The Labyrinth

All the excuses I could offer for the past three weeks of not posting sound just as lame to my own ears. Although I did get to spend an interesting few days at the hospital with my mother. Please don't chew me out too badly.

- Part 9 -

Their hormones temporarily quenched, Spike showed his lover around the rest of the club. He took great pains in pointing out the health forms and nurse's station - his soul demanded such things, and his demon supported them, even if only so their patrons would return. He also explained the self-cleaning spells placed on practically every surface that would insure no transference of disease could possibly take place.

Xander was far from experienced in the darker side of sex, but he found himself impressed with the thoughtful precautions that had been placed throughout his lover's pet project. He would never have thought to include 'gift bags' with samples of lubricant, condoms, handi-wipes, and assorted inexpensive toys. Nor would he have imagined such a place could exist outside of badly made porn or seedy back alleys. This... was classy and safe and beyond hot. He couldn't wait for opening night, just to see Spike beaming with pride at the accolades sure to be heaped on him from an appreciative audience.

After the tour, Spike lead his love back out into the main pathways. Neither man realized how much time had passed, but now they were part of a large crowd wandering from shops to restaurants in the underground mall. Xander's eyebrow raised in question, and the blond snickered softly.

"Word of mouth, luv. Don't have ta advertize, see? Most of these places were old, established businesses long before the Lab started. They moved down here to escape traffic, smog, crime, whatever. Works out good for them, better for us."

Xander followed the explanation, absently nodding at the benefits. The last comment stopped him short. "For us?"

"Well yeah, don't expect rent or anythin, yeh? We get 5% after taxes, flat rate. The more business they do, the better off we are."

Mentally doing some math, Xander misplaced a step and almost fell into a display of funky beaded hats. "That's... fuck! That's alot of income!" His eyes comically wide, he stared at his genius of a mate. "Wasn't what I meant, but damn, sign me up."

Spike paused to make sure his darling wasn't going to faceplant in the racks of tie-dyed t-shirts nearby, drawing the brunet close for a quick peck. "What'd ya mean then, Xan? Got an idea of what else we can do here? Just slip it in the suggestion box." He leered, pulling the mortal closer and placing a warm hand against his crotch.

And how was Xander supposed to continue the conversation with such a wonderful distraction at hand. Literally. He gladly groped the half-hard bulge, stealing a kiss that drew applause from passers-by. "Get with ya later about suggestions. Meant, us? This is your project, Spike. I wouldn't want to-"

"Hush you. 'member whatcha said - married, long-term, forever. Want it said in human terms, do ya? With all my worldly goods, for better or worse, the whole bit?" Spike lifted blushing cheeks, holding them tenderly to force brown eyes to meet his gaze. "Everything I have, everything I am, all yours, luv."

Xander suspected that his jello state from earlier had never left, lurking in the shadows and waiting for his lover's sweet words to make a reappearance. He clutched the vampire's shoulders as he melted against Spike's sturdy chest. "Everything, yours. Gods, how did I get so lucky?" Lifting his face toward pink lips, he claimed a soft kiss. "Wanna do the whole human wedding too, bring in the gang and all?"

Blue eyes flashed golden for a moment. "Didn't think you'd want... Feck Xan, course I wanna tell'em! Just -"

"You just didn't think I'd want to, huh. Note to the bleached vamp: I'm not Buffy, or Drusilla or Angelus or that chick before you were turned. When I'm happily in love with someone, I want to tell my friends so they can be happy for me." Words that started as reassurance rapidly gained volume, Xander's ire building as he recalled various indignities heaped upon his lover. "We'll call Giles in the morning and have him schedule a vacation for everyone to come out and celebrate with us. Maybe he'll agree to officiate, since same-sex marriage isn't technically legal in Texas."

"Woah luv, catch yer breath a mo', yeh?" Stunned but very much pleased with his mate's pronouncement, Spike needed to sit and think. He pulled them toward a nearby bistro, ordered what he could remember being Xander's favorites, and clasped his darling's hands. "Xander, I'm all for outing us to yer friends. Makes me feel... special, knowing you wanna share it with everyone. But most of'em don't even know I'm back, yeh?" He held a finger to his love's lips, silencing the outburst trying to break free. "We'll call Rupert in the morning an get him to tell the girls that part. Let'em get used to one thing before we spring the big surprise, alright?"

Partially mollified, Xander leaned over the tiny table for a kiss. "I guess you're right. For now. But we can at least tell Giles, right?"

Spike watched his darling bounce in his seat, and worried that maybe a double mocha latte might not have been the best idea in the world. "Course we can, luv. Can even have the lot of'em over soon, a real house-warming party." He lifted one tanned hand to his lips, placing a gentle kiss to Xander's palm. "Don't ever wanna come tween you an the girls, Xan. But this, us, is forever. I'll do whatever I can to keep peace in yer Scoobie family, but nothin an noone's gonna bust us up."

The soft words were underlined with a powerful possessive streak, and Xander glowed in the light of his lover's declaration. "Us, forever. Gotcha, blondie."

Much to the entertainment of their fellow diners, Xander dragged Spike onto his lap, taking cool lips in a plundering kiss that showed ownership and passion and every ounce of emotion he felt for the blond. They broke apart, panting, to the sounds of smattered applause and the occassional "Robert, why aren't you that romantic anymore?" comment from a disgruntled housewife.

"Home now, yes?"

"Yeh, can see this anytime."

"Race ya to the car."

In minutes, they were back to the warehouse and struggling to open the Rover's doors without releasing their hold on each other. If Xander found it odd that no other cars were parked nearby, his brain refused to allow questions to interrupt a perfectly good make-out session. He congradulated his grey matter on making a fabulous decision, and dived in for another steamy kiss.

Spike showed his ingenuity by lowering the back seat and unfolding a sleeping bag across it - without losing contact with his darling's lips throughout the entire process. Shirts flew into the front seat, pants landed in the floorwell, and shoes went... somewhere with a series of thuds. Only the battered tube of slick was kept, juggled between groping hands and the slip-slide of moist bodies.

"Need ya now, pet. Up on yer knees for me, yeh?" Forcing himself from those tempting lips, Spike rubbed his mate's back as the man hurried to obey. "Hell luv, ya look so damned gorgeous, all ready an tremblin for me."

He knew they had all the time in the world, but Xander didn't want to wait for the pleasantries. "Spike, lube your dick and fuck me, will ya?"

A startled snort. "An who was it said romance was dead." His words flippant, Spike nonetheless followed instructions, slathering his erection and placing it at his lovely's entrance. "Still nice'n ready, aren't ya? Don't wanna hurt ya none, Xan."

In answer, the brunet took a deep breath and shoved his hips backwards, impaling himself in one swift movement that had them both panting and clutching at each other. This time there were no restraints or games between them, only pure passion - the immediacy of newlyweds, demanding consumation of their love, regardless of their location.

With soft moans and loud cries, they moved with an urgency that rocked Xander's foundations. He'd never felt comfortable releasing his full strength with any of his previous lovers. Each of them women, and even Faith's slayer strength didn't prevent him from being cautious. The raw, primal need he shared with Spike fed off each grunt, each scrabble of nail on flesh. He barely recognized his own voice screaming of pleasure and territory.

The Master vampire was likewise shocked by his mate's actions, but not enough to prevent a surge of feral satisfaction from his demon. This man, this barely contained force of masculine energy, was HIS! And only Spike would ever be the recipient of such scalding intensity as his mate radiated. Thrust after thrust, all thoughts of restraining his own formidable strength dispelled by Xander's own insistance. They were reaching the end, but it wasn't enough, never enough.

In a move that would boggle a sane Xander, Spike shifted the mortal's legs and corkscrewed his entire body, leaving the brunet flat on his back and still impaled. His eyes flew up to meet gold, locking them together before their necks bent and their teeth broke skin. A half dozen more thrusts and twin cries of ecstacy announced their completion.

Xander lapped lazily at the bloody marks on his mate's skin, barely recognizing the act as more bestial than human. Sparkles of power erupted on his tongue like poprocks, and he virtually purred his satisfaction against the pale skin. A tiny voice in the back of his head (that sounded suspiciously like his mother, this time) demanded that he stop this madness, put his clothes on, and run far away from the *male* monster that was corrupting her baby. He gave it a snicker and dragged out a mental slideshow of all the various things he and Spike had done in the past two days. The voice retreated to its darkened corner, whimpering in shock, even as he raised his head and claimed the blond's lips in a hard kiss.

Far from displeased with his darling's aggressiveness, Spike cuddled and kissed and suckled the tiny red droplets until the wound began to heal over. Was he shocked by the... energetic actions of his mate? Well, yes, but not so much. Should he worry about it? Maybe something from the spell had gone wrong, brought out more animalistic behavior. But no, his sweet Xan was still there, very much present. He spared a moment of regret that there were no written documents about claimed mortals to compare notes with. Only a moment, however, before his lovely's lips connected with Spike's own.

No more thought interrupted their mutual desire for several long minutes.

~ * ~

Monday morning saw sunlight so bright and clear that even the heavy blackout curtains of the master bedroom couldn't keep the room dark.

Xander's eyes refused to stay shut, his body fairly humming with energy. He needed to be up and active and gods where'd it all come from? He hadn't even had coffee yet! A quick glance at his bedmate showed the blond still sleeping peacefully. He really didn't want to wake Spike so early, but Xander needed to *do* something.

Slipping silently out of the tumble of blankets, he decided to use the downstairs bathroom. Super-vamp hearing would rouse his lover, no matter how quiet he tried to be. Xander grabbed 'his' robe and a pair of sweatpants, and quietly padded barefoot out the door.

Halfway down the stairs, he smelled the delicious aromas of Jancis' morning fare. A fast trip to relieve himself and don clothes, he joined the housekeeper in the kitchen, hoping to beg her good will and a great breakfast.

"Good morning, lovely Jancis! I don't know what you're cooking, but it smells heavenly! Got enough for this growing boy?" He bounced into the room, startling the red-head with a loud smooch to her cheek. "Gods, I wish my mom had half your talent in the kitchen. She could barely manage to make toast without burning it."

Recovering from shock, Jancis poured him a cup of coffee and gestured for him to take a seat. "Won't be ready for another few minutes, boy. Get outa my way an you'll have it sooner." Her stern words belied the twinkle of pleasure at both the praise and the kiss.

"Yes ma'am, Mistress Jan, ma'am! I bow to the chef," so saying, Xander put words to action and bowed low, dragging a crackle of laughter from the housekeeper. He slurped his cup happily, leaning over the bartop well away from flying bacon grease.

By the time breakfast was ready, Xander had drawn the woman into a conversation, getting her opinion on numerous topics. He also had a sketchy plan of what he wanted to do for the day. After all, Spike had given permission for him to borrow any of the cars, right? Taking his plate outside, Xander joined Jancis on the patio to enjoy the early morning sunshine and the woman's ascerbic comments.

~ * ~

It was the most difficult decision he could remember making in many years, and he finally gave up, flipping a coin to determine his fate. When the quarter landed on heads, he whooped in triumph (as he would have done for tails - the Porsche) and slid behind the wheel of the Rambler.

Yes, he was thoroughly, head-over-heels in lust with the sporty car. Only his devotion to a certain blond currently sleeping the sleep of the damned upstairs could possibly rival the love he felt for the green machine. And both lover and auto shared certain qualities: they both purred, they were sleek and slim and sexy as hell, they stole his heart almost immediately, and their sensual exterior concealed a demon under the hood.

His first intention after gorging himself on Jan's home-made biscuits and boysenberry preserves had been to return home and collect some of his own clothes, check email and snail mail, and maybe think about boxing up some stuff. Xander still wasn't positive about moving in with the vampire, but it was definitely high on his list of 'things to think seriously about'. He had a long list these days.

At least he'd remembered to leave a note for Spike. It could only be a bad thing for his possessive mate, waking up to an empty bed with no signs of life. Shivering at the imagined temper tantrum, Xander swung the car carefully up his driveway. If he took longer than a couple of hours, he promised to call and give the blond some sweet wake-up phone sex.

He was so preoccupied with various scenarios he could offer the blond bombshell, Xander missed the first clues that his house might not be unoccupied. A light in the living room that he definitely hadn't left on last Friday night. The shades in living room and kitchen raised. A shadowed figure moving from kitchen to front door. Just before his key touched the lock, the door swung open and Xander jumped a foot in the air.

"Holy fuck!"

"Xander, welcome home. I was beginning to wonder if something untoward had happened this weekend."

"Giles?!"

~ TBC ~

Yes, I know it isn't that much. And it lacks the standard smut scenes. Hopefully, I'll have another couple of chapters ready by the end of the week... provided that this week doesn't turn into a repeat of the past 16 days. Y'know, there's a hell dimension where the only people you have for company are your most hated in-laws? I'd have gladly taken a vacation there, as opposed to the crap that's gone on around home lately.

So, hope you'll enjoy this short chapter and grant a bit of forgiveness. I'll try my hardest not to be so long in posting more. *hugs*