Summary:Spike and Buffy are in a sticky situation.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer:Joss, the WB and Fox own the characters
"Nervous?" asked a sneering voice. "Not eager to become shish-kabob, are we?"
Buffy turned and gave her cell-mate a long, level look.
"We'll both be ashes at sunrise, Spike."
He said nothing; but she understood. She didn't feel much like talking either. At sunrise the Quarangu would kill them both...death by fire, though of course Spike would disintegrate when touched by the sun's rays.
That would make the Quarangu happy, Buffy thought. They were an alien race to whom strong emotions- feelings of any kind- were unknown. And- fascinating.
Buffy stiffened. Could it be...? She turned, studying her companion. The Quarangu had captured Spike as well; and they would both die soon. The Quarangu, in their robotic way, were curious about human- and vampiric - response to death. Spike had given up battering at the bars of their cage, and now sat huddled silently.
He hadn't attempted to attack her.
"I suppose," Buffy thought somberly, "no one ever really wants to die alone..."
The Quarangu guards sat immobile at the entry of the passage. They might have been statues.
"They can't feel."
At first Buffy thought she'd spoken aloud; but then Spike continued, " They're ...automatons. That's why they want us to die by fire- they crave hearing us scream."
Buffy looked at him. "But- you'll disintegrate once the sun touches you."
Spike grimaced. "Yes...never thought I'd actually be grateful for that."
She eyed him cautiously. "Spike...would you be interested in a truce?"
He shrugged. "Why not? They're going to kill us anyway...let's make as much trouble as we can!"
"It's a deal," Buffy agreed ruefully.
Spike said thoughtfully, "I never expected it to end like this."
Buffy shrugged. "I did."
"You expected to be kidnapped- then executed- by an alien race of robots?" He sounded surprised.
"No! But...I did expect to die. Quite young. Like the rest of the Slayers."
Buffy continued earnestly, "It's not like I wasn't prepared. Oh sure, when I was younger I refused to believe it...I still thought I could choose. Whether or not- to be the Slayer. I didn't realize that it wasn't a job- it was an identity! But, I was just a kid, then."
Spike was silent.
"I guess you were. How old are you, anyway?"
"Almost eighteen."
"I'm twenty-four. Or at least, I was, before...."
"Before Dru made you into a vampire." Buffy remembered Drusilla, the mad vampire killed by Angel last year.
Spike glanced at Buffy. "Funny," he said slowly, "I thought then that I wanted to die, too...but now..."
"I know." Buffy nodded vigorously. "You don't want to give the Quarangu the satisfaction."
Spike chuckled. "You know, Buffy, I've never met a Slayer quite like you before."
"Well, " Buffy admitted , "There isn't one! I've never followed the rules, so...SPIKE! I just thought of something!"
He looked interested. "Oh?"
"The Quarangu are intrigued by emotions of any kind, right? On account of- they haven't got any?"
Spike shrugged, "So it would seem."
"Then- let's give them some!" Buffy continued excitedly.
"Come here! Now...kiss me!"
Spike looked amazed. "What??!"
Buffy sighed. "Oh- don't flatter yourself! Typical male attitude."
"Well- I AM a typical male...in certain ways," Spike pointed out.
"Good," Buffy said cooly. "Then you'll have a typical male reaction- and the Quarangu will be fascinated."
Buffy slid both arms around Spike's back- and nuzzled his ear.
"Don't you dare bite," she hissed.
"Don't worry, " he whispered..."but what..."
"Just play along," she ordered. Her soft lips teased his, kissing lightly.
Spike found himself responding- and the immobile Quarangu guards stirred.
Buffy broke off- and stared at Spike in surprise.
He found his tongue. "I think they're interested. Maybe, we..."
Buffy murmured, "Yes?"
Spike swallowed. "Should...try it again?"
"All right." Buffy stepped forward once more- raising her face to his. Spike leaned into the kiss; and a flood of sensation swept over them, leaving them shocked and shaken by its sheer force.
The Quarangu left their posts, edging nearer the cage...communicating their curiousity in their deep, gutteral grunts.
Buffy regained her voice. "Spike..."
He nodded convulsively. "I see them...coming closer..."
They moved like dancers- perfectly coordinated to each other's movements. In less than a minute, the guards were slumped unconscious in the cage- and Buffy and Spike were heading swiftly through the maze of tunnels that would lead them back to Sunnydale. The Quarangu alarm sounded- now they could hear the sounds of swift pursuit behind them. But the mouth of the tunnel was not far ahead...
Buffy studied the sky.
"You have enough time, " she told Spike.
"You can reach the mausoleum and make it down before the sun comes up...Hurry! I'll hold them off a few minutes."
She spun around to face the advancing Quarangu while Spike sped along the passage. He reached the end- and saw the Slayer had been right. He had just enough time to reach the cemetary before the sun edged over the horizon.
He hesitated- glancing back towards the sounds of combat behind him.
"Blast!" He muttered...and raced back.
Vampire and Slayer were a good team- in minutes the Quarangu were sprawled unconscious along the tunnel. But- a thin ray of sunshine was streaming into the entry.
Spike watched, resigned.
"You'd better go."
Buffy shook her head. "The Quarangu will send reinforcements soon- you can't remain here during the day. You'd be a sitting duck. I'm going to get some help- can you hold them off until I get back?"
Without another word, the Slayer turned and ran out into the sun.
Spike looked after her. "I wonder if I am a fool?"
He kept fighting...and fighting. He wasn't aware how long; but he knew that soon the Quarangu would overwhelm him. Where was the Slayer?
Then- abruptly- there she was, pushing off the Quarangu, pulling him forward- forward out of the tunnel.... And into a blacked out van. Buffy covered Spike with a blanket while Oz drove the van right up to the door of the mausoleum.
Spike stood near the underground entrance. He could see her outlined in light- steadily meeting his gaze.
She finally broke the silence.
"Spike..."
"Yes?" He hated himself for sounding so eager.
"You'd better get below."
He stared at her long and hard- remembering the feel of her in his arms, the taste of her mouth on his. Then- she was gone, out into the dawn.
Slowly, he turned and began his descent into the darkness that would succor him.
Buffy climbed into the van next to Oz....her finger lightly traced the outline of her lips. She could still feel his kiss. She shook her head, disgusted with her thoughts as the van pulled away.