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Redemption and Relapse (BTVS x-over)	By : LillianLuthor Category: G through L > Highlander Views: 4295 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Highlander: The Series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Redemption and Relapse (BTVS x-over)
- 2-2
- 3-3
- 4-4
- 5-5
- 6-6
- 7-7
- 6
- 7
I don�t betta. I
don�t post often. There is a likeliness of a plot here, but I don�t do much of
that either. Gah.

(�`�.(�`�.(�`�.
1 .��).��).��)

Methos had
arrived about an hour ago, right on time for dinner, and had hardly directed a
glance in his direction since then. He didn�t know what to make of it, really.
If last night had been nothing but some wild occasional sex, then there would
be no reason why Adam would pay any attention to him whatsoever; Adam did not usually pay attention to him, as
much as he could tell, and it had been really a shocker that he had cared
enough to fuck him in the first place. Still, he tried to convince himself that
the oldest immortal had better plans for him than a one night stand, however
hot it had been, so he adjudicated his current indifference towards him as
concealing maneuver.
After they
finished eating dinner, he moved to the couch and Giles started offering
drinks. He could have used a beer, but all he got was some Coke Joe had
purposely bought earlier that evening; a little revengeful prank for his
disappearance the night before. Both for his pleasure and his discomfort, the
other immortal sprawled on the double couch where he had chosen to sit, his
body barely far enough not to make contact with his. However, nothing in the
old guy�s appearance indicated that he had sat there because of him, or that it
was any different to him than any other place.
�Bloody hell,
this itches... tell me again why I had to have this damned thing done yet once more?� Adam complained, waving
his recently re-tattooed wrist around in a gesture that resembled that of a
person asking someone to hurry up. He wondered who had made the tattoo, and how
had they not noticed the fact that it started healing almost instantly, but it
was not a possibility to ask. Maybe later on he would.
�Stop whining
like a girl, Adam� Joe laughed �When you had it removed you knew you would have to get it done
again, unless you changed your name and settled permanently in Bora Bora. It�s
not like you get out of the watchers that easily...�
�Bora Bora is
beautiful at this time of the year� the old guy replied, either truly annoyed
or masterly faking it �I wish you had suggested it before you came to me with a job...�
From there on,
the conversation passed him by. He was barely conscious of Giles asking a
question to Adam, one of those that got the oldest immortal in deep-lying mode,
and then a vain attempt of Joe�s to cut the matter short before Adam got too
exited about it, but to no avail. He didn�t know Methos as well as Joe, and yet
he knew that whenever the old timer
got an opportunity to show off how knowledgeable he was,� he would not be stopped. However, he had
other things in his mind to actually pay attention to the words. All of them
had to do with the speaking man.
Methos in the
Bronze the night before, casually offering him a blow-job as one would offer a
beer. Methos reclined on the side of his car, waiting patiently outside the
nightclub. Methos leaning over and kissing him, so much like he had imagined it
would be and yet so deeply unlike it. Methos� naked body against his, tongues
battling with each other as very expert hands played with his cock, making him
beg for more. Methos inside of him, fucking him painfully slow at first, and
then hard and fast until they both came in an unison. Methos asleep next to
him, Methos kissing him tenderly in the morning before they parted...
He managed to
pull away from those thoughts just in time to avoid the growing bulge in his
pants to become painful, and shifting carefully to hide the confession of his
thoughts he became aware that the oldest immortal was no longer talking, but
was rather staring at him with curiosity written in his expression. Casting a
glance at the two mortals, he realized they were playing their guitars and
singing together, oblivious to the two younger �make that younger-looking- men. For the looks of it, they had been playing
for a while, and it looked like his one-time lover had been watching him
intently for quite a long while as well.
�I take it you
don�t like that song� Methos eventually spoke, not taking his eyes off him �You
have a request?� he asked with a grin, the look on his eyes saying way more
than his words
He was at a lose
for words, not knowing how to read the expression the oldest immortal wore, and
thanked God with a sigh when the two players stopped momentarily, Joe putting
an angry act that was far from believable.
�Okay Adam, we
get the message... you don�t like the
song� the watcher said �Any suggestions?�
�Joe don�t be unfair,
you know I love everything that you
do� the ancestral guy replied with faked indignation �But since you ask...� he
added with a grin, momentarily thinking before blurting out the name of a song
that came out incomprehensible to him, but obviously not for the older men, who
shook their heads in disbelief but all the same started playing at once as
Methos himself improvised a drum of sorts, marking the rhythm with a book that
had been lying on top of the coffee table and his foot on the floor. The lyrics
to the song were barely short from making him faint.

�I don�t know what it is that makes me love you so,
�I only know I never wanna let you go
��Cause you started something, can�t you see
�That ever since we met you�ve had a hold on me

�It happens to be true,
�I only wanna be with you

In that moment,
he just wanted to run. No matter where, just run like hell and hide away before
he was too blushed to make a clean exit. Not to mention hard. The mere thought
that Adam might actually mean any of
those words, was enough to get him a bit overly enthusiastic for an unknown
man�s house. Make that an elder
unknown man�s house. As soon as the song was over he got to his feet, making
good use of his coat to cover a certain part of his anatomy that just didn�t work
at his command.
�Look at the
time� he tried his best to sound surprised �I really must be going! I have a,
um, thing to do... and I�m late! Joe,
I�ll see you at the hotel...� he said on his way out, scolding himself for been
so bad an actor �Dinner was great Rupert, thanks...� he murmured before
crossing the threshold and taking a deep relieved breath, just after the door
closed behind him.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!,
he damned himself as he hastily walked away from the librarian�s house and to
the Bronze. He should have listened to a certain friend from his 10^th
grade who had told him: never sleep with your teachers, your parents� friends,
or people who are way out of your league. Stupid!
He had done all three things at once, and the kid had not even put in his list
�people who are five thousand years old and can chop off your head�. Stupid!

(�`�.(�`�.(�`�.
2 .��).��).��)

�Kids!� Methos
exclaimed the instant Richie closed the door behind him �They wouldn�t know
good music if you shoved it up their ass!� he stated with an odd grin in his
face as he headed for the kitchen to fetch another beer
�Rather crude
way of putting it, but yes...� Rupert had to admit, refilling his own glass
with some scotch �All they listen to nowadays is noise�
�Good idea of yours
to bring some beer, Joe...� the young look-alike man congratulated him,
reentering the room and dropping himself in the couch once more
�Don�t get too
comfortable, Adam... you are going
after Richie, you know?� he said, trying his best too sound serious
�You�re all work
and no fun tonight, Joe...� Methos complained, making a great deal out of
standing up �I hate this job...
researching Methos was so much easier...� he sighed, grabbing his coat without
abandoning his bottle of beer
He had decided
from the beginning to let Rupert know that Richie was the immortal Adam had
been assigned to, thinking it better for the kid that way. His old friend had
assured him the secret would stay with him, and he would trust Rupert with his
life, so there was no problem there, and it was much better to put the cards on
the table if a slayer was involved.
�I was thinking,
Joe...� the annoying old bastard insisted, turning his back on his way out to
sound casual �Since you�re the kid�s guardian and all... can�t you just ask him
in the morning what did he do?�
Yeah, right. �I was just thinking�, my ass. �I�m your superior, too, and I�m asking you to go� he put his foot
down, asking himself whether the old guy did ever do anything if he could avoid
to.
Truth of the
matter was, he knew Richie would probably go meet whoever it was he had slept
with the night before and Methos would be able to call it a quits in no time,
but he wanted some time alone with Rupert. The song that the immortal watcher
had randomly asked had made old memories stir within himself, and he could tell
by the look on Rupert�s face �a look he knew too well- that they would probably
have a lot to talk about if only the ancient annoyance decided to leave.
�What the hell!�
Methos sighed, amazingly easy to convince for some reason �I�ll see you two in
the morning... Rup, Joe...� he said as a goodbye, walking with long steps
strangely free of manipulative intentions �Just don�t drink too much, since you
don�t want my recipe...�
Then he was
gone. He would have to ask himself in the morning why had the old bastard been
so easily convinced to go, but right now he had more important things to think
of. For example, the knowing look Giles was suddenly giving him.

(�`�.(�`�.(�`�.
3 .��).��).��)

It had turned
out wonderfully. First of all, he had been just delighted by the way Richie had
been staring at him throughout dinner, and then the way he had been obviously
fantasizing about him in the couch. He could tell it was about him by the way
the kid freaked when he realized he was staring at him, and the deathblow had
been delivered instantly when he had asked his mortal friends to play that
song... it had been hilarious.
And now again it
seemed like luck was on his side, because the two men had seemed about as eager
that he left as he had been about leaving. He had insisted that he wanted to
stay, of course, but he had taken his chance because it seemed rather obvious
that nobody was going to second him in that; there were sparks flying all over
the place, which had been a real shocker. Still, he would have time to figure
that out in the morning. Right now, it was playtime.
By the time he
arrived at the Bronze he was not surprised to find Richie sharing a table with
the slayer and her two friends; he had counted on that. After all he was a guy
who enjoyed a good challenge �of the kind that didn�t involve swords of course-
and he just wanted to see what the current status of his relationship with
Richie was. If he could make it more than a one-night stand he certainly would,
slayer or no slayer. And he secretly hoped that he could.
He chose his way
to the bar carefully, taking the path that would let them see him all the best.
It wasn�t always good that yours students saw you in a place like this, but he
had been seen in worse, and it wasn�t like snoozer
actually respected him at all already. On the other hand, it was part of his
strategy that Richie got a good look of him. Little to lose, much to win.
In the bar, as
it couldn�t have been any other way, he found the undead patron of whom he had
grown quite fond of late. From the distance he could already tell that the
vampire was in quite a better mood than he had been the night before. Without
any direct greeting he took the stool next to the blond, and ordered a beer. He
could use a few more �or a dozen.
�Your friend
seems overly friendly with the slayer...� Spike stated casually, acknowledging
his presence �Can�t be good for a bloke�s health... unless he wants an easy
shag. I hear the slayer�s pretty easy�
�Must be all that
adrenaline from the fighting� he grinned, trusting Richie wouldn�t settle for
easy shag if he could have him �There�s just so many things you can do to make
it go away...�
�Sounds like the
voice of experience...� the vampire said, looking at him for the first time, an
eyebrow raised as he spoke �But you don�t look like the fighting type... and,
where do you get such boring
clothes?� he chuckled
�All part of a
deliberate strategy to remain unnoticed... most of the interesting activities
don�t require clothing anyway� he replied with a grin �Speaking of which, where
is Xander?� he asked, truly interested
�Having dinner
with his parents... sods remembered he existed for some reason� the undead
answered, sounding quite pissed �He�s supposed to come afterwards, but I don�t
think he�ll make it to the bar with the slayer and her friends sitting that
close to the door...� he sighed.
Was that a sigh?
A vampire sigh? This was getting more
and more interesting by the minute. In five thousand years, he had never seen a
lovesick vampire, and had honestly never thought he would see one. If Spike
hadn�t admitted it himself, he would have started suspecting he had misjudged
him, and he was only just a guy. And not even the kind of guy that dresses the
way this one did.
�Hope you have
someone too� the vampire interrupted him in his musings �Sunnydale�s not the
place to get a date. Half the population is either dead or not human, and the
slayer either shags them or kills them, so there�s not much left�
�How about the
other half?� he asked, finding the idea of the slayer fucking demons before
killing them quite amusing
�Either
underage, dislikable, married, or gay. Hope you like blokes� the blond said
ironically ��Coz the gay-meter in town is scarier than most of the inhuman
things in it�
�I have someone
in mind already...� he replied absentmindedly, noticing that the slayer and her
friends were saying their good-byes to Richie
�Good luck then�
the vampire said, raising his beer in a symbolic toast �I know I�m in a lucky
night, since the slayer�s made an early retreat...�
�She would... I
made sure she had enough homework for a lifetime...� he grinned, taking a good
drink as he carefully followed with his eyes the approaching figure of Richie.
It took just a few minutes before the young immortal took the seat next to him,
looking quite cool for someone who had just ran out of a house in panic a while
earlier. To avoid the kid further humiliations, he ordered a beer and offered
it to him; getting carded was probably the last thing he needed, and he liked
Richie nervous, but not about anything that he wasn�t directly involved in.

(�`�.(�`�.(�`�.
4 .��).��).��)

�She would... I
made sure she had enough homework for a lifetime...� Adam grinned, taking a
long drink as he turned his head towards the place where the slayer had been
only seconds ago.
He was going to
love this guy! He had never asked what did Adam do for a living, and he had
certainly not suspected him to be an educator. Anyway, it soon became obvious
to him that Adam had ulterior reasons to curse the slayer with tons of
homework, other than the fact that he didn�t appear to be crazy about her. All
the same it worked for him, so no complaints.
The boy was a
cherub, with the curly blond �or was it red- hair and the huge blue eyes; he
recognized him immediately as the same boy who had been sitting in that very
same place the night before, listening to way too much of his brief
conversation with Xander. He did appear a little young for someone Adam�s age,
but who the hell was he to judge! One thing he sort of regretted was the joke
about gay people though, because he honestly liked Adam �he felt like the guy
could actually understand him very well- and didn�t care to lose a friendship
he was already starting to feel as such.
�I didn�t catch
your name last night, mate� he told the kid, feeling somewhat in the mood for a
good deed. The boy was raving nervous; he did a good job concealing it, but
vampire senses didn�t miss that kind of thing.
�No, um,
Richie... Richard, but people call me Richie� the boy replied
��So... you�re with Adam, right?� he asked
matter-of-factly, too tempted by the kid�s embarrassment. Against his
expectations, the older human just chuckled at the indiscrete question, while
the younger one opened his eyes to the point they almost looked like they were
going to pop out of the sockets, and remained silent.
�You�re a damned
creature� Adam finally said, obviously too amused to give the sentence the
proper tone �Remind me to ask your Xander the same question�
Well, he had it
coming for abusing the kids� state. All the same, it would probably be a while
before Xander managed to escape his parents and come to the Bronze; the
assholes didn�t usually remember he existed, but whenever they seemed to recall
they had a son they would suffocate him for a while. He turned his back to Adam
to order another beer, when suddenly the guy�s voice reached him, making the
hairs on his back stand on end.
�Hi Xander� the
bastard said, and before he could interrupt him �I take it Spike and you solved
your lovers� tiff last night�
Now it was the
time for beautiful brown eyes to stare wide open in shock, just like blue ones
had short minutes before.
�I�m going to
kill you, you know that?� he said in his best threatening voice, at which Adam
just laughed. To his surprise, Xander recovered almost instantly from the blow,
and then quite dexterously redirected it;
�Is your
boyfriend always this annoying?� the scooby said to Richie, which made Adam
chuckle again; but not for long
�Yeah, he can be
a pain in the ass� the blue-eyed wonder conceded, a grin on his face as he
finished his beer
�Next time I�ll
be gentler...� he heard Adam say under his breath, not loud enough for Xander
to listen but more than necessary to make the other kid choke on his drink. He
couldn�t help it to laugh at that...
�What? What?�
Xander asked confused, not able to get why Richie was coughing and the two
older men were laughing
�We�re gonna get
going� Adam said before anyone else could speak, standing up to go �We�ll leave
you two kids to have some time for yourselves... it�s late anyway, and someone
has a lot of homework to do�

(�`�.(�`�.(�`�.
5 .��).��).��)

�What?� he
insisted, once Adam and his friend were gone; he hated it when people laughed
and he didn�t get the joke
�Nothing luv,
come here and have a beer� his lover offered, patting the stool next to him
Damn, he had
missed the asshole. Dinner with his parents had been a nightmare �well, more of
a nightmare than usual. As a rule, he hated the times when his folks remembered
his existence and acted nice towards him, because he was not used to it and not
particularly interested anymore. As a kid, he had wanted more attention, but
now... now he had friends who cared, and he had Spike. It had seemed absurd to
waste time with his parents when he could have spent it with Spike.
�You pay?� he
asked jokingly, glad to take the seat that was offered
�Not bloody
likely� the vampire hissed �Don�t have that much money... and that bastard just
went away without paying his tab�
�Sounds like
someone I know� he chuckled, taking some money out of his pocket to pay for the
drinks
�Not the same�
Spike stated, indignant �I am an evil creature of the night, you should expect
me not to pay my tab... I should be drinking the bugger�s blood instead of
beer!�
�I would advice
against it though... I don�t think I�d want to kiss you with Adam�s blood in
your mouth� he said teasingly, immediately reminding himself he was at the
Bronze! Idiot.
�In a good mood,
are we?� Spike said surprised, one eyebrow raised in his characteristic
expression of disbelief �Maybe we should forget the beers and go home...�
It sounded like
a definitely good idea, and he was about to reply when suddenly he heard a
voice he knew too well calling out his name. Willow. Willow?
�Will!� he
jumped to his feet, shocked to find the redhead walking towards them �What are
you doing here?� he asked before he could stop himself �I mean, were is Tara?�
he hurried to say
�Oh, she�s busy
with some homework...� his friend answered smilingly, obviously unaware of what
she had interrupted �I finished mine early, so I thought I might spend some
quality time with my friend Xander... your mom said you�d be here� she
explained, taking the seat Xander had just vacated and ordering a soda, which
the bartender delivered along with his beer
Having no place
else to sit he had to take the next stool, letting Willow sit between him and
Spike, and noticing the vampire�s annoyed look at the redhead�s intrusion. For
some reason, he was quite embarrassed to take the beer he had ordered in front
of her, and he considered telling the guy at the bar he had made a mistake, but
then reminded himself he was old enough to do what he pleased and grabbed the
bottle.
�Since when do
you drink beer?� she asked curious, making him regret that he had not returned
it
�Bloody hell,
he�s old enough to drink whatever he likes!� Spike exclaimed before he could
come up with a worthy excuse; for some reason it warmed his heart that Spike
had defended him, in his own special way of course.
�I know� she
blushed, obviously not expecting the vampire�s reaction �It�s just you never
drank beer before... I guess I�m not been paying as much attention to you as I
used to, with collage, and Tara... I haven�t been such a good friend to you of
late� she said remorsefully
�Will... it�s
okay, really� he assured her, moved by her concern �We�re still good friends...
I understand you have a lot in your mind now that we�re older, and you can�t be
all day with me. Really...�
�I know, it�s
just...� she started to say, and then turned to look at Spike, as if realizing
for the first time he was actually
there �Why are you having beers with
Spike?� she suddenly said, using the very same words Buffy had used only a
few night ago.
�What? I have
him living at my place, but I can�t have a beer with him?� he replied, aware
that he did not want to be defensive as he had been when Buffy had asked the
same question; he had no reasons to excuse himself, and it would hurt Spike.
For some reason, he was loath to hurt Spike.
�Yeah, I know,
sorry...� she apologized �I know it must be annoying to you, but Giles really
needed to take a bath every once in a while, and besides Spike was driving him
out of his mind�
�I�m sitting right here!� the vampire exclaimed,
notoriously pissed as he asked another beer and lit a cigarette
�I�m sorry,
Spike� the girl apologized, yet once
again �It�s just I have trouble getting used to the fact you�re not lethal
anymore...�
�So, Will, how�s
school?!� he nervously interrupted her before she kept on screwing up; he could
see where the conversation was going, and it would end up with Spike leaving or
Willow crying, neither of which sounded particularly appealing.
�Um, good� she
answered, a little surprised by the change of subject �We have this new
teacher... Mr. Pierson? He�s great, but he�s a little tough on us... he�s
always giving us loads of homework, and he asks these difficult questions all
the time... I think he hates Buffy� she explained casually, he eyes wide open
for emphasis
�I�ve heard of
him... they say he�s a cheap bastard too� Spike declared with a grin

(�`�.(�`�.(�`�.
6 .��).��).��)

�So, um, maybe I
should go do my homework...� he said tentatively as they stood in front of the
hotel�s elevator
�If you want
to...� Adam replied casually, his eyes on the red light that indicated the
floor the elevator was in �If you have something better to do, I can always not
ask you any questions in class...�
�I don�t
know...� he said somewhat nervously �Got any plans?�
�Maybe...� the
oldest immortal grinned, just at the same time as the elevator doors opened.
�Like what?� he
insisted as Adam pressed the button to his floor
He thought he
was going to faint when the elevator doors closed and Methos walked slowly
towards to him, stopping so close he could feel the older immortal�s breath in
his face.
�I�m open to
suggestions� Adam whispered softly, placing his hands on the elevator wall on
each side of his head
The old man
looked so incredibly tempting, standing there in front of him, his lips an
invitation that couldn�t be refused. He kissed him passionately, Methos� mouth
instantly open to his exploration, his hands descending from the wall to rest
on his shoulders; he didn�t know when he put his own hands in the small of the
old man�s back.
Then the
elevator door opened, and much against their will they pulled apart to meet two
giggling teenager girls, who stood outside the elevator without daring to step
in.
�Ladies...�
Methos said politely as they walked out of the elevator and towards his room,
the old man�s arm holding him by the waist all the way.
The two girls
were still staring at them when they stopped in front of the door, Methos
looking for his keys, but he didn�t pay much attention to the girls at all;
after the kiss in the elevator, he could hardly think of anything other than
the man beside him.
�Come here...� Methos
whispered as he locked the door behind them and took both his hand in his,
slowly walking backwards towards the bed with his hazel eyes fixed on his. He
didn�t know if he was been pulled by Methos� hands, or his eyes. Then they
stopped, and the hands that had guided him pulled him closer, going to rest in
his waist. When Methos� mouth met his there were no doubts as to what he
wanted; Buffy did not exist, none of his past lovers existed. It was only
Methos.
Then the
experienced hands of his immortal lover traced their way slowly to his ass,
pulling him closer to increase contact. Methos was as hard as he was, and the
arousal of the other man did nothing but add to his own. They rubbed their
erections against each other�s for some time, their hips moving of their own
will, until the older man pulled away from the kiss, and before he could
complain he found himself sitting on the bed.
�I believe I owe
you something...�

(�`�.(�`�.(�`�.
7 .��).��).��)

Second night in a row! I�m not twenty anymore... he reminded himself as he awoke to a killer headache. Dog hair was
starting to sound appealing, if only it would take the hangover away. Still, as
the previous morning, he did not regret the course of events that had led to it
in the very least.
Rupert and him
had been friends for years, and lovers for a good portion of that time. It had
not come as a shocker that they could still be friends, still understand each
other and have fun together, and still feel attracted to one another when given
the proper circumstances. They were not getting any younger, but somehow when
they were together it didn�t seem like they had grown any older either.
As soon as Adam
had closed the door behind him, they hadn�t needed anything but a glance at
each other to know that the old flame was still burning, and it was still
surprising how easy it had been. Decades were blown away, and they were again
the two kids, playing their guitars together, getting drunk together, and
comforting each other with hugs and kisses afterwards. They had made love as if
they had never been apart, and they had fallen asleep cuddling like they would
have almost thirty years ago.� In the
morning, it hadn�t been awkward in the least.
Hold on. Rewind. Methos,
the most annoying immortal ever, had left with almost no complaining. When did Methos ever do something that
someone asked him to? Only when he had personal motives to actually agree
with that hypothetical someone. And even with his hangover he could certainly
remember he had promised himself to figure out why the old man had been so nice. With that in mind, he took a
quick shower and left his room.
He knocked on
Methos� door for some minutes with no success, which he had of course expected.
The old guy was not an early riser, and he had not knocked loud enough to awake
him if he was indeed asleep. Not only because he didn�t want to wake up the
entire hotel, but because he smelled a fish and just wanted an excuse to come
in uninvited. He had stopped by Richie�s room on the way, and had received no
answer, so he had headed downstairs and asked a lovely receptionist for a key
to Methos� room. She had been reticent to provide it at first, but had proved
very enthusiastic to help when offered a modest monetary compensation for the
trouble.
After five
minutes of no answer, he took the key from his pocket and let himself in. For
some reason, he wasn�t at all surprised by the sight he met; the oldest
immortal and Richie, entangled in a confuse knot of naked limbs, both asleep in
the king size bed. He cleared his throat, and was rewarded with Richie�s
startled awakening, followed by the oldest immortal slower counterpart.
�Oh, my God,
Joe!� Richie snapped, grabbing the sheets frantically in an attempt to cover
his flagrant nudity �This is so not
what it looks like!�
�Okay, so they
didn�t steal your clothes in the elevator and dropped you here after rendering
you both unconscious... then what?� he asked mockingly, slightly annoyed that
they hadn�t told him, and somehow trying to figure how he was going to tell
MacLeod about it. Maybe he just wouldn�t.
�Oh puh-leez, Joe...� Methos chuckled, not
making the slightest move to modify a situation that would have been awkward
for someone a little self-conscious �I seriously doubt we were the only ones getting some last night...�
�Very observant,
old man� he chuckled, unable to get mad at the annoying bastard �You should
have told me about this!� he complained, walking towards the refrigerator and
grabbing a bottle of iced water �I really was
worried about you, Richie...�
�Oh, c�mon Joe!�
the kid sighed, obviously aware that he had no way out if this �What was I
supposed to tell you? Hey Joe, I just got a roll in the hay with Methos?�
�You damn well
should have!� he scolded the blushing kid �Listen, Mac was very specific on the
fact that I should keep an eye on you at all times, because of this ability of
yours to get in trouble wherever you go... I never thought I�d hear myself
saying this, but with the history you have it�s relieving that you�re only having sex with Methos!�
�Oh please Joe,
give the kid a break� the old man exclaimed, unselfconsciously getting out from
under the sheets and putting on his discarded boxers �And what do you mean only having sex with Methos?� he said
offended as he walked towards the refrigerator �I�ll have you know there�s
plenty of people out there who would consider themselves lucky to sleep with
me...�
�I can see
why...� he grinned, receiving an arched eyebrow from the oldest immortal and a
painful blush from the kid �Now listen, seriously, I�m not gonna make a fuss of
this... but you have any idea how Mac could react to this?�
�Oh come on,
Joe!� Adam complained, returning to the bed and sitting on the edge as he drank
some water from a bottle �MacLeod is a big boy...� the old man paused for a
minute, then concluded �And he doesn�t have to know�
�I�m not telling
him, if that�s what you mean� he assured them, noticing the sigh of relief from
Richie �I don�t want to see your head on a spike just yet, Adam...�

(�`�.(�`�.(�`�.
8 .��).��).��)

She had just
gotten back from a trip, half business, half pleasure. It had been only a
couple of days, and Dawn had been more than thrilled to stay a few days at a
friend�s house, but all the same she felt somewhat guilty for going away. She
had gone to Seacouver to purchase some pieces for an exposition, and in hurry
to finish everything as soon as possible and return home to her daughters she
had almost gotten killed while crossing a street. A tall man had pushed her
aside from the car that would have most certainly ran her over and pulled her
to the sidewalk. Imagine her surprise when she had recognized him as Duncan
MacLeod.
They had first
met some five years ago, when he and his girlfriend, Tessa, had been running a
quite unique antiques store, containing pieces which belonged to a museum more
than to a shop. In successive trips she and Tessa had become very good friends,
and she had been devastated to learn of Tessa�s death in one of her visits,
after which she had never again attempted to contact Mac. Not because she
didn�t care about him, but because she had noticed that her presence did more
harm than good, as she seemed to remind him of Tessa �a thing for which he was
not ready yet.
He had
recognized her at once, and once safely on the sidewalk he had held her in a
bear hug for a couple of seconds, before a discernible coughing sound was heard
coming from behind them. Then he had introduced her to Amanda, an old friend he had said, but for the
looks of it more like a girlfriend. She had been happy that Mac had been able
to move on, and had promised to give him a call when she got back home, but for
her tight schedule she had been unable to spend much time with him. She would call him as soon as she finished
the last touch-ups of the exposition.
She was taken
from her thoughts by a loud knocking on the back door which she at once
answered, to find a blanket-covered Spike hurrying inside. He was smoking as he
entered, but greeted her with a huge smile and a quick hug.
�It�s great to
have you back in town, Joyce... I kind if missed you� he said smilingly as he
took a seat in a kitchen stool
�You look happy
Spike� she smiled back, putting the kettle on to prepare some of the hot cocoa
the vampire loved �What happened?�
�Oh, you missed
a lot while you were away...� he told her, his eyes glinting with a kind of
excitement she had never seen in him �I really don�t know if I should be this
happy, I mean, I don�t even know where any of this is going...� he started to
babble �...don�t tell anyone that I said I�m happy, by the way, evil master
vampires are not supposed to be happy...
just morbidly amused at best...�
�Spike� she
interrupted him, trying to avoid laughing at the vampire�s pride �What is it?�
Truth of the
matter, she really liked Spike. Sure, they hadn�t met in the best of
circumstances, what with her hitting him with an axe and him trying to kill
them all, but she had gotten to see pass all that evil-vampire nonsense.
Hearing enough of his stories, it was plain to her that most of the evil things
Spike had done during decades on end had been nothing but an attempt to do what
he was supposed to do, to please Angel �that was one vampire she did not
trust-, and find his place in the world.
Fortunately, he
now had the chip; he might complain about it, but as far as it concerned her it
was an excellent excuse to start finding himself back without the need to prove
how evil a vampire he was lest he should be mocked or found inadequate. Electronic rationalization.
�Well, I found
someone...� he grinned, accepting the mug of hot cocoa she offered him
�Well, I�m happy
for you Spike� she congratulated him in a motherly way �Is she human?� she
asked curiously, and was surprised when he choke on his drink
�Are you okay?�
she said concerned
�Yeah, vampires
can�t choke to death...� he grinned �And yeah, he is human�
�Aw� was all she
could think of to reply. She had not
seen that one coming. Now at least she knew in a way what Willow�s mother had
felt like when she had learned about her daughter and her friend Tara. Just when did she start feeling this motherly
towards a vampire, anyway? �Someone I know?� she asked halfheartedly, still
trying to process the idea of Spike liking men. How unlikely was that?
�Actually,
yeah...� he sighed �Listen, Joyce, I need you to promise you will not tell
anyone... ever�
�Well, of
course, I�ve never told anyone any of the things we talk about...� she said
serenely, taking a sip from her own cocoa mug and reminding herself there could
be no worse shocks that.
�Okay... It�s
Xander� the vampire said suddenly, and it was her turn now to choke on cocoa.

(�`�.(�`�.(�`�.
9 .��).��).��)

�Oh, here you
are Buffy� he said with a soft smile, not having noticed her presence before;
he was pretending to read a book, but the hangover and the memories of the
previous night were keeping him from actually doing any real work.
�Hey Giles. You
were so into your book I didn�t want to disturb you...� she smiled back at him,
and then frowned as she caught a better look of him �You look... you don�t look
good� she stated, walking closer and removing the book from his hands �Are you
sick, Giles?�
�No, I am quite
fine Buffy� he assured her, noticing with weary eyes that Xander walked into
the library as well, followed by Willow and Tara �I received a large book
shipment at the Magic Box yesterday, and I probably stayed working late... but
that is all�
�I thought Anya
was helping you...� Willow said with a concerned look on her face �You really
look bad, Giles... maybe you should take the day off..�
�No, no, I�m
perfectly fine, you need not worry...� he insisted, for a moment fearing they
would never drop the subject. Fortunately for him, they had classes to
attend...
�I just came by
to tell you I won�t be coming after classes� Buffy announced on her way out,
following Willow and Tara �Mom just got home today, and I want to visit her�
Then they were gone, leaving only Xander
behind. He looked up at the boy, and noticed he was grinning as he stared at
him.
�What is it that
you find so amusing, Xander?� he asked, somewhat annoyed
�Easy, G-man�
the boy laughed good-naturedly �I was just wondering what happened last night
that you got so wasted...� then the boy laughed again, this time probably at
his shocked expression �Oh, come on! Family of alcoholics here! I can tell when
someone is having a bad hangover!�
�Well, very
interesting... is there something
you needed?� he asked, trying to sound as neutral as possible while he just
begged for the ground to open up and swallow him.
�I was bored at home, so I figured maybe there was
something I could help you with... you know, research and stuff� for a moment
the boy paused, then concluded �Okay, I don�t tell anyone you got real drunk
last night, and you won�t tell anyone I was so
bored with my pathetic life that I actually asked to help with research�
�Alright Xander� he smiled thankfully �There is a
prophesy I am currently researching, something about great evil been
released... chaos, destruction, death... it�s supposed to be imminent�
�Sounds like good hellmouthy fun...� the boy said
ironically, letting himself fall on a chair next to him �Any clues...?�
�Not that I can find� Giles sighed in
frustration �The prophesy in itself is rather cryptic. �When the oldest and the
youngest join their blood/the jaws of hell shall be unlocked;/the four shall
raid the earth once more/bringing death to one and all�� Giles recited
�That�s all?� Xander said surprised by
the brevity of it
�That is all that I have access to� he
confessed �It is a rather new prophesy, written barely a few years ago by a
mysterious seer, a woman... she went to the Council around the time Buffy was
called, in a terrible state of distress, and kept babbling about the end of the
world for weeks on end. Then one day she disappeared, the same mysterious way
she had arrived, leaving only that small piece of writing and the few and quite
incomprehensible records some of the scholars at the Council had managed to
make of her ranting�
�Do you have those? The records?� the
boy insisted �Maybe we can make sense of some of it...�
�Yes, perhaps...� he said hopefully,
walking his way to his office to bring the notebook in which everything was
written. He really wished he didn�t have to deal with something of this
magnitude in this precise moment, but when the Council had sent it along with
the notes on the seer�s ramblings with a character of urgency he had just known
it was a pressing matter. The Council was not known to overreact, which meant
the situation must be extremely compromised for them to ask the matter be
addressed directly and with extreme caution.�

(�`�.(�`�.(�`�.
10 .��).��).��)

Oh, bloody hell. He had to
do something to get the blond bitch away from Richie before she raped him, he
thought as walked towards his classroom and found his boy talking with Snoozer
and redhead in the hallway. As he passed them by, he gave her a killer look,
and then disappeared inside of his classroom where most of the students were
already sitting and waiting for him. When he saw the slayer following Richie
and pulling her redheaded friend along, forcing her to sit next to his boy as well, he just knew he had to start the class asking
her something she didn�t know.
For the most,
the class flew by and he was thankful to see the embarrassed look on Richie�s
eyes every time he looked at him; so much for that, the kid was not thrilled
either to be followed around by the slayer. He gave them considerable homework,
and then headed off towards the library without even looking at the three
teenagers on his way out. He was more than surprised to find Xander in the
library, going through some books with Rupert.
�Rup, Xan...� he
said offhandedly, dropping himself on a chair after doing the same with the
books he was carrying
�Hello Adam�,
�Hey Adam...� both men answered at once before actually realizing he was there. Then they looked up and they both remained
like that for a moment, staring at him.
�You know each
other?� Rupert finally asked, obviously surprised
�Yeah, we�ve
seen each other around...� he replied casually, giving the boy a knowing look
as to explain he was not going to talk about his vampire lover; the kid
obviously understood, and relaxed �So, what were you up to?�
�Uh, not much...
prophesy research, you wouldn�t be interested...� the watcher explained as he
returned to his book... notebook, whatever it was �We�re� having quite a hard time translating parts
of it, but we�re managing...�
�Here, let me
see that...� he smiled, taking the notes from Rup�s hand �If it�s written, I
can read it�
�He knows? About
Buffy?� Xander asked concerned, watching in awe as he carelessly made his way
to the pages
�It�s
complicate, Xander...� the librarian sighed, probably not at his best by the
looks of it
�I�ll explain
later Xan� he smiled at the boy �Just don�t tell your friends you saw me
here...� he suggested as he continued to go through the book�s pages, until he
finally came to halt �What are you
researching?� he asked concerned, not liking at all what he was seeing.
�It�s... we
don�t know what it is� Rupert confessed somewhat embarrassed �All we have is a
four-lines prophesy, a record of the things the seer talked about during her
brief time with the watchers, and what you�re reading... those were the seer�s
personal notes, but what we could read did not make much sense, and most of it
is written in too many different languages, most of them dead tongues...�
�This can�t be
good...� he interrupted the librarian, seriously regretting it as soon as he
realized he had spoken. Maybe he was wrong, and this all lead somewhere else;
he hoped it did. Cassandra�s handwriting in the few paragraphs that actually
contained letters didn�t really calm him, though.
�What? What
can�t be good? Is this regular hell-mouthy not-good, or most-likely-apocalyptic
not-good?� Xander inquired nervously, trying unsuccessfully to conceal his
concern
�Listen, I don�t
really know what this is...� he sighed, and he truly didn�t know for sure what it meant, but if it was as he
feared it would definitely help to be the one translating it �It�s mostly
written in Akkadian... some Summerian... ancient tongues from all over
Mesopotamia...� damn you Cassandra, you
finally lost it �It�s mostly nonsensical... says something about a ritual
gone awry been the trigger of it... the redeemed one�s blood...� damn you twice over, bitch �...the
redeemed one�s blood will break the barriers of death... the dead will rise to
join the living, and they will be four again...� Oh. Gods �This doesn�t make any sense, Rupert� he said with an
indifferent tone perfected over many a millennia, while on the inside he was
screaming and kicking and one step away from running off in panic; but that
would not do, and it would probably look rather suspicious.
�You don�t think
the redeemed one means...� Xander stammered, growing very pale all of a sudden.
�Angel� Rupert
finished for him, a somber look setting on his usually amicable face; that was
a look he did not want to be on the
receiving end of.
Of course, he
preferred it everyday to be the recipient of Kronos� wrath, and unless he was
wrong he was up for a little get-together with his brothers in no time. Unless he managed to stop it somehow, that
is... which would be as easy as to not get involved in any rituals for a while, which he did not, as a rule, get involved in. So he should be fine. Or maybe
it was not about them, seriously... there must have been hundreds of foursomes killing and maiming and bringing chaos along
the millennia, right? Yeah, right!
And Cassandra been involved could just be a bloody happy coincidence. Why are you still here, Methos? You should
be on your way to Siam!
�Adam are you
alright?� Xander�s concerned voice interrupted his musings
�I am
alright...� he assured them �What were you saying
- 6
- 7
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Redemption and Relapse (BTVS x-over)