“Are you insane?” Xander whispered intensely at Dawn while Spike was upstairs changing. “What on earth are you doing?”
“Oh come on, Xander. You know you wanna see him naked again,” Dawn said.
“I’ve never seen him naked,” Xander said quickly.
“Yeah. Cuz that G-string is SO modest,” Dawn replied, rolling her eyes.
“Seriously, Dawn. Nobody wants this.”
“I do.”
“No. You want to torture me.”
“If you say so.”
Xander sighed. “I hate you.”
“You’ll love me when he strips.”
Xander said nothing.
“I hate you, Niblet!” Spike called down from the second floor of the house.
“Thank you! You boys are so sweet to me. Now get your tight ass down here and show it off,” Dawn called back sweetly. Xander grumbled, mirroring the growling coming from up the stairs.
“Music please, Maestro,” Dawn said haughtily, gesturing to Xander. He glared at her before flipping the stereo on. The song “I’m Too Sexy” came on, and Xander couldn’t help but laugh at the muffled curses descending the stairs.
“Anybody hears about this, pet,” Spike yelled, not bothering to finish the empty threat.
“Yeah, yeah, you’ll drain me dry. Get a new song and dance, Spike. Better yet, skip the song and let’s see the dance!!” Dawn yelled back. Xander sat on the couch, holding his head in his hands. He was dreading this. He figured, as long as Spike didn’t look at him, he’d be fine. Then he heard the heavy boots descending the steps, and he held his breath. Spike walked into the living room, his feet moving with the beat of the music. He glared at Dawn, then turned around so his back was to them. Then he began his dance.
Spike started with the duster. He’d changed into the same outfit Xander’d seen him dancing in at the club. Which meant he was wearing leather pants. Xander unconsciously rubbed at his lower lip, making sure he wasn’t actually drooling. His hand came back dry. Hah! Score one for the Xan-man!!
Of course, Dawn saw all of this from her vantage point, though she didn’t appear to take her eyes off the sinuously moving vampire. She grinned inwardly. Her plan was so perfect. Spike and Xander would be macking in the closet by the end of the week, for sure. If Dawn was lucky, she’d get to catch them.
“Little encouragement, pets?” Spike said, suddenly, as he dropped the duster to the floor and softly wiggled his tight, leather-clad ass. Dawn let out a whoop and started clapping. Spike smirked at the wall. “Come on, now Xander. I work best with a noisy crowd,” Spike teased. He figured, if he was going to be humiliated, he wasn’t going to be the only one. Xander sighed and cheered unenthusiastically. Dawn smacked him, and he picked it up.
“Much better,” Spike purred, before whipping the tight black shirt off and revealing his smooth, pale back to his spectators. Xander’s mouth went dry, and Dawn cheered louder.
“Take it all off, baby!” she cried, laughing. Spike slowly turned to face Xander and Dawn, but to Xander’s relief, he didn’t try to make eye contact. Instead, he looked straight up at the ceiling while he deftly slid his belt out of its loops around his waist. Xander eyed his pale, rock-hard chest appreciatively, letting out a cheer when Spike somehow managed to jump out of both loose boots at once and landed bare-foot on the floor, legs spread, hands at his waistband.
Dawn let out another whoop when Spike tore open the button fly on his leather pants, and then he turned around again, hips circling slowly as he slowly pushed them down on his hips, revealing more and more skin. Then, he yanked up and the leather pants ripped down the seams and flew off into the wall, while Spike stood there in that leather G-string, exposing the pale globes of his toned buttocks to his audience of two. Dawn let out a squeal and a laugh, cheering madly. Xander laughed too, because Spike really did look funny in the middle of the well-lit living room, dancing in nothing but a leather G-string. Of course, then Xander’s mind caught up to his body, and his mouth went dry again at the site of Spike’s naked flesh, laid out as though especially for him. Then Spike turned around, and Xander was treated to a perfect view of his front, and Xander honestly thought that he could die and this is what heaven would look like. He stared, no longer aware of Dawn’s laughing and cheering beside him. All he could see was Spike’s pale chest, his tiny waist, his muscled flanks, his pert, slightly dusky nipples. Xander’s eyes traveled up the body, taking in deceptively narrow shoulders, his pale, thin throat, his high, jutting cheekbones, and finally, his icy blue eyes. The two men locked eyes for a full five seconds before they realized that Dawn had stopped cheering and was looking at them, smiling smugly. Xander broke the gaze first, looking down at his hands.
Dawn groaned inwardly. Damned shy boys. “Lovely show, Spike,” Dawn smirked as Spike swooped into a low bow.
“So very happy to be of service, Madame,” he drawled. While rising from his bow, he picked up the duster and slipped it on, holding it tightly around him to hide his nakedness. Then he left the room and trudged up the stairs. As soon as he was out of earshot, Dawn whirled on Xander.
“Don’t do it,” Xander pleaded. “Please, just let it go?”
“No. You want him. I know you want him. Why don’t you just…get him?”
“Dawn, you don’t get it. That’s SPIKE.”
“Yes. He’s Spike. He’s hot, he’s slightly smaller than you, and he’s got over 100 years of sexual experience. What’s NOT to get?”
“I can’t just…hit on Spike, Dawn. You just said it. He’s got a hundred years of experience. I’ve got one drunken grope in the back of the Bronze with a guy I’ll never see again.”
“So what? Do you think Spike would care about that?”
“I’m not having this conversation anymore,” Xander said, frustrated. He stood up, turned the stereo off, and went into the kitchen.
“Hey! I’m not done with you!” Dawn cried, angry that she couldn’t get up and follow him. She knew that Xander liked Spike, and she was reasonably sure Spike liked Xander, even for more than just a one-night stand. Why were they both being so stubborn?
Spike came back down the stairs, then, dressed in blue jeans and a cream-colored sweater. He took one glance into the kitchen and headed straight for the couch with Dawn.
“Listen up, little lady,” Spike said, blue eyes boring into hers. “I let you get away with this today, but no more. You don’t meddle any more, got it?”
“I just…”
“You didn’t ‘just’, Dawn. You somehow got it into your head that you were going to make a fool out of me, and out of Xander. You managed, luv. Now cut. It. Out.”
“Do you like him?” she asked. Spike walked into the kitchen, refusing to answer her.
“Sorry about that, Xander,” Spike said. “But when Bit gets an idea in her head, you have to go along with it to get her to stop pushing. She got it into her head that she wanted to see me dance, so I showed her. Sorry you had to see it again.”
“Well, you are pretty good at it,” Xander said, hiding his blush by poking his head into the fridge.
Spike looked surprised for a moment, then smiled to himself. “Thanks very much, luv.”
Xander left the room, then, and went outside into the yard. Here, in the sun, he knew Spike couldn’t follow him, and Dawn couldn’t have Spike carry her out here to talk some more. Right now, he just needed to be alone, and think.
What Xander couldn’t figure out was his inexplicable attraction to Spike. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t so inexplicable. Spike was gorgeous, and seemed genuinely friendly after his five-year hiatus from Sunnydale. But Xander had the feeling that he didn’t want to mess this up. He didn’t want to be embarrassed, or rejected, or left. Not again. He was tired of being that. And he knew that in the end, Spike would make sure all three events happened.
“Can I talk to you?” Dawn said sheepishly, looking up at the blonde vampire who had brought her a glass of water and a mug of blood for himself. He stared at her for a moment, then sat down.
“What’s up, Dawn?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, okay? I just…I think you and Xander would be a really great couple. I do. And I really thinks he likes you. I know he wants you. He’s…he’s shy.”
“You can’t go messing around with people’s heads, luv,” Spike admonished her. “People get hurt that way.”
“I know. I’m really sorry. I just…wanted to hurry the process. I wanted to see you guys making out in a closet somewhere by the end of the week.”
Spike rolled his eyes as Dawn gave him a small smile.
“But seriously, Spike. Do you like him?”
Spike sat for a moment, looking at his mug of blood. Finally, he raised his head and looked up at Dawn. “I don’t want to,” he said simply. Dawn knew all she needed to.
Xander took a deep breath. He put his hands in his pockets, and was surprised to find a crumpled slip of paper in his jeans. He pulled it out and opened it. It was the note Spike had given him that night in L.A. at the Purple Onion. Xander stared at it for a moment, then made his decision. He was going to be hurt in the end, no doubt. But he wasn’t going to give up the little bit of happiness he had a chance at.
Xander turned on his heel and walked into the house. He made his way to the living room, and saw Dawn and Spike talking quietly. He cleared his throat gently, and the two of them looked up. Xander swallowed thickly. Spike’s eyes were impossibly blue.
“Can I talk to you in the kitchen for a second, Spike?” Xander said quietly, mentally congratulating himself for not stuttering or stumbling over the words.
“Uh…yeah. Sure,” Spike said, a little taken aback. He’d expected Xander to avoid him for the rest of the week, at least. He stood up, sending an intrigued look at Dawn, who looked on, angry that she couldn’t follow and spy on them. Spike followed Xander into the kitchen. Xander turned and faced the vampire for a full five seconds, not moving. Spike was about to say something to break the tension, find out what Xander wanted, anything to stop himself from drowning in those impossibly deep brown eyes, but Xander leaned forward suddenly and pressed warm, wet lips to his, sliding over his mouth gently, easily, unsure. Spike was shocked into motionlessness. Xander’s mouth stopped moving, and he inhaled slowly through his nose, smelling Spike’s clean scent, before finally pulling back. He kept his eyes on Spike’s slightly slack mouth, refusing to look into his eyes.
Xander knew it. Spike had changed his mind since L.A. He didn’t want Xander. Xander had just completely humiliated himself for nothing. Well, not nothing. Spike’s mouth had felt pretty amazing under his.
“Sorry. I just…sorry,” Xander stuttered, turning to go. Spike’s hand shot out with lightning speed, his hand clasping Xander’s at the elbow, and turned the taller brunette back toward him.
“Caught me off-guard there, pet,” Spike said quietly. “What say we try it again. This time, we’ll do it right.”
