(3/5)
Spike woke up because of the blanket of warmth around him. At first he thought it was Buffy but it was... too warm to be her. Then he thought, for one horrifying moment, that it was a potential. Spike opened his eyes quickly at the appalling thought and saw the attractive brunette snuggled against him.
Spike smiled and wrapped his arms around Xander pulling the young man closer and nuzzling into Xander's hair. Xander stirred and snuggled in closer to Spike's chest. Spike let a low laugh rumble his chest and kissed the top of Xander's head lightly.
"I like waking up like this," Xander said sleepily.
"Like what?" Spike asked letting his lips brush Xander's hair.
"With you," Xander said and wrapped his arms around Spike tighter, "like this."
Spike smiled. He liked this too. He liked being with Xander, smelling Xander, touching Xander, letting Xander touch him.
Xander, seeming to read his mind, brushed his hand over Spike's chest and down his stomach until he brushed his hand over Spike's pants waistband.
"What do you think you're doing, pet?" Spike breathed.
"I think," Xander said slipping his hand under Spike's waistband and grabbing hold of Spike's cock, "I'm trying to initiate something, sexual, between us."
Spike's hips rocked up slightly as Xander began to stroke his length. "Don't you think it's, mmm, a little early in the morning for that, pet?"
"No," Xander said and began kissing Spike on the lips.
Xander began kissing his way down Spike's jaw and neck alternating between kisses, licks, and bites.
"Xander," Spike half moaned as Xander's thumb rubbed the tip of his fully erect cock.
"You love me," Xander said against Spike's neck, "say it."
"What?!" Spike exclaimed and sat upright in bed.
He looked around disorientated for a moment. Xander wasn't there and Spike was alone.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Spike," Xander called through the door, "are you all right?"
"What?" Spike called out.
"Are you... never mind," Xander said and Spike heard him walk away from the door.
Spike got up from the bed and walked towards the door. He put his hand on the knob and began to turn it.
"Hold on," Xander called from the front room.
Spike heard Xander run softly across the room and then heard the zip and snap of the blinds being drawn shut.
"Okay," Xander called.
Spike opened the door and stepped out into the now darken front room. Spike nodded his thanks towards Xander and stepped into the front room.
"What time is it?" Spike asked gruffly.
"About," Xander looked at his watch, "six thirty."
"At night?" Spike asked and looked around the apartment dumbfounded.
"No," Xander said, "it wouldn't be this light out if it were six at night, would it?"
Spike glared at Xander letting him know his sarcasm wasn't appreciated.
"So," Spike said looking around the apartment for the potentials, "you're saying that I've been asleep for a whole two hours?"
The phone rang and Xander walked over to it. "No," Xander said and picked up the phone. "What I'm saying is you've, we've all been asleep for over twenty-four hours. Yeah," Xander said into the phone.
"What?" Spike said not quite sure if he should believe what Xander had said.
"Right," Xander said into the phone ignoring Spike, "no. Okay, we'll be right over."
Xander put the phone down and walked towards the door. He grabbed his jacket from the hook and opened the door then turned beck to Spike.
"Let's go," Xander said.
"Go?" Spike asked still in a stupor. "Go where, exactly?"
"To Buffy's," Xander said slowly. Spike didn't move and Xander sighed. "Willow thinks this is an effect of the spell. She said we should all meet over there so that is where you and I are going."
"Red," Spike said slowly, "thinks my dreams are part of the spell?"
"What dreams?" Xander asked.
"What?" Spike said again.
Xander shook his head. "Look, Spike, Willow thinks that our massive snooze fest is a result of the spell and we should all meet up over there."
Xander walked over to clap Spike on the shoulder but instead grabbed Spike by the collar of his shirt and pulled Spike against him. Spike smelled like rich ripe raspberries and Xander did the only thing that made sense to him. He leaned in to kiss Spike. Spike met him halfway and they kissed open mouthed and needy.
Spike brought his hands up and tangled them in Xander's hair and pushed Xander up against the nearest wall. Xander's hands traveled up and down Spike's back a couple of times before dipping down to gently cup Spike's jean clad ass. Spike moaned into Xander's mouth and thrust against Xander-
"Then let's go," Spike said.
Xander blinked and looked around himself. He was by the door and Spike was still across the room. Xander opened his mouth to ask Spike what happened but stopped himself as the incident replayed in his mind.
"You all right, there?" Spike asked.
Xander nodded and motioned for Spike to leave. Spike shrugged and walked out the door only to hiss and jump back in and collide with Xander. Xander reeled backwards and they tumbled to the ground in a jumble of limbs.
"Spike," Xander said exasperated, "wha-"
"Sunlight," Spike said and pulled himself off of the ground.
"Oh," Xander said as he got up too. "Maybe I should tell everyone to meet me over here."
Xander nodded more to himself than to Spike and walked over to the phone. Spike shut the door and Xander picked up the phone quickly dialing a number.
"Buffy," Xander said, "yeah, we were but it would just be me and a pile of dust. Yeah, daylight. Why don't we just meet over here? All right, bye." Xander said and put down the phone.
"Where are all of the annoying slayer-wanna-be s?" Spike asked looking around the apartment.
"According to Buffy and Willow, well what they were told by Dawn, is that after the girls at Buffy's couldn't wake anyone up they called over here and the girls here tried to wake us up."
Spike shook off the thousands of disgusting mental images he got of the girls trying many different ways of waking them up ranging from yelling, to hitting, to... sexual.
"They all decided to stay over there at Buffy's," Xander finished.
"And leave you alone and defenseless?" Spike said incredulously.
"Well," Xander said, "you were here and I was inside the house."
"Both of which don't mean a whole hell of a lot," Spike snit, "I was passed out as well and it's only vampires that need the invitation. I'm sure your lot has made tons of other demon enemies."
"My lot?! My lot, we've made enemies? What about you, mister I kill my own kind?" Xander snapped and took a step towards Spike.
"I do that to help you lot, not for me!" Spike yelled and took a step towards Xander.
"Oh, yeah," Xander said and walked towards Spike until they were standing face to face, "you're just a regular 'good guy'."
"Hey," Spike said but didn't know where to go from there.
Xander's breath ghosted warm across Spike's face and Spike itched to grab Xander and pull him into a kiss but Spike didn't want to slip into and out of another disorientating make-out session that didn't really happen. Every fiber of his body was screaming at him to grab Xander and kiss him but he didn't and Xander didn't move either.
"I should," Xander said suddenly, "go and take a shower. The phone woke me up, then you screamed, then the phone... I need a cold shower, er, a shower."
Xander took a step away from Spike and then walked to the bathroom and shut the door loudly behind him. Xander opened the closet in the bathroom and pulled out a clean towel. He threw the towel on the toilet and turned on the shower as cold as his hands could stand it.
Xander whipped of the tee shirt he had put on when he woke up and turned to look at himself in the mirror. The dark red mess from the raspberries was still covering his chest making odd intricate designs. He ran his fingers over one mark and shivered as he remembered Spike's finger's making the mark the previous night.
Xander cocked his head to one side suddenly as he heard the front door open and people talking in the front room.
"Spike," Xander called.
"Yeah," Spike called back.
"Did you open the door?"
"Yeah, I was just... I'm closing it," Spike said.
But Xander didn't care that Spike had opened the door or that Spike was now closing it. What Xander cared about was that he could hear the door open even though he was in the bathroom with the shower was running. Xander shook his head harshly and finished getting undressed then slipped into the nearly freezing shower.
Xander washed his hair and began lightly scrubbing at the markings on his chest with a wash rag but they didn't go away. He scrubbed harder and added soap but that didn't work either. He grabbed a loopha and began viciously scrubbing his skin until he was red and sore but the marks still remained.
Xander turned off the shower and without drying off at all he jumped out, covered his lower half in a towel, and ran out into the front room where Spike, Willow, Buffy, Giles, Andrew, and Wood were standing.
"Oh hey Xander," Willow said, "you're... topless."
"It won't come off," Xander said holding the edges of the towel together tightly.
"What won't come off?" Willow asked.
Xander looked down at the red marks Spike had painted on him the previous day and back up at his friends. They had to see it; this couldn't be another thing that he was imagining.
"What?!" Xander repeated incredulously. "This," Xander gestured with his free hand to his chest, "all of the raspberry goober."
"Really?" Willow asked and stepped forward.
Willow reached her hand out and touched one of the marks on Xander's chest. Willow pulled her hand away and examined her fingers before reaching back out and rubbing at the marks with her entire hand this time. The marks didn't fade and Xander looked at her helplessly.
"I'm sure," Willow said and took a step back, "they will fade... with... time."
"Well that's a relief," Xander deadpanned.
"The important thing is not to panic," Giles said soundly.
"Raspberries," Spike said suddenly.
"Yes, Spike," Buffy said, "that's what we've been talking about."
"No," Spike said, "sometimes I smell raspberries."
"Maybe it's just 'cause you have raspberries smushed all over you," Willow said slowly.
"Yes," Spike said, "but I don't smell them all of the time."
"When do you smell them?" Willow asked.
Spike looked at Willow for a moment before looking over at Buffy, then Xander, then the floor.
"I need a shower," Spike said quickly. "Did you leave me any hot water?"
"Yeah," Xander said.
Spike walked off and Xander looked down at his naked chest and scantily clad bottom half.
"I'm just going to go get dressed quickly," Xander said and wandered into his room.
Xander dressed as quickly as his oddly sore body would allow and when he returned Spike was standing, sans shirt, in the living room while Buffy tried to wipe off the raspberry stain.
"Hey!" Xander yelled at Buffy angrily acting on instinct.
Everyone looked over to him and he paled. He had no idea why he had done it. All he knew was that Buffy was touching Spike, Buffy was touching his Spike and she wasn't allowed to do that.
"I mean," Xander said more calmly, "hey."
"Hey," Buffy said back. "The same thing happened with Spike."
Spike looked embarrassed and slipped his black tee shirt back on.
"Anyway," Willow interrupted, "I've looked over the spell and this, the sleeping thing, is a normal. It was just the one day to replenish our systems. I also think I have the 'what went wrong' thing all worked out. See-"
"Willow," Giles cut in, "it's pointless to keep wondering why. You can't try again."
"I know," Willow said eagerly. "That's the good about this spell, it keeps trying. Constantly. It wants to work so it will keep seeking the right outcome. It keeps going until it works."
Willow smiled brightly while Buffy and Wood looked confused, Andrew looked bored, Xander and Spike were focusing all of their attention on not noticing each other, and Giles looked abhorred.
"Willow," Giles said in a demeaning tone, "you could have put Xander in danger."
Willow began shaking her head and Giles began nodding his until all they needed was to be saying 'nuh uh' 'nah huh' to be completely childish.
"You don't know what the requirement for the spell is," Giles said, "you said that yourself, and now it's going to keep looking to Xander and Spike to fulfill this unknown requirement. That's a problem, which could be dangerous."
"It's a minor problem," Willow said. "And like I said, I've almost figured out what went wrong."
Giles and Willow looked ready to explode, Andrew had already dozed back off to sleep, Wood was admiring Xander's new tv, and Buffy was speaking in hushed tones to Spike. Xander had had enough.
"Maybe," Xander spoke up, "this isn't such an important conversation right now."
Giles looked pointedly at Willow.
"No," Giles said, "it's not exactly pertinent at the moment."
"Good," Xander said, "maybe you can have this 'not exactly pertinent' conversation at Buffy's. Oh, and keep the slayerettes over there."
Xander grabbed Buffy and Giles by the arms and pulled them towards the door. Xander let go of Giles and opened the door then pushed Buffy out then reached back and did the same with Giles. Xander turned back to Willow, Wood, and Andrew.
Wood was already making Andrew get up and walking him towards the door.
"I'm sorry, Xander," Willow said.
"It's not," Xander started, "I just need some time with him, this, this!"
"Right," Willow said either ignoring Xander's Freudian slip or ignoring it.
Willow walked over to the door and out after Wood and Andrew leaving Xander and Spike standing in the apartment still and Buffy standing at the door.
"Come on Spike," Buffy called.
Spike whipped his head towards the door, then towards Xander. Xander opened his mouth to protest but he heard Willow call from the end of the hall.
"Spike should probably stay with Xander," Willow called, "whatever the requirement it involves both of them."
Buffy looked skeptical but nodded, turned, and left without another word. Xander walked over to the door and shut it. He leaned his forehead against the door and closed his eyes.
He'd just kicked all of his friends out because he wanted to be alone with Spike the mass murdering vampire who slept with his ex-fiancé. He had forced Buffy out the door because she was touching Spike. Xander had just decided that he was losing his mind when he felt the air move around him and felt Spike slip his arms around his waist.
Spike leaned against Xander's back and rested his chin on Xander's shoulder. Xander sighed and rolled his head back to rest against Spike's.
"All right, pet?" Spike asked.
"She was touching you," Xander said simply.
"The slayer?" Spike asked and Xander nodded. "She does that."
"I didn't like it," Xander said.
Spike gave a small laugh and kissed Xander's neck lightly. Xander smiled and turned around in the vampire's arms. Xander wrapped his arms around Spike's neck and kissed his lips lightly. Spike kissed Xander's cheek and jaw line and neck.
"It didn't mean anything, pet." Spike purred against Xander's throat.
"I didn't like it," Xander repeated.
Xander felt Spike smile against his neck and then Spike flicked out his tongue against Xander's pulse point. A flash of Spike biting into Xander and draining him hit him suddenly and with a loud cry he pushed away... from the door.
"Is something wrong?" Spike asked walking up to Xander.
"No," Xander lied.
"That makes sense," Spike said, "since most people scream and recoil from doors."
"I thought it was you," Xander said suddenly.
Spike's face went slack and he looked too shocked to speak, Xander felt immediately worse.
"I mean," Xander said taking a step towards Spike but Spike took a step back, "I mean I thought it was you trying to bite me... I mean-"
"Forget it," Spike said with the same 'you don't matter' tone that he always used when speaking to Xander. "Don't you have a job to scamper off to?"
Spike brushed past Xander quickly and back into his room. Spike slammed the door behind him and threw himself down on the bed that reeked of teenage girls and perfume. He heard Xander walk into his room, then back to the front room, and out the door slamming it loudly behind him.
"I'm sure the neighbors just love you," Spike said to himself.