Tis the Season
Summary: Xander and Angel go home for Christmas
Notes: Either this is the result of too many candycanes or too much Christmas music. No sex, no smut, just happy holiday fluff. Hmmm, or maybe it was the eggnog.

*********************

“Xander, stop pouting.” Angel said briefly taking his eyes off the California highway to glance at the young mortal in the passenger seat.

“I’m not pouting.” Xander pouted. “Okay, so maybe I am but I have a right to.”

Angel sighed. “Buffy’s our friend, and you know how much a big family Christmas means to her especially with her mother off on that spiritual retreat in Borneo. . .”

“I know, I know, and the best friend part of me wants to be there for her, but. . . This is our first real Christmas as a. . . couple-type-thingie and I just wanted us to spend it alone. You know, you, me and a bottle of strawberry flavored lube.” Xander dejectedly leaned his head against the window.

“We can still celebrate.” Angel said with a sly grin.

The teenager turned to him with horror written plainly on his face. “What!? No way! We are not going to have *sex* in Giles’s apartment! Are you demented?”

The offended vampire rolled his eyes. “You act like I asked you to help demonstrate the finer art of penetration on the living room rug. Giles said that we’d have the guest bedroom all to ourselves.”

“Doesn’t matter Deadboy.” Xander resolutely shook his head. “Look, Giles is like a father to me. Think back for a sec, would you want to have sex while your parents were sleeping in the next room.”

“Well, Giles won’t really be in the next. . .” Angel paused as his mind finally grasped what Xander had said. The two hundred and forty five year-old vampire shuddered. “Ewww!”

“Exactly.”

“Okay, I agree, no sex.”

“Thank you.”

“But we can still cuddle right?”

**********

The black Cadillac pulled up to the apartment complex a little past eight. Slowly the present laden couple made their way through the entrance and into the inner courtyard.

Suddenly the door to Giles’s apartment swung open and a bleached British vampire came bounding out amid female screeches.

“Poof!” Spike more or less affectionately called out, running over to meet his sire. “Make them stop.”

Angel raised an eyebrow. “Make who stop?”

“Them!” Spike pointed to where Willow, Buffy and Anya stood, wearing aprons and brandishing various cooking implements.

Angel let out a sigh any Holiday-weary father would have been proud of. “What did he do now?”

“He ate all the rumballs!” Anya cried, violently waving her spatula in the air.

“Do you know how long it took us to make all those rumballs?” Willow practically growled out.

“And the fun begins.” Xander muttered under his breath.

“I resent the fact that I’m always getting blamed for stuff around here.” Spike sniffed indignity. “For all you know it could have been the Watcher who ate those rumballs.”

“Somehow the powdered sugar on your chin doesn’t give a lot of credence to that statement.” Xander remarked.

Spike growled at the younger man and was immediately rewarded with a smack upside the head from Angel.

“Spike.” Buffy barked. “Get your undead ass over here so I can. . .” She looked down at the wooden utensil in her hand. ‘Uh, spoon you.”

“Oh, I’m so scared Slayer.” Spike called out, moving to stand slightly behind Angel.

“Okay, Okay.” Angel held up both hands. “There will be no. . . spooning tonight.”

“Yeah, come on guys it’s Christmas.” Xander said looking at the assorted creatures around him.

The three young women looked sheepishly at each other, while Angel smiled warmly at his lover and Spike muttered something along the line of ‘bloody hell’.

Just then a very agitated watcher appeared in the doorway. “Will all of you get in here before I receive another disturbing the peace reprimand from the building association.”

**********

“Okay, I guess this wasn’t all bad.” Xander finally admitted from the relative warmth of his shmoopy’s arms.

“Good.” Angel kissed the back of the dark head in front of him.

“Oh spare me.” Spike muttered from the couch.

“Only because it’s Christmas.” Buffy said sweetly.

“I still don’t quite understand this holiday.” Anya frowned at the brightly decorated tree. “But I like it. It’s pretty. And we get to eat more pie.” She shifted her position on the floor slightly and let her head rest against the Watcher’s knee.

Giles raised an eyebrow at the ex-demon. “Yes, that’s what Christmas time is truly all about. . . pie.” The kind hand on Anya’s head undermined the sarcasm in his words.

“Well I think it’s a great holiday!” Willow said enthusiastically, then blushed under the questioning stares of her friends. “What? I’m secure enough in my faith that I can enjoy the celebrations of a different ideology if I want too.” The others nodded slightly and let the her continue. “I mean, here we are, all together. Old friends,” She smiled at Xander. “New friends,” She turned to Spike, who, if Angel didn't’ know any better, blushed under the witch’s gaze.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Togetherness. Great. Now, when are we opening the presents?” Cordelia asked tapping her manicured fingernails impatiently.

**********

The bed in the guest bedroom made pleasant creaking sounds as Angel snuggled closer to Xander’s warm body.

The teenager let out a deep sigh. Buffy had stated quite firmly that no one could open any gifts until the next morning. Xander thought that he was facing the torture very stoically.

Angel gently nuzzled his young lover knowing exactly what was wrong. “You only have to wait a few more hours.” He said softly.

“I know.” Another sigh.

The vampire rose up on one shoulder contemplating Xander’s smooth features with the aid of filtered moonlight. “Maybe this will help tide you over.” He reached under his pillow and retrieved a small box.

Xander immediately bounced up into a sitting position. “For me! Really?!”

“Yes, shush. Don’t wake the others.”

The boy quieted and unwrapped his present. A nervous smile played on the vampire’s lips as the paper and ribbon was discarded. Finally Xander was left with what was obviously a jewelry box.

“Open it.” Angel said.

Xander compiled and let out a soft gasp. He pulled out a long, thin sliver chain with an intricatly designed pendant dangling from it.

“It’s a Celtic knot.” Angel explained. “You can’t tell where it begins or ends. It represents eternity. Do you like it?” He asked almost shyly.

“I love it.” He murmured. “I love you.”

“Merry Christmas Xander.” Angel said before leaning in to cover every inch of his lover with kisses.

**********


I’d Rather Watch A Ball Drop
Summary: Angel and Xander help the rest of the Scoobies deal with an unwelcome Millennium visitor  

********************

“It’s not too late to change your mind you know.” Angel’s brow furrowed as he regarded his young lover sitting on the other side of the basement apartment’s living room.

Xander rolled his eyes. “Will you stop saying that every ten minutes!”

“I just want to make sure that this is what you want, that we’re not staying in tonight just because of me.”

“Deadboy.” The mortal sighed. “As I’ve told you before, and will most likely tell you again before this night is over, the only place I want to be when the year two thousand comes is in your arms.” To illustrate his point the teen walked over to the couch and flopped into the vampire’s lap. Angel wrapped his arms around the warm body and held Xander close. The younger man wriggled slightly into a more comfortable position and began to kiss Angel’s neck. “See, now this is the perfect way to begin a new year.”

Angel tilted his head and let himself float with the sensations. “I should just let you plan all the holidays.”

Xander sucked gently at a sensitive spot at the base of the vampire’s jaw. “I was wondering how long it was going to take you to realize that.”

The vampire let out a soft moan as the teen’s tongue joined in his gentle assault against the older man’s senses. “This is gonna be so perfect.”

“Mmmhmmm.”

“Just as long as nothing evil happens.”

“What!?”

Angel’s eyes flew open as the warm mouth left his skin. “Huh?”

“What did you just say?” Xander stared at him, wild eyed.

“Uh, I said something?” Angel’s eyes were fixed on the mortal’s slightly wet lips.

“You said everything would be perfect as long as nothing evil happens!”

“Yeah, well, it’s the truth isn’t it?” The vampire’s brain was coming out of it’s lust induced befuddlement but he still couldn’t comprehend what the big deal was.

“Angel, you’ve been alive, or dead, or whatever for over two hundred years and you still haven’t learned not to say stuff like that?”

“Stuff like what?”

“Stuff like that!” Xander leapt up and began to pace. “You just tempted the fates. Do you know what happens when you tempt fates? Huh? They turn around and bite you in the ass, that’s what happens.”

“Oh, come on.” Angel gracefully rose from the couch and attempted to still his lover. “They're just words Xander. You don’t honestly believe that now something bad is going to happen, do you?”

“It always has before.” Xander crossed his arms and glared at Angel. “At least this time I can take comfort in the fact that I wasn’t the idiot who said anything.”

Angel frowned at the insult. “Hey! I. . .” He was interrupted by the sudden, insistent ringing of the telephone.

The two men looked at the phone then back at each other.

“It’s probably just someone wanting to wish us a Happy New Year.” Angel said with confidence.

Xander narrowed his eyes as he watched the older man pick up the phone.

“Hello. Oh, hi Giles. You’re just calling to say Happy New Year right? There’s nothing bad coming, right?” The vampire's face slowly fell as he listened to the ex-Watcher. “Okay, that sounds pretty bad, but I’m sure that Buffy could. . . It’s a what?. . . Are you sure? I’ve never heard of them actually existing. . . They’re how big?. . . We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

Angel hung up the phone and turned back to Xander. “Whoops.”

**********

“A Leviathan?” Buffy raised her eyebrows. “I assume you’re not talking about that crappy movie.”

“Ah, no. I’m talking about a large sea serpent that arises every thousand years to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting populace.” Giles adjusted his glasses and calmly regarded the eclectic group of people gathered in his apartment. “In the year one thousand an Austrian saint named Sylvester fought and killed a Leviathan in what is now Croatia. One thousand years earlier the same thing happened in a tiny fishing village in Japan and a thousand years before that it happened in Norway.”

“So there’s a precedent.” Oz nodded slightly. “What makes you think it’s coming here?”

“The towns in Croatia, Japan and Norway all had something in common with Sunnydale.”

“Hellmouths.” Anya said simply.

“Exactly.”

“Okay, so this beastie is coming here to party. How do we kill it?” Buffy asked.

“Uh.” Willow held up her hand. “I have a question from earlier. When you say it’s a large creature, um, how large is large?”

Giles began to rub the bridge of his nose. “Do you remember the Mayor-demon from Graduation?”

“Yeah.”

“Larger.”

“Shit.” Several eyebrows were raised at the Witch’s choice of words.

“I second that.” Xander said taking a deep breath. Angel gave his lover’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“O-kay.” Spike glanced around the room at the worried faces of his semi-friends. “I don’t quite understand the Mayor allegory but from the looks on some of your faces I’m bettin this fucker’s gonna be big. Now, back to the important question, how do we kill it?”

Giles threw the blonde vampire a small smile. “That is the only good news I can give you. A Leviathan is relatively easy to kill. In the legends a sword through the heart does the job quite nicely.”

“Well, at least that’s something.” Buffy said. “Do we have swords?”

“I can get some.” Angel spoke up.

“Good. Get on it.” The Slayer glanced at the clock. “We have nine hours until this thing makes an appearance. We’d better be ready.”

**********

Eight and a half hours later a Slayer, an ex-Watcher, a witch, a werewolf, an ex-vengeance demon, two vampires and a Xander stood on Playa Linda Beach silently watching the dark surf. The cloudless sky was filled by billions of stars and gave the group below a reminder of the celebratory nature of that particular night.

Angel glanced at his watch and gently grabbed Xander’s hand. The boy wordlessly followed as the vampire led him up the beach.

When they were far enough away from the others Angel stopped and turned to face his lover, his look full of concern. “I don’t suppose it would do any good to ask you to go back to Giles’s apartment until this thing is dead?”

“Nope.” Xander met his gaze.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” Angel leaned forward and captured his lover’s mouth in a kiss. “Will, you at least promise to be careful?” He murmured.

“Aren’t I always?”

“I think I’m going to just answer that with a glare.”

“As long as it’s not a broody glare.” Xander gave a crooked grin and tilted his head meeting Angel’s lips again.

“Oh, for the love of. . .” Spike gave a disgusted snort. “If you two are done sucking face, we’ve got a visitor.”

Angel gave his childe a particularly nasty look and pulled away from Xander. Everyone’s attention turned to the previously calm water. Eyes widened, pulses started to race and fighting stances were taken as *something* very big quickly made it’s way toward the shore.

“It’s early.” Buffy stated, tightening the grip on her sword.

**********

“You did say you wanted to welcome in the New Years in my arms.” Angel said lightly kissing a clean spot on Xander’s forehead.

“Yeah, I did. And, you know, with the stars and the ocean, this is kinda romantic.” Xander shrugged. “Although, it would be more romantic if we weren’t covered in green, slimy monster guts. . .”

“I don’t know what you’re complaining about, all the clothes you’re wearing are washable.” The vampire sighed. “I, on the other hand have to withstand another *look* from my drycleaner.”

“Awwww, poor Deadboy.” Xander grinned and picked a piece of Leviathan innerd from Angel’s hair. “Well, it’s officially New Year’s Day.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Lets hose each other off and go home.” Xander gave his love a pleading look.

“Like I said before, from now on you’re planning all the holidays.”

**********


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