Stupid Cupid

Xander and Giles stood guard over the witches, and were each holding off one robed demon apiece. Xander was breathing hard as he battled his demon, and already sported several cuts and sore areas he knew would be bruises by morning. The hood of the robe slipped part of the way off the demon’s head and revealed a scaley hide and small, pointed ears near the top of its hairless head.

Willow and Tara were performing a confusion spell to create chaos amongst the large band of demons Buffy had discovered while on patrol. They had looked to be some type of cult, and seemed to be readying for a ritual that included a sacrifice, if the bound and gagged boy they were toting with them was any indication.

A quick call to the Magic Box had rallied the troops, and now Buffy and Spike were cutting a swath through the demons who had gotten close enough to be affected by the spell. Between ducking blows and trying to get in a few of his own, Xander noticed that some of the demons who hadn’t yet succumbed to disorder were attempting to leave with the boy.

Anger gave him a fresh burst of energy, and strength welled-up from deep inside him. With a yell and a powerful slash of his sword, Xander removed the demon’s weapon hand above the elbow. The demon’s reaction was delayed, and then it roared with pain and anger. Xander didn’t let his own surprise slow him down, and instead took advantage of the demon’s momentary confusion over the loss of its arm and weapon, and let his momentum carry him around behind the demon, where he spun and shoved his sword through its back and into its heart.

The demon toppled over, and Xander tugged on his sword, pulling it out of the corpse with a wet, slurping sound. He yelled to Giles, and then ran over to the bound boy, who was surrounded by about half a dozen of the demons. Before he neared them, Spike was at his side.

"They’re trying to get away with the boy!" Xander yelled back without slowing.

"Think you can take on seven of these buggers yourself, do you?" Spike asked sarcastically.

Xander didn’t bother answering, just waded into the demons and began slashing his sword wildly in an attempt to drive them back. Soon, the demons began to exhibit the same symptoms of disorganization that their brethren had, and Xander realized that Willow and Tara must have moved closer, or found a way to amplify their spell. The confused demons were no match for Spike, and while the vampire was busy with the majority of them, Xander concentrated on the two that had been carrying the boy before falling under the spell.

Confused, they had dropped the boy, but confronted with an angry and bloodied Xander, didn’t waste any time reaching for their weapons to defend themselves. Luckily, due to the spell it took them a bit longer than usual to *find* their weapons and free them, by which time Xander had inflicted several shallow cuts that, while not disabling, certainly caused a small bit of pain that added to their already confused state. By that time, Spike had finished with his batch, and turned his axe to Xander’s aid. Once Spike had dispatched the remaining two demons, Xander dropped his sword and leaned over the boy to free him.

A sharp pain bit into the back of his thigh and burned through his leg. He glanced down and saw the head of a crossbow bolt protruding from the front of his thigh. "Ow. Oh, fuck," he muttered. He tasted bile in the back his throat.

Xander looked into Spike’s eyes, and then both men turned to see where the arrow had come from. One of the demons, this one wearing a different colored robe than the others, stood atop a nearby tomb with a crossbow in its hand. It looked at them, and then tipped its head back and laughed before jumping off the tomb and darting away.

"Slayer!" Spike yelled, pointing when Buffy turned to look at him. "That one shot Harris, and it’s getting away!"

Buffy, her fight having drawn to a close with the decapitation of the last standing demon, took off after the one Spike had pointed out to her. Spike turned back to Xander.

Spike knelt beside him and examined the bolt. "It’s gone through," he mumbled to himself. "Gonna have to break it off and pull it the rest of the way through."

"Okay," Spike said. Willow, Tara, and Giles had gathered around them, but Xander’s attention was focused on the pain in his leg and the sound of Spike’s voice, which was oddly soothing in this instance, rather than its usual irritating.

"I’m going to break it off in the back," Spike said. "You need to hold it steady for me in the front, okay?"

"‘Kay." Xander grabbed hold of the shaft of the bolt that stuck out of his leg. That little bit of movement caused him a great deal of pain and he couldn’t hold back the moan. A drop of sweat rolled down his nose and dripped off.

"All right, then," Spike said. "This might hurt a bit. Hold on ‘cause I’m...." He grabbed hold of the shaft behind Xander’s leg and the sharp metal tip of the bolt glowed green for an instant. Xander heard a sharp crack when Spike broke the shaft, and a moment later felt the searing pain that drove all thought of the glowing tip out of his mind. "Gonna do it now."

"Holy fuck!" Xander cried, almost falling to the ground as his good leg buckled.

"Oh, bloody hell!" Spike yelled, grabbing his head with both hands. "Pull the damned thing out of him," he snarled at Giles.

Xander didn’t wait for Giles. He pulled the shaft out himself, and then passed out.

Xander woke feeling groggy, and his mouth tasted like chalk. He shifted, and pain shot through his leg. He arched his back and clenched his teeth to keep from screaming out. Suddenly, Giles was beside him.

"You were shot with a crossbow while on patrol last night," Giles explained. "You and Spike managed to remove the bolt, but then you both passed out."

"Why did we both pass out?" he asked through gritted teeth as he waited for the wave of pain to recede.

Xander, his thoughts still muddled, couldn’t wrap his mind around that. "Uh huh," he said. "And what, Spike felt really bad about it?"

"Yes." Giles nodded. "We brought you both back here. I cleaned and bandaged your wound, and managed to get a little bit of antibiotic and painkiller down you, but you could probably use some more right about now."

Giles continued, "Spike woke a couple hours ago, and I gave him some blood. He’s gone back to sleep. As you should do as soon as I give you some more medication."

Thanks to a salve prepared by Tara, Xander’s leg healed much faster than expected. He’d been forced to take time off work, which wasn’t good since he’d only been there less than a year, but they were good about it when Xander told them he’d been knifed during a mugging. Wednesday night a week later, everyone was gathered in the Magic Box. Giles and the girls were seated around the research table poring over books, attempting to ascertain whether a prophecy Giles had found earlier that day meant the end of the world. Again.

Xander was standing in the aisle, glad to be back on his feet and feeling the need to stretch his leg, when Spike barged in. No one paid the vampire much mind except to roll their eyes and go back to researching, but for some reason, Xander couldn’t take his eyes off the blond. He’d never seen Spike looking so...hot!

He let his eyes roam over the other man’s body, wishing he wasn’t wearing that stupid duster that covered up all the good bits. Whoa! His eyes zoomed in on their target. Not *all* the good bits! Where the duster gaped open there was ample evidence that Spike was hung! For a brief moment, Xander’s mind cleared and he wondered why he was ogling Spike’s package, and why he cared whether the vampire was well-endowed.

His eyes ran back up the vampire’s body and locked on the bluest eyes Xander’d ever seen. He swallowed hard when he realized that Spike had been examining him just as closely as Xander had been studying the other man. Spike’s eyes narrowed and darkened, his nostrils flared as he scented the room. Xander suddenly felt like prey. Sexual prey. His cock filled.

"I, um, I think I’m gonna go in the back room and, uh, polish the weapons while you guys do the research thing," he said without taking his eyes off Spike.

The vampire smirked. "Yeah, I think I’ll go help Harris polish his...the...weapons."

Xander backed into the training room, unable to pull his eyes away from the vampire. Spike followed him. As soon as they both cleared the door, Xander grabbed Spike by his duster and shoved him into the wall, and then they were all over each other, fingers touching, tongues tasting, and groins rubbing together. Xander couldn’t ever remember feeling this much *need* for someone. He was on fire, and desire flared in his belly.

Suddenly he and Spike were torn apart. "What in hell are you two doing?" Buffy screeched.

"Wha—? Buffy?" Xander blinked, his mind hazy. He looked at Spike, and realized what they’d been doing. "Oh, god!" His eyes widened in horror.

"Shut up, Spike," Xander snarled. He grabbed Willow’s juice and took several large swallows. "Oh, man, I still have Spike taste in my mouth!" he complained.

"Look, I’m the wronged party here," Spike stated. "You!" He pointed an accusing finger at Xander. "You’re the one who lured me into the back room, and then tried to have your wicked way with me, all tongue, and fingers in naughty places, and your hot little body rubbing up against me!"

A shrill whistle rent the air. "Enough!" Buffy yelled. "No more...details. Please," she begged Xander. "I don’t think I could take it. And besides, we need to figure out what made you both act so...."

Xander thought. "The night we fought those demons," he finally said. "When I got shot."

"All right, well, the only lead we have right now are those demons. Do you think they could have done something to you?" Giles asked.

"I don’t remember seeing any of them take the time to cast any spells. I got some cuts and bruises, and a crossbow bolt through the leg, but other than that, I don’t remember anything out of the ordinary," Xander offered.

The girls murmured their own denials. Giles frowned in concentration. "Lust, lust," he muttered as he thought.

"Oh! Dear lord," Giles said as he sat up straight. "Did either of you get a good look at the demon that got away?"

"Not up close and personal, and I was in a bit of pain, but a pretty good look," Xander said.

Giles got up and searched through his bookshelves, finally returning with an open text in his hand, frantically flipping through the pages. He stopped at a page and examined it, and then turned the book around and showed the sketch to Spike and Xander. "Does this look like our demon?" he asked.

Xander nodded his agreement, and then asked, "What?" at Giles’ worried expression.

Giles sighed and resumed his seat. He took his glasses off. "I’m afraid I know what happened."

"Well, that’s good innit?" Spike asked. "You figure out the spell he used and abracadabra, you fix us!"

"Cute little guy in a diaper," Xander added. "He carries this teeny tiny bow and shoots...arrows." His voice dropped.

"Cupid is in fact *not* the benevolent entity Hallmark has made him out to be. Even a cursory reading of the ancient mythology will...."

"Oh, yes, sorry. Anyway, Cupid has been around for many years, but he’s neither benevolent, nor a god. He is in fact a demon, and his motives have never been altruistic."

"So, I was shot with an arrow from Cupid’s bow?" Xander knew his face must have reflected his confusion. "And now I’m in love with *Spike*?" he screeched.

"Hey! You could do worse than me," Spike assured him. "And have, from what I hear."

"Shut up, you bleached freak!" Xander yelled, and then paused. "Hey, wait. I’m not in love with Spike. I hate him! I just.... For a moment I was very, sorta, in a totally minor way, attracted to him."

"It was the spell!" Xander insisted, and then turned to Giles. "Why Spike?" he asked plaintively.

"I don’t know, Xander. It might be that Spike was the first person you saw after...."

"Forget about him, what about me?" Spike interrupted. "I wasn’t shot with a bloody arrow."

"Yes, well, it’s unclear at the moment exactly what happened, but perhaps it would be wise if the two of you remain separated while I do some research on what it is, precisely, that this demon, er, Cupid, has done, and determine what we need to do to reverse it," Giles suggested. "Just in case."

Two days later everyone was assembled back at the magic shop to hear the results of Giles’ research.

"Giles, please don’t say that," Xander begged. "You *have* to find a way to fix this!"

"Can we not call it that?" Xander asked. "I mean, when you say Cupid, I picture this cute little guy, not that...thing...that did this to me."

"Yes, please, sorry," Xander said, turning in his chair so he didn’t have to look at Spike. It was bad enough the vampire had been the only thing he’d been able to think about for the past two days.

"I did find out a bit about the type of spell that Cu—, er, this demon casts. It seems it’s actually dependant upon the recipient...."

"Yes, all right, victim. Anyway, the results of the spell can run the gamut of emotions, from friendship, to love, to lust, and even hate, depending on the, um, person affected."

"How do we get lust?" Xander asked loudly. "We already hate each other, why didn’t our hate just...get deeper?"

"I don’t know the answer to that, Xander," Giles said apologetically. "Nor, I’m afraid, do I know how to reverse it."

"What do you mean you don’t know how to reverse it?" Spike snapped. "You’re the bloody Watcher, do something!"

"No, Buffy, that’s not advisable. We don’t know if it would harm Xander," Giles said.

"The only thing I can do is continue to research it. I’m sure I’ll find something. In the meanwhile, you both seem to be doing well, so you should remain separated until we figure out how to fix this."

"What if that’s never?" Xander asked. He swallowed hard and glanced up at Spike. The vampire was staring back at him.

"Right," Spike said, never taking his eyes off Xander. "I’m out of here, then." He stood and strode rapidly towards the front door.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Xander looked around the table at his friends. "I, um, I need some time...alone. I’m just gonna...." He waved his hand towards the back room.

"I’ll let you know," Xander choked out as he practically ran into the training room. He checked the shop to make sure no one was following him, and then raced across the room and unlocked the back door. He stepped into the alley and hard hands grabbed him. His heart jumped in his chest, and then he smelled the familiar scents of leather and cigarette smoke. He moaned in relief, in anticipation. "Oh, god, Spike."

Spike pressed him face-first against the wall and pushed his groin into Xander’s ass. "Need you, pet," Spike hissed angrily in his ear. "Bloody spell," he swore, even as he nuzzled Xander’s neck.

Xander pushed back against Spike, and then forward, rubbing himself against the wall. "Need you, too! Haven’t been able to stop thinking...."

"I know." Spike slid his hand between Xander and the wall, and cupped him. "Wanna bury myself inside you and fuck you until you can’t remember your name."

"Oh, yes," Xander groaned as he thrust into Spike’s hand. He’d never kissed another man before, until he’d kissed Spike, much less been fucked by one, but right now that sounded like a damned fine idea.

Spike gave him one last squeeze, and then spun him around. "Wanna taste you," he whispered, and then slid down Xander’s body while nimble fingers unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. Pants and briefs were shoved down and Spike took him in. Xander cried out, his legs shaking. He buried his fingers in Spike’s hair and the vampire tilted his head, looking up at him as he sucked, his lips stretched wide as his head moved up and down Xander’s length.

Xander had been dreaming about this for two days now, and the sight of Spike sucking him off, combined with the amazing tongue action and hard suction, was too much for him. His eyes fell half closed, and he bucked his hips. Spike’s eyes never left his. The vampire continued to eagerly suck, and then swallowed and swallowed around him.

Spike was immediately on his feet, pressed against Xander and holding him as he sagged. "Got you," he whispered, and then placed light kisses over Xander’s face until their lips met.

"Spike," Xander breathed, and then Spike was kissing him. It started out soft and easy, an assurance that everything was fine, but soon heated up. Xander clung to Spike as he deepened the kiss, opening his mouth and encouraging Spike to take more. Spike moved closer, and Xander could feel his hardness pressing into his leg.

Xander moaned at the thought of undoing the vampire’s jeans and taking him in his hand. He wondered what Spike looked like, felt like; what he tasted like. The wonder turned to a desperate need to *know*.

"My turn," he rasped, and then his hands slid down Spike’s torso, eliciting groans from the other man when he passed over his nipples, and a deeper groan when he reached the waistband of his jeans and palmed his swollen erection.

"I wanna see you," Xander whispered as he unbuckled the belt. Spike whimpered his encouragement. "Touch you." He unsnapped the button, and then lowered the zip . "Taste you."

Xander reached inside Spike’s jeans and pulled out the hard flesh. He closed his eyes as his fingers moved over it, memorizing the texture; the hard shaft beneath the velvety soft skin, the extra flesh around the head, the moist tip. The foreskin had retracted, and Xander ran his thumb over the head, wetting it, and then teased the edges of the foreskin.

Spike was making beautiful noises deep in his throat, and his fingers tightening around Xander’s arm. His cock jumped in Xander’s hand, and he suddenly had to see it. He pulled away from Spike and went gingerly to his knees, thinking only briefly about what he might be kneeling in before it was swallowed up in the ‘I-don’t-care, I’ve-got-better-things-to-think-about’ center of his brain.

Xander studied the cock in his hand; the way the foreskin retracted and exposed the red, moist head, and the way it responded to his touch. He experimented by fisting it slowly, and then more quickly, by using just his fingers, by running his thumb over the head and into the slit, and then pushing gently at the foreskin. He’d leaned in closer and closer, and his warm breath was feathering over Spike’s flesh.

"Xander, bloody do it!" Spike groaned. Xander looked up at him. "Please," the vampire choked out.

Xander liked the way Spike looked, all flushed and needy. Without taking his eyes off the other man, Xander stuck his tongue out and licked the shaft. He ran his tongue up and down it, familiarizing himself with it, and then licked the head.

Emboldened by his response, Xander took the head in and sucked on it. Spike’s fingers were moving through his hair, and it felt so good. He could feel the barely restrained power as Spike held himself back from forcing Xander to take him deeper, which only served to make him want to do just that. He bobbed his head, taking Spike a little bit farther in each time, slicking him with saliva, which made it easier to move over him.

Xander hardened, and realized he hadn’t done up his pants after Spike had sucked him off. He placed one hand on Spike’s hip for support, and took himself in the other, stroking as he sucked and bobbed. Spike’s fingers tightened and he made satisfied noises, which made Xander hum happily.

"Oh, bloody...!" Spike cried out, and then he stiffened and shuddered as his cock pulsed in Xander’s mouth. Xander swallowed, surprised by the force of the ejaculation, and the amount of thick fluid filling his mouth. Spike jerked him to his feet, and they were kissing, sharing the taste of each other. "Xander...."

Spike kissed him again, harder, then stood back and looked at him with wild eyes. "All right," he agreed.

Xander felt hot and cold all at once. "All right," he repeated. "I’ll go, um, get the car. Meet me at the corner." He turned towards the door.

Xander had managed to say his goodbyes without sounding too eager or looking too suspicious, he hoped. His hands shook as he started the car and pulled into the street, gliding slowly until he reached the corner, where he stopped so Spike could hop in. The vampire slid across the seat and kissed him, and Xander lost track of where they were as he kissed him back.

Spike pulled away and cradled Xander’s face in his palm. "Let’s get out of here before we’re spotted, yeah?" he suggested.

"Hurry, Xander," Spike encouraged. "Wanna see you naked and spread out on the bed for me, all hard and drippin’."

"Guh!" Xander moved the car forward, and it wasn’t long before Spike, who was still snuggled up against him, had his hand in Xander’s lap. "Spike, what are you...?"

"Shh, pet, just drive," Spike soothed, then unbuttoned and unzipped Xander’s pants in one smooth move. He was still hard, and his cock reacted eagerly as Spike’s knuckles pressed against it.

"Oh, jeez," Xander groaned as his damp ass made contact with the car seat, and Spike’s hand made contact with his prick.

"Look at you, all flushed and breathin’ hard. For me. ‘Cause I’m touching you like this." He stroked and pulled. Xander whimpered. "Such pretty noises. Know what I want?" Xander shook his head, barely able to concentrate on the road, much less Spike’s voice. "Wanna taste you again."

And then Spike’s face was in his groin, sniffing, licking, sucking, while talented fingers fondled his balls.

"Shh," Spike said, exhaling cool air that feathered over Xander’s dick. "We’re almost there, yeah?"

Spike ignored his entreaty, suckling him until he almost came, and then pinching his orgasm back, then once more suckling while he played with Xander’s sac. It was with relief that he finally spotted his driveway, but the relief didn’t last long. Spike began to suck harder, and Xander knew he was going to pull his orgasm out of him this time. He only hoped he didn’t run into anything.

His body stiffened, and then began to tremble as his orgasm built; and then his hips bucked, his cock pulsed in Spike’s mouth as he shot his second load of the night.

Xander practically stumbled into the shop Monday evening, he was so exhausted. It had been his first day back to work since the ‘mugging’, but that wasn’t what had worn him out. The responsibility for that lay right at Spike’s doorstep, the evil, undead, sexy bastard.

Though they’d spent the entire weekend naked and in bed—except for quick trips to the bathroom, excursions to the kitchen for sustenance, a shower or two, and that one time Spike had bent Xander over the back of the couch and fucked him so long and hard he’d passed out when he came, forcing Spike to carry him back to bed—Xander didn’t think he’d managed to get more than a couple hours of sleep.

He was sure there wasn’t anything they hadn’t tried over the weekend. His shock the first time Spike had rimmed him was quickly overshadowed by the reaction of his dick, which hadn’t seemed to have any shame at all. Ever. For nearly 36 hours, all Spike had to do was look at little Xan to have it perking right up.

"Ahh...." Xander guiltily wondered if that was a trick question. Ignoring the twinge in his ass where Spike’s tongue and cock had reamed him out about a dozen times over the weekend, not to mention the time Spike had convinced Xander to let him shove his entire hand up there, and then kept him hard and coming for hours, Xander said, "Fine?"

Xander nearly whimpered at the thought of sitting. His boss had given him light duties, which included riding a desk for a couple hours, and Xander wasn’t looking forward to sitting down again. He’d spent a good portion of the afternoon limping, which he’d blamed on the ‘knife’ wound.

The guys had ragged on him until Xander shocked them all by dropping his pants and showing them the scars, over which they were duly impressed. What he hadn’t intended to show them was the purple hickey on the inside of his thigh that Pete eagerly pointed out to everyone, and then they were slapping him on the back and laughing.

"Now we know why Harris is walking funny," Gary said with a chortle. "He played the wounded hero and got himself some this weekend!"

"Don’t worry, Xan, I’m sure Giles will figure something out," Willow commiserated, misunderstanding him.

"Giles!" he yelped when the older man entered the shop, Buffy close behind him with a towel hanging over her shoulder.

Giles sighed. "I’m afraid I haven’t been able to find anything in my books," he admitted. "But I have contacted some of my colleagues. Perhaps they’ll have something that can help us."

Xander’s mind had wandered when Giles said he hadn’t found anything. At this rate, his ass was never going to recover.

"Yes. Until I hear from one of my colleagues, our only course of action is to wait it out and see if the effects of the spell fade. I’m sorry, Xander."

"That’s a course of action? And by ‘fade’ you mean ‘fade away’, right? Not ‘fade’ as in, your favorite pair of blue jeans that are soft and comfy and you won’t let your mother throw them out even when they get ripped and torn?"

"Um, well, I don’t know, really," Giles replied. "We can certainly hope for the latter, of course."

Buffy stood with her hands on her hips. "Anyone seen Spike?" she asked. "I really could’ve used his help Saturday night, but I couldn’t find him."

"Probably still in bed," Xander muttered, unthinking. "He had all day to recover, but *I* had to go to work."

"All right! We spent the weekend together, okay? The *entire* weekend. And I now know things about Spike I *never* wanted to know, like the fact that if you lick this one spot on his lower back, you can make him come without touching his...manly bits."

The door bell jingled. "Found anythin’, Watcher?" Spike demanded angrily as he strode into the shop.

Xander turned around. Spike’s presence filled the room and sent anticipatory tingles up his spine. "Spike."

Spike snarled. "So, we’re gonna have to keep fightin’ the effects of the spell?"

Spike turned questioning eyes on Xander, who blushed. "I...might’ve...mentioned that...."

Xander’s being was suffused with relief. Spike’s body relaxed and his demeanor changed; his eyes darkened with desire as he looked Xander over.

They fell together, tongues clashing and hands tangling in hair and clothes. Spike was still the only thing Xander could think about, but when the vampire was in the same room with him—looking at him as if he wanted to eat him up, touching him—that didn’t seem to matter. And if he found himself hoping Giles never found a way to reverse the spell, Xander figured he could be forgiven, after having experienced sex with the vampire. Great sex. Astounding, mind-blowing sex.

The heat in Spike’s eyes burned him. "Yeah, ‘cause I wanna do things to you that’ll get me staked."