But I Love You?
by TJ
Part One-Seven  Part Eight- Twelve  Part Thirteen  Part Fourteen  Part Fifteen  Part Sixteen  Part Seventeen  Part Eighteen  Part Nineteen  Part Twenty  Part Twenty-one  Part Twenty-Two  Part Twenty-Three 

Part Thirteen 

Thursday 15 February

The Farmers Rest Inn

5.37 pm

Clothes grabbed and shoved into the last bag, Spike thought over
just what had occurred in the last hours. The vampire had
successfully completed his first ever schooling, certificate and
all. His name was printed in large fancy pitch black letters.

William Lavelle

has
Obtained Level One (1)
Sign Language Skills


Spike had never been to school before. All his education had
been provided by his thieving mentor, once turned, Angelus.
He could still remember the numerous beatings he had suffered
through while learning how to read and write. The only thing he
wasn't too keen on, was the name Lavelle. Where the Whelp had
come up with that one from, the vampire had no idea. He wasn't
actually too sure what his real surname was, his mother had
never told him who his father had been and it was entirely
possible that she hadn't known either. When he had lived with
his mother, he had been known as Blue Eyed Will. Once a thief,
he had been William the Bloody Light Fingered, shortened to
William the Bloody after being turned.

The vampire had been using the surname given to him by the boy
for a while but now seeing it in such important black lettering,
he had realised that he had never bothered to wonder why that
name. He was going to have to ask, it was just a little too
foofy for his taste but he was sure the surname Bloody would
draw more questions.

With all the stress of his trip to jail, the Initiative soldier
and the turd Samuel, he had been unable to come up with
something for his ten minute speech. Something he had thought
about while waiting for Xander to get out of the shower that
morning. The boy had woken up feeling a little better,
privately the vampire thought that he still looked like a poster
child for South African acid spitting zombies. Nasty buggers,
they were! Lots of coughing later, they were both sitting in
the classroom watching Megan give her five-minute talk on
rainbows and flowers, her parents beaming from ear to ear. Mark
gave his talk on how to tell the difference between numerous
types of salmon and trout. Spike had been unable to hide a
shudder, he hated fish and nothing was going to change his mind,
least of all a homophobic dickhead. Carol slowly told the group
how to cook a batch of cookies that were guaranteed to turn you
diabetic with all the chocolate.

Finally, it had been Spikes turn after the morning break.
Unable to think of a subject, he fell back onto what he knew.
Demons. He had had them all spellbound as he told the group
about a special Barbie like girl who was like David to the
demons' Goliath. Sarah had had to eventually tell him to wrap
it up as he had gone over his ten minutes. A glance at Xander
and his undead heart had leapt at the look of nasally sniffling
pride. Xander had been last but due to his being unable to keep
up with the class, Sarah had just gotten him to recite the
alphabet, sign everybody's names and a few of the courtesy
phrases they had all learnt on day two.

Sarah had told Xander that if he was able to video a ten minute
speech and post it to her, she would send him a certificate
after viewing it. It was this that silenced the protests of
Mark and Carol. They had started to harp on about the
unfairness of Xander getting his certificate on the basis of him
not doing his speech much to the annoyance of the rest of the
class. A few twiddled thumbs later and a good bye to Sarah, the
two males ignored, the family had left early after being handed
their certificates. Xander, Spike and Sarah had taken the
opportunity to have a few drinks in the student bar on the large
campus. The afternoon had been fairly pleasant, the vampire
thinking that Sarah would get on like a house on fire with their
group of friends back in Pennington.

Eventually, Sarah said goodbye and after exchanging phone
numbers with Xander, she had taken the opportunity to go home
early. Spike and Xander had decided to walk the alcohol off by
strolling around the various corridors, stopping to giggle at a
dramatic arts class before being told to go away. They had
stumbled onto the library and a whole section of shops
specifically for the students so that they wouldn't have to
venture into the central Fairbanks during school hours. Xander
had pounced on the mobile communications shop, intent on getting
the discussed beeper. Spike had wandered around the other shops
aimlessly while waiting for the brunette to complete his
purchase, the vampires mind on what to do about Samuel.

The whole car trip back once it got dark enough for the blonde,
Xander had prattled on about how to use the beeper. Spike had
had numerous pieces of paper shoved at him, the vampire barely
taking notice as his panic had mounted about the native Alaskan.
Sure enough, as soon as they had pulled up at the Inn and had
gone inside, Samuel's head had popped over the lobby desk and he
had greeted them both with a hearty smile and a wink for Spike
once Xander wasn't looking.

Bag stuffed to the brim, Spike waited for Xander to finish his
own packing before moving downstairs. Spike had a plan. Not a
very good one but it was a plan nonetheless. Elevator taken,
Xander leaned over and gave the vampire a soft kiss on the cheek
that had the blonde grinning from ear to ear. Spike leaned in
close and gave the brunettes neck a long sweep with his cool
tongue, Xander moaning in delight. The vampire felt the first
stirrings of his cock, something that was exciting until Xander
sneezed, sniffled and grunted at the excess mucus in his throat.
The two men looked at each other with matching grimaces, Xander
telling the vampire that they would be taking it slow for the
next few days. Nodding, Spike was in wholehearted agreement.

Spike knew that he was officially virgin tight again. It was
going to hurt no matter how slow Xander was going to take it and
he was more than likely going to bleed and tear for the next few
days. The vampire was in two minds about if he should tell the
brunette. On one hand, he wanted to tell the youth so that
Xander would make sure that he did take it slow and gentle but
he didn't want to tell the whelp because the vampire knew that
his rebounding tightness would be used against him in the
future. As soon as Xander got into one of his hissy fits,
especially the slow to boil ones. Needless to say, Spikes
stomach was roiling at the choice.

Xander took the bags from the vampire, carrying them out to the
car after Spike gestured that he wanted to talk to Samuel. While
up in the room, the vampire had spun a little tale that he had
spent some time downstairs with Samuel while Xander had been
sleeping with the flu. Xander had apologised for being sick and
spoiling what could have been a fun week for them both. The
bleached blonde had accepted the apology with a smile, hoping to
god that the brunette never found out just how much 'fun' the
vampire had had with out him. Once he was sure that Xander was
occupied with the bags, Spike gave Samuel a smile and a 'come
hither' look.

With a sniff, Spike could smell the increasing arousal from the
native Alaskan. Drawing the other male down to the furthest end
of the large lobby desk, the blonde quickly wrote a note that
although Xander wasn't interested, Spike would be more than
happy to give the desk jockey a blow before leaving. Samuel
read the words quietly. It wasn't what he wanted and just as he
looked up to snap his protest, he caught sight of the pale mans
face.

Spike let his fangs drop and his pupils change as soon as Samuel
lowered his head to read the note. He was hoping that the look
of his demon eyes and the glint of his fangs would be enough to
scare the man into keeping his mouth shut. His chip shouldn't
go off, as he technically wasn't hurting anyone, and really not
even threatening anyone. As far as his chip should be
concerned, the vampire was letting his demon out for just a
little moment.

Another sniff and the bleached blonde could smell the arousal
come to an abrupt halt, the aroma of terror quickly filling the
lobby. He smiled widely so that Samuel could see his razor
sharp fangs. Placing a finger across his lips, the vampire
gently shook his head as the other man opened his mouth to
scream. Spike heard the desk jockey's jaw snap shut, Samuel
nodded vigorously at the blonde's gesture. Writing a note
telling the other man to forget about the jail incident, Spike
felt his knees go weak as Samuel continued to nod his head.

Spike gently patted at the other man's shoulder, ignoring the
flinch of the slender shoulders. Thank god that he had at least
some of his game face back! Now all he had to worry about was
the Initiative soldier finding him.

Part Fourteen 

Spike and Xander’s cabin in Pennington

Friday, 16 February

10.43pm


~ Mmmmmm, right there! very nice Pet, please keeeeeep
gooooiiinnng...ahhhhhhh ~

The scent of chocolate wafted through the warm cabin as the
vampire lay on his stomach, his head supported upon his crossed
arms. His half erect cock was being thoroughly mashed into the
rumpled comforter beneath him, but for the moment Spike couldn't
have given a toss. He was in heaven.

"Is that nice? Do you want me to go harder?"

~ Jesus Whelp, this is bloody perfect! ~

Large warm hands stroked slowly up and down the pale back,
tracing the firm muscles that rippled just below the silky
surface. Long sweeping strokes that started from the vampires
nape, gently touching each vertebra as the oily hands reached
the final destination of the perfect buttocks. The ripe flesh
given total dedication for a few minutes, Xander shuffled
himself backwards, ending up between the firm pale thighs.

"You do know that I'm going to have to lick this off you don't
you?"

At the vampires strangled moan, Xander snickered, pouring a
generous amount of chocolate massage oil over the blondes left
thigh. He barely managed to catch the dripping lotion before it
greeted the comforter, using both hands to work the oil down to
the twitching knee. Firmer sweeping motions interwoven with
occasional rolls of the pale flesh, Xander started on the slim
calf muscles, ending up giving the sole of the foot a few
feathery touches as Spike proved to be ticklish. Laughing, the
brunette turned to give the other leg the same treatment.

~ Xannndderrr...soooo goooood! Love you ~

"I'm proud of you Spike, you did really well. I'm going to get
the certificate framed after I send a copy to Willow and Tara."

Xander really was proud of the vampire. The blonde had put
aside
his fears, his resentment and embarrassment of being unable to
speak and had put all his efforts into the course. The youth
was still feeling guilty that he hadn't been able to keep up
with the class. He knew how much it must have bored the vampire
to potter around the Inn while Xander was in bed after each day
at school. Xander was just thankful that boredom hadn't gotten
Spike into any trouble. Anyway, the bleached blonde had been
quite helpful a few times, carrying the youth into the bathroom
when necessary. The massage was a small thank you, the
chocolate massage oil however was a big bonus.

Hearing the vampire trying to smother his giggles as Xander
reached the right foot, the brunette told the vampire to turn
onto his front. Xander knelt back onto his feet, positioned
in-between the blondes thighs. Annoyance settled over the youth
as he saw the struggle it was for the vampire to relax in that
position. He had apologised for the attack, he shouldn't have
to do it again. Xander watched as Spike’s expression went from
pure fear to defiance, finally settling on uneasy acceptance.
It was a start, hopefully with enough time, Spike would smile
willingly whenever Xander wanted the traditional missionary
position, something that the youth was determined to enjoy
again.

"X.a.n.d.e.r."

Xander was captivated by the way the long fingers made the
intricate letterings for his name, the former annoyance sliding
away as he realised something. From memory, it was the first
time that the vampire had ever used his real name, the two toned
grunt not even being considered anymore. Softly he whispered,

"Again."

"X.a.n.d.e.r."

With a hand reached out, the brunette lightly touched the cool
fingers as his name was spelt out, letter by letter. Spikes blue
eyes were wide as he heard the heartbeat accelerate. The youths
fingers felt like they were scorching his own as they ran over
the vampires hands as he was signing his claimant’s name. The
position was unsettling but he wasn't really paying attention as
he took in the brunettes flushed face, the youths breathing
getting a little heavier.

~ Sodding heck! The whelp is kinky for this signing shit! Strike
me speechless, no..wait. That’s already been done ~

"C.l.a.i.m.a.n.t."

"Jesus Spike, say my name again. Say it in full."

~Whoa...I think this is new uncharted territory for kinkdom, not
that I'm complaining. As long as he fucks me in a different
position that is. ~

With a grin at the brunette, he moaned only a second later as a
large warm hand encircled his hard cock. Eyes closed for just a
moment, Spike snapped them open again at his claimants request,
surprised to see that Xander had his other hand firmly around
his
own thick penis. Allowing his hips to thrust lightly up into
Xander’s hand, the vampire racked his brains for the right sign
for 'H'. Once found, he started the request.

"X.a.n.d.e.r H.a.r.r.i.s."

The speed picked up on the handjob, Spike couldn't help but
wonder if Xander would jump him in the supermarket or out
shopping each time the vampire signed. After a thought, the
vampire was sure it was going to be a good thing. Eyes
yellowing, Spike felt his fangs drop as the youth thumbed over
the vampires weeping slit, using the pre-cum to lubricate the
shaft.

"Alexander Lavelle Harris. Do it Spike, fucking say it!"

Both males were panting as Xander kept a firm grip on their
respective cocks, his hands pumping as steady identical rhythm.

"A.l.e.x.a.n.d.e.r L.a.v.e.l.l.e H.a.r.r.i.s."

"Mmmmm. You’re talking to me..using my name, your hands...your
face. Fucking beautiful."

~ So that's were the name came from. I really am his, he
wouldn't give me his name if he didn't want me. ~

Harder and faster, the firming grip on his cock was driving
Spike
close to the edge and from the smell, Xander was just about to
come. The vampire whined as the brunette let go of his cock,
only to gasp as he found that the whelp had gotten more massage
oil. The feeling was divine, his sensitive balls being touched
every now and again by Xander’s large fingertips.

"Who do..do you b.belong to?"

"Y.o.u."

With a roar, Xander shot over Spike’s groin, both his hands and
the vampire’s penis. As soon as he felt the warm cum coat his
cock, Spike sliced his tongue on one of his fangs, letting the
taste of his own blood tip him over the edge. Grunting as the
brunette slowed down his actions, Spike found himself hauled up
so that he was sitting opposite Xander. Gently, the vampire was
kissed, a warm tongue probing inside his cooler mouth.

~ Well, if the signing turns him on so bloody much then its safe
to assume no more broken fingers in the future. ~

Xander broke the long kiss, gasping slightly for breath. The
sheer beauty of the language had been overwhelming. He liked
it, he liked it a *lot*. It was just pure artistry. Finally, he
was able to understand and speak a language. Pulling away from
the vampire for a moment, he slowly did his own signing.

"S.p.i.k.e."

Rewarded with a hungry kiss, the two sated males sank down on
the mattress, experimenting with various signs into the early
hours of the morning. Laying spooned against each other, they
succumbed to sleep, oblivious to the spilt massage oil leaking
into the mattress.

Part Fifteen 

Monday, 19 February,

9.35 am

After having racked his brains for pretty much the whole morning
since waking up, Spike knew that the only person able to help
him was Lukas. The blonde vampire was still a little hesitant
to
ask the Kava demon, especially after the larger man had been so
nosy regarding Spikes relationship with Xander.

Walking in the darkness towards the Post Office, he was unsure
of
how to ask for the other demons help. He really had no choice
anyway. The bleached blonde needed a social security number, a
birth certificate, and a life’s history background. Why?
Simple
really, he needed to get a current drivers licence, and the
birth
certificate and social security number were mandatory when
applying.

The other thing he needed was a lawyer experienced in dealing
with demons, someone that the Fijian was sure to know. If not
Lukas, then the vampire’s employers would know someone. He just
wanted this thing over and done with. The sooner it was dealt
with, then the less chance of Xander ever finding out.

A hiss escaped him as he stumbled over a hidden tree root, the
protesting muscles in his anus making themselves known. After a
whole week of non-penetration sex, he had been virgin tight
again, Xander ripping and tearing Spike as he had sunk slowly
into a trembling vampire. The vampire had eventually told his
Claimant about his rebounding virginity on the previous Saturday
morning, just as Xander started to loosen the blonde up.

Xander had been puzzled as to why the vampire wasn't loosening
up as usual. The brunette had been shocked at the very thought,
and true to his word, the youth had taken the vampire as slowly
as possible. Spike had clenched his teeth, trying not to let
any of the small whimpers of pain get loud enough for the boy to
hear. As soon as Xander had started to batter his way into the
vampire, he had torn, each thrust ripping at his insides.
Something that would continue until he was once again used to
being sodomized.

The brunette had gently wiped at the blood and cum that had
coated the white thighs, dabbing tentatively at the bruised anus
with a warm washcloth, the vampire trying to hold back his tears
as he knew that Xander would get angry if he caught the vampire
crying. Spike had given the boy a blowjob as had been demanded
after an hour, Xander giving him a brief respite. Later that
night, the bleached blonde acknowledged that he had made the
right decision not to tell the youth of how Angelus used to
punish his youngest Childe, holding back from having sex with
him until a week or more had gone by, then brutally raping the
newly virginal flesh in the cruellest and hardest possible
ways.

He loved Xander with all that he was capable of, but it didn't
mean that he trusted the brunette and deep down, he knew that
one day the youth would certainly follow Angelus' footsteps.
The vampire knew that the boy liked to give it rough but if
Xander waited until the blonde was used to it again, then he
would be happy.

The Post Office looming in the distance, Spike found himself
looking forward to seeing the other demon again. Lukas may be
nosy but he was a fellow demon, someone who understood the
intricacies of living amongst unsuspecting humans. As much as
Spike liked his bosses, ultimately that was what they were, his
financial superiors. Fellow demons as well but Spike and the
owners of the Chinese restaurant were divided by employer and
employee relations. Spike couldn't risk pissing them off during
a drunken socialising and losing his job, he needed it more than
ever now.

Feet wiped at the 'Welcome' mat, the vampire snickered. Even
some demons didn't know about all aspects of vampire lore. Door
pushed open, Spike walked to the counter and rang the brass
bell. While waiting for the Kava demon, the blonde wondered just
how much this was going to cost him and what he would have to do
if money wasn't the answer.

"Hey Spike, good to see you. How was the course, you like
Fairbanks? Want a beer or blood?"

"L.u.k.s.s.....L.u.k.a.s."

Frowning a little at his mistake, the vampire nevertheless got
it right on the second attempt. He smiled widely as the demon
correctly guessed that it was his own name that had just been
signed. Arm grabbed, the vampire found himself being dragged
towards the steps leading down to the large walk in fridge.
Lukas babbled about what Steph had ended up calling her baby
girl as he got out an assortment of blood bags. Moose, caribou,
cow and something new. Taking a look at the light pink blood
filling one of the bags, Spike arched his eyebrow at the taller
man.

"Go on, taste it. I want your opinion, go on...don't be such a
wuss."

~ It poisons me and I'll bloody well make sure that the last
thing I do is rip your brains from your head via your sodding
toenails ~

Spike gave the fellow demon a smile, wondering just what could
produce such pale blood and not really sure if he should take
the challenge. Only a second later, he thought that any free
blood was good blood. A small tear in one corner of the thick
plastic and the vampire took a whiff.

~ Never smelt that before, wonder what it is? ~

Actually that was a lie, he had smelt something very similar a
few times before but he couldn't place where he knew it from,
but he was sure that it was some sort of animal blood and not
demon as he had first suspected. The bag given a roll in his
hand, careful not to spill any out of the small slit, he was
wary as he saw how thin the liquid looked.

"It won't hurt you, won't bite either. Its pretty much karked
it."

~ Fuck off smart arse, it just looks really...um, what’s the
word
that Red uses...'icky'. ~

Bag held up to his mouth, Spike took a small sip. The fluid
rolled around his mouth, the flavour strange but not entirely
unpleasant even with it being cold. Another larger sip and he
found himself surprised at how nicely the bloods flavour settled
down. It was nice, it was cold but it was nice. A few gulps
later and the blood was finished, the vampire patting his full
stomach.

"You like it?"

At Spikes nod, the Kava demon happily told the vampire that it
was salmon blood, mixed together with a little bit of cod blood.
A second later, the vampire was running to the toilet, Lukas
feeling a little confused, slowly followed. Shoulders shrugged
at the retching sounds from the bathroom, Lukas proceed to
wander down to the kitchen. Two beers gotten out, he popped the
caps off both as he waited for the vampire to make his
appearance.

Mouth wiped, the vampire now knew how the Whelp had felt after
discovering what the Eskimo Ice-cream was made up of. He felt a
flood of sympathy go towards the youth, it wasn't nice to
discover something you like was ultimately made from truly vile
things. He hated fish. All types of fish, the only ones he had
a grudging respect for were the Great White Shark and piranha.
Good kick arse fish. Cod liver oil, that was where he had placed
it from, his mother had forced the occasional large spoonful
down his throat as a child, supposedly preventing some sort of
cough or cold. Another wipe with the toilet tissue, Spike
flushed the remains of his breakfast. Hands washed, he ventured
into the kitchen.

"I thought you liked it? Too thin, does it need bulking up?"

~ Gack! Its nice to taste but the reality of what it is will
never convince me to take another sip. ~

Writing it down for Lukas to read, he wasn't amused when the
other demon told him that the mixture was what Rhonda had come
up with for a summer supplement. Apparently the other vampire
was going to send a few of her minions up before summer started
so that they could get her houses ready for when she came down
in the next winter.

~ Ello, looks like next winter will be a lay low. Me and the
Whelp staying right out of the way. ~

Tuned back into what the demon was saying, he was surprised to
find that the fish blood supposedly took the edge off the summer
grogginess. At his question, Spike was told that Rhonda had
been working on something to help with the problem of 'vampire
summer hibernation' for as long as she had been vacationing in
Alaska. She was continually annoyed that her minions couldn't
function properly during summer if left alone in Alaska.

With a nod, he agreed with Lukas that it would be good to find
something that wouldn't make him continually groggy through the
up and coming season. He listened to the other demon describe
how last year, Rhonda had sent a month old minion, accompanied
by one of her oldest, to Anchorage for the summer with the
direct instructions of the new minion only to have the fish
mixture with the older one having both human and the fish
mixture. After hearing the reports, Rhonda had been happy to
tell Lukas that although the minion was stupid anyway, it had
still been groggy but no where as near as any others that had
been subjected to the Alaskan summer. The older minion had
apparently also been greatly improved.

~ So, still not keen on the idea of fish, no matter how nice it
is. ~

With a sip of his beer, the vampire gestured towards the living
room, letting Lukas lead the way. Spike ended up staying
through the still brief sunny period, leaving just as it started
to get dark. Around 4 pm. Walking home, he was pleased
everything had gone so well. In two weeks, he would have a
current birth certificate, a driver’s licence and a meeting with
a lawyer at the Post Office. He had ended up laughing with
Lukas as he had told the other demon of his escapades while
staying in Fairbanks, looking at it now, he could laugh about
his arrest.

He had however valiantly *not* thought about the abusive
ex-soldier. When Diehl was going to crop up again, and no doubt
he would, was anybody’s guess. What Spike was going to do when
Diehl made his move, he really didn't know. The vampire just
hoped that nothing of his arrest got back to the Slayer, she
would tell Red and Mousegirl who would then squeal it down the
phone to Xander. Hello broken bones!

His stomach beginning to twist at the mere thought, Spike picked
up his pace, wondering if a few Mylanta tablets would soothe his
stomach.

Part Sixteen 

21 Wednesday 2001

5.32 pm


"I can't fucking believe it! Can you?"

Pacing up and down, the tall brunette was gesturing madly to
the smaller blond who was nestled into the couch. Head shaken
at the question, Spike sat quietly as his Claimant rode out his
anger.

"I mean, after all the complaints about him you would think
that they wouldn't renew his contract again, but apparently
there isn't enough people employed by the company for them to
let go of such a, and I quote, 'valuable and experienced staff
member'."

A resounding snort ricocheted around the room as the blond
vampire realised just what he was hearing. Stan, the
troublemaker of Xander's work crew, was staying. His contract
had just been renewed for another two years, which meant the
brunette would be coming home in a bad mood at least once a
week. Even after the younger man had laid into Stan at Mac's
party, the older Alaskan still baited Xander, making homophobic
comments at every opportunity.

Since coming out, Xander had been somewhat supported by his
workmates. As long as the brunette didn't get any ideas about
touching one of them, then they were pretty much alright about
it. Stan, however, continued to try and get a few of the more
narrow-minded ones to stir up some trouble with the youth, Mac
and Josesse putting a stop to any trouble straight away.
Unfortunately, that only led to Stan commenting about Xander
being favoured by the crew boss, creating even more tension
between the two men.

Spike hoped that the angrily pacing youth would continue to try
and ignore the comments that were directed daily towards him.

"And you know what? That fuckhead had the nerve to come up to
me and tell me that because I had been *blowing* both Mac and
Josesse, I couldn't have been that good because he was still
staying. Apparently, my *Master Plan* of getting him fired by
sucking up to the boss hadn't worked."

~ Bloody fuck! I'm with you Pet. Wish I had this sodding chip
out, the prick wouldn't be a problem then. Few hours torture
and things would be fine again ~

The vampire rubbed at his tingling scalp as the chip reacted to
his thoughts. Not much pain, just a sharp slap above both ears,
slowly disintegrating into a dull throbbing. It would go away
in a few minutes, just one of the usual warnings from the chip.
A deep purring echoed from the sleepy kitten curled up into
his lap, Spike gently tweaking her whiskers.

"I don't think I can cope with another two years of him
constantly hounding me. When my contract is up, I'm gonna
seriously think about transferring to Anchorage or right down to
Juneau."

Hand freezing in mid tweak, the smaller male was stunned as
Xander flopped down onto the couch beside him, a warm hand
resting upon his cooler thigh next to Twatcat.

~ But I don't want to move...I mean, it's Alaska, and it's
always
going to be a backwater interbred wanker State, but for the
first
time since this bloody chip and the crypt incident, I've got
some sort of life ~

"S.u.r.e..p.e.t"

Rewarded with a deep, hot kiss, Spike moaned into his claimant's
mouth as a protesting feline was pushed off his lap. The sudden
coolness left by the kitten was quickly dismissed as Xander lay
back along the couch, dragging the blond on top of him. The
vampire smiled widely as he snuggled into the youth's warmth,
his
whole front feeling like he was lying on top of an electric
blanket. Xander wrapped his arms around the smaller demon,
decorating the pale face with delicate kisses as he tried to
keep his mind off the totally unwanted news.

One hand making soothing circles on cool flesh, Xander allowed
his mind to wander back to earlier on that day. As soon as he
had gotten into work, he had known something was wrong. Both
Josesse and Mac had called him over, and for a brief instant he
had thought he was about to be fired. Once in the portable
office, he had been stunned at first upon hearing the news. He
and the vampire had both been counting down the days until Stan
left the company, neither of them being able to stand the native
Alaskan.

The two other men had explained the situation as calmly as
possible and Xander had come to see it from the company's point
of view. It was true, there wasn't enough skilled staff that
wanted to stay with the company. The youth had quickly come to
the same conclusion as the rest of his workmates. The men
and women who came for two or three weeks at a time to work with
the company, trying to experience the wilds of Alaska, were more
annoying than helpful. He really couldn't blame the company for
wanting to hang onto one of its longest-working employees.

Josesse had calmed the furious brunette by telling him that Mac
was looking into getting Stan swapped with another employee from
one of the company's other branches, but so far it didn't look
like a viable option. Upon leaving the office he had had to
restrain himself from beating a smirking Stan into a deep coma.
As bad as the other man was, he had never made a single comment
about Spike since the party at Mac's place after Xander had made
it patently obvious that he would tolerate no-one touching or
picking on the smaller blond. Xander however, was just waiting
for the one little slipped comment that would justify his
beating of Stan again.

With a giggle, he snapped back into the present as he found his
neck being gently sucked on by a cool set of lips. The
vampire's
soft hair was tickling his chin, the small hands slowly creeping
under his workshirt.

"Shower?"

"Y.e.s..n.i.c.e..s.h.a.g?"

~ Yeah pet, want a good shag in there as well, a hard wank too!
~

"Yes Spike, a shag as well."

Hauled up, Xander laughed, feeling some of the previous tension
slip away as he followed a leering blond into the cooler
bathroom. Both men stripped off, their clothes thrown to the
floor in a colourful display. Water turned on, Spike was
helped into the pounding water, Xander grinding against the
smaller man's backside with an achingly hard cock. Clasping the
vampire tightly to his chest, the brunette rubbed his shaft
between the perfectly formed buttocks, eliciting moans from them
both.

Fumbling with the ever-present lube, Spike flipped open the lid,
pouring a small amount into his pale hand. One hand reached
around behind him, the vampire ran his lubed fingers slowly up
and down the hot, thick shaft, grinning as Xander let his head
thump down onto his shoulder. Once he was satisfied that his
Claimant's cock was well prepared, he poured some more lube into
his hand before starting his own preparation. With a grunt, he
allowed Xander to take over for him, groaning as he felt a large
finger brush against his prostate.

Xander gritted his teeth as he pulled his last finger from the
tight, cool channel of his Adored. One last rub of his cock
against the pale rosebud, he pushed firmly into the resisting
flesh. With short, firm, thrusts, he soon found himself
embedded
to the hilt, panting with the effort of trying not to go too
hard. He didn't want to hurt the vampire just yet, not until
Spike was used to being fucked again. Just listening to the
almost whispered grunts set his heart racing again, encouraging
him to start a slow rocking.

Moving to meet every thrust into him, the blond braced himself
against the shower wall, eyes rolling as he felt the thick organ
pulsing steadily inside of him. He could hear the whelp's
heartbeat grow faster at each little whimper the vampire
emitted. With each thrust, he could feel the pressure
increasing, his own hard cock being ignored. A hand reached
down, he grasped his shaft in a firm hold, using the warm water
for lubrication. Timing his fisting with Xander's thrusts, the
two men set up a comfortable routine, each one enjoying the time
out from the worries of the outer world.

Almost there, the brunette reaffirmed his grip on the slender
white hips, his fingers indenting the pale flesh. Another thrust
and Xander watched as the vampire came into the corner of the
shower, signalling that it was time for his own release.
Muffling his guttural grunts into the crook of the blond's neck,
the youth held the smaller man still as he flooded the cool
channel with his seed. Upon pulling out, he gently turned the
vampire to face him, leaning down to nibble at the cool lips.

Arms wrapped around each other, the two men enjoying the mutual
comfort being offered.

Part Seventeen 

23 Friday 2001

8.52 pm

Eyes downcast to the dirty concrete, Spike fiddled nervously
with the dangling string of his apron. Nodding to the quiet
words, he agreed to the terms the other man was telling him. At
each pause, the vampire nodded harder, swallowing in fear.
Stomach twisting, he wondered just how Diehl had found out where
he worked.

Everything had been fine since returning from Fairbanks. Xander
still didn't know about his arrest, Lukas had gotten the ball
rolling on the vampires drivers licence and birth certificate
and Spike had finally thought of what to get Xander for his up
and coming birthday. Off to work he had toddled earlier that
afternoon, walking as usual. The cold not really getting to him
even though he did feel it, thankful for the thick jacket Joyce
had shamed the others into buying for him.

Work had been great, one of the lower kitchen hands showing him
how to carve onion flowers and carrot dragons for decoration.
Everything had been fine up until a few minutes ago. Helen had
answered a knock at the back door, calling Spike over after a
few sharp words to the concealed person.

With his senses clogged with numerous heated aromas, he hadn't
really picked up the visitors scent until a few steps away and
then it had been too late. A large hand had reached out and
grabbed him, dragging him from the safety of the kitchen and
into the cold air. The door had been firmly closed, leaving the
vampire pressed against the restaurant wall. Diehl had spat at
him, slapping at the vampire as he had reached up to wipe at the
spittle making its slow way down his face.

After being told not to move, Spike had allowed it to continue
its journey, listening to the other man threaten Xander's life
if the vampire didn't co-operate. How Diehl knew Xander was his
boyfriend, he really didn't know but he did know that the
ex-Initiative soldier was deadly serious about his threats. The
vampire had known the other man was going to be a problem
sooner or later but had been praying for later. Unfortunately
life wasn't that kind. Now he was wishing Xander would put in
for a transfer, maybe he could talk to him tonight?

A punch to the stomach brought him back to reality, Spike
sucking in a lungful of unneeded air as his brutalized muscles
protested.

"You fucking listen to me when I speak to you Bitch. You do as
I say and no harm will come to that faggot you live with, got
me?"

Head nodded vigorously, Spike wished for divine intervention of
some sort. All he wanted to do was go inside and finish the
onions he had started on.

"I'll be at your place next Friday. Don't fucking disappoint
me, be there when I arrive or....."

Spike was nodding so hard and fast, he thought his head would
fall off. He was going to be there. If that was what Diehl
wanted, then he would be waiting. The demon was horrified by
what the other man was suggesting, worried about how he had let
the last sentence trail off, not even bothering with another
threat. That the ex-soldier knew just how to play him. The
vampire sniffed, his tears continuing to roll down his cheeks.
He was scared, it was something he couldn’t deny.

"Don't cry Sweetheart, you won't have to do much, I promise."

Almost tenderly, the ex-soldier held the blonde's chin up,
forcing the vampire to drop his eyes lower. Trembling in
fright, Spike wished the other man would just rape or beat him,
anything for it to be over. The taller man dropped an unexpected
kiss on the vampires forehead, stunning the panting demon.

"See you next week, Bitch."

Chin released, Spike wobbled to the ground as Diehl strode away
to his awaiting car. Rubbing furiously at his forehead, he
waited a few minutes before trying to stand again. Why did
everything have to stuff up on him? Were his previous crimes
really so bad that fate had it in for him?

Eyes wiped, the vampire slowly rose once he saw the ex-soldiers
car disappear from view. He was frightened of what the other
man had promised to inflict upon Xander if the demon didn't
co-operate. Bodily harm, beatings and even a gang rape, much
like Spikes own. It was that threat that had made the demon
choke, gagging on the rising bile.

The one that had made him the most frightened had been the
threat to tell Xander about his escapades in Fairbanks. It had
been a truly sobering moment when the demon had realised that he
was more scared of copping the brunt of Xander's temper than he
was of the ex-Iniative soldier. It was this that led him to
his descion.

He was going to have to find a way to dispose of the soldier
before next Friday. There was not a chance in hell that he
wanted to tell Xander about Diehl, not with the whole stress
about Stan. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to see a way out
other than to tell Xander the truth about Diehl and his
involvement in the crypt incident.

Diehl was the one solder that Spike officially was an Adored to.
The taller man was the first one to cum on the vampires face,
completing the claiming ritual. A forced sexual encounter
followed by the humiliation of having his face covered in cum.

It was a horrifyingly simple ritual. One would think that
demons could come up with a more complicated ritual for picking
sexual slaves amongst their own species but obviously not. When
vampires initiated it, the Claimant usually broke enough bones
to ensure the intended Adored was unable to resist much, pretty
much like his own claiming in the crypt. After the initial
claim, the Adoreds were usually 'claimed' again before the five
year period was over unless the Claimant got tired of them and
let them go.

The vampire was sure that once Xander found out who the
previously unnamed soldier was, the younger brunette was going
to go mental. Hopefully, the younger male would find out how to
get rid of the soldier. Something that Spike had faith in.

2 march, Friday, 2001

9.44 am


I can't do this anymore.

I'm sick and tired of washing dishes, chopping sodding
vegetables for food that I will never be able to taste due to
the high garlic content. Getting my jollies from bashing pieces
of days old dead animals. Carving bloody carrot dragons. Waste
of time, they just get eaten anyway.

I used to like walking to work every Thursday, Friday and
Saturday afternoon. Won't be able to do it for much longer, so
I'm trying to enjoy it while it lasts. The sun will be shining
full force in about a month when its time for me to leave for
the kitchen, that is if I'm not too affected by the "Summer
Hibernation" that can disable vampires. Now I have this fear
that my rapist will stop me along the way, on a deserted patch
of road and offer to drive me the rest of the way.

What would he do if I said no?

More importantly, what will he do if I just get in the car with
no argument?

I feel like I've been shoved back to Sunnydale, I don't want to
venture out of the front door without Xander by my side. The
small freedom I regained when we moved and I started work has
shrunk as my fears have mounted again. I can smell Diehl’s
scent over everything I touch. Logically I know its not
there but I can't seem to wrap my mind around it. Last night
when I was taking a shower, I squealed when Xander hopped in
with me. All I could smell was Diehl, beer and sweat.

I pretended that my head hurt when Xander asked me what was
wrong. Stood in the warm water and let my Claimant press kisses
to my 'hurting' scalp. Had a fucking doozy of a nightmare last
Friday night. Not one of the usuals, where Arseholes Inc. take
turns to stomp on me or rape me but the whole event in the
crypt, the whole nasty re-digitalised version.

I'm a Master Vampire and I shouldn't be nervous around humans, I
shouldn't have the constant fear that I will one day
unconsciously attempt to defend myself against a human and get a
headache in return. I've raped, maimed, tortured and murdered
my way across continents and islands. I still am technically
one quarter of the Scourge of Europe. It's a name that still
strikes fear into any demon. I should be sitting in a bar
somewhere with my Dark Princess, opposite Angelus and Darla,
whisky and beer whetting our appetites. Scoping out our next
meals.

The fact that one of us is chipped, one souled, one dead and the
last quarter of the Scourge is insane shouldn't be taken into
account but it won't be long before even that smidgeon of
respect is taken as demons lose their fear of me. What I'm
about to do is going to make that decision for any demon really
easy.

I'm William the Bloody and I'm about to let my rapist into my
home.

I'm going to let him do whatever he wants to me.

I'm too scared of Xander's moods to tell him about Diehl, every
time I came close, I would freeze.

In ten minutes, Diehl will be knocking at my door and I'm
frightened by what is about to happen but realising that I'm
more scared of Xander's moods makes me wonder if Xander is worth
it?

I love him and I'm doing this for him. If it was just me, I
would up sticks and fucking run but I don't want Xander to go
through what I did.

Is he worth the beatings, the snarled putdowns? Should I have
stayed after the rape and it was rape back in the kitchen, I'm
not going to lie to myself anymore. Should I still take Lukas'
advice and leave after I manage to deal with the ex-soldier?

If I leave before Xander officially claims me, I will be free.
My heart will be breaking but in time it will heal...I think it
will. I don't want to risk falling out of love with him if he
continues to beat me, even if he does become my official
Claimant.

I don't want to make these decisions...I don't want to think
about anything anymore.

Diehl? He's at the door and he's early.

I suppose I should take a deep breath and just get it over with.

It's Diehl that's making me think like this. Once he's gone,
these stupid thoughts will be no more.


Part Nineteen 

2 march, Friday, 2001

2.17 pm


Wiping his brow, Xander welcomed the small droplets of sweat
that were forming across his forehead. It meant the warmer
weather was definitely on its way. In the past few months, no
matter how hard he worked, he had been unable to work up a
decent sweat with out shivering from the intense cold a few
seconds later.

Still, he was thankful that the current project was all indoors
at the moment. With such a staff shortage, the work crew he was
in had to do nearly all of the indoor carpentry and fixture
installation as well as bricking the shell of the latest
projects. The brunette liked the carpentry and the time spent
indoors but he was looking forward to getting back outdoors and
using his work time to just do the basic shell constructions.

Deep in concentration while measuring a length of Formica for a
tabletop, he at first took no notice of the piping of his
beeper. Only a few seconds later, he jerked upright as the tiny
black box went into vibrator mode. Trying not to giggle as it
vibrated against his ticklish left hip, Xander stared down at
the number flashing on the lit screen.

137

His lucky number and the vampires. Unfortunately, it also meant
that Spike was either in the process of having a 'flash' or had
just experienced one. It meant that he had to get home as fast
as possible. Heart rate accelerating beyond the realms of
normal, he ignored the startled faces of his workmates as he
pushed his way past them, towards Mac. He had already informed
his boss about the beeper, putting the vampires 'episodes' down
to after affects of the car accident. Both Mac and Josesse had
sympathised with him, telling him that they hoped the young
man's partner would never need to call.

"Mac, Spike just beeped me. I have to go, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, just go. You can make the hours up later if it's
not too serious. Call me..tell me if everything is ok?"

Hand run through his hair, Xander tried to shove down the rising
anxiety. With a distracted nod to his boss' question, he gave a
halfhearted wave to Josesse while making his way to the car. A
twist of the key, he threw the transmission into drive, not even
bothering to let the car warm up like usual. Providing the
roads were ok, it would only take him 20 minutes to get back
home.

Hoping that the vampire was alright, Xander pressed his foot
hard against the accelerator paying scant attention to the mild
swerving of the old commodore.

==============================================

23 minutes later,

Car steering wheel wrenched into the locking position, Xander
threw open his door while struggling with a seatbelt that was
refusing to retract.

"Fuck! Bloody thing, just get off me!"

"Thank you."

Muttering the snarky comment, the agitated brunette took a few
deep breathes before inserting the key into the lock. Things
must be bad for the vampire, the door was usually flung open
before Xander even had the chance to pull out his keys. The door
pushed open slowly, Xander let his eyes adjust to the darkness
of the cabin.

"Spike?"

Stepping into the cabin, the youth panned his vision over the
main room, his gaze settling on a figure curled into a ball on
the middle of the mattresses.

"Spike, I'm home now and everything is going to be ok."

A small whine greeted Xander's ears at the comment. A few
strides took him to the vampire's side, the brunette sinking to
his knees while scooping the shaking figure into his arms. With
firm but gentle fingers, he raised the bleached blond's chin,
noting the pale features were scrunched tight, tears rolling
down the sharp planes of his cheeks.

"It's alright Spike, just relax. I'm here now...just relax."

Minutes passed as Xander rocked the shivering, whimpering male
in his warm clasp, the vampire clinging to him. Humming a
nonsensical tune, the brunette wondered just what had happened
this time. What part of the vampire's game face had been
affected, which part would be coming through next? He dared not
run his fingers through the soft hair, afraid of causing
more pain to the vampire. The minutes slowly ticked by as
Spike's shaking finally started to calm down, his grip loosening
a little.

"Ssshhhh, sssshhhh. Are you feeling a little better now?"

A small nod.

"Do you want me to call Giles?"

Slightly larger headshake.

Shifting slightly, Xander leaned back against the cabin wall,
Spike moving to sit between the brunette's spread thighs. Pulled
back against the warm chest, the vampire allowed his head to
drop back, nestling into Xander's neck. Eyes closed, the
bleached blond drank in the comforting scent of his Claimant,
letting the familiar sound of the youth's breathing calm him
further. What on earth had he been thinking of earlier? He was
obviously so much safer when Xander was around despite the
brunette's vile temper.

"You want a coffee?"

Small nod.

With a kiss dropped onto the soft expanse of almost white hair,
Xander gently manoeuvred the vampire to one side. Stretching
his protesting limbs, the brunette smiled down at the smaller
male as Spike started 'talking'.

"T.h.r.e.e..b.u.g.a.r.s?"

"Bugars?"

A snort of frustration and a hiccup later, Spike was watching
Xander getting out a packet of the caribou blood. Wiping his
eyes, the vampire sniffled a small smile as he was made both a
mug of blood and a coffee with extra milk and three sugars. He
felt his heart swell with love at the gesture. True, it wasn't
much but it was just one of the little extra's that had made him

fall in love with Xander. His Claimant would take care of him.

"Are you sure you feel ok?"

"M.y..h.e.a.d..s.t.i.l.l..h.u.r.t.d..a..b.i.t"

"Yeah, but its better than before isn't it?"

At Spikes nod, Xander breathed a sigh of relief. He really
hadn't known what to expect when he had come through the front
door. The vampire could have been unconscious or still in the
throes of the 'flash', Xander had obviously just come in on the
tail end of one. The brunette thought the vampire was lucky he
had been conscious enough to call the beeper. Kettle boiled, he
poured the water into two mugs, milk added to both a moment
later.

"Here you go Mr. Naptha...I really don't know *how* you can
drink so much sugar?"

Scowling slightly at the name, Spike signed that he really
didn't know how Xander ate so much chocolate. The brunette
grinned at the comment, seating himself on the mattress, leaning
back against the wall once again. Spike smiled a little as he
snuggled back into Xander's larger frame, sipping from the blood
and coffee alternately. The salty caribou blended nicely with
the extra sugar in the coffee. They sat quietly together,
drinking their coffees.

"Hey, where’s the cat?"

With that question, Spike felt his stomach drop.

He burst into fresh tears.

Part Twenty 

2 march, Friday, 2001

4.35 pm


"Well, that's done."

With a shudder, Spike nodded as Xander stalked past him on the
way to the bathroom. The sound of running water reaching his
ears, the vampire gave one last sniffle and a snort as he
gingerly touched his bruised cheek. It didn't feel too bad,
just a little tender, like his upper arm did. His ribs were
another story though. The two on his left side were more than
likely broken and it was all his own fault.

After bursting into tears when questioned where Twatcat was,
Xander had demanded to know what the problem was. So,
in-between crying and signing, the bleached blond had told his
Claimant about the other soldiers piss claim and this time, he
didn't leave out Diehl’s cum claim. Xander had already known
about the piss claim but he had steadily worked himself into a
major hissy fit when told about the cum claim, being told about
the vampire’s arrest hadn't helped at all either.

Spike had told the brunette about his time in jail, his newly
established rap sheet and mug shots, informed Xander about Diehl
threatening him while in jail. The vampire had watched the
youths eyes turn pitch black while describing his deal with
Samuel from the Farmers Rest Inn, he had also tried to deflect
the vicious kicks that had accompanied the screams that had told

the blond that he could no longer be trusted to be left to his
own devices. Spike telling Xander about his up and coming
meeting with a lawyer had done nothing to calm down the irate
youth, instead causing the brunette to continue screaming at
him.

All the while Spike had pleaded with Xander to stop hurting him,
signing as fast as he could. Telling the youth that he had only
let Diehl into the house earlier that day because of his threats
against Xander. What had really set the younger man off had
been when Spike had described what the ex-soldier had done to
their pet cat.

The vampire had been forced to watch Diehl torturing the tiny
black creature. Diehl had stood outside in the cool sunlight
while Spike had watched from an open doorway, standing just out
of the deadly shafts of light, waiting like he had been
instructed. The ex-soldier had picked up the friendly cat after
she had followed him outside, petting her a few times while she
had purred in pleasure. Without warning, he had snapped the
right foreleg while laughing as both the vampire and barely
grown cat had squealed, one in fright and the other in agony.
Twatcat had been tortured to death, the soldier taking great
pleasure in telling the vampire that Xander could expect the
same if Spike even hinted at refusing Diehl. Spike had been
unable to stop himself from crying, nodding to each word the
other man had said.

Once the poor animal had died, Spike had watched as Diehl had
flung the battered and limp body as far as he could, the vampire
shuddering when he heard the soft thump of her body hitting the
ground.

Eyes lowered as Xander approached from the bathroom, Spike
signed a quick thank you to the youth for collecting the body
and burying it.

"Just be thankful I don't fucking well bury you. You know full
well this is your fault. What have I told you?"

"T.r.u.t.h?"

"That’s right, just tell me the truth and you won't get into
trouble but obviously you're too fucking stupid to remember
that. Tell me why I bother with you at all?"

"B.e.c.a.u.a.s.e..I..b.e.l.o.n.g..t.o..y.o.u"

"Really? Because I'm thinking I made a great big whopping
mistake...cut the tears out, no-one's interested...least of all
me!"

"WHAT DID I JUST FUCKING SAY?"

Cringing into the corner as the infuriated brunette stomped
closer, the blond closed his eyes and waited for the punches and
kicking to resume.

~He's right! No-one else to blame but myself for this. Gotta
stop the tears...oooff ~

Unable to stop the squeal of pain as his head bounced off the
wall of the cabin, Spike wiped hastily at his eyes, hoping the
small gesture would persuade the youth to start calming down. A
kick to the small of his back and the vampire found himself
trying to deflect solid blows away from his kidneys. He may not
need to use the organs anymore but it still hurt like hell when
hit there.

"You..punch..do..kick..not..go..slap.punch..anywhere..kick..without..me..punch."

Grunting and nodding as fast as he could, Spike was relieved to
hear the phone ringing, Xander leaving him curled upon the floor
while striding towards it.

"If I come back and find you still crying, so help me god, what
I have just given you will be considered comfortable to what I
will give you."

Phone snatched up in a trembling hand, Xander dimly noted that
his knuckles were bleeding. A few breathes to calm himself, he
answered the phone.

"Hello, Xander here."

"Oh hey Helen, how are you?"

"What, oh shit! Sorry, I should have phoned earlier. Spike's
not well..he won't be coming in tonight or tomorrow night
either."

"Yeah, I know...who would have thought vampires could get sick.
Umm, I think that summer hibernation thingy is coming onto him
early, he hasn't really been too well for the last week or so."

"Hmmm, what...oh, ok. Look, I think it may be for the best if
he just finishes for the spring and summer until next
winter...is that ok with you?"

"Great, I'll drop him around Tuesday night to collect the rest
of his wages and he can explain it to you guys then...fantastic,
that's great to know Helen, thanks so much. Spike and I really
appreciate it."

"Alright then, I'll see you Tuesday....bye!"

Phone hung up, Xander turned around slowly, his gaze resting
upon a still sniffling blond. He took in the dishevelled sight
before him, noting the dark bruises marring the pale features.

"As you would have heard, that was Helen wondering where you
were. You're not going to work anymore. I don't trust you. YOU
blew that."

"I.m..s.o.r.r.y..X.a.n.d.e.r..p.l.e.a.s.e..d.o.n.t..t.a.k.e..w.o.r.k..a.w.a.y..f.r.o.m..m.e."

"You took it away from yourself, with your lies and deceptions.
Not me, but you! We'll go to the restaurant on Tuesday and you
can say goodbye to everybody then while picking up your pay."

"P.l.e.a.s.e..Xa.n.d.e.r?"

Flinching away from the brunette as he came to sit beside him,
Spike whimpered as he was pulled into a strong grasp, his
sensitive sinuses assaulted by the scent of anger,
disappointment and the lingering scent of Twatcat’s blood. A
whimper and he was dragged on top of the youth's warm lap,
cradled like a child with a large hand stroking through his soft
hair.

"If you prove to me that I can trust you again, then you can go
back to work next Winter. Helen has already promised me that
she will keep the job for you..BUT only if I can trust you and
so far, it looks like I won't be able to."

~Thank you..thank you Pet! Helen, you're a bloody legend and I
promise that I will NEVER let you down again, Xannny...NEVER!~

Faced with the loss of his job, Spike suddenly realised that
although he did bitch and whine about it, the work got him out
of the house and into contact with people that had become his
friends. Something to be appreciated and valued, no matter how
much he hated the menial tasks that had to be done.

With a hard nod, Spike ignored his aching ribs as he was blessed
with a soft kiss to his mouth, Xander just slipping his warm
tongue between the cooler lips.

"I really wish you wouldn't make me hurt you, let this be a
lesson for you. Always tell me the truth..ok?"

"Y.e.s"

"Good. I don't want you to go ANYWHERE with out me and I mean
it too Spike, I'm not joking here. If I have to chain you to
the bathtub, I will. I'll fucking well break both ankles if you
even try it."

"O.k"

~God Pet, please don't do it. I promise I'll do as you say,
won't be stupid and wander like before..down to the park. Thick
as ten planks I was that night. ~

"I don't want you opening the door or talking to anyone that you
don't know. I'll get your blood from now on, I don't want you to
wander around by yourself until I can trust you again and I sure
as hell don't want that arsehole to find you alone."

"O.k"

"I'm going to put new locks on the doors and windows, only I
will have the keys. I don't want anyone to be able to break in
and hurt you, least of all Diehl. You said he was coming back
next Friday?"

Nod.

"He's not going to find you here. Looks like I'm going to have
to find another place for us to stay until I can deal with this.
I wonder if Lukas can put us up for a few days?"

Shrug.

The two men sat in silence, the vampire relishing his Claimant's
heartbeat and the comfort it offered. Xander continued to
stroke his fingers through the bleached hair.

"She was a nice cat. Never had one before but I liked her, it's
stupid but I'm going to miss her. Poor little thing."

"L.i.k.e.d..h.e.r..a.s..w.e.l.l"

"Yeah, I know. It wasn't your fault that fucking Diehl is
mental, I'm sorry I said that it’s your fault Twat died."

"O.k"

~ It is actually. Everything is my fault, you're right pet. ~

"Let’s tape up those ribs."

Part Twenty-one 


3 March, Saturday, 2001

10:43pm


Seating himself next to the heavier Fijian, Xander gratefully
took the offered beer, anything to make a dent in the heat that
always seemed to envelope the small sitting room. A small sip
and he turned his attention fully towards the situation at hand.

"So, you and Spike need help?"

"Yeah, a problem we both thought had been left in Sunnydale has
unexpectedly popped up again."

"Sooo...what do you want from me?"

Another sip and Xander tried to explain about Diehl and his
attitude towards the blond vampire without embarrassing the
smaller demon too much. He could feel himself getting angry,
each word stirring the barely blanketed emotion. The youth knew
he was still in a bad mood from the day before and if he had the
choice, he would have waited until he was fully calmed down
before approaching the Kava demon. Unfortunately, he couldn't
afford that luxury, not when it was his property that was in
danger of being damaged.

"Umm, I'm not actually Spike's official Claimant. Someone else
is, someone who has just decided to make an appearance and stir
up some trouble...which he has done quite well so far."

"What has it got to do with me? If you have assumed the
responsibility of being Spike’s Claimant in place of the other
Claimant, then it's your job to deal with it. If you challenged
him to a fight and killed him, then Spike is officially yours."

"Yeah. That’s the thing, the other Claimant is also a human and
I really don't want to murder anyone no matter what the reason
is."

Sinking back into the couch, Lukas now knew just why the vampire
and his Claimant had come to Alaska. Unsavoury claims were
pretty common but two humans fighting over a vampire...now that
was something he had never heard of before. Eyeing the youth, he
wondered why Spike had chosen someone who beat him over the
other one. He wondered just how bad the other Claimant could
be if Spike preferred to stay in an abusive relationship.

"So Spike doesn't want to go back with the other Claimant then?"

"No fucking way is he going anywhere with Diehl, Spike is mine.
Look Lukas, I don't know Diehl personally but I've seen what he
is capable of. He and his friends are the reason Spike came to
be living in my basement back in Sunnydale. If Diehl was given
free access to Spike, Spike would be dead before a week was
over."

"That bad huh? Spike never told me how he got to be living in
your basement and I admit that I'm curious but it's none of my
business if Spike doesn't want me to know. Your situation with
Spike is unique but to hear of him submitting to a human before
you is really odd, I've never heard of a vampire submitting to a
human before...never! Two humans is just plain weird."

"He didn't have a choice in the matter, anyway, Diehl has no
idea that he is Spikes official Claimant and even if he did, he
wouldn't know what it meant...at least I hope he hasn't gotten
clued in. Lukas, what it comes down to, is that Diehl is here
in Alaska and hassling Spike, making threats to kill me and I
need to find a way to get rid of him."

Xnader ran a hand down the beer bottle, wiping the small beads
of moisture from the smooth surface. Label teased until a
corner lifted, the brunette absently played with the fraying
edge while watching the Fijian think about the current
situation.

"You can't just move again...not that I want you both to move,
your my friends but would that make a difference?"

"Diehl is friends with Buffy's boyfriend. Willow, my best
friend, is sharing a dorm room with Buffy... there is no way we
could move and keep the address a secret. We may be able to do
it for a few weeks but Buffy will find out, tell Riley who will
then tell Diehl so no, besides, Spike and I already ruled that
out. Why should we move? We've both got jobs and friends here,
there is no way that I'm going to let him push us around."

"When's Diehl coming back again?"

"Next Friday....Lukas, he tortured Twatcat right in front of
Spike. That bastard broke just about every bone in her little
body. You should have seen Spike, he was a mess. I know he's a
vampire and supposed to get off on seeing other creatures
tortured and maimed but with the chip and his 'emotions', he
can't deal with things like that anymore."

Finishing the last of his beer, Lukas wiped at his moist mouth.
To put it simply, the best solution was to kill Diehl. It was
simple and straightforward, get rid of the threat permanently.
Xander however wasn't looking to take it that far even with the
knowledge that his life was being threatened. Back in Fiji, it
was done without mucking around. See the threat and remove it
before it became a real problem. Admittedly Spike had to accept
some blame in the situation for not telling his Claimant about
the man while in Fairbanks. Lukas however could see how
difficult the decision not to tell Xander would have been for
the vampire. The Fijian had already been a witness to the
remnants of the brunette's temper and it hadn't been a pretty
sight. Lukas felt a swell of pity for the bleached blond, it
seemed that no matter what the smaller demon did, it was wrong.
This was just another thing to come and bite him on the arse.

"Can I ask a huge favour?"

"Yeah...what?"

"Can Spike and I, or even just Spike, stay here on Thursday and
Friday night?"

"Look Xander, you're both more than welcome to stay for as long
as you like. You can stay in the guest bedroom, its squishy
but comfortable."

"Thanks so much Lukas, I really appreciate it. I don't want
that arsehole to find Spike alone...is he able to stay here
during the day?"

"No problem...I like him, he's easy to talk to. That's the
great thing about him, he never tells me to shut up!"

Laughter floated around the overheated room, easing some of the
tension. Telling Xander to bring vampire over each morning on
the way to work, the Kava demon promised that he would try and
think of a solution to the problem.

"Where is he now...I know that you wouldn't leave him home
alone...tell me you didn't?"

"Shit no! I dropped him off at Blizzard, you know, the internet
cafe? He wanted to download some furniture designs for his
woodwork course, so I left him in the care of Nancee and Liam. I
figured that he should be pretty safe for an hour or two, I
mean, it's in the heart of the Mall and Spike did say that Diehl
won't be back until next Friday. I really don't think that even
if he did come back today, that he would be looking in an
internet cafe for a vampire."

"Mmmm. I hope not. You take this Claimant thing pretty
seriously don't you?"

"Yeah Lukas, I do. Spike is mine and I don't want him to get
hurt and I sure as hell don't want Diehl to come into the
knowledge of what a Claim on a vampire is."

Dark head nodded, Lukas had to admit that from the sound of the
current situation, the brunette was the lesser of two evils for
the moment. With a cough, the demon managed to hide his smile
as a thought struck him. Spike would be in his care for the
next week and nothing was going to stop the Fijian from talking
the vampire into leaving his un-official Claimant once the
threat was taken care of. The only thing Lukas had to worry
about was getting Spike away before Xander was able to do the
Claim properly. It was something he could work on.

Xander shown out the front door, he watched and waved as the
brunette drove off towards Pennington's Mall. This time, the
Kava demon was going to take it slowly and not just shock the
bleached blond all at once. Lukas had to admit that he really
didn't like Xander and if it wasn't for Spike, the dark man
wouldn't even talk to the brunette. He had nothing against
humans and inter-species relationships but he hated people who
took their anger and frustrations out on others, particularly
when one was incapable of defending themselves.

4 March, Sunday, 2001

7.39 pm


"Yeah, thanks again Lukas, we both appreciate it. Don't we
Spike?" said Xander, watching Spike nod his head in
agreement as they both walked back through the Post Office's
front door. Turning to hold the door open for Spike, he gave
the Kava demon one last grin before walking towards the car.
Without saying a word to the vampire, he slid himself into the
drivers seat and waited for Spike to get himself belted in
before starting the engine.

"I'm sorry that I'm a little late in picking you up, had to
finish installing the new locks on the front door and windows at

home." explained Xander, clicking the indicator to turn right
onto the deserted main road. "No. You don't get keys so you can
stop holding your hand out for them. I told you, only *I* get
them. Not you, not Diehl and not anyone else."

~Fucking prick! Like I'm gonna give keys to that sodding
arsehole. What the fuck happens if there's a bloody fire and I'm

stuck inside? What does he expect me to do, burn to down to ash

just to satisfy his bloody dominence issues?~

With a soft tap on Xander's upper thigh, Spike indicated that he

wanted to ask his soon to be Claimant that very question, albeit

without the swearing and snarky tone. As Xander slowed the car
down and turned to look at him, Spike signed the question.

"Y.e.s..b.u.t..f.i.r.e.?"

"Fire? Well, don't do anything stupid and there won't be one
will there?"

"W.h.a.t..i.f..D.i.e.h.l..t.r.i.e.s..t.o..s.m.o.k.e..m.e..o.u.t?"
signed Spike, starting to pant as he ran through just what could

happen if the event ever occured. And from the behaviour that
Diehl had so far displayed, it was a very real possibility. His
body just beggining to tremble as his mind threw the memory of
his first meeting with Diehl to the forefront, Spike
unconciously cringed away from Xander as the car came to a halt
on the side of the road. Fearing that he had just managed to
upset Xander in some way, he couldn't help but jerk away as
Xander reached his hand up to gently run a finger down one side
of his face.

"Don't do that Spike, you know I hate it and besides, I'm not
going to hurt you. Yeah, I'm still fucking angry at you but I'm

not going to hit you. Already done that and I'm sorry, you know?

Good."

Head nodding warily at Xander's repeat apology for the beating
on Friday in which two of his ribs got broken, Spike forced
himself to lean into the other man's touch, all the while hoping
that Xander's current good mood would last for a while. Even
after Xander had picked him up from the internet cafe, Blizzard,
last night, Spike had still been able to smell the lingering
anger from the hissy fit. It hadn't been very strong but
nethertheless, it had still been there and Spike had made sure
that he had done everything Xander had asked of him to the best
of his ability, even going so far as to be the one to iniate
Xander's favourite sexual position. As much as he hated it,
Spike had plastered a huge smile on his face and had done all
that he could to ensure that Xander had cum quickly while Spike
had pretended that he had enjoyed sitting on Xander's thick cock

with the boy was laying underneath him on the bed.

Just by giving that little extra the night before, Spike had
been almost overwhelmed with joy as he had scented Xander's
anger finally dissapating with the hot hungry kisses Spike had
been rewarded with after such a performance. Content to try and
forget how his ribs had ached with all the effort he had put
into it, Spike had been unable to resist smiling as he had
snuggled into Xander arms as they had both let sleep catch up
with them. As Xander continued to speak, Spike nodded again and

let his cool hand lay on Xander's much warmer thigh and pressed
his face willingly into the warm fingers brushing across his now

unbruised cheek.

"Spike...I'm doing this for you. It's mainly to keep that piece
of shit from hurting you but its coming up to Summer, I mean,
from what both the G-Man and Lukas say, you're going to be real
sleepy through most of it and what if someone decides to take up

knocking off houses?"

"Y.e.s.?"

"Jesus Spike, what the hell is wrong with you at times? You
sleepy and unable to defend yourself and an intruder that's
hell-bent on getting the video player and tv and not being
identified? Can you just imagine what's going to happen if you
both suddenly meet one day in the living room? I don't want
anything to happen to you." stated Xander, continuing to run his

fingers across Spike's smooth white cheek before giving the
vampire's hair an affectionate ruffle, much to Spike's
displeasure. Smiling at Spike's scowl, Xander continued on with
his explanation.

"I want you to be safe Spike. I can't take the whole Summer off
to make sure of that so this is the best that I can up with
right now. I mean, I *can* take you work each day in the trunk
of the car but I'm gonna be pretty shitty when someone goes to
look in the trunk for something and you suddenly disappear into
ash. I really mean it Spike."

~Sure. No-one else gets to hurt me but you. Yeah, I totally get
it. Can't wait until you start bloody well slapping me around as

bit of foreplay. Oh, hang on, he's already done that!~

"O.k."

~Not like I've got a fucking choice anyway have I?~

Giving Xander a crooked grin, Spike nodded his head at the words

all the while feeling like his already short leash had another
link removed so that it was even more restrictive. To have to
spend the whole Summer locked into a two bedroom cabin wasn't a
pleasant thought, no matter how much Spike acknowledged that the

reasons for the extra security were good. It was true that if
someone happened to break in while he was in his Summer
semi-hibernation sleep, it was highly likely that he wouldn't
even notice that there was another person in the cabin and he
sure as hell didn't want to even think about how bad Xander's
temper would be if that eventually happened. Barely able to
supress his shudder at such thoughts, Spike started rubbing his
hand along Xander's well muscled thigh in soft slow strokes.
Spike's quiet panting and shaking subsided as Xander started to
respond to his ministrations.

"Mmmmm, feels nice. Keep going." murmured Xander as most of his
blood supply immediately re-directed itself to his groin. With
Spike's scowl now becoming a definate trademark smirk, Xander
leaned over and gave a pale earlobe a gentle nibble, trailing
his tongue down to just under Spike's chin, and was rewarded
with a low grunt of pleasure. In a swift descion, Xander took
Spike's hand and placed it firmly on his belt buckle, bucking
(his hips upwards a few times to give the blond a hint before
turing the car ignition over. Once on the road again, Xander
struggled to keep his attention on the drive home while Spike
encouraged his cock into standing at full attention.

"Wha...what are you dooooooiiiinnnnngggg...ahhhh...good...*real*

good!" exclaimed Xander, almost cross eyed as a cool tongue
carefully swept up the small beads of pre-cum that ran down his
rigid shaft. Ok, this was new. Sure, Spike had often jerked
him off in the car while driving home from some shopping
expedition but never had he just unbuckled the seatbelt, leaned
over and prepared to swallow...But this was all of the good,
Xander decided. All of the '*very* nice and for God's sake
please keep going' good.

~Mmmm. Not as bad tonight, usually tastes worse than this. Maybe

it's them new Sugarpuff things...all that soddin' sugars got to
go somewhere and if this is where it ends up, bloody well fine
by me. If the kid tastes it like this, then maybe he might try
a blow one day?~

Tongue sweeping around the underside of the hard cock, Spike was

prompted to take Xander's cock all the way down his thoat by a
heavy hand gripping tightly around his hair and pressing his
face down into the heated groin of the moaning boy. His throat
readily accepting the wide shaft, Spike managed to wiggle a few
fingers in-between Xander's balls and his zipper, just enough
room to start rubbing his fingers through the wirey hair much to
Xander's apparant pleasure. As the fingers wound through his
hair got tighter, he grimaced slightly from the pain as he
continued to do his best while trying to avoid getting his head
trapped between Xander's thighs and the steering wheel. At his
strangled snicker at such a thought, the vibrations of the
action around the solid cock down his throat brought Xander to
completion.

Swallowing most of the oddly pleasant cum, Spike gave a soft
sigh as Xander released the harsh grip on his hair and allowed
him to move his head from the boy's lap and to be able to sit up

properly in his seat. A few tugs of the stubborn zipper and
Spike had Xander all neatly packed away back into his boxers and

jeans just as the car pulled into their cabin's carport. Once
the car was at a full halt, Spike leaned over towards Xander,
fully intent on sharing the last of the cum in a deep kiss in
the hopes that it would encourage Xander into thinking about
giving head once in a while instead of leaving it all up to
Spike. As firm a grip as the chip allowed around the back of
Xander's neck, Spike closed his eyes as the grinning boy also
graviated towards him. Just as he opened his mouth as their
lips touched, Spike got one of the biggest shocks of his life as

Xander moved away only after a brief second of contact.

PUNCH

"Whores don't kiss"

His hand clapped over hurting lips, Spike couldn't help the
tears that welled up in his eyes as he sat and stared at the
smiling youth next to him. Tears rapidly overflowing even as
Spike valiently tried to blink them back, he took his shaking
hand away from his mouth and gave a loud whine at the sight of
blood decorating his pale palm. As he whined for Xander to
explain, the still smiling boy just shook his head and tutted at

him.

"If I have to tell you, then I guess the chip must have shorted
out pretty much everything huh?" happily stated Xander, giving
Spike a quick pat on the leg as he unbuckled his seatbelt.
"Come on Spike, you know what you are? Shit, your Mom was one.
Guess it just runs in the genes"

Shaking his head for all he was worth, Spike tried to tell
Xander that he was wrong and that he wasn't a whore, whilst
Xander sat and nodded to his signed words. With a squeal
of pain as Xander suddenly ground a solid fist into his still
healing ribs, he found himself moulded to the car door as he
tried to escape being hurt even more. A quick fumble with the
car door handle and Spike was soon out of the car and wondering
what to do as Xander followed his actions, although a lot
slower.

With the smile still on his face, Xander got out of the car and
turned to face the vampire, knowing that his good mood was about

to disappear into the begginnings of a major hissy fit. His eyes

going from the deep chocolate brown that they normally were to
almost pitch black due to his rising anger, Xander quietly asked

Spike to come towards him.

"Spike, come here please"

~No...you're gonna hurt me again~

As he listened to Xander's request, Spike couldn't help but sob
at the undercurrent of menace in the voice. He was going
to get it and it was going to be big time. It might not be just
now but it was going to become, might even be in a few more
days but he was still going to cop a beating sometime in the
near future, and for what? Nothing more than a simple kiss.
Something that they had shared on numerous occassions, so what
the hell had he done wrong this time? As he contemplated running

down the road in an effort to make the up and coming beating
more worthwhile, Spike started to cry in earnest as Xander
walked around the car and came to a halt a few yards from him.

"Spike, come inside. I'm not going to ask nicely again" said
Xander, smiling at the distressed vampire even as he felt his
former good mood give away to a newly rising anger. What he had
told Spike was true, he was still angry because of the mess they

were now both entangled in, but what he was really upset about
was the fact that Spike had cheated on him with another person.
Another *human* person. In an odd way and what could only be
the product of having lived life on the Hellmouth, Xander could
forgive Spike more easily if the other party had been a demon
but in Xander's mind, another human was beyond betrayal and that

made Spike nothing more than a whore. His smile disappearing
into a scowl, Xander snarled a demand at Spike.

"Stop the crying. Don't make me come over and remind you how to
do it"

"S.t.o.p.p.i.n.g. S.o.r.r.y.?"

~I'm sorry..so sorry. Please don't hurt me..too much Pet?~

"Sure, whatever. Just get inside, I've got a surprise for you"

Whining at the smell of anger drifting slowly towards him, Spike

almost retched as he hastily wiped a hand over his damp face in
an effort to stop the flowing tears. His stomach dropping at the

thought of what Xander could possibly call a 'surprise' in his
current mood, Spike wondered again if he should just take
advantage of the situation and run for his life down the road.

~He's going to fucking kill me. Should've just let him slap me
around a bit, probably wouldn't be so bloody angry like he is
now..Jesus..I am so fucking done for it's not funny~

==============================================


His chest heaving rapidly due to the renewed panting, Spike
barely noticed that he was trembling again as he took a
tentative step forward. With a shaky hand, he reached out and
took Xander's outstretched one as he got closer to the boy. Hand

encompassed by one so much bigger than his own, he had to force
himself to stay beside Xander as they both walked up the cabin's

steps and onto the porch. While Xander was fiddling to find the
front door key, Spike turned himself to one side so that Xander
wouldn't notice his continuing tears. Flinching when Xander
momentarily let go of his hand and grasped him tightly in a
strong embrace, Spike hesitantly wrapped his arms around
Xander's waist as he wondered just what was going to happen
next.

"You going to stop crying? Good, I'm glad. How about you try a
little harder? There, that's better isn't it..hmmm? Sure it is."

said Xander softly, one hand wiping gently at the tears that
continued to flow while he kept a strong grip around Spike's
waist with the other. Spike's nodding to his words only served
to flame his anger into a higher peak, something that the
vampire almost immediately noticed and cringed from. Reminding
Spike that he didn't like that sort of thing, Xander flashed the

bleached blond a tight grin as he felt the arms around his waist

tighten. His chin resting ontop of the soft hair for a brief
moment, Xander gave Spike a quick peck on the cheek before
ghosting his lips along the pale skin and pressing them against
Spike's much cooler ones, his hand stroking the fine blond hair
that had grown enough to start curling at the ends even with all

the hair gel. Just as he felt Spike begin to open his mouth in
order to allow the kiss to deepen, Xander wrenched his head away

from Spike and smiled the same tight smile as he had only
moments before.

"What did I just say? Come on, surely even you can't be that
stupid? God Spike, I just *said* that hookers don't kiss, didn't

I?"

Tutting again as Spike vigourously shook his head, Xander
grapsed the sharp chin of the vampire firmly and jerked Spike's
head up and down in a viscous 'yes' action even as Spike
continued to try and disagree with his words. Feeling his anger
come to a plateau, he kept forcing Spike to nod, his smile
turing into a sneer as the smaller man started to wiggle out his

firm grasp.

"Yes. Go on Spike, you try it. Just say yes..see? It's real easy

to do. Yes, yes, yes and do you know why you are? No? Gee,
that's not really a suprise since it's coming from a complete
retard now is it? Nah, don't answer that one, we both know that
answer anyway. Come on, don't get so upset, you'll make yourself

sick and then I'll be worried again."

~Am not a whore. Never taken money from no-one for sex. Never
been a fucking *prostitute*..hooker or what the fuck ever! Just
plain bloody stupid, why the hell do I stay here and let him
make me feel like complete and utter shit between his toes?~

His chest heaving almost painfully as his panting took a turn
for the worst, Spike couldn't believe what he was hearing. There

was no way that he was a whore and no matter what Xander did to
him, he wasn't going to agree. As the quietly spoken words
continued to take potshots at his already broken heart, Spike
found himself struggling to get out of the iron grasp that
Xander had once again encircled him in now that he had let go of

his chin.

~Let me go..let me go..LET ME GO!~

Having freed himself enough to be able to start 'talking' again,

Spike found that his bottom lip was trembling in his effort not
to give in to the desire to just sit on the floor and howl in
tears. A slight movement from Xander and Spike leapt back a
pace, the demon telling Xander that he wasn't a whore in shaky
hand signs.

~Why do you always have to do this? Christ Xan, just pick one or

the other, please? Either just kick the shit out of me all the
time or be nice...but not both..you're driving me fucking
insane..I think I'm goin' mental?~

His thoughts laid out in the open for Xander to finally see,
Spike knew that if he had been a human, he would have pissed
himself in fright already. Just one small advantage of being
dead, he mused to himself as he watched Xander's face closely.
Unoticeably, Spike managed to move himself out of what he
guessed was arm's length for the taller man all the while hoping

that he hadn't made a huge mistake and was about to receive the
first option.

With a deep sigh, Xander reached a hand slowly towards Spike,
taking a step closer as he idly noted that the demon was out of
arm's reach. Ignoring the harsh panting and the all too obvious
shaking for the moment, Xander gently grapsed Spike's upper
arms, eliciting a yelp and grimace as he steadily increased the
pressure of his grip on the black clad arms. His anger still at
its peak, Xander continued to speak in the quiet menacing voice
that Spike had come to dread hearing.

"Because..*you*..make me do this. If you would just... *You*
make me hurt you. No-one else but you. I'm not my fucking father

and just hit you because you happen to be blocking the view of
the tv or got the wrong beer out of the fridge and anyway, it's
not like I hit you all the time. Fuck, just get inside. Still
got that surprise to give you."

The right key finally found and the cabin door opened, Spike was

guided through first by a gentle push between his shoulder
blades. Stepping into the cabin, he absently gave the main room
a quick look for Twatcat before he choked down a sharp hiccup,
the tears trekking slowly down his face as he realised that he
would be feeling the tiny kitten's loss for a while. While
Xander closed the door behind them and locked it, Spike stood in

the middle of the large living room and waited in dread for his
surprise from Xander. Barking out a startled yelp when Xander
unexpectedly started to knead at his trembling shoulders, Spike
wondered if the 'surprise' was really that, just a simple
massage.

~Oh God. What the fuck is he playing at now? He's not going
to..no..anything but that?~

Thought Spike, standing rigid as Xander's hands tried to work
out some of the tension that was the only thing from keeping
Spike from tumbling onto the floor. The bitter acrid smell of
anger still emanating from the man standing behind him, Spike
knew without a doubt that Xander had something else planned for
him that night. With a plea to the higher beings, Spike hoped
with all his might that what was planned was not going to be a
repeat of his rape in the kitchen.

"There. That feels a bit better doesn't it? Come on, stop
crying. Please? That's it...good. Does this feel alright? Oh,
good...I'm glad" whispered Xander, his cock twitching as he ran
his hands over the slim shoulders in a soothing pattern.
Something that probably wasn't going to work since he knew that
Spike could still smell how angry he was. He just couldn't help
himself, no matter how much he tried not to lose his temper, it
just exploded and he nearly always found himself lashing out at
the only person available. Spike. Xander didn't like beating at
the now timid demon but he couldn't deny that he had experienced

numerous wet dreams that had featured him beating and then
fucking Spike as hard as he possibly could. And he couldn't deny

that he had found these dreams the most erotic that he had ever
experienced.

With that thought in mind, Xander left off his attempt of a
massage when it became apparant that Spike wasn't going to start

relaxing in the too near future. A hand wrapped around the back
of Spike's neck and Xander steered them both towards the spare
bedroom door. The door opened, Xander stood back and let Spike
take in what he had done with the second bedroom.

"Surprise! Act like a whore and I'll treat you like one"
snapped Xander before turning around and leaving a hysterical
Spike curled up on the floor just outside the bedroom door.

Part Twenty-Three 

5 March, Monday, 2001

2.38 pm

Xander
=========

I think I've broken him.

I honestly didn't mean for it to get to this point. I..I just
had to teach him a lesson. Make him learn that there is no way
in Hell that I'm going to be putting up with the shit that he
still pulls. And I'm sure as Hell not going to just stand around

and let him fuck who and what he wants, whenever he wants. He's
mine and I'm not sharing.

I didn't think that my lesson was going to have this type of
effect on him. Yeah, sure..I *knew* that it was going to make
him real upset and get him into one of those 'heavy breathing'
episodes that he only does when majorly stressed, but I have so
gone too far this time.

The lesson wasn't much and I was even going to bring him back to

bed with me in a few nights. It was just a real simple one as
well. Just shifted everything of his into the spare bedroom so
that it was clear where he was going to be sleeping from now on.

You know, the whore gets his own bedroom because no one wants to

sleep with a whore on a permanent basis sort of deal. I had to
do it. If I don't get it through his head that he can't go
around 'shagging' who he wants, then one day, he's going to pick

the wrong person to mess with. Shit, he might even get himself
into more trouble than he already is.

I wasn't being cruel...ok, I was, but it's not like I'm not
going to make it up to him later. I have to do this, have to
give him 'lessons' because asking him not to do things just
doesn't work, and I really wanted this one to stick in his mind.


I only did it because I know how much he hates to be alone.
Especially when he goes to sleep. I don't think I can ever
remember him not clinging to my hand at some time during the
night since the first time he did it, about a week or so after
the attack in the crypt. Figured that this would really drive
the point home. He hates going to bed alone and he gets all
pouty and sulky when we don't climb into bed together, even when
I'm only a minute or two behind him. I swear to God, I was only
going to make him sleep alone for a few nights, maybe three at a

push.

Christ, I hope he's not in any pain because if he is, I can't
tell. I can't believe how much blood there is, there is no way
he's drunk enough to be able to produce all this. No fucking
way.

So, he took one look at the room and did exactly what I
thought he would. Spike just fell to the floor and started in on

a major tear session and that's where I left him. Everytime he
whined at me, I told him to shut up. Had to drag him out of the
main bedroom once, he had gotten undressed while I was in the
shower and had climbed into bed. Ready with legs spread, lying
on his back. Could see him trying to relax enough to put a
smile on his face but there was no way he was going to stop
gripping at the blankets.

I know how much he hates taking it 'like a woman' as he calls it

and I very nearly just called the whole thing off. Don't get me
wrong, I was still angry at what he had deliberately done but
for him to actually offer himself to me like that... But the
lesson had to stick with him so Spike got screamed at and
dragged back into what was now his room. Told him that the main
bedroom was now mine and if he wanted to enter, he had to ask me

and if I was already in there, he was to knock on the door
before entering. That set him off really bad, I mean *really*
bad. I still can't believe that the walls didn't shake with
how loud he was crying. As much as I wanted to tell him that he

wouldn't be by himself for long, I had to ignore his continual
tears and shut the door in his face. Spike had to learn his
lesson.

I went to sleep to the sound of his crying and panting coming
through from the bedroom next to me. Didn't really sleep too
well, to tell the truth, I was so used to Spike being in the
same bed as me. Each time I rolled over, I automatically
searched for one of his hands so that he could could hold mine.
Almost freaked a few times when I realised he wasn't beside me
until I remembered where he was and why he was there. I guess
I've never really taken in how much I like having him beside me.
Wasn't going to tell him that in a hurry though. Wanted to make
him suffer and squirm for a few days, could always catch up on
my sleep once he was back in bed with me.

Oh yeah, I made him suffer all right. I just hadn't realised
how much until I walked into the spare bedroom early this
morning, stroking myself hard at the thought of having a
whimpering cool body underneath me. Didn't bother to knock on
the door, he was a whore and whores didn't have privacy as far
as I was concerned. Was more worried about relieving myself deep

in his ass. Disgusting but true.

Took one look at what was lying on the mattress in the middle of

the floor and I swear, my jaw hit the ground, my hard on running

for the hills only seconds later.

Never in my whole life have I ever seen so much blood.

It was *everywhere*.

It looked like someone had come in and just thrown bucket after
bucket of blood over him. He was covered from head to toe in
it. I don't think I've ever screamed before but I sure as
Hell did then. Long, loud and clear and that's what cleared the
haze of shock and sent me virtually flying to his side. All I
could think was that someone had broken into the house in the
middle of the night and attacked Spike. Hurt him so very badly
because no matter how many times I was asking him to open his
eyes, Spike was totally out of it. Just laying on a wet soggy
mattress and letting the tears flow.

The first thing I did was check him all over to see if he had
been hurt in any way, but I didn't find anything. Nothing. No
cuts, stab wounds, gaping holes...nothing. I honestly couldn't
figure out why there was so much blood over him, the sheets and
the blankets. Fuck, it had even soaked into both the mattress
and the pillow I had given him. It was only when I bent down to
pick him up that I realised I was shaking.

With Spike in my arms, literally dripping blood, the few steps
to the bathroom was the longest walk I've ever made. The blood
made him hard to get into the bath and I apologised every time I

banged him around while trying to get him in. Can't tell you how

many times I accidently banged his head into the bath taps, I
winced with each knock myself. It was just so hard, it was like
trying to deal with a life-size ragdoll.

As I turned on the shower overhead and the bath, all I could
think was that if he died - you know - died a second and final
death, I would be really upset. Even more upset than I would
have been if I had been with Anya or Cordelia and they had died.

It sort of creeped me out, forcing me to concentrate on cleaning

him up.

I started with his face, wiping the thick blood tears away as
gently as I could before angling him more into the water stream
so that I could rinse the drying blood from his hair. And it was

then that I sort of grabbed a clue as to that there was
something so much more majorly wrong that what it looked like at

first. Spike's skin was this horrible grey colour, not the
usual stark white that I've come to crave. His lips were a light

blue, his eyes had started to sink back into his head. I can
tell you now, I was almost afraid to touch him. Thought that
maybe he would crumble into dust if I wasn't too careful.

He really did look like a corpse and he was about as responsive
as one. Kept talking to him, asking him to open his eyes...talk
to me...grunt at me...do anything to show me that he could hear
me. All through my washing of him, Spike kept crying and I had
to keep washing his face. He was crying so hard that I actually
got a little routine happening. You know, rub rub of the body,
rinse Spike's face, rub rub of the body, rinse Spike's face.

Finally, he was all clean and I was still just having to wipe at

his face. Kept asking Spike to stop crying but he either
couldn't hear me or didn't want to. I've seen him cry before.
Lots of times and usually, I'm the one to make him cry but I had

never seen tears like this. Spike sometimes cries long enough
for his tears to become tinged with blood and from what the
G-man told me, that's unusual and not healthy.

Half the reason I yell at him to stop his crying is that I don't

want him to make himself sick, the other is that I really hate
it and it pisses me off more than anything. This time, however,
all I could feel was this tight ball of fear deep in the pit of
my stomach and I started to wonder just how long Spike had been
crying real blood for. It have gone on for hours, for as long
as I've been asleep because when I had to take Spike back to the

spare bedroom, his tears were definately pink tinged then. Just
thought that he would eventually stop, like he always does in
the end. I think that maybe he had a nightmare and rolled around

a whole lot on the bed which would have spread the blood around.

Fuck, maybe he had a 'flash' or even an epileptic fit sort of
thing? I don't know but I do know I'm scared shitless that he's
not going to be around for much longer.

But he didn't stop crying and this time, its my fault he's sick.

I'm the one whose caused this. Not anyone else but me. I've
tried to teach him a lesson and it's gone so seriously wrong and

I have no idea of how to fix it.

I can't get him to stop crying. Thought that giving him some
blood would make him feel better and he would stop but all that
did was make the tears flow faster. The tears are like a tap
that I can't shut off, constantly flowing down his cheeks in a
thick red trail. I can't believe how fast they are, he has to
have lost well over a half dozen pints. Actually, he *has* to
have lost more than that.

I've tried to call Giles but he's not at home and the shop is
closed. Left a message on Buffy's answering machine telling her
to get Giles to ring me, same message that's on Will's and
Tara's machine in their dorm room. It's times like this that I
wished we had all gotten cell phones. At least that way, I could
get Wills and Tara out looking for Giles. God, I'm ringing
almost every fifteen minutes. They're going to kill me but I
don't care. Spike's sick and he needs help. Now.

I'm sitting in a cold bath tub, Spike wrapped in a thick
blanket, his head resting against my chest because I know that
he likes to listen to my heart beat. So, I'm hoping that in some

way it's helping him. Don't know how but I'm hoping.

Jesus Giles, ring soon.

If he doesn't ring soon then I'm going to have to swallow my
pride and ring Deadboy. I so seriously don't want to but I will
if I have to.

I'm so sorry Spike, I never meant for this to happen. I promise
that I'll make it up to you. I..I know that I promise you a lot
of things and I make promises even when I don't mean it but this

time, I swear, I really do mean it. I just had to do this. Had
to be the grown-up. Had to be the man and take control.

What if I've pushed him over an edge that I didn't even know he
was standing on?

Please Spike?

TBC