Parts: 51 - 60
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~Part: 51~
Lindsey wasn't very surprised to find Brandon and Faith still eating when he took his break. He'd been keeping an eye on them since they'd gone to sit down nearly half an hour before, knowing that they were too busy talking to bother eating the food that had been put in front of them fifteen minutes ago. He had finished his inventory, not paying a lot of attention to the bottles he'd been counting or the numbers he'd been writing down. He'd been too preoccupied with the knowledge that Faith was in New Orleans. Not only that, but she had brought Gunn and Lorne with her. Three faces from his past that he'd never thought he'd see again. He guessed he'd been foolish to think that he could just forget everything that he had once done, what he had once been.
He still couldn't believe that Faith had been so friendly. She had chatted with him as if they were long time friends instead of nearly strangers that had last seen each other when he'd been arranging for her to kill Angel. Of course, from what he had seen of her, the brunette slayer was far from predictable. It was one of her more annoying qualities. As for Gunn and Lorne, well, he had never had any problems with Lorne. He had liked the demon, actually, considering him one of the few friends that he had had in LA. Gunn was a different story entirely. They had grudgingly created a truce when they'd had to work together, but Gunn didn't like him. Of course, Gunn just really didn't like a lot of people now that Lindsey thought about it. Faith had mentioned a girl from Sunnydale, Willow. The name was familiar to him, and it had taken him a while to remember. He'd read it in the file he'd been given on Angel when the vampire had first arrived in LA. There had only been one sentence, but it had been a pretty important piece of Angel's history. Willow, best friend of Buffy, responsible for giving Angel his soul back.
Lindsey let Paul take over the bar as he went to the back computer to clock out for his lunch break. He ordered a burger and then back out to the front. He made his way to Brandon's table, stopping at the bar to get a coke along the way. As he neared the table, he wondered if they still wanted him to join them or if they were just being polite by asking in the first place. His question was answered when Brandon pushed a chair out for him and spoke.
"It's about time," Brandon declared as Lindsey smiled at sat down. "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to get a break today."
"Sorry, I had to finish inventory," Lindsey shrugged, feeling a bit stupid for his earlier doubts. Brandon was one of his few friends in New Orleans and was pretty much responsible for introducing him to the other people he considered friends. When they'd first met, he hadn't been in town long and had just started working at the bar. Brandon was a regular, stopping in several days a week. One day, about a month after he'd started working at the bar, Brandon had show up for lunch and informed Lindsey that he had decided that they should be friends. It didn't matter to him that Lindsey preferred being anti-social and spending his time alone. Brandon hadn't given up and eventually Lindsey had realized that they had become friends somewhere along the way.
"The food here is great," Faith told Lindsey, "I'm going to have bring Willow here. She'd love it."
"I told you that it was good," Brandon smirked.
"Well, I guess you were finally right, for once!" Faith smiled at Brandon before she took a bite of her chicken tender.
"So, Faith, how do you like New Orleans?" Lindsey asked as he turned his attention to the slayer. He didn't know what Brandon knew about her past or about the real things that lurked in the shadows so he was trying to choose his questions carefully. He'd told Brandon about his job with a law firm in LA, but he had left out all the details involving demons and things that most people only believed existed in fictional books. He wondered how Faith had managed to get permission to stay in New Orleans. He had heard stories about the master of this town, knew that things were much more structured and safe here than other large cities, but he found it hard to believe that a master would allow a slayer residency in his town.
"Love it," Faith said sincerely. "It feels like home, ya know? I've never really had that before. It's nice."
"I understand," Lindsey nodded, smiling slightly. It was the same way he'd felt when he'd first arrived in town. He'd known that this was the place to just stop and start over.
"Oh, hey, before I forget, we're going out tonight to listen to some bands," Faith said, "and we thought you might want to join us. It should be fun. We're looking at some local talent for our club, a few bands to perform on weekends."
"Brandon thinks I spend too much time at home," Lindsey said, "so I'm thinking this was probably his idea."
"It was, but I wouldn't have asked if I didn't think it was a good one," Faith told the former lawyer. She smiled as she added, "If your fiance is in town, she can join us."
"Jane's in Chicago, but I'm sure she'd appreciate being included," Lindsey said.
"Yeah, right," Brandon snorted, giving Lindsey his best innocent expression when the man looked at him. "Sorry, there was something in my throat."
"Well, if she's not in town and you're not working, you can go with us," Faith said, giving Brandon an amused glare before looking back at Lindsey.
"Faith, I don't really know if it's a good idea," Lindsey said, not minding the part about hanging out with some friends and listening to music, but knowing that it might be awkward for Gunn and Lorne if he was around.
"Well, I know that it is," Faith smiled, knowing full well why he didn't want to go with them. Did he really think any of them cared that he used to work for Wolfram and Hart? Okay, so Gunn might be a bit grumpy about it, she didn't really care. Lindsey was nearly perfect. Not only was he engaged, but there wasn't any kind of attraction or sexual weirdness between them at all. She'd finally have someone that she could dance with that wouldn't be trying to get her into bed. She saw that Brandon was finished and stood up, telling Lindsey, "I don't know where exactly we're going yet so I'll just meet you here at nine. Trust me, you'll have fun."
"You're not going to listen to me at all, are you?" Lindsey asked, his lips curling into a slight smile as she shook her head.
"Nope. You're going with us and you're going to have fun. Just deal with it, Lawyer boy," Faith said with a smirk before she looked at Brandon, "Are you ready? Willow's probably wondering what happened to me."
"Sure, let's go," Brandon winked at her as he tossed money on the table for the meal and tip, looking at Lindsey, "I'll see you tonight, Lin."
Faith headed to the door, turning back to remind Lindsey, "Nine o'clock…and don't be late!", before she followed Brandon outside.
"Stubborn damn brat," Lindsey muttered as he glared at the closed door before he started to laugh. He picked up his burger and thought about what had just happened. It would appear that, instead of going home and watching the learning channel, he'd be going out and listening to local bands.
~Part: 52~
"I'm sick of cleaning!" Willow said as she tossed down the rag and glared at it. She heard a chuckle and looked up, arching a brow as she turned her glare to Spike.
"Hey now, Cupcake, you're not the one that had to tackle the bathrooms," Lorne reminded.
"Yeah, but I've been wiping down the walls and the floor," Willow whined, getting no sympathy from the demon or the vampire that had, in fact, cleaned the bathrooms so that she wouldn't have to. She sighed, making a face as she admitted, "My back hurts and my arm hurts and I can't remember ever feeling this achy even after an action filled patrol."
"Poor baby," Spike said with a smirk, his eyes moving over her lips as they twisted into the cutest pout that he could recall ever seeing.
"I doubt any of us are having fun cleaning," Lorne said, his eyes amused as he witnessed the silent exchange between Willow and Spike. He had woken up late, not getting in until after dawn. He'd found Willow eating breakfast and leaning against Spike on the sofa as the vampire read her the newspaper. After he'd had his breakfast and enjoyed Spike's entertaining reading of the news, they'd decided to go to the club and work on the cleaning that hadn't been accomplished the previous day. It hadn't taken long to notice that something had happened between the other two. There was still that sexual chemistry that was practically visible, but the mood between them was more relaxed, more comfortable. They were laughing and teasing and just enjoying being together in a way that went beyond the sexual sparks he'd witnessed. If anything, the sparks were being dealt with reasonably well in favor of their friendly banter. Yet, despite the friendly platonic relationship they both seemed to be aiming for, he'd glance up and catch them looking at each other in heated ways that did not bring forth the word platonic.
"You're supposed to feel sorry for me," Willow pointed out to Lorne, though her eyes were on Spike's face. She watched him lick his lips and could have sworn he was looking at her lips. She'd been real good today, doing a very good job of dealing with the fact that she had slept with him the night before, in a purely friends only type way, and coming to terms with her desire for him in a way that didn't cause her to think of nothing else but kissing him and tasting him and touching him and…she stopped those thoughts, knowing she'd only end up getting lost in a fantasy of some sort. Not that getting caught up in fantasies about Spike was a bad thing, it just made it a bit more difficult to keep her mind platonic and unlusty. She frowned as she wondered if unlusty was even a word before she realized that Lorne was talking again.
"Sorry, Sugarplum, but I faced the toilet from Hell so your whining doesn't bring forth pity," Lorne smiled at her.
"I'd have cleaned the toilets," Willow defended weakly before smiling and acknowledging, "Okay, you win. I so hate cleaning the bathroom normally and those were just disgusting."
"Maybe we should take a break?" Spike suggested, knowing that he was more than ready to put a pause on the cleaning. His words were rewarded by a smile from Willow. Looking at Lorne, he said, "I could use a nice cold drink. What about you?"
"That's a great idea," Lorne agreed as he moved towards the stairs, "I'll get us something with lots of ice. Be back in two shakes of a feather!"
"Your back hurt bad, luv?" Spike asked as he watched Willow rub her shoulders as she made her way to one of the remaining chairs.
"Just a bit sore," she said as she sat down. "I think it's hitting me from yesterday, all the reaching and straining while we were cleaning those walls. A break sounds like a great idea. Maybe Faith will get her lazy ass back here soon and help get this finished. I'd love it if we could get the cleaning done today so that we could start on the more fun things next week like painting and stuff."
"Here, let me," Spike said as he moved to sit on the table behind her chair. His hands moved to replace hers on her shoulder as he started to massage her.
"You don't have to….God, you're good at that," Willow's protests died down as she felt him start to massage her sore shoulders. She moaned in appreciation as she felt his hands on her warm flesh, her head falling forward as she gave him more access. She didn't even try to prevent the vivid image of his hands moving from her neck down her body to other, more naughty places. Her body responded to the stimulant of her thoughts and the reality of his hands touching her, causing her to become rather turned on.
"This ain't nothing, Red," Spike replied, his voice husky with desire. He could smell her arousal, felt himself tightening against the denim of his jeans, his eyes closing as he listened to her moan, the feeling of her warm flesh against his fingers. He didn't even notice Lorne's return to the room until the demon spoke.
"Here we are, kids. Kool aid with lots of ice," Lorne said, hating to interrupt them. He watched as Spike's eyes flew open, the vampire seemingly startled by his voice. He glanced at the vampire, noting the rather impressive bulge, then looked into Willow's slightly dazed eyes as she raised her head to look at him. He kept the smile off his face as he began to pour their drinks, glad that he'd brought extra ice.
~Part: 53~
Faith was walking with Brandon, listening to him complain about his job as she tried to figure out the best way to tell him the truth about life. Well, the truth about life as she knew it would be more appropriate. She wasn't all that great with communication, having spent the majority of her years on Earth either keeping her thoughts to herself or just beating demons to act out her annoyance and anger. She had gotten a little better at talking since she and Willow had become friends, telling the redhead things she'd never told anyone, but this wasn't even a normal situation. Sure, she could now let down her guard around her friends, she could talk to them and be honest and say exactly what she thought, but it was still a bit weird to use words to describe what she was thinking or feeling.
Words had never been a particular specialty of hers. Buffy had had the witty banter down perfect, but Faith was more of a 'hello, time to die now' kind of girl. Action girl instead of talking girl definitely described her pre-Sunnydale. Heck, it described her pretty much pre-breaking out of prison if she was completely honest. True, she had gotten good with the sarcasm and the witty banter thing had rubbed off on her the longer she stayed around Buffy and Willow and the others. Becoming friends with people, letting them in, letting herself care about them, well, she'd had to get used to talking and communicating. Now, though, she had no idea what she was supposed to say. She wished Willow was there, knowing the redhead was great when it came to explanations and was especially good at calming people down and helping them see things logically.
"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Brandon asked Faith, studying his newest friend and waiting for a response.
"Honestly?" Faith gave him a brief smile as she said, "Communication and words."
"Okay," Brandon nodded slowly, "and why are we thinking about communication and words, Oprah?"
"Don't even!" Faith threatened before laughing, "I don't think I'm going to tell you anything else, Funny Man!"
"Faithy!" Brandon leaned against the brick wall and gave her his best puppy dog eyes, "You have to tell me!"
"No, I don't," Faith teased.
"Yes, you do," Brandon shot back, his lips twisting into a smile.
"Actually, you're right," Faith made a face, "I do have to tell you and I'm not sure what I'm going to say."
Brandon's smile faded as he saw the serious look in her eyes, asking, "Just tell me, Faith. What's wrong?"
"It's a long and complicated story," Faith sighed, running a hand through her hair before suggesting, "Why don't we go sit down somewhere?"
"Sure, we can go sit by the river. It's usually pretty quiet this time of day," Brandon said, wondering what story Faith was planning on telling him. It didn't take them long to reach the river, finding a bench far enough away from the nearest people that they could talk without being overheard. He sat down, his eyes curious as he said, "Okay, we're sitting. Now, tell me the story. Why so serious?"
"Brandon, what I'm about to tell you, well, it's going to sound unbelievable and you're going to think I'm crazy, but it's real," Faith said, again wishing Willow was there to explain all of this. She added, "Willow's a lot better at this than I am. I'm not at all good at explaining things and I don't know what to say and maybe we should just go get Willow. She'd make a lot more sense than I will, I'm sure."
"Faith, what is it?" Brandon asked, having no doubt that Faith would be able to explain whatever it was she babbling about just fine once she started to talk.
"Vampires and demons are real."
"What?"
Faith nodded, "They're real."
"Vampires and demons?" Brandon repeated, a thoughtful expression on his face as he watched her relax and smile.
"Yeah," Faith smiled slightly.
"And you know this how?" Brandon asked, his mind reeling from her words as he tried to come to grips with what she had said. He didn't think she was crazy, but he was finding it a bit difficult to understand everything.
"That's the long story," Faith said.
Brandon had expected that answer. He sat back against the bench and said, "Tell me, please."
~Part: 54~
"In every generation, there is a slayer," Faith started before frowning, "actually, that's not entirely true. I mean, it's the big formal declaration and all, but there are a lot of slayers or slayers in training out there right now and it's pretty much one generation so I won't bother repeating all that boring stuff."
"Slayer?"
"Slayers fight evil," Faith told Brandon. "Okay, I'll try to make it simple for you. Every generation, there is a slayer, one girl who is responsible for protecting the world from evil. It's sort of destined, you know? In exchange for giving up any resemblance of a normal life, the slayer gets some pretty nifty things. There's strength and skill and healing abilities. Plus, you get to know you're making a difference in the world. Of course, most of the slayers in the past have died pretty young."
"You're a slayer," Brandon said, not sure he understood what she was talking about, but knowing enough to realize that she must be one.
"Sure am," Faith smiled, "but I'm not the oldest. See, there was this big mess a few years ago involving drowning and then CPR and, anyway, the active slayer died before she was revived so another one was called. That wasn't me. Some chick I never met who got killed by this vampire not even a year later. That was when I got called."
"Called? What does that mean? And the other girl, the one that drowned, she's still alive?" Brandon asked.
"Buffy's still alive, though she did die again, but that's another story for another day," Faith said, "Called means you become active. I don't know, I mean, you train for years and you're fighting and patrolling so being called isn't really that big of a deal except it means the active slayer died. I have to be honest with you, Brandon, because we're friends and I want you to understand. You see, when I was called, it was tough. I wasn't really cool with the whole slayer thing and got into some stuff I shouldn't have. I killed a guy, a human, an innocent. Well, not really that innocent because he was working with this majorly bad demon guy in Sunnydale so he was technically playing on evil's side but he was wanting to trade teams and I killed him by mistake before he could suggest a trade. Anyway, I ended up joining his former team and fighting the people that I was supposed to be helping."
"You killed a man?" Brandon ran a hand through his hair, glad he was sitting down.
"I turned myself in, went to jail, stayed there for a couple years before I broke out," Faith said.
"You escaped from jail?" Brandon stared at her.
"I had to. I was needed," Faith shrugged, deciding that she was definitely doing a terrible job of explaining. "I had to help Buffy and the others save the world."
"You saved the world?" Brandon felt as if he was getting headache, his fingers moving to rub his temples. He knew she was being serious, could see that she was worried at telling him the truth, and he wished that he could laugh and pretend it was all a joke. His new friend had killed a man, gone to jail, and then escaped. Strangely enough, Brandon could accept that news pretty easily. What he was finding a bit difficult to come to terms with was the whole vampires and demons thing, not to mention the world-ending bit.
"Yes, we did," Faith nodded, "I'm not explaining things well, am I? I should have waited for Willow. She'd have made a lot more sense."
"So, Willow is aware of all this stuff?" Brandon asked.
"She's been Buffy's best friend for years," Faith smiled, "so she's helped save the world a lot. In fact, she'd probably been fighting evil longer than I have, truth be known. I didn't stake my first vampire until after Buffy died and that other chick was called. That's when the training became more real, since I was next in line."
"What about Gunn, Spike, and the other roommate, Lorne? Do they know about the demons and world ending stuff?" Brandon asked.
"Yes," Faith nodded. "Are you cool with all this, B? I had to tell you because Will and I like you and consider you a friend and you really need to know the truth if you're going to be hanging out with us. In fact, I didn't even realize until this afternoon that you weren't aware of the things that lurk in the shadows."
"I'm still trying to understand, but I guess I'm cool," Brandon gave her a smile, "I mean, it does explain a lot about some of the customers I see when I work third shift."
"I'm glad you're dealing," Faith said sincerely, hating the idea that he might have freaked out and not wanted to hang out with them.
"Man, I can't believe that vampires and demons are real. Evil isn't just something in movies or books, it's real. What are they like?" Brandon asked.
"Now comes the complicated part," Faith smiled, "you see, not all demons and vampires are evil. They're really a lot like us, in a way. At least, demons are. There are zillions of different types of demons and a majority of them are really very cool. They don't kill or try to destroy the world, but the few that do enjoy eating people or trying to cause Hell on Earth end up ruining things for the others. As for vampires, well, most of them are just interested in feeding and don't care about anything else. There are exceptions, though. Hell, I'm a slayer and I call several demons and vampires friend so I guess that pretty well says everything."
"I'm still not believing all this," Brandon said with a smile, "but I'm thinking it's pretty cool and I'm really glad that you told me."
"You kind of had to know before tonight," Faith said with a laugh.
"Why before tonight?" Brandon asked.
"You're hanging out with us tonight," Faith smiled, "and you'd kind of know something was up once you met Lorne. You see, he's a demon, and he's green."
"I'm assuming he's one of the good ones," Brandon had to laugh.
"Yeah, he is," Faith smiled, "so is Spike."
"Spike is a demon, too?" Brandon asked, having not seen anything suspicious about the cute blond he'd met the previous evening. "He doesn't look like a demon."
"Vampire," Faith said, "but he's one of the exceptions I mentioned. I just thought it would be a good idea if you knew everything before hanging out with us. Sorry I wasn't that great with explaining all of it."
"I'm glad you told me, and you were great with explaining it all," Brandon said, "I'm just dealing with it all. Trying to adjust to the news that things I read about and saw in movies aren't fictional, but that they exist just like we do. I'll be fine, it's just so interesting. And you guys have saved the world, which is just kick ass! Man, my new friends are heroes."
"You're silly," Faith laughed at him before saying, "C'mon. Why don't you come back to my place with me. I'm sure they're working on cleaning the club and could use some help."
Brandon smiled, "Only for you and Willow would I consider cleaning on my day off. Let's go."
~Part: 55~
"Make it stop! Please, make it stop!" Spike was groaning, his hands going over his ears as Willow laughed.
"Spike, quit being silly," she giggled, her eyes shining with amusement at his antics. It had been nearly half an hour since they'd decided to take a break, none of them really too eager to get back to cleaning. Lorne had gone upstairs to get them something to drink while Spike had given her a massage that had made her knees weak and her breathing ragged and the area between her thighs more than slightly damp. When Lorne had come back downstairs, Spike had stopped the massage and moved to lean against the bar, acting as if nothing at all had happened. Of course, nothing had happened to him. He hadn't been affected at all, stupid damn vampire. The moment had passed, though, as they'd all started talking about the club and various other topics. Soon, her arousal was under control and she was able to look at him without imagining his hands on her body. Well, without imagining it in too vivid of a detail, that was.
"I'm not being silly, luv," he whined as he watched her laugh, his blue eyes moving over her face affectionately. For a second, he forgot everything except how beautiful she was, shaking his head slightly as he added, "This is horrible. Please, make it stop!"
"The tide is high, but I'm holding on," Lorne sang along with the CD as he danced around the bar, ignoring Spike's reaction to the music he had chosen. He grabbed Willow's hand and pulled her up, twirling as he continued singing, "I'm gonna be your number one…your number oooooooonnnnneeee."
"We agreed to play music that we all like," Spike reminded, shuddering as Blondie and Lorne managed a high squeal. "This is something I do not like!"
"Quit being a baby, Cupcake," Lorne said with a smirk as he danced around with a laughing Willow, picking up with the song easily.
"Yeah, Spike," Willow added, "I like this song!"
"It's horrible! I bet they play this on repeat in Hell, make it even more unappealing and, well, Hell like," he said, his lips twisting into a slight smile as he watched Willow dance around with Lorne.
"I'm not the kind of girl that gives up just like that," Willow sang to Spike, smiling sweetly before sticking her tongue out at him.
"Why don't you quit your whining, Cutie, and come dance with us?" Lorne asked, twirling Willow around until she was close to Spike.
"I'm not whining," Spike defended, "and I'm not going to dance to this dreadful racket you call music!"
"You're no fun," Willow told him, relieved in a way that he didn't want to dance with them at the same time she was disappointed.
"Oh, baby, I can be a lot of fun," he purred, his blue eyes catching hers, flashing slightly with awareness before he looked away and took a drink. He added, "This song sucks."
"It's nearly over," Willow told him as she turned her attention back to Lorne and their dancing. She tried to ignore the tingles of arousal that had flashed through her body when he'd purred, purred!, at her about how much fun he could be, his sexy smirk giving no doubts as to what he was talking about. Of course, being cursed with her imagination and constant state of horniness that she seemed to be in whenever she was around Spike, she had no difficulties at all in coming up with numerous scenarios in which Spike would be a lot fun.
"Ah, but it is just the first song on my CD of disco inspired dance hits," Lorne whispered to her, chuckling as he said, "He's going to hate it!"
"You're absolutely evil," Willow giggled, giving him a hug as she said, "I love you!"
"Not evil, merely…hmm..okay, I guess evil will work," Lorne laughed, twirling her again as one song ended and another began. He loved this, dancing and singing and laughing with friends. Speaking of dancing, he was looking forward to their evening out tonight, eager to get Lio on the dance floor. Hearing the new song start, he smiled, singing, "At first I was afraid, I was petrified!"
"This is one of my favorite songs!" Willow squealed, running over to turn it up. She turned to face Lorne, singing, "And now you're back, from outer space."
Spike watched his redhead, seeing how much she was enjoying listening to these awful songs and dancing around with Lorne. He watched as the demon touched her back and dipped her low, blue eyes narrowing as he saw the hand move across her stomach as she was spun. Damn it, he was jealous. This wasn't good, he realized. He wasn't fond of dancing, prefered to just sit back with a glass of whiskey and listen to the music rather than bounce around like some silly moron. Lorne pulled Willow against him, laughing as they sang along to the annoying song about surviving. Stupid pouf had no business touching *his* Red like that, Spike thought crossly, glaring at the couple. Making his decision, he gracefully walked over to them, his hand catching hers as he pulled her away from Lorne, twirling her around before pulling her against him. His lips twisted into a smile as she smiled at him. Maybe this dancing thing wasn't so bad after all, he decided.
~Part: 56~
"This is our courtyard," Faith said as she opened the gate and let Brandon walk past her.
"This is your house?" Brandon asked, not even caring that his mouth was hanging open. His eyes looked over the well-maintained courtyard and beyond to the, he counted mentally, four story building that his new friends called home. He let out a whistle, laughing as he said, "This place is fantastic."
"You ain't seen nothing yet," Faith laughed as she went to the door that led upstairs to the house. She pointed out the lower level, telling Brandon, "This is the business down here. Lorne is going to open up a club that caters to demons and humans. You're going to love him, Brandon. He's funny and sweet and just the best. I figure he, Willow and Spike are down here working, but I want to show you the house before we get stuck having to actually work."
"Yes, work is bad," Brandon smiled as he followed her up a staircase into the house. He had thought he couldn't be any more surprised or impressed after seeing the outside of the building. There were few buildings in the Quarter that extended beyond three stories so he had not been expecting to see their home being four stories, even if one of those was apparently an attic. As he entered the main house, he realized that he had been wrong to assume that it couldn't get any better. It was beautiful. Antiques mixed well with modern amenities. It gave off a welcoming and homey feel that was comforting. He looked around, his eyes taking in even the smallest details.
"Nice, isn't it?" Faith asked with a smirk as she watched him look around in awe. She felt proud of their house, liking what they had added to the existing set-up. They really hadn't had any visitors to show it off to, Lio having helped get it all unpacked, and Spike being more part of the gang than a visitor. Besides, Spike wasn't really the type to show surprise or appreciation for furniture or decorations.
"Nice? This place is gorgeous!" Brandon said, rolling his eyes as he looked at her. "Did you guys do all this yourselves?"
"Unfortunately, we can't take much credit for the design," Faith laughed, "We bought the place furnished and the guy that had it before us did most of this. We added some stuff and moved things around to make it ours, of course, but most of the furniture and stuff was his decorating sense instead of ours."
"It's amazing," Brandon shook his head, "How many rooms are there? Can I see them?"
"I don't know how many rooms there are," Faith shrugged, "Quite a few. And, sure, let me give you a tour before we go downstairs."
Faith showed Brandon the house, pointing out Gunn, Lorne, Spike, and Willow's rooms but not opening the doors because it wasn't her space to be showing. She did take him into her room, showing him the large bathtub that she just adored as well as her view. When she took him to the attic, he was very impressed with their collection of slayerly weapons and books that Willow had obtained or brought with her.
"Seeing all this makes it all seem much more real," Brandon had to admit as he picked up a sword, looking at Faith with a sheepish smile. "I mean, I believed you completely and knew that you were letting me in on a secret that not many people knew, but a part of me still kind of looked at it as if it couldn't really be true. I mean, demons and vampires? Slayers? It's just overwhelming, you know? But, standing here and seeing all this stuff, well, wow. That's all I can really say is wow."
"B, if you aren't ready to meet Lorne or hang out with us, well, I really do understand and I won't be upset. Okay, so I'd be disappointed but I'd be cool with it," Faith said as she moved to sit on the edge of the table that held most of Willow's books. She wasn't used to dealing with the people that didn't know about the reality of evil and demons and stuff, but she figured people had to take their own amount of time to be okay with it all. Hell, most of Sunnydale lived in denial even after seeing the truth, so she knew a lot of people just ignored it and didn't accept it at all. She'd thought Brandon was pretty cool with it all, pleased that she had shared the secret with him, seeming more curious than anything else. Now, she was a bit worried that she hadn't told him in the best way and that he was freaking out and that she and Willow might end up losing their new friend.
"What?" Brandon looked at her in surprise. "Faith, hon, I didn't mean that I was going to run off and put my head under a pillow rather than deal with what you told me! True, it was shocking and I never really believed that monsters and stuff existed except in movies. I can't wait to meet Lorne and hang out with you guys. I mean, I feel like I've been offered membership into some private club or something! It's really cool!"
"You're crazy," Faith laughed at his excited reaction. "But we love you anyway."
"Me crazy?" Brandon scoffed, "Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment, slayer girl! Oh, wait, I guess I shouldn't just call you slayer, huh, since it's all secretive and stuff."
"It's not really a secret. I mean, I give off this vibe to the demons and stuff so they pretty much already know once they're around me," Faith explained. She smiled as she added, "Besides, Spike always calls me Slayer. I wouldn't think he even knew my real name except he's used it once or twice in conversation."
"Purring it in that luscious accent of his? He could call me anything he wanted," Brandon shivered in delight, "Yum-my!"
"Yeah, he is rather tasty, isn't he?" Faith smiled, "Willow got herself a hottie!"
"She so deserves it," Brandon said, "she's great!"
"She's my best friend," Faith nodded, "she so deserves happiness. Spike is good for her. He's only been here a couple of days, but I can already see it. There's something there, something real and promising, and I can't wait until they both realize it. So, are you ready to go downstairs and see the club?"
"In other words, am I ready to stop being lazy and just chatting with my friend and start cleaning?" Brandon sighed dramatically, "If I must, I guess I'm ready to pick up my rag and help clean."
"Maybe we'll be lucky and they've already done the bathrooms," Faith said hopefully as they walked down the attic stairs.
"Okay, the depths of my friendship do not extend to cleaning bathrooms," Brandon pointed out. "Dusting, sweeping, even mopping, but I don't do bathrooms."
"Neither do I," Faith confided with a wink, "hence the reason I decided that today would be a great day to go out for lunch and take a nice, leisurely walk around the Quarter with one of my bestest buds."
"Oooh, sneaky slayer," Brandon smiled, "I like that!"
Faith laughed as she grabbed his hand, telling him, "Come on, let's go down and introduce you to Lorne. Word of warning, he'll probably ask you to sing."
"Sing?" Brandon followed her, shaking his head, "But, Faith, I can't sing!"
~Part: 57~
Faith just laughed when Brandon started talking about how he couldn't sing. She started down the stairs to the club, stopping and glancing at Brandon as a slow smile crossed her face. She could hear loud music and laughter as well as Lorne singing along with the music. She grabbed Brandon's hand and made it down the remainder of the stairs quickly. As she entered the club, she saw Willow dancing with Lorne and Spike glaring at them as he tried his best to keep Willow to himself. The song was ending and another was beginning. She listened as she heard the opening to It's Raining Men, glancing at a surprised Brandon and smiling, "Come on, B. Let's dance!"
"What?" Brandon followed Faith as the slayer pulled him behind her. He found himself looking at Lorne, not able to believe that there was really a demon dancing around with Willow and singing along to the Weather Girls. The reality of everything Faith had told him suddenly slammed home as he realized that it was all true. Vampires, demons, slayers…they really existed. He saw Willow turn and smile at them, her green eyes widening slightly when she saw him.
"Brandon!" Willow called out her new friend's name, noticing the way he was looking at Lorne in disbelief, before looking at Faith. She arched a brow, questions in her eyes as she looked at Faith.
"Hey, Willow," Brandon smiled, letting her know that he wasn't freaking out. He watched the green guy dance over to Faith, grabbing her hair and twirling her.
"Lorne, I want you to meet our new friend, Brandon," Faith said as she stopped twirling and motioned to Brandon.
"Brandon? You're the cute waiter that my girls are always chatting about," Lorne smiled at the handsome human, watching as the youth seemed to snap out of his surprise at being confronted by a demon.
"Nice to meet you, Lorne. Faith has told me a lot about you," Brandon said easily accepting the demon's appearance. He had always been a quick adapter, having seen some pretty weird stuff working the third shift at the Grill for the last two years, so Lorne's demon face was really nothing compared to some of those characters. Now, he had to wonder which of his customers had really been demons and not just eccentric people wearing costumes.
"Good or bad?" Lorne asked with a smile when he saw that Brandon was accepting of the fact that demons did exist.
"All good, of course!" Faith said with a laugh.
"Faith, why don't you dance with me!" Willow said as she grabbed the slayer's hand and pulled her away from the others. She moved closer and said, "Brandon handled that extremely well."
"I invited him to go out with us tonight and then realized that he was normal," Faith explained, "you know, not aware of the demons and stuff. I went ahead and told him about me being a slayer and about Lorne being a demon and Spike being a vampire. He was cool with it, though I think he was a little freaked when he first saw Lorne."
"I'm glad he knows," Willow smiled as they danced, her eyes moving back to where Brandon was talking to Lorne before glancing at Spike, catching blue eyes watching her. She smiled at him before looking back at Faith.
"So, have you guys been busy?" Faith asked, an apologetic smile crossing her face, "I planned to be back sooner to help, but I ran into someone at the bar where we ate lunch and then I had to talk to Brandon about everything so it took longer than planned."
"It's not a problem," Willow said, "We've been working for a couple hours and just decided to take a short break. You know Lorne, he turns on the music and then doesn't want to do anything but dance and sing. You ran into someone you knew?"
"Yeah, small world, isn't it?" Faith smiled, "This guy, Lindsey, used to work for that law firm in LA that is always giving Angel trouble. He quit and ended up moving here. He knows Brandon so we asked him to join us tonight. Seems his fiance lives out of the city so he spends a lot of time alone. He's okay, helped Angel out before he left, has the seal of approval from the broody one and all that shit so I figured it was cool asking him to hang with us."
"It will be fun," Willow said before she felt a hand take hers. Looking up, she saw that Spike had grown tired of waiting and was now interrupting. Impatient vampire, she smiled slightly.
"What will be fun?" Spike asked as he joined the two girls. He was sick of listening to Lorne and Brandon talk about the decline of disco, plus he was a bit jealous that Willow had just left him when Faith arrived. He'd been dancing, something he really hated to do, and he'd been listening to this awful music without complaining, too much, because Willow seemed to enjoy the break from work. Instead of appreciating his actions, she runs off to chatter with the slayer once the girl finally drags her ass back. Well, he was having none of that.
~Part: 58~
"Going out dancing tonight and listening to some, hopefully, good bands," Faith replied, a knowing smile crossing her pretty face as she noticed the way Spike moved his arm around Willow's waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.
"Okay, kiddies," Lorne announced as he and Brandon joined them, "I like this guy. He can stay!"
"You're just saying that cause he's a bigger poofster than you," Spike said with a smirk. He mimicked their earlier conversation, his blue eyes amused, "Get out! I love the Bee Gees, too! Are we just the dandiest pair of bleeding poofsters this town has ever seen!"
"Are all vampires as amusing as Brit here or is he just a special case?" Brandon asked sweetly, watching as Spike turned to glare at him.
"Spike is definitely a special case," Faith laughed before she added, "but he's a pretty cool guy when he wants to be."
"Drats!" Lorne exclaimed as the song ended. "I love that song and here I missed the entire thing! I'm starting it over and then, once it's finished, we can get back to work. Two more sets of hands should move things along rather well."
"Not again!" Spike moaned dramatically, he caught Willow's laughing green eyes and sighed, "Only for you, pet, would I be here listening to this noise!"
"Love you, too, Spike," she laughed as she moved to brush a kiss across his cheek, missing the look of surprise and pleasure in his blue eyes as she turned to Brandon and asking somewhat seriously, "Are you doing okay with all this?"
"With dancing and hanging out with friends and being silly?" Brandon asked with a smile.
"You know what I mean!" she rolled her eyes, "I'm guessing that means you're doing just fine with it all!"
"I'm still kind of dealing with it all, you know? I mean, vampires and demons are real! It's gonna take a little while to fully come to terms with all this, but I'm an adaptable kind of guy. It's cool, knowing the truth, and I'm really glad that you guys told me. Hell, it makes some of the weird stuff I've seen in this town make a little more sense," he laughed.
"Come on, Brandon," Lorne grabbed the human's hand, "Sing with me."
"I can't sing!" Brandon protested.
"Just close your eyes and listen to the music and sing," Lorne said as Faith moved beside him and started dancing.
"Hey, if I can sing, you can sing," Faith told Brandon as she began to sing along about mother nature letting men rain from the sky.
"Fine! I'll sing," Brandon gave in and started to sing as he danced with Faith and Lorne.
Willow smiled as she listened to them, moving to sit down. She knew that Lorne was reading Brandon, just being careful and making sure that their new friend was cool. She felt Spike move beside her, giving him a smile as she said, "You know, this song never made much sense to me. I mean, if men are falling from the sky, they'd be going splat all over the place. And I definitely wouldn't want to be standing around outside watching them fall because you'd go splat if one hit you."
"And here you were scolding me for making fun of the silly songs earlier, luv," Spike smiled, his blue eyes moving to her lips before looking back into her eyes.
"I'm glad that Faith told Brandon. I really like him and it's going to be cool to have him hanging around now," Willow smiled as she looked back at her three friends.
"Yeah, bloody marvelous. All we need is another prissy wanker hanging around," Spike snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Be nice," Willow warned with a smile, "besides, it gives Faith someone to hang out with when we're busy."
"Never thought about it like that, Red," Spike slowly smiled, loving the casual way she spoke of them as a we, also liking the idea of the slayer having someone else to be around so he wouldn't have to share Willow all the time. He had to agree, "I guess I can tolerate the kid."
"Your sacrifice is noted and appreciated," Willow laughed, "come on, the song is almost over. Let's get back to work. We've got a few more hours before we need to get ready for tonight."
"You taking the night off?" Spike asked as he walked over to the cleaning supplies with her, listening as Lorne instructed Faith and Brandon on what they could work on, thankful that they wouldn't be around him and Willow.
"Kind of," Willow smiled, "I'm gonna run by the office and see if there is anything that needs mine or Lio's immediate attention. After that, I'm just going to enjoy hanging out with my friends. Are you, um, well, do you wanna run in to work with me tonight?"
"Sure," Spike smiled, pleased that she wanted him to go to work with her. He'd assumed that he'd have to just keep inviting himself along until she finally just accepted his presence, but she had surprised him by asking him to go with her, and she looked so damn cute asking. He admitted softly, "I'd really like that, Willow."
"Great," Willow smiled shyly before they both got back to cleaning, talking about their plans for the evening and wondering if they'd be able to find some decent local bands.
~Part: 59~
"All right, I think we're about done here," Lorne decided as he surveyed the club. He gave his friends a smile and declared, "No more cleaning this week."
"You do realize that it *is* Friday, don't you, so technically it's rather the end of the week so that statement doesn't really say anything except that we've got tomorrow to not have to clean," Willow pointed out with an amused smile.
"Picky, picky, Cupcake," Lorne laughed, clarifying, "the cleaning is just about finished so we should be able to start selecting paints and accessories next week."
"No more cleaning?" Faith beamed, "Thank you! I'm so sick of smelling all these lemony fresh cleaning solutions. Reminds me of prison, except the lemony fresh would have been an improvement over the smells of the cleaners they used. When do we get to pick out paint colors?"
"Have you ever painted before, Slayer?" Spike had to ask, arching a brow as he watched the brunette bounce with excitement as she discussed painting.
"Nope, but I've seen Trading Spaces so I know all about the 'W' technique," Faith said, sticking her tongue out at him as he snorted.
"You're in for a shock, pet," Spike snorted, rolling his eyes when she stuck her tongue out at him.
"Painting is a pain in the ass," Brandon had to agree with Spike, earning him an amused glare from Faith. He laughed, "Hey, I'm just speaking from experience. You think cleaning is bad, wait until you have to smell paint for hours on end and your back starts hurting because you're painting above your head, which you'll learn pretty fast Shorty, and muscles you don't even realize you've got are aching and all because you decide to paint a wall."
"So sayeth the painting expert," Willow giggled, having helped Jesse and Xander paint Jesse's room when they were twelve and knowing that Brandon and Spike were right about it seeming real easy until you actually started to do it. They'd painted an entire day and crawled into sleeping bags in the backyard because they were too tired to go back to Xander's house to sleep. Of course, she'd been a kid and could probably handle painting a lot easier now.
"They're just trying to scare me," Faith decided, the smile fading slightly as she caught Willow's eyes and asked, "Right?"
"That's just great! I spend years trying to terrorize the damn slayers and here, all along, all I had to do was talking about the horrors of painting to scare them," Spike said dramatically, earning a laugh from the others. He knew he shouldn't be enjoying spending time with any of these people, except for Red, but he rather liked hanging out with them. The dancing wasn't even that dreadful, mostly because he'd managed to have Willow in his arms the majority of the time and that had blocked out the horrible music and the fact that Lorne was singing and dancing around like a bloody poof. It was weird, having friends, not that he'd ever call any of the people present friend. Nope, he was William the Bloody, Spike, slayer of slayers, half the Scourge of Europe, and he did not have friends, except for gorgeous redheaded witches, and especially not some silly slayer, prissy demon, or annoying waiter.
"Cute, Fang," Faith watched as Spike smiled, relaxing against Willow as he teased her.
"Yeah, I am," Spike agreed, his blue eyes amused as Willow playfully smacked the back of his head. He looked down at her, arching as his brow as he asked, "What? Don't you think I'm cute, Red?"
"Faith, don't listen to them. Painting is a lot of hard work, but it isn't nearly as terrible as they're saying," Willow said, ignoring Spike's teasing question. She smiled at the slayer as she said, "We'll make it fun."
"On that note, I'm running upstairs to take a shower and get ready," Lorne said, a smile on his face as he watched his friends tease each other. He was happier than he could remember being in a very long time, finding his new family, his new home, and his new club to be just what he needed to start enjoying life again.
"You and Lio are planning to meet us tonight, aren't you?" Faith asked Lorne, watching as the demon nodded.
"Of course, Sweetie," Lorne nodded, "I'm looking forward to it."
"And you'll be nice to Lindsey?" Faith asked, having already explained to Lorne while they were cleaning about running into the former lawyer.
"I'll be nice," Lorne laughed, "If you do remember, I was the one that always liked him. Gunn, on the other hand, is the one you need to be sure to talk to. Those two tolerated each other, but nice might be stretching it."
"I'll talk to him when he gets in from work," Faith said, having already planned on giving her friend warning about the addition to their group that evening. While she didn't have anything against Lindsey and thought he might be cool to hang out with, Gunn was like a brother to her now, so, if he had a problem with Lindsey being around, she'd cancel the plans. She had to admit that, selfishly, she wanted Lindsey around because he'd be someone she could hang out with and dance with without worrying about it ever being more than just friendly since he was engaged and didn't think of her in that way, but she could always dance with one of her other friends if his being around bothered Lorne or Gunn. As it was, Lorne had been completely accepting of it, actually looking forward to talking to his former associate.
"Lindsey is a cool guy," Brandon spoke up, not exactly sure how Faith knew his friend from LA, but figuring it must be something slayer related since she seemed worried about her other friends' reaction to Lindsey hanging out with them. He'd thought Lindsey worked for some law firm in LA, so he was honestly a bit confused how a lawyer might be involved with slaying and stuff, but he assumed he'd find out if it was anything important.
"Yes, he is," Lorne agreed with a smile at the human. He put away his supplies and headed towards the stairs. Stopping, he turned and asked, "Does anyone happen to know yet *where* we are going tonight?"
~Part: 60~
"No," several voices replied in unison before laughing.
Willow smiled, "We have no idea! Maybe Lio knows somewhere."
"I'll ask him when he gets here," Lorne smiled at the redhead before going up the stairs to take a much needed shower.
"That's just so adorable," Faith declared after Lorne was gone, sharing a smile with Willow.
"I think I missed something," Brandon said as he curiously looked from the brunette to the redhead.
"Get used to it," Spike muttered, giving the human a brief smile before focusing on his Red. He was still a bit annoyed that she hadn't told him she thought he was cute. Sure, he knew that she found him attractive, but a guy still likes to hear it once in a while. She'd just ignored him and dismissed his question as teasing, moving on to talking with Faith and then Lorne. He nudged her, asking, "What's adorable?"
"You are," she smirked at him before laughing, "Lorne and Lio are adorable. Did you see how giddy Lorne got when he was talking about getting ready? And that smile he flashed when he said he'd ask Lio about a club? They're in love and it's just so sweet."
"You think I'm adorable?" Spike hadn't listened much past that statement, his annoyance at her not saying he was cute fading as he decided that being considered adorable by Willow wasn't all that bad. Okay, so he'd have preferred her to call him something a bit more manly and suitable for a master vampire, sexy as sin or devastatingly attractive or charmingly handsome all being words that came to mind that he'd love to hear her call him as her green eyes looked into his before he claimed her as his, Spike frowned as he tried to remember what he'd been thinking about. Oh, yeah, adorable. He couldn't complain. It was a start, after all.
"You know you are," Willow said with a soft smile, her breath catching as he smiled a pleased smile that made the room a tad warmer, his hand moving against her cheek casually as he moved her hair behind her ear.
"Enough flirting, you two," Faith called out, watching as Willow's face turned bright red and Spike glared at her, innocently smiling.
"We were talking, not flirting," Willow denied, knowing that there was no way that Spike had been flirting with her. They were just friends and friends did not flirt with one another. Okay, so that wasn't really true, but she was trying to deal with the not so platonic feelings that she'd been having about the blond vampire since they'd run into each other the other day. Friends, friends, friends she kept repeating as she gave Faith a smile, "Since we're done down here until next week, I think I'm going to follow Lorne's example and take a shower before getting ready for work."
"You have to work tonight?" Brandon asked, amusement in his eyes at Faith's deliberate action of calling those two on their obvious flirting. He'd watched them for the last few hours and knew something was happening between them that went way beyond the friendship they seemed to believe was all that was there. He could understand them wanting to go slow, having talked with Faith about it earlier, but eventually they were going to have to admit that there was some major attraction between them as well as, what seemed to his eyes, love.
"I'm just running into the office and making sure everything is okay for the weekend," Willow explained, "then I'll be ready to have a weekend off and just enjoy out with my annoying friends!"
"Hey, I'm not annoying!" Faith defended as the redhead looked pointedly at her during the last remark.
"I guess I'll go home and change, myself," Brandon decided, having not been home since he'd woken up earlier that afternoon and discovered himself late for his lunch with Faith. He'd showered quickly and dressed in a hurry, not wanting her to wait too long for him.
"You want to meet me here or at the bar?" Faith asked him.
"I'll meet you at the bar," Brandon decided, "that way, if one of us gets there early, we can have a drink while we're waiting. I'll see you guys in a few hours. Bye."
"See ya," Faith waved at him as he left through the club's front door.
"Bye, Brandon," Willow called out, nudging Spike who muttered a not overly friendly bye. She started towards the stairs and asked Faith, "What bar?"
"Oh, we're meeting Lindsey at the bar where he works," Faith explained, "you guys can meet us there, too, when you're finished at work."
"Sounds like a plan," Spike spoke up, liking the idea that the slayer had assumed he'd be with his Red, nearly forgiving her for interrupting them earlier with her flirting comment. Okay, so he guessed he owed her in a way since he'd been nearly about to kiss Willow and the slayer had spoken before he'd had a chance and that had prevented him from moving way too fast in his relationship with the redhead and risking scaring her off.
"Great," Faith told them the name of the bar and the location as they entered their house. They reached their rooms and she gave Willow a brief hug before going in to get ready, planning on meeting them at eight at the bar.
"I'll meet you downstairs and then we'll run by the office," Willow told Spike with a shy smile before going into her room. She sighed softly as she heard him moving around in his room and then the sound of the bathroom door closing. If she tried hard enough, she could swear she heard the sounds of the shower starting, too easily imagining the image of a nude Spike standing underneath the falling water. With a groan of frustration, she moved from the door and grabbed her stuff for her own shower. She took down her hair, knowing it was a mess after sleeping with the pins in, but having been reluctant to take it down after Spike had spent so long working on it. Her hair fell in waves of red gold as she shook her head, her fingers working through the strands. Maybe he'd fix her hair again sometime soon, her body reacting as she remembered the feel of his fingers in her hair and on her scalp, another groan escaping her lips.
She undressed and turned on the shower, cursing herself for all the impure Spike induced lusty thoughts, knowing that she needed to get said thoughts under control since they were just friends. She stepped underneath the water's spray, her eyes closing as she easily brought Spike's face to mind. She felt arousal spread over her as she remembered the feel of his arms around her during their silly dancing and the way his hands had felt against her neck as he'd massaged her aching muscles and the look in his eyes when he'd asked her if she thought he was adorable and, stop it, Willow, she scolded herself. Friends, just friends. She had to deal with this arousal and attraction before she lost him, not liking the idea of her life without Spike in it. True, he'd only been around a couple of days, but he had always become such a huge part of her life that it would seem so empty without him around. It wasn't her fault, though, that he was so damn sexy and gorgeous and arousing and no more thinking, she decided. Easier said than done, she realized as she still found her body excited from the rememberance of Spike's touch and smell and smile and....Sighing softly, Willow reached over and turned the cold water on full force.