“Giles’ got a date! Giles’ got a date!” Buffy was chanting at the top of her lungs as she danced around the blushing watcher. Alec was leaning against the wall to their chambers, smirking wryly and taking in the whole scene with great bemusement. Finally, he decided to intervene on his father’s behalf,
“Yo brat!” he called out. Buffy whirled around, still grinning like a lunatic.
“Yeah, big brother?” she asked cutely. Alec gestured with his thumb out the door,
“Scram, Dad’s got to get ready for his…” he cast a look at his father who was regarding him with grave concern, “…engagement,” he finished diplomatically. The older man sighed in relief and cleared his throat,
“Alec is quite right, Buffy, so if you wouldn’t mind…?” he gestured to the door. She grinned and bounded over to his kissing his cheek,
“Good luck, Giles, remember women like excitement and passion. Do NOT begin the evening with how your hobbies include cross-referencing,” she pointed a finger at his nose warningly. Alec stifled a chuckle as Giles sighed indulgently,
“Yes, thank you, Buffy, I’m sure your advice will prove quite useful,” There was enough sarcasm in the older man’s voice to fill a teacup. She grinned cheekily at him and bounded over to Alec. He leaned in closer as she gestured for him to come nearer.
“Faith’s starting a betting pool. Wager being how far Giles gets with Marlena, you in?” she whispered, cupping her hand over his ear. Alec snorted,
“Ah, youth,” he replied haughtily. She looked at him and pouted. Alec grinned and placed a hand over his sister's ear,
“Put me in for a ten spot that says he doesn’t make it back home tonight,” he replied grinning. She bobbed her head, flashed him a thumbs up and bounded out of the room. Giles sighed,
“Yes, well, with any luck the lot of them will be taking wagers on whether or not I’ll be sleeping in my own bed tonight,” he commented dryly. Alec did a pretty good job of not roaring with laughter,
“Oh, come now, father, what kind of immature children do you take the defenders of humanity to be?” he asked, deadpan. Giles just glared at his son. Alec chuckled and walked over to a large closet, opening it revealing a cornucopia of men’s clothing,
“Now, what to wear…?” he placed a finger to his lip thoughtfully.
After sending his father away attired in blue jeans, a white t-shirt, black sports coat and shoes, Alec wandered into the arcade; he peered in and grinned. Willow was by herself, playing skee-ball. Chuckling, Alec stealthily padded over to her. Willow picked up another ball and took aim,
“Give me that fifty-point pocket,” she whispered before letting the ball fly. The ball rolled up the ramp, took off and landed squarely into the fifty-point pocket.
“Yes!” she grinned, pumping her fist. She turned back to the ramp, and her squeal of glee quickly became a squawk of surprise as a shadowy hand emerged from the fifty-point pocket, hoisted the ball and tossed it back down the ramp.
“What the…?” the young woman commented. She spun around to encounter her grinning boyfriend.
“Alec!” she swatted him playfully. He shrugged,
“When you got it, flaunt it,” he offered as his only defense.
“Tampering with skee-ball is blasphemy of the highest order. Didn’t you see ‘Dogma’?” she frowned at him. Alec smirked,
“Yes, and if Alanis Morisette shows up, she can tell me that tampering with skee-ball is blasphemy, until such time…” he grinned and spread his hands. Willow grinned and tossed the ball away from her, wrapping her arms around him.
“Did Giles get all set up for his date?” she asked. Alec nodded,
“Looking very GQ,” he replied. She smiled wryly,
“Giles as GQ material? I don’t think my imagination can stretch that way,” Alec snorted wryly.
“I know he seems like Captain Tweed nine times out of ten, but every now and then…” he chuckled. “Well, Dad’s got a wild side,” Willow nodded.
“Sometimes a little too wild,” she smiled and tilted her chin to peer up into his dark eyes, “I’m glad I got the nice, boring Giles,” she teased. Alec’s eyes widened.
“Oh is that right?” he purred. She grinned, knowing she was in trouble.
“That’s RIIII-aie!” she squealed as he picked her bodily up off her feet and laid her flat atop the skee-ball ramp. She peered up at him, mock-quizzically.
“Okay, wise guy, and just what do you plan on doing?” she asked demurely. He grinned and reached behind him, producing a skee-ball. Without getting up from atop her, without even LOOKING, he rolled the ball up the ramp where it landed solidly into the fifty-point pocket. The little light began flashing the words HIGH SCORE. Alec grinned down at her,
“Take a guess,” he purred as he kissed her neck. She stretched out in lazy ecstasy underneath him.
“Got to hand it to you, Alec,” she whispered as he kissed her ear, “When you’re good, you’re GOOOOD,” the last word came out in a shudder of pleasure as he found a particularly sensitive spot behind her ear.
“Wait till you see me bad,” he whispered huskily, his hands beginning to roam, “I’m even better,”
There were no sounds of arguments.
Sometime later, the disheveled pair found their friends in a large gymnasium. Willow just shook her head in amazement,
“This place has everything,” she commented. Alec nodded,
“It does look that way,” he replied, nodding. There were several large pads set up on the floor and there was what looked like some kind of boxing tournament going on.
“Check out the action,” Alec commented, sitting down on the floor next to Xander and watching Spike and Faith circling each other, trading blows. Alec leaned over to Xander,
“What’s the deal?” he asked. Xander pointed,
“We’re having a contest to see who’s the toughest Scooby,” he counted off his fingers, “So far the running is Buffy, Faith, Spike and Angel,” Alec looked at him surprised,
“You’re not getting involved?” he asked in polite surprise. The younger man shook his head emphatically.
“It’s weird, I got this thing about having my skeleton destroyed,” he replied wryly. Anya was snuggled up against him; she peered over at Alec frowning,
“Yeah, besides, I don’t want him to get hurt; he’s fragile and tends to bruise easily,” she commented. Xander sighed and placed a hand over his eyes,
“Thank you for that fresh infusion of humiliation, Ahn. I needed that,” Anya smiled and patted his arm.
“You’re welcome,” she replied perkily, completely missing the sarcasm. Alec frowned as Spike landed a pretty impressive kick to the side of Faith’s head,
“Hold up a second,” he gestured to the blond vampire, “Shouldn’t he be suffering a massive Excedrin headache right about now?” Xander shook his head,
“Nope, apparently his chip doesn’t kick in unless there’s intent to kill,” Suddenly Spike’s head was snapped around hard as Faith backhanded him. Spike’s face changed and with a roar, he charged the slayer, only to yowl in pain; both hands to his head,
“Like now?” Alec asked.
“Uh-yup,” Xander replied. Faith casually swept his feet out from under him and imitated a staking.
“That’s time, Blondie. You’re dust,” she peered down grinning. Spike sighed, his head hitting the mat, his face changing.
“Bloody chip,” he snarled. Faith got to her feet and offered her hand. Spike frowned wryly but took her hand as she helped him up. Faith chuckled and turned to the crowd, her eyes widened as she discovered Alec.
“Hey, D! Get in here!” she called out. Alec shook his head,
“No thanks, I only gamble with my life, not my pride,” he chuckled. There were jeers from the crowd. Faith grinned,
“Come on, D, this is just for fun,” she pleaded. Alec looked around…and with a sigh got to his feet. Everyone cheered for the martial artist. Stripping off his coat and t-shirt and kicking off his shoes, he padded over the waiting Faith. She eyed his well-defined form admiringly.
“I think I’m going to enjoy this,” she bit her tongue in pleasure. Alec sighed indulgently. Faith looked back up at his face.
“Okay, no powers, and no spikes please, I don’t want to get skewered or something,” she warned. Alec nodded,
“Not a problem,” he replied evenly, settling into a fighting stance. Faith grinned and readied her hands,
“And D? Don’t hold back, okay?” she asked wryly. Alec only nodded and with a grunt, Faith attacked.
She came in high with a roundhouse kick, but she telegraphed the move. Alec ducked and sent an open palm strike to her solar plexus, knocking the wind out of her and sending her stumbling back. Gingerly rubbing her stomach, she grinned at him.
“Ooh yeah, this is going to be better than sex,” she purred. Alec just winked as Willow debated whether or not to correct the scarred Slayer. Faith spun around with a spinning backhand; Alec blocked and sent a double hand strike to her torso, knocking her back. The only way he was going to beat a Slayer was to keep his distance and to wear her down. Faith chuckled and spun around delivering another kick; Alec dodged, but was unprepared for the fist that followed, catching him across the jaw and sending his head rocking back. There were exclamations from the crowd as Alec rubbed his jaw and grinned,
“Enjoy it, Faith, you’re not going to land another,” he promised. Faith just grinned back at him and attacked; this time Alec was prepared, leaning back with the attack, he flipped backwards and sent his feet careening into Faith's chin, knocking her back hard. He completed the flip and whipped around with a devastating roundhouse kick; the blow connected to Faith’s head and sent her spinning to the mat.
“Go, Alec!” Willow chanted.
“Come on, Faith!” Angel yelled out. Buffy just smirked watching the pair. Faith was stronger, but Alec was far better trained and faster than the girl. Faith spun around, Alec was doing the honorable thing and letting her collect herself before attacking again. This was, after all, just for fun. Faith smiled slightly; she knew he was cutting her a break and despite herself she appreciated it. Getting to her feet, she grinned,
“Damn, D, that was smooth,” she complimented. He nodded humbly. Faith chuckled and came at him again, this time doing her best to close the distance between them where his acrobatics would be useless. Alec wasn’t having any of it; rather than trying to stand still and slug it out with a slayer, he danced around, bobbing and weaving, letting her exert all her energy hitting air.
“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!” Xander yelled out. Dawn was taking all this in with obvious admiration. Alec really WAS beautiful when he fought, he made it all look like a dance. Finally Faith got frustrated and launched a right hook that was far too wide; Alec grinned and rather than pulling away, he closed the distance between them, hitting her with two quick strikes to the face, leaving her dazed. Placing both his hands on her shoulders and with a bound, he pushed off the ground and did a handstand on top of the completely bewildered slayer. Careful not to jerk her neck around too hard the wrong way, he pivoted and brought his whole body slamming hard down into her lower back. His knees found the backs of her knees, causing her to fold in on herself. She yelled out in surprise as he quickly folded her up into an unbreakable body lock/head lock. She struggled for a few minutes, then sighed and tapped out. Alec quickly released her and helped her to her feet. She groaned, rubbing her back,
“Okay, D, you got me,” she admitted grinning. She shook her head in amazement, “That was wild. How did you do that?” she asked. Alec shrugged,
“I picked it up a while ago, usually the twist at the top is done a lot harder and the whole thing is done faster, but…” he shrugged and Faith got the point.
“I see, well thanks for not snapping my neck,” she grinned.
“Thanks for not breaking my face,” he replied courteously. She grinned and patted his face,
“Damage THIS face? Never!” she grinned and blew him a kiss. He rolled his eyes as she limped away, massaging her sore back. Alec turned to the crowd who was applauding both his performance and his sportsmanship. He held up his hands humbly,
“Not a big deal, Can I go now?” he asked wryly.
“No,” a voice called out. Someone new entered the ring. Alec sighed,
“Oh boy, now I’m in trouble,” Buffy grinned as she settled into a fighting stance.
“Afraid so,” she replied grinning. Alec readied his hands; his sister was a lot better trained and disciplined than Faith was. After all, Alec himself had taught her a few moves. This was not going to be easy.
Buffy knew her brother preferred to let the opponent make the first move. He’d always taught her that by that first strike, you could learn everything you needed to know about beating the other guy. She smiled slightly and rather than leading out with her right fist, which she was prone to do and no doubt he’d be expecting, she back pivoted and came around with her left.
Alec however, knew his sister well and was expecting the change of tactics; a hand was already out to intercept the blow. He caught her hand and jerked it towards him, snapping out two quick kicks to her solar plexus in rapid succession. He was working on a third when Buffy caught his foot and heaved sending him flying backwards; he rolled with it and landed easily and lightly on the balls of his feet.
“Alec scores the first point!” Xander yelled.
“And his last,” Buffy added, not unfriendly. Alec winked and shifted tactics, changing from his preferred style of Wushu to Muy Thai. Coming in with elbows and knees, he launched into a complicated attack sequence. Buffy blocked the blows, but in doing so weakened herself. Alec suddenly switched out of Muy Thai and snatched both her arms in his, pulling her down and falling down onto his back, he planted a foot to her stomach and sent her flying away. She hit the ground and rolled, getting to her feet smoothly.
“Nice toss,” she commented.
“Nice recovery,” he replied evenly. Spike snorted,
“If the two siblings are done stroking each other egos perhaps we can get back to the violence?” he yelled. The pair grinned at each other,
“Well, you know the first rule of showbiz,” Buffy began advancing on her older brother.
“Give the people what they want,” Alec finished meeting her advance. Buffy snapped out her trademark roundhouse kick. Alec had seen it a million times before and ducked, bringing a hand up against her jaw. Unfortunately for him, he’d overextended the blow, causing Buffy’s head to snap back out of range for his follow-up strike. She recovered quickly and, catching his arm, lashed out with two strong blows to his chest. Alec grunted, but was still grinning as he blocked the third blow and, bringing his knee up hard, unfolded his leg and caught Buffy in a kick that gave him some distance from the slayer. He was now regarding his sister with a great deal more wariness. He couldn’t play the defensive tactic and win, like he had with Faith; he had to press the offensive and that meant getting close.
Swinging his legs around in a spinning cartwheel, he landed before Buffy and whipped out a roundhouse kick; the blow connected and Buffy rocked backwards. Alec followed it up with three strikes to her chest and waist, being very careful not to hit her wounds. Buffy did a split and lashed out with a jab, catching him in the stomach; she wasn’t about to hit her own brother below the belt so to speak. Alec fell back a little and Buffy did a handspring, spinning her legs around and catching Alec across the face with both feet. He rocked backwards and almost fell before righting himself.
“Come on, Alec!” Dawn yelled out. Alec straightened and regarded Buffy calmly; his eyes clear, his face neutral. Buffy saw the look and tensed; Alec was through playing, he wasn’t going to hurt her, but he was going to fight to win. Buffy came at him with three blows one right after the other. Alec blocked them all and thrust a palm to her chest, knocking her back. Before she could react, he did a slide kick and nailed her square in the chest, knocking the wind from her. Buffy groaned a little, that kick had had a lot of oomph behind it. She made sure Alec didn’t look angry; if that were the case she’d have called it all off. But his face remained calm and composed, merely determined. Inwardly she smiled; she really didn’t give her brother enough credit.
Alec lashed out with a spinning back-fist; Buffy caught it and hit him several times in the floating ribs. Alec grunted and, reversing his grip, snatched her arm. Using her body for leverage, he jerked his legs up in a switchblade kick, catching her under the chin hard. She swooned and fell back. He landed and pressed the attack, spinning himself like a tornado and lashed out with feet and fists; Buffy fell back against the onslaught. Finally he finished by doing a full-split and lashing out with a fist to her stomach. The blow connected and Buffy folded over. Rolling onto his back, he snaked out with his legs, wrapping them around the Slayer's neck; pushing up with his hands, he did a handstand, hoisting her in the air before slamming Buffy down onto the mat hard. He released his grip on her neck and rolled away. Buffy cautiously got to her feet, rubbing her neck and trying to clear the stars from her vision.
“That was new,” she commented dryly. Alec just nodded and Buffy attacked. Blow after blow, block and counter-block, the sound of feet and fists connecting was almost deafening. The pair sprang away form each other, Buffy’s blue eyes shining with determination, Alec’s dark eyes blazing with intensity. Leaping at each other, they flew and collided in mid air, Buffy with a blow to his jaw, and Alec snapping a high kick to her stomach. They landed in a heap and rolled away from each other, both panting slightly. Alec got his wind back first and with a running leap, back-flipped towards the slayer, did a handspring, and managed to land behind her. She turned just in time to get a fist in the face as Alec began an onslaught of blows, raining them upon her head. He finished by leaping high into the air and pivoting his whole body, she looked up just as he plowed into her like a rocket headfirst. Slamming her head down onto the mat, Alec pushed off her prone body and leaped away.
Buffy growled and sprang to her feet. Alec was already charging, but Buffy lashed out with a kick to his knees, sending him stumbling forward; with a grunt Buffy shot her fist out and caught her older brother across the face. He groaned and fell back as Buffy snapped out three fast kicks to his head before knocking his feet out from under him. He fell hard and rolled away just in time to miss an axe kick. He sprang to his feet and whirled around and leaping into the air, soared over Buffy’s head, he tucked his body into a ball and rotated, catching his feet against the wall; he pushed off hard and slammed into Buffy with the force of a freight train. She fell to the ground hard as he rolled away.
“Okay, this has gone on long enough…” Xander began, starting to look more than a little worried at the punishment the pair were doling out to each other. The siblings ignored him and with twin roars of defiance charged each other, meeting in a blur of feet and fists. The exchange was too quick to follow with the eye. Finally tangling their arms in one another, Slayer and Weapon slammed their heads into each other. There were groans from the audience as both Alec and Buffy fell to the mat. Xander gaped,
“Whoa, Double K.O.” he turned and shrugged apologetically to the audience, who had been regarding the intense fight with awe. Buffy and Alec both struggled to their feet, neither particularly steadily and turned to each other.
“Draw?” Buffy asked.
“Draw,” Alec replied, smiling slightly. Stumbling over to each other, they hugged tightly as everyone cheered. Buffy pushed away to regard her brother in amazement,
“Where did you learn all that flying stuff?” she asked. Alec grinned,
“It’s a combination of ninjitsu and Spanish matador maneuvers,” he shrugged, “Seemed like a good idea at the time,” Buffy chuckled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders,
“That it was,” Alec turned to her and gingerly rubbed his jaw,
“What about you, sis? You hit like a ton of bricks,” he commented dryly. Buffy grinned and held up her hand,
“And I didn’t even crack a nail,” she quipped. Alec laughed and tousled her hair as the rest of the gang came up to the fighters.
“That was…” Xander began.
“Really cool,” Dawn finished beaming at Alec, who smiled warmly at her.
“To think, all this time I’ve been wasting playing ‘Mortal Kombat,” Spike commented wryly. Buffy chuckled as Spike wrapped an arm around her. It was only through Alec’s and Buffy’s expertise and discipline that neither of them was seriously injured. Willow wrapped an arm around her man as Dawn handed him a towel.
“Thanks, petite,” he flashed her his ‘melt your insides’ smile. She blushed and scampered off. Alec chuckled and mopped his forehead,
“Wow,” Willow whispered awestruck. Alec turned to her frowning,
“What? You’ve seen me fight,” he commented puzzled. She shook her head,
“Not like that, with the ‘whoosh’ and the flipping and the jumping,” she grinned like a kid at Christmas, “My boyfriend’s Darth Maul,” she chuckled as Alec kissed her forehead.
“Your boyfriend needs a shower,” he replied wryly. Willow pouted demurely,
“Can I come?” she asked, her lower lip jutted out suggestively. Alec laughed and kissed her face,
“Thanks, but I’ve endured one beating today, no need for two,” he grinned teasingly. She swatted at him as he chuckled and headed back to follow the others, his hand in hers.
A few hours later, Alec padded into the poolroom, not surprised to see Buffy soaking in the hot tub. She smiled up at him,
“Hey bro,” she grinned. Alec waved a little and gently sank into the hot water opposite her,
“Ah…ah…ahhhhhhh,” he sighed in pleasure, sinking almost to his chin in the foamy water. Buffy laughed,
“Yeah, me too,” she chuckled and patted his shoulder. He had his eyes closed and had draped a black washcloth over his face as the water massaged his aching muscles.
“We must protect the world for the sake of Jacuzzis” he commented, muffled from the cloth. Buffy nodded,
“It is our sacred duty,” she replied wryly. There was a silence,
“Alec?”
“Hmmm?”
“How come you and I…you know, never got together?”
(Continued in Chapter 3 - Action Part 2)
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Author's Chapter Notes:
EXTENDED DEADLINE - FINAL NOTICE!!! The offer for the PDF version of "Book One: Dusk" expires November 30, tomorrow. You have until the end of Sunday to send in your requests. The files will be sent out soon after (anytime between Dec 2 - Dec 7).If you would like to sign up for a copy, please provide you email address by commenting or by emailing hm_ascendent3@yahoo.ca. If you wish to have an autographed copy be sure to include your name in the request!
Thanks! We hope you enjoy the chapter :)
Thanks! We hope you enjoy the chapter :)