Spike looked up as Giles walked into the training room. The watcher looked Spike over, then walked to the wall and pulled down two Renaissance daggers. The long blades were lightweight and artistically pleasing, but, in the right hands, deadlier than many of the other swords that covered the wall.

Giles dropped them on the couch for a moment while he pulled his own shirt and shoes off. He then picked up the sharp-edged weapons and threw one at Spike.

Spike caught the weapon and raised one eyebrow at the other man. “Watch it, Ripper.”

Giles gave a passable growl and attacked. Giles flew at Spike, thrusting his dagger and forcing the other man to twist to avoid the blade. Spike fell to the floor as Giles landed on top of him. They grappled, each holding the sword arm of the other, an awkward hold at best. Arms crossed across their chests, they mutually released each other and rose to their feet.

This time Spike attacked. He used a different approach, reaching for Giles with his right hand, holding his dagger back. Giles blocked the grab and shot his right hand forward, aiming for Spike’s heart with his blade. Spike’s left arm moved to intercept the other man’s attack. Spike was thrilled that he was finally able to go all out without having to worry about the chip.

Holding each other, daggers twined, neither man could gain purchase. Both men backed off, circling each other warily. “Ya going to actually try and stick me anytime soon, Ripper?” Spike taunted the other man.

“No, Spike. I thought you would like to dance a bit more before we got down to it.” Giles attacked, driving towards Spike’s weaker right side, although he knew that Spike would never admit to having a weak side. Spike spun out of reach and parried the other man’s strike.

The men fought intently, each seeking to finish the other. After half an hour, they were still sparring and grappling. Both Spike and Giles were panting, the younger man covered in a film of sweat. Neither could best the other. Finally, Giles backed up and raised his dagger in front of his eyes.

Spike returned the salute and grabbed the dagger out of Giles’ hand.

“What the hell was that, Watcher?” Spike cleaned both blades with a towel before placing them lovingly back on the wall.

Giles lay on the floor, panting and sipping at a bottle of water that he had liberated from the refrigerator in the corner. “I needed to work off some aggression.”

Spike snarled at the other man, secretly pleased that Giles had chosen to spar with him. It was unusual for Giles to train with Spike, however, the matches were long and fierce when they did occur, often triggering the device lodged in Spike’s brain.

Giles raised his head from the floor and threw his empty bottle at Spike. “Oi, Uncle! Get me another!”

Spike threw the plastic bottle back at Giles and stalked over the fridge to grab another one, silently preening at the reference to their shared bloodline. He settled on the floor next to Giles, stretching his muscles to cool down.

Giles sat up and drank the second bottle of water. “So, Spike. What is going on with you and Xander?”

Spike glanced over, suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

“You both have been a bit off since the girls left, now tell me what is going on. Is it is because of the chip? Is Xander having difficulty trusting you?” Giles joined the vampire in stretching.

Spike stopped and leaned back on his hands. “Nah, not the chip.” He contemplated telling Giles to mind his own business, but it didn’t seem that the man meant any harm, so he continued.

“Mrs. Sanderson did some kind of spell on us the night that Anya left. I think that Demon girl had something to do with it, because she took every bloody cleaning solution in the house with her on her trip.”

Spike stretched towards the couch, reaching for his duster. He really couldn’t reach it without moving, so he slid back slightly and pulled it off the couch with his fingertips. He pulled out his cigarettes and Zippo, offering the pack to Giles.

Giles shook his head; he was still too winded to smoke. “What do you mean she put a spell on you, and why would Anya take all the cleaning solutions?”

“Well, she told Xander that it wasn’t a spell, that it was a charm. Something to let us realize our feelings. She put it in some rose soap that she gave to Xander a while back. Bloody bints just keep fucking with my life.” Spike puffed hard on his cigarette, failing to exhale for several puffs.

Giles smirked. Spike had been freed from his electronic leash just in time to discover that he cared for a human who would stake him immediately if he returned to his previous eating habits. Then the young man would live in mourning for the rest of his life, and Spike could never allow that.

“And what did you realize?” Giles’ question floated through the air, silence following in its wake.

“None of your business, Watcher.” Spike stood and pulled on his t-shirt, reaching for his Docs.

“It is my business Spike. We are about to leave for at least two weeks and I will be spending an inordinate amount of time with both you and Xander. I have the right to know if I should separate you both or allow you to… intermingle.” He frowned at the wording in his mind.

“Intermingle? You want to know if I want to intermingle with Xander?” Giles nodded and reached for the pack of cigarettes that was still sitting at Spike’s feet.

Spike thought for a moment. “Yeah. I do. I want to see where this is going, anyway. Maybe nowhere.” He frowned at Giles. “You mind?” He tried to make the question a statement, but failed.

Giles squinted through the cloud of smoke that he exhaled. “No, Spike, I don’t mind. I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. That doesn’t mean that I won’t hurt you if you do anything, and I do mean anything, that might even upset him in the least. Do you understand me?”

Spike smiled, his real smile, the one that Xander was thinking about at that exact moment. “Yeah. I got it. Gonna head home now.” He spun on his heel, draping his duster over his shoulder and shuffling a bit in his not-quite-tied-right Docs. He turned and walked back to Giles. “Forgot my smokes.” He swooped up the cigarettes and the Zippo, dropping them into an exposed pocket of his duster.

He stopped and looked at the man sitting on the floor, smoking his pilfered vice. “Thanks, Rupert. For the fight and the uh…” He waved his hand in the air.

“It’s nothing.” Giles grinned around his cigarette as the vampire stalked out the door.

“Wondered when they would bloody well figure it out.” He crushed the butt against the sole of his shoe before putting them on, slid into his shirt and walked out the back door.

*****

Xander heard Spike’s key in the lock. He lay quietly on the sofa, willing the vampire to just walk past. No such luck. Spike stopped behind the sofa and peered over the back.

“Whatcha sleepin’ out here for, Whelp?” Spike’s tone was teasing. The boy was only sent out to sleep on the couch when Anya was preparing one of her games that they both thought he didn’t know about.

Xander rolled onto his back and looked up at Spike. “Anya and I broke up. I offered her the use of the bed until she can find a place of her own.”

Spike was taken aback. “Broke up?” He looked down at the brunette, almost having to physically restrain himself from picking the boy up and swinging him around the room in his joy.

“Yeah. She met some guy in L.A. and she realized that she’s not been with anyone except me since she became human again, and she wanted to see what it would be like.” Xander’s voice was soft and sleep-tinged.

Spike smiled at the young man. “You ok with that?” Xander smiled back and nodded.

“Yeah, I am.” He reached out a hand and lightly brushed the hand that Spike had lying on the back of the couch. “I really am.”

Spike grinned as Xander rolled over and found a comfortable position. “’Night, Spike.”

“’Night, Xan.” Spike stumbled into his room, dazed. Xander was free. He could kiss him and touch him now, or try to at any rate. Spike dropped his clothes to the ground, toeing off his loose Docs, and climbed into his bed to snuggle under the smooth silk sheets. He fell asleep with a smile on his face, purring lightly.

*****

“I don’t care what you think, Spike! I am not going to live in an abandoned factory!” Xander awoke to the sounds of Anya and Spike arguing. He sat up and looked over the back of the couch. Spike and Anya were sitting at the bar, looking through the classified section of the paper.

“’S not abandoned, you twit! It been remodeled into an apartment. Look here, two bedrooms, open living area, 2 ½ baths…”

“Who needs half a bath? I mean… if you’re the only person living there, why would you need so many toilets?” Anya quirked an eyebrow at Spike.

Spike quirked his own back and slowly answered. “Because, if you had a guest or three that came to visit or to a party or to dinner, you might want to have some place for them to use!”

Anya looked befuddled. “Parties?”

Spike snorted and took a gulp out of the mug sitting to his left. He waited for more from Anya.

“I could have parties! And I could invite people over for dinner and have friends spend the night and with the open living area, I could push all the furniture to the side and have dancing space…”

“There’s the idea. Told you that this was perfect for ya.” Spike finished his drink and got up to rinse out the mug. He pulled the phone from its base and handed it across the bar to the now brunette woman.

“Why’d you dye your hair again?” Xander’s croaky voice broke through to Anya and Spike.

“Good morning! I wanted something new, that’s all. Are you ok? Was the couch too uncomfortable?” Anya looked so concerned that Xander giggled a bit, a very manly giggle.

“Call.” Spike’s growl turned Anya’s attention back to their previous conversation.

“Are you trying to get rid of me? I don’t mind if you and Xander have sex while I’m still here.” Her wide innocent look made Xander blush and make a dash for the bathroom.

“Good going. Now he won’t come out all day,” Spike snarled at Anya who laughed in response.

“I know, but isn’t he cute when he blushes all over?”

Spike considered the question then nodded. “Yeah.”

*****

The entire group got together at the Magic Box later that day. Anya had gone, with Xander in tow, to the refurbished factory. She had squealed as soon as she saw the huge living area and the sunken bathtub in the master suite. All the formalities had been taken care of and the landlord had agreed to have the place professionally cleaned, making it available to move in within a week.

“You should see it, it’s huge! The bedrooms are both the size of the living room at Xander’s apartment and the living area is twice the size of the training room!” Anya continued to regale her audience with the description of her new apartment.

The group hadn’t seemed surprised by Xander and Anya’s announcement that they had broken up, although they still loved each other and were friends. Buffy had, in fact, looked relieved, though no one could figure out why.

Xander glanced over at Spike, who winked at him. “So… What do I get for finding you a new place?” Anya jumped up and kissed Spike full on the mouth, for the third time since signing the lease. Xander was beginning to feel a little jealous. He wasn’t sure of whom, though.

“All right, that’s enough. Anya, are you sure you don’t want to wait until we return from our trip before you move into your new flat?” Giles looked over the tops of his glasses at the excited woman.

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly wait that long to move in. We’ll be ok. Buffy and Willow will help me move my things in and I’ll wait until you guys get back to buy my furniture. Well, other than a bed. I’ve already ordered that.”

Xander closed his eyes and winced. Anya had insisted that he accompany her to pick out her new bed. She’d laid him out across at least a dozen before she had decided on the wrought-iron monstrosity that was now on order from the furniture company.

“You should see the bed! It is so beautiful. And I made sure that there were plenty of spaces where you could attach…” Spike slapped his hand over her mouth and whispered something in her ear. Anya smiled evilly under his hand and nodded. Everyone sighed in relief, but wondered what Spike had said to get the nymphomaniac to stop her description.

Giles took control of the conversation once again. “Tara did you discuss your going to Bermuda with Willow?” Tara nodded, but Willow answered.

“Oh, Giles, I think it is a wonderful idea. I’m gonna hate for her to be gone all that time, but she could get so much done on her project and maybe find out some really interesting information that no one else has ever discovered!” Everyone in the room unconsciously took a deep breath after Willow stopped babbling.

“Does that mean that you have decided to come, then?” Giles gazed hopefully at the blonde Wiccan.

“Yes, I’ll come.” A war whoop filled the air and Xander jumped up and began to dance around the room. When every eye followed him, he stopped and turned slowly to face the crowd behind him. He blushed and said, “Um, hi?”

Anya poked Spike in the side and whispered loudly, “See, told you!”

Buffy looked over, curious. “Told you what?”

Xander looked at Anya and Spike beseechingly, not knowing what Anya was referring to, but absolutely sure that he didn’t want anyone else to know.

“Spike and I were arguing about whether or not Tara would go on the trip.” Anya smoothly lied. Willow, Riley, Tara, Giles and Buffy all nodded, all clearly believing her.

Xander knew her too well, though and recognized the lie for what it was. He walked past her chair and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks.” Barely a whisper in her ear.

*****

“OK. So Willow and Tara are responsible for insuring that all the books that we will need are packed. After that, Willow will maintain contact with me via telephone about all Hellmouth related discoveries or activities. Riley and Buffy are responsible for reporting nightly to Willow about patrols. Anya is responsible for the shop. Xander and Spike are responsible for packing weapons and I am responsible for supervising everyone.” Giles had thrown in the last sentence to see if anyone was truly listening to him. Everyone but Tara nodded; she simply frowned.

Spike raised a single finger in the air. “Yes, Spike?” Giles sighed irritably. They had been over their plan several times in the past two days.

Spike smirked. “What time are we leaving again?” The entire room groaned and Xander dropped his head to the table, a regular occurrence since this discussion had started.

“That’s it, everyone out. NOW!”

Everyone leapt to his or her feet and raced out the front door, Spike hanging back from the group.

“Rupert, see ya tomorrow around four, yeah?” He winked at the Watcher and sauntered out the door, joining Xander and Anya who were waiting for him.

They walked back to their apartment, enjoying the evening breeze. Anya walked between the two men, content with the way things were going. She and Xander were honestly able to remain friends. She had been worried that he would be too hurt to get past her breaking up with him.

Spike was his normal self. He picked fights with Xander and teased Anya unmercifully about her new apartment, calling it the Love Shack.

They reached their apartment and entered the disaster area. Anya had separated all of her things from Xander’s and had half-full boxes stacked throughout the house. Xander and Spike, in their official capacity as ‘Packers of Weapons’, had knives, swords, daggers, maces, stakes and numerous other weapons laid out on every flat surface that they could find, including Anya’s boxes.

When Anya had returned from L.A. with his accounts, Spike had been amazed, not only with the account balances, but the number of accounts themselves. He had not really believed the Poof would willingly give up control of this part of Spike’s life. Anya had assured him that Angel had had no problems with giving up the information.

With his newfound wealth, Spike and Anya had gone out and expanded his wardrobe for the trip. They knew that the Council had rented them a house, but they knew nothing else about it. Spike worried about having to wash his three outfits and had spent the better part of four hours trying on and vetoing various items of clothing that Anya had picked out.

He had actually come out of the entire experience with a nice variety of clothes. They had found a store that had all of their men’s clothing on clearance and a specialty shop that had aisle after aisle of leather. No one realized it, but Spike enjoyed looking good, he liked to dress. He had stuck with the black on black simply because it was easy to maintain and gave off the image he had been trying to project when he first arrived in Sunnydale.

Spike had returned home with twenty silken t-shirts in various designs and shades of blue, red, black and gray; five pair of black jeans; two leather vests; three pair of faded blue jeans; five pair of leather pants in various colors; two pair of Dr. Marten boots, one black and one gray; fifteen button down shirts in silk, satin and cotton; two new leather jackets; a pair of Dr. Marten sandals that Spike swore he had never seen before and would never wear; two ten-packs of socks; two pair of Oakley sunglasses, a pair of black on black Minute Jackets, and a pair of black Splices with emerald lenses; two different  Oakley leather belts; five new heavy silver rings; three new silver chains; four thick silver bracelets; a variety of leather jewelry and one pair of swimming trunks, fire engine red with blue flames.

Anya had also insisted that he buy a smallish, leather, Louis Vuitton traveling trunk in which to tote his new stash around the country.

Xander eyed Spike’s booty. “Tell me again why you need not one, but two pair of sunglasses, Mr. Allergic to the Sun?”

Spike slid the Minutes over his ears. “’Cause they look damn good.” Xander had to agree on that point. He walked to his own suitcase that was half-packed on the other side of the room.

“Hey, Ahn? Do you know what happened to my boxers?” Xander dug through his suitcase, unable to locate any of the underwear that he had packed for the trip.

“Ask Spike.” Came the answer from Xander’s bedroom where Anya was busy packing her own things. Spike, who was sitting on the couch, gave Xander his best innocent look, which was highly ineffective due to his eyes being completely covered by his sunglasses.

“Give ‘em back, fangless!”

Spike exposed said fangs to the other man, smirking the best he could around them. “Threw ‘em away, didn’t I? Told you, you need to go without.” Spike appeared completely unrepentant about stealing Xander’s boxers, so Xander did the only thing he could. He jumped the vampire.

“You jerk!” Xander landed on top of Spike, ignoring the vampire’s warning to not touch his glasses. Spike grabbed Xander and threw them both to the floor, rolling them until he was lying on top of the slightly larger man.

“What did I say about watching the glasses, mate?” He glared down at Xander; his new sunglasses barely perched on his nose. Xander couldn’t help but laughing.

“You look like Giles!” A loud growl filled the room, which caused Xander to laugh even harder. Spike considered his options. He could get off the boy and pout, he could get off the boy and leave or he could stay on the boy and just shut him up. He opted for number three.

Spike captured the other man’s mouth, lightly drawing Xander’s bottom lip between his teeth. Xander suddenly forgot why he was laughing and wrapped his arms around Spike’s back, pulling the smaller man closer and deepening the kiss.

Tongues snaked out and barely touched, tasting and learning. Xander hesitantly probed Spike’s mouth, running his tongue along Spike’s teeth, testing their sharpness. Spike moaned when Xander’s questing tongue probed his hidden fangs, causing them to drop slightly.

Spike pulled back, giving Xander a chance to catch his breath. He looked into the chocolate brown eyes below him that seemed to glow in the harsh light of the overhead fixture. When Spike saw that Xander had captured a lungful of oxygen, he dropped back down and plundered Xander’s mouth once again.

It was Xander’s turn to moan when Spike’s tongue routed out all the sensitive places in his mouth. He allowed his tongue to play against Spike’s, learning the other man’s taste, something sweet and warm, salty. Spike melted into Xander’s body, drawing himself deeper into the kiss.

Suddenly the sound of clapping filtered through their lust muddled brains and both men looked over to the doorway to see Anya leaning against the frame, a smile plastered on her face.

“Very nice! Do it again, I think I missed part of it.” Xander groaned and shoved Spike off of him, returning to his suitcase to finish packing.

Spike growled at the woman who had interrupted his snogging. “Bugger off!”

Anya laughed and walked into the room, ignoring the pouting vampire. She walked over to Xander and sat down on the floor beside him. “Do you have everything?” Xander pulled out the list that Anya had made for him and looked it over.

“Yeah, except for underwear.” He scowled at the blond man who had swapped out his glasses and was now peering at Xander through emerald green lenses.

Anya glanced over at Spike’s trunk. “Do you?” Spike mentally reviewed his things.

“Shit, forgot all my toiletries.” Xander giggled at the sound of ‘toiletries’ coming out of the badass vampire’s mouth.

“Sod off.” Spike walked into the bathroom, gathering his toiletries into the bag that Anya had made him purchase for that purpose. For some reason it seemed more full than it had when he first started packing it.

He dug down past his toothbrush, toothpaste and shampoo before he found the cause. Anya had made some additions. He grinned and finished stuffing his gel into the bag. He zipped it shut and walked back into the living room, swinging the bag from one finger. He tossed it into the trunk and slammed the lid shut. He pulled out the padlock that Anya had insisted coordinated with the trunk’s exterior design and walked across the room to slip the key into a duster pocket before padlocking the trunk shut.

“All done!” Spike heralded.

 Xander frowned at him from across the room where Anya was digging through his suitcase, tossing rejected clothing over her shoulder. “Ack! Where did you get this? Really Xander, red and blue stripes?” She continued to dig through his suitcase, taking out items and replacing them with what she felt was more appropriate.

“You know, Ahn,” Xander said conversationally. “You did break up with me. You don’t really get to dress me anymore.”

Anya rolled her eyes at him and continued repairing his wardrobe, sneaking in pieces that she’d had Spike buy last night. “Yes, I can. You’re single now, you have to dress to impress. Otherwise, how will you attract a mate?”

Xander snorted. “You broke up with me because I liked Spike. Wouldn’t that do away with your finding a mate theory?” Spike looked over at Anya from his perch on the couch, interested.

Anya sighed loudly and glared at her ex-boyfriend. “Have you looked at Spike lately?” Spike preened and posed, enjoying the attention he was being paid. “He is sex on legs. If you want to be with him, you have to look at least as good as him.” Spike growled and Anya amended her statement. “Not that anyone could look as good as him.” She smiled at Spike, who, in turn, stretched so that his new, skin-tight, burgundy silk t-shirt raised and treated the two brunettes to a view of his rippled abdomen.

Anya and Xander drooled accordingly, so Spike stood and sauntered towards the door, strutting to show off his assets. He stopped and turned back, prowling over to where Xander was sitting on the floor. He pulled the younger man up by his shirt and kissed him hard, pressing him up against the wall.

“’Night,” he whispered as he pulled back to give Xander air.

“Uhghn…” was Xander’s pithy reply.

Anya waited until Spike was ensconced in his room before rushing into the bedroom to grab her waterproof vibrator and heading for the shower.

Xander stayed where he was, pressed up against the wall, staring at nothing. When the shower started, he came out of his daze. Glancing around the room, he noticed that both Anya and Spike were gone.

Crap. He’d missed stuff again.

Xander pulled his blanket and pillow out from underneath a pile of Anya’s shoes and shoved another pile off of the couch. He tossed his pillow onto the end of his makeshift bed and wrapped his blanket around himself before lying down.

He replayed the two new kisses in his mind. Spike’s skin, his lips, his tongue… Xander felt his body respond to the memories. He had felt Spike, too. His hardness pressed against Xander’s thigh, rubbing slightly when he shifted to get a better angle.

He closed his eyes and thought of the man sleeping on the other side of the wall. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

THE TRIANGLE 10