The Circle of Slayers Series 6/?
Chapter 6: Preparation
By Denna at dennaseer@hotmail.com
Rated PG
Keywords: Buffy and Spike…what else could there be?
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon. Yadda
yadda yadda.
Summary for Chapter 6: The gang gets ready for the big party tonight.


Chapter 6: Preparation

Saturday, November 24, 2001, 8:05 PM

    A shadow passed through the streets of Sunnydale just outside the walls of
the Bronze. It had been watching the place, the Slayer’s home and the
vampire’s crypt for nearly a week now, plotting silently. The Slayer and the
vampire were excellent warriors, working in complete unison with each other.
And they were close as well. The fair young woman had nursed the vampire to
health. And she had been at his crypt a week ago, overnight. There was
something between the two fighters that was certain. It had not taken him
long to find out that tonight, the Bronze was being rented out for a party
that night. The Slayer, the vampire and all her sidekicks would be there,
supposedly safe and carefree. There would be probably still be many people
there. After all, this was the only club in town and they could definitely
not afford about half a dozen people there. There would be plenty of people
willing to celebrate. Well, that really didn’t bother him much; they would
make a wonderful audience.

    It had waited long enough; tonight would be the night to make its move.
With the engagement party for Anyanka and that pesky boyfriend of hers in
full swing, there would be people coming and going and no one would notice
one more guest. Especially when the guest didn’t want to make itself
noticeable. No more playing around; this time nothing would go wrong.

    The shadow faded into the alleyway; leaving behind no evidence that it had
ever been there, save for the noticeable chill in the air.


    “All right, fine! Just don’t take too much time, all right?” Xander yelled
at the peroxide blonde from behind his bathroom door, “God, and I thought
vampires didn’t need showers…”

    “Aww…” Spike answered, closing the door behind him, “Don’t you want me to
look all pretty for little party? Or are you just afraid I’ll mess up your
so posh bachelor pad?”

    Xander had probably not heard him and was more than likely looking through
his apartment, making sure that he had not stolen anything from his liquor
chest. Spike headed for the tub. It was a nice apartment to tell the truth,
he admitted to himself. He undressed, tossed his clothing to the side and
hopped into the tub. He turned on the hot water and let it run over his
body, heaving a sigh of pleasure.

    He leaned back against the side of the bath and let the warmth penetrate
his skin. He grinned as he put his arms behind his head and tried to imagine
the look on Buffy’s face when he would give her the armbands tonight. He
closed his eyes and let himself relax.

    A sharp, repeated knock woke him out of his reverie, “Yo, Evil Undead! Do
what you need to do and get the hell out of there!”

    “Bloody hell! I’ve only been in here 5 bloody minutes!” Spike yelled back,
“Wanker…”

    Quickly, he ducked his head under the water, grabbed some shampoo from a
nearby bottle and lathered it into his hair. After rinsing, he washed his
body with soap. He quickly turned off the tap, squeezed the water out of his
hair, and wrapped a thick cotton robe around himself. Padding over to the
door, he unlocked it and headed into the bedroom.

    Xander was pacing back and forth impatiently. “Hey, that’s my robe!”

    “Sorry if I upset the delicate balance that is your bath accessories.”
Spike grabbed another towel hanging on the outside of the bathroom door and
tried drying his hair.

    “Whatever, just don’t…touch anything.” Xander growled, “Now, what are you
going to wear?”

    “What the hell are you talking about?”

    “If you think you’re going to go to my engagement party looking like Gothic
Wonder of 1983, you’re dead wrong. No pun intended. Buffy may have wanted
you to come tonight, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to do it without making
you suffer.”

    Spike sighed heavily and walked over to the bed where his things had been
laid out.

    “Oh God…” Spike groaned as he took the pile of clothes and headed once more
to the bathroom to put them on. He closed the door behind him and dropped
his robe. He pulled on some camel coloured canvas pants.  They fit better
than he expected but he still needed a belt to keep them from falling down
below his hips. He grabbed a brick red belt and put it on.

    Dressed in light brown pants, and a maroon button down shirt, Spike finally
opened the door with a groan, letting Xander approach him.

    “I am going to kill you for this.”

    Xander covered his face with a mock smile, “Oh…my baby…he’s going to his
first party. My Spikey’s all grown up.”

    “Stop it! You’re reminding me too much of Harmony.”

    While Spike had been changing, Xander had also. He was wearing light brown
dress pants quite akin to what Spike was wearing with a braided black belt
and an evergreen shirt, tucked neatly into his pants.

    “Now, what should we do with your hair?” Xander murmered to himself.

    “Oh you are not touching my hair, poof!” Spike said, raising a hand
defensively to his head. “And I am still wearing my coat.”

    “Fine.” Xander groaned as Spike pulled on his leather coat.

    “I am so glad I don’t have a reflection…”

    Xander checked his watch, “Hey! We have enough time to pick up the girls at
Buffy’s house and get to the Bronze. Come on.” Xander headed for the door,
Spike following. He’d actually gotten out the door and several feet down the
hallway when he drew up short enough to make the carpet buckle.

    “Why aren’t we moving?” Xander asked.

    “Bollocks! I forgot something!” Spike snatched the keys out of Xander’s
hand and ran back the way he came. Tearing through the sitting room and into
the bathroom he snatched up his pants and searched the pockets. A huge sigh
of relief escaped him as he found the box with the armbands in it. Slipping
it quietly into the pocket of his duster, he ran back to the hallway. He
nearly collided with Xander.

    “So much for the
not-being-late-for-most-important-party-of-Xander’s-life-plan.” Xander
groaned.

    “Isn’t that your wedding?”


    “Where is he?” Buffy muttered as she paced back and forth in her living
room.

    “Calm down, Buffy,” Willow pleaded, “Xander’s not late yet. Give him time.”

    “Yeah, right…Xander.” Buffy said, smiling briefly to her friend, “But I
mean, he should be here? Right? It’s not like he wouldn’t want to come be
with me-Anya, right?”

    “Of course he wants to be with me,” Anya replied, matter-of-factly, “He
loves me and we’re getting married.”

    “What’s that got to do with anything?” Dawn asked, clearly confused. “Why
are you all so worked up about this?”

    Buffy turned and shook her head, “I’m just worked up because…because one of
my best friends is getting married and today means…means he’s all grown up…”

    Dawn shook her head and continued to read her magazine and Giles looked up
at Buffy and took off his glasses. “Don’t worry, Buffy. I am more than sure
that there will be no demons or vampires or hell beasts to be worked up
about. Relax Buffy, nothing will happen tonight.”

    “Yeah,” Buffy answered, tucking her hair behind her ear, “You’re right.
Giles.”

    “And he also has to pick up Spike remember?” Tara pointed out, “He is
coming, right?”

    “Yeah, I think so.” Buffy tried desperately to act casual about it.

    At that moment, the door opened and Xander walked in, a leather duster over
his arm. “Get in here, Spike!” Xander growled, pulling an embarrassed Spike
into the house. Everyone turned to greet Xander and Spike as they entered.
Then froze. Buffy’s jaw literally dropped open as she took in the remarkable
transformation the vampire had undergone. Contrary to Xander’s lamentations,
Spike’s hair had dried remarkable well. It was had a messy look but it still
made him look remarkably handsome.

    Buffy dragged her eyes away from his face, though it was hard. The clothes
fit perfectly to his muscular body and the maroon shirt he wore accentuated
his wide shoulders and narrow hips. The deep red color suited him, It
brought out the pale ivory of his skin and his pale blue eyes all the more
noticeable.

    “Spike,” she breathed, suddenly aware that she felt very warm, “You look…”

    “Hot!” Dawn answered for her, whistling at him.

    “See, at least someone here appreciates me!” Spike told the others and let
his eyes go back to the Slayer, “You look beautiful, Buffy.”

    He let his eyes travel down her body, taking in her black sheath. It was
simple and elegant in its beauty, adding all the more attention to its fair
owner. It had black short sleeves midway between her shoulders and elbows
and had a square neck, showing off the expanse of her neck and shoulders.
The fabric clung close to her torso, outlining every curve and defining them
in the best way to show them off. The dress ended just above her knees and
the elegant curve of her calf was supported by a pair of black slings. Long
black gloves covered her hands and arms up to her elbow. Her hair was pulled
up and gathered at the back of her head in such a way that let ringlets fall
down her back and around her face. Makeup had been sparingly applied to
accent her large eyes, which sparkled with a comfort he had never seen in
her before. His eyes were drawn to her lips, lush and red, and he wanted
more than anything to kiss her.

    Buffy heard Dawn titter behind her and pulled away to glare at her sister,
“What are you giggling at?”

    “Nothing. Nothing at all.” Dawn answered with a grin. She noticed Xander
waiting by the door, his arm wrapped around his fiancée. “It’s time to make
our entrance, ladies and gentlemen.”

    As Buffy put on her small leopard print jacket, she looked everyone over:
Willow had kept her hair down and wore a long sleeved red neck knit sweater,
black pants and black pumps. Tara was helping her put on her small black
jacket. She had her sandy coloured hair gathered at the back of head in a
messy bun. She wore a pale violet shirt in a similar style as Willow’s and a
black skirt that ended at mid calf. She also wore black pumps and a black
jacket that ended just below her hips. Anya already had her tan suede
jacket, which covered her sleeveless evergreen dress, printed over with
abstract geometric designs. The dress passed over her calves, her feet
encased in black boots. Dawn looked elegant for such a young age, her hair
pulled back in a half ponytail. She wore a sleeveless black dress that ended
just below her knees with a small slit to the side of her left leg. The
bottom of the dress had a design like that of a golden sunset, remarking
well with her maroon short sleeve jacket she wore with it. Giles wore black
twill pants and a dark brown button down shirt tucked into his pants.

    “Doesn’t Anya and Xander look good together?” Buffy asked Spike as they
walked out the door.

    “Sure, why not?” Spike told her, “Not as good as us, though.”

    “Oh no, of course not.” Buffy smiled, shaking her head.


    They were filing into the Bronze and just before Spike walked in, Buffy
pulled him to the side.

    “I’ll be there in a minute, Giles,” Buffy told him when the Watcher turned
around, “I need to give Spike a few pointers on manners.”

    Giles gave Spike a distrusting glare and walked into the Bronze, muttering
to himself the whole time.

    When she was sure he was out of sight, Buffy clung to her lover and kissed
him. He kissed her back, reveling in her beautiful smell.

    “I’m so glad you came.” Buffy told him, running her hands down her chest,
“And you look…wow…Dawn was right…you look hot.”

    “I’m glad you appreciate the hell that these pants are giving me.”

    “Well, I’m still glad you came. This is important to me.”

    “But why am I even coming with you, luv? It’s obvious that none of your
Scooby pals wants me to be here.”

    Buffy kissed him, more gently than the first time and smiled at him, “I
have been doing a lot of thinking in the last week, about me and you and
everything. And I don’t want to be afraid of the others. I want to hold
hands with you in public and kiss you after dinner and all those things that
we’re supposed to do.”

    “What do you mean, luv?” Spike asked her.

    “I want to tell them, tonight, after the party. About us. But…if you don’t
want to that’s fine.”

    “No. I mean, yes! This is wonderful, Buffy. We’ll tell them together, all
right?”

    “Okay,” Buffy walked over to the door, “You ready?”

    “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

    With that, the Slayer and the vampire walked into the Bronze.