Chapter Text
They sat at the back of the bar. The yellow light from the dusty lamps hanging in the ceiling not reaching their table. The crowded room was warm and filled with noise.
“So, why’re we here?” Spike asked and looked over at Angel.
“Willow asked us to make sure he’s all right,” Angel grumbled, picked up his beer and scowled at it.
Their attention was drawn to the bar. Xander was standing right there, mixing drinks and taking orders. He seemed more confident and he smiled at everyone. Xander’s dark-brown hair kept falling into his eyes and he would reach up and let his hand run through it. It looked soft and almost shiny in spite of the grimy light of the bar. The blue shirt he was wearing showed off his broad shoulders and chest. He told jokes and flirted with every single guest. It didn’t matter if they were human or not, men or women.
“Seems ta be okay,” Spike noticed how Xander’s hands flew through the air as he mixed drink after drink.
“Hey! A‘snata?” Xander called over to a huge guy standing near the entrance. The man looked mostly human. “I gotta go for a sec. You okay to…” he nodded with his head at the bar.
“Yeah. You go Alex,” A’snata moved over to the bar. Xander stepped around him and disappeared through a door next to the bar.
“Alex?” Angel tilted his head and looked at Spike “I’ve never heard anybody call him that before.”
“New town, new people.” Spike guessed and downed his beer.
A group of demons were getting loud and one of them, a large male with tusks sticking out of its mouth, accidentally pushed his large bowl of liquor on the floor. The glass bowl cracked and the last of the drink trickled out on to the floor.
A’snata growled and called out in the direction of the door Xander had disappeared through “Xander! You gotta come out here and clean this mess up!”
Xander tumbled out of the door, a bucket and a small broom in his hands, he looked up at A’snata.
“Over there, pal.” A’snata said and pointed over at the demons. “Make sure you don’t cut yourself.”
“Yeah sure,” Xander nodded enthusiastically and moved over to the rowdy crowd. He must have changed his shirt because this one was orange with small palm trees printed all over it. And the hair was a mess as well. Unruly locks that curled at the ends.
He started off by drying up the alcohol that had been sloshed all over the table. One of the demons reached out and touched Xander’s hip. The boy stepped away and started picking up the small pieces of glass from the floor.
The largest of the demons said something in a deep growling language and the others laughed and looked down at Xander.
“Better keep an eye on things,” Angel said and pushed his chair a little away from the table.
“Yeah,” Spike agreed and eyed the largest of the demons. It was looming over the much smaller human. It licked its lips, reached out a huge dirty hand and fondled Xander‘s ass. The boy yelped and moved away a little. The demons were laughing and making rude comments about just what they would like to do to the flustered kid’s body.
Xander tried to get A’snata’s attention but the huge demon was surrounded by people ordering drinks. Xander bit his lower lip and frantically started picking up the last pieces of glass. He winched as one of the sharp edged pieces of the ruined bowl cut his hand.
The demons at the table roared with laughter and Xander grabbed the bucket and ran for the door to the backroom.
“I’ll just go tell ‘em ta keep their hands off him, yeah.” Spike snarled and was almost out of his chair when the door to the backroom was slammed open and Xander was standing in the doorway. He had changed back into his blue shirt.
He walked directly over to the demons at the table. Picked up the broom he had left behind and hit the largest of the demons in the head with it.
“Keep your fucking hands to yourself!” Xander’s eyes were dark with anger.
The demons at the table eyed the crazy human with uncertainty as their leader slowly regained his composure and towered over the much smaller human.
“You don’t ever…” the rest of Xander's words were swallowed up by the noises of the crowded bar “You got that!” Xander said and pushed the broom against the demon’s chest. A’snata had finally caught on to the fact that something was going on and he was now standing behind Xander, dwarfing the human by at least ten inches.
“You should go find somewhere else to be,” A’snata said warningly and flexed his muscles.
The demons growled but finally left the bar.
“What the hell is going on?” Angel asked Spike as they watched Xander disappear through the door to the backroom again.