Chapter 2
It shouldn’t have bothered him that George and Tom were right within earshot while he had this conversation with Harmony, but it did. When early on they’d asked him about his girlfriend, (perhaps disappointed that he had one), he’d surprised himself that his first reaction had been to try and describe Buffy to them both.
And that had been BEFORE the sodding nightmare of a dream. Although at the time the thought gave him a bit of a shock, he rationalized that he spent more of his time daydreaming about the Slayer than he did about Harmony. Of course it was mainly…that is to say, ENTIRELY… about how to get even with her for the way she treated him, like he was her lap dog or something.
No, not even that. Like he was a stray cat that she’d let in her house when she had a problem with rats, and then toss out again to live in a stinking alley feeding on garbage until the next time the rodents bothered her.
That was exactly how she treated him. He wasn’t sure that just killing her outright in a fair fight was good enough anymore. It had become personal between them.
Ever since sodding last year and Red’s damned-all spell. It wasn’t like Buffy had to act like she was all disgusted by the very idea. He was a damn handsome bloke, and it’s not like she had a revulsion to vampires. She’d seemed happy enough when she was snogging his ungrateful prat of a sire. He sure would treat her a damned sight better, if she ever gave him the time of day.
Luckily he had caught himself in time when talking to the humans, and had forced visions of Buffy from his mind and had gone on to describe Harmony as best he could. “Great to look at, good to screw, but so annoying it almost isn’t worth it,” was the most succinct way that he could put it.
Now, with Harmony’s unanticipated appearance, the ‘almost’ was fast disappearing.
“This is where you go?” she screeched. “You leave me, to come to this, this slime pit? This is worse than Willy’s. Almost everyone’s human. And god, those dancers are so lame.”
He tried to explain. “Harm, I’m working here. This is a job.”
She wasn’t listening, continuing her rant. Like usual. Best just to let her finish. But outside, if at all possible. With a nod towards the boss, he began backing Harmony out the door she had just come in, and dragged her a little ways out of the way.
After listening to her denigrate the patrons, the décor, and the entertainment for the umpteenth time, Spike was grateful when it seemed that Harmony was finally running out of steam. She put her hands on her hips and flounced back her hair, “So. What’s your excuse, Mr. Master Vampire? Not vamp enough to keep up with me, you have to come to this seedy joint to get your jollies on?”
It was beyond endurance. If he didn’t find some kind of physical release he really was going to end up staking her again, and this would be for the last time. The Gem of Amarra was long gone. Closing his eyes and tensing his jaws in frustration, he opened them again to see Harmony’s smug face glaring at him. If he wasn’t a gentleman, he’d slap her one.
Wait, yeah, he wasn’t a gentleman. Seething, he slapped her across the face. Not nearly as hard as he could have. But it seemed to have the desired affect. At least she shut up.
Only now her eyes were brimming with tears. Spike was a sucker for tears.
He was a total git. He knew Harmony was basically harmless. She didn’t even really like killing humans. Total waste of a vampire. Any other vamp, could have taken it, and dished it back at him. Hell, any other vamp would have liked it. But instead he was stuck with Harmony, and in another second he’d have a blubbering mess on his hands. That’d be even more embarrassing than the self-righteous tone she’d come in with.
Wiping away her tears with his thumbs, he spoke softly, caressing and kissing her hair. He was a total idiot. He had been given a gift, in the form of this totally annoying and completely helpless vampiress. He should have known better than to strike her. He wasn’t normally the type to hit a woman, any woman. Not even if they annoyed the heck out of him. Not even if he intended to kill them and eat them. Well, excepting the Slayer, where it kinda went with the whole duel to the death idea. And really, fighting the Slayer always made him kinda hot…if he thought about it, which he did NOT.
“I tried to tell you, it’s not like that, pet,” he soothed. “I work here. This is a job. I keep all the nasties away from the patrons, and they pay me for it. Keeps us in blood and smokes, yeah.”
Harmony sniffled and rubbed her face against his chest. After a few moments she pulled herself together enough to stare up at him. “Your job?” she whimpered.
“Yeah, luv. Job. Where do you think I get money?”
“Thought you just stole it or something,” she sniffled. The shirt would have to be tossed. It’s not like either of them ever did laundry.
“Tried that. Too bloody dangerous. So why don’t you toddle on home and I’ll be back later, yeah?” With any luck that would be the end of it.
Of course he could never be that lucky. She perked up so fast Spike half suspected that the tears had been an act. But then Harmony was sometimes just changeable like that. She took the saying “out of sight out of mind” to a whole new level.
Fingering the already fading bruise on her cheek, and then his leather jacket, Harmony looked up at him eyes sparkling, and licked her lips. “You want to go home now, pookie?”
The implications were inescapable. The violence HAD turned her on. Of course she wasn’t as fragile as she liked to put on. It was easy to forget, because the mask was all that he ever saw of her. She could be a whole other person underneath, that he didn’t know at all. Then again this was Harmony, so it wasn’t likely that there was much of anything under that mask. Not like the Slayer, who pretended to ignore her feelings, but was really hot and he suspected kinda kinky underneath the Buffy persona she put on for her Mom and her friends.
And where the Hell had that thought come from?
“Can’t sweets,” he said with sudden regret. Maybe a good hard screw was just what he needed to get his mind off of things that were better left alone. Some thoughts were simply too dangerous, or too painful, to be worth thinking at all. The sooner he got his mind back on the real world, the better off he’d be. The Slayer was never going to see him as anything but useful for eradicating vermin. “I’m working, remember?”
Changing moods again, Harmony strode passed him and into the club. “I want to see what it’s like. I’ve never been in a strip club before.” Bright eyed now so that Spike couldn’t be sure just how much he’d been played, Harmony surveyed the scene like she was Queen of the night.
Mumbling under his breath, Spike followed.
**
Inside once again, Harmony took a seat near the stage and started acting like one of the customers. She ordered a drink (a little fruity thing that Spike wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole), and settled in to watch the girls perform. Happily, she let Spike alone enough that he could actually do his job, and intimidate the demon patrons into behaving.
After the last of the patrons and workers had been seen safely to their vehicles, Spike and Harmony began their walk home together. Surprisingly, she let them walk in silence for a while. When she finally spoke, Spike was shocked by what she said.
“I could do that.”
His first reaction was instinctive. “You bloody well will not!” No girlfriend of his was going to parade herself around like that for other men! It just, well, it just wasn’t right.
Of course his protests made her more determined.
“Why not? I’m just as pretty as those girls – prettier. And it’s not like even one of them could dance! I could probably earn as much in one night as you do in a week. Then you wouldn’t have to go to that horrible place so often and leave me home all alone.”
“Interfering bitch. I like going there,” Spike mumbled so quietly not even Harmony could catch it. What he said instead was simply, “No. Not gonna happen. I’m not gonna let some sodding human bastards ogle and paw at MY girl. So just forget it.”
“But that’s the fun of it. I’ll know that if I wanted to, I could vamp at any time and eat the lot of them! That’s what makes the idea so entertaining.”
“Ruin my club,” he mumbled again. As usual, Harmony wasn’t listening to him. He’d have to lay down the law. “The answers no, Harm. It’s a bad idea, and I’m not gonna let you do it, so just drop it, okay?”
Hoping that he’d made his point when Harmony fell silent again, they continued back to the crypt without speaking. Upon entering however, Harmony immediately declared, “You can help me practice.”
A stunned Spike was pushed back into the easy chair as an enthusiastic Harmony began bumping and grinding, repeating some of the moves she’d watched the strippers perform.
The argument lasted two full weeks, during which time Spike would emphatically state that he was not going to allow Harmony to do any such thing on stage, while Harmony repeatedly and continuously stated that she’d do whatever she pleased.
Either way, Harmony continued to ‘practice’ her routine, and Spike continued to ‘help’ her. It made for some of the best sex they’d had since getting together again, so Spike wasn’t going to complain too much. At least it had the effect of keeping his mind away from subjects that he didn’t want to think about. Mostly because he could barely think at all he was so busy shagging.
In his heart he knew that Harmony didn’t really have the stones to do in public what she willingly practiced for him in private. She wasn’t tough underneath, like the Slayer. Or, if she was, it was in a totally self-centered way. Really, aside from the hair color, there was precious little that the two birds had in common. Except that they could both be damned stubborn when they wanted to.
If he’d been just a little more devious he would have realized that the best way to put an end to this foolishness would have been to stop voicing his objections to her plans. It was only in hindsight that he realized that every time he said ‘no,’ he made Harmony more determined to say that she would, just to spite him.
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!