Spike said even he didn’t know what kind of demon the thing was.”
“Yes, because Spike is the foremost authority on demon identifying,” Giles replied sarcastically as he returned to the research table. The last customer finally gone, he’d just turned the outside lights off and turned the ‘Open’ sign around to read ‘Closed’.
“Well, he’s usually pretty good with that kind of stuff, right?” Willow asked, turning another page. She finally looked up from her book. “I mean, he’s killed - or hired to kill someone else - just about everything there is, hasn’t he?”
“Well, yes, that’s true,” Giles admitted, making his way back to the cash register. “But he’s still not quite as dependable as documented texts, now is he?”
“Right you are, G-Man,” Xander chimed in. “But on the other hand, it wasn’t Spike that said the way to make a Ln’Mzrgea demon teleport back to its home dimension was to hop around like bunnies and sing it O Tannenbaum.”
“That was a slight…misinterpretation of the text.” Giles struggled to come up with a believable cover-up as he punched in the register code, making the cash drawer spring out. “Human error, really.”
“Right.” Xander rolled his eyes. “All I’m saying is that…wait, I have no clue where I was going with this. Oh, right: these books aren’t giving us the 411 we need to 911 this bad boy.”
“Excuse me?” Giles asked in his best ‘I’m an ex-librarian and still have no clue what you’re talking about’ voice.
“We’re not finding the information on how to kill it,” Willow offered, closing her book and tossing it back into the pile. “And, I’m going to agree. This guy’s nowhere in here.”
“Well, keep at it,” Giles urged, grabbing the cash drawer and his cup of tea and making towards the office. “I’m sure you’ll find him.”
“Uh, thanks, Giles,” Xander called after him. With a shared look of disdain and a mutual sigh of torture, they each picked up another dusty tome and cracked them open.
“Heard from Anya?” Willow asked absently.
“She called this afternoon and left a voicemail,” he replied, picking through his own book unhappily. “Something about finding a necklace on E-Bay she lost doing a favor for Queen Elizabeth.”
“Oh! She knows the Queen?” Willow suddenly perked up, taking her eyes from the pages and looking at Xander.
Xander shook his head. “Knew the Queen. Queen Elizabeth the First. I guess there was this guy, and a war, and the rest is history. Literally.”
“Oh,” she replied, gaze falling back to the books. “Well, that’s nice. She bid on it?”
“No clue,” he responded. “I think she might have called the police for theft, though. Not really sure – my cell was cutting out.”
“Oh. Well, that’s, um, nice,” she tried.
“Nice, indeed,” he mumbled, closing and tossing his book back into the pile. “I don’t think we’re going to find him.”
“Me neither,” Willow agreed, pushing her book towards the middle of the table. “I wish Buffy would get here; at least she knows what to look for.”
The bell over the shop door clanged, announcing the entrance of Slayer and beau. Behind them strutted a rather annoyed looking Spike.
“Speak of the devil,” Xander called. “And the devil’s soldier and, uh, for Spike I got nothing.”
“Fuck off, Harris,” Spike muttered, lighting a cigarette.
“What’s up?” Buffy asked, squeezing both arms around a tired Riley.
“Just trying to find the 411 on your mysterious demon dude,” Xander explained. “Hey, Riley, how’s it going?”
“It’s going,” he replied, bending to kiss Buffy.
“We should probably get you home and into bed,” Buffy said coyly. At the eye rolls from the Scoobies and the disgusted grunt from the vampire, she amended herself. “For sleep, of course. You can barely stand on your own.”
“What about your dead demon walking, Buff?” Xander asked.
“Yeah, we need some more information so we can find out what it is,” Willow added.
“Oh, right. No need,” Buffy said pointedly. “Came after me while I was on patrol. He went ‘grr’, I went ‘grr’, we fought, and he got ‘dead’.”
“All right!” Xander cried, jumping up and away from the evil books he’d been tortured with all night. “Who’s up for the Bronze?”
“No can do,” Riley half-mumbled. “I really need to get some rest. I’ve got a six o’clock debriefing tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks, Xander, but I think we’re just going to head home,” Buffy yawned. “Riley just got back from…wherever he was, and we’re both pretty, uh, tired.”
“Hey, guys, it’s cool,” Xander said. “Need some, uh, ‘sleeping time’ alone. No big. Hey, Wills, you up for it?”
“Sorry, Xander,” Willow apologized as she stood from the table and pulled her purse over her shoulder. “Me and Tara are gonna get in some study time before tomorrow’s chem test.”
“Hey, it’s fine,” Xander said dejectedly. “You go, study, ace your test. We’ll go out next week sometime.”
“Sure, Xander!” Willow pepped. “Give me a call, okay?”
“Sure thing,” he replied. “Good night, ladies and gentleguy.”
Willow, Buffy, and Riley said their goodbyes and with the clang of a bell they were gone, leaving just Spike and Xander in the front of the shop, and Giles in the office.
“Hey, Giles?” Xander called.
“Not on your bloody life,” he cried back. “And lock the door on your way out, please!”
“Okay…what do you say, Fangless?” he asked.
“Who’s payin'?” Spike countered, arching one eyebrow up.
“Apparently, me.”
“Why not?” Spike wondered. “Got nothing better to kill.”
“That’s the spirit,” Xander joked, putting his jacket on and heading for the front door. “Hey, maybe we’ll get lucky and run into a demon on the way there. I am a magnet, after all.”
“Already the night’s lookin' up, then,” Spike snarked as they made their way into the night.
Author:
chocgood84Rating: PG-13ish at the moment
Pairing: BtVS Spike/Xander
Author’s Note: Because I’m lame and can’t find a way to fit my stories into canon at all, this piece is sometime after Spike is chipped and while he’s enjoying his stay at the lovely Chateau D’Harris. Also, a huge spanking thanks to
kitty_poker1 for volunteering to be my official L2BL beta. Also, previous parts are up at my website.Disclaimer: These character’s aren’t mine, never were; I don’t get any profit for this hobby, so don’t sue – Thanks.
Warning: None for now, other than it’s a little slow on the ship front for now. But we are eventually headed for equal parts angst and schmoop, because really, can I even write anything else?
“…Xander?” Willow asked, tapping him on the wrist lightly.
“Huh?” He startled. Oh, crap. How long has she been talking? he wondered. “Oh, sorry Will, what were you saying?”
“Just that I think we might be taking the wrong road, here,” she said with concern. “Are you alright, Xander? You seem sort of…not here.”
“What? Yeah, I’m fine,” he lied. “Just kind of out of it, I guess. Didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Oh,” she said quietly, trading one book for another from the stack. “Wanna talk about it?”
“Nothing to talk about,” he lied again. “Just a weird dream I had; no big.”
“What kind of dream?” she asked despondently, her eyes scanning back and forth across page after page of the text she’d selected.
“Just a dream,” he clarified. With a grunt of frustration and weariness, he slammed the book he was reading shut. “I don’t think this guy’s in here. Spike said even he didn’t know what kind of demon the thing was.”
“Yes, because Spike is the foremost authority on demon identifying,” Giles replied sarcastically as he returned to the research table. The last customer finally gone, he’d just turned the outside lights off and turned the ‘Open’ sign around to read ‘Closed’.
“Well, he’s usually pretty good with that kind of stuff, right?” Willow asked, turning another page. She finally looked up from her book. “I mean, he’s killed - or hired to kill someone else - just about everything there is, hasn’t he?”
“Well, yes, that’s true,” Giles admitted, making his way back to the cash register. “But he’s still not quite as dependable as documented texts, now is he?”
“Right you are, G-Man,” Xander chimed in. “But on the other hand, it wasn’t Spike that said the way to make a Ln’Mzrgea demon teleport back to its home dimension was to hop around like bunnies and sing it O Tannenbaum.”
“That was a slight…misinterpretation of the text.” Giles struggled to come up with a believable cover-up as he punched in the register code, making the cash drawer spring out. “Human error, really.”
“Right.” Xander rolled his eyes. “All I’m saying is that…wait, I have no clue where I was going with this. Oh, right: these books aren’t giving us the 411 we need to 911 this bad boy.”
“Excuse me?” Giles asked in his best ‘I’m an ex-librarian and still have no clue what you’re talking about’ voice.
“We’re not finding the information on how to kill it,” Willow offered, closing her book and tossing it back into the pile. “And, I’m going to agree. This guy’s nowhere in here.”
“Well, keep at it,” Giles urged, grabbing the cash drawer and his cup of tea and making towards the office. “I’m sure you’ll find him.”
“Uh, thanks, Giles,” Xander called after him. With a shared look of disdain and a mutual sigh of torture, they each picked up another dusty tome and cracked them open.
“Heard from Anya?” Willow asked absently.
“She called this afternoon and left a voicemail,” he replied, picking through his own book unhappily. “Something about finding a necklace on E-Bay she lost doing a favor for Queen Elizabeth.”
“Oh! She knows the Queen?” Willow suddenly perked up, taking her eyes from the pages and looking at Xander.
Xander shook his head. “Knew the Queen. Queen Elizabeth the First. I guess there was this guy, and a war, and the rest is history. Literally.”
“Oh,” she replied, gaze falling back to the books. “Well, that’s nice. She bid on it?”
“No clue,” he responded. “I think she might have called the police for theft, though. Not really sure – my cell was cutting out.”
“Oh. Well, that’s, um, nice,” she tried.
“Nice, indeed,” he mumbled, closing and tossing his book back into the pile. “I don’t think we’re going to find him.”
“Me neither,” Willow agreed, pushing her book towards the middle of the table. “I wish Buffy would get here; at least she knows what to look for.”
The bell over the shop door clanged, announcing the entrance of Slayer and beau. Behind them strutted a rather annoyed looking Spike.
“Speak of the devil,” Xander called. “And the devil’s soldier and, uh, for Spike I got nothing.”
“Fuck off, Harris,” Spike muttered, lighting a cigarette.
“What’s up?” Buffy asked, squeezing both arms around a tired Riley.
“Just trying to find the 411 on your mysterious demon dude,” Xander explained. “Hey, Riley, how’s it going?”
“It’s going,” he replied, bending to kiss Buffy.
“We should probably get you home and into bed,” Buffy said coyly. At the eye rolls from the Scoobies and the disgusted grunt from the vampire, she amended herself. “For sleep, of course. You can barely stand on your own.”
“What about your dead demon walking, Buff?” Xander asked.
“Yeah, we need some more information so we can find out what it is,” Willow added.
“Oh, right. No need,” Buffy said pointedly. “Came after me while I was on patrol. He went ‘grr’, I went ‘grr’, we fought, and he got ‘dead’.”
“All right!” Xander cried, jumping up and away from the evil books he’d been tortured with all night. “Who’s up for the Bronze?”
“No can do,” Riley half-mumbled. “I really need to get some rest. I’ve got a six o’clock debriefing tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks, Xander, but I think we’re just going to head home,” Buffy yawned. “Riley just got back from…wherever he was, and we’re both pretty, uh, tired.”
“Hey, guys, it’s cool,” Xander said. “Need some, uh, ‘sleeping time’ alone. No big. Hey, Wills, you up for it?”
“Sorry, Xander,” Willow apologized as she stood from the table and pulled her purse over her shoulder. “Me and Tara are gonna get in some study time before tomorrow’s chem test.”
“Hey, it’s fine,” Xander said dejectedly. “You go, study, ace your test. We’ll go out next week sometime.”
“Sure, Xander!” Willow pepped. “Give me a call, okay?”
“Sure thing,” he replied. “Good night, ladies and gentleguy.”
Willow, Buffy, and Riley said their goodbyes and with the clang of a bell they were gone, leaving just Spike and Xander in the front of the shop, and Giles in the office.
“Hey, Giles?” Xander called.
“Not on your bloody life,” he cried back. “And lock the door on your way out, please!”
“Okay…what do you say, Fangless?” he asked.
“Who’s payin'?” Spike countered, arching one eyebrow up.
“Apparently, me.”
“Why not?” Spike wondered. “Got nothing better to kill.”
“That’s the spirit,” Xander joked, putting his jacket on and heading for the front door. “Hey, maybe we’ll get lucky and run into a demon on the way there. I am a magnet, after all.”
“Already the night’s lookin' up, then,” Spike snarked as they made their way into the night.
no subject
Thank you, baby. *all kinds of hugs*