Spike shot up, covers falling around his waist, breath coming in heavy pants, despite the fact he didn’t require air. He loved her... Buffy Summers...The Vampire slayer chit who he’d been attempting to kill for the last few years. Turning his head he noticed Harmony was sleeping soundly. He had to think, had to be somewhere else.
Throwing on his jeans and tight black t-shirt he made his way out of his crypt and through Restfield Cemetery, already knowing where his feet would take him.
Twenty minutes later and he was downing bourbon and Willy was giving him the look that suggested the words: ‘Rough day?’ Were about to squirm their way out of his mouth.
“Rough day pal?” Willy cleaned a beer glass and Spike suppressed an eye roll.
“Yeah mate, could say that.”
“Let me guess, girl troubles?” Willy topped up the glass of bourbon.
Sighing Spike contemplated whether or not to have the classic bar conversation, then again he was in a room filled with demons and if word got out that he was making moon eyes for the peppy blonde then his reputation would go even further down the drain than it already was.
“Sod off mate” Spike downed the rest of his glass and strode out of the bar.
~/~/~/~
“Here Vampires, come out come out wherever you are” Buffy turned abruptly as something came out of the bushes to her side, raising her stake in anticipation she tried to hide her disappointment as she identified her boyfriend.
“Riley, what are you doing here?” Oops, harsher than intended, Buffy thought before smiling to soften the blow.
“I thought I’d ease your load, come spend some quality time with you.” He grinned and she suppressed a sigh, Riley was well...an annoyance when he tried to patrol with her. Always acting like she needed saving, stepping in front of her to fight the bad guy. The whole hero routine was amusing at first but now it was just...pissing her off.
“Oh well that’s sweet but actually it’s deader than....dead out here” cringing at her own bad pun she hoped that Riley wouldn’t get upset “and besides honey I think Dawn wanted some help with her algebra homework and you know me and mum, two minutes of this squared and that squared drives us crazy.”
Riley smiled, obviously chuffed that Buffy had called him intelligent “Well I guess I’ll go save Dawnie from the evil that is math class” he moved closer to her “and maybe later we could...you know” He gave her a kiss.
“Oh yeah totally, I’ll just do a couple more cemeteries and then I’ll be back home.” Buffy smiled and watched as Riley walked away.
She didn’t know what was with her mind lately, one minute she was crazy about Riley, the next minute the spark was gone. She groaned and leant against a tombstone, why couldn’t she ever have the normal, perfect relationship with the normal, tanned boy from Iowa that was probably willing to move out to Iowa with her and plant a cornfield with their five kids.
‘You need the danger Buffy.’ She listened to her inner monologue, it was sad but true, what she’d had with Angel had been ten times more thrilling than what she had with Riley. Hell even her brief and unsettling engagement to Spike had thrilled her.
“Well well, if it isn’t the slayer.” the rough English accent made her turn.
“What do you want Spike?” She gave him a bored look.
“You’re out the front of my crypt slayer.” Buffy looked up and realised he was right.
Realising she didn’t actually have an explanation for why she ended up in front of her nemesis’s less than humble home she quickly thought on her feet “Tonight’s deader than you, know of any nests around?”
He smirked “You need my help findin’ the big bad? You must really be losing your touch love.”
Glaring she took a large step forward and socked him in the nose; smiling perkily she turned and walked off.
“Some woman to be in love with” he muttered as he wiped away the blood.
“Blondie bear! Is everything ok?” Harmony came to his side and he shrugged her off.
Spike slung his duster over his favourite arm chair and took a bag of blood out of his bar fridge, ignoring Harmony’s endless chatter about shopping, killing the slayer and other nonsense.
“Harmony...” she stopped talking “Get out.”
She made a sound of shock “Excuse me, tell me you did not just say what I think you said...I have been carrying you through this whole chip thing and OW-OW Spike get off me!” He’d interrupted her mid-rant by grabbing her arm and chucking her out of his crypt.
“You’ll be sorry when you realise you can never get me back!” She looked like a lost puppy as he slammed the door shut.
Now that she was taken care of it was time to start figuring out this slayer thing.
~/~/~/~
When Buffy arrived home she tried to hide her relief that Riley had left soon after helping Dawn with her homework. She smiled at her mother and Joyce handed her a cup of tea.
“Buffy, how are things with you and Riley going?” Her mother sipped at her own hot tea and gave her the knowing look that all mothers can pull off.
“We’re great mum, really...Kind of” Joyce sighed and gave her another look and then Buffy was spilling her heart out.
“It’s just, he’s always so needy, he needs to be with me when I patrol and even then he acts like I’m the one that needs saving all the time. He even tries to do simple stuff for me, which don’t get me wrong is nice...sometimes but every day, no that’s just annoying oh and treating me like I’m his simple domestic wife to be. I don’t even want to live in Iowa, and five kids, way too many!”
“Buffy, calm down, look Riley is a nice boy and I would love it if you stayed with him and settled down but that being said it’s your life and it’s ultimately up to you when it comes to who you do and don’t want to be with” Joyce sipped her tea “I mean even a nice boy like Spike.”
Buffy spluttered “Mum, Spike is far from nice and he isn’t even a boy, he’s an undead vampire with no soul” Joyce pursed her lips.
“And tell me, how is that any different from your relationship with Angel?”
“Well for starters, Angel had a soul, he was good” Her mother interrupted.
“Buffy, Angel had a soul yes, but when he lost that soul he hurt you more than anyone ever has and probably ever will. He completely ruined your trust for all men and not to mention caused all that havoc all over town.”
“But” Buffy tried to defend her ex love but her mother interrupted again.
“In my opinion Spike is a better man and vampire than Angel will ever be, in fact he’s very attractive and whenever we have our talks he’s the perfect gentleman, charming and funny.”
Buffy sat on the bar stool stunned, her mother was recommending Spike to be her next lover.
“Ok mum look, I’m going to ignore you’re views on Spike because that’s just wigging me out but you’re right about Riley, I’m going to talk to him tomorrow and end it. Thanks...I think.”
~/~/~/~
Three hours it had taken him to come up with this ingenious plan. Spike looked over his notepad. He’d decided that he would go about his love for Buffy in a different way, rather than just screaming his adoration for her from the roof tops.
He knew what Buffy saw him as, a cold dead monster with no capability of love. Spike, dead set in changing this opinion she had formed of him, put on his duster and once again strode out of his crypt, he had a plan and it was going to work. By the end of this, the slayer would see him for the man he really was on the inside...William.
TBC ......
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!