Blue Eyes

KNOCK KNOCK

“Bloody hell.”

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

“Coming…”

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

“We’re coming!” Kicking back the sheets angrily, Spike jumped from the bed and stomped over to the door.

“Hey there blondie.” Faith grinned, stepping around the shirtless vampire and into the house.

He glared at her. “What are you doing here at-” he checked the clock “-six thirty in the morning?”

“Need to talk to B.” She gazed up the staircase, silently musing whether or not to storm into the girl’s bedroom. “She here?”

Spike looked over to the pile of sheets that was currently twitching, a smirk overtaking him. Did she even realize how adorable she was when she did things like that? Good lord. Did she even realize she had caused him to use the word adorable? Even so, she might not want to be found by Faith in such a…compromising position. Hmm. What to do. Lucky for him, someone else solved his inner dilemma.

“What do you want,” Buffy mumbled sleepily as she stuck her head out from under the covers. She barely noticed the look of surprise on the other Slayer’s face as she stood up, stretching her cramped muscles. Even sleeping curled up with Spike didn’t make up for the fact that that was a really old, really uncomfortable pullout. It was a wonder he hadn’t been complaining about it. Well, she’d just have to make sure he didn’t stay on it anymore. She smiled at that thought.

“Uh…” For some reason the sight of the blonde in front of her, not ashamed in the least in being caught in her boyfriend’s bed, threw Faith. Ironic, considering all she’d seen. And all she’d been seen doing. She blushed uncharacteristically for a moment before finding her words. “I think I had a Slayer dream.”

Buffy’s eyebrows shot up. “You think you had a Slayer dream?”

She nodded. “Yeah.” With that, she walked into the kitchen. “Say, what do you guys have in the order of breakfast foods? I think the only thing our British friend eats is biscuits and tea.” She threw a sidelong glance at the bewildered vampire. “Our older British friend, of course.”

“Whoa whoa whoa.” Buffy grabbed the box of cereal for her hands. “Slayer dream now. Frosted Flakes later.”

Faith glared at her. “Hey, how’s a girl supposed to talk on an empty stomach?”

“You’re trying to blackmail us into feeding you for info on an impending apocalypse?” Spike let out a chuckle. “Even I wouldn’t sink that low, sweetheart.” Still chuckling he took the cereal and poured himself a big bowl, sitting down at the table to watch the drama.

“Like you’re a lot better,” she snapped, darting around Buffy and nabbing a muffin from the counter. Quite pleased with herself she sat down opposite Spike. “And when did I say it had anything to do with an apocalypse?”

“You said it was a Slayer dream.”

“Yeah. You think all Slayer’s dream about is apocalypses?” This earned her a mysterious blush from Buffy. I’ll have to grill her about that later… “I could have dreamed about King Kong for all you know.”

“Well then it wouldn’t have been a Slayer dream, would it?” He glared at her over his spoon.

“It would be if it was going to happen!” Faith shot back.

“Oh yeah, I forgot King Kong was a demon in the shape of a gigantic monkey costume.” He rolled his eyes dramatically.

“Will you two please stop???” Buffy snapped, giving them both stern glares. The looks of repentance she received in return caused her to giggle. Especially the one framed by blue eyes.

“It’s a sodding monkey,” he muttered under his breath. Two Slayers swatted at him as he rose and meandered over to the refrigerator. After a long, thoughtful moment he grabbed the milk carton and headed back to his cereal. Of course, by this time Buffy had oh-so-craftily stolen his spot and was munching on his precious sugar coated flakes. With a low growl he set down the milk and hunched over her, capturing her in his arms. “Mine.”

Looking up at him, the perfect picture of innocence, she grinned. And popped another handful of cereal into her mouth. She squealed as he lifted her from the chair, squirming in his tight embrace as he plopped her down unceremoniously on the floor. Pouting, she wrapped her arms around her knees. “You’re no fun.”

His eyes danced with mischief as he poured milk over the remainder of his breakfast. “Serves you right, love. No one eats the Big Bad’s cereal and goes unpunished.” Silently he was already coming up with a thousand little punishments for the girl who was smirking at him from her vantage point on the tile. But they would probably not be administered under the amused gaze of the brunette sitting in front of him. Which reminded him… “Alright, you’ve got your free meal. Now about the Slayer dream.”

Faith sighed. “Alright. I’m out in the desert. Kinda like where we were,” she added, gesturing to Buffy. “It’s hot, right? Brutally hot. Midday sun shining down. And those demons, man, they are everywhere. Just coming up in droves. So I’m trying to fight them, ‘cept I’m not doing any good. It’s like…it’s like I’m not there, almost. I mean, I’m feeling it and all, but I can’t help. You were there.” Her gaze shifted from her muffin wrapper to the two blondes now sitting together on the chair. “Both of you. And you were fighting and all, really giving them hell. And I kept trying to help, but they just kept coming…” Her voice trailed off until it was barely a whisper. “I was…I was trying to save you. But I couldn’t even touch those things.”

“Dawn,” Buffy gasped suddenly. Shifting in position on Spike’s lap so she could see them both she continued. “Last night. You know how Dawn woke up with a nightmare?” Uncomprehending blue eyes watched her carefully as he nodded in response. “She said she was in the desert. It was hot. And there were demons…”

“Hold on a tick.” Spike frowned. “How’d the Nibblet get the whole prophetic dreams bit?” And how come I don’t have it, he added internally. After all, it was only fair, what with him being all super hero-y and that. He should get the dreams that came along with the job, shouldn’t he?

“Maybe it has something to do with the Key?” Faith suggested.

Buffy shrugged. “I don’t know. What I have to figure out is if anyone else had this dream.” At that very moment she noticed a sleepy red head stumble into the kitchen. “Morning Willow.”

Willow frowned, looking at the clock. And Faith. And Buffy, sitting in Spike’s lap wearing pajamas. “Little early for a Scooby meeting, don’t you think?”

“Did you have any…weird dreams last night?” It could just be a coincidence, Buffy. Not the first time we’ve all dreamed the same thing. Try as she might, she couldn’t shake the icky feeling that was invading her gut. And something told her it wasn’t from a few mouthfuls of Frosted Flakes. Not even the cool hand gently massaging the back of her neck could slow her pounding heart as she awaited her friend’s response.

Willow’s eyes widened slightly. “Yeah actually, I did. I was in a desert, and there were these-”

“-Evil kangaroo demons?”

“-…Yeah.” She tilted her head at Faith. Shaking her head quickly she continued. “There were demons, tons of them. And you were fighting them. I was there too, I mean not there there, but there…” She frowned a brief moment. “Anyway, I could see them, but it was like-”

“-You were a ghost?” Faith finished for her again.

“-…Yeah.” Becoming a bit annoyed at the seemingly psychic powers of the Slayer, she inhaled sharply. “Wait. You had it too, didn’t you.”

“Dawn did to,” Buffy whispered quietly.

“Dawn did what?” Kennedy asked, yawning as she entered the kitchen. With a quick smile to her girlfriend she set about making coffee. She was surprised when she took her hand gently in hers.

“Ken, hon…” Willow bit her lip uncertainly. “Did you have a dream last night?”

The Slayer’s eyes popped open in an almost comical fashion. The rest of the group sighed.

“I knew it. I bloody knew it.” Spike tapped his fingers against the tabletop agitatedly. “You’re all having psychic dreams. Brilliant.” In any other situation, he would have found Buffy running her fingers through his mussed curls to be extremely relaxing. But right now it was putting him even more on edge. Practically the entire Scooby gang had admitted to having dreams about him and his Slayer-which, on it’s own was disturbing-and apparently they didn’t survive it. He could tell by the way everyone’s stories trailed off. They bloody died in those dreams, he’d bet his unlife, and the bunch on wankers was so afraid of admitting it, it made him want to laugh. Or scream.

“We don’t know if they’re psychic,” Willow corrected him slowly. She certainly didn’t want to get on the bad side of the vampire before seven o’clock in the morning. But for all they knew, it was just a coincidence. Right? “We could, um, we could just be under a…a spell!” Rushing over to the bookcase she grabbed a text, flipping through it wildly. “It’s probably just a spell-”

“-That would make us all dream about creatures most of us have never seen?” Kennedy took the book from her, smiling softly. “That would involve demons that there is no record of, and a prophecy no one has ever translated?”

“I’m working on it…” Another mental light bulb went off in the witch’s head. “Hey! The prophecy! Maybe there’s something about this in there.”

            “Let’s hope so.” Buffy stood up, trying to ignore the question in those blue eyes. The question of why didn’t we have those dreams? She couldn’t answer him. She didn’t know. While dreams had invaded her again last night, she was fairly sure they had nothing to do with the dreams all of her friends had experienced. Unless they had also dreamt up dream conversations in Spike’s crypt… Picking up the phone she dialed the now familiar number of her Watcher.

            BRRRING

            BRRRING

            BRR- “Hello?” Enter extremely groggy sounding male voice.

            “Xander?”

            “Buffy?”

            “Hi.” She looked around the group once more before sighing softly into the receiver. “Did you…did you have a weird dream last night?”

            “…Yes…”

            “Did it involve me and Spike fighting the Betugk Swetuk demons and you not being able to help us?”

“Okay, now that’s just creepy.”

She smiled. “It’s okay. Apparently it was a very popular dream to be had. Hey, can I talk to Giles?”

“Yeah.” She could hear him press his hand over the phone, but it still didn’t muffle his bellow. Poor Giles.

“Buffy? Is everything alright?”

“Peachy-keen. Well, except for this dream thing.”

“Dream thing?”

“You had a dream last night, about me and Spike fighting those demons in Africa?”

“…Why, yes I did. How did you know that?”

“Because Xander had it too. And Willow. And Kennedy. And Faith. And Dawn.” She sighed again. “And I’m going to bet money the Slayers in Cleveland, and Robin.”

“Robin, did you have a dream last night about Buffy and Spike?” Silence. Then softer, “Well.”

“I think you need to get over here. Willow seems to think she can find something in the prophecy.”

“I’ll be right over. I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Buffy…”

“Sure,” she lied through her teeth. This whole thing was making her incredibly uptight. “See you soon.”

“Goodbye.”

Hanging the phone up slowly, she turned back to the table. “They had it too.” She frowned when she noticed an empty seat where a vampire used to be. She was just about to ask about it when Willow interrupted her.

“He went upstairs to get Dawnie. Figured she’d like to be in on any Scooby happenings.” She smiled kindly at her. And silently wondered since when Buffy had been aware of where Spike was at all times.

A few minutes later, the entire gang was milling around the now crowded living room. Buffy stood in the entryway to the kitchen, eyeing the crowd like it was an angry mod instead of a group of her closest friends. She jumped at the cool hand that reached out to brush her bare shoulder.

“Tense much?” He quipped as he stepped closer, lightly running his fingers down her arm and around the back of her hand. He would have done anything just to help her, but he didn’t know what she was feeling. Why she was so incredibly tense. Why she appeared so wary of these people who were closer than family to her. And it was bugging the heck out of him. When he felt her lean back against him though, all thoughts of frustration left his mind. And all that was left was her.

            She sighed. As much as she knew she had to go to the leader thing, she would much rather just be here. With him. It had taken them years to get this far and then what? Another apocalypse. And no time to do, and say, the things that they needed to. Everything happens for a reason, Buffy. You can’t expect the world to suddenly be peaceful just because, for once, you’re happy. It isn’t that simple. A pout crept onto her face as he slid his arms around her hips. It isn’t that fair. She let herself bask in the moment before finally pulling away, catching his hand in hers and going into the living room. And the ever-watchful eyes of Xander and Giles. Very purposefully she led him to the only seat left, finally tearing herself away from him to stand alone in the middle of the room. “Alright. Who wants to go first.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “Buffy?”

            She looked over her shoulder, surprised he was still there. “Hey Xander. Not going home tonight?”

            He smiled uncertainly. “Course I am. But I need to talk to you first.” Casting a weary glance at the vampire at her side, he took a few steps towards the door.

            “Oh.” She followed him out onto the front porch. For some odd reason, she felt a speech coming on.

            Closing the door, he turned to face her. “So…”

            “So.”

            Xander sighed. “Is everything alright, Buffy? Is everything okay?”

            That wasn’t something she’d been expecting. “Everything is fine.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”

            “I just figured…” He gestured towards the house. “I mean, it kinda seemed like you and Spike…”

            “Me and Spike…?” Buffy’s eyebrow rose in suspicion.

            “I know what it feels like to be depressed,” he said in a low voice. “Believe me.” Trying to tear his thoughts from a certain blonde he continued. “I don’t know what has been happening lately in your life, but you know you can always talk to me.”

            She frowned. “What do you mean, Xander.”

            “I mean if you’re depressed-”

            “No. What. Do. You. Mean.” Buffy clenched her jaw angrily.

            He held up his hands in a defensive gesture. “Hey hey, no need for the harshness. I’m just remembering a certain other time my friend was turning to certain dead things for…comfort.”

            “Is that what you think this is?” She asked, incredulous. “You think I’m using him?”

            “I think he’s using you,” he snapped back.

            “Spike has a soul now. Spike is good. Spike-even before the soul-has been better to me than anyone else I’ve ever known.” With each declaration she pointed towards the front door, and the bleached blonde who was more than likely listening from the other side.

            Xander winced. “Buffy-”

            “You have no right to judge me. I know what you’re thinking; ‘poor Buffy, she must be really pathetic if she’s going to him again’.”

            “No, Buffy.” The words came out so softly she had to lean in to hear them. “I just…I just don’t want to see you hurt again. And this thing with Spike…”

            “This thing with Spike is the best thing I’ve ever known,” she declared quietly. “For the first time in my life, I don’t feel like I have to be Miss Perfect. I don’t always have to be the one who saves the world or takes care of everyone. And I don’t have to go running to my friends for approval.” Green eyes met brown as she took a step closer to him. “I’ll try to understand you, reason with you even, but at the end of the day I’m only home if I’m in his arms.”

            Slowly, he nodded. “I get you, Buffy.” Offering her a small smile in apology he gave her a little hug. “Don’t see why it’s him, though.”

            She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, does it?”

            “If he makes you happy…” He smirked. “I guess I could learn not to hate the guy.” Uncomfortably, he took a step back. “I should probably get going.”

            “Probably.” She waved as he went to his car and drove off. For a long while she stood out there, watching the clouds slowly drift by above her. She hadn’t even thought about what she had said to him-it had just come out. Every single heartfelt word. Looking back, it made perfect sense. Spike was the only stable person in her entire life. The only person who-except for the whole wanting to kill her thing in the beginning-had never left her. Even the Scoobies had shut her out, but he…he was always there. Even when she had begged him to leave. And she realized with a start that he always would be. Suddenly, she wasn’t scared anymore.

            The clearing of a throat behind her caused her to turn around. He was leaning against the doorframe, bathed in sunlight and smiling at her. A smile that quietly admitted he had heard the entire conversation. The thought crossed her mind to say something. Walk up to him. Do something to fill the silence. But she was completely lost in the blue of his eyes. Before she could react he was in front of her, running his knuckles along her face so tenderly her knees weakened. He seemed to notice, as he wrapped an arm protectively around her waist and pulled her closer. Slowly his face sunk down to hers, his nose delicately tracing her jaw before he kissed her. Her arms slipped around his chest as she hummed her appreciation. For a moment her mind flashed back to the dream she’d had the night before, and what she had said to him. You are my heart…

            He could feel her smiling as their lips brushed again in one of a thousand sweet, short kisses. Deciding to not bother trying to figure out what thought had created the expression on his lady’s features, he laid more delicate kisses against her skin. To hell with impending apocalypses. So what if they might die in the battle to come. And who cared if he was forced to leave tomorrow. Right now he was here, wrapped up in her arms. He was home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beckoning

            Standing in the backyard, she watched the sun set. If she closed her eyes, she could almost pretend she was standing back on her back porch. Leaning against the railing. Wondering what great adventure the next day would bring. But when she opened her eyes she was back in Paradise. Standing in the small patch of grass that could be called a yard. And dreaming of a world that had literally collapsed, months before. Cigarette smoke drifted past her shoulder, jolting her out of her little fantasy.

            “Nice, isn’t it?” He asked, nodding towards the sun as it faded over the horizon. With a smirk he edged out of the shadow he had been occupying and into it’s warm light. No matter how many times he did that, it was still fun. Plus the look of amusement it caused on his lady was priceless.

            Sighing, she turned so she could see him. He was standing with his eyes closed, no doubt savoring the warmth against his face. Without thinking she walked up to him and lightly pressed her lips to his. A smile twinkled in her eyes at the surprise in his. She didn’t understand that. Even after all they’d been through, all she’d said, he still looked at her in pure wonder when she kissed him. Like he couldn’t believe what was happening. Winding her arms around his neck she kissed him again.

            After a long, sweet moment he broke the kiss with a little smile. “And what’d I do to deserve that, love?” he murmured against her skin.

            She shrugged. “Don’t know. Don’t care.” Playfully she took his hand and attempted to pull him towards the house. “Come on.”

            Spike’s eyebrow shot up. With a firm pull he jerked her back against him, enjoying the shiver that crept through her as his fingers ran lightly over her body. When they reached her neck they paused, lightly tracing the marks left there by other vampires. He must have growled or something, because she caught his straying hand with her own and drew him closer to herself.

            “Don’t worry about those,” she whispered, trying to extinguish the look of pain that was written across his face. With a deep breath she tipped her head back to look up at him. “Yours now.”

            He must have looked shocked, for she giggled. Blinking slowly at her, he murmured, “Mine?”

            “All yours.” Buffy grinned. Standing on her tiptoes she gave him a quick peck. Of course, it quickly turned into more than just a quick peck. After a dizzying moment she gasped, drawing in the air she had forgotten she’d needed. He just grinned at her, one of those impish grins that she knew meant he was up to something. Feigning a yawn, she again tried to draw him back into the house. “Sleepy. Time for bed.”

            “Sleepy?” Spike followed her up to the house, pressing her against the wood of the door. A little smile tugging at her lips told him otherwise.

            “Okay, maybe not sleepy,” she admitted quietly, her eyes becoming serious. Actually, sleep was the furthest thing from her mind. But it wouldn’t be any fun to tell him that now, would it? She managed to open the door from her position, sending the two of them flying into the kitchen. She stumbled over the rug, falling and bringing the astonished vampire along for the ride. They ended up sprawled across the tile, noses brushing.

            Mentally he knew he stayed that way a little longer than necessary. Finally remembering there was a teenager in the house who could discover them at any given moment, he stood and tried to recover his dignity by brushing imaginary dust from his jacket. Of course, the gorgeous blonde lying at his feet chuckling softly wasn’t helping matters at all. And the little William in his head was reminding him of his former mannerly self. Holding out a hand he lifted her to her feet. “Klutz,” he whispered into her ear teasingly.

            Buffy rolled her eyes. Quietly, she tiptoed towards the staircase. Not that tiptoeing is going to make up for those dang boots… she sent an accusing glare to the footwear behind her.

            “Buffy?”

            Both parties jumped as the teenager popped out from the kitchen. She grinned at them.

            “I’m going to go to a movie with Jake and Anna, okay?”

            Buffy crossed her arms in her typical ‘guardian’ pose. “What movie?”

            “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

            “That sounds like a good movie,” Spike quipped.

            “It is. Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. Yummy.”

            Buffy raised an eyebrow at her sister’s excitement. “Who’s driving you?”

            “Um…Jake?”

            “Try again.”

            “Oh come on!” Dawn stuck out her lower lip slightly. “Jake’s a great driver. He’s given me rides before!”

            “Oh really?”

            “Who’s this ‘Jake’?” Spike growled. For some reason the idea of his Nibblet getting rides from a guy he didn’t know-or any guy, for that matter-just rubbed him the wrong way.

            Buffy grinned at his comment. He was so cute when he got all parental on Dawn. Finally, she shrugged. “Fine. But I want you home by ten.”

            “Ten? Most of my friends’ curfews are midnight!”

            “Well…eleven then. But no later.” She gave her sister a little hug. “Have fun.”

            Dawn smiled. “Thanks. Bye!”

            “That was interesting,” Spike murmured, his eyes glittering with laughter. “I thought you never let the Bit out of your sight.”

            She shrugged again, this time not so innocently. “I thought she could do with a night of teenage normalcy.”

            “You wanted to get her out of the house!” He accused.

            She nodded vigorously, earning her a grin. “Yup.” With that she turned and headed up the stairs. When she was at the top she noticed he was still standing on the landing, watching her with the most puzzled look. “What’s the matter?”

            “Buffy…” He walked up the stairs slowly, until he was just beneath her. “I-”

            She laid two fingers against his lips, preventing him from saying anything else. “Shhh.” With her other hand she traced his jaw. “Love you.” A gentle kiss separated each statement. “So much. Can’t say. Want you,” she purred into his ear.

 “Love you,” he repeated, wrapping his arms around her tiny frame and stepping closer. “God, love you so much.” 

            They stumbled down the hallway, never breaking eye contact even when it was necessary. In her room they collapsed onto the bed, too lost in feverish kisses to bother with the door. Blinding passion consumed them both as articles of clothing were carelessly discarded…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Hours later, the front door opening woke him. He quickly jumped up and shut the door, least Dawn come up to discover them. Looking back to the bed, he smiled. She was curled up under the covers, hair spread out around her and the smuggest little grin tugging at her lips as she slept. Beautiful. He stood there watching her a few minutes before she stirred, aware of the empty space next to her. Questioning green eyes still filled with sleep met his own as he slid in beside her. “Bit’s home,” he murmured. She nodded, wrapping an arm around his waist and closing her eyes again. His fingers went back to their old habit of playing with her hair. Soon, it had lulled her back to sleep.

            He lay there, completely content in her embrace, thinking about the evening that had created such exhaustion in his goddess. A smirk threatened to surface on his face as he recollected what they had done. I wonder if she even knew…She had to. There was no way not to notice the change that had occurred between them. Before when they had been together it had been passionate, true, but so passionate it seemed at times primitive. Primitive in a sort of ‘I have to fuck your brains out for our species to survive’ way. But now…now, it was poetry. That was the only way he could describe it. Oh, the passion was there, make no doubt, but now it was loving and tender as well. They hadn’t had sex or fucked; no, they had made love. And it was grand. He drifted to sleep with the pleasant memory of that still in his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The alarm ringing shrilly mere inches from her head reminded her that she had to get up. Groaning, she reached over and slapped it off the nightstand. Unfortunately it kept ringing, now out of her reach. With a sigh of defeat she threw back the covers. Good morning world, she thought cheerily. Now wide-awake, she turned off the alarm and bounded out of her bedroom towards the bathroom. And nearly collided with the closed door. “Hey!”

            “Sorry Dawnie,” Willow said sheepishly as she slid out, bundled in gigantic white towels. Quickly she tiptoed back down the stairs, past the suspiciously empty sofa, and back into her room.

            Dawn hurried about quickly, partly because she was late again and partly because she knew Buffy would be outside the door in about five minutes. Her sister just had this knack for wanting the bathroom at the exact same time as her…Damn, out of shampoo. She’d have to remind her to go buy some more. Finishing up her shower she brushed her teeth, blow-dried her hair and dashed back to her room. After a few moments of frantically searching for her math homework, she noticed the lack of noise from the hallway. Which meant that Buffy hadn’t gone in there yet. Which probably meant she wasn’t even awake. Which was very, very bad, considering she was going back to work today. Stuffing the offending worksheet in her folder she went out and knocked lightly on her door. “Buffy?” Incoherent mumbling could be heard from inside. She knocked harder. “Buffy?” Loosing her patience she opened the door.

            “Hey!”

            “Bloody hell!”

            With a shriek she slammed the door shut. But it was too late. The mental trauma of catching her sister and Spike naked in bed had taken full effect. Numbly she gathered her things and went downstairs.

            “Morning!” Kennedy chirped from the stove, flipping a pancake.

            Dawn managed a little smile, grabbing her lunch from the counter and an apple from the refrigerator. “Late. Got to go. See ya.” With that she went out the front door, speed walking towards the bus stop.

            “Oh shit.”

            “Maybe she didn’t see us.”

            “Yeah, she just screamed and slammed the door for no reason.”

            He winced at her harsh tone. “Alright, maybe that wasn’t the ideal…position for her to see…”

            “Us! Naked!” Buffy was standing at the foot of the bed, shaking a shoe at him as she put on her robe.

            Spike shrugged. “Maybe you should talk to her.” They both jumped at the knock on the door.

            “Don’t come in!” She darted to the doorway, opening it enough to stick her head out. “Oh. Hey Willow.”

            “Hi…” She frowned slightly at her friend’s behavior. “Um…”

            “What?”

            “Where’s Spike?”

            Coughing came from the bed. She ignored it. “Why?”

            Willow shrugged. “The sofa’s all sofa-y. Plus Dawn came downstairs looking like she’d seen a ghost. Ooh! Is there a ghost?”

            Buffy felt a deep blush creeping up her cheeks. “Nope. No ghost. And Spike’s-”

            “Pet, have you seen my other boot?” Spike called out much louder than was necessary, still lying amongst the sheets.

            Willow’s eyes widened as she too blushed. “Ah. Okay. Mystery solved. I’ll just be going then…” Quickly she fled back downstairs and out of the twilight zone. She was just now starting to deal with the whole ‘Buffy loves Spike’ thing, and now she goes and drops the bomb of ‘Buffy’s sleeping with Spike’? I’m not judging. Watch me not judge. Totally not judging, that’s me…

            Buffy turned around to glare at the very smug vampire. “You just had to do that, didn’t you.”

            He scowled as he sat up. “What, you want to hide this from them? Again?”

            “No!” She sat down next to him, her hand instinctively finding his. “I don’t want to hide this. No hiding. I just don’t think that was the…ideal way of telling them.” A laugh tickled in her throat at the grin he now wore. “Alright?”

            He shrugged. “Whatever you want, pet.” With that he got up and began getting dressed. After a moment he realized she was still sitting there, watching him. “Enjoying the show?” He inquired.

            Buffy giggled. “Very much so.” She let out a yelp when he threw a pair of pants at her. “Hey!” Glaring at the blonde, she finished getting dressed in silence. And sneaking glances whenever she thought he wasn’t looking.

            When he went downstairs, the first thing he noticed was the redhead who refused to meet his glance. The second was the pile of books that surrounded her. “Bit of heavy reading, isn’t it?”

            Willow jumped. “Oh. Hey.” Her eyes scanned the texts. “Um, yeah, I guess so…just checking references to the book and the Betugk Swetuk.”

            “They’re mentioned in those?”

            “Well, the demons are…I’m checking on the book now. It has an inscription on the front cover, so I’m hoping…” Her words trailed off as she turned another page. After staring at a drawing for a minute, she sighed. “That it’ll be in here somewhere. I think…I think they’re connected.”

            Spike raised his eyebrows. “Connected?”

            “Well, the book does mentions demons, so I’m thinking these are the guys.”

            “What about killing them? Anything on that?” He looked at a sketch Faith had done of the creature. Personally, he didn’t want to face one of those without knowing how to take it down. And from what it managed to do to the girls…there was no way anyone was going back there until they knew for certain how to destroy them.

            Willow sighed again. “Just that cryptic ‘one tool crafted before the time of steel’ bit. I don’t understand what it means.” With a shrug she went back to her translations. “Hopefully the next chapter will mention it.”

            “Next chapter?”

            She nodded. “What I have so far is only part of the first chapter. Well, most of it. There are still a couple of chapters that we haven’t even started deciphering.”

            He rubbed his forehead. “Brilliant. Bloody brilliant.”

            “It might go faster if we had more people working on it,” she hinted, pushing a few of the smaller books towards the leery vampire.

            A snort escaped him. “Don’t you have the Watcher helping you?”

            “Well, yeah…”

            “So why make me do it?”

            “Because the faster we get this done the faster we can go kill these things,” Buffy said as she came down the stairs. “Besides, this is what being a Scooby’s all about!”

            He grumbled as he pulled out a chair and sat down. “Never asked to be a sodding Scooby. One minute you’re the Big Bad, next thing you know you’re babysitting the Slayer’s kid sister and watching the telly with her friends…” His complaints stopped when Buffy strode over, placing a kiss on his lips before continuing on into the kitchen. “Bring on the books,” he managed meekly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “Is this it?”

            “No.”

            “How about this one?”

            “No…”

            “This?”

            “No! Remind me again why you’re helping us?”

            “Helping us? He’s barely reading!”

            “Well, maybe I could if you would just shut you’re bleeding trap!”

            “Shut my trap?!?”

            “If everyone could just calm down we might actually get some work done!”

            “You’re one to talk!”

            “Why are you ganging up on me? Is this some sort of British thing?”

            “Oh yes. We’re out to get you, whelper.”

            “Certainly not!”

            Buffy pressed her palms against her ears. “Stop it!” Ever since returning home from the gym half an hour prior, she had listened to these people bicker. And they were driving her mad.

            The three men looked up at the petite Slayer.

            “He started it…”

            “Oh bugger off.”

            She put her hands on her hips. “What, am I going to have to separate you two?” She waited until they had all taken their seats again before continuing. “Honestly, you’re acting like a bunch of…kids!”

            Giles sighed. “Forgive us. It’s just been…well; it hasn’t exactly been a productive day. And we’ve been working for hours.”

            “All in favor of calling it a day say ‘ay’.” Xander stuck his hand up into the air. Surely enough, several other arms shortly followed him.

            “We can’t stop now!” Willow poured herself another cup of coffee. “Look at all we’ve gotten done!”

            Spike raised an eyebrow. “Look at all you’ve gotten done. Us…well, we haven’t done a bloody thing.” He went back to flipping through yet another musty analog. He was beyond frustrated. He was a pissed off British man who had spent the better part of his day reading old books written in Latin.

            “I’m sure you did lots,” she offered with a little smile.

            Buffy stepped up behind her friend. “So, what did you get anyways?”

            Willow gestured to her papers excitedly. “I finished the first chapters translations, plus some of the second.”

            “Well, let’s hear it,” Giles sighed, whipping his glasses on his sweater.

            “Oh. Okay.” Clearing her throat, she began. “ ‘Without heart, she will fall.’ That was the end of the last part… ‘The key to achieving this balance is within. The answer they search for is before them. It has always been; crafted before any known thing. But it will only be discovered at the time of it’s beckoning.’”

            “Key?” Dawn asked hesitantly. She really, really didn’t feel like getting cut open again.

            Spike smiled at the teen. “Different key, Bit.” In truth, he had no idea what it had meant. And isn’t that what it had said would happen? It will only be discovered when it’s actually needed? How convenient.

            “This is the next chapter. ‘It was created long ago to keep the dimensions in balance. Before the times of right and wrong. The world was neither good nor bad; it simply was. There was no concept of evil or righteousness; such things did not exist. The entirety of it all was placed into this one energy. So basic was its purpose: to store all the pure and un-pure things within itself, and keep within the lands peace. But it could not last forever. The Powers, so concerned with containing these powerful forces, failed to notice when they could no longer be contained. It burst so suddenly there was no time to correct what had been done. The worst of all evils and the greatest of all goods were released to wreck havoc upon our worlds. And that they did. For centuries untold demons roamed the Earth freely, while the divine took to the skies.

            “ ‘The Powers were given an opportunity to set the world right again. And so righteousness, embodied in the form of a Chosen One descended onto the plains. This solution would not be permanent. The scales would balance, surely, but at any given moment could tip. A solution was proposed. The prophecy was written: Only when virtue in form blends with malevolence incarnate may the worlds rest.’”

            Buffy stared at her for a good long while. Finally, she let out a low whistle. “Wow.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Taste Of Her

“Ninety-six…ninety-seven…come on, just three more!”

The man collapsed onto the mat with a loud groan. “Oh come on! What good are three sit-ups really going to do?”

Buffy looked down at him amusedly. “I don’t know. But if you don’t do them then you’ll just have to admit that I can do more sit-ups than you…” She grinned as he rushed through the rest of his exercises. “There. Was that so bad?”

“Yes.” Feigning a scowl he stood up, towering over her. “It really was.”

“So you’re too tired for kickboxing, then?” She asked, throwing a towel at him.

He shook his head vigorously. “Never.” With that, they headed towards the punching bag. After wrapping his hands he began pummeling it, under the careful instruction of his petite trainer. “So.” He attempted to talk while throwing punches and kicks. “I was. Wondering. If you wanted to. Go out. Sometime for. Dinner?”

“Alex…” She waited until the bag stopped swinging in her arms before responding. “That’s really nice of you, but I’ll have to pass.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Ah. Okay.” For a few minutes he said nothing, putting all of his concentration into the task before him. Then he said, “Just out of curiosity…is there someone else or do I just really repulse you?”

She smiled. “Actually, there is someone else.”

“Hmmm.” Alex scratched his chin, a slight smirk playing at his lips. “Could I take him?”

Buffy tilted her head, examining the client before her. Six foot two. One hundred and ninety pounds. Honestly, she could take him with both hands tied behind her back. And Spike? Blindfolded and chained to a wall he could do some major damage. She felt another grin coming on. “I don’t think so.”

“Oh well. No harm in asking.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “Are you okay?”

            “Hmm?” Spike looked up from the pencil he had been twirling.

            “You seem kind of…fidgety.” Willow gestured to the pencil. And to his hand, which was drumming out a familiar beat on the tabletop. And finally to his leg, which had been bouncing up and down for the past half an hour.

            He smirked. “Sorry Red. Guess I am a bit antsy. Say-” Jumping from his chair, he started towards the front door. “How about I go out and do a patrol?”

            “Spike?” She pointed to the window. “It’s daytime.”

            “So? I don’t poof in the sun anymore, remember?”

            “Yeah, but other vampires do. Meaning you probably won’t find much.”

            “I could go get the Bit from school!”

            “Isn’t that boy giving her a ride?”

            He snorted.

            Laughing, she said, “I take it you don’t like him very much.”

            “Never said that.”

            “You didn’t have to.”

            “Well then, if you’re so smart, you don’t need me. I’m going out for a smoke.”

            She shook her head as the vampire stomped out onto the porch. He’d do just about anything to get out of doing more work. Of course, she didn’t blame him. He’d been in full research mode for over a day now. And the fact that he’d survived Xander and Giles the day before was a miracle unto itself. Maybe I should take a brake too, she thought tiredly. She hadn’t slept in at least forty-eight hours. The empty coffee cups and energy bar wrappers proved that. Sleep might be nice right about now…Standing from her seat, she stretched and stumbled over to the sofa. She was asleep before her head hit the cushions.

            He let out a deep, content sigh. Lovely, lovely cigarette, how I adore thee… After admiring the miracle of engineering in his hand for a few seconds, he took another drag. Funny how such a simple thing could work such wonders on him. Sure, smoking did help enhance his Big Bad image. That was why he’d started, initially. But now, he smoked mainly because it helped calm his nerves. And right now, his nerves definitely needed calming. Days without a fight, or even a spar, had taken its toll. He reckoned Buffy was feeling the same way. Restless. I’ll have to see if she wants to dance when she gets home. An old car pulling up to the curb caused him to look up.

            “Thanks for the ride.”

            “Anytime. I’ll call you tonight, okay?”

            “Sure. Well, bye!”

            “Bye.”

            Dawn skipped up to the house. Life sure was grand. Especially when boys like Jake were going to call tonight. The grin she had been suppressing all the way home was now very prominent on her face. She skidded to a halt when she noticed the blonde figure watching her. “Oh. Hi Spike!”

            Raised eyebrow. “Who was that?”

            “Jake…”

            Narrowing his eyes, he blew smoke out of his mouth slowly. “Hmmm.”

            She sat down next to him. “What? You don’t like him?” Not even giving him time to talk, she continued. “He’s really nice and funny and smart and I know you’d love him if you just gave him a chance!”

            “I highly doubt that,” he said. “And how do you know he’s such a great guy? School’s only been in session a little more than a month, and you were new. Well, Buff did say you went to the summer school…” He frowned slightly. Any boy who went to summer school was definitely a troublemaker.

            Dawn smiled. “I don’t know him that well, true. That’s what’s fun about it! Can’t you just be happy I’m making friends?”

            “Friends?”

            She blushed. “For now. If something more comes of it…”

            “Don’t want anyone hurting my Bit,” he huffed.

            Her tone softened. “I’m growing up, Spike.”

            He looked up at her. Something was in her blue eyes that he’d never noticed before. Strength. As much as he hated to admit it, she was growing up. It was all too evident the way boys looked at her when they went out. But now, she could handle it. Gruffly, he mumbled, “I know.”

            “Say, do you want to go surprise Buffy down at the gym?”

            His eyes lit up. Looking down at his watch, he noticed the time. “She gets off work soon, doesn’t she?”

            Nodding, she leapt from the step. “Can I drive?”

            “I don’t think your sis would be too keen on that…”

            “Oh come on. Please? I’m a good driver!”

            Reluctantly, he agreed. “Fine. Go get the keys.” He watched the teenager bound into the house. He’d been planning on going to get Buffy anyways. Giles had dropped her off as he was heading back home this morning, so she was stuck there without a ride. Remembering his earlier plan, he called out “Might want to bring your homework with you Nibblet, I was going to see if the old Slayer was up for a fight.”

            “Alright.” With keys and backpack in hand she hopped into the drivers side of their SUV. Buffy had purchased it upon moving to Paradise, but she rarely let her younger sister drive it. Even if she was the better driver of the two. “Ready?” She asked.

            Spike tightened his seatbelt. Please, don’t make me regret this. “Let’s go.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Shoving her street clothes into her bag, Buffy shut her locker with a fierce bang. Ever since being hit on her day had really gone downhill. Trying to get out of shape people to run half a mile was really hard work. Especially when she had to run along with them at a pace so slow she felt like screaming. Ok. I might have a little bit of Slayer energy that needs to be burned. No big deal. She figured she’d shower when she got home, then go out for a patrol…well, maybe save the shower for after the patrol. Never know what kind of gooey demons one might encounter. With a sigh she hurried out of the locker room and towards the main entrance. Halfway there she remembered she didn’t have a ride. Great. Now I’m going to have to call someone. Could this day get any better?

            “Hi Buffy!” Dawn walked through the front door grinning.

            Maybe it can. “Dawn? How’d you get here?”

            “I drove!”

            “You what?”

            “And nearly killed me in the process,” A British voice commented from behind her. He smirked when she spun around to glare at him.

            “You let her drive?”

            “Nice to see you too. I was wondering…do you want to spar?”

            She frowned at the sudden change of topic. “Huh?”

            “Spar. Fight. Wrestle. Dance. You know, have a scrap? Pick a brawl?” Spike bounced lightly on the balls of his feet. “Need to burn some energy.”

            Buffy smiled. Whether or not the idea of a fight with Spike or the sight of a hyper Spike was causing the smile, she didn’t know. “Sure. But Dawn-”

            “-Came supplied with hours of biology.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I have plenty to keep myself occupied.”

            “Okay.” Buffy looked around awkwardly. Finally, her eyes settled on an empty dance studio. “Shall we?”

            Duck. Swing. Jump. She landed a kick to his chest before flipping to the other side of the room. Breathlessly, she called out “Is that all?”

            “You’re the one who’s panting, pet,” he reminded her as he took a dive towards her. Grabbing onto one of her wrists he pulled her around, kneeing her in the stomach before she slid from his grasp. He managed to avoid most of the punches she threw at him while talking. “Haven’t you been training?”

            “Kind of hard to train when you’re immobile.” She grunted when she fell back onto the floor. Lucky for her he didn’t step away fast enough, so with a quick leg sweep he was laying next to her, groaning.

            “I meant when I was…gone.” He sat up to look at her. “You weren’t slaying?”

            She shrugged. “Not really. I was helping out the girls when they needed it, but I was basically retired.” Deciding they’d had enough conversation she stood up, offering him a hand. When he took it she yanked him up, sending him face first into a pile of mats.

            “No fair.”

            “Serves you right.”

            “We’ll see about that,” he growled as he found his feet. Assaulting her with a flurry of kicks and hits he managed to back her up against the wall. Momentarily he forgot about fighting, watching her arch her back in anticipation of his next attack. He was quite pleased by her surprise when he kissed her. After a brief moment she shoved him back, sending him into defense. He couldn’t help but notice the twinkle in her eyes when she pinned him to the floor a few minutes later.

            “Too easy,” she purred into his ear. Jumping off of him she bent forwards, pressing her palms to the cool floor. Slowly she lifted her legs and straightened her back until her toes pointed towards the ceiling. In her inverted position she could see him still lying there, smirking. Eventually he stood up, approaching her cautiously. Without upsetting her balance she caught him in the face with her heel.

            Rubbing his jaw, he muttered, “Show off.” Two can play at this game, you know. Before she could do anything he had his arms wrapped around her legs. As she protested he flung her up in the air, watching her toss head over heels and finally come to land facing him. He grinned at the pout on her flushed face.

            “No fair.”

            “Who said I fought fair, love?” Unable to resist he leaned over and kissed her again. His eyes flew open when her blood entered his mouth. Must have split her lip fighting, he thought, trying to pull away from her. But for some reason, he couldn’t. Instead he gently lapped at the cut, little explosions going off in his mind with every sip. She obviously didn’t notice; she was kissing him just as eagerly as ever. This is bad, Spike. This is no good. Oh god, which taste…It was better than he’d ever imagined. Blood and roses and power and vanilla all combined into something utterly her. Try as he might, he could not break the kiss. He was completely lost in the taste of her. It was only after a flash of light that he realized he was sitting on the floor dazed, Buffy several feet from him in a similar condition. Tentatively he whipped his mouth, horrified to discover traces of red upon his lips.

            “What happened?” She had been kissing him, and now suddenly she was sitting on the floor with a headache and the coppery taste of blood in her mouth. That was a bit odd, to put it lightly.

            Spike shook his head, trying to chase away the taste of her that still lingered on his tongue. “Don’t know,” he managed.

            “Are you guys done yet?” The voice of the girl waiting outside of the studio jolted them both from their thoughts.

            Pushing the incident to the back of her mind, Buffy stood up and grabbed her bag. “Yeah. We can go now.” They walked out to the parking lot in silence. After a lengthy debate she climbed into the passenger side of the car, mentally chastising herself for ever allowing her younger sister to acquire a license.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “Hey Buffster!” Xander grinned as his friend opened the front door.

            She smiled. “Hey.” Stepping back, she let him in. “Hate to break it to you, but we’re not researching tonight.”

            “Didn’t Willow tell you?” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully. “I’m taking you girls out for a night on the town.”

            Her eyes trailed over to the silent figure sitting in the living room. “Us girls, eh?”

            Xander’s grin faltered. “Huh?” A light bulb went off above his head as he followed her gaze. “Oh. You want the Evil Dead to tag along?”

            “Evil Undead,” Spike corrected.

            “Whatever. I was actually expecting that.” He shrugged. “I’m only paying for my ladies, though.”

            “Like I’d ever let you pay for me.” He smirked at the bemused look on the whelp’s face.

            “Am I coming?” Dawn questioned hesitantly.

            “Of course! We’re all going.” He nodded towards the other Slayer standing at the foot of the stairs. “There’s this club downtown, thought you might want to check it out.”

            “Sounds fun,” Buffy said. She was headed towards the closet to get her jacket when there was a knock at the door.

            KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

            “Did you invite anyone else?” She asked Xander, frowning at the door suspiciously.

            “No…”

            KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

            Glancing around at her friends, she went over and opened the door a crack. Her eyes bugged out of her head as she opened it all the way. Silently, she took in the sight of the being standing on her front porch. The tall, brunette being standing on her porch.

            “Angel?” Willow uttered the name quietly, as if she barely believed it.

            A brief smile passed across his face. “Hi.” Turning his attention back to the stunned blonde, he asked, “May I come in?”

            “I…um…of course.”

            A low growl escaped Spike as his grandsire stepped into the house. Instantly, the other vampire’s eyes were on him, watching him warily as the rest of the Scoobies greeted him. Sodding poof. Bloody wanker with his too-gelled hair that stands straight up. Stupid git always brooding…

            “Buffy, I need to talk to you.”

            She blinked at him. Once the initial shock of seeing her former love was gone, she realized she was almost annoyed by his presence. Wonder who I got that from… “I’m right here. Talk.”

            Angel looked around uncomfortably. While they were all watching him curiously, one gaze in particular was really unnerving him. “I…” He lowered his voice until it was barely a whisper. “I had a dream.”

            He could have slapped himself in the forehead. Even Peaches was having dreams!

            “Uh huh?”

            “It was about you, you were in the desert fighting these nasty looking demons…”

            Buffy sighed. “That’s why you came all the way out here? To tell me about some dream?”

            “I thought…”

            “We had it too,” Xander offered.

            “Oh.”

            “You could have just called,” she said quietly. It would have been a hell of a lot smarter. She could feel the masculinity flowing from where she stood. And as interesting as the fight that would surely ensure would be to watch… No. Bad Buffy. Even if you could get them to agree to the oil thing, it’d still be wrong. Trying to disengage the images that went along with that thought, she rubbed her fingers against her temples.

            “Wait, why is he having dreams?” Kennedy frowned.

            Willow shrugged. “I don’t know. I’d really like to hear about it though.”

            “Later?” Xander squirmed as the many pairs of eyes in the room came to settle on him. “I mean, it’s just, we were on our way out…”

            Angel shrugged. “That’s okay. It can wait till tomorrow.”

            “You can stay on the couch, if you want…”

            Spike started coughing.

            “I don’t want to impose. I’m sure I can find a motel around here with thick shades.” Turning, he headed back out the door.

            “Come by tomorrow night, okay?” Buffy tried desperately to control the laugh that was tickling her throat as Spike came up behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist almost possessively in plain view of the older vampire.

            “Tomorrow night.” Managing a smile for her he walked to the taxi that was waiting at the curb.

            “What’s his hurry?” Spike asked innocently. Closing his eyes he listened to the sweet sound of her laughter. Let the wanker come and try. He’d love to see it. She was his, body heart and soul. All his. A flash from a dream echoed through his mind.

            “You are my heart. I am your soul. And together we are one.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There Is Only You

            “With a rebel yell, she cried more, more more…”

            Spike smirked over his beer at the man in front of him. “Got to say it, good job finding this place.”

            Xander shrugged. “Hey, I aim to please.”

            He scanned the crowd, nodding his head in time to the music. Out on the floor, the girls were jumping up and down, writhing around to the catchy beat. He grinned when he noticed a particular blonde lip-synching.

            “More, more more!”

            “So, um, er…” Xander fidgeted uncomfortably on his bar stool. “Thanks.”

            Eyeing him suspiciously, he took another sip of his drink. “For what?”

            “For that.” He nodded towards the little Slayer who had captured his heart so many years ago. Laughing nervously, he said, “Can’t tell you the last time I’d seen her smile.”

            Spike watched him for a good long moment. Just when you think you know someone… “Well, you’re welcome.” He chuckled lowly under his breath.

            “Know that it would be untrue, know that it would be a lie, if I was to say to you I didn’t set your house on fire…”

            “Hey! Aren’t you guys going to come out and dance?” Dawn bounced up to the counter, grabbing onto Xander’s hand and trying to pull him towards the center of the room.

            “Why not.” Laying a few bills down he stood, turning back to look at the bleached vampire. “You coming?”

            He shook his head. “Think I’ll sit this one out.” Ordering another drink he turned his attention back to the group of friends. His group of friends. A light smile crossed his face at that thought.

            “If you love somebody better set them on fire…”

            “This seat taken?”

            He glanced at the woman standing next to him. “Course not, pet.”

            “I’m Laura.” She leaned over to shake his hand.

            “Spike.”

            “Interesting name.”

            “So I’m told.”

            Letting her eyes take in the male before her, she asked, “So, Spike…come here alone?”

            He shook his head. “Nope.”

            “Oh.” She slumped slightly in her seat.

            “Nobody wants to be alone, so how did I get here?”

            Recognizing the new song, he excused himself and headed out into the throng of people. Because of the slow tempo, they had paired off. He was quite pleased to discover Buffy standing towards the edge of the crowd, alone. Stepping up to her he murmured, “Dance with me.”

            “Does he make you high? Make you real? Does he make you cry? Does he know the way you feel?”

            She smiled as he caught her hand and led her to the center of the dance floor. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed her cheek to his shoulder and hummed in contentment. His arms, usually cold, felt warm wrapped around her.

            “There is only you…”

            Her breath tickled against the sensitive skin of his neck. Slowly, they rocked back and forth to the beat of the music. Love you. For long moments, he did nothing but concentrate on her gentle heartbeat against his still chest. Funny how such a small thing, a heartbeat, could affect him so deeply. Listening to the lyrics, he was caught by the irony of the song.

            “I had my fears, you let them out, now I wrap myself around you like a blanket full of doubt…”

            Buffy closed her eyes. Momentarily, the entire room faded away until it was just them. Nothing else mattered. They were here, together, happy, and the rest of the world would just have to wait. She smiled as she felt him draw her closer. I’m not going anywhere, love.

            “In my world…you make me high, you make me real, you make me cry, now you know the way I feel. Love is all around you, your universe is full, but in my world…there is only you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “Okay. Why don’t you tell me what happened.”

            “Well… it was daytime. I was out in the desert; it was really hot. And I saw Buffy and…and Spike, fighting.”

            “These?” She held up the sketch of the Betugk Swetuk.

            Angel nodded. “Yeah. I ran over, tried to help, but I went right through those things. It was like an out of body experience.”

            “This has some significance,” Giles said. Standing, he walked around to behind Willow. “Everyone here has had a similar dream. Buffy and Spike, fighting the demons. And none of us are able to help. This may imply that when the battle is fought, they will fight alone.”

            “Or that they’re going to die.” He let out a low growl. “I’m not letting anything happen to her.”
            “And what, you don’t care about me?” Spike smirked from his hiding spot in the kitchen. Slowly he sauntered out to glare at him. “Why don’t you just go back to L.A. and leave the demon slaying to us.”

            Angel raised his eyebrows. “Since when have you been part of this team?”

            “Actually, it may very well just be the two who go off to fight.” Giles shrugged. “It is what the dreams seem to be hinting at.”

            “Yeah.” Dawn crossed her arms over her chest, imitating Spike’s stance towards her sister’s ex-boyfriend.

            “Even if you’re right, you don’t know how to kill those things yet!”

            “We will.” Buffy stepped into the room, purposefully putting herself in-between the two vampires. “Look, the prophecy said we would know how to kill these things when we were supposed to. And I’m thinking that’s going to be when we’re actually fighting them.” Turning to look at Spike, she said, “We’re leaving tomorrow.”

            “What?” Willow frowned. “But, I’m not done yet, shouldn’t we wait…”

            She shook her head. “We’ve waited long enough. I want this done.”

            Spike nodded. “Whatever you want, pet.”

            “You’re just going to let her go? You don’t know what you’re up against! How can you be so stupid?!?” Angel leapt to his feet, closing the distance between the two in a fraction of a second.

            He chuckled, leaning forward so their noses were less than an inch apart. “I thought you would know, no one let’s that girl do anything.”

            “This is ridiculous.” Putting one hand on either man, she managed to pull the two apart. “You-” She pointed at Spike. “-Are going to go get whatever you need to be ready to leave tomorrow morning. And you-” Grabbing Angel’s wrist, she started walking towards the door. “-Are coming with me on patrol.”

            Spike wrinkled his nose. “Don’t care for that plan much, love.” He brushed his fingers against hers, enjoying the shiver it sent up his back. And the cough it produced in a certain Nancy-boy.

            “We’ll just do a quick sweep. I doubt there’s much out there anyways,” she said. Of course, she knew it wasn’t the danger that was bothering him. No matter how many times she told him not to worry, he would always be wary of the first love of her life. And her spending time with him. With a smile she remembered the picture he had taped to his punching bag a few months ago.

            Why she was smiling, he had no idea. Probably happy she gets to spend time with the wanker. No, his other self argued, she loves you. You know that. Now stop being a macho git and go pack. Sighing, he watched the two head out the front door. “So,” he looked around to the remaining people in the room. “What’s Africa like this time of year?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “You…you love him?”

            “Mmhmm.”

            “How?”

            “Well, when a man and a woman love each other very much…”

            “Please, spare me the details.”

            Buffy grinned. “He’s good to me,” she murmured quietly.

            “Buffy…” Angel slowed, catching her hand in his. Ignoring how quickly she pulled away, he cleared his throat. “There may have been another reason for me coming here.”

            She raised her eyebrows. “And that would be…?”

            Taking a deep breath, he said, “I’m still in love with you.”

            Blink. Blink. He what? “Angel…”

            “I was stupid before. You do deserve the best. The very very best. And I was stupid enough to believe that I wasn’t that for you.”

            “But Angel-”

            “Look.” He shrugged. “I know we’ve had our…problems. But doesn’t the fact we’re both here in spite of them-”

            “Angel!” She glared at him until he had quieted. “You weren’t stupid. You were right. I was a different person back then. Back when I loved you.” Looking deep into his eyes, she added, “I don’t love you anymore, Angel. I love Spike.”

            For a long time, he said nothing.

            “I’m sorry.”

            “Don’t be.” Angel kept his head down, silently clenching and unclenching his fists. “Can you just…can you tell me why? What does he have that…that I don’t?”

            Buffy sighed. “I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s his loyalty. Maybe it’s the way he never leaves, not even when I beg him to. Maybe it’s just the way he loves me.” She smiled softly, completely in her own world. “Maybe it’s the way he looks at me, or brushes against me without realizing it. Maybe it’s all of those things.”

            “You love him.”

            “Yup.”

            “…Okay.”

            She smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “Sodding Nancy-boy with his bloody hair that sticks straight up…” Angrily Spike threw a shirt into his duffel bag. “ ‘Oh look, I’m a brooding poof!’ Sodding Peaches with his sodding detective agency and sodding soul with that bleeding happiness clause…” A soft giggle from his doorway cut short his impromptu rant. “And what do you want?”

            Dawn smiled. “You don’t like him much, do you.”

            “Not much.”

            “I can tell.”

            “Well, what can I do you for.” He sat down on the bed, looking up and the girl. “What do you need. I know you didn’t come up here just to listen to me bitch about Dr. Forehead.”

            She raised an eyebrow. “Suspicious, much? Maybe I’d rather be here than with the Worry Bunch.”

            Spike winced. “They aren’t too keen about her going, are they?”

            “They aren’t too keen about either of you going,” she corrected him. She laughed when he rolled his eyes. “Is it so hard for you to believe they might actually care what happens to you?”

            He nodded. “Yeah, it is. I know plenty well, and so do you for that matter, that the only reason they care at all whether I live or die is because Buffy n-… because Buffy cares.” Shrugging, he returned to the closet. Somehow, most of his clothes had ended up in Buffy’s room. Wonder how that happened. “Doesn’t bother me.”

            “Sure.”

            “Hey.” He turned to glare at her. “I never asked for their worry. If they want to spend their time fretting over little old Spike, let them. I don’t care.”

            Dawn looked down at her lap. “You don’t care if I’m worried?”

            His facial expression softened. “Didn’t mean that, Bit.” Stepping up to her, he took her chin in his hand. “You’re the only one of the lot of them. And I’m glad for that.”

            “It was hard enough loosing you once,” she admitted laughingly. “I don’t want to do it again.”

            “You won’t have to.”

            “You can’t promise that. I know you!” Smiling half heartedly, she attempted to imitate his accent. “You’d rather go down in the battle than run away like a git.”

            Spike tilted his head. Dawn was right. He hated to bow out of a fight. But he would never want to put these girls, his girls, through any more pain. Even if it meant running away like a git. I do believe you’ve gone soft, Spike. “Nothing’ll happen, pet.”

            “Nothing’ll happen huh?” Walking past the door, Buffy couldn’t help hearing what was obviously part of some lengthy discussion.

            “You know, sometimes people don’t like it when other people listen in on their conversations,” Spike joked, releasing the younger Summers girl from his grasp in exchange for the elder. After brushing his lips against hers, he pulled back. “Where’s tall, dark and broody? Did you stake him?”

            “No.” Angel shifted so he was visible from the doorway of the bedroom, but made no attempt to come in. Two very hostile sets of eyes prevented that, though ironically enough it was her younger sister who looked ready to tear him limb from limb.

            “I thought you were going,” Dawn spat out, her nostrils flaring with anger. She’d never liked Angel. Well, okay, technically she hadn’t really been there when he had lost his soul and tried to kill her but hey, she could still hold a grudge couldn’t she?

            Cautiously, he took a small step towards the trio. “I am. I just need to… talk… to someone first.” As he spoke his gaze shifted to his former friend and accomplice. Emphasis on former. Right now he looked ready to bite his head off.

            Spike rolled his eyes. “Talk, hmm? Last time I saw you we sure as hell did more than talk.” Realizing his words came out a bit odd, he added, “We fought. You know, beat each other up. It was very manly.”

            She chuckled.

            “Look, are we going to do this or not?”

            Slowly he untangled his arms from around her, never breaking eye contact with his grandsire. Putting a pair of socks in the bag, he zipped it and approached him, growling, “Let’s go.”

            Buffy watched the two go down the stairs. “Don’t kill each other!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “Flight 442 to Benin City, Nigeria, layovers in Boston and London, now boarding at gate 35.”

            “That’s us.” Buffy stood from the hard plastic chair she’d called home for the past two hours. Giles had insisted on driving them over. Which of course meant bringing Dawn and Xander and Willow along. And arriving god knows how many hours early.

            Giles sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets anxiously. “Now, you will call when you land, correct?”

            She nodded. “Call. Yes. But remember, the whole time thing…be prepared to be woken up at two, maybe even three in the morning.”

            “And you’ll call me too, right? Remember to call me.” Willow jumped at her friend, wrapping her arms around her.

            “I will. You just keep translating for me, okay?”

            “Okay.”

            “Don’t I get a goodbye hug?” Xander held out his arms.

            Spike eyed the man wearily. “I don’t think so, mate.”

            “Well good, because I wasn’t talking to you.” He hugged Buffy before turning back to the vampire awkwardly. “You know, uh…”

            With a smirk he shook the whelp’s hand. “Yeah.”

            “Will you call me?” Dawn smiled at them, trying desperately to ignore the tiny voice at the back of her mind that reminded her she might never see them again.

            “Yes. I will call you first,” Buffy assured her. With a deep breath she grabbed her carry-on bag in one hand and Spike’s duster sleeve in the other. “We’d better go now.”

            He watched silently as the Scoobies bit them their fond farewells. He’d always hated goodbyes. If he’d had a choice he would have called a cab, just to avoid this particular moment. Saying goodbye. Walking away from these people that, he hated to admit, had become his family. With his characteristic smirk and a wave, he let the love of his un-life lead him onto the airplane. It was strange, but he swore he could feel her. He could feel her heart breaking just a little bit when she looked back and saw the moisture in her sister’s eyes. Or maybe it was his.

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