b u r n . i n . t h e . f i r e . o f . l o v e

Burn in the Fire of Love
[by victoria p.]

Rating: R

Summary: Angel and Xander have a moment

Notes: Thanks Dot, Meg, Jen, and Pete. I stole Pete's idea and ran with it. Sorry, Pete.

This story is nominated for a Candy Store Award, which is damn cool.

Once, long ago, things had been simple.

There were vampires. Vampires were bad. Buffy killed vampires.

Then she fell in love with one. One who had a soul.

And that changed everything.

What had once been so clear in Xander's mind was now muddied. He hated Angel, but Angel was good. Then Angel was evil. And then Angel was good, but he was gone, so it was okay. Xander didn't even really hate him anymore. He actually kind of liked him, in a strange way. Looked up to him. Almost.

And now, Angel was back. And Buffy was dead. Willow was dead. Giles was dead. Xander wasn't dead yet, but he soon would be. And Angel -- not Angel, but Angelus -- stood staring strangely at Xander as the warehouse slowly went up in flames. His eyes were dark with something that might have been passion. Xander wasn't sure. He reached out and brushed the hair back from Xander's forehead before moving suddenly behind him, pulling him as far from the flames consuming the warehouse as he could.

"I did it for you, Xander. All for you," the vampire whispered into the young man's ear. He gently wrapped an arm around Xander's waist. "I've loved you since I first laid eyes on you. All this -- this was just my way of making sure you were safe, making sure no one else could have you. It's a shame we won't be around to make the most of it."

His sudden fury during the fight with the demons made sense now. He had killed demons with a ferocity that shocked Xander; he'd helped Giles rig the explosives. They hadn't expected the second wave of demons, the ones who'd killed Buffy. Angel had made sure Xander was behind him at all times, protected. Xander had thought he was protecting the bomb -- the kamikaze death strike that meant they would all die so that the world might live. Though why Angelus cared about the world was another mystery, one he wouldn't have time to solve.

There was something sickeningly seductive about the vampire's words. Xander felt his heart beating faster, and it wasn't simply fear, though the fear was almost overwhelming. Some small part of him was aroused at the idea that he could inspire such passion. Such violence.

He knew he was going to die. Angelus would be dead also -- there was no way out now, not with the explosives the Scooby Gang had rigged in order to ensure that the Kaedar demons didn't get free from the warehouse. It was actually not a warehouse, but a holding cell, warded by magics older than mankind, in which the demons had been imprisoned eons ago. The wards changed the location and appearance of the building to suit the times, but some stupid cult of demon-worshipers had tried to set the Kaedar free.

The fire would reset the wards that had been broken. At least, that was what the prophecy Giles found had said. The Kaedar would annihilate the planet if they were allowed out, and that couldn't happen. They wouldn't let it.

No one had planned on Angelus getting free again, and coming to Sunnydale. Least of all Xander.

"No one will ever know," Angelus whispered, taking Xander's chin in his hand and turning the younger man's head. "Kiss me," he murmured, pressing cool, dry lips to Xander's.

Much to his horror and shame, Xander felt himself responding. His lips parted and allowed Angel's tongue access to his mouth. His eyes closed as the vampire kissed him brutally; he pressed himself closer to Angel, somehow wanting him, wanting more... wanting death.

The flames moved closer and Xander knew that burning to death was nothing he'd ever wanted to experience. That horror was uppermost in his mind when he whispered against Angel's lips, "Drink me." He certainly wasn't thinking about how the idea of Angel's fangs against his neck, sucking his blood, aroused him painfully.

He felt Angel's face change against his lips as the vampire answered him, trailing a line of kisses along his jaw before sinking his incisors into Xander's jugular.

God, thought Xander, as his eyes rolled up in his head and the most intense pleasure he'd ever felt radiated down through his body as Angelus drank from him. Angel was rubbing his thigh between Xander's legs, the friction increasing the sensation. And then he was coming. Oh, God, he moaned, but silently. He couldn't speak anymore. He was too weak. He was dying. In that moment he knew the truth. "Angel," he murmured as the vampire lowered him to the ground.

"What, my love?'

"I love you, too."

They were his last words. Angel cradled Xander's body to his chest until they were both consumed by the fire.

End.

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Disclaimer: All Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, David Greenwalt, Greenwolf Productions, Sand Dollar, and the Kuzuis. I do not own them and do not intend any infringement on any copyrights.