Thanks to the wonderful spikeslovebite for all her help. *hugs* I don't know what i'd do without her.
Love.
It’s such a funny little word. It can mean so many different things. Friendship. Affection. Attraction. It can be an endearment or a way to describe your emotions.
Or love can mean pain. Gut-wrenching, soul-devouring pain.
The kind of pain that you feel when you have to watch as your first love dies before your eyes. The kind of pain that comes from being the one that lands the killing blow.
The light fades and there is silence.
A soft scrape of movement sounds behind me, but I don’t bother turning to look. I already know who it is. The gentle touch on my shoulder is all that’s needed to bring the tears.
Turning quickly, I bury my head in his chest, crying my heart out onto his shirt. He arms wrap tightly around me. I hear his soft, “you did what you had to do.” And the tears flowed even faster.
Sometimes love even shines through the pain.
Chapter 1 ~ Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
Spike stalked out of the factory, his determination making his gait seem stronger than it really was. He fixated on finding his target, hoping his trembling legs and weakened body didn’t betray him. He was sick and tired of his grand-sire already and the moans of pleasure and pain from the bedroom Drusilla now shared with the Poof turned his stomach. Since Angelus’ return all the minions who had once been loyal- or as loyal as he had expected them to be- had turned their backs on him and bowed down to the elder vampire, leaving Spike to fend for himself.
The blond had agonized for days on his next course of action, tossing around the pros and cons of every choice. It wasn't like he didn’t have the extra time, what with being confined to the bleedin’ wheelchair like an invalid. Every scheme that he'd come up with, every plan that even had a chance in hell of succeeding all involved one person.
The Slayer.
The short walk to the school seemed to take twice as long as it normally would have. He’d been on his feet less than a week, mostly just practicing in the privacy of his bedroom, with the door locked. Not that the happily reunited couple would make an effort to check on him. It just seemed prudent to keep out any minions who might be looking for information to curry Angelus’ favor.
The lesser vamps had yet to learn that attention from the Great Git, even for something he wanted, didn’t always mean safety or additional benefits. Often, it only brought more foolhardy assignments or a dusting for thinking above your station.
He reached his destination and stopped for a break outside the brick structure. As he rested, his eyes lit on the sign in front of the building. “’Formatia trans sicere educatorum. Enter all ye who seek knowledge.’” He snorted. “Why not just say all you can eat buffet?” he mumbled. Shaking his head at the idiocy of the authority figures on the Hellmouth, he struggled upright and entered Sunnydale High School.
Spike wandered the halls to get his bearings. He knew from Angelus that the slayer and her little group of hangers-on mostly gathered in the library, but he hadn’t found a soul when he’d poked his head cautiously through the door. There was a light scraping noise and the faint smell of burnt herbs coming from down the hall. Someone was doing magic nearby. Hoping to find the merry band of do-gooders, he made his way around the classrooms.
It would surprise him if the watcher was in on this little enchantment, since the watchers council was notorious for snubbing their noses at the use of magic for slayer related activities. Of course they didn’t hesitate to us it for their own purposes. Bloody hypocrites. Always trying to make sure they kept most of the eggs in their own basket so as to make themselves indispensable.
The vampire finally reached the door the overwhelming smell was emanating from. He smirked at the sight of the slayers boy pal hopping around watching what appeared be a young witch as she chanted over a science beaker and intoned, “…until she submits to his will only.”
“Well. Well. Well. What do I spy with my little eye?” His grin only widened when the boy shrieked and jumped a foot off the ground.
Xander’s eyes grew enormous when he realized who had stepped into the room. He backed up until he bumped into one of the lab tables. Once his progress was halted he began to babble and stutter unintelligible words.
The blond looked toward the witch still chanting on the floor. She was so absorbed in her spell she took no notice of his presence. He moved closer to the girl and her bubbling mixture. Cocking his head to the side, he focused on her words.
“Diana, bring about this love and bless it.”
Spikes eyebrow arched in surprise. A love spell, then. Wasn’t expecting that, he thought. His questioning gaze flew back toward the brunette.
He whirled his still clumsy body around as a flash of movement caught his attention. He began to dodge and block punches from the irate slayer as she attacked him full on.
“Slayer!” he exclaimed as he blocked her determined assault. “I was just looking for you.”
“Yeah, well, now you’ve found me,” she snarled.
Still weak from his injury, his body was beginning to tire and he took several steps back to avoid her heavier blows. The slayer followed his retreat and neither noticed when they stepped into the mystical circle drawn on the floor.
As though from a great distance, Spike heard the witch shout, “blow out the candle, now!”
And everything went black.
*****
Spike awoke in a comforting embrace with the feel of soft, warm fingers stroking his cheek. He shook his head to clear away the last of the magic he could feel floating around the room, and when he finally opened his eyes, he found himself staring straight into the brightest green eyes he had ever seen. With that bit of knowledge came the realization that it was the slayer who held him close. Very close.
What the bloody hell? His frantic eyes moved downward searching her hands for the stake she must be clutching in her free hand only to find it curled tightly into his shirt with no weapon in sight.
“Uh, Slayer…what are you doing?” he asked tentatively, still wary of hidden stakes.
“Oh, thank God! I thought I was going to have to open a vein or something to get you to wake up,” she cried in relief.
The vampire was sure that his eyes bulged comically as the words of his enemy registered in his head. He tried to assess the situation to plot his next course of action, resisting the urge to leap to his feet and run. He mentally ran through the limited information in his head before hitting upon the obvious.
Spell. He had walked in on a spell. A love spell, no less.
Groaning loudly, he eased himself out of the slayers embrace to stand. To his chagrin, the blond seemed to meld herself to him every inch of the way. Every effort he made to untangle her arms from around him just caused her to attach herself somewhere else.
His eyes searched the room finally settling on the slayers pal. He searched his memory trying to recall what the slayer had called him the first night at the bronze. “Xander.” That was it!
The boy started slightly when he felt the vampires gaze. He stared at his friend for a moment longer before looking at Spike almost apologetically. “Um, I tried to get her off of you a few times, but she kept growling at me,” he mumbled softly, he eyes now looking everywhere but the two blonds.
“Come on, luv,” Spike sighed as the slayer-shaped limpet clung even tighter. “Time to find the watcher.”
TBC... |
