Chapter 6
As soon as the sun went down, Spike stormed out of the factory with the intention of putting an end to this charade once and for all. He was furious. Not only had Buffy made a fool out of him by making him feel things, but the spell had gone wrong, which meant that he was never going to get Drusilla back. She wasn’t coming.
Buffy and her fucking friends had fucked everything up.
“Fuck!” he howled. He stalked through the cemetery, practically growling with rage as he drew closer to his destination. He needed a drink, and he needed one now. If he ran into the witch, he’d tear her limb from limb and that wouldn’t do anyone any favors, not when he needed her to break the spell. He’d make her break it and then he’d tear her limb from limb and pick his teeth with her bones. The whole lot of them!
He charged through the front door of Willy’s and ignored the shocked expressions of the demons in the bar, plopping himself down on a stool. He could hear them grumbling behind his back and he smiled smugly, cracking his knuckles as Willy approached him. He needed a tumbler of Jack and a tumble with one of these bastards. It would remind everyone who was still top dog in this sodding town as well as relieve some of the tension wracking his nerves. He was a master vamp, not the slayer’s lover. God, it was disgusting, even for him! What would any of these todgers think if they found out he’d shagged the slayer and didn’t kill her? If they knew that he’d nuzzled his head into her caresses like a kitten and made love to her? He knew he shouldn’t make rash decisions while he was drunk. If he hadn’t been wasted he never would have had the notion to cast a love spell to begin with. He hated magic, knew the consequences of it, but fucking Dru…Dru and her fascination with tormenting him. What choice did he have, really?
Willy nervously poured his drink and Spike downed it in one gulp, then he spun around on his stool and propped his elbows up on the bar as his eyes scanned over the room.
“Right. So, which one of you needs a spanking?”
Willow, Oz, Buffy and Angel were walking through the cemetery on patrol. Buffy had tried everything she could to get them to stay behind but they insisted on coming along now that Spike was on the loose and maybe Dru, too. While the concern was nice, she didn’t want them around.
Because she wanted to see Spike and show him her surprise but they were all ruining everything!
She just wished Drusilla would hurry up and get there so she could stake her and then she and Spike would be happy forever. Unless…oh, God, what if she killed Drusilla and then he hated her? What if he hated her so much that he never wanted to speak to her again? What if he hated her so much she’d never again feel his lips upon hers or his iron manhood against her quivering sex? What if…
“Where’d you go off to?” Angel asked her with a quirky little smile as he walked alongside her.
How had she ever loved this man? “Uh…just…thinking. About stuff.” She tightened the sash of her trench coat and picked up her pace but Angel kept up with her.
“Look, um,” he glanced over his shoulder at Willow and Oz behind them and turned back to Buffy once he was sure they could speak privately, “about college—”
“It’s ok,” she hurried to say. “Really, Angel. I’m not mad.”
“You aren’t?” He looked at the ground as they walked along. “But, you’ve seemed really distant ever since we talked about it and if I made you feel like I didn’t want you around, that’s not what I meant at all.”
And she did not want to have this conversation. She stopped and placed her hand on his arm, turning him to face her. “Angel, I’m not mad at you. Contrary to popular belief, I’m kind of over the whole…you and me thing.”
“You are?” He blinked repeatedly as he looked down at her. Her words stung and hurt even worse when he realized she was completely serious. She wasn’t being malicious or manipulative or lying to keep him from worrying over her. She looked at him and it was as if the light left her eyes. The feelings that were so obvious to him before, the love she had for him, were completely gone.
“Yeah. I think there’s just too much history…too much bad history for me to keep hanging on.” And she was in love with Spike. “You’re a really nice guy and hey, we had some good times, but I think I finally realized that it was just time to move on.” She smiled sympathetically at him and patted his shoulder.
Angel was speechless. While he knew that it would be best for her if she weren’t with him, he still hoped that what they shared meant more to her than any ordinary school girl crush. But the way she was acting about it now proved that’s all it was to her. He didn’t know if he could be around her right now, if he could take her shrugging him off and looking at him as if he were…well, as if he were Xander. The shudder that went up his spine from that thought was so strong that she noticed.
“Are you cold?”
“No, I’m…” he clenched his jaw at how clueless she was to his turmoil, not that he deserved anything less from her after the hell he’d inflicted on her and her friends. “I think I should go.”
She frowned understandingly and nodded. “Yeah, you probably should. I’ve got it handled.” Thank God he was leaving. She really hated awkward tension and he was full of it. He was a nice guy and all, but really, no comparison to the sexy demon that had ravished her only hours before.
Angel didn’t say another word, didn’t look at her again, and then he was gone. She sighed happily, relieved that she’d settled everything. After all, it wouldn’t be fair to Spike if she had ex-lovers hanging about, making him feel inadequate, would it?
“Is everything ok?” Willow asked as she and Oz caught up to her. To her surprise, Buffy smiled and nodded brightly as if she hadn’t been crying her eyes out the night before. “You sure?”
“Of course! I couldn’t be happier.”
Willow was skeptical, but Oz smiled softly. “You look happy,” he said sincerely, shoving his hands in his coat pocket.
Buffy beamed at him, ignoring the anxious fidgeting of her best friend beside her. “Thanks, Oz. I am. Love will do that to a girl.”
Willow’s eyes were wide and hopeful. “So…you talked, then? A-and…things are ok?”
“Yeah.” She sighed, thinking about her impromptu visit to the factory. “I mean, it got a little angsty for a bit there but…I think he knows where I’m coming from now. I love him and I’m not going to give up. I’m determined-Buffy.”
Willow smiled happily for her friend and sighed. “That’s so great, Buff. I’m glad you guys finally talked it all out. Where did he go anyway?”
Buffy shrugged. “Who knows. He’s probably slinking about somewhere but I’ll catch up with him later.” She winked suggestively and Willow blushed at the implication.
“She does that a lot,” Oz said. “It’s one of the reasons why I love her.” He smiled warmly at Willow and she was struck with a duality of opposing emotions: major swoonage and total guilt. She told him that Spike had come back into town and that they were caught in the mix. He had no idea that they’d performed a spell the night before, because Willow never told him. If she had, then she’d have to tell him why she was at the school lab earlier that evening with Xander and she wasn’t prepared to do any of that yet. Willow felt awful. She gave him a crooked smile and linked her hand with his.
Buffy’s chin wobbled at the sight of it, wishing that Spike would say something sweet like that to her. “You guys, I think I’m about done with patrol if you want to go on home now.” She hoped they took the hint and would go on their merry way so that she could find Spike and smother him with kisses. Had it only been a few hours since she’d seen him? Oh, it felt like eons!
“Yeah, it is kinda late and hey, Giles is coming home tomorrow. Should we rally the troops and donuts?”
“Definitely,” Buffy said with a nod.
Willow turned to walk away but Oz stopped for a second. He’d picked up on it earlier but he didn’t want to cause a scene, not with Angel around and definitely not in front of his easily shocked girlfriend. How no one had figured out that she was talking about Spike was beyond him. “Hey, Buffy?”
“Yeah?” She was mid-turn when he spoke to her and she stopped, frowning at his concerned face.
“Be careful with Spike.”
“What do you mean?”
He sighed softly and looked over his shoulder at Willow who just then noticed he wasn’t following. “Just…be careful.” He didn’t know the specifics and he didn’t really want to know. All Oz knew was that Buffy reeked of sex earlier that day when he and Willow dropped by her house, sex that she didn’t have with Angel. Wasn’t any of his business, but Spike wasn’t someone you glossed over without mentioning concern.
“Ok.” She furrowed her brow in confusion, unsure as to what she should be careful over when Spike was perfect, but Oz was already walking away. She shrugged and turned around, heading in the opposite direction.
“It’s good to be back,” Spike said with a Cheshire cat grin as he stood outside of Willy’s beneath a street lamp. He’d successfully killed five demons and downed a fair amount of alcohol to make his limbs feel fuzzy and warm. And that was a good thing, because there was a sixth demon who almost gave Spike a run for his money. He’d be sore tomorrow, definitely, but it was just what he needed to gain focus.
Now he had to see about a witch.
He took a shortcut through Restfield Cemetery, leaping over tombstones, feeling a kick in his step he hadn’t felt in a while. Much as he hated this place, there was something about it that felt like home. Made him feel important. His name would be traveling the underworld in no time at all, alerting all the big bads that he was back. It was nice knowing his rep still held some weight around here.
Spike stopped suddenly. He grinned and pulled out his cigarettes, lighting one nonchalantly, and then he said, “Know you’re there. Might as well come out.”
Angel emerged from the shadows, his posture broader than normal, hands tucked into his coat pockets. “You look sated,” he said evenly.
“Am. Just had one hell of a fight. Should’ve seen it.” He inhaled a deep drag of his smoke and then smiled around the filter, saying, “Oh, right…you don’t like to have fun any more. I keep forgetting.”
Angel ignored the trap. He wasn’t in the mood for an argument. “Where’s Dru? She come to see you?”
“You would know if she were here,” Spike said coolly. “No need to ask me that.”
Angel shrugged and looked up at the sky. “I knew that spell wouldn’t work.”
“Who said it didn’t work?” Spike smirked, standing before him as if he were seven feet tall. He could tell Angel was miffed about something and he couldn’t resist taunting him, not if he was going to be an all-knowing prick about Dru.
“What are you talking about?”
This was going to be a riot. He was drunk enough have another go. “You mean, you don’t know?”
“Just get to the point, Spike.” Angel stared at him evenly, letting him know that his patience wasn’t going to last much longer.
Spike’s bravado never wavered, however. It was about bloody time he got his revenge on Angel for screwing his girl in front of him. He hadn’t even considered the benefits of this love spell until right now. If Buffy were there, he’d kiss her for giving him the opportunity to put his sire in his place.
“Take a good, strong whiff, mate. Breathe it in.” He stood inches from Angel, his eyes twinkling in the moonlight, his tongue nestled behind his teeth arrogantly. The factory wasn’t equipped with showers so he had to make do with washing up in the sink. It was good enough to clean him but not good enough to wash away the scent of the slayer. And…now that he thought about it, that might be why those demons attacked him all at once. Good thing they were dead so they couldn’t go spreading rumors. But what was most important was Angel’s expression right now. Spike had never seen such a myriad of emotions sweeping over the git’s face before. First confusion, then arousal, shock, hurt, jealousy, and finally, anger. Of course, that’s the one he’d settled on when it all came down to it.
“You…I’ll kill you!” he shouted, his brown eyes flashing gold as his features began to shift.
Spike laughed proudly. “That’s right! Buffy’s in love with me. God, the things she says when I’m inside her—”
Angel shut him up with a swing to his jaw and Spike flew backwards but he scrabbled to his feet in no time, smiling as he wiped his bloody lip with the sleeve of his coat. He beckoned Angel to him with teasing waves of his fingers and a cocky smirk, itching for the fight. The older vampire was livid and he charged forward, snarling as he collided with Spike. They struck out violently against one another, tossing each other around as if they weighed nothing at all, destroying tombstones and perfectly good walls of mausoleums, growling and hissing like the demons they were. Then a voice called out to them and they instantly stopped, turning their heads towards the source; Angel on his back and Spike hovered over him, ready to rip his throat out with his fangs.
“Guys, please stop!” It was Buffy, standing there in her trench coat and heels, looking as if she might cry or swoon.
“Did you sleep with Spike?” Angel asked, pushing Spike off of him so he could hurry to his feet and approach her.
She looked at Spike, taking a moment to smile sweetly at him when he winked at her before she turned to Angel and his scowling expression. “That’s none of your business.”
Which, of course, was enough to answer his question. He roared in frustration, raking his hands through his hair before he lunged for Spike again. Buffy intervened, jumping between them and pressing her back to Spike’s front, holding her arms out at her sides to keep Spike from moving forward.
“Stop!”
“Buffy, you’re under a spell and he’s taking advantage of you!”
“I am not under a spell! I love him!”
Spike snickered, ignoring the pointed glare Angel gave him. After all, the slayer was protecting him now so he had no issue with laughing openly at his distress.
“Is this why you said you didn’t care about me any more? Because of him?” He looked so disgusted, as if he’d just seen the most horrific scene in the world which was really saying a lot for a vampire who’d tortured and raped and killed thousands.
Buffy’s hands came behind her to rest on Spike’s thighs and she leaned against his chest. “Yes. Isn’t it wonderful? Isn’t he wonderful?”
God, she smelled good. “Yeah, mate. Be happy for the new couple.” He couldn’t stop grinning if you paid him.
“I’m going to kill him!”
Buffy gasped and turned around, burying her face in Spike’s chest. “I won’t let you hurt him! Spike,” she said, kissing his neck, “make him leave.”
Spike grinned lazily at Angel. “Go away now. She’s not done with me, are you pet?” Buffy giggled and he rubbed his nose against hers, just to drive Angel mad.
“Buffy, think about what you’re doing,” Angel tried again, the sight of them together sickening him to the point of retching, if he could, that was. She was ignoring him though, too busy cooing and giggling as she ran her hands up and down Spike’s chest. He swallowed the urge to scream and tried another tactic. “When did you fall in love with him?”
She perked right up to that, glad to talk about it. “I think I always have been.” She looked up at Spike with a dreamy expression and Spike’s eyes darted away uncomfortably but he kept his arms around her middle.
“Right, but…when did you realize you loved him?” Angel sighed and closed his eyes, his stress reaching the breaking point. Spike wasn’t helping when he started kissing her, looking right at him.
Buffy pulled away from his lips for a moment and said, “Last night it hit me. He’d been gone for so long and then he came back and…I just knew I had to be with him.” Her fingernails ran through his hair and Spike couldn’t bite back the moan that slipped past his lips.
“Aww, that’s sweet, Slayer,” he said, leaning down to kiss her once more.
Angel grabbed her arm and pulled her off of him, earning a pouting whine from Buffy and a scowl from Spike. “Yeah, last night. When we did the spell, Buffy. Think about it! The day before, you hated him. He’s taking advantage of you and he should be staked for it.”
Buffy’s eyes darted between the two vampires and Spike started to get nervous. He was afraid Angel’s words were sinking in but she was struggling with the magic that was making her love him. Not good. So he hurried to say, “If you kill me, won’t it have some ill effects on her, what with the spell binding her to me and all?”
Buffy’s eyes turned glassy and she sniffled. “I won’t let anyone kill you, Spike. Not ever.”
Spike smiled in gratitude and Angel’s grip on her arm tightened. “Giles gets home tomorrow. We’ll…” He looked away, not even wanting to suggest it but Spike made a good point. “We’ll do some research and see about reversing the spell.”
“It’s not a spell.”
“In the mean time, you don’t come near Buffy.”
“I can make my own decisions! Let go of me!” She wriggled out of his grasp and stood between both of them, frowning and struggling to gather her thoughts. It was all so confusing. She loved Spike and she wanted him so badly and he was looking at her right then so she smiled and blushed. He winked at her again so she looked away before her cheeks burned right off her face. But Angel made a point that she hadn’t considered, as ridiculous as it was. Yet, Spike hadn’t said that he loved her and wasn’t she better than that? But it didn’t matter, because she loved him and always would, no matter what.
“Buffy, why don’t you let me take you home and we’ll work it all out tomorrow, ok?”
Angel extended his hand and she tucked her hair behind her ears as she looked at him, then to Spike. He was so handsome! He had such a muscular jaw and kissable lips!
“You should probably go home, Slayer,” Spike said reluctantly. As much as he wanted to get under Angel’s skin, he didn’t want to have to deal with her even more. The way she was looking at him, as if she trusted him with her own life, as if she loved him and desired him was too tempting. He couldn’t go there again, not when he’d gotten his rocks back and especially when none of this was real.
She looked up at him sadly but nodded. “Will you come tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there tomorrow.”
She beamed. “Good. Then we can prove once and for all that this isn’t a spell and we can make love all day.”
“Buffy, let’s go,” Angel said firmly, unable to take any more of this nonsense.
“Let me say goodbye to Spike and I’ll be with you in a second.”
Angel pursed his lips and gave Spike a warning glare, but he backed away, keeping a close enough distance to come to her aid if he tried anything.
Spike raised a scarred eyebrow as she stalked towards him, curious about the mischievous look in her eyes. “What’s with you, kitten?”
“Well, I had a surprise for you to make up for the way I acted earlier but everyone kept ruining it.” Her hand slid down his chest as she batted her eyes coquettishly.
His nostrils flared when the scent of her arousal hit him but he remained cool. “And what’s that?”
She untied the sash to her trench coat and opened it so he could see what was hidden beneath it. His eyes widened and he gulped, instantly growing hard at the sight of her.
“Buffy…you’re naked under there,” he whispered.
“Mmhmm,” she said with a sexy giggle. “And look what else I did.”
He looked, and fuck he might come undone right there. She’d shaved her mound into a cute little heart. He stepped forward and dragged his tongue over his bottom lip, his eyes heavy and dark as he neared her. “That for me?”
“Yes,” she whispered, letting her lips hover over his for a moment. “Don’t you want to touch me?”
He whimpered and his fingers twitched at his sides but soon she was gone, giggling as she tied up her coat and walked away. “Bye, Spike! I love you!”
Spike exhaled a shaky breath, watching her hips switch from side to side as she walked and repeated over and over in his head, “Just a spell. Just a spell. Just a spell.”