Just Begun

Chapter 3


Xander had the distinct impression that someone or something was trying to wake him up.

“Xan. OI! Get up, you lazy sod,” Spike shouted, shaking Xander’s limp body with more force than Xander thought was necessary.

“Wah? Apocalypse?”

“Lunch.”

“Oh. In bed?”

“Not bleedin’ likely! C’mon, brat. Shift your carcass.”

“Just five more minutes.” Xander mumbled, curling back up into his beloved foetal position.

“Oh, no, you don’t. I’m bored and I ain’t got no-one to talk to!” Spike cried as he grabbed Xander’s arm and dragged him off the bed.

“Spike?! What the hell?”

“Just get up. I wanna know about last night. C’mon, Xan, I’m bored. Entertain me.”

Xander sat in a bedraggled heap on the floor and sighed. Spike made a fantastic alarm clock. Unfortunately, Xander had smashed his last three alarm clocks against the wall. It didn’t bode well for Spike.

“Me shower. You go. Coffee. Strong. Toast. Burnt. Ten minutes.”

“Why do I have to make sodding coffee and toast?”

“Because you’re the bastard that that woke me up. Now, be gone, oh irritating one.”

Spike walked away mumbling something about stupid, lazy humans. He headed towards the kitchen anyway.

**

Spike placed a plate of burnt toast in front of a still-sleepy human. “Did you pull, then?” he asked.

“Kinda,” Xander replied through a mouthful of crumbly, buttery goodness.

Spike raised an eyebrow. He still wasn’t particularly happy that his friend was running about the city flaunting his goods, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to hear the juicy details. “Tell me,” he demanded.

So Xander told the tale of the hot, tall guy that had no clue whatsoever.

“I can’t believe that anyone could say such cheesy stuff.” Spike paused for a moment to think about it. He laughed. “Blow me?”

And that was the moment that Angel chose to enter the scene. Timing? Perfection.

“William!” Angel thundered.

Spike knew he was in trouble. His Grandsire only ever used his human name when he was about dish out a damn good telling off.

“Xander is a guest in my home and I demand that you show him some respect!”

“I didn’t…”

“No excuses, Spike. Apologise to Xander immediately.”

“But…I didn’t! Xan, tell ‘im!”

Xander smirked into his coffee and said nothing.

Angel frowned at Spike and turned on his heels.

“You shit!” Spike whispered to Xander.

“Takes one to know one.”

Spike scowled and crossed his arms.

“Oh come on, don’t get all sulky. I’ll tell him.”

“Yeah, you better. And I want a full apology. In writing.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Xander snatched the last piece of cremated toast and trotted out of the kitchen to catch up Angel.

“Hey, Gabriel. Wait up!”

Angel stopped and turned, an irritated expression stamped firmly on his face. “Yes?”

“About that? Just now? It wasn’t how it sounded.”

Angel nodded silently.

Xander didn’t know why he said it, but somehow it just popped out. “There isn’t anything between us. Me and Spike, I mean. We’re not…you know, doing anything."

Angel nodded again, his expression now totally unreadable. Xander stared back, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable.

“You don’t need my help with anything, do you? ‘cos I was thinking of hitting the shops.”

“No, I don’t need you for anything. Go right ahead.”

“Okay…I will.”

“Okay.”

“Sure.”

“Okay.”

“Right.”

Both men shook their heads and walked off in separate directions.

Spike leant on the door frame and popped a cigarette in his mouth. Well, well, well, three holes in the ground. How weird had that just been? If Spike didn’t know better, he would have sworn he’d just witnessed sexual tension. He’d have to keep an eye out.

**

Angel stood over the boiling pot and sniffed it. Fish guts. A definite aroma of fish guts. That was so the opposite of it being right. The potion should smell more along the lines of wet dog and a hint of eggs. Angel sighed loudly and snatched up the new translation that he and Xander had worked on the night before.

Frogs' legs: Check

Watercress: Check

Eye of gecko: Check

Hash Browns: Ch… hang on. Fuck, Hash Browns? He’d put Hash Browns in the potion? Damn Xander and his atrocious handwriting.

Angel was about to brood when he felt an unfamiliar movement on his face. A smile. Only Xander Harris could cause him to put Hash Browns in an ancient Brillian potion. What a pair of idiots. His smile soon turned into a strange sort of giggle and, before he knew it, he was holding his sides to prevent them from splitting. Just wait until Xander got back. He was going to find this so funny.

A loud crash, a woman’s scream and a shouted “Xander!” rose from the lobby and Angel shot to his feet. What the hell?

Angel charged from his room and bolted along the landing. Another crash boomed throughout the hotel and Angel recognised Cordelia’s voice shrieking with fear.

“Xander, look out! Up there! It’s up there!”

Angel ran faster.

“Bloody hell! Where the fuck did that come from! Only you, Harris! Fuck, watch it!”

Spike.

Clearly something had gotten into the hotel. Demon, probably. What could be lurking about during the day? Grettal Demon? Twurdle Mouse?

“Xander, no!” Cordelia shouted, her voice thick with panic.

“Bollocks!” Spike added. “Peaches! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!”

“Right here,” Angel said with calmness he didn’t feel. “What’s going on?” he asked, paused halfway down the stairs.

“Big bird!” Xander shouted from his place crouched on the floor.

Angel immediately conjured up the image of a Sesame Street character in his mind. “What?!”

Xander pointed up to the ceiling. “A big bird! Shit, it’s coming back!”

Angel glanced up and caught sight of an enormous demon bird as it spread its wings and swooped through the lobby towards Xander. “NOOO!”

Angel leapt off the stairs, almost flying through the air to cut off the bird’s attack. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Spike flinging himself over Xander’s body to protect him from the razor sharp beak that was soaring towards them.

The demon flew faster than any natural bird could ever hope to and Angel screamed with rage and the effort to reach his friend and Grandchilde before they could be skewered by the mammoth beak. He stretched out an arm and, with all the strength he had, he firmly grasped a powerful wing and swung the squawking demon bird into a wall. Angel ran to where it lay flapping, trying to get up and resume its attack. He grabbed at both wings, struggling to keep the feathered menace even slightly still. Spike came to his aid and together they managed to tie the bird up with some handy rope that Spike had in his duster pocket. No-one could ever accuse Spike of not being prepared.

With the demon bird well and truly tied up, Angel rushed over to where Cordelia was pulling a bloody Xander to his feet. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Me? Yeah, 'course. I’ve gotten worse from my Mom’s hamster.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, little bastard hates me. Not a day goes by when he…”

Angel frowned. “No. I meant, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Oh, um…yes, I’m fine.” Xander replied, swaying a little

Angel looked him up and down before making his decision. “Come upstairs, let me take a closer look.”

“Really, I’m fine,” Xander said, a little flustered at Angel’s concern. “Don’t worry about the blood. I bleed all the time. It’s a hobby.”

“And while I’m sure it’s a wonderful and fulfilling hobby, I’m going to insist that you don’t pass out because of it.”

Xander swayed again and Angel made a grab for him, swinging an arm around his waist and leading him away. “Do you need me to carry you?”

“No way! I’m totally in control. All legs working just fine.”

“All of them?” Angel asked, amused.

Cordelia walked over to where Spike was holding on to the restrained bird and together they watched her boss walk away with their friend. “Was that my imagination or…no, it can’t be.” Cordelia shook her head.

“What?”

Cordelia had a brief think. “Was Angel concerned for Xander’s welfare?”

“Looks like it.”

“Huh.” Cordelia had another think. “Hey! He didn’t even ask how I was! How selfish!”

“Well, that’s Grandpappy for you. Always taking care of the bleeding and barely able to stand, rather than the not bleeding and perfectly sturdy.”

“Was that sarcasm, bleach job?”

Spike put on his most innocent face. “Course not. Like I would do a thing like that.”

“Pfft. What are we gonna do with this thing, then?” she asked, motioning to the struggling bird.

Spike shrugged. “Got any stuffing mix?”

**

Angel sat Xander on the end of the bed and walked away to get the first aid kit.

“Wow,” Xander said. “Big room. It’s nice.”

“Thank you,” Angel replied, returning with the kit and standing in front on Xander.

“I always pictured you in a more…colourless room. This is pretty, um, colourful? Kinda cosy.”

“Thank you. I like red.”

“So I see…uh, are you just going to stand there?”

“I’m waiting for you to take your shirt off.”

“Huh?!”

“Your shirt. I need to see how bad you’ve been injured.”

Xander stared up at Angel’s blank face. The adrenaline from the bird strike was beginning to wear off now and Xander couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed to be taking his clothes off in front of Angel. He gave himself a mental shake. Hey, he’d taken *all* his clothes off for five other guys *and* had sex with them. This was just Angel fussing and doing his parental figure thing. It’s cool. No biggy.

“Xander? Are you alright? You look a little dazed.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Really. What were you saying?”

“Shirt?”

“Oh yeah, sure.” Xander unbuttoned the yellow check shirt and threw it aside on the bed. “See? I’m fine.”

“And your t-shirt.”

“Oh yeah, sure. No probs.” Xander grasped the hem of the t-shirt and stretched to pull it over his head. “OW!”

Angel lurched forward, catching Xander’s arms before he could attempt to lift his t-shirt again. “Careful, Xander. Let me see…”

“Ow! Hey, no poking!”

“Sorry. That’s a nasty gash you’ve got there,” Angel said as he ran two fingers along the injury. “Let me help you with your t-shirt.”

Xander nodded gratefully and let Angel help him. The pain from the wound was starting to finally kick in and suddenly being half naked in front of Angel didn’t really matter.

“Thanks.”

Angel eased the tee away and set to work cleaning up the wound, pausing each time he heard Xander’s breath catch or felt him tense. “So what happened?” he asked.

“Nothing, really. I was just coming back from the shops. I got loads of great bargains, thanks to Cordy. I bumped into her at Bloomingdales. That girl really knows her stuff.”

Angel nodded in agreement. “I would say that is a fair statement. So how did you go from shopping with Cordy to nearly getting yourself killed by a Thrushencawt?”

“A Thrushencawt? You’ve seen one before, then?”

“Many times. They’re native to L.A.”

“Oh, you don’t say…Ow!”

“Sorry.”

“That’s okay. Anyway, so we were waiting for the bus and this…Thrushgot…?”

“Thrushencawt, “ Angel corrected.

“Yeah, that. It just swooped down and landed next to me.”

“They do that a lot. Did you make a sudden movement? Is that why it attacked you?”

“No! I would never make a sudden move unless I thought I had a good chance of escape. That thing was so massive, there was no way I could outrun it!”

“Quite right, Xander. So what wound it up enough to attack you? I noticed it wasn’t going for Cordy".

“I know! That’s so unfair. I was the nice one.”

“What does that mean?”

“Meaning, she wasn’t going to give up *any* of her hot dog. I gave it nearly half of mine and then it attacked me!”

Angel smiled at the hurt tone in Xander’s voice. Only Xander Harris would feel hurt by the rejection of a giant demon bird.

“I was only trying to make friends. Why did it attack me? Am I that unlikable?”

Angel placed a band aid over the cut and pressed it down gently. “It didn’t attack you because it didn’t like you. It attacked you because it wanted more food.”

“Oh…why?”

“Because it’s a wild animal and that’s just what they do. Would you ever feed a wild animal at a zoo?”

“Um, yeah?”

“Really?”

Xander nodded.

“You have a death wish,” Angel stated, just for the record.

Xander nodded again. “It must be the Hellmouth in me.”

“Must be,” Angel agreed. “Does that feel better?”

“Stings,” Xander complained.

“Good.”

“Hey!”

“That will teach you to feed wild animals.”

“Will it?” Xander asked, breaking into a small smile.

Angel sighed. “Probably not.”


TBC...