Work Text:
Kitty baby
by Spikewil
//Xander-talk//
***The Magic Shop - 9 p.m.***
"Xander! Don't!" Giles shouted when the young man stepped into the circle in which the girls were performing a spell.
"What?" Xander replied startled, not seeing that he had broken the circle. He felt himself pushed away from the girls and fell down.
Giles quickly stepped forward, but realized too late that the damage was already done. He felt the magic surrounding him and Xander and then everything was black.
*****
"What did you do?" Spike growled at the two witches while watching his lover and the Watcher on the couch. His lover had transformed into a brown-haired fluff ball while the watcher had the fluff-ball in his hands, petting the small head.
"Giles agreed that we couldtransfigure a simple feather into a playmate for Miss Kitty Fantastico," Willow explained as she and Tara sat on the floor watching their two friends and a growling vampire.
"Kitty baby?" Giles asked Xander.
"No, his name is Xander," Spike replied and watched the Watcher's bottom lip tremble. "Oh no, don't you dare cry. Fine, you can call him Kitty baby."
The trembling lip disappeared and a bright smile replaced it, causing the girls behind him to chuckle.
"When will the Slayer be home? Me and Xan are going home and you two will research!" Spike asked before demanding the girls to find a solution.
"She and Dawn won't be coming home until next week. You know that they're visiting their father," Willow answered and received a loud growl in return.
Giles giggled. The blonde man was funny. He continued petting the small kitty in his arms while watching the other man.
//Can somebody please tell what just happened?//
Spike felt Giles' staring, but couldn't be angry with him. The boy couldn't help himself. "So, how old are you?"
"I'm four," Giles answered as he showed Spike four fingers.
"Well, Giles..." Spike said before being interrupted by the small boy.
//Spike, it's me!//
"My name is Rupert, not Giles," Rupert said irritated.
"Fine, Rupert. We're going to my place until these two girls find a solution to change the kitty back into my lover," Spike explained, leaving the bit about him being a grown-up. You never know how a child would respond to that, especially a Watcher's child.
"Kitty baby is a person?" Rupert asked stunned as his eyes widened, still petting Xander.
"Yes, Kitty ba...the kitten is a man," Spike answered while taking Rupert's hand. 'Thank god, the clothes shrank as well' the vampire thought when he realized the Watcher was still dressed.
"Where do you live? Will my father find your house?" Rupert continued when he thought his father might want to know where he went.
"Your father knows. He asked us to take care of you while he went away," Spike replied as he guided the child firmly to Xander's apartment.
"Father went away? He isn't coming back, isn't he? He said he would leave me if I was bad again," Rupert whispered sadly.
Spike was shocked; he hadn't realized that the Watcher had a bad childhood just like his Xan, who was surprisingly enjoying the continuing petting from Gil...Rupert.
//This feels good!//
*****
"Your house is little," Rupert said after he was done exploring.
"You mean small and it's big enough for the three of us," Spike answered as he explored the cupboards for something to eat. He stopped when he heard crying and frowned. With his vampire hearing, he didn't hear anything breaking.
"Rupert, are you okay?" Spike asked when he entered the living room.
"Where am I going to stay now that Father has left me," Rupert cried as he ran to Spike, hugging the vampire's legs.
Xander was sitting on the couch watching the display with interest.
//How the hell am I going to let him know it's me inside this body?//
"Rupert, you can stay here," Spike replied, shocked by his own words.
//Sure, he can.//
"Really? What do I call you?" Rupert said happily, tears all gone.
"What do you want to call me?" Spike returned and watched how the little face wrinkled as the boy thought.
"I need to think about a name," Rupert said and sat down on the couch.
Spike chuckled; a little Giles wasn't so bad after all.
Xander was exploring every corner of his apartment before ending up in the kitchen. His little paws tried to open to the fridge, but he noticed soon enough he wasn't strong enough.
//I'm hungry!// Xander growled.
"No growling, I know you're hungry, but I need to do some shopping. We don't have anything for a small child as well as a kitten," Spike said. "Oh, great, I'm talking to a bleeding cat."
//You understand me! Spike, it's me, Xander!!//
"Daddy Spike? Are we going shopping?" Rupert asked curiously.
"Huh...what? Uhm...yes, we're going shopping," the vampire replied, shocked at what the small boy had called him. "Xander, we're leaving you here. Rupert and I are going shopping for food," Spike announced as he gathered Rupert in one of Xander's thick sweaters.
Rupert giggled as he heard his daddy talking to his kitten. "Come on, daddy Spike," the little boy grabbed Spike's hand and tried to drag him to the door.
The moment the two men left the apartment; the phone rang. Xander looked up and jumped on the table, pushing the receiver from its cradle.
//Hello?//
"Great, Spike has the cat answering the phone," Willow said as she heard the mewling of the kitten.
//No, Willow. It's me, Xander. Tell me how to fix this?// Xander shouted.
"Well, Xander. You don't have growl to me, I'm not going to hurt you," Willow said. "Tara, how am I going to tell Spike that Giles needs to feel at home in order to change back to his old-self. So, Xander will change back as well. Oh well, I'll try again later. Bye Xander."
****
"Daddy Spike, no! Stop! I surrender," Rupert giggled loudly throughout the shopping mall.
Spike was tickling the little one when the vampire finally noticed that Rupert was randomly placing things in the shopping cart.
"Let's find some food for the kitten, shall we?" Spike said as he pushed the cart following Rupert.
"So many choices. What to give Kitty baby, Daddy?" Giles asked, not noticing he left Spike's name out.
Spike did notice it and couldn't help but feel proud that the child trusted him this easily. "The best for our Xander, Rupert."
On their way home, Rupert had fallen asleep. As Spike looked at the time, it was past his bedtime.
*****
//Spike, come home now!// Xander ordered. He was bored and he wanted Rupert to play with. He looked around the room and knew Spike was going to yell at him. Every plant they had, had fallen of their places, the phone was lying on the floor, dirt was everywhere where it wasn't supposed to be.
The door opened and closed and a tired child voice rang out. "Daddy, Kitty baby has been bad."
//Why are you calling me Kitty baby? What kind of name is that?//
"Yes, Xander has been really bad. But let's eat something first, before we clean up," Spike said while glaring at Xander who looked like he was grinning.
//You have to clean it up before I change back. Nah, nah, nah.// Xander sing-songed evilly.
Dinner was served; fries, a burger and some warm milk. Spike deliberately hadn't given Rupert soda, otherwise he would have to try to get a hyper little boy to sleep. The vampire watched how Rupert looked for utensils, as Spike hadn't given him any.
"How am I going to eat this?" Rupert asked shyly.
//With your fingers!//
"With your fingers of course," Spike answered and took example.
//See!//
"Father never let me eat with my fingers," Rupert declared shocked.
//Your father sucks.//
"Well, you're my son now, Rupert. And you can eat with your fingers," Spike answered. He looked at Xander who was still staring at him.
//That's so sweet.//
Rupert laughed before eating all his fries, making a mess out of himself. When he was finished, he looked down and stared frightened at the vampire.
"You need a bath, little one," Spike said and carried the boy to the bathroom. Without thinking, he undressed the watcher and prepared a bubble bath.
//Which bubbles are you going to use?//
*****
"Sleep tight, little one," Spike said goodnight and left the boy asleep in his and Xander's bed. The vampire came back into the living room, stared at the mess Xander had made, shrugged and sat on the couch.
"Xander, maybe when he changes back, we can adopt him. The watcher is still younger than me," Spike mumbled as he felt himself growing tired.
//You're not cleaning? Don't tell me, I have to do it when I get back into my body!//
"I love you, Xander," Spike muttered as he petted Xander's head.
//I love you too, you silly vamp.//
With those words Spike and Xander fell asleep on the couch.
***The next morning***
"Hold your horses," Spike muttered as someone knocked on the door. He blindly went for the door, not seeing Xander lying on the floor.
"Good morning, Spike," Willow greeted with Tara following her inside. As Willow chatted with Spike, Tara looked around the living room, eyes widening when she spotted Xander.
"Sp..Spike?" Tara asked as she patted his arm while pointing at Xander.
Spike turned around and he gave a happy shout, causing Xander to wake up and just in time to catch his lover in his arms. "You're back," the vampire muttered happily.
"Why didn't you clean the house?" Xander asked curiously.
"You made the mess! Why should I clean it up?" Spike replied before remembering that his little one was still sleeping. "Hang on, I need to check on Rupert."
Rupert, himself, had woken up when someone knocked the door and stood up. He was himself again, all because Spike saw him as his son. He walked to the living room hearing Spike's words. The Watcher smiled and walked towards the vampire who was watching him cautiously. When he reached Spike, he did something he never would have done... he hugged the vampire tightly. "Thanks, Dad."
"Good morning, Rupert," Spike answered proudly.
"I see everything is okay. Tara and I will be going, we'll talk to you later," Willow said quickly when Tara dragged her out of Xander's apartment without explaining how they had changed back.
Xander had seen how proud the vampire, as well as Giles, had been when Spike was called Dad. "Spike, you're being rude. Please introduce us."
Spike knew instantly what Xander was talking about and smiled...again proudly. "Xander, I'd like you to meet my son, Rupert"
Rupert blushed bright red. He now had a father who was proud of him and made him feel like he was home. "Nice to meet you, Kitty baby," Rupert said, while laughing.
"Now where did you come up with that name? It's horrible!" Xander exclaimed but smiled at the happiness on Rupert's face.
The end!