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The More Things Change	By : slashtheboyz Category: AtS/BtVS Crossovers > Slash - Male/Male > Spike(William)/Xander > Spike(William)/Xander Views: 12377 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own BtVS or AtS. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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The More Things Change 26/?
Author: slashtheboyz
Title: The More Things Change
Chapter: 26/?
Pairing: Spike/Xander
Rating: FRAO
Feedback: Comments, email, Journal, IM
Concrit: Comments, email, Journal or IM
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Joss and a bunch of lawyers. I only wish they belonged to me cause I'd make em do naughty things together forever. I'm just playing with them. No disrespect intended. No reflection on real persons or places intended. I'm not making any profit from this. This is strictly for entertainment.
Warnings/Squicks:
Summary: Xander goes to LA on a fact finding trip and finds Angelus instead. Scariness happens.
Previous chapters:here
Notes:
I do have Yahoo IM, and my ID is guess what? slashtheboyz! Drop me a note if you like. This doesn't strictly follow canon. Sooo if you don't like that sort of thing you might want to skip this. This is my first story so feedback is very welcome. As usual if you spot something I missed let me know.

Spike went quickly to the tunnel door, which Xander had shut behind him. He spun the vault style wheel, and pulled open the heavy door. Ducking his head, he stepped over the raised threshold, and straightened reaching behind him to pull the door shut with a clang that echoed eerily in the large tunnel. Letting his game face reemerge, he lifted his head breathing in, nostrils flared and lips parted slightly, scenting, and tasting the dry air in the tunnel. Then he burst into a ground-eating trot heading for his boy.

He jogged down the darkened tunnel and found Xander leaning against the curved wall about a quarter mile down; his arms crossed looking in Spike’s direction. He was still in game face, gold green eyes glowing, which didn’t surprise Spike in the least. He’d been testing the link all the way from the tunnel door checking Xander’s emotional state. Xander was still bewildered by the turn of events and there was residual irritation lingering in the link. The scent of confusion rolled from him in a noxious cloud.

Feckin’ gorgeous, he is.

Spike stopped a few feet away, to just look at his childe, raking him with a possessive golden gaze. Xander stared back with wide golden green eyes that watched as Spike prowled toward him. Stopping a hairsbreadth from Xander, Spike slapped his hands to the wall to either side of Xander’s head, with a smack that echoed in the tunnel. His gold eyes studied the true face of his childe and mate for long seconds. Then he lunged in to kiss his lovely fanged mouth, thrusting his tongue in aggressively, a pleased growl rumbling out of his chest. Xander’s head hit the wall behind him with a muffled thud. He gave a rill of a purr in reply and opened his mouth wide for Spike’s tongue to explore. He thrust his hands eagerly under Spike’s duster, encircling him with his arms, testing the shifting muscles of his back with restless fingers. He pulled at Spike until they were touching from chest to knee, and he was pressed hard against the wall of the tunnel.

Spike broke the kiss, unable to resist thrusting a bit with his hips, reveling in Xander’s responsiveness, the answering hardness. There wasn’t time for him to give Xander a good seeing to. He’d have to wait, but he’d learned in his long years that anticipation was like fine wine; it only gets better with time. He leaned back licking the few drops of red from his lips. Right now Xander needed reassurance. “Ya done good, pet.”

“What?” Xander snorted licking traces of red from his own lips. “You mean the whole mindless rage, complete with the growling/snarling/spitting thing?”

Spike pulled a hand from the wall and held it up in front of Xander’s face, and folded down a finger as he made each point. “Number one, you showed the poof, ya wouldn’t be trifled with, and he’s not top dog here. Number two, you showed the wankers you’re not any tame beastie, even if ya do have a soul; and it’s best to treat you with respect and tread lightly with ya. Number three, you showed Buffy she’s not in charge and ya don’t answer to her anymore, she can’t demand anything from you, even answers. Number four, ya showed em that your loyalty belongs to me now, you could have broken free of me but you would have had to hurt me to do it, and ya didn’t. Number five you demonstrated that you’re definitely my childe, when ya responded to my shout. All in all that’s a good night’s work right there.”

Xander’s eyes widened in amazement, “I did all that?” The link rang with amazement.

“Damned right ya did! Now let’s go huntin’, the night’s gettin’ on.”

They both heard the access door open down the tunnel and clang shut again, and then the echo of voices. Xander loosened his grip on Spike and stood straight as Spike stepped back. He raised fingers to the earring dangling from his ear and glared back toward the voices. “Yeah let’s go before the fangless asshole catches up with us. You still have the laptop?”

Spike nodded and opened one side of his duster wide, revealing the laptop attached by a loop to the inside lining.

“You want to lose the thing before we get really busy?” Xander asked as they both turned and started jogging away from the voices.

“Might be a good idea, pet,” Spike mused closing his duster again. “Let’s hunt about the side of town where my fella usually does his business. If we’re lucky we’ll find him early and get it out of the way.”

Xander answered with a fangy grin and took off at full run up the tunnel duster flaring out behind him; leaving a bark of high-pitched laughter that echoed behind him in the dimness. Spike grinned, gave chase, and caught up as Xander passed the first side door. He smacked his boy on a leather-clad ass as he drew even with him, and felt the surge of heat in the link. He laughed, “I think I’ve found a kink.” Xander just rolled his gold green eyes and snorted with amusement.

Xander fished for the map in his pocket and unfolded it, as they ran. He came to a halt before the next set of doors and peered at the map. “We need to turn off to the right through one of the doors coming up. You did want to go to the warehouse district?”

Spike nodded shortly and they continued up the tunnel at a trot.

They came to the next door that opened to the right, and Xander stopped abruptly in front of it looking from the map to the door and back again.

“This our door then?”

“I think so.” Xander muttered.

Spike leaned forward inspecting the door closely, and then put out a hand, running it up and down, not quite touching the surface. “Ya feel that?”

Xander stepped forward and copied Spike’s hand motions and nodded, “Yeah.”

“That’s another ward. The buggers that built our house must have been big with the mojo ta have all these doors warded. Otherwise it would have cost a bloody fortune to have someone do all this.” He waved a hand that included the tunnel. “I haven’t run across anything like this in a long time. These wards seem ta work on intent.” He dug in his duster pocket and brought out the ever present Zippo. Flicking the cover up with a flick of his wrist, he thumbed the striker and the flame lit up a small area of the tunnel wall. There carved into the wall beside the door were some strange symbols.

Spike’s amusement suddenly ran through the link. He turned his head to look at an enthralled Xander with a fangy grin; his platinum hair glowing in the dim light given off by the lighter. “Look here, the doors are labeled,” he indicated the letters with a wave of the lighter, “least ways this one is.”

Xander stepped up to the wall and ran curious fingers over the strange symbols.

“Those’re Crylian letters, s’ a demon language. Haven’t seen it but once or twice before, over the years. Didn’t notice ‘em before when I was down here, but I didn’t go as far as the first door when I was down in here explorin’. “If I’m right with the translatin’ it says, ‘this way to the harbor.’”

Spike grasped the wheel on the vault type door and spun it until it stopped with a loud clang, “which is right near where we want to be.” Xander joined Spike at the wheel and they leaned back pulling on the heavy reinforced door. It opened with a sigh of protest. “This door hasn’t been opened in a long time.” He said with satisfaction.

Spike stepped forward and cautiously stuck his head around the doorframe flicking the lighter closed and shoving it into his coat pocket as he scented the air and peered into the gloom on the other side. He twisted to look up at the ceiling and then to each side of the door and finally he looked down at the floor. Then he cocked his head listening to the absolute quiet. “Don’t see anything, don’t smell anything, don’t hear anything; Looks to be just more tunnels in a cave system,” after long minutes of observation. He ducked through the door and waited for Xander.

Xander followed him through the door and came to a stop up against Spike’s back. He leaned against him and hooked his chin over Spikes shoulder and slid his arms around his Mate’s leather clad waist as he looked around curiously, taking a deep breath of air tasting and scenting. Cool damp air unmarked by any other beings except bats and mice, and maybe a cat or two.

“Does it seem strange to you that no one has even tried to get in this door?” Xander muttered as he let go of his comfortable leaning post and came to stand at his side.

Spike shook his head. “Not strange at all, if you know anythin’ about Crylians; they’re nasty buggers when crossed. They don’t go lookin’ for trouble, n’ they’re fair minded for demons, but they carry a grudge forever n’ anyone you know including your family and the house pet will suffer if you mess with em. Heard about a Master Vamp in Prague that crossed a Crylian clan, he tried ta get out of payin’ a debt; they wiped out his nest, hunted down his sire, and anyone he knew in passin’. They burned down his lairs, every one of em, all over the world. If the ones who owned this house before we bought it were Crylian, no demon in Sunnydale would even think about sniffin’ around.” He laughed. “That’s why it was empty for so long. Crylians are big with the mojo too. They live in big clans and they adopt all kinds of folks into em. So ya never know exactly what a Crylian looks like. That’s why the house has basement quarters. Bet my last quid, they had a big clan living here and they had adopted members who like livin’ in basements.”

Xander huffed in amusement. “Sounds like a clan of mutts and misfits.”

“A dangerous bunch of mutts and misfits; deadly as they come n’ don’t ya forget it if ya ever come across em.”

“Come on then, let’s get this show on the road. Only so many hours in a night, and they’re tickin’ away.”

They moved forward cautiously Spike in the lead following a smooth stone path through the cavern. Fluorescent molds lined the sides of the path glowing with a dim greenish light that lit the path at their feet but didn’t interfere with their night vision. “Very nice,” Xander murmured filing the idea away in his brain for future reference, “a maintenance free lighting system.”

Spike snorted. “They’re smart beggars. Most demons humans don’t want ta cross because they’re strong and deadly at the moment. Crylians are smart like Fred. Wouldn’t surprise me any, to find out they built our house themselves. They think about things and they’re a deft hand at strategy. They collect books n weapons like watchers n they learn any new fightin’ style they come across. They like ta visit other dimensions and then write about it in their books. A clan’s worth can be measured by how many books it has, not by money. Some clans’ve got libraries of journals with thousands of books.”

“Wow.” Xander exclaimed. “Giles never said anything about nerdy demons.”

“And why would he say anything? He’s trainin’ his Slayer ta kill demons not talk to em’ n’ she’s not likely ta run across any Crylians, they’re not the send the world ta hell type o’ demons. Besides most Slayers don’t live long enough ta finish the books anyway. N’ the council didn’t like ta admit that there might be some demons that are just as worthy as humans.”

They came to a sharp s curve in the cavern and stopped just short of the exit. Spike stuck his head around the corner cautiously and looked out. “Looks like an access tunnel that connects to the main sewer system.” They moved out of the exit and into the more familiar looking sewer access tunnel, and looked back at the exit they had just come through. If they didn’t know it was there, it would have been all but invisible. Xander looked at Spike and he shrugged, “Told ya, they’re smart buggers”.

He turned and led the way to the end of the short tunnel that ended at a door, which was a normal industrial gray color. Hanging on a wall peg beside the door was a key. Spike stopped listening for noises on the other side of the door. Hearing nothing, he reached up, grabbed the key, inserted it into the deadbolt lock, and twisted. He grasped the doorknob, slowly turned it, pulled opened the door a tiny bit using his foot as a door stopper, and looked out, then he swung the door inward and stepped out into the tunnel with Xander following.

They paused for a moment listening for anything out of the ordinary in this section of the city sewer system. They heard rats scurrying along the floors of the surrounding tunnels. Water ran and dripped on surfaces, and gathered in pools lapping against walls. Several cats yowled in a territorial dispute, the sounds echoed eerily somewhere in a far off side tunnel. Spike glanced over at Xander, then back to the tunnel, a wrinkle between his golden eyes. “Not what I hear that bothers me luv. It’s wot I don’t hear, it should be busy at this time o’ night, n’ I don’t hear anythin’.”

Spike leading the way they broke into a jog and traveled up the tunnel a hundred yards or so to a rusty ladder. Spike jumped halfway up and grasped the rungs climbing until he got to the manhole cover, pushing the cover up a crack. He peered out, commenting. “This is close to a demon bar, but there’re no demons on the street. Only demon scent is days old, should be demons all over in this section of town.” He pushed the manhole cover to the side, clambered out, and waited for Xander to climb up after him. When Xander cleared the hole, he pushed the cover back and it settled with a clang that echoed along the empty street. They sprinted to the shadowed sidewalk together and stopped. The streetlights were broken or burned out leaving the entire street in varying shades of darkness. Walking quickly they went to the corner and slid around it and resumed a normal walking pace. Spike explained where they were going and whom they were going to see, as they walked.

“This place we’re goin’ ta visit is a bar for demons only. The only humans allowed are pets or consorts. Slayer doesn’t know about this bar. The fact is the Slayer doesn’t know much about demons at all, even in this dump of a town.” Spike snorted. “Only thing she knows is killing the rogues and a few vamps. There’s a whole community here n’ most of em are normal folk concerned with night ta night livin’, raisin’ their families n’ such. But this is the rough part o’ the demon community.”

Xander listened fascinated, as Spike revealed the quick intelligent mind hidden behind his punk appearance.

“If ya have ta arrange for some things, revenge or justice, n’ ya don’t have a Master in control o’ the town, ya come down here and talk to an arranger; S’ a common arrangement in towns with no Master to keep the peace. They set a price fer the judgment or the job n’ take care o’ enforcin’ the judgment or makin’ other arrangements when it’s necessary. The fella we’re lookin’ for is the top dog of the arrangers for the Northern Continent. He controls all the arrangement business in Sunnydale and most of the cities in the Northern Continent that have no Masters. This bar is his place o’ business. He has an office on the second floor. I’m thinkin’ he’ll stay in town ta watch over his business interests until he knows exactly wot’s going on and why. When he leaves town the rest of the smart demons in the community will scarper too.”

Xander’s eyes widened. “And this is the guy we’re gonna give the laptop to?” He squeaked out. “How do you know he won’t just give us to Wolfram & Hart?”

“He’s an arranger, he’s a fair judge o’ character, he is, or he woulda never got as high in the business as he has. Once he gives his word it’s final. He’s built his business on ‘is reputation as a fair but strict arranger. His job is part judge and part jury. He takes testimony from both parties in a dispute, or the injured party if there’s not another party. He does the investigation, with magic if that’s wot it takes ta get to the bottom of the situation. Then he makes a judgment based on what he discovers, and enforces it according to the contract. Both parties sign a contract when they pay their fee and agree to abide by whatever judgment he makes. If one signs a contract and the other doesn’t, his obligation is to the party with a contract. It’s not perfect but it works better n’ faster than the human justice system. If a contract is broken, he enforces the terms of the contract.

“So you’re saying he’s trustworthy.”

“Bout as trustworthy as you’re gonna get amongst demons. Never heard of ‘im breakin’ his given word. His kind aren’t violent, but he can hire the best ta back ‘im up.”

Xander quietly digested what Spike said as he walked. It made sense. Demons couldn’t call the police or go to human court for justice, and there wasn’t a Master on the hellmouth. There had to be someone keeping order in the community. If demons knew when they harmed each other in some way, that they could go before an arranger and he would investigate, the truth would out, and a demon in the wrong would receive a harsh punishment. Demons would tend to reconsider doing bad things to each other.

“Okay.” He agreed, and Spike flashed him a fangy grin. “We’ll go see this arranger and see what he has to say, and see if he can handle this business.”

As they traveled down the street the buildings got more dilapidated and neglected, most of them had boarded up doors and windows. Some enterprising individuals had pried the boards from several windows and it looked as though those buildings served as temporary housing. Loose paper, food wrappers, and other detritus rustled under their feet on the sidewalk, and they sent empty cans spinning away with their feet several times, as they continued into the heart of the bad side of Sunnyhell. They passed a deserted overgrown playground with broken down rusty swings and slides. The gray weathered teeter-totter board lay on the ground slowly rotting, the frame twisted beyond use. The sight of the playground saddened the human in Xander. As bad as things had been at home for him he could still go to the local playground with Willow and Jesse. It looked like the kids who lived in this part of town didn’t even have that escape.

They finally approached a particularly run down building, and Spike grinned at the disbelief in the link. He turned around walking backwards down the sidewalk and laughed at Xander’s dismay. “Don’t always believe everything ya see. There’s an enchantment on this building. Even the humans here in Sunnyhell would have a hard time explainin’ away a big beautiful buildin’ down here”. By this time they were at the front of the shoddy building and Spike turned forward again as they climbed the battered stone steps to the door. He pounded on the rickety door with a clenched fist. The thing looked like it was hanging together by habit and the idea that it used to be a door more than anything else. A small square in the door cut out at eye level scraped open and a voice barked out an inquiry and Spike snarled something back. The little window slammed shut and Xander could hear someone undoing the locks from inside. The door swung inward and Spike plunged quickly into the dark maw, pulling a startled Xander after him by the coat sleeve.

They swiftly filed into a small dimly lit foyer, the door slammed shut behind them, the locks clanked as they were reset, causing Xander to jump with surprise. The big blue demon guarding the inner door sat back down on his stool, nodded at Spike warily, and examined Xander from head to toe curiously. “Lo Spike, long time since we’ve seen you.” the deep bass voice seemed to shake the floor under Xander’s feet.

“Yeah well, been busy, Laramet.”

Laramet nodded in understanding. “Yeah, we heard about it. Those human government types are a real nightmare to deal with even for demons.”

“Bloody buggerin’ bleedin’ nosy mum humper,” Spike swore.

“Now, now Spike.” Laramet only chuckled at Spike ire. “Ya know his honor knows everything. And if he don’t know, he knows someone who does or he can find out. It doesn’t do to try and keep secrets from him.”

“Nosey bugger,” Spike muttered again.

Laramet sobered abruptly. “He expected you to come looking for a contract.”

“Is he takin’ contracts dealin’ with human problems now?” Spike’s gaze sharpened, his eyebrows almost met his hairline.

“You know better Spike,” Laramet gave him a longsuffering look, “He thought ya might want a contract dealing with your Sire.”

Spike looked down and shifted his weight uncomfortably from one leg to the other. “Yeah well, not this time.” Spike mumbled. “Got somethin’ else I need ta talk to him him about. Is he in?”

Laramet rolled his eyes. “Isn’t he always?”

Xander could feel the wave of relief that rolled through the link and the relaxing of a tension he’d barely noticed until it was absent. He eyed Spike in concern and pushed a question mark through the link.

“Need ta speak to him sooner then,” Spike pulled Xander closer by one arm and shoved his other hand down into his coat pocket, coming out with his fags. He watched his hands as he shook one out, put the pack up to his mouth, and pulled it out of the pack with his lips. The hand went back in the pocket with the pack, and came out with the zippo, he flipped it open one handed and flicked the striker with his thumb, concentrating on the flame as he lit the fag between his lips. He snapped his wrist to close the zippo and dropped it back into his pocket. Then he looked at Laramet through a screen of smoke.

Laramet looked the pair of them over again his eyes sharp and alive with intelligence. “Who’s your friend?

“Least ya know the healthier for ya, Laramet.” Spike said seriously.

Laramet looked at Xander again and the way Spike kept him close. He sniffed the air tentatively. His eyes grew bigger if that were possible, and he breathed out an awed. “Ohhh shiiiit. And they told me this was a nice quiet town.” He shook his head, and gave Xander another once over. “He doesn’t look dangerous.” He said in an impressed voice.

“Well ya know what they say about appearances and assumptions, yeah?” Spike replied airily, fag waving between his lips as he spoke, he lifted his chin and coolly looked back at Laramet.
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The More Things Change