A Penny For Your Thoughts

by Trish

With a permanent smile plastered to his face, Spike got up from his chair and

shouted out, "Yes! Touchdown!" When he heard the Slayer thumping on the

wall for him to shut up, he sat back down and invented the vampiric sitting

down snoopy dance. Then he realized that he hadn't even said yes to Anne

yet, so he started typing furiously.

DeadSexy127: Friday night sounds great. <vbg>

DeadSexy127: Do you want me to pick you up?

OneOfAKind: I don't want you to have to go through 20 questions from

everyone in my house, so how about if we just meet somewhere?

DeadSexy127: Alright, sounds great. How 'bout the Bronze? They have some

great food there, you know.

OneOfAKind: yeah, I go there a lot I tried their blooming onion for the

first time a couple days ago. very yummy :)

DeadSexy127: The blooming onion, huh?

DeadSexy127: I think I'm in love!

DeadSexy127: lol That's my favorite

OneOfAKind: lmao

OneOfAKind: so, wanna meet at 9? at the bar?

DeadSexy127: That sounds good.

DeadSexy127: But I have to be going for now. Duty calls... :(

OneOfAKind: yeah, I should be going too.

OneOfAKind: so, I'll talk to ya later, and I can't wait til Friday!

DeadSexy127: I'm counting down the hours. <g>

OneOfAKind: so, talk to you later and bye for now!

DeadSexy127: Okay. Bye Anne! :)

When Spike signed off, he was still in a state of pure happiness. He sat

there and tried to think of something to do while he waited for Buffy, but he

couldn't bare to sit still. Jumping to his feet, he knocked on her door and

waited for her to let him in. When she opened the door, he noticed that her

smile was almost as big as his, so he decided to make the most of it. He

pulled her into his arms and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. When he

pulled back, she was still standing there completely confused, and for the

first time ever, she was speechless. Upon seeing her face, he let out a

jolly laugh, and took off down the hall doing a one person tango.

He practically skipped through the kitchen as he put a cup of blood in the

microwave for his dinner. Looking around, he decided to make Buffy's life a

little easier and started pulling out random things to cook for her and Dawn.

It had been many years since he had cooked anything, but he was in such a

good mood that he had full confidence in himself, and in his cooking

abilities.

The newly domestic vampire pulled out two pots and got started. *This is

pretty easy. Nothin' to it. I should be a bloody chef!* Whistling a merry

tune, he started setting the table as dinner finished cooking. A few minutes

later, he yelled up the stairs, "Slayer, Nibblet! Dinner's ready!"

The second that the two girls realized that Spike had been using any type of

kitchen appliances, they both ran down the stairs as fast as their legs could

carry them. When they didn't see smoke or flames, they relaxed a bit, but

were still a bit concerned over seeing Spike in an apron. Buffy's eyes lit

up when she saw that the covered plates of food on the table, and she gave

him a thankful grin. The two of them held eye contact for a moment, and

their silence spoke a million words. Dawn looked back and forth between the

oblivious pair, and smiled at how obvious it was that they had feelings for

each other. She cleared her throat to catch their attention, and asked, "So,

Spike. What are we having?"

A proud smile covered his face as he looked back and forth between the

sisters. "Well, it's been a while since I last cooked, but I figured it all

out with no problem. So, sit down, enjoy it, and savor the taste, because

it's gonna be good."

Spike walked around the table and pulled out their chairs for them before he

took off the lid to his creation. Once Buffy saw what he worked so hard for,

her smile widened. "Spike, it looks delicious." Dawn stared at the plates

for a moment, and then she mirrored Buffy's smile. "Looks great! Let's eat!"

Buffy could swear that Spike had tears of happiness in his eyes when he saw

the smiles aimed at his cooking. He picked up the bowl of macaroni and

cheese and scooped some into their dishes, followed two hot dogs for each of

them. His choice of dinner was probably the most simple thing to make, but

she wasn't about to burst his bubble. The thought content behind it made it

better than a gourmet meal in her eyes, anyway.

After they finished eating, Buffy and Spike left to go patrol. In the few

days that he had been staying with her, their relationship had changed, but

neither was willing to admit it. As far as they were concerned, it was a lot

easier to pretend to hate each other than to face their true feelings. That,

and they both had upcoming dates.

From Spike's point of view, no matter how much he wished he could be with

Buffy, it could never work. Anne had a lot more in common with him, so it

just made sense that he should give her a chance instead of having a short

relationship with the Slayer. Too bad he couldn't have both.

The vampire looked over at who should have been his enemy and said, "A penny

for your thoughts." She turned to him and held out her hand, silently

requesting the penny. Smiling at what a pain in his ass she was, he reached

into his pocket and handed her a worn out penny. Their hands briefly brushed

against each other as she took the penny from him and she took a deep breath.

Twiddling the coin between her fingers, she began to speak. "I was just

thinking about how weird life is. You're born, you laugh, you cry, you

smile, and then you die. And if you're lucky you find someone to share the

laughter and tears with you. If you're not lucky, you either don't have

anyone or you have too many people. Isn't it weird the way that works out?"

Spike gave her a thoughtful look. "I know exactly what you mean, luv. And

if you're really lucky, you can have a sexy vampire sidekick who would do

anything to make you miserable but would kill anyone who even touched you.

Ain't life grand?"

Buffy smiled over at him and lightly punched him in the arm. "And if you're

really lucky, I won't kick your sexy ass back to England. C'mon. Let's go

now. There's no vamps out tonight. No threatening ones anyway."

He went to respond, but settled for sticking his tongue out at her as they

walked back to her place. She gave him a devious grin and said, "Put your

tongue back in you mouth unless you're gonna use it." His jaw almost dropped

to the ground after hearing her words. "Well, Slayer. It looks like you do

have some stones. I bet you wouldn't be saying that if we were back at your

house with pint size all tucked away in her bed though."

Buffy stopped dead in her tracks and spun around to face Spike. "Is that a

challenge or an invitation?" He took a step closer to her so there noses

were almost touching. "I would never ask you for something you didn't want,

pet. So take it whichever way you want." Staring deep into his eyes,

Buffy's heartbeat grew quicker by the second. "And I would never take

anything that you didn't want to give." His trembling hand reached up to

brush a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well then, where does that leave

us?"

Neither of them broke the intense gaze as they tried to decide what to do.

Buffy's tongue darted out to lick her lip, and she made her decision.

"Spike, I need you to know that- WATCH OUT!" He jumped back from the Slayer

and whipped his head around just in time to avoid having it beat in with a

railroad spike. When he saw his signature weapon being held by a younger

look alike vampire, he wasn't sure whether he should laugh or beat him.

Spike jumped up and kicked the intruding vampire in the jaw, sending him to

the ground. He angrily grabbed the offending weapon and yelled in the

vampire's face, "Who the bloody hell are you?!" The younger one laughed and

shifted into vamp mode. "I am Spike, William the Bloody, and a vampire! You

will cower in fear at my dominance in species, you insolent fool!"

The real Spike looked at him in confusion and turned to the Slayer for help.

Buffy started to laugh. "You've got groupies!" He rolled his eyes and

turned back to his impersonator. "Bloody pillock! I'm Spike! And you were

holding that thing all wrong. Here, you do it like this." He held the spike

up almost like a baseball bat and asked the impersonator if he understood.

When he nodded his reply, Spike smiled and sent the weapon through his heart

and walked back towards Buffy through the ashes.

When he reached her, she was looking back and forth between him and the

ground. As amusing as it was to see a Spike impersonator, seeing the real

Spike holding his signature weapon made Buffy once again remember his true

nature. A large part of her told her that he was different from other

vampires, but there was a lot that she had to think about. The look in her

eyes told Spike everything he needed to know, but he understood completely.

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and they made the rest of their walk

home in a contemplative silence.

Once they walked through the door, they both made their way into their rooms

without saying a word. The low hum of two computers booting up was the only

sound in the house, but neither noticed. Their own thoughts were much louder

than the light buzzing sound. Spike was the first one to have Internet

access granted to him, so a moment later when he saw Anne sign on, he im'ed

her.

DeadSexy127: Hi Anne :)

DeadSexy127: How are you?

OneOfAKind: It's been a long night. how are you doing?

DeadSexy127: I've been better.

OneOfAKind: It can't be that bad, right?

DeadSexy127: Well I'd rather have syphilis than go through a night like this

again.

OneOfAKind: thanks for the imagery <g>

OneOfAKind: I'm sorry that you're having a bad night. :(

DeadSexy127: Don't be. It's not your fault.

OneOfAKind: it still sucks though

DeadSexy127: Well, on the plus side, it's a few hours closer to Friday. :)

OneOfAKind: yup :-D

OneOfAKind: only four more days now.

DeadSexy127: yup, I can't wait :-D

OneOfAKind: same here

DeadSexy127: brb in one second

OneOfAKind: yup

Spike jumped a mile when he heard a knock on his door. He looked up at his

clock and saw that it was a little after midnight. Hoping that it was Buffy

at the door, Spike quickly stripped down to his boxers to hopefully sway the

direction their conversation was going to go in. The knocking grew a bit

louder, and he quickly minimized the IM screen so that nobody could find out

Anne's screen name and harass her with the truth about him.

With a cocky grin, Spike opened the door, but it was only to find Dawn there

staring at his heavenly body in admiration. "Oh, Nibblet. Sorry. Want me

to throw a shirt on?" She shook her head and stepped into his room. "Spike,

I just wanted to thank you for dinner. I'm really glad that you're staying

with us right now. It's fun having you around, and Buffy's a lot happier

with you here too. She may not show it, but I can see it."

She stepped further into the room and sat down in the chair by his computer.

"So, I just wanted to let you know that. Great screen name, by the way. A

little obvious if you live in Sunnydale, but cute. So, I'm glad you're here

and I hope you stay for a long time. I have to go try to borrow a sweater

from Buffy now to wear to school. So, goodnight!"

Leaving Spike mystified, Dawn walked out of the room. He shook his head in

confusion and sat back down at his computer. *Well that was odd. And my

DeadSexy127: Sorry, Anne! I'm back now.

OneOfAKind: it's alright. :)

OneOfAKind: so, what are you doing?

DeadSexy127: Oh, nothing exciting. How about you?

OneOfAKind: Just looking forward to Friday. :)

OneOfAKind: but I do have to be going soon. So, will you be on tomorrow?

DeadSexy127: Yup! Of course :)

OneOfAKind: Alright, Will. so I'll talk to you then, k?

DeadSexy127: okay.

OneOfAKind: Goodnight! Don't miss me too much. <g>

DeadSexy127: I can't promise that. lol

DeadSexy127: A thousand times goodnight, Anne.

With a dreamy look on his face once again, Spike signed off and crawled into

his bed. He could hear the nibblet in Buffy's room with her, but he couldn't

make out what they were saying through the sound of Buffy's stereo. *I can't

bloody hell is that all about?* With a shrug, he rolled on his side and let

his thoughts overcome him. It would still be quite a while before he would

sleep, but at least he could be sure everyone was safe if he stayed up.

Though he couldn't hear it, in the next room, Dawn was prodding her sister

for information on Spike. To her disappointment, Buffy denied everything.

With a pout, Dawn sat on her bed and watched her fiddle with her computer

preferences before she shut down. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head

when she saw who Buffy had been planning to meet. She opened her mouth to

warn her, and then thought better of it. Buffy was a big girl and she could

take care of herself. No need for her to interfere!

The Slayer gave her younger sister a stern look and pointed to the door.

Dawn gave her a cheerful grin as she walked out with the borrowed sweater.

When Buffy sat on her bed, she reached underneath and pulled out a box of

things that meant more to her than anything. She smiled as she looked at the

items and thought of how far she had come. Then she turned off her stereo,

and there was nothing but silence.

In the next room, Spike lay quietly and listened to Buffy rummage through her

box. Though he couldn't see her, now that there was no sound in the house at

all, he could hear every movement. The last thing he heard was the sound of

a penny being flipped and a box being pushed back under the bed. A smile

spread over his face, and he softly finished singing the song that she had

shut off. "Oh can't you see it baby? You don't have to close your eyes' cos

it's standing right before you. All that you need will surely come." He

heard a soft thump on the other side of the wall and his smile grew. He

returned the thump, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a soft

knock on his door a moment later. That time it was definitely Buffy.

TBC tomorrow night :)