Chapter 9: Men Will Be Boys

By nightfall, the four supernaturals making the trip were ensconced in a private jet hired by Angel. Before the airplane ever left the ground, everyone was getting annoyed with the lengths that Spike was going to make his injured leg comfortable. One pillow, three pillows, a different seat, a different angle to sit in... Gritting her teeth, Nina finally was forced step in. "Spike, have you tortured Angel enough yet?"

Spike looked the broody vampire up and down. "Just one more pillow...Yeah, the scowl is frowning enough." That got him a growl from Angel.

The beginning of the trip fascinated Buffy. Up until the last couple of days, she had never seen Spike and Angel in the same room without them wanting to kill each other. It was...Their antics were major league freaky and surprisingly funny. She had never associated the word, "funny," with Angel, but she did now. She spent the first hour on the plane just soaking up the atmosphere. Unbelievably, Angel was relaxed. Almost kicked back if it wasn't for Spike who was doing his best to be annoying. He even smiled at Nina from time to time. Nina was soaking it all up, obviously loving the interaction between the two males.

Concerning Spike's words on the current topic, Angel threw up his hands in disgust. "You have got to be kidding me. Of course an outhouse is better looking than a port-a-potty. An outhouse can be built to look good and be painted any color. And it has that cute little sliver of a moon."

Spike did his wimpy imitation of Angel. "'That cute little moon?' You pansy, the port-a-potty is a nice, electric blue body and a white roof. It never fades or chips because it is plastic."

"Electric blue is gaudy." Angel thought that went without saying. "It should be some sort of dark color." Typical Angel, Buffy thought.

Nodding his head, Spike did find some ground to agree on. "It would be better black and red."

And typical Spike, she thought with a smile. Some things just don't change, thank goodness. 'Black and red?' That was her Spike, Buffy reflected. She anticipated the next round as they both looked lost in thought...just for a moment.

Angel let loose the next volley. "But comfort...You have GOT to admit that there isn't a huge difference in comfort."

"No, I have not 'got' to admit that rubbish. The port-a-potty is more comfy."

"A grown man shouldn't say 'potty' and 'comfy' in the same sentence," Nina dared to observe and then laughed when they gave her the dear caught in a headlight looks.

It took Spike a moment to recover. "But..." He looked back over at Angel. "But the port-a-potty is more comfy, luv."

Chiming in, Angel laughed at the bleach blonde. "Ha, brain donor, the outhouse could have a seat custom fit."

"And get splinters in your arse, you nit. Now, I will give you that the outhouse smells better..."

Buffy tried not to laugh, but she did a few instances along with Nina. She loved seeing Spike like this, carefree and laughing. It took all of her control to stay in her seat and not go over and plant one on Spike's sexy lips. Just being this close to him was enough for now, but the teasing of Angel was just an added bonus to this in-flight entertainment.

After a time, a long time, Spike and Angel finally wound down and fell asleep. Buffy did the same, knowing that once they were on the ground.

What she didn't know was that while everyone slept, Spike had woken up and slipped away to use the restroom. When he returned, he paused and looked his fill down at Buffy. He couldn't stand it. He had been suppressing his feelings too much over the last few days, so he took the dare and leaned down, kissed her forehead and brushed a lock of hair out of her face. Then he watched her smile blossom. Had she woken up? Did she know who kissed her? Was she dreaming of him? A bloke could hope, couldn't he?

Later, Buffy was woken up by more of the Angel and Spike show currently appearing on the card game channel. They were arguing over who was cheating the most at the gin rummy they were playing. Believe it or not, she found it a pretty good way to wake up. But of course, any way where she woke up to Spike was a good one, even if she wasn't in his arms. She would work on that, she promised herself.

Trying to be subtle but wanting to stare, Buffy avoided looking at Spike directly. She would occasionally make eye contact with Angel, which was not too bad since Angel didn't seem as hostile towards her as he had that first day at the mansion. It was like they had signed a peace agreement over the trust issue. She had Nina to thank for the little improvement. What she really wanted to do was glance at Spike, but didn't. She didn't want to see the fury in his eyes. In her peripheral vision, she could see how animated he was in his argument with Angel. Under the circumstances, she would have to be satisfied with that tidbit of a view. No. No way, she was satisfied. She wanted to look at him, and there was no rule, no law against it. So she turned in her chair as Nina had and watched the men like it was a tennis match, not talking but openly laughing.

Spike was actually glad to have his grandsire in the plane to argue with since it helped take his mind off of the slayer sitting four feet away. Kissing her had only made it worse for himself and his control. He wondered if she had chosen the seat next to him on purpose. That close, he could smell not only her perfume, but also the aroma underneath that was uniquely her. His sensory memories went crazy. The most predominate was the last time he held her while they slept, before fighting the First Evil. But he didn't want to think about a cherished memory that he tried to keep buried. No matter his effort to shore up his will, slips still occurred- such as the kiss. While he and Angel argued, he couldn't help but feel good that he was able to make her smile and laugh. He had seen it directed at him so rarely, and that last year in Sunnydale she hadn't had much to smile about. But no, he couldn't cave in. To stay away from her he was going to have to stay strong and ignore those beautiful smiles. Ah, hell, now she was facing him, which only made it worse. It wasn't like he was known for refusing temptations.

They landed shortly after nightfall. An hour later, they were no closer to leaving than when Buffy and Nina had begrudgingly finished loading the luggage. The men were...preoccupied.

Men. Buffy and Nina stood on a bustling street of Cozemel. Tourists and natives were all mixed together, but they were all getting along better than the dysfunctional pair of alpha males standing in front of the jeep, arguing. Men. They were getting on Nina's last nerve. "What was it about driving and remote controls that makes a man think he should be in control of everything?" Men.

Buffy finally stepped in between them. "Okay, guys. Okay. Since we are acting like twelve year olds, let's solve this as twelve year olds would. Odds or evens."

"Good one," Nina told Buffy. Holding back her mirth, she made the assignments. "Angel, you're odd, and Spike, you're even."

Spike and Angel stood with mouths agape. Finally Nina popped both of the men on the shoulders.

"Ready, boys?" When both were looking at her, she started the count. "One...two...three."

Angel held out three fingers while Spike held out two. Three plus two equals five. Odd. Therefore, Angel.

Not surprised, Buffy sputtered and then laughed when Spike quickly changed the number of his fingers to three, making the total six and therefore even. And the argument was on again.

It didn't help when Angel gloated. "Ha. Five. I drive."

"What are you blind, lug head? Three plus three is six. Even. I drive." Spike made for the driver's seat.

Angel stopped him by catching his arm. "What? No, you had two out there, bleach boy. Five."

"Peaches, needing some specs in your advanced age? You would probably run into a tree anyway. I had three out so it was even. Give me the keys."

Before Spike could, Buffy plucked the rental jeep's keys out of Angel's hand. "Nina, what's the ruling?"

Nina pointed at Spike and laid down the law. "Only two fingers, so it was odd. Angel."

Buffy handed over the keys back to Angel, who immediately headed for the jeep's driver's seat while Spike grumbled about a rigged game. Nina set him straight. "You're always saying you're a big bad. How about a big baby?"

Spike hesitated before getting into the jeep. He hadn't thought about this. Of course Nina would sit next to Angel, leaving him sitting only six inches at best away from Buffy. He also had no doubt that many of the Mexican roads would be bumpy, throwing the jeep and its occupants around.

However, all went well- at least from Spike's point of view. He had no interaction with Buffy but had reveled in back seat driving, thoroughly angering his grandsire, who was using a GPS monitor and a map to guide them.

Spike started yelling. "Right, right, turn right."

Angel hit the brakes before he recovered. "Shut up, Spike. We don't go right."

"Left, left, turn left."

Angel glared back at Spike. "Spike, we go straight. If you don't stop, I'm going to reach back there..."

"What, DAD? Spank me?"

Spike could hear Buffy laughing next to him. He had forgotten how much her laughter drew him to her. Moth to a flame, and now her laugh was only a few inches away. A bump startled him out of his thoughts.

Bump and suddenly Buffy was in his lap. "Sorry." That was the first word that had been said directly between them since he had refused her entrance into the hellmouth. Not what Spike had ever envisioned as the second interaction. And how wonderful she felt in his lap, and... and she didn't seem to want to move anytime soon. Then Spike made the mistake of looking into her face. She was smiling at him. He felt his heart start to melt. He could see her pert little nose and wanted to kiss the light sprinkle of freckles across the bridge. Catching his traitorous lips before they could get him in trouble, Spike couldn't get her off his lap fast enough. He mentally chanted his mantra. The Immortal, the Immortal, the Immortal. Buffy had been waiting for such an opportunity the entire time they were in the jeep. One good bump, and she practically jumped into his lap- just where she wanted to be. But she didn't turn out to be a fluent orator as she would have wanted. "Sorry." That was the exact opposite of how she felt. Not sorry, but glad. She hoped that this would help break the ice. Spike still avoided any eye contact. But not this time. The next thing she knew, she was looking into his beautiful, blue eyes. And they weren't that hard, arctic blue but softer and slightly darker. For a moment, just a second, she could see the old Spike; the one that she had loved in Sunnydale. But then she was practically flying back into her seat as he tossed her off his lap. She wanted to laugh. Judging by the bulge she felt in his pants, he wasn't as immune to her as he was letting on. Hope grew, no pun intended. The second time she landed in his lap, she even got in a little wiggle and then giggled when he groaned.

Once they reached the area where they needed to enter the jungle, they hid the jeep behind some vegetation, strapped on their packs, broke out the lanterns they kept tethered to their belts for emergencies, and started walking. Angel led with the GPS.

They walked all night and rested during the day so that Angel could stay out of the sun under a tent. While they were resting, Buffy was trying to think up more ways to make physical contact with Spike. At the moment she was fascinated by watching Spike touch up his eye liner. It reminded her again that this was the old, temperamental Spike- not the insightful, gentle, supportive one. Both were good, though.

Luck was with her. Some opportunities did open up. In the line they naturally walked in, Angel took the lead, followed by first Nina, Buffy and Spike in back. She had already stopped short once, and his body became flush with her back. He was warm. That was something she was going to have to get use to. If he let her. No, she would make him let her. Next she thought she would try tripping and see if he would help her up.

The strategy worked well that night. She made sure her foot hooked in a vine, and she fell down on her knees. He was instantly there, helping her up. He grabbed her hand and politely drew her to her feet, and best of all, her eyes locked with his for a good twenty seconds. Definitely progress.

When Buffy had stopped the first time and his body came in contact with hers, Spike's first instinct was to wrap his arms around her- feel her as one with him. And then when she tripped and he automatically helped her up, they had locked gazes. Blue to hazel. She was hard to resist. But he scolded himself and moved away. What the hell was going on? He was being such a pansy. He didn't want her. She had broken the trust with Angel, which bled over to him also. She had fucked the Immortal. She was not wanted. So why was he having such a hard time resisting her? He didn't want an answer to that.

The next night, they arrived. They hadn't known just what they were looking for, but they did now. Actually Spike ran into it, bruising his toes. The overgrowth was heavy, disguising what appeared to be a large but low, stone pyramid.

Buffy pulled vines aside. "It's a lot of stones."

"Yep, it's a big bugger." Spike yanked at more of the foliage.

Looking over her shoulder at the others, Buffy asked, "So what do we do about this pyramid?"

"I'm guessing that we should go inside." Angel actually said it with a straight face.

Turning to face his grandsire, Spike put his hands on his hips. "Ya think, peaches?"

"So we need a door," Nina added.

Spike rounded on Nina. "What? Is big brow rubbing off on you?"

"Okay, big rocks. Need in. Need plan." Buffy interrupted before a full blown fight could break out and took the initiative. "Spike and I will go to the right, and you two, go to the left. There has to be a door somewhere." When they just looked at her, she asked in a hesitant voice. "Doesn't there?"

All was fine. It was just that Spike and Angel weren't use to Buffy making the plans. They barely let each other. "Yes, luv, there does. Let's go."

'If he would just keep calling me 'luv,' I would follow him anywhere.' She took off behind him, admiring his back through his t-shirt. Since it seemed to snag on so much, he had shed his coat when they had first entered the forest. Actually, if she could watch his ass in his tight black jeans, she would follow him anywhere. 'Great buns!' she thought with a smirk.

Pulling foliage back as they searched their way around the pyramid, all Spike and Buffy found was carvings in the stone. The pyramid was definitely not small. The side was longer than a football field. When Buffy and Spike were working on the end of their second side, they ran into Nina and Angel.

Nina gave them a small wave in greeting. "We didn't find a door."

Spike winked at her. "Not so much as a mouse's hole, sweetness."

Tilting his head, Angel looked up towards the top of the pyramid. "There has to be a way in. Let's hunt again, and this time look for unconventional doors in."

Spike and Buffy had only gone a few yards when Buffy stopped him. "Spike, look. All these stones have carvings, but this stone has an impression of a hand. Maybe that is a way in. You know, like you see in science fiction movies. Some guy puts his hand on a plate, and he is let in a door."

"It's as good a guess as any, pet." Spike turned away and called for Angel

Buffy was happy. He was talking to her more, he was using nicknames, and he had just now smiled at her. Maybe the ice had a crack in it.

Angel rushed back. "So what do you have?"

"A handprint." Buffy gestured towards the indentation.

Angel looked nonplussed. "So...?"

After rolling her eyes, Buffy explained. "Ya know. Think about all those movies that somebody gets into a room using their handprint like a finger print."

Spike looked at the stone closely. "Something tells me that the people that built this temple have never seen those movies, luv, but you probably have a point worth a go. So who's game?"

"I will. I'm the one who found it." Buffy walked up to the hand impression and paused before putting her hand in the imprint. Nothing happened.

"Angel, shine your flashlight on this." Nina pointed to a carving next to the hand imprint. It showed a Mayan warrior cutting his hand while crouching under the imprint. "I think this is what we are missing."

Angel squinted at the carving, "You have to cut your hand?"

"Blood thirsty lot." Spike smiled. "Gotta love'em."

Buffy put her pack on the ground and scrounged around until she found a knife. "Ok, let's try it." She cut her hand and placed it in the imprint. A portal opened up, and after a second of hesitation, she stepped in. The portal immediately closed behind her.

TBC

Chapter 10 - On the Edge

"I don't like this one bloody bit." Spike may tell himself that he didn't care. What a lie! At least in this case. Watching her walk through a portal, and that portal closing behind her shook him to the core. It reminded him too much of when she had dived off that tower that Glory had built to close the portal Doc had opened with Dawn's blood. Buffy closed it with her life. The portal closing behind her just now gave him visions of her lying on the ground, her body broken. Her life-force gone. Well, he wasn't having any of that again. Spike quickly slit his hand, placed it dripping with blood in the imprint and then stepped through the portal that had opened up for him.

"Slayer?" Spike was already calling her name before he was completely through the portal. Looking around, he found himself in a room constructed solely of cut stone, making him assume that he was inside the pyramid. "Slayer?!"

"I'm here, Spike." She wanted to jump up and down at the sound of concern in his voice.

Spike spun around and found Buffy standing behind him. Relief swept through his body. He took a step forward and opened his arms and hugged her tight. Hugging her close felt so right, but then he caught himself and dropped them back to his sides. He was thankful for the distraction of Nina coming through the portal. Then Angel.

Spike felt the need to talk and take his mind off of how good Buffy's body had felt against his own, put the moment behind him. "So what's next on this little jaunt?"

Nina supplied an answer. "Outside we used a carving." She waved her arm at the barren room. "Let's look and see if we can do the same in here."

Buffy's body hummed with her contact--as short as it was-- with Spike's body. He had hugged her. He had actually hugged her and had been worried about her. The bleach blonde was a big faker. He still cared, at least some. Now she had to see just how much and make it more.

All four took a wall and started looking.

Buffy stepped forward to look closer. "Is it just me or are these carvings thingies making sense?"

Nina summed it up. "Yes, and freaky."

Still puzzled, Buffy offered up an explanation. "Maybe when we came through the portal we gained the ability to read pyramid talk."

Angel waved his hand at the walls. "Now which one tells us what we need to know?"

"This one with the box drawing says the Vessel of Catah, which is what we have come to retrieve," Nina pointed out. "I think this carving after the vessel will help us."

Angel read over her shoulder. "'Those gave essence...trials face bravery.' Then there is another row. ‘Past four weapons...sun metal.'"

Buffy made a try at translating. "I gotcha on the first part. Essence must be blood, and we have to go through some tests. Lost me on the second part."

Spike finished for her. " ‘Sun metal' I'm guessing is gold. So we need four weapons of gold. But ‘past'?"

"The weapons are old?" Nina was confused.

Angel shrugged. "I don't know. We may have to figure that one out as we go." For a moment, he stood perfectly still. "That was what Wesley was so good at doing."

Buffy's euphoria over her headway with Spike shot down through the floor. "I am so sorry about Wesley. I had no idea. I know that is no excuse, but..." Angel's heated stare stopped her poor excuse of an apology in its tracks. His attitude sent a chill down her spine.

Everyone picked up their packs, preparing to go down the passage way in front of them, and put the present topic behind.

"Uh oh." Angel's exclamation stopped everyone.

Spike turned to look back at him. "What's ‘uh oh,' Peaches?"

The brunette looked like he would rather not answer, but did. "I may have left the blood cooler outside."

"Maaay?" Spike drew the word out. As he had told the Scoobies before, he was a vampire with all the benefits of a human, but still needing blood.

Angel's voice was soft. "Well...I did."

"WHAT!!" Spike lunged for Angel, but Buffy was fast enough to get between and deter the attack.

Stepping up to the two men that were sandwiching Buffy, Nina tried to reason with the angry blonde. "Spike...SPIKE. It's done. The blood is outside. We will just have to find the vessel fast and then get out of here. I'm sure the blood will still be there."

After thirty more seconds, Buffy felt Spike let up and watched him walk over to a nearby wall and kick it. "Of all the fucking hell, should have expected the ponce to bugger the whole thing up." Unexpectedly, Spike turned and threw a punch that caught his grandsire on the right side of his jaw. No one had realized how close Spike had gotten to Angel again.

Angel stumbled a step or two before coming back with an uppercut. "Look Bleach brain, I didn't ‘bugger' things up on purpose."

"Guys..." Buffy jumped in between them again, which certainly wasn't one of the safest places she had ever been. "Boys, we are all in this together, and if we don't get out of here fast enough...no, we will get out of here fast enough."

With one last, black look, Spike stomped away. "You pansy, I...Ugh, at least you're as buggered as I am."

Buffy blew out the breath she was holding. Watching Nina taking a look at Angel's jaw, Buffy thought that all was at peace again. She could certainly understand why Spike was so mad. It would be like she was without food and water for god knows how long. She didn't know what happened to a vampire when they are without blood, and she didn't want to find out-- especially concerning Spike.

&&&&&&

Angel led the way down the tunnel with Spike--who was still pouting and mumbling to himself-- bringing up the rear. Using his distracted state of mind, Buffy fell back a little so that she was now abreast of him. He didn't even realize how close she was until she spoke and startled him. "I'm sorry about the blood."

She watched him blink a couple of time. "I am sorry about the blood," she repeated.

Spike turned and looked at her and blinked owlishly this time. "Oh." It wasn't his finest hour in the English language.

‘Oh.' At least that was better than nothing, but it did give Buffy hope. "I'm sure we will be out before you need it."

"Thanks, pet. I..."

They heard it first-- the blocks of stone making up the floor falling away to hit on a surface far below. The blocks had started falling far down the way that they had come and were moving towards them. Taking quick stock of the situation, Spike noticed that a ledge about two to three feet on each side of the tunnel was left. Closest to the wall, Spike grabbed Buffy and jerked her with him. They ended up with Spike's back against the wall and Buffy plastered against his full length. She took advantage and stole a quick kiss. "Thanks."

Spike's eyes widened in surprise. Time to change the focus. Spike looked over her head to see Angel and Nina in much the same position. "Peaches, I guess they pulled the carpet out from under us."

"Ya think?" he heard muffled into his t-shirt. He couldn't help but chuckle.

Buffy shifted so that she would be better heard. "I'm guessing the trials have begun."

"Ya think?"

It was Buffy's turn to chuckle. Irregardless of their dire situation, Buffy couldn't help but feel lucky to find herself in this position. She was so close that one of her feet was between his and the other on the out side. She could feel his hard body against her front, and his arm was wrapped around her. And the best part besides the one-sided kiss? She had made him chuckle. Again, she had chipped away at the ice.

Saving Buffy from harm was second nature to Spike. Of course, he made sure she was safe. And the kiss...He was still trying to get over kissing her in the airplane, let alone her adding temptation. Ugh.

The sound of more falling stones into the blackness below brought them both out of their thoughts. The ledge back behind them was dropping away. Starting with the ones next to where they were standing.

Nina sounded scared. She wrapped her arms around Angel tighter. "A bad situation just got worse."

"We'll make it." Angel kissed Nina. Buffy was envious. She didn't think she could steal another kiss this soon.

"I guess our direction has been chosen for us," Spike observed.

Spike and Buffy moved first. Spike's arm dropped away, and Buffy stepped onto the next stone. The stone she had been standing on immediately dropped away. The problem was that so did Spike's . With Buffy's help, he made the jump to the new stone in time.

"Peaches, bad news. You have to move together or bye bye. Pretend you're at the Saturday night dance and step together." Spike looked down into Buffy's face. "Ready, pet?"

Buffy smiled up into his face. "I have my dancing shoes on, but I was never any good at the two step."

"Hum a little tune, and I'll show you." After they took their first few steps together, Spike's thoughts began to race. How was he supposed to ignore her when she was like a second skin? And his traitorous tongue. It had to go on and wag. ‘Hum a tune.' Bloody hell. He shared a look with Angel over the heads of the women. Angel's message was clear. ‘You're fucked.'

Yay! Buffy was encouraged. He had said several sentences to her. She'd try to keep her winning streak going. She took a few more steps in time with Spike. "You're wearing me like a coat. At least we can talk."

She waited, but nothing. Okay, wrong approach. Next try. "Hi. Do you come here often to dance?"

"I mostly come for the atmosphere." Spike's traitorous tongue was at it again. His mouth never could behave.

"Yeah, this place has that Flintstone feeling to it."

Spike pretended to look around. "And the crowd; I feel like I know them all."

"And that guy over there..." Buffy moved her head, indicating Angel.

"The poof in the black coat?"

"...I've met him before. He..."

"Has a steel rod up his arse?"

"Spike! Why don't you go down there and let me know what you find?" Angel had heard enough.

When Angel called over, Spike was struck again with his resolve-- or lack of. He was mad at the slayer. He was disgusted with her sleeping with the Immortal. But she was close with his arms around her and she felt so good, smelled so sweet. And he didn't want to admit it, but he enjoyed bantering with her again.

After Buffy laughed at Angel's admonishing, she and Spike fell into an awkward silence as they continued to move down the tunnel. Finally Buffy had to make an observation. "It's so strange feeling you warm." No success. Spike didn't reply. He didn't even look at her. The end of the ledge to ground was coming up soon so she didn't think she would get another chance to try to get him to talk to her. At least, he had started to talk to her some. On the positive side, she did make sure that she wiggled against him as much as possible, and she could feel him grow hard.

She felt warm to Spike, but it wasn't strange to him. He knew that she was warm. He knew exactly how warm she was. Two times he had to stop his hand from stroking her hair. Five times he had to catch himself from pulling her in tighter. His body needed her, but he had put his body on a Buffy-free diet. He could feel his needs organizing a revolt. His manhood was already responding to her.

As soon as they were on solid ground, Spike pushed her away like she was a leper and then he totally ignored everyone, mumbling something about ‘bloody poor resolve.' He knew she was trying to be nice, but that only chipped at the ice around his heart. That wouldn't do.

While Spike was in his own world pacing, the other three took stock of their surroundings. Of course, they couldn't go back. Only forward ho. There were three cut stone walls. No place to go.

Angel turned around. "We are literally between a rock and a hard place."

"Why don't we look for more carvings?" Nina reached over and squeezed his hand.

Holding up their lanterns, they spread out, each taking a wall while leaving Spike room to pace.

Buffy waved her hand at her wall. "This wall is covered with those carving thingies."

"Mine, too," Angel replied

Nina started reading hers. "What does yours say?"

Bemused, Buffy shook her head. "This is so freaky how we can read this." Buffy tried her hand at translating. "Mine says some king guy, a big army, fought some other guy and killed...yada, yada, yada."

Nina nodded. "Mine talks about thanking the gods for a good harvest and depicts some of the partying."

"Oh, oh, look at this." Buffy's voice conveyed her excitement. "It's the hand impression like outside."

Angel stepped up. "Here, I'll do it."

"No, wait." Nina put her hand on Angel's arm. "We don't know what will happen this time. Here above the hand are the same words, ‘sun metal.'"

"Next to it is ‘who jaguar essence open.'" Spike had finally joined the group again.

"Jaguars are important to the Mayan religion," Nina explained.

Buffy shook her head. "We're not going to have to go catch one of those cat thingies, are we?"

"Nina..." Spike cut in.

Buffy kept going. "Because I don't even like house cats..."

Nina answered Spike. "Yes?"

"...all those beyond gross hair balls...ack..."

"Nina..." The blonde crossbreed was beginning to get very aggravated to say the least.

"Yes?" Perplexed, Nina wondered why Spike kept saying her name.

Spike thumped his forehead with the heel of his hand. "No, Nina is the jaguar."

"I've always known you were cracked," Angel grumbled.

Spike growled at him before explaining. "Jaguars are fast, strong, have claws, viscous teeth and jaws. Now a werewolf answers to that description, yes?"

Spike looked at their blank stares. He snapped his fingers in their faces. "Hello? Asked a bloody question here."

After blinking several times, Buffy was the first to hazard a guess. "Yes?"

"Yes!" Spike rolled his eyes. Looking at Nina, he motioned her towards the hand print. "You're up, luv."

"Should I cut my hand?" Nina rubbed the palm of her hand.

Stepping up, Angel didn't want her to cut herself again if they could avoid it. "How about trying it without first?"

Nodding her head, Nina walked up and gingerly placed her hand on the impression. And nothing. "Nina looked back over her shoulder at Angel. "I guess I have to use blood again."

"Just make a shallow cut." Worry was readily evident in his voice.

Using her knife from her pack, Nina cut her palm and placed it on the imprint. They felt a rumble that they recognized as forewarning that a portal was opening. With nothing to lose, gathering themselves up, they stepped through together.

Shocked. All four of them were shocked down to their toes. One second they were walking, and the next second Spike and Angel were sitting on a stone bench with Buffy and Nina standing in front of them holding feathered...somethings. After turning them in their hands and examining them, they assumed that they were hats of some sort with great feathered Mohawks down the middle.

It was strange. After the hats, the next thing that registered on Buffy's mind was legs. Bare, tanned legs, except for one pair in her line of sight. The pair of pale legs belonged to Angel, who was sitting on a block of stone in front of her wearing some sort of skirt. All the others legs? They belonged to men around them in an open area of a jungle. All were wearing a similar type of skirt, but they were in various situations. Some were sitting like Angel and Spike, some were walking across the yard and some were standing around and talking to others.

Buffy turned her attention back to Angel and the guy next to him with the tanned legs. Sure she had seen Spike's legs before, but they had been as pale as Angel's. Now they were darker. The only thing marring their beauty was the streaks of red where Spike had been injured in the hellmouth. The marks were almost healed now. But what was it about him? Just seeing his legs made her want him. She felt warm all over.

Daylight. They were in daylight. Angel popped up, covering his face with his arms and prepared to run for shelter until Spike grabbed his arm. "No slap it on the grill and watch it sizzle, mate. You must have a pass here, wherever here is."

Angel turned his hands over and over before smiling up at the sun.

As Spike looked around, he slowly shook his head at the hustle and bustle happening around them. "Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore."

"I don't think we are in the same year anymore." Buffy looked at Spike as she spoke, but he wouldn't meet her eyes.

Spike heard her all right. Her voice trickled up and down his spine. Actually, he always felt that way when he could feel her eyes on him.

Nina was the only one that was really paying attention, and she was thrilled by what she saw. She was talking so fast that her words were running together. "Oh, oh, these are Mayans. I know this from a college course. But they have been gone for hundreds of years..."

Spike put a gentle hand on her arm. "Take a breath, luv, before you have the vapors, and we're picking your pretty little self up off the ground."

Angel came out of his daze. "We can't be in ‘hundreds of years ago'. We're in this year."

Buffy turned three hundred sixty degrees trying to take in their new locale. "This year is so not this year."

"In a nutshell, luv." Spike responded to her before he realized it.

Buffy's smile would have lit a city block. She had moved from "pet" up to "luv." Granted, it was undoubtedly unconsciously done, but still, he had said it. Maybe, in the back of his mind, he might be relaxing some towards her.

Nina grasped Angel's hand. "Wow, this is so great. I am looking at real, live Mayans."

"We can't be..." Bemused, Angel shook his head.

Spike elbowed Angel in the ribs. "'Said that already, ya ninny."

Nina didn't hear anything anyone else was saying. "Look at the colors. You always think of them as they look on the stone carvings with no color..."

Buffy tried to break Nina's speech. "Nina..."

"The reds and the yellows. Just beautiful..."

"Nina! Earth calling Nina." Buffy snapped her fingers into the other woman's face.

"What?...Oh, sorry."

Smiling at the enthusiastic girl, Buffy asked, "So... we're in Mayan time, but what are we doing Mayan?"

&&&&&&

TBC

See, the Spuffy is rolling.

Chapter 11: Go For The Gold

Spike answered that one. "Judging by those gaudy bits of feather you and the Slayer are holding, Peaches and I are about to be wearing hats that would make a rooster crow in envy."

"Oh, that...The way you and everybody else are dressed and bustling around means there must be something ceremonial about to happen. Here, wait a minute." Nina shoved the headdress she was holding into Angel's hands and ran around the corner of a large, stone wall. A few moments later, she returned. "It's a ball court!! You're getting ready for a ball game!!" Nina was bouncing up and down with excitement that no one else understood or shared.

Angel stood up so that he could grasp both of her arms. "Nina, slow down."

Before speaking again, Nina took a deep breath. It helped - a little. "The game is like soccer."

Pffft, Spike sounded disgusted. "You mean football. And I don't mean that poor excuse they have in America."

"Yes, with a little basketball thrown in. Oh, it looks like people are going in. Follow those men and do what they do." Nina placed the headdress on Angel and Buffy followed her lead to Spike.

Buffy couldn't help but laugh at Spike's expression. He looked like she was wrapped a rattle snake around his head. In fact, he looked like he would prefer the snake over the headdress. He gave her a dirty look like he knew what she was thinking. She didn't care but still covered her mouth to muffle her laughter.

When Angel and Spike stood up, they looked down at themselves. They were wearing leather shoes, a skirt made of leather flaps, a stone yoke around their waist, one long necklace decorated with bright feathers, a shorter one of gold disks, and a choker of gold. There were also wide arm bands on their forearm, and gold bands on their upper arms. 'Well,' Angel thought, 'so much for blending in.' However, they did notice that the other men around them wore similar costumes.

Strangest of all, the people around them didn't notice anything out of the ordinary about them. Angel with his darker features and hair may have blended in some, but the locals acted like three white-skinned blondes walked around in this Mayan location everyday. Similar to their being able to read the hieroglyphs, Spike suspected that the Mayans were seeing them as if they were one of their own people.

Angel still wasn't sure what was going on. "How do they play a game with all this...this stuff on?"

Nina pushed him forward. "They don't. After they go out and parade around, they will come back here, and we will change some of the clothes out. But we had better hurry. They look like they are about to begin."

Buffy called out to Spike as he walked away. "Spike." He turned towards her. "What do you have under that skirt?"

His eyes shot open wide, and Buffy and Nina laughed as Spike peeked and then looked relieved.

Spike and Angel followed the other heavily decorated men around a corner and found themselves standing on a grassy, rectangular area that looked to be about twenty-five feet by seventy-five feet. On their left down the longer side were stands for the spectators made of stone. On their right was a heavily carved, stone area that had a few people seated there that--judging from their incredible trappings-- Angel assumed them to be the nobility of some type. The players were preening for the crowd. 'Well, Spike should feel at home,' Angel thought, considering the way the blonde liked to strut and show off.

After a while of parading, the men marched back out the entrance. Angel and Spike were immediately met by Nina and Buffy. As was happening all around, the girls started changing the men's outfits. The necklaces were removed, the stone yoke was replaced by a wooden one, protective leather was wrapped on their arms, and the headdresses was replaced with helmets.

As they were being changed, Angel turned to Spike. "You enjoyed that."

Spike tried to keep his face straight, but he gave up. "Well, yeah. Bloody rush that was."

Angel smirked. "You're nothing but a glorified rooster."

Spike looked offended. "No, a fighting cock, and I don't mean a willy."

Rolling his eyes, Angel turned his focus back on Nina.

Not wanting to miss a chance, Buffy paid special attention to how she dressed Spike. It meant touching him as much as possible, and getting her face as close to his-- alluding to a kiss. In fact, she thought he had leaned towards her when their lips were close. Yes! She will get in his face more often. Wasn't there a piece of dirt on his face she should brush off?

While they were performing the transformation, Nina explained the rules, at least the ones she could remember. "Your goal is to get a softball sized, solid rubber ball through a stone ring way above the nobility. Big no no's are: do not let the ball hit the ground and do not use your hands. You can use your head, hips, forearms, and feet. There could be more, but just watch the other players." Nina made an apologetic face and shrugged. "Sorry, that's all I remember."

Angel patted Nina's hand sitting on his thigh. He gave her a quick kiss. "But we are looking for a gold weapon. Did you see all of the gold out there?"

"Yeah, pinch some and the pauper becomes the prince," Spike popped off.

"The game doesn't use weapons so it won't be there," Nina further explained. "Well, you just have to have faith that you will know it when you see it."

As Spike and Angel made their way out onto the court again, they looked over the players. All were dressed the same with arm bands, helmets, leather skirts-- all decorate with vibrant paints. Spike was starting to see a pattern. "Peaches?"

Throwing up his arms in frustration, Angel barked at Spike. "Angel. Is Angel so hard to say?"

"Easy actually...Peaches, do you notice a difference in our fellow ball players?"

Giving into the nickname battle for the time being, Angel scrutinized the men. "The colors."

"Right, fearless poof. The decorations are either predominantly yellow or red. You're in the yellow camp." Spike looked down his body. "And paint me in the red one."

"Different teams." For some unknown reason, Angel didn't have a good feeling about that.

"Looks like." On the other hand, Spike was looking forward to playing against Angel. Nothing like an opportunity to humiliate his grandsire.

Angel didn't trust Spike's growing smirk one bit. "You had better not use your enhanced abilities. We would stand out too much."

Rubbing his hands together, Spike welcomed the upcoming challenge. "Shaking in my boots, or in this case, sandals, you prat," Spike threw over his shoulder as he and Angel headed off towards their respective teams.

One of the people covered in gold from the nobility side of the ball court walked out on the grass holding a solid, rubber ball that looked to be six inches in diameter. Spike noticed that his team was starting to spread out and he waited for play to begin. Quickly looking around to check on the ladies, he found them standing where he and Angel hand entered the field of play. He told himself that he was looking to make sure Nina was all right, but his eyes sought out Buffy. Buffy was looking back at him. He shouldn't have felt so...so satisfied when she made a motion with her fist above her head at him, but he had to admit that her show of support added to his confidence.

Buffy watched as Spike and Angel made their way to their teams, and just like Angel had, she didn't have a good feeling about them splitting up. She was just going to have to trust in them. Then Spike looked their way. More specifically, he looked at her-- eye to eye. She wanted to behave like a schoolgirl waving at the quarterback. Instead, she waved her fist and hoped it looked encouraging. It must have. He nodded to her, which thrilled her. The schoolgirl was now flushed with delight.

Unexpectedly, the man holding the ball at the center of the field motioned for Spike to come to him. At first, Spike thought he was pointing to someone else, but another player gave him a shove in the right direction. The same happened with Angel, leaving them facing each other with the ball being held in the middle.

"How hard can it be?" Angel asked. Spike just shrugged.

Then the game began. When the ball went up and then came down, Spike kicked it and then got out of the way. Angel scrambled away, also. The ball was moving, dancing from a foot, to a hip to a head, another hip to a forearm. At first Angel and Spike tried to stay away from the play; just taking in the moves and interaction. Then the ball came Spike's way. He bumped it off his forearm so it wouldn't go past him and fall to the ground. From then on, Spike was in the thick of things, even taking a few shots at the ring that was about thirty feet above the ground. He noted that his grandsire had joined in. A foot, a hip, a foot, and a forearm.

During all the action, he could feel eyes on him. Buffy's eyes. And the first time he didn't feel them--before he could stop himself-- he turned to see what was she doing. If she was okay, or even if she was still there. Then after that first time, he found himself checking on her again and again. He had to stop this, he told himself, and concentrate on the game or he was going to take a hard hit to the melon.

Buffy watched Spike with mixed feelings. Even though she knew that he could take care of himself, she still worried. Two of the players had already been injured by blows from the hard, solid ball and had to leave the game. Spike was partly human now so more vulnerable. On the other hand, she felt a rush watching Spike play the game. Of course, at the beginning he had floundered. But as the game progressed, he caught on and began to shine. Just as he fought demons every night, in this he moved with a fluid grace. She couldn't take her eyes off of him, and was shocked to notice how many times he looked her way. At first, she thought that he was checking on Nina. But he wouldn't have looked at Nina that many times, would he? No, she and Spike had looked at each other eye to eye, and his eyes didn't hold their usual hostility. He looked like she had chipped a little more at the ice around his heart.

Nina was enjoying watching Buffy for some of the time. She didn't think that the slayer knew that she was mirroring Spike's every move. Buffy would give a little kick when Spike did and moved her arm when he popped the ball with his forearm. But Nina thought her favorite was when Buffy would jump up and stretch her neck, mimicking Spike heading the ball. Just too funny.

Between an hour and a half to two hours, a break was called. The players dropped to the ground where they were to rest and drink the water that was brought to them. Buffy and Nina took that time to look at the carvings depicted on the stone around the ball court. After seeing the game played, they could tell that much of the carvings depicted the ball game itself. The players were shown in all their glory. But then, Buffy found a part that made the hair on the back of her neck rise. "Nina, what does this mean?"

Nina looked at the section that Buffy had pointed out, looked at Buffy, and then back again at the carvings. "Oh, no."

"Oh, no? What?"

"Oh, no." Nina shook her head. Oh, she had a bad feeling.

"'Oh no' as in 'not good?'"

"Yeah."

Buffy took a step back. "Somebody is going to lose their head, aren't they?"

"It looks like there will be a sacrifice at the end of the game." She quickly added, "But that doesn't mean that it will be Angel or Spike."

"But it could."

"Yeah."

Buffy turned and attempted to warn Angel and Spike by waving, but the game had started up again. She just hoped there would be another break before the end of the game.

Play resumed. Another player from Spike's team was knocked out in the first twenty minutes. Thirty minutes after that, the game was over when one of his teammates kicked the ball through the ring. After some rejoicing, the same noble with a couple of large Mayans walked to the middle of the field. As before the game, he motioned for Spike and Angel to meet him in the center. Their eyes met and both conveyed the same message. ''What the hell was going on?'

Once there, they were motioned to face each other. That was the first red flag raised. When one of the large guys forced Angel to his knees, that was the second flag raised, especially since he was strong enough to force the master vampire. The third flag was obvious. A knife made out of obsidian, which looked like black glass. Very sharp. When the knife was handed to Spike, he turned it over in his palm, admiring the beauty of the lethal weapon. Then Spike looked at Angel, unvoiced conversation passing between them born from fighting for so many years together. Spike gave just the barest shrug to the left, designating the escape route-- that is if Angel could get away from his native. Spike raised the knife and froze. Angel's eyes widened to saucers as Spike felt the knife change from a slick, glassy surface to a cool metal. He jerked it down. The knife had morphed from obsidian to gold. A gold weapon. They had gotten so caught up in the game that they had forgotten what they had come for.

Spike blinked a couple of times. "Bugger me."

"Let's go."

Angel lunged forward away from the man holding him down, and shot to his feet. Spike joined him on his mad dash towards the girls, who had luckily already stepped onto the field. To Buffy's left, Spike could see a portal opening up, swirling smoke in a black tunnel. Nina and Buffy waited for Spike and Angel before all four ran through.

As the two men ran, they bickered.

"You cheated," Angel accused Spike.

Spike shot him an affronted look. "Did not."

"You used your enhanced powers."

"Did not."

"Well, you had to have cheated somehow."

Spike shrugged. "You've got me there." With that, he took the hand Buffy offered without conscious thought and ran through the portal with her.

*****

On the other side, the portal tossed the group of four out into a room that-- judging from the carvings—seemed to place them back in the temple. Angel rolled to a stop and immediately, --without taking the time to stand up-- crawled on all fours to check on Nina.

"You okay?" He brushed the hair from her face.

Nina sat up and gave him a shaky smile. Her voice was just as unsteady. "Just fine...sorta." She leaned into his hand as he cupped her cheek.

With his concern put to rest, Angel let himself collapse flat to the ground, groaning as his body began to relax. Nina scooted over so that she could massage the muscles at his shoulders. She rested his head in her lap.

Spike was in a totally different position. Just as Angel experienced, he was in his regular clothes again. But having gone through the portal a couple of seconds behind Buffy... slam. Oomph. He was lying across a body; a body that his body instinctually recognized. A soft body that brought an immediate reaction below his belt. This was how he dreamed of Buffy.

Buffy, who had immediately rolled onto her back, couldn't ask for a better result from crossing through the portal. The hard, lean body of Spike lying across her. She would have done it sooner if she had known. She knew he would move off of her when he recovered from his fall, so she took advantage of the golden opportunity by moving her hands to his lower back. She wanted to, but she didn't go so far as caressing his taut, muscles, but she would hold him loosely for as long as she could. She inhaled deeply and her sensory memory kicked in. Leather and a musky smell that that was exclusively Spike's. The only smell missing was a smoky scent. Good. No lung cancer in his future. That is if he could get lung cancer. She could feel him tense, preparing to move off of her. If only she could stretch time. Make this last. If only he wanted to stay on her, like he used to; Spike's fondest wish. How was she going to change his desires back again?

When Spike realized that he was enjoying his present location way too much Spike literally jumped to his feet, avoiding stepping on her in his haste. "Sorry, uh, took a tumble."

Still lying on the ground, Buffy gave him what she hoped was her best seductive smile. "No prob. Just call me a comfy cushion." Ah, he wasn't all that immune to her, she thought as his eyes traveled down the length of her body.

Spike stepped over and sat down with his back to a wall. Rubbing his hand over his face, he mentally kicked himself. Without saying a word, Buffy called to him like a siren. He needed to sail away from her. Unfortunately, he was anchored to her for the duration of this little jaunt.

Buffy tried to come up with something to break the tension and landed on food. "What do you say? Food time?"

Having seen the uncomfortable situation between Spike and Buffy, Nina jumped at the idea. "Yum. Let's get out the rations."

Still lying down, Angel looked up at Nina. "But what about the back packs?"

Spike was just as confused for the moment. "Better yet, how is it that we can see without lanterns?"

When they looked around, they noticed their lanterns and back packs in a corner. Buffy climbed to her feet. "But this isn't the room we were in before the time travel."

Spike could make out two tunnels off their present room. "Right you are, pet. No telling where we are in this hunk of stone, but their looks to be a couple of options we will need to explore." He motioned towards the two black openings that they assumed were tunnels.

"Well, food first." Nina retrieved hers and Angel's packs as did Buffy for herself and Spike. Due to their exertion in the ball game, the men didn't seem to want to move so Nina and Buffy broke open the packs.

Nina ran her hand through Angel's hair. He looked so weak to her.

"Watch it, grrh girl. You might mess up his do," Spike teased his grandsire.

Angel fired back with an evil grin. "Look who's talking, curly."

Spike's hand shot up and felt his curls that had been freed from their gel.

As Spike groaned, Buffy laughed. The truth was, Buffy was worried about him. She had been getting used to his warm, tanned complexion, but now, he was pale. Pale as when he was dead.

Nina was thinking along the same lines about Angel. She caught Buffy's eyes and nodded in agreement.

Buffy was the one who voiced their concern. "It's blood." Neither vampire would meet Buffy's eyes. "You need blood..."


TBC

Hope you liked it. This chapter was fun to write. Let me know what you think!

Next