**********
Willow lay in bed, awake but unmoving as she
contemplated the strangeness of her situation. On
either side of her lay the two vampires who now
comprised her family. Hell, they were her whole
world. And it was turning to be a very stimulating
and interesting world indeed. The two of them were
such opposites, and yet she loved each of them for who
they were.
Spike was, as he had always been, reckless and a bit
dangerous. In spite of the fact that he couldn’t hurt
humans because of the chip, Willow found that Spike
retained an edge to him, a darkness that their sire
either ignored or no longer possessed. She suspected
that it was the former. Spike was a passionate and
demanding lover. Of course, Willow still found it
strange to refer to him as such since he didn’t
actually love her. Regardless, he was definitely a
vampire with needs and wants that he knew how to
fulfill. That is not to say that he didn’t give
Willow pleasure – quite the contrary. He had learned
very quickly how to send the redhead slamming into a
powerful orgasm, only to follow it with another and
another. Their matings were almost desperate in their
intensity.
Angel, on the other hand, was as he had been since the
first night. He shared the same kind of passion that
Spike did, but the dark vampire expressed it
differently. With Willow, he was tender and generous.
She shivered as she thought about the sound of his
sultry voice, whispering soft words of love to her as
he filled her completely. She sighed unnecessarily as
the familiar contentment of the bond washed over her,
the strength of their shared love soothing her soul.
Even when Angel bit her, it didn’t carry the same kind
of animalistic hunger that Spike’s bites did. But she
loved the tender moments she shared with her sire as
much as she loved Spike’s lust. It was just
different.
It was different watching the two vampires interact
with each other, too. She had been oddly fascinated
the first night as she watched her sire dominate
Spike. Willow found herself inexplicably aroused by
the sight of the dark vampire pounding into the
blonde, so much so that she had been unable to do much
more than stare the first time she saw the two of them
together. There was no question as to which of them
was the dominant partner in the relationship. And
yet, Angel’s dominance of Spike didn’t extend past the
bedroom. On occasion, Angel would exercise his right
of sire over the blonde by ordering him to do
anything, but it was generally in the form of threats
of bodily harm, threats that were usually exchanged by
both parties. But here, in the privacy of their own
bedroom, Spike submitted to his sire almost without
hesitation. There were times when heated glances were
exchanged between the two, some secret message passed
between them to which Willow was not privy. Sometimes
the redhead wondered what was exchanged in those looks
that drove the otherwise stubborn blonde to submission
so easily, but she didn’t dwell on it.
She couldn’t dwell on it. She was too busy
readjusting to a new life again. And Willow felt
certain that when the time was right, she would be let
in on the secret. After all, they were a family now.
**********
Spike sat quietly in the corner of the hotel lobby,
listening to his sire’s employees argue amongst
themselves goodnaturedly. It surprised Spike that
they could all be so different and still work together
as a team. But they all seemed to know their places,
their relative positions. Which still left Spike
somewhat at odds with the rest of the group at times.
Although none of them had been particularly happy when
he’d first arrived, his sire and Willow had eventually
convinced them of his usefulness. And after he’d
proven himself in fights repeatedly and gotten
involved with his sire and the witch, they had finally
accepted him. But there were times, like now, when
Spike still felt very much like an outsider. Unwanted
and unnoticed.
“Why are you over here by yourself?” Willow said
softly. Spike started, not having realized she’d
snuck up on him.
“Just having a smoke,” Spike replied, waving his
cigarette as an illustration.
“Oh,” Willow nodded. “Well, when you’re done, feel
free to put in your two cents about our plan. We have
been known to listen to the opinions of others. And
except for Angel, you’re almost certainly the best and
most experienced fighter.”
Spike nodded and watched as the redhead returned to
the group. He was beginning to understand what Angel
loved about her so much and what made her so vital to
his sire’s little band of do-gooders. There was
something uncanny about her ability to ferret out
anything that was bothering someone and make them feel
better about it. Sometimes Spike got the impression
that she was deliberately trying to suck up to him in
exchange for his help, but somehow she always did it
in such a way that Spike didn’t mind. In fact, it was
kind of a refreshing change from the abuses and
insults that had been heaped upon him by his last two
obsessions.
Spike stubbed the cigarette out on his boot and
wandered towards the group. Willow caught his
movement out of the corner of her eye and gave him a
wide smile. Spike resisted the urge to return her
grin by plastering a stern look on his face as he
stepped forward to review the plan of attack.
**********
“Is it really necessary?” Angel asked wearily. He
glanced at the redhead and sighed as he saw the
determined look on her face.
“I think so,” Willow said firmly. “Don’t you think it
would help?”
Angel shrugged. “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like
a big deal.”
“Maybe not to you, but you and I are at the center of
this whole group. He’s not.”
“Fine. Go ahead and take care of it. Just try not to
spend too much money.”
Willow grinned. “Trust me,” she said as she grabbed
her purse and headed out the door.
“Trust her,” Angel muttered.
“Where’d Red go?” Spike asked, stepping back into the
room with three mugs of blood balanced between his
hands.
“Just an errand she had to run,” Angel replied taking
the mug.
Spike looked at his sire in surprise. It wasn’t often
that the redhead was out on her own, generally
preferring the company of her sire or Spike to being
alone. But Angel didn’t seem to be bothered by it, so
Spike said nothing. “Is she going to be gone long?”
he asked softly.
Angel glanced up from his reading and saw the heated
look in his childe’s eyes. “A while,” he said huskily
as he rose from the chair and advanced on the blonde.
Spike smiled wickedly at the older vampire and set his
mug down.
Moments later, the three mugs sat cooling on the desk,
forgotten.
**********
“What’s the big deal?” Spike muttered as Willow
dragged him up the steps. She’d woken him up from a
perfectly good nap, forced him to get dressed, and was
currently pulling him into the lobby.
“Ta-da!” the redhead exclaimed, gesturing towards the
corner. Spike stared in disbelief. “Well, go check
it out,” Willow said, pushing him in that direction.
Spike walked towards the corner he’d claimed as his
own personal smoking area after one too many
complaints by his sire and his assistants. He ran
calloused hands over the soft leather of a dark
burgundy recliner. On a small table next to it sat a
silver ashtray and lighter. He turned to stare at the
expectant face of the redhead.
“Do you like it?” she said. “I thought you’d like the
color when I saw it.”
“Why?” Spike asked.
“I just thought it would remind you of blood. You
like it right?”
“I like it, Red. Why’d you buy the chair and stuff?”
“Oh. I just thought you might want somewhere to sit
during smoke breaks. And you’re always searching for
your lighter. And Angel insisted on the ashtray,”
Willow babbled.
Spike glanced at the chair once again before sinking
into its soft cushions. “Thanks, pet.”
Willow smiled. “Well, I’ve got to go. Angel wants me
to check on some stuff. Enjoy your chair.” She
disappeared back downstairs, and Spike waited
patiently until he heard the doorway to the tunnels
slid closed.
Spike opened the drawer to the table to find a case of
his brand of cigarettes inside. The redhead continued
to surprise him. He lit up a cigarette and started to
set down the lighter when something caught his eye.
Looking more closely at it, Spike saw a flowing “S”
engraved on the side. He smiled as he traced a thumb
over the engraved surface. Clutching the silver
object in his hand, Spike leaned back and blew out a
contented breath of smoke. He wouldn’t admit it to
anyone else, but the chit was really beginning to grow
on him.