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The Cost of Butterfly Kisses

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The Cost of Butterfly Kisses 50ftqueenie made a request that really tickled my muse. So, rather than spoil you by telling you what she requested, I just present her story... Spike/Xander (pre-slash) Warnings: A bit of blackmail and manipulation Rating: Teen Episode Spoilers: Once More with Feeling 187,000 words Summary: Xander's been a bad boy, and Spike is about to figure out how to make the most of it. The Cost of Butterfly Kisses by Litgal Part One "Right then, you get all your singing out, then?" Spike asked. He lit a cigarette and looked around the Magic Box. Slayer wasn't around. It was just the sad little puppy-boy behind the counter. "What do you want, Spike?" Xander demanded, bristling with anger. Well, if Spike had to wait around for the slayer, he might as well entertain himself. If he was being honest with himself, he wanted to make a little trouble. If it weren't for the chip, he'd likely go out and gut some bloke and do something creative with the intestines. Days like this made him miss Drusilla. "Just thought I'd check in and see if ya were stupid enough to summon any more demons lately," Spike commented as he leaned against the counter. Xander flinched back from the question, but then, he should. It was bloody stupid. Harris had been around long enough to keep his mitts off magical amulets, and making a wish was even more idiotic than usual. Surprisingly, Xander didn't blow. "Go away, Spike," he said, his voice quiet, even if it was trembling with emotion. Now this was interesting. People sometimes got that same controlled tone when they were trying to hide their fear. Usually Spike saw it right before he started torturing them. That same tone, half bravado, half terror, inspired Angelus to some of his finest work. Spike cocked his head and considered Xander. If the git was showing a soft underbelly, far be it from Spike to not take advantage of the chance to spread a little misery. Of course, Spike normally preferred to do his torturing with railroad spikes, but the chip had taught him to be flexible. Besides, if he killed one of the slayer's friends, he definitely wasn't getting shagged again. Spike took a deep drag on his cigarette and remembered the slayer's hands over his body. She was a soddin' demon in bed. The memory made him smile, but the thought of the emptiness in her eyes when she'd walked out of his crypt without even saying a word chilled him. Oh well, it wasn't like Spike hadn't dealt with difficult lovers before. Spike took another drag on his cigarette and considered puppy-boy. American boys were so predictable. He could torture the boy a whole lot before Xander's manly pride let him go running to the slayer for protection, and it was better than just standing around doin' nothing. He waited until Xander started unloading little knicknacks and what-nots from a box. "Did ya see that one bloke explode? Bloody waste of good blood, that was, but it was a soddin' beautiful death, especially since he was an innocent and all. I figure since I can't kill, I'll stick around and watch you do something stupid enough to get some other git killed." Xander's fingers closed around a small pouch of something so hard that the thing burst and little green leaves tumbled to the floor. "Have I shown you the new stakes that came in?" Xander asked, his body stiff with contained fury. Spike sniffed. Stupid git wouldn't be able to get a stake in him before he could get out the door, anyway. "More interested in any demonic amulets you might want to make a wish on." Spike dropped his cigarette to the floor and crushed it with his boot, ignoring Xander's frown. "So, thought Rupert and your squeeze were running this place. Did everyone else have somewhere important to go? Leave you behind?" Xander started putting the little pouches under the counter again. A phone vibrated, and Spike frowned. The children didn't have cell phones, even if it was bloody stupid of them. At first, Xander ignored it and just kept putting things away. Spike leaned on the counter and raised an eyebrow. "You plannin' on answering that?" "No," Xander said, his lips thin with anger. Oh yeah, puppy hiding something. "A customer left it here," he snapped when Spike kept on looking at him. Trying to explain himself, that was a sure sign of guilt. "Probably the customer callin' then, innit?" Spike pointed out. "They want to know who has their phone shoved in a pocket. Spike watched as Xander turned a darker color. "Are you going to go away?" Xander asked. "Wasn't plannin' on it. Not like I have anywhere to go, is it?" Spike asked, giving Xander a sweet smile that he knew would drive the boy crazy. Sure enough, Xander clenched his jaw tight. "Besides, if I want to keep the Bit safe, I need to keep an eye on you, maybe hire a babysitter. After all, you nearly got her taken for Sweet's new queen, didn't ya?" That took the color right out of Xander's face. Spike didn't normally see a person turn pale that fast unless they had a vampire attached to their neck and sucking the blood out. Spike pressed his advantage. "He would have raped her, spread her wide and raped her until she was screaming. Demons aren't generally all that careful with human bodies either," Spike stopped, so disturbed by the image that he could feel his own demon roar in anger. Xander had just about sent Dawn to a horrible death because he'd made a fucking wish. Stalking around the counter, he closed in on Xander. Xander was busy ignoring him, and that made Spike even more angry. "He would have broken her ribs with every thrust, broken her legs as he spread them. You soddin' piece of shite, don't you have anythin' to say about that?" Spike stopped right behind Xander. Boy was silent now, motionless with his hands braced on the counter. "Go away, Fangless," he said quietly. The phone in his pocket started vibrating again. Spike reached out and grabbed Xander and shoved him face down on the counter hard enough to make the chip spark but not hard enough to set it off. Xander exploded into motion, bucking and flailing, kicking his legs back in an attempt to take Spike down. Without the chip, Spike could have ended the fight in one second. A quick snap of his neck, and the boy'd be quiet. With the chip, and with his own desire to avoid brassing off the slayer, Spike had to work a little harder, grabbing Xander's wrists and pinning them behind his back, leaning his body in to trap Xander, kicking Xander's legs apart and then standing between them. Eventually vampire strength and a century of bar fighting won out and Spike lay on Xander's trapped and panting body. "Get off," Xander gasped. Spike pushed down a little harder. If the boy had to fight to catch his breath, he couldn't say anything stupid. Reaching into Xander's jeans, he pulled out the small gray phone. The tiny green screen said "Harris" in small, black block letters. "Seems like this is yours, mate," Spike pointed out. Xander squirmed, but he'd lost the fight and he knew it. Spike waited out his struggles and soon enough, Xander quieted back down. Only then did Spike consider what he was doing. Slayer was going to be right pissed at him if she found him manhandling one of her crew, and pissing her off after he finally got a good shagging from her just didn't seem smart. On the other hand, Harris was hiding something, and a man with secrets would do a lot to keep 'em. So, until Spike figured out whatever secret Harris was keeping, he just had to make sure that he kept control of the situation. Spike put the phone on the counter and grabbed Xander's wrists in one hand and his neck with the other. "Ya just about got Dawn killed. If I had my way, Sweet woulda taken you, would have broken your body and used you until you begged for mercy you never got. You're a bloody liability, wishing on a demonic trinket like that. You and Red, pulling a demonic power into the world with Buffy. The lot of you are dumb as soddin' rocks. Spike could feel Xander react to the words and shrink in on himself. "We saved Buffy," he said softly, but he didn't sound as sure of it as he had before. "You pulled her out of heaven. You ever try ta figure out where she was first, or did you just go charging in there like a pillock and do what you wanted? You didn't save her, you were so bloody terrified of having to live your own fucking lives that you pulled her back into the muck with you, you selfish bastards." Xander was holding his breath, and Spike suspected that he was trying not to cry. Git. The phone vibrated against the counter, the glass amplifying the sound, and Xander gasped, his body going stiff. "Be a good boy," Spike warned before he let go of Xander's neck to grab the phone.
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