Title:  Uncommon Distractions
Author:  Kay
Email:  kaygrr@hotmail.com
Feedback:  Please?  Because watching a grown girl cry is just pathetic.
Website:  ssfdu.tripod.com/kay/journal.htm (love for Sandy) Archive:  Just
let me know, eh? Fandom:  Buffy Pairing:  (Xander/Graham) + (Xander/Spike)
= Xander/Graham/Spike Rating:  PG-13 Disclaimer:  Mine?  What? *These*? 
No, they're Mutant Enemy's.  They just followed me home and wouldn't leave
until I played with them. Spoilers:  The last season of Buffy.  The
incident with Glory, and the ep "The Body".  (Look at me, trying to be
vague).  And that ugly rumor about Spike and a certain blond slayer? 
Never happened. Summery:  Graham and Riley are called back to Sunnydale
when the area destabilizes.  When they return, they discover there are new
factors in lives of the Scooby Gang, especially in Xander and Spike's.

Part 11/?

Graham knew he couldn't sneak off to a separate corner cemetery.  It would
be a foolish risk and far too dangerous.  That meant he couldn't have the
privacy he needed to pump his fists in the air in an abbreviated victory
dance.  He couldn't do it in front of the others; Riley would never let
him hear the end of it and he didn't want to freak Xander out.

But Xander had kissed him!  It had been sweet and hot and left him aching
for more, for anything that Xander could give him.  He knew what Xander
tasted like now, knew what it felt like to hold him close and feel his
warmth.  Graham glanced over at the man walking beside him, catching
Xander's gaze for a moment and sharing a small smile with him.  He knew
that Xander cared about him.  He could see it in his eyes and could taste
it in his kiss.  Xander wasn't just interested in him physically; it went
beyond that.  One of his favorite fantasies was coming true:  not only did
Xander like him, but he also wanted him and seemed like he loved him.

His good mood faded a little as they approached a crypt that was covered
in cherubs that did look quite a bit like Oompa Loompas.  He had been
hoping that Spike would have flaked out on them and not shown up, but the
vampire was leaning against one of the uglier little cherubs and smoking,
waiting none too patiently.  Graham slowed down and beside Riley, but
Xander kept walking up to Spike.

The vampire looked Xander up and down.  "You all right, pet?"

"I'm good," Xander said.  He quickly explained why he was away from work
and why he had the next few days off.

Spike grinned at him.  "Congratulations.  Looks like someone else is
finally learning to appreciate you.  Want me to kill something for you? 
As a sort of celebration, like?"

Xander laughed.  "As a matter of fact...yeah.  There's a nest of fledges
we need to clean out."

"Then this will come in handy."  Spike handed Xander a handgun.

"Thanks.  The nest is over to the east."  Xander glanced at Graham.  "You
guys ready?"

"Let's go," Graham answered.

Xander led the way through the cemetery.  Graham tried to fall back in
step with him, but Spike was suddenly there between them.  The vampire was
glued to Xander's side, asking him questions about his bonus at work and
about the nest they were seeking.  It all looked very natural...except for
the sneer Spike directed toward Graham as he slid between him and Xander.

Graham tried to subtlety regain his place, but Spike refused to be out
maneuvered.  Graham didn't want to draw too much attention to himself, not
just before a fight when it could be too distracting, so he fell back
beside Riley, settling for glaring at the vampire.  He hated staring at
Spike.  Not only did it mean he wasn't staring at Xander, but it meant he
was forced to think about Spike.  Every time he looked at Spike he
realized all over again how handsome the blond man was, how he moved with
animal grace that fairly screamed sex.  He remembered watching the video
tapes of 'Hostile 17' over and over again any time he was on rotation with
observation, especially the tape that caught Spike jerking off for the
camera, hands wandering over his pale body as he writhed ecstatically from
his own touch.

Graham didn't want to think about any of that; he just wanted to look at
Xander and think about the possibilities of the future with him.  Instead,
he was looking at Spike and wonder what it would be like to run his hands
over the pale skin.  Seeing Spike hover over Xander, watching him fight
and hearing him make scathing, amusing jokes were all messing with
Graham's head as well.  The vampire wasn't Hostile 17 any more; he was
Spike, an attractive man that Graham would have perhaps pursued if he
hadn't fallen so hard for Xander.  Looking at Spike just confused and
irritated him, which is why he would prefer to look at Xander.

Reaching the vampires' next almost came as a relief.  It was in a 
predictably run down crypt in one of the creepier corners of the cemetery.
 "Don't the people who run this place ever do any maintenance work?" he
asked, surveying the crypt.

"They don't get paid enough," Xander said.  "Besides, why would you want
to ruin this delightful atmosphere?"

"What's the situation?" Riley asked, focussing them all on business.

"It's not a large nest," Xander said.  He closed his eyes.  "Maybe fifteen
of them.  They're all young and inexperienced, nothing to worry about
except for their numbers.  They don't have a set leader, but they're
beginning to get bolder since the Slayer hasn't been seen lately."  He
opened his eyes.  "That's all I've got."

"That's all we need, pet," Spike said.

Graham resisted the urge to glare at him.  "So we're just going go in?"

"No point in being subtle," Xander said.  "They wouldn't appreciate it,
anyway."  He pulled out two stakes, one for each hand.  "Shall we?"

"Hang on, pet."  Spike stopped Xander with a quick touch to his shoulder. 
"Let me go in first.  Quarters are too close in there."  He walked into
the crypt like he owned the place.

Xander moved off to the side.  "When they come out, they're probably going
to be very pissed off and moving fast."

"He's done this before?" Riley asked.

"Oh, yeah.  Do you really think he'd miss a chance to insult something
before killing it?"

Xander didn't get a chance to elaborate further; Spike ran out of the
crypt with a devilish grin stretching his features.  "Here they come," he
said, coming to a halt just in front of Xander and turning to face the
crypt.

Just as he'd predicted, vampires poured from the mouth of the crypt, fury
clear on their inhuman faces.  Spike stepped forward to meet them, staking
one and throwing another over the nearest row of headstones before moving
into the center of the fray.  The fledges milled about in confusion, not
expecting to find three humans waiting for them with the insane vampire
who had first insulted them, then begun killing them.

Graham didn't wait for them to recover their equilibrium; instead, he
moved forward and staked the vampire closest to him.  He managed to stake
another before the rest of the fledges realized that the humans were also
a threat and began to defend themselves.  Even as he fought to keep the
fledges focusing on him away from his body, Graham kept an eye on Xander,
wanting to be sure that the other man was safe.  Xander was holding up
well; he'd taken out two vampires and was fending off two others with a
reasonable amount of effort.  Riley was also doing as well as a man
surrounded by demons could; he hadn't gone down and he didn't look hurt. 
Graham knew his friend could handle himself.  Graham also caught himself
checking on Spike, as if the vampire's welfare was any concern of his. 
The vampire was ripping through the ranks of the fledges with unrestrained
glee, dust showering down around him.

An aggressive fledge knocked Graham over and then leapt upon him.  Fear
choked him as he struggled with his stronger opponent.  Cold hands tore at
his clothes, seeking to reach his skin and rend his flesh.  Adrenaline
coursing through his veins stronger than ever, Graham snaked his hand
between his body and the vampire's, stake still clutched in his fist. 
With a carefully aimed thrust, he slammed the stake home and closed his
eyes as ash fell down upon him.  A moment later he was back on his feet
and back in the fight.

Finally, there was no one left to fight.  Graham blinked, a little
surprised that it was all over.  Riley was putting away his stakes, Spike
was brushing off his jacket, and Xander was wincing as he tried to get a
look at the back of his shoulder.

Graham tried to get to Xander's side to find out how badly he was hurt,
but Spike was in his way.  He moved roughly past Spike, not wanting to
dance around him.  The thought of bumping into Spike repeatedly was
torturous; not only would it keep him away from Xander, but he'd be put
into direct contact with the whipcord body that he was trying so hard to
pretend didn't effect him at all.

Spike hissed as he was shouldered aside.  Hearing that, Graham turned to
look at him.  The vampire's face was darkened by a bruise across one of
his cheekbones and he was holding his shoulder stiffly, as though it hurt
him.  "Are you all right?"

Shrugging with only one shoulder, Spike shook his head.  "It's nothing. 
Give me a little while and I'll be as good as new."  He looked at Xander. 
"What about you, pet?"

Xander looked up.  "It hurts, but I can't tell how bad it is."

Graham beat Spike to stand behind Xander, but only just barely.  If the
vampire had been uninjured, no doubt it would have been Graham peering
around Spike's shoulder instead of the other way around.  Graham reached
out and held apart the edges of the tear in Xander's shirt.

"Ouch," Xander murmured, looking at the ragged cut running down the back
of his shoulder.  "It's bleeding."

"Not badly," Graham said.  "I've got the stuff I need to patch you up."

"Not just yet," Xander said.  He twisted around so he could look at the
men behind him.  His gaze flickered from Spike to Graham and then back
again.  "Spike, you're hurt."

"It's not bad," Spike said.  "I'll li...whatever."

"Turnabout is fair play.  Isn't that the saying?"  Xander looked at
Graham.  "Would you and Riley excuse us?"  He walked toward the now empty
crypt, Spike trailing along in his wake.

Graham exchanged a confused glance with Riley.  "I don't like this."

"Neither do I," Riley admitted.

That was all the encouragement Graham needed.  He headed for the crypt,
slowing as he reached the entrance.  With Riley beside him, he peered
inside the crypt.

Spike was facing Xander, hand cupping the dark-eyed man's cheek.  "Are you
sure, pet?"  Spike's voice sounded odd, too hoarse, too deep.  He stared
at Xander's back with surprise clearly written on his face.

"Yeah.  You need this."

"I'll survive without it."

"I want to do this.  I want to help you."  Xander turned his back on
Spike.  "Please, Spike?"

Spike stepped forward and laid his hands on Xander's shoulder.  He leaned
forward and kissed the back of Xander's neck, then parted the rent in
Xander's shirt.  He bent his head and parted his lips, running his tongue
up the bleeding cut in long, slow strokes.  As Xander's head dropped so
his chin rested against his chest, Spike lapped up the blood on his
shoulder.  The licks were careful and gentle, and Spike's hands ghosted up
and down Xander's arms in comforting sweeps.  When the wound had finally
stopped bleeding, Spike dragged his tongue the length of the cut one more
time, then placed a soft kiss on the torn skin.  "Thank you, luv."

"You're finished?"  Xander turned around.  "Is it going to help?"

"I feel better already.  So will you, soon.  Vampire saliva seems to help
with healing wounds."

Graham finally felt shock lose its hold on him.  He stepped angrily into
the crypt.  "What the hell is going on?"

Xander jumped.  "Graham?"

Graham took another step forward and Spike was in his face, blocking the
way to Xander.  "Out of my way."

Spike raised an eyebrow and stayed right where he was.  Graham had to
jostle past him, bumping up against him repeatedly in the narrow confines
of the crypt.  The distraction of the slim, hard body against his own
wasn't enough to stop him; he kept fighting to get past the vampire.  He
couldn't help the involuntary bolt of desire that shot through him.  He
distantly noticed that Spike didn't look entirely unaffected, either; the
vampire's snotty smirk was faltering and his eyes had grown darker.

"Spike!"

At the sound of Xander's voice, Spike stopped his obstruction.  With a
sneer, he moved out of the way and allowed Graham to approach Xander.

Graham stared at the dark-haired man.  Xander's eyes were wide and his
cheeks were slightly flushed.  What was going on?  Xander was attracted to
him; hell, he was pretty sure Xander was falling in love with him.  So
what was he doing with Spike?  "Xander?  What's going on?"

"I was bleeding and Spike needed blood."

"Not that.  I saw him kiss you."

Xander dropped his gaze and stared miserably at the floor.  "I don't know
what to tell you."

"Is this like what Riley got into?"  He didn't want to upset Riley, but he
was terrified that Xander might be sinking into the same depression and
madness that had gripped his friend.  "You're paying him to protect you
with your blood?"

"No!  It's not like that.  It's not a payment."  Xander paused, obviously
searching for words.

Graham didn't give him a chance to try to come up with some sort of 
explanation.  The betrayal that coursed through him demanded action.  He
didn't know how Spike had talked Xander into this, but it was going to end
now.  "He's using you, Xander.  All he wants from you is your blood and to
get on Buffy's good side."

"That's not true!  Listen-"

"No, you listen.  Why else would he be doing this?  All he wants is to
impress Buffy by helping to keep one of her friends alive, and it gives
him an excuse to kill things.  You're just a means to an end, and
convincing you to start giving him your blood just sweetens the game for
him.  Don't be stupid, Xander.  Don't let him do this to you."

"You don't understand.  Spike wouldn't-"

"He's a vampire!"

A new voice broke into the argument.  "What a coincidence.  So am I."  A
vampire in game face stood in the entrance to the crypt.  "What the hell
are you mortals doing here?  Where's Jared?  Where's Mark?"

Spike stepped forward to answer.  "I think Jared is out behind the crypt. 
And Mark..."  He brushed some lingering ash off the sleeve of his duster. 
"Do you think that might be him?"

The new vampire growled and rushed into the crypt, followed by several
others.  Graham and Xander immediately ended their fight to defend
themselves.  Even as he fought with his inhuman opponent, Graham's
thoughts were on the betrayal of his trust and his feelings that he'd just
witnessed.

This was nowhere near over.

*****