.........

Spike watched as Xander mingled with the other guests, weaving in between statuary and live oak trees. The looked at home here, in dark, almost eerie gardens filled with sculpture of all kinds. While he was quite sure Xander was enjoying himself, he wanted to play.

He waited until Xander was off to one side, studying a statue of an antelope of some sort. Then he struck. Before Xander had a chance to protest, Spike had them through a doorway and into a small, walled off garden. No one else was in it, because the lights were off. The only illumination was spillover from the party and the pale glow of the moon.

"Spike!" Xander hissed. "What the hell are you doing?"

Spike grinned wolfishly. "Great party, pet."

"Yeah, I think so to. In fact, I'll just be getting right back to it, ok?"

"In a minute, hmm?" Spike busied himself removing Xander's clothing-not an easy job when the wearer of said clothing was trying to stop him.

"Not here, Spike! They'll find us and throw us out, and I like it here!" Xander whined.

"They won't catch us if you be quiet, will they?" Spike answered. Once Xander was mostly naked, he stripped off his own clothing. The air was warm and humid, making their unclothed state more comfortable than the other way around.

Spike slowly kissed Xander, shutting off the boy's whispered protests. After a minute, Xander relaxed and returned the kiss. Xander ran his hands up Spike's arms to grasp his neck, pressing on the sensitive vein he found there.

That elicited a low hiss from Spike as he broke off the kiss to suckle at the same spot on Xander's throat. Once a dark bruise had been raised there, Spike moved down to gently bite each of Xander's nipples, before dipping his tongue a few times into his navel, grinning at the choked off moan that caused. When Xander's knees began to wobble, Spike stood back up and pushed Xander toward the sculpture behind him. The shock of cold bronze on his naked skin made Xander jump.

"Gah! Spike." Xander began. Spike turned Xander around and pushed him forward, until he was straddling the sculpture. Xander absently thought that they probably made quite the pornographic picture standing like they were with a statue between their thighs.

Spike snapped open the lube he'd managed to carry with him from Charleston. Xander jerked when he smoothed the slick stuff against his hole. "Relax, Xander," Spike hissed into his ear.

Xander tried to relax, although it was a bit difficult when he knew there were a few hundred people just over the wall. Spike slipped one finger inside him, crooking it until he jabbed Xander's prostate. After a few pushes here and there, Xander was propped forward on the statue, pushing back against Spike's hand. The vampire only had to remind Xander once to remain quiet; after that the boy managed to muffle his groans.

Still, it was difficult for him to remain silent when Spike pushed into him, thrusting him forward. His cock slid over the still-cold bronze, an odd sensation in combination with being stretched and filled. Xander pushed back, taking more of Spike inside himself. The vampire grasped Xander's hips and began to thrust hard, making his lover ride the bronze statue just as he was riding the boy.

Xander bit his tongue as each thrust grated his erection on the textured bronze. At the same time, Spike prodded his prostate and thrust savagely, creating twin sensations that were quickly driving him mad. He couldn't do anything about it, though, because he needed both hands to keep himself somewhat upright. It wasn't uncommon for Spike to get him into odd situations, but this was a bit more than he'd ever expected.

Spike arched back, staring up at the night sky as he continued to plunge into the hot body under him. The combination of Xander's tight heat, the unearthly darkness of the garden, and the bright moonlight was intoxicating. It felt like he and Xander were the only people on earth, surrounded by an unreal world of fantasy. The statues glinted dimly in the moonlight, looking like real, if frightening, creatures instead of stationary artwork.

A soft cry from Xander caught his attention once again and Spike moved faster, knowing that the boy was close. And, in fact, just as soon as he started thrusting harder, Xander began to come, his body convulsing against Spike's. The vampire held on tightly, keeping him from sliding around too much and losing his balance. The cruelly tight grasp of Xander's body called to him, however, and within seconds he followed, clamping his mouth down on Xander's shoulder to keep from howling into the night air.

Xander tried to respond verbally when Spike pulled him off the statue and set him down on a nearby bench. The vampire cleaned off the statue with some convenient leaves from a nearby shrubbery. After he'd done that, Spike cleaned up the boy in a similar fashion, and then dressed them both. By the time he'd finished all of that, Xander was pretty much back to his normal self.

"I'm going to kill you for that, Spike," Xander said as they re entered the party. No one seemed to notice where they'd walked in from, so Xander relaxed a little.

"Why?" Spike asked innocently.

"This is a world-renowned art collection, and you just fucked me against one of the sculptures!" Xander hissed into Spike's ear.

Spike grinned. So he had, and hadn't it been fun? "And why is that a bad thing?"

Xander shook his head. "You, Spike, are evil."

"I believe that's been well-established, pet," Spike said, taking two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter.

Xander took one glass and sipped it. "I can't take you anywhere, can I?"

That comment elicited a truly evil look. "Actually, you can take me anywhere you like. You just never take me up on the offer, luv."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Like I'd ever pull that kind of stunt."

"You know, you can be quite the nag when you want to," Spike commented.

Xander looked hurt. "Sorry."

Spike looked back, a soft smile on his face. "Come on, I'm sure Lavinia's around here somewhere."

Xander perked up and followed the vampire through the crowd, trusting his superior senses to find the elderly lady amidst a bunch of old people.

"Daisy!"

Yup, he'd found her. Spike smiled at the matron. "Hello, luv. How's the party?"

Lavinia smiled knowingly. "Not dull, not dull at all. You?"

Xander stepped up next to Spike. "Fascinating, and so many sculptures. I'm glad you told me to drag him up here, Lavinia."

Lavinia nodded her head. "I knew he'd find something here that would catch his interest. And, if you really find something you're.taken with, you can commission a reproduction for your own garden."

Xander blushed, knowing that there was no way Lavinia knew what they'd been doing, but still embarrassed by it. Spike, however, had no such reaction.

"Really? I found this one boar particularly fetching," Spike said, gesturing toward the darkened garden.

A pig? Spike had fucked him against a pig? Xander scowled at the thought. Why couldn't it have been anything else?

"Indeed. You should have one made, Spike. I'm sure Xander can find just the place for it," Lavinia remarked.

"Yeah, like his bedroom," Xander said sharply.

"Oh, that's a grand idea," Spike answered, ignoring the tone of Xander's voice. "I'd love coming upon that lovely thing every morning."

Xander rolled his eyes even as Lavinia giggled. "You two! I can't take you anywhere!"

That comment only got more choked laughter from Spike and a stare from Xander. How did she do that?

Several hours later, Spike poured an exhausted Xander into the car and began to drive them home. The boy had held out well, but after a full day's work, he'd just run out of gas.

Once he'd gotten Xander tucked safely in bed, Spike stripped off his clothes and joined him. As he lay there falling asleep, Spike wondered how he'd get that pig statue up into the room. It would definitely be worth the look on Xander's face. The boy would just die.

.........

"Hey, Spike?"

Spike looked up from his computer. "Hmm?"

Xander slung one leg over his office chair. "Do you ever think about Sunnydale?"

"What?" Spike asked, leaning forward on the desk. "Sunnydale? As little as I can get away with. Why?"

"Well, I mean, it's been almost three years since I left and.I wonder about them, you know? Willow, Tara, Dawn, Buffy."

"Anya?" Spike asked quietly.

Xander shook his head. "Only in that, 'oh, look, big mistake there' way."

"I see. Hmm, I don't think about them. Sorry," Spike replied, turning back to his computer.

Xander sighed and returned to his own work. Landscaping had turned into a full-time venture for him and he spent hours each week keeping up with payroll, inventory, taxes and insurance. Spike had shown him the ropes in most areas, but now that Xander had figured out the basics, the vampire left him to learn the finer points on his own.

"Do you think they're doing ok?" Xander asked a few minutes later.

Spike sighed. He'd been wondering when this day would come, ever since he'd first met up with Xander. The boy had held out a lot longer than he thought he would, though. He opened a desk drawer and drew out a small black book. Picking up one of the cordless phones scattered around the office, he placed both in front of Xander. "Just call them, alright?"

Xander looked down at the book. Spike had kept their phone numbers? Curious, he picked up the book and began to flip through it. As it turned out, it contained only California phone numbers, most of them in Los Angeles. Oddly enough, Buffy's phone number wasn't listed. Dawn's separate line was there, however. Xander didn't know who to call. After all, they'd obviously moved, since they weren't in Sunnydale anymore.

"I looked them up, pet," Spike murmured.

Xander looked at the vampire. "Why?"

Spike looked up but said nothing. He'd started keeping up with them once he'd taken up with Xander. He knew that if something happened to the boy, they should know about it.

Once he realized that Spike wasn't going to say anything, Xander picked up the phone and dialed Willow's number. He got up and wandered out of the room, as was his habit when talking on the phone. He just couldn't keep still, for some reason, when he was conversing over a telephone.

"Hello?"

Xander jumped when he heard Willow's voice. "Willow?"

There was a brief pause. "Xander?" He heard muffled shoving and whispering. "Xander? Where are you? Are you in trouble? Where have you been?" Willow asked rapid-fire.

Xander grinned. "I'm at home, I'm not in trouble, and I've been here for a while."

He heard a thump as Willow banged the phone against something soft. "That's not funny, Xander. You've been gone for three years, without a word, nothing! We thought you were dead!"

That made Xander feel guilty. "Not dead, Willow, just resting."

"Hah hah. I mean it, Xander. You've got some explaining to do."

"Um.I had to leave, Willow. Anya and I weren't anything, Buffy didn't need me around, and I was dying in Sunnydale," Xander said.

There was another brief pause. "So you just ran out on us?"

"No, I took a road trip, only this time I didn't break down in Oxnard," Xander replied.

"So where are you? My caller ID says you're blocking it," Willow asked. Xander could tell she was still pretty pissed.

"Does it matter?" Xander replied.

"Yes, because if you're close enough, I can come over and beat you about the head and ears for running away!" Willow shouted into the phone. Xander heard someone whispering in the background. He thought it might have been Tara. She hadn't been listed in the book.

"Who's that?" Xander asked. "Tara?"

"Nn-o," Willow replied. "That's Cordelia."

"Cordelia?" Xander squeaked. "Ok.I missed some things, sure, but Cordelia?"

"Hey, you walk out, you fall out of the circle, you don't hear the news, babe. Live with it," Willow said shortly.

"And you'd better stop making Willow sad, mister, or I'm going to find you and kick your ass," Cordelia hissed. Xander held the phone away from his ear for a second.

"Cordy? Um, hi. How's it going?" Xander asked cautiously.

"Fine, until you called. You really upset a lot of people when you left," She said.

Xander was getting tired of hearing that. "I wasn't the only one who left that year, you know."

Silence greeted him. Finally, Cordelia spoke. "No, you're not. Tara died."

"Oh, Willow. I'm sorry." Xander said slowly.

"He didn't know about that, did he?" Willow said over the phone, but clearly talking to Cordelia.

"I didn't think so. Did you, Xander?" Cordelia asked.

"Um, no. I meant Spike," He replied.

"Oh, yeah, Spike did go away. What of it?" Willow said back.

"Nothing, obviously," Xander said softly.

"Besides, unlike you, we can get an update on Spike through Angel. He keeps up with where his kids are," Cordelia said. "And the bleached one is off making himself cozy somewhere else."

"Angel told you where Spike was?" Xander said incredulously.

"Um, no, since Buffy would have wanted to track him down. For some reason, she thinks he's dead, and Angel figures it's safer for everyone involved if she keeps thinking that," Cordelia replied.

"Ah." So Angel knew where Spike was. That probably meant that Angel knew that Xander was with him.and the vampire had said nothing to his friends. He probably knew how much his disappearance bothered them, but he said nothing. He'd never liked Angel anyway.

Willow rejoined the conversation. "Will you let us come see you?"

Xander thought about it. That seemed like a very, very bad idea. "Um.maybe I can come see you?"

"We'd like that, Xander. I'm sorry I got so mad at you, but."

"I do understand, Wills. If you'd disappeared, I'd have been the same way. My capacity for idiocy knows no bounds, you know," Xander said.

"When can you come?" Willow asked hopefully.

Xander sighed. He should probably consult with Spike. The vampire was not going to like this at all. "I don't know. I've actually got a good job that I don't want to lose," He said, evading the subject of him being an actual business owner. "But I'll find the time soon, ok?"

"Alright. Anytime, though. Can I tell the others that you're ok?" Willow said, disappointment evident in her voice.

"Sure, and I'll visit very soon, ok?" Xander said before hanging up. How was he going to break this to Spike?

He walked back into the office, where Spike was still bent over his computer. Xander was about to say something when Spike interrupted him. "We can leave next week."

How had he known? Oh yeah, Xander had been out in the hall for most of the conversation. Spike would have been able to easily eavesdrop. "Is that ok?"

Spike sighed. "Not really, but there's not much I can do about it now."

"You don't have to go, you know," Xander said, lounging against the doorframe.

Spike got up and stalked over to him, pressing Xander up against the wall. "The hell I don't. Do you really think I'm going to let you go over there by yourself, when Broodboy knows you're with me? He won't let you go, you know. He'll tie you up and try to make you 'listen to reason.' Hells, the only reason he's not here now trying to drag you away is that Buffy is keeping his bed and his cock nice and warm."

"Oh. And he's not.umm, bad?" Xander squeaked.

Spike pressed harder, thrusting his thigh against Xander. "Willow's a resourceful little witch, and she figured she owed him one when he let Cordelia go so that Red could have her. Angel likes keeping a pretty girl around, but Buffy'll win out over the cheerleader any time. Now they're all happy in Lala land." The vampire scraped his fangs down Xander's neck, making him shiver. He never actually bit the boy, since Xander was a bit scared of it, but he didn't seem to mind the threat of those sharp teeth. "And you and me are going to show up and make a right mess of things, aren't we?"

"Um, yup. It certainly looks that way," Xander choked out.

Spike abruptly backed away, letting Xander sink to the floor. "And we can see Dawn. From what I've heard, she's turned into a regular little hellraiser!"

"Spike." Xander moaned.

The vampire turned around. "Yes?"

"Get back over here. Now," Xander ordered.

Spike decided to humor him. Walking back over to Xander, he knelt by the panting boy. "Yes?"

Xander glared at him. "Do you want to get laid at any point in the next six months or so?" The look on Spike's face told him the vampire definitely understood. Spike reached over and helped Xander stand up.

"Bedroom?" Spike asked, pulling at Xander's shirt.

"The study's closer," Xander said, heading that way. There was an absolutely divine settee in the study, one that made sex very acrobatic, and Xander was in the mood to drape Spike over something and fuck him into the next county.

Spike shivered as he followed Xander down the hall. The study was Xander's favorite place to fuck him; for some reason he reserved the bedroom for Spike topping him. He said he felt a bit weird taking control there, since it was, to him, Spike's domain. The study, though, was a place that Xander loved to play in. The vampire didn't care what happened where, but if it made Xander happy, so be it.

When they got to the study, Xander wasted no time in taking charge. He stripped Spike down, his own clothes following. "Stay there," He ordered. Spike stood where Xander had left him, in front of the settee, while Xander started a fire in the fireplace.

Once the fire was crackling merrily, Xander returned to Spike. He pulled the blonde up for a long, slow kiss, tracing every one of the vampire's teeth with his tongue. Spike mewled and cried as he thrust against Xander; once the boy had learned how sensitive his teeth were he tortured him unmercifully. After a couple of minutes, Xander pulled away and pushed Spike onto the settee. Xander climbed on top of him and pressed Spike back, resuming the kiss.

Spike wrapped his arms around Xander, letting his fingers roam up and down the warm skin of the boy's back, counting his vertebrae. He knew where this was leading, and was quite sure that foreplay would be kept to a minimum. They were both more than ready.

Sure enough, Xander pulled away again and clambered over the low back of the settee. Spike felt Xander push him forward. "Come on, Spike," Xander whispered into his ear.

Spike pulled his legs up onto the settee and knelt up on them. Then he bent down and forward until he could grasp the middle leg of the settee under him. It was a precarious position; he couldn't shift around much or he'd fall forward onto his face. That was the point, though. The position left pretty much all of the control in Xander's hands, both literally and figuratively.

The vampire hissed when he felt the first cold touch of Xander's lubricated fingers circling his hole. For all his haste earlier, now that they were this close Xander took his time, stretching Spike slowly and carefully, prodding his prostate now and then. By the time he withdrew his hand, Spike was practically begging.

Xander closed his eyes, a smile on his face, as he pushed into Spike. He kept a firm grip on the vampire's hips, to keep him from falling forward. The only movement Spike could make was to rock backward. Xander's thrusts were powerful enough to send him almost over onto the floor, and only the human's hands kept him on the settee. Xander quickly set a brutal pace, slamming into Spike again and again.

Spike focused on the fire in front of him, knowing that despite the fierceness of Xander's thrusts that they weren't going to be finished any time soon. Sure enough, after a moment, Xander slowed down dramatically, almost stopping. One warm hand released his hip and curved under him, grasping his cock in a cruel grip. When a hot, wet tongue traced a path down his spine, Spike moaned uncontrollably.

Xander resumed thrusting into Spike, angling to stroke against his prostate. He moved oh so slowly, sucking on the skin of Spike's back in time to his movements. He could feel Spike shiver under him, arms quaking under the strain of bearing most of Spike's weight and a good deal of Xander's as well. Spike shifted a little, trying to get Xander to do something with his hand besides hold back his orgasm, but Xander ignored him.

The fire blurred as Spike's eyes went out of focus. Xander was, as usual, taking his sweet time. The lack of control, being at the mercy of his sometimes mischievous lover, was intoxicating to Spike, since he was usually the one to do the torturing. He never knew what Xander would do next, only that it would probably drive him insane and take forever to make him come.

Sure enough, several minutes of slow suffering later, Xander leaned back, pushing Spike forward a little. "Lean over," Xander ordered softly. Spike did so, putting one hand, then the other on the floor to brace himself. He had no idea what Xander was doing, but he couldn't stay in the position he had been in and move forward that far.

Xander grinned as he swung one leg over the settee. Once he had his balance, he brought the other leg over and sat down, draping his legs on either side of Spike. The vampire was bent in half, with his legs folded up under him. "Push back, Spike."

Spike obediently pushed back, using only his arms for leverage, since his legs were pinned by Xander's. Xander didn't help him any, other than to steady him with the one hand on his cock and the other on his hip. Soon Spike was pushing back as fast as he could, fucking himself on Xander's cock as the human laid back and let the vampire do all the work.

Xander's head fell back as Spike's cool, silken body encased and released his aching flesh. He was so tight, yet took him so easily. He could fuck Spike in more.interesting ways than Spike could do him, since the vampire was not only stronger but more resilient. Not that Spike didn't think up rather creative ways of making Xander scream. Oh, when Spike got an idea in his twisted mind, Xander could count on going insane before he was finished. The vampire just had to keep in mind that Xander was fragile, something that didn't worry Xander about Spike. The vampire could keep screwing himself on Xander like this for at least an hour, maybe more, and he would, since Xander wasn't going to let him come. At the awkward angle Spike was working from, the sensations were great but not enough to bring Xander off.

After nearly an hour, Spike was shaking uncontrollably, partly from the strain on his arms and partly because he would have come several times already had Xander not held him back. Xander saw how he was quaking and took pity on him. Moving his hand from Spike's hip to his chest, he pulled up on the vampire, urging him to sit up. Spike straightened himself and leaned back on Xander with a groan of relief. Xander loosened the hand pinching Spike's cock and began to thrust up into the vampire with increasing force.

Spike pulled his legs out from under Xander's, the new position allowing him the freedom to do so. He pushed off from the floor, rocking to meet Xander's thrusts. Soon the settee was groaning under the strain of their coupling as they raced toward oblivion.

Xander butted his head against Spike's back as he arched up and shot deep into the vampire, jerking uncontrollably. Spike slammed down, howling, as he spilled cold seed on his belly and Xander's hand. They collapsed, held upright by the settee and their legs, which somehow had managed to stay on the floor. After a minute, Xander leaned over, pulling both of them onto their sides. A conveniently placed pillow cushioned their heads as they lay down to rest in front of the fire.

It was several more minutes before either of them had the energy to speak. "So, are there Waffle Houses in L.A.?" Xander asked groggily.

"What?" Spike muttered. "I don't think so."

"Damn. What are we going to eat?" Xander whined.

"Shut up and go to sleep. We'll figure it out later," Spike said, nudging Xander with his elbow.

Xander patted Spike gently on the arm and complied, drifting off to images of Buffy's shocked expression when they arrived in Los Angeles.

.........

"Shouldn't I call or something?" Xander asked as he and Spike walked across the tarmac. Spike shook his head.

"Nope. Better this way. Besides, everybody love surprises, right?" The vampire said as they boarded the charter jet that would take them to Los Angeles. Spike didn't actually own a plane, since he didn't travel much, but Lavinia did, so she lent them hers. On the condition, of course, that they christen the bathroom during the flight. Spike dutifully promised to do so, while Xander tried to crawl under the couch in embarrassment.

Xander was nervous, and not just because he'd be getting on an airplane for the first time since his parents had bought him a ride at the state fair. Most of his anxiety was focused on his old friends. How would they react?

He wasn't going to fool himself; despite Willow's honest invitation, they were all probably pissed as hell that he'd walked out. He didn't blame them, but he was still a bit worried about their reactions. He didn't want Buffy staking Spike on sight, and he didn't put it past her. That was why they were going to see Willow first, then Angel.and maybe Buffy if they couldn't avoid it. He hoped to talk Willow into rounding up Dawn so that Spike could visit with her. The girl was the one that Spike missed from his old haunt.

"Stop worrying, pet. You're giving me a headache," Spike remarked. "Either they'll be good sports about it or they won't, but you biting your nails off all the way cross country won't change it."

"I know," Xander sighed. "But I can't help it."

Spike rolled his eyes and laid back, waiting for them to take off. The flight leaving just before dawn, so he was planning on sleeping through a good part of it, despite all the opportunities to shag Xander high in the sky. The boy was simply too nervous to be any good, or to enjoy it properly.

.........

Spike put a restraining hand on Xander's shoulder as they got into the taxi. The boy was practically vibrating, and the vampire was truly afraid he'd bounce right out of the car before they got anywhere. He wasn't sure where Xander got his energy; after a few hours of napping, Spike had fucked him for two hours straight. After that they'd gone at it off and on until the plane landed, and he was sure Xander hadn't eaten anything, and certainly no caffeine.

Xander started to give Willow's address to the taxi driver, but Spike stopped him and directed them to a hotel instead. Xander frowned but agreed, knowing that they should get cleaned up and whatnot before going to see the witch.

"Which one, Spike? The blue with grey stripes or the green with blue stripes?" Xander asked, holding up a pair of polo shirts. "And the khakis or the blue jeans?"

Spike stared at Xander. He'd never had the boy actually ask him for fashion advice. Most of the time, Xander dressed himself in whatever god-awful stuff he had laying around. The times when he needed to look good, Spike simply laid something out for him, no questions asked.

Shaking his head, Spike grabbed Xander's bag and began pulling out articles of clothing. "This, this, with this and these."

Xander looked down at the pile of clothes. "Let me see. Black slacks, black socks, ooh-black boxers, and wait-"

"Charcoal. The shirt is Charcoal," Spike finished.

"Ah, Charcoal. How silly of me to assume you'd go monochromatic," Xander quipped.

"Fine," Spike growled. He reached over for one of the four bags Xander had laughed at him for packing. "Wear this."

Xander took the velvet shirt with a tentative hand. He'd never seen it before. The color was odd, a sort of rich, dark red-orange. "This definitely doesn't match black, Spike."

"Yes, it will. Go put it on, Xander, and stop mincing around like a drag queen," Spike said, walking to the shower.

Xander glared at the vampire but obeyed. The clothes did in fact work well together, so Xander wasn't disappointed. He was just finishing combing his hair into place when Spike emerged. The vampire pulled on his usual attire. It was the same dark colors he was partial to, although the quality was a lot higher than his old stuff.

"Can we go?" Xander asked. Spike smirked and gestured for Xander to lead the way. The boy picked up a bag of things he'd brought for Willow, which included several photographic books of Charleston.

Unfortunately, Xander's temporary good mood wore off when they reached Willow's apartment building. Spike almost threw Xander over his shoulder to get him upstairs, because the boy was ready to run off. "They're not expecting us, Spike. What if they're."

"I'll hear it before we knock and we'll ask if we can join in," Spike replied.

Xander paused in front of the door. Spike rolled his eyes and knocked several times. "I can hear them in there; they're watching the telly."

A moment later, Xander heard the door lock click. A familiar face peeked through the chain. "Xander?" A second later the door flew open and Xander came face to face with a very surprised Cordelia. "What are you doing here?"

Willow ran up to the door, having heard Cordelia's exclamation. "Xander? You're here!"

Spike watched as the witch drug Xander inside the apartment, hugging him fiercely. "You didn't call! We didn't clean!"

"What is it with women and cleaning?" Xander joked. "I'm glad to see you, Wills. Um, could you invite him in?" Xander asked, pointing to Spike.

Willow frowned. "Spike? What's he doing here?"

"He's with me," Xander said.

"With you?" Willow echoed, confused.

Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "With you as in 'met at the airport and shared a taxi,' or 'got on the plane together and shared a hotel room'?"

Xander grinned nervously. "The second one."

Willow's jaw dropped. "Spike?"

Spike leaned against the doorframe, wondering if anyone would actually invite him in. Xander could, now that he was inside the apartment, but Spike knew that the boy would wait for one of the girls to do it, out of courtesy.

"Is he." Cordelia murmured. "Still chipped?"

*****