Chapter 6: Comfort
For a little while, Spike remained in the shadows, out of sight of the human, but close enough that Buffy must have known he was there. He wasn’t afraid of the damn man, but he had a hunch that things would be much smoother if the guy never heard about him and Buffy. If he was in town for the high school business, then he would be gone soon, and that would be the end of it. Not that it was easy to leave his lady talking with her ex. It wasn’t pleasant at all, more like slow torture. The last time the wanker had been in town, half of Spike’s crypt had been blown up, and Buffy had decided to break up their relationship. He strongly suspected that seeing him had played a large role in the break up part, though they had never talked about it. Repeating to himself that it would just be easier for everybody if he remained out of the talk, Spike paced silently, not one of their words escaping his acute hearing. But when the wanker asked her if she had anyone in her life, it sounded way too much like he was scouting the field before trying to win her back. He decided the game had lasted long enough, and walked out of the shadows.
Ignoring the idiot and his crossbow, Spike went straight to his Slayer, encircling her with both arms. He voiced his claim, and his smirk became a little less forced at the look on Riley’s face. He seemed ready to have a heart attack. It became even better when his Mate, instead of throwing him the half amused, half scolding glare she always gave him when he pulled that move in front of Angel, relaxed ever so slightly against him, declaring softly to her wide-eyed ex:
“Spike and I are getting married.”
But then, the boy did something completely unexpected that put an end to Spike’s fun. He laughed. And a sudden desire to rip out his entrails sneaked into the vampire’s mind.
“I heard that one before”, Riley managed to say. “Did Willow play with magic again? She really should…”
Spike’s menacing growl interrupted him, and if not for Buffy’s hands holding his arms in place the vampire would have taught this pathetic excuse for a man a good lesson.
“It’s not a spell,” Buffy said coolly. “We’ve been together for three years.”
Oh, Iowa wasn’t laughing anymore. Scowling was more like it, now. And something much too close to disgust for the boy’s own good.
“Sleeping with a neutered vampire, that was pitiful enough”, he spat. “But actually thinking about spending…”
“The neutered vampire is going to show a thing or two to the impotent kid,” Spike hissed, getting very close to shifting to game face and lunging at the arrogant piece of military garbage.
The idiot actually took a step forward, as if daring Spike to make a move. It was easy for him to be bold when he thought his opponent couldn’t lay a hand on him. But he might quickly have a nasty surprise…
“Unless you want a taste of Slayer strength,” Buffy interrupted him, “I suggest you stop right there. Since obviously you can’t show the barest politeness, I think you’d better leave, Riley. As in, leave Sunnydale. And take all your boys with you. The last thing we need is another Initiative.”
With a last defiant look at Spike, and an almost pitying one at Buffy that renewed Spike’s anger, the boy walked away. Until he was out of sight, Buffy’s hands kept their tight grip on her Mate’s arms, as if afraid he would let go of her to run after the other. Finally, she turned into his embrace and gave him a hug and a quick kiss.
“Thank you,” she said with a soft smile.
“What for?” he growled, a bit annoyed that the boy had left without receiving what he deserved for talking to Buffy like that.
“For controlling yourself. You wanted to show him the chip is gone, uh?”
Spike forced out a quiet chuckle and held her tighter. For a moment, they just clung to each other. The day had started very well, but things had been getting worse ever since the sun had set. The thought came to him that all they needed now was Harmony to come whining and they would have confronted all their exes. Shivering, he winced internally. Thinking of Drusilla still hurt somewhat. At least Iowa hadn’t really tried to kill either of them. Though he might have tried to off Spike if Buffy hadn’t been there. That could have been an interesting long due fight.
“Up for patrol, luv?” he murmured against her ear. “I could use a spot of violence, how about you?”
She let out a small, sad laugh and they were soon walking side by side, quiet as they listened for any unnatural noises. Sometimes, most of the time, they bantered as they patrolled, made bets as to who would dust a vamp first, who would dust the most in the night, who could run fastest to a certain point. But tonight, they were silent, each lost in their own thoughts.
Without thinking, Spike pulled out the pack of cigarettes and the cheap lighter he had bought on his way to the cemetery, earning a glare from Buffy as he lit one.
“I thought you had quit smoking,” she said, disapprovingly.
“You taking my fags isn’t exactly what I’d call quitting”, he pointed out.
He took a long drag on the cigarette, his first since… Let’s see. If he concentrated, he was sure he could remember when his last nicotine fix had been. Patrol. The night they had been made human. Was it only eleven days ago? It seemed like forever.
“You didn’t complain that I had taken them,” Buffy protested. “You didn’t even mention cigarettes at all while you were human.”
He almost felt like chuckling. Almost.
“’Was too busy brooding to think about fags. And I’m not bloody idiot, luv. If these things could kill vampires as they do humans, I wouldn’t smoke. But as it is, they’re harmless to me, so what’s the point of quitting?”
They bickered about it for a little while, a habitual argument between them, and it was comforting to fall back on old patterns. In the end, she won, as she always did, by proving to him there were much nicer things to do with his mouth. Kissing her, for one.
*****
They patrolled until late in the night, despite the blatant lack of nasties to slay. At some point, Spike started commenting about how Europe was nice at this time of the year. With the end of summer, he was saying, tourists were going back home, which made it the perfect time to appreciate the big cities as well as the smallish towns. She listened as he described some of the places he wanted to show her, not pointing out that whenever he had last been there he had probably been more interested by the local food than by the scenery.
It was tempting, really, to just leave this cursed town, its Hellmouth and demons, and to tour the world like they didn’t have a care. Of course, they would be short on money pretty quick. But that wasn’t why Buffy couldn’t let herself agree. However hellish Sunnydale was, it was still her home. Her responsibility. She knew she’d never be able to enjoy a trip if it meant leaving her turf unattended, and her worry would ruin Spike’s fun too. He argued to her that Manon was there, that she could take care of it all for a little while with the gang’s help, but even he didn’t sound very convinced as he said that. After all, a few hours before, the kid had almost died. She had just been called, and needed more training. And she was so young, too young for such a heavy burden to be imposed to her.
It was a little after three in the morning that they arrived home. Buffy was surprised, and grateful, to find bagged blood in the fridge as she was putting there what she and Spike had bought on their way back at a butcher that catered to ‘special needs’ citizens. She wondered briefly who had had the idea to stock them up, and decided it must have been Giles. She made a mental note to thank him the next day, which might give her the occasion to see if he had really accepted the news as the thoughtful gesture led her to believe.
She found something else in the kitchen. Taped to the microwave’s door, where Dawn had been sure she would see it, was a note in the teen’s untidy handwriting.
“I’m going to LA with Steven for a few days until school begins. I’ll call you when I need a ride back. We waited for you until midnight, but Angel wouldn’t wait any longer.”
Pretty short and to the point. Dawn had fled. At least she wasn’t far, nor was she alone. Buffy wondered for a while what she had waited for. To give another round of tears? To let it sink it just a little better what a bad sister Buffy was?
She stared at the few lines as she sipped on her warmed blood, until Spike took the paper from her, tucking it into his jeans pocket.
“She would have gone even without our little change,” he said softly. “You know that. Bit and Steven are just inseparable now.”
Buffy nodded, though she doubted he was right. Her sister was upset, and she had decided that avoidance was the best way to go. She could run all she wanted, she’d need to come back eventually, and Buffy and Spike would still be vamps then.
As she finished her snack, Spike threaded his fingers with hers and led her upstairs. He paused for the slightest second by the guestroom’s door; his head tilted, and mouthed the word ‘Watcher’ to her. Giles, at least, hadn’t fled. Though he would be departing for England pretty soon with Andrea. Would they still leave Manon with her and Spike when they left? The woman Watcher had always shown more than a bit of reluctance bordering on suspicion whenever she was around Spike, until he became human. She would probably be back to her old manners now.
By the flames of a few hastily lit candles, she let Spike undress her, with slow and caressing moves, like they had all the time in the world, which they did after all. Then he made her lie on the bed on her stomach, and, settling by her side, began rubbing, kneading and massaging her back and shoulders. His strong but soft hands, as well as the quiet words that fell from his lips, soothed away the tension that the meeting at the Magic Box, the encounter with Riley and Dawn’s departure had created. After a while, she fell asleep, aware of nothing save the comforting touch of her Mate.