Spoiled & Rotten Spoiled & Rotten Chapter Two Xander fidgeted nervously with the hem of his sleeve as Angelus wandered around his pseudo-apartment, looking things over. Angelus soon grew bored of surveying the tiny, dank room. He leaned against the washing machine and lit a cigarette, watching the boy closely.

"Nice basement," he sneered.

Xander bristled at the sardonic tone. "Yeah, well, they were all out of abandoned mansions."

Angelus' eyes narrowed in response and Xander shuddered, wondering if he would ever learn to keep his mouth shut.

Angelus caught the almost imperceptible movement and grinned widely. It reminded him of what had initially drawn him to the boy. That unique combination of courage and foolhardiness with a touch of healthy fear was what had aroused Angelus so. It certainly hadn't been Xander's fashion sense that caught his eye.

"What the hell are you wearing?"

Xander's face flamed in mortification. "What? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Your taste in clothes seems have to gotten worse in the past two years. I guess The Shrew was good for something after all. Without her here, you seem to have regressed. Or maybe accelerated is a better word since I'm reasonably sure I saw that same shirt at the Senior Citizen home last week."

"'The Shrew'?" Xander stared at him in confusion and then horror, as comprehension dawned. "Oh god! Cordelia! What did you do to her?"

Angelus inhaled deeply and waved Xander's concerns off. "Save your outrage. She's fine." He thought about it for a moment and then chuckled, "For now anyway."

Xander just stood there, motionless and unblinking. He couldn't take his eyes off of Angelus. It had been so long since he could really just stare at his former lover without any fear of repercussions. They had only been lovers for a few months when Angelus came up with his brilliant plan to suck the world into Hell and instead ended up going there himself.

When he finally returned from the demon dimension, he wasn't Angelus anymore. Which meant that Xander was no longer entitled to spend his free time feasting his eyes upon that beloved face. He couldn't even bear to be in the same room with Angel. He knew that if he were around Angel for more than a moment or two, he'd give himself away somehow.

And that must never happen. No one could ever know about what had transpired between the two of them. They would never understand. Xander wasn't sure he understood himself. Still.

The night that Angel lost his soul, he had appeared at Xander's window just as Xander was heading to the bus station. Angel said things…things that Xander couldn't let himself think about. It was too painful to remember. He had been so happy that Angel finally returned his feelings. To discover the next night that it had been Angelus, not Angel, who whispered those sweet lies and made him feel so loved, so alive, shattered his already fragile and battered heart.

Xander should have stopped things right then and there but he didn't. He couldn't. Xander had wanted this for so long, there was no way that he could turn away. It didn't matter that the soul was gone. It was still that strong and beautiful man that Xander had loved from afar.

Of course, Xander had no idea how bad it would get. How relentless Angelus would be in his torment of Buffy. By the time Angelus killed Ms. Calendar, Xander was in too deep. Angelus had gotten under his skin and become this drug that Xander couldn't resist. So he stood idly by and did nothing. For the rest of the world, he and Angelus played the parts of mortal enemies. They even staged a few very public confrontations.

But after every single one of those interludes, Angelus would appear at Xander's bedroom window and fuck him senseless. Reminding him that, no matter what performances they might but on for the Scooby Gang, Xander belonged to Angelus.

Until Acathala.

There had been no way that Xander could allow his own desires, no matter how powerful and consuming they might be, to come ahead of saving the world. Enough people had died because Xander couldn't bear the thought of losing Angelus. It had to stop.

Looking back, he often wondered if he had done the right thing in not telling Buffy that Willow was attempting to curse the vampire again. He knew that Buffy needed a clear head and the truth would have given Angelus the advantage. But if he had told her…

Xander still would have lost him. Regardless of whether or not he went to Hell, Angel only wanted Buffy. That was the reality of the situation. The demon may have desired Xander but his soul certainly did not. Which led Xander to a new question.

"How did you lose your soul this time? I mean, Buffy—"

Angelus growled in response to that name. "No, Buff had nothing to do with it. This time, you have the marvels of modern day pharmaceuticals to thank. A lovely little drug that makes one 'perfectly happy.' Apparently that was enough to send The Brooding Wonder's soul back to the aether where it belongs." He smirked at the look of utter disbelief on Xander's face. It was rather comic. "As for the Slayer, I can deal with her tomorrow. I have better plans for tonight. I feel the need to celebrate my release from captivity."

Xander sighed inwardly, relieved about the temporary reprieve. All his thoughts fled in the next instant as Angelus pushed away from the washer and approached him slowly, a speculative gleam in his eye. Xander swallowed convulsively at that familiar look. "Um…What did you have in mind?"

Angelus reached out and grabbed him swiftly. Before Xander could catch his breath, he was lying on the bed, Angelus' powerful body above him. Angelus looked down at Xander and sighed dramatically.

"Did you forget everything I taught you?"

He used one hand to capture Xander's wrists above his head, as his other hand began undoing the buttons of Xander's hideous shirt. He grinned wickedly at the boy pinned beneath him.

"Allow me to get things started. Just speak up when you remember how to do this."

Angelus' mouth descended and covered Xander's. The kiss was brutal and demanding and had Xander already whimpering with need. It had been so long. And he had missed Angelus so much. Xander arched his body up, trying to press himself closer to his lover. Angelus' lips left his and trailed kisses across Xander's jaw, leaving Xander panting heavily, trying to force air into his aching lungs.

Speak? Xander couldn't remember how to breathe.

"Fuck."

Angelus heard the muttered expletive and growled approvingly in Xander's ear.

"See? I knew you'd remember."