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dragonyphoenixTitle: The Favor
Series: Gifts – a collection of loosely related stories
Fandom: BtVS
Category: fluff, light smut
Characters/Pairing: Xander/Spike, jasonsnene/Xander, Ash Carpenter/Spike
Rating: PG-13
Concrit: Please, in comments
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon: genius; me: just playing with his characters
Warnings/Squicks: None
Summary: Sequel to The Present. Spike has some help getting away and now owes a favor.
Notes: The Story is set in Sparks.
The Favor
I pulled up just outside the club, hoping to get Xander inside before he got a good look at it. He was still going on and on. “Let me get this straight,” he said, stepping onto the sidewalk. “You were supposed to be gone for a long weekend, a long weekend with Lindsey mind you, and instead you were gone for, just how many months were you gone, Spike?”
Don't bother to rub it in at all. “Five months, Xander,” I replied patiently.
I joined him on the sidewalk as he started in again. “Five months! I had no idea where you were for five months. Do you know how worried I was?” he shouted.
“Thought Angel told you I was all right,” I replied.
“You up and vanish for five months and I'm supposed to believe Angel when he says, and I quote, 'Everything is under control'? I don't even know what that's supposed to mean but I know ominous when I hear it.”
I tried going for a kiss, just to reassure him of course, but Xander held out a hand to stop me. Damn. I pulled out a cigarette instead but, before I had a chance to light it, he'd yanked it from my mouth and ground it under his boot. “No smoking privileges for you.”
He was serious.
Turning around, he glanced at the club and asked, “Is this it?”
“Maybe we shouldn't,” I replied. Not while you're already this pissed at me.
He turned and gave me a frank stare. “I thought you owed this person.”
“Well, yeah,” I said.
“So, how is it that you vanish for five months and I owe, wait, who is it I owe this favor to?”
“I told you we'd been held,” I carefully didn't catch his gaze, “prisoner. Turns out our rescuer has a crush on you. I tried to come up with something else, I really did but,” I choked a bit over the lie, “meeting you was it.”
As I looked up with what was supposed to be a frank stare, he was giving me a concerned look. “Fine, let's get this over with.” He turned back to the door, which I held open, hoping to get him inside quickly but he paused to read the poster. “Sparks Night Club Presents Angels and Demons: Where Innocence is a Sin. Hey,” he added, leaning sideways and looking inside. “This is a strip club. Just what kind of favor are we talking about here?”
“You said you'd done some dancing at Oxnard,” I answered without actually answering.
“That was one, count 'em, one never to be repeated night. I never expected my boyfriend would be pimping me out to a bunch of strangers or to anybody for that matter. Friends would be just as bad, or, you know what, even worse, so there will be nothing even close to thinking about my stripping in front of friends.”
Now or never. “Xand, please,” I begged, giving him the Bambi eyes.
“I'm just saying,” he said. At least I'd gotten his babbling off to another subject. “You escaped the Initiative. Hell, you even got off a submarine but you were held prisoner, where exactly?”
“In a dungeon?” I winced.
“In a dungeon. And you had to be rescued,” he added.
“Hey, I was chained up at the time.”
“You. Were chained up.”
“Yeah.” This might be going all right then.
“Not by me.” Or not.
“Wait a minute,” he added in revelation. “The last time I chained you up, you had your hands free in two seconds flat.”
Oops. I kicked at the ground, hoping it would distract him. It didn't. “She's very creative.”
“She? She's creative? Oh, you are so going to owe me for the rest of your unlife. Who is she, Spike?” he threatened.
I wasn't sure how he'd take it but, hoping for some sympathy and seeing no way out of replying, I told him. “Ash Carpenter.”
His eyes got wide. “You and Lindsey and Ash Carpenter for five months?”
“It was just supposed to be for the weekend and I wasn't even supposed to be part of the package,” I tried to defend myself.
Xander whapped me upside the head as he walked into the club. “Details. I'll want lots and lots of details. And why is the club empty?” he asked.
I followed his gaze to the stage, which was laid out on two levels, the center slightly higher than the two sides although not so high that patrons wouldn't be able to tuck cash into g-straps, thongs, or whatever.
“What am I supposed to be wearing? Not like I brought,” he started as I pulled them out. A pair of baby blue briefs and if I could have blushed, I think I would have. What had I been thinking with that color?
“Blue? It'll be a bit light against my skin, don'tcha think? And I can't believe I just said that,” he said as he blushed.
I didn't want to admit it but what the hell else was I going to say. “The sales lady said it's the same shade as my eyes.”
Xander wrapped his hand around mine, taking them from me. He didn't even look up to check my eye color before replying, huskily, “Yeah, they do.” He pulled me in for a kiss and all I could think was, thank God, we really are going to get through this thing. I knew I'd messed up and he'd been so upset about it, hadn't been sure how he'd respond once he'd had time to think it through.
“Why don't I get changed and then you can test them out, for removeability and such, before anyone gets here,” he added with a smile. I did my best to smile back and he jogged off behind the stage to find a dressing room. It had seemed like a good idea in the excitement of the rescue and all. I mean, yeah, I'd loved being with Mistress Ash but... Damn. I needed to stop thinking that name. One slip of the tongue and I'd never hear the end of it.
Point was, I'd missed Xander and it hadn't seemed like such a high price to pay, not at the time. We'd talked it over and jasnosnene had agreed that Xander didn't have to do anything he didn't want to do. But what if, in the heat of the moment, Xander got coerced into... No, Xander was an adult, even if he didn't act like it all the time. He could take care of unwanted advances, if any.
I wandered over to the bar, poured myself a shot of Jack, and slammed it down. As I started to pull out a cigarette, I remembered Xander's injunction. Tossing the ciggie into an ashtray, I gazed around the place to keep my mind occupied. There were tables and chairs just at the edge of the stage, naturally, and booths up on the second level for anyone wanting more privacy. Behind the bar was one great big mirror which, of course, I wasn't reflected in. Left me feeling almost as if I weren't even there. Nothing about that evening was about me except that Xander just pulled me in, made me feel like I belonged, just by being himself.
“Ready,” Xander said as he stepped out from behind a red curtain at the back of the stage. Strutting seductively over towards me, he added, “So, how long do we have before everyone gets here?”
Ah shit, here it comes. “That's the thing, luv. Already here, in a private room.”
“Private room?” Xander shouted. “Hey, when I said pimping earlier, I hadn't really meant pimping. No, no way.”
“It's not like that, pet,” I said, escorting him towards the back of the club. Xander's eyes were wide and dark against his skin. “Look, I'll be right out here. Any problems, you give a shout, and I'll be with you in half a sec.”
“Spike, you were gone for five months,” Xander whispered.
“This won't be like that.” I hope. “I promise.”
Xander gave me a baleful look. “Look. It's my debt. You wanna leave now? Cause I'll work something else out. Not fair to bring you into this, is it?”
Stepping away, Xander steeled himself a bit, saying, “I'll be OK.” He stepped through the door and closed it behind before I could ask him if he was sure.
“Ouch,” Xander shouted at a bumping sound. I was about to rush in but then he added, “Umm, sorry about the table.” Then jasonsnene told him not to worry about it and Xander gulped in response. Oh yeah, this shouldn't be too bad then, I thought as I slid down the wall to sit myself by the door.
“Are you sure we won't be interrupted here?” Xander asked and I could just see him kicking himself as he heard how stupid the comment sounded but didn't bother me one bit. The more nervous he was, the less likely this was going to go any further than I wanted it to.
“Oh no,” came the reply, straight as if Xander hadn't just sounded like a total dork. “This is my club. I mean, I created Sparks for a story I wrote.”
“You had this place built based on a story?” Xander asked uncertainly.
“Nope,” and he could hear a smile in jasonsnene's voice. “This is a fictional building.” Oh, and Xander was going to be a long time working that one through. “We're completely alone, except for Spike sitting on the other side of the door.” Fine, I thought as I got up and headed back to the main room.
Xander laughed at that but it was more of a high pitched giggle than anything else. “Are you nervous?” jasonsnene asked, sounding concerned.
“Umm, maybe? Spike didn't really explain.”
“Shhh,” he was interrupted. “Whatever happens here tonight? It's all up to you.”
“O...kay,” Xander replied hesitantly. “Umm, could I get some water? I'm feeling a bit dry.”
There was a long pause and then the sound of a bottle of seltzer being opened. “What's wrong?” I heard Xander say and then the sound of him drinking the water.”
“Nothing,” jasonsnene said unconvincingly. Must not have convinced Xander either because, after a long silence, “We can talk about it later, OK?”
“Sure,” Xander agreed. “Maybe we could get started? With dancing,” he added quickly. “And just dancing. Not implying that we'd start there and then go somewhere else from there.”
A musical laugh and then, “I've got some music here. Dead Can Dance work for you? Some of my belly dancing friends recommended it.”
“Sure, but if you really wanted the dead guy to dance,” Xander trailed off.
There was another musical laugh and Xander joined in this time. Hmph, if you're gonna make bad jokes, I thought, over the sound of the music, as I trailed over to the bar and poured out another shot of Jack. I thought about sitting up in a booth on the second floor but I wanted to be closer to my boy, didn't I? Not like I wouldn't be able to hear if there was a problem from up there. Hell, I'd be able to hear their two heartbeats from anywhere in the club, even over the music.
Nothing untoward was happening though and, after the second song, I started eying the poles, wondering if I should give one a spin. Didn't look like it'd be all that hard and it wasn't like there was anyone who'd see me at it. The music was well into the fourth song before I climbed up onto the stage. Wrapping one leg around, I swung out on the pole. Wasn't too bad. I played around with that move a couple more times before I tried hanging from it. I had one leg wrapped around the pole and was hanging upside down, which was a bit tricky in jeans let me tell you, when the music stopped. The air took on a hushed quality.
“Oh sweet mystery of life at last I found you,” I heard sung out and not by Xander. Didn't know what was going on and I didn't much like it although I was hoping it meant they were done when they both started laughing. Not my fault I fell off the pole. Xander shouldn't be laughing at jokes I don't get anyway, I thought, rubbing my head.
It got worse. They started kissing. I raced to the back room but stopped just outside. None of my business, was it? Not until he shouted for help. I shouldn't have brought him here in the first place, especially since I hadn't told him what was going on. If I'd given him time to prepare, he would have known how far he was willing to go; wouldn't have been so susceptible to...
“How was it?” the voice held a bit of teasing laughter. Lucky for me Xander preferred a serious...
“Nice. It was nice,” he replied. Nice? But nice was our word, our personal word, for sweet, sexy, long drawn out never gonna end kisses.
“It was nice. Wanna try it again?” The voice wasn't laughing now.
“Oh yeah,” Xander replied in that dreamy voice of his, the one that told even Cordy, scary as she could be, that we were definitely not to be disturbed.
Hanging my head, I sighed, loud enough that they should have heard me. Their kisses were punctuated with light laughter. Don't need this, I thought and headed back to the bar. I started muttering to myself, basically anything that came into my head, so I wouldn't have to hear the two of them while I was sitting there, alone. “And bring, The eternal note of sadness in.” Followed by, “What the hand dare seize the fire?” And then I started, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways,” but it didn't seem to work, what with him in that back room and all. Needed something a bit darker. “And close your eyes with holy dread.” Ah, that did it.
I'd just started in on Rhapsody on a Windy Night when I heard Xander calling back a glad, “Yeah, give me a minute.”
Keep your cool. No need to let the boy know you're bothered. But as he came into view, I saw his hair was mussed, and there were pink lipstick kisses along his jawline, and his briefs hadn't really been pulled up properly. “Ready to go?” I asked in an overly hearty tone of voice. Damn.
“I've... gotta change,” he replied.
“Need any help with that?” I leered, even though I was hoping he'd say no. The sooner we were out of there, the better.
He rummaged around behind the bar and pulled out a card, listing the name and location of the club. “What's that for?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
Xander blushed. “I'm, umm, I'm meeting Nene back here tomorrow. Oh, hey. OK if I use your car? Not like you'll be needing it.”
“But... what?” I sputtered.
“Not like you'll be able to drive it in the dungeon,” he added sounding almost hurt.
Got real worried right about then. “Dungeon?”
“You don't know?”
“Know what, pet?”
Twisting the card in his hands, he said, “You know when Nene rescued you?”
“It's Nene now, is it?”
He didn't roll his eyes or show any sign of exasperation. Bad sign, that. “When jasonsnene rescued you then. You weren't supposed to stay with Ash forever. There was this agreement that whoever identified the house as belonging to the Addams family would get you next. Turns out nobody did so Miss Carpenter figured you could stay with her as long as you wanted.”
From behind his eyes, the accusation screamed out. You abandoned me.
I muttered something that made absolutely no sense, wasn't even sure they were words and then I found the words. “But Xan, look, I'm sorry for what I did but it was,” glorious, I thought, “ a mistake. I want to stay with you. I love you.”
“Nene has a plan to get you out permanently, if that's what you really want, something about sowing dissension in the ranks, but it'll take a little time,” he added.
Affronted, I started to ask him what he meant by 'if that's what I really want' but was interrupted by a sound from above. We both looked up as one at the sound of red, patent-leather, high-heeled shoes clicking against the wooden floor of the balcony. Well, he didn't know what the shoes looked like but I'd heard them often enough, over the last five months, to be able to identify them in one tap of their toes against almost any surface.
Inching toward the back room, Xander said, “I gotta go. Meeting Nene out back. She has some lecture she wants to give me, something about not taking candy from strangers.” He vanished behind the curtain.
I looked up at the second level, trying to find the source of the sound. The heels kept clicking along in a steady pace but I couldn't see her in the darkness. The sound changed as the heels stepped onto the metal staircase.
“Mistress Ash?”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-08-08 05:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-08 08:17 pm (UTC)Your icon reminds me of the Mae West quote: "When I'm goog, I'm very good but when I'm bad I'm better."
no subject
Date: 2009-08-08 06:47 pm (UTC)Heh...How come Nene and Xander have poetry and kisses and chatting and willingness and I have to chain Spike in a dungeon...? And, presumably, Lindsey as well since he hasn't made an appearance! *snort*
Tee hee...You're cracked, honey! :D
no subject
Date: 2009-08-08 08:26 pm (UTC)You think I'm cracked now? Wait till the one where Angel loses his soul again. I'm going beyond silly in that one.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-08 09:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-08 10:28 pm (UTC)*hugs*
no subject
Date: 2009-08-08 10:54 pm (UTC)Not to worry though. You'll get to have bondage and kisses and be the dashing heroine rescuing Lindsey from the clutches of evil lawyers.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-09 11:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-09 02:08 pm (UTC)