Title: Fluffy Lover's Walk (Ep 11 of the Fluffy Files)

Author: Hilary

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Everything I have borrowed from Joss.

Author's Notes: This is part of a series I have lovingly titled The Fluffy Files. I'm taking every Ep that Spike has appeared in and twisting it to give it a nice fluffy B/S ending. The eps are not meant to be read in sequence (unless you want to). They are all stand-alone fics which I have just grouped together, sort of a 'how they might get together' thing. In other words ignore any other Fluffy File fics and just pretend this is the first. For each Ep just assume that the show has gone more or less as normal up until the point where I start.

Dedications: To OGD for being great, and to Py for her fab beta skills.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was a peaceful night in Sunnydale, something which didn't happen very often and when it did, it didn't last. Tonight was no exception. The silence was shattered by a car smashing headfirst into the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign before screeching to a halt. The driver's door opened and a collection of empty liquor bottles smashed onto the ground, shortly followed by the thud of a body.

Spike raised his head and looked around blearily.

"Home, sweet home." he giggled drunkenly.

And passed out cold.

* * *

As Buffy walked home from patrol, she sighed deeply. Things had been very quiet and she was not looking forward to telling Giles. She just knew he was going to use it as yet another reason for her to think about going to college somewhere that wasn't on a Hellmouth. Everyone she spoke to seemed to want her to leave, even Angel. And if the people closest to her wanted her to leave, then what was she meant to do?

She was brought out of her thoughts by several loud crashes coming from nearby, and, pulling out a stake, she went to investigate. Sounds like that usually meant trouble of some sort.

She wasn't wrong. After walking for a few minutes, she came across the source of the noise. A black car was parked on top of the now flattened 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign and beside it laid an unconscious Spike. Even from where she stood, she could smell the alcohol fumes and she wrinkled her nose in disgust before marching over to him.

"I've been more than reasonable," she said as she knelt down beside him, knowing that he couldn't hear her. "I gave you the chance to skip town and you still insisted on coming back. Well, you just used up your last chance."

She raised her stake and was about to drive it down into his chest when he opened his eyes and looked up at her. Instantly she stopped, unable to carry out her task. Tear-filled eyes met hers and in them was a pain that she knew all too well; it was the same pain she had felt in her own heart when she had been forced to send Angel to hell.

"What happened?" she whispered gently.

"She left me," he choked out, his voice raw with emotion. "She's gone."

Buffy nodded, having already guessed it was something like that. Somehow she felt an amazing sense of pity for the vampire lying at her feet. She knew what it felt like to lose the person you loved more than anything, and she wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone, vampire or otherwise. It was then that she decided to help Spike in any way she could.

"Come on," she coaxed, helping him to his feet. "You can't sleep here; my house isn't too far."

Spike allowed her to lead him, his mind too clouded by the alcohol to even notice that the Slayer was helping him. All he was aware of was that someone was being kinder to him than anyone else had ever been in his whole miserable unlife.

And at this point, a little kindness was all he needed.

* * *

"Buffy? Is that you?" Joyce called as she heard the front door open. Wandering out from the kitchen, she saw that her daughter wasn't alone. She was with the blonde-haired vampire that she'd met the day she'd found out Buffy was the Slayer. She watched as her daughter helped him into a chair and then went into the kitchen and put the kettle on. Joyce followed her.

"Buffy, is that Spike with you?" Joyce whispered as the kettle began to boil. Buffy nodded.

"What's he doing here?"

"His girlfriend, Drusilla, left him. I didn't think he should be alone."

Joyce nodded, understanding at once. She, too, was familiar with the pain caused by losing someone you loved. She'd felt it herself when Buffy's father had left.

As the kettle boiled, Buffy walked back into the living room where Spike hadn't moved since sitting down.

"What would you like?" she asked softly. "We've got coffee, tea."

"I think we have some hot chocolate, too." Joyce added as she joined her daughter in the living room.

For the first time since Buffy had found him, a small smile played across Spike's features.

"That sounds nice. Have you got any of those little marshmallows?"

Joyce smiled. "I'll go and have a look."

As her mother busied herself in the kitchen, Buffy took a seat beside Spike.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

A fresh look of pain crossed his features, but Buffy knew that it would help to talk about it.

"I don't know where to start," Spike said with a sigh. "Things were different from the moment we left this miserable town; she was so quiet and distant. No matter what I did for her, nothing made her happy. Then, one night I was out looking for a meal and I saw her. She was making out with a Chaos Demon, right in front of me. I just snapped. Told her I wasn't going to put up with it anymore. I thought she'd come back to me but she just said 'fine' and that we could still be friends."

He let out a small sob and wiped his tears away. "A hundred years of being together and she wanted us to be friends. She wouldn't even kill me when I begged her to, she left me alive to suffer like this."

His shoulders began to heave as he sobbed once more. Not knowing what else to do, Buffy pulled him into her arms and held him as he wept.

"Shh," she whispered as she gently stroked the back of his head. "It'll be ok."

After a few minutes, his sobs tapered off and he pulled back, sniffling a little.

"Spike, I want you to stay here tonight," Joyce said. "I can make up a bed for you on the couch."

Buffy shook her head. "I'll take the couch, Mom. Spike can have my bed."

"I'm not kicking you out of your bed, Slayer." Spike protested, having composed himself a little. "The couch is fine, I've been sleeping in my car for weeks so believe me when I say I've had worse."

Buffy stood up, looking resolved. "All the more reason for you to sleep in a proper bed tonight. I won't take no for an answer."

Joyce sighed, knowing better than to argue with her daughter when she was like this. Spike seemed to sense this too and he nodded. "Alright, just for tonight though."

Buffy nodded, although she knew that tomorrow night they were going to have exactly the same argument. "Come on, I'll show you to my room."

Spike followed Buffy upstairs, hardly believing this was happening. Of all the people to help him out, he never once imagined it would be the Slayer.

As they entered the room, Spike took off his duster and draped it over the chair beside the bed. As he sat down and began to remove his boots, Buffy did her best to make the room comfortable for him.

"I'll be back in a minute." she said softly and disappeared out of the door.

While she was gone, Spike glanced around Buffy's room. It was amazing really; there was nothing to indicate that this room belonged to anyone other than a normal teenage girl. But he knew that Buffy was anything other than a regular girl. She was a hero, one who had saved the world more than once. She was also more loving than anyone he had ever met before, human or otherwise. There were very few people who would take in a vampire and let him sleep in her bed, no questions asked.

Buffy was definitely someone special.

At that moment, she returned, a packet of blood in one hand and a mug in the other. She handed them both to Spike and he stared at them in shock for a moment.

"You always keep blood in the house?" he finally asked.

Buffy lowered her eyes.

"It's for Angel," she said so quietly that he almost thought he'd misheard her. "Just don't say anything to my mom."

Before he could say another word, she had moved over to the door again.

"Goodnight, Spike." she whispered and she clicked the light off, plunging the room into darkness.

Spike drank his blood slowly. So, Angel was still alive, and if Buffy was keeping blood for him, it meant that he must have his soul back.

"Bloody marvellous."

He drained what remained of the blood and lay down on the bed. Somehow he knew he wasn't going to get much sleep.

* * *

It felt like only minutes since Buffy had settled down on the couch to go to sleep, but the clock on the VCR told her it was just past 3am. She lay there for a moment, wondering what had woken her when she heard a noise coming from upstairs. It sounded like something shuffling around and there was the occasional banging noise too.

Spike.

Buffy got up and hurried up the stairs, tapping lightly on her bedroom door.

"Spike?" she whispered. "Are you ok?"

No answer.

She knocked a little more loudly and when there was still no answer, she opened the door and peered in.

The room appeared to be undisturbed and it took a moment for Buffy to realize what was wrong. The bed was empty and the window was open.

Spike was gone.

* * *

It took him only a few minutes to reach his car, still parked on top of the flattened welcome sign. He climbed in and opened a fresh bottle of whisky, taking a healthy swig before starting the engine. He had an old friend to visit.

* * *

Buffy quickly pulled on some clothes and climbed out of the window after scribbling a quick note for her mom, explaining that she was looking for Spike. She didn't know why she was so worried about him, he was more than capable of taking care of himself, but she'd just feel happier if she knew where he was. More than likely he'd be off getting drunk somewhere, so she decided to try Willie's first.

* * *

"Bastard." Spike muttered to himself, taking another swig from the now half empty bottle. He peered through the boarded up window of the mansion again. Inside Angel was reading quietly, oblivious to the seething hatred that was coming from outside.

Spike took another drink from his bottle, draining the last of its contents. "You think you can just take whatever girl suits you and not care who you destroy in the process? Maybe I'll see how you like it. Maybe I'll take your sweet, precious Buffy away and see what kind of a mess that leaves you in."

He sighed, knowing that there was no way his plan would work. As kind as she had been, it was obvious that she had eyes for no one but Angel. Even the Spike sex appeal wouldn't be enough to win her over. He'd just have to find some other way to make Angel suffer.

As Angel got up and headed into the back of the mansion, Spike began to sway. Everything was spinning and he couldn't make it stop. The empty bottle fell from his now loose fingers and smashed on the floor. He turned to leave, deciding to return when he was sober so he could fully enjoy making Angel suffer.

"I'm still the big bad." he slurred, tripping over a plant bed as he tried to leave. He was unconscious before his body even hit the ground.

* * *

Buffy nibbled her lip nervously as she left yet another demon bar. She'd had no luck finding Spike and the demons and vampires she had pummelled hadn't seen him either. The sky was turning into a light pink hue and she knew that there was only about half an hour until sunrise. Once the sun was up she knew she'd have to stop looking, either Spike would have found somewhere to hide or…she didn't want to think about the other option.

She sighed, knowing that she was rapidly running out of places to search. She'd tried all the bars in town, demon and otherwise. She had no idea where else he might have gone. She passed Willie's again and stopped. She needed to pick up some blood for Angel since Spike had drank the last bag.

She froze.

Angel. Why hadn't she thought of it before? Of course Spike was going to go to Angel's. Not only was it his former home, but it also housed the person hated more than anyone else. They were probably beating the crap out of each other right now.

She began to run.

* * *

By the time she reached the mansion, the sun was already up and she just prayed that Angel and Spike were both inside, even if they were fighting. As she reached the steps that led down to the main door, she stopped. Spike was lying face down in a plant bed, still in the shadows of the building, but the sun was less than an inch away from him.

"Spike! Get up!" she screamed as she ran down the narrow steps, trying not to fall in the process. She was too late. As she reached the bottom, Spike's hand, which was extended away from his body, began to smoke and then suddenly burst into flames.

The pain was enough to wake Spike and he jumped to his feet with a scream and looked frantically around for something to extinguish the flames with.

Thinking quickly, Buffy grabbed hold of his arm, dragged him over to the small fountain and dunked his hand in the pool at the bottom. As the flames extinguished in a burst of steam, Spike began to scream in fresh pain. They were now standing in direct sunlight and his whole body was starting to smoulder. As quickly as she could, Buffy dragged him though the door and closed it behind her.

Spike leaned against the wall, cradling his hand to his chest and closing his eyes. He sighed. That had been close.

"What are you doing here?"

Spike pried open his weary eyes to see Buffy standing in front of him, her hands on her hips.

"Just thought I'd take a little walk." he replied, closing his eyes again. The next thing he knew, Buffy had grabbed hold of his shoulders.

"I didn't help you last night so that you could run off and kiss the sunrise," she yelled. "Do you really think killing yourself is going to bring her back?"

"No!" Spike yelled back, ignoring his now throbbing head. "I don't. But it'll get rid of the pain and that's enough for me."

"Buffy? What's going on?"

Both of them turned at the sound of the sleep-filled voice. Neither of them had heard Angel pad silently into the room. Buffy moved towards him.

"Angel, I'm sorry. We didn't mean to wake you."

"Speak for yourself." Spike muttered under his breath.

Angel's eyes were locked on Spike, not sure if he was imagining him or not. "What's he doing here?"

Buffy sighed. "It's a long story, but he's stuck here until sunset so we may as well make ourselves comfortable."

Angel raised an eyebrow "We?"

"Do you really think I'm going to leave you two alone together for a whole day? I can feel the hatred from here."

Angel glared at Spike but didn't argue. Instead he walked over and flopped down into his armchair. Buffy walked back over to Spike who was still clutching his wounded hand. He looked terrible; like he was about to collapse from pain and exhaustion at any moment. She laid a hand on his arm, regretting her harsh words. Yelling at him certainly wasn't going to make him feel any better.

"Why don't you come and lie down?" she said gently. "I'll get some bandages for your hand."

Too tired to argue with her, he merely nodded and allowed her to lead him over to the couch. Once he was lying down and reasonably comfortable, Buffy walked over to Angel.

"Have you got any first-aid stuff? Spike got a bit burned this morning."

Angel frowned but nodded, rising to his feet and motioning for Buffy to follow him. They made their way through the back of the mansion until they were in one of the many large bathrooms. Angel reached into a cupboard and pulled out a large first-aid kit, which he handed to Buffy.

"This may seem like a stupid question, but why exactly are you helping Spike? I thought he was our enemy."

"He is…was…Drusilla left him and he needs someone. Just like I did when you were gone."

Angel nodded, understanding but not liking it. All he could hope for was that Spike would soon get tired of being coddled and leave.

The two of them made their way back into the main room where Spike was still lying on the couch, just as they'd left him. Angel sat back down in his chair and closed his eyes. He'd only been asleep for a couple of hours when Buffy and Spike's yelling had woken him. He knew he should just go back to bed but somehow he couldn't allow himself to leave Buffy and Spike alone together.

Buffy crouched down beside Spike. He wasn't asleep, as she had first thought. His eyes were open and he was staring up at the ceiling. His injured hand lay across his stomach and she gently lifted it to inspect the damage. Spike barely flinched.

It was bad. The entire surface of his hand was covered in large welting blisters and the skin was already starting to peel. Around the edge of the wounds, the flesh was charred and black. She placed his hand back on his stomach and opened the first aid kit, pulling out some disinfectant, gauze and bandages. She soaked the gauze and lifted Spike's hand again.

"This is going to hurt." she whispered apologetically.

Spike said nothing, but closed his eyes, bracing himself.

As the cloth made contact with the wounded flesh, he flinched and his eyes squeezed shut. Buffy winced in sympathy and cleaned him up as fast as she could without hurting him more. Finally she carefully bandaged his hand and placed it back on his stomach.

"All done." she said quietly whilst packing everything back into the first-aid kit. Spike's eyes opened but he said nothing. As Buffy stood up, she noticed Angel was watching her. There was a look in his eyes, which she couldn't read. Was it disappointment? She took the first-aid kit back to the bathroom and returned a few minutes later with blankets. She handed one to Angel and draped the other over Spike.

Seating arrangements proved to be a problem. Angel was in the only chair and Spike was laying full length across the couch. Reluctant to move him too much, she got him to lift his head and she sat down on the end of the couch, letting him use her lap as a pillow.

"So how long have you two been back together?" Spike mumbled. "Was it right after we left? Or did you wait a few days so that Peaches could get Dru out of his system?"

A stunned silence fell over them for a moment before Buffy answered.

"We're not back together," she said softly, the pain in her voice evident. "We're just friends."

There was a silence from Spike for a moment. Then a snort. "Friends? Please! You two are no more friends than Dru and I will ever be."

"We're different." Angel snapped.

Spike laughed, a low rumbling chuckle. "Mark my words, you two will have shagged and be trying to kill each other by the end of the year. You can tell yourselves you're friends as much as you like, but at the end of the day you two are slaves to love just as much as I am."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room as Spike remembered the words Drusilla had used, and Buffy and Angel took in what he had just said to them

Minutes passed, and Buffy felt Spike become still; he had fallen asleep. Glancing over at Angel, she saw him looking intently at her, his gaze burning into her. She swallowed, having hoped that she might have been able to avoid this issue.

"Spike's right," she whispered, not wanting to wake the vampire who was resting on her lap. Angel's face didn't change and he said nothing so she continued. "We're not friends, and I don't think that's something we'll ever be."

Angel nodded. Ever since he'd come back he'd known he still loved Buffy, but had avoided mentioning it because she didn't seem to want to talk about it. "What do we do now?"

Buffy sighed. "You know as well as I do that we can't be together. One thing will lead to another until you end up losing your soul and one of us kills the other."

"That will never happen," he replied with a shake of his head. "Now that we know about the curse we can just make sure we're careful."

Buffy sighed, she had hoped it wouldn't come to this but Angel was refusing to listen to reason. She took a deep breath, knowing that what she was about to say would probably destroy anything that they had left.

"I don't love you."

A look of pain flooded across his features, quickly followed by one of disbelief.

"No, you're only saying that to make it easier."

"You think this is easy?" Buffy asked incredulously. "This is the hardest thing I've had to do since…"

She trailed off as she remembered the worst moment of her life, when she had been forced to send Angel to hell to save the world. She lowered her eyes and began to unconsciously run her fingers through Spike's hair, needing to do something to take the focus off what was going on.

As Angel observed Buffy tenderly stroking Spike's head, he felt rage boiling throughout his whole body. This was all Spike's fault. Obviously he'd been poisoning Buffy's mind, convincing her she didn't need him. And now she was treating him with a tenderness that she barely showed him anymore.

He barely felt his vampiric features slide into place. The next thing he was aware of was that he was on his feet and marching over to the couch.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked, a slight look of fear in her eyes.

"Getting rid of the problem." he growled. And with that, his hand gripped Spike's bandaged one and he hauled the younger vampire to his feet.

The pain shooting through Spike's hand woke him and he was stunned to find Angel dragging him towards the main door of the mansion. He tried to pull back but that only made the pain worse.

"What the hell is going on?" he yelled, trying to break free of Angel's vice-like grip.

"Stop."

Angel looked up to see Buffy blocking his path, her arms folded across her chest.

"Get out of my way, Slayer."

Angel was amazed at the coldness in his own voice, but all he cared about now was getting rid of Spike.

"Let him go," Buffy said calmly. "This isn't about him and you know it."

Angel growled softly. "Things were alright until he arrived. Once he's gone we can get back to normal."

"Angel, things are never going to be normal between us. Killing Spike certainly isn't going to change that."

Angel glanced at Spike and then back at Buffy.

"No, but it will make me feel a hell of a lot better."

He took another step forward but was cut short when Buffy's fist connected with his jaw. Reacting almost instantly, he let go of Spike and hit her back, the force of the blow almost knocking her down.

She rose, her eyes filled with a hurt he had never seen before. Instantly he regretted what he had done and he reached out for her.

"Buffy, I'm sorry."

She flinched away from him.

"Don't touch me," she hissed. "Don't come near me. As soon as the sun sets, we're leaving, and you won't be seeing me again. Don't try to come after me and stay away from my friends and my family. We're through."

Seeing he was about to argue some more, she turned her back to him, letting him know the conversation was over. A few minutes of silence passed and finally she heard the door to his bedroom slam shut. It was then that she allowed the tears to flow.

Spike stared in disbelief at the scene that was unfolding before him. He was torn between relishing the fact that Angel was finally being made to suffer and regretting the fact that Buffy was suffering as well, especially after all she had done for him. As Angel stormed into his bedroom, Spike noticed that Buffy's shoulder's were shaking. She was crying.

Tentatively, he reached out and laid his injured hand on her arm. She turned and buried her face in his chest, continuing to sob as he gently stroked her hair.

He didn't tell her everything would be all right, because he knew it wouldn't be. All he did was hold her and let her know that he was there for her, just as she had been for him the day before.

Finally her sobs trailed off and she looked up to see him gazing gently down at her.

"Are you alright?" she sniffled, taking his bandaged hand in hers. He nodded, having more or less forgotten about it while he'd been holding her in his arms.

She smiled and together they walked back over to the couch and sat down.

"I can't believe that just happened," she said, wiping away her tears. "All this time I blamed the terrible things he did on his lack of a soul. But he was quite willing to kill you today, just because he didn't like what you had to say."

"A soul doesn't stop someone from being bad," Spike said softly. "It gives them the ability to know the difference between right and wrong, but the choice is still there to be made."

Buffy nodded, never having really thought about it like that before.

"There's still a few hours before sunset," she finally said. "Maybe you should get some more sleep."

"What about you?" he asked, observing the shadows under her eyes. "You look like you could do with a nap yourself."

Before she could argue he lay down on his side and pulled her down so that she was lying spooned next to him, his arm wrapped around her waist. She didn't want to admit it, but it felt kind of nice.

"Sweet dreams." he whispered in her ear and she drifted off soon after that.

* * *

When Buffy awoke, she was immediately aware of the fact that she was alone on the couch and she quickly sat up. There were two notes on the table, one of them unmistakably in Angel's hand. She read that one first.

Although she felt a small pang in her heart upon reading his words, she knew that this was for the best. She turned her attention to the second note.

As she read over the note, she became aware that tears were running down her cheeks, not for Angel but for Spike. True, he'd only been here a day, but she was already getting used to having him around. Deep down she'd known he wasn't going to stay, but she hadn't expected him to leave quite this soon.

With a heavy heart she made her way out of the mansion and slowly climbed the steps. When she reached the top she stopped. Spike's car was still parked there and leaning against it was the vampire himself, cigarette hanging from his lips and a thin wisp of smoke curling into the night sky.

"I thought you were leaving." she said as nonchalantly as possible.

He shrugged. "I'm working up to it."

Buffy took a few steps forward so that she was just a few inches away from him.

"You don't have to leave." she whispered softly.

He removed his cigarette and crushed it under the heel of his boot.

"I suppose you're going to give me a reason to stay."

With a nod she leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. It was a chaste kiss, but one that showed it could be something more, given time.

As they parted, Spike looked thoughtful

"I dunno, luv. I'll have to think about it."

Buffy watched him as he paused, seemingly giving a lot of thought to his choices. Time seemed to slow down as disappointment clutched her heart. He looked down at her after a couple seconds and grinned.

"'Course I'll stay."