Bliss Took Hold 24
by Danielle

Tara entered Riley’s hospital room, arms laden with soft drinks.

 

“Let me help you with that, baby.” Willow jumped up and grabbed a few sodas, helping her distribute them.

 

Giles and Olivia sat silently in the corner, holding hands. Buffy paced the room nervously.

 

“C-can I borrow your lighter, Spike?” Tara pulled out a green candle and placed it on the nightstand as she asked. The vampire pulled out his aged Zippo and tossed it to her. The witch’s thankful, shy smile relaxed him a bit. //Like a little sister, she is// He smirked at the unconscious endearment, suddenly antsy.

 

“She’s a right mess, isn’t she?” Spike played with an unlit cigarette as he addressed his sire.

 

“Her boyfriend nearly had a heart attack, Spike. What do you expect?”  The dark-haired vampire wrung his hands as he said it.

 

The blonde shrugged. As he left the room, he took note of the strain in Angel’s face, and glanced at the sandy-haired human.

 

Spike glanced around the corridor as he headed toward the elevator. Angel was changing, and he felt it like a faint disturbance in the force. Chuckling at the Star Wars term, the blonde pressed the button to call the car and continued to fiddle with his unlit cig.

 

“What’s so funny?”

 

The voice made him jump, and Spike glared at the dark-haired human. “Just thinking about Peaches and Pyle...”

 

“Pretty weird--those two getting close. Deadboy practically growls at anyone who gets close to him...”

 

Spike nodded and the doors opened. They stepped in and he jabbed the first floor button. He and Xander were alone in the elevator.

 

“You taking off or have you started smoking, mate?” Spike raised an eyebrow at Xander, trying to ignore the dizzying motion of the elevator.

 

The human suddenly pushed him against the wall, one hand snaking down Spike’s chest and lingering just to the right of his groin. The intense *want* in his dark eyes made the vampire take a shuddering breath.

 

Torn between being unnerved and totally horny, the stunned vampire just drank in the attention. The boy’s unexpected forwardness had disconcerted him and made him hard at the same time.

 

“Actually...” Xander purred against his lips in an almost kiss, “...I came to give you this.” The human’s fingers slid into the vampire’s pocket, massaging his inner thigh for a second before pulling his hand free.

 

“Oh, Xander...” Spike leaned in to kiss the boy and they lost themselves in the moment until the swish and clatter of the elevator door opening jerked them back to the present. They jumped apart, panting and guilty looking, as an old man and a nurse entered. Spike stepped out and waited for his human to join him.  But instead of Xander coming with him to the first floor, he remained in the elevator.

 

“I—I think I’m gonna head back up.” Eyes still dark with desire, the boy half=smiled at Spike as the elevator closed.

 

//That little--!// True, he didn’t want to jump back into the same pattern with Xander. But he didn’t want to get worked up with no follow through either! Spike struggled to pull himself together—get his harsh breathing to stop and the hard-on to fade at least. At the same time, he vowed to beat the boy at his own game.

 

When he got to the parking garage, the blonde cursed himself mid-pat as he searched for his lighter. //The bloody witch has it!// Then he pulled the scratched Zippo out of his pocket and smirked, shaking his head. //This is what Xander wanted to give me...//. It took three cigarettes to pull himself together.

 

When he returned to the room, a quiet debate was in progress.

 

“I’m fine, really I am.” Riley shrugged the nurse away and stood up. “I had a bad spell there for a minute, but I’m okay...” A round of protests followed, but the former soldier was adamant.

 

A doctor and two soldiers walked into the room just then. The two vampires stood up, sidling over to Riley to protect him.

 

“We’d like a word with you, sir. Privately.” The doctor approached Riley.

 

“They can hear whatever you’ve got to say.” The former soldier touched Buffy’s hand, prompting her to stay.

 

“Er, it seems that you’ve suffered some...unforeseen side effects of your enlistment--“

 

“You mean because you wankers made him a lab rat?” Spike couldn’t help himself.

 

“Ahem, there is a medication that will repair your heart. You should be back to normal in about a month.”

 

“Normal? Like not as strong as I am now?” Riley had a desperate look in his eye.

 

“As in there will be no trace of the *enhancements* that the program aided...”

 

The double talk was grating on Spike’s nerves, but he was more interested in what his sire was doing.

 

Angel had moved to the other side of Riley and had his hand on the human’s back, fingers moving in small circles. He did it absentmindedly, unconsciously comforting the boy.