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Spike found Willow laying on her bed. Her arms were
crossed and she leaned
against the headboard. The romance novel lay on her lap.
She scowled at him. “How
could you do that to me?”
“Now, luv, I warned you. I play to win.”
“You want to play the game this way? Fine, no more Miss
Nice Girl. I’ll beat you
if it is the last thing I do.” She flung the book at him
and hit Spike in the chest.
“I hope you’ll try to win.” He smirked as he scooped up
the book and sat down
on her bed. “I’ve been thinking about what I want for my
prize. Wanna know what it
is?”
“No! Because you aren’t going to win anyway.” She said
through gritted teeth.
“Aren’t you the teeniest bit curious?” He scooted closer
to her. She rolled over
and turned her back to him. He grinned and stretched out
behind her, on his side
mimicking her position. “Come on, luv. Don’t you want to
know what’s at stake?”
Willow sighed and moved closer to the edge of the bed.
She muttered something
about wanting a stake, but Spike didn’t quite catch the
rest of it. He picked up her book
and tossed it in front of her. “Since you’re obviously
dying to know, I’ll save you the
suspense.” He leaned over her and moved her hair off her
shoulder, and whispered in
her ear, “Read page 157.”
Willow’s hand shook as she opened the novel. Her eyes
quickly scanned the
page. She gasped. “I can’t do that!”
“And why not, pet?” He ran the tip of his finger over the
rim of her ear. “I
promise you’ll find it enjoyable.”
“I’m not that bendy!”
********
“What took you guys so long to get here. I’m starv–“
Xander stared
dumbfounded. “Either work is really scarce in L.A. or
you’re not the pizza man.”
Angel leaned forward expectantly. “May I come in?”
“That depends, do you have a pizza under that big black
coat?” Xander
swallowed when Angel looked less than amused. “Come on
in.”
Angel followed Xander downstairs to his “room” in the
basement. He knew the
young man did not particularly care for him, and he felt
uncomfortable barging in like
this, but it couldn’t be helped. Xander gestured to the
couch against the wall. Angel
examined the saggy, worn mess and decided to stand instead.
Xander shrugged and sat
down. “What can I do for you, big guy?”
“It’s about Willow . . .”
“She’s not in trouble, is she?” Xander made as if to
stand, but Angel waved him
back down.
“No. At least not the immediate kind.” Angel frowned.
“Have you noticed
anything strange about her lately? Any new boyfriends?
Has she been spending a lot of
time outside, late at night? Or alone? Anything like
that?”
“Why are you so worried about Willow’s love life?”
Xander said gruffly. “Leave
her alone. Look, its not like you have a good track record
with living girls. Remember
dating Buffy and then going “postal” on everyone? It just
doesn’t work out for you. Go
get yourself a dead girlfriend.” Xander stood up, ready to
take on the vampire.
“Calm down, Xander.” Angel sighed. “I’m not interested in
Willow.”
“You’re not?”
“No, she’s interested in . . .” He trailed off. This
would not only sound terribly
arrogant, but would also be deeply embarrassing for Willow.
“In . . .”Xander prompted.
“In me” Xander burst into laughter. Angel waited several
minutes for him to
stop before continuing. “Have you been looking for a blue
demon with purple spots?”
“Have you been feeding on crackheads? First, you think
Willow likes you, now
you’re seeing demons with spots?”
“Willow called me and asked for my help with a demon Buffy
was looking for. I
overheard her talking about kissing Spike-“
”What?!”
“Then, when we were at dinner, she showed me this vampire
romance novel she
had-“
”Wait a minute! You took her to dinner?”
“She was hungry and I needed-“
”Yeah, I think I know what you were ‘needing’, Deadboy.”
Xander stood up
again.
“Will you give it a rest? I’m not interested in Willow.”
“Alright, but you better be careful. I see some bite
marks on her neck and you are
going down!” He took a deep breath. “ Now, what’s this
about a book?”
“Yes, it was about a vampire and a human woman.
Apparently, they were-“
”Dark Embrace?” Xander queried.
“You know about that book?”
“Of course, I gave it to her.”
“Why would you do that?” Angel sounded truly perplexed.
Was it normal for
people to have this kind of interest in the undead?
“Well, she was dating Oz at the time and,” Xander paused
to clear his throat. “Oz
overheard Wills saying to Buffy that she thought you were a
hunk. So, I gave it to her as
a joke. Pissed Oz off every single time he saw it. It is
just a joke between friends. Don’t
read anything into it, Willow has better sense when it
comes to men than Buffy.”
“She told Buffy I was a hunk?” Angel ignored the barb.
“Yeah, well, don’t get your hopes up. She was trying to
cheer Buffy up at the
time.” Xander fixed Angel with a look. “She’s honest, but
she’s also the kind to fib to
make someone feel better.”
Angel sighed, he really didn’t want to get into a shouting
match with Xander
right now. He settled for glaring at the young man. Angel
was starting to wonder if he
had overreacted. Maybe she didn’t have feelings for him
after all. Still, that didn’t explain
anything with Spike or with why she had called him here.
“So you don’t think anything
strange is going on?”
Xander stopped to think about it for a minute. “Well, I
was supposed to pick
Spike up from her earlier and she wouldn’t let me.”
“Somehow it keeps coming down to Spike.” Angel left
without a word to Xander,
it was time he had a little chat with the younger vampire.
*******
Willow gave Spike a mutinous look as she scrambled off the
bed and onto her
feet. “I’m not doing that with you over some silly bet.”
“Oh, you think it’s silly? Well, if it doesn’t mean
anything to you, we can just end
it. All you have to say is three little words, pet.”
“Kiss my -“
”You win, Spike.”
“Tushy.” She finished lamely.
“Hmm, that could be interesting. What a naughty little
mind you’ve got. But if
you want to do that, we’ll have to wait for another night.
Since I won, I get to choose.”
He moved into a sitting position on the bed.
“Ewww! This is just like that slapping thing, isn’t it?
All vampires are perverts.”
She turned her back to him and crossed her arms. “ I think
you should go home now.”
“But you suggested it, luv. I was just being agreeable.”
He reached out for her
but Willow jumped away, shooting him a scathing glance.
“Get out! Go to Xander’s house. NOW!”
“I can see your upset. I’ll take a walk while you calm
down.” He stood up and
said casually. “ By the by, your mum and dad called and
said they would be staying at a
friend’s house this evening. Some dinner party at a lake
or some rot.”
“You answered the phone?”
“Of course! It was ringing.”
“What did you tell them?”
“I just said that you were helping me with my homework,
pet. Human
Anatomy.”
“Did they buy it?”
“Excuse me! I’ll have you know that I’m an expert at
lying. Do you know how
hard it is to walk the fine line between pissing the slayer
off a bit and making her mad
enough to stake me? I deserve a bloody Oscar.”
“Fine. Whatever. Why don’t you take that walk?”
“Alright. Promise you won’t deinvite me from the house?”
“Leave!”
“I’m going. Give me a goodnight kiss?”
“Go!” Spike smiled rakishly before he bolted out the door.
*******
Spike chuckled to himself as he walked the streets of
Sunnydale. He had Willow
exactly where he wanted her. Soon, she would be his. He
imagined the two of them
going around the world together. He’d get the damn chip
removed and she would be
his companion until the world faded into oblivion.
Spike was busy planning when he ran smack into Angel as he
rounded a corner.
“Bloody hell, watch where you’re going, mate.”
“Spike. We need to talk.”
“That’s all you get to do these days, huh? All talk and
no action.”
“We need to talk about Willow.”
“What about her?” He asked innocently.
“What are your intentions?”
“Who the hell are you? Her bleedin’ father?”
“Spike, what are your intentions?” Angel repeated.
“Peaches, what I do with Willow is none of your business.”
“I know that you’ve been neutered by that chip. Giles
told me all about it. With
one phone call and a few choice words I could have Buffy
over here in a second. You’d
be nothing but ashes.”
“Excuse me! I am not neutered. The correct term for it
is defanged. You, on the
other hand, ARE neutered. Oh, and we both know you won’t
call the slayer or you
would’ve already done it. It’d probably make you cry to
see good ‘ol Slutty again.”
Angel fought to control his temper, he knew Spike was
deliberately goading him.
“Look, I’m worried about Willow. I know you can’t hurt her
now-“
”I think you are wasting your time thinking about her,
mate. She’s mine! Got it?
First, Drusilla and now Willow. “
”Just what are you implying? That I am after Willow?”
Angel stared at Spike,
whose face was set in a mulish expression. After more than
a century of spending time
with this demon, Angel knew what it meant. Spike had
decided he wanted something
and he wasn’t about to let anyone stand in his way.
“Listen, defanged or not, you will
not be going near her again, or I’ll stake you myself.”
“I think you need to take that up with Willow.” Spike
smiled as he reached in his
pocket for a smoke. He lit it and blew a stream of smoke
at Angel. “Little witch likes
having me about.”
“You’re just an inconvenience to her Spike. To her and to
everyone else.”
“Really? Then why doesn’t she uninvite me? Why did she
bring me up to stay in
her bedroom instead of the basement?” Spike stepped closer
to his grandsire, smirking.
“Why was she wearing clothes that I picked out for her?
Why did she kiss me? Why
was she sitting on my lap?”
Angel hesitated, but did not step back. “You’re twisting
the truth around, Spike.”
“Did she deny it? Any of it?” Angel remained silent.
“Ahh, have I gotten
through that massive gelled head of yours then? I tell you
what. If you still don’t
believe me, why don’t you go up to her room right now and
ask her again if all those
things happened.”
“I think I will, Spike. And if you’re lying, I’ll take
you with me to L.A.—in a little
glass jar.” Angel spun on his heel, his coat billowing
around him, headed towards
Willow’s house.
“Peaches!” Spike waited until he paused. “Don’t stick
around after I get back. I
have a feeling Red and I will be needing some privacy.”
********
Willow tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and
stared at the tall man now
sitting in her desk chair. She sat on the edge of her bed,
her feet crossed at the ankles
and her hands folded in her lap. This won’t do. I need
to look sexier–more like Buffy. She
recrossed her legs at the knees and folded her hands behind
her head. Relax, you can do
this. “So, what did you want to ask me?”
Angel smiled at her, trying to put her at ease. “Willow,
Spike told me some
things tonight about the two of you and your . .
.relationship.”
She pinkened. “Like what?”
“That you. . .kissed him, sat on his lap, and that your
interested in him.” When
she didn’t jump to defend herself, Angel started to lecture
her. “Willow, I know you are
young and naive. You are probably curious about Spike, but
he’s a demon, Willow! He
would kill you without a second thought and-“
Willow was sick of being lectured. “Angel, this is none
of your business.”
“But-“
”This doesn’t concern you!”
“I care about you, Willow.” He said simply.
“I know you do, and I hate to see you so worried. So, I’m
going to be honest with
you.”
“Finally.”
“Angel!” She admonished, then stared at the wall behind
the imposing vampire.
She didn’t think that she could look him in the eye as she
said this. “ Spike and I made a
bet. I bet him I could go out with you and make you fall
in love with me.
“You made a bet?” The vampire was dumbfounded. “ Why
would you do this?
You called me all the way down here just to win some bet.”
His expression darkened.
“This is all Spike’s fault, he’s influencing you. Making
you do things that you wouldn’t
normally do.”
“No, Angel. The bet was my idea.”
He stared at her as if she had grown an extra head. “I’m
so sorry, Angel. I knew
it would be painful for you to come to Sunnydale. You must
thing I’m a horrible
person.”
Despite himself, Angel couldn’t continue to be angry with
her. His sense of
humor took over. To be honest, he was amazed that Willow
had been able to pull this
off. “So, no smelly multi-colored demon?”
“No, I’m so sorry.”
“You were going to seduce me?”
“No, just date you.” Her voice had lowered to a whisper.
“The clothes. . .”
“I noticed them. Willow?”
“Yes?”
“What were you going to win?”
“A prize of my choice.”
“And Spike wins the same thing?”
“Yes, he already told me what he wants.” Willow was
surprised, the idea of
losing to Spike didn’t bother her as much as it once had.
The more she thought about
giving him his prize, the more she warmed to the idea. But
part of Willow still wanted to
win. She wondered how Spike would have reacted when she
beat him.
“What’s that?”
She grabbed the book and thrust it at him. “Page 157.”
Angel flipped to the page. At first he looked confused as
he figured out the
various euphemisms. Then, as comprehension dawned, the
book hit the floor with a
thud. Angel sat down and looked at Willow. She studied
the floor. Finally he reached
down and picked up the book again. He re-read the passage
more slowly. He caught
her eye and quirked an eyebrow. “Are you really that
bendy?”
Willow was beet-red. “I guess I’m going to have to be.”
“No, you’re not.”
“What do you mean? I’ve lost the bet and–“
”No, you haven’t. I am going to help you.” He said with a
determined nod.
“Spike wasn’t playing fair, so there is no reason you have
to play fair. Besides, I don’t
want you getting involved with Spike. However, I want two
things in return for my
assistance.”
“What would those be?” She sounded hesitant. She didn’t
think Angel would
ask for anything inappropriate, but after nearly two days
with Spike, she had learned to
be cautious.
He gave her a look that said 'I know what you’re thinking
and you should be ashamed of
yourself.' “One, you never make a bet like that with
Spike, or anyone for that matter,
again.”
“Of course.” He looked dubious. She added solemnly, “I
promise.”
“And two, you have to answer this truthfully,” She waited
for him to ask her how
she really felt about Spike. He grinned in an almost
wicked way. “Did you really tell
Buffy I was a hunk?”
Willow threw her pillow at him. He caught it and gave her
a cheesy grin. Then
he pulled her into a near-rib-breaking hug. “You had me so
worried. I thought you'd lost your mind.”
“I’m sorry, Angel!”
“Listen, he’s on his way back, so we have to think of
something fast. Come here.”
He pulled her head close to his mouth and began to whisper
in her ear. If Angel
was honest with himself, he would admit that he wasn’t
doing this purely for Willow’s benefit. He owed
Spike one for the torture, it had taken him weeks to fully
heal
from those steel pokers. Angel would enjoy setting the
younger vampire down a couple
of pegs.
Willow was intrigued with Angel’s strategy. She believed
they could actually
pull this off. She had no idea Angel could be this devious.
“And Willow?”
“Yes?”
“Let’s try to keep this from getting to the other Scoobys,
ok?” She nodded. He
had said “Scoobys”; he meant Buffy.
*******
Spike grinned the whole way back to Willow’s. By now, the
lovely red head
would be ready to give up and send Peaches back to L.A. He
hopped over a fence and
into her yard. All of the curtains on her windows were
shut. Damned inconvenient. How
am I supposed to spy on them? He would have to settle for
listening. He climbed up to her
balcony and settled himself leaning against the rail. He
lit a smoke and waited for the
fun to begin. Spike almost choked on his first inhale.
“OH, Angel!” Willow’s soft voice nearly moaned. “That
makes me feel so good.”
“Just a little more the left, baby.” Angel’s deeper voice
encouraged. “It’ll be even
better. Remember to breathe.”
“Can we do that again?” She sounded breathless.
“Sure. Just lift your leg a little.”
“This is amazing.” She let out a giggle. “Hey, my hair’s
caught.”
“Sorry, let me fix that. There. Better?”
“Much.” She sighed. “I guess I am more bendy than I
thought.”
“I told you that you could do this, with a little effort.”
His voice deepened. “And
the right motivation.” Spike was seeing red. He should
have known better than to trust
that bloody wanker to do the honorable thing. He couldn’t
believe what he was hearing.
It was the same thing with Drusilla. Apparently,
Angel/Angelus (as if it mattered) had
a problem remembering exactly who his girlfriend was. Red
belonged to Spike. If
Angel didn’t have the morals to leave the girl alone, he
could at least respect his
grandchilde’s territory. It was bloody rude, was what it
was.
Inside the room, Willow was trying very hard not to laugh.
Angel was teaching
her some rudimentary yoga. He was experienced in it, and
had often practiced it with
Buffy when he helped her train. She was stretching muscles
she hadn’t known she had.
When Angel told her Spike was now outside listening, he had
encouraged her to speak
up. Her comments had seemed completely innocuous until she
thought about them
from what she imagined Spike’s perspective to be. Then
they become not only
suggestive, but spectacularly funny.
“Let’s try a new one, “ Angel suggested. She moaned again
as they stretched to a
different position, her mouth twitching with the effort to
hold her laughter in.
Angel couldn’t believe what a good pupil she was. She was
a natural at this. He
stood behind her, his body towering over hers, as he guided
her body into the strange
positions. He saw her trying to conceal her laughter, and
suddenly had the urge to tickle
her. What would Spike think of that? He smiled. Why not
find out?
He reached down to her ribcage and brushed his fingers
over it lightly. She let
out a girlish shriek and tried to squirm away. So, she was
ticklish! He would not relent,
running his hand over her side again. She kicked at him.
“Ow! That hurt! Be careful,
darling.” He continued tickling her anyway. She squealed,
then they both hit the floor
with a loud thud.
“Stop, stop! No, Angel. . . I can’t take it anymore,
please!” She gasped out
between bouts of laughter.
Spike had heard enough. He reached for the handle of the
balcony doors, but he
hesitated, afraid of the scene he would find inside. Then,
Angel’s voice reached his ears. “Beg me.” Spike thrust the
doors open and
pushed inside. Spike wished he had a stake on him, where
was the bloody slayer when you needed her?
When Angel saw Spike he felt sharp stab of disappointment.
He had been having
fun. And he couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed
that hard. It felt really
good to finally be comfortable with someone. No intensity,
no fear, no desperation or
sense of futility. Just peaceful. . .and almost happy.
Spike was practically vibrating with rage. “What the HELL
is going on here?”
Angel was underneath Willow, his sides shaking with silent
mirth, as Willow hit him
about his bare chest and arms. “Haven’t you ever heard
that ‘no’ means ‘no’?”
They both stopped their playful antics to stare at Spike.
“Oh, hello there. Have a
nice walk?” Willow asked. She made no move to get off of
Angel.
“Just hunky dory, pet.” His eyes spit fire and took on an
amber glow as he
regarded Angel. At least the poofter still had his pants
on. “What’s going on?”
“I was just showing her some of my moves, Spike.” He
caught Willow’s eye and
they laughed as if they were sharing some lover’s joke.
“I see.” His jaw clenched. “Well, don’t you have to be
going, Peaches? The sun’s
almost up. Time for all good poofters to be in bed.”
Angel wrapped his arms briefly around Willow, then
supported her as she
climbed to her feet. He stood in one swift movement, then
enveloped her in a hug,
picking her up off the ground. He was reluctant to let her
go. He’d been having such a
good time, his voice was a little more tender than
necessary when he said,“See you
tomorrow, darling?”
“No, she has classes. She’s very busy with homework and
research.” Spike said.
“Don’t be silly, Spike. I can always make time for
Angel.”
“Goodnight.” Angel said softly. Her eyes lifted to meet
his, and for a brief
moment, they stood staring into each other’s eyes. He knew
that he should kiss her
goodnight just for Spike’s benefit, but suddenly he was
nervous. Her breath caught in
her throat as she looked up into his face, and she glanced
down again. He felt a
predatory thrill, as he tilted her chin up. He leaned
forward and brushed his lips against
hers. She shivered. He leaned forward again to deepen the
kiss, but was stopped by a
loud cough from Spike.
Angel stepped back from Willow, looking a little shaken.
He hadn’t intended to
enjoy the kiss. Or to continue it. She looked surprised,
too. “Goodnight.” He said
again.
“Yes, yes, you already said that, Peaches.” Spike pushed
the dazed vampire
towards the door. “This is the part where you leave.”
Angel stepped through the doorway, still a little shocked
and confused by what
had just happened. Spike slammed the door shut and locked
it behind him. Then he
spun around to stare accusingly at Willow, that’s when he
spotted Angel’s satin shirt
and trademark black trench coat on the bed. He gathered
both of them up and held
them at arms length as if they were toxic. Without
ceremony, he unlocked the balcony
doors, walked to the edge, and flung them down on Angel’s
head. The baffled
vampire hadn’t even realized he was rambling off into the
night without the rest of his
clothes.
Spike walked back in and locked the doors behind him. He
scanned her bookshelves,
“You got an uninvite spell in one of these books, luv?”
She was enjoying his obvious pique and decided not to
address his question.
“Hmm, maybe I should be thinking about what my prize should
be.” She smiled
dreamily as she sat down at her vanity to brush out her
hair. “Oh, I know.”
“No use wasting your time thinking about that, luv. It’s
not like you’re going to
win.” Spike pouted as he leaned against the door.
“Your duster.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’ll go well with the leather outfits that Angel likes.”
“Forget about it.”
“Only three more to go.” She smiled as she dug in a
drawer for her pajamas.
“Do my ears deceive me?” He walked over to look over her
shoulder and peer
into the drawer. “You need four more dates.”
“Three.” She pulled out a knee length, sleeveless flannel
sleep shirt. Spike
reached his hand in, pulling out a silky chemise with a
questioning look. She tore it out
of his hands and stuffed it back in the drawer. “I went to
dinner with him this evening.
Then he came over again later. That’s two.”
“That last bit wasn’t official, it doesn’t count!” Spike
protested as he went to
reach back in the drawer.
She slammed it shut on his hand. “Of course it does.”
“Ow! Bloody Hell, Red. “ He clutched his throbbing hand
to his chest.
“Does it hurt?” She asked sympathetically.
“Yes. Kiss it and make it better?”
“Funny, I got the impression that your hand isn’t what
you’d like me to kiss.”
He refused to answer the taunt and held out his hand. She
rolled her eyes but
brushed a light kiss across his knuckles. “Mmmm. . .that
feels better. But it still hurts
here.” He wiggled his thumb. She obligingly kissed it.
“And here.” He offered her his
palm and she kissed it too. “Much better. Thank you, luv.”
Willow almost felt guilty for deceiving the blond vampire.
Almost. “Three
dates.” She said stubbornly.
“Four.”
Knowing Angel was part of her little plan, she conceded.
“Four.”
“Now, pet, which side do you sleep on? I’m exhausted.”
“I sleep in the middle of the bed and you are sleeping on
the floor.”
“Pet, you injured me and then you’re going to make me
sleep on the cold, hard
floor all by myself?” His lower lip protruded.
“I’m not buying it Spike. You slept on Xander’s nasty
couch. You even slept with
Harmony. My floor is a vast improvement. If you ask me
nice, I’ll give you a blanket
and a pillow.”
“‘Why ,pet, I do believe you’re jealous of Harmony. If you
let me sleep on the bed,
I promise to keep my delectable body all covered up, keep
you away from temptation.”
At her look, he held up his hands. “Fine, I’ll sleep on
the bloody floor. But I get the
fuzzy blanket and the big pillow.”
“Alright.” She walked off to change in the bathroom. When
she got back Spike
appeared to be asleep on the floor. She slid into bed,
sighing. Her eyes drifted close,
she was hovering on the edge of sleep when she felt eyes on
her. She knew immediately
it was Spike.
She rolled over and sighed into her pillow. “Oh, Angel.”
Spike reached over and shook her awake. “Red! Wake up!”
“Spike?” She muttered sleepily.
“You were having a bloody nightmare.”
“I was?” She tried to hide her smile.
“You were about to wake the dead with your screaming.” He
nodded solemnly.
“But don’t worry.” He stretched out beside her. “I’ll be
right here to make sure it
doesn’t happen again.” Ever. From now on, you’ll be
dreaming about me, Red, he added
silently. He opened his mouth to speak again, but she was
already back asleep, a grin
turning the corners of her lips. He scowled and wished he
knew why she was smiling in
her sleep, now. He slid under the covers and pulled her
closer to his body, finally giving
in to sleep.