Email: tirel@pcnuthut.com

Author: Velvet Crypt

Disclaimer: Joss is God. I own nothing.

Spoilers:

Summary: At the hotel.

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

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

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

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

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

“Gareesh na tok?” A harsh voice growled.

“Bareek Spike. Ta ne cabeel B’Thaaug.” Spike replied.

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

Nods all around.

“Then let’s go.”

______________________________________________

Xander looked around the room with a critical eye. “Weird.”

“What is?” Spike looked up from his duffle bag.

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

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

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

“Whatcha wearing to the banquet tonight?” He asked.

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

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

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

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

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

Spike shrugged. “I’m Spike. William the Bloody. I have a look already. Why mess with perfection?”

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

“Don’t bother, Pet. I have your clothes in my bag.”

Xander looked warily up at him. Spike just smirked.

______________________________________________

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

“What do you think you’re doing?” Xander yelped, trying to impede Spike’s progress.

“Dressing my stubborn boyfriend.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I do?” He asked in a small voice.

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

“You want me…what?” Xander whispered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Thank you, Red.” He whispered.

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

______________________________________________

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

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

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

“I’m thirsty, Spike. Where’s the punch table?”

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

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

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

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

“I am B’Thaaug.” The creature growled at him.

Shit.

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

“You smell familiar, human. Why is that?”

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

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

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

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

“Not mate. Fucking maybe. But he hasn’t claimed you. That was stupid of him.”

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

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

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

Spike snorted at Mivka. “That is the bloody stupidest joke I’ve ever heard, mate.”

Mivka tittered, his purple skin jiggling.

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

“Sorry,” she said with a cursory glance at the demon, “But B’Thaaug just found Xander.”

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

“Red, is it?” Mivka asked.

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

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

Willow snorted. “Yeah, he told us.”

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

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

Willow looked at the purple demon in astonishment. “You’re doing Spike a favor?”

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

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

“B’Thaaug.” Spike barked out. The larger demon turned. “I see you’ve met my mate.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

______________________________________________

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

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

“Spike, what’s wrong with him?” She whispered.

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

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

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

______________________________________________

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

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

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

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

______________________________________________

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

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

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

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

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

“Bad smell. Hurt. All over. It was everywhere.” He mumbled.

“How could a smell hurt, Xander?” Tara asked.

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

“Xander, what kind of smell?” Willow asked.

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

“What make the smell go away, Xander?”

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

“How did he do that?”

“He smelled like home.”

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

“Home.” Xander smiled sleepily. “Where you’re safe. Where you’re protected. You never have to be alone or afraid. Where you’re loved.”

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

“Spike smelled like you’re home?” Tara clarified. “Your house?”

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