Theory #10
Interfering friends are never a good thing.
A week after Willow had tracked him down at work to talk about him and Spike, Xander still hadn't made any progress at getting Spike out of his thoughts or his fantasies. Every night he woke hard and frustrated or sticky and frustrated from dreams in which all their attempts at sex turned out very differently.
In fact, he couldn't seem to stop thinking about Spike. All that out of sight, out of mind crap people talked about was just that, crap. Xander would have said that the opposite cliché—absence makes the heart grow fonder—was more accurate, except his heart hadn't been fond of Spike in the first place, let alone fonder now. Nope, there was no fondness to be had, heart or otherwise.
So what if he missed shooting pool with Spike? It wasn't because he was fond of him. It was just that Spike could snark with the best of them, and he gave as good as he got. Xander had tried striking up a game of pool with other guys at The Bronze in the last week and a half, but they either wanted to get in his pants or bullshit about women and cars and sports. Xander wasn't opposed to women and cars and sports, but after a night of patrol in which he had played bait while Willow and Tara chanted spells and blew up his attackers, all that other stuff seemed kind of trivial. As for the getting in his pants issue, Xander…really wasn't interested. The only person he seemed to want in his pants was Spike, and that so wasn't happening ever again.
And so what if the first person Xander thought of when he dropped by the video store and saw that Night of the Undead XVI had finally come out on DVD had been Spike? Just because they'd watched all the rest of them together, laughing and making fun of the ludicrousness of the plots and monsters, and laughing harder when the movies occasionally got something right, didn't mean they had to see this one together. Xander had made it all the way to the counter with the DVD in hand, nearly convincing himself he'd rather see it alone, when an image of Spike's smiling face as they joked around had popped in his head. Curiously, Xander's chest had tightened a little and that had been that. He'd left the DVD on the counter and taken off, sure there was probably some kind of spell behind it and the only way to shake it was to get far, far away from that video store as fast as possible.
And that was how Xander ended up back in his apartment building, in front of his door, unlocking it as he tried to compose himself. And that was why it was no surprise that when he stepped inside and saw the light on his answering machine blinking his breath caught, just a little, and his heart sped up, just a little, as he crossed to it and hit the play button. It was also no surprise that it wasn't Spike's voice he heard. It never was. Every time he saw he had messages, he stupidly hoped it was Spike calling him, wanting to meet somewhere, maybe give it another shot. His hopes were made more stupid by the fact that not once since he'd known Spike had Spike ever called him for anything.
As it turned out, it was Willow and she sounded…strange. Like maybe something was really wrong. Xander's suspicions were confirmed as he listened to the message.
"Xander, there's um…something's going on. We could really use your help. You know the hotel across town? That fancy one with the valet parking and the fountain out front? Could you meet us there at nine o'clock? Apparently a demon clan is visiting from out of town and they like luxury. And children. To eat. Tara and I are going to try a no-hunger spell on them, but we need a distraction. Anyway, meet us in room 304 and we'll go over the plan, okay?"
The answering machine beeped, letting him know the message had ended. Xander looked at his watched and frowned. It was ten to nine. He'd have to hurry to make it on time. Thoughts of how much he wasn't fond of and didn't miss Spike in the least would have to wait. He had children-munching baddies to distract.
Xander arrived outside room 304 at exactly nine, on the dot. He thought about knocking but decided against it, not wanting to draw attention to himself. He glanced up and down the hallway, but no one was paying any attention to him. Reaching out, Xander tried the doorknob and found it was unlocked. Hoping that was deliberate on Willow's part, rather than a sign that all was not well, Xander quickly opened the door and stepped inside.
Two things happened at once, then. Spike, who was the last person Xander had expected to see in the room, raced at him, yelling at him not to let the door close…just as the door, in fact, closed. By itself.
Shit.
With an oomph, Xander found himself flat against the now closed door, Spike pressed against him as they collided. Spike started to push away, but then their eyes caught and held, freezing both of them in their tracks. After several heartbeats, Xander licked his lips, not missing how Spike tracked the movement with piercing blue eyes.
Trying to keep his libido under control, Xander cleared his throat and asked, "What's going on?"
Spike's eyes narrowed and Xander heard a low growl emanate from him a split second before Spike jumped back, turned and paced away. Turning back, he pinned Xander with angry eyes and spat out, "Your bloody witch is what's going on."
Xander pushed away from the door and looked around, confused. "Willow? What does she have to do with it? And hey, where is she, anyway? I thought I was supposed to meet her and Tara here."
Spike snorted, the anger of a moment ago dropping away in favor of him throwing his hands up in the air as he flopped down onto a nearby chair. "That would be the bloody million dollar question."
Xander, ignored for the moment the provocative way Spike was sitting: slouched, legs spread wide, elbows on armrests with hands carelessly framing his considerable crotch…. Xander shook his head and blinked, looking away. Who was he kidding? Lesbians who had no use for men couldn't have ignored the sex that oozed off Spike without Spike even trying, especially in that position.
Looking anywhere but at Spike, Xander realized that they were alone and there was no sign of anyone else having been there. No spell books or potions or herbs lying around, something Xander would have expected to see if Willow had been there and just left for a minute to get something she'd forgotten.
And then Spike's mad dash for the door made a lightbulb go on in Xander's brain. Turning to the door, Xander eyed it warily and reached out for it.
Just as his hand closed over the knob, Spike said, "Don't bother. 'S spelled shut. Only way to open it is from the outside."
With a sinking feeling, Xander tried the door anyway, hoping it was just Spike, or vampires, or demons in general that couldn't open it. No luck. The knob turned, but the door didn't budge. Feeling slightly panicked that they seemed to be trapped, Xander pounded on the door, yelling for help.
Again, Spike said from behind him, "No use wasting your breath, Harris. Apparently there's a sound barrier as well. I never even heard your heartbeat until you stepped through the doorway. Everything beyond that threshold is complete silence, like nothing exists outside this room. I seriously doubt anyone out there can here us in here, either."
Xander turned back to the room, searching for some way out. "There has to be something." His gaze landed on a small balcony just past the bed. "What about the balcony? I couldn't jump down from here, but you should be able to. You could come back around and let me out!"
The small bubble of hope Xander had felt well up inside at the idea quickly burst as Spike shook his head. "Not an option. Was in the process of trying just that when you walked in. 'S why I wasn't close enough to stop the door from closing. There's an invisible barrier there, too."
"The phone—"
"Is dead. Give it a rest, Harris. I've tried everything."
"So we're really…."
"Stuck? Appears so. Remind me to thank Red properly for this, yeah?" Spike said, scowl firmly in place although there was no real heat in his voice, just weary resignation.
Giving up for the moment, Xander crossed to the bed, the only other place to sit, and sank down, facing Spike. "So, what is this? And why are you so sure it's Willow who did it?"
Spike looked at him as if he was dense. "Innit obvious? The witch came and talked to me about you a few days ago. Told me she'd already talked to you. The bint's trying to play matchmaker. Never mind it was her spell that cocked things up in the first soddin' place. No. She decided in that brilliant little red noggin of hers that she should give it another go, so here we are."
Xander's eyebrows scrunched together. "You got all that from this?"
With a put upon look, Spike pulled a crumpled up note out from the pocket of his skin tight jeans. "No, got it from this. Note was lying on the bed when I walked in."
Xander read the note, which essentially said what Spike had, that she—and not just her, Tara and Dawn, too, apparently—were playing matchmaker and he and Spike were both stuck there for the night. Alone. With one bed. And, oh joy, there was more. If they didn't find a way to resolve things between them on their own, another spell would kick in in a couple of hours that would force them to be honest about their feelings with each other.
Angry, Xander crumpled the note back up and threw it across the room. "She thinks she's going to fix something that magic messed up with more magic?"
Spike shrugged as he picked at his chipping black nail polish. "Appears so."
Xander stood and started pacing. "I can't believe this. And if we don't fix it on her timetable, she's going to cast another spell?" Xander hesitated, then added, "Not that it'll matter. Because there's nothing to be honest about. I mean, we both know where we stand with each other, right?"
Xander stopped pacing and looked at Spike, who met his gaze before looking away. "Spot on. Nothing more to say about it, really. It was just sex…attempted sex. It didn't work, we moved on, end of bloody story….right?"
Xander looked away and nodded. "Right. So I guess we're in for a long night of complete boredom, huh?"
"You have a gift for the obvious, pet," Spike responded absently, apparently fascinated by the state of his manicure.
Xander stared out at the balcony and swallowed hard, ignoring the way his stomach did a little flip when Spike called him pet. Stupid English vampire and his stupid English nicknames.
Xander sighed in defeat and flopped back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. One long night of pure torture, coming up.
Two hours later, Spike glanced over at Xander, lying on the bed in the same position he had been for the last two hours. And for the last two hours, Spike had been doing his damnedest not to jump the boy's bones. Now, though, that was all about to change because of the bloody witch and her bloody meddling.
The two hours they'd been allotted to resolve their issues—not that they had any—was up, so any minute now spell number two was about to be cast. Not that it would make a soddin' bit of difference, Spike reminded himself. It had been just sex and it was over. He'd had to drink his way through two liquor stores' worth of stock and endure an unsatisfying suck job in an alley from a human vampire groupie the other night to get Xander out of his head, but it had worked. Only it hadn't, and Spike knew it, and, soon, so would Xander if Red had her way.
Suddenly, jumping Xander didn't sound like such a bad idea. Maybe, if their mouths were otherwise occupied, they wouldn't be able to spill any deep, dark secrets no one but their inner demons had any business knowing. Not that Xander had an inner demon, but if he did…. Spike shook his head. Bloody hell, he was babbling like the human. That couldn't be good.
Scowling, Spike stood. He didn't feel spelled, but that didn't mean anything. Red could be using some sort of masking spell like she did on the room. Otherwise, he never would have stepped inside. He would have felt his skin start to crawl the moment he got close to the room. It was probably another of the witch's tricks. Make him think his thoughts were his own instead of spell induced.
Fuck her. He'd show her. He was going to shag Xander stupid and make a point of keeping both their mouths very occupied. Then, come morning, they'd have each other out of their systems and everything would go back to normal. Spike would get his pool and movie mate back and that would be that.
Except, sex never ended well with them. Maybe, though, that wouldn't matter. They were stuck together for the night, so if one or both of them shot too early, or whatever else, they'd be able to get past it and get on to the shagging for a change. They just needed to stay away from sex toys, which wouldn't be a problem because, as far as Spike knew, there weren't any in the room. There was, however, lube. Spike had looked through the drawers before Xander showed up, after discovering the phone was dead. Red had left plenty of lube.
And with that thought, Spike pounced.
And as expected, it didn't go as planned. Xander, taken off guard, screamed like a girl and shoved Spike off. Spike, caught off balance, fell off the bed and landed on the floor on his bum.
"Bugger."
Peering over the edge, Xander looked at him as if he had grown another head. "What the hell was that, Spike?"
Spike stood, wincing at the pain radiating up his tailbone. "The spell's kicked in. Only way to keep from spilling our deepest and darkest is to keep our mouths busy, yeah?"
Xander appeared to think about that. "That makes sense. Except, it never turns out well."
Spike, regaining his composure, climbed onto the end of the bed and began a slow crawl up the length of Xander's body, meant to seduce. If the way Xander's heart rate and breathing increased were any indication, it worked. And if those two things hadn't clued Spike in, the arousal suddenly wafting off the boy would have.
Heady with the scent, Spike licked his lips and said in a rough voice, "Doesn't matter, does it? We're stuck here for the night. Trapped together. One or both of us gets off a little early, it won't really matter. It'll just…take the edge off. Make it last longer, yeah?"
"Yeah," Xander responded, eyelids half shut, voice breathy.
Spike's cock jumped in the confines of his jeans and he bit back a groan of approval at Xander's responsiveness…and he hadn't even touched him yet. Deciding to rectify that, Spike leaned down and pressed his lips to Xander's. Before long they were kissing deeply, tongues thrusting, needy little moans escaping both of them. Spike dropped down on top of Xander, bringing them groin to groin. Rotating his hips and grinding their cocks together, Spike pulled his mouth from Xander's.
He licked and nipped his way down the side of Xander's throat, stopping at his jugular to suck lightly, groaning at the pulse of human blood just under the surface. His fangs itched to drop and sink in. Not to feed or kill, but to taste, to experience Xander another way, a way even more intimate than sex.
Spike was startled by the thought. He'd been denying the pull he felt toward the human ever since this started—before, if he was honest with himself—but now, with the spell…he couldn't. The truth was, he wanted more from Xander than just sex. He wanted to possess Xander, and he wanted Xander to possess him. The demon in him demanded it; the piece of humanity Spike had held onto since his turning longed for it, longed to belong.
Pushing the far too fatalistic thoughts aside in favor of getting himself and the boy naked as quickly as possible, Spike pulled at Xander's shirt, tearing it. To his delight, Xander reciprocated, half pulling Spike's shirt over his head, half splitting it in two. Spike shrugged out of the tattered remains and climbed off the bed as he unbuckled his belt. He held Xander's gaze as Xander worked on his own belt and jeans and, within seconds, both of them were naked and hard.
Spike's eyes dropped to Xander's drooling erection and, with a lick of his lips, he climbed back on the bed and settled on his stomach between Xander's legs. Without any preamble, he swallowed Xander whole, hands on Xander's hips, pressing down as Xander bucked up in surprise.
"Holy hell, Spike. I…I…fuuuuck…." Xander trailed off, panting as Spike sucked and licked, deep-throating him repeatedly.
Spike watched Xander's reactions, his own hips grinding his cock into the bed as Xander thrashed back and forth, babbling incoherently, hips trying to buck up and twist side to side while Spike held him down and devoured him. Within minutes, Xander was at the edge, crying out for Spike to stop, to give him a minute, but Spike didn't. Instead, he stepped things up, releasing one of Xander's hips in favor of massaging his balls while he continued to suck Xander off.
Suddenly Xander's body froze and his hands flew to Spike's head. Spike allowed it, and when Xander bucked up into him one last time, Spike didn't hold him back. Xander thrust his cock down Spike's throat and Spike swallowed around it, milking him as Xander cried out his name above him.
Spike's eyes slid shut and he moaned around the erection in his mouth, causing Xander to shudder and reflexively grip his head tighter. Being manhandled, the taste and feel of Xander in his mouth and throat, and the sight of Xander as he came brought Spike to the edge. Releasing Xander's balls, Spike lifted his hips slightly, reached down and jacked himself off, cumming within seconds.
A moment later, Xander let go of him and Spike pulled off, climbing up the bed to settle in beside him.
After a brief silence, Xander cleared his throat and said, "That was…."
When Xander trailed off, Spike couldn't help himself. "Good, great, bloody brilliant? What?"
Xander looked over at him with an expression of extreme satisfaction. "That was easily the best blow job I've ever had. And then some."
Spike forced himself not to smile stupidly, but inside he preened at the praise, feeling somewhat redeemed after all the tries and failures since the whole thing with Xander had begun.
With a slow smile, Spike promised, "That was just the beginning, pet. After you've recharged, we're going to get to the serious shagging."
Xander's eyes flashed with interest before his expression turned thoughtful. "Do you think Willow cast more than a truth spell? Maybe some kind of spell that makes everything just…go smoothly?"
Spike turned onto his back and lifted his arms, resting the back of his head on his hands. "Don't know. Maybe. Never heard of one like that, but I wouldn't put it past Red to make one up. Just glad it's working properly, instead of turning us into oddly shaped globs with no edges."
Xander chuckled at that and Spike smiled up at the ceiling, liking the sound of Xander's laughter, and, more importantly, liking the fact that he had caused it. Bugger. He was a sad sap and already in deep. How he hadn't realized he was falling, he didn't know. Drinking down gallons of alcohol and thinking about the boy constantly should have been a clue he was smitten beyond all hope.
Trying to tamp down the urge to confess his newly realized feelings for Xander, Spike cleared his throat and climbed off the bed, heading for the bathroom. He wet down a washcloth and cleaned himself up, then took it back out to the bedroom and wiped up the sheets where he'd soiled them.
Finally, having run out of things to busy himself with, he laid back down on the bed and turned toward Xander. Running a hand down Xander's chest toward his stomach and beyond, Spike asked, "Ready for round two yet, pet?"
Xander glanced down his body at his softened penis and said, "I am, but he might have something to say about it."
Spike busied himself petting Xander's torso and stomach, reveling in how warm he was. Now that he was being honest with himself about his feelings, courtesy of Red, he couldn't seem to hold back the need to touch and be close to Xander. He always had been an all or nothing sort of bloke, and, until morning at least, he was going to indulge himself in the all. He'd worry about ending up with nothing later, since he was sure Xander didn't feel the same way.
Being friends with a vampire had been a leap for Xander, Spike knew. Sex with one…it had surprised Spike that Xander even considered it after the first spell had worn off, let alone actively pursued him for it. But real emotions? A real relationship? Spike wasn't kidding himself. He was a realist. There was no way Xander wanted him for the long term. He was just slumming it, scratching an itch, and Spike was more than willing to be his temporary scratching post.
Several long minutes of comfortable silence stretched between them, until Xander turned toward him and their gazes met. Spike saw…something in Xander's eyes that made his stomach do a flip and his non-existent breath catch, but as soon as the expression appeared it was gone, leaving Spike to wonder if it had ever really been there to begin with. Before Spike could say anything, though, Xander leaned in and kissed him.
When Xander pulled back, he said, "I was just thinking, while we're waiting for my batteries to recharge we should probably, you know, kiss or something, to keep from saying…stuff."
Spike's eyes dropped to Xander's lips. "Could be right. Wouldn't want…stuff spilling out, would we?"
Xander's mouth formed the word no as he leaned in and kissed Spike again. Before long, Spike found himself on his back, Xander pressed into the side of him, doing a slow grind with his slowly but surely reawakening cock against Spike's naked hip.
Spike slid his tongue along Xander's as he ran one hand down Xander's arm to his hand, pulling it toward his groin. When Xander took the hint and fisted his erection, Spike thrust up into his fist, moaning in approval. As Xander took charge, pushing up and over him, wedging himself between Spike's legs, Spike marveled at the slow, deliberate pace, so unlike the fast, frenzied pace earlier.
If Spike hadn't known better, he would have sworn Xander was poncing about, attempting to make love to him. But he did know better. The boy was probably just gun shy, considering how all their other attempts at intercourse had turned out.
Soon, all thought fled in favor of sensation as Xander slicked two fingers with the lube Spike had grabbed from the drawer and slid them inside him. So slowly it drove Spike mad, Xander worked his fingers in and out before adding a third.
In time, Xander asked, voice husky, "Ready?"
Spike nodded. "Was ready three fingers ago."
Xander smiled down at him, pulled his fingers free, lifted Spike's legs over his arms, lined up his cock and sank into him. Spike groaned, eyes fluttering shut, as Xander filled him. It felt just as good…better in fact than the time they'd tried this before, in Xander's bed. And when Xander began to thrust, shagging him just as slowly and deliberately as he'd finger fucked him, Spike thought he was going to go insane. He tried to hurry things along, tried to urge Xander to go faster, but Xander just shook his head and told him to relax and take it.
Relax and take it. Spike nearly laughed at the absurdity of that and would have if he hadn't been in the middle of being buggered good and proper by a rock hard, hot cock. He'd had a suspicion Xander would be a bloody brilliant top if he just got his confidence behind him. He'd seen glimpses of it when they'd role-played, but then Red had burst in and ruined things just when they'd been getting good. As Xander rocked into him over and over, cock punching his prostate with nearly every thrust, Spike dared Red to walk in then. He'd rip her to shreds, chip or no chip.
But the witch didn't burst in, and Xander didn't go soft, or shoot early, or lose his confidence. Instead, he fucked Spike into a panting, babbling, begging mess.
"Please…please…bloody hell, Xan, need to cum. Please."
Spike had tried to touch himself several times now, but each time Xander batted his hands away and, after the last attempt, Xander had grabbed his wrists and held his hands down, nearly sending Spike over the edge.
"You're so fucking hot when you beg," Xander said breathlessly.
Spike groaned and arched, trying to rub against Xander, anything to end the torture and get off. Finally, Xander let go of Spike's wrists and braced one hand on the bed. With the other, he reached down and grabbed Spike's arse as he dropped down on top of him more fully, giving Spike the friction he needed, bending Spike practically in two in the process.
Xander's mouth dropped to the side of Spike's neck, and as his thrusts sped up, slamming into Spike with increasing force, his teeth bit down on Spike's jugular. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to make Spike scream and everything go white hot with pleasure-pain. Spike's entire body froze as his orgasm crashed through him, going on and on as Xander fucked into him faster and harder, his teeth still clamped down on him.
Slowly Spike came down from the high, his body shuddering with aftershocks, until Xander thrust one last time and released his neck, groaning out Spike's name as he emptied into him. After, they stayed that way, Xander's softening cock inside him until Spike dropped his legs and Xander's dick slipped free. Even then neither moved, and, before Spike knew it, his eyes grew heavy and slid shut.
He felt Xander's body relax down onto him, weighting him down under its solid heat and he couldn't help the whispered words that escaped his mouth. "Love you, Xan."
Immediately Spike tensed, holding his breath and cursing Red and her truth spell while he waited to see if Xander had heard him. Several moments passed and Xander didn't move, didn't show any signs of having heard him. Finally, Spike relaxed and began to drift off.
When he was on the edge, caught between wakefulness and complete oblivion, he thought he heard a whispered, "I love you too, Spike," but was sure it was just his mind playing tricks on him.
Xander woke to shrill ringing. He opened his eyes, at first disoriented, but as he pushed up on his elbows and looked down into wary blue eyes, it all came back. The message from Willow, finding out it was a set up to get him and Spike alone, lying on the bed trying to pretend he didn't want to jump Spike. Spike actually jumping him, the amazing blowjob and sex that had followed…. All of it came back, including Spike's admission of love after he thought Xander had been asleep.
Xander hadn't been.
He'd just been so completely relaxed and at peace he hadn't wanted to move. So, when Spike whispered it, then tensed up, Xander forced himself to stay still and pretend he was sleeping. It had just…seemed easier that way. Mainly because he'd been scared shitless. Spike in love was an overpowering thing. He'd seen glimpses of Spike and Drusilla together, and hello? They'd stayed together for over a hundred years! And then there had been Buffy. She'd never returned Spike's feelings, but Spike's feelings had definitely been obvious. Among other things, he'd caught a sword with his bare hands to protect her. Hell, he'd been willing to die for her and, because of his love for her, he'd stuck around after her death to help them for no other reason at first than that they'd all been Buffy's extended family.
Eventually, though, lying on top of Spike, Spike's admission echoing in his head, thinking about the past weeks since this whole twisted not-just-sex thing had started between them…Xander had finally admitted to himself that he loved Spike too. And, thanks to Willow's spell, he hadn't been able to keep it inside, so he had whispered it back. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that Spike had apparently fallen asleep by then.
The phone stopped ringing and Xander opened his mouth to say…what, he had no clue. But it didn't matter anyway, because it was at that moment that Spike chose to push him off and climb out of bed. Xander watched as Spike padded across the room completely, gloriously, naked and right out onto the balcony.
It was understandable, then, that it took a moment for Xander's eyes to unglue themselves from Spike's ass to figure out why exactly he was out on the balcony. What he saw made his stomach sink inexplicably. Spike could reach right out over the edge.
No more barrier.
No more barrier, no more spells, nothing holding them in that room together or smoothing the rough spots so they could have sex without anything getting in the way.
It was over.
Spike turned back and their eyes met, Xander no longer captivated by Spike's nudity, instead captivated by the sadness in Spike's eyes. An instant later, though, Spike's expression closed off and he strode back into the room with purpose.
"Might want to get dressed. That call was probably from Red, and since we didn't answer…."
Xander sat up. "She'll probably be here any minute."
Spike nodded, grabbed his jeans and threw Xander's to him.
Minutes later, just as Xander was pulling on his socks and shoes, there was a knock on the door. Spike and Xander looked at each other, then Xander stood, crossed to the door and opened it.
Willow came bursting in, looking from one to the other of them then to the ruined remains of their shirts, still lying on the floor. "What…are you guys okay? Only, you didn't answer the phone, and I started to worry that I messed something up and I was panicking all the way here, and….. Oh!"
Xander flinched as Willow smacked his shoulder. "Hey! What's that for?"
Willow, hands on her hips, said, "You didn't answer the phone! Why didn't you answer the phone? You scared me!"
From behind Willow, Spike said, "No worries, Red. We didn't turn into shapeless blobs."
Xander met Spike's eyes over Willow's shoulder and they shared a secret smile that made Xander feel all…warm and squishy.
"What? Shapeless blobs? What are you talking about?" Willow asked, turning so she could look back and forth between them.
Xander chuckled. "Nothing. Just…sometimes your spells don't always work out exactly right."
Spike, suddenly looking very menacing, took a step toward Willow. "About that. I told you when this all started I don't like magic being used on me. I told you then to stop meddling."
Willow frowned. "But I didn't!"
Xander's brows scrunched together. "Wills, we were trapped in here. Neither of us could get out."
Willow's expression turned sheepish. "Oh, that. Well, yeah. I wanted to make sure neither of you ran away—"
"Oi! I don't run, witch."
Willow shot him a sidelong glance and ignored the threat in his voice. "Like I was saying, I didn't want either of you running away before you guys had a chance to…resolve things."
The way her cheeks pinkened at what they all knew she was implying would have been cute if Xander wasn't still confused. "What about the truth spell?"
Willow looked even more sheepish, if that was possible. "That was Tara's idea. She thought that if the two of you thought you had to tell the truth, well, that you might actually sit and have an honest conversation. I mean, it's obvious to all of us, even Dawn, that the two of you like like each other. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been so avoidy lately."
No truth spell. Nothing they'd thought or said had been coerced. It had been all them. Xander wasn't sure how to feel about that, and by the looks of it when he met Spike's gaze, Spike was having issues with that too.
Spike turned to Willow then and asked, "And the smoothing out spell? Was that all bollocks too?"
Willow looked between them, confused. "The what?"
Xander, feeling his face heat slightly, cleared his throat and said, "You know, the smoothing out thing. You must have done something, because except for Spike falling off the bed at the start, we uh, didn't, um…have any problems…this time."
Willow's eyes widened and she looked back and forth between them, then back down at the shirts on the floor before her eyes settled on the rumpled bed. Her cheeks pinkened again and her eyes got wider yet. "Oh."
Impatiently, Spike asked again, "Well? What did you do?"
Willow shook her head and met their questioning gazes, her expression open and honest. "Nothing, I swear. We didn't want you guys thinking after the fact that anything you said or…did had been, you know, not completely of your own will. The only spell I cast was one to keep you in here. And that only lasted an hour or so. I figured if things were really going bad, one or both of you would try to get out again and if it came to that, then you should be able to go and not be…stuck."
Xander and Spike's eyes met again, then, and Xander swallowed hard at the heat in Spike's eyes. Spike held Xander's gaze as he asked Willow, "Just to clarify, Red, last night was all us, then? No spells at all after the first hour?"
Xander felt trapped by Spike's intent stare—not that he was complaining in the least—as Willow answered, "Nope. Nothing. Whatever happened here was all you guys."
One corner of Spike's lips curled up, his expression full of promise as he continued to stare at Xander in an unnerving, hot as hell way. "Right. Might want to book the room for another night, then. Don't think me and the boy here will be leaving anytime soon."
Xander's back stiffened and, in spite of the fact that he couldn't force himself to look away, he said, "Hey! I told you before I'm not a boy."
Spike took a step toward him, finally breaking eye contact to look him up and down from head to foot and back again. "Right. Definitely not a boy. Proved that well enough last night, didn't you?"
As if from a distance, Xander heard Willow say, "Um, right. I'll just…go. I'll call you later, Xander."
Xander nodded, not trusting himself to speak. The door clicked shut and, faster than Xander could blink, Spike was across the room and pushing him backwards until Xander's back hit the wall.
When Spike didn't make any move to kiss him, though, Xander said inanely, "So…no more problems with the sex thing, huh?"
Spike's tongue poked out from between his teeth, curling up slightly in a devastatingly sexy way that should have been illegal. "Guess not."
Xander swallowed, wondering how he hadn't burst into flames yet. "That means we can have sex any time we want."
Spike leaned in so that his lips were only a whisper of breath away. "Spot on, pet."
Just before Spike closed the distance between their mouths, Xander put his hand on Spike's bare chest and held him off. "One rule, though."
Spike arched an eyebrow. "What's that, then?"
"No sex toys of any kind. We don't wanna push our luck."
Spike smiled one of his rare, sincere smiles. "Deal. Except…there is one thing you might want to consider. Not a toy, exactly, but Red made it, so…."
Curious, Xander asked, "What?"
Spike pulled out of his pocket and held up what looked like—and probably was if Willow was involved—a potion bottle with a cork in the top. "Found it in the drawer with the lube. Came with a note. Said you told her about the chip firing and the plug, so she made a potion that would help loosen you up enough the first few times that I won't end up in blinding pain and you won't land in the ER. Want to give it a go?"
Xander smiled. "Why not? The rest of the magic she's used on us turned out all right, didn't it?"
Voice husky, Spike said, "It did at that, pet," just before their lips met.
~*~ The End ~*~