Child of the Hellmouth

Child of the Hellmouth
Party till you're Eaten
calikocat
word count: 4597

Author's Notes: I apologize if this chapter seems a little wonky. It didn't want to flow right.
Warnings: Very brief non-graphic slash.
Extra: Willow says something in this chapter that's a reference to another show that I threw in there for the hell of it. See if you can catch it. XD

XXX

Xander, Buffy and Willow stared at the tv. Willow, sitting on the floor in front of them, was contently sipping from her juice box, oblivious to the mess her friends were making of her hair. Behind her to the left Xander was undoing a braid, and possibly tying knots, he was paying more attention to the tv after all. Buffy on the other side, lay on her stomach making a new braid of the red silk their friend called hair.

Xander blinked at the screen in confusion. “Why is she singing?”

Willow popped the straw out of her mouth to answer. “She's sad because her lover gave her twelve gold coins and then the wizard cut open the bag of salt and now the dancing minions have nowhere to put their big maypole fish...thing.”

He blinked again and shared a look with Buffy who shrugged. “It scares me when you do that. But why is she singing?”

Buffy nodded though only Xander could see the movement. “Her lover? I thought that was her chiropractor.”

Xander held back a snicker and smiled instead. This was why he fought, this was why he trained and helped Buffy. These peaceful boring moments where they could just be a bunch of kids, bored out of their minds watching strange foreign musical soap operas. He continued to grin as Willow continued her explanation.

When she was done there was a moment of silence.

“So how does the Water Buffalo fit in again?”

xxx

He was late, way later than he'd meant to be. Which meant his mom was actually home and thought he was already in bed asleep. Which also meant he had to sneak in. Luckily that turned out to be easier than he thought it would be. Jessica Harris was dead to the world in front of the tv, a late night rerun of Wheel of Fortune droning on into the dark night. He briefly wondered if Pat Sajack was a demon.

He tiptoed to his room, finding nothing out of the ordinary until he flipped the light switch on the wall. Xander froze. The egg was broken into two large pieces on the night stand. Somehow his dagger ended up in his hand and he moved cautiously into the room.

He had barely taken a step when a cat jumped onto his bed.

“Holy crap!” He gasped and the cat rolled its eyes. Eyes that almost glowed an eerie familiar green. He knew that color. “So...you evil?” The cat snorted and gave him a look.

Do I look evil? The voice in his head was definitely masculine, but young...kinda like a ten year old would sound.

“Wellll...you could be. No one ever said evil couldn't be pretty...or fluffy.”

The cat glared at him. I am not fluffy!

Xander tilted his head at the cat and really looked at it. The base color of its fur was such a light grey it was almost white, making the black stripes a striking contrast. Its fur was short and shined and its eyes glowed for a moment. “You're right, Fluffy doesn't suit you.”

Not Fluffy glared at him, before yawning and pointedly ignoring him by curling up in the center of his bed.

Xander rolled his eyes and moved about the room, changing into his night clothes and eventually making his way to the bed. “Move over Marshal.”

Marshal?

Xander shrugged. “Just popped into my head. It's not Fluffy...and it's better than Pu.”

The cat looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. Marshal it is. He moved over and let Xander have the majority of the bed and he curled into Xander's side.

Xander hesitated for only a moment before reaching out to stroke the soft fur of his Spirit Beast. A deep purr filled the room. He couldn't wait to tell Yusuke. A cat was so much cooler than a blue chicken.

xxx

Sometimes he felt like an outsider looking in...or like one of those narrators on the nature channel. Observe the SoCal Valley girl in her natural habitat. See how she wears clingy, bright clothes in attempt to attract a mate. Notice her bright smile to those she blesses with her time...but one must be careful around these exotic creatures. Their tongues are sharp and unforgiving. Xander shook his head in amusement, he had an inner Giles...who knew?

He rolled his eyes as he finally caught up with the girls and caught the tail end of their conversation. “What's like a relationship?”

Willow gave him an innocent face. “Nothing.”

Buffy grimaced but waved the question away. “Nothing I have. Coffee?”

Xander nodded. “I can see that, hot equals passion, maybe even obsession, and bitter equals bad breakup. That's why I take cream and sugar, no more bitter.” When both his girls smiled and laughed he decided that maybe he was more in sync with the girl psyche than he originally thought. And he wasn't sure that was entirely a good thing.

“There's really no comparison between college men and high school boys. I mean, look at that.” Cordelia's voice cut through his thoughts and he stopped in front of her, Buffy and Willow kept walking.

“You're snarking at me already?” He glanced at the magazine in her hands, snatching it up for a closer look. “Dr Debbie? How to laugh?” He met her eyes and for the first time noticed they were a really pretty hazel. “I thought the mighty Queen C was above seeking advice from peasants. And really Cordy? College guys? They'll throw you way faster than you do us high school boys.” He really had to wonder what was going on with him today, first he channeled some weird nature version of Giles, and now he was feeling protective of Cordelia. Maybe the hellmouth was finally getting to him?

“Feeling a little jealous Xander? Don't worry, some day you'll go to college. I'm sure your pizza delivery job will really broaden your horizons. Now, give me back my magazine.”

Xander shook his head and handed the glossy paged rag to her. “Here ya go.” As he placed the magazine in her grasp she grabbed his wrist. He raised an eyebrow at her.

“What's that?” She asked, her eyes were glued to his hand.

Xander looked at the ring. “Oh. Family crest, my brother gave it to me.” He pulled his hand back from her and started to walk away.

“Seriously? The Harris Family crest? That's the best you could come up with?”

Xander smirked at her over his shoulder. “Got nothing to do with the Harris Family. This symbol goes back more than a thousand years.” He gave her a little wave. “Later Queen C.”

Cordelia turned to look at her shadow who looked as puzzled as she did. “What was that about?” The girl just blinked at her and Cordelia rolled her eyes. She needed better shadows.

xxx

Xander had a free period that morning so he'd decided to go to the Library, hoping to maybe get a round of sparring in with Giles. He went in through the back way and was glad he did when he caught the tail end of Giles' lecturing his friend.

“Well here's a hard fact of life. We all have to do things we don't like. You have hand to hand this afternoon and patrol tonight. So you need to be here at the end of period six to get your homework done. And don't dawdle with your friends.” Giles demanded, finishing his lecture. Which of course led to a Buffy pout.

Xander smirked as the infamous Buffy pout failed. Buffy really needed to work on that, she wasn't sticking her lip out enough, and her eyes weren't watery. Xander shook his head and made a mental note to help her brush up on her technique as she skulked out of the library.

He stepped out of the stacks. “What's that about Giles?”

Giles whirled, his hand over his heart. “Don't do that! And don't you start either.”

“Start what?”

“She has responsibilities, she can't remain a child forever.”

Xander rolled his eyes. “And if you try to keep pushing her like that she's going to break.” He fixed his gaze on Giles. “Tell me something Giles, how many Slayers last more than a year?”

Giles frowned. “Not many.”

Xander nodded. “So she's lived longer than the average Slayer?”

“Well...yes.” Giles looked puzzled. “Where are you going with this?”

“Give me a minute. Since she's lasted more than a year, that proves she's got something all those mediocre Slayers didn't.” When Giles still looked lost, he glared at the man he thought of as a father. “She has us Giles, and you need to lighten up. She's not alone. We'll watch her back, but you need to join the team and stop treating her like a tool. That's what got all those other girls killed. Their watchers saw the Slayer in them, never the girl. I thought you got that.” He shook his head. “I'll come back later when you're not being a boob.”

Giles squawked as he turned on his heel and left the way he'd come.

xxx

Xander continued to glare at the Frat guy who was laying on the good guy charm, practically slathering it all over one of his girls with an aw shucks smile. There was something wrong with the scene. He felt that same chill he got whenever a vampire approached. This guy with the big doe eyes was a predator, and Buffy was the prize in his sights.

“Xander? You're growling.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Just a bad feeling.”

“Rich Frat guy?”

“Predator. Wolf in sheep's clothing. Looks harmless...he's hiding his killer side.”

Willow's eyes grew wide. “Demon?”

Xander shook his head. “Human monster.”

She gulped and shuddered and leaned into him, almost like she needed the safety he provided as her packmate. “Like the Kiddie League Coach?” He nodded and she tugged on his sleeve. “What do we do?”

He opened his eyes and they flickered for a second. “We protect the pack.”

Willow nodded and smiled. “Good.”

xxx

“You're still being a boob.”

Giles sighed. “Xander.” A paper wad smacked his forehead. “Really Xander.” When two more paper wads bounced off of him he relented. “Alright, fine. I'll make it up to her tomorrow.”

“You're done being a boob?”

“I suppose.”

“You realize you're like our dad right?”

Giles froze and looked at Xander. “What?”

“Mrs. Summers is our Mom and you're our Dad. Willow's parents are never home, they travel all over the country giving lectures. My mom works and goes out, I never see her anymore, and my Dad disappeared. Buffy's Dad isn't really in the picture either. So we've got Mrs. Summers...and you.” Xander wondered if maybe he'd said too much as Giles looked as shocked as he'd ever seen him. The man's eyes were a little watery and he pulled off his glasses to polish them.

“I...thank you, Xander. I hadn't realized that I filled such a role.”

Xander nodded. “You're welcome. I just figured you should know. It seems like we're really lacking in the father figure department. But that's okay as long as you don't mind the job.”

“I don't mind at all lad.”

“Cool.”

“Right. Now shall we proceed with your training? Or perhaps your homework?”

Xander gave him a slow blink. “What homework?”

Giles sighed.

xxx

“I can't believe he made me do my homework!” Xander groaned as they walked; Buffy was patrolling near the college campus tonight so he was on the other side of town. Marshal had decided to tag along.

You wanted a real Dad.

“Didn't think I'd have to do my homework though.” He stopped and motioned for Marshal to be quiet. “We've got vamps.”

Marshal, as it turned out, was good at distracting vampires. He'd dash out at them, run circles around them, just generally distract them, and Xander would go in for the kill. They worked well together and Xander decided he liked having a hunting partner.

After a particularly good kill Xander straightened and glanced over his shoulder. “How long have you been there?”

“Not long, just happened to be out for a walk. Care to join me?” Blue eyes danced in the dim light of the cemetery. They were pretty eyes, in a pretty face, set above killer cheekbones that could cut glass.

“I'm thinking no, cause of you being the evil undead and all.”

“Prejudiced against us non-breathing types are you? Not nice pet.” A flash of light lit up his face as he lit a cigarette.

“Not needing air has nothing to do with it. It's more about you guys wanting to drink us down the way a little kid attacks Kool Aid. Vicious and painful and all kinds of messy.”

“Doesn't have to be painful. If it's done right I can make you beg for it.” Spike smirked and took a step closer. Marshal growled, it was deep, more like what a mountain lion would sound like, or a tiger. “The bloody hell was that?”

Xander gave him a grin. “See, this is why it would never work out between us. Well one of the reasons. I figure your girl Drusilla is the jealous type, and besides, my cat doesn't like you.”

Spike snorted and stepped closer again until he was inches from Xander, he looked down and met his eyes. “Who knew I'd find something so shiny on the hellmouth.”

Xander quirked a brow. “I'm not a nickel, and you're not a magpie.”

The hand not holding the cancer stick reached out to grasp his chin, and Xander had to wonder why the heck he was letting the vampire touch him. And suddenly his brain froze when Spike leaned down and pressed soft cool lips to his. It was...different. Not bad, just different, not that he had anything to compare it to.

And then Spike pulled away, a satisfied smirk on his lips, lips that had touched his. There hadn't been any action, not really, but considering it was his first kiss and it still shorted his brain...wow. What would a kiss with tongue be like.

“What was that about?”

“Just wanted to test something.”

Xander frowned. “What? I've been upgraded from a happy meal to a guinea pig? Tease.” That last word left his mouth before he could stop it, before he could think about what it would mean.

“Oh pet, I haven't begun to tease.” Spike flicked away his cigarette and disappeared into the darkness.

I can't believe you let a vampire kiss you.

“Shut up Marshal.”

xxx

“I can't believe she lied to Giles! My world is all askew!”

Xander nodded. “It's Giles' fault really, although he did give her time off, which I guess is good...if she hadn't lied about it.” Willow gave him a funny look and he shrugged. “I told him yesterday that he didn't need to push her so hard, that we'd always back her up.” They both sighed as she handed him her coke and he gave her his m&ms.

“At least we can be the dutiful children and help Daddy.”

Xander choked on the coke. “That sounded so wrong, how the heck did you make that sound wrong! That was wrong like maybe you have something you wanna tell me Wills? Like maybe you have an unhealthy fixation on one of our parental units? Daddy issues much?”

Willow grinned. “I made you spew coke. And besides, Giles sings pretty.”

Xander raised an eyebrow. “He sings pretty.”

She nodded. “You should come with me to the Expresso Pump some time.”

“Willow, we talked about that, you're not allowed to have coffee...ever.”

She pouted. “Spoil my fun.”

“Yep. Wills, you're like a squirrel on crack when you have coffee.”

“We were twelve and that was only one time! I can handle it now.”

“You blew up Jesse's tree-house with your science kit thingy.”

Willow grumbled. “You blow up one tree-house and you pay and pay and pay.” They traded coke and candy again.

“I'm going to the party.”

She nodded. “I know.”

“I'm that transparent huh?”

“No...but after the whole 'protect pack' speech I figured you weren't gonna just do nothing...you hoping to catch an orgy while you're there?”

He grinned. “You know me so well.”

“Yep.”

xxx

Xander waved at Botan as she flew off. He really needed a car, depending on a Grim Reaper to give him a ride was so not cool. Well it would be cool if said Grim Reaper wasn't also one of his brother's friends. Speaking of his brother...he glanced down at the black dress slacks and light blue polo shirt he was wearing. He was sooo glad Yusuke had decided to give him an allowance. After combining what Yusuke had given him and what Jessica left on the fridge for him he'd had enough buy the pants and shirt. He'd gotten lucky and found both on sale at the mall. The shoes hadn't cost him a thing, they were an old pair of Tony's that fit him okay, and they hardly had a scuff on them.

He took a breath and walked up to the house, nodding at the other guests as he passed them. When he got to the front door he plastered a smile on his face and shook hands with the big guy who he assumed was playing bouncer. “Tom and Richard said there was a big bash tonight. I barely managed to clear my schedule in time.” He kept the grin up and made sure to flash his ring. Raizen's ring really came in handy; it looked expensive, and expensive meant money and power.

The muscle guy nodded. “Glad you could make it. Richard is escorting a leggy brunette around here somewhere. Tom's probably bored in a corner by himself.”

“At least until a pretty blonde catches his eye.” They grinned at one another and Xander slapped his back and moved away. Once the door man was out of sight he took a deep breath. That was almost too easy. He took another calming breath and snagged a drink off a tray as a pledge dressed in drag passed him.

He gazed around the room and toasted to the first pretty girl who met his eyes. She smiled at him appreciatively and he grinned back. College girls rocked! Xander made his way over to her and started a conversation. Her name was Rochelle, she was a Junior, and majoring in botany. He kept his eyes open, feeling himself relax when he caught sight of Buffy safe and sound, though dancing with Tom.

“I didn't catch your name.”

Xander sipped at his drink, trying not to grimace at the alcohol, it was better than sake, but still... “It's Alex. Alex LaVelle.”

“You look a little young, are you a Freshman?”

He chuckled. “Nah, I'm just cursed with this baby face. I'm a Sophomore, currently undeclared, but I'll probably major in foreign languages. I think I might like working as a translator.” Rochelle smirked at him and rattled something off in Spanish, he blinked. “Sorry, I should have specified. My Spanish is zilch, my Japanese however is brilliant. Japan is where the money is after all.” She grinned at him.

He did his best to keep an eye on Buffy, he was here to watch her back, not scold her. Giles did enough of that already. However he saw her less and less, and suddenly she was gone...and come to think of it he hadn't seen Cordelia at all. Somehow he had to ditch his audience and look for them. Which was going to be a neat trick, Rochelle wasn't alone now. One girl had become two, then four. Apparently college girls, like Japanese girls, thought he was a hottie. Rochelle and her posse seemed to think his time spent in Japan was interesting, and fabulous.

Unfortunately he'd drawn too much attention to himself and he found himself with a Frat guy on either side of him. They grinned at him and at each other maniacally. “New Pledge.” They tried to drag him off and his training kicked in.

One guy went flying into a wall and the other was on his knees grunting in pain as Xander kept his arm twisted behind his back. He shook his head and pushed the jerk away. When another Fraternity member approached him he leveled him with a glare. The man paused, clearly leery of ending up injured.

Xander gave a small bow to Rochelle and apologized in Japanese, and again in English. “It seems dear lady that I'm no longer welcome. It was nice meeting you.”

“Do you really have to go Alex?”

He shrugged. “A man shouldn't stay where he's not wanted.” He smiled and headed towards the door. When he got there the doorman reached for him. “Touch me and I'll break your hand.” He smirked and let his eyes flash green and the muscle man stumbled back in fear.

Xander made his way down the drive a bit and spotted Cordelia's car. Damn, that meant the girls were still inside. He needed a new plan.

xxx

He got lucky, finding the creepy brown cloak in the trash was like a sign from above. Xander smirked as he put on the cloak and waited for the party to wind down before sneaking back in. Sneaking into this place was easy, it was the staying that gave him trouble. However as he filed in with the other cloaked figures no one noticed him, no one raised the alarm. He was in.

And he nearly gave himself away when he saw the three girls chained up in the cavern. Cordelia, Buffy and another girl were glaring...well Buffy was glaring at Tom. Cordelia and the other girl just looked scared. In fact Cordelia was being very vocal with her fears.

He met Buffy's eyes, and winked. She blinked and gave a small nod. Safety in numbers, she wasn't alone. Xander smiled and moved with the others, repeating their mantra, and kneeling on the cold hard floor.

And then Makita appeared and he gulped. No one had said anything about a giant snake.

The crazy cult of Frat guys had unchained Cordelia first and were bringing her to Makita. Buffy was struggling with the chains, yelling at the snake, Cordelia was screaming and Tom hit Buffy. It was just the diversion he needed, and Xander acted, stripping off the cloak he tossed it randomly at some of the guys and got between the girls and the snake. Somehow he'd gotten his dagger out in the mad scramble and he glared at Makita.

“Hello Ugly. Hate to interrupt, but these ladies aren't on the menu anymore.” He brought his dagger up, and his ring flashed in the torchlight. Makita's eyes widened and he hissed...and then tried to swerve around Xander, almost as if he didn't want to touch him. “Don't think so buddy.” He jumped onto Makita's back as he tried to slither passed, and held on. As Reptile guy tried to throw him off he managed to catch glimpses of Buffy kicking Frat guy butt, including Tom's.

“Xander!”

“Get the sword!” He yelled at her. She scrambled for it and she sliced Makita in half just as he slit the demon's throat. It was good to be thorough. He fell and rolled away from the strangling demon. “What a ride.” He saw Giles, Willow and Angel on the stairs. “What kept you?”

“We came to save Buffy.” Willow looked sheepish. “And back you up.”

“Well you missed all the fun, evidently Buffy and Cordy really know how to party, right up until they're eaten.”

Buffy groaned and poked him. “How long have you been here?”

He shrugged. “I got here early.”

“Was there an orgy?” Willow stage whispered. Giles sputtered and Angel looked paler than usual. Buffy however just rolled her eyes.

“Nah, I missed it.”

Buffy nudged him. “Thanks. I'm glad you followed me.”

“Well I wasn't gonna leave one of my pseudo sisters in the clutches of a bunch of Frat guys...and that was before I knew they were an evil snake worshiping cult.” He motioned at the Fraternity members. “We should probably tie them up, call the cops and get the heck outta here.”

xxx

Xander held the library door open long enough for Marshal to slip inside as he entered. “Hey Giles!”

Giles stuck his head out of his office. “It's rather late Xander, shouldn't you be at home? Or on patrol?”

“We just made a sweep, and we'll check the places we skipped on the way back home.”

“We?”

Xander motioned at Marshal who hopped up onto the counter. “This is Marshal.”

“When did you get a cat and why is it going on patrol with you?”

“He's no ordinary cat G-man. He's a spirit beast. Koenma gave me this egg back in the summer...and Marshal just hatched out of it the other day.” Xander shrugged. “Buffy and I haven't patrolled together yet, so Marshal is my partner.”

Nice to meet you G-man.

Giles blinked and stared. “Your cat just spoke...telepathically.”

“I always knew you were the brightest crayon in the box.”

Giles let out a put upon sigh before nodding to Marshal. “Nice to meet you as well Marshal. Please don't call me that horrid nick name.”

Marshal made a sound that was almost a chirp.

Xander grinned. “So I'm thinking we need to talk.”

“You've mentioned that before.”

Xander nodded and took a breath. “We need to get Buffy more exposure to what's out there.”

“I thought you wanted me to back off a bit, let her be a teenager.”

“I do, but that's not what I meant. When she sees a demon, she slays it...or tries to. Not all demons are evil. She needs to know that.”

Giles looked thoughtful. “You're worried about her finding out.”

He shrugged and wouldn't meet his mentor's eyes. “I can't keep it a secret forever. Someday I'll have to come clean. I mean...Yusuke stared out human. And now he's not. I could be the same way.”

Giles smiled and put his hand on Xander's shoulder. “We'll see what we can do.” He waited until Xander met his eyes. “One step at a time. Now, wait here a moment, I have something for you.” He backed away and disappeared into his office. Xander glanced and Marshal and shrugged. Giles reappeared with a thick tome. “This is a book on the Makai. It has several chapters on the three kings, including Raizen.”

Xander smiled. “Thanks Giles.”

XXX

A/N: If you didn't catch the reference it was: “and you pay and pay and pay” which is what Benton Fraiser said off and on in the show Due South. XD