The Moonlight Gamblers by TalesofSpike
 
 
Chapter #1 - The Moonlight Gamblers
 







(A/N I asked my beta what sort of fic she might like for her birthday. Here's what she asked for...

" So, if you feel inspired, what appeals to me is either Spike or Wes.  If you pick Spike and want him to be involved with someone, it should be Buffy; if you pick Wes, I don't have any strong feelings about it.  I'm open as to whether it's BtVS or AtS, and when, but some of the things I enjoy are Spike irritating Angel (without too much Angel bashing), Spike and Joyce friendship, Wes running Angel Investigations or his own business, Wes or Giles succeeding where the Council fails, and kittens.  It could be part of your current storyline, if you'd like.  Mood:  funny and/or action.  Must have a happy ending."

I can't say I managed to cover all the bases but I had a decent try.)




 

Some Friday night in a possible future of the "Spike's Will Be Done"verse


Angel's hand snapped up to cover Connor's eyes as the group filed into the club. "Spike..." He half growled his grandchilde's name.

"What?" Spike turned back around as if to see what was troubling the elder vamp, though he had more than a sneaking suspicion already. He pulled Angel's hand away from the boy's eyes.

"For cryin' out loud, Peaches. Don't act like more of a poof than you can help. The kid grew up in a hell dimension. I doubt any of this is goin' to throw him."

Angel, however, had ceased to listen to the blond after more than the first couple of words, his eyes suddenly fixed on a group of half a dozen large demons surrounding a young woman, who was chained across a hip-high counter.

As Angel took off across the room, Spike rolled his eyes and grabbed Connor's wrist with one hand. At the same time, he placed thumb and forefinger in his mouth and let out a piercing wolf-whistle. His eyes met those of the demoness Clem had been happily entertaining and a simple jerk of Spike's head had her rushing to intercept the elder vampire.

Spike gave a slow smirk as he watched events unfold in the centre of the room while Connor tugged against his grip. It wasn't that he wouldn't have gladly taken on Angel himself but he had promised Buffy that he wouldn't start a fight with the old git and that he wouldn't make his way home with his face banged up and embarrass her tomorrow by looking like some sort of thug in all the photographs. Besides, it should be fun to watch the old bugger get his arse kicked by a woman half his bodyweight. Okay, cheek pouches were more Clem's thing than Spike's, but his friend's girl was a beauty to watch in action, the way her long chestnut hair swirled around her head as she landed a spin kick to Angel's jaw, not to mention how those tight little curves filled out that black PVC cat suit. It never ceased to amaze him how she could walk in those glossy black platform stiletto boots, never mind fight in them, but she did and with a grace and strength that came close to his own slayer's. Not that close, but close. "Relax, kid. The lady doesn't need rescuin'. Ain't nothin' goes on in this place that ain't consensual, no matter what it might look like."

The legs of the lady in question were cuffed so that they were splayed wide, her bare toes scrabbling for purchase on a floor she could hardly touch. Blood and semen smeared the cheeks of her latté-coloured ass as one of the demons pounded roughly into her pussy from behind. Another demon faced her from the other side of the counter, a huge fist tangling in her hair as he thrust into her mouth, which seemed barely able to accommodate his girth. The remaining four stood to either side, watching as they stroked their engorged manhoods and waited their turn, the blood on their bare flesh intimating that the woman had already been passed around the group at least once.

Clem ambled over to stand beside the blond vamp, his eyes never leaving his girlfriend as she out-danced the vampire with a speed and manoeuvrability that made Angel look like a lumbering bear. There was a huge sappy smile on the wrinkled demon's face as he sighed his contentment.

Wes's sigh betrayed more in the way of impatience. "I thought you were supposed to explain to Angel about this place on the way."

A wicked grin lit up sapphire eyes as the vamp finally let Connor's arm go and fished in his duster pockets for his cigarettes and lighter, content that his uncle/nephew wasn't about to interfere. "Must've slipped my mind."

Spike winced as Ha Nath's stiletto raked a bloody trail across Angel's face. He was fairly certain that she'd intended to catch him a less glancing blow on the temple using the inside of her foot, but the vampire had pulled back just enough that it was only the sharp heel which made contact. Personally, Spike would rather have taken the solid kick. For a second Spike was distracted as the tableau behind the fight changed. The girl pushed out against the demon that had been holding her hair and he recoiled away from her far more violently than the almost gentle push warranted. With a loud roar the woman morphed into game face as her whole body trembled with the aftershock of a massive orgasm, the demon behind her momentarily slumping over her back before one of the others pulled him back and took his place.

The woman's cry drew Angel's attention from his opponent and it was all the opportunity she needed to sweep his legs from under him and twist one arm behind his back, ensuring he would stay put long enough to listen. She knelt astride his back and leant forward to speak into his ear over the pounding bass that reverberated around the bar. "The lady parted with a lot of cash to get her kicks. In case you hadn't noticed she has the kinda mouth that no guy is going to put his equipment anywhere near unless it's a hundred percent okay with her. I don't think she'd be very appreciative of you interrupting... unless you wanted to join the party and somehow that doesn't quite fit with what I've heard about you."

"What you've heard... Who? What?"

Ha Nath loosed the vampire's arm and straightened up. "You are Angel, aren't you? Cro-Magnon brow, cold hands and you sure look like you put that gel on without a mirror?"

Angel almost managed to flip to his feet but it seemed he was a bit out of practice and it took a steadying hand from the PVC clad demoness before he corrected his balance. "I'm Angel," he muttered, his hands reaching to check his coiffure as soon as Ha Nath released him. "But who've you been talking to?"

"Mostly Faith, a bit of Spike, Lily - she really didn't like you when you first met, by the way. I think you need to work on those first impressions. Bits and pieces from some of the others."

"You know Faith?"

"Well, I should. She'll be here any time now to cover for me so I don't miss the bachelorette party."

A plume of cigarette smoke crashed around Angel's face and a North London drawl grated in his ear. "Peaches, I thought we were here to play poker, not chat up the bridesmaids." He smirked as Ha Nath's hand slipped into Clem's. "An' I know that you're gettin' old but I thought the fact that there's a solitaire-shaped dent in your chin might have given away the fact that she was taken."

"Come on," the demoness said as she tugged gently on Clem's arm. "We've got a table set up for you in the back room. The food and drink are all laid out and Dave dropped the kittens off half an hour ago."

"Kittens?" Connor asked with an apparently bemused expression on his face not dissimilar to the one his father wore.

"Well, kid, you didn't think we were going to be playing for money, now, did you? That'd be illegal."

"And not half as tasty... even with barbecue sauce," Clem added.

"Let me get this straight," the elder vampire looked at Spike. "This is meant to be Wes's stag night? He's human! ...And yet we're spending it in a demon club cum brothel, gambling for kittens so that the winner can have them as snacks?"

Wes shrugged. "Since Clem and Spike have gone to all this trouble it would seem churlish to refuse to play, though I suspect eating one's winnings wouldn't be the only option available."

Spike concurred. "I guess that'd be up to the winners. I mean, unless you ask really nice it's not like they're going to cook them up here for you at the end of the night."

"And Faith works here?"

"She fills in from time to time when they're shorthanded. It takes a special kinda lady to be able to cut it as security in a place like this..." The vampire smiled appreciatively at Ha Nath before quirking an eyebrow at his sire. "Though some nights it's more of a challenge than others.

Do you even bother to train any more, or do you just lie around on a chaise longue all day and let the cheerleader feed you the blood of pigs that have been force fed on a diet of butter?"

Angel bristled as the men made their way into the room where the poker table was. "I do... stuff. I mean, there's office type stuff to do and things. It's not like I can spend an hour a day doing sit ups like some people."

"Pfffht!" Spike's noise of disgust came out halfway between a snort and a raspberry. "Even Harris is back in better shape and he puffed up like the Goodyear blimp just before he got married. Watcher, here, runs his own business with less help than you an' still manages to make more money, help out the Scoobies, spend time with the kid an' the missus, get her knocked up and stay fit."

"I-I did not 'get her knocked up ' and she won't be 'the missus ' until tomorrow night," Wes protested.

Spike's jaw dropped. "You're not tellin' me you didn't know she was up the duff? I'n't that why we're doin' this whole road trip to Vegas tomorrow... other than the fact the evening service suits certain guests better. Just thought you were doin' the right thing by the girl. I mean, I know you've been engaged for a while but she was already about three weeks late when you suddenly announced a date."

"For the last time, Spike, Marie and I are getting married for no other reason than we love each other. Yes, she is pregnant with our child, but that is not the reason we are getting married even if it may have slightly precipitated the event and if you refer to her again as being 'knocked up' , 'up the duff' or any other such crudely put phrase, I'll make sure you go home with a black eye that Buffy will nag you about for weeks. Understood?"

"Crystal," Spike's smirk and sparkling eyes belied the meekness of his response.

"And how the blazes do you know how late she was?"

"Simple. All them bloomin' earth mothers in our place all come on within a couple of days of each other. Your Marie's normally about a week behind. They were all back on and she still hadn't had her turn. Blood? Vaam-piire, you know?" The blond's tone softened as he continued. "Plus I don't think I've seen the bint as happy in all the time I've known her."

 




 

Spike looked from the cards in his hands to his grandsire, the only player other than him left in the game, and back to the one kitten left in his basket. This particular feline had yet to move from Spike's basket to the pot at any point in the night. She was almost entirely black except for one little asymmetrical stripe just above her tiny pink nose and four unbelievably fluffy white paws. Hers had been the first head to peer over the rim of the box when he opened it, more curious and confident than the others. Her eyes, rather than the more common yellow gold, were pale jade green and Spike knew this was the one.

He threw his cards onto the table face down with a show of disgust. "Fold... and quit!" He reached for his pockets, rummaging until he found both cigarettes and a lighter, drawing deeply into his lungs. "I should have known better than to play poker with a guy that has no pulse and only one expression."

Angel almost managed a smile as he laid down a pair of nines.

Spike nodded to Connor. "Let's go put your dad's winnings in his car an' then we need to bring the baskets back so Dave can pick 'em up later." Spike slipped his own remaining longhair into the pocket of his duster.

"What do you mean bring the baskets back?" Angel looked panicked.

"What I say. The baskets belong to Dave. He loaned us them as favour. He'll be round to pick them up after he shuts up his bar for the night, an' I think he's been mighty decent about things seein' as how he's not been the one makin' a profit on the evenin'."

"B-but." Angel looked at the overflowing baskets full of kitteny goodness and imagined the little fluffers peeing on, crapping on and scratching his vintage leather seats. It had been bad enough getting rid of the smell and the stains after Darla's waters broke, but that was as nothing to the destructive power of somewhere between thirty and forty kittens. All of a sudden Angel wasn't so convinced he'd actually won this little game. He grabbed at the cards that Spike had just discarded, only for Spike's hand to cover his before he could lift them, prying them from underneath Angel's fingers and sticking them in his jeans pocket sight unseen. "Ah-ah-ah! That would be cheating."

"Fine, I won't take them then," the brunette pouted.

Spike shrugged and said, "So much for the saviour of puppies. Guess you're just not a cat person, huh? Clem, they're all yours," even as Connor set up a protest. "Daaad. You can't. He'll eat them."

"Fine, we'll set them free."

"Tha's crueller than eatin' them, you stupid git. They're too young to look after themselves. They'd just starve to death... slowly... if they didn't end up with cat flu or something."

"Dad?"

As Spike had known would happen, his grandsire couldn't bear to be anything other than the hero, rescuing motherless felines from a cruel, kitten-eating world. He handed Connor his car keys. "Go put them in the trunk."

"Now, Peaches, you know there's no guarantee that the exhaust fumes won't leak into the boot. Just imagine how traumatic it'd be for the kid to open up the lid when you get to LA and there's all these little, cold kitty bodies."

"Have I told you lately how much I hate you, Spike?"

The blond simply grinned. "Yeah, but it's that special kinda hate you save for family."

 




 

"You know there better be room for me in your car tomorrow," Connor said to Spike as he accepted the fifty dollar bill the blond gave him. "...'Cause this is going to stink. By the way, what did you have on that last hand?"

Spike smiled. "You can have the cards if you give us back the fifty."

"And I look like I was born yesterday?" the young man retorted his hand slipping out, just as fast as the blond had once taught him, to pull the cards from the vampire's jeans. Spreading them out on the hood of Angel's car, he looked down on four queens. His lips quirked as he indicated the head peeking out of Spike's pocket. "Why go to all the trouble to throw the game and then keep that one?"

Spike drew on his cigarette as if he couldn't decide whether to let the boy know or not. Then, he shrugged. It wasn't like the kid wouldn't find out eventually. "Little Mite's gonna miss her mum an' the watcher when they're off on honeymoon. Figured a pressie might help distract her. Lily said, if the watcher an' that didn't want it at his place when they come back, she would keep it for her."

"Are there any of these women who haven't got you wound around their little finger?"

"Don't be daft. There's plenty... loads of them... there's- there's-... There's lots... Okay?" Spike responded before stomping back into the club, unconsciously petting the little female bundle of fur that occupied a pocket.

 




 

The light was on in the living room at Revello Drive as Spike let himself in and he could hear the sound of slightly subdued voices. As he made his way into the room he could see Tara pass an ice-pack to the slayer who pressed it to her left eye as she sat on the sofa.

"Pet?"

Buffy's head turned at the concern in his voice to reveal a deep red bruise all around her eye socket and an eye that was slightly swollen though not quite closed over.

"What the hell happened?" the vampire asked.

Dawn sniggered. "You know how Xander couldn't make it to the stag night because he took this second job what with the baby on the way... Guess who the stripper was?"

The vampire rolled his eyes. "And this leads to my wife having a black eye how?"

"Well, one of the attorneys tried to feel Xan's butt and Anya saw and what with the pregnant lady hormones she kinda took a swing at her and Buffy tried to stop her and kinda got her eye in the way."

Spike sounded disbelieving. "Demon bint couldn't hit your sis on a bet."

At this point Buffy made a dash for the kitchen sink.

"...Not unless she was drunk," vampire and Key finished the sentence in harmony.

 




The following evening

 

The congregation was very much a mixed bag. The council (past and present) was represented by not only Wesley, but Giles who had cut short his vacation in England to fly straight to Vegas and act as an usher. Lydia Chalmers was there, as were a select few of the council's younger, less hidebound members. Nevertheless they were significantly outnumbered by the non-humans in the room. Actual blood relatives on both sides were at a premium. Wes couldn't really say that he was surprised when his father had made up a transparent excuse to avoid attending, nor was he entirely displeased, but at least his mother had made the trip. Apart from a couple of cousins, the invitations Marie had sent to her relations had been met with silence. However, all the family they truly wanted were there.

Spike stood beside Wes ready to lend moral support as his best man. Xander was acting as an usher, and the rest of the Scoobies were seated in a group just a couple of rows from the front while Lily, who mothered them all unashamedly, had a front row seat. The Angel Investigations crew were positioned on the other side of the aisle with one exception who was stood up front. Lorne had actually taken a limo across town to fit in singing 'Ave Maria' between his two evening shows and Clem positively beamed with pride as he escorted Marie down the aisle.

The bride and bridesmaids all wore dresses in a sari-style that let Ha Nath travel those areas not normally inhabited by demons simply by using the wrap to shade more of her face. Marie chose not to wear white, which in her opinion would have been inappropriate both on account of Rosa's existence and the fact that in the Indian culture from which their dress was borrowed it would be considered a sign of mourning rather than celebration. Instead, her top and wrap were a turquoise colour that matched the stones inset into the Mexican silver jewellery that she wore and Ha Nath, Lori, Bee and Rosa all dressed in a shade that was several tones darker.

For once, Buffy had done her best to hide herself and her bruises at the outermost fringes of their group, but still Spike's eyes found hers across the width of the room. Every vow that the dark-haired couple spoke in the brief civil ceremony was silently re-affirmed in the looks the vampire gave her. Some people say that true love is the rarest of gifts. Buffy looked around the room, taking in not only her husband but so many of the people they called their family and she knew that if that were the case, they were probably some of the luckiest people on earth... even if they did have to deal with an apocalypse now and then.

The End

A/N. Special thanks to MG for stepping in to beta on this occasion, as I felt it would have been rather unfair to ask Chris to find the mistakes in her own birthday present.