Truth Denied

Ben swung out of the brightly lit hidden hallway to greet them. “I've never, ever seen a temple of Priape like that before. True, I've never seen a high priest get bound in one either, but I didn't think it made that much of a difference...” He looked them over, Xander in his tuxedo pants, Spike in his priests’ robes. “You two, as long as you keep true to your vows, are going to live forever, as long as you're together, you'll never die... nothing can kill you, nothing.” Ben looked at them in awe. “This temple will remain active and receiving your prayers -outside- of the chamber, simultaneously or not. Do you, either of you, have any idea what this means?” Ben's green eyes shone brightly with unshed tears.

Xander looked a little confused and more than a little freaked out. Spike looked more understanding and accepting; he held Ben's hand. “It means your temple will remain active as long as me and Xander are good little boys.” He smiled, and ruffled Ben's short, curly red hair, making the bigger man jump in excitement.

“Priape is here to stay!” He danced a little Irish jig, kicking up his feet and knocking his toes, then stopped and giggled. “Oh Spike, Xander... What you two have done.... There is no way to thank you.”

Spike leaned back and wrapped his arms around Xander's waist and smiled. “Up to you to make sure the temple is always up and running, Priape still needs donations after all, just as much as he needs direct prayer. But for now, we're going to take over that bit, help you deal with things while you grieve. You can always come back, or disappear to Europe, and come back as you cousin, years later, to take over the business for us, which we will do in turn, it will work out great if we work together.” Spike smiled and clapped Ben on the shoulder.

Ben smiled back and nodded. “So did you do the prayer properly then? Think about Ouranus and his desire for an audience, during the act?”

Spike looked at Xander, who shook his head, Spike looked up at the sky. “DAMMIT!”