Embraced 4
Xander Harris was a happy man. For the first goddam time in his so far miserable life, he was happy.
After the boy´s black eye and split lip had healed, courtesy of a dumped and angry ex–demon named Anya, he had made a conscious effort to get himself employed. Why you ask yourself? Because now he had someone to support, another mouth to feed... in a manner of speaking.
Things were pretty bleak on the job front and Xander found that the only job available for a man of his limited skills was in a notorious biker bar about half a mile outside the town limits. It was called, not surprisingly, The Bucket Of Blood... although it could quite as easily be accurately re–named to The Bucket Of Puke.
Every weekend a raucous and mostly crap rock band would assemble their instruments on the rickety stage and churn out the most unbelievable noise for three hours straight, while fat, leather clad and bearded bikers and their ´old ladies´ drank kegs of beer by the dozen, danced drunkenly and fought enthusiastically... oh, and did I mentioned fucked? Jesus wept, they screwed like bunnies in every available darkened corner, and if no darkened corners were available they would just as soon put on a live show for the other patrons.
Occasionally, things got *really* nasty – Xander remembered with a shuddering dread one particular night in June. A couple of young girls from town, no doubt excited by visiting an establishment of such a dubious reputation and the promise of actually being able to get some liquor, arrived in the bar. It took precisely 60 seconds for the girls to realise that they had made a life–changing decision in deciding to visit this particular hell–hole. Both girls had been brutally raped by at least half the men present plus a few of the ´ladies´ by the time that Xander had managed to get the local law enforcement officers to stop by.
Spike had been furious when he realised just what sort of a dump his lover was employed in, demanding that Xander hand in his notice and never return to the bar. Xander, for once asserting himself, refused point blank.
For one thing, there were no other jobs to be had – Xander lived in the basement of his parents house, but not for free. When his father had discovered that Spike was a frequent sleep–over he had firstly beat the shit out of Xander for not asking permission and then raised the rent – if the ´blonde freak´ who had befriended his son wanted to sleep under *his* roof, then he had to pay. It had taken a week before the pain of the beating subsided and Xander knew only too well how much worse it could have been if his father had even *suspected* that he and the ´blonde freak´ were lovers.
Every pay–day Xander laid out the money for the rent, bought some food, picked up blood and fags for Spike and then squirreled away what little there was left and hid it in his ´special place´ in the basement. No one except he knew the money was there. The dark haired boy suffered working like a dog in The Bucket Of Blood and the disapproval and endless complaining of his lover because of this little stash of money. It was their ´going away´ money, his and Spike´s. Just as soon as he had enough money saved, Xander was taking Spike and getting the hell out of this fucking town; away from the Hellmouth, away from The Bucket Of Blood, away from the ever increasing threat to both Spike and himself from the town´s resident demon community and, most importantly, away from his bastard parents.
Xander allowed himself a chuckle at the thought of him ´taking´ Spike anywhere. Spike was, and always would be, the dominant one, the driving force in their relationship; but Xander sometimes allowed himself the luxury of wallowing in the fact that Spike *needed* him. Unlife for the vampire had been radically altered by the behaviour modification chip inserted in his brain by the Initiative; altered to the extent that the vampire could no longer hunt, no longer feed from humans, no longer defend himself against them... hell, it even interfered in their love–making. Knowing that the first few times they *really* made love would hurt Xander, Spike had shied away from the actual shagging; neither of them were totally sure if Xander´s discomfort while shagging would actually activate the chip, but it was a chance the blonde was unwilling to take. "Fried vampire brains..." he informed Xander, were "notoriously hard to get out of the carpet."
So life trickled along for Xander Harris. It was a pretty shit life as lives go, but the one thing that kept him going, kept him happy was Spike... Spike and the fact that in another couple of weeks he would *finally* have enough cash for them both to leave.
William the Bloody was a happy vampire. For the first time in a long, long time the vampire was actually happy. Things had sucked big time – the Initiative, Dru leaving him, his now– hostile relationship with Angel; all of it had made him so bloody miserable he had contemplated a short stroll in the sunshine. Then it had happened; he had fallen in love. Now Spike´s unlife revolved around the dark–haired boy he adored and obsessed over.
Rolling over in bed Spike stared at his lover in the darkness. The vampire had perfect night vision and he could make out every detail of Xander´s face. The whelp had been working all weekend in that bloody pub and he was exhausted; crawling into bed in the early hours of Monday morning the boy had slept like the dead, moving only when the bad dreams he had suffered with increasing frequency lately disturbed his slumber.
The blonde´s internal clock told him that it was just after sunset and time to feed, but first...
Sidling slowly to Xander´s side the vampire writhed sensuously against his young lover relishing the smooth silky warmth of his skin. Within seconds, Spike was hard... Bloody hell, it never ceased to amaze him; one touch, one look from the whelp and he, Master vampire and killer of two Slayers, turned into a horny, trembling mess! There was only ever, in all of his unlife, one other person who could make him feel like this – Angelus his sire, in those heady days before the Slayer, before the curse when Angelus, the Scourge of Europe and his blood–childe William the Bloody ruled the world... well, it *felt* as though they had.
Xander lay on his side facing away from the blonde. Spike´s tongue snaked out and he started to lick the boy´s naked neck and back with long wet strokes, his cool hands stroking the boy lightly, fingers seeking out and gently tweaking sleeping nipples. The vampire smirked as the boy stirred and moaned softly and he continued rolling Xander´s nipples between his thumb and finger, feeling the soft buds turn into hard little peaks.
Sliding further down the bed the vampire´s mouth licked and nibbled it´s way along Xander´s spine finding the hot–spot at the bottom of his back, a little spot at the base of his spine that made the boy quiver when it was licked. Spike´s hands followed the downward route at a leisurely pace, twirling patterns in Xander´s navel and tugging playfully at the silky covering of hair just below.
Xander continued to stir; he stretched lazily like a cat, lifting his arms above his head and leaning his body back against his lover. Spike laughed softly when the boy´s erection brushed his hand and he moved position so that he could lavish the same sensuous licks on the boy´s torso that his back had enjoyed. Hooking one of Xander´s knees over his shoulder, the vampire moved in between the boy´s legs, his tongue licking patterns on Xander´s inner thighs and moving teasingly close to his balls. Glancing quickly upwards Spike could see that the boy´s eyes were still closed. Smiling indulgently the vampire rested his weight on his elbows and studied the boy.
"I know you´re awake, Xan..." Spike chuckled "I can tell by your breathing."
Smiling slyly, Xander´s eyes slowly opened and the vampire was overjoyed (as he always was) to see the boy´s brown eyes filled with love and warmth. Xander reached for him and in a second Spike was in his arms, cool lips searching for his, tongue probing and darting. The kiss was long and deep leaving Xander flushed and gasping for breath; he tenderly traced the sharp contours of his vampire lover´s face with his fingertips, and when he spoke his brown eyes never left the icy blue of Spike´s gaze.
"Spike... I have something to tell you." the boy started.
The vampire´s eyes narrowed and he tensed in the boy´s arms. "Oh no Xan... don´t pet... please don´t say it" he murmured mournfully.
Xander´s eyebrows shot up half an inch "What? Say what? Oh no, it´s not *that* kind of a what... it´s the good kind, ya know... the ´O Negative´ kind, the ´Sunshine On A Rainy Day´ kind... the..."
Spike´s eyes were wide and his look was one of fear "Oh bloody hell no, Xan... don´t say it! Don´t tell me you´re gay!" The vampire finished his statement in a camp falsetto, wiggling his eyebrows for effect.
Xander stared at him open–mouthed, while the vampire dissolved into fits of laughter on the boy´s chest.
"Oh har–de–har Mr Funny Man..." Xander scolded "That´s right... make fun of me, make fun of poor stupid, gullible... gay Xander" The boy´s voice tailed away into giggles and the lovers held on to one another and laughed until Xander nearly choked.
Still in each others arms Xander stroked the blonde vampire´s head as it lay on his chest. "Seriously though... we gotta talk."
Spike´s head tilted towards the boy´s face. "Hey, it´s not like my Xan–pet to be serious... What´s up?"
Xander took a deep breath. "Well... you know how I´ve been busting my ass over at The Bucket Of Blood these past few months? Well, newsflash! I´ve been holding out on ya... been putting some dollars away and I´ve managed to save enough so that we can catch the next banana boat out of this dump in another two, maybe three weeks. I didn´t want to tell ya before, wanted it to be a surprise and all..."
"No, Xan." The vampire said softly. "And if I´m gonna be perfectly honest with you... I knew about your plan all along."
Xander fidgeted beneath the vampire, worry washing over him like cold water. "What? You knew? How could you know? And no... what does *no* mean, no *what*... hey, are gonna leave me? Is that what this is all about? C´mon you undead... gay... creature of the night, spill!" Inwardly sighing, Spike sat up and fixed Xander with his ´annoyed´ face. "Firstly, no... I´m *not* gonna leave you, where the hell did you get that idea? Secondly, I happened to find your little stash one night when I was looking for somewhere to hide some cash of my own; I put two and two together and guessed. Thirdly... who told you I was gay?" the blonde smirked.
"OK... but that doesn´t explain the *no* part..." Xander spluttered.
"Ahhh... the *no* part. Well, you said that in two or three weeks you would have enough to get us out of here to which I said *no*." Spike fell silent.
Exasperated, Xander whined "Spike!"
Smiling evilly, the vampire continued "*No*, we won´t be leaving here in two or three weeks... it´s gonna be more like, ohhhhh let´s see now... about four days."
Xander spluttered anew "Four... What? How? What?"
"Bloody hell Xan, if you say *what* one more time I may have to stake meself!" Spike looked at his lover´s flustered face and decided that he had teased him enough for one day... well, in that sense anyway.
Pulling Xander close the vampire spoke softly to him, stroking the boy´s dark silky hair and interspersing speech with light kisses. "Look, I know how much you hate it here, living in this dump with those bastard parents of your´s upstairs and let´s face it... it´s getting dangerous in Sunnydale for you now, being with me and all."
Spike kissed the boy before continuing "I got some money working for Willie... cleaning the bar when he closes up, delivering some messages for him and that... I wanted to help, I *know* how hard it is living here, keeping us a secret. So the money´s yours. With what you´ve gathered up I reckon we can haul tail out of here just about any old time ya like."
Xander stared at the vampire with something close to awe. The boy´s lips trembled and his brown eyes filled with tears. "You did that for *me*?"
Spike smiled gently "No, Xan... I did it for *us*... now come ´ere..."
The vampire´s cool lips sought Xander´s and he melted into the embrace. Christ, he just couldn´t get enough of the boy and he yearned for the day that he could shag him properly... he knew Xander did too, but it was much to dangerous... the vampire had an idea that his brain really *could* be fried by the damned chip – well, he wasn´t about to find out, there had to be another way. But until then the vampire intended to enjoy his lover as best he could.
Breaking their kiss, Spike moved gracefully from Xander´s arms down to the position he had started off in – between the boy´s legs. He lathed the boy´s rapidly hardening cock with his tongue, teasing the weeping tip and dipping his head to lick the heavy orbs below. Xander sighed and curled his fingers in the vampire´s blond hair, hair which was surprisingly soft and surprisingly curly when it wasn´t held in place with half a tub of gel.
The boy loved it when he and Spike showered together; then the vampire´s hair hung in his face in cute, wet curls making him look impossibly young and boyish... almost human. However, Xander found himself increasingly attracted to Spike the demon; the vampire was mostly always in game face at the climax of their loving and Xander wasn´t afraid to admit that there was something damned exciting about staring into that feral face, something primal within him longed for the demon to sink his sharp fangs into him and for he to bite the demon in return. Lately, Spike found himself covered in bites after they had made love – not that he minded of course, but it brought home the painfully obvious fact that he was, at least as a demon, effectively impotent.
The lovers spent a blissful half hour in a tangled embrace of limbs and tongues before Xander reluctantly extricated himself from the vampire´s embrace and got showered and dressed. The boy was beside himself with glee; he had people to see, things to do, plans to make... In another few days they would be history, out of here, vapour trails, fading memories... His head full of ... well, stuff, Xander headed out into the Sunnydale night leaving Spike to his own devices.
One thing that Xander and Spike definitely had in common was something called ´Sod´s Law´. You could be sure that whenever happiness raised it´s ugly head, then misfortune would suddenly say ´Hey! You´re happy? Can´t have this... no, no, no...´
Xander happily strutted towards the Slayer´s place of residence in search of the now mostly–defunct Scooby Gang. Where once they had all been *so* close, now they walked their own paths, went their separate ways, lived their own lives. Xander rarely saw any of them anymore; this had in the early days come as something of a shock. The boy had found himself on the outside looking in on what had once been, to all intents and purposes, his family and his only friends. There was an excruciating lonely few months in between his enforced separation from the rest of the Scoobys and the commencement of his love affair with Spike.
This was probably why the prospect of saying farewell to his friends didn´t loom as forebodingly as it might have once, in fact Xander was going to *enjoy* telling them of his imminent departure – let it be him leaving *them* behind for a change. He had also decided that he was going to tell them about himself and Spike. This had been something the vampire had been reluctant for him to do; Spike didn´t want the boy to alienate himself from his friends and *also* he didn´t much relish Slayer coming after him, stake in hand... not only that, but Spike was well aware that if Buffy knew of their little secret then it was only a matter of time before his Sire found out, and the vampire wasn´t quite ready for that – this was something Angel needed to hear from himself, but their present relationship being as it was Spike found that *highly* unlikely.
Xander was a few meters from Buffy´s place when he spotted her, long blonde hair shrouding her face and her voice tinkling happily as she stepped into Riley Finn´s car. The boy started to run, hoping to catch the couple before they left.
"Buffy... Hey, Buffy... Wait... Goddamit!" Xander pulled up short as the car sped off leaving a small cloud of fumes in it´s place; man, Finn want´s to give that baby an oil change!
OK... time for plan B, Willow and Tara´s place. Xander turned to leave and nearly ran head first into a shape standing silently behind him.
"God... I´m sorry... just call me Mr Clumsy..." The boy´s voice trailed away when he realised who, or what, it was.
"Well, well, well... If it isn´t Spike´s little fuck–toy! Ohhhhh I can´t begin to tell you how happy I am to see *you* again."
With an icy wave of fear that nearly made him retch, Xander realised that it was a vampire... not just *any* vampire, but the vampire he had speared on that fateful night that he and Spike had first... Backing away slowly the boy´s head darted from side to side frantically searching for some escape, for someone to help him – but Xander had lived in Sunnydale long enough to know that at night no– one could hear you scream... and if they did, they weren´t much inclined to help.
The vampire´s evil chuckles scuttled up and down Xander´s spine like spiders and the demon approached him leisurely. "Well... I pretty much think we can dispose of any pleasantries seeing how we already know each other and all, what do you think fuck–toy?"
Xander stood his ground and answered with a bravado he most definitely *didn´t * feel. "I think you should pretty much just shut the hell up and get on with it. You´re gonna bite me, right? You know it and I know it so let´s just do it!"
The vampire´s face contorted in rage and he growled, yellow fangs glinting hatefully in the dim street light. "Oh you are such a smart mouthed little bitch, aren´t you? Spike´s mouthy little bitch! Well bitch... here´s some news for ya... I´m not gonna bite ya, ok? I wouldn´t put you anywhere *near* my mouth, not knowing who´s dirty little toy you are!"
For a moment Xander nearly believed that he was going to live... maybe the vampire was frightened enough of Spike not to tamper with his property. And speaking of Spike...
From out of the corner of his eye Xander could see him at the bottom of the street, blonde hair shinning like a beacon in the darkness... he just hoped Spike could see him and his present predicament.
The approaching vampire followed his gaze and laughed. "Dream on bitch, he´ll never make it in time. Now... where were we?"
Xander laughed nervously "Well, right about the point where you said you weren´t gonna bite me *if* I remember rightly..."
Cocking his head to one side the vampire thought for a moment. "Yeah bitch... I think you´re right. OK... well I´m not gonna bite you... doesn´t mean I´m not gonna kill you though!"
The last thing that Xander saw before he crumpled to the cold ground was the vampire´s hand swiping towards him. There was a flash of fiery agony across his throat... and then, mercifully, blackness....
