"'S because last time I was here, it wasn't pretty," Spike replied, his voice muffled by a heavy blanket. The vampire was lying in the back seat, covered up to protect him from the morning sun. They were still several hours from Paris, but due to the daylight, Xander had had to start driving. "Middle of winter, mud an' angry peasants everywhere. Couldn't find a car, Dru screamin' for some doll. Not pretty."

Xander shuddered, imagining an icy, mucky Spike with Dru in tow. "It's better now. Wish you could see it."

"Take a picture," Spike suggested from underneath his protective cover. "Camera's in the bag on the seat." The vampire knew that he'd get to see plenty of the countryside during their trip, but it would all be at night.

"Hmm..." Xander hummed as he looked around. There was a pull-off not too far away, so he steered the car that way. "I'll be right back," He told Spike as he poured out of the car, camera in hand.

The morning sun felt good on Xander's skin, burning away the last bits of mist from the landscape. He loaded a cartridge of film into the instant camera and wandered around, snapping pictures of this and that.

Spike listened to the sound of Xander's shoes scuffling along the road, the scrape of rubber on gravel. The snap of the camera punctuated the boy's movements, a pause and click every few steps. He swore he could feel a breath of warm air pass over him as Xander returned to the car, bringing life back with him.

"Hey, Blondie," Xander whispered to the lumpy blanket in the back seat. "You awake?"

"Yeah," Spike muttered. He heard rustling, followed by the slamming of a car door. A moment later, the passenger door nearest his feet opened, letting in a whiff of cool morning air. A brief touch, a familiar weight, and then Xander was burrowing under his blanket, bringing hot skin and sparkling eyes to Spike's shelter.

"Fancy meeting you here," Xander whispered, pressing his smiling face to Spike's neck. The vampire wrapped his arms around Xander's waist, shifting his legs apart to make room for the boy between them. Xander responded by pressing himself more firmly against Spike and sighing happily.

"Take any good pictures?" Spike asked, rubbing one hand idly along Xander's back.

"Mm hmm," Xander hummed. The young man reached up, holding a picture over Spike's face. The vampire squinted a bit, and then smiled. It was the car, parked alongside a row of trees. The road stretched out in the distance like a gray snake, disappearing into the horizon.

"Nice, pet," He said. "Anything else?"

Xander grinned. "Whatcha gonna give me for them?" He asked suggestively. "Hmm?"

Spike glanced down at Xander. "Nothing," The vampire replied.

"Nothing?" Xander echoed, dismayed. "But they're good pictures!"

Spike twisted, carefully turning them over until Xander was underneath him, the blanket still blocking out the sun. "Nothing," He whispered again, "Sweet nothings."

Xander shuddered, clasping Spike close. Cool lips brushed against his neck, touching just-healed bite marks. "Sw-weet...noo..things..." The brunette stuttered, taking shallow breaths.

Spike nibbled on Xander's ear, quick fingers finding and releasing the fastenings on his boy's clothes. Each inch of skin bared was met with a tender caress and a murmured endearment. "Sweet nothings, sweet boy," Spike hissed, "Sweetest skin, mouth like honey." The blonde followed up his praise by pressing his lips to Xander's, tantalizing himself with the briefest taste of his irresistible lover.

Xander lay boneless underneath Spike, soaking up the vampire's attention. He liked it when they had the time to take it slow and enjoy themselves like this. Lazy kisses, slow caresses. It didn’t hurt that Spike's chocolate and whisky voice was drugging him, pulling him deeper into a slowly spinning pool of smile-and-gasp.

"So sweet," Spike murmured, laving at a warm nipple. Xander moaned when cool fingers reached inside his jeans, freeing his hardened flesh. That moan deepened when Spike lowered himself back down, stroking Xander's body with his own. Xander didn't recall Spike removing his clothes, but he had. "Nothing is so sweet as you," The blonde swore, dragging his erection alongside Xander's.

Xander's arms came up to hold Spike to him, pictures falling forgotten onto the floorboard. The vampire groaned as strong fingers splayed out on his back, stripes of heat burning into his skin. Xander turned his head, finding Spike's lips with his own. The words Spike was saying were as sharp as they were tender and he couldn't bear to hear any more, not when his body was begging him to find a way to be closer to Spike, to get inside his lover, to where he didn't ever have to leave.

Spike let Xander ravage his mouth, warm tongue bringing life and the welcome taste of the boy back to him. The driving, frantic urge between them built, twining around a still-languid desire to simply be together, quiet in the dawn and the fog. Spike wanted to come, to never have this end, to stay with Xander like this until all the stars fell.

Xander screamed down Spike's throat, crying out his climax. Hot seed punctuated his tremors, scorching Spike's belly. The vampire let his eyes roll back as he shuddered in concert, unwilling to leave Xander for even the length of time it took to hold off his own orgasm.

"Forty-nine," Xander panted, running one hand through Spike's hair. The other rested softly on the vampire's ass, a smooth counterpart to the rough blanket.

"Mmm," Spike murmured, burying his face against Xander's neck. He sucked briefly on the sweat-kissed skin before melting against the boy's warm body, letting himself drift towards sleep. It was daylight, after all. He was supposed to sleep...

"You never looked at the rest of the pictures," Xander said, frowning. "Spike? Are you listening to me? Spike?"

•••

"Damn it," Buffy swore, kicking the wall. Angel winced when he saw the dent she'd left. "We missed them again!"

Angel sighed. "Not by much," He told her. "They couldn't have gotten far."

"Indeed," Giles agreed. He held out one hand, displaying a small duffle bag. "They left this."

Buffy grabbed the bag, upending it onto the bed. Angel and Giles watched as she examined and discarded a razor, some socks, a map of London, three suckers, and a gum wrapper. "More pictures," She said, holding up a small stack of photographs.

Angel and Giles stood behind her, looking at each one as she held it up. Each was of Xander, in front of some monument or famous place. In each, he was smiling--sometimes wry, often widely, with a smirk or two thrown in. At least once, the young man was posed in what even Giles would admit was a provocative stance, flirting openly with the camera.

"But none of this tells us where they went," Buffy complained, pitching the photos back onto the bed. "I guess we're back at square one: going through travel records *again*."

Angel glanced at Giles, who simply shrugged. "It shouldn't take long," The Watcher commented.