They'd made it through another year alive. That was something worth celebrating, even if it was just the two of them. It was a little strange how all of his friends had been miraculously busy for New Year's. Well, not too strange on the girls' part. They had their boyfriends, or in Willow and Tara's case, each other, to spend the evening with. Giles had something with his books, and his buddies at work all had their families to be with. That left the list of party attendees down to a whopping two, including himself.

Still it wasn't too bad to be left with just him and Spike. Sure, it meant that his original plan for the evening had flopped worse than the Titanic, but Xander was nothing if not the master of improvisation.

Okay, so that wasn't quite true. His talent for improvising only went so far, but he still thought he'd managed to do a decent job. He had a whole box of microwave popcorn – the good kind, he'd splurged for the special occasion – and a stack of rentals. Tonight's theme was the living dead.

The phrase stuck in Xander's head and he instantly corrected himself. Zombies. The night's theme was zombies. Thankfully, not literally, just on the TV. He already had the living dead staying in the apartment, which meant it wasn't so much a theme as a staple.

"Stupid git." Spike snorted at the TV and munched a handful of popcorn from his seat beside Xander. The movie playing was corny and not very interesting as far as Xander was concerned. His mind wandered.

This was kind of cozy, just the two of them in a dark room, snuggled close on the couch, watching monster slayage that they didn't have to take part in.

"Don't they know better than to shoot something that's already dead? Wankers wouldn't last a second against a real zombie."

Xander shuddered, remembering their last encounter with zombies. That had been rather unpleasant, and not just because of the smell.

Spike's arm came around his shoulders automatically, drawing Xander closer while not once taking his eyes off the TV.

Xander glanced at the hand on his shoulder and then back over at Spike. The vampire looked like he was fully engrossed in the movie. Xander wondered if he could test that.

He shifted closer to Spike on the couch. Spike didn't move, but his arm followed Xander, keeping the same hold on his shoulder. He shifted again, until their legs were touching, and rested his head on Spike's shoulder. The bowl of popcorn balanced on Spike's leg wobbled.

Spike shifted the bowl of popcorn into his lap and tightened his grip around Xander's shoulders, rubbing his fingers absently over Xander's arm. His eyes never left the TV.

It was time to up the stakes. Xander shifted the arm between them, settling his hand on the point where their knees touched.

The vampire didn't seem to notice.

He slid his hand down along their thighs, enchanted by the feel of cotton and jean rubbing his palm together. Spike didn't seem to notice so he continued, sliding his hand along the seam where their legs met. That got boring after the first couple times so he varied, running his hand in circles or lines or however his brain decided to direct it.

"Having fun there?"

Apparently if he fidgeted enough, Spike really would pay attention to him. He blushed and smiled, a goofy grin spreading across his face. "Yeah. A bit."

"Not that I mind you getting all feely, but I thought you wanted to watch movies, eh?"

Xander frowned. He'd probably had way too much sugar and coffee today. He felt like he had the attention span of a five year-old right now. "It's boring."

"Why didn't you say so?" Spike switched off the movie and set the popcorn on the coffee table. "Could have found a way to entertain you if I'd known you needed entertained."

Twin leers stretched across their faces.

"I could still use some entertainment."

Spike was eager to remedy that. He shifted, pushing Xander down onto his back. Anticipation raced through Xander's body, sparking interest in his groin. Lips descended. He opened his mouth to let in a probing tongue while his pants were opened for a probing hand.

Now this was the way to spend a holiday.

Twisting his fingers in the hem of Spike's t-shirt, he pulled, rolling the fabric up Spike's chest. They parted long enough for the shirt to be tossed over the back of the couch and then Spike was diving down again, latching onto Xander's mouth like a suction cup.

As much as Xander loved Spike's kisses, there were disadvantages to having a boyfriend that didn't breathe. Thankfully Spike remembered, most of the time, that mortals needed oxygen. Spike shifted, trailing kisses down the line of his jaw, back under his ear, and then down the curve of his neck.

They really needed to do something about their pants and the fact that they were still wearing them. Blunt teeth scraped over a vein in his neck and Xander shivered. He tugged on the top of Spike's jeans, hoping to get his point across.

Quick hands opened Spike's jeans, sliding them down to free an already hard cock.

They took each other in hand, too wound up to bother with anything more complicated. Cold flesh warmed under Xander's touch, leaking precum after only a short minute. They were both close. That happened, whenever they spent any amount of time next to each other. It was hard to be in the same room as Spike and not think dirty thoughts – particularly when he knew Spike would be eager to act them out.

Xander moaned and arched his hips off the couch. He wished they could do more. The engorged flesh in his hand tempted him, as it always did. He wanted to slip it between his lips, suck it for hours and then drink his fill. He wanted his cock in Spike's mouth, cool lips tight around him while Spike's fingers played inside of him. He wanted Spike inside of him, fucking him into the mattress so hard he wouldn't be able to stand the next day.

Xander knew he wouldn't last long enough to do any of that, not yet. He wasn't even sure he'd make it though the next few minutes. Spike was jerking him hard, almost painfully. He tried to match the pace on Spike's erection but it was difficult to divide his attention. His motor skills never did keep up with his brain.

He felt Spike's face shift, felt sharpened teeth prick the side of his neck. Xander tilted his head, exposing more of the curve of his neck.

Spike's teeth plunged into him and they both came.

The teeth were gone by the time he came back to himself. His hand was sticky, and his neck. An eager tongue lapped at the welling blood, licking him clean and helping the puncture wounds to close.

"Not bored now?"

Xander shook his head quickly. "Definitely not."

"Good. Wanna hit bed early? Maybe ring in the new year with more than just a kiss?"

Xander had a feeling he'd just discovered his new favorite way to celebrate New Years.