curiousRating: PG-13
Author:
kitty_alexFeedback: Would love everyone who leaves feedback.
Pairings: Spike/Xander
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. I bend to Joss Whedon's will and try my best not to murder his characters.
Summary: Spike has gotten himself a soul by accident. The Powers That Be want him to go to Sunnydale and deliver a message about the upcoming Harvest. He just wants to get in and get out, but will he be able to stick to his plans?
Chapter Summary: Spike doesn't like to play games and goes directly to Giles so he can get out of the town before anything crazy happens, but when his plans get delayed, will he still manage to keep out of trouble?
Warnings: Souled!Spike and AU
Notes: I'd like to thank
kimalis for helping me out with Spike's slang. Then I'd like to thank Buffyworld for episode guides. Then I'd also like to thank my other story Halfway To Columbia for getting too bloody and letting me break to find this one.Spike put his feet up on the table in the center of the library. The old man, what did he say his name was? Jiles? Giles? Yeah, it was Giles. Giles was sitting there, staring at him. He was taking it all pretty well considering the circumstances.
“You’re a vampire with a soul?” Giles asked him.
“Damn right.” Spike said with a nod.
“And you’ve come here to give the new slayer this?”
Giles held up a blue box which contained a silver cross. Spike nodded.
“Right, that will help her out.”
“Help her in stopping the Master’s rising?”
“Yes! Was I not clear the first time? You bloody Watchers get on my nerves.”
“I just don’t understand. Why you would help kill your line’s master?”
“Got no love for the prick. Even without my soul, I’d hand you the bastard on a bloody platter.”
“Ah.” Giles said sounding completely unconvinced. “It’s broad daylight. How exactly did you get in?”
“Sewers. You can get anywhere you need to go. But most vamps are too high class for all that.”
“And you aren’t?”
“I’m your fucking worst nightmare. I’m a monster, I’m not above anything. Now will you take the damn necklace so I can get out of here?”
“I don’t know… There are still more things I have to…”
A boy walked into the library. There wasn’t anything special about him, not really. His black hair was messy and his shirt was crumpled. He looked like Hell to be honest, but Spike responded to him. His soul made him remember when he looked exactly like that when he was a pathetic mess. Spike had been planning on leaving after he delivered 'the goods', but William urged Spike to stay and make conversation.
Spike gave the boy a head nod and said, "'Ello, boy."
The boy nodded back, “Hey. Um, which of you are the librarian? I did have a geometry book when I started, but it had a close encounter with the public restrooms. So, I need a new one. Which of you can give me a new one?”
"Which of you IS the librarian," Giles corrected.
"No, I'm asking you that."
Spike laughed, "Oh! That was bloody brilliant! I don't know what's funnier. He thinks I could be a librarian or he completely sailed over your pompous correction!"
“Right,” Giles said unamused. “I will go and check if I have any out the back."
"Who's the other guy," Xander said making a nod towards Spike. "Is he staff? He doesn't look like a teacher to me."
"This is my… nephew. His name is William-”
“Pratt.” Spike extended his hand. “William James Pratt. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Your accent went all funny.”
“That was my real accent, you git. I fake this one. You know, I’m punk. Anarchy in the UK and all that bollocks.”
“You look like Billy Idol.”
“Billy Idol is a vampire wannabe.”
“And you aren’t?”
Giles sighed and got up. He knew he shouldn’t leave the boy alone with a vampire, but he couldn’t exactly tell the boy that he was an actual vampire. Giles went behind the counter to look for books when a few more students came in to ask for books.
“Want to take this somewhere more private?” The boy asked while motioning to the upper level of the library.
Spike shrugged, “No necking though.”
Spike thought it was very funny considering that he was a vampire.
Xander however freaked, "No! No necking! I just want to talk about you and Billy and not be over heard! No necking! I swear!"
"I won't bite, mate. Let's continue our conversation on that wanker, Billy, up behind the bookcases."
The boy made his way up and behind the bookcases, stumbling a bit. Spike stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed. Spike leaned casually against the one of the bookcases.
“So, do you believe in vampires?” the boy asked him.
Spike snorted, he knew it wasn’t meant to be funny, but it was. The boy was asking a vampire if HE believed in vampires.
“Course not, it’s all rubbish. Why do you ask?”
He pulled out a stake and Spike instinctively jumped.
“I’m not a psycho! I swear!” The boy exclaimed. “A girl at school dropped this!”
So, the slayer was at this school. He tensed and heard the doors of the library open. He felt her enter the library. Vampires could naturally sense a slayer. It was a defense mechanism. He grabbed the boy and put a hand over his mouth to keep him from talking. The boy struggled then seemed to relax as talking behind them started. The slayer was discussing a body found in the locker room and about the rise in vampire population. It’s the main Hellmouth, of course there is going to be a constant rise of vampires. When Spike was sure the watcher and the slayer were gone, he let go of the boy and the boy looked at him with wide eyes. He stepped out from behind the bookcase and stared at the door.
“What?” he said in disbelief.
“Sorry about that…” He didn’t know the boy’s name.
“Alexander LaVelle Harris, but everyone calls me Xander.”
“Everyone calls me Spike.”
“But, see. Doesn’t that prove vampires exist! The stake, the slayer, the dead body, it all adds up! Don’t tell me you don’t believe any of this!”
“Couple of loonies ain’t going to convince me.”
“Come to the Bronze, Spike. There are a ton of odd people that might be vampires. I’ll show you!”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll think about it.”
“And that one might be a vampire.” Xander pointed out.
Not a vampire.
“And that one.”
Nope, another miss. He chuckled at the boy’s inability to pick out vampires from the crowd. Xander was probably caught up in the movie style vampire. There were a number of vampires here, a larger number than normal, but Xander wasn't picking out any of them.
“William, how are you?”
Spike froze. He had forgotten that Darla was the Master’s favourite childe. He turned around slowly to see the vampire dressed in a school girl outfit. He rolled his eyes. Her and her bloody kinks.
“Darla.” Spike put an arm defensively around Xander. “What’s a bint like you doing in a place like this? Seems a bit low brow for your standards.”
“I thought we left on good terms.”
“If you call THAT good terms.”
Last time he remembered seeing Darla, she was chasing him around with a stake demanding that it was his fault she lost her 'beautiful boy'. Wasn’t his fault the gypsies' curse bollocksed up his unlife and left her once he did experience that 'one true moment of happiness'. Spike grinned, even if he had caused it.
“Are you going to bring him as an offering?” She pointed at Xander.
Spike growled, “Hey. Boy’s mine. Master ain’t getting his claws into him.”
“Fine, I’ll just find my own offering.”
“Like Hell you are.”
“What was that?” She glared at him.
“I said, ‘Good luck with that.’”
“That’s what I thought.”
She turned on her heel and walked off. Spike sighed heavily. He should have staked her or at least ripped off her soddin’ head. Next time, he said to himself. Next time he saw his grandsire, he’d stake her right through the heart.
“That was weird. What was all that about?”
“Oh. We were role playing. You know, vampires are really in right now.”
“I knew it! I knew you were a vampire wannabe!”
“Yeah, you pegged me, mate. Wanna dance?”
“Alright, what could it hurt?”
They were leaving the Bronze and laughing when they saw the slayer calling out for some girl named 'Willow'. Xander walked up to her, dragging Spike along with.
“Hey, Buffy. This is the librarian's nephew, Spike. Isn’t it cool? Teachers with family.”
“Yeah, I heard about Giles’ ‘nephew’. Thanks for the necklace, by the way.”
“No need to thank me, just doing as I’m told. So, this missing girl.”
“Oh, right! Willow, Xander, have you seen her?”
“No, we haven’t seen her all night.”
“She left with a guy.”
“Willow? Our Willow left with a guy?”
“That’s weird?” Spike asked. "So she's not, how do you Americans say it? She's not batting for the home team? She's given up sausage?"
Xander looked shocked at his insinuation, “No! Willow is not that way! She likes sausage! Well, I've never seen her eat sausage, but I'm pretty sure she is betting for the home team!”
“We’re wasting time,” Buffy said.
“Well, was he a vampire? Because if I was a vampire, I ‘d take her to a cemetery.”
Spike snorted, “Not all vamps hang in cemeteries.”
“Says the role player with no real vampire experience. We have a slayer here. Buffy, where do you think the vampire took Willow?”
“Does everyone know I’m a slayer? Was it a school bulletin or something?”
“We over heard you in the library. I still think you’re barmy, but Xander seems to believe, so…”
“Wow, you are a good role player. Do a sheep next.”
“Buffy… what do you mean?”
“You’re confusing the lad. Let’s find your bird.” Xander gave him an odd look. “Bird means girl, you stupid git.”
Spike watched as Buffy entered the crypt they had just seen Darla enter.
“Did you know your role playing buddy was a real vampire!”
“It must have slipped my mind.”
“Well-“
“Shhhh! We’re waiting for the cue.”
“Xander, go!” Buffy screamed.
Xander rushed in. Spike felt William berate him for letting Xander go in alone. But, Darla couldn’t see him. It had been seventeen years since he got his soul back by accident; he wasn’t going to let every demon and vampire this side of the Hellmouth know he had gone soft.
“RUN!” he heard Xander cry as he ran out with a redheaded woman and boy bleeding from the neck.
Spike lifted the boy with the bleeding neck and ran with him, following Xander with the redhead he was going to assume was the Willow they had been looking for. Saving humans and babysitting had not been in the job description when he agreed to deliver the message to the slayer. Maybe this would have gone better if had thought the plan through and maybe played a little game like his sire instead of rushing in head first trying to hand the necklace off.
“What’s your name, boy?” Spike growled to the boy in his arms.
“Jesse,” the boy said. “This isn’t a hickey, is it?”
“’Fraid not.”
“The police station is only a few blocks ahead!” Willow exclaimed.
Their escape route was cut off by a mob of vampires. Spike almost dropped Jesse as he stared into the crowd. He was trying to calculate if he could kill all of them before they could escape and spread that he had gone soft. One… Two… Ten… Fifteen, nope chances were not good.
“Jesse,” Spike said to the boy in his arms.
“Yeah?”
“I’m going to fight, but I can’t put you down. Don't know if I'll be able to keep track of you during the fight. So, I’m going to give you a stake and when one of those bastards come close, you’re going to shove it through the middle of their chests, got it?”
“I think so.”
“Then let’s dance.”