Spiked

RATING: NC-17 - SLASH! Lots and lots of it!
PAIRING: Spikes, etc. ... it's slash, baby, get used to it
SUMMARY: Stand alone explanation below.
DISCLAIMER: All characters (except Baby) belong to the god which is Joss Whedon (all hail and bow low before him, I sure do), and WB, UPN, ME and some other people, but not me. The Baby-verse belongs to Ebony Silvers, who is the goddess of all things Baby and my inspiration for this and many other tales.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Thank you, Ebs, for letting me play with your toys! Thank you GioGio for encouraging me into the gutter ... and for your gift of "Chocolate" which inspired me so much.

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NOTE: This is part of the Babyverse by Ebony Silvers, but if you are a fan of slash, it can be a stand alone piece if you understand some of the details, the most important being there are two Spikes. It takes place in the Season 6 environment, however, all but Spike (sometimes referred to as younger Spike, is from Season 6) come from an alternate universe 15 years in the future where Spike & Buffy never got together, and where Angel is with Cordy (demon), Wesley (human) is with Drusilla, and Spike is with someone called Baby (now vamp, but from another dimension). Spike & Baby rule New Orleans and have an extended "family" there. They all crossed into the Season 6 dimension chasing a demon. Spike from Season 6 is getting beaten up and put down by Buffy about every 15 minutes. Baby and her Spike have taken it on themselves to make him feel loved and accepted.

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CHAPTER 1 - Explorer


Spike woke to the sound of the shower running. He felt someone still in the bed with him, but even without opening his he he could tell from the cool, smooth chest pressed against his back that it was his other self. Baby had gone to shower. He smiled a bit to himself thinking that perhaps it was wasted effort, for if he had his choice, he and his counterpart would make another Baby Sundae when she returned. Maybe it would add a much-needed tension breaker after the difficult day of a week ago. Perhaps some chocolate and marshmallows would help to rinse away the bad taste Buffy had left in their mouths.

It had been impressive the way the family had begun to repair and heal itself after the disasters of last week, and he had been delighted when Baby & Spike had invited him back into their bed. It was a little like parents bringing a frightened child in with them to reassure him that things were okay. It had worked. His anxiety that his night alone with Baby had caused more harm than good had been assuaged. The last thing he had wanted was to be seen as an outsider trying to steal the wife away, no matter how tempting an idea that might have been to him secretly. He smiled and settled onto his back, tucking his hands beneath his head, his elbows brushing the curls on the top of the elder Spike's head.

It had been an incredible week Even with the conflicts, he'd experienced an overwhelming sense of belonging that he hadn't felt since the old days of the Scourge with Angelus, Darla and Drusilla. But Baby and himself from the future, they were both amazing; and he wondered how much of the man the older Spike became was because of her rather than of his own doing. Baby had refused to believe she had that much to do with it, but Spike knew how she made him feel even now, even though he was not the center of her universe. If he had someone like her in his life, perhaps he would also be the master of New Orleans rather than the shattered emotional wreck he felt himself to be now. He kept his bravado up as much as he could, but Baby had been right when she revealed to him exactly how he felt. She knew too well how much Buffy hurt him with every vindictive look, word, and punch she threw at him.

The tenderness and inclusion of the playfully romantic interlude last night had been such a delightful contrast, but it was the rewards afterward which really stuck with him. Sleeping still coupled and wrapped in each other had given him a night which would set the standard for all others. Not because of the incredible sex, but because of his sense of belonging and acceptance. He knew that was what he was looking for, urgently needing in his unlife. To belong. To be so totally accepted. And loved for who he is not in spite of it.

His duplicate roused a little and moved in, draping his arm across the younger Spike's chest and pulling in closer to him. Cool breath caressed his neck, odd considering they didn't need to breath, but something about sleeping intertwined brought that out in these familial vampires. It was an unspoken way of verifying their presence by the movement and sound of it. It was very reassuring and dragged Spike's focus back to the naked man pressed against him.

The older Spike drapped his leg over the younger's thigh and crawled up further into his neck. Spike the younger took this as an overt invitation and wrapped his left arm around the sleeping vampire, unconsciously stroking his arm and shoulder lightly.

Succumbing to the obvious temptation of it, he admired their bodies for a moment, comparing and constrasting, trying to find subtle differences between them. Both of them were taut and well-shaped, had muscular stomachs, legs, and arms, their hands were the same, their feet, as well as all those delightful parts barely hidden beneath the light sheet. In fact, their bodies were eerily similar. Considering the different lives they had led in the last few years, one would expect them to be a bit dissimilar, but other than their hair color, and a subtle difference in scent, there was no real difference at all. At least not physically.

Older Spike nuzzled his twin's neck, a little more awake now. Nuzzles became kisses. Kisses became moans and whispers and licks. The younger vampire stiffened a little, this was becoming a bit unsettling. It was one thing to be intimate with Baby between them, but this felt strange. It was him doing this to himself, only it was him 15 years in the future from another dimension. So it really wasn't him, was it? Yet, they weren't entirely separate people either. No doubt Freud would have had field day on this one. It certainly gave the terms "loving oneself" an entirely different meaning!

His older self sensed his hesitation and raised himself up, blue eyes gazing into their mirror. "Relax, pet." He pulled back a little, lying casually across his twin's stomach giving his younger self a bit of space. "If this makes you uncomfortable, then by all means, I'll leave you alone and go join Baby in the shower. However, you have an unusual opportunity here. Tell me, outside of the last few days when you've been a part of our family, how long has it really been since you've been touched by anyone other than the Slayer?" He paused a moment to let it soak in, then continued, "For that matter, how long since anyone has touched like this ... tenderly, lovingly, affectionately." He emphasized he last three words with gentle strokes along his jaw line, shoulder and down his chest. Spike cringed a little. He was right, everything with Buffy was violent and rushed and urgent. There was rarely, if ever, any genuine affection. In fact she had gone out of her way to express her continued disgust with him ... yet she continued to have sex with him, and he was so grateful for the contact he had allowed it to continue under less than reasonable circumstances.

"How long has it been since you have lain with Angel? Or Dru? Anyone else who would actually love you and accept you rather than use you?" Spike lifted an eyebrow. He hadn't really thought about it, but it had been a very long time since anyone had touched him who wasn't pounding the hell out of him in one way or another.

"A damned long time, I'll bet. You've forgotten vampire ways, basic things. That damned chip has you so muddled you can't remember how to hunt, how to feed, how to exist."

Spike nodded, there was nothing he could say to contradict him.

"I watched you with the Slayer and Xander at breakfast. They treat you badly, mate, very badly. I guarantee you, if that were me, I'd have been pounding some faces rather than let those humans smash me around. If that's a sample of what you are dealing with, and as memory serves, it is, then it's time you opened yourself to something a bit more rewarding. You have eternity, mate, but why waste any of it on those who would just as soon spit on you as touch you ... much less love you."

There was too much sense being spoken here. He had absolutely wallowed in the hunt with Baby and the childer, marveled at Wes & Dru, especially Wes, and felt completely and entirely a part of something bigger, something positive and good, not inspite of their being vampires, but BECAUSE of it. He had watched them, been a part of them, been immediately included with them. He felt taken under their protective wing and reminded what it was liked to be what he was, rather than the constant battle of fighting his demon only to be beaten down by holier than thou mortals. His eyes sparkled in acknowledgement and realization. Enough of this crap.

"You're right, mate, about everything," he nodded resolutely, then he ran his hand through the other man's slightly darker hair to the back of his neck and pulled him in for a deep, gratifying kiss. Their lips mingled, cool and smooth, Spike's searching for something, the other surrendering himself. It was as if he were saying, "This is who and what you are, take it from me, taste it, enjoy it, let it fill you." He did.

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