Author's Notes, take two: To Deja vu, who commented on the last chapter - It was posted some time ago, but my old account was deleted, so I had to reupload it.
To Kindle Or Not
They said not to aim so high
but I couldn't help it.
You were the brightest star in the sky,
the highest star I could see.
Knew I'd never reach you
but I had to try.
I set my sights on you and flew.
But the fall hurt more than I'd imagined.
I should have known.
I was nothing but cold ash,
not fit for a burning star.
So I searched
for the spark
that would let me be
Good Enough.
You burn brighter than I remember,
drawing me to you,
seeking the warmth.
I nurse my spark into a flame.
If I offer it to you,
would you engulf me?
Combine our fire?
Or simply just
let me
burn
out?
"""
They'd managed to get the jacket off of R. J. without any kind of incident, and rested in a nearby alley to examine the goods.
"Doesn't seem fair that a stupid jacket can be hexed into a love-magnet." Xander said, sticking his arm in one of the sleeves. "Jocks get enough girls as it is. Though I'll bet you'll never hear about a pocket-protector that's been doused in love potion number nine."
Spike's eyes widened. "What are you doing?" he exclaimed, and then cursed at the note of panic in his voice.
Xander looked at him strangely, but replied, "Trying on the jacket," as if it was the most natural thing in the world for Xander to put on stolen clothing. "After all those years of Lance being the king of everything in high school, I think I'm entitled to a few minutes of getting looks from cute girls." He slid his other arm into the other sleeve and tried to pull the jacket on, but it got stuck before it could get over his shoulders. Xander sighed and took off the jacket. "Damn thing is too small." He tossed it at Spike. "Wanna try it on?"
Spike caught it by reflex, and raised an eyebrow. "No, not really."
"What, you scared?" Xander grinned.
Spike scoffed. "Of this scrap of cloth? Hardly."
"Then try it on." Xander challenged.
Never one to back down from a challenge, Spike squared his jaw and slid first one arm, and then the other into the sleeves, and tugged the jacket over his shoulders. It wasn't the duster, but it fit well enough. "There. Happy now?" Spike's voice died in his throat, and he couldn't break eye contact with Xander.
Xander's mocking grin faded, his eyes dilating as he stared at Spike.
For a heartbeat they stood, still as statues, gazing at each other. Then suddenly Xander surged forward, slamming Spike back into the brick wall as their lips met in a fierce and brutal kiss. Completely blown away by the attack, Spike moaned, his arms coming up to wrap around Xander's neck. Xander gasped as he felt Spike's hips grind into his.
Somewhere in the back of Spike's mind, a voice was screaming that this wasn't right, that it was too soon, but the magic in the jacket quickly shushed the voice, and Spike continued to kiss Xander, caressing Xander's tongue with his own.
The kiss muffled Xander's groan and he clung tighter to Spike, hips bucking of their own accord as he tried to get as close to Spike as possible. One of Spike's hands was rubbing the nape of his neck, and suddenly Xander had a deep overwhelming desire to feel Spike's skin. Xander quickly discarded his long-sleeved over-shirt, and began unbuttoning Spike's black shirt as Spike's other hand slipped under his thin white T-shirt. The contact made Xander shiver, and though his fingers fumbled a little on the tiny buttons, he managed to get them all undone and ran his palms over Spike's bare chest.
Spike hissed in pleasure, arching into the touch as his hand trailed higher, pushing the t-shirt up and admiring the pale skin and muscles that were revealed. Xander's hands pushed at the clothes that were bunched around Spike's shoulders and he obliged, letting go of Xander so that the shirt and jacket could slide off of his arms and fall onto the alley floor.
The second the jacket was off of Spike's body, they jumped away from each other as if electrified. Both were breathing hard as they stared at each other, twin expressions of shock and horror on their faces. After a few moments Spike remembered that he didn't have to breathe, and that he was shirtless. He reached down and untangled his shirt from the jacket, careful not to touch the spelled cloth. By the time he had his shirt back on and buttoned up, Xander had regained some of his senses and was frantically pulling his shirt back down and smoothing it out. His other shirt was lying in a puddle at Spike's feet, and Spike picked it up and held it out to him.
He snatched it from Spike's hand. "Not a word of this to anyone." Xander said, pulling on the over-shirt and straightening out the collar.
"S'not exactly an experience I have any intention of remembering." Spike lied through his teeth. He had ever intention of remembering the taste of Xander on his lips, the feel of him in his arms, but such idle ponderings were reserved for fantasies. Xander would never love him in return, and the sooner he could stop pining after him like a love-sick puppy, the better off he'd be.
Xander kicked the jacket into an empty cardboard box that just happened to be in the alley, and used the box to carry the jacket over to Buffy's house for incineration. He strode out of the alley, holding the box as if it contained a rattlesnake or some other dangerous creature, and never looked back to see if Spike followed him.
"""
TBC...
