Fisi Mtima

Chapter Summary: Connections and the research of a lone Wiccan.

.Chapter Fifteen.

Xander discovered quickly that William's kiss was much like his personality. Sweet and filled with temptation. It was almost like William wasn't certain, as though he didn't know if his touch was welcomed. Part of Xander wanted to go slow, even wanted to push William away. They were confused, and the obvious sexual tension between them was not helping. But when William's lips tentatively parted, Xander's mind was wiped clean of all thoughts.

Xander gently slipped his arm behind William, pulling him closer. His tongue barely touch William's lower lip, and yet managed to drag a soft moan from his chest. The moan quickly turned into a growl as William shockingly took the initiative. Grabbing Xander by the lapels of his jacket, his maneuvered himself around until he was straddling his waist. Xander gripped William's hips, allowing the vampire to take full control for once.

William's tongue danced into his mouth. His hands slipped under Xander's shirt in an almost feverish fashion. Groaning, Xander let his head fall back as William's mouth latched onto his neck. "William? Sh-should we... Oh, god, do that again! No, I mean... Mmm, should we be doing this?"

"I gotta have you, love." The harsh voice whispered in his ear. "You're mine. Gotta make you mine."

"Yes. Yours." Xander moaned, arching his hips upward to meet the vampire's clothed erection.

"As fascinating as this scene will no doubt be, might I ask you to cease."

"Bloody Watcher." Was mumbled into Xander's neck, before his mate's head shot up in shock. "Oh my. Oh my goodness. I'm terribly sorry! Please... forgive me, Alexander. I had no intention-"

"William?" Xander interrupted, still panting slightly. "It's okay. I should have stopped us. We shouldn't be doing this while you are so confused."

"Oh thank heavens." Giles muttered from the kitchen doorway. William let out a small sigh and carefully removed himself from Xander's lap. Xander found himself immediately missing the weight.

"Not to sound like the keeper of bad ideas, but shouldn't he stay like this?" Buffy asked later that evening. They were congregated around the table inside the Magic Box, with books piled high in front of them. The majority of them were researching Buffy's newest demon, while Xander was looking up the spell Tara had performed.

"Buffy, he's confused." Xander told her, forcing the growl to stay out of his tone. "It's not Spike, not completely."

"Yeah, but..." Buffy shrugged, looking over at William. The vampire was curled up in the corner with a large demonology book and cup of tea. Giles had been kind enough to lend him a spare pair of glasses. Despite their prescription not matching William's, the vampire was now able to reach the books without holding them close to his face. Buffy stifled a grin when the lenses slid down William's nose. "He's sweet this way."

"Spike was sweet, you just never noticed." Xander pointed out, his eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, okay." Buffy rolled her eyes, before turning to Willow. "Speaking of fellow loved ones, where's Tara?"

"Umm, at the dorm." Willow said softly.

"Well, I for one wish I was home right now." Buffy let her book fall to the table with a thump, ignoring Giles' exclamation at mishandling his beloved books. "Ah, sleep. It sounds wonderful. I've forgotten what it's like."

"I think we all miss sleep." Riley replied.

"No one is asking you to be here." Xander said, giving Riley a pointed stare.

"Do you have a problem, Xander?" Riley suddenly asked. Xander's eyes narrowed into full slits and a low growl echoed from his chest. "You know, some of us don't believe that hyena shit anymore."

"Well, that's your problem, isn't it?" Xander said through gritted teeth, his eyes flashing a bright green. Riley's eyes widened, before lowering to the table. Xander's mouth split into a wide smile. "Good boy."

"Xander." Buffy turned to him with pleading eyes. "Not now, please?"

"Let him have a little fun, Slayer." William said from the corner, before coughing and burying his face into the book in his hands.

"Okay, what was that?" Buffy asked, looking around at the others in confusion.

"It appears Spike and William are adjusting." Giles replied. "I explained this to you yesterday. For a while, they will both be fighting for the same body. At least... That's what I assume. I wasn't quite certain on the effects of the spell and what to expect with them traveling to a higher plane. Tara did all the research, after all."

"She blames herself." Willow admitted softly. "She thinks the spell should of worked out better."

"It's not her fault." Xander told her.

"That's what I keep telling her." Willow insisted. "She just doesn't believe me. You don't get it. Tara... She takes magic so seriously. If even the slightest thing goes wrong, she wants to know why. I guess that's what happens when you're raised in it."

"As she should take it seriously." Giles muttered from behind his book. Willow made a point of ignoring him.

"She's a wonderful Wicca." Willow said in a quiet voice. "She just doesn't trust herself. The smallest malfunction, and she assumes it's something she did."

"She did her best." Giles pointed out. "Spike specifically asked her to do the spell. He knew she would do a good job. You never know, maybe this separation of William and Spike is temporary. Spike appears to be making an appearance now and again."

"Which is oh so very depressing." Buffy sighed.

"I need some air." Xander suddenly announced, standing. He glanced over at William, whose blue eyes were peering over his book at him. "Want to come?"

"I would love to, Alexander." William replied, setting his book and glasses on the table and followed Xander to the door.

"His accent is so sweet." Buffy squealed as the door shut behind them.

The night seemed to encircled them as they escaped the lights of the Magic Box. They walked down the street, taking in it's empty sidewalks. To visitors it would seem odd, but Xander was momentarily glad that people had enough common sense to stay out of the demon filled nightlife. Sighing softly, Xander glanced over at William. The vampire had his arms crossed and was staring at his shoes. A small smile twitched at Xander's lips.

"I'm sorry about yesterday." Xander said, the words coming out before he could stop them.

"What reason do you have to be sorry?" William asked, an adorable and confused look appearing on his face. Xander inwardly groaned. It was bad enough that Spike was sexy and hot as all hell, but now his human side was sweet and cuddly. Add the wonderful scent that Xander could smell simply by standing near him, and he was shocked he hadn't tackled William to the nearest vertical surface.

"I left when you needed me most." Xander told him, feeling rather ashamed and embarrassed. While he knew he had needed the momentary space in order to think things through, he felt bad for leaving his mate in such a state. "You had just got here and I... Well, I should of stayed."

"I don't expect you to treat me like you did Spike." William suddenly told him as they turned onto the road that led to U.C. Sunnydale.

"You're right. I shouldn't treat you the same." Xander paused, before letting out something he never thought before the repossession that he would be caught saying. "I should be nice to you."

"Pardon?"

"With Spike... He likes to bicker and fight." Xander explained softly. "He's filled with all this passion, with nothing to cool him down. Towards the end he was calming, but I think that's because of the whole soul thing."

"Me?" William asked.

"Well, Spike had bits of you." Xander snorted. "That's sounds weird. Still, that's probably why you were having those dream things."

"It makes perfect sense if you think about it." William commented in a voice that sounded too much like Giles' for Xander's taste.

"Anyway." Xander cleared his throat. "With the plain Spike, we could be cross and rude to each other and still care about one another. You? Well, you give off this vibe that screams sensitivity. You're the water to Spike's fire. So, I can't really call you names or be rough with you. I should of stayed with you like you needed me to."

William didn't reply, nor did he look at Xander. His eyes looked a tad misty, however, and Xander was once again struck with how sweet this soul truly was. Smiling, Xander reached over and slipped his hand into William's. William started slightly, before looking up at him with a smile of his own.

"So, you think I'm sweet." William stated.

"Incredibly so." Xander replied.

"And sensitive."

"Yup." Xander agreed

"Anything else, Alexander?" William asked, his lips twitching as though he was trying not to smirk.

"Your skin is soft." Was all Xander could say. William look at him through the corner of his eye, suddenly looking sly.

"I get the strangest feeling you are insinuating I'm of the female variety." William told him. Xander burst out into laughter. William watched him, his smile growing as Xander continued to chuckled.

"Sorry." Xander managed to say, fighting down his amusement.

"Oh, not at all. That was the desired effect." William replied. William broke into a grin at Xander's exasperated look. Then looking around, he said. "Is there any particular reason we are at the university?"

"Actually, I hadn't noticed." Xander shrugged and turned down another sidewalk. "Want to visit Tara and see if we can get her out of whatever type of funk she's put herself in?"

"I would love to. She really is a sweet girl." William practically gushed. Xander snickered, then smirked at the glare William half-heartedly sent him.

They continued down the path, leading up to Tara's dormitory. Inside, the hall lights were set low. Both William and Xander had no trouble seeing through the dim light, and quickly entered the elevator. After pressing the correct button, Xander returned his hand to William’s, smiling as the vampire squeezed his in return. They exited on the correct floor and quickly made it to Tara's room. After a quick knock on the door, they were greeted with a shocked looking witch.

Tara looked like she hadn't attempted any kind of rest since William's appearance. Her hair was frizzy, parts sticking almost straight up. Blinking, she stared at them a moment, then broke out into a dark blush. Lowering her head, she stepped aside and allowed them entrance. The room looked like utter chaos. Books were stacked in uneven piles. Papers were strewn across the bed and floor. Tara shuffled back to the bed and sat down, immediately picking up a large book. Xander stared at her in shock, having never seen Tara so unorganized, or dressed only in sweatpants and a tank top.

"Tara?" Xander asked, walking over. "What's going on?"

"I..." Tara sighed, placing her book on the pillow next to her. "Well, I was just thinking, you know... A-about the spell? I was hoping I could figure out exactly what happened. T-to see if there was something we could do about Spike a-and William."

"Do you think something might be wrong?" Xander asked, shooting William a nervous look.

"N-no." Tara stuttered. She eyed them both, before taking a deep breath. "T-the thing is that if the separation continues, we have no idea how damaging it could be."

"Damaging?" William frowned. "How?"

"Umm, well, multiple personalities is the most likely result." Tara told him.

"Do you mean..." William glanced at Xander before continuing. "That I could revert back to Spike, then back to me without knowing it?"

"Yes. Or you may say things that aren't normal for you, but are for Spike. Despite being basically the same person, you do have separate personalities." Tara explained. She noticed the wide eyed look appearing on William and Xander's faces. "...It's already happened, hasn't it?"

"More than once, I'm afraid." William replied.

"I've been thinking of a way to get you to unite permanently." Tara said. She started twisting the hem of her shirt nervously. "At first I thought the spell we used for Xander would be a good idea, but I'm not so sure... The situation is so different... What we n-need is a trigger of some kind."

"Trigger?" Xander asked.

"Something to bring both Spike and William to the fore." Tara said, her eyes thoughtful. "Something that both would feel the need to participate in fully, without no remorse or hesitation. If we can figure out what that trigger is, all we would need to do is let the event unfold. Most likely, they will unite on their own."

"Yeah, but we would have to find something they both wanted." Xander said. "They are total opposites."

"There must be something..." Tara turned to William, who was staring at his feet. "William? Do you know of anything that would work?"

"I..." William blushed heavily and nodded. His blue eyes slowly shifted their gaze to Xander. "Yeah. There is something we agree on."