Spike was roused out of his stupor by a sudden increase in Xander's heart rate. The boy's pulse was racing, every muscle in his body tensing. The blonde lifted his head up in time to catch the look of panic in Xander's eyes. The vampire's mind screamed in warning. Xander wasn't doubting this, couldn't possibly have changed his mind...

Xander watched Spike watch him, saw rising worry in those beloved eyes. The previous evening's activities came back in a rush. The collar. The Absinthe Room. The binding... "Hey," Xander whispered, relaxing a little. Now that he knew why his mouth tasted of Spike's blood, he wasn't so upset. It wasn't as though he'd mauled his lover in his sleep. "Sleep well?"

Spike catalogued each symptom of anxiety that the boy had--felt each and every one fade away. The smile on Xander's face was genuine; the relaxation that melted his boy's warm body was real. "Very, you?" Spike murmured, edging up to align their mouths.

"Good," Xander replied as Spike kissed him. He would've been content to spend the morning tasting his lover's mouth, but his body had other ideas. After a minute or two, Xander's stomach began to growl. Spike laughed into Xander's mouth and broke the kiss.

"Haveta feed you, hmm?" He said, rolling off Xander's body.

"Unless you like emaciated lovers, yeah," Xander agreed. He levered himself off the bed, already missing the weight of Spike's body on his own. Xander glanced one more time at the bloody mess that was Spike's neck, and then raised a tentative hand to his own. However, all he found was a healing bite mark.

Spike made a querying sound as he watched Xander. "Somethin' wrong, pet?"

Xander grimaced. "You were a lot neater than I was. Uh... you might wanna wash your neck off." He gestured towards Spike's throat.

The vampire felt his skin, flaking off bits of dried blood. "Yeah," He agreed. Now that Xander had mentioned it, his skin had begun to itch. He walked into the bathroom while Xander went into the kitchen to find something to eat.

When Spike found Xander in the kitchen, the boy was standing over the sink, naked. In one hand was a half-gallon container of peanut butter-chocolate ice cream. In the other was a spoon. The scene was classic Xander; a boy and his confection, stripped down to its basic elements. Spike found himself oddly touched. It never ceased to amaze the vampire how an act that would have once provoked nothing but mockery would now make him sentimental.

Shaking off his maudlin thoughts, Spike walked up behind the young man, wrapping cool arms around a warm waist. "Want some?" Xander asked, proffering a cream-covered spoon.

Spike leaned around Xander's shoulder and caught the utensil as it reached his mouth. A burst of rich, sweet chocolate and almost-salty peanut butter flooded his mouth, overlaid with the taste of Xander. The boy had just taken a bite from the spoon before offering it to the vampire.

Xander turned in Spike's arms, smearing melted ice cream from the carton along the vampire's chest as maneuvered. "Oops," He said, grinning. Spike smirked around the spoon in his mouth as Xander deposited the ice cream container on the counter and bent his head to Spike's chest, licking at the sweet fluid.

Spike's smirk disappeared as his mouth fell open. Xander trailed his tongue across smooth skin to lave at a pale nipple, nipping sharply with his teeth before soothing away the hurt with soft lips. Spike let the spoon clatter to the floor as he picked Xander up with both hands and sat him on the counter.

Xander growled as his treat was taken away from him. The warning sound was quickly smothered as Spike claimed his mouth in a hard yet gentle kiss, stealing away from Xander the last traces of chocolate from his lips. Xander reached between them, grasping both of their erections in one warm hand. Spike leaned into the touch, moaning as Xander started a steady, slow rhythm.

"Mmm," Xander hummed as Spike released his mouth to suckle at the healing bites on his neck. "Spike and chocolate." He licked his lips and reached for the ice cream, dipping his hands into the softening stuff. Spike tipped his head back to watch Xander, eyes tracking the peanut butter-and-chocolate covered hand as it drew ever closer.

Xander drew his fingers over Spike's lips, painting the vampire's pale flesh dark. Then he dropped his hand down to join its mate as he leaned forward to renew their kiss.

Spike let Xander inside, dueling peacefully with that warm tongue as equally warm hands coaxed him closer and closer to release. Of all the things he'd thought would follow their binding, this easy, playful encounter wasn't one of them. Slow but ever spiraling onward, Spike could feel his body tighten, urge him forward, closer to this most precious boy who was making a feast of his mouth.

Xander dove deeper inside Spike, swimming easily past those first fleshly barriers. He felt himself slide under the surface, even as the sand under him fell away. He was adrift, lost in a dark ocean of his lover. Spike was in and around him, pulling him ever deeper. Cool but not frigid, welcoming and... home. That was it exactly; Spike was home. Somewhere deep inside the vampire was the only place Xander's soul wanted to be.

Spike swallowed the low cry that signaled Xander's climax, letting it blend with his own as he thrust into those warm fingers. He purred as Xander lapped at the last traces of chocolate around his mouth, holding his boy tight to him. "Thirty-two," Xander murmured, laying his head on Spike's shoulder. "I think we both need a shower now."