And No Egg
By Amykins
It had all started out as a plan to make a little extra cash. He needed a little more income than what he was making so far. Just a little. Enough to keep him up with what he needed. The plan was to sing for these guys, and play the few chords he knew. They could back him up, they could do the vocals he didn't know. All he had to do, as they put it, was "Stand up there and look sexy."
Doable, in his book.
So now 4 nights a week (Mondays the rest of the band was too trashed to play anything, let alone their instruments) he was the lead singer for Slick Ritual, playing an instrument he didn't actually know how to play, and singing lyrics he wasn't always comfortable with. But with the extra money it was bringing in, who was he to complain? Not to mention the looks he got at night when he preformed. From the women *and* the men.
That had been interesting the first few times. But he had gotten used to it. He realized that playing a coffee house in one of the "looser" ends of town would draw that kind of attention.
That, and the fact that the drummer was outrageously gay. Which had never bothered him. Xander even thought it was fun.
Extra cash, a little extra groping (which he was no longer getting home, hence the need to take in more money) and everything was doing startlingly well in Xanderland.
And, as everyone knows, saying that will cause chaos to come.
And come chaos did. In black leather.
Black leather was something Xander had grown used to. According to the drummer of the band, if you wanted to attract more people to come watch the band, you had to pour your body into black leather pants and the tightest black shirt you could find. Nothing was hidden from Xander's body. He could barely move some nights.
But he looked damn good doing it.
They were about to go on that night. And chaos, in his black leather duster and skin-tight clothing had taken a front row seat with his cup of...
...blood? Reality check here. Chaos may be a vampire but since when did the coffee shop start serving blood? He ducked quickly behind the counter to find the manager.
"Jacob?" He asked the tall man. "I didn't know your shop was a 'serving-creatures-of-the-night' kind of shop."
Jacob blinked. A flash of yellow-gold. "Got a problem with that?" He asked.
"Not a one. Some of my best..." pause here. Best what? "Acquaintances are vamps." Nice cover. Don't say best friends, because that's not true. Best wet dream, ever since he'd become more comfortable with his body, yes. And his thoughts. And come to think of it, his hand...
"Hey, kid." Jacob was prodding him. "You're on, don't keep my customers waiting. I'll have to not pay you as much."
Xander saluted and slid under the counter, jogged up on stage and grabbed the beat up Fender. He smiled at the clapping audience, specifically keeping his eyes away from chaos. Did Spike come here to humiliate him? He had no snarky sneer on his face. What was going on then?
He heard their drummer pound out the lead-in to one of the few original songs they played. Xan just smiled. Time to smile. Strum a chord progression. Sing, not too loudly. But most important he had to just look sexy while doing it. A little hip shake, a few shy grins, and he was in.
Two songs in, Spike got up only to come back to his seat with a fresh cup of blood. (Which was well disguised in it's Styrofoam cup, but to a Slayerette it was easy to spot it.) How cute. He had a macadamia nut cookie to go with it. Xander heard the opening chords to their next song, a borrowed one from a Russian band.
"All the things she said, all the things she said, running through my head, running through my head, running through my head," He sang plainly, trading verses with the bass player. The bass player was a blonde girl. Blond, German, and came complete with the dreadlocks. Xander smiled. He liked this song. Easy progression for him, not too much work with the vocals as he was easily backed by their bass player.
"This is not enough!" He yelled, over-lapping her soft vocals.
They only played 6 songs that night. They'd gotten a late start. Xander never saw when Spike had left the coffee shop, but he was glad that he had. Now he sat, closing time, helping divide the money up among the band.
"Good job tonight, Xan." Said the drummer, Chris, hitting him on the arm. Xander smiled.
"Well, I try."
"You don't need to try," Suzie, bass girl, laughed. "Just smile like that. You should see the looks you're getting. You bring in the tips, man!" More laughter. Xander liked feeling like he was the head of a group. He didn't mind taking a backseat, but that's where he usually was with Buffy, Willow and even Tara. Though he knew Tara felt the same way sometimes. Only, he mused to himself, she hadn't felt the same way as long as he.
Xander waved to the rest of the band as he walked out the door, not expecting Chaos to sneak up behind him and, of all things, lick his ear.
"Good show there, pet." Spike grinned.
"The sneaking-up thing? So not a turn-on." Xander said. Wait, wait, he was *not* supposed to say that to Spike. All right, he reasoned, so the vampire had just licked his ear. Time to play this ... by ear. Jesus, was he ever losing his touch.
"I'm not here to turn you on, though that would be a nice side effect." Spike pulled even with Xander's gait. "You aren't super on that guitar thing. Want a little help with that?" He asked.
"From you? Evil undead thing? You want to *help*? And not only that you want to help *me*?" Xander replied.
"Which question should I answer first." Spike stopped in front of him, standing toe-to-toe with Xander.
"The why part." Xander replied.
Spike smirked. "Do I have to have a reason?"
"Yes." Xander said. Spike rolled his eyes.
"Ok, truth is I figure if I get you to invite me into your apartment it'll be another safe place for me to stay." He explained.
Xander cocked an eyebrow. "Safe place? One, why you would need one and two, why you would even think that my place would be one?"
A sigh from Spike. "One, because I am, as you put it, an evil undead thing and two, because you aren't that much of a threat to me."
Xander gave him a fake smile. "Nice to known. So you want a safe house, so to speak, and you'll teacher me more than my three chords that I actually know?"
Spike stuck out his hand. "We have a deal, then?"
Xander sighed immensely. The sigh of the long suffering. "Fine."
***
"Look at that sorry excuse for a guitar."
"It's a Fender."
"Yeah, pet, it probably was part of a fender at some point in its life." Spike looked it over. "Your strings are loose, you're probably playing flat. Do you have a crank?"
Silence from Xander.
"Ok, no. Doesn't matter, I hope I can tune it be ear." Spike pressed down on the fourth fret to tune by ear. "Should be ok with me, that vamp hearing and all." In a few moments the guitar sounded somewhat better than it had that night.
"All right, sensei," Xander said with mocking, "teach me your ways of guitar." Spike hit him in the arm.
"Here." Spike handed Xander the guitar. "Put down for an E." Xander pressed his hands. "Now progress to a G." He struggled, but got his fingers to move. Spike laughed. "You'll never be able to play moving that slow. No wonder they've got you mostly on single chords and plucking."
"Then help here?" Xander said. Spike sighed.
"Look, I can only teacher guitar the way I was taught. So if you want to learn it you're going to have to do it my way." He walked over to the couch and sat. "Sit." He commanded.
Xander moved to sit down next to him, but Spike stopped him. "Not on the couch." He said.
"The floor then?" Xander asked.
"Me." Spike said this as if this was the most obvious thing.
Xander frowned. "As in on your lap?" He asked.
"Well, hurry up, you're playing tomorrow and right now you couldn't even get through 'I can't get no satisfaction' on your own." Spike replied.
In the back of his mind, a part of Xander said 'you know better than to sit on the lap of a vampire that you want to have hot sex with, especially when that vampire hates you even though he licked your ear', but about all Xander caught of that was hot sex and lick. And with that he found himself sitting on the vampire's lap. He had the guitar in his lap. Spike curled his fingers around Xander's left hand and steadied the boy in his lap with his right.
"All right then. We're going to work on a few progressions here. Maybe we'll get you to House of the Rising Sun at some point."
"You know that song?" Xander asked as he placed his hands to start at 6th string. Spike pulled his hands away.
"You're not plucking your way through this one, Xander. And of course I know that song. Who doesn't?" And he began to show the upward sweep and downward pluck of the strings, progressing him through the notes.
**
By two that morning, Xander was pretty sure he could have gotten through the majority of the Sex Pistols unaided. Spike was a good teacher, and he in turn was a fast learner. On the guitar anyway.
Not to mention that the opportunity to sit on the lap of a very sexy vampire was more than he could bear. He was very happy that Spike wasn't in his lap. He might be asked some questions in that situation.
"Well, Spike, I have work at six, so I need to get some sleep tonight." Xander said, rising with the last chords of one of the first songs he'd learned, "All The Things She Said".
"Right then." Spike rubbed his shirt as if dusting it off. "I'll come see you tonight, see if you could remember anything I showed you."
"How did you find out I was playing in the first place?" Xander asked.
"I didn't," Spike replied, "I chanced to be there. Or maybe you chanced to be there. I just wanted a drink."
"Oh." An uncomfortable pause. "Where will you go now?"
"The crypt, I suppose. Maybe wander till just before sunrise. Don't know." Spike shrugged.
"Uh," And there was another uncomfortable pause. Get the stones, Xander, Spike tried to say to him silently. I'll say yes. I didn't go through all this bull just because you suck at playing. "You don't have to leave, you know. I mean, you said you wanted a safe place or whatever and this place is pretty safe. As far as apartments go, anyway. Safe, like, human safe I don't know if it's really vampire safe. Windows, yeah, but uh..." Xander stopped as Spike put a finger to his lips. Cold finger. Xander felt the sudden want to suck it...
"You're babbling, pet. Keep the curtains shut and I should be fine. But you really want an evil undead thing in your flat?" Spike smirked.
"Yeah, well, you know, I'm not evil like you, so I can show a little sympathy towards the impotent." Good Xander joke. Lighten the mood. The very tense mood.
Spike snorted. "Maybe I can't bite you, but I sure as hell am not impotent, pet."
"Riiight." Xander said.
"Are you challenging me then?" Spike stepped closer. Toe to toe again. Xander could almost feel Spike licking his ear again.
"Uh, no, just uh, teasing." Xander stepped away. "You can uh, sleep on the bed, uh, the couch I mean, if you want." Way to not be nervous, Xander.
"I'd rather fancy sleeping on your bed, Xanpet." And Spike, shrugging off his duster, made his way past Xander to the bedroom. It was a one-bedroom apartment. There was no mistaking the queen-sized bed in the middle of that room. Spike flopped on the bed, toed off his boots and folded his arms under his head.
"I guess, then, uh, I'll just sleep on the couch." Xander said. Spike snorted again.
"Don't be shy, Xander. It's just me. I might be a little cold, but nothing more than that. I won't bite you." Pause. "Unless you want me to." Snarky smile.
C'mon on, Xander, be brave. Smile and pretend you don't want to jump the bones of the vampire on your bed. Bones. Boner.
Oh shit.
Spike had lolled his head back to give Xander a smooth view of his torso and wasn't it interesting to note that the landscape wasn't totally flat? There was a nice little bump on the way up. Ok, be honest, not *that* little. Hm, tight black jeans don't hide very much.
Fine. Xander. Brave. Grr, Viking, soldier, hyena, and all those damn things he'd been in the past were...
...suddenly running and hiding like sissies.
Xander, you're gonna have to do this all by yourself. And with a forceful walk, Xander made his way into the bedroom. He stripped off his shirt with his back facing Spike. He walked into the connected bathroom to pull on his sweatpants because with those damn leather pants, you just couldn't wear anything under them. And that was one thing Spike didn't need to see.
Well, not right now anyway.
Xander strode back into the bedroom and flopped himself down on the left side of the bed. He couldn't tell if Spike was asleep or not because of the not-needing-to-breathe thing. His eyes were shut.
"Nighty night there, Xander." Spike said. Xander felt his body go rigid.
"Night Spike." He said, then forced his eyes shut.
***
Spike woke up twice. The first time was about four in the morning. Xander had, much to Spike's delight, spooned up to him. Feeling the warm curl of the human against his body was positively delicious. He wasn't sure the last time he'd felt such a warm body snuggling willingly. He was a complete closet sunggler. It was something he loved. But being a vampire, it wasn't something you got a lot of.
Xander rolled over in his sleep, grabbing on to Spike's shirt. He buried his face in the column of his neck. Xander murmured happily. He stretched out his body to meet with Spike's and Spike felt a nice feeling that hit right at his groin.
Can't hide that from me, Xan, he thought, even though you tried really hard.
The second time he woke was about nine. Xander was gone. At work, Spike knew, but still. He smiled to himself. The blinds were drawn shut tightly and the eastern facing window was covered with a large black sheet. Thoughtful, pet.
He rose and walked into the main area. He glanced at the kitchenette and saw a sticky-note attached to the microwave. He went to read it.
'Don't ask, just nuke it.' It said. Spike opened the door to find a mug of blood. He smiled to himself again. Xander thought he was trying so hard to hide his feelings, but Spike could, in a sense, feel them.
At first he'd been really disgusted at it. Xander, the whipping boy, wanted him. A little flattering, to a certain extent, but in the over-all run boring. But Spike warmed to the idea little by little. The advantages of having a Xander at his beck and call could be very tempting indeed.
But even after that, he softened a little. Verbal sparing with Xander was fun. And Xander had let up on the comments about his hair. In turn, he let up on the comments about Xander's choice of mattress with blonde hair. That was, until she left, and then he didn't need to do it. And for some reason he hated seeing Xander beat himself up over it.
And he'd lied, too. He'd been following the boy. He saw Xander slide around in his tight pants, hanging on to the guitar for dear life, it had aroused him in way he couldn't express. He had just wanted to make sure Xander was ok... and damn, he was fine.
Spike held love above all. Above all things, even being evil. Love, he often reasoned with himself, was the ultimate form of evil. But if you used it right, it could be the best evil in the world. And he was feeling rather attached to Xander now, even though he hadn't said a word to him.
He smiled to himself, sipping his nuked blood. Xander had gone to trouble for him. It was human blood he was drinking. He would never ask Xander where it came from, and he didn't really want to know. It was the thought that counted.
Spike stayed in he house all day, doing nothing. He knew he could have swiped at blanket from Xander and headed out to his crypt or the Magic Box if he wanted to. But it was almost nice to stay in an actual house. He'd lived in some good ones in his time; and while this was not one of them, it was a nice change from what he had been staying in.
When the sun had gone down, he cleaned himself up respectably and headed out to go see Xander play that night's set.
***
Xander felt a lot more confidant that night than he had in a while. All eyes were on him, as usual, but this time he knew that he could play it. He was no longer worried that he would hit the wrong chord. Spike's teaching had helped. He smiled to himself, looking towards the back to spot the vampire (chaos, the back of his mind whipsered) watching him, with a small smile of approval on his face.
Xander turned around to face the band. "You guys know 'House of the Rising Sun'?" He asked.
"Yeah," Chris said. "I can play the beat."
Suzie shrugged. "I can follow it if he can bang it out." She said. Their lead guitar, Parker, nodded.
"Didn't think you could pull off lead on that one." He admitted to Xander.
"Got a little help." Xander told them. "I'll take the plucking, you take the strum, ok?" He said. Parker shrugged, nodded and took his place. Xander smiled as he approached his mic.
"This next one," he said, "is sort of a thank-you. But pretend I didn't say that." He grinned downward at himself. He turned around quickly. "Go slow, take it light." He said.
He began on his lead, strum, pluck up, with Suzie pulling off a slow bass and and the beat going steady behind him.
"There is a house in New Orleans they call the Rising Sun, and it's been the ruin of many a poor boy, and God knows I am one..." He sang with his eyes half-closed, enjoying the music greatly. He felt a small swell of pride in his chest. Parker walked up to him to stand back to back with him as they played jointly. Suize picked up a few of the vocals to add depth. The coffee house seemed pleased with the throw-back. They liked the original songs the band played, but a lot of the covers were amazing.
They made more tips that night than usual, and Spike hung just outside the door as they split up the tips and earnings for the night. He caught Xander as he was leaving.
"Nice one there. Wasn't expecting that." Spike said.
"I'm just full of surprises." Xander replied with a smile.
"I bet you are." Spike smirked. Xander stopped in his tracks and Spike did as well. "What?" He asked. Xander was speechless, and Spike walked back to meet with him. "What?"
Surprises, Xander. Be brave. He leaned forward and kissed Spike. Cool, with the warmth of coffee and probably other things that he didn't want to know about. It was some what tempting to ask "AB or O?" but he refrained. Kissing Spike was too good to break.
They pulled away slowly. "How was that for a surprise?" Xander asked.
"One of the better ones I've had in a while." Spike replied. He had an almost goofy smile on his face. But since it was Spike, the smile just came out as sexy.
"So, you going my way?" Xander asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. He was trying to hide the grin on his face and failing.
"I think I am, pet." Spike answered, and the two walked in a comfortable silence to Xander's apartment. He wasn't sure who reached out for who's hand but they walked that way for the better part of the way.
It was quiet as they walked into the apartment, quiet as they took off their jackets and made their way to the bed room.
Tangle of limbs. Tangle of emotion. Spike and Xander were on the bed but who was on top and who was on bottom, and he didn't know what was happening. Well, he knew that sex was happening, but he wasn't sure of much else.
"Spike?" He panted.
"Yeah?" spike responded without a breath. They were kissing and kissing and Xander was liking it very much.
"Just," He started, then thought about what he wanted to say, "just making sure this was real."
"This is as real as it gets pet." Spike told him, bringing him into a tight embrace. "This is the stopping point. After this you're not turning back." Xander could feel the cool of Spike near him. He gripped at Spike's sides. "It might be a rough ride." Spike said softly.
"I'll hold on." Xander replied. With that Spike kissed him, a little rough, but at the same moment it was perfect. Spike pushed him down onto the bed, and began to rub a hand over his stomach. Xander moaned under him. "That feels really good." He said.
"The best is yet to come." Spike replied, gently biting Xander's ear. Xander gave him another moan and moved his own hand up to meet Spike's.
"Teach me how to play," He said softly, and Spike chuckled.
"Sure, pet. Sure." With Xander's hand resting on top of his, he moved downward until he hit the top of the leather pants. His zipper was pulled downward slowly and then Spike's cool hand was inside the pants, stroking his hard cock. Xander removed his own hand and put it on Spike's cheek. He began to stroke Xander, and Xander kissed him to drown out his soft pants and moans.
Spike broke the kiss to lick the curve of Xander's ear, and then to bite his neck with his blunt teeth. Xander made a strangled sound and bucked up, but Spike never changed his pace or his movement.
"Sp-Spike, if you don't stop I'm gonna come..." Xander groaned loudly.
"That's the point, baby." Spike whispered to him.
"Noooo, Spike," Xander moaned, "I don't want to come like this." Spike stopped instantly.
"You think you could, Xander?" Spike asked him, slowly. Xander pushed himself up on his elbows and looked Spike in the eye.
"Do you know how long I have wanted this?" He asked. "I'm so sure I hurt. In fact I do hurt." Xander rolled over and straddled Spike, grinning at him. "Make it better?" He asked with a pout and a whine.
"Oh bloody hell!" Spike growled, the whine and look going straight to his hard-on. In one quick move he had Xander on his back and was resting between his spread legs. "Its gonna hurt, ok?" He told Xander. He was all but shaking with desire mixed in with some joy.
"Its ok. Just...just go." Xander had an iron grip on Spike's shoulder. Spike pulled some lube from under Xander's pillow (he'd left it there yesterday just in case...) and slathered up one finger. Deciding the best way to deal with it was to just get the inital pain out of the way, he slid it in quickly.
"Ohhhhgrrrr fucking hell, fucking shit, fuck, do it again..." Xander uttered another string of curses as Spike began to move the one finger, and when Xander seemed to accept that, he let in another finger. He scissored the brown-haired boy, kissing his colar bone and leaving teeth marks on it. Xander was panting, his left arm holding steady around Spike's waist. "Do it now, Spike, please." He whispered. Spike groaned and gently took his fingers out.
"Ok, Xander, ok," He said, soft words, calm the boy, lubed up his own aching cock. "Ok," He whispered again, and then slid all the way into Xander. Both gave a startled, strangled cry, a mix of pleasure and pain. Xander's body shivered and tears brimmed at the corners of his eyes, but his gaze never broke with Spike's. They panted for a moment, each adjusting in his own way.
"Spike?" Xander said breathly.
"Yeah, luv?" Spike answered.
Xander srunched up his face and pushed back on Spike. They both gave out sharp cries. "Move," He panted, "now!"
That was all the encouragment Spike needed. He quickly began to move in and out, increasing his pace slowly. He had both of his hands placed squarely on Xander's hips and Xander was holding on to him for dear life. Xander was making grunting noises that Spike couldn't identify as any real language. Spike himself was completely lost in the boy beneath him, in his heat and in his eyes. He could feel it ending for both of them, and his feeling where confirmed when Xander broke the gaze and threw his head back with a primal moan. He was screaming Spike's name, and his muscles were pretty much milking Spike's cock, so Spike followed with his own set of yells and calls.
The afterglow was hazy for both. Xander was totally lost in bliss, and Spike was lost with him. Spike wasn't on top of him anymore, but next to him, stroking his hair, working his hands in his scalp and boy wasn't that relaxing. He reached to the foot of he bed and pulled a blanket over them. Spike pulled Xander to him close and held him there, stroking his arm softly until they both fell asleep.
***
Xander continued to hang on to Spike like he would be dropped if he let go. Over the weeks, however, when he saw that Spike wasn't just fucking with his mind and playing a cruel joke on him, he hung on just the same but without that fear. He was happier noww.
He continued to work two jobs, the second being the easier one of the two. Spike helped him on guitar stil until he felt fairly confident. He progressed through his chords and even his plucking with ease. He grew more comfortable on stage and almost every night Spike was there to watch him. The band grew a small following and while everyone was talking and teasing that they would land a record deal soon, Xander knew that wasn't what the band wanted. They wanted the smalltown fame, small wages for extra cash, and a little stage time. All of them had other jobs that they were content enough with. A record deal would be a little too much for a band who's lead singer was still getting used to leather pants.
Xander was careful to not tell the others. He had never wanted to, really. A sort of preformance anxiety. Total strangers were fine. But Buffy and Willow? He knew they'd be sitting right infront of the stage, making loud cheering noises. Not something he really wanted. He wasn't even all the way comfortable with Spike being there. But after seeing the guy naked several times, he was having less and less of a problem with it.
"Are you coming to the show tonight?" Xander asked Spike as he pulled on a pair of jeans with a rather large hole in the knee. Spike shook his head.
"I've got something else to do." He replied softly. Xander shot him a glance.
"Oh yeah? What?" He asked.
Spike glanced up like a deer caught in headlights. "Like I have to spend all my sodding time watching you pretend you know music? I'm evil, pet, I got bigger and badder things to -" a pause here that was really more a stumble in words, "-kill."
Xander was speachless for a moment. "To kill, huh?" He asked. "Right. Listen, I'll be back around 12 am, but," He paused, sighed, "I don't really expcet you to be here when I get home so it doesn't matter to you then, does it?"
Spike scoffed and rose from his place on the bed. "Don't get so bloody attached, Xander. It's just shagging." He said, leaning against the doorjam.
"Yeah, well, I'm glad you can write it off so easily." Xander was pulling on one yellow work boot.
"Why, what were you writing it up as?" Spike asked with a sneer. Xander looked him hard in the eyes.
"Call me sentimental, or maybe you'd prefer stupid, but I don't normally consider months of having sex with someone who's pretty much living in my house 'just shagging'." He spat.
"Six." Spike replied, then caught himself.
"What?"
"Nothing. Sorry I led you on then, pet." Xander rolled his eyes and turned to lace his other boot. "It's always that way with you humans, you attached so bloody easily." Spike sighed.
Xander rose and went to collect his tools. "No, Spike, I don't. I don't get attatched easily. I have had my heart broken so many times I have nothing more to get attatched to. And in the back of my stupid little mind I was saying to myself 'this one will be different, different from the self-absorbed princess and different from the vengance demon who's favorite word is orgasm', but I should have known better! How could I be so stupid as to think that a soulless demon like yourself would even bother with me, donut boy? I mean sure, for a good laugh, but you didn't do anything. You haven't told anyone, to the best of my knowledge. So I don't get you Spike."
"An' why do ya think I haven't told anyone? Hey everybody, I'm shagging a human and the best thing I think he can do is put up a house. He's not evil, not even a little bit, and he's damn pathetic at times, but he puts out, so I'll keep him around." Spike folded his arms across his chest.
"You're an asshole." Xander said.
"You knew I was." Spike replied. With a sigh of disgust Xander was gone. Spike nodded to himself. "Right, then. Step one, piss of the boy, step two, win back all his trust in move that will leave his head spinning for days."
Spike was almost certian in the back of his mind that Xander still didn't trust him, and he knew there was one sure way to prove it. He made his way over to the list of phone numbers that Xander kept taped to the wall and looked until he found the name and number he wanted.
"Hello, Suzie? It's Spike. Yeah, from the coffee house. Listen, I need to you to do me a favor, and I think we can pull this off..."
***
Xander was furious walking to the coffee house. He was pissed off. His team had done miserbly that day, and he felt like shit to begin with. He'd come home before sunset to an empty house, which wasn't exactly what he had expected. He had needed a shower so badly. Now it was closer to dark and he was headed to play, with a lot less heart than he usually had.
He opened the door and the place was as normal as it could be on a Thursday night. He saw his band on stage, setting up and plugging in. He joined them.
"Hey, Xander." Suzie greeted him. Xander nodded his hello.
"Where's Parker?" He asked at the absence of his backing guitar.
"Late." Chris replied, balancing his cymbols.
"That's strange, he never is." Xander said. He plugged in and tuned up. By ear. As Spike had taught him to do. He made a disgusted face.
"Someone's in a bad mood." Suzie commented, taking a sip of water.
"Yeah, well, asshole boyfriends will do that to you." Xander replied.
"You're preaching to the choir, brother." Chris offered, and Xander smiled.
"I just should have known better." Xander said, looking at Suzie. She cocked her head to the side and Xander smiled as her dreadlocks followed. She was pretty. He'd never really noticed that before.
"You know how it is." Was all she could say. From behind the counter Jacob signald for them to get ready.
"Parker isn't here yet." Xander said to his two bandmates.
"Don't wory, we can get through a song or two without him" Chris said. With a shrug, Xander stepped up to his mic, but Suzie stopped him.
"Let me introduce us tonight?" She asked. Xander saw nothing wrong with it, so he moved over so that she could get to the lead mic.
She smiled as the lights in the back dimmed a little. "Hi, I'm Suzie and the band here is Slick Ritual." There was a lot of applause. "And tonight we're doing things a little differently. A friend called earlier and asked for some help with this one. So I'm going to ask our lead here, Xander, to take a seat at the front table while we surprise him." Suzie smiled as the audiance clapped and Xander simply looked bewildered. "C'mon!" She whispered to him. Xander unplugged his guitar and sat it on top of the table closest to the stage. There was quiet as the lights dimmed all the way and someone walked to the stage where he had been. Then a guitar began to play slowly, and Xander realized Suzie was doing the beat. Chris was singing something softly, just murmuring out background. The lights raised to a soft glow.
"My love must be a kind of blind love," The voice was deep, smooth like silk. It made Xander shiver. Was that Parker singing? There was no light on the person singing, just Suzie and Chris in the back. "I can't see anyone but you." And then there was a third light, this one on Parker who wasn't singing, but standing to the side. He sang the backing to the song.
"Are the stars out tonight?" Asked the singer, so slick Xander was almost drooling. "I don't know if it's cloudy or bright." Light was dancing around the person singing, which Xander now knew to be male but who? The voice was unplaceable. "I only have eyes for you, dear." And the person singing picked up a soft rift on the guitar which Parker backed with soft plucking. "The moon may be high," more light now, but focused only on the people Xander knew and as close as he was he was getting really antsy. What kind of joke was this? "But I can't see a thing in the sky,"
Now there was soft blue light on the singer's face and Xander drew in a sharp breath. "'Cause I only have eyes for you," Spike was singing to him and he had no idea what to say. The band continued as Spike walked off the stange and knelt before him in the darkness.
"I'm sorry, Xander, about this morning, but I had to do it." He said.
"Why?" Xander asked.
"You trusted me then about as far as you could throw me. And tonight I'm here to prove to you that you can trust me farther than that." Spike explained. "This," he held the guitar up for Xander to be able to see, "is a Gibson. This is an actual guitar. It's for you, pet, I got it today while I was out." He smiled at Xander. The boy was speechless.
"Spike?" He asked. Spike nodded. "I trusted you farther than that a long time ago." He said.
"You thought you did," Spike said, looking up at him, "but you were so scared this morning. And now I've got to show you that I'm all talk. I'm stuck on you, Xander, so don't listen to what I might blow out. Listen to me now, here," Spike reached for Xander's hand and Xander was suddenly grateful for the darkness, "when I tell you that I'm in love with you."
Xander took a shakey breath. "If you ever pull a stunt like this again I will toss you out on your ass in daylight so fast no one will ever know." He threatend.
"But you won't have to, because I'm never going to." Spike kissed one of Xander's knuckles. "If I didn't care about you, why would I go to all the trouble of pissing you off and then getting you here so I could romance you? And if you tell anyone I just said that I'll beat your head in myself."
Xander chuckled. "That's Spike. This is the real thing." He could see Spike's eyes shining like diamonds in the small light they were catching.
"Let's blow this joint, eh pet?" Spike suggested. Xander glanced at his band, who were smiling at him. Nods from all three memebrs, as if they knew exactly what Spike had said.
"Make you a deal. I'll blow you and then you blow me. Better?" He asked, and Spike gave a visible shiver.
"Much, love. Now let's go, shall we?" They stood up and quickly left the shop. "I'm going to set this piece of trash on fire and watch it." Spike said, pointing to Xander's beat up guitar.
"Don't you dare. I want it. Like...a momento." He grinned.
Spike snorted. "Of what?"
"Of the day I turned the Big Bad into my personal love slave." Xander replied. Spike hit him in the arm.
"Oi! Am *not* your personal love slave." He protested. Xander grabbed his free hand.
"Then can I be yours?" He asked, batting his eyes. Spike pulled him in for a kiss.
"Now there is an idea that I really like." He grinned and smacked Xander's ass. They walked in contentment.
"Oh, Spike?" Xander said about a block away from their apartment. He smiled to himself. It was their apartment now.
"Yeah?" Spike said, looking at the moon. Xander stopped and so did he. Xander pulled his lover toe to toe with him, more confident in himself now. He leaned forward and licked Spike's ear, then whispered to him.
"I love you, too."
~Fin~