Part 2

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The "Welcome Home" banner looked hastily made, and the girls were a little over-dressed, but Xander appreciated the effort as much as he could through the pervasive numbness. He was mostly happy to be out of the hospital. "Oh, God," he whispered, surprised. "We didn't have time to do more. You have to pretend there's a big party here," Kennedy said. Dawn greeted him with a long hug. Stretching for a bit of levity he assured Kennedy, "That's fine. Parties in this house, I usually end up having to... rebuild something."

Buffy was standing in the doorway between the living room and dining room, looking harried. "Welcome home, Xander." She smiled. "I wanted you to be here for this. I think you'll be interested in what I found out." Willow turned to her and asked, "W-what did you find out?" Addressing the group, Buffy said," I-it's about the cellar. Look, I know that night wasn't fun for any of us... but I figured out some things about that place, and I realize now what we have to do. We're going back in."

Xander zoned in and out of the following conversation, in which pretty much everyone in the room tried to convince Buffy she was acting rashly, while Buffy made an ass out of herself by insisting that she was in charge. Xander spent a large part of the conversation trying to remember the appropriate political reference for the situation. By the time he’d realized that the name he was trying to think of was Alexander Haig, Anya was speaking to Buffy, who had just spouted off that the troops needed a strong leader.

"And it's automatically you," the ex-demon said in an even tone. "You really do think you're better than we are." "No, I—" Buffy protested, but Anya cut her off. "But we don't know. We don't know if you're actually better. I mean, you came into the world with certain advantages, sure. I mean, that's the legacy." She waved off Buffy’s attempt to interrupt. "But you didn't earn it. You didn't work for it. You've never had anybody come up to you and say you deserve these things more than anyone else. They were just handed to you. So that doesn't make you better than us. It makes you luckier than us."

"I've gotten us this far," Buffy said. At her smug tone, Xander spoke up. "But not without a price," he said, thoroughly sick of the whole discussion. "I'm trying to see your point here, Buff... but I guess it must be a little bit to my left... 'cause I just don't." Her mouth fell open, and suddenly he just couldn’t be there anymore. He pushed himself to his feet and walked out the front door. He could hear voices rising inside as he turned down the walkway and headed toward his apartment, and he couldn’t muster up the energy to give a shit.

Spike walked through the mostly deserted streets of Sunnydale alone, smoking a cigarette. He had taken Andrew back to the Summers’ house and walked into what was, by his definition, a shit storm. He wasn’t particularly proud of himself for having gotten into a fight with Faith, but he also thought that a mistake of epic proportions had been made in sending Buffy away. After the debacle with Faith and the others, he had tracked Buffy to an abandoned house. He had talked to her as honestly as he knew how, and hoped that his words had made some sort of impact. She had asked him to stay, to hold her, and he had. But, as soon as she fell asleep, he had left her with a hastily penned note, his promise to Xander foremost in his mind.

He thought about the surge of relief he had felt when Willow had told him that Xander had not been a part of the mutiny. Making a choice between his former and current lover would have been hellish – he was glad it was a non-issue. Spike hoped that his words to Buffy had penetrated as he told her in no uncertain terms that he didn’t love her, didn’t want her, but still believed in her as a person and a leader. The vampire paused outside Xander’s building and looked up at the young man’s window, the only one that was lit. He wondered what awaited him upstairs.

He walked in and took the stairs two at a time, then knocked at the door. Xander opened the door and gestured Spike inside. The human looked better than he had at the hospital – his face was freshly shaved, and an eye patch that covered most of his bruises had replaced the bandages. His hair was damp, and he was wearing a white terry cloth bathrobe. As soon as Spike shut the door, Xander turned and dropped the robe. He was naked underneath. The two men locked eyes for a moment, and then Xander fell gracefully to his knees and clasped his hands in the small of his back, casting his eyes to the floor. Holy shit, Spike thought, as his
cock became instantly erect.

Spike quickly took and released two unnecessary deep breaths, then crossed the floor to walk all the way around Xander, looking at him closely. He choked off a small sound that came to his lips unbidden when he realized the human was wearing the plug they’d used on the movie night. Spike stopped directly behind the kneeling man. "How long has the plug been in place, pet?" he asked, adding, "Answer me." Xander’s voice was low when he responded, "Couple of hours." The vampire leaned down and pulled it out with a twisting motion. "Don’t want you to get sore," he explained, tossing it toward the sofa. "Bedroom, now, love. On your knees by the bed," he said simply. Xander rose to his feet and walked into the bedroom, head down. He stopped and sank to his knees next to the bed, waiting.

Spike unlaced his boots and took them off. He also took off his duster, socks and shirt, but left his jeans on. On reflection, he was not surprised by Xander’s behavior. The injured man needed reassurance; this was his way of getting it. The vampire walked into the bedroom. Arrayed on the top of the dresser was an assortment of supplies from the same shop where he’d purchased the plug. Spike didn’t know when Xander had gone shopping, but he was quite surprised by the human’s selections. He glanced over at the bed and noticed that it now had a set of four leather restraints securely attached to the four posts; each ending in a padded cuff. Looking back at the dresser, he took a quick inventory; the black leather cock ring; a set of adjustable nipple clamps with a chain running between them; a large butt plug; a short-handled whip, a supple black leather strap with a wooden handle; a riding crop; a wooden paddle and a leather flogger with soft tresses.

Crossing the room, Spike kneeled down in front of Xander. "Look at me," he commanded. Xander complied, and the vampire was shocked at his blank expression. "Explain. What’s this all about?" Spike asked, laying his hands on the human’s knees. Xander took in a deep breath and exhaled. "I… I need you to help me." His voice was low and had very little inflection. "I can’t feel anything anymore." Spike smiled kindly. "Are you sure it’s not the painkillers, Xan?" he asked. "No. As soon as they took out the IV I stopped taking them. I palmed the pills. I haven’t had any drugs other than antibiotics in over eighteen hours." His voice started to waver. "I can’t feel anything, Spike. I need you to make me feel." Spike sighed and leaned forward to cup Xander’s chin in his hand. He leaned in and kissed the mortal’s forehead, then his lips. "Eyes down, love, and wait for me to get ready." Spike saw the quick flash of gratitude on Xander’s face before he complied and smiled tightly.

Spike walked into the bathroom and retrieved two fluffy white towels. He folded one and laid it across the pillows on the bed, then stripped the top sheet and blankets off. He placed the other towel in the center of the bed. He walked back to the dresser and picked up the nipple clamps and chain. He was glad to see that they were adjustable. He returned to Xander and kneeled down. He licked his fingers, and then ran them lightly around the human’s left nipple, which immediately hardened under his ministrations. He pinched it sharply, and then fastened the clamp just tight enough to make Xander gasp. He repeated the action on the other nipple. Then fastened the chain between the two clamps, running it behind Xander’s neck instead of across his chest.

Standing, he said, "On the bed, Xander – face down." Xander complied, and Spike quickly secured his wrists and ankles in the restraints so that the human was spread-eagled on the bed with one towel under his face and the other beneath his groin. Spike gently reached around and removed Xander’s eye patch. "Comfortable?" he asked. Xander nodded.

Spike walked back to the dresser, and selected the black strap. The leather was supple and soft, and it had been carefully made to insure that no sharp edges remained to cut delicate skin. He ran the length of leather through his hands for a moment as he returned to the bed. He leaned down so his lips were near Xander’s ear. "OK, love. You have my permission to speak or make any noise you want to. The building’s practically deserted – most humans have left Sunnydale. For this particular occasion, the safe word is ‘enough’. Are we clear?" Xander nodded.

Spike placed the strap directly between the human’s shoulder blades and drew it gently down his back, letting it trail down the crease between Xander’s buttocks and allowing the edge to tickle the taut globes of his balls, barely visible between spread legs. Spike smiled as the restrained man shuddered visibly. He flicked the strap twice more, and then eased it away. He braced one knee on the bed, drew his arm back and brought the strap down across Xander’s buttocks with a resounding crack. The human’s entire body stiffened, then relaxed against the mattress; he didn’t make a sound.

Spike drew back again and lashed the strap against Xander’s body precisely one inch higher than the reddening stripe he’d made previously. He continued the motion mechanically, using a moderate amount of force – not wanting to injure the man spread out before him. He paced his blows evenly, lashing Xander from just below his shoulder blades to the backs of his knees. Spike worked silently until, after several minutes, he heard the human break, sobbing openly into the towel under his face. Spike sat down on the bed and ran his fingers through the tousled sable waves that spread out on the pillow, comforting his lover as he let out the pain and frustration of the past two days. When the sobs began tapering off, Spike went to the kitchen and returned with a sports bottle of water, offering the straw to Xander, who sipped gratefully. The vampire picked up a corner of the towel and wiped his lover’s face.

"Xan?" Spike asked, "Are we done here?" Xander shook his head resolutely and turned his face into the towel. The vampire nodded and stood again, taking up the strap from the bedside table. He resumed his previous position and went back to work, this time overlapping and crisscrossing his strokes. At the first crack of leather on his reddened skin, Xander let out a yelp, and then continued to vocalize, moaning, gasping and crying out as the leather hit him. Spike could smell his arousal, and also the tangy scent of his release when the vampire angled the strap so that its edge snapped against the human’s balls with just enough force to sting.

Without giving Xander a chance to recover from his orgasm, Spike continued his punishment, watching avidly as the human flexed and relaxed his entire body against his bonds on each stroke. He began speaking in a low voice, his words in counterpoint to the sharp slaps of leather on flesh. "Use the pain, Xander, just feel it," he said. "Pain is like fire – it’s a living thing. It moves and breathes and acts and reacts. Let it ripple across your body, let it run over you and through you. Let it – let me – bring you back." Spike worked his way down the human’s back one final time, and then flung the strap across the room. He stripped off his jeans and crawled onto the bed, straddling Xander’s body.

Spike took all of his weight on his hands and knees, leaning down until his lips were at Xander’s ear. "Xander," he hissed. He shifted so one hand was free, and ran it down to the first line of welts on the human’s back. His fingers closed on the edge of one mark, eliciting a loud groan from the prone human. He repeated the action until Xander was writhing under him, his moans and yelps growing in volume. Finally, the human threw his head back and begged, "Enough, Spike, please – fuck me – now – hard! Please." Moving with blinding speed, Spike released all four restraints and hauled Xander up onto his knees. The vampire reached over to the bedside table and snared a tube of lubricant. He hastily spread a handful over his erection. His fingers bit into the tender flesh of the human’s hips as he lined up his cock and slid home with one hard thrust.

Xander made unearthly noises each time the head of the vampire’s cock brushed his prostate; howling Spike’s name and sobbing as he was roughly fucked. Spike’s hips churned as he buried himself over and over in Xander’s hot, soft channel. He leaned over the human, knowing that the contact of his cool chest would soothe the abused skin of Xander’s back. Spike felt his own orgasm building and wanted Xander to come with him. His eye was caught by the glint of the chain at Xander’s neck. He looped it around his finger and gave it a quick tug, wrenching both of the human’s nipples sharply. Xander climaxed immediately, and the muscles in his ass clamped down on Spike’s cock, pushing him over the edge. Before their mutual spasms could end, the vampire once again tore into the base of his thumb with his fangs and fed Xander his blood.

As soon as Xander released Spike’s thumb from his mouth, the vampire rolled off his lover. He turned the human onto his side and released the nipple clamps. He swept the towels off the bed and carried them to the bathroom, returning with a warm, wet washcloth. He cleaned Xander carefully, and then covered him with the sheet and blanket. Spike slipped into bed in front of Xander, and smiled when the human curled around him and pulled him back against his warm chest. A warm kiss brushed the vampire’s cool ear and Xander whispered, "Thank you, Spike."

They remained curled up together for a long time, neither speaking but both remaining awake. Xander’s large hands gently explored Spike’s chest and abdomen, petting and soothing him. The vampire gave himself up fully to the sensations, lying limp against his partner. Finally, the soft strokes became harder, and Xander’s hand found Spike’s jutting erection and stroked it languidly. Arching into the contact, Spike whispered, "Oh, that’s good, love – your hand feels so good on me. Don’t stop." Xander chuckled. "I have no intention of stopping, unless it’s to do … this." On the last word, he swept his hand down to cup and tug at Spike’s balls, eliciting a groan.

Spike attempted to turn over, and Xander stopped him with a hand on his hip. "Nope," he said, "Stay like this, I like it. Be a good little vamp and stay still." Spike laughed out loud. "What’s so funny?" Xander asked. "Nothing, pet," the vampire replied. "It’s just good to have you back." His voice caught on the last word, and Xander relented, allowing Spike to turn in his arms so he could clutch the slighter body to his chest and wrap him in his arms, holding him close. Xander was startled when he realized that the vampire was shaking. He pulled back slightly so he could look into stormy blue eyes.

"Are you OK?" Xander asked. Spike gave him a small smile and took an unneeded breath. The vampire ducked his head against his lover’s chest and got a grip on his emotions. "It’s just been a hell of a couple of days, pet, and I’m just so damn glad that you’re alright." It took great effort to keep his voice level. Xander tightened his arms around Spike and rocked back and forth gently. "I’m OK, Spike. Why don’t you tell me about the rest of it."

Spike sighed and started talking. He told Xander about the trip to Gilroy and what he and Andrew had discovered at the mission. They laughed together over the vampire’s exasperation with the formerly evil nerd. Spike related the happenings at the Summers’ house and after he’d tracked Buffy. Xander listened, but didn’t offer much comment, other than to ascertain that Buffy was safe. Spike assured him that he’d made sure the house she was staying in was secure. Over time the pauses in the conversation got longer, and the two men clung together, exchanging gentle touches and kisses until they fell asleep, wrapped safely in each other’s arms.

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