Chapter 20

Jack and Lily walked down the row of adults, giving everyone hugs and kisses. At the end of the row, Cordelia knelt to hold her twins close for a long moment. Their father stood by the door, waiting to take them for the week. Xander could see that this was the usual order of things by the way everyone had fallen into line to say goodbye, while checking to make sure the kids had everything they needed. He and Willow were the only ones who had no idea what was happening, so they just stood at the far end of the line and got their hugs and kisses like everyone else. Once the kids had departed and the group dispersed, Willow turned to Cordelia. “You probably don’t care to hear this, Cordy, but your ex is gorgeous.” The brunette turned a wry smile on her friend. “Oh, he’s really hot, but he’s totally self-centered. Actor, you know.” She paused. “And before you say it, Xander, I will – there’s only room for one egomaniac in a relationship, and in my relationships, I’m it.” The three exchanged a smile.

They walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table, where Buffy was already seated. Cordelia burst out laughing as both Xander and Willow seated themselves with exaggerated care and grimaces. She looked around the table and said, mock-indignantly, “Did every adult in this hotel get fucked through the mattress last night except for me?” Xander, Willow and Buffy all flushed bright red, and Cordelia laughed some more. She turned to Buffy, “Why aren’t you sitting funny, too?” Buffy replied, “Slayer healing; it does come in handy sometimes.” Their laughter trailed off as Spike wandered into the kitchen holding a cordless phone. He handed it to Xander and demanded, “What’s so bloody funny?” when the girls giggled.

Xander stood up from the table to take the call away from the noisy girls and vampire. He returned to the table a few moments later to find Spike grinning and all three girls completely red-faced. He sank into his chair and buried his face in his hands. “Christ, Spike – what did you tell them?” he groaned. “Nothing, pet. We were having a serious scientific discussion about the healing properties of vampire spit, and the birds got embarrassed, that’s all.” Xander banged his head on the table. He kept his head down until the conversation turned to the upcoming sparring. Buffy told the group that Jase, Angel and Oz had gone down to the gym to set up, and Xander shared that the phone call had been from his Master, confirming that the group would arrive in an hour and a half.

Just as Xander was going to ask Buffy where Dawn had disappeared to, the girl in question strode through the door juggling huge bags of Chinese takeout, followed by her daughter. Buffy phoned down to the gym, and soon the gang was spread out in the lobby, feasting and chatting. After the final fortune cookie, Xander addressed the group. “OK, who’s sparring?” Angel, Buffy and Spike raised their hands. Xander nodded at them and continued. “So, all supernatural beings – please refrain from displays of preternatural strength and flexibility if at all possible. All non-living beings,” he eyed Angel and Spike, “please try to remember to breathe at least occasionally. No vamping out, and let’s keep the growling and snarling to a minimum. Also, during sparring, try to avoid low blows and especially dirty street fighting moves. Most of these people know forms and a little bit of freestyle stuff. They have not been doing this for ten to two hundred years like the rest of us.”

He looked around the room, his eyes coming to rest on Spike. “You’ll meet a man who I, and all the other students, will refer to as ‘Master’ or “Master Alan”. You can just call him ‘Alan’, since you aren’t his students. The others will call me ‘Sifu’, it means ‘teacher’ – it’s my title within the school. There will be some bowing – you don’t have to do it, though it’s customary to bow to your opponent when you begin to spar. When in doubt, if somebody bows to you, bow back.” He smiled and explained, “When we first start, there will be a very short formal bowing in. You don’t participate – you can just hang back while we do it. It’s no big thing. Then, Alan will introduce me, and I’ll introduce you. Then Alan will get us started. That’s all.”

Buffy raised her hand in the air. Xander smiled and gestured for her to speak. “I hate to do the girly thing and ask the fashion question, but what do we wear?” Xander laughed. “That’s a valid question, Buff. Just wear drawstring pants and a tank top or tee shirt. Just don’t wear black. Wearing black is a black belt privilege. Technically, if you were visiting a school, you’d wear all white.” Xander laughed when Spike scowled at him. He locked eyes with his lover and grinned. “Sorry, Will – no fashionable black for you this time.”

Everyone laughed and stood to gather the empty takeout containers. All heads turned when a buzzing noise sounded through the lobby. Cordelia strode across the lobby, tossing the explanation, “Door” over her shoulder. She reappeared after a moment, leading a young man dressed in black to Xander, who crossed the floor to meet them.

“Brooks!” he exclaimed, “I didn’t know you were coming. Good to see you, man!” As Xander approached, Brooks dropped the weapons bag he was carrying and met the other man with a bone-crunching hug. Xander stepped back and led him to the group. “Guys, this is Brooks Donovan. He used to live in Atlanta and moved out here a few years ago.” Xander introduced Brooks to each of his friends, noting that while Spike smiled and shook his hand, the vampire’s eyes flashed the tiniest sliver of gold. Xander didn’t stop to analyze the small bit of satisfaction he felt at the evidence of Spike’s possessiveness. The girls seemed suitably impressed, and Xander couldn’t blame them. Brooks was almost six feet tall, had piercing green eyes in a handsome, angular face and his jet-black hair trailed down his back in a braid that hung to slightly below his waist. He was, in a word, gorgeous.

After the introductions, Brooks apologized. “Xan man, sorry I’m early, but we finished early on the set – the leading man had an emergency manicure or some other Hollywood crisis, so I thought I’d swing by. “ He smiled sheepishly. “Are you an actor?” Buffy asked. Brooks laughed, “No, I’m a stunt designer.” Xander dove into the conversation. “Well, Brooksie – Cordelia here is an aspiring actress. Why don’t the two of you do shop talk while the rest of us get changed? Then we’ll go downstairs and warm up.” Brooks agreed and walked off with Cordelia happily chatting to him; she flashed Xander a grateful smile as they walked away.

Buffy, Angel, Spike and Xander boarded the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, Buffy turned to Xander and said, “Brooks is hot – is he straight?” Xander laughed and replied, “Straight as an arrow, Buff. Why do you ask?” She grumbled, “Well, apparently I can’t really trust my instincts anymore. You and Willow both turn out to be bent and I was clueless both times, so I figure I better just ask.” The men laughed. “He’s a great guy. I think Cordy likes him,” Xander raised an eyebrow and the others chorused “Duh!” as the elevator doors opened on the fifth floor.

Inside the suite, Spike trotted into Xander’s bedroom and leaned against the doorframe. “Will this do?” he asked, indicating his clothes. “I didn’t have a lot of white.” The vampire was wearing a pair of navy drawstring pants and a ribbed, white wife-beater t-shirt. Xander strode to the door and answered the query with a slow, gentle kiss. “You look good, baby,” he whispered against cool lips. Spike sucked in a breath and then let it out with a laugh. “Oh, very clever, pet,” he groused. “You almost had me there. “ He pushed Xander back a step. “I’m not fucking you til you’re healed. Furthermore, I’m certainly not fucking you while everyone we know and a handful of strangers are waiting for us in the lobby.”

“Prude.”

“Git.”

“Victorian.”

“Wanker.”

“Well, yeah – since you won’t fuck me.” Xander whined. They both laughed, and the brunet tugged a black tunic-style uniform top on over his black pants and tank, leaving the shirt’s red frog closures open. He draped a black cloth belt over one shoulder and walked into the parlor for his shoes, glancing wistfully at the bed they’d messed up earlier.

Spike came to stand in front of Xander where the human sat on the sofa tying his shoe, and stroked his thumb lightly over his warm lips. “Are you doing alright, luv?” he asked. Xander parted his lips and brushed the cool digit with his tongue briefly before he reached up and took Spike’s hand, using it to draw himself upright. He sighed.

“It’s been a big couple of days, Will.” Xander leaned their brows together, staring into his vampire’s eyes. “I feel … so different. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted, by coming back, and just by telling the whole story. It feels good to have it all out in the open.” The two men shared a small smile. Xander continued, “But, telling the story has started the next part, and that’s the part where we have to find Drusilla and I have to face her and kill her. And I’m putting my friends, the people I love best, right in front of the thing that killed my wife and child. I’ve gotta tell you, that scares the hell out of me.”

Spike closed his eyes and rolled his brow against Xander’s. “We’re not exactly rank amateurs at this, you know, Xan. Every one of us, save Sara, has killed a vamp or twenty in our day.” Xander looked at the pale, angular face before him, taking the opportunity afforded by Spike’s closed eyes to stare. When the blue eyes opened languidly, the human closed his and let out a shaky breath, which ghosted across the vampire’s lips. “I just don’t want to lose anyone else, Will. More to the point, I don’t want to lose you. I just found you.” Xander’s voice cracked on the last word, and Spike closed the distance between them, enfolding his lover in his arms, holding him tightly. He whispered against sable hair, “This time, nobody loses anybody. I’m not giving you up.” The two men stood in the embrace for long moments, dark hair resting on ivory shoulder, pale hair standing out in sharp relief against Xander’s black uniform. Finally, as they shifted apart, Xander tilted his head to give Spike a long, soft, chaste kiss; a kiss that took the vampire’s unneeded breath away; a kiss that held trust and hope and affection and caring. Spike kissed his lover in return, pouring out all of the same emotions; recognizing that he was losing his heart to the sweet, damaged mortal before him, and refusing to be sad about it.

Back in the elevator, Spike disentangled his hand from Xander’s reluctantly. “We better knock off the nancy-boy hand holding in front of the guests,” he observed wryly. “They might not understand.” He was surprised when Xander grabbed his hand firmly and carried it to his lips for a kiss. “Spike, everyone in my dojo knows I’m bi; I dated a guy who studied there before Shari and I got together.” He laughed out loud at Spike’s flummoxed expression, and then continued softly. “I had too many secrets growing up. I decided a long time ago to just be who I am. If other people don’t like it, they can fuck right off.” He kissed Spike’s hand again and then dropped it. “That said, we probably should be discreet, just so it doesn’t turn into a question-fest.” He paused, looking into his lover’s eyes. “Thanks for thinking about it, though. It means a lot that you’d want to protect me, protect us.” They shared a smile, and Spike followed Xander out of the elevator, shaking his head. How little I know about this man, Spike thought.

Spike trailed Xander across the lobby, still lost in thought. His head came up sharply when he heard Xander exclaim “Master!” and hurry across the marble floor to a man standing with Brooks and Cordelia; a group of black-clad students ranged behind them. Spike stopped in his tracks when Xander bowed deeply to the man, who returned the courtesy. The other students then bowed to Xander, who bowed back. Once the formalities were done, the whole group surrounded Xander and everyone began talking to him at once. Spike hung back and observed the chaos.

Xander first spoke to the man he’d called Master. Alan, Spike corrected himself, in an effort to silence the growl that was building in his chest. Xander leaned down to speak to Alan, and Spike noted with sharp satisfaction that the man was short. Really short – at least four inches shorter than his own modest five foot ten. Spike laughed himself for being so elated about the man’s lack of stature.

Alan appeared to be in his mid-forties, had curly, graying hair and glasses, and wore a uniform identical to Xander’s, except that where the belt Xander was tying around his waist had four red stripes on one end, Alan’s had seven red and yellow chevrons. The man looked strong and athletic. Spike couldn’t wait to fight him.

Turning his attention from Alan, Xander stepped forward and grabbed one of the students in a bear hug, spinning around slowly. As the other person’s back was turned to Spike, he could see that it was a petite woman, who had a long, dark ponytail hanging down her back. Xander’s face was buried between her neck and shoulder, and from her dusky skin tone, Spike could tell that she was Asian. He felt a tightening in his chest when he realized that this is what Xander and Shari would have looked like together. As Xander released the girl and set her on her feet, he dropped a kiss on top of her head. Xander’s eyes met Spike’s across the lobby, and Spike could see the tears that hovered there. He started forward to join the group, but hung back as Buffy and Angel exited the elevator, both dressed in workout gear, Buffy’s all white, Angel’s all gray.

The three advanced to the group. When they neared, Buffy spoke quietly, knowing only the vampires would hear her. “They love him.” Spike gestured toward three men who were hanging back from the fray. “Except for Moe, Larry and Curly there; I don’t think they know him,” he observed. Buffy shot him a look. “You know what I mean.” Spike looked back at her. “I do, Slayer. I know exactly what you mean.” By the look that passed between them, Spike realized that, for once, he and Buffy were on the same wavelength, both pleased that Xander had people in his life that cared about him the way that his Sunnydale family had, and his real family hadn’t. With a nod the Slayer and vampires turned to the group, Buffy wading into the center to throw her arm around Xander, demanding, “Introduce me!” Xander laughed and pulled her close, announcing to the group, “Everybody, this is Buffy; Buffy, this is everybody.” Buffy’s laughter rang out as the whole group replied in unison, roaring, “Hi, Buffy!”

Xander gestured to the mass of people and said, “Let’s all go downstairs to the gym – we’ll do the introductions there.” The students gathered their duffels and weapons bags from the floor, and Spike noticed that Xander shouldered Alan’s bag, respectfully leading him to the front of the group. It took several trips of the elevator to get everyone down to the basement gym. The room was enormous and well appointed. One end held a Universal Gym weight setup as well as a stair stepper, elliptical trainer, two stationary bikes and two treadmills. Another corner was set up with two heavy bags, two speed bags and a practice dummy for boxing. There was a large expanse of open floor, and pads and weapons were racked the same way as Spike’s.

The walls were painted, but devoid of mirrors; one of the walls at the short end of the room was decorated with a large, half-finished mural. Looking more closely at it, Xander realized that the mural was of a woodland scene populated with fanciful creatures that looked familiar. He saw a fairy that looked suspiciously like Dawn, and another that he knew was wearing Tara’s face. Xander quirked an eyebrow at Spike, who mouthed the name “Angel” at him. Xander flashed his “impressed” face, and earned an eye-roll.

The students all stowed their weapons against a wall and shed their shoes and socks. Xander, Spike, Angel and Buffy did the same. Alan stepped to the front of the room, and the students automatically lined up in front of him in rank order. Xander stepped to his master’s left side and gestured for his friends to stay put.

Alan began speaking to the group. “It’s good to see everyone. I’m pleased to be able to introduce Sifu Xander Harris of our Atlanta school. He’s out here visiting and was kind enough to host our little traveling squad and LA locals on short notice. Many of you already know him. Sifu Xander, I’ll let you introduce your friends, and then I’ll do the honors for the other students. If you would, tell us a little about the martial arts background of the victims, er – sparring participants.” Alan gestured to Xander, who bowed and said “Thank you, Master.” He turned and pointed to the spectators. “In the cheap seats, we have the Peanut Gallery. The red haired lady is Ms. Willow Rosenberg, who has the dubious distinction of being my best friend since practically birth. With her is Daniel Osborne, who we call Oz. The little family is Jase, Dawn and Sara Hunter. The lovely brunette on the end is Ms. Cordelia Chase, who had the great misfortune and glaring bad taste to actually date me in high school.”

Xander gestured toward the three in workout gear who were standing at his side. “Here we have the victims. In the center, truly a rose among thorns, we have the lovely and talented Ms. Buffy Summers. Buffy is very deceptive – I promise you that she can kick most of your asses; I know she can kick mine. Buffy’s been a martial artist for more than fifteen years and has been tutored in more techniques than I can name.” Buffy blushed prettily and smiled.

Xander continued, gesturing at the vampires. “And … the thorns, the one-named wonders. Tall, dark and broody here is Angel. He studied ass-kicking and brawling at many of the finest pubs across Europe and Asia, and has been fighting, well, pretty much forever. This is his gym and his hotel. Oh, and if you mess up his hair, he may kill you, or at the very least, throw you out.” Angel shot Xander a dagger look followed by an evil smile.

Xander gestured at Spike, who was facing the group with his arms crossed over his chest and a challenging look on his face. “This is Spike,” Xander said, smiling at his lover, who gave him a sardonic grin in return, waiting to see how Xander would describe him. “Watch out for Spike. He’s possibly the most devastating fighter I’ve ever seen. He’s also not overly burdened with a burning desire to follow the rules. Spike’s very checkered background includes street fights, bar fights, brawls, mosh pits, riots, small wars and civil insurrections. Mess with him at your own risk.” Spike flipped Xander the two-fingered salute and grinned.

Alan took up the introductions again. “Thank you Sifu Xander, and thank you Angel, for the use of your facility.” Angel and Alan exchanged a short bow. “I think most of you know Sifu Xander, either by experience or by reputation. For those who do not, just let me say that he is one of the finest students I have ever had, and I consider him a friend.” Spike saw that Xander was swallowing hard against a lump that had risen in his throat at the high praise, and pride swelled within him. God, I’m a sap, he thought.

Alan ran down the row of students, naming them. The Asian girl was Naomi, and the others were Bruce, Paul, Donna, James and Kelly. Moe, Larry and Curly turned out to be Jeff, Todd and, ironically, Larry. Once the introductions were complete, Alan spoke a phrase in Chinese. The students all sank to their knees, sitting on their heels and dropping their loosely fisted hands to their knees with their eyes closed. Spike recognized the meditation posture that Xander had assumed at his house that first day. The group sat motionless until Alan spoke another phrase; then they placed their fists next to their thighs and bowed until their foreheads touched the floor, then sat up. They rose in rank order, following Alan and Xander.

Brooks came to the front and began warming the group up, taking them through a series of stretches and calisthenics. Spike found himself very impressed with Xander. He had noticed in the bedroom that his lover was flexible, but seeing the human kick one foot straight up in the air, grab the foot and fall effortlessly into a full split made him realize that he needn’t hold back on the “complicated” positions any longer. A small groan slipped out of Spike’s mouth when Xander lifted himself slightly off the floor and converted his American split into a Chinese split; he quickly covered with a cough, but not before Xander, Buffy and Angel all shot him a look. He shrugged and grinned in response.

Warm and sweating lightly, everyone donned padded gloves and mouth guards, coming to stand in a loose semi-circle around Alan and Xander, who were discussing which students should be paired. Angel wound up with Bruce, who was by far the largest student. The two men shook hands, sizing one another up. Buffy was paired with Brooks, and Spike with Naomi. Once all the others were paired up, Alan turned to Xander and indicated that they would be partners.

Naomi and Spike exchanged bows, and then began circling one another, fists up in defensive positions. Spike waited. The petite Asian girl didn’t make him wait long. She stepped in and aimed a flurry of punches at him, which he blocked easily. He responded with a punch and sweep combination; she blocked the punch and deftly sidestepped the sweep. They smiled at one another through their mouth guards, and the speed of their circling increased.

Naomi changed directions and bounced into a front kick combination, Spike blocked and returned with a combination of his own; she danced out of reach. The vampire decided to up the ante, and closed the distance between them to hammer at her with a series of short jabs. She blocked him again, and set her foot behind his to dump him on his ass with a shove to the shoulder. He snagged her wrist and pulled her down with him. They grappled, and Spike was impressed with her flexibility as she slithered out of his grasp. Her light body pinned him, and he slapped the floor as a signal for her to let him up; he preferred to fight on his feet. She hopped up and extended a hand. He touched it lightly and sprang to his feet, circling again.

“Xander was right,” she said; her slight accent softened the name to “Sander”. Spike quirked his scarred eyebrow at her. She grinned. “He was impressed with your fighting skill. You inspired him to study the martial arts.“ Spike’s surprise showed on his face, “He told you that?” His right cross was deflected, and Naomi used his forward momentum to spin him around. Spike used a back fist to block her follow-up strike and sidestepped, ducking a roundhouse kick. He spun again, grabbed her heel and pulled her off of her feet. She laughed out loud and accepted his hand up. As they turned, they realized that everyone else in the room had stopped sparring to watch Xander and Alan.

Spike felt his mouth drop open, and caught the mouth guard as it tumbled from his slack lips. The two men were almost a blur, spinning, kicking and punching. Despite his height, Alan was aiming kicks at Xander’s head and easily reaching the target, only to be deflected away by repeated blocks. Xander was countering with punches and kicks of his own, but neither man was landing many blows. As the students watched, one of Alan’s kicks connected to the center of Xander’s chest, knocking the taller man flat on his back.

Alan advanced to give him a hand up, but Xander rolled back onto his shoulders and jackknifed his body upright in one smooth motion, grabbing the extended hand and using it to flip his opponent. Alan rolled and swept Xander’s feet out from under him, and they fell to the floor, grappling. Spike could see that his lover was trying to exploit his longer limbs, but the master was slippery, repeatedly breaking Xander’s holds. Finally, Alan maneuvered into a position that should have been almost impossible for a human, wrapped one leg around Xander’s neck and pinned him. Xander slapped the floor, and the combatants stood, panting and laughing. As they noticed everyone staring, they said simultaneously “What?” Everyone else in the room broke out into applause.

Alan raised a hand to wipe his forehead and gestured to the group. “All right, enough with the ego-stroking. Change partners, bow, spar.” The students shuffled themselves into new pairings, and Spike found himself facing Bruce, Angel’s previous opponent. The big man was tough, and only Spike’s speed saved him a couple of times. In the third round, Spike was paired with Brooks, and found him to be an able fighter. Spike did smack him around a little, all the while telling himself that it had nothing to do with the hug Xander had shared with the man when he’d arrived. Brooks took his shots and landed a few of his own, a large grin never leaving his face.

After one-on-one sparring, they took a short break. Cordelia had set up a table with towels and drinks and was acting as hostess. Both Xander and Alan had been approached by students and were demonstrating particular moves. Spike grabbed a bottle of water and slung a towel around his neck, and then drifted to where Xander was assisting one of the Stooges, who he introduced as Larry.

Spike watched his lover finished helping the student, and then offered him the water as Larry left them to speak to another student. As Xander drank, Spike asked him in a low voice, “Having fun, luv?” Xander’s smile was breathtaking, not that Spike needed to breathe. “I’m having a blast,” he enthused. “You look like you’re holding your own.” “Course I am,” was Spike’s indignant reply. “I can take a bunch of bloody humans any day.” He stepped just a little closer to Xander, allowing their shoulders to barely brush. The contact was electric. “You really looked good out there, Xan. You make me want to hold you down and make you scream.” His voice was a low, sensuous rumble, pitched so only the two of them could hear. “I can’t wait to get you back upstairs later.” Xander’s hand came up and brushed against the vampire’s arm. He leaned in and whispered, “Sounds good, but right now you have to get away from me so I don’t embarrass myself by getting a major hard on in these pants.” He snared the towel draped over Spike’s shoulder and used it to scrub roughly at his sweaty face and neck, then replaced it and pushed Spike back a step. The vampire yielded and turned to walk away. He hesitated, then took one step backward and turned his head to speak over his shoulder. “Did I mention how much I want you right now?” he asked, then strode quickly away, not looking to see the open, flushed, needy expression on his human’s face, though he knew it was there.

Alan called the group to order and explained that the next sessions would be uneven matches, two on one, three on one and four on two configurations. In the first round, Spike found himself defending against Kelly, a tall, thin blonde woman and Jeff, one of the Stooges. He had very little trouble fighting them off and was even able to sneak looks at Xander, who was easily holding off two students. For three on one sparring, Naomi joined Spike’s attackers, and he was much busier. He caught a few glimpses of huge Bruce joining Xander’s group. For four on two, Spike and Naomi teamed up, as did Xander and Brooks, each team fighting four attackers. Spike found Naomi to be easy to team with, and had fun fighting beside the petite girl. Alan called time, and the group again broke apart to grab towels or water, or just to rest.

Spike sank down against the wall, panting unnecessarily from the exertion. Naomi slid down on one side of him and Buffy on the other. The three passed a water bottle among themselves. After a moment, Buffy looked at Naomi over Spike’s knees. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?” the slayer asked her. “Not at all,” Naomi replied. Buffy hesitated. “Did you know Xander’s wife?” Naomi nodded sadly, and Spike could see the pain in her black eyes. “Yes,” she said. “Shari was my best friend. We went to college together. I was in their wedding.” Spike laid a hand on her shoulder, and Buffy gave her a sad smile. “I’m sorry, Naomi – I shouldn’t have asked.” Naomi smiled. “It’s OK. I just … miss her.” They sat quietly for a moment, and then Spike squeezed the shoulder under his hand gently. “Were they happy?” he whispered. Naomi covered his hand with hers and returned the squeeze. “Yes, they really were. They had something very special.” She hesitated. “You worried about him, yes, while he was gone?” When they both nodded, she continued. “He was happy – they were happy. He will be happy again; with good friends like you to help him.” They shared a smile as Alan called them all to order again.

“I have a special treat for everyone,” he announced. “We’re going to play a little game I like to call ‘bar fight’.” The students laughed knowingly. “In honor of our special guests, we’re going to let Sifu Xander, Spike, Angel and Buffy be the home team.” He gestured at them. “You four are the defenders. Everyone else, you are the attackers. If your ass hits the floor, you’re out, and you have to join the Peanut Gallery. We play to last man standing. Defenders, get ready.” Angel and Buffy immediately turned back to back, and Spike and Xander mirrored their stance, forming a tight square with each one defending a side. Alan looked around at the group. “Bruce, Larry, Kelly and Brooks – attack!”

The brawl was on. Angel scored the first direct hit, knocking Bruce backward with a powerful kick. The big man faltered, but did not go down. Xander kept his shoulder pressed to Spike’s and parried attacks from both sides. Every sixty seconds, Alan called another name and drew another attacker into the melee, jumping in himself at the last. By the time Alan was in, all three Stooges were out, as well as two other students. That left the odds pretty even at five on four. The battle raged like that for several long minutes, each side gaining and losing the advantage, but no one falling. It was Buffy who turned the tide, sending Bruce out with a roundhouse kick that caused him to go over, taking another student with him. That left Naomi, Brooks and Alan fighting the Sunnydale squad. Dawn and Willow were cheering, “Go, Scoobies!” from the sidelines, and the defeated attackers were cheering for both sides.

Spike finally got his wish of fighting Alan, while Xander and Brooks fought, and Buffy and Angel double-teamed Naomi. They managed to knock her down just as Xander dropped Brooks to the floor. The three turned to assist Spike, but stopped short. Spike and Alan were dancing across the floor, flying through the air in flurries of kicks and punches. They both had huge grins on their faces, and it was obvious to all of the spectators that the two men were truly fighting to the best of their abilities. After more than five straight minutes of sparring, with neither able to take the advantage, they wound down, stopping as if by mutual consent. As they came to rest, Spike bowed deeply to the master, who returned a bow of the exact same depth, then straightened to clap the vampire on the shoulder. The room erupted in cheers and the two men were swarmed. In the confusion, Xander managed to grasp Spike’s arm briefly and smile his approval into dancing blue eyes.

Cordelia walked to Angel’s side and spoke to him quietly. The large vampire clapped his hands loudly. Once everyone’s attention was on him he announced, “Well, if we’re done here, Cordelia and Dawn have set us up some drinks and snacks in the lobby.” At a nod from Alan, the sparring participants lined up facing him. He chose to have them bow out with an informal standing bow, and they were soon on their way upstairs, shrugging out of sweaty uniform tops and drying off.

Xander turned to look for Spike, and saw that the blond was talking to Naomi and Bruce in an animated conversation. He took a moment to marvel at his lover. It was hard to believe that this was badass Master Vampire Spike. This man was laughing and joking, and doing that shy-smile-ducking-his-head thing that made Xander crazy every time another student clapped him on the back and complimented him. The Big Bad was practically blushing, and Xander was feeling some answering heat, and not in his face. Xander hung back for a moment to savor the satisfaction he was feeling at the integration of two groups of his friends. Buffy, Angel and the others were mingling easily; Angel was even smiling and pointing out features of the hotel to interested students. Dawn and Jase were trying to keep an eye on Sara as she was passed happily from person to person. Oz and Willow had been cornered by an LA student who recognized Oz from some club gigs, and Cordelia hadn’t left Brooks’ side, which seemed OK with him.

Xander felt a hand on his arm and looked down to see Alan standing beside him. The older man leaned against the wall next to his student. “Thanks for having us, Xander – this was great.” Xander smiled. “Thanks for coming. I was going into withdrawal – no classes for almost a week.” Alan raised an eyebrow, “I think your buddy Spike could be a worthy sparring partner – he’d keep you on your toes.” Alan hesitated, and then took a breath. “How long have you been away from them?” Xander wasn’t surprised at the perceptive question; Alan had always been able to read situations well. Xander sighed. “Eight years. I was stupid to stay away so long. I had … issues.” Alan laughed, then sobered. “Well, Xan – you know what they say, ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ and all that.” Xander pushed off from the wall and they turned to go to the elevator. He shot back over his shoulder, “I thought it was ‘out of sight, out of mind’?” Alan gave him a wide-eyed stare. “I find it hard to believe that you could forget *these* people, even if you tried.” They joined the others.