Ficlet: Man in the Middle, Angelus/Xander, BtVS, 500 words

[strickens-girl.livejournal.com]

New part of the dark'verse. I may do another for this week's prompt, if I get around to it.

Written for the slashthedrabble challenge of "David Bowie Song Titles".

Title: Man in the Middle
Pairing: Angelus/Xander
Rating: Mature/Adults only
Spoilers: Season Two BtVS
Warnings: Manipulation, torture, bloodplay
Word count: 500

Previous parts.

Crossposting with slashthedrabble, _xangel and a_darker_angel.

Story banner under the cut, made by the lovely lit_gal.






Xander stood in the library away from his friends. He was disgusted not only by the things he had to do but also by the actions of the Scoobies.

First off, it had been all too easy to lead Giles to the right, or as it were, wrong text for the Acathla prophecy. It amazed the boy how easily they all simply accepted that Angelus was planning to suck the world into hell. Xander had watched in shock as the Watcher went on and on about the whole deal without ever consulting anyone else or even checking another text. He'd never noticed Giles' unyielding devotion to his books before.

It was a little disconcerting.

Lost in thought, Xander shook his head, thinking about how much he wanted all of this over. He hated deceiving his friends while trying to keep them safe at the same time. Being stuck between his body's desires and the loyalty to his friends in his heart was tearing him apart.

He hated being in the middle.

It was even worse now. When Xander found out that Willow had the spell to restore Angel's soul, he had run straight to his Master to deliver the news. Angelus made sure that Xander understood why he had to keep Willow from succeeding, even though Xander didn't need much convincing.

The boy shuddered lightly remembering the feeling of Angelus on him, around him, inside. Convincing wasn't so bad.

Xander had arguing about how this whole thing was a bad idea. Angelus was evil, a fact he knew all too well, and needed to be stopped, something else he couldn't deny, but it was wrong that Buffy just wanted to get her boyfriend back.

He tried not to feel bitter that Willow took Buffy's side, debating that with his soul back in place, Angel would stop the madness. But Xander couldn't help but wonder if she was just too excited about performing such a powerful spell.

Standing on the upper level of the library, arguing against the proceeds below, Xander griped at the cheerleader standing next to him.

"This is ridiculous," he grumbled. "I can't believe we're doing this."

"I know," Cordelia agreed. "This burning herb smell is not going to wash out. I'll be stinky for days."

Xander nearly growled in frustration. Something had to be done and soon, or Willow would take his Master away.

And then it happened.

Vampires swarmed into the library, seemingly melting out of the shadows to attack the unsuspecting Scoobies. Xander instinctively ran to protect his screaming ex-girlfriend, but he was stopped by an angry looking minion who grabbed him roughly. When Xander tried to struggle, the vampire twisted his wrist harshly and Xander cried out in pain as delicate bones creaked and snapped.

Looking around, the frightened boy saw his friends scattered and broken. He started down the stairs to demand answers from the minions when Drusilla strolled in and smiled at Kendra.

It seemed the middle would soon be the end.