Meet The Master

By Michele

Chapter Four

Xander sighed as his basement door closed behind the vampire but he didn't know if it was from relief or disappointment. Somehow, he'd thought that Spike would see how tired he was and insist on staying the rest of the night just to make sure Xander got up after sunrise and went to take care of business. On the other hand, he was glad that the vampire had chosen to leave, thereby removing the temptation that Spike presented just by his presence.

It had been a long night and Xander's head was buzzing with conflicting thoughts and desires.

He thought he still loved Anya but the passion just wasn't there anymore and her demanding personality was losing its appeal.

He thought he still, basically, hated Spike but the last weeks, and especially tonight, had shown him a possibility that he'd not previously considered seriously.

Everything was backwards and upside-down and he just didn't know what to think anymore.

He'd told Spike that he wasn't confused and he wasn't. At least not about what was normal human sexuality and what wasn't. He'd always seemed to be able to appreciate beautiful people, whether they were male or female, but that's as far as it went; a recognition that someone was attractive. As he'd gotten older and his dick began to rule his brain 95% of the time, his desires had been almost exclusively female with the occasional male sneaking in to torment him.

There had been a time when he'd been horrified that anyone could think he was even the slightest bit gay and terrified that the occasional comment that slipped out about men would be written off as Xander just trying to be one of the girls with his two really good girl friends. But he'd been insecure and practically a virgin then. A few years, a little surfing for information on the Internet, and lots of non-traditional sex and discussions with Anya went a long way in eliminating any confusion he may have had about the occasional thoughts about having sex with a man.

Unfortunately, accepting it was possible that, someday, he might meet a man he wanted to have sex with brought to light a different problem; he seemed to have a thing for the exotic. 'Exotic' in Xander's world was, of course, non-humans of the demon variety. Not that he wanted to hop in the sack with the first big, scaly demon that dripped slime that passed his way or anything but more than once in the last few months the only way he could perform with Anya was to imagine she wasn't human while he pounded into her.

And some of the demons they encountered were just damn hot! Just three weeks ago they'd been out hunting down whatever had been killing all the birds in the park when they'd run across two naked, sleek, humanoid but bluish-skinned, demons with some kind of feathery material running down their spines and along the undersides of their forearms that Xander just knew would feel wonderful when it caressed his skin. His quick study of the two showed that one was male and one female and definitely sexually compatible with humans. After Giles said they weren't dangerous and Buffy let them move on, Xander had pulled Anya into the bushes and had her ride him hard and fast. Not that she complained about the spontaneous sex, but Xander felt bad afterward because it hadn't been her he was seeing on the inside of his eyelids as he came.

So now he had another glitch in his pursuit of happiness. Anya was becoming too normal, too ordinary, and too human. Not her looks; no one could say she wasn't beautiful, but her attitudes and conversation were now not much different than any other woman's and it just didn't do anything for him anymore. Which, he knew, was sort of hypocritical since he was the one that was always telling her she couldn't hang on to her demon past forever.

After the incident with the blue demons, he'd found himself paging through Giles' books looking for demons that weren't too dangerous but were also attractive. There weren't many, but there were some. There were also some footnotes in one book mentioning how often this or that demon ended up having offspring with humans compared to how often the humans had offspring from the demon, so not everyone in the history of the world thought it was bad to sleep with demons.

Once again, he was starting to admit some truths to himself. That, maybe, it would be okay to try a little out-of-species nookie, preferably out of town so Anya would never find out and at a place where no one would get hurt, especially him. Vampires had never been a possibility that Xander would consider, male or female didn't matter because vampires, while usually sexy as hell, were way too dangerous.

Then Spike had shown up in his basement wanting a buddy and Xander hadn't been the same since. But until tonight, he hadn't thought Spike would ever think of him as anything more than a sort-of friend to entertain him until someone better came along and he certainly never considered that Spike might actually find him desirable.

Xander glanced at the clock and sighed again; he'd spent so long trying to tame his whirling thoughts that it was only an hour till sunrise. Stripping off his clothes, he fell heavily onto the couch bed, set the alarm and closed his eyes. There was plenty of time tomorrow to wonder what he was going to do about Spike.

---

Spike paced the length of his crypt for the four millionth time, glaring at the door every time he turned in that direction. He didn't know exactly what time it was but from the position of the stray sunbeams that came through the high window, he guessed it was mid-morning.

"And why isn't he here yet?"

The dust bunnies and spiders that shared their home with the vampire didn't answer.

It wasn't that he was worried about Xander, he told himself, it was that he needed to know if he'd have to make another trip to the warehouse that evening. It was a planning issue, that was all. He wasn't feeling at all possessive or preoccupied with a human that he wouldn't have bothered to bite three years ago.

What had started as a lark out of boredom was fast becoming an obsession as more and more of the real Xander, and his potential, revealed itself. No longer a boy but not yet a man and Spike didn't know if he was going to be able to resist the temptation to 'assist' in the transition.

"Bloody buggery hell!"

He made another pass across the crypt, turning his thoughts away from the moral dilemma that a real vampire shouldn't be having in the first place, and checked the angle of the sun again. Even if Xander hadn't gone to the Watcher until the sun had been up for an hour, they still should be finished by now. It didn't take that long to burn down a warehouse and stake any vamps that made a break for it.

Unless he wanted to spend the next two hours winding his way through the sewer tunnels in order to get to Rupert's, he'd just have to wait until one of them decided to drop by and let him know it was done or wait until the sun set.

After throwing himself into his chair, he leaned forward and turned on the crappy television he'd liberated from the back room of a pawnshop with sewer access. Turning the sound down low, he settled back and let the murmuring voices soothe him into a light sleep.

---

Giles wiped sweat from his forehead, stepping further into the shadow of a stack of pallets, and looked on in satisfaction as the mornings work continued to smolder as men in yellow slickers sprayed water on the remains of the warehouse. It hadn't been an easy task to manage setting enough fires that the majority of the vampires would perish quickly yet not so many that the fire would spread to neighboring buildings and rage out of control before the fire department could arrive.

He knew that a few of the vampires had managed to escape into other buildings but not enough to pose any further collective threat. They would have to patrol diligently until Buffy returned day after tomorrow but Giles felt sure that he and Xander could handle it until then. Of course, there was also Spike.

When Xander had pounded on his door shortly after sunrise and began babbling about how he'd spent the night, Giles had first believed it was some sort of joke. Once the young man had been fed some breakfast and made to speak calmly and slowly, Giles realized that there were pieces missing from the chain of events but they didn't seem to change the fact that it was no joke and something had to be done soon.

He really couldn't credit Spike making a concerted effort to save the town and its inhabitants from slaughter and subjugation by an overly ambitious Master vampire, but Xander had insisted that Spike had done exactly that and had even been the one to insist that Xander enlist his aid in finishing off what Spike had begun the night before. Giles felt that there was definitely something 'rotten in Denmark', so to speak, but he knew he'd have to wait until later to ponder Spike's motives.

Xander slipped up next to him and smiled tiredly. "Got another one trying to sneak out of the building over there and into the water." He pointed toward one of the small shipping offices that sat close to the edge of the water. "He was so surprised to see me that he just stood there while I staked him."

"Hmm, yes." Giles studied the grubby man next to him and was slightly surprised to see that, although clearly near exhaustion, his eyes were sparkling with pleasure and satisfaction and that he would gladly continue to pursue stray vampires until he dropped. Where was the wise-cracking boy who only went into battle reluctantly and most often ended up with at least one injury before it was over? Gone, apparently, and replaced by this near man who had been, it turns out, spending considerable time with a very bad influence mostly unbeknownst to his friends.

Bending down, he wearily lifted the duffel bag containing the remains of their supplies and slung it over his shoulder. "I believe this would be a good time to make our exit from the area. The fire is almost out and they will soon be searching for clues as to the cause and it wouldn't do to be found hanging about."

"Sure thing, G-man. I seriously need a shower and about twenty more hours of sleep."

They carefully made their way back to the car which was parked several blocks away and Giles stowed the bag in the trunk of his latest test car. He had already decided this tiny torture chamber on wheels would not make the final list of possibilities. "Shall I return you to your home or would you like to be dropped elsewhere?"

Xander yawned and remembered at the last minute not to rub his eyes with his gasoline splashed hands. "Home, I guess. I need to go tell Spike what happened but I'd probably make him puke smelling like this." He sniffed his shirt and grimaced at the combination of sweat, gasoline and smoke. "I think it may make me puke in a minute."

"Ah, yes, about that." Giles began as he came around the car to unlock doors. "Are you sure it's wise to be associating with Spike any more than is strictly necessary?"

Xander paused in the act of opening his door and frowned. "No, probably not."

"But you will continue to do so anyway?"

Xander shrugged and folded himself into the Giles-rental-car-of-the-week, rolling the window down as soon as he was seated. When Giles finished strapping himself in behind the wheel, Xander explained. "He's a friend, sort of, and that's been kinda nice. In case you haven't noticed, I'm kind of surrounded by the estrogen brigade and, well, you. Not that you're not a guy or. What I mean is, you have your own life and totally different interests. I wouldn't say no if you wanted to hang out sometime but since I don't see that happening. "

"I do understand what you're saying, Xander, but I still don't think that Spike is the best choice to satisfy your need for male companionship." Giles couldn't miss the blush that stained the younger man's cheeks at his words. "Please tell me you haven't. That you're not. "

"Chill Giles." Xander forced himself to meet the older man's eyes. "Some. things. have happened but not what you're thinking. Not yet anyway. I'm not even sure that it'll ever go farther, but I'm not ruling it out either. It's what you'd call a still developing situation that I'm thinking through very carefully. Okay?"

Giles continue to stare into Xander's eyes, trying to read the voracity of his words. In their brown depths he saw his earlier suspicion confirmed; at some point in the last year or so, Xander had very much changed from the boy Giles thought he knew and was still in the process of discovering who he truly was. He nodded his head, satisfied that the young man was, indeed, aware of the dangers inherent in the current situation. "Very well, Xander. I will not bring it up again if you do not wish to talk about it. However, if at any time you feel the need to discuss it with someone, please remember that I am not unfamiliar with wanting things and people that are not the best for me. Do you understand?"

Xander's eyes widening briefly and he nodded quickly. "Suddenly understanding much more than I wanted, but thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

---

Spike was roused from his snooze by a hesitant knock on his crypt door. Since no one he knew would ever knock, he turned off the television and cautiously approached the portal and stood slightly to the side. "What?"

"Spike? It's me, can I come in?"

Xander. Finally.

He quickly crossed the crypt and retook his seat in the ratty chair, lighting a cigarette and trying to affect an air of unconcern. "It's open, come in if you're gonna."

The door creaked open and Xander stepped in and closed the door behind him quickly. "You're awake? I wasn't sure you would be so I didn't knock too loud so I wouldn't wake you up if you were. But you are so I guess it was okay to come over after all. I thought."

"Xander! Take a breath and tell me what happened." The boy was babbling and twitching like he was touching a live wire. Did that mean that it hadn't gone well? He looked the human over from head to toe but didn't see any obvious injuries so that wasn't it. Maybe the vamps had already cleared out before he'd gotten there?

"Oh, it went fine. Giles has some scary pyromaniac skills that came in handy and most of the vamps went poof real quick. A few got away but I think we got most of them."

Xander continued to fidget and didn't seem to be able to look at Spike directly for more than a second or two. What the hell was wrong with him?

"Well, took care of that then. Now you won't have to play Pet again tonight, unless you wanted to, that is." Spike raised an eyebrow when that caused Xander to jerk his head around and finally meet his eyes.

"What? No. I mean, not right now, thanks. No, that's not what I mean either." Xander growled under his breath and came closer to where Spike was sitting. "I've been thinking. A lot. And well, I'm not really sure what you have in mind with all these innuendoes and the touching and stuff. I know most of it was just for show last night but. are you just playing with my head or flirting or you're just horny or what?"

So that was the problem. "It's whatever you want it to be, Xander. You have the power here. I can't force you to do anything, you know that." That was true physically, but if he wanted, he could make the boy's head spin so fast he wouldn't even realize what he was doing let alone why. Last night had shown him that Xander wasn't immune to his influence but Spike wasn't entirely convinced that that would be the best way to get what he wanted.

"You're saying it's up to me whether we pretend like certain things didn't happen last night and go on just being kinda friends or not?" Xander sounded skeptical and moved a few feet closer. "If I say I just want to go hunting with you sometimes, you won't hold it against me?"

Spike waggled his eyebrows and snickered, "I'd love to hold it against you, pet, I thought I'd made that pretty clear."

Taking the final steps to close the distance between them, Xander swatted the vampire on the shoulder before flopping down on the floor in front of the chair. "I'm trying to be serious here and, by the way, you didn't make that clear. How am I supposed to know what was acting and what was real? Not like I've got your experience at reading people or even very much experience in the whole vampire-human communication thing. I almost never know what you're thinking except when you want me to."

"Fine. Here it is, as simply as I can make it." Spike leaned forward so that Xander could see his face clearly in the gloom. "None of it was acting for me. Somewhere between deciding to go bug you because I was bored and now, I realized that you really are my friend and I enjoy spending time with you. Now, that's not an easy thing for me to admit, so you're only going to hear it that once, got it?"

Xander nodded, eyes twinkling with barely suppressed humor. "And the rest?"

"Right, the rest. Simple really; I'd like to shag you, thoroughly and often, until you scream for mercy but if that's not in the cards, I'd still like it if we could be mates. That clear enough?" He sat back, slightly annoyed with himself. That was not what he'd intended to say. William the Bloody did not say things like that to anyone and especially not a human. He really had gotten soft.

"Ah, okay, well." Xander cleared his throat and tried again. "Anya will be back soon and I can talk to her then." He frowned. "Or not. I mean I don't think it will be a big surprise to her or anything but still, she's going to be hurt." He got up and started pacing, trying to decide the best way to go about telling his girlfriend the news without losing a limb.

"What the bloody hell are you going on about?"

"I told you, it would be wrong to cheat on Anya and I won't do it. So, shagging with screams is going to have to wait until the girls get back." Xander smiled a little shyly and reseated himself on the floor next to Spike's chair. Only this time, he scooted close enough that he could lay his chin on the vampire's thigh and look up at him. "That doesn't mean we can't, you know, do other things until then."

"Other things?" Spike carded his hand through Xander's hair and tugged lightly. "What'd you have in mind then?"

The side of Xander's mouth quirked up and he shrugged his shoulders. "Well, not having been with a guy or a vampire before, I don't know. I'm sure there's stuff you could show me that isn't technically sex, isn't there?"

Leaning down close, Spike licked Xander's ear and purred, "Oh, there is, my pet, there is."

 

 

 

To Be Continued?