Chapter 12

Buffy jumped at Xander and he dropped his bags to catch her. Over her shoulder he saw Angel greeting Spike with a big smile and a handshake. As he placed Buffy back on her feet he was blindsided by a petite brunette. “Cordelia?” He hugged her tightly as Buffy intercepted her sister and brother-in-law for more hugs. Two small dark-haired children were peeking out from behind a sofa in the ornate lobby. As soon as Sara had been set on her feet they ran out to greet her. They looked very much alike and Xander guessed that they were four years old or so. Cordelia gestured toward them with a laugh. “Those little hellions are Jack and Lily. They’re mine.“ Her eyes glowed with pride. Xander grabbed her hands and held them wide, as he ran a suggestive glance up and down her body. “I never would have guessed it, Cordy. You look great.” She blushed happily, and then pulled her hand free to shake a teasing finger at him. “This figure took a ton of work, Xander Harris, and don’t you forget it. Twins are hell on your waistline.” She spun away to greet the others and Xander found himself face to face with Angel.

Angel, of course, looked exactly the same. A small smile played at the corners of his mouth as he held a hand out to Xander. Xander took it and they smiled at one another. “Hey, man,” Xander said. “Hey,” Angel repeated. Distracted, the large vampire looked down. Sara was tugging at his dark pants. “Up, Angel,” she said. He lifted her and buried his face in her hair to kiss her neck. She squealed and pulled back, and Xander saw the huge smile lighting Angel’s face, reaching all the way to his eyes. So that’s what Buffy sees in him, he thought. Sara turned away from her uncle and held out her small hand. Xander placed his finger in it and was enchanted when she said “Bander” and then kissed his finger. His eyes met Angel’s and his old nemesis shrugged. “Well, if Sara approves of you …” his voice trailed off and the two men laughed together easily.

The rest of the gear was retrieved from the car and carried to another set of elevators. Dawn danced up and distributed room keys, smiling to herself as she gave Spike and Xander theirs. Cordelia corralled the children as the others boarded the elevator to go to their rooms, with Buffy and Angel providing extra muscle for Dawn and Jase’s luggage.

The elevator opened on the fourth floor and Jase, Dawn, Buffy and Angel exited. Over her shoulder Buffy said, “Go settle in. We’ll meet in the lobby in an hour to leave for the airport, OK?” Spike and Xander nodded as the elevator doors slipped closed. As the car climbed to the fifth floor, Xander looked down at the tag attached to his key. It was a metal oval with a raised carving of a rooster on it. Beneath the rooster was the number 501. He glanced at Spike’s tag and laughed. “What’s so funny, mate?” the vampire asked with a raised eyebrow. Xander held out his key. “I think Dawnie’s doing a little matchmaking.” Spike held out his key. They were both to room 501. Spike merely raised his eyebrow a little higher. “You OK with that?” he asked. In answer, Xander leaned over and kissed him. It was an affectionate brush of lips with a promise of things to come. The doors slid open at the fifth floor.

Room 501 turned out to be a large two-bedroom suite. It had a sweeping view of downtown L.A. and very heavy drapes. The suite was set up with a central parlor which included seating, a wet bar and a large entertainment center. The two bedrooms were identical. Each had a king-sized bed, a large armoire with a television, a complete sound system and a small sitting area. Each also had a palatial bathroom with claw-footed tubs and walk-in showers. All of the rooms were richly decorated and appointed. Xander placed his duffel on the bed in one of the rooms and unpacked his belongings. Spike knocked on the door as he was finishing up. Xander invited him in. Spike prowled around, checking out the bathroom, and then came to stand at his friend’s side at the open closet. He ran a finger down the row of Xander’s neatly hung clothes, all black.

Xander flushed a little at the scrutiny and started to stammer. “It’s, well … I just …” His voice trailed off when Spike met his eyes with an understanding look and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Xan, I’m an actual Victorian, remember. We invented the concept of wearing mourning. It’s OK. It’s ... good – that you choose to remember her that way.” Xander dipped his head in the gesture that was becoming second nature to him and pressed his forehead against Spike’s. After a moment they broke the pose, and Xander closed the closet door.

“Well, we’ve got the better part of an hour. What do you want to do?” Xander asked, and immediately laughed when Spike gave him an exaggerated leer. “Besides that,” he added. He rubbed his hands over his face and grimaced. “I better shave, so I don’t rub a hole in Willow when I hug her.” He saw Spike’s expression brighten and asked, “You wanna watch, baby?” in a light, teasing tone. He was rewarded with that same flash of heat he’d seen when he had called Spike “baby” in the car. He pulled his shaving kit out of his bag and walked to the bathroom, Spike following close behind.

Spike sat perched on the edge of the claw-footed bathtub and watched as Xander stripped off his black tee shirt and turned the water on in the sink. While the other man unpacked shaving supplies and tested the water’s heat, the vampire took the opportunity to ogle his body in peace. Xander was barefoot, which Spike had noticed seemed to be his natural state. As soon as they’d come upstairs Xander’s shoes and socks had been history. Moving his eyes up the tall body, Spike admired the tight black jeans, and especially admired the form beneath them. Xander has strong calves and thighs that filled the jeans well, but the good stuff was just above; the boy had a fantastic ass. Having seen it in just boxer briefs, Spike had been impressed. The low waist of the jeans hugged Xander’s hips, and as he turned slightly, Spike could see where the dark arrow of hair on Xander’s chest slipped below the button fly. Xander’s waist was narrow, which only emphasized the breadth of his back and shoulders. His back and shoulders flexed as he started spreading shaving cream carefully over his face and neck. The muscles in his shoulders bunched as he smoothed his shaggy hair away from the white foam. The back of his neck was hidden by the sable waves. Spike loved his hair this long; it looked wild and made the boy look like some sort of debauched cherub.

Spike shifted position so he could see Xander’s face in the mirror. He began to draw the razor down his cheeks, making funny faces to smooth the skin for optimal closeness, rinsing the razor periodically in the sink. He worked his way down, shaving his upper lip, then his chin. He carefully evened off the bottoms of his short sideburns and then tilted his head back to work on the strong column of his throat. He shaved the tanned skin in long strokes, and then returned to the area under his jaw to clean up any stray whiskers. Once finished, he rinsed the razor a final time, and then bent to rinse his face. He pulled his head out of the sink and dried his face and neck with the hand towel.

Xander turned and smiled at the vampire who’d been watching him so intently. He gestured to his face. “You want to come check my work?” he asked. Spike was instantly at his side, running his fingertips over the sleek planes of freshly shorn flesh. As he circled under Xander’s jaw, he hit a rough patch. “You missed a spot, pet,” his voice was husky, as he was almost painfully aroused from watching Xander do this mundane task. The dark man picked up the razor and ran it over the spot, wincing as he nicked himself. “Ouch!” he hissed, rubbing the small spot of blood with the towel.

The smell of Xander’s blood hit Spike like a freight train. His eyes widened, and he couldn’t stop himself from scenting the air lightly to capture just a little more of that intoxicating aroma. He licked his finger and held it out to Xander. “Here, vampire spit’ll close the cut – semi-gross, but true.” Xander looked at him for a moment, and then kissed the tip of the proffered finger. He placed his hand on Spike’s shoulder. ”How about you give me a little of that right from the tap?” It took Spike a moment to understand that Xander was offering to let him lick the tiny wound. His mouth dropped open and he shut it with a snap. He stepped forward and placed his lips against the warm flesh of the boy’s neck. He ran his tongue lightly over the cut and both men moaned. Spike fought the urge to draw on the nick and simply ran his tongue over it one more time. Gripping Xander’s arm, he pushed himself back a step.

Xander looked at him quizzically. “What does it taste like?” he asked softly. Spike unconsciously ran his tongue over his lips and considered the question, still savoring the small taste. “Tastes like you, luv. Just like you smell and your skin tastes, like the inside of your mouth tastes, just more intense, hotter, wilder … more,” he hesitated. “Just – more,” he finished. His blue eyes glittered into Xander’s dark ones. “I’m glad you like the way I taste.” Xander said, with a small smile. “Is it different from the bagged stuff?” Spike didn’t drop the eye contact, but his eyes glittered even more. “It’s a world away. Your blood is alive. It’s you.” As he spoke, he closed the distance between them. “I think we’re done with questions,” he growled as he pushed Xander back against the sink and brought their lower bodies into contact. Xander gasped as Spike’s erection pressed against him. In their previous encounters he had marveled at the tensile strength of the vampire’s body, but this was different. Spike was beyond hard, his flesh crushed against Xander’s with bruising pressure.

Spike moved his hips enough to slide against the human’s hardening length and leaned his head forward to lick the healed spot on Xander’s neck with one long, wet stroke that ended just below a flushed ear. Tanned hands came up and tangled into blond waves, gently at first, then with urgency and their lips met in a rough, hard kiss. Mouths opened, tongues fought and teeth clashed as they tried to devour each other. Spike’s hands closed on the hips before him and he started pressing their groins together in a rhythm he echoed with the thrusts of his tongue. The bathroom was filled with groans and growls. Xander freed one hand to curl over the vampire’s hip and grip his hard backside. Spike could tell that the human needed air, but was reluctant to break the passionate embrace. He finally gathered what was left of his wits and wrenched their mouths apart. Xander panted breathlessly against him.

Taking a deep breath of his own, Spike stepped back. The hand on his ass tightened to keep him in place, and wide brown eyes met his. “Not trying to be a tease, pet, but we have to go to the airport and get Willow, and you haven’t told your story, and I’m not wasting our first time against the bathroom sink. OK?” Xander replied “yes” but shook his head “no” at the same time. They shared a laugh and put a little bit of space between them. Spike took another step back and said, “We’d better get showers. Angel will smell us all over each other, and I don’t really feel like answering the questions just yet.” He took one more step back, fighting the urge to grab the boy again and ravish his kiss-swollen lips.

Xander glanced down at the bulge straining the front of his own jeans. “I guess I do have something I need to take care of in the shower.” He smiled ruefully, and then laughed as Spike gave him a dirty look. “What?” he asked. “You’re evil, mate. You didn’t have to tell me that.” Xander looked down pointedly, “I don’t think it’s a secret,” he groused. “Now get out of here, since I can’t have you yet.” Spike turned with a smile and left the room.

Both men took longer in the shower than usual.