Spike strode through the streets of Sunnydale. Yes, strode. He may have been in pieces, having spent the past few months being the Slayer’s toy and then summarily being dismissed from his beloved’s side, but he’d be damned if he let all the demons in Sunnydale know about it. Well, okay, most of them had been there for the first few bar brawls post-Buffy, and Willy now had Clem send over complimentary drinks so Spike wouldn’t come back, but at least he could pretend that he had his dignity. Most of the demons in town were nervous enough about him to play along. So yeah, he could stride all he wanted.
But now he was shuffling again, the weight of his sorrows back on his mind nearly as soon as he had eradicated them. Because he’d lost everything. Buffy. Buffy was everything.
He was pulled from his thoughts by the sudden appearance of another man, coming down the road in the opposite direction, with a shuffle equally as dejected as his. It looked like…Harris? But no, Xander had just gotten married. He was probably off on his honeymoon with that crazy capitalist wife of his, not walking the March of the Lonely.
As the figure came closer, Spike frowned. “Harris? What the hell are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be happily somewhere far, far away from me with your lady?”
“Shut up, Spike,” Harris growled, and Spike caught sight of his face in the light of the streetlamp. He looked- broken, really.
“What happened?” he taunted, needing to needle someone else, anyone who could bring him up while he brought the other down. “The missus got bored of your flabby ass? She find someone more interesting? Like, say, a Chaos Demon?” he added, remembering a humiliating breakup of his own.
He wasn’t surprised when Harris’s fist connected with his nose and he fell backward a step, clutching his nose. “That’s the Slayer’s spot, you know,” he gasped through the pain. “She’s not going to like you touching what’s hers.”
“Hers? In your dreams,” Harris hissed, drawing back for another punch.
Spike dodged it, and was almost relieved when he heard the sounds of a distant scuffle and some definite punning. “Buffy!” he said suddenly, tearing down the closest street, Harris hot on his heels.
Buffy was there, fighting off a hideous demon Spike vaguely recognized. An Erosshen, maybe? If it was one, then… “Buffy! Avoid the arrows!”
“Get out of here, Spike!” she called back, momentarily freezing in confusion at the sight of Xander and Spike, together. “I don’t need you here! Or anywhere,” she added as an afterthought for Xander.
He clenched his jaw, now thoroughly annoyed. “Fine. Get hit, fall in-“ An arrow hit him straight through the heart, and he doubled backward in surprise, his hand hitting Harris’s lightly as he fell to the ground.
“Spike!” Buffy ran to him, her eyes wide. Behind her, the Erosshen turned away, its mission complete. “Are you okay? It went straight through your…” She felt his chest where the arrow had struck, pulling it out gently. “I thought you were going to die,” she whispered, leaning forward to cup his cheek in her hand, uncaring of Xander, gaping down at them.
Spike pulled away from the Slayer’s pawing all over him. “Xander? Did you get hurt?”
Xander turned his attention to Spike. “Did you just call me Xander?”
“Something’s wrong,” Buffy murmured worriedly, helping Spike up. “We’d better take him back to the house. See if Willow can find out what hit him.”
Xander let out a nervous laugh. “Relax, Buff, it’s just the Evil Dead, remember?”
“Right.” Remembering herself, she pulled away from him quickly. “Just Spike.”
Spike lurched forward, falling towards Xander. Instinctively, Xander caught him, and he felt a surge of love toward the other man. “Thanks,” he murmured, gazing into his beloved Xander’s eyes.
Xander dropped him in surprise. “What was that?” he demanded fearfully, rapidly backing away from Spike.
“Spike?” Buffy asked tentatively. “I’m over here.”
“Yes, I can see that, Slayer,” he said sarcastically. What did she think, that a year of him professing his love for her and doing anything for her could overshadow his adoration for Xander? Theirs was a forever love!
Buffy looked hurt, and he felt a twinge of guilt. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about Buffy. She just wasn’t Xander. “Let’s get to Revello,” he said finally. “Xander? Are you coming?”
He nodded, moving to Buffy’s other side. Spike slowed down so he could admire Xander’s rear as he moved gracefully down the street. Ah, Xander…
--
Willow frowned at the arrow. “See that symbol? It must be some kind of magic. I’m not sure what-“
“An Erosshen,” Spike said, bored, from where he’d positioned himself next to Xander. His hand snaked out to cup Xander’s ass, and Xander jumped back with a strangled squeak.
“Something wrong?” Buffy asked, glancing at them.
Xander shook his head quickly. “N-Nothing! Spike’s just…nothing!”
Spike smirked at the flush on his Xander’s face. “You look lovely in red,” he breathed into his ear, tickling it with cool air. The bulge in Xander’s pants grew more pronounced, even as his face changed to shades of deathly white.
“An Erosshen. Why does that sound so familiar?” Willow wondered. Spike shrugged, uninterested in anything but Xander. “We must have some books on it in the Magic Box.”
“Anya hasn’t been there in days. We’ll have to break in,” Buffy agreed. She turned to Xander. “Can you stay here with Spike? We’ll be back as soon as we find something out.”
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” Xander said hastily, shifting away from the vampire. “Spike’s been…acting weird.”
“He can’t hurt you,” Buffy said impatiently, taking Spike’s arm. “Come with me. I need to talk to you.”
Spike followed her into the kitchen, casting a longing gaze back at Xander. When he turned back to her, he was immediately assailed by feminine lips and hands, Buffy clutching him tightly to her with all she had.
He took her onslaught with revulsion. How could he possibly be aroused with Xander in the next room, and the two of them soon to be alone together? What was Buffy thinking?
“Missed you,” she panted, pressing her lips back to his. He stayed still, hoping she’d take the hint.
She noticed, pulling away in confusion. “Spike? What’s wrong?”
“We’re over, Slayer,” he said calmly. “I found someone new, and I love that person more than anything. You should move on, too.”
“Spike!” Her lower lip was quivering. “What are you talking about? You found someone…already…?”
“Sorry, Slayer,” he said with little remorse. Maybe if he hadn’t been so busy being her little sex toy, he would have found Xander earlier. That was it! Buffy had been sabotaging him, trying to keep them apart!
He stalked out of the kitchen, annoyed at his one-time love and wishing he could burn the taste of her mouth from his. He licked his lips as he caught sight of Xander on the couch. Maybe he could just eradicate those memories with new ones…
“Let’s go,” Buffy said, stalking out of the kitchen behind him. She grabbed her coat and was out the door in seconds. Willow followed, puzzled at her sudden change of mood.
Spike turned back to his prey. This was going to be fun…
--
Buffy laid her head against the Magic Box table, the cool wood soothing her heated face. She didn’t understand. Days before, they had met at the wedding, and Spike had seemed like he was still in love with her. Unless…was he in love with that skanky date of his? She shuddered at the idea, trying to choke back her sorrow.
Because now…
Seeing that arrow protruding from his heart had affected her more than she’d have admitted. The sudden, wild fear that she’d lost him forever, that Spike would be dust, had been a wakeup call of epic proportions. She cared about him, far too much to say goodbye. Maybe she’d been right when she’d broken up with him. Maybe she couldn’t be in love with him. But she certainly cared as much as she did about Xander, and Willow, and the others. Wasn’t that a kind of love? And if she lost him… it would break her.
And now, the worst had happened. She’d fallen for him just as soon as he’d moved on, and now she might lose him forever. It figured. Just another stop on the Buffy Love Train.
“Got it!” Willow waved her book triumphantly. “The Erosshen, a demon Cupid, of sorts! When its arrow hits, the target immediately falls in love with the first person he touches!”
Buffy frowned, trying to remember. Spike getting hit, falling from beside Xander… “Xander!” she said, feeling a wave of relief. Spike wasn’t lost to her at all!
Willow’s eyes widened. “But it says that it won’t wear off until the relationship is consummated! And we just left a Xander-loving Spike alone with him!”
They ran.
--
The moment Willow and Buffy had disappeared, Spike slunk forward, Xander in his sights. “’Lo, Xander,” he purred.
Xander stood up on shaky legs. “Spike, I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing at, but if you come any closer, I’ll-“
Spike jumped him, knocking him down onto the couch with all his energy. He kissed his love long and hard…and speaking of hard…
“Spike!” Xander gasped, trying to pull away. “What are-“
Spike pressed his lips to the other man’s again, kissing him with all the fierce, untamed passion he had bottled up inside. Slowly, Xander’s mouth opened, and Spike moved within it, feeling his beloved responding with glee. Soon, they were both gasping and kissing, Xander moaning as Spike nipped and licked his way down his neck.
Spike reached down to cup him, feeling with delight as it jumped in his hand. He massaged and bent to pull down Xander’s pants as the other man clutched his hair with an iron grip, bucking beneath him…
Finally, Xander cried out in release, and Spike lapped it up, then moved his attentions back up to Xander’s bewildered- but still flushed with pleasure- face. He kissed him softly, languidly, stroking his soft hair as he drank in the taste and scent of the man he loved. Xander panted almost rhythmically, brushing his lips against the vampire’s gratefully as they moved together.
Spike smiled. He’d managed to seduce Xander easily. Maybe soon he’d be able to bring the other man to fall in love with him, too.
They curled up on the couch together, Spike enjoying the closeness and the cuddling. This was how it should be, how it should have been-
“Alexander Lavelle Harris, get off of the horny vampire right now!” Willow’s voice cut into Spike’s dreamy thoughts.
He held onto the very embarrassed boy tightly. “No! Xander’s mine!”
Xander fumbled for his pants, pulling them back up embarrassedly. “He jumped me! It wasn’t like I could resist!”
Buffy folded her arms as she fixed him with a steely look. “And the chip?”
“I-I forgot!” Xander said hastily, pulling away from Spike. Spike gritted his teeth. He was not going to lose the love of his life because of the Scoobies’ disapproval. Not again.
He wrapped his arms around Xander’s middle, hanging on stubbornly when Xander tried to swat him away. “I’m not giving him up! I’m in love with him!”
Willow looked simultaneously amused and distressed. “Sorry, Xander, the demon’s arrow kind of did this…” She turned to share a grin with Buffy, but froze when she saw the devastated look on Buffy’s face. “Um…Buffy?”
Buffy blinked, shaking her head. “Right. Just a demon thing.” She looked away from the two of them, and Willow could have sworn that Buffy was going to cry. “It’s not real.”
“No!” Spike protested. “This isn’t some false love like the one I had for the Slayer!” There was a strangled gasp from somewhere in Buffy’s vicinity. “This is the real deal! I love him! And he loves me!”
“Let’s not go overboard, here.” Xander tried to pull away from the vampire. “You practically raped me!”
Spike scoffed at that. “You wanted it, too! Don’t deny it, Xander! I’ve seen the way you’ve looked at me before! You’ve always been attracted to me!”
“He has a point,” Willow agreed, trying to hide a smirk with little success.
Xander gave her a pained look. “It was just sex. I’m a guy, I don’t say no to sex.”
“Why do they all say that?” Spike muttered, nibbling on Xander’s earlobe. Xander let out a little moan, and Spike reached back into his pants.
“Not…here,” Xander gasped, pulling at Spike’s hand. Spike twisted him around to give him a long, deep kiss.
“Well, I’m glad you two are getting along so well,” Willow said, bemused at her best friend’s predicament. “You’ve got to consummate the relationship or this will never go away.” She tossed a glance to her right to check on Buffy. She was shaking, her hands covering her mouth in horror.
“It’s…already…pretty…consummated!” Xander managed, his hand pressing Spike against his neck. He wasn’t quite sure how this had happened, how he’d gone from depression at leaving Anya to acting like a man-slut in the middle of Buffy’s living room- with Spike, of all people!- but he somehow couldn’t stop, not with the feelings Spike was bringing to the surface with his tongue… Maybe he was under a demon spell, too! Or maybe he’d just discovered that he had a thing for Spike…
Demon spell. That had to be it.
“Not what she means,” Spike said slyly, pulling Xander to the basement door. “And if this is the only way for you to believe that my feelings were real, then who am I to fight it?” He laughed lowly, lifting Xander with vampire strength and bounding down the stairs, pinching Xander’s ass for good measure.
Buffy shut the door securely the moment that they were gone, leaning against it with a weariness Willow hadn’t seen in a while. “Buffy?” she asked quietly. “You and Spike?”
“It hurts,” Buffy whispered, sinking to the floor. Willow joined her, stroking her hair sympathetically. “I know it’s just a spell, but it hurts.”
And while Xander and Spike did unspeakable things to each other downstairs, Buffy admitted everything to her friend.
--
Spike woke up abruptly, his legs entwined with another set of legs. Please, let it all have been one long, horrible dream, he prayed to whichever deities would listen to a vampire. Please let me be lying next to Buffy, and not…
“Spike?” Xander said sleepily, automatically reaching for him. “You up?”
Spike jumped away as though he’d been burned, yanking on his pants and trying to forget what had happened. “We never speak of this again,” he warned the boy. “Never.”
Xander nodded, contorting his face into a grimace. “Spike! Oh, gross!” he said, unconvincingly.
Spike smirked. No one can resist me, not even Harris… But he held his tongue, saving the ammunition for another day. Or perhaps never. He certainly didn’t want to dredge up memories of acting like a lovesick fool for Xander Harris! “I’m going to find the Slayer,” he said abruptly, heading up the stairs.
Xander watched him go, mentally cursing himself. Damn. Not a demon spell. I really need a girlfriend, stat.
--
Buffy awakened when the door behind her was heaved open. She eased a sleeping Willow’s head off her shoulder and pulled her aside, letting Spike emerge.
He seized her, pulling her close so that she could see the dismay in his eyes. “I love you,” he said fervently, as though it could erase the horror of the last few hours.
She kissed him to her, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. “I might just love you, too,” she admitted, curling up against him. Her eyes glinted with sudden mischief. “Although probably not as much as you love Xander.”
“Oi!”
And they fought playfully all the way upstairs.
Author's Chapter Notes:
During Normal Again, Spike’s the one who’s affected by the demon. But this is a different kind of demon, and to Buffy’s dismay and Xander’s not-quite-horror, Spike suddenly finds himself madly in love with Xander…