Old Enemies... (S/X)

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Part 20

He’d been pacing his empty flat for what felt like hours, though he knew it had to be a considerably shorter period of time. Hell, he’d just gotten off the phone with Elliot… he looked at the clock… twenty minutes earlier.

Still, everything inside him, soul and demon both, was crying out for him to just GO. FIND his claimed. Get him BACK. NEVER let him go AGAIN.

It was a good plan. Get his Xan, bring him home… keep him safe forever. Yeah. And if that meant neither of them left the apartment and the attached garden, then so be it. Whoever had taken his claimed was never going to get another shot at it.

Not while Spike lived… er, breathed… er, existed.

He snarled suddenly, glaring at his door when the knock sounded again. It had better not be that crazy old bint in the other penthouse wanting to borrow ‘sugar’ again. Fuck, he’d almost needed to use a crowbar to pry her from him the last time.

“What?” he growled, standing by the door.

The voice came, sounding somewhat familiar. “Elliot called. He told me what’s happening.”

“Yeah, so?” Spike snarled, trying to place the man on the other side of his door.

“So it’s almost four hours until sunset, Will… but I have a car parked down in your garage with tinted windows. I can get you to DC a good two hours before you’d be able to leave and find a flight.” Trevor waited for that to sink in. “Do you want to find your Claimed or not?” he demanded after a moment or two.

The blond was torn between rushing through the door to get into that car, and rushing same to throttle whomever it was. But the thought of getting to DC was enough to stifle the latter urge. He threw open the door and blinked, seeing the tall, dark and tasty morsel he’d passed on. “Bloody hell… you must really care for that Elliot, ‘ey?”

Trevor shrugged and blushed slightly. “Wasn’t planning to, but… yeah. So are we going?”

He was answered by Spike reaching out for something on the hall table.

“Ready, mate,” the vampire said, sliding his wallet into the back pocket of his jeans. “Let’s go. You can tell me how you know about my… needs… as we drive. Not ta mention how you got past Andy an’ up ta my floor.”

He smirked, seeing the decidedly uncomfortable look on Trevor’s face. “We have four hours, bloke… figure that’s time enough ta get ta know each other.”

All Trevor could do was sigh and get into the private elevator with the vampire. He’d known Spike wasn’t stupid. Andrew had told him that much years earlier. He just wasn’t looking forward to coming clean.

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They’d been driving for almost ten minutes before the constant stare got to the man.

His hands clenched on the steering wheel, knuckles white with tension. “Okay,” he said, his first word since they’d gotten into the car, “What do you want to know?”

Spike arched a brow disbelievingly. “Oh, how about all of it, mate? You obviously know what I am, though I’m guessin’ you haven’t shared that bit of intell with your Elliot. So th’ question is… how? An’ what makes you think Xan’s my claimed?” He frowned, more questions spilling from his lips as he got warmed up.

“Did you know who I was when I was chattin’ you up that night we met, an’ what were you goin’ ta do if I’d actually taken you home with me, ‘ey? Th’ old ‘stake through th’ heart’ bit? Think you could take me out, bloke? If you do, then why are you tryin’ ta help me, an’… bloody hell. Too many soddin’ questions!”

Trevor tried not to laugh. He really did. But it was impossible, considering how annoyed and confused the vampire looked. He managed to hold his laughter down to a couple minutes, though, by which time Spike was glaring at him.

“Be glad I have this bloody soul, bloke, or I’d eat you for lunch,” he growled, irritated.

Trevor grinned. “Hah! You had your chance at the club that night, Spike,” he said teasingly before sighing just a bit. “Okay. You want answers. I guess I owe you some. Hell, that’s the least I owe you after what you did on the Hellmouth.”

The blond blinked. “Know about that, do you?”

The young man nodded, steering his car onto the highway. “I know about a lot of things. Most things, actually. Or at least, the ones that have to do with you. I… ah, hell, there’s no easy way to put this. I’m your Watcher, Spike. Have been for a couple years now.”

Spike snorted. “Been watchin’ a few too many Highlander re-runs, have you? I’m a vampire, mate. We don’t HAVE Watchers.”

Trevor sighed again. “No, vampires in general don’t. But you’re hardly the run of the mill vamp, are you, Spike? Deliberately got yourself a soul, gave your life to save the world, came back out of phase with this dimension and wandered around like a ghost…” He took a breath, then continued. “Got solid again, helped take out the Circle, took part in saving the world… AGAIN. No,” he said softly, shaking his head, “You’re not exactly typical for your kind. And that’s why you have a Watcher.”

The vampire frowned, his back against the passenger side door as he looked at the bloke. “An’ what exactly do you watch me doin’, git?”

He shrugged. “Pretty much everything, Spike. From a distance, of course. Hell, I just about died when you walked into the club that night. You’d never gone there before, so I thought it was a safe place for me to have a night off. But then, there you were and next thing I knew…” He blushed. “And just so you know… I would have worn the eye patch if I hadn’t known about Harris.”

“You knew… what, mate?”

Trevor chuckled. “I’ve never really wanted to be a replacement for anyone, Spike. But I knew about Harris and his eye and considering your history, I… well, let’s just say I had a good idea of who you’d be imagining, and it for damned sure wouldn’t have been ME.”

Spike chuckled and looked out the front windshield. “True enough, bloke. So you’ve been watchin’. Got it. But you can’t have been doin’ it for long. You’re bloody young, aren’t you? So you took over from someone else, yeah?”

Spike could smell the lie before the young man even uttered it. “The truth, Trevor. I’ll know if it’s not.”

“Damned enhanced senses,” Trevor muttered. “Fine,” he said louder, “I’ve been watching you since New Mexico, okay? I’m… older than I look, like someone else I could mention.” He gave the vampire a pointed glare.

Both dark brows rose, almost meeting platinum hair. “What are you, then? Because you for bloody sure SMELL human…” And maybe he’d been stupid to go climbing into a car with the guy… and driving out into the bloody sun. ‘Brilliant, Spike,’ he told himself. ‘Get all worried over your claimed and set yourself up ta die.’ He tried to be subtle about leaning down, his hand searching the floor of the car for anything he could use as a weapon.

“I AM human… now.”

Spike’s search halted and he cocked his head, staring at the brunette curiously. “Meanin’ you didn’t used ta be. Now, you know that’s somethin’ you’re goin’ ta have ta explain, mate. Along with th’ rest of it.” He relaxed into his earlier position again, watching the Watcher, as it were.

Trevor laughed a little bitterly. “Gods… at this rate you’ll have my life story before Delaware.”

The vampire smirked. “Doubt it, bloke. Not if you keep makin’ me drag it from you like I’m pullin’ teeth. Done that a time or two, you know. Pulled teeth. Messy, but th’ screamin’ was fun.”

Brown eyes rolled. “Yeah, I’m intimidated, okay?”

Spike grinned. “Start talkin’, git. I’ll tell you when ta stop.”

(A/N: It looks like this is going to be a LONG one, guys. Hope nobody minds. :) Thanks to Remity Girl, Fan Girly (twice), ladyicondraco, Discord, TheShadowCat and E for taking the time to review it. You all rock. :D)