The Silent Urge Series

Author's note:

THANK YOU ALL SOOOOOOO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS. WOW. 100+ reviews! *does the happy dance Xander style*
Kwalagirl... you were #100 and I hope you like the next two chaps. I try to fulfill your wish. Thanks babe!


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Part B Cravings

Chapter 20 - Debuts II

~ Spike ~

I'm at the whelp's side when he enters the club. I feel the nervousness pouring off of him now that the short moment of cockiness is gone.

"It'll all be okay." I tell him and he looks doubtfully at me. "Sure will. You'll go over there and just do it. I'll be around even if you don't see me. Don't touch anyone. I'm here when you have your first break." With that said, I pull him close to me and press my lips to his forehead, then shove him over in the direction of the bar and I am gone.

~ Xander ~

Hey, erm… Spike… did you just kiss me on my forehead like mommies do when they take their kiddies to school? I swallow hard. The place where Spike's cool lips touched me seems to burn and I suppress the urge to rub at it. Damn vampire. I look around and Spike is nowhere to be seen but I kinda feel he is somewhere in the shadows, lurking and watching. I shiver.

I take a few steps in the direction of the bar and Maerg waves with three hands while throwing the shaker from one to the other two h he he has. Oh my. I plaster a nervous half smile on my face and go over to them, Raspla opens his mouth showing me about a million teeth and then continues to work silently and quickly.

Behind the bar, I have the first look at the crowd, not a lot of people here and, as if Maerg read my mind, he indicates the clock.

"Rush hour around 11. Shoreak eak before. Longer break." He holds up four hands, showing erm… fifteen fingers and no thumbs. I nod. "at 1 a.m. End of shift around 3 a.m. Alright?" He jerks his head down to me, flashing a smile, eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Yes, yes. Alright!" I answer, a bit too loudly, but he looks pleased.

"Good." He says and one hand grabs mine, shaking it as if finishing off a deal, two other hands pet my shoulder and back in reassurance just before he shoves me over to Raspla who welcomes me with a sharp knife… what? At the last moment I turn away, avoiding getting it into my belly. "Hey…"

"Sorry." He says, showing the teeth-crowded mouth again, which looks really scary from closer up, and turns the knife so I can grab the handle.

"Here." he says, and gives me a 10 pound net of lemons. "Cut." I nod. "Like this." He shows me neatly cut slices. "Yeah sure man, no problem! I just cut them. Slices and all. Yes I can do that. I…" "And" he interrupts my embarrassing tirade. "ssshh!" He makes a gesture, one finger against pouting lips. I nod. Yes, yes. Shutting up now. And so I start cutting lemons.

~ Spike ~

I barely have time to see Xander being welcomed by Maerg before one of the new guards, whose names I still don't know, tells me to go over to Treck's office. Bloody hell. I knew it was inevitable but just right now? Scowling I make my way over to the office, go in and close the door behind me.

"Finally!" Treck exclaims and jumps in my reflexively opening arms. "Finally I get you without that human!"

"Xander." I tell him and try to stay unaffected by his playful bites in my neck just over the collar of the duster.

"Whatever." He dismisses my remark and I growl lightly. He shivers and his legs come around my waist. When he arches his back my hands slide down to prevent him from falling to the floor, fuck, two muscled, warm buttocks in my hands.

"Spike." He whispers in my ear. "I missed you. Didn't you miss me at all?"

No. Barely thought of you… is what comes to my mind first and that's good because it gives me some reality back.

I make my way over to the desk and seat Treck there. Reluctantly he lets go of me and I sprawl myself out on one of the leather chairs in front of his desk.

"Spike… what… I don't understand." He says and I nearly feel pity for him. I take a deep breath, arming myself for the coming trouble.

"The Initiative got me." I grit out so low Treck needs some seconds to hear and understand it.

Eventually his eyes widen comically by the implied possibilities. "But… how… god Spike… what did these… " And bam, demon in my lap again, groping all he can reach to make sure I'm whole. "… these bastards. What did they do to you? And how did you get away… and the initiative has been down for like two months and where have you been… why didn't you come to me?"

"I wasn't sure if it was safe. I could have had a tracer somewhere … inside me. Actually had once. Didn't want to guide them here… too dangerous. Went to the slayer once I realised… " Abruptly Treck pulls back and stares at me, shaking his head frantically.

"NO. Nononononono. Don't tell me they… they…" I look down, fixing my eyes on his chest, seeking comfort in his embrace. Treck has seen me down, that time when Dru threw me out. Nothing to hide here. And him being an empath makes it futile to hide behind masks.

"Yeah, they chipped me." I say and my voice is cracking. It's not easy to admit it, not easy to confess bloody fucking weakness.

He rocks me back and forth in a tight embrace and his lips are pressed in my hair, against my temple, on my cheekbone, on my jaw and yes, fuck, I know where this journey ends and screw it, when his lips meet mine I just give in. Just for a moment, just to forget, for a few seconds.

When his tongue seeks entry I grant it, let it in to caress mine. I am passive in this kiss, just taking. Unusual for me. Hope Treck knows … feels that this has nothing to do with lust or love, that this is just comfort, just me needing some physical reassurance. Something that makes my thoughts shut up and my heart free for a few moments.

~ Xander ~

Fuck it. Finally I am through with these millions of lemons. I look down at my fingers. The tips are wrinkled from the lemon juice like when you take a too-long bath and where I cut myself, whilst staring at one slightly more exotic customer, it burns like hell tenfold.

"Hey, Rasla, man. I have…" "RasPla." He corrects me with his even voice. "Yes sorry, RasPla, I am through with the… " My voice fades away when he hands me another ten-pound-net of lemons. "… FIRST net of one million lemons." I joke near despair.

"Come on, Ras, he has practiced slicing lemons enough for tonight. It's my turn now." Maerg's warm voice rumbles behind me and I can hardly suppress the relieved sigh. Raspla and Maerg exchange this amused smile over my head, like they did every time I cut myself. Not the look-at-the-stupid-boy-smile more the oh-isn't-our-junior-cute-smile. Don't know if I like it. Really. Spike is cute. When he is all sleepy or confused with his big blue eyes and rumpled hair. Wonder what he does right now?

~ Spike ~

"Treckle…" I more moan than say into his satiny mouth. I have nearly forgotten how gentle he is, how patiently and softly he kisses. I have to stop this now. I really have to…

~ Xander ~

Maerg guides me over to his part of the bar and shows me a list..

"Umah, you go and check these. Here…" he points at words, some are confusing because they are not written in letters I know. "…is the name of the bottles, here the quantity of what should be in store, here you write in the number of what is really there. Count them carefully, the next order is based on this." With that he opens a little door between the shelves of bottles and equipment and I go into the middle of the bar, enter the core of it.

There are ladders leading up- and downstairs and then there are about one hundred boxes, on their outside is something written in a very poor handwriting. I bet Raspla's because Maerg seems to be the head-bartender, and most of them contain, according to the writing on the outside, four or six bottles. Wonderful.

Looking around again deciding where to start, I slump down to my knees and just open the first box. Relieved I find out that the bottles are labelled and that makes it easier to compare the names to the ones on my list. The handwriting is really crappy. Who'd guess that that should read Vodka? Hm, I look at the list again, and then try to calculate space and different kinds of boxes, nod to myself. Yes, this will do.

~ Spike ~

"Bloody hell, Treck, stop!" I almost yell and struggle to get up. I see the look of misery in Treck's eyes and fuck, I'm something like sorry for him but I just can't give him what he wants.

"I came here to talk business." I say, my voice colder than I intended, Treckle flinches but it does the trick.

"So what?" he spits back. Fine. Bloody fucking fine.

"I can't hurt anything human, so keep them the fuck away from me. No door duty for me and none of the other shite. It's embarrassing enough most of them…" Nod of my head indicating the club. "…know about me being chipped. I don't want them to witness William the Bloody going down screaming in pain when he just so much as looks funny at a human. 'K?" I get a cig out and light it while I continue pacing. Bloody soldiers. Bloody fucking chip.

Treckle nods and is smart enough not to ask anymore questions.

"So, show me the balance and sales of the last years?" I smirk when he groans. See, I can still be evil.



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