And Then He Kissed Me
Spike didn't get scared; he caused others to be scared. It was a fact of vampiric life. He could
count on one hand the number of times he'd actually felt fear: when Angelus had been cursed, when
Drusilla had been grievously injured in Prague, and when Angelus's curse had been broken.
Now, he had two more fingers to add to his count and he didn't know which of the two had terrified
him more: almost being sucked out to sea... or Xander's kiss.
Spike rested his cheek against Xander's back. He could barely hear the steady flub-dub of
Xander's heart -- or was that his own heart? -- beneath the thrum of the motorcycle's engine
as they cruised the streets of Sunnydale. Automatically, Spike leaned into the turns, the wind
changing pitch as it whipped around him. The vibration of the Hawk between his thighs was
familiar, almost soothing, which was what he desperately needed. He was thoroughly shaken by the
events at the beach and the ride to town would give him time to compose himself.
Xander had kissed him.
Xander had kissed him. Xander wasn't supposed to kiss him. It went against the natural order of
things. Xander was supposed to smack him, annoy him, shock him with electricity, and order him
about. Xander wasn't supposed to kiss him. And Spike sure as shit wasn't supposed to like it. Or
want it to happen again. Or want more than just a kiss.
The idea of being lost at sea wasn't looking too frightening anymore.
"We're here, dingbat," Xander announced. The rough timber of his voice rasped along Spike's
spine like a cat's tongue. And when did the boy start sounding like that?
Spike lifted his head and looked around. Sure enough, they were at the Sunnydale Pizzeria, the
Hawk was parked and the engine silent. Xander was balancing the bike, waiting for Spike to
climb off.
Spike set his body on autopilot, since his mind was apparently still back at the beach. And why
wouldn't it be? Xander. Had. Kissed. Him. The world had gone askew. Up was down, left was
right, badass vampires were whipped into brainless submission, because of a kiss.
"Spike, do you want anything extra?"
The pizzeria materialized around Spike, although he could still hear the ocean waves lapping the
beach. He was seated across from Xander in a red vinyl booth, a plastic red- and white-checked
tablecloth on the wood table between them. Salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese were pushed against
a napkin dispenser at one end of the table. Voices of other patrons and the scent of cheese, tomato,
and fresh bread filled the air. Xander's mirrored sunglasses reflected back at Spike as he looking questioningly at the vampire.
"You kissed me," Spike blurted.
Xander's dark brow shot up. It was followed by a quirk of his lips. "He'll have an order of
cheese bread, no garlic, and a MGD."
The twenty-something waitress, whom Spike just noticed standing at the head of the booth, cracked
her gum. He almost sank under the table when she smirked at him. "I'll bring your drinks right
out," she said, and walked away.
"Tosser," Spike grumped at Xander. He pulled a napkin from the dispenser.
"What?" Xander grinned evilly.
"You kissed me, that's what." Spike began shredding the napkin into small pieces. "Why the hell
did you do that?"
"The first time, I kissed you to goad those stupid gay-bashers," Xander replied, leaning casually
against the back wall of the booth, knee bent and foot propped on the bench seat.
Spike tried not to flinch as he remembered how well it worked and the feeling of water filling his
non-working lungs as he sank into the ocean. "And the second?"
"To see if you tasted as good as the first time."
Spike's heart pounded a double beat in his chest, which was quite disconcerting. Almost as what Xander had said. "And the result?" Spike drawled, trying to get things back to normal.
Xander was quiet a moment, his lips pressed together as if he were trying to keep something in until he couldn't any longer. "I can barely stand you. You're obnoxious, mouthy, annoying,
irritating, and a general pain in the ass. It's all I can do not to kill you after a few hours."
"The feeling's mutual, ducks," Spike said dryly, relieved and strangely hurt at the same time. "Which makes me question why the bloody hell
we're still together."
"Because I trust you implicitly," Xander stated. "And you're the only one on this planet that I do."
Spike stared at him, gob-smacked. He felt as though he'd been kissed by Xander again.
Well, no, not really. Xander's kiss had melted his brain while fueling other parts of his anatomy.
Xander's words now simply made him speechless.
The waitress returned and plunked two moist bottles of beer on the table. She looked at Spike, at the
pile of shredded napkin in front of him, at Xander, then grinned and walked away again.
End