13436/Vampire of your word

Vampire of your word
Date of Scene:	04 June 2021
Location:	Club Lux, Melville
Synopsis:	Spike and Faith Lehane make a deal.
Cast of Characters:	Spike, Faith Lehane

---

Spike has posed:
The Bronze was nice, but it did seem to cater to a younger crowd. Spike had never really understood why Sunnydale would have a club that catered to high school children as its main nightclub, but that may have something to do with the rate of S.N.R. in the suburb. Club Lux, which was in adjacent Melville, had an older crowd.

Spike probably should have dressed up. Club Lux was a high class joint. But he had come in his usual outfit. It was almost like his armor, or was that security blanket. But by now, the black t-shirt, red dress shirt, unbuttoned, black leather duster coat, black belt, black blue jeans, and black shoes, was practically an extension unto himself.

A green skinned man in a blue suit seemed to be playing the piano and singing. He was good. Someone had said that he owned a bar over in Metropolis that was temporarily closed for repairs. But Spike wasn't that interested. He was currently at the bar chatting up some woman with a darker complexion. He got shot down. "Oh, baby, you couldn't handle me."

Thankfully no one he knows saw that.

Faith Lehane has posed:
"SPIKE!"

Or maybe someone did.

That voice belongs to one Faith Lehane, aka the Other Slayer. Rogue Slayer. Dark Slayer. They had all sorts of names for her. She didn't really care.

She stepped up next to the other woman. "Hey, gorgeous."

"Long time, Faith. You want the usual?"

"That'd be great." And the other woman. went behind the bar as Faith focused on Spike. She was dressed in a pair of black leather pants, her usual shit-kicker steel-toed boots, and a camisole style top. No sign of her denim jacket. "What brings you to this side of town? Tired of the misery and whining of Sunnydale?"

Spike has posed:
Turning around, Spike' eyes were already running up into the back of his head. He recognized the voice. And oh no, she knew the woman. See what happens when Spike tries to get over things, to move on. Not only does he get shot down, but he has a public audience, and one of the Scoobies even knows the woman he had tried to flirt with. Looking between the two women, he shook his head, and offered, "better put that on my tab," hopefully the usual wasn't too expensive. "Yeah, I thought I'd try a whole new type of misery and whining." He reached for his beer, taking another swig, and then asided, trying to whisper, but the music was loud, so he had to almost speak normally for her to hear, "what's it going to cost me to keep that... between us?"

Faith Lehane has posed:
"What happens at Lux stays at Lux. It's a rule," Faith tells him with a grin. She gives a wink to the dark haired woman who pushes a double whiskey in front of Faith. No vodka apparently isn't her usual drink when here at least. Not that it mattered. High alcohol content, burn all the way down to the stomach, she was happy.

"You don't have to buy my drink. In fact, I'll buy one for you. Ran a good hustle last night and have some extra green burning a hole in my pocket." She leaned her elbows back on the bar, turning to watch the goings on including the pianist playing. "This is how the grown ups live."

Spike has posed:
Spike phewed, letting out some air that he didn't need to breathe. "That a fact. I just might have to hang out here more often." It was always nice to be able to be bad and get away with it. "In that case, I'll have a double whiskey." He could go drink for drink with her, though one of these days, their drinking was going to get one or both of them in trouble.

Looking around the bar, there was a lot more alcohol, people in their 20's, 30's, even a few in their 40's, though they all seemed to be in fairly good shape, attractive, it was a good crowd. The bouncer must have been doing their job well. "So, what's this about a hustle? Learning to win a few after that business with Xander?"

Faith Lehane has posed:
"Don't even bring that shit up," Faith said as she waited for his drink to be deliveredy by the lovely lady behind the bar. Then the barkeep moved down to help some other customers. Faith picked up her glass, holding it up in a mock toast to Spike. "To the Lux?"

Then she swigged down the entire thing in one go, the burn intense on the way down. A moment later she was leaning back as she had been on the bar to watch the room. "Xander tricked me. Who knew he could field strip a semi auto pistol in under 30 seconds? I figured I had that one in the bag when he made the bet." She shook her head a little, dark hair shifting in the movement. "He had his done in like fifteen. It was insane!"

Spike has posed:
Spike lifted his glass up, "to the Lux, and what happens at Lux, stays at Lux." He would touch his glass to hers, though their fingers seemed to brush against each other a little as well. He would swig his in one go as well, letting that burn go down his throat. He turned, one arm on the bar, so he could face her as she leaned back, "I did."

A few years back on Halloween, people got turned into their costumes. He went as a soldier, so they say, and still remembers the training. Kind of surprised the Scoobies haven't signed him up. Good career move for him. Gotta be better than playing second fiddle around here."

"You know, I might just have to thank him for that. You looked awfully cute in that outfit." He must have been messing with her. "Did ya learn any cheers?" Oh god, he was messing with her.

Faith Lehane has posed:
"You know I will stake you. And no one will ever know," Faith said, giving him a dark frown as she waved for a refill of the glasses. Course, that would be her last here. Lux was not cheap and she wasn't good enough friends with the bartender to get free ones. "Another for both of of us." Which would be the end of her drink fund. She still needed the rest of her money for other things.

"Even when I was in school, I never aspired to be standing on the sideline at some game in a short skirt being eye candy for pervs in the stands. Students and parents." She shook her head. "What about you, Mr. Giles? Read any good books while you were playing nerd?"

Spike has posed:
"You'd think that, but these things have a funny way of coming back on a person. Dark alleyway, all alone, and yet, somehow, someway, it gets back to the people you don't want to know." He was glad to be getting another drink on her, or at least he assumed he was. It wasn't every day that a slayer would buy him drinks, especially at a place as fancy as Club Lux.

He laughed at her assessment, "you're not wrong. Though, you shouldn't knock it. I bet some fine, upstanding gentleman are into the look. Doctors, lawyers, pillars of the community." But then she turned it back on him, "I did look a state in that getup, didn't I." He rolled his eyes, "serves me right. I never should have played his game."

Faith Lehane has posed:
"I'm not talking playing dress up for a lover. That's an entirely other thing," Faith says with a big of a laugh. Once their drinks were poured, she didn't rush to drink it yet. Instead, she focused on what he mentioned.

"So how did Xander get you dressed up in one of Giles' suits? I mean I'm guessing it was his cause it seemed a little big on you. And does Giles even know?" Cause that would be funny

Spike has posed:
"Oh," Spike said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. He made a mental note of that. Perhaps it would come in handy sometime later. He loved taking note of potential blackmail or embarrassing titbits. He looked at his glass, not wanting to rush if she weren't. He lifted it up to look at the club through the glass and the liquid contents, before placing it back down on the counter. "I got stuck in his basement during the day. Didn't have my cloak or hoodie." That was the easy part, but it was obviously there was more. Eventually, he levelled with her. "We played video games." He rolled his eyes again, sighing, "he started talking smack. And no, I don't think Giles does know, don't fancy him finding out either if it's all the same to you."

Faith Lehane has posed:
It was Faith's turn to make the mental note. One of her greatest pleasures was pushing buttons. To learn things people didn't want shared? That was bonus points in her life.

"He beat you at a video game. I told you to buy one of those consoles or something. You might've been better prepared," she added with a laugh.

She picked up her glass, swirling the amber liquid around then looking over at him slyly. "So, how are we going to get even with him? Because we have to get even."

Spike has posed:
"Buy," he replied, as if he had easy access to money. "Do you have any idea how much they cost. Actually, wait, how much do they cost?" He had no idea. He might nick one, but he was unlikely to buy something like that. "Besides, when I do get money, I prefer to waste it on frivolous pursuits."

Picking up his glass in tandem with her, he regarded that sly look. "I'm with you to the end if you want to get even with him. But remember, he's Xander. Do you really want to punch down that much?"

Faith Lehane has posed:
"Well since all of his bets were more like pranks, we just need to figure out a great prank to pull. Not that I'm an expert on pranks. Wonder if Willow would help us? Since she got caught up in it too." They had no idea what he'd done to trick Willow. If he had actually. They just figured it was too much of a coincidence that it was all the same night.

"Have to think about it." She did pick up her drink but only drank about half, saving that final shot. As something occurred to her. "Wait, you said everyone got turned into what they were dressed as? What did the others get turned into when Xander was a soldier?"

Spike has posed:
Spike slowly said "I don't do pranks. Fiendish schemes," before picking up his verbal pace, "especially those continuously foiled by you rotten kids," and then back to his normal speaking pace, "I'm your vamp." He would lift his glass up, sipping about half of it. He let the burn sink in, "ooh yeah, the burn." Turning his head, his eyebrows seem to lift, "Willow probably got roped into it through Anya. That'd be just his style. That way, his bestie is upset with Anya, not him." Shaking his head, he would drown the rest of his drink, placing it upside down on the table.

He got up, as if to leave, since the free drinks were over, "oh, yeah," he began explaining as if it bored him, "Buffy got turned into an 18th century lady, Willow into a ghost," he furrowed his brow, "a skanky ghost if I recall," a pause, "and oh yeah, right, Cordelia didn't get her costume from the same place. She was a cat, leopard or cheetah, something with spots."

And then he got a wicked idea. He eyed her slyly, "see, I got this," and he flashed the wad of $200 that Giles had given him with no clear purpose, "burning a hole in my pocket. Giles gave it to me, though I don't have a bloody clue why. You want to make some money?" And his eyes flashed suggestively. Oh lord, what did he have in mind.

Faith Lehane has posed:
"Now I would have paid to see that night. B as a lady? Was she all damsel in distress?" Faith was too amused with the image as she laughed a bit. Although Willow dressed as a skanky ghost was something she wanted to ask further questions about.

As Spike pulled out the money, she blinked. "You should've been buying the damn drinks." Here she was thinking she was being nice since she did get a friend discount from the bartender but it was still a good amount for those four drinks!

"I will not sleep with you." Because that is automatically where her mind went for him offering money. "I mean you're hot, in a Billy Idol kind of way, but that doesn't mean I'm a prostitute."

Spike has posed:
"Well, yeah. I only heard bits, saw pieces. See, we, creatures of the night, usually take the night off. But seeing all these kids turned into all manner of beasts, I couldn't help myself. I tried to get some of the little monsters to find and kill her. Angel and Scoobies managed to save her until the spell was broken. Don't know how or why."

He grinned widely as she reacted incredulously to the fact that he had some cash on him. "Oh, you got me all wrong. It's not like that." He let that hang there for a moment, before explaining, "I've got a few bottles of liquor back at my crypt. Figured it might be nice to split one with you again..." See, he could be nice and return the favor, "... in that cheerleader outfit. If you can think of a more frivolous use of Giles' money, let me know."

Faith Lehane has posed:
"Seriously?" Faith was weighing this in her head as she considered. "I just show up there in the outfit, we share some drinks and nothing else? For all that cash you just showed me? Looked like about $200?" Because she is used to hustling, she's pretty good at adding up the money involved when it is flashed that way. He'd fanned it enough she saw it was twenties and not like a single twenty wrapped around a bunch of ones.

"No weird stuff. No hanky panky. Hang out and drink?"

Spike has posed:
"I'm a vampire of my word," he said while spreading his hands. Somehow along the way, he had used slight of hand to take the money from his fingers to some other place. Was it between his fingers and facing away from her, or had he somehow managed to get it into his pocket? And as she was likely thinking about the disappearing cash, technically he had not given his word. He could be tricky like that. "Do you want to help me waste Giles' money and get drunk, or not?"

Faith Lehane has posed:
And she had run too many hustles to let him get away with it. "We just sit and drink. While I'm wearing that stupid outfit. That's it. Your word."

With that Faith finished off her drink then waved to the bartender. Her denim jacket was handed to her from where it had been stowed. Faith shrugged it on and passed some cash over for the drinks and tip then turned to head for the stairs that led out of the club. "I'm always one for wasting other people's money."

Spike has posed:
Spike was grinning, struggling to hold back laughter as she was actually, kind of cute the way she was worried he was going to try something with her. As if he could. She was a Slayer, and he had a chip in his head. He was in a weird mood. She was attractive. Perhaps he just liked the outfit. Or maybe it was some complex plot to make Buffy jealous. Or maybe, just maybe, he genuinely liked her company, and if he could enjoy her company with a nice view, why not? Plus, he always loved to do things that would get under Giles' skin. This was a win all around from Spike's point of view.

"Yeah, yeah, you got my word." He waved his hand dismissively, "as if you needed it. I still have this chip in my head, and you have Slayer strength. You really think I could do anything if I tried? Afraid not luv, only way I could beat a slayer these days is if she did something monumentally stupid." Like when he had beaten Buffy in training recently. So, it could be done, it just wasn't easy. And it had hurt like hell too.

Faith Lehane has posed:
"Then we have a deal. Let's get out of here and I'll meet you at your crypt later. Have the vodka chilled. Well, I'm assuming it's vodka." Since that's what they shared when Faith was having to babysit him. "Whatever it is, as long as it's strong. Something with a good burn going down."

And she headed up the stairs with him at her side because even with a chip? She wasn't turning her back on him. "Oh and I'll take half that up front. Vampire of your word or no, I'm not getting there only to have you back out and not pay me."