The Gift

Chapter Six

Angel woke up when he fell off of the couch. He looked around the room noticing that there were no windows. Rising off of the floor, he wandered through the house. There were no windows anywhere, just solid walls.

In the kitchen, he found Xander's minion of choice sleeping under the table. Stepping carefully, Angel looked in the refrigerator andnd nnd nothing. He was starving.

Angel continued his tour of the house, looking into each room he came to. His tour ended in Spike and Xander's bedroom. He drew in a deep breath; they were beautiful.

Xander lay on his back, br ski skin contrastinth tth the pale otherworldliness of his mate. Spike was draped across his chest, his perfect ass twitching as if he were dreaming. Xander moved his hand and patted Spike gently before falling still.

Angel backed out of the room, closing the door silently. He stood outside their bedroom for a long time, contemplating what he had seen. When they left Sunnydale all those years ago, Xander was still a child. He had clung to Spike as they walked out of the room, as if unsure what the world would bring him.

Now, he was a man. He was strong and handsome and very much in love with Spike. Angel could see it; he could feel it. What had happened between Spike and Xander, no matter how twisted, was right.

Angel fell back onto the sofa, wishing he had something to eat. He was so hungry.

---

Spike wandered into the living room later in the day, almost tripping over Angel.

"Why in the bloody hell are you on the floor, you poof?" He stepped over then other man and walked into the kitchen.

"Rodchester!" Angel flinched as he heard the minion's head strike the underside of the kitchen table. "My consort is hungry."

Angel heard scrambling as the vampire moved through the kitchen searching for food for his master. Spike came back into the living room and sat on the couch, staring at his sire.

"You look like shit," he matter-of-factly shared.

"Thanks." Angel crawled over to the couch and sat down next to the blond. "Where are we, Spike?"

A yawning Xander walked out of the bedroom, clad only in low-slung sweatpants. A dark line of hair drew Angel's eyes down to the bulge in the front of the worn cotton. Spike's warning growl quickly drew his eyes away from the tantalizing sight. Xander wandered over and climbed into Spike's lap, snuggling down until he was comfortable.

Spike kissed Xander on the forehead. "Getting you something to eat, love, can you wait?" Xander nodded and Spike turned back to his sire.

"Fredericksburg." Spike ran his fingers up and down his mate's spine. Xander smiled in his lover's arms.

"We can't possibly be in Virginia."

Spike scowled at Angel. "Of course we're not in Virginia, we're in Texas, you git. Xander likes the food." Xander nodded again and looked around.

"Rodchester!" Xander's yell made Angel jump nervously. The diminutive vampire came into the room.

"There is no food here, Master. I must go to the store."

Xander scowled at the minion. "Then why are you still here?"

"The sun is still up, Master." Xander growled and climbed off Spike's lap. The minion fled the room, fearful for his life.

"I'm gonna go get some food." Xander leaned over and kissed Spike. The kiss intensified and he found himself once again in Spike's lap. He ground against his lover's hardness, breaking away from the kiss to offer his neck to his mate. Spike bit into the proffered flesh, purring at the taste. Xander reached up and carved a circle into Spike's neck, latching onto the wound and completing their circuit.

Angel sat in awe. He had never seen anything so passionate and pure.

Spike drew his fangs out of Xander's neck and lapped at the mark he had made. "You might go by and pick us up something, too, love."

Xander looked up and nodded, leaning in to finish cleaning the blood off of Spike's neck. He got up and disappeared down the hall.

Xander returned moments later, dressed in jeans and a red wife beater. He dropped some eye jackets down on his nose and leaned in for a quick kiss with Spike. "Be back soon."

---

Spike reached into a bowl sitting on the coffee table and pulled out a cigarette. Lighting it, he looked at Angel through his eyelashes, contemplating the older vampire.

"What happened, Angelus?" Angel looked down at his feet. He had been hoping to avoid this conversation.

"After you left, I..." Angel looked around the room searching for something to focus on.

Spike tapped his ashes out over a statue, allowing the flaky soot to float down into the concave top. He glared at his sire. "What happened?"

Recognizing the implied threat, Angel began his story. "After I sent you away, Buffy and Willow kept searching for Xander. They kept saying that they knew he was still alive. I lied, time and time again, leading them away from any clues that you might have left behind.

I burnt down the factory and killed all the minions that remained there and at the house. I didn't want them to be able to tell anyone about Xander. I was afraid that I would have to do something with the house, too, but before they found it, Xander was declared legally dead." Angel pulled his feet closer to the couch, hunching over and rocking slightly.

"After the funeral, the life seemed to go out of the group. Willow focused on her education and refused to help patrol most of the time. Giles was broken by the fact that a child that he had sent out for help was killed. Buffy threw herself into her slaying; refusing to acknowledge that she too could die." Angel drew in a deep breath.

"After about a year, I left. I couldn't stand to be around them anymore. I never stopped loving Buffy, but I just couldn't..." A sob escaped his throat. Spike rolled his eyes.

"I went to L.A., spent some time killing demons, protecting the city the best I could. A gang of vampire hunters attacked me. They hunted me for several weeks, cutting off all of my chances at escape, until one night, I finally got away. I had to kill their leader to do it.

I wandered around the country for a couple of years before returning to Sunnydale. I had to see Buffy again."

Spike snorted. "Bloody brilliant, mate. Skulking around after the Slayer." Spike lit another cigarette from the butt of the one in his hand before crushing it out on the statue.

"I love her!" Angel's voice was horse with desperation. Spike quirked his scarred eyebrow in response.

"I was watching her one evening and some people snuck up behind me and attacked me with a tazer. I woke up in the cell you found me in."

Spike sat silently, watching the emotions play across his sire's face. He blew a stream of smoke towards the ceiling and propped his feet up on the table. "What the hell was that place?"

Angel shuddered and refused to answer.

Spike crushed out his cigarette, stood and walked back to the bathroom. Angel heard the water as it began to flow.

"Rodchester!"

The minion flew past him as he raced into the bathroom. A moment later, the vampire reappeared, motioning for Angel to follow him. Angel stood unsteadily and followed the smaller man into a bedroom. Rodchester stripped the sheets quickly and remade the bed, then indicated that Angel should get in.

Angel slid between the cool sheets and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

---

Buffy was dreaming.

She ran as hard as she could, but it was still followier. er. Ducking into a nearby archway, she watched as it passed.

Suddenly, Dawn was standing in front of her, shrieking. Buffy reached for her and her hand came away bloody. She pushed off of the wall to grab at her sister but Xander yanked Dawn away.

She slapped him hard and turned to get Dawn. Angel stood in her place, blood running down his face and an evil gleam in his eyes. He reached out and pulled her to his chest. "Close your eyes."

She could feel her blood draining from her body as Angel drank. She watched the night go by and listened to her heart slow. Finally, she took her last breath.

Buffy lurched up in her bed, gasping for breath. What the hell was that? She hadn't thought of Angel in years, and Xander was in her dreams again! Suddenly the gorgeous man she had seen outside the Magic Box and at the Bronze filled her mind.

Holy Moly! That was Xander.

She reached for her bedside phone and called Willow.

---

Spike smiled when he heard the roar of the motorcycle's engine. That bike was Xander's baby. The boy would spend a few hours every week overhauling it and cleaning it. He loved the thing, but he had never taken Spike for a ride on it. No. When they rode together, Spike drove.

The engine cut out and the door to the house flung open. He heard Xander talking to Rodchester, giving him a rundown of places he could shop in the area. He heard a girlish giggle and smiled, his pet had brought him a snack.

Xander threw an arm over the girl's shoulder and led her away from the minion. Stupid twit had giggled at the sight of Rodchester's game face. He led her down the hall, glancing through an open door and peering in to pain-filled brown eyes. He smirked at Angel and continued to his bedroom, seeking out his lover.

The girl stopped in the doorway when she saw the pale body lounging in the bed. "What's this?" Her voice was small and timid.

"This is my mate, Spike." Xander pulled his shirt off and steered the girl towards the bed. Spike was nude, lying with his hands behind his head, his erection brushing against his abdomen.

The girl looked curiously at Spike. He was as beautiful as the man she had come home with. This wouldn't be bad at all. She hurriedly dropped her purse to the ground and pulled at her skirt. Xander placed his hands over hers.

"That won't be necessary." He effortlessly lifted her and placed her on the bed next to his lover.

"I don't understand." She was beginning to get scared.

"You will soon." Spike allowed his human façade to slide away and looked at the girl with golden eyes. "Very soon."

Xander climbed onto the bed behind the girl and pressed her up against his mate. Spike looked at his lover and smiled, a garish expression in his demon guise. He leaned over the girl and kissed Xander, cutting into his lover's lips before pulling away. Xander licked at the wounds, drawing his own blood into his mouth.

The girl between them began to quake in terror. Spike pulled her close, insincerely soothing the frightened girl.

"Shh... It's all going to be ok." Spike slid his fangs into the girl's throat, running his hands through Xander's thick hair, petting his lover and drawing him close. The girl gasped out her last breath and Spike rolled over, carrying her body with him. He dumped her on the floor and pounced on his mate.

"Thank you, pet. I needed that." Xander smiled and moaned as Spike licked down his body, leaving a crimson trail. When he felt the needle-like pricks of Spike's teeth in his groin, he shuddered and came.

Spike smiled an evil smile and moved back up his body. "Couldn't wait for me, love?"

Xander shook his head. "Not when you do that." He held out his arms and Spike wrapped himself in his lover's embrace.

"We should get up soon, pet."

"You are up, Spike." Xander thrust up against Spike's engorged cock.

Spike pressed up on his hands and glared at his consort. "You're all bloody. Into the shower." Xander laughed and leapt from the bed, careful not to step on the body on the floor. Growling playfully, Spike chased him around the room until they reached their bathroom.

Xander put a hand in the middle of Spike's chest. "I cooked, you clean." He nodded in the direction of the bed.

Spike nodded sheepishly and went to pick up the girl. He carried her into the kitchen and handed her to Rodchester, leaving him with instructions on how to dispose of the body before racing back and joining his consort in the shower.

---

Angel was hungry, tired and scared. He was alone in the house with a minion, a Master Vampire and his Consort and he was hungry. Angelus was vying for control, the hunger driving him against his bars. He was so hungry.