Shacking Up, 14
By
EntreNous

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Chapter Twenty-Two: "What This Looks Like"

After a few days respite in patrolling following the night at the Bronze, they'd had to mount an exhausting and futile hunt for Gramarathoni demons.

The worst part was how fast the things could run -- that night, Buffy had stopped, slumped against the gates of the cemetery, and shaken her fist at the two sprinting away from her. "God! Damn! It!" she gasped out hoarsely by the time Xander caught up with her. Xander gave a brief nod, and collapsed at her feet.

"Y'okay?" Buffy asked. At Xander's shrug, she patted him on the back. She limped around him for a moment, frowning, and then announced "stitch," pointing at her side.

Xander waved her away, gesturing towards Spike, who was standing nearby drawing on a cigarette. Buffy nodded, raised a weak hand in farewell, and stalked off.

"Need a lift home, pet?" Spike asked sardonically. He'd been stationed at the gate anyway, so he looked cool and collected. He surveyed Buffy, who was gradually disappearing into the distance, and then turned his attention to the gasping Xander still curled on the ground with an even gaze.

"Lift? Literally," Xander managed, and Spike hauled him to his feet, pulled Xander's arm over his shoulders, and stumbled him home.

Xander dragged more the more distance they traveled, until Spike supported almost all of his weight.

"Tired," Xander said mournfully as they shuffled onto his street, and Spike gripped him a little closer.

"Almost there, pet," he whispered.

They finally made it to the apartment door. Spike propped Xander up carefully on the fire-hose box, and thrust his hand into Xander's pocket to get the keys.

At that point, the door had opened rather suddenly, revealing a disheveled and slightly irritated looking Davy.

"Hey," Xander waved weakly.

"Hi," Davy said warily.

Spike just grunted, and helped Xander inside and to his bedroom.

"Uh . . . Is he okay?" Davy called out, but Spike had already closed the door. Davy stood silently in the doorway for a moment more, listening anxiously, then retreated to his own room.

"Ooof," Xander observed articulately when Spike nudged him onto the bed. For a moment Spike just stood there, his eyes dark in the unlit room.

"Need anything, luv?"

But Xander was already asleep. Spike sat on the edge of the bed and brushed a stray lock of hair off Xander's face. He perched there for a while, watching Xander's chest rise and fall, listening to his breathing lighten as he moved into deeper sleep. For just a moment, he rested his hand on Xander's chest, massaging the area over his heart lightly. Then he shrugged, and lay down next to him.

***

Xander woke up and groaned.

"Everything hurts," he complained aloud.

"S'hardly news," Spike observed, and Xander jumped to his feet in a deft but painful maneuver.

"Ow," he muttered, glaring at Spike. But Spike merely stretched and repositioned himself, utterly unperturbed. He'd slept on the covers, still in his jeans and t-shirt, but now that Xander had vacated his spot he dove under the blankets until only a tuft of blond hair showed.

Xander reached down and unthinkingly tucked Spike in. Spike mumbled something incomprehensible.

"Gotta go to work -- you'll be okay here ‘til sunset?" he asked quietly. It was hard to tell if Spike was asleep or not, so Xander poked at the pile of blankets uncertainly.

"Stop that," Spike's voice distinctly ordered. There was a slight pause, and then: "Yeah. See you later."

"Okay, then," Xander said softly. He grabbed his clothes and made for the bathroom.

There was an early meeting on the site, and his boss had asked him to come by the main office at the end of the day. He really hoped he wasn't getting fired again, but if past events were any predictor of future events, things didn't look so great.

"Have a good day," he called out to Spike, just quietly enough so that he wouldn't wake the vampire up.

"Mmmmphmm," Spike returned sleepily, already burrowing further into the covers.

***

"Xander, what's going on? Are you alright?" Davy asked worriedly as Xander dashed into the kitchen to grab a Pop Tart on his way out the door. "Hey, what happened to your arm?" he exclaimed, but Xander just looked at the purpling bruise on his forearm and shrugged. When he pulled on a long-sleeved shirt, it covered any traces of injury anyway.

"Listen, Davy," Xander said in a rush, "Spike's here, okay? He'll stay out of your hair, don't worry -- just be in my room ‘til tonight. Okay?"

Xander didn't wait for an answer before grabbing his things and taking off.

Davy flicked his eyes in the direction of Xander's room. He glanced at the clock, and started getting his books together with a grimace.

***

"Giles, you've got to find some way to take the Gramarathoni out. Preferably a way that involves me resting in a stationary position."

Giles looked up at Buffy stretching out her calves. She made a pouting "owie" face as she stopped and fell back onto the couch.

"Willow and I have been working on it," Giles said, pointing to a stack of books. "I'm fairly sure that if we shoot them with --"

"Shooting?" Buffy brightened considerably. "Shooting is good. Oh, but not at close range, right?"

"The spell Willow found will immobilize them," Giles replied.

"And Willow found this spell when?" Buffy asked darkly. She rubbed at her thighs petulantly.

"Yes, well . . . I'll come along tonight to do the incantation while you shoot them with the prepared injection."

"Fine. Monsters of the week, begone!" Buffy said weakly, raising her fist slightly in the air.

Giles paused. "There is something else I'd like to speak to you about."

Buffy paled. "I swear I wasn't the one who spilled Diet Coke all over that book. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the stains were there already. Look at that, I said. Someone's been careless. With diet beverages. Before I got here."

"No, that wasn't -- what book?" Giles asked in confusion.

"No book," Buffy assured him hastily. "You were saying?"

He shook the puzzled look off his face and continued. "I'd like to speak to you about Spike and Xander."

"Oh, that's finished," Buffy said absently. "Xander in apartment. Spike in crypt. Problem solved."

Giles raised his eyebrows. "This may be a new problem."

Buffy sat up at once. "Did . . . is Xander okay? Spike didn't try to . . . " Buffy made a waggly fangy gesture at her mouth with her two forefingers.

"No," he answered, looking askance. "I wonder if we'd considered that the ramifications of separating the two of them might in fact result in . . . That is to say, if one of them registers an intimate connection to the other, and such impulses are not returned directly. . . Well, the results of an unexpected attempt could be painful."

Giles shook his head mournfully and continued. "And if these circumstances stem from the initial coerced removal of one of the parties in question, then are we not implicated in the ensuing conclusion?" He finished the question with a flourish of his hand, and looked to Buffy expectantly.

Buffy gaped. "Giles, can you dumb it down a little?"

Giles rolled his eyes and spoke slowly. "I believe Xander has what you would call a crush on Spike, and I wonder if it isn't the result of our overenthusiastic encouragement to have the two of them live apart. If Xander acts on this crush, and Spike does not return his feelings, I worry about what will occur next."

"Huh?" Buffy returned with widened eyes.

She stood up and began to pace, wincing slightly when she rounded the couch on stiff legs. "Xander. A crush. On Spike. Wait. Wait a second here. Hold on."

"Holding," Giles answered, and settled himself back in his chair to wait.

She stopped and pressed her palm to her forehead, squinting her eyes. "And never mind the fact that I thought Xander was as straight as an arrow, but why do you think that's going to cause a problem? Xander liked me in high school. I turned him down. We're cool now. I think Spike can handle it. Someone must've gotten googly-eyed over Spike before in the hundred plus years he's been around." Buffy considered briefly. "At least, like, one person, right?"

"We know from the Watchers' accounts that Spike certainly used his charm and, erm, attractions to aid him in the kill . . . but quite frankly, humans have been merely food to him until quite recently. We have no way of predicting his reaction to emotional overture, but all past behaviors indicate that he responds to problems with violent solutions. And whereas Spike in his chipped state might manipulate a situation using psychological means . . . "

"He could make Xander feel pretty lousy," Buffy said softly.

"And whatever Xander's preferences in general, I think it safe to say he's never considered directing his affection towards another male, never mind a vampire--"

"And if this is a," Buffy waved her hand around vaguely, "a newish thing with Xander, liking guys . . . the reaction could hurt him. A lot." Buffy sighed. "You're right Giles. We don't want Xander in this situation. I'll check it out and see what's the what."

"It's good of you to involve yourself in this, Buffy," Giles said seriously. "I know your schoolwork and slaying activities involve enormous amounts of commitment, and to direct your attention to this issue --"

"It's Xander," Buffy replied simply.

"Yes," Giles said fondly. "Yes it is."

***

Xander eased open the door to his room. It had been dark for an hour now, but just as he'd suspected there was still a Spike-shaped lump on top of his bed.

He stopped for a moment, and smiled unconsciously. Spike had flung off the top half of the covers, and lay with t-shirt rumpled and his lips parted. They moved slightly, as though he was dreaming of kissing someone gently.

Xander put down his things quietly, trying not to wake Spike. It had been so long since Spike had even come over here, and he didn't want to make him feel -- and Xander came to a halt when an idea struck him. The last time Spike had been here, he had . . . Oh, turnabout was so very much fair play.

He pounced on the bed, and began to tickle Spike mercilessly.

"Waaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!" Spike wailed in shock.

"See how you like it!" Xander yelled gleefully. He straddled Spike and dove in for the most ticklish spot of all, just under the waistband.

Spike thrashed around, still waking up, giggling, trying to ward off more Xander-touches and attempting to squirm away all at once.

"Hah!" Xander exclaimed triumphantly as Spike tried and failed to turn them over. But the move cost them their balance, and they both rolled off the bed, hitting the floor hard.

"Ouch," Xander murmured. Since he'd been holding on so hard to Spike, they'd landed with Spike on top of him with Xander's legs still wrapped around Spike from the straddling.

They blinked at each other for a moment, and then Spike reached down and brushed a dust bunny off of Xander's neck.

"Thanks," Xander said slowly. Neither one of them moved.

When the doorbell rang, they both looked irritated, but then extricated themselves from their tangle.

When Xander opened the door, though, he smiled broadly. Nathan gave a wave, and nodded to Spike, who was sulking on the couch.

"Hey, just wanted to drop by since I haven't seen you, and . . . I'm really interrupting something, aren't I?" Nathan glanced at Spike's rumpled state and Xander's messed up hair with amusement.

"Yeah, you are," Spike said shortly. Then he followed with "not that you'd be different from anyone else in that, mind you."

Nathan and Xander grinned wryly at each other. Ever since Nathan had been assigned to them on the night of patrol after the Bronze group sing-along, it seemed fairly clear that Spike thought Nathan was okay. Xander wasn't quite sure how Nathan had endeared himself to the vampire, but he was glad that at least Spike liked one of his new friends.

"No problem. I'll take off and see you later," Nathan said.

"No," Spike said, cutting him off. "I was just leaving anyway."

"Oh, okay," Xander said nervously.

"That doesn't sound like that was the plan," Nathan said gently. "You should stay. I'll go."

"No plan! No one planned to do anything!" Xander observed loudly. They both looked at him oddly, and he would have shrugged if his shoulders weren't already up by his ears.

"See you, mate," Spike called out. He was already halfway down the hall heading to the elevator. Xander watched him as the elevator doors closed. Then he watched the closed elevator doors stay closed as he stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"Sorry," Nathan offered.

"Don't be silly," Xander said in an unusually high voice. He cleared his throat and closed the door. "Hey, want something to drink? And I taped ~Alias~ if you want to watch."

"Count me in," Nathan agreed.

***