Protective Custody (1/20)COMPLETE

(Disclaimer: We own nothing. Joss owns all. You know the drill.)

Something was wrong. Desperately wrong. He had to find something. What had he lost? Where was it?

Tortured by thoughts and feelings he couldn't make any sense of, Spike forced his eyes open. The first thing he saw was the ceiling. Tilting his head to the side, the second thing he saw was the lack of Xander.

The events of the night came rushing back. He winced at the memory of Xander's disappointment. And now the bed was empty. Bloody hell, what was this lump in his throat? Hundred year old hardened ex-vampires did not cry!

He sat up, trying not to notice how much he missed finding Xander all over him in the mornings. How he liked barking out a command for him to get off...and then watching him scramble to get to the bathroom first.

Now he was here. Alone. What had he expected?

He swallowed over the lump in his throat. Bloody Wankers That Be, they'd given him a Xander-shaped teddy bear... and now he missed it. Worse, now that he was sleeping and not plagued by nightmares... his body wasn't reacting to Xander's attempts to flee. Asleep, he couldn't stop Xander from leaving.

Spike got up and decided a shower would bring him around before he faced the boy. There was a chink in his armor now, and if he went out there like this, he might bloody well break down and admit everything.

After a steaming hot shower, he finally walked into the living room, a towel slung low around his waist. If he'd thought Xander was asleep, he'd been wrong. The boy was staring at the telly. He cleared his throat. “'Morning."

Xander tensed when he heard Spike speak. He’d snuck out of the bedroom the moment Spike had relaxed enough to let go of him. He’d gone into the bathroom, turned the water on and used the shower to hide himself again. This time though he’d been hiding tears. He’d been so stupid to think that Spike could ever see him like that. That he would forget Buffy for him. Compared to Buffy he was nothing, why would Spike want him instead of her. By the time he left the bathroom he was calmer and wide-awake so he turned on the television and sat there, trying not to think.

“’Morning” he mumbled still staring at the television. He wasn’t sure what he was watching but at least he didn’t have to look at Spike while he did it.

Xander cast a glare at the front door, once again swearing at the Wankers for locking them in there. Didn’t they realize what they were putting him through? Willow was right, they were punishing him for the ‘Wankers’ thing. “Bit over the top don’t you think?” He muttered. “You could'a locked me in with Angelus, it’d be less painful.”

Spike heard every word and couldn't muster up even a half witty answer. Instead, he headed into the kitchen and brought out two bowls, some of that silly colorful duck shaped cereal that no man should have in his kitchen, and some milk. He sat down on the couch, next to Xander. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," he quoted.

Xander tried to smile at Spike and accepted the bowl. It wasn’t Spike’s fault he was in this state anyway. All Spike did was have an interesting dream about Buffy.

“I taught you well, young grasshopper.” He said, aiming for a light tone.

He still couldn’t meet Spike’s eyes. He couldn’t believe he’d taken advantage of a friend. Spike had been asleep, and Xander hadn’t done anything to stop things, he just let everything happen. It was his own damn fault; if he’d stopped Spike then he wouldn’t have heard her name.

He aimed another smile in Spike’s direction and went back to staring. Oh, Pamela Anderson. Guess he was watching Baywatch then.

Spike ate some of the cereal, never taking his gaze off Xander. There... he was watching girls... so I cured him of... of whatever. Have you cured yourself?

"Big curves, just your type, yeah?"

“What?” Xander started, staring wide-eyed at Spike. “Curves…erm, yeah. The bigger the better and all that.”

He immediately turned his gaze back to the television, staring at the hot brunet male lifeguard. He tilted his head, trying to get a better look at the guy, figure out if it was men in general that did it for him. Washboard abs, dreamy green eyes and oh that smile. Yup, it was men in general. Hope surged as he thought that maybe Spike was just a fluke, maybe he just happened to be around when Xander started liking men!

He suddenly remembered how Spike felt against him last night. How the blond laughed when they watched dumb t.v. together. How his eyes shone when he was angry. Yup, it was men in general and Spike in particular. His mood plummeted once again.
Spike watched the expressions flicker over the boys face. After days on end in the small matchbox of an apartment with him, he'd learned to read what they meant. The boy still had it for him. What did he need to do?

"We should go out." Yesterday, they'd found out that they weren't actually stuck in the apartment per se. "We can leave together , so why don't we? Find a couple of birds…dance," he gave Xander a wheedling smile. "I think we've seen more of each other than we'd ever want, would be good to mix it up, yeah?"

Xander tried to muster up some excitement at a night of fun and watching Spike flirt with pretty women but for some bizarre reason it didn't appeal. "I don't think I'm up to it Spike. Maybe tomorrow 'kay?"

That would give him time to put up his defences, ready to joke and be the funny one. Because with Spike around that's all he could be, who'd notice a one-eyed guy when they had Spike to play with?

Guilt ate at the ex-vampire. He was responsible for taking the light out of Xander's eye. He hated that he'd had to do it. Right now, he hated himself. But he couldn't afford to let doubts paralyze him. He was sure... if he could get Xander out, if Xander saw a woman or two, everything would normalize. The boy would no longer look at him with that look that offered a slice of heaven, and Spike wouldn't be tempted.

Eve, Xander's name should be bloody Eve. He took a few deep breaths,
and tried to think.

The boy wanted him, but after last night...he didn't want to want him. He could tell that much from the way Xander edged away from him, and refused to look at his bare chest, where only yesterday he'd been ogling with lust in his eye. So... if Xander was in avoidy-mode, all he had to do was crowd him. Yeah, that was the ticket. Crowd him, make him want what he'd had last night, and make him realize Spike was
right. One night in the arms of a girl would right things.

A confident smirk firmly pasted on his face, Spike leaned across Xander, his chest lightly scraping against the boys as he reached for a pillow and made as if he was having difficulty grabbing it. The scent of soap coming from Xander teased his nostrils and sent his mind spiralling back to how they'd held each other last night, how they'd cried out their passion. Biting his lip so hard he tasted blood, Spike forced the memories out of his head.

Half-naked Spike! In his personal space! Xander pushed back into the couch as much as he could, trying to avoid touching all that skin. There was so much skin! He breathed in, trying to calm himself only to be assaulted by Spike's shampoo. His shampoo in Spike's hair. Ohhh that wasn't supposed to turn him on.
Behave goddamnit! You're my body and you will do as I say and I say calm down!

"That's alright then." Spike stretched just a little further, pressing into Xander. "We'll spend the day here. Just the two of us. Nice and cozy-like." He felt Xander's heart jump under his touch. Satisfied, he finally moved back and put the pillow behind his head.

"You alright?" Or should he ask the boy if he needed a shower?

"F-fine." Xander stammered, trying to get his body back under his control. "We could...erm...order in or something. Think your stomach can take Mexican? If you avoid the spicy dishes it should be okay I think."

"It's still breakfast. You haven't finished yours." Spike's grin broadened. "Do you want me to feed you?"

"What?" Xander coughed as his voice broke. "I mean, what? No. W – why would you wanna do that?"

"You seem confused. It's breakfast, you're talking lunch. And you're not eating. You seem a bit stiff..." Spike reached out and touched Xander's forehead, caressing it lightly. "No fever. But..." he gave a one shouldered shrug. "You took care of me, if you need me to take care of you...can do."

"Take what of me?" A sudden image of Spike fussing over him made Xander's bones melt into goo. He'd been told how Spike took care of Dru...to have that for himself, have someone other than Willow care for him... "I need toast. Yeah. Toast." He mumbled, running off hoping Spike hadn't seen his eye fill up.

Alright...it was working. Xander was already wanting to get away from him. He just had to keep working at it. As soon as he heard sounds that indicated the boy was on his way back, Spike hit the ground. His legs pointing toward the kitchen, he executed perfect push-ups, smirking at the thought of the view Xander would get. Hopefully the towel would stay put, but if it didn't... ah, the drama. He strategically sprinkled grunts into the exercise, and sped up and slowed, knowing full well what images would run through Xander's mind.

Xander managed to get himself under control and walked back to the living room and oh...push-ups. Half-naked push-ups. And the towel was slipping just a little bit. Xander tilted his head watching the towel move downwards...

"I need a shower." He suddenly declared and left the room.

Spike collapsed onto the floor letting out a soft laugh. That had worked faster than he'd even wanted. Right...his own member was hard and now seeking attention but...three minutes flat. Three minutes! How many showers could he make Xander take in one day before he admitted they should go out and see other people?

The next few hours were spent with Spike torturing Xander some more. With touches, and whispers, he even played a favourite trick of the virgins of the last century and pretended to twist his ankle so that Xander could inspect it. Of course it hadn't been clinical at all, not once Spike put his hand on Xander's shoulder, absently stroking up and down. Xander's neck had flushed beet red, and Spike knew that blood was rushing to other more important parts of the boy’s body. The sound of a long shower only confirmed it, and kept Spike amused.

Lunch had been no different. Spike fidgeted with his food, sucked his fingers, even wiped sauce off Xander's mouth and licked it off his fingers. He wished he could say that he wasn't affected, but he couldn't. Because his human senses read all the signs of Xander's arousal, and his memories as a vampire filled-in the heady scent of pheromones. So many times, he'd made jokes about it being the vampire’s viagra, now it seemed to indirectly affect him as a human. Although his pants went through several stages of tightness, for the most part, he managed to maintain control.

Little did he know, things would change.

By late afternoon, he'd mentioned going out a few more times, and still got a negative response. It was time to turn up the heat. He flopped down next to Xander on the sofa and flipped channels, stopping on the porn channel. He pretended not to notice Xander's startled gaze. "You have this channel and you made me watch Buckaroo Banzai? Git..."

Xander stared at the television in shock. The entire afternoon had taken a surreal quality. At first Xander thought he was crazy. Everything Spike did made him hard. Every. Little. Thing. After the second shower he'd tried to control himself. It was bad enough that Spike knew about his bathroom activities, he didn't need to know how often he got the urge too. But this...this was unbelievable. Porn. This was pure torture. Spike was just trying to get to him.

The blond wanted to go out and he was trying to get Xander to agree. Narrowing his eye in determination Xander decided not to give in. Unbelievable horniness was still a hell of a lot better than watching Spike flirt with pretty girls. He'd stick to his guns.

Even if he had to permanently move into the bathroom to do so.

Spike put his hands behind his head and watched the show. He felt Xander move slightly away when two men and a woman started going at it. He couldn't have Xander escaping, not now...not when the scene was so perfect. He put his hand on Xander's thigh, and squeezed, his eyes fixed on the screen. The boy's muscle's tensed under his touch. Not satisfied, he ran his hand up and down the boy's thigh, very casually, as if there was nothing unusual in what he was doing. Changing the motion into ever growing circles, he drew closer and closer to the bulge in Xander's pants. He didn't need to look to know it was there. He'd already detected a change in Xander's breathing. The boy made a sound. A very soft sound, and that was all it took for Spike to grow unexpectedly and painfully hard.

Xander closed his eye and tried to breathe normally. He'd forgotten how determined Spike could be when he wanted to get something. Part of him wanted to slap the blond and tell him to back off, to stop toying with him. The other, bigger, part wanted to grab him and kiss him silly.

Not gonna happen. It was humiliating enough the first time. It just about killed me the second time when he thought I was Buffy. No more touching Spike okay? Now be a good body and calm down. Please calm down.

Spike was having troubles of his own. Damn last night...damn it to hell, it was making things difficult for him. Seeing the blond man on the screen bang away at the girl who lay face down, while kissing the dark haired male, all Spike really saw was himself and Xander...Xander on all fours...he swallowed hard and almost touched himself.

When the throbbing ache between his legs became too great to bear, Spike stood up
abruptly. "My turn to take a Xander-shower, yeah?" he nodded down toward his very visible erection. "Don't change the channel." When Xander's mouth formed an "O," all he wanted was to grab him, and make that perfect mouth of his suck him off. He stared at the boy in indecision, then ripped his gaze away and half ran to the bathroom.

Xander-shower. Bastard got him hard enough to pound nails into concrete and then he made fun of him. Xander glared at the retreating blond, trying to summon up enough anger to kill his arousal. There, easier than he'd thought. Arousal all gone now.


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