Austin wandered towards campus, occasionally scratching his head. He felt...odd. The young man's wrists and ankles hurt from being bound, he had a terrible headache, and for some reason, he couldn't get his mind off Angel's ass. Not that it wasn't a perfectly nice posterior, but...normally Austin could wrench his mind away from sex for long enough to get home. Either that or he was pondering Buffy--not her room-temperature ex-boyfriend.

Something very bad had happened; he knew that much. Austin could recall a lot of shouting, some fighting...and yelling at Spike and Xander. He'd done most of that, although he didn't quite remember what he'd said to them. That wasn't his style--yelling. He was typically a quiet kind of guy, content to hang around in the shadows and watch, unless he had a few drinks in his system to loosen him up. That was how he'd met Buffy, after all. Party night hookup gone terribly wrong. No, she wasn't bad, but... the more he thought about it, the less he understood why he was with her. Yeah, he needed a cover, since flaming queers didn't often get football scholarships, but there were a lot of other girls out there more than willing to latch onto him. And *those* girls couldn't flip him over their shoulders without breaking a sweat. She'd been fun, though. Good in bed, pretty, and had this gig he couldn't beat. Austin felt bad for complaining about Buffy at all. And he really did like her, more than any of his other girlfriends...and a good number of his old boyfriends as well.

Not that Austin didn't like someone taking charge, nah. That was cool. Good, even. Someone tall, dark, muscular... Austin's thoughts were interrupted by a pair of strong hands wrapping around his forearms. He struggled briefly, but whoever had him was much more powerful.

"Calm down," Angel murmured, easily controlling the young man. "I just need to get you back to the Magic Box."

"Why?" Austin asked, surprised and relieved to hear Angel's voice. "No one's there. Spike and Xander let me go and left."

"They let you go?" Angel asked, noting that Buffy's boyfriend sounded considerably saner than before.

"Yeah. They told me to ask Buffy and Mr. Giles about it tomorrow. They let the accountant guy go too. He didn't look crazy, though. Just scared."

Angel nodded. He'd seen several people wandering the streets, looking greatly confused. The humans chasing him had abruptly stopped several minutes ago, dispersing aimlessly. Perhaps Xander and Spike had gotten to the demon and defeated it. He took a chance on being right and let Austin go. The boy moved a few feet away, but didn't run or anything. "Er, have you seen Buffy?" Austin asked. "I'm kinda confused, here. Why was I tied up?"

"You don't remember?" Angel asked, surprised.

"Remember what?" Austin inquired.

"You got possessed by the demon. Lots of shouting, attacking--mostly Spike and Xander," Angel murmured. The boy had yelled at pretty much everyone, but particularly Angel. The vampire didn't feel like pointing that out, though.

"I did?" Austin replied. "Oh. Was I offensive? Did I say something about you?" The football player remembered some of what the accountant had said during his stay in the training room. If he'd said that kind of thing... Austin began to blush. He liked Angel... a lot. If he'd run off at the mouth...

Angel watched as Austin blushed furiously. The boy smelled of fear and, much to Angel's surprise, pheromones. That was unexpected, and it confused Angel slightly. "Don't worry about it," He assured the young man. "No one blames you. The demon..." He wanted to say that the demon put the words in the boy's mouth, but he somehow doubted that. What seemed more likely was that the demon had pushed Austin's repressed or ignored desires to the forefront of the boy's mind and then twisted them around a bit. Angel studied Austin carefully under the dim light of a nearby streetlamp. He saw a very confused young man, one who wasn't sure why he was where he was, or what he was doing. All the young man-bravado talk in the world couldn't quite hide the vulnerability underneath, and the constant use of masks and facades wasn't helping the boy find out who he was. One thing Angel did realize, though, was that Austin was attracted to him.

"I better go," Austin said after a minute. "Thanks, for helping... and listening. Xander and Spike don't give you enough credit," He added before he turned around.

Angel paused for a moment, surprised by the comment. Yeah, he knew that Spike bad-mouthed him, as did Xander, but that was to be expected. He certainly never expected Austin to see past that, and the fact that Angel and Buffy had a rather tumultuous history. "Austin," He called out, stopping the young man's retreat.

Austin turned around hesitantly. "Yeah?" He asked, wondering what the vampire wanted.

"Here," Angel said, holding out a business card. "Look, if you ever need to... well, if Sunnydale gets to be too much for you, give me a call, ok?"

Austin blinked. Angel's card, permission to... He glanced up at Angel, hope giving his eyes some of their usual brightness back. He saw in Angel's face just what he needed to see--friendship, understanding, and enough frank appraisal to know that Angel knew how Austin felt about the vampire. It was an invitation, one that wouldn't insult Angel if it was turned down, but might make both of them happier if he did. "Thanks," Austin said as he pocketed the card. "I might just do that."

"Do," Angel whispered as they parted company. The dark vampire resumed his path towards his car with a bit more spring in his step and the threat of a smile around the corners of his mouth. Maybe this trip hadn't been all bad. Yeah, he'd had to put up with Buffy, Xander, Spike, a horny Doyle and a very snarky Giles, but he'd met Austin and Angel thought that there was a better than even chance he'd be seeing a lot more of that nice young man. Yeah, a whole lot more.

...

"Willow!" Buffy called out as she saw the redhead and Doyle making their way back to the Magic Box. "Have you seen Giles or the others?"

"Not yet," Willow called out. "But they should be coming back here, right?" She'd run into Doyle not long after beginning to flee the throng of possessed people and the Irishman had kept her out of trouble as they made their retreat.

"I hope so," Doyle muttered. "How're we gonna get back into the shop if they don't?"

"It's open," Angel murmured, stepping out of the shadows. Willow and Doyle jumped at his unexpected appearance.

"You're ok!" Willow said happily. "Great! Uh... the shop's open?"

Angel nodded. "Spike and Xander were here earlier; they let Austin and the accountant go. I think Giles left the shop open, though. The lock's not busted. Or Xander could've done that shifting thing," He added. "I'm not sure."

"Austin's gone?" Buffy said worriedly. "Where?"

"I think he was going home," Angel replied. "I saw him on campus. He's back to normal."

Buffy smiled, relieved. "And the demon? What happened there? I mean, the people just...stopped."

"Xander and Spike, probably," Angel said. "They were in the back of the pack and might have found some way to stop it."

They turned as a group, attention caught by the sounds of arguing. Cordelia, Gunn, Wesley and Giles were shouting at each other, colorful invectives flying back and forth.

"I am not a nancy-boy!" Gunn growled at Giles, who was smirking.

"You climbed a tree and screamed for your mother," Giles stated snidely.

"So? Wesley's the one who wet his pants," Cordelia remarked, pointing at the ex-Watcher's soiled trousers.

"But he's a nancy-boy as well," Giles said patiently. "And he doesn't bother to deny it."

Wesley looked ready to say something to the contrary, but one look from Giles had him staring at the ground. Giles patted him on the head and turned back to Cordelia.

"See?" He spat. "And by the way, insulting a demonically possessed human's taste in hats is a rather...pathetic and useless way of defending oneself."

"Giles?" Buffy interrupted. "I think the demon's gone."

"Of course the demon is gone," Giles replied acidly. "The possessed humans are back to normal, all of them. I would venture to guess that if we check the shop, Xander's unsavory neighbor and Austin are back to their usual moronic selves as well."

"They are," Angel said. "Spike and Xander let them go. Austin's at home."

"I assume, then, that they went home to..." Giles muttered, waving his hand in the direction of Xander's apartment.

"So we can go home now?" Cordelia asked hopefully, smiling at Angel. "Like, right now?" Gunn nodded enthusiastically. He, too, wanted away from Sunnydale. Things were much...quieter in Los Angeles, even with Wolfram & Hart around.

"Sure," Angel replied. He had no reason to stay; Austin would call if he wanted, and the sooner Angel got away from Buffy, Xander and Spike, the better. The only problem he saw was in getting Wesley and Doyle to return with him. The half-demon was attached to Willow's side, and Wesley was still on Giles' leash. If Wesley wanted to continue being Giles' toy, that was fine by Angel. But Doyle? He was the vampire's connection to The Powers and had to go back to Los Angeles.

Giles and Willow glared at Angel. How dare he presume to take their newfound...friends from them?

"Maybe we should talk about this," Willow said carefully but firmly. She was *not* letting Doyle go.

...

Spike let Xander drive them home, trying his damnedest not to crawl into Xander's lap and fuck them both stupid at the next stoplight. He was still on a high from the fighting, nerves tight and anxious and wanting to *do* something, specifically Xander. He wanted to spread his lovely mate wide open and pound into him until neither of them could think. Spike was so immersed in his fantasy of Xander, naked and begging, that he missed it when Xander pulled the car into their parking lot.

"Spike," Xander shouted, trying to get his lover's attention. Spike was staring out the windshield, eyes glazed over. "Hey, Blondie! We're home!"

Spike shook himself. They were home? "Ah." Now he just had to get Xander upstairs. That seemed to be a bit beyond his capabilities at the moment. All his body wanted was Xander, and his mind was wont to agree.

Xander frowned. Something was wrong with Spike. He reached over, shaking the vampire slightly. Spike looked over, seemingly surprised to see Xander next to him. "Er, Spike? Can we go inside?"

"I want you," Spike said softly.

"Ok," Xander replied. "Big, comfy apartment upstairs."

"Now," Spike continued.

"Er," Xander began. Spike grabbed him, hauling the boy over the center console and into Spike's lap. Xander was going to ask Spike if maybe he didn't want to do this somewhere a bit less cramped, but Spike cut him off with a hard kiss. Xander melted against the vampire, letting Spike hold him up as their tongues dueled and danced.

Spike grabbed two fistfuls of Xander's jacket and pulled back, stripping the garment off his lovely boy. Once the coat was in the back seat, Spike ripped off Xander's shirt, shredding the thin fabric with sharp claws. "Spike," Xander hissed as one claw raked across his skin, leaving a hot, tingling trail. The vampire's eyes flashed as the scent of blood filled the car. He shoved Xander around until the boy's back was to him and he could see what damage he'd caused. It wasn't much, just a single thread of bluish blood welling up along Xander's spine. Still, Spike laved the wound, hiding his distress at hurting his lovely boy behind a veil of lust.

Xander let Spike clean him up, wishing they were anywhere but in his car. His head was smashed against the windshield and the dashboard, and one knee was now permanently embedded in the center console. If only Spike had waited until they were upstairs, or at least *out* of the car... < Why don't you just take yourself and the vampire somewhere else? > One of his mind voices asked patiently. < You can do that, you know. > Xander cursed silently. Why hadn't he thought of that? < You did. >

< Now is *not* the time to develop smart-ass tendencies, > Xander told his mind voices. < Sit back, enjoy the ride and shut up! And thanks for the tip. > The voices in his head calmed down and Xander pushed and pulled until he was back face to face with Spike. "Hold on," He told the gamefaced vampire as he wrapped his arms around Spike's torso.

"Xan--" Spike's growl was cut off as he and Xander shimmered and disappeared, leaving a pile of clothes behind in the abandoned car. They reappeared just above their bed, immediately falling into a messy pile of blankets and sheets. Spike recovered quickly, flipping them over to press Xander into the silk beneath him.

Xander gave up what little control he had and let Spike have his way. The vampire pushed his legs between Xander's and reached for a mostly empty bottle of massage oil on the table nearest him. The brunette felt cool slickness brush his hole just before Spike began pushing in. Xander groaned under the relentless assault of pain/pleasure as the vampire thrust inside his unprepared body.

Spike watched Xander, yellow eyes unblinking. He needed this, to be grounded and centered within his boy's body, brought back to life by tight heat; slick, vibrant sweat and wild blood that pounded in Xander's veins. The vampire leaned down, tracing the shell of one lovely ear with his tongue. Xander quivered and moaned, body still struggling to adjust to Spike's presence. Pleasure slowly superceded pain, flooding the young man with something strongly akin to ecstasy.

Xander forced himself to relax, which took more concentration than Spike was allowing. The blonde nipped and licked, making him squirm. "Xander," Spike groaned, dragging his fangs along the young man's neck. He wanted *in*, to take Xander into himself and steep himself in the boy's perfect being.

"Yeah," Xander said, distracted by his own prostate's happy response to Spike's cock. If Spike wanted to make this better, he was welcome to.

Spike purred as his fangs parted willing flesh. The heavenly, not-human taste of Xander's blood rushed over his tongue, filling him with his boy, his sweet-perfect mate. The stresses and anger of the day were burned away as Xander washed him clean, leaving nothing but spicy lust and rich, intoxicating love behind.

Xander felt the wet pull of Spike's lips on his neck, sharpening the feel of the blonde's cock inside him. All of a sudden Xander's senses were even more acute; his skin was like sandpaper against Spike's, his own sweat overpowering. When Spike reached between them to cup Xander's swollen testicles, it proved to be more than the young man could take.

Spike could taste Xander's orgasm in his blood, a tide of sweet-bitter pheromones. And still he kept moving within Xander, pushing himself deeper inside, wanting to be where Xander already was--within. Xander was inside Spike, right next to his heart, wrapping those lovely limbs around his unbeating center. That was where Spike wanted to be, as close to Xander, where he could never be banished. No matter where his boy was or what he did, Spike would be there.

Xander felt Spike tighten his already firm grip on his body, those ivory fangs pushing deeper, cock burying itself inside his unresisting body. "Spike," Xander whispered, holding on to the blonde's straining body.

Spike pulled his fangs from Xander's neck and looked up at the boy. Xander smiled and reached for Spike's face, drawing their lips together. Blood smeared between them, staining their lips blue as Xander took Spike in, welcoming him. Spike cried a high, keening wail that was muffled by Xander's mouth, pouring himself into his lover. Xander steadied the convulsing vampire, taking all Spike could give him.

*****
Part 24:

"You're going where?" Buffy asked Austin. The young man was carefully placing the last of his clothing into a suitcase. His half of the dorm room was bare--posters taken down, belongings packed, furniture dusted. It was clear that the boy was leaving.

Austin sighed. "I'm transferring, Buffy." He'd told her five times now, but she mustn't have understood. He was going to Los Angeles.

"What about football? And us? Are you coming back up here at all?" She inquired, tapping her foot. This was not happening. Her boyfriend was not moving away.

"I don't know about football," Austin admitted. The more he thought about it, the less he wanted to keep playing sports to pay his way through college. It seemed like a cheat to him.

"But you're not coming back here," Buffy continued for him. She could see it in his face. Yet another man was leaving her. "Is this because of the demon?" Buffy asked, hurt. Had her duty once again driven someone away?

"No," Austin murmured. "Well, it might have been the catalyst, but it wasn't the demon, Buffy." He sat down on the bed, bringing his face level to hers. "I'm not happy here, Buffy. I never was. Being with you is wonderful. I actually feel like I'm doing something worthwhile--and that's what's bothering me. After the demon... I mean, what am I doing here, Buffy? I play football. Everyone thinks I'm an idiot. You think I'm an idiot."

Buffy's eyes widened. "I do not! And you do good things here, Austin. You help me slay."

Austin shook his head. "I get in the way, and your friends laugh at me. I like you a lot, Buffy, but..."

"We're not going to work out, are we?" Buffy muttered. "Like I haven't heard that one before."

Austin stood back up. He hated it when people tried to manipulate him with emotions. "Buffy, you know we aren't. No, I'm not coming back to Sunnydale once I leave. I was never planning on staying after college either."

"Where are you going to live?" Buffy asked. "I mean, you're basically quitting in the middle of the term."

"My professors are letting me e-mail them my assignments," Austin replied. "And Angel offered to let me stay with him until I find a place. He's got lots of room."

Angel? This time it was Buffy who sank to the mattress. Her now-ex-boyfriend--she was rather certain she'd gotten dumped about a minute ago--was shacking up with her older ex-boyfriend? When had her life gotten so... ucky? "So Angel's putting you up?" She murmured. "That's weird. He doesn't like people."

Austin shrugged. "We got along alright. He's very nice, easy to talk to."

Buffy quirked one eyebrow. Easy to talk to? Since when was Angel easy to talk to? "Ah, when did you talk to him?"

"Here and there," Austin said vaguely. "We have a lot in common."

Buffy was beginning to wonder if she'd fallen into some parallel dimension. First, Willow got gay with Tara. Hello, gay now! That was, of course, after Willow got all indignant when Oz cheated on her...

Then she screwed things up with Xander, in both literal and figurative ways, and he in turn got gay with Spike. Very gay, very often, with great, gay exuberance. They were enjoying their gayness to its fullest extent. Xander and Spike were so obviously in gay heaven that Buffy almost wanted to be a gay man, just so she could get in on the action. Almost, that is. Getting gay with Spike just wasn't her thing. Oh, and she couldn't forget that Spike was chipless. Chipless but not bad, even though he was ever and always the Big Bad, just ask him...

Then Willow went off the deep end. That involved making Xander a demon--a cool demon, with neato tricks, but a non-human nevertheless. Next Willow got straight with Doyle, very straight and suddenly no longer gay. Hello, not gay now! Now the witch was in Los Angeles with the Irishman, leaving Buffy alone in Sunnydale, not gay but lonely and only with Austin, who she'd thought was very not gay, but considering the whole 'shacking up with Angel' thing...

Tara ran off with Oz when Willow went off the deep end and got straight with Doyle. They'd found out about Oz and the now-straight Tara in her phone call last night. Nothing had been said, but pretty much everyone was sure that Tara was being straight with Oz, which didn't bother Willow as much as they'd thought it would...

And Giles! First he got snarky and all Ripper-like. Then he got gay with Wesley, sort of a seedy, dominant gay to Wesley's whimpering, submissive gay, and now the two gay Watchers were moving in together in Giles' gay place. Angel and Giles had worked out some sort of straight-for-gay swap--Willow for Wesley--, which made pretty much everyone --straight and gay-- happy, kept all involved parties --straight and gay-- in close contact with their bedmates, and prevented any now-straight Willow-hissy-fits...

And now this. The maybe-gay, maybe-straight Austin was moving in with Angel, who she thought was straight, but considering what the now-gay Giles had said to her, in a fit about how she wasn't accepting the gay Spike and gay Xander, that vampires were neither straight nor gay, but would fuck anything at all. It would be just her luck that they'd do the gay thing too, which would be weird and ucky, but not apocalypse-bad so long as Angel didn't do the soul-losing thing, but still very bad and icky and why was it that all the men in her life were gay? Was she driving them to gayness? Was it something she said?

"Er..." Austin began uncomfortably. Buffy glanced up. Had she said that out loud?

"Did I say that?" She asked him.

"The 'whole gay now, straight now' rundown of your friends' sex lives, or the 'weird and ucky Angel and Austin' part?" Austin asked patiently.

"Either. Both," Buffy replied.

"Both," Austin answered. He was hoping she didn't really want to know about whatever might or might not happen between him and Angel.

Buffy peered at Austin. "Why are you so jumpy all of a sudden? Is it the Angel thing? 'Cause you have to know I was just kidding, right?" She said to him.

"Yeah, kidding," Austin mumbled. "Right. Well, I need to get going," He said, shouldering the last of his luggage. "I'm supposed to meet Angel at sundown."

Buffy followed Austin out the door to his car. She couldn't believe that he was leaving, going to Los Angeles of all places, with Angel of all people... It was far beyond her comprehension. "So..."

"I'll call," Austin promised as he got into his car. "Buffy..."

The Slayer smiled sadly and waved him off. She'd been working hard on learning to be mature, to be the adult she was rather lucky to be. Now was a good time to put to use all she'd learned. Austin was leaving, probably to be with Angel. Yeah, he'd brushed off her comments, but she'd also seen the discomfort, the fleeing embarrassment. "Call," She said as she walked away, ordering her burgeoning tears to remain unfallen. One thing she'd learned, starting with Angel, was that Slayers didn't cry over boys.

...

"I miss her already," Xander murmured. Willow was gone, off to Los Angeles. Xander was still staggering around, dizzy from being buffeted in the psychedelic storm that had swept through Sunnydale so recently. Between his unfortunate transformation, Willow's breakdown, the demon's appearance and Angel's groups' catastrophic appearance, he was utterly lost. Well, almost utterly lost. Spike was still there, anchoring him to the ground.

Spike snorted. He didn't miss the witch at all. Given a few years, he'd start remembering the better times with Willow with more fondness and the bad times with a bit less bitterness, but for now he was damned grateful the mick had insisted on having her with Peaches in L.A.. The blonde saw the entire situation as win-win, both for himself and for the people involved. They got what they wanted, and Ripper stayed happy and well-fucked. They kept someone with magickal and research abilities in Wesley, and Angel got a happy vision-boy, a good researcher in Willow, and got rid of the milquetoast wart on his ass to boot. It was far easier for Spike to ignore Wesley than for Angel. The dark vampire always searched for common ground with his colleagues--at least, the souled version did. While there was no real dislike between Wesley and Angel, Spike could tell that the two men had nothing whatsoever in common, other than an intense desire to get laid. Spike on the other hand could pretend that Wesley didn't exist. If it wasn't fuckable--which was Xander-- or edible--which wasn't humans, for Xander's sake-- or killable --Spike had no doubts that Ripper would do many evil things should Spike hurt Wesley-- then Spike had no truck with it... so long as it didn't try to kill him. Wesley was just the cock and arsehole that belonged to Ripper, which was all Spike really needed to know anyway.

"Can we go see her?" Xander asked Spike. He knew the vampire wanted him to just get over it, but it wasn't that easy for Xander.

"Yes," Spike said, hoping that it was enough to satisfy the boy.

Xander grinned. "Tomorrow?"

"You have to work," Spike replied.

"You *want* me to go to work?" Xander said incredulously.

Spike growled and leaned over, closing the distance on the couch between himself and Xander. "No, I *want* you to push me down onto the floor and shag me unconscious. But if you're gonna yammer on about how much you miss the little witch and how sad you are that the gingerbread in your perfect little world's a bit stale and tastes like bleeding caraway from being stored in the cupboard next to the curry powder too long, I'm gonna start lying to shut you up."

Xander blinked. "Wow, that was... where did you learn to babble like that?"

Spike grinned. "I've been practicing."

"Really?" Xander said. "I never heard you..."

"You were at work. Missed it," Spike replied.

"So... are you and Angel cool now?" Xander inquired, abruptly changing the subject. "I mean, he didn't mention the Christmas presents, and you didn't really torture him, and ever since we got back from Los Angeles you've been relatively... mature."

Spike shrugged. "Never gave me a reason to do anything," He murmured. "Kept his paws off you, didn't he?"

"Well, yeah," Xander said slowly. The thought of being touched by Angel gave him the willies. Major uck. "Besides... is it just me or were Angel and Austin..."

"That they were," Spike agreed.

"That is so wrong," Xander swore.

"Why? Because they both shagged Slutty?" Spike asked his lover.

"Nah," Xander said, shaking his head. "They look like brothers. Incest taboos, you know."

"Are we ever gonna shag?" Spike whined, slumping down to lay his head in Xander's lap.

"Is sex all you think about?" Xander inquired.

"Yes."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Xander murmured, carding his fingers through Spike's blonde hair.

Spike caught those fingers with one hand, bringing them around to suck on the tips. "Dunno, luv. 'S not like you're any better."

"I'm barely out of my teens," Xander countered. "I'm supposed to be sex obsessed--and will be for a long time."

"Got turned young," Spike argued. "An' vamps are horny by nature."

Xander tried to ignore how Spike was nipping his fingertips, laving at the wounds, and generally being an evil vampire lover. "But I want to have a serious discussion, Spike. Willow's gone, Wesley's here and Buffy's boyfriend got possessed by a demon."

Spike pulled Xander's fingers out of his mouth with a loud 'pop.' "She's happy with Doyle, Wesley keeps Ripper occupied, and Tex is back to his usual stupid self," The vampire said testily. "Can we shag now?"

"What do we say?" Xander teased Spike, even as he shifted over to lie underneath the vampire's body.

"Now?" Spike tried, hands now busy insinuating themselves underneath Xander's clothes.

"Works for me," Xander agreed. Something truly evil, yet completely perfect, occurred to Xander. There was a trick he'd been wanting to try, and now was just the time. He wrapped his legs around Spike's and suddenly shifted them out of the apartment.

Spike held on for dear life, hating that Xander hadn't warned him ahead of time. When they re-entered their own dimension, he wasn't sure where they were. It was night, and a soft breeze and the presence of stars told him they were outside. "Xander?" Spike hissed. "Where the hell are we?"

Xander slowly lowered them the last few feet. He stopped when warm, rippling water stroke his back. "Bermuda," He replied, grinning.

Spike looked around. He didn't see land anywhere. "As in the country or the triangle?" He asked his lover. Xander's laughter told him everything he needed to know.

"Shag now, remember?" Xander reminded the now-distracted vampire.

Spike pushed on one of Xander's shoulders, dunking both of them in the salty water. Xander retaliated by swimming underneath Spike and pulling him down under the surface. Spike, however, just grabbed him back and held on tight--until Xander shifted through him and returned the favor. Spike was about to turn around when Xander went back through him... and drifted lower.

Inhumanly yellow eyes glowed in the warm, night ocean as Xander's mouth found aching flesh. The blonde swore he could see individual water molecules dancing before his eyes. Spike's lips fell open in a drowned scream, arms cast up to the heavens even as he was pulled down, deep inside his boy. Water swirled around him, Xander swirled around him. The Bhavca demon shifted in and out of phase, touching and then not touching, as Xander managed to remain submerged for many long minutes, using his abilities to draw in air from other dimensions.

Xander finally just swallowed Spike all the way down, humming continuously. Spike thrashed momentarily and Xander swore he heard a high-pitched wail carry through the ocean. Then the cock in his mouth twitched, jerked and exploded, filling him with his lover. Xander nursed Spike briefly, drawing out the last of the vampire's pleasure.

Spike, dazed and boneless, let Xander pull him back to the surface. The vampire floated there on his back, vampiric eyes staring at the moon. Xander lay next to him, hand brushing his lover's, still achingly hard but willing to wait until Spike recovered.

"That was..." Spike began, voice shaky. He paused to cough up some seawater. "Different." He thought for another moment. "Energetic."

Xander grinned evilly. "Change often is."

"That it is," Spike agreed, reaching for his lover. Then there were no more words, as once again they descended underneath the waves. This time it was Spike who heard the moaning, and Xander who saw the universe slow down to a halt, waiting patiently for the lovers to come together, part, and meet again.

It was far too soon for either man's taste when Xander forced himself to take them back to Sunnydale; the sun was rising, it's orange greatness chasing them away.

"Need showers, Spike," Xander murmured as they collapsed on the living room floor. "Sticky. Salty. Ugh."

Spike rubbed his nose against Xander's neck. "Smell fine," He countered. "Sleep."

"What, no shag?" Xander asked, amused. He wasn't sure if either of them could move enough to do anything--get to the bed, fuck, or take a shower.

"Sleep now. Shag later," Spike insisted. The blonde somehow pulled Xander and himself up on the couch, in a position just opposite to how they'd started out earlier that evening. Xander curled up on Spike's chest, tucking his face into the vampire's shoulder.

"'Kay," Xander mumbled, amenable to the order of things.

"Shag in the shower. In the bed, in the kitchen," Spike rambled sleepily. "Later."

"After sleep," Xander agreed, already nearly unconscious.

"Sleep," Spike whispered as he drifted away, dreams of lovely dark boys dancing in his head.

-The End-