Once More With Slash

Copyright Disclaimer: I own none of these characters or the Buffy universe. All material relating to Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel belong to Joss Wedon and WB. No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from this story.



Author's Note: I plan to play around with the time-line and canon events a little (to suit my own nefarious purposes! Mwhahah!) At this stage assume that everything is the same as canon up to Season 6, episode "Once More With Feeling" with the exception of Spike falling for Buffy (the thought just gives me the screaming heebie-jeebies!) Obviously I am planning to take some of the characters in very different directions to the canon so if something doesn't quite fit the canon time-line there is probably a reason for it (can we say "convenient plot device" people!?*Grin*)



Description: Xander finds himself being dumped by his fiancé just weeks before the wedding and his friends too busy with their own lives to pay him much attention. Life sucks and now he finds himself thinking more and more about a certain bleached blond vampire.



Warnings: Slash/Homoerotic Relationship! (Xander/Spike) NC-17 rating for graphic bedroom & battle scenes. Possibly some Buffy & Willow bashing (as pertaining to the intended story line). Enjoy!





Part 6



Xander woke in the morning to the sound of a demolition team working next to his bed.



“Huh? Errrgh…” He moaned as he tried to sit up and the demolition crew started jack hammering inside his skull. “Oh God! I am never drinking again.” He mumbled as he finally got his body into a sitting postion.



Swinging his legs carefully around to the edge of the bed he sat with his pounding head in his hands, waiting for the nausea to subside. He cautiously raised his head to look around the dimly lit room while his eyes started to clear. Groaning he heaved himself gingerly to his feet and shuffled slowly to the bathroom.



He stood in front of the sink looking at his slightly grey face and blood-shot eyes in the mirror before opening the cabinet, pulling out a bottle of Tylenol and swallowing a couple of tablets. Filling the sink up with cold water, Xander splashed his face and rinsed his mouth out. Feeling remotely less hung-over he walked toward the mess that was his living room. Suddenly remembering the previous night he groaned quietly and tip-toed to the couch to see if Spike had taken up his offer of staying the night.



Reaching the front of the couch Xander was surprised to find himself a little disappointed to see that Spike was not there. Not that I wanted to listen to his insults and whining all day anyway. Xander thought as he ruthlessly pushed his disappointment into a box in his mind marked “River In Egypt – De Nile”.



Wandering back into the kitchen he poured himself a glass of OJ from the fridge and stood leaning against the counter, deep in thought. I supposed I had better call the girls or Giles maybe, find out if any nasties need to be taken out by the Xan-man…or, you know, Buffy… At least my head isn’t trying to shatter from the inside out any more. Finishing his juice and leaving the glass in the sink next to half a dozen other dirty glasses, Xander wandered through to the bathroom to shower before calling Giles.



In the shower, water as hot as he could stand, he reached behind himself to the shower-caddy hanging on the wall and grabbed a bottle of shampoo. As he opened it and poured some into his hand he realized it was one of Anya’s expensive “Salon” shampoos. He shrugged and started rubbing it in his hair, trying to ignore the distinctive floral scent that it gave off. Guess she left it here when she was packing her stuff up… All at once the sense of loss and pain washed over him again. It was almost as though he had forgotten Anya’s heart-breaking departure for just a few blissful moments and now it was crashing down on him again with all the intensity of the first time. Smelling the shampoo now made Xander’s heart lurch and as he quickly rinsed it out of his dark hair he realized that it wasn’t just water running down his face. Tears came thick and fast as he frantically scrubbed his head to get rid of every trace of the sweet smelling shampoo. Shoulders shaking with silent sobs the young man slowly slid to the shower recess floor and hugged his knees. It felt like his whole world was flying apart around him and that nothing would ever be the same again. The persistent little voice at the back of his mind trying to tell him that it just wasn’t meant to be, and that he himself had been contemplating calling off the wedding, didn’t stand a chance of being heard over the pain of rejection and “what if’s” that screamed in Xander’s head.



Surrendering to the maelstrom of hurt Xander stayed huddled in the shower until finally he noticed that the hot water had run out and the water pounding onto his shoulder was icy cold and he was shivering. Feeling slightly numb from the cold and emotionally drained he climbed awkwardly to his feet. He turned off the shower and stepped out of the shower recess. Snagging a towel from the floor he quickly dried himself and wrapped it around his waist. Walking to the bedroom he dropped the towel on the floor and rifled through his chest of draws to find a pair of jeans which were not too dirty. Pulling them on he kicked the pile of clothes which lay crumpled at the foot of his bed until he unearthed a shirt which didn’t seem to be covered in demon slime or saw-dust. I really have to get this place cleaned up he thought as he stepped over more dirty clothes on his way out to the lounge room.



He picked up the cordless phone and wandered over to the coffee table to pick up the empty beer bottles, dirty plates and shot glasses from the night before. Trying to delay calling Giles he threw the bottles in the bin and stacked the dirty dishes next to the sink. Taking a deep breath he prepared to dial Giles’ number.



Looking down at the phone in his hand and then looking at the clock on the wall he saw that it was just after noon. Giles is probably in the middle of lunch right now. I don’t want to disturb him while he is eating… He thought to himself. Happy with his fabricated excuse Xander put the phone down on the counter with a small sigh and wandered back to the bedroom to collect up the piles of dirty washing which seemed to have multiplied in his absence. Deciding to at least put a load or two of washing in the machine before calling Giles he gathered an armful of clothing and walked down to the laundry in the basement. Once he got back into his apartment Xander looked around at the mess and clutter filling the living area and started to pick up the trash. He put the CD cases and DVDs away and ran the vacuum cleaner over the floor. After tidying the living room he went into the kitchen to make a sandwich for lunch, washed the dishes and tidied there as well. Finally, three hours later, he couldn’t find any more excuses to put off calling Giles and flopped on the couch with the ‘phone.



“Hello?” Giles answered the phone on the third ring.



“Hey British-man!” Xander said grinning, in an attempt to sound like the usual goofy Xander.



The watcher sighed, “Ah Xander. I wish you would refrain from using those ridiculous nick-names for me. Actually I am glad you called, I was hoping you would come over some time this evening.”



“Sure Giles. What’s happening? New demon to slay? Apocalypse to prevent? Some sort of victim of a curse, maybe a bikini model you need me to comfort with my manly shoulder?” Xander joked over the ‘phone as he settled back into the couch and put his feet up on the recently cleared coffee table.



Giles sighed again, “No no, nothing like that Xander. If you would be so kind as to perhaps bring some pizza with you on your way over though…”



“Yeah no worries G-man. I am the bringer of all things cheesy and good.” Xander replied.



“Indeed.” Giles harrumphed “Do be certain you get some of those cinnamon bread sticks as well. They are particularly nice with a hot cup of tea…”Giles’ voice faded away and then he coughed uncomfortably. “Well at any rate, I shall expect you here at approximately seven then. The others will be here by then.”



“Ok Giles. I’ll see you then” Xander said as his mood dropped when it became clear that Giles wasn’t going to say anything about his and Anya’s break up.



“Very good. Oh and Xander, try not to be late.” Giles said briskly and with not just a hint of irritation as he hung up the ‘phone.



“Wow! Way to make a guy feel appreciated Giles.” Xander mumbled to himself sarcastically as he hung the ‘phone up and put it back into its cradle to re-charge. I can’t believe he didn’t even mention Anya…

“Oh!” His eyes widened as a new thought came to him. Maybe Willow hasn’t told Giles yet, or… or maybe they all know and are planning to have a party at Giles’ place to make me feel better. And that’s why Willow hasn’t called yet either, she is waiting ‘til tonight to talk to me about it. Yeah! I bet that’s why Giles didn’t say anything about it. And he asked me to bring the pizza over because he knew I was going past the pizzeria on the way to his place anyway. Happy that he had figured out why Giles hadn’t asked how he was and why Willow hadn’t called he picked up the remote and switched on the TV, content to switch his brain off and watch Star Trek re-runs until night fall.