Disclaimer: Didn't create the characters, but i treat most of them better than Joss...so don't complain...I'm not making any money out of this so please don't sue me.

Beta'd by AtheneHahn, with special thanks to Maryperk for her advice and help.

by Jackofspikes

Chapter 23

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As Angel made his way out of the shop, he inwardly cringed at the last discernable words he had heard. Buffy's voice had been light and unconcerned while her tone had been slightly curious.

'Why didn't you dust him, Spike? '

Not 'Angel', in that breathy little sigh she normally used when speaking his name. Just a generic 'him', like he was nobody important. Somewhere along the line he'd been judged and found inferior to Spike. Spike! Maybe it was some sort of sign from the Powers That Be, maybe it was time to consult the empath demon, because he was out of answers. He didn't know how to live in a world where he could be beaten by Spike.

'It could have been worse, ' Angel thought. Spike would have been well within his rights as the victor to dominate him. Angel could have found himself bound as a mere servant to the whims of the other vampire. He liked to think that Buffy would have stopped that from happening, but a hateful little voice inside him just laughed at the naivety of that particular thought. Buffy wouldn't have saved him and the rest of them would probably have simply cheered the blond vampire on.

"Oh, give it a rest, you big dope," Cordelia snapped at the brooding brunette. "It's not like you didn't deserve that."

Angel glared at the unperturbed Miss Chase and then looked away as he muttered his reply, "You don't understand."

"I understand that you're so busy brooding over things you can't change that you're ignoring the things you can," Cordelia told him harshly as she got into the front seat of Angel's convertible.

Wesley silently settled himself in the back seat of the car, deaf to the bickering from the front. His mind was racing. He tried to focus on the very real problems at hand, but the words of the small psychologist kept running through his mind.

'She's destined to be the love of Wesley's life.'

Wesley's innate insecurity and loneliness forced him to ponder the question that this statement solicited. 'Maybe she was, but was he destined to be the love of hers? '

~*~*~

When Joyce suggested that she and Dawn should be leaving; Giles and Penny both took the opportunity to make their own goodbyes.

Clapping his hands together and then rubbing them in anticipation, Xander made his suggestion to the rest of them in his own inimitable way, "What say we move this party to the Bronze? I feel the need to give a certain vampire a little challenge on the pool table."

"Very little challenge, Harris," Spike snarked good naturedly.

"Ow! You wound me, fang face. Are you suggesting that I couldn't beat your lily white ass?" Xander countered as the group headed en masse towards the door.

"Only if you ask nicely, Whelp," Spike teased the carpenter, placing his tongue behind his teeth and wiggling his eyebrows.

Pointing at the vampire in horror, Xander spluttered his reply, "Okay. Now see...that's just wrong. No homoerotic joking at the Xan-man's expense."

The easy laughter that followed the group down the street held no clue to the intensity of emotions they had earlier roller-coasted through.

Not one of them noticed that they were being watched.

~*~*~

Jinx was in a quandary. Earlier, his mistress had come home beside herself with rage. He had been lucky to get out without more serious injuries. 'Lucky?' he berated his worthless hide. Had the most magnificent one wished it, he should have joyfully offered his unworthy body to her delicate hands and fists. But had he done that, he would not now be able to serve his beauteous God.

Therein lay his problem. Torn between his willingness to sacrifice himself to the whimsy of his mistress and his aspirations to gain her favour by helping her fulfil her greatest desire, Jinx was caught between a rock and a hard place. She hadn't asked him to do this. He had made the decision on his own. But, if he was successful, it was possible that she might reward him. Maybe she would even allow him to experience the joys of painting her most splendiferous toenails.

~*~*~

Spike was nervous. True, he had beaten his prick of an ex-grandsire for the first time ever and it looked like he just might get the girl in the end, but that was really no preparation for the ordeal he now faced; a night out with the Scoobies in a social setting. He fervently hoped he didn't bollocks it up too badly.

Xander seemed to have blossomed with the addition of another male to the group. A male that treated him as an equal, rather than excess baggage.

He led the way to an empty table and made sure there were enough seats for everyone before offering to get the drinks. Smiling at the blond vampire who wordlessly joined him, Xander felt the need to share his thoughts.

"It's hasn't been like this since Oz left."

Spike, who was surreptitiously checking out the surroundings for the erstwhile ex-commando, was completely befuddled by Xander's unenlightening comment. "I don't follow you, mate?"

Xander thought carefully before speaking his mind. It was important to him that Spike understood where he was coming from. "It was different with Oz. Angel and Riley always made me feel like I wasn't good enough. That I didn't bring anything to the fight, you know? How come you don't make me feel like that?"

"Finn's an idiot," Spike scoffed at the confused boy before turning serious. Sometimes the innocence of the carpenter truly amazed him. "You're the bravest bloke I've ever met, Harris. It's easy to go out there hopped up on steroids with fancy equipment and a group mentality, but you? You're out there 'cause you want to help. 'Cause it's the right thing to do. You fight with your heart and that makes you braver than the bloody lot of those soldier boys. You've earned my respect, Xander. All Finn ever earned was my desire to bloody well pummel the wanker into oblivion."

Even as he glowed in reaction to the vampire's praise, Xander couldn't help but grin at the blonde's obvious disdain for the ex-military man. "Don't hold back on that animosity, bleach boy. It isn't good to hold in all that repressed anger."

Spike chuckled at his clownish behaviour. He really knew how to tickle a bloke's funny bone.

"Shut up, Harris."

~*~*~

Buffy tapped her foot to the music as she glanced around the room. The last couple of days had been emotionally draining for her, but the bad part had been interspersed with things that were so good that she couldn't bring herself to care about the bad. Her mom was going to be okay, they had a great new source for all things bad in Penny, the wicked strong Hell God had been sent on her merry little way, and to top it all off, she had a new, totally drool-worthy boyfriend who was...

So gonna be dust if he didn't take care of that little problem with the quickness!

~*~*~

At exactly that same moment, Spike spotted what Buffy was looking at. When her expression changed from happy to pissed, he turned quickly to Xander and made a panicked plea. "Can I borrow your couch for a few days, mate?"

"Sure." Xander shrugged, unconcerned. Taking in the expression of dismay on the vampire's face, he was quick to ask, "What's wrong?"

"Buffy's gonna dust me," Spike replied morosely as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

"Huh?" Xander asked before glancing over at what the vampire was silently indicating. "Oh man! Spikey, you are sooo busted."

"Blondie Bear!"