__Bright Red__
By Dutchbuffy



Wesley was carrying a stack of guest sheets and towels toward the couch when he caught a glimpse of his unexpected guest through the open door of the bathroom.

Spike was studying himself in the mirror, nose pressed almost to the glass. He stuck out his tongue, drew back his lips to check his teeth and looked at himself from all possible angles. Then he opened the bathroom cabinet and proceeded to sniff all Wesley's personal care stuff, now wrinkling his nose, then applying it to the appropriate locations. To Wesley the most amazing thing was that this former vampire had no idea that he was being watched. If he no longer possessed the keen sense of the supernatural predator, he must feel deaf and blind.

Spike's face became intent; he seemed to have found something of greater interest. He held up a spare shaving blade. Wesley held his breath but didn’t interfere when Spike pressed it to the skin of his lower arm. He made a quick, neat cut without flinching and looked on steadily at the bright red blood spattering slowly in the shiny white porcelain of the washbowl. Wesley saw that the cut hadn't hit a major artery and managed to restrain himself from leaping in with bandages and disinfectant.

Almost reluctantly, Spike brought this arm to his face and licked at the blood. He paused, took another lick, and then went back to staring at the slowly dripping liquid. Wesley was so intent on the bright red stream himself, that he almost missed the other motion going on. Spike had become hard and was slowly stroking his cock, all the while continuing to gaze at his own blood. Part of Wesley found this completely logical. A vampire was after all bound to be excited by the sight of blood. Another part of him was repulse by this link between pain and sex, and the last part of Wesley was getting rock hard in his pants.

He wanted to remove himself away from the bathroom, didn’t want to be caught staring, but as he took the first step his cock was constricted so delightfully by the cloth of his underpants that a small gasp escaped him. Wesley froze in panic, and Spike turned slowly to stare at him with faraway eyes, cock still in hand.

"Sorry, just bringing you some towels," Wesley covered quickly.

Spike's eyebrows rose and he smiled faintly. He walked slowly towards Wesley, took the stack of sheets from his hands and threw them on the floor. Then he put his hand on Wesley's groin and squeezed almost painfully.

"I hoped you were bringing me this," he said.

Wesley went to the place in his mind where he knew exactly what to do with someone who wanted sex and pain and possibly degradation. He grabbed Spike's shoulder hard, noting with a faint prick of guilt that he held him where black bruises bloomed angrily, right where Angel had shaken Spike.

"Get on your knees and suck me,'' he growled.

He saw bliss on Spike's face while he quickly sat down on his knees and went to open Wesley's pants. His aching cock sprang out, and Spike's hot mouth was on him before he could snap out another command. Oh God. It had been months, months of longing and pain, seeing Lilah skulk in the archives, look ing sadder and sadder, and he'd found nothing yet to help her. He scrunched his fingers in Spike's curls and gave himself over to sensation.

Wesley was looking down from a few feet above his head, and saw his own face lost in ecstasy and Spike's eager sucking movement, gripping Wesley's ass hard. Suddenly that wasn't enough. He rushed back down in his body and spoke.

"Let's get to the bed," he said.

They stumbled to his bedroom. Wesley threw the covers open and made Spike lie down on his belly. He found the little bottle of lube, which still seemed okay though it was over the sell-by date, and greased Spike up, thrusting a finger in roughly, then two.

Spike was tight, and Wesley could see by the shudders that went though him that it must hurt.

"Make me feel it, Watcher," Spike said between clenched teeth. "Make it hurt."

Wesley thrust in, slowly at first, then harder. "No I won't. You're alive. Don't ever doubt that you’re alive. No need to hurt you to make you feel it."

"I need…"Spike gasped. "I need…"

His words ended in a guttural moan and Wesley saw through a haze of sweat and eyelashes that Spike was biting the pillows and clawing his hands in the sheets. Spike was feeling something alright, and Wesley stopped caring what that feeling was exactly. He moved faster, only just hanging on to something resembling a rhythm.

The world narrowed to a dim tunnel where all Wesley could see were those hands, the tendons standing out like thick cords, the nails bitten to the quick. His body kept moving like an automaton and after what seemed hours of harsh thrusting, orgasm came over him suddenly. His thighs quivered as if he'd run a fast mile and he sank down on Spike's sweat-beaded back. He licked a few droplets off Spikes neck and the salt revived him enough that most of his wits returned. He rolled off with a groan and when Spike didn’t react, but stayed put with his face still in the pillows, he pushed over the hot, limp body and checked out if he'd even come, or passed out, or died.

Wesley felt like the biggest prat on earth. He'd been pistoning away, thinking of nothing but his own pleasure, unable to think of anything but the feeling in his dick, while he should have been taking care of the recent returnee. He brushed a sodden platinum curl away form Spike's pale forehead and was rewarded with the lazy opening of his eyes. The first moment they opened, they were an improbable cornflower blue, and then slowly the pupils enlarged and darkened the eyes. Spike smiled, lifting up an arm to draw Wes's head near and kissed him deeply.

"You're just what a bloke needs," he said languidly and fell asleep, leaving Wesley bemused and irritated.

He'd have liked to talk, ask a thousand questions, but the damn ex-vampire seemed to be doing nothing but eat and sleep. He sighed and settled against the headboard, too wired to follow Spike into sleep yet.

He noticed a dark, wet spot on his dark-blue bedding. Spike's blood, form the cut on his arm. Wesley decided to buy white sheets, the better to see the bright red stain. Spike's pale body, spread out on white sheets, in a bedroom with white walls and open windows on all sides, where the sunlight could stream in and the wind move the blowing white cotton curtains and the sound of the sea would drown his screams. The red bloodstain would slowly become bigger and bigger and the blood would drip onto the wooden floor. Wesley woke with a shock in his own bedroom; he couldn't have been asleep more than a few minutes. Spike was lying beside him, fast asleep, snoring peacefully. Wesley pressed his lips to Spike's warm smooth shoulder. Just a dream. Of course he wouldn't kill Spike, and his bedroom walls were burgundy.

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