Adult-FanFiction.org : Buffy

Full of Grace	By : agalaxyinblueeyes Category: -Buffy the Vampire Slayer > Het - Male/Female > Buffy/Spike(William) > Buffy/Spike(William) Views: 4833 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
He
had brought her home safe and sound, thankfully without running into her mother
at any point during the night. It was bad enough that Spike was a vampire and a
century older than Buffy -- not that Joyce knew that -- but Spike
obviously appeared older than Buffy in looks alone. Granted, not old enough to
tip Joyce off to anything odd, not like Angel had, but enough that Buffy's worrying mother would worry even more.
Spike
didn't feel that he was up to a Spanish Inquisition regarding his intentions for
the Slayer. Especially since his intentions involved quite a few deeds of the
dastardly naughty variety. Somehow, he didn't think that the woman who had
thought nothing of smacking him upside the head with an axe would appreciate
those thoughts.
He
hadn't gone inside 1630 Revello Drive, but had waited for Buffy to climb the tree outside
of her bedroom window before hauling himself up after her and perching on the
windowsill. And despite her playful attempt to shove him off, he had managed to keep his
balance. Spike had then snatched a hold of her and pressed a searing, promising
kiss to her no-longer-protesting lips, before wiggling his eyebrows at her and
jumping off the roof to land cat-like on the grass below. He'd been gone long before
she had come out of her daze.
Sigh.
And now, here he was. Back at "home," to a mansion that was riddled
with nothing but hurt, anger, and betrayal. A place where he should've been
loved beyond all mortal comprehension was instead the place where both of his
Sires had forsaken him.
He
was more alone here than he ever had been in his entire existence.
And
he missed Buffy.
His
eyes closed miserably as he settled himself back into the metal deathtrap. He
couldn't wait until the last time he would ever see this stupid bloody chair
again. No more taunting and snideness from the asshole who'd been passed out
like a pussy while Spike himself had gotten his spine crushed.
And
as if on cue, his door burst open. Spike looked disinterestedly over his
shoulder at the furious countenance of his grandsire, then sighed and looked
away again.
"Somethin'
you want, Peaches?" he asked dully, wheeling the chair away from his
blacked out window to his bed. He looked up at Angelus, resigned to the
inevitable cruelty.
Angelus
snarled and grabbed the front of Spike's shirt, startling the younger vampire so
much that he nearly fell out of the chair. "Have you been out anywhere,
boy? Anywhere you shouldn't have been?"
Once
he realized that Angelus was doing nothing more than attempting to be scary, Spike
growled and shoved his Sire away, then looked down at his chair pointedly.
"An' where'm I gonna go, you great nonce? The skatin' rink?" Oh,
yeah, Spike, that's it -- give Angelus MORE reasons to mock you! Stupid git...
the sarcastic voice in his head groaned. Spike ignored it.
"Why
don't you tell me, Spikey. You obviously smell like you've
been outdoors, and I just wonder how that can be, since you've been a
pathetic, free-wheeling gimp for the last three months." He grabbed for
Spike again, this time capturing him by the neck and squeezing. "Care to
tell me how it's possible, mate?"
Spike
lunged for Angelus' free hand, sinking his fangs in viciously. Angelus gave a
great yelp and jerked both hands away, before roaring and backhanding Spike
across the face. Spike's head jerked with the force of the blow, and he pushed himself away, growling a soft warning at Angelus
not to come near him unless he wanted Spike to take off his entire hand. "I
live on the first floor, you incredible dolt. The chair can be moved
outside by
doing this bloody amazin' thing -- see, first, you grab the door handle. Then,
you twist it and pull it open. Remarkable, innit? It's so damn easy to just OPEN
THE FUCKIN' DOOR!"

There
was a beat. Spike was glaring at Angelus so hatefully that it nearly jarred him
when -- it wasn't possible. His eyes had to be deceiving him -- Angelus actually
looked sheepish.

Whatever.
Spike was just glad that Angelus couldn't smell Buffy on him. Thank the Powers
for running water and shower nozzles.

"Oh.
Er. Right." Angelus frowned at himself, then rolled his eyes. "Anyway.
Dru's had a vision. I need to know what you make of it. Not that I actually care
what you think, but Drusilla insists." The darker vampire turned to the
open doorway. "Dru, baby?"

A
long curtain of black hair swung into view almost instantly, and a pair of
bright brown eyes peered in at the both of them. Spike's body automatically
tensed at the presence of his former lover. Unfortunately, Angelus noticed this
and played on it. He sauntered over to the vampiress, placing his hands on her
shoulders and squeezing before sliding his hands down her arms to her breasts,
cupping them lightly.

"Yes,
my Angel?" Dru's lilting voice purred, looking up at her Sire in sublime
adoration.

Angelus
glanced back at his blonde grandChilde for a moment to make sure he was watching
before focusing on Drusilla once more. "Our dear boy Willy here needs to
hear the nitty-gritty about your vision.... just like you wanted."
Abruptly, he grabbed her by the neck and bodily threw her at her Childe.
"So tell him. Show him. Like you did me."

If
he had been a weaker man, nothing would have stopped him from filleting Angelus
on the spot for his rough treatment of someone as delicate as Drusilla. As it
was, he had to gather every bit of willpower he had in him to keep himself from
launching a barrage at Angelus and beating him into the ground until not even
the pulp remained. Spike settled for a deadly glare. Besides...

It
wasn't as if Dru didn't enjoy it.

Harder
still was keeping every muscle in him schooled to not jerk back from her when
she approached and knelt before him, peering stoically into his eyes.

Angelus
folded his arms and watched critically as his Childe placed her hands on either
side of Spike's head. The blonde's eyes met hers, then shut instantly -- but
there was still movement beneath the closed lids. Angelus knew that the blonde
was analyzing whatever information Dru was sending to him.

Angelus
still wasn't quite sure when Dru had figured out that mind meld trick, but it
made it a hell of a lot easier than trying to decipher her stupid riddles.

A
bright flash appeared and Angelus blinked. Funny, he didn't remember that
happening when Dru had told him about the vision earlier. He grinned
maliciously. Maybe it was meant to give Spike brain damage. THAT would be fun.

Spike's
eyes opened slowly, a concerned crease in his brow. His eyes suddenly shot wide
open as Drusilla's information processed and he turned to the broody one.

"Acathla?"
he spat, disdain for the name clear in each syllable. "What the bloody hell
is that?"

Angelus
sighed. Nope. No brain damage. Damn the luck. He smirked and clapped Spike on
the back. "Acathla, my boy, is going to be our salvation." He held out
an arm to Drusilla, who peered cautiously at Spike through bright eyes before
drifting over to her Sire and pressing her lithe body against his -- just the
way he liked. Angelus jerked her tightly against him, as if there was still room
between them to begin with, then glared down at Spike as if daring him to
protest.

Spike
scowled. Stupid bastard.

"Acathla
will bring the world to its knees. And those who are worthy will be there to
rule. "His gaze drifted pointedly to Drusilla, who nuzzled against his
chest, purring. "Namely... us."

Namely,
not me, Spike thought, rolling his eyes as two glowing sets of yellow
demon eyes turned to look at him. Okay. That's fine. Just means that Buffy
an' I get to stop 'em.

Drusilla
cooed as she returned to her human visage, her dark eyes flashing in an instant
from demonic yellow, to sultry brown. "He will free us all, my knight
will."

Angelus
gave a low, approving growl. "That's right, Dru." He shot a look at
Spike and gave an evil smile before looking at the raven-haired beauty again.
"Now come with me, Childe. I feel the need to relieve some...
tension."

As
he turned to leave the room, Angelus was hard pressed not to laugh out loud when
he heard Spike snort and say, "Of course you do. Like always."

The
blonde scowled as he watched the big behemoth's retreating back. Oh, he was
sworn to letting Buffy have full rights to killing him, but not before Spike
gutted him first.

Painfully.

Maybe
with a crowbar.

He
was so indulged in his visions of Angelus in misery that he very nearly did not
notice Drusilla stopping in front of him on her way out the door. When he did
sense her presence, he looked up and met her sad brown eyes in confusion.

She
kneeled before him again, her hand cupping his cheek. "I'm sorry, my
Spike," she said softly. She paused, then looked down at her skirt.
"It is how we were made to be -- how I was meant to be."

His
eyes glanced over her for a single moment before he lowered his gaze and turned
his head away from her -- and what killed him the most was that he knew she was
being completely sincere. This was one of the few times that Drusilla's lucidity
had taken control.

Her
lower lip quivered noticeably, and she only glanced back once as she stood up
and left the room.

Spike
sat still in the wheelchair for nearly ten minutes after she left, running her
parting words around his mind.

It
was her attempt at an apology. It was her attempt to explain herself and her
actions. But the truth was that there was no excuse for Drusilla's
actions. Her words rang true. Angelus had tortured and molded her into a frail,
evil, clinically psychotic child of a woman that was utterly dependent on a
sociopath.

Also,
she was a bitch.

He
sighed and bowed his head, bringing his hands up to rub at his eyes. Then,
deciding not to chance what little luck he still had left on his side, he
remained in his wheelchair and wheeled out of his room, closing his door solidly
behind him. The resulting bang felt oddly morose, and yet still refreshing.

Like
he was closing the chapter on that life.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
He
drew a deep breath, pushing the door open.
This
is it, he thought. He was finally going to get a glimpse of the
mysterious obelisk that he and the children had all been wondering frantically
about.
Well,
maybe it was just him. Whatever.
He
turned down the hall on his left, then opened the door to the research lab of
the Sunnydale Museum of Natural History. Looking around as he entered, he
spotted the huge stone block immediately, along with a young woman cleaning it
and the older man hovering over her. The man glanced up when Giles cleared his
throat, approaching.
"Er,
hello?" Giles asked, anxiously tugging on his tie.
The
man closed the distance, his head slightly tilted. "Rupert Giles?"
Giles
gave a small nod. "Yes..."
"Doug
Perren," the man smiled, stretching out his hand to shake Giles'. Ah.
The curator, then. "Thanks for coming."
Giles
started when he noticed that he was actually shaking in anticipation, so he
returned the smile, shook the man's hand, then ducked his head. "Oh, not at
all. It's... I'm flattered to be asked."
"I
spoke with Lou Tabor at the Washington Institute, and he told me we had the best
authority on obscure relics right here in Sunnydale," Perren mentioned.
The
Watcher looked down, chuckling. "Oh, he may have, uh, exaggerated a
little." Giles slid his eyes toward the obelisk and gave a false start of
surprise. "Ah, is this the..."
Doug
smiled proudly as the walked toward the stone. "This is our baby.
Construction workers dug it up outside of town. Don't have a clue what it is.
Any ideas?"
Giles
carefully schooled his face to remain neutral, as his hand tentatively reached
out to touch the cool stone. "... a few. None that I'd care to share until
I can verify." Even though I'm already quite certain that I won't
like it. He frowned as he spotted the etchings in the stone -- the
etchings that matched the paperwork that Mr. Perren had sent to him when he'd
originally asked Giles to come observe the rock. "You have, uh, carbon
dated it?" Giles asked, running a finger along the runes.
Perren
deadpanned. "The results'll be back in a couple of days. For now, I'll go
out on a limb and say old."
You
have NO idea, Giles thought, smirking. "Um, yes, it, it
certainly..." His hands fumbled for a jar and a scraper, "uh, predates
any, uh... settlements we've read about." Giles looked at the curator and
pointed. "Um, may, may I?"
Perren
shrugged. "Yeah, sure."
Giles
drew a deep breath and leaned forward, finding a slight groove in the stone and
scraping the rock dust away from it and into the jar. He stopped scraping when
the groove became a very obvious cut in the stone. Giles blew a stream of air
into the cut, then took a step back.
"I
assume you've, uh, you haven't tried to open it, then," he said.
Perren
frowned. "Open it?" He leaned over in front of Giles, his eyebrows
shooting up. "Ah, I'll be damned. I figured it was solid. What do you think
is in there?"
Giles
bit on his lower lip, staring at the cut. He would need to converse with Spike
about this as soon as possible. "I don't know," he murmured.
Perren
glanced over at the Briton. "Well... I guess we won't know until we open it
up."
Giles
nodded. "Yes, but could I ask, um... would you wait? I, uh... I'd like to
work on translating the text completely. It-it-it might give us an indication
of... what we'll find inside."
"You
don't want to be surprised?"
"A-As
a rule... no."
Perren
raised his eyebrows. "Alright. You're the expert. But I'm pretty damn
curious, though."
Giles
stared worriedly at the obelisk, removing his glasses as a dawning sense of
dread sank onto his shoulders. "Yes... Yes, so am I."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spike
was sprawled out in his chair, one leg over the arm. His left arm rested behind
his head; the right arm, though, had wound its way around the back of Buffy's
chair -- completely hidden from Slayerette view, of course. This wouldn't have
even merited a problem -- except that every bit of Spike's body was obviously
charged, since his body language was showing just how much he liked being
so near to Buffy right in front of her friends, and how much he was just dying
to pounce on her -- and the pouncing would most definitely not lead to eating.
Er...
of the normal, vampire kind, anyway.
To
be honest, though, Buffy's body language wasn't much better. In fact, if she was
seriously trying to hide the fact that she was holding her hand on Spike's thigh
while trying to play it off as a death grip, then she was doing a really crappy
job. To anyone on the other side of the research table, though, it looked like
she was ignoring him, while threatening punishment for anything her might say.
The
problem there was that, at the same time, her chair was so close to
Spike's that 1) it was a wonder she wasn't sitting in his lap, and 2) it was a
good thing that Spike didn't need to breath -- because by this point, Buffy
would have stolen all of his oxygen. Their eyes lingered on each other way too
much to merely be construed as wariness between enemies -- and when they caught
the other watching them, their gazes locked; they didn't turn away in
embarrassment. Instead, small, secret, flirtatious smiles graced their lips.
And
then there was the touching.
Nothing
obvious, other than the blatant Buffy-hand-on-Spike-thigh thing -- that nobody
else could see - but Buffy would grab at his arm if an idea occurred, or would
shove him if he made one of his brash comments, except that her hands lingered a
little too long for the shove to be considered justified. And Spike -- well,
he'd already been busted once (by Oz) for having an interesting grasp with his
rather friendly fingers on one of Buffy's ... er ... parts (which he had since
refrained from doing, and which, luckily for him, no one else had noticed).
However, possibly being caught didn't stop those fingers from stroking Buffy's
bare shoulder, or from caressing the flaxen strands of her hair.
If
they were playing footsie with each other under the table, Willow was, simply
put, going to freak.
As
it was, sitting so close to them, and watching them tease each other right in
plain view, Willow was close to hyperventilating from her panic. Were they...?
Was Buffy ... and Spike ...? Were they together? Was Buffy dating another
vampire?!
Okay.
Last straw. Willow had seen enough -- the urge to have an emergency meeting with
Buffy RIGHT NOW was too strong to deny.
Waiting
until she caught Buffy's eyes, then nodding pointedly between Spike and the
door, Willow widened her eyes at the Slayer to get her message across.
Buffy
then pulled off, without a doubt, the best teenage deer-caught-in-headlights
look anyone had seen in ages. Her eyes grew wide at the realization of how
friendly she was being with Spike in front of her peers, then looked at Willow
and shook her head negatively. Willow, in turn, scowled, stood up, grabbed Buffy
by the arm while giving Spike an apologetic smile (and she was STILL questioning
that move!), before hauling the little blonde Slayer out into the hallway. And
considering how strong Buffy physically was, and how strong Willow physically wasn't...
that was saying something.
Buffy
stumbled to a halt reluctantly in the hallway. "What? What, what,
what?" she said, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at Willow.
The redhead in turn folded her arms and glared right back at the Slayer.
"What's
going on?"
Buffy
blinked. "What?"
"You
heard me. What's going on?"
"Where?"
Willow's
lips thinned and she pointed a finger toward the library, jabbing it twice.
"In there!"
Buffy's
scowl deepened -- by now she was staring at Willow like the young witch had lost
her mind, though Buffy was in fact doing a rather good job at playing innocent.
"You realize that you are making no real sense to me right now, right? You
dragged me out here to Twenty-Question me? Will, I have to say -- SO not
enjoying this right now!"
Willow
closed her eyes and took a deep breath -- then almost blew Buffy away with the
rather annoyed Resolve Face that the redhead threw at her. "Let me
clarify it for you then -- what is going on with you and the semi-Spike cuddling
in there? Are you..." she swallowed, "Buffy, are you... with
him?"
Suddenly,
Buffy's eyes wouldn't meet hers, and that gave Willow all the answer she needed.
Her jaw dropped in utter horror. "Are you CRAZY? Oh my God, Buffy, why?
He's evil! Why him? Why would you do this to us again?! And I realize I'm
starting to sound like Xander, but what are you thinking?!"
Buffy's
head shot up, her eyes narrowed. "Why would I do this to you?
You, Willow?" Buffy shook her head disbelievingly. "Do you even know
how much of a leap I'm taking by just letting myself near him?"
"But
he's a vampire!"
"And
your point there would be...?"
Willow's
jaw dropped again. "He doesn't have a soul!"
Buffy
stared compassionately at her friend for a moment, before sadness took over and
she turned away, folding her arms and grasping her biceps. Staring down, she
said softly, "Will, that's just it. All that means to me is that... there's
nothing there for him to lose."
Anything
Willow might have said after that got completely stuck in her throat. Because,
honestly, what could she say after that? Yeah, the Angelus debacle had affected
them all in some way -- hell, it still was -- but how could anyone forget or
deny that it had been hardest of all on Buffy? After all, nobody like to say it,
and least of all in front of the Slayer - except maybe Xander when the Asshole
Fits overtook him - but Angel losing his soul had been Buffy's fault.
Feeling
like a complete heel, Willow looked up at Buffy, apology on her lips and
sympathy in her eyes. Buffy shook her head. "Wills, you have to
understand... Angel with a soul loved me more than anything. Angelus, without
Angel's soul, wants nothing more than to see me tortured and broken before he
kills me. But Spike doesn't even have a soul... and he's been good to me
regardless. So... what does that say about them?"
She
turned and looked into the library door's round window, a small smile on her
face. "I want you to come and take a look at this."
Willow
inched over, peeking into the window over Buffy's shoulder. And she couldn't
help the giggle that bubbled from her lips when she saw her boyfriend the
werewolf, and Spike the vampire -- two naturally warring entities, mind --
getting along. They were deep in conversation about something with each other,
which apparently terrified Xander, if the look on his face was anything to go
by.
Both
the vampire and the werewolf froze when they sensed that they were being
watched. Then, in tandem, their noses twitched as they sniffed questioningly at
the air, before their heads turned simultaneously to look toward the girls.
Willow watched in amazement as a slow, knowing smile curled Spike's lips. His
eyes were resting firmly on Buffy, despite the fact that as soon as she knew he
was going to look, she had moved away from the window -- and he gave her a
clever wink. A ditzy, goofy grin overtook Buffy's face, and she giggled softly.
And Willow suddenly saw a light in Buffy's eyes that the redhead though had
dimmed forever when the Slayer had lost Angel. It was a light that Willow was
quite familiar with; after all, she and Oz had given each other that look since
the moment they'd finally met, only between her and Oz, it was a little... less intense.
Oh.
Oh...
Wow.
Oh, wow.
Buffy
was in love with Spike.
Beside
her, Buffy shook her head in amazement, her awe distinct. "He can sense me.
He always knows just where I am ... never needs to look for me."
Willow's
brows creased as she heard Buffy's words. Her best friend was already so in tune
with her brand spankin' new vampire boyfriend that they were as attached at the
hip to each other as ... as Willow was to Oz.
The
redhead's gaze drifted between her boyfriend and Spike -- who were now tilting
their heads comically in the same direction as they resumed their conversation,
and suddenly, things clicked.
Buffy
was dating another vampire. Well so what? Willow herself was dating a werewolf.
What right did she have to ridicule Buffy on her choice? From everything she'd
seen of Spike earlier (when he thought no one was looking, at least... and when
her fright of him had finally regressed to mild curiosity), the blonde vampire
was attentive, and affectionate, and playful, which Willow hadn't thought was
possible, since the only one she'd ever had prolonged contact with before now
was Angel, and Spike was... quite obviously completely head over heels for Buffy
the Vampire Slayer.
For
God's sake. He was willing to throw in his lot with a bunch of teenage White
Hats who had barely a chance of coming out of this apocalypse alive, and he was
turning his back on the ones who were his actual family. For Buffy.
Spike
was changing himself for her benefit. And to top that, Buffy was doing the same.
She now believed that a soul was no guarantee -- it was the milk of human
kindness, their humanity, their capacity for love, their passion -- that
was what really mattered, and Spike apparently had all of that in spades.
So
if they were fully willing to turn their backs on their original beliefs -- if
they were willing to actually revolt against what their natural instincts as a
Slayer and a Vampire dictated -- for each other... well, then, where was the
bad?
Besides
-- how hypocritical would it be of her to condemn Spike for being a vampire, a
supernatural being, when Willow herself was in love with a supernatural being of
her own? How could she deny Buffy her approval for being with Spike, when Willow
could never give Oz up for anything in the world, no matter what anyone said
about him and his wolfiness?
A
reassured smile finally came to her face as her mind made an agreement with her
heart, and her body relaxed. Her desire for Buffy to be happy won out over her
worry of what others would think, and she tentatively raised her arm, setting a
hand down against one of Buffy's shoulders. The blonde, startled, looked
questioningly at her friend, then smiled back happily when Willow threw her arms
around Buffy's neck in a big hug.
"Are
we okay?" Buffy softly asked. What she was really asking was, "Can you
accept us?"
Willow's
answer to both was a resounding yes. As she moved back into the library, she
paused, and gave Buffy a wink. "He really is pretty cute," was all she
said.
Buffy
followed her back in, laughing with delight.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Things
had been relatively quiet - not quite peaceful - for the last half-hour. Buffy
was relieved that her talk with Willow had gone so well, since she had
originally dreaded the meeting in the first place. Her hand blindly reached for
Spike's under the table, and she leaned her head back against the back of her
chair, closing her eyes --
The
door banged open, and Buffy shot straight up, nearly giving herself whiplash.
Giles entered the room, a grim look on his face. Buffy cringed to herself. Uh-oh.
Not good.
She
pulled away from Spike (much to Xander's relief, she noticed in annoyance), and
went straight to her Watcher. "Giles? Did you find something?"
Giles
tugged his glasses off, rubbing the bridge of his nose as his eyes squeezed
shut. "One could say that."
Xander
spoke up, "Well could you explain what one would say?" When Giles
turned annoyed eyes to him, he squeaked out, "Please?" At the very
least, it managed to garner a few nervous chuckles from the group.
Giles
sighed, replacing his glasses. "He's going to destroy the world."
Cordelia
gave him a confused look. "Who? The museum guy?"
Spike
heaved an irritated breath. "Angelus, you idiot bint."
"Hey!"
she yelled, moving as if to protest the word, before Xander grabbed her and
jerked her back down to her seat again, shaking his head. "Don't irritate
the evil bloodsucker, Cord," he muttered. His eyes followed Spike's
movements hatefully, watching as the vampire's hand came down to rest on the
back of Buffy's chair, fingers just slightly rubbing against her shoulder.
Thankfully,
Willow brought their attention back to the matter at hand with one terrified
little squeak. "Angelus is going to destroy the world? As in, really
destroy it, not the, 'Oh, I'm evil, I'm gonna destroy the world but not
really 'cause I just really wanna make you all scared of me' type of destroying the
world?"
Giles
stared at her blankly for a moment, before just deciding to answer in the
positive. "In a manner of speaking. The obelisk I saw tonight at the
museum... the runes I've been translating for it... they indicate that there is
a demon within the stone, called Acathla. Unfortunately, I still haven't
finished the translation, and I still haven't found any books that contain all
of his infor --" a loud crack stopped Giles' continued explanation as his
mouth closed and he searched for the source of the noise.
Spike
was standing behind Buffy, holding a piece of broken wood that, apparently, he
had gripped hard enough to snap right off of Buffy's chair. Buffy, meanwhile,
looked like she was trying very hard not to laugh. And though it had never
happened before now, Giles could honestly say that he had seen William the
Bloody looking... rather sheepish. The vampire quirked a little grin and
shrugged, tossing the wood on to the table. "Sorry, mate," he offered.
Giles
scowled. "You're paying to fix that."
"In
your dreams, Watcher. Now, did I hear you right? Did you say Acathla?"
Spike asked.
The
word yes had barely even passed Giles' lips before Spike began swearing
up a storm. "Spike!" Giles barked, irritation clear on his face.
"Granted that the children don't understand what half of those words mean,
but a little decorum, please!"
Spike
snorted in disgust, leaning over the table. "Angelus and Dru are already on
the alert. They know it's here in Sunnyhell, thanks to Dru's visions an' her
bloody big mouth."
Giles
straightened. "Do they know where it is located at the moment?"
Spike
shook his head. "Don't think so. I think they just know the bugger's in
town. Then again," he added bitterly, "'S not like they tell me much
anymore anyway, is it?"
Buffy
frowned. "So... wait. You guys are completely serious? This Alfredo guy is
really bad news?"
Spike
gave her an amused grin at the name change, but shook his head. "Your
Watcher already said it, pet. If Big, Dark an' Broody gets a hold of this
bastard, it's good-bye Piccadilly, farewell Leicester bloody Square."
Buffy
stared at him in total confusion. "Um. Again? In English, this time,
please?"
Giles
snorted as Spike rolled his eyes. "Say good-bye to Starbucks, pet."
Buffy
gasped. "No more Sunnydale? No more mall?!"
Spike's
mirth suddenly disappeared. Buffy seemed to be treating this like a joke, when
it had already been said several times over that Broody was planning to destroy
the world. "Buffy, pet. It goes beyond the mall, beyond Sunnydale. If
Angelus figures out how to get Acathla, and then how to wake him up -- Sunnydale
is going to become a wasteland. Angelus will turn this whole world into a
virtual hell dimension." Spike snorted then, in bitter amusement. "And
he thinks that he and Dru are going to rule us all when it happens."
There
was absolute silence in the room. The amusement that had been gathered in
Buffy's eyes suddenly dimmed, and she looked almost sad. Willow finally broke
the quiet by summing things up. "Oh my god," she whispered. "He's
got to be stopped."
Without
really meaning to, everyone turned their heads toward Buffy. She remained quiet
for quite some time, perfectly aware that she was being stared at, but refusing
to acknowledge it. She finally gave her answer when she stood up and said,
"Then I'll just have to kill him faster."
She
started to walk away, muttered, "excuse me," as she left, and Spike
was alarmed to hear the beginning of what sounded like tears in her voice.
"Buffy,"
he murmured softly, and apparently Willow had noticed the note of the Slayer's
departure as well, because they both made for the door at the exact same time --
Willow just got farther.
"Spike,"
he heard the Watcher call, and winced. He stopped in his tracks and turned back,
jaw set defiantly.
Giles
wasn't looking anywhere near him. "I'd like to discuss something in my
office, please."
It
wasn't a request. The Watcher's voice sounded like cold steel.
Spike
glanced back at the door's once, his Slayer's harsh breathing and pitiful sobs,
and Willow's soft comforting voice reaching his ears. He sighed. Red was taking
care of his girl for now. He closed his eyes and followed Giles into the office,
thinking that there had never been a better time for stake-proof vests to be
invented than right now.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Her
body was shaking violently as it fell back against the wall. Her eyes were
focused ahead unseeingly, and she remained like that for what seemed like hours
before her legs buckled. She slid to the ground and landed with a thump,
before burying her face in her hands as she started to cry.
Everything
that Angel had meant to her was all for naught. She would have to kill the evil
being that had stolen Angel away soon, canceling his entire existence in the world.
He
had come to mean so much to her in so little time... and now, this was the end
of it.
So
she cried. Deep, wrenching, heartbreaking sobs that consumed her -- consumed her
so fully that she didn't realize that she had been found until her best friend
ran toward her, sat down, and gathered the Slayer into her pale arms. And as
usual, without saying anything at all, the redhead seemed to understand exactly
what was going on in Buffy's mind.
As
her crying tapered off, Buffy remembered fiercely that behind dual doors sat a
new future for her - a future who was entirely devoted to every aspect of her
and her alone.
It
was time she stopped living in the past -- what she could, should, would have
done to stop Angel from losing his soul. Fate worked in mysterious ways, and
fate seemed to want Buffy to be with Spike. Spike, who was her present and her
future.
She
needed to start living.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Giles
already had his glasses off and was cleaning them fiercely when Spike finally
swaggered in to the office.
Despite
the fact that the children seemed to think that he was oblivious to all but the
mission, he was anything but. He saw more than they realized. Tonight... for
instance. He had witnessed the death of his Slayer as a child, and her rebirth
as an adult, because of a decision that he knew was painful for her. And again,
he had witnessed the alarmed reaction of not only the Slayer's best friend, but
her supposed enemy as well. An enemy who had seemed more occupied with Buffy
herself than with her possible death, or a probable apocalypse.
One
thing was for certain - he was talking to Spike. Now.
Giles
set his glasses back on his face and folded his arms. "I don't believe I
have to mention, once again, exactly what I think of you, Spike."
Spike
slipped his thumbs into his front belt loops and rocked back on his heels,
snorting scathingly. "Don't think so, Rupert."
Giles
refused to look up. If he caught sight of the blonde, he might throw caution to
the wind and throw his chair at the vampire, but then he would be in the
unenviable position of trying to explain to the vampire slayer what had happened to her ally
and possible vampire... boyfriend. He took a deep breath, and started quietly.
"I've seen how you watch her. I've seen how you are around her. I saw you
try to go after her earlier before I held you back; tell me, what do you hope to
gain from this alliance between yourself and Buffy, Spike?"
The
blonde frowned. "I thought we'd already gone over this, Watcher. I get to
keep my sorry hide, and help the Slayer get revenge on the bastards that
deserted us." Spike tilted his head. "An' you get your revenge,
too."
Giles
murmured, "Yes... but that's not all. Is it?"
He
knew Spike was playing dumb. He wasn't sure if it was to protect Buffy, or to
protect himself, but sure enough, he replied, "What are you talkin' about,
Rupes?"
"I
am talking about my Slayer. I see your interest in her, and it concerns me --
greatly -- that I see the lust you have for her rather than hatred. Need I
remind you, Spike -- this girl is like my daughter." He suddenly yanked his
glasses off again and advanced on the vampire. "And since I think of myself
as the father she should have had, I swear to God, William, vampire or
no, whether it is her wish or not, I will destroy you should you ever lay a
harmful hand on her or any one of her friends!" He was inches from Spike
now, his menacing blue eyes peering into the stormy blue of Spike's.
"Understood?"
Spike
stared at him for a moment before scoffing, shaking his head. "You are a
piece of work, yeah? Wot, did you forget why I came to this godforsaken town in
the first place? I was tryin' to cure Drusilla! Killin' the Slayer was
more of a, 'It'd be nice, but I'll get to it when I can' deal, 'stead of
huntin' her down."
The
vampire began pacing. "I've had about -- what? Three, four major fights
with her since I met her? An' I have barely laid a hand on her as is. I
obviously haven't killed 'er, she obviously hasn't killed me. An' I honestly
couldn't give a rat's ass about her friends, then, or now!"
His
eyes narrowed. "Sorry, Watcher, but I believe you're takin' me for the
wrong bloke, here. Angelus is the twat that plays with his food. Me? Never have.
Prolly never will now." Spike looked down, slight embarrassment clouding
his features. "'ve got too much respect for the chit to pull that."
Giles
watched him as that statement ran through his head. Funnily enough, though the
Watcher had believed that Spike had never had respect for any authority figure
in the past, much less the Slayer now, the older (looking) man was inclined to
believe the vampire. There was something in the blonde's eyes that spoke
sincerity and truth.
And,
anyway, hadn't Giles already come to terms with his conclusion that if he pushed
Buffy away from Spike, they would only come together that much more fiercer, and
stronger, disregarding anything the Watcher had to say?
He
had made his decision ages ago.
Giles'
head sank and his shoulders drooped. Giving a soft sigh, Giles said, "I
hope I don't need to warn you what will happen to you if you hurt her --
emotionally or physically. Yes?"
Spike
nodded slowly. "I got you."
Giles
looked at the vampire, eyes narrowing. "Be good to her."
The
blonde simply smiled, giving another, almost imperceptible nod before turning
away to leave the office.
The
minute his hand touch the doorknob, Buffy pushed the library doors open,
followed closely by Willow.
He
stared at her longingly - there was no way he had seen anything so beautifully
tragic before. Even as her world came crashing down on her, she fairly glowed
with the power and determination her predecessors offered her, to be a good
person, to do the right thing - even if it hurt her.
He
waited until she looked around for him, and caught his eye, then tilted his
head, blue eyes concerned and questioning.
To
Buffy, he seemed to be asking, "How can I help?" But her breakdown had
already happened, and she'd already cried through the last vestiges of her
feelings for Angel. So she smiled and shook her head at him. Drawing a deep
breath, she nodded her head toward the table.
Spike
took that to be his invitation. He slowly walked over, being careful not to sit
too close to the Slayer, should her Watchers - the real one, and the idiot who
though he was - balk at their proximity.
Buffy
gave him another smile, this one more genuine, and her hand found its way into
his below the cover of the table, squeezing gently.
He
smiled back.
She
was going to make it. She was going to fight.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite
the fact that he had patrolled with her before, Spike still felt uncomfortable
whenever he saw that stake in her hands. He knew it was irrational, that she
wouldn't stake him - now, anyways - but he also knew that, not too long ago,
they hadn't really liked each other much and had really, really wanted to put
the kibosh on the other's life.
This
time, tonight, however, was a different matter entirely. He wasn't uncomfortable
- he was downright worried. But he was worried for Buffy.
When
they had left Slayer Central, despite Buffy's continuous reassurances that she
was okay, she had gotten quieter as the night progressed. And though he knew the
whole 'I'm a Valley blonde' act of hers was just that - an act to hide her real,
astounding intelligence - he knew, he KNEW, that a quiet, contemplative Slayer
was dangerous.
It
also made for a very sloppy Slayer.
Sure
enough, a half an hour into patrol, a fledgling had attempted to attack her. She
had beaten it down in her usual aggressive style, dishing out puns and quips
with the best of them, but when it came time to kill it, she missed the heart.
Twice.
That
alone had freaked Spike out. Buffy never missed, save for the rare
occasions when she had been fighting him.
She
had dusted the blighter on the third try, but the fact remained that her
first two attempts had failed, ergo she was obviously distracted and not in the
proper mind for slaying. But Spike allowed the thought that maybe it had been a
fluke. He didn't say anything to her.
Save
for the fact that she was walking through the cemetery with him like an
automaton, she was otherwise functioning normally.
Until
the next attack. And these boys weren't fledglings. They were stupid, to be
sure, but not newly raised.
Spike
roared in irritation when the oldest of the two attackers thought it was a good
idea to jump him from behind. The blonde vampire stepped out of the way, of
course, his senses having told him an attack was coming, but it was still
annoying that they thought they could just get the drop on him like that. Bloody
gits.
He
kept watch over Buffy out of the corner of his eye while he beat the unliving
hell out of his opponent (phrase used loosely here). Buffy was doing a fine job
of fighting the one who had come after her, so he resumed his focus on having a
good fight - he'd not had a decent one by himself in weeks.
He
was like a cat with a mouse. The other vampire would strike a blow, and would
get excited, thinking he had a shot of either winning, or escaping, but then
Spike would tug him back into a vicious brawl, as if to say, "This is what
you get for thinking you can beat me!"
He
had fun with it, really. Spike was working out a hell of a lot of frustrations
this way.
And
then he heard Buffy's cry of displeasure from twenty feet away at the Fraelich
mausoleum He knocked his opponent down once more, before pinning the git down at
the neck with his boot. And when he looked, if his heart could have stopped, it
would have.
To
his utter horror, he saw Buffy's attacker knock her down to the ground, mouth
open wide in game face to take his first bite of a Slayer. Something erupted
inside of Spike then, and he broke the neck of the vampire at his feet with the
heel of his boot before sprinting toward his lover.
"Buffy!"
he yelled, skidding to a halt and leaping on to the vampire that had dared to
try to take what was his. He placed his hands on either side of the vamp's head, and
with a savage, primal roar, he twisted so hard that the head came off and dusted
between his fingers. The rest of the vamp vanished, its ashes raining down on Buffy's
body.
Buffy's
mouth and eyes were shut tightly, her hands up in front of her in two fists -
clearly, she had still been fighting the bastard even as he made to bite her.
Spike reached down and grasped her hands, pulling her up. When her eyes were
open and she was standing up right, Spike tugged her over to a headstone with a
flat surface, sitting her down so she could gather herself. On the way, he
dusted the vamp whose neck he'd broken, before sitting down beside Buffy and
grabbing her face, tilting her head toward his.
"You
all right?" he asked softly.
Her
eyes meekly rose up to meet his, and she gave a weak, tentative nod.
He
nodded his head. "Good." He stood up, then spun around facing her,
utterly furious. "Then maybe you can tell me why the BLOODY HELL you almost
let yourself get eaten!"
Buffy's
automatic response was to jerk away from him, but she still said nothing. Spike
stared at her, hands on his hips, and breathing hard. His eyes closed and he
groaned softly, before his shoulders slumped and he put his head in his hands.
"You could've been killed tonight, luv. I asked you, I bloody begged you to
tell me what was wrong, an' you kept saying you were fine, so I let it go. But
you're not! You're NOT fuckin' fine, an' you WON'T fuckin' tell me what's wrong,
an' I almost fuckin' LOST you tonight because you're so bloody goddamned
stubborn that you won't bloody say anythin' otherwise about -"
His
mouth was suddenly full of soft blonde hair, and he looked down to see that
Buffy had flung herself into his arms. As this was a new development, it
effectively shut him up, and he tentatively put his arms around her.
Her
body was shaking as she buried her face into his chest. She mumbled something,
but even with his advanced hearing, he couldn't quite make out what she said. He
tilted his head. "Whassat, luv? Repeat it for me."
Buffy
shifted her head to the side, so that her mouth was free. "I have to kill
Angel," she whispered.
It
dawned on him then - she was being plagued by the thought of killing the man
that shared her former lover's face. "But it's more than that, though, innit?" he asked softly. His voice was not unkind, but understanding.
After all - he had lost someone he loved, too. "Because you have to kill
Angelus... an' it means that you're not goin' to see Angel. Ever again. Isn't
that it, kitten?"
Buffy
nodded slowly, and closed her eyes again, burying herself into Spike's embrace.
He held her back tightly, resting his head against hers.
"I
don't want to be alone tonight," she said to him, looking up.
Spike
looked down, understanding her meaning completely. "I won't let you be."
They
left the cemetery in each other's arms.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The chapters are long, and I write slow, I know, but the end of the story is coming soon. I just started working on part 8 last night, and I originally planned for this story to stop at part 10, but i don't think it's going to let me. At the least, there may be an epilogue. Anyway, I'd really appreciate reviews telling me what you think! And if any of you want to keep tabs on when I update and when I don't, visit my LJ @ www.livejournal.com/users/aj_hofacre. Those of you that have been looking for my stories obsessively, well.... thanks for sticking with me :)
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