thismaz | Prompt 68 - Heading for exotic locations

Title: Heading for exotic locations
Fandom: BtVS
Prompt: 68 - Nurture
At:

tamingthemuse
Rating: Pg
Summary: Part 7 of my pre-season one story which includes Xander, Willow, Jesse, Angel and Spike. Where it's going, I haven't a clue.
Word Count: 1,090
Previous parts, in reverse order, are here or in my memories. Disclaimer: here.
Now beta'd by the wonderful

laazikaat

7. Heading for exotic locations

Thursday

For some reason, he wasn't sure why, because he wasn't still angry, Xander didn't tell Jesse and Willow about his new friend. Part of it, he thought, was just wanting to have a secret. But the biggest part was probably because they didn't ask. He asked Jesse about the beach and he asked Willow more about her new computer, but they didn't ask him what he'd done with his evening. 'No,' he thought, he wasn't angry, although it was possible he was a bit hurt. So, when Jesse suggested they go and see the new Star Trek movie, Xander just said that he'd already seen it and didn't mention Spike, or his plans for that afternoon with Spike. And when Jesse went off, stalking Cordelia again, he told Willow that he had to do some chores for his Mom. She looked surprised, but it didn't take her long to get enthusiastic about the idea of Xander spending a summer's afternoon sorting out the junk in the Harris' basement and she went off quite happily to play with her computer, leaving Xander unsure whether he was relieved by her gullibility, or offended by it. He was certainly slightly offended to realise that she could rush off so readily to spend time with people she'd never even met, face-to-face, rather than be with him, but he did his best to shrug that off, reminding himself forcefully that he wanted her to not be hanging around him. The fact that it was only two o'clock and he still had three hours to kill before he could reasonably go to Spike's motel, just meant he could go and buy some snacks to take with him, so he'd be bringing something to the party.

He took a quick detour home, where he found his mom in the kitchen washing last night's dishes and his dad in the living room, supposedly reading the help wanted ads in the Sunnydale Echo, but obviously already eyeing the bottle of whisky on the shelf. It was no sort of challenge to his secret ops skills, to slip a hand into the pocket of his dad's coat and extract $10. His dad wouldn't remember it had even been there in the first place. Telling his mom he was going to Jesse's house, he made his escape and headed to the supermarket, spending a contented hour choosing chips and chocolate and candy. Then he went to ground in the Park and waited for the afternoon to pass.

By the time he set off for Spike's place, walking as slowly as he could since he was still early, the supplies he'd bought were somewhat diminished, but there was enough left for him to feel he would be making a contribution. He approached the motel with caution, terrified that he'd knock on the wrong door, or that it was the wrong motel, even though he'd written the address down. Pausing on the sidewalk, he studied the low, sprawling building. It was just like the motels he'd seen on TV shows. He pulled the carefully guarded and much handled scrap of paper out of his pocket and studied it, looking up at the sign above the entrance, just to be sure. Yep, The Downtowner Motel. That's what it said. Taking a deep breath and hoping that he wasn't about to make a fool of himself, he walked through the entrance and along the rows of parked cars, searching for room 15. It might be a plain and boring motel to most people, but it was still exotic to his eyes.

*****

Spike waited impatiently for the boy to arrive, but he counted to five before climbing off the bed and going to answer the knock on the door. Didn't want to appear too eager, that was the kid's role. And he didn't disappoint - the tentative smile he was sporting as the door opened, transformed into a huge grin of relief at Spike's warm welcome.

"Xander! Glad you could make it. Come in, mate. What you got there?" he asked, standing back from the reflected light of the summer's afternoon and pulling the door wide for his visitor to enter.

Xander held out the bag he carried. "Just some snacks. I figured if we're going to watch a movie, we have to have snacks, so... well..." He looked a little shamefaced. "I got more, but I ate some of them," he added as he walked over to the foot of the bed and put the bag down. "But there's still enough for both of us." Pausing, he looked around, taking in the room, the bed, the chest of drawers with the TV on top and the door into the bathroom. There was very little space for anything else. He turned to face Spike and glanced down, and Spike saw him notice his bare feet.

"That's great!" Spike said. "Thanks mate. I should've thought of that." He gestured at the bed. "Grab a seat. Sorry about the accommodation. It's a bit cramped, but I've got a lead on a flat, so it's only temporary."

Xander shook his head. "No, it's fine. It's great, even. You still want to watch a movie?"

"Sure. Got it right here," Spike said, picking up the video cassette and brandishing it. "Trainspotting." Turning to the video player, he laughed. "Let's see how good you are at foreign languages. I bet you a dollar, you need a translator."

Xander toed off his sneakers and sat down on the bed, leaning against the headboard, while Spike pushed the cassette into the VCR, before walking back to the other side of the bed and settling next to Xander. Leaning forwards, he grabbed the bag and dragged it over. "What you brought, eh?"

As the tape started and the inevitable ads for future releases began to play, Xander proudly emptied the bag onto the bedspread, between them. 'Yeah,' thought Spike. 'You're as ripe for the plucking as the child you resemble. Just a little more encouragement, a bit of a sympathetic ear and you'll sit there nice and quiet, while I work out what to do with you.' He smiled at Xander and grabbed a bag of hot and spicy corn chips, watching Xander's face light up again at his apparent success in choosing the right snacks. 'Oh yeah,' he thought. 'You're desperate for something and I'm the man to nurture that need and fulfil it. You're mine, boy, and with you, somehow, I'll get Angelus. The only question is, do I need you alive to do it?'

Continued here.