*****

Spike slowly walked down the steps to the lobby. It was around 4:00 in the morning and he was pretty sure everyone was either gone or asleep so he allowed himself a quiet groan. The lesson with Xander earlier this evening had taken its toll and his body was protesting it's abuse....loudly. Since his capture by the Initiative he had not been feeding properly and the few days with his new supply had not been anywhere near enough to restore him to his pre-chip condition and give him a full recovery. So, he was going downstairs for another bag in hopes that it would help him to recover a little more quickly.

He was almost to the kitchen when he heard it. A heartbeat. Curious, he backpedaled and peered around the corner into the offices. He relaxed when he saw it was Wesley, sound asleep with his head pillowed on his books. A strange feeling came over him at the sight and he crept into the room. He hovered over the sleeping man, watching the steady rise and fall of his breath, listening to the strong beat of his heart, and smelling the faint scent of tea, honey, and Wesley's own personal scent. It was intoxicating and for a few moments he allowed himself the fantasy of sinking his fangs into that tempting neck. Wesley shifted and murmured bringing the vampire out of his thoughts. He shook his head and once more focused on the sleeping man. He frowned, noticing the former watcher still wore his glasses and before he even thought about it he reached down and removed them. He froze when he realized what he just did and began to mentally berate himself as he hurriedly left the room and once more headed to the kitchen.

Why had he done that? What on earth had possessed him, he been *nice* and removed those glasses? Unhappy and somewhat confused Spike yanked the refrigerator door open and withdrew a bag of blood. Ripping it open and pouring it into a mug he slid it into the microwave and began to heat it. Lost in thought while staring at the wall, he never heard the silent approach of another person until he heard a throat clear. Barely hiding his surprise, he glanced up casually into the face of a rather sleepy looking Wesley, who was grasping the hilt of a sword.

Wesley had been sleeping soundly, having a wonderful dream about the English countryside, when he was startled awake by a loud noise coming from the kitchen. It had taken him a moment to realize where he was and another moment to realize that he might be in danger. He had crept quietly to the weapons cabinet and taken up a sword before silently making his way into the kitchen. He had relaxed slightly on seeing it was Spike but had maintained a firm hold on the weapon.

"Is there something the matter?" His voice was still muzzy from sleep and he was having trouble focusing his eyes properly. It was then that he realized he wasn't wearing his glasses and frowned before reaching up to his face and feeling for them. For some reason this seemed to upset Spike because he began to curse. Just then the microwave dinged and the vampire pulled it open, grabbed his mug, and stormed passed a thoroughly confused Wesley.

"I wonder what that was all about?"

*****

Xander waited in the training room for Spike to arrive. He had been waiting for over an hour after their scheduled meeting time and was beginning to grow impatient. Where was the bleached vampire? He began to pace the length of the room growing increasingly upset as thoughts began to flood his mind.

Had he messed up somehow? Was he not learning fast enough? Did Spike think he was a lost cause? Their first lesson had seemed to go well and they had parted on somewhat friendlier terms but Xander still retained that small part of himself that always questioned whether he was good enough. Those feelings had mostly disappeared after his turning but had not been banished completely. His worries grew as time passed. He couldn't mess this up. It was too important that he learn all of the things he would need to know to be able to protect himself and those around him.

He began to calm when he remembered that Spike followed his own rules so of course would be late, but they picked up again when one hour became two. Surely he wouldn't be this late? After all, he was being given free room and board and all the blood he could want. Had he changed his mind? Xander let out a growl of frustration and turned towards the door. He wasn't waiting anymore. He was going to go find Spike and demand an explanation.

He was about to reach out for the knob when the door was flung open and an obviously pissed Spike stormed in. Caught off guard, Xander barely managed to step aside before the older vampire swept past him. He watched as Spike pulled out a strip of cloth from his duster before taking it off and throwing it into a corner.

"Shut the door whelp and come over here." With a confused frown Xander obeyed and joined the other vampire in the center of the room. He was about to ask where Spike had been when he suddenly found himself blinded by the scrap of cloth in Spike's hands.

"What's going on? Spike?"

"This is to see if you can stop using your eyes so much. You're a vampire Pet and that means you've got better senses than humans do. You didn't hear me coming up the stairs the other day and I know you didn't hear me coming today. This is to get you to start using your ears and nose." That stated, Spike moved away from Xander into another part of the room, being careful not to make any noise.

"Why were you late? What happened?" Ignoring these questions, Spike darted forward and patted Xander's arm before moving swiftly back. Startled, Xander whirled, only to be surprised when another pat landed from behind him.

"Spike! What are doing? Stop that!"

"Come on pet. Settle down and see if you can sense me. Use your nose and your ears. Come on." He darted forward again and patted Xander's arm again. Over and over again he did this. Xander at first was frustrated, unable to sense anything until the feeling of Spike's hands came but then quickly disappeared.

It was several moments before he calmed down and started to open his senses. He stopped breathing, an unconscious habit that had he had not yet broken, and focused. At first he couldn't sense anything but then he caught the faintest whiff of something before he was once more touched. He turned to the touch but again caught the smell from behind him. He started to turn only to feel the touch before he could turn fully. Concentrating harder, he settled himself into *that* place, where everything became clear. He hadn't done it since his Scooby days and then only in really difficult fights. He found it much easier to slip into this state than before and allowed himself one moment to think about that before focusing again.

Then he heard it. The slight whisper of material sliding over material and the faint scent of Spike coming from his left. He instinctively turned to it and manage to touch Spike before the older vampire withdrew again.

"Good, Pet. Keep going." For the next hour they danced. Spike managed to land more touches than Xander but toward the end the new vampire was managing to sense Spike more clearly. Finally, Spike drew the session to a close and Xander thankfully pulled the material from his eyes and blinked against the harshness of the overhead lights.

He made his way over to Spike and looked at him.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just wondering why you were two hours late and then came storming in like someone just told you that Passions was cancelled is all." At Spike's look he had to make a note to himself to call Giles and thank him for that bit of information. Shaking his head the blond vampire picked up his duster and headed towards the door.

"Spike! What's wrong?"

"None of your business whelp." And with that Spike disappeared leaving behind a confused and somewhat amused Xander behind.

*****

Gunn and Wesley slouched into the office closely followed by Angel. The case they had been had been particularly brutal and the trio was covered in three different shades of green. Apparently, Cordelia's vision had failed to inform her that this particular demon had a habit of exploding at death. Angel growled with the memory of a particularly violent explosion and pushed past his two friends heading for his apartment. Gunn and Wesley exchanged glances before joining him, each heading towards the rooms Angel had set aside for the them for times like these.

Wesley slipped into his room and walked to the dresser, extracting a set of clothes he kept there before quickly stripping and walking into the bathroom. He turned the water on and let his mind wander while the water grew warm enough. For some reason, Spike had been plaguing his thoughts all day. After seeing the vampire earlier that morning he had gone back into his office in search of his glasses, finding them neatly folded on some of his books. He was puzzled as to how they got there since he didn't remember removing them before laying his head down.

At the time he had shrugged it off, his tired mind unable to cope with such a minor mystery, but later on he found himself returning to that moment. He *knew* that it was Spike who had removed his glasses. He didn't know why he did, he just...did. The question that burned his mind was *why*. It just didn't make sense. Spike was an evil, soulless killer who reveled in the fear and pain he could inflict upon others. So why did he perform an act that could only be interpreted as nice?

Shaking his head at the direction of his thoughts, he stepped into the now hot water and began to divulge himself of the disgusting demon blood. He grabbed a bar of soap and quickly began to clean himself, once again letting his mind wander. Again, his thoughts turned to the bleached vampire and to his amazement he found himself growing hard. Alarmed at this, he quickly finished his shower and toweled off, all the while trying to calm his panicking mind. He did *not* just have....thoughts....carnal thoughts...about a vampire. He hadn't.

Telling this to himself repeatedly, he dressed and headed back downstairs. It did little to comfort him.

*****

Spike paced back in forth in his room. He had heard Angel and the others coming into the hotel and making their way to their rooms. Already in an agitated state, he grew even more furious with himself when immediately picked up Wesley's heartbeat. Kicking a defenseless chair he growled when he realized that the former watcher was now in the next room showering. He cursed his supernatural hearing when he began to picture just exactly what Wesley would be doing right now. He was not fantasizing about a skinny, useless, pathetic human. He wasn't.

Unbidden another image assaulted his mind of Wesley coating his skin with soap and letting the spray of the shower wash it away. He kicked the chair again before picking it up and beginning to methodically take it apart.

What in the bloody hell was happening to him?

The End