**********************************************************
"No! No! Come *on* pet! Why would she fall with her head at *that* angle?!"
Spike let Xander's dead mother's feet fall and placed his hands on his hips, huffing. Xander let her head drop and grinned. "Okay, O great
Martha Stewart of arraigning the dead! How *would* her head have fallen?"
Spike snarled at his childe, showing fangs. "I'm doing this for you, pet! If we make it seem like a legitimate fire, *you* wont be a
suspect! I know the fire marshal of good ole' Sunnydale lets lots of stuff slide, but come *on* lets at least put on a pretty show!
Something *some* what believable! Ya know, so your slayer-bitch friend won't suspect you when we disappear. Even though, I'd rather just
fucking kill the bitch before we go!"
"She always beats you, Spike. What if she *kills* you?" Xander reasoned, repositioning his dead mother's head on the stair. He
looked up at Spike for approval. "How's that? Good?"
"Throw that in my face!"
Xander looked at Spike, confused. "Huh?"
"'She always beats you, Spike'! You *said* that you bloody git!"
"I did, didn't I? I suck. I'm awful. I don't want you to be killed by the slayer. I'm an ass. Stake me." Xander moved his mother's
head a bit more to the left.
"Xander?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut yer gob!"
"Kay." Xander grinned at his Sire. He knew Spike wasn't really mad at him. Not with that tone. He bent down and kissed his mother's
lips. He looked at his Sire again, smiling. "She's so *pretty* dead. She's never been so pretty."
Spike laughed. He couldn't help it. "On to yer, dad, then, pet. Let 's put what's left o' him in his chair."
******************************************************
"Should we stuff his insides back inside him?"
"What? Hell no! You did such a good job on 'em, I'd hate to have to undo your masterpiece, pet."
Xander basked in his Sire's approval.
Spike stuck his lit fag in the man's smashed mouth and angled it down, towards the dead man's chest. "A little accelerate and it'll be like
he burned up before the fire started to spread. Like a spontaneous combustion thing. You American's are always happy to believe that
sod."
Xander gave Spike a quick look. "What do you mean? Are you saying there is no spontaneous combustion?"
Spike laughed out loud. "Hon! While I fully admit to and admire the fact that the human body is a mysterious and miraculous machine, it
does *not* burst into flames without being lit. Does yer mum have any fingernail polish remover around? That'll light this bugger up!"
"Yeah." Xander went to retrieve it. "And dad has plenty of gas stored in the garage." He called out. "Too close to the water
heater." He added with a grin as he headed towards his parent's room.
"Well, goody." Spike muttered, snatching the fag from the dead man's lips and taking a drag. He replaced it with a smile. "Bad form,
man. Safety first after all." He admonished the dead man.
*********************************************************
"Got any marshmallows, Xan?" Spike asked, pouring nail polish remover over Xander's dead father.
Xander grinned. "You know, I think we do." Xander headed to the kitchen to check. "Hold the fire, Spikelove." Spike grinned and went
to the fireplace grabbing a box of matches.
"Look!" Xander held a bag over his head in triumph. "Marshmallows! Shall we roast?"
Spike walked back to the make shift funeral pyre. He smiled at Xander and struck a match, tossing it on the boy's dead father. The dead man
lit up with a WOMPH and settled down to a slow burn. Spike reached in his boot and pulled out Carla's switchblade. He opened it and snagged
a fluffy piece of sugar, holding it over the fire. When it caught on fire he pulled it away from the flame and blew it out, holding it out
for Xander.
"Here ya, go, luv. 'Ave a snack." Xander leaned down and closed his mouth over the melted marshmallow, wrapping his lips over the knife
and pulling back, licking the blade clean. He smacked his lips and smiled at his Sire. "Daddilicious."
Spike laughed and handed Xander the knife. "Melt one for me, pet, while I go fetch some 'o that gas. We need to light up the house andyer mum all nice and proper."
"'Kay. Hurry back." Xander told him as he speared a marshmallow with the switchblade and began to roast it over the burning corpse of his
father.
**************************************************
"So. Are we gonna eat Willow?" Xander asked as he and Spike walked away from the flaming ruin of the boy's home.
Spike shrugged his leather-clad shoulders. "I told ya before I killed you pet, I'd turn her and let you 'ave 'er if you wanted to keep
'er." Spike paused to light a cigarette. He drew in deep, filling his dead
lungs with the acrid smoke. He smiled at Xander before releasing the smoke. "You feeling hungry or friendly?"
Xander looked around the quiet street and thought about it as the pair walked towards the center of town. Towards Willow. He was hungry.
He felt no particular urge for friends. He let his head drop down, watching the sidewalk as they continued on their way. Xander's head
shot up when he smelt the boy. *Smelt* him. Heard his heartbeat. He looked up in time to see a teen on a skateboard heading straight at
them.
The teen smirked, not giving way. Xander reached out and snatched the boy by the neck and pulled him behind a bush, biting down and draining
his life away in a few fast and quick gulps. He let the body fall and wiped his bloody lips on his sleeve, coming out from behind the bush
and walking along side Spike as if nothing had happened. And nothing had, really. Just eating.
Spike held back his cheer. God, but his boy was a natural! He wrapped his arm around the younger vampire's waist and kept walking.
"Xan?"
"Hum?"
"Still hungry?"
"Naw. That kid was good. That kid-" Xander stopped and looked back over his shoulder making sure you couldn't see anything sticking out
from the bushes. "Was good. I'm good."
Spike laughed out loud. His boy was a treasure. Who would have thought? He had only hoped.
Xander placed an arm across Spike's shoulders. "What? What's so funny?"
"Nothin, luv. Just having a laugh. Let's go get you an ice cream, eh?"
Xander hugged his Sire closer. "Yes. Let's go do that."
tbc.