I blame this on too much TLC and too many Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels books. I so did not want to start another !verse but it won't go away! All human AU.
Bed and Breakfast
by
Amejisuto
Part One ~ Inheritance
Xander pulled into the circular driveway, his mouth agape. This so could not be his Aunt’s house! From what little he had heard about his aunt she was crazy as a bedbug, but this…
The house was huge, three stories plus an attic and a basement. There was also a garage and what looked like to be a garden shed on the left side of the house. The yard was overgrown, the roses and azaleas out of control. From where he sat in his truck he could see the house needed work, paint, steps leveled, window screens patched. But it had once been a grand house, with windows that would look great lit up with silhouettes at Halloween, or white lights at Christmas.
Xander just shook his head and looked. He had never met his Aunt Meg; she had been the black sheep of the family, the only one till he came out of the closet six years ago. So it had been a shock to find out she had died and left everything to him. And a whole lot of everything it was. She had stocks and bonds, but upon her death she had stipulated that they be sold to cover death taxes and estate taxes for the house.
So the house was his, and all its contents. Everything but utilities was paid up for the entire year, even insurance on the house and the car, a 1957 Corvette convertible. At least that was what the executor said.
He had planned on just coming up, seeing the house and talking to a realtor, but something about the house spoke to him. This was a nice little town from what he had seen, and Los Angeles was not working for him anymore. His bad break up with Liam, Anya chasing him even though he wasn’t interested in anything she had to offer, and his parents attitude all soured the feelings he had for the city he grew up in.
Starting up the car to drive to the bookshop to pick up the keys to the house, Xander thought about how he might be able to afford to stay in his house. And how much he’d like to.
Part Two ~ Main Street
Xander found a parking spot about a half a block away from the bookshop where he was supposed to pick up the keys to his Aunt’s house. Being from the big city he had thought the small coastal town would be deserted on a Monday afternoon, but he was surprised to find a busy Main Street. Shops were open; people walked around, kids played. There was a square by the courthouse with a gazebo for god’s sake. It was almost like something out of Norman Rockwell.
That is if Norman Rockwell had New Age Shops, like the one he’d just passed. Avalon, neat name.
Being from L. A. that didn’t bother him, in fact it was almost comforting. If the people in this town let New Agers and pagans be, then there shouldn’t be too much problems with homophobia. While Los Angeles had been a city that didn’t really care what you did, the people in Xander’s family were not the open-minded type of person and he’d learned the hard way to be very careful.
He came to Bookbinders. It was a pretty big sized shop for a downtown bookstore. As he walked in a bell rang over the door. Rows upon rows of books, mystery, romance, travel, how-to, everything one of the big name stores would have. Maybe they didn’t have fifty copies of each book but they had a nice selection from what he could tell. Part of Xander wanted to wander around, seeing what he could find. He wasn’t that big of a reader, mainly because he never had the time before, Liam had taken all of it up. Maybe now he could start.
He waited till the man behind the register finished up with his customers before stepping forward. He was a middle-aged man, brown hair with gray at the temples, glasses and crow’s feel indicating he smiled a lot. Xander had listened to him take care of the last family, the children picking out their own books, and he had a British accent.
“May I help you?”
“No, I mean yes but not with a book. I’m Xander Harris I’m looking for a Rupert Giles?”
“Ah, you must be dear Margaret’s nephew, hello. I’m Rupert Giles; did you find the shop all right? Enjoy the drive up from L.A.?”
“Yeah, you have a nice little town here, lots of people. I was surprised a small town like this would be so busy.”
“We are somewhat of a resort area, quite a few tourists stop in and being summer it is rather busy. There are a few things I feel I should tell you before giving you the keys to your Aunt’s house, do you have the time?”
“Sure.”
He watched as Mr. Giles pressed a button under the counter. A few minutes later a dark haired man came striding up to the counter.
“Mr. Harris this is my partner Ethan Raines. This is Margaret’s nephew, Xander Harris.”
After the introductions were made, he was led to the back of the store where there were a few chairs situated in a circle.
“We have our reading group here on Tuesday nights, I’m afraid it just hasn’t been the same since Margaret passed on. She was quite active in that group and others in the community. Have you passed by the house yet?”
“Yeah, and I gotta say I didn’t expect that! From what little I know about Aunt Meg from my family I kinda expected a grocery cart or trailer not a mansion like that!”
Giles looked pained to be discussing something as crude as how much someone was worth.
“Yes, your Aunt married quite well more than once, and California property laws as they are left her rather well off. Plus she had her investments and collecting. Have you decided yet as to what you are going to do with the property?”
“Not really, I mean I didn’t even know my Aunt last week and here I am, you know? It’s kind of hard to take in.”
“The reason I ask is that there will be quite a few people interested, no matter what you decide. I myself would like to make an appointment if you decide to sell. Your Aunt was quite an avid collector or many different things, most of it valuable.”
Xander couldn’t help but stare at the older man. Not only was the house big, but it was also packed full of junk. Okay expensive junk, but junk. He bet if his Aunt had been poor and collected things like that she’d have been termed crazy, but the money led people to call her eccentric if anything at all.
“Just how much are we talking about?”
“I’m sorry I don’t have the papers on me at the moment, I can go over it all with you later as the executor of your Aunt’s estate if you like. I’m afraid it still hasn’t be cataloged entirely, so it is an estimate.”
“Okay so what you’re telling me is that my Aunt who I’ve never met left me everything, was rich and has a huge house packed to the gills with stuff?”
“Perhaps not how I would have termed it, but yes.”
“Do you know why she left it to me, I mean surely she would have rather left it to someone who knew her or was there when she died or something.”
“From what I could gather from her shortly before she passed is that she had tried to contact you many times and your family kept ‘losing’ the messages. She learned not too long ago that you were not welcome at family gatherings any longer and felt that, and I quote “anyone who could piss off that bastard of a brother of mine deserves to be rewarded!”
“Sounds like I would have liked her.”
“She was quite well liked here in Sunnydale. In fact she helped half of the businesses here on Main Street just by being a patron. She has a large collection of books, some of them quite rare, which I’d be interested in purchasing back from you. The Museum, Joyce Summers runs that, is just down the street and Margaret bought most of her art for her house from her. The Comic Shop sold her rare toys, and Margaret never bought new clothes, always choosing instead to buy from the vintage clothing store run by a young woman, a Ms. Cordelia Chase. You can put all of them on your list of people wanting to buy things back from you, as well as the owner of the Antique shop next door run by Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. We were her friends as well. We really will feel the impact of her death for quite some time. This is a close-knit town, Mr. Harris; we all help one another here. I do hope you decide to stay, I would hate to see Margaret’s beloved house torn down by some developer trying to put up a mini-mall or some such tripe.”
“Wow.” This was just too much, Xander felt as if his brain was going to overload. “First of all, call me Xander, Mr. Harris is my Dad. I think I need to think for a while. Is the house okay for me to stay in, or do I need to find a hotel or something?”
“While the house does need work it is livable, and I had Willow and Tara, the young ladies who own Avalon, make sure there were fresh linens in one of the bedrooms and that the kitchen was stocked.”
“Wow, I can’t thank you enough. That’s really nice. Is it okay if I call you if I have any more questions or anything like that Mr. Giles?”
“Please, it’s Giles or Rupert. Yes, you can call here anytime of the day or night, we live above the store.”
Xander got up and shook hands, leaving Giles to his bookshop and his partner. Xander hadn’t missed the slight pause before the introduction. He walked out of the store, the bright sunlight blinding his eyes as he emerged.
Only a short time had passed but Xander couldn’t help but feel as if days had gone by. He’d gone from a construction worker barely making the bills to owner of a mansion filled to the brim with valuables. Maybe he could afford to move here for a little while, by selling all that stuff. Surely there had to be some way to pay the utilities for the house without going broke or having to work eighteen-hour days.
Part Three ~ Solution
Xander’s solution to his desire to keep the house came from his dead Aunt yet again. If he wasn’t sure it was just coincidence he would have been creeped out. The second day of exploring the house had him in the Library on the first floor. Only it didn’t hold just books but had an entertainment center, record albums as well as tapes and CD’s, and other things he couldn’t even name. There was even a suit of armor in once corner, topped off with groucho glasses!
He was convinced now that if his Aunt had been poor she would have been classified as crazy; instead she had been termed unique and eccentric.
In the corner, surrounded by huge windows on both the east and north side of the house, was a desk. He spent over an hour getting some of the clutter cleared. Cross stitch samplers, a knitted sweater with one arm longer than the other, worry stones, newspaper clippings, magazines and books with pages dog eared for future reference.
In a way seeing this desk was like getting to know the woman who had been his unlikely benefactor. Books on heirloom roses, do-it-yourself texts, a romance novel by that Mina woman, art books, it was interesting. Aunt Meg must have had a fine mind to be able to flit from one subject to the next without seeming to have too many problems. He could see now why Mr. Giles was itching to get in here and reclaim some of these books.
He started to read a few, flipping through the pages, when he came to an article in one of the many magazines, one about a successful business in New England. A couple had bought an old colonial home, close to falling down and renovated it, fixing up everything in the house to fit the period of the place, right down to searching for antique quilts for the beds, and opened a Bed and Breakfast.
Their business was doing so well they were looking for other houses to do the same with.
Xander moved on to other things, spending most of the afternoon shelving books and basically getting the room clean enough so he could at least see the top of the mahogany desk, but that magazine stayed where he could find it. If fact there were a few more, and books on the hotel industry as well. They created a growing stack on one of the tables by the door.
After calling out for pizza, and Xander was thankful that this town had wonderful take-out, he settled down in the Library to read. He wasn’t used to just sitting and reading so the television was on, providing white noise in the background.
Hours later, after midnight, Xander wandered around the house before he headed up to bed. The living room was immaculate, ready to receive guests, only because he suspected his Aunt never set foot in the place, and had a large fireplace, as did the Library. A Dining Room and rather large kitchen as well as a half bath and pantry made up the rest of the first floor.
There were large porches at front and back, and a flower as well as herb and vegetable garden in the back. Xander could picture rocking chairs and swings on the porches, and a few more benches under the trees in the back.
He was in one of the larger bedrooms on the second floor, the one with the bath had been Meg’s and he hadn’t cleared her personal possessions out of there yet. In fact, while the bed in his room had been made fresh there were boxes of comics and National Geographic in his room. There were two other bedrooms on this floor, a full bathroom at the end of the hall and one in the master bedroom.
The third floor had a full bathroom, two double sized rooms and three single. That made for five big rooms and three small to rent out, that is if he planned on moving into the main bedroom. As he turned out the lights and checked the locks he made plans to clean out his Aunt’s old room tomorrow.
That way when he came with his stuff from L.A. he’d have a place to put it.
Part Four ~ Leaving L.A.
“What do you want?”
Xander knew it was too good to be true. Everything had been going perfectly, his landlord wasn’t mad about the breaking of his lease; he just had to loose the deposit. His boss at the construction site had no problems with his leaving, didn’t even make him work out a two week notice, and he’d found a reliable moving company to haul most of his stuff to Sunnydale, he’d be taking the personal items in his truck.
So of course Liam would show up the night before the movers came.
Looking at the face he’d once loved, Xander couldn’t help but feel tired. Liam was once a beautiful person, soft accent from his native Ireland and hands that could work magick, both on his body and on paper. He could draw anything, he had a rare talent.
When they first met, Liam was the clichéd starving artist and Xander had tried to help him the best he could, even if it was just moral support. To make ends meet, Liam took a small job modeling.
He gained some fame thanks to his gorgeous face and he found an agent willing to ‘help’ him. Darla remade the artist from Galloway into Angelus, helping the man to loose his accent and twisting what once was a gentle person who cared about others into someone who watched out for number one. Angelus, or Angel, was vain and self-centered.
Xander doubted the man even had drawing supplies anymore.
“Can I come in?”
“Depends, who are you tonight?”
“Huh?”
“Liam was always welcome here. Angel can go screw himself.” Xander just moved away from the door. He knew this had to happen; he just didn’t have to like it.
He watched as Liam, Angel, looked around the apartment, taking in the boxes scattered around the living room.
“Going somewhere?”
“Gosh you’re quick! Nice to see Darla didn’t suck all your brains out of your dick.”
“That’s not fair Xander! I only did what I had to do to get ahead. I keep Darla happy and I get the good jobs. I even have a spot in a Coke commercial coming up.”
“I care why?”
“I miss you. I was hoping we could try to come to an understanding. I’d hate for you to throw away a two-year relationship over a little jealousy.”
“I’m not the one who threw everything away, you did that first Angel!” He couldn’t keep the contempt out of his voice.
“Now, let me set something straight. I kicked you out, changed the freaking locks, I’ve refused to talk to you for a month, and I’m leaving town. And you want me to take you back? Not gonna happen! Now, get out!”
“But why? You complete me, I need someone like you…”
“That’s just it ANGEL! Your needs and your desires is all you care about. I don’t need you so get out before I call the cops!”
Xander just stood there; he didn’t even blink at the puppy eyes his ex was giving him. When he was finally gone, he locked the door and leaned against it.
He was so looking forward to getting this over with tomorrow so he could go back to the small town that was becoming home.
Part Five ~ First Boarder
Author's Note:
First of all, Happy Birthday ![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) txrabbit !! Hope you get lots of lovely Spander for your birthday! Here's some Bed and Breakfast just for you!
A month since he’s left Los Angeles and he’s not regretted it since. Not even when Buffy Summers, the gallery owner’s daughter, kept throwing herself at him during the ‘Welcome to Sunnydale’ party his Aunt Meg’s friends had thrown for him.
Once she got past the whole gay problem she made for a great friend, and he’d even hired her little sister Dawn as his unofficial grounds crew. The teenager mowed the lawn using the riding lawnmower he’d found in the tool shed and took care of the roses, azaleas and flower beds. Being used to living in the big city Xander didn’t know a weed from a daisy.
He’d made a lot of progress but there was still much to be done. The living room and library had both gotten a fresh paint job and the hardwood floors stripped, sanded and re-varnished. He’d managed to fix both porches of any loose boards and once again it was Dawn that helped him paint, along with a couple of her friends.
He’d made several good deals with Giles, Wesley, the man who owned the antiques shop, and a woman by the name of Cordelia Chase who owned a vintage clothing store.
Cordy reminded him of every superficial valley girl he’d ever met in his life at first, but the woman had a shrewd business sense and once you were friends she’d protect you with her life. Okay so you had to put up with her blunt comments, but so far the comments she had made about decorating the bottom floor of the house were spot on.
Plus he had made a handsome sum of money from the old dresses he’d found in his Aunt’s closets. Evening gowns, silk skirts, beaded dresses, even a wedding gown, it was all a bit much, and he still had all the closets on the third floor and the attic to go through.
Sunnydale was nothing like he thought it would be. No small town attitudes, people were open about their beliefs and their sexuality. A combination beach resort town and New Age destination thanks to some caves out in Breaker’s Woods kept people coming to town all year long, and the locals banded together as a community to help support anyone who needed it.
He’d made lots of great friends, Willow and Tara who owned Avalon; the pagan supply store downtown lived just three houses down the road. It was fun to tease the lesbian couple and watch both women blush.
Charles Gunn, the police chief was another good friend. Both men had left L.A. looking for a better life and had a lot in common. Of course Xander always found it funny to watch the strong black man cower when his girlfriend started in on him, but then again Cordy was awfully scary. He often joked that she should be on the police force as well. She refused on the grounds the gun holster would make her hips look fat.
This week he’d been working on the kitchen and dining room. He’d stripped off the old wallpaper in both rooms and primed the walls, taken off the doors to all the cabinets and even the countertops. The rooms were now primed, ready for the soft yellow paint in the kitchen and the hunter green in the dining room. He was now outside in shade, taking a sander to the cabinet doors so he could prime them and paint the cabinets a soft white color.
The late afternoon sun was hot so he had taken off his tee shirt earlier and was now in cut off khakis, work boots and safety goggles. He’d already cut out the countertops out of MDF and had them primed and ready for the paint treatment that would make them look like granite. He’d made a butcher’s block table on wheels as a workstation/island for the middle of the room and was planning on painting the base of that at the same time.
He was hoping to have the doors primed and painted tonight so by tomorrow evening he could put everything back together. Monday morning the new restaurant quality fridge, stove, and dishwasher would be delivered and he wanted everything ready.
Later he thought the only reason he had no warning of his visitor was due to the fact that he’d been in the sun for a couple hours and that the sander was loud enough for him to put in earplugs to protect his hearing. Why else did he miss the sound of a motorcycle pulling into his driveway or the rider ringing the front bell before he sauntered into the back yard?
And saunter he did, like a panther strolling in the jungle. When Xander looked up at the sound of a voice calling so close all he saw was a figure in black haloed by the sun. Black jeans, black tee shirt, black helmet tucked under his arm. Turning off the machine he noticed ice blue eyes and bleached blond hair and cheekbones anyone would kill for. Despite being tired he found his libido taking a more than active interest.
Taking off his goggles he found it hard to swallow all of a sudden. This was sex on legs in front of him, a virtual god.
“Um, hello?” He could have kicked himself, that was such a smooth line!
“Hello there. In town for a while and all the local hostels and inns are booked solid for the summer, bloke down at the bookshop said you might be able to rent me a room. Name’s Wil, Wil Bradford, but you can call me Spike.”
Part Six ~ Trouble
Despite his open face and slightly idiotic smile, Xander Harris knew he wasn’t as stupid as some people thought him to be at first sight. Okay so he looked like he was this big dumb construction guy, his brain still worked quite well thank you very much.
So not being dense he knew exactly how much trouble he was in. He’d finally been able to shut himself in his bedroom for the night, and as soon as he closed the door he found himself beating his head against the oak.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!” God he’s just getting over one artist with a great accent and here this one just walks into his house and he’s going to let him. What the hell was he thinking?
He finally left the door in peace, it wasn’t the door’s fault he’s horny beyond belief at the sound of his new housemate’s voice. Or at the sight of his eyes, or at the way he looked like some jungle cat about to pounce, or…
Groaning he threw himself face forward on the bed and covered his head with a pillow. Wil Bradford…Spike. After seeing the man in those tight jeans he was pretty sure how he got the name Spike. If he wasn’t careful he’d end up doodling the man’s name on the margins of his plans and notes for the house like he was Dawn’s age or something.
Spike was different from Liam in a few areas, writer instead of painter, and well English, not Irish. Plus Liam always had his puppy dog thing going for him, all big eyed and looking innocent even when he wasn’t.
Spike, Spike was more the Big Bad Wolf, “the better to eat you with my dear.” And god wouldn’t Xander love to be on the receiving end of his huffing and puffing?
“I’m a sick, sick man, thinking of sex and fairy tales.” Xander got up and got ready to shower, thankful that he had a private bathroom so he could work off his… frustrations.
****
The next morning he got up at the crack of dawn, trying to get up before his boarder to plan his day. He’d warned Spike that he’d be doing repairs to the house, but the man didn’t mind. There was little to no food and he was supposed to provide breakfast wasn’t he?
Standing in the halfway finished kitchen making a mental list of what to do first, he never heard the footsteps behind him.
“You’re getting it fixed up in here right nice mate.”
“Gah!” Xander jumped at least a foot off the ground. “Not nice sneaking up on people this early in the morning!”
“So does that mean I can sneak up on you later on today?”
Oooh there was that smirk that made Xander want to either smack the blonde or kiss him till he passed out, possibly both. He was wearing black jeans again, but nothing else. God, he thought, it really was too early for this.
“Please no, not when I’m handling a power tool, fingerless is so not a look I want for the summer. Or for any other time of year. Listen since the kitchen is a work in progress I’ve been going in to the bakery in town, what can I get for you?”
The blonde looked him up and down and pursed his lips in thought.
“Hmm, think I could go for something…cream filled.”
Xander had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep the groan from escaping his mouth. It really wasn’t fair, he thought. Those eyes and that voice and that body all rolled into a sexy package that was determined to kill him with innuendo.
Leaving the house five minutes later Xander stopped on the way to his truck for some much needed air.
”God I am in so much trouble!”
Part Seven ~ Bad Day
“Goddamn mother fucking son of a bitch!”
Xander didn’t usually swear but this day called for it. Nothing had gone right. He woke up to the air conditioning not working on one of the hottest days of the summer. Then the wallpaper border he’d put up in one of the bedrooms hadn’t set well and had peeled from the heat and humidity. When Dawn came over to work on the yard the lawnmower died a most spectacular death and now, now he’d dropped a box of china he’d brought down from the attic.
It was ugly china, and he wasn’t going to use it, but that was beside the point. He kicked at the box and winced when he heard the broken sound.
“Right then, that’s enough of that.”
“Gah!” He jumped and spun around to find Spike leaning against the door to the kitchen. “Don’t do that you cat-like sneaky person you! Dear god I don’t need to have a heart attack on top of everything else today!”
Spike smirked at him. “Think I’m a cat-like sneaky person eh?”
It was on the tip of Xander’s tongue to say exactly what he thought of the teasing blonde. Panther-like, sexy, immature, interesting, and infuriating would be just a few of the adjectives he’d like to use.
He’d gotten to know Spike a little in the past two weeks, but he was never sure if the blonde was serious in his innuendo or not. He’d watched as the man flirted with everyone the blonde came in contact with, from Willow and Tara, Giles, Gunn, and even Buffy when she came to pick up Dawn one day. In fact the only person safe from him was Dawn, and he treated her like a long lost little sister. He took a deep breath and tried to gather his thoughts before he made a fool out of himself.
“Sorry, bad day. Extremely bad day. Were you looking for something?”
“Yeah pet, you. I’ve been here for two weeks now and you’ve not taken a day off yet. It’s bloody well hot in here and you’re about to pass out from heat stroke. Come on and sit in the library, there’s a good breeze coming in the windows and I’ve got something long and cold for you to enjoy.”
With the way that last bit sounded Spike’s treat could be anything from Popsicles, a long neck beer to… other things he should not be considering. Still he did have a headache and he’d been working all day. Maybe Spike was right and he should rest a little while.
“Lead the way.”
He followed the blonde in to the library, captivated by the sway of the hips in front of him. The room was dark and, much cooler than the kitchen where he’d been working. He watched as Spike walked to the writing desk he’d placed in the room and poured something from an insulated pitcher.
“Here, I popped down to the grocer and got some lemonade. Sit and talk to me a while.”
Xander founds himself sharing the couch with the man and he had no idea what to say. He took a sip from his glass and tried to think of something witty to say.
“So are you liking it here okay?”
“Yeah, it’s real nice. Look aren’t you gonna ask me a million questions bout why I’m here and all that?” Spike sounded almost frustrated.
“I figured it wasn’t any of my business. If you wanted to say something you would.”
“Figures, a thousand and one freaking busybodies in this town and I’m stuck trying to get to know the one person who minds his own business.”
Xander almost spewed lemonade out his nose. “You’re trying to get to know me?
“Yeah Pet. Only you’ve got me all confused. My usual stuff ain’t working, figured if I was gonna get anywhere with you I’d have to be direct. So we’re gonna sit here and cool you off and talk.”
“You…you mean all this time you were serious and not just blowing smoke up my ass?
“Nah Pet, got something much better to put up your ass. I like you, have since that first day I came here and you were all hot and sweaty and working in the yard. Right beautiful you are. Now can we sit and have a conversation or are you gonna stammer and rabbit off again?”
“Umm, okay. How…how long are you in town for?” Xander was in a sort of shock but if he had any chance with the teasing blonde he was going to take it.
“Hmm, originally till I got this book done, but I’m thinking it might be longer. Why Pet?”
“I don’t do short term or open relationships. Kinda been burned that way, you know?”
“Whoever he was, he was a fucking idiot to let you go. I won’t make the same mistake. I may flirt, but I’m a possessive bastard.”
“Flirt?! My god you asked Buffy if she was a natural blonde! And she about showed you right in the middle of the street!”
Spike had the grace to look embarrassed. “Didn’t know the crazy bint would take me up on it now, did I? I think she dyes down there to match but that’s just me.”
He looked so damn cute, all in black but looking like an eight year old caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Xander gave into temptation and leaned forward and kissed him, softly at first but soon it became a kiss of need with tongues and teeth. Finally he pulled back, lips swollen and panting.
Spike looked just as dazed. “So we gonna try this Xan?”
“Only if you promise to do that thing with your tongue again.”
Part Eight ~ Portents and Oaths
Xander snuggled into his lovers lap and drowsily watched the television. The past two months with Spike had been wonderful and Xander was glad that Spike had pretty much sat on him and told him he’d liked him. It still amazed Xander that this funny, sarcastic, snarky, beautiful blonde could want him.
Spike was rereading one of the copies his editor Drusilla had sent him. He was always bitching about the woman who had been his lover for a while, calling her insane and all, but Xander could see the fondness he still had for her. Strangely enough he wasn’t jealous.
Of course having the woman call him when Spike was out and talking to her had been an experience, he still didn’t know how she knew he was gone. But in the end he had her stamp of approval, along with the advice to always be truthful with Spike because in the future he’d need the man’s support.
Xander always loved quiet nights like these, when he had put up his work tools for the day and they just cuddled, or talked or just made time to be together. He was one of the few people who ever saw the real Wil behind Spike, who saw the writer and the poet with glasses, who wrote with the tip of his tongue stuck out and made him look all sexy and cute all at once.
It was a gift Spike had given him, and Xander loved him all the more for it. He’d never felt this connected to anyone in his life before. With Spike he could be himself. Sure the man smirked at him when he was watching cartoons or bad Sci-fi, but hell he expected that. Just like Spike still loved to sneak around and make him jump until Xander was threatening to put a bell on him.
He shifted as Spike laid down the copy of rewrites he was going through and opened a letter from Dru. They were in what Xander had made into their room. He’d given up a bedroom to rent out in return for an office/study/entertainment room for them. That way once he opened for lodgers they’d have a place for Spike to write in privacy and for them to be together.
Of course the fact that it shared a wall and heating vent with their bedroom and the fact that everything could be heard from there helped Xander to choose which room to use.
“Dru says hello.”
“Is that what she really said or are you just paraphrasing?”
“She said, and I quote ‘tell the Kitten hello and remind him to beware of fallen angels.’ Hmp. Not sure I like being compared to an angel, fallen or otherwise. I’d look a right git in a bathrobe and halo. Xan? Are you okay?”
He knew Spike had asked because as soon as he'd heard Dru’s message he’d frozen. He’d heard from Jessie, one of the few friends he had left in L.A. that Angelus was looking for him, asking where he’d moved. No one had told him and his ex had apparently gotten quiet pissy about it.
“Spike…is Dru for real? Like can she sense things or something? Not the smart ass answer please, but a real one.”
Spike looked down at him and evidently saw he was serious. “Well Pet, it’s hard to say. She mentioned once that she had the blood of the Old Ones; all I do know is that she’s right more often than not. Didn’t have too many friends cause she’d tends to freak people out. You know me, stuff like that doesn’t bother me, in fact I was a bit curious. Did I tell you why she broke up with me? Said there was someone out there than needed me more than she did, that would be able to love me the way I needed to be loved. And here I am, with you. So she was right. Yeah, I think she knows some things. Why?”
Xander closed his eyes, he was scared to talk about this with Spike but knew he had to He’d been dismissing the fact that his ex was looking for him but now…
“Remember when I told you a bit about my last ex? The guy who was an artist and sold his soul to his agent for money and fame? Went from a really great guy and caring lover to a complete asshole? Well his name? It was Liam O’Donnell but now he’s known as Angelus.”
“Bloody hell.”
“Yeah.”
They sat in silence for a while, the television ignored. Finally Spike tugged and pulled on Xander until the larger man was in his lap, wrapped up in his arms. For all that he was a bit bigger Xander felt like Spike would and could protect him.
“Don’t worry about him now Love, we know he’s up to something now and we’ll be prepared.”
Xander nuzzled into Spike’s neck, one of the man’s favorite spots. “Don’t want him, want you. I love you Spike, like the forever kind of love. I mean, I know we haven’t been together than long but I can see us sitting on the porch, eighty years old and still trying to grope each other. I just don’t want this bastard from my past to mess this up.”
Strong arms gripped him even tighter at his declaration of love and he could feel Spike’s breathing speed up. He was almost afraid to look and see what Spike thought but then his hands started roaming, stroking him on his back and Xander knew it was going to be okay.
“Shhh, Pet. Love you too, don’t ever think I don’t. Whatever happens we’ll be together.” The chest he was leaning against vibrated as Spike laughed. “Better buy some shares in Viagra now, so we’ll be plenty stocked up when we’re eighty though Pet.”
Xander looked into crystal blue eyes. “Right, like just looking at you doesn’t make me hard. I’ll never need the stuff with you around.”
He realized what Spike was doing, joking around to break the tension and Xander was more than happy to go with it. Especially since Spike’s hands had moved down his back and into his pajama pants ad he was being pulled towards his lover so their cocks rubbed against each other through layers of denim and cotton.
Stroking and thrusting led to kissing and kissing led to more thrusting. The few clothes they had on were abandoned and Xander found himself on the floor in front of their couch with his ass in the air.
Spike was busy torturing him, using his tongue to lick on the inside of both thighs before nudging at his entrance. Soon Xander found himself begging hoarsely as his lover's tongue fucked him into oblivion. Xander didn’t feel anything but the slick muscle inside of him, wriggling and stroking and making him feel oh so very good.
Finally Spike pulled back and Xander cried out at the loss of contact, his hips thrusting back and forth looking for some kind of contact or friction. Anything to make him come. Then he felt Spike’s hand on his hip and knew what was coming, he pressed his face into the carpet on the floor as he was filled to the brim with his lover’s cock.
He had never felt anything like having Spike possess him like this before they’d been together. This is what completed him, having Spike touching him inside and out felt like nothing else in the world. Spike was willing to switch hit but for the most part this was how he liked it, Spike’s hard length splitting him open and remaking him from the inside.
In and out, in and out, Spike pushed him to his limit and more till Xander couldn’t breath, couldn’t think. All that mattered was the thick shaft pounding him into the floor.
Spike picked up the pace and the fingers on his hips were going to leave beautiful bruises. Once again Xander thanked any god that would listen they had both tested clean, latex wouldn’t have the feel of hot skin covering steel and blood pulsing. His lover seems to know exactly how to hit his spot to make him scream and beg for more.
A long fingered hand with calluses from writing wrapped around his dick and he lost himself to the push/pull of Spike; part of him trying to thrust forward into talented fingers and part of him pushing back to impale himself even further on his lover’s shaft.
Then Spike did something Xander just knew he’d been planning, well he would have known if the great sex hadn’t melted his brain. Leaning forward while still moving in and out Spike took his cock in both hands and pulled while at the same time biting him on his shoulder.
Xander felt his orgasm start in his toes, working it’s way up like an electrical charge till he shouted and came, collapsing to the floor even as Spike spilled his seed into his channel and laid on top of him.
They lay there for a while, connected in body and soul.
“You bit me.”
“Yeah.”
Xander had to smile to himself, Spike sounded extraordinarily smug. He turned over and twisted till he was face to face with Spike.
“You bit me. Why?” He knew the answer; he just wanted to hear it.
“Cause you’re mine. Won’t let that sodding bastard within a hundred feet of you.”
Xander couldn’t help the huge smile that broke out. He knew he probably looked goofy but he didn’t care. He leaned forward to press his lips against his lover’s. Spike’s mouth opened ad he managed to slip his tongue in, touching and tasting as much of his lover that he could.
The broke apart, both panting and aroused once again. This man loved him, would protect him, had given up living in his country for him.
“Yes Spike, I’m yours. Let’s go to bed and I’ll prove it.”
Part Nine ~ Call My Name
Xander looked at the small table in what Spike called the ‘breakfast nook’ with satisfaction. He had managed to cook and have the kitchen clean, an amazing feat. Now everything was ready for a romantic candlelight dinner for Valentine’s Day.
It didn’t matter that it was still January; he was going to be romantic. Spike would never know what hit him.
They had only gotten closer in the past few months and Xander wanted to show his love for Spike. Problem was, the H&B Bed and Breakfast had opened in time for the winter holidays and the week before and after February 14th was booked solid.
Xander stayed busy and found that he liked running a bed and breakfast. He got to meet all sorts of interesting people and when things went well there was little he needed to do other than fix a few things and make sure the doughnuts and coffee were set out in the mornings. Dawn came by everyday after school and helped with any dusting and cleaning and washing of towels. He hadn’t meant to hire the girl full time, but she had insisted, saying that a man would never be able to make sure everything was right; he needed a female for that and she was it.
With the wages he was paying her, she was sure to have enough saved enough for a nice car when she turned sixteen. And that was just three months from now.
But since things were bound to be busy during Valentine’s, he’d planned that they would have an early celebration. He’d called up Dru one day while Spike was out working on his motorcycle and asked her to send Spike on a daytrip to L.A. for a business dinner or something.
He used the fact that he was Wilhelmina’s ‘brother’ as well as 'her' business partner, rather than admit to the fact that Spike wrote romance novels. Only Drusilla and Xander knew the truth and that thought gave Xander warm fuzzy feelings deep down inside.
Things had been going great for them for some time. They fought, sure, but they never went to bed without working it out. Their main source of contention was the fact that people didn’t want to believe Spike was with Xander, or thought that Xander was only using Spike for his money.
The second biggest pain in their ass was the fact that Angel kept on trying to contact Xander. In the end he’d gotten a restraining order and Spike had hired the best security firm in California to provide security for their home. And it was their home; Spike had Dru ship all of his things and close out his apartment in Surrey. Angel might still try to write but when he did he ended up with an answering letter pages long about what Spike was going to do to him.
The villain in Spike’s latest novel was named Liam.
They were making a life together and it was great. Which was why Xander had been planning this for over a month now, lying and saying that everything was booked solid when it really wasn’t. The fridge was full and Spike’s favorite Guinness had been purchased and they were going to have a weekend alone, together.
Xander heard the roar of Spike’s bike and felt his belly flop in anticipation. He took a final look around the kitchen and then started lighting candles. They were Spike’s favorite, vanilla, and made the room smell even nicer.
“Xan? What’s all this?” Spike came into the kitchen, and Xander gave him a welcoming kiss. His lover was dressed in leather pants and a silk shirt, the most he ever dressed up for any business meeting and it looked good. His skin was chilled from riding his bike and Xander brought both his hands up to cup that beautiful face and willed warmth into him while at the same time running his tongue over Spike’s.
When he finally pulled back he was pleased to see that Spike had a dazed look to him, as if he hadn’t seen the kiss coming. Xander grinned. It wasn’t often he surprised Spike. “This, my love, is Valentine’s Day.”
“Xan…it’s still January. Not Valentine’s for a couple more weeks at least.”
“I know. I also know I’m going to be busy and the house will be full and we won’t get much quality time. So I’m making this weekend Valentine’s Day for us. No guests, Dawn’s not even coming by so we can be as loud as we want. And get this…”
Xander took Spike’s hand and pulled him over to the table. “I made dinner. A real dinner, not one out of a box. Okay, so the lasagna noodles were in a box but I actually made the sauce and everything! There’s some sort of salad I made with mozzarella cheese, basil and sliced tomatoes, and I’ve got the garlic bread all ready to stick in the oven. I even made dessert! Okay, so it’s just brownies but there was no fire involved and no blood spilled so I’m feeling proud of myself.”
Xander grinned. He knew he was yammering and bouncing but he couldn’t help it. This had been planned for so long; now that Spike was here he was just so excited.
“You did all this for me, pet?” Spike’s voice was amazed and Xander leaned forward to press a kiss against his lips. Instead of the chaste kiss he had planned, though, he ended up straddling Spike and grinding his hard length into his lover’s. When he broke away he was feeling a bit dazed and breathless himself.
“All for you, Spike, everything you see, and some of the things you don’t. Like the silk sheets on the bed upstairs and the large bottle of Astroglide. Like the silly set of dice I found at Kroger’s that are foreplay dice. It was kind of disturbing to find them on the same shelf as kids' toys, but that just meant it was my civic duty to buy them.”
Spike leered at him and Xander felt hands start to move across his back and down to his ass. He was wearing nothing but black pajama bottoms so his lover had plenty of room. “Why, Xander, you naughty boy, you’re already slicked up. Love the thought of you planning this, being all hot and ready, shows how wicked you can be.”
Xander wiggled just a bit. “I just wanted to show you how much I love you, how much I love us. I’ve been so busy since we opened, I wanted some us time. So we have total privacy for the next two days.”
Spike’s voice was low as he whispered in Xander’s ear. “Sounds good, pet, sounds bloody marvelous in fact. Can’t wait to be inside you, all hot and tight. Push your knees up till they're right by your ears and lick you all over, eat you up good.”
“God.” Xander was panting at the sound of Spike’s voice and the feel of his fingers circling his entrance. “Please, Spike!”
“Got the lube, Xan?” Spike’s voice was rough and Xander shuddered as he answered.
“Don’t need it, used plenty before, just hurry.” By that time Xander was panting and Spike helped him lift up as he opened the fly of his pants and gave his erection a few strokes. Xander looked into Spike’s eyes and slowly, deliberately, impaled himself on his lover’s cock.
Afterwards Xander found himself wondering how they didn’t break the kitchen chair. Spike was strong, but not strong enough to hold Xander and help him ride and he found himself trying to brace himself with his feet under Spike’s ass and keep his movement at a fair pace. Eventually, though, gravity won out and Xander had to bring his legs down. Spike grabbed him by the waist and they slid to the floor and he found himself in the promised position of having his knees up by his ears as Spike fucked him, hard and deep.
“God, Spike!! So good!” Xander felt his eyes roll back in his head as Spike pushed in even harder.
“Love the way you say my name, Xan-der. Love the sound of it falling off your lips. Do it again.” Spike bent his head down and licked a path down his neck and ended up biting at his nipples.
“Spike! SPIKE!”
Spike’s hand, warm and calloused from writing, wrapped around his cock and started pulling in time to his thrusts. Xander felt every muscle in his body tighten, as if he were a rubber band stretched to the breaking point. It was all he could do to hang onto Spike, clutching at his back as his balls tightened and he came between the two of them.
“Oh, god! Spike!”
Spike drove himself into Xander a few more times before he stilled for just a moment and Xander could feel Spike’s come filling him.
Xander lay on the cool floor, panting while Spike used him as a full body pillow. As soon as he got his breath back, he made the effort and brought his hands up to rub soothing circles on Spike’s back.
“You think we’ll even make it to the silk sheets this weekend, or will we just end up going at it on the floor for two days?”
“We do seem to end up down here a lot, don’t we, pet? Good thing you made sure there weren’t any splinters. Hate to get one of those lodged somewhere tender.”
Xander laughed. “Romantic much, Spike? I’m thinking about beds and you’re concerned with splinters in your cock. Besides, I’m the one who would have to worry about getting them in my ass most of the time.”
“I’d take care of you if it did happen, Xan, promise. Use my teeth to pull it out and then kiss it to make it better.”
“Guh.” Xander took a deep breath. “So you like Early Valentine’s, huh?”
“I fucking well love it, Xander. Love you. Gonna see how many times I can get you to scream my name between now and Monday morning.” Spike kissed him, tongue swirling around his mouth, feeling his palate and dancing behind his teeth. When his lover pulled away, Xander was once again gasping.
“I am so glad that lasagna will keep in the oven for a while!”
Check for More
Feed the Author
|
|
