"Spike?" Willow called out as she pushed open the vampire's front door
and let herself in. "You in here?"

Her eyes scanned the darkened room, but found no sign of her lover. She
had waited with increasing agitation until almost midnight for his
expected phone call before screwing up her courage to venture along the
dark streets to his apartment. A sick sort of worry began to grip her
stomach as she waited in absolute silence, straining her ears for any
sound of him. A soft, totally unSpikelike whimper drifted from his
bedroom, and she ran down the short corridor and flipped on the light
switch near the open door.

Spike was sitting on the floor of the room, his back resting against
the bed, his knees pulled up close to his chest. She dropped down
beside him and ran her fingers through his hair, quickly pulling them
away as he flinched under her touch.

"Spike? What's wrong?" she whispered.

"Go away," he whispered so softly she could barely hear him.

"No," she refused. "What is it? Did I do something wrong?"

He raised his head from the arms that were folded over his knees, and
Willow gasped at the red tears trailing down his cheeks. She cupped his
face in her hands and brushed them away with her thumbs.

"Willow, you have to leave. You can't be here," his voice was hoarse
with emotion.

"Why not? What are you talking about? Whatever it is, let me help you,
baby," she pleaded.

The redhead grunted as he flung his arms around her and squeezed the
breath out of her.

"Oh, Willow. I'm so sorry, for everything. I'm so sorry," he sobbed
against her shoulder. "I can't even begin to fix everything. It's too
much."

"Spike!" she spoke firmly, pulling him away to look into his eyes.
"Tell me what the hell is wrong!"

"My soul--" he groaned, chocking on another heavy sob. "Someone's
restored my--"

"No," she shook her head. "It's another one of these crazy tricks
someone's been playing on us. You just think--"

He shoved her away and scrambled to his feet, "I've killed so
many...centuries of cold-blooded murder...bloody hell, pet, I've even
fed from you."

Willow jumped up and grabbed hold of his arm as the reality of the
situation hit her. He tried to pull himself free, but she held on
tightly, dragging him hard against her small body.

"Spike, when did this happen?" she asked him.

"This afternoon. I woke up with the worst pain in my head. I can't deal
with this, baby. How long until sunrise?" he glanced over at the alarm
clock Willow had left on his night stand.

"Listen to me. You are _not_ going for a morning stroll! Do you hear
what I'm saying? We'll fix this. I promise," she told him.

He brushed away the fresh tears that had trickled from his eyes and
allowed her frantic pleading to seep through the guilt that overwhelmed
him.

"I'm going to the watcher," he announced suddenly. "Maybe he can tell
me who did this. Not that it matters. I'm sure the slayer will agree to
stake me."

He wrenched his arm out of her hand and hastened to the door, with
Willow right on his heels.

"Spike, are you sure that's such a good idea? I mean, what are you
going to say to Giles? You know they have no idea we've been--"

He moaned miserably and pulled her close to him, burying his face in
her silky red hair, "I can't even tell you what you mean to me, baby. I
don't deserve to be with you. I don't know how to exist like this."

"We can deal with this together, Spike. I know we can. Just stay here,
and we'll--"

"No, Willow, not this time. I feel like I'm drowning. I feel like I
need to breathe, and I can't. I can barely stand to look at you, after
everything I've done. You're a jewel. I'm a monster. If the watcher
can't help me, I don't think I can--"

"Shhh," she pressed a finger to his lips. "Okay, we'll go talk to
Giles. But Spike, even if he can't help us, even if you're stuck with
this soul for eternity, it won't matter to me. I still want to be with
you. I still _need_ to be with you."

He looked down at her, and she reached up to place a soft kiss on his
lips. Another great red tear fell from his eye, and Willow took his
hand in a warm, steely grip and allowed him to drag her out of the
apartment.
***
The watcher stepped aside to invite Willow and Spike in, and they
followed him into his library where Buffy and Xander were leaned over
the table, scanning thick books in their latest research project.
Willow felt Spike pull back on her hand, ready to bolt, and she clamped
her hand around his and pulled him to her side.

"What's going on?" Buffy spoke as she and Xander rose from their
chairs.

"Um...maybe you'd better sit back down," Willow suggested.

The slayer, the watcher, and Xander exchanged curious glances and
quickly resumed their places at the table as Willow steeled herself.

"We have a problem," the redhead began.

"We?" Giles repeated, looking from the young woman to the vampire.

"Okay, I'm just going to say this and get it over with," Willow told
them. "Spike and I have been seeing each other for--awhile."

"You've been--" Buffy's eyes were glued on her friend. "How long,
exactly, is awhile?"

"Oh, I don't know," Willow shrugged with a sigh. "Maybe, say, five
months or so, kinda."

"Five months!!" Xander blurted.

"Okay, six," Willow amended.

Despite his misery, Spike couldn't help staring with interest at the
unusual shade of green Xander's face had taken on. He shifted uneasily
beside his redhead, and she released his hand to tuck a firm arm around
his waist.

"Seeing each other. Like going to the movies, talking over a cup of
coffee?" Buffy asked hopefully.

Willow shook her head, "Shagging like bunnies."

Giles groaned and clapped his hand to his forehead, "Oh, Willow. How
could you?"

"What?" she growled in annoyance. "I mean, it didn't start out that
way. Oh, wait. Actually, it did. But, I mean, he's not all that bad."

"You've lost your mind. You're a certifiable lunatic," Xander stated.

Willow glared at him and babbled, "I am not! I mean, what's not to
like? He's funny. He knows a lot of stuff. He's got that accent thing
going. Great ass. Unbelievable kisser. And you should see him when he
takes off his--"

"Way too much information, Will!" Buffy shouted. "Have you forgotten
he's also a vampire?"

"So was Angel," Willow argued.

"He was souled, Willow."

"So is Spike, now," the redhead stated.

The room fell into a deafening silence as this last tidbit of
information ricocheted around the room. She waited a moment before
turning to Giles.

"We have to help him," she said softly. "I've never seen him so
unhappy. Is there anything we can do?"

The watcher cleared his throat and found his voice, "Such as?"

"Is it permanent?" Spike spoke for the first time. "Do I have to deal
with this torment for the rest of my unexistence, because Angel may be
able to stand it, but there's no way in hell I can."

"Angel!" Willow's eyes flew to her vampire. "He lost his soul after
Buffy and he did it! Would that work for Spike?"

"Since I have no idea who performed the restoration, I have no way of
knowing," the watcher told her. "Anyway, it wasn't the--act--itself
that caused Angel to lose his soul. It was the emotions involved."

"Well, that would work for us!" she decided. "Spike! If we--"

"Hold on a minute," Buffy stood and walked over to face her. "Are you
telling us that you and Spike are in love with each other?"

Spike looked down at the redhead, curious to hear the answer to that
questions himself. Willow blushed an attractive shade of red and looked
everywhere but at the vampire at her side.

"Well," she swallowed. "It's a very deep like. Does that count?"

"Like," Xander shook his head as he watched the expressions play across
the vampire's face. "You've been getting horizontal for six months, and
the two of you are in a state of 'very deep like?' What the hell is
that, anyway?"

Willow breathed out a frustrated sigh, "All I want to know is whether
or not I can screw the soul out of Spike!"

Giles winced noticeably and went to stand beside Buffy, forcing his
eyes to meet Willow's, "I don't know, Willow. I can try to ascertain
how Spike was cursed, but there's so little to go on."

"Maybe Angel can help," Xander suggested. "He'd know more about this
soul stuff than the rest of us do. Buffy, you could phone him."

Willow looked at him in amazement as the suggestion tumbled out of his
mouth. He grinned over at her and shrugged.

"It just slipped out," he explained.

"Alternately, we could stake him," Buffy said.

"Yeah? Then stake Angel, too, because they're both in the same
situation, now!" Willow hissed angrily.

Buffy fidgeted next to Giles and looked down to study her fingernails.

"We'll contact Angel," Giles agreed. "I think it would be best if Spike
went home, and we'll call him when we have any information. We can
discuss this--relationship--of yours later."

"Okay," Willow nodded and took Spike's hand to go with him.

"Not you, just him," Buffy told her.

"Him _is_ me," Willow smiled and pulled the vampire out of the room.
***
Willow hung up the phone and turned to find her nose pressed against
Spike's chest.

"What did he say?" the anxious vampire asked.

"Angel couldn't tell him much, really. There doesn't seem to be any way
to tell whether there's a happiness clause in your curse without
knowing who performed it and exactly what curse was used."

"Bloody hell," he dragged his hand through his hair and stepped away
from her.

"Except," she added, and he whirled around to look at her. "We could
put it to the test."

He looked at her, obviously not understanding what she was trying to
suggest.

She smiled over at him, "Let's see if we can fuck the soul out of you."

"No," he shook his head.

"Why not?" she asked.

"I'm not going to be with you like that. You deserve so much better,
luv," he murmured.

"Spike, come on. It isn't like I'm making an agonizing sacrifice here.
Don't make me do this the hard way."

"Hard way?"

"Uh huh," she reached for the buttons on her shirt and began to undo
them. "I can seduce you if I have to."

"No!" he shouted, turning on his heel and making a dash for the
bedroom.

She ran after him and slammed the bedroom door, locking it and putting
the key in her pocket. She slid the shirt off her shoulders, and Spike
skittered around to the far side of the bed.

"We're not going to do this, Willow," he insisted.

"Oh, yes, we are," she grinned, reaching down to tug off her sneakers
and socks.

Spike's eyes widened nervously as she unfastened her jeans and dragged
them over her hips. Clad in only her panties and bra, she stalked
toward him.

"Come and get it, big boy," she cooed and crooked a finger to waggle it
at him.

"No!" he repeated. "Willow, stop this!"

She reached around and unhooked her bra, letting it tumble to the floor
as she made her way to the bed. Spike plastered his back up against the
wall as she crawled across the mattress toward him. She snaked out an
arm and wrapped her fingers around the lapel of his duster, yanking him
forcefully to the side of the bed.

"Come here, sweetie. I won't bite. That's your department," she grinned
lasciviously.

Spike twisted out of her grasp, leaving her holding his duster. She
dropped it to the floor, sat back on her knees and hooked her thumbs
through the waistband of her panties to peel them away. Climbing off
the bed, she cornered the shaking vampire against the wall and pressed
her naked body against him.

"Willow?" he whimpered as she unfastened his jeans and reached inside
to draw out his cock.

Suddenly, his hands clamped around her wrists, pushing them away from
him. He turned to flee around the end of the bed, got tangled up in the
pants that had fallen about his ankles and found himself sprawled out
over the floor. Willow jumped off the bed and landed on top of him,
straddling him. She lowered her mouth to his and kissed him brutally,
pulling away only long enough to drag his shirt from his body.

Spike braced his hands on her shoulders and flung her off of him. His
legs hopelessly tangled in the black jeans, he found himself unable to
stand and opted instead to crawl across the floor, away from her. She
tackled him, landing on his back. She curled her hand around his ass
and lowered her mouth to his shoulder.

"You know you want me," she whispered playfully.

"No, I don't. Not like this," he insisted. "We're not going to--umph!"

Willow flipped him over and grabbed hold of his flaccid penis. It
jumped to life in her hands, and she grinned down at him.

"Liar," she giggled.

Before Spike could wriggle out from under her, she straddled his hips
and drove his hardening shaft deep within her pussy. He hissed as she
forced her muscled walls to clamp down around him. She splayed her
hands across his cold chest and toyed with the buds of his nipples,
rolling them between her fingers and pinching them. He bucked up into
her, and she lowered herself down on him, brushing her lips over his
jaw.

Spike moaned pitifully as she nipped at his earlobe and began to move
on top of him, grinding her pelvis hard against him and then drawing
herself up until he was barely inside her before slamming back down
onto him. He brought his hands up to capture her wrists, and she
slapped them away. Lacing her fingers through his, she pinned his hands
to his sides and rode him hard and fast.

Spike growled and his fangs descended as his features morphed into
those of his demon. She smiled and wrapped a hand around his neck,
pulling his mouth to her neck, all the while driving her body down on
his. He snarled once, softly, and bit into her flesh. Willow cried out
as her walls clamped onto him and her body shook with the intensity of
her orgasm. Spike grunted as her blood filled his mouth and his seed
filled her womb. He lowered his head to the floor, bringing hers down
with him to lick the tiny punctures he had inflicted on her neck.

Willow panted softly on top of him until her senses slowly returned.
She braced herself on her hands and raised herself up to look at him.
He grinned as he slipped back into his human visage and licked his lips
of the last traces of her sweet blood.

"So, are we still all soul-having?" she asked, her eyes burning into
his.

"No," he grinned back at her and placed his hand on her hips, flipping
her over and pinning her under him. "I'm all Willow-having."

She moaned as he began to thrust into her once again. Their eyes
remained fixed on one another's as he dropped his hand to her clit and
rubbed his thumb over the swollen nub. She bit her lip at the exquisite
torture and raised her hips to meet his thrusts. Quickly, he brought
her to the brink of another orgasm and held her there, chuckling at the
fire that burned behind her eyes.

"Spike!" she cried out impatiently and gripped his arms.

Rather than increasing his pace, he slowed it, drawing out her torture
as she whimpered under him.

"You fucked me soulless, little one," he whispered, his mouth close to
her ear. "Now, I'm going to fuck you senseless."

"Well, get on with it!" she shouted desperately.

He laughed softly and nibbled her earlobe, thrusting hard into her,
twice, as his fingers pinched her clit. She screamed and wrapped her
legs around as he came with a growl. He withdrew from her and reached
down to pull away his boots and his jeans before lifting her up and
placing her on the bed. He covered her body with his and pulled her
into his arms, turning onto his back to rest her body on his.

"Well, that was a success," he murmured in palpable relief. "Does this
mean we're in more than just 'deep like?'"

"Shut up," she grinned against his chest and and wrapped an arm over
him.

"Thank you," he whispered sincerely against her hair. "You didn't have
to do that for me. You could have left me like that."

"No, I couldn't," she told him. "You were miserable. Besides, I want
you, not a blonde version of Angel."

"Is that right?" he smiled and lifted her head to kiss her. "So, what
kind of hell do you suppose we're going to catch from the watcher and
the blonde bimbo?"

"I don't want to think about that right now," she groaned.

"What would you like to do?" he asked, squeezing her breast.

"Catch my breath," she answered. "And then make sure that soul of yours
is gone for good, if you're up to it, old man."

He pulled her on top of him, his hardening shaft pressing into her
stomach, "What do you think?"

"You're up to it," she giggled before his mouth captured hers and
stopped her from speaking.

End.

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