Gray
Gray
After having her world destroyed by the Winchesters, Eve wanted to rebuild her family. She claimed a soul with his own dark power and his own moral gray. He would be her champion. Hopefully. Xander just wanted to go home, preferably before the hunters Sam and Dean Winchester caught up with him.
Chapter ONE :: Chapter TWO :: Chapter THREE :: Chapters 4+5 :: Chapter SIX :: Chapter SEVEN :: Chapter EIGHT :: Chapter NINE
It's time for them to get the hell out of Dodge... or New York City in this case. Spike is determined to get Xander to take control of his demonic powers before they have an accident.
Xander pulled at the ropes around his wrists. “This really isn’t necessary, Spike.” The heavy rope led down between Xander’s legs and attached to the bottom of the car seat. It wouldn’t be so bad except that one, the rope itched and two, Spike’s driving was as scary as ever.
“Better than having you snack on the local population.”
“Which I’m not going to do.”
Spike took time away from watching the road to really glare at Xander.
“Road. Road. Spike, there’s a road there. Crashes. Death.”
With a snort, Spike turned his attention back to the road. “We’re demons. Short of the car blowing up, a crash isn’t going to do us much harm.”
“You, Spike. A crash isn’t going to do you much harm. Me? I’m thinking I’m still pretty vulnerable. There’s no evidence that I’m anything other than Xander with a few upgrades.”
“You’re an alph, a demon created by one of the old ones. Do you really think a car accident is going to stop you?”
Xander frowned. Put that way, it did sound a little questionable. “I would rather not test out your theory. This is me, Spike. Think about all the bad luck I’ve had over the years.” Actually, Xander’s well documented bad luck had actually gotten him driven out of four separate villages in Africa. Witch doctors backed up by locals wielding machetes had chased him all the way to the next village so he could infect them with his bad luck.
“Let’s see,” Spike said. “You mouthed out to Angelus and lived. You got between me and my love spell and lived. You went up against an ascended demon and lived. You got magical syphilis and lived. You bloody went up against the First evil and soddin’ lived. You met an old one and got adopted, you git. That doesn’t sound like a bad track record. Hell, Harris, I’m not sure what you could survive with Tiamat’s power in you.” Spike actually sounded a little disgusted by that.
“You just listed about a dozen things that most people never have to suffer through.”
“And lots of happy meals in that little town never survived having even one of those things happen. Stop feeling sorry for yourself Harris or I’m going to start using another piece of bondage equipment.” Xander opened his mouth to answer before it occurred to him exactly what Spike might mean. Then he closed his mouth so fast that his teeth clicked.
Leaning back into the seat, Xander watched another sign for Chicago go by the window. “Bully,” Xander said softly. He spent some time seriously working on his visions, but practice was boring. He hadn’t liked practicing math equations as a kid, and this was feeling vaguely homework. “Why weren’t you surprised that I’m back to having two eyes?” Xander suddenly demanded.
“That’s what has your panties in a bunch?” Spike sounded incredulous.
“Hey, I went from one eye to two eyes, so you can’t say you weren’t surprised.”
“Red offered to replace that missing eye years ago.”
“Yeah, and I said I didn’t want a magicked eye.”
Spike took a long time to answer. “First, I was more focused on saving your sorry arse. Second, from the time I walked in that room, I could tell that something had happened. You smelled different.”
“I’d been locked in a room with no bathtub. Different is one way to put it.”
“Bloody hell, pet. I lived in your basement.”
“And?”
“And you weren’t exactly well acquainted with the washing machine.”
Xander snickered as he recalled Spike’s own adventured with washing machines.
“At least I tried to wash my kit,” Spike snapped, so Xander was pretty sure he was remembering the same disaster. “But you went months without washing those sheets, so the basement had more of your stink than it did mold. I know your scent, and it’s shifted. I was more concerned about that. I thought for a second that you were some sort of shifter playing Xander, but then you opened your mouth.”
“So the whole eye thing worried you less than my smell?”
“I’ve known blokes that could change their eyes out.”
“Seriously? Okay, that’s gross.” Xander made a face. He wouldn’t even use a glass eye because the thought of shoving things in the hole made his stomach churn. Spike didn’t have another comment, so Xander spent a little more time watching the empty road. Spike was using the smaller highways and at two or three in the morning, there wasn’t much traffic. Mostly it was farms, farms, little clusters of houses at crossroads and cows. There were a lot of cows in this part of the country. There wasn’t much to keep Xander’s attention, and Spike had firmly vetoed the country music station, so conversation was all they had. Xander tried again.
“So, do you think Willow’s going to be able to get us home?” Xander pulled against the rope. Fact was, Willow could get Spike home any time. He was the only one stuck. Spike grunted. Xander waited a respectable period of time before he tried yet another tactic. “So, do you want me to read more of those Supernatural books to you as you drive?”
“Bloody hell, no,” Spike snapped. “If those two hunters are real, they need a soddin’ keeper more than you do, Harris. Makes my gut ache the way those fools go rushing in like idiots.”
“Hey! I like them.”
“You bloody would. They’re all heart and not enough sense between them ta keep out of trouble.”
“They fight evil, and they don’t even have cool slayer powers.”
“They’re pawns in this war and they don’t have the good sense to take themselves out of the fight.”
Xander swallowed. That sounded a little ominous. “You can’t mean they should…”
Spike rolled his eyes. “Hang it up and take one corner of the world ta protect instead of shoving all over the country where they’re vulnerable. That Bobby has the good sense to settle in a place where he has a network to protect him, but those two boys are running around the country trying to con everyone they meet. Their luck is bound to run out.”
Xander frowned. He liked the way they weren’t stuck in some stupid little town with exactly one place to go at night. Although Sunnydale did have places other than the Bronze, most of them catered to things that ate humans, making them a little less than safe.
“They’re fighting evil.”
“Evil’s everywhere, luv. And if you start fucking a demon, you know you’re on the wrong path.”
“Hey!” Xander protested. “Ahn-”
“She’d already hung up her horns before you dated her.”
“And Buffy dated lots of demons,” Xander shot right back. If Sam had found a little love in the arms of Ruby, Xander got that. Totally. Sometimes it was hard to not fall for demons because they were sexy and hot and really sexy. Xander glanced over at Spike. Yep, wrong gender and he was still sexy as hell. That was one demonic power Xander would like to get, but he doubted it. He’d pretty much been a professional goofy boy since age twelve.
Spike sucked air through his front teeth. Exactly. Xander smiled in triumph at winning that round, but two seconds later, he frowned.
“Wait. Did I just defend demons?”
“You’re one of us now.” Spike’s cheekbones got sharper as he smirked. “But then I think Buffy has more than a little demon in her. Those two Winchester boys are playing with fire if they think they can swim in that end of the pool. Enough about them. I have my hands full with you. So, get to practicing.”
Xander opened his mouth, and Spike’s hand snapped up, a finger pointed right at Xander’s nose. “You’ve tried avoidin’ working with your powers about every which way you can. Enough is enough. One more word and you’re gagged.” And Spike didn’t even smile. Xander closed his mouth. Practice. Right.
Holding his breath, he watched while William appeared in the mist, a pad of paper and a pencil in his hand as he peered at Xander through his glasses and recorded little scratches before sucking on the end of his pencil. A strangled laugh slipped out of Xander as he realized that he was seeing Spike’s interest in him, Spike’s geeky science-obsessed self. William totally would have been one to pal around with Willow.
Spike mumbled some odd curses, and Xander decided to go with being quiet as a church mouse. While he didn’t think Spike would gag him, he hadn’t thought Spike could strap him down to a bed or tie his hands, either. Clearly the rules had changed some.
A bloody hand clawed at Spike’s face a second before the rest of the victim came into view. Xander jerked back as he realized he knew her. She was Sheila something, the hard-core bad girl who Spike and Drusilla had eaten when they first showed up in Sunnydale. Why would Spike be thinking of her? Xander lost himself in his thoughts until Spike shouted his name. “Harris!”
Blinking, Xander looked at Spike. He was getting good at the not breathing by accident thing because William continued to sit with his body inside the car’s dash as he took notes.
“Right then, start to slowly breathe, but don’t lose the visions.”
“Um, breathing makes them go away,” Xander pointed out. The second he started talking, his lungs insisted on breathing in and the specters vanished.
“I’m going to gag you, Harris,” Spike growled. “That demon mother of yours told you that you were going to choose the nature of your powers, so you’ll start controlling this or I’m going to take a more direct approach to this siring shite.”
Xander felt the blood leave his face at that threat. “No need to get cranky.”
“Then follow my orders without bollocking up.”
“Right. No more bollocks.” Xander made a show out of taking a breath and holding it. This time Angelus appeared even before William. Yep, Spike was so not joking. Spike kept driving while Angelus made completely inappropriate sex faces. Slowly Angelus turned his head until he considered Xander. Slowly, Angelus moved closer, his mouth moving, although Xander didn’t get much more than ‘boyo.’
Xander waited until Angelus’ hand came up, reaching for him, and then Xander blurted out. “Oh no. No, no, no and hell to the no!” The second he took a breath, Angelus vanished.
“What the fuck are you doing, Harris?” Spike demanded in a tone that made it clear he was not even joking this time. He jerked the wheel and sent the car flying off toward the shoulder.
“Hey! Angelus. I breathed on purpose because that was me saying ‘no’ to your Angelusy thoughts.”
Spike slammed on the brakes so hard that Xander flew forward. With his hands tied, Xander couldn’t catch himself on his dash, so his face and the car just sort of met in the middle. Xander yelped as stars filled his vision, but Spike had already thrown the car into park and reached between the seats into the back.
“Not cool! Seriously, Spike, where did you learn how to drive? Maybe we should, I don’t know, take a train?”
“Right, you with all your untrained demon powers on a train full of happy meals. Harris, you’ll start listening to me or I’m going to make Angelus seem like a fluffy puppy. Clear?” Spike dug around in the stuff in the backseat.
Xander swallowed, not able to answer as he considered just how far Spike might take this training stuff. “I didn’t want the ghost Angelus to touch me.”
“Then you use your powers to stop him. If you don’t get control of yourself, you’re going to make a fatal mistake, and it’s not likely that you’ll be the one dying. Get that through your head.”
“I know that.”
“Then act like it. You’re not some helpless tyke, Harris.” Spike pushed himself back up, a red ball in hand. “You’ve got a dark side, luv, and we both know it. You want to go home? Really? Tell me, the first time some random bloke hurt your Willow’s feelings, wot do you think you’d do?”
“Make fun of his hair?” Xander guessed. In the past, that’d been his first, second, and third lines of defense, followed by insulting stupid accents and bad fashion.
Spike gave him a cold look, and Xander dropped his gaze. Okay, if he had the power to do something more drastic, maybe he’d throw a punch or two. “I wouldn’t kill them,” Xander said softly.
“Maybe you wouldn’t mean to the first or even the second times, but you’d do it, luv. You’d decide that if others struck at you and yours, that you’d strike back. The only reason you didn’t gut half of Sunnydale is that you didn’t have the power to. Chances are, you have the power now.”
Xander glared at Spike. “You’re exaggerating.” So far, the whole demon thing had been less than impressive. Xander was still the loser getting captured, requiring rescue, and generally getting pushed around by his friends. Very little had actually changed.
“You’re an alph,” Spike said firmly. “It’s likely you’ll develop some pretty substantial powers, innit? I’ll see you get control of these powers or I’m going to get clear of this entire dimension before all those little hurts and injuries you carry around start to fester.”
Xander started to shake his head, but Spike reached out and caught his chin. “Don’t,” he said firmly.
“But Spike-”
Spike’s fingers tightened until they pressed painfully against Xander’s jaw. “Unless you want to remember what it’s like to kill an orphanage full of fucking anklebiters because that’s what your friends and your bloody lover want, you’ll get control, Harris. You’ll get control now before the needs overpower your common sense. Now open your fucking mouth.”
The anger poured off Spike, at least Xander thought it was anger. However, he’d held his breathe long enough that the visions appeared, and dead and mangled children littered the car. Xander started to gag, which was helpful because it forced him to breathe. Spike held up the ball in front of Xander’s face, and when Xander opened his mouth to promise… well… anything, Spike pushed it in.
“Now close your bloody mouth and keep it closed. Seal those lips, Harris. Seal them and don’t you dare even think of spitting that out. Because right now, I’m starting to question how serious you are about getting control of these powers, and you do not what to know what I’ll do if I start thinking you’re a danger to yourself or the rest of the soddin’ world. Clear?” Spike demanded, his fingers still pressing deep into Xander’s face.
Xander nodded. The ball filled his mouth, but it wasn’t painful. Sinking his teeth into it, the rubber squished down until he could close his lips over it. Okay, it was a little humiliating, but Xander and humiliation were old friends. For a long time, Spike stared into face for some time before he snorted and finally let go of Xander’s face. Xander leaned down far enough that he could rub his chin with his bound hands.
“Soddin’ little nit,” Spike muttered before he put the car back into gear. “Practice with those visions,” Spike ordered.
Xander flinched. Right now he didn’t want to know what Spike was thinking.
With a loud sigh, Spike flicked on the radio to a classic rock station. “I ever tell you about the time I saw the Sex Pistols and the Clash in London? There was a two day festival in 1976, and I got stoned off my arse with Johnny Rotten.” Spike grinned and ran a tongue along the inside of his lower lip. “Now that man had talent.”
Xander thought Spike was doing him a favor by turning to more positive thoughts, but then a nice looking young man with bleached hair, earrings, and blue eyes appeared between Spike’s legs. Waggling his strawberry blond eyebrows, he turned his attention to Spike’s crotch. Oh boy. Clearly Spike’s Johnny Rotten stories were X-rated. Xander’s face heated up, and he focused on geeky William, who also seemed to be avoiding the sex show going on in memory land.
Right. Focus on breathing and seeing visions at the same time. Xander was almost glad he was gagged because without the ball shoved in his mouth, he so would have been saying something embarrassing right now. He totally would have. Spike and Johnny Rotten. And oddly, Xander wasn’t even shocked. He was, however, grateful that the visions didn’t come with surround sound because when he glanced out the side of his eye, Johnny Rotten was truly enjoying himself and Spike hummed along with the song on the radio as he drove.