3 Inches

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3 Inches
Chapter 01


“So… tell me again where the slayer is?” Spike snarls between angry drags from his cigarette.

“God, Spike. I thought Xander was slow but you are even… “ Xander flinches slightly but only Spike sees it. Willow frowns for a second then goes on with her tirade as if speaking to a nearly deaf child: “Buffy. Is. In. L.A. With. Dawn. Visiting. Their. Father.”

“Yes, I did get that. Willooow.” He drags out her name in mockery. “But I want to know why!” He yells a bit too loudly.

“Because… because he is their father?” Xander chips in and Willow looks at him, forehead scrunched up. “I really don’t think that is the reason for their visit.” She finally says.

“Anyway, interesting bloke this father is… nothing in mind but shagging the … DUCK!” Spike shoves Willow out of the way to get to - “Huh… shagging the duck?” - Xander.

The next moment the two boys are on the ground in a tangle of limbs, Spike’s elbows on either side of Xander’s head and his hips resting between Xander’s spread thighs, Xander’s arms around his waist.
Brown eyes stare up into midnight blue ones which are twinkling with mischievous laughter.

“Eeep?”

“Wish I had time right now pet.” Spike grins, gives Xander a loud wet peck on the forehead and is back up on his feet in the next moment. He launches himself into the fight against… erm… around ten fledglings with a joyous yell. Xander just stares after him. What the hell just happened?


Willow’s scream for help rips Xander from his reverie and he is up on his feet and running over to her. A vampire attempts to drag her away but Xander manages, after a bit of struggle, to dust him. Of course, Willow’s immobility spell helped.

He looks over to Spike who fights against seven fledglings at once. They are teaming up in pairs now, systematically attacking him from at least two different sides and the Master vampire struggles to keep them at bay. Another vamp falls to dust but with him also goes Spike’s current stake. When the blond grabs for another tucked in the waistband of his jeans in the small of his back, he exposes his chest and one of the vamp gets a kick in that makes Spikubleuble over, going down on his knees screaming like a wounded animal.

“Wills, it’s a trap, they only want Spike. Fuck, run!” He calls to her and shoves her away.

“And what are you going to do?” She cries out, tears making her eyes glisten like a dark green lake in the midday sun. “I…” Xander’s subconciousness, his white knight, fights against the flight instinct, encourages Xander to help his injured … comrade. His heart starts to pound even faster, his hands getting sweaty as always when he knows he is close to making a right, but pretty dumb decision.

“I’ll help him.” He says gravely and takes a step in Spike’s direction but Willow clutches onto his arm. “Wait!” She screams and her eyes lose focus before they fade to black. The previously inviting green sea after sunset, suddenly dangerous and bottomless.

Spike’s scream of frustrated rage makes Xander shudder down to his bones or maybe it’s Willow, draining the energy from his body, making him feel cold inside.

There is a loud slapping sound and what can only be categorized as a whoosh, the flash of golden light and then… eerie silence.

Xander turns around expecting to see the blond vamp, smirking and lightning a cigarette in an after battle habit, but there is no Spike. There is nothing but slowly fading clouds of dust and something on the ground that reflects the moonlight. Xander walks over there, dreading what he might find, or more, might not find with every step until… yes, the buckle of Spike’s belt, silver alight.

Xander kneels down and grabs for the clothes, duster, jeans, t-shirt, button-up boots… everything’s there but no Spike. The loss he feels is unexpected but it feels kinda right. Spike was their … comrade, fighting on their side even if his motives weren’t from the depth of his soul, weren’t to do good just because it was good to do good but… anyway.

“Scoobies got you in the end, hm?” He whispers to the dust over the entire satin shirt. “But I never thought it would be Willow finishing you off.”

“Oh god… Xander… I didn’t mean to! I was just trying to … I really didn’t want this to happen… I mean…”

“It’s … Wills, I know you didn’t do it on purpose.” But you won’t get my absolution for what you did. He thinks grumpily.

“I just wanted them to explode, not… him! Xaaander…”

“I want to go home.” The brunette says and stands up, taking all the clothes with him.

Half an hour and listening to several redundant excuses later, he is in his basement. The packed duffel bag waits against the bed, as it has for days now, tomorrow night he would – finally - sleep in his own first apartment.

He lays Spike’s clothes down on the recliner he used to tie the vamp to when he was newly chipped. Heavily he slumps down on the edge of the bed, staring at said recliner, remembering how Spike bitched about it… “Bloody hell!”

Huh? Xander shoots straight up the bed, frantically looking around to find out where the voice came from.

“Spike?” He whispers and in his head he mocks himself… I can hear dusted vampires.

“The last time I checked I would have said yes but right now I’m not so sure, mate.” He hears the tiny voice again, so low but unmistakeably Spike.

“Here whelp, on the bloody bondage chair!” Xander jerks around, staring at the chair in horror.

“Oh my god!” Xander squeals and gets down on all fours, crawling over to the chair.

“What the bloody hell happened?” Spike yells, a high pitched, desperate tone in his voice.

“I… oh god… Spike… damn, you’re cute!” Xander grins and then realizing what he said he blushes a pretty dark shade of red.

“No, I am not cute! I am …”

“About three inches tall.” Xander says in awe.

Spike groans in despair, drags the edge of the duster’s collar tighter around himself in an attempt to either hide or protect his tiny frame.

“… tell me I’m dreaming Harris… please, I beg of you!”


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