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Spike/Xander.

A sequel to Coercion

NC-17 overall

Coerced

Part 1

Xander left the office to discover Spike standing in the deep shade of the porch, smoking and looking out into the still very bright day. With a  smile, he stepped through the open French door and laid a hand on Spike’s back.

Instead of the warm smile and ready hug he was expecting, Spike turned with a snarl, game face in place and defensively knocked Xander’s arm away. In the year and a half they’d been together, Xander had learned to read the vampire pretty well. When he startled Spike, he knew it was best to stay still, or slowly back off until the vamp came back from where ever his mind was and realized he’d been snappish. However, this was the first time he’d hit Xander, and certainly the first time he’d just turned away and gone back to what he was doing.

Xander stood quietly behind Spike for a few minutes until it became clear Spike was not going to acknowledge him. He turned, went back in the living room, and sat in the first chair he came to. He rubbed at the place on his arm he knew would bruise as unwanted tears blurred the dark silhouette. It struck him then, that Spike was wearing his coat. He had no reason to in the house, during the day, but there he stood. Xander knew then Spike was going to fly.

The vampire had done it before, shortly after the long hard months last year. First Joyce died, hitting them all. Then they’d battled the hell god, Glory. They’d all separated, fled to the four corners. He’d taken Dawn and driven to the east coast. Giles, Willow, and Tara went to England. Buffy had decoyed Glory’s scabby minions all over California. And Spike had hidden out in Sunnydale. Giles had determined the where and when of the portal’s opening. They knew it was a one time thing, that if the key was not there, Glory could never open it. Spike had watched and waited. Finally, he’d seen Glory’s human host, and killed Ben at the first opportunity.

He and Dawn spent three weeks playing at being beach combers. Dawn tanned and matured. Xander watched carefully, protectively, as she went through a summer crush. She was resentful of Xander’s watchfulness, but later admitted she was thankful she remained untouched. Her good friend not being killed by her sister was of the good, too.

It had been hard for Xander to be away from Spike those two long months. He honestly hadn’t realized how much he’d come to care for Spike until that time. When the call came, Xander couldn’t get them on a plane for home fast enough.

He’d arrived back at the apartment to find Spike beaten and weak where all the minions, and all the madmen Glory controlled had swarmed him at once, sacrificing themselves in vain for their god.

He’d nursed the vampire back to full strength. Spike had been happy and attentive at first. Then he'd grown restless, going out at the fade of twilight, and staying out all night.  Then, with sincere promises to return, Spike had gone. When he’d returned a month later, he slipped into bed in the middle of the night, smelling of smoke and blood, and had tenderly made love to Xander. He didn’t say where he’d been, and Xander didn’t ask.

Now Spike was acting like that again, restless and moody. Not five months later. How could he expect a vampire, a master vampire like Spike to want to stay with him. Xander watched as the light faded from the sky. Spike was still but for smoking an occasional cigarette. Finally, the sky was completely dark. Spike flicked aside a final butt and turned to look at Xander at last.

He met his lover’s brown eyes and nodded once. Then, before Xander could even draw breath to speak, he was gone over the railing with a flurry of coat.

Xander sat, leaning forward out of the chair, mouth still open to speak, as he listened to the DeSoto roar to life and  peel off down the street.

So he was gone. No promises to return this time, but Xander knew he would. He just didn’t know when. He didn’t want to cry. He didn’t want to be alone. Xander picked up the phone and called the only other one who seemed to have time for him these days.

“Hey, Giles. … Yeah, I finished the paper a little while ago. I’m remembering why I didn’t enjoy school the first time around. … Yes, other than hell hounds and mantis teachers, the writing of papers sucked, too. Could you proof it for me? … No. Spike’s…“ Xander felt his breath hitch. “He’s gone out. … I don’t know, Giles. I don’t know. He… hit me, sort of…” The tears came like mad now. “Yeah, I’d like that. Let me... let me print the paper out and I’ll be over. … Thanks.” 

Xander hung up the phone and allowed himself to collapse on the couch. He let the sobs come, knowing they’d only be worse later.

After some fifteen minutes, he was able to pull himself together. He washed his face, dressed, and collected the paper he’d printed out earlier for Spike to proof read. He left a note in their accustomed place, and headed for Giles’s apartment.

Xander arrived to find Giles untying an apron and the scents of Italian on the air. “come in, Xander. I’ve made your favorite.”

“I.. I don’t know that I’m hungry.” Xander said, even as he sat at he neatly made up table.

“Nonsense. You’re always hungry. Plus, last time this happened, you lost five pounds and Spike growled at me.” Giles poured some wine into their glasses and joined his guest.

“He didn’t mention it to me,” Xander said, surprised.

“Well, He told us we’d better never neglect you again. He said it to all of us.”

Xander shook his head and picked up a fork with a sigh. “He does look after me. I’m an adult, I should have anyone look after me.”

“Xander, as a bachelor at loose ends, I’ll give you this advice; If someone wants to look after you like he does, let them.”

Xander ate two servings of Giles’ good cooking, as they talked about Xander’s construction job and his classes at the community collage.

They carried their glasses to the living room and the talk turned back to Spike.

“Xander, you say he hit you.”

“Yeah,” Xander held up his arm to display the angry bruise on his forearm. “He was looking out  off the balcony. I came up behind him and touched his shoulder. He… he went gameface and knocked me away. He’s reacted with the face before, but he’s never hit me. I  can understand it. He gets lost in thought. But this time he didn’t snap out of it, He didn’t say he was sorry. He didn’t say anything. He just stood there, smoking, until the sun went down. Then he left.” The tears were back, and Xander was glad he’d gotten rid of the sobs earlier.

Giles quietly held out a box of tissues and set back with his wine until Xander pulled himself together.

“He didn’t say when he’d be back?”

“No. Last time he swore he’d come back, and he did. I know he’ll come back cause… it’s silly, but his box is there.”

“His box?”

“Yeah, he’s got a beat-up wooden box he says he’s had forever, and I believe it. I don’t know what’s in it, it’s locked and I don’t pry, but I know he wouldn’t leave it behind.”

“Fascinating. I wonder how  a vampire can keep up with things for so long…”

“Your watcher is showing, Giles.”

“Sorry. It’s just there’s never been a record of a vampire being so… domestic before.”

“Apart form Angel.”

“Yes, of course, but he’s singularly uncooperative.”

“So you think Spike’s housebroken?” Xander asked with a smile.

“Heavens, no…” Giles pulled himself together. “Perhaps if you talk about this, you can understand why he acts like he does.”

“And you can write a treatise on domesticated vampires?”

“I will not deny the knowledge does interest me.”

“Come on, you just want to know all the dirty details,” Xander kidded. 

Right on cue, Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them. “I do not want to pry into your personal life, Xander. I merely wish provide you with a sounding board and access to my extensive knowledge of vampires.”

“How often do you have to get new lenses, Giles? Cause you certainly polish them enough to thin them out.”

“What? Oh. Funny, Xander.” Giles replaced his glasses and crossed to the kitchen, he reached in and held up a bottle of dark amber liquid. Xander nodded and traded the slender wine glass for a squat tumbler.

“Shall I be Watcher or friend first?”

Xander sipped the fine scotch and nodded his approval. “Friend. All my friends have been surprisingly excepting of our relationship, yet I’ve… I’ve not been able to talk about it to anyone.”

“Then talk to me, Xander. Tell me about your relationship.”

Xander shrugged, not looking at Giles. “I love him. I shouldn’t, but I do.”

“Let me re-phrase that. Tell me about Spike.”

At this, Xander looked up and his eyes sparkled. “He’s an amazing guy, Giles. He’s intelligent, and literate, and he’d threaten to kill me if he knew I’d told you, but he’s so sweet sometimes. I don’t think his soul completely left him. Is that possible?”

“There are references to creatures who shouldn’t have souls retaining some humanity. In the reports about the Judge, there were stories of him destroying vampires. Since he only burned away those with some humanity, I would say yes, a vampire can have some soul. If Spike does, I cannot say for sure.”

“Gee, both Watcher and friend at once,” Xander smiled. “I can say for sure, Giles” Xander said softly, smiling. “He’s picked me up from the down I was in. I didn’t know how far down I was until he… oh hell, I sound like a Bette Midler song.”

Giles chuckled. “Sometimes all it takes is one other person believing in you. I tried…”

“Giles, you helped more than you’ll know. Never doubt that. But Spike, he pushed me. He forced me to see what I could do. Hell, I’m taking classes to be an architect because of him.”

“I admit, I can see some of that in Spike. The way he fought for all of us. He saved Buffy from Glory’s minions and almost died doing it. His protectiveness of Dawn is almost frightening.”

“She hasn’t told you about me at the beach, then?”

“Oh, I can imagine. Your soul has never been in question, Xander.”

Giles refreshed their drinks. “You were a strong vote in the anti-Spike camp, Xander. How are you able to look beyond what he has done in the past?”

“And what he may be doing now,” Xander added what Giles left unspoken. Xander sighed. He’d thought about all of this, but he’d never talked about it. For several months, they’d hidden the fact that Spike’s chip no longer worked. When the knowledge came out, it was in the heat of peril, in planning how to get rid of Glory. Buffy and Giles had both considered Spike levelly, then continued planning with Spike at full strength in their plus column.  “Because I’ve gotten to know him. The man. William. All of the evil habits in him were put there by Angelus, did you know that?”

“I had figured as much.”

“If I could time travel… I don’t know that I’d stop him from being sired, but I sure as hell would get Angelus cursed before he could corrupt William. If he’d spent his energies on literature or studies instead of being part of the Scourge…”

“You think he can do that now?” Giles asked evenly.

“Yes, I do. Giles, he’s already done more good than… Riley ever did.” Xander gave a dry laugh. “Redemption without a soul. Yeah, I think it’s possible, or I never would have de-activated his chip.”

The two sat in silence for a little while. “Xander… I don’t mean to sound crass, but… your physical relationship. I never thought you were homosexual before Spike moved in.”

Xander laughed. “I wasn’t. To he honest, I’m still don’t think I am. I’ve looked at other men with an open mind and… nothing.  I guess I’m a Spikeosexual.”

“Is he controlling you with the… physical aspects of your relationship?”

“Giles I… you don’t want to hear this.” Xander looked down into his Scotch.

“Xander, I understand. I’ve sampled the dark… energies available through sex. I know what it’s like.” Giles suppressed a shudder and took a drink.  “I just want to know if you do. I know you have no one to talk with about your relationship. No man.”

Xander met the open, warm eyes of the man who was more than a father to him. “If I go too far, stop me.”

Giles chuckled and leaned back with his glass. “Talk to Ripper, then.”

“Um… Okay.” Xander closed his eyes for a minute. “Spike has done everything, anything, that would bring him pleasure over the years. Evil things, many of them, illegal almost all. I had done practically nothing when he… coerced me, seduced me, whatever. Yet I can make this… beautiful creature who has been on this earth almost as long as California’s been a state… I can make him cry out in pleasure. I can make him loose himself so much, the demon appears. Have you noticed that, Giles? Have you noticed how may of the vampires we fight go all game face as soon as you startle them? Spike’s got control and I can make him loose it.”

Giles nodded. “So it’s the danger?”

“No. There’s no danger. That’s the thing. Even before his chip was deactivated, he wouldn’t hurt me. Not after a certain point.” Xander sighed. “The demon excites me, I admit. But it’s because I control it. A single word from me... if I’m the least bit uncomfortable with anything and he quits. And Giles… God. The way he can make me feel…”

“So, apparently, you’re in love with a self-redemptive mass murdering vampire who could kill you in your sleep.”

“That sums it up, yeah. Welcome to the Hellmouth.”

“And it is apparent he does love you.”

Beyond the possible embarrassment Spike’s possessive PDA’s brought him, Xander had never really thought about how they looked to others. “It is?” Xander had a brief inner panic that Spike had told Giles about the torment he’d suffered and the revenge the vampire had sewn on his behalf.

“Gods, yes. Xander,” Giles leaned forward, getting in speech mode. “I believe at first he was playing with you. But then, like you said, his true nature came out and he fell in love with you. Spike was with Drusilla for over a hundred and twenty years. You don’t do that for any reason but love.  He was made to be with Drusilla, he has chosen to be with you.”

“So why does he keep leaving me?” Giles got up and started pacing as he did sometimes when trying to figure out a villain. “Watcher powers, activate!” Xander snickered.

“First thing, you’re staying here on the couch tonight.” Xander started to protest, but was cut off by the stern finger of pay attention. “You left a note, yes? Then he knows where to find you. Right. Put aside the potential soul and redemption. Spike is still, by nature, a vampire. One who reveled in his vampire nature for over a hundred years. That’s a long time to establish habits.”

Xander took another drink and nodded. “I know. That’s why… why I pushed him away after his chip got zapped.”

“How does a vampire get by day-to day? How long had Spike lived in any one place before settling in with you?”

“Not long. All his stories end with them fleeing the scene of the crime or Drusilla dragging him off to some place new with little or no notice.”

“And he’s been with you in the same place for how long?”

“A year and a half. Off and on.” Xander giggled. “And in and out.”

“Yes, well,” Giles said, resisting the urge to clean his glasses. “Now, how close is the nearest sewer access to your apartment building?”

“Um. I have no idea.”

“A block and a half.”

Xander had to let that sink in his addled brain. That wasn’t far. No, Not far unless you tended to burst into flames in the often very sunny California days. “Damn.”

“When does he sleep, Xander?”

“The day, when I’m at work, at least he always stays in bed when I leave.”

“What about when you’re home, on weekends?”

“He stays up. With me, then sleeps, with me. And I sleep with him. Sweet.”

“Studies have proven that vampires need sleep as much as humans. Not as much of it, but  a regular schedule is as helpful to them as to a human. You’ve worked a swing shift, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, for about a month. I couldn’t hack it. What studies?”

“Um, Watcher studies. So Spike is staying in at night with you?”

“Not every night. He’ll sometimes go out after I go to sleep.”

“And he comes back before daybreak?”

“Most nights, yeah. But, he’ll call if he’s trapped out. What if he calls the apartment? I gotta go home!”

Giles caught Xander as he tried to get to his feet. He sat the young man back down and held him there, forcing him to meet his eyes. “He knows my number, too, Xander. Just stay put. Okay?’

“Yeah. He prolly won’t call tonight anyway,” Xander slurred. “Prolly won’t call for a month, damn him.”

Giles took the glass from in front of Xander and continued to speculate. “So we’ve got a vampire…”

“A prolly souled vampire that I luv who luvs me,” Xander clarified.

“Right. Who has been used to being able to come and go, to travel as he pleases for over a century. Now he’s trapped in a small apartment and by his own choice limits his roaming to be with you.”

“So you think he’s gonna fly for good then? Don’t know why he stayed so long anyway..”

“Cut it out, Xander,” Giles aid with the tone of one who had dealt with a maudlin drunk before. “I don’t think he has any desire to leave you whatsoever. You, however, can make him happier.”

“Don’t see how,” Xander said with a yawn. “I fuck him when he wants it, I let him fuck me when that what we want… lots of orgasms all around.”

“Um, quite. I was thinking about finding a place to live where he can have more freedom.”

“Like what? A nice crypt? Do you know what sewer access goes for these days?” Xander giggled.

Giles fetched linens from the closet and began to make up the couch. “I was thinking a house. There are plenty of places for rent. For some reason, reality rates are very low in Sunnydale.”

“It’s the Hellmouth,” Xander said with a wise nod, then a frown when he decided nodding was not of the good. “A cozy cottage for boy and vamp.”

“Precisely.” Giles lead Xander from the chair to the couch and laid him down. “You get some sleep, and we’ll go looking tomorrow.”

“Okay, Pal ‘O Mine.” Xander subsided into the pillow and watched, bemused, as Giles removed his shoes. “Hey! You wake me up if William calls, Okay?”

“I promise,” Giles turned off the lights and made his way to his own bed.

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