Quantum Xander II: In Wake of the Curse

Part 56

The vineyard was empty - not even a Bringer in sight. It made sense, Xander figured; now that Buffy had the weapon, there was nothing there to guard. The question was, where was the crazy preacher now?

“Well, I’m figurin’ Buffy took something that he wanted to keep away from her, right?”

The darker-haired Spike spoke when they left the abandoned building.

“Yeah. So that means…?”

“It means, he’s gonna try an’ take it back. I know I would.”

“He’s right, Xan.”

Blond Spike agreed.

“We find Buffy, we find Caleb.”

Xander sighed and then nodded his head.

“Alright, I’ll drive; you two can ride with your heads out the window and play bloodhound.”

He received twin looks of consternation from his mates, but ignored them and got in the car. The vampires scowled but did as Xander suggested and began scenting the air for traces of the slayer’s scent. It eventually led them to a cemetery where Xander parked the car and got out with a huff of annoyance.

“Why am I not surprised? Just once, would it be too much to find the answers to your questions at the Dairy Queen or maybe the video store? I mean, why does everyone in this town hang out in the graveyards?”

The brunet vampire snorted his amusement and kissed Xander lightly on the throat. The blond Spike opened his mouth to reply but then closed it with a snap as his eyes bled to yellow and he growled low in his throat. Xander spun around to look at him and asked what was wrong. The other Spike sniffed the air and a look of comprehension crossed his face.

“Angelus is here.”

“A-Angelus?”

Xander squeaked.

“No, it’s Angel.”

The blond answered sullenly.

“Can sense he has a soul; doesn’t explain why he’s here though.”

Xander’s face flamed as he remembered what Angel had told him back in L.A. the day he had secured his soul, about welcoming him into the family properly. He blushed even harder as his cock twitched at the memory of Angel’s lips on his, his hands roaming over him. It was obvious his mates had picked up on both his embarrassment and his arousal. The unsouled version of his lover just smirked at him and waggled his eyebrows, while the souled version pulled Xander to him and continued to growl.

“Stop that. We’ll never be able to eavesdrop on them if you keep up that noise.”

The brunet Spike grumbled. The blond ceased his growling but did not lessen his hold on his human mate as they crept closer to the tomb in which the slayer and the elder vampire were ensconced. They heard Caleb speaking from inside.

“You know, I gave you ample warning. Told you not to interfere, but you chose not to heed. I was kind of hoping it’d go this way.”

Then they heard another voice, an all too familiar one.

“Hey!”

There were sounds of flesh hitting flesh and then…

“I was never much for preachers.”

“Angel.”

“You look good.”

“You look timely. And also good.”

“Heard maybe you needed a hand.”

There was a scuffle and they didn’t hear anything other than the sounds of battle for a few minutes. Then Buffy’s voice again.

“See? Under control.”

“Well…at least you could tell me you’re glad to see me.”

The threesome sneaked closer and peered inside just as Buffy pressed up against Angel and kissed him deeply. Xander blinked. Brunet Spike shook his head in disgust and the blond just closed his eyes and turned away. He knew he was never the one she wanted, but to see her kissing his sire… it still hurt for some reason. Xander seemed to sense his distress and pulled him closer. He kissed his temple and then whispered in his ear.

“Let’s go home.”

“Ta love.”

On the way back to the car, brunet Spike sidled up to his blond half and leaned in to talk to him so that Xander wouldn’t hear them.

“Are you still in love with her?”

“No.”

“Then what’s with the brooding?”

“It’s… I don’t know what it is.”

“Can I offer a theory?”

“Could I stop you?”

They exchanged pointed looks and finally the brunet grinned.

“Probably not. So, here’s my theory. You ever wonder why you went after her? What it was about her that made you want her? Besides the not being able to kill her bit?”

He didn’t wait for Spike to respond.

“What if she was your link? Like Dru was. What if you saw in her a way to keep Angelus in your unlife? What if the reason it hurts you to see them together is because of him, not her? Did you ever consider that?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“’Cause, I hate the bloody poof! No way am I still pining after him, not now. I gave up on Angelus years ago.”

“Yeah, I used to think that way too. Then he dropped everything and came for me. He stood up to the Initiative and the slayer for me. Soul or not, he’s still Angelus. And he’s still our sire. Think about that, Spike. If we still feel it, don’t you think he might too?”

Spike gave his double a look that clearly said he was serious about this and left the blond to consider what he had just told him. It wasn’t easy for him to accept his feelings about Angel either, but he had. He had not only made up with his own sire, he had shared his lover with another version of him in a different reality. He remembered well what had gone on between this Angel and Xander a few weeks ago in L.A., and was expecting Angel to show up at their door at some point tonight.

Spike was unusually quiet on the drive home. He was thinking over what the other him had said. While he refused to believe that the only reason he had fallen in love with Buffy was because of Angel, he had to admit that it might have been one reason why he had pursued her in the beginning. Whether it was to piss Angel off by taking her from him, or to try and feel close to him again by being with her, he wasn’t sure. He knew that with Angel in town, he was bound to show up looking for them. He had unfinished business with Xander, something Spike wasn’t wanting to dwell on.

Back at the apartment, the dark-haired vampire sent their human mate off to shower so he could have a moment alone with the other Spike. He fetched them both a beer and paced the room as he tried to figure out what to say. Finally he came to a stop and just looked at the other vampire.

“This is stupid. You know he’s going to show up here tonight, and you know why. What happens then? Are you honestly going to turn him away? Not allow him to accept Xander into the clan properly?”

“Yes. No. Argh, I don’t know. I haven’t come to this great understanding that you have. Your sire might have come for you, taken you back to L.A. and coddled you, but mine never did. I was chipped and left defenseless, and he didn’t do a damn thing to help me. Yes, I know you had it way harder than I did, but it doesn’t change the fact that he didn’t even care enough to check up on me. This Angel doesn’t give a rat’s arse about us. The only reason he wants to welcome Xander is ’cause he wants to get his end down and make sure his soul is stuck on tight before he slips it to the cheerleader. Or Buffy. Or that wannabe watcher of his. Trust me, it has nothing to do with the lore, nothing to do with us, and certainly nothing to do with Xander. He doesn’t even like the boy.”

Just then the shower turned off and the two vampires eyed one another before silently agreeing to table this conversation for now. Thoughts of Angel would have to wait; there was a warm, wet, clean-smelling Xander available - and they planned to take advantage of that.