Just Begun

I do not claim to own any of the characters; I just like to play with them. I am but a poor office clerk without two pennies to rub together and I make NO money from writing any fanfic. So, suing me would be pretty pointless and I would cry.


Just Begun

By Suki Blue


Chapter 1


Spike quickly looked at Xander, the road, then back at Xander. He wasn’t sure if he should be shocked, scared, outraged or pleasantly surprised.

It happened like this:

Spike had offered to go to LA for the week. Angel was cooking up some magical brew to banish an irritating demon that was roaming Sunnydale, scaring the kiddies and leaving trails of green sludge everywhere. Spike didn’t care to find out what the green sludge was. He just didn’t want to have to clean it off his boots for the third time in a week. Anyway, tall dark and moody needed some rare plant to finish the potion and this plant only grew in Sunnydale. At the time, Spike had been tempted to ask why his grumpy grandsire couldn’t have come to Sunnydale to do the spell. It would have been a lot easier. He’d bitten his tongue and was glad he had. After Angel added the plant to the other ingredients, they would have to wait a week for it to mature before it could be taken back to Sunnydale and that meant a week of fun in LA for the lucky guy/girl/vamp that offered to do the honours. Spike was insistent that he should go. No-one had argued.

So, Spike was all packed, luggage in the trunk of his car, plant cutting in the glove box, cigarettes on the dashboard and guess who came wandering along, begging for a ride?

Xander Harris.

“Hey, wait up! I’m coming with!”

Spike had observed the bulging backpack and correctly assumed that Xander wanted to go all the way to LA and not only as far as Pizza Express.

“Don’t mind, do you?” Xander had asked, already opening the passenger door.

“Nah, 'course not. Staying the whole week?”

“Yep.”

“Does Peaches know?”

“Nope.”

Spike had grinned from ear to ear. Things could prove very interesting. There was nothing more fantastic than watching Angel get his knickers in a twist and Xander was guaranteed to be the one twisting them.

The journey to LA had been a smooth one. Numerous punk albums blared out from the car stereo and, to Spike’s surprise, Xander hadn’t complained once.

Roughly half an hour from their destination and Spike had been forced to ask.

“So what’s the deal, pet? What’s in LA? Got a crush on King Broody?” he teased.

Xander had shrugged. “No. Just looking for some action.”

If there hadn’t been a roof on the car, Spike would have lost his eyebrows to the road.

“Come again, mate?”

Xander chuckled and stared out the side window. “That’s the idea.”

After another round of raise the eyebrows and a small amount of deep thought, Spike started firing questions.

“So, you gonna hit the LA Clubs?”

“Uh-huh. Clubs, bars, whatever,” Xander replied, casually.

“Hm. Didn’t think all that was your sort of scene.”

Xander shrugged again. “I just want to get out there and have some fun. Sunnydale is boring and the people are all the same.”

“Right on both counts, mate. What I wouldn’t give for a decent bar in Sunnydale.”

Xander nodded and stared back out the window.

One long moment passed before Spike spoke again. “Better class of bird in LA.”

“Not really into chicks. Cocks are more my thing.”

Spike nearly crashed the car.

**

It was a while before Spike could spit out any words. His brain desperately searched for a response, but the cool, calm manner in which Xander was looking at him was putting him right off his thoughts.

What should he say?

What *do* you say to something like that?

“Wash your mouth out with soap!”

Probably not something like that.

“Excuse me?” Xander asked in an amused tone.

Spike hesitated. “Well,” he said, indignantly. “Kid your age, shouldn’t be saying, shouldn’t be thinking and certainly shouldn’t be doing things like that!”

“Okay, firstly, I’m not a kid anymore and secondly, are you crazy?!”

“Eh? What do you mean, am *I* crazy?”

“Gimme a break, Spike. You’re a vampire. You’re into all sorts of weirdo sex stuff. There is no way that you can be shocked by this.”

“Oi! I’m a hundred odd years old, I’ve earned the right to do as much *weirdo* sex stuff as I like. You’re just a baby! And where the hell did you find out about what vampires do?”

“Hey! I’ve earned the right too! I’ve been alive for twenty years! Have you been alive for the last twenty years? No, I think not. Spike, I’m gay. I’ve always been gay and I’m not going to stop on your say so. And to answer your question: Giles has hidden books that aren’t as hidden as they should be.”

“Pet, I ain’t questioning your sexual preferences. Christ, I wish I could say that I was *just* gay. Fuck, I ain’t even picky about species, never mind bloody gender. But I’m bloody well gonna question you cruising the city for pick ups!”

“Why?!”

“’Cos the city ain’t exactly a safe place, mate. Can’t you cruise in Sunnydale? At least then you know the area a bit better.”

“I tried that.”

“And?”

“Crap. Hardly any decent looking guys and have you got any idea how difficult it is to put on a cool, sexy exterior when you’re terrified that you’ll either accidentally pick up a demon or your friends are going to catch you smooching with the hot new bartender at the Bronze?”

Spike sighed. It had to be difficult for Xander. Coming out and telling your friends that you were gay was hard for most people but add to that the complication of dating on a Hellmouth and you had yourself one hell of a lifestyle.

“Xander. Why don’t you just tell your friends? You just told me. Weren’t that hard, was it?”

“No, it wasn’t hard. It just kind of came out. I don’t think I intended to tell you. But you’re different, anyway.”

“I am?” Spike asked suspiciously.

“Yeah. You’re like…my big brother. I think I could tell you anything.”

Spike pulled himself a little straighter. No-one had ever said anything to him like that before. He thought about his feelings for Xander and smiled. He did kind of think of himself as his big brother. And, as Xander’s older and wiser sibling, he had a duty.

“Xan, it’s great that you want to explore your sexuality, but, and I don’t mean to sound like a complete ponce, don’t you want your first time to be…special?”

Xander nearly choked on his tongue. “Gods, Spike! I’m sooo not a virgin!”

“Eh?! Who?! I’ll kill ‘em!”

“Spike, calm down. There will be no killing of anybody. I’m an adult and just in case you were wondering, yes, I consented to each and every one of them.”

“Eh?! Bloody hell, Xan! How many blokes you been with?!”

“I’ll tell you only if you promise not to get mad.”

“How can I promise that without knowing how many? Sodding hell. Just spit it out, will you.”

“Okay, but you can’t shout. Promise?”

“Yeah, yeah, I bloody promise. Out with it, brat.”

“Five.”

“WHAT?!”

“Hey! You said you wouldn’t shout!”

“That was before you told me you’d slept with half the gay population of Sunnydale.”

“Spike. Five. That is the *whole* gay population of Sunnydale.”

Spike couldn’t help but smile at Xander’s oddly timed humour.

“Yeah. Choice is a bit limited, innit?”

Xander nodded and fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “So, are we cool?”

“'Course we are. Idiot. Gonna tell Peaches?”

“I dunno. Will he tell?”

“Soul of discretion, is my Grandsire. Your secret is safe with him. He’ll want to know why you’ve tagged along, apart from to annoy him, that is.”

Xander laughed and turned up the stereo. “Were The Sex Pistols gay?”

**

“Hey, Deadboy! Surprised to see me? I thought I'd keep Spike company on his trip. Don’t mind me staying the week too, do you? I assumed you’d have a spare room. Nice place, by the way. It’s, um, spacious. Oh, before we forget, we brought your plant.” Xander smiled cheerfully and handed the plastic bag containing the plant cutting to Angel. “We weren’t sure how much you’d want so Willow cut a whole batch.”

Spike watched carefully for Angel’s reaction to the presence of Xander Harris. They had never really hit it off. Xander’s jealousy of the older vampire had planted a rift firmly between the two from an early stage. Of course, that was way in the past, but Angel still held Xander at a cool arm's length. Spike suspected that it was due more to a distaste for Xander’s chirpy nature than any resentment of words once said. Xander, on the other hand, was more than happy to bounce around Angel like he was his best buddy. Nothing wound up a brooding vampire like endless cheerful babble.

To his credit, Angel handled Xander’s presence with style, grace and just a tiny little growl. He looked down at the bag Xander had handed him.

“They’re squashed.”

“Um…yes. You see, Spike and me, we stopped for a bite…well, not literally. We stopped because I was hungry…”

“You do surprise me,” Angel interrupted.

“Yeah, bottomless pit, that's my stomach. Anyway, so we stopped and I got this huge cheese burger. I can’t tell you how nice it was. It was *this* big,” Xander said, holding his hands up in a burger shaped gesture. “So, I had this vanilla shake with it and I spilled it all over myself, getting in the car. See?” Xander made another gesture to show his stained shirt and pants. “Anyway, Spike said that he had napkins in the glove box. So I opened it and the plant fell out. So I put it on the seat while I mopped myself down. Then I forgot that I put it on the seat…and I sat on it.”

“You could have just said that you sat on it,” Angel pointed out, irritably.

Xander grinned. “Where would the fun have been in that?”

“Where indeed,” Angel droned, turning his back and starting to walk away.

“Hey, wait up! Aren’t you going to show me to my room?!”

“If I do, will you promise not to come out for the whole week?”

“No can do, Deadboy. Got me some guys to pick up.” Xander picked up his bag up and started up the stairs. “Are you coming, then? I really need to change out of these clothes. I reek of vanilla.”

“Right.”

If Angel had been shocked by Xander’s announcement, he didn’t show it. With an expression of long suffering weariness, he waved Spike to go in front and followed up the stairs.

It was going to be a long week.