Chapter 31
She stumbled out of bed, inhaling sharply as her bare feet came into contact with the ice-cold floor. With eyes still narrowed from sleep she searched for her beloved slippers, smiling when she finally found them.
She dragged her feet and scratched her head as she walked down the hall, pausing for a second in front of *his* door. She felt a pang in her heart at the memory of what had happened that night. The look on his face as he came back to her room, watching her as she lied to her mother… She shook the thought away and continued down the stairs to find her mother behind the counter, in the small kitchenette.
“Something smells good.” Buffy said with a hoarse voice.
“Hey, you’re up early.” Joyce noted giving her daughter a sweet smile before returning her attention to her cooking.
“Pancakes, huh?” The teen leaned on the counter, reaching for a large plate that contained the newly fried goodies.
She jumped back when her mother swatted her hand with a wooden spoon.
“You’ll have to wait for breakfast. Giles and Spike should be back any minute.
“Back?”
“Yes. They went to get the Christmas tree.” Joyce explained gleefully. “Now go get dressed, young lady, you know I don’t like you coming downstairs in your pj’s.”
Buffy hopped off the stool and was about to leave, when the door directly under the stairs flung open, revealing a flushed Giles. The blonde frowned, she had never realised there was a door there.
“We’ve got the tree.” He announced gingerly, setting his hand triumphantly on his hips.
“Da! Do you mind?” A grumbled protest came from behind Giles as the large box was pushed towards the older man.
“Oh! So sorry!” Giles awkwardly excused himself, turning his attention to the assignment.
“A tree in a box?” Buffy wondered out loud as the two men hurled the carton into the living room and Spike finally came into view.
With an annoyed look on his face he stood up straight and ran a hand trough his dishevelled mass of curls which refused to stay in place.
“It’s an artificial one.” Giles explained.
“We’re having an artificial Christmas tree in a cabin? In the middle of the woods?” Buffy frowned.
“I-I could never bring myself to cut down a tree.” Giles stuttered, taking off his glasses and running his handkerchief over his perspired forehead. “Plus, if we miss the smell, we can just pick a few loose branches and bring them in the house.”
“How do you get firewood?”
“We buy it…” Giles looked down and proceeded with unpacking the box.
Buffy simply shook her head, glancing at the bleached blond, who was yet to say a word to her or even looked at her for that matter. She watched as he strolled towards his father, sighing loudly as he offered to open the carton for him.
“Well… I’ll go and take a shower.” She announced as she headed up the stairs, her eyes fixed on Spike.
~+~
She let her newly blow-dried hair flow freely down her back as she set the brush on the nightstand and walked over to the window. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him standing outside, on the small dock, his hands safely tucked into the front pockets of his jeans as he stared out at the foggy lake. She let the curtains fall into place and headed downstairs.
“Hey!” She greeted. “Oh, wow!”
Her eyes went wide at the sight of the newly decorated living room. Four red Christmas stockings hung over the fireplace while, inside, flames grew, filling the cabin with warmth and the familiar scent of burnt wood. To the left, between the fire and the kitchenette, stood the tree, still half decorated in shades of red and white. The room seemed completely transformed and Buffy felt her body relax as, for the first time, she thought that, maybe, this Christmas wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Joyce asked as she finished setting the pancakes on the table near the window.
Buffy nodded as she entered the living room with her arms crossed over her chest and a soft smile on her lips as she watched Giles clumsily try to put a small angel on one of the branches. She shook her head and reached for the piece placing in properly.
“Thank you.” Giles smiled at the short teen.
“You’re welcome.”
“Breakfast is ready.” Joyce announced looking out the window. “Buffy, could you go out and call Spike?”
“Sure.” Buffy nodded, heading out the door.
~+~
She walked slowly down to the dock. He seemed oblivious to her presence, remaining perfectly still, immersed in his thoughts. Buffy cleared her throat when she stood just a couple of feet away from him. He immediately spun around to look at her but didn’t say anything as his glance quickly returned to the crystal water that surrounded them. Buffy swallowed dryly at the cold reaction and uttered:
“Breakfast is ready.”
He nodded and turned around, heading for the cabin, leaving her alone on the dock in the cold.
~+~
The moment breakfast was over he jumped out of his seat and headed up stairs without saying a word. Buffy felt her heart sink at that and continued to pick at her pancakes with her fork.
“Are you alright honey?” Joyce questioned as she started clearing the table.
“I’m fine.” She shook herself out of her daze and stood up, gathering a few plates on her way to the kitchenette.
“You seem kind of quiet.” Her mother noted.
“Just a bit sleepy, I guess.” She tried to explain as she began washing the plates.
~+~
Buffy tapped her nails on the counter, bored out of her mind. After washing and drying the dishes she had sat down on the stool and had remained there for the last ten minutes with absolutely nothing to do. Joyce and Giles sat cosily on the couch reading through the newspaper and a few magazines. ‘A few very dull magazines.’ Buffy corrected as she slid off the stool and started pacing.
Neither adult on the sofa looked up, too absorbed in their reading to notice her boredom. She sighed and headed up the stairs.
She entered her room and resumed pacing. Her mind drifted over the events of that day. Spike hadn’t said a word to her all day, barely even glanced at her and, for some reason that caused her stomach to turn and an uncomfortable knot settle on her throat. She plopped down on the bed only to scramble quickly to her feet when she felt something cold and wet under her. She sighed and picked up the wet towel feeling the covers and realising they were soaked too.
“Great.” She mumbled between her teeth as she exited her room and entered the bathroom.
She froze. It was only when she was half into the room that she heard the familiar sound of running water. She knew that the right thing to do was to turn on her heels and just leave, but she found herself glancing over to the shower. For a moment she cursed the thick curtains that draped around it, but as her eyes adjusted to the blurred effect, she was able to see the outlines of a wide, masculine back turned to her, one hand was put up against the wall, the other… She frowned when she saw the quick, erratic movements his arm was making. After a couple of seconds her eyes went wide as soft moaning sounds finally seemed to reach her ears. Oh, God, was he? She strained to hear the rapid breathing, the occasional repressed gasp. He was! Buffy turned bright red. One part of her yelled at her to leave the room at once, the other compelled her to stay and watch. The latter seemed to be strongest as she remained perfectly still watching in awe as he continued to move his hand between his thighs in a fast, eager pace until, suddenly, he stopped and his body began to convulse in short jerks that propelled him against the wall.
“Cor… Buffy.”
She felt her stomach flip-flop at the hoarse sound of her name being called out as he slumped against the wall, letting the warm water fall on him. As her brain slowly processed the information it had just been fed, she stumbled back a bit causing her elbow to brush against something. She turned to see the plastic bottle wobble a bit, but before she could reach it, it fell to the floor with a loud thud. She seemed to be frozen in place, her eyes still glued to the shampoo on the floor as she refused to look up at… him.
Spike jolted to attention at the sound, immediately turning and pushing the curtain aside. His eyes widened when he saw her semi-bent over, her hand reaching for a bottle now on the floor.
Buffy swallowed hard as her heart slammed against her chest at a frightening pace, she could feel her skin growing redder and redder by the second. Finally she gathered enough strength to look up at him.
“I was-“ She immediately looked away from the completely nude and soaked man standing in the shower, the water still running behind him.
Spike jumped, nervously looking around for a towel. His eyes fell on the white fabric draped over the toilet seat, right next to Buffy. He was about to step out of the shower, when she reached out and handed him her own towel.
“I-I was just… um… Just… um…” She stuttered panicky. ‘Stupid words…’ she grumbled inwardly as she watched from the corner of her eyes that he had already turned the water off and covered himself with the towel she had handed him.
“Buffy, I-“
Looking at him, she piped up: “I was just leaving.”
And she was out the door and into her room in record time.
“Bloody hell!” He growled as he stepped out of the shower, nearly stumbling over the shampoo bottle on the floor on his way out.
~+~
‘Please don’t come after me, please don’t come after me, please don’t come-‘ Buffy stopped her mental mantra when the door to her bedroom was flung open and a soaking Spike stepped in. She let her eyebrows drop for a frustrated sigh as she turned around to face the music.
“I-I didn’t see anything.” She immediately announced before correcting herself: “I mean I did, but it was just when you pulled the curtain and were… well, naked. B-but other than that – nothing! Not a thing. I was just there for like a second before the bottle fell. A-and even if I had been there before the bottle thing – which I wasn’t! – there wouldn’t be anything to see“ At his frown she rephrased: “N-not that you don’t have anything to see, I mean you do, but the curtain was thick and-and it doesn’t really matter cause I wasn’t there and I didn’t see anything or hear –“ She stopped herself when she realised she was babbling. “Sorry. Babbling.”
“I’ve noticed.” The Brit forced a smile as he closed the door behind him and stepped in.
“I-I’m sorry, next time I’ll knock.” Buffy reassured him as her gaze bounced off the walls at anything but his bare chest.
“Knocking is good.” He agreed taking a step towards her.
“Well,” She brought her hands together. “I guess that’s settled. I’ll knock. Let the records show that the knocking proposal was approved.” She joked with a forced smile as she squeezed her fingers together.
He tilted his head and watched her nervously pressing her palms into one another.
“Buffy, about before-“
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” She immediately jumped in, blushing even more.
“Yesterday? Last night?” Spike elaborated.
“Oh, that.” She realised. ‘Not a good topic either, but at least it’s better than *Why I was moaning your name while masturbating*’
“Yeah, that. What did you think I was talking about?” Spike frowned a bit.
“Nothing!” She answered a little too eagerly and it seemed to confirm Spike’s suspicions.
“Bloody hell!” He mumbled.
“What?” She asked a bit afraid of the answer.
“Nothing.” He replied turning around to leave, but stopped in mid-stride to turn around, resolve fixed on his face. “You know what? I do.”
“Do what?” she questioned backing away when he walked over to her, invading her personal space.
“Think about you when I wank off.” He stated without any kind of shame.
Buffy froze, her eyes wide, her cheeks turning to a furious shade of red.
“I-I” She stuttered as she was finally backed up against the wall and Spike towered in front of her.
“You’re all I bloody think about. I can’t get you out of my head. No matter how much of a bitch you’ve been lately.”
“E-excuse me?” She tried to sound outraged, but it came out as a meek attempt at a protest.
“You heard me Summers.” He retorted, letting his hand rest on the wall just over her right shoulder.
“I-I don’t have to stay here and listen to-“ She started and she tried to move but a strong grip on her arm stopped her and forced her to back up against the wall again.
“You *will* listen. For once in your life.” He growled. “For the one thousandth time: I. Didn’t. Do. A. Bloody. Thing. Wrong.” He pulled the words out, one by one as he stared down at her. He paused waiting for a reaction. When he realised she wasn’t going to oppose, he pushed himself off the wall and started pacing in front of her. “You really wanna know why I got into a fight with Angel?” He never gave her a chance to answer: “It’s none of you sodding business but I’ll tell you anyway. It had absolutely *nothing* to do with you or Dru. It was for the same reason I suddenly stopped hanging out with Angel. Remember? Angel and I used to hang out together quite a lot when I first came here. I wasn’t too keen on him. Knew from the start he was pretty much an idiot, but I decided: ‘What the hell, let’s give him a chance.’ Eventually, my first instinct was right. He’s a complete idiot and a wanker!” He rambled while Buffy remained frozen up against the wall, watching him furiously walk around in circles until he came to a halt and looked at her. “It was because of Andrew.”
Buffy frowned: “Andrew? What does Andrew have to do with anything?”
“Well, one day I walk into the locker rooms to find Angel beating the scrawny thing into a bloody pulp. The poor kid was in the hospital for two whole weeks. Wouldn’t tell anyone who had done it, scared shitless that the ponce would do something.” Seeing the confused look on her face he tilted his head. “You didn’t even realise he was gone, did you? Sure, it’s not like you know Andrew even exists, let alone notice he was gone for two weeks.”
Buffy swallowed dryly, noting that it was true.
“Anyway, I pulled Angel off the kid and socked him back, telling him if he ever laid a finger on Andrew again… Well, you know, told him something nasty and extremely cliché to give him the right idea.” He watched as Buffy took in the information. “Everything was fine after that. No problems. Until the other day when Andrew smashed into us in the hall. The look on his face. I just knew that Angel was up to something. I talked to Andrew, he denied it at first but eventually he admitted it. So I did what I had promised and beat the crap out of Angel. And that’s it. It was nothing over you, or Dru or anything of the sort. Happy?” He finally asked after his long dissertation.
Buffy just stared at him with her mouth half open. All that information. It was a little too much to process, especially with naked-Spike in front of her.
“Why?” She finally managed to ask. “Why would Angel beat up Andrew?”
Spike paused. This was the question he didn’t want to answer, but he sighed and reluctantly uttered:
“Andrew plays for the other team, luv.”
“Huh?” Buffy frowned.
“He’s gay, pet.”
“You knew?” Spike asked in disbelief.
“I didn’t know-know. But, I mean, I always just kinda figured…” Buffy rolled her eyes.
“Oh. Right.” He said a bit taken off guard by her reaction at the revelation. “So that’s the big secret. Andrew’s gay and Angel found out he had a secret crush on him and being extremely insecure in his masculinity the wanker pummelled the kid.” Spike said succinctly.
Buffy stood there, staring at Spike.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” She finally asked a bit outraged.
“Because it wasn’t something I could tell you. It wasn’t my secret to tell. I’m not gonna go outing the poor fellow just because my girlfriend has absolutely no trust in me. Plus you were really pissing me off. How could you think I beat up Angel because of Dru?” It was Spike’s turn to question.
“Well… I… um… I sort of bumped into Angel. And he hinted that-“
“And you believed him?” Spike questioned in disbelief.
“I didn’t at first!” Buffy defended herself. “But then I asked you and you just avoided the subject and I thought – Busted!”
They stared at each other for a while in silence until Buffy took a step closer, looking up at him from under hooded eyes as she reached for him. He immediately stepped back, bringing his hands up as if someone was holding him at gunpoint. Buffy stopped dead in her tracks, her heart slamming against her chest as the realisation of what was happening dawned on her.
“Spike, I-“
“You should have trusted me. You should have believed in me.” He said in a low voice. “I can’t be with you like this.”
Buffy let her gaze fall to the floor as he walked over to the door that lead to the room. Suddenly, he turned around and made his way back to her with ground-eating steps.
“God, who am I kidding?” He breathed before crushing her mouth with his as his naked arms wrapped around her small form to bring her closer to him.
Buffy’s response was immediate as her hands erratically reached for his shoulder. Her fingers swiftly gliding over the soft skin seeking the back of his neck and then moved up to dive in between his wet curls as she responded to his kiss with the intensity and hunger as he did.
His own hands ran wildly over her clothed body, down her back to cup her behind and bring her up against him. He moved, instinctively guiding them towards the bed, causing Buffy to topple onto the mattress when she reached its edge; Spike following her, never breaking the famished kiss.
The Brit fought with the hem of her sweater pulling it upwards over her head to reveal the simple white bra that covered her breasts. His fingers reached for the small mound cupping it lightly as his mouth crushed hers for another demanding battle.
Spike gasped, breaking the kiss when her tiny hand sneaked between their bodies and found its way through the white towel to wrap itself around his cock.
“Cor, I missed you.” He breathed into her ear as he began trailing his way down her neck with hungry open-mouth kisses until he reached one of her cotton-clad breast.
It was Buffy’s turn to exhale sharply when he pushed the white fabric away and his lips brushed over her erect nipple. She arched into his touch as she slowly began to pump him in a slow, steady rhythm. She felt a wave of feminine pride wash over her as she watched and listened to him helplessly moan her name under her ministrations.
Suddenly, he seemed to partially wake from his daze as his hands began working on the buttons of her jeans. Buffy relaxed into his touch, slowly drifting deeper into her daze, when a giggling sound reached her ear. She frowned at first, but suddenly it hit her: ‘My mom’s downstairs. Oh, god, oh, God, oh God!.’
“No.” She said, jumping up and reluctantly pushing him to crawl away from him.
“What? What now?” He asked desperately trying to move over her again but she squirmed off the bed leaving him on the mattress alone.
“Your dad and my mom, downstairs. That’s what.” She explained reaching for her sweater, but before she could grab it she was trapped between his arms and his mouth was on her neck.
“I’ll be quiet. I promise.” His voice was muffled by the kisses he placed on her collarbone.
“I bet you…” She gasped. “will, but I can’t promise I’ll be… quiet.” She managed to push him away again. “Now, get your clothes on.”
“I’ll be really quick. You won’t even feel a thing, so you don’t have to worry about making any noises.” He joked walking over to her.
Buffy narrowed her eyes at him and he dropped his shoulders in defeat.
“Buffy, I don’t think I can go a whole week without touching you or…” he tilted his head towards the bed.
“You’ll have to.” She insisted as he came closer to her and his hand grazed over her hips and down to the valley between her thighs to slowly press against the stop where her clit was. “Spike…” She tried to sound serious and determined but the way he was touching her… it was impossible!
“Buffy, please.” He begged into her ear as his nuzzled against her hair, his finger still moving over her.
“Ok.” She finally agreed and he lashed out for her neck. “No! Not now!” she pushed him away once more and put on her sweater. “Tonight. When they’re asleep.”
“But…”
“Tonight.” She repeated throwing the towel at him and he reluctantly grabbed it, draping it around his waist.