"We can't go to the Bronze tonight," Willow said as she followed Spike
out of her apartment.

"That was your suggestion, as I recall. What's changed your mind?" he
asked her.

"Buffy and Xander are going to be there to hear Oz play. That's almost
everyone on our 'miss list'--all in the same place," she explained.

"Okay," he agreed. "Maybe we should just stay here."

Willow nodded, "Maybe we should."

"Or not," he said suddenly, taking her hand.

"Why? What is it?"

"Slayer, dead ahead and headed in this direction," he warned her.

Willow clasped his hand and pulled him toward the far end of the
apartment building. They disappeared around the side as Buffy stepped
onto the sidewalk that lead to the door. Spike placed his hand on
Willow's back and urged her through the hedge of shrubs that bordered
the back of the property.

"We're okay, now," she said. "She can't see us."

"If I can sense her, she can sense me, pet," he reminded her.

"Oh. Yeah," she mumbled and scrambled through the scratchy shrubs.

They darted down a narrow side street that lead out onto a row of
houses, most of them in varying states of disrepair, with porches and
lawns littered with the college students who resided in them.

"Damn," he hissed.

"What?"

"She's right behind us," he answered.

The couple helped themselves to several front and back yards, Spike
snarling softly at the wolf-whistles that followed the little redhead.
She giggled in spite of the situation, and his hand reattached itself
to hers, and he pulled her relentlessly behind him.

Spike slowed his pace as they entered one of Sunnydale's ever-growing
cemeteries and looked down at Willow as she labored to catch her
breath.

She took a quick look behind them, "Are we in the clear?"

"We've lost her," he nodded. "Even if she does manage to find her way
here, there have been enough other vampires roaming through this
cemetery tonight that she won't be able to tell me from the others."

"Oh, that's comforting," Willow said dryly. "Can we get out of here,
please?"

"You've got something against undead guys?" he grinned.

"You're the only undead guy I lo--like," she answered.

"What was that, little one?" he smiled smugly.

"Like, I said like," she snapped, silently cursing the red warmth that
swept over her cheeks.

"Uh huh," he chuckled as they walked away from the cemetery.

"I'm starving," she announced, quickly changing the subject. "Let's get
something to eat."

"How about that pizza place near the park?" he suggested. "You can have
pizza, and I'll have a waitress."

She arched an eyebrow at him.

"No?" he asked, all innocence. "Okay. You can have pizza, and I'll have
you."

Willow giggled and shook her head as she dragged him down the street.
***
Spike reached down and took Willow's arm, tucking it through his as
they walked through the park. She leaned against him, and he stopped,
pulling her around to kiss her.

"We shouldn't be doing this here," she told him.

"I know," he agreed and returned to her mouth.

"It's dangerous."

"It is," he said and nibbled her lip.

"Buffy could be looking for us right now."

"I half wish she'd find us," he admitted, crushing her against him as
her arms went around him.

Willow suddenly broke the kiss with a little yelp. She raised her hand
to the top of her head and rubbed it softly.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, looking upward.

"What?"

"Something hit me in the--ow!" she cried out as another hard object
smacked the top of her head.

She bolted out of his arms as something scampered through the thick,
leafy branches above them. Spike reached out and grabbed her, pulling
her out from under the tree, his eyes following the trembling leaves
above them. The leaves on all the trees around them began to flutter,
though the night air was still.

Countless small, hard objects rained down on them from above, and
Willow pulled Spike toward a nearby picnic table. He scrambled under it
after her and wrapped his arms around her, cradling her head against
his chest. Several of the little missiles rattled down atop the table
and rolled off onto the ground. Spike scooped up the closest and held
it in the palm of his hand.

"Acorns?" he spoke close to Willow's ear.

The sounds of the trembling leaves and the plop-plopping of acorns were
replaced by the sound of numerous, small footsteps as whatever was
above them scurried down the trunks of the trees. Several of the beasts
literally flew out of the branches above the picnic table, landing on
it with small thuds. Willow shivered a little and clutched more tightly
at Spike.

The creatures that had made their way down from their overhead perches
joined those who had dropped onto the table, and the witch and the
vampire found themselves peering out at dozens of pairs of beady eyes.

"Squirrels," Willow moaned.

Pulling herself slightly away from Spike, she scooped up a handful of
acorns from the ground and began pelting the furry rodents with them.
The vampire followed suit, and they crawled quickly out from under the
table as their tiny attackers moved out of the way.

Willow hissed as one of the squirrels attached itself to her leg,
sinking its nails into her flesh. Spike reached down and batted it off
of her, and another quickly replaced it.

"The fountain!" he shouted as another jumped from the table to his arm
and skittered up toward his shoulder.

The squirrel tumbled off of him, and the couple made a frantic dash
toward the large, round fountain, with the army of squirrels rapidly
gaining on them. By the time they reached their destination, their legs
and backs were covered with the animals. Spike lifted Willow up and
dumped her unceremoniously into the water and followed her in. The
squirrels let go and swam for the nearest side of the fountain as the
blonde vampire and his redhead splashed their way to the far side and
climbed out. Spike flung Willow over his shoulder and ran, never
slowing until they were half-way to his apartment, the park and the
squirrels far behind.

By the time they reached his doorstep, the combination of wet clothes
and frayed nerves had Willow shivering. Spike, nearly as shaken, but
trying hard not to show it, opened the door and pulled her inside. He
knelt down and raised first her right foot, then her left, to pull off
her shoes. He unfastened her jeans, tugging them down, and she steadied
herself on his shoulder as he pulled them off of her. He ran his hands
over her legs, studying the marks left by the squirrels' nails and
teeth.

Spike stood up and drew her sopping t-shirt over her head. Gently, he
turned her to find her back in a state similar to that of her legs. He
picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. He peeled off her wet
bra and panties before turning on the shower, allowing the water to
warm up as he pulled off his own wet clothes. Spike lifted Willow over
the edge of the tub and followed her under the spray of water. He
pulled her into his arms, and they stood wrapped up in each other,
allowing the heat of the water to warm and relax them.

He raised her chin to find her eyes heavy with tears, and he bent and
kissed her.

"This isn't funny, anymore, Spike," she murmured.

"I know," he crooned softly. "It's gotten kind of nuts."

He was rewarded by her soft giggle at his awful pun.

"Okay, maybe it's a little bit funny," she admitted.

"Not when you get hurt, pet," he answered seriously.

"I'm okay, just a little shaky," she assured him. "Hold me for a
minute."

He embraced her, and her arms clutched his back as he rocked her gently
under the calming water. He reached for a washcloth and lathered it
with soap. Turning her around, he carefully cleaned the small wounds on
her back. She trembled, a soft sigh escaping her lips, as his hands
moved around her to run the cloth over the mounds of her breasts. He
placed one arm around her waist, holding her against him as his hand
traveled lower, washing her stomach in slow, easy circles, then moving
lower to the thick folds between her legs.

Willow moaned as his fingers parted her, and he dropped the washcloth
and turned her to face him, his thumb gently tickling her clit as their
mouths connected. He raised her up, tucking an arm around her to keep
her wounded back away from the wall, and entered her. Willow wrapped
her legs around his waist, and their tongues slid over each other as he
thrust into her. Her lips fluttered over his jawline and down to his
neck, and Spike groaned and quickened his pace as her warm lips suckled
his neck, and her tongue danced over his flesh.

She rested her head against the wall, and her lips parted as hot sparks
began to radiate from her core out through her body. Spike growled as
her walls clamped around him, and he fought off his own orgasm, waiting
for her. She cried out, her hands gripping his shoulders hard as she
came, and his cold seed flooded her, seeping from her channel to mix
with the hot, steamy water.

He reached over to turn off the tap and stepped out of the tub with
Willow in his arms. Spike wrapped a thick towel around her and carried
her into the bedroom. He dried her off, and then himself, and pulled
her naked body close against him.

"You don't think those squirrels were rabid, do you?" she asked, her
voice small and muffled by his chest.

"I doubt it, luv. I think they're just evil."

"Why is this happening? If I were inclined toward paranoia, I'd think
someone was trying to keep us apart," she admitted.

"Can't be," he answered.

"Why not?" she looked up at him.

He traced her jaw with a finger and pressed his lips to her forehead,
"First of all, these things aren't keeping us apart; if anything,
they're drawing us closer to each other."

"True," she agreed.

"And second, those crows weren't just after us the other night. The
watcher had sent the slayer out after them."

"That's right!" Willow nodded. "But you have to admit, this can't all
be coincidence, even if this is a Hellmouth. We've blown off the last
two research sessions. Spike, we have to go to the next one and find
out what's going on."

"You talk to the slayer tomorrow and find out when they're meeting, and
we'll be there," he promised.

"Okay," she smiled wearily.

Spike backed her up to the edge of the bed and lowered her down on it,
"In the meantime--"

Her arms snaked around his neck and he moved over her and kissed her.
She whimpered softly as the tender wounds on her back pressed into the
mattress. Spike moved over and pulled her up onto his chest, placing a
kiss on a small bruise on her shoulder.

"Nuts," he muttered, shaking his head.

Willow's eyes gleamed as she reached down between his legs, "I like
yours much better."

He chuckled and pulled her over on top of him, drawing her mouth down
into a hard, deep kiss.

End.

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