Smell Of Home

By Velvet Crypt

Chapter One

"So what you're saying is that another Big Bad is coming to take over the Hellmouth?" Buffy summed the last half hour of Giles-speak up in one sentence. Giles looked flustered for a moment, and then sighed.

"Yes, Buffy. That's what I'm saying."

"Fine. What are its weaknesses and does it have a timeline?" She grinned, back on footing she could understand.

Giles sighed again and opened the large book in front of him. "According to the Watcher journals, it is a Ghrestian demon. I've found very little on them, but what I have found is-"

"Ghrestian?" Spike interrupted. "You have a name yet? On which one?"

Giles furrowed his brow. "Why? Do you know something about Ghrestian demons?" The other scoobies looked expectantly at Spike.

He shuddered slightly. "They're bloody awful, is what I know. Specially the one I know."

Giles sat in his chair and gestured for the vamp to continue.

Spike looked around the room at the eager faces and inwardly winced. The bright and shiny faces of the witches looked at him curiously from their vantage point on the couch. Buffy sprawled inelegantly over the armchair, but looked no less curious. Xander…sweet, oblivious Xander. Spike sighed. He had no idea when the welfare of the male Scooby became his primary focus in life.

Xander watched him, warm chocolaty eyes encouraging him to speak, encouraging him to spill his guts for the amusement of the slayerettes

"Yeah, right then." He gave in. "Ghrestian demons are nasty because they have two modes of attack. The first is that they're bloody huge and have nasty claws and teeth. The second attack is subtler. They can manipulate pheromones."

Giles perked up considerably. "That's fascinating!"

Spike looked wryly at him. "Til you get on the receiving end of it, I suppose."

"How does it work?" Willow asked.

"They can project their own emotions, or any of their victim's emotions through scent. Then they send it to you. And it's usually not pleasant."

"So, what about the one you know?" Buffy asked.

Spike refused to make eye contact. "One I know's named B'Thaaug. He's big. He's nasty. He's obsessed with humans. Well, one human. Or, actually, many…but they all look the same."

Buffy snorted. "So, you going to start making sense anytime soon?"

Spike snuck a look at Xander. The boy looked totally confused. Spike went back to staring at his hands.

"B'Thaaug is centuries old. He has a fetish for humans. But he keeps choosing the same kind. They're always male, young, well built with dark hair and dark eyes." He could feel Xander's own dark eyes on him.

"He also has a fairly large grudge against me."

Long seconds passed. Finally, Buffy sighed. "Okay, why does he have a grudge against you?"

"I took one of his mates."

More silence. "So what did you do with him?" Xander ~of all people~ asked.

"I snatched him, fucked him, turned him, killed him and left his ashes on B'Thaaug's proverbial doorstep."

"Why?" Tara asked quietly. Spike laughed with no humor.

"Did I need a reason? The boy was gorgeous. I wanted him. So, I took him. Got tired of listening to him ramble on about the Ghrestian, though, so I turned him and then killed him just to piss off B'Thaaug."

No one moved as Spike stood and exited into the kitchen.

Everyone made silent eye contact with each other, thrown by the re-emergence of William the Bloody, even in story.

Xander stood. "Okay, so Spike did something awful. We knew what he was when we took him in from the Initiative. We all know that he has had a…nefarious past. But we need him. And if we plan on picking his brain for demony info, we have to be prepared to come across unpleasant things, right?"

The witches nodded, prompting Giles to follow suit. Buffy and Xander had a stare off for a moment, but then she dropped her gaze and nodded.

Xander sat back down. "So what now?"

---

"No. Not happening." Spike shook his head. Buffy bristled.

"You can't tell me what to do, Fangless."

Spike got in her face. "Slayer, he is gathering an army to take you out and take over the Hellmouth. The last thing you are going to do is charge into the middle of a fucking demon convention swinging a stake!"

Buffy met him glare for glare, neither backing down. Giles cleared his throat.

"As much as it pains me to say it, Buffy, Spike is quite right."

Buffy turned a look of betrayal on him. He pulled off his glasses and began scrubbing them frantically.

"You must admit, Buffy, that your presence is well known in the demon community. And if they see you, they will be quite likely to gang up on you."

Buffy growled. "So, what do you suggest, genius vamp?"

Spike backed off slightly. "If he's out of seclusion, he'll be looking to choose a mate as well. That means he'll be in the limelight more often than normal, putting on airs and letting of fuck-me pheromones. I suggest that we go in, do a little recon, see if we can get in on his recruiting and find out if he has any concrete plans for opening the Hellmouth."

Even Giles looked impressed. Spike rolled his eyes.

"Bloody hell, children. I'm evil, not stupid."

Tara smothered a smile, and then raised her hand. "Um, can I ask why demons are holding a convention?"

Giles frowned at her raised hand, and placed his glasses back on his face.

Spike shrugged. "Well, they aren't exactly holding a convention. It's rather like a reunion plus recruitment effort. B'Thaaug tends to stay away from the demon population whenever he has a mate. After the mate dies, B'Thaaug come out to find a new one." He grinned. "He's kinda co-dependant."

Xander choked back a laugh, his eyes twinkling at Spike.

"He's bloody powerful enough that his need for a new mate will bring out demons in force. Everyone will be bowing and scraping for scraps of attention and whoever finds him his 'boy' will be well rewarded. And with his plans to take over the Hellmouth, the number of demons will quadruple." He shook his head slowly. "We're in for a bloody war."

Buffy stared warily at the vamp. "We? Why we? What is this about? You looking for protection from this Bathog?"

Giles winced. "It's B'Thaaug, Buffy."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Xander watched Spike with curiosity. Was that actually a look of hurt flash across his face? The vamp straightened his duster and pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his duster pocket. He didn't light up; he just rolled it in his fingers. After a moment, he met Buffy's eyes.

"I'm not asking for your protection, Slayer." He said lowly. "I'm not asking for anything. I'm offering my help."

Buffy didn't look convinced. "Why? What are you getting out of it?"

He quirked his lips. "You won't believe anything I say, so why should I say anything."

Giles chose that moment to stand. "Yes, well…I don't suppose we need to know your reasons as long as we can rely on your assistance." He looked pointedly at the vamp. "We can rely on it, can we not?"

Spike nodded.

"So, what's the plan?" Willow bounced.

---

The plan, in Buffy's mind, was enough to override his needing a reason. Thirty minutes later, she was still laughing. Willow had stopped ten minutes ago and Tara had only covered her smile with a small hand.

Xander and Spike just sat on the couch, staring at Giles, wondering what the hell happened to their watcher.

"You want us to what?" Xander asked again, still as dumbfounded as the first five times he'd heard it.

"I want to entice B'Thaaug." Giles repeated with a sigh.

"With me."

"Yes."

Xander looked from Giles to Spike. "And you want Spike to do what?"

"Pretend to be your mate."

Xander looked back to Giles. "Why?"

"Because the demon will be sure to pay attention to you. Not only do you have the classic look of his past mates, but with Spike as your partner, he's sure to focus on you."

"And we want this why?"

"Because while B'Thaaug is distracted with you, Willow and Tara will be gathering information."

"So, you want me to pretend to be Spike's boyfriend?"

"Yes."

"And you think Spike being my boyfriend will protect me?"

"Spike has a formidable reputation in the demon world. He also has the reputation of having stood up to B'Thaaug before. Other demons will either choose to leave him alone as he could make mincemeat out of them, or they'll be afraid to tread on B'Thaaug's vengeance plans."

Spike grinned at Giles' comments. "Mincemeat, eh?" He puffed up.

Xander rolled his eyes. "So I have to stick close to him?"

Giles shook his head. "No. For your own protection, you should never leave his side."

Xander stared at Giles in shocked silence.

"Well, you have to be convincing. Otherwise, you'll wind up as an icky monster's mate." Willow added, trying to hide her amusement.

Xander sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, What do we have to do?" Willow and Buffy gave each other a high five look. Giles pointedly walked into the kitchen.

"First, you have to hold hands." Willow stated.

"Oh, yes, very important." Buffy agreed. "As boyfriends, you should be totally comfy with holding hands."

From the kitchen, Xander could hear Giles sigh for him. Spike stepped up with a smirk and waited. Schooling his features into indifference, Xander snatched Spike's hand. Spike raised an eyebrow.

"You're joking, right?" he drawled. "Surely you've held hands with a girl before. What about the Prom Princess, Cordelia?"

Xander blushed and tried to look everywhere but at Spike.

"Here, mate. Like this." Spike's voice was nothing like he'd ever heard out of the vamp's mouth. He chanced a glance at him and didn't see a smirk at all. Neither did he see an 'oh, how sad' look. Spike's face was perfectly unreadable as he pulled Xander's arm to the inside of his own and linked fingers, curling them tightly together.

"This is the best position." The vamp continued. "It's a natural enough position that you don't have to think about it to do it, plus it's easy to drag you through a crowd. Less chance our hands will come apart and I'll lose you." He demonstrated, leading Xander around the room and obstacles. "Also, there's this…" He waited for Xander to catch up to him and then he put his own arm behind his back, tugging Xander behind him. "If we see any Big Bads, I want you back there. That way, they have to go through me to get to you. Understand?"

Xander nodded soundlessly. Spike wanted to protect him. Not because he was told to. Not because he was looking for an excuse to humiliate Xander in public. But because he really truly wanted to protect him. The thought gave him a strange warm feeling. Not unlike the one he had from their entwined fingers.

"So what next?" Buffy broke through Xander's musings.

"Well, they need to know how to sit together." Giles said with a perfectly straight face and a wicked gleam in his eye as he walked back into the living room.

"Oh, fer Christ's- I already know how to sit with someone." Xander snarled. Giles merely crossed his arms and looked pointedly at the couch.

Xander rolled his eyes and flopped on the couch, laying his arm across the back. Spike stepped in front of him and put his hands on his hips looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Xander snapped.

"Spread your legs."

"What?" His voice rose an octave.

"Look, mate, this isn't the movie theatre. We're going to be hobnobbing with a bunch of evil demons. And this…" Spike waved his hands in Xander's direction, "Isn't going to convince any one of them that we're shagging and you're off limits." Xander blushed a fiery red and parted his legs slightly. With a sigh, Spike reached down and manhandled him.

He bent Xander's leg at the knee and shoved it up against the couch as he dropped between the boy's thighs. Snuggling his ass up against Xander's crotch, he leaned back against the boy's chest and draped Xander's arms around him. For the final touch, he linked their fingers again. Giles looked impressed. The girls looked pleased. Spike looked like a cat with cream. Xander looked as though he'd never been more uncomfortable in his life.

"Well, I must say, you two do look as though you've shagged before." Giles remarked with an uncustomary grin.

Xander shoved Spike out of his lap, hoping that the growing tightness in his pants wasn't noticeable to anyone else. From Spike's smirk, that didn't seem to be the case.

"So, that's it? We're done?" He crossed his legs.

Willow shook her head. "Oh, no…you haven't practiced kissing yet." Xander's eyes bugged out.

"Are you insane?" He shrieked. "I am not kissing Fangless. He is…well, he is a he! And I am a he! And he's do not kiss. I am not gay."

Buffy tsk tsk'd. "You know that people expect couples to kiss. And you and Spike are going as a couple. The least you could do is try it. If it's horrible and you look bad together, it's better to know now than when you get in front of dozens of demons."

Xander stifled a scream. He closed his eyes and counted to ten. Twice. Then opened them and uncrossed his legs again. With a glare that spelled death, he pointed to the couch. A serious expression on his face, Spike knelt on the couch and leaned forward. He was rewarded with a hard close-mouthed kiss and a smacking noise as Xander pulled away.

"There, I did it. It was horrible. We looked awful together. And I am not gay!" He glared at Willow and Buffy.

Spike sighed. "You didn't even try." He sounded disappointed.

"I'm sorry, Spike," He grated, "Was I supposed to tongue you and moan a lot?" He snorted. "Fine. Your turn. But then that's it. I'm done practicing being gay. I'm going home."

Spike's eyes had gone grey, he noticed, as the vamp twined his fingers through the boy's hair, holding his head still. To spite him, and he others, he puckered up in a horrible impression of all the comedy movies he'd ever seen. After a moment, he felt soft breath whispering across his lips and he unwittingly shuddered. A second later, his lip was bitten. Not painful, but certainly not gentle. He unconsciously opened his mouth to protest, and felt a cool tongue slip in between his lips.

He caught his breath again and made a tiny squeak into Spike's mouth. Softly, so softly, Spike stroked Xander's tongue with his own, relishing the taste of the boy. He ran his tongue over Xander's teeth, traced the roof of his mouth, and slid it into the darkened recesses under his tongue. Then he pulled away slightly to taste the boy's lips and Xander answered with a whimper. He nipped gently at the swollen flesh, and pressed the boy back into the arm of the couch, grinding his hips into Xander's.

What the hell was going on? He'd never been kissed like this before. Not by Cordy, that was for sure. Sometimes in his dreams, he felt this way. But it had never been accompanied by the rich taste of passion, the bite of menthol, or the tang of blood. It sure never came along with a very hard erection pressing against his own. He needed to feel more of that, by the way. He shifted his body until his arms were free and then he ran them down Spike's sides and grasped the vamps hips.

With a low moan, he pulled the blonde down onto him as he thrust upwards. Spike responded by pulling Xander's tongue into his mouth and sucking on it as though it were a lolly. Shivers ran through his body with each suck and he needed to be ripping Spike's clothes off. He made it as far as jerking Spike's shirt out of his jean waistband before the vamp came to his senses and pulled away.

He smiled tenderly at the boy as Xander whimpered in protest and reached for him again. He leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead before standing up. He took in the open mouthed stares and hunched a bit.

"Err…I'll be back in a mo." He rasped and stalked to the bathroom to relieve himself of the raging hard on the boy had given him.

Giles hid a smirk as he dropped into a chair, thinking that if it had gone on any longer, he too would have been looking for a bathroom. The girls just stood and stared at Xander, reclined on the couch, his eyes shut, and a look on his face that fairly screamed 'what the hell just hit me?' Slowly, he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.

"I was wrong." He whispered. "I'm definitely gay." Snickers met his realization. and he sat up.

"Gay? Really? Are you sure? That's a pretty big step." Giles said seriously.

"If I'm gay, I should have a thing for all guys right?" Nods all around. "Or at least the cute ones." He looked at his friends. "So, who is a cute guy? Oh, and definitely not a father figure like Giles." Shudder. He pondered for a moment before his eyes landed on Buffy. "Riley! Riley is a guy, and he's sorta cute in a Teutonic way…"

Buffy looked as though she couldn't decide on defending her boyfriend or being nervous that Xander was using him as an example.

"So," Xander continued. "He's large. He's muscled. He's attractive…" He squinched up his eyes. "He's not doing it for me. Too big."

"He's not!" Buffy interjected and then looked embarrassed by the glances sent her way. "Well, he's not." She concluded in a quiet voice.

"How about Oz?" Willow asked. "He's smaller than Riley." Xander bit his lip thoughtfully.

"Oz. Hmmm. Small, wiry, I like that. But his hair…it's not…"

"Blonde?" Tara asked helpfully.

"Right! Not blonde. And his eyes…they're not…"

"Blue," She finished for him again.

He glanced at her with narrowed eyes. She returned his look with one of complete innocence.

"Fine. So I'm not gay. Maybe it's a vampire thing!" He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. "Drusilla. She's a hot vampire cutie, right? Dark hair, dark eyes…all those curves…and bumps…and holes-"

"Xander!" Buffy sounded shocked, but when he raised his head to look at her, her eyes were shining with laughter.

"Yeah, well. Maybe male vampires. How about Angel." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "Tall, dark, handsome, strong…" He let his voice trail off as he tried to picture the vamp in all his glory.

"Not doing it for you, huh?" Willow grinned.

"Not in the least." He replied, sitting up. "Ok, so where does that leave me? I'm not gay. I'm not into vamps. That means it's worse than both. I have a thing for Spike." He shook his head and ran his hands over his face. "Oh, shit."


Chapter Two

"It's okay, Xan," Buffy consoled. "Spike's a really good kisser. Maybe that's all it is."

Xander looked unconvinced. "Buffy, if he hadn't moved, I would have stripped him."

She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. "I know."

He frowned. "What exactly is up with you? Half an hour ago, you wanted to tear his throat out. Now, you're acting like you can't wait to see us naked together?"

She looked to Willow for support. "You know, I really have no idea why I'm suddenly okay with the bleached wonder. Wills?"

"Maybe you're just happy he's not chasing you anymore." Buffy brightened.

"That must be it. I mean, how weird is Xander and Spike together?"

Willow eyed the door that Spike disappeared into. "So, he kisses good, huh?"

Buffy nodded vigorously, a wicked twinkle in her eye.

"I've never kissed a vampire before. Maybe I should try him out." She gave Tara a 'play along' look and the shy blonde smiled.

"Go ahead, sweetie. I know you love me and that it would just be a little experimentation."

Xander stared at his friends in horror. He couldn't decide if they wanting to swap spit with a vampire bothered him or if he was bothered that they wanted to swap spit with his vampire. Either way…

"Nobody is experimenting with Spike." He growled.

Willow pretended to pout. "You're just being selfish."

Xander snorted.

"Don't you want him?" Buffy asked slyly.

"No."

"But you don't want anyone else to have him."

"No."

"So you don't want any part of him?"

Xander sighed. "No. I don't want any part of him." Not his soft, utterly kissable lips, or his tight ass that just begs to be grabbed. I don't want his cock, warm in my hands, causing him to whimper against my lips…Xander shook his head fiercely much to the amusement of the others. "No parts of him." He reiterated firmly, staring at the door Spike had gone through.

As if his gaze had summoned the blonde, Spike strode out of the bathroom, flushed but smirking.

Willow had a matching smirk as she walked up to him and leaned against his chest. "Spike?" She purred.

He looked down at her with a wary expression. "What?"

"Would you kiss me?"

Spike looked confused. Xander looked pissed. He stomped over to his best friend and dragged her away from his vampire bodily.

"No one is kissing Spike." He said again, dragging the bewildered vampire to the front door. "We are going home. We will see you tomorrow, when all this kissing nonsense is over." He threw back over his shoulder.

"Oh, Xan? You two might consider that you'll have to be sleeping together. Just so you are really covered in Spike's scent. Maybe you should practice tonight?" Willow called after them. Xander pretended he didn't hear her.

They exited to the sounds of the girls' tinkling laughter.

---

The two men stared at the bed silently. Finally, Spike cleared his throat. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but Red's right. They will be expecting our scents to be on each other."

Xander closed his eyes.

"And it can't hurt to get an early start on it."

Xander opened them again.

"Unless you have another way to get our scents on each other."

Xander began stripping.

"And if you did, that's fine too. Just lemme know."

Xander stopped at his boxers and climbed into bed. Pulling the covers up to his chin, he sighed and closed his eyes again. "Get in."

He could hear Spike's hesitation, and then the vamp began to slowly disrobe. He stopped after unzipping his jeans.

"Um, Xan? You wouldn't happen to have some shorts I could sleep in? I don't usually wear anything under me jeans."

Xander squeezed his eyes shut as visions of Spike in all his naked glory danced through his head. "Top drawer of the dresser."

"Thanks, mate."

A moment of rustling later and he felt the covers being lifted. A weight settled onto the other side of the bed and then…nothing.

He lay for what seemed like hours, waiting for some kind of movement from the other side. When none came, he finally relaxed. When he did, sleep came easily. Unfortunately, so did dreams of a naked Spike and what a naked Spike would do to him.

---

Xander woke, feeling that warm satisfied glow that comes with a good nights sleep. He snuggled down further into his pillow and was not a little surprised when his pillow wrapped arms around him. Opening his eyes, he found himself staring at a pale, muscled chest. He took catalog of his body parts. He lay with his head on Spike's chest, his arms wrapped around the vampire's waist. He was pressed full body length against cool flesh and his legs were hopelessly entwined with Spike's. He closed his eyes. Shit.

Chapter Three

"So what exactly is this place?" Tara asked in a shush as they pulled up to a huge dark building nearly 10 miles outside of Sunnydale. The structure was four stories tall and looked to contain several wings. Towers jutted out of each wing like accusing fingers. The whole place was cloaked in darkness and fog. It looked dead.

"And when are we going to get to it?" Xander piped up from the passenger seat. The girls looked at him strangely. Spike just grinned.

"We're here, Whelp." He stopped the car at the gate. "Only supernatural creatures or those with supernatural abilities can see the place. Willow and Tara looked relieved that Xander wasn't going insane. Xander just looked peeved.

~Of course. One more thing to point out how totally useless I am as a member of the Scooby gang.~

The speaker on the gate chose that moment to crackle to life. Everyone but Spike jumped.

"Gareesh na tok?" A harsh voice growled.

"Bareek Spike. Ta ne cabeel B'Thaaug." Spike replied.

The gate swung slowly open and Spike drove the car through into an overgrown parking lot. He shut off the engine and turned around in the seat. "Everyone remembers the story?"

Nods all around.

"Then let's go."

---

Xander looked around the room with a critical eye. "Weird."

"What is?" Spike looked up from his duffle bag.

"I've actually been in crappier human hotels. It's bizarre to see clean towels and little bottles of shampoo in the bathroom. Not to mention the paper strip around the toilet." He shook his head and threw his duffle on the bed next to Spike's.

"You know, all demons aren't slime encrusted." If Xander didn't know better, he would have said that Spike sounded hurt.

"I didn't mean that," Xander said. "I…how about I just shut up now?" He flung himself on the bed and watched the girls unpacking.

"Whatcha wearing to the banquet tonight?" He asked.

Willow blushed and held up a strapless green dress that looked like it would mold to her every curve. "Spike said to dress like Vamp Willow going to the prom." She muttered glaring at the vampire.

Xander gave a low whistle. "Nice. If I weren't totally in love with my vampire boyfriend I might consider propositioning you." He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. Willow laughed and went into the bathroom to get ready. "So, Tara, What's your costume look like?"

Tara pulled a lump of material out of her suitcase and held it out shyly. Xander reached over and his eyes bugged out. "Holy crap, Tara. Does Willow know you're going out in public naked?"

Tara laughed even as she turned a delightful shade of red. "Willow picked it out. She said if she wanted to drag me off into a corner and kiss the daylights out of me, she wouldn't be so tempted to stay and talk shop with the witches and warlocks involved in dark magics. The better of two temptations, I think she said."

Xander gingerly handed the sheer material back to the witch and turned to Spike. "Do I want to know what you're wearing?"

Spike shrugged. "I'm Spike. William the Bloody. I have a look already. Why mess with perfection?"

Xander shared an amused look with Tara and turned to unzip his bag.

"Don't bother, Pet. I have your clothes in my bag."

Xander looked warily up at him. Spike just smirked.

---

"No way in hell am I going out in public like this." Xander crossed his arms and adamantly sat on the bed. Spike just sighed and laid the black leather pants and vest on the bed. He grasped Xander's shirt and began tugging it over the boy's head.

"What do you think you're doing?" Xander yelped, trying to impede Spike's progress.

"Dressing my stubborn boyfriend."

"First of all, I'm not your boyfriend. Secondly, I can dress myself. Thirdly. I am not dressing myself in that!"

Willow and Tara giggled from their seats on the other bed.

"Firstly," Spike replied, finally yanking the shirt over the brunette's head, "You are my boyfriend. At least for the duration of our stay here. You'd do well to remember that some demons have interesting ways of spying. So, I wouldn't mention that again. Secondly, I suppose you could dress yourself, but you're not. So, I'm helping. Thirdly, there's no way in hell I'm letting you out of this room, being the boyfriend of William the Bloody, in one of your hideous Hawaiian shirts."

Xander looked offended. Spike took the opportunity to kneel and jerk the boy's tennis shoes off.

"But I'll look like…eye candy!" Xander protested again, halfheartedly kicking his foot at Spike. The blonde stopped for a moment.

"You already do, pet." Spike said softly. He gave Xander a look so warm and full of…something he'd never seen in Spike's eyes before, that Xander hitched a breath and his protests faded away.

"I do?" He asked in a small voice.

"You do. You look delicious all the time. I'm just going to make sure that everyone can see that for themselves from 50 feet away. I want you to look like sex in leather. I want you to be proud of you body and flaunt the fuck out of it. I want you…" He trailed off.

"You want me…what?" Xander whispered.

Spike shook his head slightly, laughing a bit self-consciously as he noticed Willow and Tara holding their breath. "I want you to attract every eye in the room, luv. That's your job tonight: to distract." ~Hopefully, you won't be too much of a distraction for me, too.~ "Now, are you going to finish dressing yourself, or do I have to help you?"

~Yes, please?~ "No, I can do it myself." Xander snatched the leather off of the bed and stomped into the bathroom, slamming the door.

Spike ran a hand over his face and sat in the spot Xander had vacated. He looked up to see two sets of sparkling eyes watching him. He sighed. "What?"

Willow shrugged. "Nothing really. So, how long have you had the hots for Xander?" she asked nonchalantly.

Spike just quirked a knowing eyebrow at her. "Depends on what you mean by 'hots', luv. If you mean 'how long have you wanted to shag my best friend, Spike?' then the answer would be: since Angel offered him to me in your high school." Surprised look.

"If you mean 'how long have you wanted to shag him and still stay friends?' then the answer is: since I stayed with him in the basement of doom. If you mean 'How long since you realized that you can't get him out of your head, that you sneak into his house to sleep in his bed because it smells like him, that you'd rather be staked than see him hurt?' then the answer is: I have no idea. He just kind of crept into my head. Now I can't get him out. I don't even think I want him out." He snorted self-deprecatingly and looked at the girls.

They had identical looks of surprise and sadness. Spike barked out a laugh.

"Come on, ducks. You know it's the funniest thing you've ever heard.

Willow shook her head. "No, I don't think it is. I want my best friend to be happy. I admit that the thought of him being happy with a vampire kind of throws me, but listening to you just know…I can't see the vampire. I can only see a man who is desperately in love and terrified out of his mind that it isn't reciprocated." She held up a hand, forestalling the inevitable protest.

"If you make him happy, Spike, then please take my blessing." She smiled shyly. "And if he makes you happy, then take it as well." Spike snapped his mouth shut at her admission of friendship and swallowed to disperse the lump in his throat.

"Thank you, Red." He whispered.

The bathroom door flew open and Xander barreled out. "I look like a total slut!" He stared from one psychotically laughing friend to another, a look of disgusted bewilderment on his face. Then he threw his hands in the air and stalked back into the bathroom.

---

"This is the biggest dumb-assed idea you've ever had, Spike." Xander whispered, taking comfort in the strong, cool hand that gripped his. He glanced around the room, and with the exception of several vampires in game face, saw no one that looked human. He felt his heart speed up and took another step closer to Spike.

"We're going to mingle, boys." Willow tried to sound serious minded, but the excited note in her voice and the bouncing she was doing belied her words. She grabbed Tara's hand and drug her away before Xander could beg her not to leave him.

Spike stepped in the middle of the room and allowed everyone to notice him. There was really no other term, Xander thought wryly. The vampire just exuded confidence, commanded attention…deserved it. ~What the hell are you thinking?~ He shook his head.

"I'm thirsty, Spike. Where's the punch table?"

Spike grinned at him. "My guess is that you don't want whatever is in the punch. Safest bet is the bartender. Ask for a beer. In a bottle. And watch him open it."

Xander just stared at him for a moment, mouth hanging open, before walking away in the direction of the bar.

An hour later, Xander was so bored he though he might fall asleep in his barstool. He could see Spike, still in the center of the room, hobnobbing with some strange purple demon and something with horns. Willow and Tara waltzed by ever so often in a group of cloak-clad individuals, only some of whom where human.

A growl came from behind him. He looked at, then quickly away from, the Fyarl demon and moved out of the seat he'd occupied for most of the night. With another sigh, he began to make his way though the throng of demons to Spike. A large, unmovable body planted directly in his path stopped him. He looked up. Oh, no. Please not…yes, claws…teeth…minions bowing and scraping in adoration…

"I am B'Thaaug." The creature growled at him.

Shit.

The Ghrestian demon leaned forward and sniffed. Xander tried not to flinch, but didn't think he succeeded.

"You smell familiar, human. Why is that?"

Xander pasted a smile on his face. 'Maybe you're smelling my boyfriend…Spike.

The demon growled. "Spike? William the bloody is your mate?"

Xander nodded fiercely. "Yup…uh huh. He's my mate…err, my boyfriend…yup, I belong to him." ~Shit. Now I'm doing Willow babble.~

The demon leaned in again and snuffled Xander's neck. Then he grinned. Teeth shone in the light like large knives.

"Not mate. Fucking maybe. But he hasn't claimed you. That was stupid of him."

From across the room, Willow glanced over at the bar, where Xander had last been. She tensed up when he wasn't there. "Tara, where is Xander?" She nearly panicked.

Tara turned from the Ca'al demon she was chatting with to scan the room. "Oh, there he is. Next to the…very large Ghrestian demon. Oh, crap. Willow, get Spike!"

Willow took off for the center of the room while Tara excused them both to the Ca'al. It nodded understandingly and watched as she raced after Willow.

Spike snorted at Mivka. "That is the bloody stupidest joke I've ever heard, mate."

Mivka tittered, his purple skin jiggling.

Willow shoved past him and grabbed Spike's duster. "Hey, now, Red! Me mate and I were just talking here."

"Sorry," she said with a cursory glance at the demon, "But B'Thaaug just found Xander."

Spike stiffened and whirled around looking for the brunette. Once he spotted him, he shot off with a display of vampiric speed.

"Red, is it?" Mivka asked.

"What? Oh, actually, it's Willow. Spike just calls me that cause he hates to use real names for some reason." Willow said absently.

"Willow then. Spike had not a good relationship with the Ghrestian."

Willow snorted. "Yeah, he told us."

Mivka looked impressed. Or at least Willow thought he looked impressed. It was kind of hard to pin a facial expression down on something whose skin moved like Jell-o.

"I will clear a path for you. I have a feeling Spike will need to run."

Willow looked at the purple demon in astonishment. "You're doing Spike a favor?"

Mivka shrugged, skin rippling. "He is my friend. I have not many of them. I will go now. Perhaps we can speak later."

Willow nodded, shocked, as the demon oozed its way through the crowd, stopping to speak every few steps with another demon. Wondering what the Hellmouth did this time, she followed Spike.

"B'Thaaug." Spike barked out. The larger demon turned. "I see you've met my mate."

The Ghrestian laughed deeply. "Not mate, William. I can smell it."

Spike stepped up and took Xander's hand into his own. Tugging, he pulled Xander behind him.

B'Thaaug smirked. "Since you have not properly claimed him, he is still open market. And I am looking to buy. Perhaps he can be…encouraged to come away with me?" Xander shuddered at the look on the demon's face.

"Sorry, B'Thaaug. I'm as happy as can be with my Spike. Don't think I'll be changing my mind anytime soon. He took a step away from Spike, meaning to move them all out of the Ghrestian demon's path.

"We'll see about that." B'Thaaug bared his teeth. A wave of scent that literally caused Xander's hair to move rushed over him. From what he could see, no one else could see what happened. ~Great. Once again, it's just me.~ He sighed, and on the return breath, the smell that accosted him made him gag. He tried to step out of the stench, but his legs wouldn't hold him up.

He whimpered, and tried to breathe through his mouth. Bad idea. Now he tasted it as well as smelled it. It…there was no name for the foulness. He smelled rotting flesh, hot fetid breath, and sex. Not any sex he'd ever smelled before. This was overpowering. It seeped into his pores and clung to the inside of his nose like a miasma of death. He imagined this was what women smelled as they were being raped.

And the fear. Who would have thought that fear had a smell. It did. It was an acrid, scorched ozone smell. And it carried his own scent with it. He knew it was his scent. After 20 years, he had a pretty good idea of what he smelled like. And he'd never smelled anything like this on himself before. His knees buckled and he felt himself falling. He didn't feel his body impact. He vaguely recognized someone calling his name. But he couldn't focus enough to respond.

A moment later, he was flying. Or at least he was being carried. He felt strong arms around him and he let his head fall back, hoping that the breeze caused by the somewhat disturbing speed at which he was moving would carry the smell away. But it didn't. Long moments later, he felt the arms release him and he sank into softness.

God, he was so hot. Why was he hot? Now everything smelled like it was rotting under a midday sun. He gagged, and barely avoided vomiting.

---

"Xander?" Willow called frantically as Spike caught the boy. "Xander, can you hear me?"

Spike just glared at the Ghrestian demon. The demon laughed in return and walked away. Infuriated, Spike swung the boy into his arms and began shoving his way out of the crowd. Willow and Tara quickly followed behind. Mivka had cleared a nice path for them and they exited the banquet room quickly. Running to keep up with the vampire, the girls were out of breath by the time they reached their room. Tara carded the door open and Willow shut it behind them.

"Spike, what's wrong with him?" She whispered.

"Fucking demon pheromoned him. That's all I know." The vamp growled. "Red, get us a wet rag, the boy's burning up."

Willow scrambled to comply while Spike laid the limp body on the bed. Soft moans escaped Xander's mouth every so often and he shook his head violently back and forth. Willow knelt at the side of the bed and handed a cloth to Spike. The vamp took it and began bathing the boy's fevered face.

He seemed to quiet for a moment, then began thrashing wildly. He knocked Willow off of the bed and his whimpers escalated to howls. Spike threw the cloth down and pulled the boy into a sitting position. The last thing he needed now was for the boy's tongue to fall back into his throat and choke him. He crushed Xander's head against his stomach and pulled the boy's body between his thighs to hold him.

---

He felt a cooling weight pressing against his face and he calmed down a bit. Perhaps it was over. The smell would just go away now. Then the wetness was gone and the smell came back in full force. Gagging, squirming, desperately trying to get away from it. He realized he was crying, but couldn't even smell his own tears. Howling in helplessness, he felt the stench seep into his throat. It curled around his body like a vise and tickled his skin evilly.

Then he felt himself jerked upright and his head crushed into something soothing soft but unyielding. His legs were pinned and he panicked. But only for a moment. As he sucked a breath of air in to scream, another scent came with it. Leather. A spicy scent. He breathed in again. Menthol? Smoke. Himself. He could smell himself and it didn't have the taint on it. He lost himself in the reprieve.

He scented something else. The formerly rough hands now loosened their hold on his skull and began stroking his hair. Protection. He was safe here. He was safe. No one could get to him. He was cherished. He was cared for. He buried his face further into the sanctity of home. He nuzzled the shirt under his face and decided he needed more.

Shakily, he jerked the shirt up, out of the jeans that held it. He plastered his face to the cool flesh beneath it and breathed in again, long and deep. Running his arms around the waist in front of him, he locked his arms together and tugged. The form fell on top of him and he rolled, burying himself underneath it.

---

Spike wasn't quite sure what to make of the sudden calm that swept over Xander. He met Willow and Tara's eyes; both filled with tears, and then looked back down at the dark head nuzzling his stomach. Gently, he began running his fingers through the soft strands, and noticed that his fingers were wet. Leaning closer, he saw Xander sweating profusely.

"I think his fever just broke." He said in amazement. A low moan and the desperate tugging of his t-shirt from out of his jeans followed his proclamation. He watched wide-eyed as Xander pressed himself into naked skin, snuffling Spike's flesh. The boy wrapped his long arms around Spike's waist and jerked him forward. Spike tried to fall so that he didn't hurt the boy. It didn't matter, though. As soon as they hit the bed, Xander tugged Spike on top of him and burrowed under his body.

"Xan pet?" He lifted his head to peer down at him. "What are you doing, luv?"

A 'mph' was his response. Willow sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to wipe Xander's head with the washcloth again.

"Xander, what happened?" She asked quietly. Tara moved up behind her to rest her hands on her girlfriend's shoulders.

"Bad smell. Hurt. All over. It was everywhere." He mumbled.

"How could a smell hurt, Xander?" Tara asked.

"On my skin. In my throat. Burying me. Suffocating me. Burned." He let out a low whimper and Spike kissed him softly on the forehead. Xander inhaled deeply and quieted immediately.

"Xander, what kind of smell?" Willow asked.

"Sick, rotten, dirty. Sex, lust, fear. My fear. My smell and my fear. All over me. Invading me. Like being raped." Tears began to leak and Spike growled at the witches. Xander didn't seem to notice, but Tara bit her lip.

"What make the smell go away, Xander?"

Xander sniffled and smiled softly, eyes still shut. "Spike. Spike made it go away."

"How did he do that?"

"He smelled like home."

"Home?" Willow repeated in confusion. Home was the last place Xander ever wanted to be.

"Home." Xander smiled sleepily. "Where you're safe. Where you're protected. You never have to be alone or afraid. Where you're loved."

Willow looked even more confused. Safe? Loved? In the Harris home?

"Spike smelled like you're home?" Tara clarified. "Your house?"

"No…home smells like Spike. Spike…is…home." And his arms loosened from around Spike's waist as Xander fell into a peaceful sleep.

Chapter Four

The girls just stared with equally astonished expressions. Spike shrugged his own confusion and rolled them so that he was able to sit up. Xander whimpered in his sleep and Spike quickly tugged the human back into his embrace. Snuggly Xander reappeared and he settled down with a tiny smile on his face.

"Well, ducks, don't look at me like I'm bloody well supposed to have an answer for any of this." Spike glared at the girls defensively. "I've never seen B'Thaaug, or any Ghrestian for that matter use his stench spell on someone to kill." Willow sucked in a breath and Spike rolled his eyes.

"What? You thought he was just beginning to parboil as a result of being next to my luscious body?" He snerked at Willow's embarrassed look. "No, Red," he continued more gently. "Whatever reek B'Thaaug shoved up Xan's nose, it was designed to kill. He would have continued to get hotter and hotter until he roasted his insides and his body finally gave out under the strain of trying to cool him down.

He unconsciously clenched the sweat-drenched boy in his arms, thinking how close he'd come to losing him. Tara cleared her throat. He glanced back up at her.

"Umm, can I ask some questions without you growling at me?" she asked timidly. Spike felt a rush of fondness for the shy little chit, but he frowned at her instead.

"Probably not, ducks, but I won't bite." Tara looked relieved at that.

"Umm, okay. S-so, you said that B'Thaaug would think you and Xander were together. H-he didn't, though, did he?"

Damn observant witch, Spike growled internally. Some of what he was thinking must have shown on his face though, because Tara paled and Willow glared at him. He sighed.

"No, ducks. He didn't believe it. I honestly didn't think he would." Willow gasped, but Tara just nodded.

"He said you hadn't claimed him yet. Is that why he knew?" Spike nodded back at her.

"So what is this claiming and why didn't you do it if you knew Xander was in danger?" Willow demanded accusingly. Tara laid a calming hand on her leg and she bit back her next retort.

"Red, claiming is something you scoobies don't want to get into. It's messy. It's permanent. And it's something that Xander wouldn't have wanted me to do." He looked pointedly at her. She still looked angry.

"How do you know? Did you even ask him? We could come up with a spell to unclaim him later, right?"

Tara dropped her head, a sweet smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Spike got the feeling that little Glinda the good witch knew quite a bit more than she let on. He let it go for now.

"Willow." The utterance of her real name from Spike's lips caused her to pause in her tirade. "A claim is permanent, luv. The only way to 'undo' it is if he or I were to die." The angry glint in her eyes faltered. "A claim means he belongs to me; blood to bone, mind to soul. I own him. In most cases, that's where it stays. He becomes my human minion. He will do what I tell him to because he belongs to me and he knows it." Spike could see that his shock treatment was working. Willow looked positively horrified.

"It's not always like that though. Sometimes its mutual. I feed from him, he feeds from me. It mates us. Neither one holds sway over the other. But it's like…his soul and my demon would marry. In a permanent, honestly til death do us part way." Lovely. She looked horrified and terrified now, her hand going to her neck. "Not every bite is like that, luv." He reassured her. "Like all things of big mojo, it takes a ritual. Just a bite is just a bite."

She dropped her hand and Spike didn't think she even knew what it was doing as it scuttled across her lap and latched onto Tara's. "So, I'm guessing now you know why I didn't claim him." He ended wryly. To his surprise, Tara didn't let it drop.

"But if you had?" She persisted. "How would that whole scene out there have gone?"

He shrugged. "Could've gone several ways, ducks. Generally, other demons keep their mitts off of a vampire's claimed. They can smell it, sense it, whatever. It's like my calling card. Yes, Xander would have to submit to me, but in return, I vow to protect him from anything or anyone who would hurt him. If he were touched, it would be my duty to make the bastard pay."

"But you…" Tara trailed off. Spike smirked.

"What, luv? I don't seem scary? I'm chipped?" He laughed. "Luv, you know it only works against humans. And as for the scary part…" He lost himself momentarily in his own memories. Tara watched the friendly, scoobie's pal Spike fade away to be replaced with something that made her shudder and give silent thanks to the Initiative. He came back to himself moments later and gave her another smile. "Well, let's just say, I earned my part of the moniker of Scourge of Europe."

"Anyway," he continued, trying to steer the conversation somewhere that neither girl was afraid of, "If B'Thaaug knew I'd claimed him, he wouldn't have pheremoned him. He wouldn't have hurt him at all in public. It's a bit hard to sway others to your cause when you're breaking all the unwritten demon codes."

He paused, then decided to spill the rest, bollocks to the terror factor. "Of course, it could have made it worse on Xan, too. I…killed B'Thaaugs's mate just because he was his mate. Just to hurt him. It was a shock to the rest of the demon community," he smiled a tight smile, "But, they figured…hey, vampire. Not a lot of restraint expected there. Besides, it just cemented my reputation as a psychopathic killer. In those days, that was something to be proud of."

Tara cocked her head like a tiny bird. "So it's possible that if Xander were your mate B'Thaaug might extract vengeance for the death of his own mate?" Spike nodded unhappily.

"But, it's not like it matters at this point. I'm not claiming him, so the whole idea is moot." A knock sounded at the door. All three occupants jerked their heads up instantly. Spike gently lay Xander fully on the bed and motioned the girls to take up defensive positions around the sleeping boy.

He stepped stealthily to the door and peered through the eyehole. With a humph of relief, he quickly unlocked the door and jerked it open. Purple skinned Mivka…oozed?…through. Spike quickly locked the door back up again and hurried back to Xander's side.

Mivka leaned over the bed and eyed Xander. "The boy looks not sick." He asked with a hint of inquiry.

Spike nodded. "Dunno what happened. One minute he was overheating. The next, he's sniffing me and his fever broke."

Mivka's flesh swayed. Willow found herself drawn to the demon and sat on the bed, her hands firmly under her legs to keep from poking at him. "Claim him for real now?" The demon asked. Spike rolled his eyes.

"No mate. No claiming. Just got done explaining a claim to the chits. The boy wouldn't want it."

Mivka cocked his head quizzically. "You would ask?" Willow looked miffed, but Spike only looked disgusted.

"Yeah, I'd ask. Bloody poofter I am now. Asking permission from the food." Mivka jiggled and made a strange squelching noise. Spike glared. "Not funny, mate. William the Bloody has left the bleedin' building. Enter William the ponce."

Tara sat next to Willow. "What's going on down there, Mivka?" She asked quietly.

The purple demon turned its amethyst gaze on her. "Party continues. B'Thaaug gloats on his victory over William. He appoints underlings. Talk of opening the Hellmouth." Tara winced and Willow patted her leg.

"So they think Xander is dead?" Willow asked. Mivka's upper body wobbled.

"Dead, yes. B'Thaaug waits for vengeance."

Spike snorted. "Gotta admit, the wanker knows me." He grinned. "I may have gone down, but I woulda taken the fuck with me at least. So who's he promoting to arsekisser this time?"

"Riade, Chaos demon is second. He has a mated Jaarvlen pair for thirds. He has also Rwasundi waiting in the wings."

Spike swore. "I've heard of Riade. Nasty bloke. The Jaarvlens are flesh eaters and the Rwasundi are time alterers." He added for the benefit of the girls waiting impatiently.

"Around 30 followers are with him." Mivka added.

"How many on our side?" Mivka cocked his head to glance at the girls and Xander, causing his flesh to quiver.

"Our side? Have we an 'our side', Spike?" Spike pinched his lips together and looked away. "I remember when Spike would be second. Kill Slayer. Open Hellmouth. Watch blood run."

Spike seemed at a loss. His expression was a blur of pain, loss, sorrow and disgust. Mivka moved closer. "Fight for the humans now, vampire?" He gurgled quietly. The vampire in question narrowed his eyes.

"As always, Mivka, I fight for me and mine." The purple demon waited. Spike turned his gaze on it. "Make no mistake, Mivka. These humans are mine. As are the ones B'Thaaug plans to take out to get to the Hellmouth. I will defend what is mine. With or without your help."

Willow caught her breath. First annoyed at the claim of ownership Spike made, then at the depth of emotion he expressed. She realized he was being truthful. By some vampiric code, the scoobies were his by default. ~And isn't that scary?…Yet strangely comforting.~

Mivka nodded, satisfied. "Then claim them do I as well, my friend." Spike's face relaxed into a smile. "Our side has 10, maybe more. Loyal to me. To friends."

Spike absently twirled a lock of Xander's hair with his fingers. "Then we need to meet with them. Can you get them here without tipping the Ghrestian or his toadies off?" Mivka pondered a moment, then nodded.

"Tomorrow morn? Party will over be. B'Thaaug and others sleeping be."

Spike nodded. "Sounds like a plan, mate."

To Be Continued…