View source for 13423/I swear. It's like paying a prostitute

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2021/06/02
|Location=The Magic Box, Sunnydale
|Synopsis=Rupert Giles makes an indecent proposal.
|Cast of Characters=103,996
|pretty=yes
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{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:103|Spike (103)}} has posed:'''<br>Generally, customers come in, pay for their goods, and then leave. Some browse and then leave. Others will steal and then leave. The common denominator is that they leave. But Spike was not a customer. He was never a customer. He was an annoyance.<br><br>Like now. He had come into the Magic Shop early in the morning, during the daylight, as he often did. Sunlight seemed to be more of an inconvenience to him than a detriment. He had come in, spent some time in the training room, on his own, punching the bag, working off some steam. Later, he had sat at the table, and read the newspaper that Giles brought in, an international edition.<br><br>He had even ordered lunch, using money he obtained somewhere. A meatball sandwich for himself, a cream cheese bagel for Giles (he didn't ask, he just ordered and gave it to the former librarian), as well as tea, and a coffee for Spike.<br><br>Thus far, Spike had not explained any of this. Perhaps that was the most annoying part of it all. He was finishing up his sandwich at the table that was meant for research.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:996|Rupert Giles (996)}} has posed:'''<br>Mostly an annoyance, but sometimes not as much of an annoyance. Especially when he's being helpful. Giles has to admit that that happens sometimes. Not often, but sometimes. For the better part of the day, except when a customer would come in, Giles had spent taking it mostly easy, and sitting. But his brain hadn't been idle, oh no. There had been books aplenty, even a few from his more personal library at home. For the most part, he'd been quite ignoring his 'guest'.<br><br>And then lunch had arrived. "Yes yes, thank you," he murmured, and didn't even look up from the book. Ten minutes later, still sat at the counter where he's doing his personal research, the bagel still sits. Even as Spike is finishing up his sandwich. Giles hadn't even touched the tea.<br><br>Slowly, he sits more upright, and then taps the page he's on. "This is it. This is the spell we need." And then? Then Giles does something even stranger. He looks over at Spike and grins. "This is it!" He bounces to his feet and paces behind the counter, with the book in hand, eyes glued back to the pages. Reading.. something that isn't obvious.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:103|Spike (103)}} has posed:'''<br>Of course, Spike being helpful was on Giles' dime, as he had been stealing from the man to pay for these things, or stealing from others. Was it better or worse when he stole from others? Spike wiped his lips. He didn't need to eat. It was enjoyable. He still had his taste buds. Looking over at Giles, bagel untouched, tea untouched. Those didn't surprise Spike. It was that Giles smiled in his direction. Spike gave him a quizzical look. About to ask if he was sure that he's feeling all right, but instead just moves to the next stage of the conversation, "what'd you find?" Spike of course was ready for action. He was currently putting his boot-covered feet up on the table.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:996|Rupert Giles (996)}} has posed:'''<br>Almost worse, in a way. At least Giles rather expects it. And certain tidbits might be left lying around specifically /for/ Spike to steal. Giles has eyes, afterall. Of course, he doesn't see, or notice, a lot of the theivery. What he does notice, he never comments on.<br><br>At first, he doesn't respond to the question. But then he slows and stops and puts the book up on the counter. It looks old, the pages dark with age. "A spell," he says. "To lock away an artifact." Only now does he really notice the bagel and tea. Tea is reached for first, and a sip taken. Not bad. Then the bagel.<br><br>After half the bagel is down, Giles finally elaborates a little bit. "But it's going to require hunting down some rare items. And the preparation of a box to put it in." He pauses and glances at the calendar behind the counter. "We have ten days. Or we have to wait a month." In ten days is the new moon, when the moon glows not at all. That's going to be fun. And possibly as a moth to the flame, monsters could be attracted to the spell casting.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:103|Spike (103)}} has posed:'''<br>At least Spike doesn't steal too much, and he has shown a habit of protecting the Magic Box, as well as the Scooby Gang, so in a way, it was almost like he was a security guard, without the uniform. And he probably cost less than a security guard in the long run. Spike didn't need a lot to maintain his lifestyle. He wasn't exactly into consumerism.<br><br>"Oh, you trying to uninvited me from a publicly accessible store again?" He deliberately misinterprets what Giles had said, since on occasion, whenever they were mad at him, they had joked about trying to uninvited him from the Magic Box, the way he could be uninvited to a home he has previously been invited to.<br><br>The bagel has probably cooled, as has the tea. They would have been better when fresher. "Ten days? Might be doable." Getting up and off from his seated position, Spike took a look towards the door, still daylight, so he was in no rush. While he could go from point A to B during the day, he wasn't exactly in the habit of looking for things. He moved with purpose when he had his blanket or hoodie on. "What, and where, and how much?" Was he asking how much it'd cost, or was he fishing for money again.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:996|Rupert Giles (996)}} has posed:'''<br>Probably why Giles doesn't mind him nicking things now and again. Though, at this rate, Giles might as well start paying the vampire. It would probably wind up being less expensive. Giles snorts out his nose as he finishes the bagel. He doesn't seem to mind the bagel having cooled. Or the tea. It's not iced tea, at least. The flavor is entirely different. Iced tea he distinctly dislikes. Cold hot tea? Not so bad. "Yes Spike," he says dryly. "We're going to uninvite you from the Magic Box." Droll and dry, still, the words. Somewhat unimpressed.<br><br>Giles finishes the bagel and reaches for his tea again. He tucks the book under his right arm and takes up the tea with his right hand. Making his way from behind the counter, Giles walks past Spike on his way toward the back. "Leave the statues alone today, yes? They're replicas and won't sell for much at a pawn brokers." With that curious statement, Spike will feel something being slipped into the breast pocket of his shirt. Giles then pats the spot with his hand once, before stepping away and on toward the back. "I swear. It's like paying a prostitue." He shakes his head and through the back door he goes, closing it gently behind him.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:103|Spike (103)}} has posed:'''<br>Dry wit was a hallmark of British culture. So Spike knew exactly what Giles meant when he played along that they were going to uninvited him from the Magic Box. "Right then, I guess I'll be on my way." He didn't move though. And Giles didn't seem to prolong the joke, acting as if Spike weren't even there, until that point about leaving the statues. "Statues? As if, what do you take me for?" He was playing that up, as if he were indignant at what Giles was implying there. Though as the man had walked past, he felt something in his vest pocket, which was patted for good measure. Instead of laughing, which was real possibility, Spike instead reached into his pocket, and began counting the money that had been slipped in there. With Giles seemingly leaving, Spike would ask, "so, you'll be telling us what you need, magic spell component wise, right?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:996|Rupert Giles (996)}} has posed:'''<br>Rupert Giles had paused in the doorway to glance back at Spike. "Of course I will. Once I figure it out."<br> <br>
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