Rating: NC17
Pairing: Willow/Spike (as it should be)
Spoilers: Through end of season 4.
Summary: Spike, Willow and a prophecy.
Notes: Fluff, the whole fluff, and nothing but the fluff. ** indicate emphasis. Another of my WIP that I'm finally going to finish!
Feedback: It's ALL about the feedback (and naked Spike)! Don't make me beg, it's not pretty.
E-mail: spikedluv@midtel.net
Distribution: If anybody wants it, please take it. Just tell me where it goes so I can keep track...OK, so I can pull it up and just stare at it for a while!
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, just borrowing them for awhile. Everything belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Kuzui Enterprises, Grr Argh, the WB, UPN and whoever else they really belong to, although I wouldn't mind having a Spike of my own. Who would? Emily Finn is mine.
Thanks: Amanda, amazingly wonderful beta and grasshopper extraordinaire.
****************
Chapter Four: Not Friends
Thursday was the best day, school-wise, that Willow had all week. She still thought about Spike, but not with the same urgency as before. She didn't have to constantly fight the pull to go to him as she had been doing.
She had arrived home just before eight o'clock that morning to shower and dress for school. She decided to wear a pair of green stretch slacks with a white sleeveless sweater that barely reached the waistband of her slacks and black sandals, showing off her toenails which were polished a deep red.
She packed her book bag, carefully stowing the stake and water gun she'd located that morning in the side pocket. Because it was late, she decided to take her parent's car to school, even though it was a while since it had been driven. She was forced to pay to park in the visitor's parking lot, since she didn't have a sticker for the student lot.
After her morning classes she spent an hour in the library before meeting Buffy for lunch, as they usually did on Thursdays. Riley wasn't with her today because he was having lunch with his mother. Buffy was going to meet them later and they were going to stop by the Magic Box that evening after dinner, to introduce her to everyone.
After lunch, Willow went to the computer lab where she could hook up her laptop to work on her program until her afternoon seminar started at two o'clock. After the seminar, Willow usually went to the library, but she had done all the studying she was going to be able to do today. The last hour of her three-hour seminar had been spent thinking about Spike, and the way his hands felt when he touched her.
Instead of going to the library, or Spike's crypt, which had crossed her mind more than once, Willow drove over to the magic shop. She figured that the activity of the Magic Box and having some of her friends around might help calm her nerves, and she could get some studying done, or research with Giles, or chat with Anya. Anything to keep her mind off of Spike. Except, knowing Anya, she'd want to talk about Spike. Willow parked on the street, grabbed her book bag and headed into the shop.
"Good afternoon, welcome...oh, it's just you," Anya complained as she returned to her task of restocking the shelves.
"Thanks, Anya," Willow smiled weakly. "It's good to see you, too."
"I didn't mean that it's not good to see you," Anya corrected Willow's misunderstanding, "I just meant, you're not going to buy anything."
"Well, you're right about that. You know me," Willow said as she made her way to the back of the shop, "always stealing the stuff I need."
"I didn't mean that either!" Anya yelled in frustration.
"I know," Willow sighed as she lifted her book bag onto the research table. "I'm sorry, Anya, I'm just having a bad day. But it started out good," really good, she thought to herself and blushed as she remembered how she woke Spike up that morning, and how he'd said goodbye, "so I don't know why I'm all cranky now," she plopped down into one of the chairs.
"Is it Spike?" Anya asked conspiratorially as she pulled out a chair next to Willow.
"What?" Willow looked up at her.
"It's just that, well, sometimes Xander makes me cranky. So I wondered if Spike was making you cranky," the ex-demon explained.
"You and Xander are in a relationship," Willow said, "Spike and I are not."
"Right, you're just having sex. But he could still make you cranky."
"Anya!" Willow looked over her shoulder. "We don't talk about that!" she hissed. "We are not having sex! Much."
Anya just sat back in the chair with a smile on her face.
"What?"
"Maybe *that's* what's making you cranky. I get cranky too, when I don't get enough orgasms."
"Oh, goddess," Willow buried her head in her arms on the table.
"Hello, Willow. Is something wrong?" Giles asked as he came out of the back of the shop.
"No," Willow said as she sat up at the same time Anya said, "She's cranky."
"You're cranky?" Giles asked with a slight smile.
"A little," Willow admitted.
"So, you thought you'd come here and infect us all with your crankiness?" Giles asked as he wiped his glasses.
"No!" Dawn, who Willow hadn't heard sneak up behind her, said. "She's here so we can make her feel un-cranky!"
"Dawnie! Hi!" Willow hugged the younger girl. "What are you doing here this afternoon?"
"Thursdays are my days to train with Giles `cause Buffy has afternoon classes," the brunette pulled out the chair on the other side of Willow and sat.
"Oh, I forgot about that," Willow admitted as she opened her book bag.
"What are you doing here?" Dawn asked.
"I was sick of the library, so I thought I come here and study," she pulled out her Latin textbook and looked at it with trepidation, "or research," she looked at the demonology texts littering the table, "or just talk," she concluded.
"Cool!" Dawn said. "I don't want to study either, so let's talk."
"Can I talk, too?" Anya asked.
"Sure!" Dawn told her. "Come on, Giles, have a seat," Dawn invited the ex-Watcher to join them.
"Ah, yes, well, I think I have something, important, that needs doing, somewhere that isn't here, where three young ladies are going to talk, girl talk," Giles stammered. "Yes, I bloody well don't need to be here for that," Giles muttered as he headed toward the office leaving three laughing girls behind him.
"Knew that would get rid of him," Dawn said. "So," she turned to Willow, "how are things going with you and Spike?"
"There is...,"
"...no me and Spike!" Dawn finished for her. "So?"
Willow crossed her arms over her chest and took a deep breath, "Not good."
"Why?" Dawn asked worriedly.
"Because I shouldn't want him. He's...evil. He's a vampire. He'd kill us all, given half a chance!"
"He would *not*!" Dawn protested. "You know he just says that stuff to hear himself say it these days. It's like your grandfather saying `you know in my day I had to walk five miles to school through ten feet of snow'," she pitched her voice low. "And so what if he's a vampire, you're a witch. And nobody's perfect. Besides," she smiled, "he is *so* hot."
"You think so?"
"Who wouldn't?" Anya chimed in. "But I don't want him because I have Xander. Looking's okay, though, right?"
"Yes," Willow agreed, "but no touching, or I'll have to kill you. Even though there is no me and Spike," she tried to backpedal.
"Yeah, right," Dawn scoffed. "You keep telling yourself that."
"So," Willow hesitated, "you don't think I'm sick, twisted, demented...,"
"Well, yeah, but what does that have to do with Spike?" Dawn asked then laughed as Willow smacked her arm.
"I should have gone to the library," she muttered.
The telephone rang and Anya jumped up to answer it. "Good afternoon, Magic Box, how...Yes, hold on, please." She pulled the telephone away from her face, covered the mouthpiece with her hand and yelled, "Giles, telephone!"
Holding the receiver to her ear she waited to hear Giles' voice as he picked up the extension in his office, then hung up the telephone.
The three girls sat around the table talking about their day until the bell at the front of the shop jingled announcing a customer and Anya hurried to greet them.
Moments later Giles stepped out of his office and joined the girls at the table, "Willow, you still interested in researching?"
"Of course, what is it?" she asked.
"A lot of unknowns, actually. That was Angel. He heard a rumor about a group of demons headed to the Hellmouth looking for something called `the power of the one'. He wasn't sure what it was, but figured that if these demons wanted it, it couldn't be good."
"`The power of the one'?" Willow asked as she reached back into her book bag and got her laptop out. "The one what?" she moved around the table and sat where she could reach the electrical outlet and telephone jack, then leaned down and plugged in the electrical cord and the telephone line.
"Can I help?" Dawn asked.
"Do you have your homework done?" Giles asked as he sorted through the books piled on the table.
"Yes," the young girl assured him.
"Here," he handed her a book. "Now, we don't even have a description of the demons, and only a cryptic description of what they're looking for," he said as he continued to search. "Angel, Wesley and the rest are trying to get more information on the demons and this `power of the one', but until then we have very little to go on. We might as well forget researching the demons for now," Giles, not finding what he was looking for on the table stood and walked to the bookshelf, "and concentrate on references to `the power', `the one', or `the power of the one' and see what we can find. Aha!" he pulled a book off of the shelf and rejoined Willow and Dawn at the table.
Willow, who had booted her computer up while Giles had been talking, dialed up the Internet and began her search.
Dawn, excited at the prospect of being allowed to help, buried her head in the book Giles had given her, determined to do a good job.
Anya assisted the last customers of the day then turned the `open' sign around and closed out the register before joining them at the table. "Where do you want me to start?" she asked.
Giles looked up from the text he was reading and handed Anya a book.
"What was that again? The power of one?"
"The power of *the* one, whatever that is," Willow replied absently as she tapped at the keyboard, checking her bookmarked sites.
The four of them researched in silence until Willow checked her watch, then leaned back in her chair and stretched, her neck and shoulders stiff from leaning over the computer.
"Maybe we should...oh!" she jumped when she saw Spike staring at her from behind the counter. He had slipped into the magic shop through the sewer entrance located in the basement and been captivated by the way Willow's sweater pulled taut over her breasts and rose to bare her stomach as she stretched her arms over her head.
"Goddess, you startled me!" she placed her hand over her racing heart.
"Sorry," Spike smirked.
"Spike!" Dawn stood up and jumped into the vampire's arms as he stepped in front of the counter. "I'm helping research!" she told him excitedly.
"Sounds like a real good time, Niblet," Spike tweaked her nose as he held her with one arm around her waist, then set her feet back down on the floor.
"Hey!" she swatted at his hand.
"Watcher," he greeted Giles. "Demon girl."
"Hi, Spike," Anya smiled knowingly at him and the vampire frowned.
"Spike, did you need something?"
"Just thought I'd see what was up," Spike said, as he slipped his jacket off and tossed it over the counter.
"Red," he greeted Willow, whose heart rate hadn't slowed since she first saw him standing there.
"Spike," she tried to sound disinterested, but almost swallowed her tongue when he licked his lips. "As I was saying," she continued her previous thread as she pulled her sweater down, "maybe we should reshelve some of these books before Riley's mom gets here."
"Hmm, yes, good idea," Giles agreed.
"I'll help," Dawn offered. "How are they shelved?" she asked as she picked up two books from the center of the table.
"Alphabetically by title," Willow told her as she rose and grabbed some books.
Spike slipped around the table while Willow and Dawn were putting the books on the shelves and took the seat that Willow had been using.
"Hey! Something beeped here!" he called out to her in surprise.
"Really?" Willow squeezed behind him and leaned over his shoulder. "Maybe I got a hit," she tapped some keys over his shoulder and waited expectantly for the screen to pop up. "Poop!" she said with a frown when it did. "`No matches to your search were found'," she read the results as she gripped Spike's shoulder.
Willow grabbed another book off of the table, leaving two behind and walked over to the shelf. "Why don't you get your school books out, Dawnie," she suggested.
"Why?" Dawn asked.
"So we look normal," Willow said as she placed the book on the shelf. "And so Buffy doesn't yell at us for letting you look at demonology texts."
"Oh, yeah, good idea," Dawn agreed, skipping to the training room to get her school bag.
Willow sat back down at the table next to Spike and pulled her laptop over. Reaching behind it she picked up a book and handed it to the blond vampire.
"What's this?" he asked.
"A book," she told him as she checked on the status of her remaining searches.
"No kidding. What am I supposed to do with it?"
"Research. Unknown doings coming to Sunnydale," she told him. "Some demons, of unknown origin, are coming to the Hellmouth to find `the power of the one'. Ever heard of it?" she asked.
"No. How'd ya find out about it?" he asked as he opened the book.
"Angel...,"
"Bloody poof," Spike muttered and Willow, without looking up from the computer, slapped his arm.
"Angel heard a rumor and called Giles...Oh!" Willow leaned closer to the monitor excitedly.
"What'd ya find?" Spike put his arm along the back of her chair and leaned over to look at the screen.
"It's...," Willow turned to look at him. His face was so close she almost brushed his cheek with her lips. "It's, um,...," the bell above the door jingled and they jumped apart. Willow looked up to see Dawn and Anya staring at them with big smiles and she gave them a dirty look.
"Evening, all," Xander said as he entered the shop.
"Xander!" Anya called as she jumped out of her chair and hugged her boyfriend.
"An," he leaned down and kissed her.
"Hey, Xander."
"What's up, Dawnmeister?"
"Hey, Xan."
"Wills. G-man."
"Good evening, and please...,"
"...don't call me that dreadful name!" the three girls finished for him and then giggled.
"Deadboy, Jr."
"Moron."
"Pull up a chair, Xan, and have a book," Willow slid the remaining book over to her friend.
"Research?" he asked and Willow nodded. "Important research or the just-for-fun kind?" he asked as he and Anya sat.
"Important," Willow replied and Giles explained what they were looking for.
"So, Deadboy strikes once again with a cryptic message of impending doom," Xander said as he flipped open his book and began reading.
Willow turned her attention back to her computer, but she couldn't concentrate. Spike had placed his book on the table, holding it open with one hand while the other slipped under the table to rest lightly on her thigh just above her knee.
~~~*~~~
About an hour later the bell jingled again and Buffy, Riley and a woman who must be his mother came through the door.
"Hello, everyone!" Buffy greeted the assembled group. "We've got good news and bad news," she said as Dawn scrambled to hide the demonology text she was reading under her history textbook.
"What's that, Buffy?" Giles asked in concern.
"The bad news, we were attacked by a vampire on the way over here. The good news, it was dusted, and now Mrs. Finn knows all about vampires. We gave her a crash course on demons and other assorted baddies."
"Are you all alright?" Giles asked as he stood from the table and walked toward the petite blond woman standing next to Riley.
"I know she looks a little pale, but I think she's going to be okay," Riley answered as he gave his mother's shoulders a squeeze. "But maybe a cup of hot tea?" Riley looked between Giles and his mother.
"Yes, that would be...very nice," Mrs. Finn said.
"Of course. I'll get that for you right away. Why don't you have a seat," Giles motioned toward the table, then turned toward the kitchen.
"With a dollop or two of whiskey, if you have any," Mrs. Finn's voice followed Giles as Riley led her to the table.
"Hi!" Dawn said as Riley seated his mother next to the young girl.
"Hello," Mrs. Finn smiled back.
"Mrs. Finn," Buffy began, "these are my friends, they help us...except for Spike," Buffy finally noticed the blond vampire sitting there. "What is *he* doing here?"
"Be nice, Buffy," Willow reprimanded her friend with a little scowl as she secretly rubbed her thumb over the back of Spike's hand.
"Let's start with the little `pumpkin belly'...,"
"Buffy!" Dawn yelled. "That's embarrassing," she muttered as she slouched in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest.
"...sitting next to you. That's my sister, Dawn."
"It's nice to meet you, Dawn," Mrs. Finn held out her hand and Dawn shook it.
"You too. You don't look anything like Riley," she commented, "except the blond hair."
"Yeah, she's much prettier," Spike drawled.
"Thank you, I think," Mrs. Finn laughed.
"Watch it!" Willow hissed under her breath as she pinched Spike's hand.
"Hey!" Spike grabbed her leg in surprise.
"This is Anya," Buffy pointed at the blond girl on the other side of Mrs. Finn.
"Pleased to meet you," Anya held out her hand and they shook.
"And Xander."
"Mrs. Finn, welcome to the Hellmouth," Xander said as he took her hand.
"The Hellmouth?"
"Uh, explanations didn't go that far?" Xander looked sheepishly at Buffy.
"No! But I guess they will now."
"Why don't you let Giles do it. He loves to give that speech," Xander suggested.
"Good idea. This is Willow," Buffy continued her introductions.
"It's a pleasure to meet Riley's mom," Willow stood and held out her right hand.
"And...Spike," Buffy reluctantly introduced the blond vampire.
"Mrs. Finn," Spike stood and took her hand in his left and gallantly kissed her knuckles.
"Oh, Spike. What an unusual name," Mrs. Finn practically swooned.
"It's a nickname," Spike replied as he reseated himself.
"Where did you...?"
"Volleyball," Willow piped up. "He's great at spiking. The volleyball."
"Here's your tea," Giles entered with a timely interruption and Willow breathed a sigh of relief. He sat the mug on the table in front of Mrs. Finn and handed her a bottle of scotch.
"I thought I'd let you add your own dollop," he told her with a smile.
"Thank you," she smiled back as she took the bottle from him.
"Mrs. Finn, this...this is Giles, Rupert Giles. He was my Watcher, but now he's really much more than that," Buffy said with some emotion in her voice. "He, um," she tried to recover, "he owns this shop."
"Mr. Giles, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"And you," Giles took the proffered hand. "Please, call me Rupert."
"And you may call me Emily."
"I'm very glad to meet all of you," Mrs. Finn said as she poured a dollop of the scotch into her mug, hesitated, then added another. "For a while there I was concerned that Riley didn't want me to meet any of his friends, except Buffy," she took a sip of the tea, noted that it wasn't too hot and took a larger gulp.
"Now I learn that you all fight...evil," she took another gulp. "As glad as I am that he wasn't ashamed of me, that's going to take just a little bit of getting used to."
"So, what are you all researching?" Buffy asked to change the subject.
"Oh, the usual," Willow said. "Some evil nasty coming to the Hellmouth."
"Not the end of the world *again*?" Buffy asked.
"Not really sure," Willow continued. "They're looking for `the power of the one', whatever that is."
"Ah, sounds, interesting. Really. Riley and I should go patrol now, `cause you know we suck at the research."
"But what about...," Willow tilted her head toward Mrs. Finn.
"We filled her in on patrol."
"Oh, okay."
"Let's grab some weapons, Finn," Buffy led Riley to the training room. Behind them she heard Mrs. Finn say to Giles, "So what is this Hellmouth?"
When Buffy and Riley emerged from the training room with pockets full of stakes, a short sword and an axe Giles was saying, "...mystical convergence...," and Buffy tuned him out.
"Bye, guys, we'll see you in a little bit," Buffy and Riley waved to the group and Riley leaned down to kiss his mother on the cheek.
"Be careful," she whispered.
"Always," he told her.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Finn," Buffy heard Willow say as they reached the door, "Buffy and Riley are really very good at what they do."
Spike snorted and Willow slapped his hand.
***
After Buffy and Riley left for patrol, Giles showed Emily Finn around the magic shop and training room. Dawn moved over to sit next to Spike so Giles could sit next to Mrs. Finn when they returned to the table, and slid her books in front of her. She pushed her history book back and began to read the demonology text once again.
Willow removed her hand from Spike's and tapped at the keyboard again, studying the monitor intently. She had already searched most of her bookmarked sites to no avail. Before she moved on to the next site she decided to IM some contacts she'd made through a Wicca group she and Tara...she belonged to. After she sent the message she leaned back in the chair and rolled her head on her neck.
Under cover of Giles' and Mrs. Finn's return to the table, Spike leaned closer to Willow, "You alright?"
"Just a little stiff," she assured him.
"Lean up," he said.
"What?"
"Lean up," he put his hand on her neck and squeezed lightly.
"Ooh," Willow shivered at his touch and leaned forward as he massaged her neck and shoulder muscles.
Xander looked up from his book and his mouth dropped open. "Wha-what are you doing?" he pointed at Spike and Willow with both hands.
"What's it look like, mor...," Willow hit him under the table, "...Xander?"
"I could use one of those," Anya said, "then we could have...,"
"An!" Xander cut her off, slapping his hand over her mouth, and Spike snorted his laughter.
"Yes, Anya, perhaps that could wait until you get home," Giles suggested.
"Alright," she said from behind Xander's hand. "Can we go home now? Research is boring and I'd much rather...,"
"An!"
"Yes, Xander, why don't you and Anya go home," Giles agreed in exasperation. It was bad enough having to listen to Anya's inappropriate comments on a normal day, but it was even more embarrassing having Riley's mother witness it.
"Good," Anya closed her book after marking the page and stood up. "Let's go Xander. I just need to get my purse," she slipped behind the counter.
`Sorry', Xander stood up and mouthed to Giles when Anya's back was turned. Giles nodded his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
A seemingly oblivious Anya winked at Willow and then said, "Goodnight everyone. See you all tomorrow."
"`Night," Xander waved.
"Goodnight, Anya, Xan."
"`Night guys."
"De...," smack, "...Anya...Xander," Spike said in distaste.
"Yes, goodnight, Anya, Xander."
"Goodnight," Mrs. Finn said, "it was nice meeting both of you."
After the door closed there was a moment of silence broken by Dawn's giggle, closely followed by a giggle from Mrs. Finn.
"She's very...,"
"Tactless?" Giles suggested.
"...blunt," Mrs. Finn concluded between giggles. "I'm sorry. It's been a very strange day...What was that?" she asked suddenly, staring at Spike.
"What?" he asked and Willow turned to look at him.
"Spike!" she yelled slapping his chest. "Your eyes," she hissed.
"Oh, sorry," his amber eyes became a deep blue.
While everyone's attention had been diverted by Anya's and Xander's departure, Spike had slipped his hand beneath Willow's sweater to tickle her bare back. In retaliation Willow had slid her hand along Spike's leg until her fingertips brushed him through his jeans. Spike had growled softly and looked up at Mrs. Finn with eyes turned amber.
"How...how did you do that?"
"Do what?" Dawn asked.
"His eyes...they were yellow," Mrs. Finn said in disbelief.
"Oh, dear lord," Giles removed his glasses.
"Spike!" Dawn hit his arm.
"Hey! You two bints quit hittin' me. I didn't do it on purpose! Willow...uh, pinched me, and I just...it was a bloody accident, alright?" he sat back with a scowl and crossed his arms over his chest.
"He's, um, he's..," Emily Finn's voice trailed off.
"I don't bloody believe this!" Giles exclaimed in a mixture of anger, frustration and resignation. He picked up the bottle of scotch, uncapped it and handed it to Mrs. Finn. "Spike's a vampire," he said and Mrs. Finn took a swig straight from the bottle.
"A vampire," she repeated and looked around the table. Giles, Dawn and Willow nodded at her. Spike was staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore them all. Mrs. Finn took another drink from the bottle.
"But he's a *good* vampire," Dawn told her.
"Am not!" Spike's head shot down. "You take that back, little girl," he pointed at her in indignation.
Dawn giggled and threw herself into the vampire's lap, "Are too."
"Am not," he growled at her.
"Did...did he just growl?"
"Yes," Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose again.
Mrs. Finn took another drink. "I thought all vampires were evil."
"I *am* evil," Spike insisted.
"That's correct," Giles ignored him. "Generally speaking. Spike...Spike's a special case. It's a long story," he sighed.
"Does...does your face, uh, change?" Mrs. Finn drunkenly waved her hand in front of her own face.
"I am not a bleedin' trained monkey!" Spike stated.
Sorry," she whispered.
"Bloody hell!" Spike suddenly morphed and turned to Dawn, growling.
Dawn squealed and jumped back, almost ending up in Willow's lap before Spike caught her. Giggling, Dawn placed her face against Spike's and turned to look at Mrs. Finn. Spike smiled, showing his fangs.
"Did you really get your nickname from playing volleyball?"
"No," Spike smirked.
Emily Finn swallowed hard and took another drink. Giles took the bottle out of her hand and took a drink before handing it back to her.
"Spike!" Willow slapped him. "Stop that. And Dawn, you stop encouraging him."
"Sorry," they both said and Spike slipped back into his human face as Dawn slid back into her own chair.
"Mrs. Finn," Willow said, "I'm sorry you had to find out like that. Are you alright?"
"Yep," she hiccuped, "just one more freaky thing in a day full of freaky things."
"Did she just call me a freaky thing?" Spike asked Dawn.
"I think so," Dawn soberly replied, nodding her head.
The bell jingled as the front door opened and Buffy and Riley walked into the shop. "We're back!"
"Hi, honey," Mrs. Finn waved drunkenly at Riley. "Did you know Spike's a vampire?" she hiccuped again.
"Mom, are you drunk?"
"She's *drunk*?" Buffy asked. "We left her here, where we thought she'd be safe, and you got her drunk! Wait, what did she mean...she knows Spike's a vampire? What did you do?" Buffy tried to get around the table at Spike.
"Sod off, Slayer," he stood up and stared her down.
"You are so dead when I get my hands on you," she climbed onto one of the chairs.
"Buffy, stop it," Willow stood up and blocked her way. "Why don't you and Riley get Mrs. Finn and Dawn home? Dawnie," she turned to the younger girl who was suddenly subdued, "why don't you pack up your books. It's been a long day," she looked at Giles, "maybe we should all get going."
"Yes, good idea," Giles stood up and pulled the bottle from Mrs. Finn's unresisting hand.
"Buffy, get down," Willow turned her attention back to the irate Slayer and spoke more calmly than she felt.
"Come on, Buff, let's get mom and Dawn home," Riley touched her arm, then turned to help his mother out of her chair.
"I'm not through with you," she hissed and pointed angrily at Spike.
"Oooohhh," Spike held up his hands in front of his body and acted scared.
"Stop it," Willow elbowed him as she shut down her computer.
"I'm ready, Buffy," Dawn said quietly, trying to draw Buffy's attention away from Spike.
Buffy hopped off of the chair, "Alright, Dawn, lets go. You need any help, Riley?"
"No, I've got her."
"Goodnight, Giles, Will. I'll see you both tomorrow," she ignored Spike and turned away.
"Goodnight, Buffy," Giles said distractedly as he stepped out of the kitchen.
"Goodnight, Buffy, Dawnie. Goodnight, Riley, Mrs. Finn," Willow called as she rolled the electrical cord and telephone line and stuffed them into a side pocket of her book bag.
"You know," Mrs. Finn was saying, "he's actually kind of cute, when he's not all grr."
"Ew!" Buffy commented and Dawn giggled again.
"See!" Willow turned to Spike. "She called it `grr', too!" she smiled as she slid the laptop into her book bag.
"Whatever," Spike walked around the table and Willow's smile fell. "I'm out of here," he grabbed his jacket off of the counter and stalked toward the front door.
"Spike, wait a minute!" Willow called to him. She threw her book bag over her shoulder and grabbed her jacket off of the back of her chair. "See you tomorrow, Giles!" she called as she ran after Spike.
"Spike!" Willow caught up with him outside the Magic Box where he had paused to put his duster on and light a cigarette.
"What?" he turned on her. "You gonna tell me how bad I was..,"
"No, I...,"
"...how mean I was...,"
"Spike, no...,"
"Well, I don't need ta hear it, `cause I *am* evil, and you would do well ta remember that!"
"I-I was just going to ask you if you wanted a ride. I have my parents' car," she pointed weakly down the street to where the car was parked. "But, never mind. I'm sorry I bothered you," she turned and walked away from him before she started to cry.
What was wrong with her? Why wasn't she ever good enough for anyone. Goddess, even the undead didn't want to hang out with her, so what did that tell you? She ran the rest of the way to the car and then fumbled for the keys, unable to see through the tears filling her eyes. Hurry, hurry, she told herself.
Bloody hell! Why had he jumped on Willow like that? Because he didn't want to be a bleeding poofter like his Sire, that's why. But, who was he kidding? He was still love's bitch.
Spike was suddenly standing behind her, "Listen, Red, I'm...,"
"Go away Spike," she still couldn't find the darn keys.
"No," he grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. "Bloody hell, Red, don't cry!" he whined when he saw the tears filling her eyes.
"I can't find the damn keys!" she yelled at him, dropped the book bag on her foot and then started to cry in earnest.
"Red. Red, please," he pleaded, unsure if he was asking her to stop crying or to forgive him for being a jerk.
"You hurt me and you...you pissed me off!" she slapped his arm, and then because it felt good, slapped him again.
"I'm sorry," he grabbed her hands to keep her from hitting him again. "I just...I guess I just assumed you'd take the Slayer's side."
"Why?"
"`Cause you're friends. Bleedin' Scoobies and what all."
"I thought we were friends, too," she said softly.
"I don't know what we are, Red," he raised her hands to the side of her head and held them against the car roof, "but it's not friends." He lowered his face to hers and licked the tears off of her cheeks.
"Spike," her voice was breathless and he lowered his lips to hers, sucking on her bottom lip and then sweeping his tongue between them. He let go of her hands and wrapped his arms around her back, pulled her close, and deepened the kiss. Willow slipped her hands beneath his duster to grab onto his waist and kissed him back.