Xander let Spike lead him back to the car. The vampire bundled Xander into the passenger seat and quickly drove them home. He'd loved being at the club, exposed to all those hot, admiring eyes. It was quite a thrill to be seen by so many, to be so wanted.

However, after their last bout, Spike had been overcome with an intense need to get his boy alone. The vampire was brutally honest with himself; he knew exactly why he wanted Xander tucked away in their bedroom. What he wanted to do next was something for them and them alone, something he couldn't bear to share with anyone else.

Having someone get too close to Xander in the club had solidified something within Spike. Xander was his. *His*. So long as Spike walked this bloody earth, no one else would ever get within striking distance of his boy. He couldn't risk anything happening to this sweet youth because Xander held his heart. If something happened to the boy, Spike would be lost.

For that reason, Spike was letting his mind return to something both he and Xander had let lie fallow for quite some time. When they'd first gone to that club, something very... unusual had occurred. Oh, they'd both enjoyed it, yes they had.

Spike had bitten Xander. He'd sunk his fangs into the boy, and hadn't felt so much as a glimmer of pain. No, they'd both enjoyed the hell out of that encounter. Feeling that most intimate part of Xander flowing into him, knowing that the boy was being pleasured from the act as well... Spike had nearly died his last death.

Spike wanted that again, yes. He wanted to sink his fangs back into that lovely, tight body, feel Xander writhe under him as ecstasy raced from the bite to his cock and back. However, that wasn't all that Spike wanted. What the vampire wanted was to feel Xander's blunt human teeth rip into his own immortal flesh, to experience the rapture that was sure to come when his boy suckled at his neck, completing that perfect circuit. All he would have to do is utter the right words, at just the right moment, and Xander would be his forever. A simple spell, a binding chant that Dru had taught him one dark winter night when the winds were howling like wolves.

Then they would be one, tied together in a union infinitely closer than any human marriage, one that would last until the end of their world. Xander would be rendered immortal, forever in the form he was now. It wouldn't take much, just blood and words. And in the end, wasn't that what lay between them anyway? Xander's blood heat, words they rarely said, but always meant.

If only Xander wanted it, would accept Spike in his life like that. The vampire wasn't sure if the boy would, if he could convince Xander that it was something good, something right for them. Or perhaps Xander wouldn't want to be bound for eternity to a soulless demon, the epitome of everything he hated.

Xander glanced over at Spike, wondering what had the vampire so tense. He could fairly feel the anxiety radiating off his lover. Still, he remained silent, knowing that whatever it was, Spike would tell him in good time. He couldn't think of anything from the club that would've bothered Spike, but perhaps there had been something he'd missed.

When Spike finally got Xander inside their apartment, the first thing he did was remove the offensive layers separating their bodies. Xander let Spike pull their clothes off, even the collar that had by now become an extension of Xander's own skin. The young man let Spike carry him into their bedroom, where the vampire laid him down gently on the mussed covers of their bed.

"Spike?" Xander murmured, drawing his lover down to him. "Something wrong?"

Spike shook his head, and then buried his face in Xander's neck. He breathed deeply, scenting arousal, sweat and the lingering perfume of leather on his boy's sweet skin. "Want you," He whispered, curling his arms around Xander to hold him close.

Xander frowned slightly at the desperation in Spike's voice. "I'm right here," He assured Spike, returning the embrace.

Spike's arms tightened around Xander's chest. "Need you. Love you," He said, his voice shaking. "Forever, Xander."

"Not going anywhere," Xander replied, not sure where this had come from. "Not for a long time."

Spike's head whipped up. "Not forever!" He demanded, eyes flashing. "Don't leave, not ever," He said, voice almost begging. "Stay with me." The blonde's face slowly sank back down to Xander's throat, where he began to caress the boy's skin with blunt teeth.

"For as long as I can," Xander promised. The feel of Spike's teeth on his neck had him thinking of other things, of bites and mind-shattering pleasure and a feeling of closeness he'd not felt since the first and last time Spike had taken of him. His body hardened as sensual memories flooded his consciousness. Xander was oddly sure that Spike wouldn't hurt him, wouldn't take too much, and he wanted that connection. Perhaps that's what Spike needed too. Maybe after being exposed so completely as they had been that night, Spike and he both needed something to anchor them.

"You can, you know," Xander murmured, pushing his neck into Spike's mouth.

Spike shook his head. "Want more," He stated, licking the spot where he would bite if he were to do such a thing. Oh, how he wanted to bite, to bring Xander inside him forever.

A small lightbulb came on in Xander's head. "What do you want?" He asked. "'Cause you know I'll give you anything if you ask for it."

Once again that blonde head lifted, letting blue eyes rest on Xander's face. "Would you?" /Would you, knowing what I know about what I want?/ Spike thought to himself.

"Of course," Xander said simply. Didn't Spike know that he was the centre of Xander's universe?

Spike took a deep breath and decided that now was as good a time as any to take the biggest chance of his unlife. "Stay with me forever, then. Don't ever leave me, never die on me."

Xander stilled. "You want to turn me?" He asked carefully, his mind growing cold and numb. Of all the things Spike could have asked for, this was one of the few that Xander couldn't fathom doing. Whether he would or not was something different, though. Spike was a major source of irrational behavior in Xander's life.

"No," Spike denied, shaking his head. "Bind you to me, forever. Don't wanna turn you. You'd be different," Spike continued, holding the boy so tightly to him that neither could tell where one started and the other stopped. "I love you, the way you are," He whispered. "An' I want you with me, here, forever." Spike fell silent, unable to continue. He prayed to whatever gods liked vampires that Xander would understand, would see that what Spike wanted had nothing to do with killing the human that Xander was.

Xander stared at the shadow-covered ceiling. He wanted the same thing that Spike did; the idea of growing old and dying, of someday suffering the loss of Spike's presence in his life, as the vampire wandered off in search of some younger lover... But he didn't see how Spike was going to do anything about that. And besides, why would Spike want him around for that long anyway?

Spike growled. "Because I love you!" He shouted, moving up to put his face right in Xander's. "That's why," He continued in a softer voice. "Won't ever love anyone like I love you. Not the kind of thing you find more than once."

Xander blinked, unnerved by that piercing gaze. "How?" He asked, still trapped by those eyes. He couldn't believe that Spike wanted him around that long, but he also couldn't help wanting to know how it would be possible for them to never be separated by the ravages of time.

Spike licked his lips. "Binding spell," He murmured. "Tie us together. Since I don't get older, neither would you," He explained slowly. He rubbed his body along Xander's, indulging himself in the feel of his boy's body. Oh, if he could only have this for the rest of his unlife...

Xander's mind was a cacophony of voices. One that sounded suspiciously like Buffy kept asking him what the hell he was doing, thinking about letting himself be tied in any way to a vampire. Another one, Giles this time, questioned his intelligence and wisdom. Willow was a small, whiny voice asking if he was going to be a bad person afterwards. After all, he was as yet a young man, and this creature lying in his bed was an ancient trickster. The other voices, though, were all Xander's, questioning whether he loved Spike enough, or if Spike really loved him, or if he could handle living on while his friends got old and died... if he could live with Spike when the chip eventually stopped working and the vampire could once again harm other humans.

Then Xander looked up at Spike. In those bluest eyes he saw everything he needed to see. Absolute acceptance, love, need and want. He saw that they could work though their difficulties, petty and otherwise. Xander saw that when he wept over his friends' deaths, Spike would hold him and not laugh at blood spilt and lives cut short. And finally, for the first time, Xander saw that to Spike, he was more important than the demon that resided within the blonde's cold body. "Yes," He whispered, smiling softly up at Spike.

Spike's eyes widened as that single word registered. Yes, yes, yes... A single, long shudder wracked the vampire's body. He bent his head to Xander's, bringing their lips together. The kiss was achingly tender, soft and slow, meant to seduce and consume.

Xander let Spike overwhelm him with the kiss, knowing that the vampire had understood and accepted his response. When the blonde finally broke away to trail that cool, wet tongue over Xander's neck, the boy just tipped his head back more. His body was shouting, screaming for this; to let Spike consume him, brand him forever. Xander could feel that same frantic energy pulsing through Spike; both of their bodies were fairly humming with it.

Spike fought back his tears as his face shifted. Sharp fangs traced over soft skin briefly, testing. Then he struck. Hot, pure blood flowed past ivory and spilled over his tongue, sweeter and more potent than the finest wine. He felt Xander stiffen and jerk and knew that the rapture he felt was mirrored in his lover.

Xander clawed at Spike's back, demanding more of the crushing pleasure that accompanied the bite. He thrust helplessly against Spike, grinding their aching cocks together. All too soon, the vampire pulled away from his neck, taking with him that blinding sensation. Spike twisted, descended, pressing his own cool throat against Xander's lips. Xander didn't stop to think; he opened his mouth and struck, sinking his far more blunt teeth into that smooth skin, drawing blood which he quickly consumed. It was cool and rich, wiping away every memory Xander ever had of anyone else. He'd had no lovers before Spike, and none would come after. The young man's universe narrowed to the body above his, to the jarring pleasure they were sharing as they twisted and ground against each other.

As orgasm began to build, the monstrous creation of slick pressure, intoxicating blood and exquisite pain, Xander heard his lover's sibilant voice. Hissed and growled words that solidified in the air, twining around their bodies, sinking in and disappearing. Xander released Spike's throat as he felt hot and cold seed release on his belly and mix together. Then cool lips met his as he convulsed through his climax, gentling him into the blackness of oblivion.

/Thirty-one/