The Offering 1
Xander trudged through the dark night of Sunnydale, slightly dispirited. They had been researching late in the library for any information they could find out about Spike–just as they had been doing the last couple of nights–but to no avail. Giles wanted to learn as much as he could about the blond vampire so they were prepared for whatever he might throw at them next.
They´d escaped Parent–Teacher Night relatively unscathed, but Giles was certain they hadn´t seen the last of Spike, especially since they´d heard rumors that he had killed the Anointed One and taken over the remnants of the Master´s court. Xander was more worried about his own neck, though he´d been too embarrassed to mention Angel´s brilliant ´plan´ to anyone.
He snorted to himself. And Angel hadn´t been much help at all. Not only had he been the one to offer Xander´s neck to the blond vampire to munch on, he´d had very little information to impart about Spike. He claimed that he hadn´t seen the other vampire in nearly 96 years, but Xander thought he was hiding something. Of course, it could just be that he didn´t trust the dark vampire as far as he could throw him, which wasn´t very far at all.
So, after yet another unproductive night of research, Buffy and Angel had gone on patrol, and Xander walked Willow home before heading to his own house. As he started up the walk to the front porch, he froze. Moonlight glinted off the bleached–blond hair of the vampire sitting on the steps. He was wearing all black–jeans, t–shirt, boots, and duster–broken only by the red button–down shirt, and casually leaning back on his elbows, a cigarette dangling between the fingers of one hand. Xander´s breath caught, and his heart pounded in his chest. He simultaneously reached into his jacket pocket and took an alarmed step back.
"Running won´t change nothin´," the vampire drawled easily, taking a deep drag off the cigarette, and then pinching it out before throwing it away. "´Cept piss me off that I had to chase you down. Then again..." He paused, smirked. "I do so enjoy a good chase. Makes the blood taste sweeter." He ran his eyes over Xander. "Go ahead, run."
Xander swallowed hard and forced himself not to run. "What do you want?" he asked, barely able to speak through a throat nearly closed shut with fear, as he wrapped his fingers around the stake.
"I want what´s mine," Spike said, rising gracefully from the step.
"Wh–what´s that supposed to mean?" Xander asked, taking a second nervous step backwards.
Spike looked him over obviously, another smirk curving his lips, his tongue running over his teeth suggestively and then peeking between curled lips as he took a step towards him.
"Oh, no!" Xander said, backpedaling as he fumbled with the stake, finally managing to pull it out of his pocket after untangling it from the material. He didn´t know exactly what Spike was implying, but he knew it couldn´t be good.
Before he realized what was happening, Spike was standing right in front of him. The blond grasped his wrist and effortlessly disarmed him. Spike examined the stake and then tossed it over his shoulder.
"Careful," he mocked. "You could get hurt with that."
Xander tugged at his wrist in a futile attempt to get away from the vampire. "Let go!" he said, his voice rising in panic. "I´m not yours!" he cried, trying to sound forceful, but instead sounding pitifully weak. Damn Angel!
"Bollocks," Spike said. "Gift from my sire, you were." He looked Xander over again, and there was no mistaking the heat in his gaze, the intent. "I´m accepting."
Xander´s eyes grew wide with understanding and he looked around wildly for anything that could help him.
"Go ahead, scream," Spike hissed. "I´m feeling a might peckish." He smirked as Xander blanched at the thought of someone running to his rescue–not that anyone would in Sunnydale–and being killed for their efforts.
"Why are you doing this?" he squeaked, his voice tremulous with fright. If by some chance he survived this, he was going to kill Angel.
"Told you," Spike snarled. "Just coming to collect what´s mine." He closed his fingers in Xander´s hair and pulled, tilting his head back.
"No," Xander moaned in terror as Spike morphed and lowered his head. He pushed against the vampire´s chest, but his whole body was shaking, and it was like trying to move a brick wall.
"You done playing yet?" Spike asked, cool breath tickling Xander´s neck. His voice sounded funny around his fangs, but Xander was certain he was being mocked again.
"No!" he cried, desperation fueling his attempts to free himself as he hit and kicked at the vampire.
"Enough," Spike growled, forcefully shoving Xander back into the shadows and pressing him against a tree. He lowered his face to Xander´s neck and sniffed him.
Xander was too scared to wonder what Spike was doing. He knew he was going to die. His life passed before his eyes as he felt the rough rasp of the vampire´s tongue laving his throat, and then the sting as sharp fangs tenderly grazed his skin before sinking in. He wished he´d had a chance to say goodbye to Willow. He wished he´d had a chance to stake Angel for offering his neck to Spike in the first place.
Spike let go of Xander´s wrist and wrapped his arm around the boy, pulling him close and pressing their bodies together. He drew on his blood slowly, savoring the taste of it as it flowed over his tongue. His original plan had been to tear the boy´s throat out, drain him and leave his lifeless body for Angelus and the Slayer to find. A message. A warning.
A promise.
Suddenly he wasn´t so sure he wanted to eliminate the source of the blood he was currently enjoying. The scent of the boy´s fear had been tantalizing him, teasing him since the night Angelus presented his neck in offering, and the heady aroma once more filling his nostrils made him hard. That was unexpected. Even more surprising was the glorious taste of Xander´s blood. It now occurred to him that it would be smart to keep the boy around for a while.
With Xander alive, he´d have a ready source of the rich, delicious ambrosia flowing through the boy´s veins, and still be able to prick Angelus´ pride. No matter how he tried, Xander wouldn´t be able to keep Spike´s bite hidden from the dark vampire, and the look on Angelus´ face when he realized Spike had tasted the boy would be priceless. He just wished he could be there to see it.
Spike reluctantly withdrew his fangs from Xander´s neck and licked the bite until it stopped bleeding. The intoxicating scent of fear was now combined with the unanticipated and powerful perfume of arousal. Spike breathed deeply, pulling the potent, stimulating odors into his body as he ground his pelvis against Xander´s. Oh, yeah, he thought. Leaving the boy alive was a bloody brilliant idea.
Letting go of Xander, he stood back, making sure the boy was able to support himself against the tree. He let the demon slide away, and tenderly rubbed his thumb over Xander´s lips. Lips he hadn´t tasted yet, but thought he might one night soon. Xander stared back at him through glazed eyes.
"I´ll be back," he whispered, and then turned and disappeared into the night. He adjusted his erection in his tight jeans and set off to find a nice spot of violence.
Xander fidgeted nervously, unable to keep his attention on the book that lay open in front of him. He was supposed to be reading it for any information he could find on Spike, but he couldn´t concentrate, and the words swam before his eyes. Unfortunately, he already knew more about the blond vampire than he wanted to. And a little bit more about himself.
He´d been scared spitless the night before, but that was no surprise. Xander might not be the bravest person, but Spike was enough to frighten the most courageous individual. Except maybe Buffy. What did surprise him was the fact that he´d been left alive. And his reaction to the vampire´s bite.
He couldn´t stop thinking about what had happened. He wondered why the blond vampire hadn´t drained him. He wondered what his body´s reaction meant. And he wondered what Spike intended to do next, as his parting words spun through his mind like a whirlpool that threatened to pull him under. ´I´ll be back´. When? Why? he wondered fearfully, less worried about whether the vampire would kill him this time than how his body might once again betray him.
Once the initial pain of Spike´s fangs sliding into his neck passed, Xander had begun to enjoy the feel of the blood being drawn out of his body. Terror had evaporated to be replaced by...longing. God, he was a sick, sick boy! The stupid vampire had been feeding off him, and Xander had gotten a boner from it! While it was true that he was a teenage boy and nearly every other thought had to do with sex, it was inconceivable to him that he´d gotten aroused from a vampire bite.
His limbs had been weak from blood loss and lust when Spike pulled out of him–fangs! Pulled his fangs out of him!–but he still remembered the feel of the vampire´s tongue bathing his throat, his groin pressing into his. Spike had been hard, too. Xander shivered with disgust at himself, and the unwelcome sliver of desire.
"Xander, is something wrong?" Giles´ voice broke into his reverie.
"Huh? What? No! Nothing´s wrong! What could be wrong?" he babbled nervously, his fingers automatically going to the turtleneck he´d dug out of the bottom of one of his drawers that morning, making sure it still covered the bite. He´d luckily remembered getting one for Christmas several years ago from his grandmother, and was thankful that it hadn´t been given to Goodwill.
"Is that book boring you?" Giles asked facetiously.
"Uh, no. Sorry," Xander said. "I´m just having a little trouble concentrating. Got stuff on my mind." He tried to keep his voice low and didn´t turn to look at Willow who was sitting behind the computer on the counter.
Giles closed his book and leaned across the table. "It may not seem like it, but I do understand that you children have lives outside of helping Buffy with her slaying duties. If you have something you need to do–homework, family commitments–you needn´t feel obligated to stay. You´re certainly at liberty to leave," he offered.
Xander´s heart started to pound as his chest clenched tight with anxiety. "No!" he cried, and then looked around furtively to make sure Willow hadn´t heard his outburst. "I mean, I don´t want to leave. I don´t need to leave." The last thing he wanted was to be out alone after dark. "I just...I just needed to think," he finished lamely. "And I´m done...thinking. I´ll just..."
"No sign of him," Buffy announced as she entered the library, pushing the double doors open ahead of her with enough strength to send them slamming against their hinges. Xander looked up, thankful for the interruption until he saw Angel follow her into the library. Angel, who had offered him to Spike on Parent–Teacher Night. Angel, who he hated with a fiery passion because he was a vampire and because Buffy loved him.
His fingers clutched the forgotten book, only loosening when his grip caused a small tear in the top page. He looked down at it, and then back up guilty. Thankfully, Giles was busy questioning Buffy about patrol and hadn´t heard or seen the desecration of one of his precious tomes. Xander quickly smoothed the page and closed the book, setting it on the table and turning his attention to Buffy´s report. It would behoove him to know where Spike might have been spotted.
While Buffy spoke, Willow moved over to the table and Angel prowled the library. When her account wound down, Xander noticed the dark vampire hovering over him. "What are you doing?" he asked acerbically.
Angel sniffed the air. "I smell something..." He broke off and sniffed again. "...familiar."
Xander paled. He could actually feel the blood drain from his face and neck. It wasn´t possible, he thought. His breathing became labored, his heart hammered in his chest, his body was enveloped in a cold sweat, his hands shook. He tried not to look at Angel, but the weight of the dark vampire´s gaze was too much to resist. Xander lifted his head and turned his face until their eyes met.
Angel´s brow was furrowed as he studied Xander. He slowly reached his hand out for the turtleneck at Xander´s throat. Xander shoved his chair back and jumped to his feet. "Don´t touch me, you freak!" he yelled.
"Xander," Giles reprimanded him, unaware of what was going on between the two of them.
Before Xander could take another step away from the table, away from Angel, the vampire had his large hand wrapped around Xander´s wrist, and a bizarre sense of deja vu suffused him. He watched as if in a dream as Angel´s other hand moved to his neck and pulled the turtleneck away from his throat. Gasps filled the room as the two puncture wounds were exposed, and Xander slammed back into his body.
"Let go of me," he snarled, pulling his wrist out of Angel´s suddenly slack hold.
"Spike," the dark vampire growled.
"Spike bit you?" Willow cried. "When? How? Why?"
"I´ll kill him," Buffy said, her voice low and dangerous.
"Xander, are you all right? Why didn´t you say something?" Giles asked in concern.
But Xander wasn´t paying any attention to them. He stared at Angel with all the hatred and fear in his young body. "This is *your* fault!" he charged. "You gave me to him! You fucking offered me to him like a...a present." Xander paused, breathless. "And he´s decided to accept."
He felt tears sting his eyes, and fought to keep them back. He was not going to cry. Not in front of his friends. Not in front of Angel.
"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked.
"I´m sorry," Angel said. "I had no idea he´d..."
"Xander, can you tell us what happened?" Giles asked, slipping his arm around Xander´s shoulders. Xander started. He hadn´t noticed Giles moving around the table. He pulled away, blinking furiously.
"Don´t... I can´t..."
"All right," Giles said, holding his hands up, palms facing outward. "Why don´t you sit down? Would you like some water?" he asked, his voice soothing, comforting.
Willow jumped up to get him some water without waiting for his answer. Xander walked around the table and sat stiffly in a chair as far away from Angel as he could get. When Willow placed the paper cup in front of him, Xander automatically reached for it and took a sip.
"Can you tell us what happened?" Giles asked.
Everyone was silent as they waited for Xander to tell his story. The only sound was the ´smack, smack´ as Buffy tossed her stake from hand to hand. Willow sat in the chair beside him, her hands clasped tightly on the table to keep from reaching for him. Giles sat across from him; Angel and Buffy remained standing.
Xander took a deep breath and told his story, only leaving out the bit about the bite arousing both him and the blond vampire. When he was finished, he continued to stare at the table.
"I´m so sorry, Xander," Giles said when he was finished. "I should never have let either of you walk home alone. I knew Spike was out there, knew he was dangerous..."
"It´s not your fault, Giles," Xander said, his voice cracking from a combination of unshed tears, dark thoughts, and heavy emotions.
Giles stood suddenly and walked away from the table. He took his glasses off and rubbed them furiously with the handkerchief he pulled from his pocket. When he turned back, the glasses were back in place and his emotions were once again under control.
"None of you will be out alone after dark again," he stated firmly. "I´ll give you both a ride home tonight." No one argued with him.
