Chapter 1 – Take One For the Team


“No!” Buffy cried, staring at her friend as if she had lost her mind. “No, Willow, absolutely not!”

“Come on, Buffy,” Willow said in a pleading voice. “It’s for a good cause.”

“You have got to be kidding me!? It’s archaic and…and antifeminist,” she finished, jutting her chin out defiantly.

“Buffy,” Willow said, losing her patience. “You’ve been in how many beauty pageants, and you’re talking about feminism?”

“That is so not the same thing,” Buffy replied, throwing her fork down on her tray. “And besides, I was a lot younger then. That was my Mom’s decision, not mine. I haven’t been in one in over five years.”

“Buffy, Auction Day is a week away and there aren’t enough girls in it. We need more volunteers, and I told the committee that I had someone who’s interested.”

“Well, tell the committee you were wrong.”

“I’m going to do it,” she said with a hopeful expression.

“If there aren’t enough girls, why don’t they just ask some guys?” Buffy asked, looking around the lunchroom of the exclusive Sunnydale Academy.

“That’s not the way it works, Buffy,” Willow said with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Buffy replied. “And you know why? Because the Board of Directors or whoever puts on this stupid auction is probably a bunch of sexist men who want to see women auctioned off like cattle.”

“Actually, it’s a group of women who feel strongly about the tradition of the school,” Willow shot back with a raised eyebrow. “Why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you?”

“It’s just…it’s not a date auction, Wills. This thing…you have to be a slave for a week to whatever jerk turns out to be the highest bidder. You have no say in the matter and it’s just…aren’t you a little nervous?”

“No,” Willow replied, shaking her head. “And that was a nice try, but now tell me the real reason.”

Reaching for her fork, Buffy began stabbing at the food that was left on her plate before letting her eyes wander around the cafeteria. They finally came to rest on Spike Lawson. He was sitting with his friends, a bored expression on his handsome face as he seemed to be zoning in and out of their conversation. She saw him smile at something as everyone else at the table began laughing. The girls seemed to be holding a conversation, probably talking about whatever they happened to buy on their latest trip to the mall, while most of the guys watched them with false interest.

Buffy sighed as she turned her attention back to Willow. “What if no one bids on me?” she asked softly.

Willow’s eyes softened as she smiled at her friend. “Don’t be ridiculous, Buffy. I’m sure the guys would be lined up to bid on you.”

“Yeah,” she said with a scoff. “They’ll be lined up to bid on poor little Buffy.”

“Buffy…”

“No, don’t say it,” Buffy said shaking her head. “I’ll do it.”

Willow smiled at her pouting friend. “Thank you, Buffy, you won’t regret this! And all of the profits go to charity, so it will be worth it.”

“If you say so,” she replied doubtfully.

“Come on,” Willow said excitedly as she grabbed her friend’s hand and dragged her out of her chair. “We have a few minutes before the bell rings- let’s go get you signed up.”

“Wonderful,” Buffy said grudgingly as she allowed herself to be dragged from the lunchroom.

* * * * *

Ten minutes later, Buffy and Willow walked out of the office as the bell rang.

“This will be great,” Willow said with an excited hop. “And you’re excused from our schoolwork the week of the auction.”

“Willow, you do realize we’re excused because whatever slave-driver happens to ‘buy’ us will be working us too hard to get anything else done.”

“It won’t be like that,” Willow said with a skeptical look.

“You can’t honestly be this clueless about what we just signed on for,” Buffy said, raising an eyebrow at her friend. “These are high school boys who aren’t big with wanting to do the courteous thing and be nice to us.” She groaned when she saw Spike standing in front of her. “Case in point…”

“I’ll see you after school, Buffy,” Willow said with a smile as she left Buffy alone with the one person she really shouldn’t be alone with.

“So,” he said with a smirk. “Buffy Summers is going to be in the auction, is she?”

“I’m sure you’ve already got girls begging you to bid on them,” she said with an air of indifference as she tried to ignore the stab of jealousy that coursed through her body. “What do you care if I’m in it?” Buffy asked, walking around him as he turned around to walk with her.

“Just wondering who would want you for a week,” Spike replied as she turned to face him, leveling him with cold eyes. She should have known. Spike Lawson would never want a simple conversation with her- he only wanted to trade insults, and Buffy wasn’t about to disappoint him.

“Gee, Spike,” she replied, widening her eyes to give her a more innocent appearance. “I guess it’s a good thing that they didn’t want men to be in it or you wouldn’t even be able to qualify.”

“Oh, believe me, Summers, I am more than qualified,” he said with a smirk. “Never had any complaints before.”

“Yeah,” Buffy said, rolling her eyes. “I’m also willing to bet that you’ve never had anyone who could recognize her own name, much less know whether she’s got a good thing or not.”

“You wanting to find out?” Spike asked, raising an eyebrow and biting his bottom lip as he watched her in amusement.

“Has it ever occurred to you to think with a different part of your anatomy?”

“Why should I do that?” he asked with a chuckle. “When I have so much more fun this way.” Buffy watched as he turned away from her and began walking down the hallway. “Don’t worry, Summers,” he called over his shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll get someone great. I hear the new guy Andrew has a thing for you.”

Buffy could hear the smile in his voice as she glared after him. Leaning against a wall, she ran her hands through her hair. “How did I let Willow talk me into this?”

Chapter 2 – A Potential Buyer


Slowly walking toward the Bronze later that night, Buffy looked around at the shadows that were cast on the streets of Sunnydale. They offered her a sort of comfort that she had never found anywhere else andhe reveled in the solace that it provided.

Ever since her father had moved out three years ago when Buffy was fifteen, her life had been altered. She hadn’t seen or heard from him since he left on that fateful day, and her mother had been saddled with everything he’d run away from.

After selling their house and moving into a modest two-bedroom apartment in the low-income side of town, Joyce had begun to worry about Buffy. Although she had been in public school at Sunnydale High and was happy and well-adjusted, they still had to pay more money than the Summers’ women had available. A few months after her father’s departure, she had taken it upon herself to apply for scholarships from Sunnydale Academy. No one was more surprised than when she got a full-ride from the school. Covering everything from her books to her uniforms, Joyce had cried when she heard what her daughter had sacrificed to help her family, even though Buffy assured her that the ‘sacrifices’ were minimal.

Buffy had learned who her true friends were after switching schools. Or friend, as the case may be. Xander Harris was the only one who bothered to make an effort to keep their friendship. Everyone else had dropped her once her father had abandoned her, leaving them destitute.

On Buffy’s first day at the Academy two years ago, she’d been fortunate enough to meet Willow and formed an instant friendship with the friendly redhead. Unfortunately, Buffy also had the misfortune of meeting Spike and getting on his bad side, no sooner than she’d walked through the door of the school.

Spike had taken one look at the little blonde and thrown that annoyingly sexy smirk her way before asking her if she wanted to slip into an empty classroom and have some fun. Now, in the middle of their senior year, Buffy would have expected nothing less from the peroxide pest, but since that was the first thing he’d ever said to her, she had immediately retaliated, letting him know that she had no interest in a Billy Idol wannabe.

Unfortunately, a small part of her had really wanted to take him up on his offer, but their first interaction had laid the groundwork for their current relationship of snapping at each other, followed by smug responses.

Buffy could hear the soft, straining notes of the music flowing out of the club as she got closer. Subconsciously, she adjusted her black skirt and straightened the simple white halter-top as she walked through the darkened alley. She was meeting Willow and Xander, who had developed their own friendship thanks to Buffy.

Scanning the crowded club, she recognized several students from both schools but ignored the vast majority. It seemed to be split down the center- those who had abandoned her and those who never got to know her to begin with. She could see her friends sitting at their usual table, talking and laughing with each other. She also saw Spike shamelessly flirting with two girls at a nearby table. Another flash of jealousy went through her, but she stamped it down and chose to ignore the angled cheekbones, piercing blue eyes, and full lips as she walked by.

Spike raised his eyes from the two women he was talking to, tilting his head slightly when he saw Buffy walking by, obviously ignoring him. He couldn’t help the smirk that played out on his features as he watched her. His tongue darted out to dance along his bottom lip as she walked to the next table and rewarded her friends with a bright smile. Spike’s eyes darkened at the realization that he had never been on the receiving end of that smile, but he quickly shrugged off the feeling as he turned his attention back to the women.

* * * * *

Buffy had managed to avoid Spike for the last hour. Truth be told, Spike had avoided her since she was never the one to seek him out, but she was having fun with her friends, and it felt good to relax and have a good time.

“Excuse me,” a soft voice said, causing Buffy to turn around and smile at the boy who looked vaguely familiar. “I’m Owen Thurman.”

Buffy nodded in recognition, remembering that this was the newest student at the Academy. “I’m Buffy Summers,” she said with a friendly smile. “This is Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris,” she continued, gesturing to her friends as Owen gave them each a nervous nod in greeting.

“Um…I was wondering if you’d want to dance,” Owen asked with a shy quality that she found endearing.

“Sure,” Buffy said, hopping down from the tall seat as Owen smiled in relief. He led her to the dance floor, his hand on the small of her back as they walked to the middle of the floor. She turned around, reaching up to put her arms around his neck, surprised at how tall he was.

“How long have you lived here?” Owen asked, a nervous tremor in his voice as he loosely gripped her waist.

“A while,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve been at the Academy for two years now, but I’ve been in Sunnydale a lot longer. What about you?”

“I’m from San Francisco…just moved here.”

Buffy nodded, stepping a little closer to him as the slow song continued. She refrained from laying her head on his chest, not wanting to give him the wrong impression, but she did let her eyes wander around the club as she was slowly danced in a small circle. Her eyes widened when they came to rest on Spike and saw his gaze fixed on her.

Narrowing her eyes in confusion as Spike quickly turned away, Buffy inwardly shrugged as she continued their dance. When the song ended, she took a step back, giving Owen a soft thank you before making her way back to her seat. She was surprised when her path was blocked by a tall man in black.

“I’ve missed you, Buff.”

Buffy looked up, rolling her eyes as she sighed. “Can’t say that I’ve missed you, Angel,” she said, shaking her head.

“Aaah, now that’s no fun,” he said in a playful tone as she took a step around him. “When are we gonna have some more fun, baby?”

“Let’s try the day after never,” she said with a fake smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Buffy quickly walked back to her friends as they gave her sympathetic looks.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Buffy said, taking her seat. “I’m over him…no…I never needed to get over him.”

And it was true. She’d met Liam Angelus soon after transferring schools. He was a freshman at UC-Sunnydale and had pursued her relentlessly. Buffy had enjoyed spending time with him but had made the mistake of letting things go too far one night. The morning after, Angel had changed drastically, telling her that it was a good time but not a big deal. She had been heartbroken, not because of his rejection, but because she’d slept with a man who she didn’t want to be with.

Getting over Angel would have been fairly easy, except he began showing up everywhere she was, frequently at the Bronze. Joyce had pushed for a restraining order on the man, but Buffy insisted she could handle it. Angel eventually lost his fascination with her, but he still enjoyed surprising her from time to time.

“Come on, guys,” Buffy said with a bright smile as a fast-paced song came on. “Let’s dance.”

She dragged Willow and Xander out on the floor, throwing her arms up in the air and swaying her hips to the beat of the music. She laughed with her friends, enjoying the chance to relax and have a good time, not having to worry about the stupid auction, considering this time next week she would be ‘owned’ by someone.

Buffy looked over and saw Willow intently staring at the stage. Turning around, her eyes strayed from the guitarist to Willow and secretly smiled at her friend. “He’s a cutie, isn’t he?” she called to her over the loud music. Willow blushed, looking at the ground, but Buffy could see the nod. Motioning to Xander that they would be right back, she grabbed Willow’s hand and led her to the front of the stage as the music stopped, giving the band a break. “Oz!” Buffy yelled, getting his attention before he walked off the stage.

“Buffy,” he nodded in greeting.

“I wanted you to meet my friend Willow,” she said, shoving the blushing redhead in front of her and seeing Oz’s eyes light up. “Oz and I went to school together at Sunnydale High. He’s in college now,” she explained as Oz hopped off the stage. “You two have fun.”

Before Willow could turn around in protest, Buffy was halfway across the floor. Seeing Xander getting something to drink at the bar, she headed toward him, only to be intercepted by a leather-clad Spike. She tried not to let her eyes wander the lines of his body beneath the black duster, but they seemed to have other ideas. Too often, she saw him in the khaki pants and white button-down shirt or white sweater that the school required. The duster gave him an edge that nothing else would be able to capture, especially the maroon blazer and coats that the school provided, which Spike refused to wear.

Seeing his eyes traveling up and down her body, Buffy felt a feminine thrill rush through her but ignored it as she looked at him. “Can I help you?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Are you offering?” he asked with a smirk.

“What do you want, Spike?” Buffy replied, not bothering to take him seriously.

“I have to have a reason to talk to you, Summers?”

“You? I’m thinking…yes,” she said, walking by him as he turned with her.

“I saw you talking to your sweetie-bear,” he said with a grin. “Rejecting you again, was he?”

Buffy turned around as fire flashed in her eyes. “You know nothing about me, so why don’t you stay out of my life? Just go away.”

“Why should I do that when it’s obviously bothering you so much to have me here?”

“You know what, Spike?” Buffy replied, turning to face him. “The more I get to know you, the more I wish I didn’t.”

Spike watched as Buffy turned and walked away from him, unable to stop himself from admiring her as she left.

Chapter 3 – Going Once…Going Twice…


The morning of the auction arrived, and Buffy’s stomach was tied into knots before her first class of the day. The auction wouldn’t start until that night. It was part of a bake-sale fundraiser, complete with game booths surrounding the exterior of the school.

The object was to get the parents and students to the school to watch the highlight of the night- the auction. However, that wouldn’t take place until later on, so to bide their time, they could wander around the festival.

Walking down the hallway of the school, Buffy clutched her books to her chest as she looked for Willow. She was having serious second thoughts about what she had gotten herself into and was needing the reassurance of her best friend.

“Hi, Buffy.”

Turning around, Buffy smiled at the shy boy who was waving at her. “Hi, Andrew,” she replied, quickening her pace. ‘Oh my God,’ she thought. ‘What if he does want to bid on me?’

“Sweet-talking your prospects, Summers?”

“And so my day is complete,” she muttered, turning to face Spike with a glare. “What do you want?”

“It was just a simple question,” Spike said with a smirk. “What’s the matter? Having doubts?”

Spike felt a brief flash of remorse at the panic that crossed her face, but held it at bay.

“You know what, Spike? Even if Andrew does bid on me, it would be better than some of the morons you hang out with. I would much rather be his slave for a week, than yours.”

“Would you, now?” he asked, a wicked smile coming across his features as an idea began to form at the mention of ‘slave’. “We’ll see.”

Buffy’s eyes widened as Spike turned away before grabbing his arm. “What do you mean, ‘we’ll see’?”

“You’re awfully jumpy today, Summers. You should switch to decaf. Actually,” Spike continued, turning around to look at her, tilting his head as he looked down at the small girl. “You may want to lay off the coffee altogether. I hear it stunts your growth, and you don’t need any help in that department.”

Spike chuckled at the glare on Buffy’s face before he turned and walked down the hallway. Swallowing a scream of frustration, she whirled around to walk in the opposite direction.

“What’s wrong?” Willow asked, running over to her friend in concern when she saw the anger on Buffy’s face.

“Spike,” she spat out as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.

“What did he do now?” Willow asked.

“Just being his normal, annoyingly smart-ass self.”

“Oh,” Willow said, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. “So, are you ready for tonight?”

Buffy turned the glare on her best friend as Willow looked at her in surprise.

“What?”

* * * * *

The day seemed to fly by and creep along at the same time. Every time Buffy looked at a clock, it seemed that more time had been swept by. On the other hand, the amount of time in between she looked at a clock seemed to creep by. Now, as she was sitting with the other girls from both Sunnydale High and Sunnydale Academy behind the makeshift auction stage, she wished for any of those minutes back.

Actually, if she was wishing, she wished that she’d never agreed to this in the first place. The auction had started a few minutes ago, and Buffy was one of the last girls to go to the stage. Willow was thankfully in front of her, offering her support the entire time.

Listening as the auctioneer Mr. Giles took bids for Cordelia Chase, Buffy’s eyes widened as the bidding escalated.

“Going once…going twice…sold for one hundred and fifty dollars.”

“Cordy got that much?!” she hissed at her friend. “I’ll be lucky if I get the minimum bid.”

“Buffy, don’t be ridiculous,” Willow said in reassurance. “You’ll have plenty of bids. This is for charity and there are plenty of guys out there from both schools- that’s the only reason it’s so high.”

“Easy for you to say,” she muttered. “You’ve got Oz out there, willing to spend whatever it takes. Everyone will be out of money before they get to me, and I’ll have to be donated.”

“Cheer up, B,” Faith Lehane said from behind her. “I’m going after you and I’m not worried. We’re two of the hottest chicks in the school. You’ll do fine.”

Buffy finally let a small smile come over her face as she looked at the two girls. “Sorry I’m being such a brat.”

“You’re just nervous,” Willow replied, patting her shoulder. “It’s normal.”

Ten minutes later, after Willow was ‘purchased’ by Oz for ninety-five dollars, Buffy took a deep breath as she walked onto the stage. Faith gave her a small pat on the back before shoving her through the curtain.

* * * * *

Spike watched at the back of the crowd as Buffy appeared to be pushed through the curtain. He and his friends had been having a good time, bidding on some of the girls but never really seriously. His friend Doyle had bought his crush Cordelia, but he was the only successful winner of the night.

Now, as Spike looked at the shy girl on the stage, he tilted his head to study her. She was in a pair of black pants and a silky, pale blue sleeveless top that brought out the golden highlights in her hair. Her eyes were darting around as if she was looking for something to focus on but couldn’t find it. Spike was planning on bidding on her a few times to see what her reaction would be if she thought he was seriously going to win, but watching her nervously wring her hands together, he took pity on her and backed out of his plan.

Spike was surprised after Giles announced Buffy that his friends began cheering loudly for the little blonde. No one from his group of friends had ever gone out with her, and, as far as Spike knew, never wanted to. However, now that he was hearing the other guys in the crowd, he felt a jealous sensation wash over him as Buffy smiled shyly at the audience.

“We’ll start the bidding at twenty dollars,” Giles announced into the microphone.

“Twenty!” an excited Andrew yelled, jumping up and down.

Spike smirked at the young boy as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Twenty-five,” another boy yelled.

Spike’s eyes scanned the audience as the bidding increased, with Andrew battling everyone who dared outbid him. Spike felt it oddly comforting that the boy would be the inevitable winner, since he was probably prepared to spend his lifesavings. After all, what would he make Buffy do? He would probably end up doing things for her.

Spike saw Buffy’s eyes widen when the bidding reached over a hundred dollars. She obviously didn’t expect that much, and the red flush that tinted her cheeks was suddenly very endearing to Spike.

The bidding continued with several members, the key being Andrew as he shouted out every bid to the point where even Giles was flustered at how high it was going. Spike listened as it peaked over two hundred. Sure, Buffy was cute, but Spike never would have expected this. Then again, she rarely went out with anyone but her friends.

‘Unless you count that ponce, Angel,’ Spike thought. ‘I guess these guys want to buy what they can’t have.’

The bidding tapered off at two hundred and fifty dollars, with Andrew in the lead, before another voice spoke up.

“Three hundred.”

Everyone in the audience turned to see the new guy Owen Thurman holding up a fistful of cash. Spike felt jealousy spread through him as Buffy’s eyes seemed to light up at the new bidder.

Andrew frantically counted his money before turning back to the stage. “Three seventy-eight!” he announced with hope and despair in his voice, obviously emptying out his wallet as he waited.

“Four hundred,” Owen called out.

Spike turned his eyes to Andrew, waiting for his next move. Andrew turned to his friend Jonathan, whispering frantically before he was handed some money. “Four twenty-five,” he announced in a victorious voice.

For Buffy’s part, she looked like she was going to pass out. “Four forty,” Owen replied, causing Andrew’s face to fall. Spike crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at the new guy, feeling angry at him for reasons he didn’t understand.

“Four forty going once…twice…”

“Five hundred.”

Every person in the audience seemed to turn around to look at Spike as he locked eyes with Buffy. Her mouth dropped open as she stared at him through wide eyes.

“Five hundred once…twice…sold to Spike Lawson for five hundred dollars,” Giles announced, taking off his glasses in disbelief.

Spike looked down at the ground, not believing what he just did. “What the hell just happened?” he muttered.

Buffy slowly walked off the stage, in shock. “What the hell just happened?”

Chapter 4 – A Nightmare Come True


Making her way through the crowd, Buffy stopped in front of Spike as she stared at him, stunned. Spike managed to regain his composure as he looked at her, letting a smirk slowly play on his lips.

“What’s the matter, luv?”

Grabbing his arm, she dragged him to a more secluded area before turning to face him. “How…what…why?”

“You seem a little spooked, pet. Is something wrong?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Spike. What the hell happened a minute ago?”

“I bought myself a gift,” he said with a chuckle.

“I’m not your damn gift,” Buffy hissed in a heated whisper.

“Oh, that’s right…I forgot- you’re my slave.”

“Oh God,” she muttered, dropping her head into her hands before pushing her hair away from her face as she looked at him again. “Why would you spend five hundred dollars on a girl you hate?”

“I never said I hated you, Summers. You’re just challenging.” Buffy glared at Spike as he gave her a wide smile. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just go pay my bill. Oh, and Summers,” Spike said, turning around as he walked away. “Don’t go far…I might need you to bring me something to drink in a few minutes.”

Spike walked away with a laugh as Buffy glared after him. “Great,” she said to herself as she nodded her head. “This is just great.”

* * * * *

‘Bloody brilliant, you ponce,’ Spike thought as he sought out Buffy a few minutes later. ‘Bid on the girl who has the ability to drive you crazy, and for what? So she can do a few things for you this week?’

Spike smiled. Of course it would be fun thinking of new tasks. And she didn’t so much drive him crazy as be infuriatingly cute when she argued with him.

Searching the crowd, he spotted her talking and laughing. As he got closer, he realized she was openly flirting with the buffoon who had tried to outbid Andrew.

“Thanks for trying, Owen,” he heard Buffy say as he got closer to her, noticing her flirty smile when he reached her. “You really shouldn’t have gone so high.”

“It’s only money,” Owen said with a shrug. “It would have been worth it. Um…but I was actually wondering if you’d want to go out tomorrow night?”

Spike felt anger cloud his vision as he stepped closer to the couple, coming to stand behind Buffy. “Actually, mate,” he said with an evil smirk. “She’s going to be busy tomorrow night.”

Buffy turned to glare at Spike before giving Owen an apologetic look. “Maybe next week, alright?”

Owen gave a small nod before saying good-bye.

“Rude much?” Buffy commented as she started to walk away.

“I just bid a lot of money on you, Summers,” Spike said angrily. “I expect you to be the perfect little slave for the next week.”

“Just what I’ve always dreamed of,” she said sarcastically. “Being stuck with a Neanderthal for an entire week. Having to wait on you when all I really want to do is…”

“What’s the matter, sweetheart? Wanna hit me?”

“Spike-”

“Come on,” Spike egged her on with a grin. “Do something about it. Hit me. One good swing. You know you want to,” he finished with an excited hop, loving the way her face was turning red.

“I mean it,” she said in a firm voice.

“So do I. Give it to me good, Buffy. Do it!”

The tension seemed to escalate as they stared at each other. “Spike...”

“You know you want it.”

Before Buffy had time to think, her fist flew directly into Spike’s unsuspecting nose. “OW! Bloody hell!” he yelled, his hand immediately going to his face. “You almost broke my sodding nose!”

Staring at him in surprise for a moment, she couldn’t help it as a very unladylike snort came from her before she completely broke down in a laughing fit.

“It’s not bleedin’ funny, Summers!” Spike yelled.

“Oh, come on, you big baby,” she said, grabbing her stomach as she nearly collapsed before standing to her full height and taking on a horrible English accent. “Give it to me good, Buffy. Do it!”

Buffy erupted in giggles again as Spike glared at her.

“I’m going to make you pay for this- you know that, right?” he asked, practically growling as he looked at her. She shrugged with a sigh, smiling slightly as he wiped away the blood that was trickling down from his nostrils. “I can’t say I expected you to have that strong of a punch, Goldilocks.”

“Yeah, well, there are all kinds of things you don’t know about me,” she said, crossing her arms and tilting her head.

“Is that an invitation to find out what I don’t know?” he asked, managing a small smirk despite the fact that his nose was in excruciating pain. She narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t want to let you in on any bit of my life,” she said. “I’m your ‘slave’ for a week, but that’s it. After the week is over, I’m done.”

“Whatever you want,” he replied. “But I have a feeling you’ll want more after the week is through, luv.” She made a disgusted face and turned to walk away. “Be sure to be at my house bright and early in the morning, Buffy- I like breakfast in bed.”

She looked at him indignantly before storming off. He chuckled to himself and walked outside, lighting a cigarette before he got to his car.

‘I can’t think of a better way to spend five hundred dollars,’ he thought, getting into his Desoto and speeding off towards his house.

* * * * *

When Buffy got home, she changed into pajamas and crawled into her bed, sighing as she looked outside.

‘I can’t believe he bid on me,’ she thought. ‘I should’ve known he’d do it, though. What’s the phrase people say...right- expect the unexpected. You should’ve known he’d pull something like this. Far be it for you to get a nice guy, Buffy. Is this some karmic punishment or something? I don’t see why. I was doing something nice! It was for charity, for Pete’s sake. And now I’m going to be Spike’s stupid slave-girl for a week. God, I hate my life.’

Just as she was beginning to doze off, she heard her phone ring. She raised an eyebrow and yawned before picking up the phone. “Hello?”

“Just making sure I had the right number to call you at, Summers,” Spike said on the other line. She tensed up, feeling anger course through her. “Have to be able to contact you when I need you, don’t I?” he continued with a loud chuckle. “Actually, you might as well just stay with me because I’m going to be abusing the privilege of having you at my service this week. You’ll be amazed at the tasks I’m going to give you, pet. Think you can handle it?”

“I’m up for the challenge,” she said sharply. “Otherwise, I’m up for giving you a black eye. How does that sound? It’d look really good with your bruised nose, don’t you think?” She heard him growl quietly suppressing a smile as she continued, “I’m going to sleep.”

“Good, you should get lots of rest,” he replied. “Because I’m going to ride you hard before I put you away, luv.” Her eyes widened, confused by the meaning of what he had said.

‘Riding me? What?!’ she thought, inwardly freaking out at the disturbing imagery that popped into her head. ‘Eww!’

“See you in the morning, kitten,” he replied, hanging up with a satisfied smirk on his face.

“Bastard,” she hissed as she hung up the phone. “I can’t wait to give him a taste of his own medicine.”

Chapter 5 – Bright and Early


“Hi, Mrs. Lawson,” Buffy said with a bright smile, seeing the older woman open the front door. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“No, dear,” Spike’s mother said, returning the friendly smile. “I’m always up with the birds on the weekends.”

“That’s good to know. Um…did Spike, I mean William, happen to fill you in on the strange circumstances?”

“He mentioned something about a charity auction and he donated a lot of money. He said that you might be staying here for the next week as part of the stipulations for the agreement.”

“Yeah,” Buffy said with reluctance evident in her voice. “Unless it’s not okay, in which case, that’s totally understandable.”

“No, dear, of course you can stay here. I’ve already made up the guest room for you.”

“Oh, well that’s…great,” she replied with false enthusiasm, trying to smile as his mother led her in the house.

“Now, while you’re here, and from now on, you are to call me Anne.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Buffy said with a smile.

“I’m usually at work during the week and out in the garden when I’m home, but if you need anything, I’m sure William will assist you.”

“Yeah,” she replied, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. “I’ll bet he will.” Snapping out of the frustration that was threatening to overwhelm her, Buffy glanced around the house. “Is it okay if I make William some breakfast?”

“Oh, that is so kind. But he’s not up yet, you know.”

“Don’t worry about that,” she replied with a smile, walking toward the kitchen. “He asked me to bring him breakfast bright and early.”

* * * * *

“Rise and shine!” Buffy yelled, throwing the door to Spike’s bedroom wide open and smiling when he practically burrowed beneath the covers. “Wakey, wakey, Spikey,” she continued with a sugary sweet voice.

Walking over to his windows, she quickly jerked the cord on the blinds, filling the room with sunlight.

“What the bloody hell are you doing, you stupid bint?” Spike growled in a gravelly voice, barely audible as he buried his head in the pillow.

“Now, Spikey, you made me promise to bring you breakfast in bed. I believe your exact words were ‘bright and early’, and that’s what I’m here for. That’s what a good little slave does, after all,” she said, grabbing the comforter with both hands and jerking downward, raising an eyebrow when she saw the sheets tangled around his obviously naked hips.

Watching as he rolled over, her eyes widened when she saw the tented fabric of the sheet as he sat up.

“Whoa!” Buffy yelled, turning her head and holding out her hands as if to mentally stop him from moving any further. “I don’t need an eyeful of Spike Junior.”

Understanding her meaning, Spike stretched on his bed, letting his hand trail along his stomach, traveling downward until he was nearly pushing the sheet out of the way. “You sure about that, pet? It’s an impressive sight.”

“I’ll pass. I’m sure there’ve been enough sightings to deem it one of the stops in Rick Steve’s Guidebook.”

“Can’t argue with you there. It has been named one of the Seven Wonders, luv.”

“Keep dreaming, blondie.”

“What time is it?” he asked, squinting his eyes as he looked around the room.

“Six fifteen,” Buffy said, throwing open the blinds to the last window in the room and smiling as the bright sunlight flooded the room with light, highlighting the clothes-littered floor and walls lined with Sex Pistols posters. Raising her eyebrow at the messy room, she smiled when she heard Spike’s angry voice.

“On a Saturday!?” he cried, looking at her in disbelief.

“You said-”

“Bright and early,” he mimicked, rolling his eyes. “Guess I’ll have to be more particular with my instructions, won’t I?”

“If you think it’ll help,” she responded sweetly.

“Well…now that I’m up, what’s for breakfast?” he asked, sitting up and rubbing his hands together.

“Oh, did I forget to bring it in?” she asked in a falsely innocent voice, looking around the room. “I must have left it out in the hall when I opened the door. Hold on a minute.”

Quickly exiting the room, Buffy soon re-entered holding a tray, laden with food. Walking over to the bed, she ungracefully let it fall on his lap, giving him a bright smile as he raised an eyebrow at her.

“What? You have your orange juice,” she said, gesturing to the unpeeled orange that was wedged into a juice glass. “Your eggs,” she continued, pointing at the two raw eggs sitting in a measuring cup.

“And what’s this?” Spike asked with an irritated expression, gesturing to the potato.

“Hashbrowns,” she said, raising an eyebrow at him. “Never heard of ‘em?”

“I’ve heard of them,” he replied in a tense voice. “Just never seen them served in the raw form before. And this?”

Buffy suppressed a giggle as he wrinkled his nose at the dish of cottage cheese. “Well, you’re mom was out of milk, so I settled for the next best thing.”

“I see,” Spike said in a calm voice, nodding his head as he bit his lip, contemplating the meal before him. “Quite an inventive breakfast.”

“Oh, and I almost forgot,” she said, snapping her fingers together as if she was just remembering the finishing touch. Walking out the door, she immediately turned around and tossed a can through the air. Spike’s eyes widened as he caught it before it hit him in the eye. Glaring at her as she walked back to the bed, he looked at the offending object. “Your biscuits,” she said, gesturing to the unopened can that contained the raw batter for the bread.

“Alright,” he growled, slamming the can down on the tray. “I paid a lot of money for you, Goldilocks, and I expect to make good on my investment.”

“Fine. You want breakfast?” she asked, reaching into her pocket and extracting a foil-covered package before tossing it to him. “Pop Tarts. Enjoy.”

“Freeze, Summers,” Spike said as Buffy turned to leave the room. “I mean what I said, Miss High and Mighty. If you think you’re too good to do some of these things, maybe you should have thought twice before entering the auction.”

“And if you didn’t want to deal with me, you should have thought twice before bidding.”

“But the fact remains…I bid, I won, end of story. Now,” he continued with a growl in his voice. “If you’ll be ever so kind…I’d like my real breakfast.”

Chapter 6 – Dirty Laundry


Buffy walked downstairs and towards the kitchen, quietly mumbling to herself as she opened the refrigerator up.

“Is everything alright, dear?” Mrs. Lawson asked as she walked in through the back door, looking over at Buffy. “You seem kind of frustrated.”

“Has anyone ever told you that your son can be a pain?” Buffy asked, frowning. Anne quietly laughed and patted her shoulder.

“You’re not the first person, no,” she replied. “I know he can be a menace, but under that tough guy exterior lies a sweet boy.”

“Man,” Spike corrected as he walked into the kitchen, looking between his mom and Buffy. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you two seem like friends.”

“She’s a lovely young woman,” Anne replied, walking towards William and kissing his cheek. “She reminds me of myself at that age.” Anne winked at Buffy, who raised an eyebrow. “I’m heading out to run some errands fairly soon. Will you two be okay alone?” Buffy shot Spike a scathing look before smiling politely at Anne.

“We’ll be fine,” she said.

“If there are any cop cars or ambulances outside when you return, don’t be surprised, Mum,” Spike replied, glaring at Buffy.

“Be nice, William,” Anne said firmly. “I don’t want you to cause any trouble, understand?”

“I only will if I’m provoked,” he said, crossing his arms. Anne sighed and grabbed her purse.

“Good luck, Buffy,” she said as she walked to the door. “And there better not be any bloodshed in my absence.” Both teens watched Anne leave before looking at each other.

“Forming an alliance with my mother?” Spike asked, leaning against a countertop.

“I honestly don’t understand why you’re such a bastard,” Buffy said, grabbing two eggs and some bread before going towards the oven and toaster. “She’s such a sweet lady- there’s no reason for you to be such a jerk.”

“I wouldn’t be a jerk if you weren’t such a bitch half the time,” he replied. She shot him a look before scouring through a cabinet. “What are you looking for?”

“Frying pan,” she said. “I suppose I can make you an omelet or something.”

He smirked and walked to a cabinet on the other side of the kitchen, opening it up and retrieving a frying pan before handing it to her.

“Thanks,” she said, putting it on the stove before looking at him. “Why are you down here? I would’ve thought you’d go back to sleep.”

“Have to make sure you’re not going to poison my food,” he said, sitting on the island in the center of the room.

“I hadn’t even thought of that,” she said, shrugging. “But I’ll file the idea away for later use.”

“You’re funny,” Spike said sarcastically, glaring at her. “So, luv, I came up with another chore for you to do today.”

“And what’s that?” she asked, cracking the eggs and pouring the contents of them into the frying pan.

“I was thinking maybe you could wash my car,” he replied. “Since it’s such a nice day, and all.”

“You’re going to let me touch your precious piece of junk?” she asked, her eyes wide in faux surprise. “Wow, Spike, I’m honored. I just hope I don’t scratch the paint or dent anything.” Buffy suppressed a smile as his eyes narrowed.

“Ruin anything and lose a hand,” he replied sharply. She smirked and saw a container on one of the counters that had ‘Flour’ written on the front of it. She had an idea suddenly and went over to it. Spike watched her, confused. “I’m pretty sure omelets don’t need flour, Goldilocks. What kind of chef are you?”

“I’ve never really cooked anything,” she said, shrugging. “I was thinking of maybe baking you cookies or something.” He raised an eyebrow as she opened the lid of the container and stuck her hand inside of it, grabbing a fistful of the powder. She looked at it in her hand and tilted her head. “Is this really even important in cooking?” Just as Spike was about to answer, she faked a sneeze as she opened her hand up, effectively blowing the flour towards Spike and covering him in it. He growled as he tried shaking it off of his black shirt and skin. She giggled quietly and dusted her hands off over the sink. “Sorry, I must be coming down with something.” She returned to the frying pan.

“I’m going to have to wash this now,” Spike said, frowning disgustedly. “It’s got your germs all over it.”

“Oh, boo hoo,” she replied before another idea hit her.

‘God, this is too easy,’ she thought.

“What am I talking about?” Spike asked, smirking. “You can do my laundry for me.”

“Fine,” she replied angrily, even though she was scheming inside. “Assemble your dirty clothes and point me in the direction of your washer and dryer.”

“They’re in the basement,” he said. “I’ll be right back.” He headed for the stairs before stopping. “If my food tastes funny, I’m making you start over again.”

“Whatever you say, captain,” she replied, giving him a mock salute. As soon as he was out of earshot, she grinned. “Dumb ass.”

* * * * *

After finishing his breakfast, Spike walked down to the basement and opened up the dryer to get his clothes. As he pulled them out and began to look at them, he clenched his jaw and growled. He held up one of his black t-shirts and tilted his head.

“Buffy!” he yelled, narrowing his eyes as she walked down the stairs, a smile plastered on her face. “What the bloody hell happened to my shirt?”

“I washed it,” she said innocently, her smile never faltering. “It’s what you wanted, right?”

“You shrunk my shirt!” he bellowed, holding it up in front of her face. “It couldn’t even fit you!”

“Oops, I must’ve done something wrong,” she said, sighing. “Oh well, it could be worse.”

“You can’t do laundry?” he asked sharply, looking at her. “Is there anything you’re good at?”

“I’m a swell bowler,” she replied, biting her lip to keep from laughing.

“You’re insufferable,” he mumbled, picking up his clothes and frowning. “What the hell am I supposed to do with these?”

“No idea,” she answered. “Guess you’ll have to go get new stuff.” He raised an eyebrow.

“You’re going to pay for this,” he said sternly, handing her the clothes he was holding. “Never mess with a guy like me, pet, unless you can handle the repercussions.”

“I’m not afraid of you, Spike,” she said, turning on her heel and heading towards the stairs as she tossed the clothes on the floor. “You’re just an asshole with bad hair.”

“What’s your problem?” he hissed, staring at her. She looked back at him.

“You are,” she answered, shooting him one last look before going upstairs.

“She doesn’t know who she’s screwing with,” he growled, watching her leave. “It’s time to enact a little revenge.”

Chapter 7 – Adding Insult to Injury


Walking into the kitchen, Spike studied Buffy for a long moment as she sponged off the counters. She had no idea he was there, and it was nice to see her acting like a normal, non-sadistic girl for a change.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he tilted his head to watch her flip the hair out of her eyes as she continued working.

‘When did we start hating each other?’ he thought with a frown on his face before raising an eyebrow in understanding. ‘Well, I didn’t start hating her until she woke me up at the crack of dawn…but what started the verbal sparring?’

Seeing Buffy look up at him, Spike watched as her features immediately hardened before she turned and threw the sponge into the sink.

“Didn’t ask you to clean up,” he said in a bored tone.

“Yeah, well, you would have eventually,” she countered through gritted teeth. “And I didn’t do it for you. I just didn’t want your mom to come home and have to face this mess.”

“Fair enough,” he said with a shrug, turning away from her so she wouldn’t see that he actually found it a thoughtful thing to do. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” she asked, reluctantly following him out the front door. “Time to wash your car already?”

“Nope, that can wait,” Spike replied, pulling his keys out of his pocket. “I seem to remember you ruining my wardrobe.”

“Wardrobe?” Buffy said with a laugh. “So I threw a few shirts in the machine and accidentally set it on hot water- I wouldn’t call that your wardrobe.” Turning to stare at him for a moment, Buffy took in the newest black shirt and jeans that he was wearing. “Actually, for you…it probably was your whole wardrobe.”

Spike glared at her for a moment before narrowing his eyes. “Thought you didn’t know how to do laundry.”

“I, um, I don’t. That’s what I said earlier.”

“Then how did you know it was hot water that shrunk it?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well…uh…you see…what else could it be?” she said, biting her lip as she avoided looking him in the eye. “I mean, the detergent doesn’t shrink clothes…right?” she asked, feigning innocence.

“Uh huh,” Spike replied with a disbelieving expression, never taking his gaze from her. Seeing her fidget after a moment, he rolled his eyes, gesturing to the car. “Get in.”

* * * * *

“Coffee,” he said, handing her some money as they walked into the Espresso Pump.

“I thought we were shopping?”

“Need a caffeine fix,” he said with a shrug. “I’ll be over there.”

Buffy looked in the direction he was pointing and sighed when she saw his friends sitting at a nearby table. Seeing her expression, Spike misread it and rolled his eyes before handing her another five dollars.

“Get yourself something.” Watching the look of surprise that came over her face, Spike gave Buffy a smirk before continuing, “I’m not a slave driver, Summers…well…in this case, yeah, I guess I am, but I’m not evil.”

“That’s debatable.”

Stepping toward her, Spike smirked when Buffy didn’t move, leaving him to press his body against hers. “I’m bad, baby. Make no mistake, but I think evil is a bit of a stretch.”

“I guess we’ll have to see,” she said, walking over to the counter and ordering their drinks.

She debated getting something that would piss him off but decided against it. She could be the bigger person…just this once. He did, after all, offer to buy her something as well.

Smiling at the employee as he handed her the two Styrofoam cups, Buffy made her way over to the table and placed one of them in front of Spike, not bothering to look at his friends as she took in the interior of the small café.

Turning around a moment later when Spike started coughing, Buffy’s brows knit together as she watched him.

“What the bloody hell is this?” he asked, holding up his cup.

“Black coffee. It’s what you wanted, right?”

“This is not coffee. I don’t know what it is,” he said, pushing it away and glaring at her.

Taking a sip of hers, Buffy made a face at the bitter liquid before shoving it into his hands. “This must be yours,” she said, picking up her mocha. “Sorry, guess I got them mixed up.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” he said in a low voice, standing up.

“Spike, it was an honest mistake.”

“Right, like I believe that for a second. Like the flour? Or the laundry, for that matter?”

“Fine,” she muttered. “Believe what you want.”

“Come on,” Spike said as he began to walk away.

“You’re really not going to let this go, are you?”

“Why should I?” Spike asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’ve paid a lot of money for you, Summers, and I expect a good…return on my investment.”

The smirk that was taking over his features made her want to wipe the smug look from his face. Without another word, Buffy began walking away with Spike right behind her.

“Hey, Lawson!”

Buffy couldn’t help but turn around and see the lunkhead who was high-fiving Spike. “Nice purchase, my man,” the other guy said with a grin as he perused Buffy’s body.

Self-consciously crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at the other man.

“Yeah, Abrams, I’m kinda proud of her,” Spike said with a smile as he watched Buffy’s nervous blush before an angry fire sparked in her eyes.

He was surprised when she turned around and began walking away. With a parting slap on Parker’s back, Spike quickly caught up to her in front of the café.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked in a quiet voice as he grasped her arm.

“Let’s get one thing straight, Spike,” she said, spinning around and practically spitting out his name as she poked a finger in his chest. “You may have paid a lot of money for me to do a few chores for you in the next week, but don’t think for a second that I’m going to stand by while you and your idiot friend ogle me as if you’ve never seen a woman before.”

“And the kitten has claws,” Spike replied, biting his bottom lip and admiring the flushed tone of her face and the angry look in her eyes. “I may have to get you mad more often,” he said, his gaze traveling to her heaving chest as her jaw tightened.

“It shouldn’t be too hard. I think you have a natural gift for getting under my skin.”

“Oh, I could definitely get under your skin,” Spike said with a smirk, the innuendo clear in his voice as Buffy turned away from him. He suppressed the chuckle at the rigid stance of her shoulders before she slowly turned back to face him.

Before Buffy could reply, Faith walked over to them with a smiling Andrew in tow. “Hey, B…Lawson,” she said, nodding a greeting. “Nice catch for you.”

“If you say so,” Spike replied, looking Buffy up and down and smiling again when her face heated up before she turned to the blushing boy behind Faith.

“Thanks for bidding on me last night, Andrew. It was really sweet,” she said with a genuine soft smile.

“I would have gone higher,” Andrew said with a dreamy look. “But…I didn’t have enough money.”

“Yeah,” Spike replied, never making eye contact as he lit a cigarette. “That much was obvious.”

He noticed Buffy’s glare in his direction, giving her a look of his own, before turning his attention back to the couple next to them.

“I didn’t catch the end of the auction. I’m assuming you got Faith,” Spike said, gesturing to the brunette and chuckling when Andrew blushed.

“Y-yeah…”

He didn’t seem to know what to say as Faith wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “We’re gonna have some fun this week, aren’t we, Andy?”

Buffy was suddenly grateful that Andrew wasn’t drinking anything as he began choking at her words. “Um…yeah,” he finally said when his coughing was under control.

“We’re gonna catch up with a bunch of people tonight at the Bronze. You guys want to tag along?” Faith asked, turning her attention back to Buffy, who in turn looked at Spike.

‘This is going to get really old,’ she thought, watching Spike carefully as he took a long drag on his cigarette. ‘I really don’t like the idea of having to ask his permission every time I want to do something.’

“Yeah, we’ll be there,” Spike said a moment later, waving as Faith and Andrew walked away.

“See, Summers,” Spike whispered, causing chills to run up and down her spine as his breath tickled her bare skin. “It could have been worse.”

“Who says Andrew would have been worse?” Buffy asked with a smirk as she looked over her shoulder at him. She felt proud when the look of doubt crept over his features before the mask fell back in place. Suddenly realizing her only tiny bit of leverage in this upcoming week from hell, Buffy’s smile widened. “I think he would have been a hell of a lot better than you,” she continued before walking away.

‘Maybe things aren’t as bad as I thought. He’s obviously got a weakness where his masculinity is concerned.’

Chapter 8 – Payback’s A Bitch


Things hadn’t improved between the time they left the coffee shop and when they arrived at the mall. Spike kept murmuring things under his breath, which only fueled Buffy’s anger more.

“Could you at least speak louder so I can hear what the hell you’re complaining about?” she asked as they entered the mall, ignoring the way he glared at her.

“I’m loads better than Andrew and you know it,” he replied before looking away, his shoulders slumping.

“Are you sulking?” she asked, grinning when he shot her a look. “Big bad Spike is sulking like a little boy!”

“Sod off, you insane bint,” he replied, crossing his arms. She looked at him, smiling.

“Are you freeing me of my slave duties?” she asked jokingly. “Wow, Spike, that’s so cool of you. I’ll see you around.” She turned on her heel but didn’t get very far as he grabbed her arm and wrenched her back to him.

“You’re mine,” he said sharply, looking into her eyes, and she felt a chill run through her. “I paid good money for you, and I’m not about to just write off five hundred dollars, out of the goodness of my heart. I demand to get what I paid for.”

“Oh, you’ll get what’s coming to you,” she replied, looking away. He raised an eyebrow, studying her. “Are we going to argue all day here or are we going to get you new clothes?”

“I want to go to the CD store first,” he said. “You can go off on your own for a bit.” She tilted her head, looking at him. “Or you can continue to be a thorn in my side- your call.”

“Adios,” she said, quickly turning and walking to a nearby department store. He sighed as he watched her retreating form.

“She’s going to be the bloody death of me,” he said before going to buy new CDs.

* * * * *

As Buffy exited the department store carrying several filled bags, Spike appeared by a kiosk selling Zippo lighters.

‘Why am I not surprised?’ she thought, heading towards him. ‘Maybe he’ll die of lung cancer before the week is through.’ She paused, frowning. ‘Wow, Buffy, that’s possibly the worst thing you’ve ever thought.’ Before analyzing it more, Spike appeared in front of her, looking at the bags she was holding.

“Go on a spree, luv?” he asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, it’s all for you,” she said. “I got you some new shirts to replace the old ones.”

“Thanks,” he said, smiling a little. “That’s really decent of you.” She bit back a smirk as she thought of the contents in the bags.

‘I have a feeling he won’t say thanks when he sees exactly what I bought,’ she thought.

“Let’s head home,” he said. “I can’t stand being in this place for another minute.” She nodded, preferring to go home anyway, not wanting to be seen in public with him more than she had to.

They walked out to the parking lot and got in his car before Spike realized something.

“Why am I driving?” he asked. “Shouldn’t you be carting me around?”

“Cars and Buffy don’t mesh well,” she said, looking at him. “So unless you want your darling car to end up smashed into a pole, I don’t suggest letting me drive.”

“Wow, Summers, I’m surprised you didn’t just get behind the wheel and let me find that out for myself,” he said, putting a hand over his heart, feigning shock. “Are you actually looking out for me?”

“Don’t want to be sent to jail for vehicular manslaughter,” she replied, narrowing her eyes at him. “I’d rather be sent there for homicide.” He glared at her before starting the engine.

“Whatever you say, pet, but I think you’re starting to grow fond of me,” he said. She looked at him as her jaw dropped. “Pretty soon, you won’t be able to resist my charm.”

“Charm?” she asked in disbelief. “I know you’re delusional, Spike, but if you think you’re charming, you’re even more insane than I suspected.”

“Oh, come on,” he said, smirking. “You fancy me, luv- I can tell.” She crossed her arms, tilting her head as she looked at him. “You totally wanted a piece of me this morning when I was in bed. And hey, I probably wouldn’t have stopped you. Bloody convenient, being in my bed and all.”

“Sorry, but you’re not as good-looking as you like to think,” she said sternly. “Just because some girls at school fawn all over you, doesn’t mean that I’m one of them. I see right through you, William- you’re just a scared, insecure little boy who pretends to be tough so that no one will see what a loser you really are.” He stared at her, actually surprised by her little outburst. When he didn’t say anything for a moment, she looked outside, mentally reprimanding herself for being so mean.

‘He might be a jerk, but that was almost pushing it a little too far,’ she thought.

“That’s really what you think?” he asked, and she nodded slightly. “Well, Goldilocks, I guess I can’t blame you for being honest.” She looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “But I’m not a loser.”

“Whatever you say,” she said, shrugging. “In your circle of friends, you’re not. But in mine, you’re not exactly the King of Cool.”

“Don’t really care what any of your pals think,” he said as he drove toward his house. “Besides, it’s not like any of your friends are the picture of perfection. I mean, Red, for instance, is-”

“Don’t you dare say anything about her!” Buffy cut in, angry. “She’s better than anyone I know, and if you can’t see that, then you’re blind.” He smiled and looked at her.

“You know, kitten, I really love verbally pushing your buttons,” he said before leering at her. “But I can think of a ‘button’ I’d really like to ‘push’ on you.” She blushed before smacking his arm, getting him to chuckle. “You’re a tough little girl, aren’t you?”

“I can hold my own,” she said, looking at him. “Especially against a loser like you.”

“Ouch, pet,” he replied, playfully pouting, holding a hand to his chest. “You hurt my feelings.”

“That’s not the only thing that’s going to hurt when I’m through with you,” she said, looking outside, not seeing the perverted smirk Spike sent her way.

“That sounds delicious, luv,” he said. “I’d bet you’d make it hurt in all the wrong places.” Once again, she blushed and smacked him. “What? I couldn’t just let that lie there.”

* * * * *

“Buffy, what the hell is all of this?” Spike asked as he looked through all of the bags Buffy set on his bed. “There’s a shirt in here that looks like a bloody disco ball.” She giggled and sat on the bed, grabbing a bag. “Please tell me that one’s for you.”

“Nope, all of this is yours,” she said. “I wanted to improve your wardrobe, you know- add some color.”

“‘Improve’?” he asked sharply, staring at her. “Summers, it looks like Studio 54 threw up in these bags.” She laughed again, only harder this time. As she wiped tears off the corners of her eyes, Spike threw a bag at her. “You’re going to return all of this and get me new stuff.”

“Can’t,” she said, crossing her legs underneath her. “Everything was on clearance, so you can’t return it.”

“At least I didn’t pay for any of this,” he mumbled, sitting down next to her, frowning. She smirked and looked at him.

“Actually, you paid for all of it,” she said, and he looked at her, confused. “I took money off of your desk before we left so that I could pay for it.” His face fell before she saw fury fill his eyes. She scooted back a bit, becoming slightly afraid of him. “I’m sorry! I wanted to piss you off.”

“Congratulations- it worked,” he replied, clenching both his jaw and his fists. “Do you have a bloody death wish?”

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, sounding almost sincere. “You’ve been a jerk to me for as long as I’ve known you, and I guess I just wanted to start paying you back for everything.”

“By stealing my money and wasting it on this crap?” he asked, kicking the bags off his bed.

“Yeah, it was a start,” she muttered, looking down. “I’m sorry, okay? I’ll pay you back, I promise.”

“Yeah, you’ll be paying me back,” he said. “Every single cent of the money you spent.”

“Fine,” she said, shrugging. “The receipt is in one of the bags- you can see the total, if you want.”

“Plus you owe me for the five hundred I spent on you,” he said. “I could’ve gotten a trollop that would’ve been more obedient than you.” She looked at him with an indignant expression.

“Then why didn’t you?” she asked, upset. “Would’ve saved me from this nightmare.”

“Because, luv, I think you’ll be better for me than any prostitute,” he said, smirking. “Besides, I doubt you have any diseases.” She mumbled something and stood up, going to the door. “What was that?”

“I wish I had a disease- you’d be the first person I’d want to infect,” she said, looking back at him.

“I’m touched,” he grinned. She narrowed her eyes at him before leaving the room. “And the fun is just beginning.”

Chapter 9 - Spike, The Schizophrenic


“Are you ready yet?” Buffy asked, falling back on the bed as she waited for Spike to come out of the bathroom.

“In a minute, Summers!”

“Unless you’re wearing something new, I would think the ‘getting ready’ process would be old-hat by now.”

“Well, excuse me!” he yelled from the other room. “Not all of us can be as naturally perfect as Princess Buffy.”

Ignoring the comment, Buffy softly began humming the song in her head, patting her hands on her stomach as she caught the beat before her lips curved into a smile.

“You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf, it was apricot.”

“Shut up!” Spike yelled, knowing that she was singing to him, but it only caused her to sing louder.

”You had one eye on the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner
They'd be your partner, and...”

“Summers…”

“…you're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?”

Walking into the room and leaning against the doorframe, Buffy bit her lip to suppress the smile as she stopped singing. Spike’s eyes narrowed on her innocent expression.

“What?” she asked, her eyes wide as she looked at him. “I was just singing. It’s not like it was insulting, unless you think it was directed at you.”

“And if I know it was directed at me?” he asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Well…what can I say?” Buffy replied before breaking into song again. “I’ll bet you think this song is about you, don’t you? Don’t yoooouuuu?”

“Let’s go,” he growled, waiting until she stood up before following her out the door.

“You’re not gonna change?”

Looking down at her tank top and jeans, Buffy quickly shook her head as she walked down the stairs. “I didn’t bring anything with me.”

“Why not?” he asked, following after her.

“Because I didn’t think I would be ‘moving in’ today, that’s why.”

Sighing heavily before calling goodbye to his mother, Spike followed Buffy out the front door. “I’ll run you by your house.”

Surprised when Buffy spun around to face him, he watched as she shook her head.

“No…that’s okay. I don’t mind what I’m wearing.”

“Well, that’s all good and fine, Summers, but you’re going to need clothes eventually. Might as well stop by while we’re out.”

“I can run home tomorrow…sometime.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said, rolling his eyes as they each got in the car. “Which way?”

* * * * *

Pulling up in front of the rundown apartment complex on the low-rent side of town, Spike kept all snide comments to himself as he stared at the building.

“I thought you would have lived close to my house, pet.”

“What made you think that?” Buffy asked, avoiding his eyes as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “Not everyone can live the highlife.”

Climbing out of the car, she whirled around when she heard the car door close behind her.

“What are you doing?”

“Saying hello to your mum.”

“Why?” she asked skeptically.

“Because she’s a nice lady. Always been decent to me - what’s the problem, Summers?”

‘The problem?!’ she silently screamed. ‘Other than the fact that the person who hates me will have more ammo in the future, you want to know my problem?’

“Come on,” she said in a soft voice, shoving her thoughts to the back of her mind. Walking toward the stairs, which was actually a fire escape, and climbing up to the second floor, she kept her eyes looking downward as she unlocked the door. Wordlessly holding it open for him, Buffy waited for him to enter before tugging on it to get it to close all the way with a slam. “Mom?”

“In here, honey.”

Frowning as she followed the voice, Buffy walked toward the hallway. Spike’s brow furrowed as he looked at the combined living room/kitchen. He would have sworn Buffy came from money. Following her to the hallway, he heard her frantic voice coming from the closest room.

“Are you okay?”

Quickly walking into the room, Spike’s eyes widened when he saw Joyce Summers lying in bed with a scarf wrapped securely around her head.

“Spike,” she said with a warm smile. “Forgive me for not getting up- I haven’t been feeling like myself today.”

“Are you okay?” Buffy repeated, sitting on the edge of the bed, taking her mother’s hand in hers.

“I’m fine, Buffy. I woke up feeling a little under the weather, so I stayed home from work today, but I’m fine,” Joyce insisted.

“I can stay home tonight,” she said, not even looking at Spike as she made her priorities known.

“No. That’s silly- you go out and have a good time. Did you come home to get your things?”

“Yeah,” Buffy said reluctantly.

“Okay then,” Joyce said with a warm smile. “You go get your things, and Spike can keep an old woman company.”

“You’re far from old, Joyce,” he said with a smile.

“Go, Buffy,” her mother said, giving her a little push. “This week, you’re free.”

“No,” she said, standing up and glancing at Spike. “This week, I’m a slave.”

* * * * *

Both stayed quiet on the drive to the Bronze, neither willing to say anything as they got out of the car and walked through the alley to get to the club.

“Listen…if you need to stay and help out your mum this week, I’ll understand.”

“What? And let your good mood run out and have you criticizing me for not making good on your investment? I don’t think so.”

“I’m trying to be nice, Buffy.”

“Yeah, well, don’t,” she said, spinning around to face him. “This has always been me, Spike. From the day you first met me, this was me, so don’t start treating me like I’m some charity case. I’m the same girl I was just a few hours ago.”

Spike watched as Buffy stormed into the Bronze, clenching his jaw before following. “Fine,” he muttered to himself. “You don’t want me to be nice- not a problem.”

As Buffy entered the club, she immediately looked around, hoping to see a friendly face or two.

‘Anything to get away from him,’ she thought. She saw Willow and Oz sitting at a table and began to walk towards them before Spike intercepted her, blocking her path.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked sternly, tilting his head.

“To say hello to Willow and Oz,” she answered, crossing her arms over her chest. “Two people who don’t piss me off.”

“I wouldn’t piss you off if you were nicer to me,” he replied.

“Bull,” she said with a scoff. “You were mean to me long before I was to you.”

“What? That’s not true,” he said, confused. “You were the one who-”

“Hey, B,” Faith said, appearing beside the two blondes. “Hey, Spike. I’m surprised you two haven’t killed each other yet. I’m sure all of that pent-up sexual tension is almost eating you alive, as it is.”

Buffy made a disgusted face, rolling her eyes at the brunette.

“Where’s Andrew?” Spike asked, looking around. Faith smirked.

“He’s getting me a drink,” she said. “That kid is so whipped! I’m just waiting for him to let me make a man out of him.” Buffy and Spike exchanged a look before Faith laughed. “Oh, come on- he obviously needs a ride. I don’t want the guy to graduate a virgin.”

“Does he know that’s your plan?” Buffy asked, looking at Andrew, sitting on a stool by the bar.

“He will soon enough,” Faith said, grinning. “But what about you two? Any debauchery I should know about?”

“No,” Buffy said firmly. “That’s a very emphatic no. In fact- a thousand gallons of no!”

Spike saw a slight blush in her cheeks and wrapped his arm around her waist, deciding it was time to get her back a little.

“Baby, be honest,” Spike said, leaning over to gently nibble on her ear. Buffy jolted a little, and Spike smiled at her before looking at Faith. “Buffy’s the best shag I’ve ever had,” he continued, watching as she froze, feeling both nauseous and disgusted. Before she could say anything, Faith slapped her arm.

“Good on you, B,” Faith said. “You deserve a release, too, you know.”

“Thanks,” she muttered, looking down as Andrew came over to them, holding a soda out for Faith.

“Hi, Buffy,” he said, smiling at her. “How’re you?”

“I’ve been better,” she answered, and Spike frowned. “How about you?”

“I’m doing well,” he answered, blushing a deeper shade of red as Faith took his hand in hers and squeezed it.

“Let’s go dance, Andy,” she said, pulling him out to the dance-floor. Buffy watched and shook her head.

“He has absolutely no idea about what he signed on for when he bid on her,” she said. “I feel sorry for him. Faith’s going to put him through a wringer before she’s done with him.”

“Looks like the slave turned out to be the master,” Spike replied.

“I think girls are called mistresses in that scenario, aren’t they?” she asked, looking at him.

“Or, in her case, a dominatrix,” he said, causing Buffy to smile slightly. “Are we actually having a friendly conversation?”

“What? No,” she said quickly, and he smirked. “I still hate you.”

“Whatever you say, luv,” he replied. “Even though I know you want to shag my brains out.”

“No!” she said, glaring at him as her good mood evaporated. “I wouldn’t ever sleep with you. You’re beneath me, Spike.” He looked at her, hurt by her words. She saw sadness in his eyes before it was replaced with anger.

‘That really wasn’t a good thing to say, Buffy,’ she thought. As Spike opened his mouth to speak, she took a small step back. ‘Here it comes.’

“You think you’re better than me?” he asked sharply. “You’re the one who’s unpopular and poor, not me.” She bit back the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes. “Never would’ve guessed you live in the slums, pet, but I guess it makes sense. Explains why you are the way you are. You’re nothing.” She felt a tear escape the corner of her eye and quickly wiped it away, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he really was hurting her. “By the way, you don’t owe me for the clothes you bought today- there’s no way in hell you’ll ever be able to pay me back, as it is. Don’t need to make you even poorer than you already are.” She balled up her fist and punched him in the stomach, and he groaned in agony, bowling over and clutching his abdomen.

“Fuck you,” she hissed, turning on her heel and storming out of the club.

“Wow, looks like she’s not being an obedient slave,” Cordelia said as both she and Doyle walked towards Spike. He looked at them, still in pain. “Want me to go after her?”

“No,” Spike answered. “She’s my problem.”

“What did you do to her?” Willow asked as she walked over to Spike, a stern look on her face. Oz appeared behind her, looking equally as angry, which was odd, considering Oz never seemed to show any type of emotion.

“I…I said some pretty bad things,” Spike admitted, looking down. “I just don’t know when to stop sometimes.”

“And you have the uncanny ability of sticking your foot in your mouth,” Willow said, crossing her arms. “I’ll go talk to her.” She turned and walked away quickly, hoping to catch up to her friend. Cordelia walked to the bar, and Doyle patted Spike’s back before following her, leaving Oz standing in front of Spike.

“If you do anything to hurt her again, you know I’m going to step in, right?” he asked, causing Spike raised an eyebrow. “She’s an amazing girl, and the fact that you can’t see that, really bothers me.”

“I know she’s ‘an amazing girl’,” Spike replied. “I’m just a wanker who pushes it too far.”

“Then stop pushing and be nice to her,” Oz said, walking away and going after both Willow and Buffy. Spike went to sit down at a table, absently running his hand over his stomach.

‘I can’t believe I said that to her,’ he thought, resting his head on the wall behind him. ‘I’ve got to talk to her and make things right.’ He stood up and headed for the exit.

* * * * *

Willow caught up to Buffy out in the parking lot. She quickly embraced her friend when she saw the tears streaming from her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.

“I hate him, Will,” she sobbed. “I don’t understand how he can be nice one second and then be so mean the next.”

“That’s just Spike,” Willow said quietly, running her hand over he friend’s hair. “He goes from nice to jerk in five seconds flat. Maybe he’s a schizophrenic,” she added, relaxing a little as Buffy managed a small smile.

“I wish,” she mumbled, wiping off her eyes. “It definitely would explain things.”

“Want us to take you home?” Willow asked as she saw Oz coming towards them. “We can drive you.”

“I don’t want to impose,” Buffy said, sniffling. “You two should be alone.”

“I’d feel better if I knew you were safe,” Willow said. Buffy paused before nodding, following Willow over to Oz’s van. All three of them got in and headed off into the night.

Spike came outside in time to see a van speeding off and knew it had to be Oz’s.

‘Great,’ he thought, going to his car and getting inside. ‘You really need to learn to change, Spike. The girl already hates you enough, and if you ever want a chance, you need to reform. Besides, it’s not like you even have a vendetta against her in the first place- you just like messing with her.’ He sighed and started his car. ‘You deserve to be hated.’

He took a shortcut to her apartment and waited for Oz’s van to pull up. When twenty minutes passed and there wasn’t a sign of anyone, Spike drove towards Willow’s house. Upon seeing that Oz’s van wasn’t parked there, Spike began to wonder where Buffy went.

‘But it’s not like she’d talk to me even if I found her,’ he thought, beginning to drive home.

It was as he pulled up in his driveway that he saw something on his porch. Rather, someone. As he got out of the car and focused on the person sitting on his porch, he froze.

“Buffy.”

Chapter 10 – Just Words


Noticing that she was avoiding his gaze, Spike slowly walked toward the porch, hesitating before he sat down next to her.

“I didn’t mean it,” he began, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared straight ahead.

“Doesn’t mean it’s not true,” she said softly, obviously choking back the tears.

“Buffy-”

“Can we not…talk right now,” she whispered. “I’m only here because I have to be. Trust me, it’s the last place I want to be, but the faster this week is over, the faster I can pretend you don’t exist.”

“I just wanted to say-”

“I know what you wanted to say, Spike,” she murmured, finally turning to look at him, causing his heart to constrict as he saw her watery eyes. “They’re just words, right? They never really mean anything.”

“But they hurt you. I hurt you, and I never meant to, pet.”

Glancing at the ground for a moment, Buffy bit her lip as she nodded. “Can we just forget about it? Can we just get through this week and then pretend like the other doesn’t exist?”

“And if that’s not what I want?”

“Then I don’t know what you want,” she said, standing up and wrapping her arms around her body. “And I don’t want to know. Whatever you think is going to happen, whatever you might want to happen…I’m not sleeping with you just so you can say that you went slumming it for a week.”

“That’s not what-”

“That’s not what you meant,” she filled in for him. “That’s never what you mean, is it, Spike? Not once it’s out of your mouth. At least take some responsibility for yourself. You meant what you said and that’s…that’s okay. It’s your opinion, and that’s fine. There’re reasons why I’m ‘unpopular and poor’, but you’re not going to hear them. That’s what my true friends are for.”

Hearing her softly spoken voice nearly cut into him like a knife. He would have preferred her to hit him than say what she was saying.

“Can we go inside now?” she asked. “I’d like to call and check on my mom and get to bed.”

‘Oh God, her mum,’ he thought, feeling his stomach drop even farther.

“What happened to her?” he asked, standing up and reaching for his keys.

“Cancer,” she said softly. “Kind of sudden, but she caught it in time…she’s better now.”

“I’m glad,” he whispered. “No one should have to go through the death of one of their parents at our age.”

‘His dad,’ she thought, remembering the car accident a few years ago.

“Yeah,” she agreed, standing behind him as he opened the door.

“Ladies first,” Spike said with a soft smile, waiting until she walked past him before entering the house.

“Your room is right next to mine,” he said, climbing the stairs, feeling a sense of loss that he wasn’t going to be close enough to touch her in a few moments.

Opening the door of the room, Buffy gave him a halfhearted smile before she began walking past him. Stopping with a start when she felt Spike’s hand on her arm, she turned to face him with confusion etched on her features.

“Buffy…”

He trailed off in a whisper, looking into her eyes.

Seeing the façade crumble, Buffy relaxed a little bit as she sighed and looked at him. “I owe you an apology, too,” she said, knowing that wasn’t what he was looking for, but it was easier than forgiving him at that moment. “I didn’t mean what I said…I probably just provoked you.”

“Yeah, well…you’re the best at it,” he said with a smile before slowly leaning down and brushing a kiss to her forehead. “Goodnight, pet.”

“’Night, Spike,” she said, feeling their tentative truce take effect as she gave him a soft smile before walking into her room.

Feeling moderately better, Spike sighed as he dragged his hand over his face. Walking into his room, he kicked the door shut before walking over to his bed and collapsing on his back.

“You really fucked up tonight, mate,” he muttered to himself, staring at the ceiling. “Mental note- keep feet firmly on the floor and not shoved in your mouth…or next time, she’ll make sure and shove one up your ass- rightfully so.”

* * * * *

Waking up the next morning, Buffy had been surprised to see her bag sitting outside her door. She knew she left it in Spike’s car, but she had been too upset the night before to think about grabbing it before she came inside.

Wearing her favorite pajamas and slippers, Buffy padded down the stairs, automatically seeking out the heavenly scents that were drifting in from the kitchen. Stopping in the doorway, her eyes widened when, instead of Anne, Spike stood in front of the stove, scrambling eggs and dividing them among the plates that were already laden with bacon and toast.

“What’s going on?” Buffy asked with a smile, walking into the kitchen and taking a seat at the island, raising an eyebrow when Spike set a glass of orange juice in front of her.

“Serving you breakfast,” he said with a grin.

“And apparently I’m missing something,” she replied, watching him carefully. “Aren’t the slaves supposed to be the ones doing the cooking?”

“Not when the master has been a right wanker,” Spike said, setting a plate in front of her. “Don’t get used to it- I’m not one for the kitchen labor, and consider yourself lucky if you don’t bite into an eggshell with every other bite. The Good Mood Train immediately stops with breakfast.”

Buffy giggled as he sat down next to her. “Yes, Master.”

“Now that has a nice ring to it,” Spike said with a playful smirk, glancing at her as she giggled again. ‘Stick with that,’ he thought to himself. ‘Her laugh is a million times better than a single tear- especially when you’re the cause of the tears.’

Waiting until she picked up a fork, Spike studied her as she took a bite of the eggs, briefly closing her eyes.

“Not good?” he asked, feeling insecure with his culinary skills.

“Delicious,” she said, turning to look at him. “You have some hidden talents, Mr. Lawson.”

“More than you know, pet,” he replied, raising an eyebrow at her as she blushed. “Let me know if you want to experience anything else.”

“I think I’ll stick with the eggs,” she said with a smile, causing Spike to relax.

‘And we’re back with the easy rapport and innuendos- this is good.’

“So, what’s on the agenda today?” Buffy asked, taking another bite.

“Well…my room kind of needs to be cleaned,” he said in a sheepish tone.

“Considering the things that I pulled on you yesterday, I think I can manage that,” she said, her smile never faltering.

“But they weren’t half as bad as-”

“Spike,” she said in a warning tone, waiting until he turned to look at her. “Let it go.”

Hearing her gentle voice, he finally allowed himself to relax. “Alright, well, if you’re looking for more tasks today… you can always give me a striptease.”

Surprising him as her laughter met his ears, Spike turned to look at her, seeing the look she gave him. “Now, now, Mr. Lawson…what are you gonna do if I take you up on that one of these days?”

Buffy laughed even harder as Spike choked on his food.

Chapter 11- At Your Service


After finishing her breakfast, Buffy returned to the guest room to change, putting on jeans and a t-shirt. Spike walked upstairs as she exited her room, heading across the hall to his.

“I brought you garbage bags,” he said, handing them to her. “I’m sure you’ll find a lot of stuff you’ll want to throw away.”

“Is there anything I should be aware of?” she asked curiously, accepting the bags before opening the door to his room. As she looked around, she couldn’t help but gasp quietly. “Spike, this is…horrendous! You barely even have a path to your bed! It’s worse than yesterday.”

He chuckled and crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe.

“Think you can handle cleaning in here?” he asked, looking at her.

“Do I get one of those suits that people wear when they’re dealing with hazardous materials?” she asked, frowning. “Did you purposely throw stuff on the ground and demolish this place so I’d have a field day cleaning?”

“Nope,” he answered, smirking. “This is just how I live my life.”

“Your mom must love it,” she said sarcastically, taking a couple of steps into the room. “If I contract some weird-ass disease, I’m suing you.”

He laughed and walked down the hallway, going downstairs again as Buffy kicked a pile of clothes aside and shook her head.

‘This is a nightmare,’ she thought. ‘But hey, maybe I’ll make an interesting discovery or two.’

* * * * *

About an hour later, she was laying on her stomach beside the bed, trying to clean underneath it. She grabbed a bunch of balled-up pieces of paper, candy wrappers, and miscellaneous garbage, throwing it into the fourth garbage bag she had filled up. It was around that time when she came across a pile of magazines. She raised an eyebrow and brought them out so she could look at them.

Spike came upstairs and stopped to stand in the doorway of his room, watching as Buffy crawled out from under his bed with a stack of his Playboy magazines. He smirked as he saw her blush, making a face before she shoved the magazines back in their rightful place.

“See anything interesting, pet?” he asked, and she looked at him with wide eyes, still blushing.

“How long have you been standing there?” she asked, quickly standing up.

“Long enough to see you find my magazines,” he replied, studying her. “I’m surprised you didn’t look at any of them.”

“Why the hell would I do that?” she asked, frowning. “I’m straight- I like guys.”

“You don’t like me,” he pointed out, and she sighed.

“You’re not that horrible when you’re nice,” she said quietly, sitting on his bed. He smiled and walked over to her, sitting beside her. “So, is your room up to par, sir?”

“Looks pretty good to me,” he replied, looking around. “Find anything else that caught your eye?”

“No,” she answered, tilting her head as she looked at him. “Why? Is there something I should’ve seen?”

“The stack of porn DVDs in my closet,” he said, and she blushed again, looking away before standing up. “You know, we could watch one or two today,” he continued, smiling when she looked at him with wide eyes. “What? It’d be fun.”

“For you, maybe,” she said. “I r-refuse to watch anything of that n-nature with you.” He chuckled as she quickly stormed out of his room, going into hers and slamming the door.

“Hey, be easy on the door, Summers,” he said loudly. “Don’t want to break it. That is, unless you fancy repairing it.”

“Bite me,” she replied, causing him to smirk.

“I’d love to,” he said to himself, lying back on his pillows.

* * * * *

Later that night, Buffy left her room and walked downstairs, seeing Anne moving around in the kitchen.

“Is everything alright?” she asked, looking at the older woman. Anne smiled softly at Buffy.

“Everything is fine, dear,” she said. “I’m just worried that William isn’t being lenient enough on you.”

“He’s not making me do anything out of line,” Buffy replied, sitting on a chair. “I’m sure some of the other girls have been doing far worse things.” Anne raised an eyebrow, and Buffy quickly continued, “William’s been good about all of this.”

“I made her breakfast, Mum,” Spike said, walking into the room. “So I can’t be that much of a monster.”

“I just don’t want to find out that you’ve been giving her difficult tasks or making her do asinine things just for your amusement,” Anne said, looking at her son. “She’s a nice girl, William, and she deserves to be treated with respect.”

“Nothing but the best for Princess Buffy,” Spike said, giving Buffy a small wink. She raised an eyebrow before smiling at him. “So, what’s for dinner?”

“I was thinking of making lasagna,” Anne answered. “Is that okay with you, Buffy?”

“It’s perfect,” she said, smiling. “I love lasagna. My mom and I used to make it a lot when I was younger. If you’d like, I can help.”

“Can William spare you for a while?” Anne asked, and Spike nodded, waving it off. “Great, I’d love some company.” Buffy smiled and walked over to Anne. The two women began preparing the meal for the night, and as Spike stood in the doorway watching them, he couldn’t help but smile at how right it seemed.

‘My two favorite girls together,’ he thought. ‘It seems as though things are looking up, doesn’t it?’

* * * * *

“I thought you said you couldn’t cook,” Spike said as he walked upstairs with Buffy after dinner.

“I can’t,” she replied. “Your mom was in charge of making dinner- I just helped. If she hadn’t been there, I’m sure it would’ve been horrid.”

“Probably,” he agreed, laughing when she smacked his arm. “So, what’re you doing tonight?”

“Whatever you tell me to,” she said, stopping to stand in front of the guest room. He smirked, tilting his head as she clarified, “A chore- not something… bad.”

“Define ‘bad’,” he said, chuckling as she began to blush. “You’ll cave in one day, Goldilocks- I can feel it.”

“I will never cave in,” she replied, making a face. “You… are not a nice person.” He laughed as she turned on her heel and walked into the room.

“Actually, princess, I thought of something you can do for me,” Spike said, standing in her doorway.

“Yeah? And what’s that?” she asked, looking at him with an amused expression.

“I could use a massage,” he answered, and she raised an eyebrow. “Up for it?”

“You want a massage?” she asked, clarifying, and he nodded. She sighed and patted her bed. “Fine.” He smirked and walked into the room, sitting beside her. “A back massage, right?”

“Wherever your hands want to be is fine with me,” he said, shooting her a lascivious smirk before lying down.

‘Okay, Summers. It’s a massage. No big deal, just rub his back and don’t focus on the tight muscles that are underneath that t-shirt or the way the sleeves wrap around his arms and show off how strong he must be. Or the fact that you are going to have to be in direct contact of said muscles. You can do this.’

“Almost forgot,” Spike said, sitting up and stripping off his shirt. “That’s better.”

‘You can’t do this.’

Feeling her mouth go dry at the skin that was suddenly exposed to her gaze, Buffy tried to suppress the urge to gasp for breath as he lay down on the mattress.

“Ready when you are, Summers.”

Briefly closing her eyes to control the trembling of her hands, Buffy took a deep breath, desperately trying not to concentrate on the sudden ache between her thighs that was making itself known.

“Ready,” she murmured, licking her lips. Hesitantly reaching toward him, she slowly let her hands begin to massage his back with light pressure.

“Oh, come now. I know you can do better than that,” Spike said with a smile obvious in his voice.

“You want better?” Buffy asked, swallowing her nerves and forcing herself not to think of the body she was touching. “I’ll give you better.”

Not giving herself a chance to think, she quickly straddled his back, smiling when she saw his eyes widen at the sudden change. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she began releasing the tension in his muscles and hearing the soft sigh that he gave her before his eyes drifted shut once again.

“Better?” she asked in a soft voice, getting a groan of pleasure and inaudible mumbling as her answer. “Gee…that’s almost enough to make a girl feel unappreciated,” she said with a pout.

“Perfect, luv,” he whispered after a moment as her hands moved down his back, gently kneading the muscles that she came in contact with. “’Course, I won’t object if you want to go lower.”

Practically hearing the smirk in his voice, Buffy narrowed her eyes for a moment. ‘Two can play at this game,’ she thought with a smile.

Leaning over until her chest was pressed against his back, she smiled when she felt his muscles tense. “Got any massage oil?” she asked in a breathy voice, biting her tongue to keep from laughing at the almost inaudible moan that came from Spike and the fact that he shifted ever so slightly beneath her.

Sitting up, Buffy tried to keep from clenching her thigh muscles to ease the ache that was becoming worse with each passing moment.

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re a minx?” he asked after he got his body’s reaction under control.

“Can’t say that they have,” Buffy replied, rising up on her knees to add more pressure with her hands. “Angel called me ‘lover’ a few times, but that’s-”

Buffy’s eyes widened as Spike used the opportunity to flip over, nearly knocking her off balance and causing her to practically fall on top of him with a suppressed gasp. “Don’t say that name,” he said in a dangerous voice.

“And why not?” she asked, arching an eyebrow at him as she sat up. Her eyes widened when he followed her movements, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her in place. Buffy suddenly became all too aware of their intimate position as her breath caught in her throat.

“Because you can do better than him.”

Buffy nearly snorted as she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s what all the guys say…when they’re trying to get laid.”

“Not trying to get laid,” Spike replied, looking into her eyes. “I just want you to know that you’re better than him.”

“And how do you know this?” she asked in a disbelieving voice.

“Because I know you.”

The honesty in his eyes nearly shocked Buffy as she looked away, feeling her breath catch in her throat again when she felt the effects that her massage obviously had on him as the evidence of his arousal pressed against her leg.

Moistening her suddenly dry lips, she briefly closed her eyes to try and slow her breathing.

Spike watched her tongue briefly sweep across her lips before letting his gaze fall to her heaving chest, enjoying the way the snug t-shirt clung to her breasts as she breathed.

Unable to take it anymore, he grabbed her arms, pulling her toward him for a crushing kiss, feeling her subtle resistance before she melted against him, letting her lips move against his with equal fervor.

Spike felt his eyes drift closed as his lips played over hers, growing more aroused at the taste of the strawberry lip-gloss that coated her lips. Shaking off his hold, she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning into him and eagerly taking what he was offering as she trembled beneath his touch.

Nearly jumping out of his skin when her tongue brushed against his, Spike pulled her even closer to him, wanting to take what he’d wanted from the moment he first saw her.

Letting her fingers trail over his shoulders before running downward, she gasped in pleasure as they came in contact with the defined muscles of his abdomen. Feeling a flood of moisture between her legs, Buffy dragged her nails along his stomach, anticipating what could happen between them. She wasn’t used to emotions that were so intense, and it sent a simultaneous shiver of excitement and fear racing down her spine.

Never stopping his movements, Spike abandoned the brutal hold on her body and grabbed her hips to pull her more forcefully toward him, grinding himself against her. Swallowing her moan of pleasure as he continued to kiss her, he began to move with her, feeling her entire body shake as he thrust his hips against hers.

Abandoning her lips for a moment, Spike kissed along the edge of her jaw before traveling lower, smiling when she gasped as he gently bit her neck. Eagerly reaching between them and working the button of her jeans, he lowered the zipper and began to maneuver her to take them off more easily when he felt her shudder.

Slowly pulling back to look at her, he saw the uncertainty in her eyes as she realized what was happening.

“Oh, God,” she said softly. “I-I can’t do this.”

Closing his eyes as she rolled away from him and jumped off the bed, Spike let himself fall back on the mattress, running a hand over his face. Trying to keep his mind off the throbbing in his jeans and the fact that it wouldn’t be relieved anytime soon, he slowly sat up and restrained the urge to crack his knuckles.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, finally turning to face him with a flaming red face. “I didn’t mean to….it was just…and then it was just…bad. Good!” she quickly corrected, seeing the expression on Spike’s face. “But i-it just can’t…”

“Relax, Buffy,” Spike said in a soothing tone. “Just a kiss. Nothing to get upset about,” he continued, standing up from the bed and walking across the room. “Now, if you need me, I’m gonna watch a movie. Feel free to join me, if you want. Oh, and Summers,” he said, turning around when he reached the door. “That was a hell of a massage.”

Chapter 12- Pay the Toll


The next morning, Buffy walked down to the kitchen to make breakfast and was surprised to see Anne in front of the stove, making pancakes.

“Good morning,” Anne said, smiling. “How are you today, dear?”

“I’m doing well,” Buffy answered, sitting down. “You’re making breakfast?”

“I thought I’d give you a break when it comes to making William’s food,” Anne replied. “I’m sure you do enough for him, as it is, and I enjoy cooking.”

“Thank you,” Buffy said sincerely, smiling. “My culinary skills are lacking.” Anne laughed a little before putting a stack of pancakes on a plate. “Can I help at all?”

“No, I think I’ve got it covered,” Anne said. “But thank you. It’s nice to know that not all teenagers are so disrespectful or lazy. Not like my William sometimes,” she continued causing them both to smile softly. “So, tell me, why aren’t you two dating?” Buffy raised an eyebrow and hoped that Anne couldn’t tell she was slightly blushing. “I think you’d be great for him. Maybe you could get him to change his ways a bit.”

“I don’t think he and I could ever date,” she replied, looking down. “We’re really different people.”

“Well, opposites attract,” Anne said, shrugging. “Or so they say.”

Nodding to appease the older woman, Buffy stood up as Anne finished preparing a tray for Spike. “Does this look acceptable?”

“It’s perfect,” Buffy said, smiling. “I can’t thank you enough for doing this.”

“I can’t thank you enough for dealing with my son this week,” Anne said, giving Buffy a warm smile before she grabbed the tray and walked away. Anne watched her for a moment and sighed.

‘I just wish they’d both realize how right they’d be together,’ she thought before beginning to wash some dishes.

* * * * *

When Buffy entered Spike’s room, she was surprised to see him still asleep. She walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, holding the tray with one hand as she nudged him to wake up. He shifted a little before slowly opening his eyes, looking up at her and smiling softly.

“Good morning, luv,” he said. “You brought me a real breakfast in bed? I’m touched.”

“Yep, made it myself,” she lied, smiling. “You might want to eat fast- we’ve got to go to school in about twenty minutes.”

“Sod school- let’s stay home,” he replied, sitting up and putting the tray on his lap. “Not like I’m learning anything anyway.”

“Yes, because you know everything there is to know,” she said, standing up.

“Like you pay attention in class,” he shot back, looking at her.

“I… I take notes,” she replied, crossing her arms as Spike raised an eyebrow.

“Correction- you write notes to Red,” he said, smiling. “Not the same.”

“Bite me,” she muttered, going to the door.

“Did last night. Or have you already forgotten?” he asked with a smirk as she looked down.

“I don’t want to talk about what happened,” she said, avoiding Spike’s eyes as he sighed and nodded.

“Fine,” he replied. “Go get ready for school. I’ll meet you downstairs.” She nodded and quickly left, closing the door behind her.

‘But I’m going to make you change your mind about me soon enough,’ he thought as he looked at his pancakes. ‘Wait a second- she can’t cook. How the bloody hell did she make these?’

* * * * *

As Spike walked into the kitchen, he saw Buffy talking to Anne.

“Good morning, William,” Anne said. “Did you sleep well?”

“I guess,” he answered. “Stayed up late watching a movie, but yeah, I suppose I slept fine.” He winked at Buffy, who blushed and looked away. “Oh yeah- thanks for breakfast, Mum.” Buffy looked at him indignantly for a moment before sighing.

“Guess he caught us,” she said, looking at Anne, who laughed. “You know I can’t cook, Spike.”

“I know,” he agreed. “And I’m genuinely happy Mum made my breakfast- you would’ve made something horrible that I wouldn’t be able to stomach.” Buffy shot him a look.

“I’m going to head off to work, so I’ll see you two this evening,” Anne said, grabbing her purse and going to the door. “Have a nice day at school.”

“Bye,” both Buffy and Spike said in unison as Anne left.

“Ready to go?” Spike asked, looking at Buffy. She nodded and went to grab her backpack off of the couch in the living room, but Spike quickly walked ahead of her and grabbed it before she was even close to it. He smirked and held it away from her when she approached.

“What’re you doing?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I got your backpack for you,” he said. “Least you can do is pay me back.”

“Why don’t you just give me it?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’ve been a good slave for the last couple of days, haven’t I?”

“Better than I could’ve hoped for,” he said, smiling. “Especially after last night’s debacle.”

“I told you before- I don’t want to talk about it,” she replied, frowning. “Now give me my bag.”

“Not until you pay the toll,” he said, smirking.

“Okay, what’s the toll?” she asked, deciding she didn’t want to be late for school.

‘I’ll play his game… for now,’ she thought. ‘I can’t wait to be away from him for a few hours today. It should make things a little more… enjoyable. And being away will help me forget about last night. Yes, the amazing kissage we had. Spike lips… yummy lips of Spike… bad Buffy!’

“Give us a kiss,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. Her jaw dropped a little before her eyes narrowed.

‘Pretend like you don’t want to kiss him,’ she quickly told herself. ‘Don’t want him to think you actually enjoyed it yesterday.’

“No,” she replied firmly.

“Then I guess you’re not getting your backpack,” he said, still keeping it away from her.

“Oh well,” she said, shrugging. “I guess I don’t really even need it. Not like I take books to class, and I know Willow will lend me paper and pens if I need them.” Spike frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Won’t you just pay the toll?” he asked, pouting as she raised an eyebrow. “A little kiss, pet- that’s all I’m asking for.” She took a deep breath and walked over to him, gently pressing her lips to his for a moment before backing off and grabbing her backpack from him. He smiled at her. “That’s my girl.”

“I’m not your girl,” she replied, turning around and walking to the front door, opening it up and going outside to his car. Spike sighed and grabbed his car keys and backpack.

“Maybe not right now,” he said to himself. “But you will be.”

* * * * *

Pulling up in front of Sunnydale Academy, Spike watched as Buffy smoothed her skirt before reaching for her backpack.

“Did I ever tell you how adorable you look in that uniform?” he asked with a smirk.

Shooting him a skeptical look, Buffy rolled her eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Not at all. In fact,” he said in a low voice, leaning over her and angling his head toward hers. “Downright sexy.”

“Spike,” she whispered, hating the breathless tone of her voice. “What are you doing?”

“What’s the matter?” he asked with a smile, subtly moving until his lips were almost brushing against hers. “Worried what might happen if you’re alone with me for too long?”

“No,” she said, swallowing nervously.

“Tell me you don’t think about it,” he continued in a whisper. “Think of how thrilling it could be…all we have to do is push up this skirt a little more and…”

Trying to control her breathing when she felt Spike’s hand on her thigh, Buffy suddenly realized that they were in the school parking lot where anyone and everyone could walk by at any moment.

“Stop it,” she said in a firm voice, pushing his hand away.

“Relax, pet,” Spike replied, leaning over her a little more until he could reach the door handle. “Just opening the door for you. No need to get bent out of shape about it.”

With a frustrated noise, Buffy shoved him away and jumped out of the car, not bothering to wait for him as she walked toward the school.

She should have known it was too easy.

“Little jumpy today, aren’t you?” Spike asked, easily matching strides with her.

“Don’t you ever get tired of it?” she asked, not bothering to slow down.

“What’s that?”

“Being you!”

“What’s there to be tired of?” he asked, following after her.

“Oh, that’s right,” Buffy said, rolling her eyes. “I forgot that Mr. Spike Lawson gets anything and everything he wants. New car? Right this way. Adoring females? Have all the airheads you want. Slave for a week? No problem.”

“Well, if that’s the way you feel about me…here,” he said, dropping his backpack into her hands.

“Ooomph. What the hell is this?”

“I get everything I want, right?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in irritation. “Well, there you go. You can have the privilege of carrying my books.”

“Isn’t this supposed to be the other way around?” Buffy asked through gritted teeth as she heaved the heavy bag onto her shoulder. “I thought the guy was supposed to carry the books for the girl.”

“Oh, now, we wouldn’t want that,” Spike replied in mock innocence, placing a hand over his heart. “What about ‘equal rights’ and everything else you bints are always spouting off on? Wouldn’t want to upset you by making you do something anti-feminist.”

“Did I ever say I was a feminist?” Buffy asked in irritation. “You bought me at an auction, for crying out loud!”

“Yes, but it was for charity,” he said with a kind smile. “I know you were just doing your part.”

Turning to walk away, Spike made it a few steps before looking over his shoulder and suppressing the chuckle as Buffy glared at him.

“Come on now, pet. Don’t want me to be late, do you?”

“You think I really care?” she asked, struggling to maintain both bags. “Go take a flying leap off the roof, for all I care.”

“Well, that was a little uncalled for,” he replied, adopting an upper-class accent as he bit his tongue to keep from laughing.

* * * * *

Walking into the lunchroom a few hours later, Buffy was thrilled that she’d been able to avoid Spike after the bell rang, saying that she needed to go to the restroom.

‘Stupid Auction Day,’ she grumbled silently. ‘And stupid Willow for forgetting to remind me I’d have to attend class with Captain Peroxide and cater to his every whim.’

Weaving her way through the crowd, Buffy took mild satisfaction in the fact that at least she wouldn’t have to worry about homework for the next week.

Waiting in line for a few minutes, she had just grabbed her tray when she heard the familiar voice that was rapidly grating on her nerves.

“Not trying to ditch me, are you, pet?”

“Whatever gave you that idea?” she asked through clenched teeth, not bothering to turn around as she grabbed a sandwich to put on her tray. Reaching for a fruit cup, she frowned when she looked at the tray to see a greasy piece of pizza sitting next to her chicken salad. “What the hell is this?”

“Pizza,” Spike replied, pronouncing the word carefully to make sure she understood.

“I know what it is.”

“Then why’d you ask?” he countered with a smirk.

Practically growling, Buffy whirled around to face him.

“Well, that wasn’t one of your best noises,” he said with wide eyes before leaning close to her. “I actually prefer the noises you were making last night.”

Stepping away from him with wide eyes, Buffy looked around frantically before hitting him in the chest, feeling a moderate sense of satisfaction when he winced. “Shut up about that. And you never answered my question,” she said, gesturing to the ever-growing pile of food on her tray.

“Part of the deal, Goldilocks. Carrying my lunch.”

“You have to be joking.”

“Nope,” he said with a grin. “Of course, if you prefer, I could carry my own lunch and let you have my bag again. Which I have been more than nice about carrying the last two classes.”

“It’s your damn bag!” she hissed.

“Yes,” he replied, giving her a shove until she was walking again. “And you’re my damn slave.”

Running her hands through her hair, Buffy groaned softly. “This is a nightmare.”

“Say the word, and I’ll make it a dream come true…for both of us,” he whispered in her ear, causing Buffy to spin around and shove him back several feet.

“Do you ever shut up, or do you just like listening to the sound of your own voice?”

“Don’t want to talk?” Spike asked with a shrug as he walked past her. “Fine with me. A little too hungry for conversation anyway. You remember where I sit, right?”

“If both of us survive the week, it will be a miracle.”

“So, how is it going with Spike?” Willow asked Buffy after their last class while they walked to their lockers.

“So well that the thought of driving off a cliff sounds like fun,” Buffy answered, stopping in front of her locker and entering the combination into her lock. “I can’t wait for this week to end.”

“It’s only Monday,” Willow said, raising an eyebrow, and Buffy rested her head against her locker door, shutting her eyes and sighing.

“Don’t remind me,” she said. “I wish you wouldn’t have convinced me to do this.”

“It was for charity,” Willow replied. “You were doing a good thing.”

“You’re not the one who has to deal with her ‘master’ at school,” Buffy said, putting some books into her locker. “Oz doesn’t go here. Hell, he isn’t even in high school!”

“It really could be worse,” Willow said, shrugging. “I mean, did you see Andrew and Faith at lunch today? I swear she was giving him a lap-dance.” Buffy giggled and shook her head. “And hey, Spike’s not abusive or anything, so that’s a plus. He’s just a jerk who enjoys things that are degrading to women.”

“Well, when you put it that way,” Buffy said sarcastically, looking at Willow and taking a deep breath. “You really owe me for this mess, by the way. I demand lots of ice cream and a girls’ night next week.”

“You’ve got it, buddy,” Willow said, smiling. “We’ll kick back in the company of popcorn, some Ben and Jerry’s, and a box of Kleenex for the depressing dramas we always watch.”

“That’s music to my ears,” Buffy said right before Spike appeared beside her, grinning.

“Hello, Summers,” he said, and Buffy shut her locker.

“Whereas that is not,” she replied, looking at him. “What is it?”

“Wow, pet, could you be less happy to see me?” he asked, pouting slightly.

“Want to find out?” she asked sharply, and he handed her his backpack. “Is this empty?”

“Not quite,” he answered. “Just the stuff you need to do my English essay for me.”

“What?” she asked loudly, her eyes widening.

“I have an English essay due tomorrow that needs to be done,” he replied, crossing his arms. “So it’s your job to complete it.”

“Like hell,” she answered. “That’s against school rules! I can’t do your paper for you, especially if it’s graded.”

“Hey, you should be surprised I’m even trusting you with it,” he said. “For all I know, you could purposely bollocks it up so I fail, but I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt.”

“That’s because you haven’t gotten a good grade on a paper for as long as I’ve known you,” Buffy said. “And I’ll have you know that I excel at writing, thank you very much.”

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Willow said, looking at Buffy. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Will,” she said, giving her a small smile.

“Bye, Red,” Spike replied, giving her a small wave. “And thank you and your boy for driving her to my place the other night.” Willow looked between Buffy and Spike before smiling.

“It was our pleasure,” she said. “I’m just happy she didn’t kill you.” Spike watched Willow walk away with a surprised expression.

“Can we go home now?” Buffy asked quietly, looking away. “If I have to write this stupid essay, I’d like to get started on it soon.” He nodded, and they began to walk towards the door to leave. “What’s it supposed to be about?”

“Feminism,” Spike answered, smirking. “I figured you’d like to jump on that topic, especially since you seem like a girl who’d worship Betty Friedan.”

“Who?” Buffy asked, confused.

“The bird who wrote ‘The Feminine Mystique’,” he answered. She stopped walking and looked at him, smirking.

“Maybe you’re the one who likes women’s rights so much,” she said, tilting her head.

“I like women, I like rights- why can’t I like them both?” he asked, and she giggled. He smiled and opened the door for her. “Come on, luv- let’s get you home so you can BS your way through my paper.”

* * * * *

Buffy was sitting in front of his computer, researching information on Google, when Spike came in the room and sat on his bed, watching her.

“How’s it going?” he asked. “Have you started yet?”

“Since you haven’t been kind enough to show me any notes, I’ve had to look up stuff for the last hour,” she replied, annoyed. “So no, I haven’t started your stupid paper yet. At this rate, I won’t even be able to proofread it.” He chuckled. “What’s so funny?”

“You’re worried about proofreading?” he asked, and she frowned. “Why don’t you take a break or something, then?”

“And what task are you going to assign me if I decide to ‘take a break’?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him, narrowing her eyes. He raised his hands in surrender.

“Why are you being so bloody defensive?” he asked. “I’m just trying to be nice.”

“I really doubt that,” she said, looking at the computer screen again. “You always have an ulterior motive.”

“That’s not true,” he replied, crossing his arms. “I can be a nice guy. I made you breakfast the other day, didn’t I?”

“After being a jerk,” she said, shrugging. “Example the first- of you being mean.”

“Fine,” he replied. “Don’t take a sodding break- I don’t bloody care. Exhaust yourself- that’s fine with me. Just as long as my paper gets finished.” He stood up and walked to the door before stopping and turning to look at her. “You know, Summers, I’d be a lot nicer to you if you didn’t always antagonize me or pick stupid fights. You always find little ways of setting me off, and sometimes it gets really old. I can sling as many barbs as I want towards you, but it doesn’t change things. It’d be nice for once if we could just go a day without having an argument or getting pissed off with one another. I mean, it probably won’t happen this week because you’re my slave and have to obey me, but-”

“I swear you get off hearing yourself speak,” Buffy cut in, looking at him.

“I get off all kinds of ways,” he replied, instantly grinning. “Want to see?” She glared at him before grabbing a book beside her and throwing it at him. He caught it before it could hit him and chuckled. “What? I was making you a generous offer.”

“‘Generous’?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t need an STD, thanks.”

“I’m clean, luv,” he said with a frown. “Besides, we’d have to shag, and I have a feeling you won’t let me pry apart your dimpled knees.” Her jaw dropped as she stared at him. “What?” She stood up and walked over to him, slapping him across the face. He clenched his jaw before looking at her.

“I hate you,” she said in a low tone. He smirked a little, despite the pain in his cheek.

“I hate you, too,” he replied. “But, luv, if you want to play rough, that’s fine. I wouldn’t mind a bit.” She pushed him back, and he stumbled backwards, out of the room. She instantly slammed his door and locked it, satisfied when she heard him pounding on the door. “Let me back in, pet.”

“Hell no,” she said. “I’ve got to work on your damn paper and can’t focus when you keep yammering on and driving me insane!”

“I swear I’ll break down this door, Buffy,” he said sternly, pounding harder on his door, getting angrier by the second.

“You’ll just make me fix it,” she said quietly before sighing. “Go away, Spike.” He growled and turned on his heel, storming down the hallway and going downstairs. Anne walked into the house and smiled at her son.

“How’s it going, William?” she asked, and he clenched his fists.

“I hate women,” he answered, walking out the front door and getting into his car. Anne watched him in amusement before shaking her head.

“Kids these days,” she said before scouring through the stack of mail she was holding.

* * * * *

“Did you finish?” Spike asked, not bothering to spare Buffy a glance as she slammed the car door behind her the next morning.

“What do you think?” she asked, putting on a pair of sunglasses and looking out the window, wanting nothing more than to ignore him for the rest of the day.

Fat chance of that happening.

“Where is it?”

“In a folder in my bag,” she replied in an irritated voice.

“I don’t know what crawled up your ass and died, but did it ever occur to you to try and be nice? Not often- I know that would be a little too hard for you to comprehend- but once in a blue moon, it could be a good change.”

“Nice?” she asked in a low voice, gritting her teeth as she slowly turned her head to look at him. “You expect me to be nice, Mr. Hot and Cold? You’re a walking contradiction! One minute you can be as happy as can be and the next you’re biting my head off or playing the ‘master’ card. Did it ever occur to you, Spike, that I’m an actual person? I know that’s a little difficult for your brain to understand, but you never know- it could be a good change!” she cried, throwing his words back at him before turning to face the window again.

“So what’s the problem of the hour now?”

“I thought I just covered that,” she muttered under her breath. “You. You are always my problem.”

“That’s a little vague,” Spike said, slamming on the brakes at a stoplight before turning to look at her. “Narrow it down.”

“Alright,” Buffy replied, turning her body toward him. “My problems- would you like them in order of irritation or alphabetically? For example- asshole. That would be you. Point of fact, that would fall in both categories as my number one. The letter ‘B’- bastard. Shall I go on?”

“I’ve got another word for that letter,” Spike growled, hitting the gas as the light turned green.

“But there’s the funny thing, Spike,” she said with a smile. “I know I’m a bitch. That’s the difference between you and me. Yeah, I’ve done some things to you lately that wouldn’t exactly win me the ‘Friendliest’ award when the yearbooks come out, but I know who I am. But you? You’re so twofaced, you don’t even realize it. You look in the mirror and all you see is yourself. You don’t take one look at the people around you unless it benefits your reputation or your grade.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked in a low voice.

“Let me ask you something, Spike. If you bid on and won Faith in that auction, what would you expect her to do? You? Because, and I’m just guessing here, the purchase that you made, namely me, was just a way for you to benefit somehow. And since I’m obviously not one for giving guys a ‘good time’ like so many of the other girls in this school, you wanted two things: to irritate the hell out of me and to get me to do your homework. That’s what I’m good for, right?”

Not giving him a chance to respond as he pulled into a parking space in front of the school, Buffy jumped out of the car and began walking away.

“Buffy-”

“Do me a favor!” she yelled back, turning around to face him as she walked backwards. “Carry your own damn bag today.”

* * * * *

Avoiding Spike for the entire morning, Buffy spent her time in the girls’ restroom and the library, knowing that he wouldn’t set foot in there.

Sitting at one of the large wooden tables during her lunch period, she frowned when her stomach growled.

“No food for you,” she muttered, looking down at her belly. “Don’t be a traitor. Food is not worth running into him.”

Busying herself by going through her backpack, Buffy frowned when she saw the paper that was supposed to be turned in before lunch.

‘Let him fail,’ the evil little voice in her head whispered. ‘He had it coming and he should have done it himself.’

‘But you worked hard on it,’ the good voice reasoned. ‘And it is rather impressive. The teacher will definitely take notice of this one.’

“Stupid good voice,” she muttered to herself, standing up from her seat and collecting her things. “So you drop the paper off and then spend the rest of the day avoiding Spike. Sounds like a plan.”

* * * * *

Walking through the halls after school, Spike nearly growled as he searched for Buffy.

“It figures,” he muttered. “She’s excused from her classes, so she skips the entire day.”

Not that he could blame her. He would have done the same thing if he’d been in her position, but he was already pissed off at the way she’d left things that morning.

“William!”

Not bothering to turn around at the unfamiliar voice and the fact that he never went by his given name, Spike continued to look through the halls for Buffy.

“William!”

Finally turning around with a frown on his face, it only deepened when he saw Ms. Calendar walking toward him.

“Good, I was hoping you hadn’t left for the day,” she said with a friendly smile. “I just wanted to let you know that Buffy dropped off your paper for you. You should have told me that you left it at home and she went to get it.”

Spike arched an eyebrow. “Uh…yeah…sorry about that, but I didn’t know if she’d be able to find it in my room.”

“Well, that’s fine and I wanted to let you know that it was an exceptional piece of work. I’ve never read anything so insightful that was written by one of my students, and I want you to know that I’m just honored you felt compelled to write about such an important topic that is obviously a big deal for you. I’ve already graded yours- I didn’t want it to be seen by anyone who might not understand,” she said, handing him the paper.

“Right,” he said softly. “Thanks.”

Waiting until Ms. Calendar walked away, Spike looked at the cover page, not seeing anything that would give away that he didn’t write the paper. Flipping over the first page, he read the brief synopsis.

A feminist point of view,
looked at from the
homosexual male perspective.

By William Lawson

Feeling short of breath, Spike crumpled the paper in his hand as a red haze entered his vision.

“I’ll kill her.”

When Spike stormed into his house about twenty minutes later, he slammed the door behind him.

“Buffy!” he yelled upstairs, not bothering to hide the anger in his tone. He heard someone walking around upstairs and knew it wasn’t his mother because it was too early for her to be home. “Get your ass down here right now!”

Buffy had been preparing for the last half an hour for a screaming match, ever since she left school and walked home. She smiled to herself as she left her guest room and walked to the top landing of the stairs.

“What’s up?” she asked, pretending to not know why he seemed so furious.

“Don’t play dumb,” he replied sharply, crossing his arms. “Where do I even start?”

“How about with why you’re about to pop a vein in your neck?” she asked, smirking. He narrowed his eyes at her, and she raised her hands in surrender. “What? Are you going to make me guess or something?”

“What the hell kind of paper did you turn in to Ms. Calendar?” he asked sternly as she smiled and looked down. “She thinks I’m gay!”

“What’s wrong with being gay?” Buffy asked, tilting her head. “I think people should be free to love whoever they want, right?” He clenched his jaw. “Are you homophobic or something, Spike?”

“No!” he snapped, throwing his hands up. “Why the hell did you write a paper like that? Ms. Calendar thinks I’m gay, and if she tells anyone about it, I’m screwed because it’ll spread like wildfire.”

“So what if it does?” Buffy asked, crossing her arms. “It’s not like it’s a big deal, Spike. I’m sure all of the girls you’ve ‘shagged’ in the past will come forward to attest that you’re indeed not gay. Besides, the only person who saw it was Ms. Calendar, and she’s not the type of person to spread stuff like that around. Get over it.”

“‘Get over it’?” he hissed, clenching his fists. “I’m not going to just forget something like this!”

“Yeah, me either,” she grinned, leaning back against a wall. “Anything else you feel like screaming at me for? I’m in the middle of watching ‘Oprah’.”

“Sod Oprah,” he replied sternly. “Where the hell were you all day? I looked for you and never saw you.”

“Were you worried about me? I’m touched,” she said, putting her hand over her heart and widening her eyes.

“No, I needed to talk to you about what happened this morning,” he said, approaching the stairs. “You can’t just say the stuff you did and walk away from the situation like it was nothing.”

“But it was nothing,” she replied. “I said what I needed to say- end of story.”

“More like end of chapter,” he said, slowly walking up the stairs. “We should talk.”

“I said everything I needed to say,” she replied. “Let me reiterate- the only thing you care about is yourself, Spike, and don’t try to convince me otherwise because I know better than to trust some bullshit you spout off to make yourself seem like a good guy. We both know that you bought me just to mess with me and make me feel inferior to you, and hey- already there. I think I’ve done enough for you already this week, and if I haven’t paid off my debt to you, then oh well. I want out.”

“Not gonna happen,” he said, finally making it to the stop of the stairs and standing directly in front of her. He wasn’t surprised that she didn’t take a step back when he was merely inches away from her.

‘The girl doesn’t know when to stand down, does she?’ he thought. ‘Bloody stubborn bint.’

“Fine, tell me what you want me to do for the rest of the week,” she said, looking up at him. “Give me a list, and I’ll do every task you assign me. But when I’m done with them, I’m leaving. I’m better than this, no matter what you say or how you treat me. I’m a person, too, and I’m sick of being treated like I’m nothing.”

“I don’t treat you like that,” he replied defensively.

“Sometimes, yes, you do,” she said. “But sometimes, even if it’s for a brief second, you treat me like I actually matter. So tell me, Spike, if I really do matter, then why do you always act like I’m insignificant?” He looked into her eyes and then at her lips for a moment. She unconsciously licked them and raised an eyebrow when he leaned closer to her. She put her hands on his chest and pushed him back. “Don’t you dare.”

“Stop me,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his lips to hers. She paused for a moment, reveling in the feeling of his lips on hers, before biting his bottom lip. He growled and backed off, looking at her. “What the hell was that for?”

“To stop you,” she answered, turning on her heel and going to her room, closing and locking the door behind her.

“What the hell does it take?” he yelled, surprised when he heard something hit her door. “You better hope you didn’t just break something.”

“Even if I did, you’d just make me glue it back together!” she shot back. “So just shut up!”

Sitting down on the bed and looking outside, Buffy sighed, feeling as if she was in prison.

‘I’ve got to get out of here,’ she thought sadly. ‘I can’t take much more of this.’

* * * * *

“William, why isn’t Buffy eating dinner with us?” Anne asked as she looked across the dining room table at her son. He shrugged and continued to push things around on his plate with his fork. “Is my cooking really that horrible that you’re picking at it and she won’t even attempt to eat?”

He smiled softly and looked at his mother. “Course not, Mum.”

“Then tell me what’s going on between you two.”

“I’m a jerk who doesn’t know when to stop hurting her,” he admitted, sighing. “She hates me, Mum.”

“Have you apologized?” she asked, studying him.

“Every time I try to, she freaks out on me,” he said. “If I actually get a chance to say the words, she doesn’t believe me or doesn’t seem to want to forgive me.”

“Can you blame her?” Anne asked, causing him to frown. “Why don’t you try talking to her again? I doubt she’ll scream at you if I’m in the house.” He smiled and nodded. “I’ll fix her a plate of food and you can take it up to her. She’s already skin and bones, and I don’t want to send her home looking like a skeleton. I doubt her mother would appreciate it.” Anne stood up and walked into the kitchen while Spike cleared off the table. She gave him a tray of food and smiled softly. “Don’t mess things up with her, William. She deserves a good man.” He saw a twinkle in his mother’s eye and smirked.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied, going to the stairs and taking a deep breath before walking up and stopping to stand in front of Buffy’s door. He knocked and waited for her to open it. When it didn’t happen, he frowned and knocked again.

“What do you want?” Buffy finally asked, opening the door and looking at him. He looked down at the tray, and her eyes followed his gaze before she smiled a little. “You’re bringing me food?”

“Mum thought you’d like something to eat,” he said, giving her the tray and putting his hands in his pockets before taking another deep breath. “And I agreed.”

“Thanks,” she said quietly, walking towards her bed and sitting down on it, putting the tray down in front of her. “Thank her for me, too, please.”

“I know you hate me, pet, but you can leave your room,” he replied, leaning against the doorframe. “I’m sure my mum would like to see you and be… motherly.” She raised an eyebrow. “She likes you- I think she’d enjoy being in your company for a while.”

“I’ll go down there when I’m done eating,” Buffy said, and he nodded, turning to walk across the hall to his room. “Spike?” He looked back at her. “Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, managing a small smile before leaving her alone. She sighed and looked down at her food.

‘It’s a small olive branch,’ she thought. ‘But it’s a start.’

* * * * *

After spending an hour with Anne, without any sign of Spike, Buffy decided to broach the subject.

“Is Spike still here?” she asked, avoiding the older woman’s gaze as she pretended to smooth her shirt.

“He’s upstairs,” Anne said with an easy smile. “He said he didn’t want to bother you anymore today. Maybe you should go talk to him,” she added, biting her lip to keep from giggling as Buffy looked at the stairs with a wistful expression.

“Yeah,” she agreed, standing up. “I guess I should, since I am his slave and all.”

Both women laughed as Buffy began walking up the stairs. Slowly walking down the hallway, she paused outside his door. Closing her eyes as nerves seemed to take her over, she shook her head.

“This is ridiculous,” she muttered, quickly knocking on the door before she could back down.

“Come in.”

Opening the door, Buffy refrained from biting her lip as she walked through the door, seeing Spike lying on his bed.

“Evenin’, pet,” Spike said with a gentle smile.

“Hi,” she replied, trying to return the smile as she hesitated to shut the door behind her.

“Something you needed?” he asked, sitting up a little bit and hitting the mute button on the TV.

“No,” she said quickly, shaking her head as another case of nerves began fluttering in her stomach. “Actually, I was just wondering if you needed anything,” she continued before gesturing to herself. “Slave-girl, remember?”

Looking down for a moment, Spike fiddled with the remote in his hand, unable to meet her gaze. “You can stop calling yourself that,” he said softly. “That’s not what you are.”

“Held here against my will, doing chores and homework for no pay…I think that’s the definition of slave labor,” she said with a smile as she tried to relax him.

Deciding to drop the subject, Spike pushed himself up on the bed, leaning against the headboard. “Care to join me?” he asked, gesturing toward the television.

“That’s okay,” she said, backing toward the door.

“It’s fine, luv. Plenty of room on the bed.”

“Spike, you and me on a bed aren’t exactly the mixiest things.”

“I don’t bite, Buffy,” he replied before giving her a wide smile. “Much. I recall that title belonging to you.”

Flushing under his gaze, she stared at her feet as she restlessly kicked at the carpet. “You deserved it,” she muttered.

“We’ll watch a movie,” he said, leaning back and relaxing before arching an eyebrow in her direction. “Maybe I could get a repeat performance of the massage from the other night.”

“Yeah, that never really ends well, does it?” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

“It did the other night,” he said in a husky voice, sighing when Buffy turned toward the door. “I’m kidding! Well, not really, it did end well, but I’m just watching a movie, pet.”

“Promise?” she asked with a smile.

“Cross my heart,” he replied, doing what he said as Buffy giggled.

Watching him move over on the bed, she hesitantly stepped forward and sat down, keeping her back rigid as Spike turned the volume up.

Looking over at her stiff posture, he laughed. “Maybe I should be the one giving you the massage.”

Glancing over at him, Buffy hesitantly smiled before turning back to the movie. Shaking his head, Spike moved closer to her on the bed, gently running his hands along her back and sighing when she jumped.

“Relax,” he murmured, massaging the knots out of her back and smiling as she leaned into him. “Told you I wouldn’t bite.”

Buffy moaned softly as he continued to work his magic on her muscles. Staying silent for several minutes while he continued to ease the tension out of her, Spike smiled in contentment, enjoying the simple act of doing something for her without expecting anything in return.

“See?” he said with a soft smile, leaning away from her when he finished, much to Buffy’s disappointment. “I can control myself.”

Turning around to face him, Buffy let a nervous smile play on her lips as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “You have to control yourself around me?” she asked shyly.

“Pleading the fifth,” Spike replied, turning his attention back to the TV, trying not to smile at the disappointed look on her face.

Finally relaxing, Buffy leaned back against the headboard, letting her shoulder gently brush against Spike’s before frowning when she felt like she was sitting on something.

Reaching beneath her, she suppressed a smile as she withdrew a Victoria’s Secret catalogue. Seeing Spike’s eyes widen at her findings, she couldn’t help but giggle.

“Um…not mine?” he said, making it sound like a question.

“Really?” she asked, looking at the cover and seeing William Lawson on the address label and slowly pointing to it as she giggled again.

“Right…uh…that’s not what it looks like?”

“You sure?” she asked. “Because I’m thinking…cross-dresser in your spare time?” Her laughter trailed off as Spike’s face turned bright red. “Oh God, you’re not, are you?”

“No!” he cried, grabbing the magazine and throwing it across the room. “Bloody hell, no!”

“Well, that’s a relief that you were just looking at it,” she said, throwing herself back against his pillows again. “Or should I be concerned with the bodily fluids that might be on this bed?” she asked, suddenly becoming extremely still as she looked at the blankets out of the corner of her eye.

Finally laughing, Spike shook his head. “You’re safe, pet. You think I want to sleep in that?”

“Um…ew.”

Rolling toward her, Spike draped an arm over her stomach in case she decided to try and run away. “I’d much rather have a…destination for things like that.”

Smacking him on the chest, Spike quickly caught her arms and pinned them above her head before lowering his lips to hers in a tender kiss. Neither making a move to deepen it, Buffy let her eyes close, allowing herself to enjoy the simple affection that he was showing her.

Pulling away after a moment that was too short for both of them, Spike gave her a gentle smile as he brushed the hair off her forehead. “’S’all I wanted,” he whispered, letting his eyes drift back and forth between her eyes and her lips. “Whatever you’re willing to give.”

Chapter 15 – The Feeling’s…Close to Mutual


The next morning, Buffy and Spike met up in the kitchen before school. He watched her as she put her lunch into her backpack. She felt his eyes on her and blushed slightly as she looked at him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Is my shirt on backwards or something?”

“No, it’s fine,” he replied before smirking. “Although, it’d look even better if it was off.” She grabbed an apple from a bowl on the counter and threw it at him. He caught it and took a bite out of it. “Was just being honest, luv.”

“I know,” she said, grabbing her backpack and grabbing an apple for herself. “Ready to head out?”

“After you,” he said, ushering her out and watching her hips sway as she walked ahead of him. She raised an eyebrow as she saw him looking at her out of the corner of her eye.

“I know you want a piece of my ass, Spike, but do you really need to stare at it like that?” she asked jokingly. He chuckled and opened her car door for her.

“Just admiring a beautiful sight,” he replied. She got in the car and giggled to herself as he walked around the car to get in on his side. “So, did you sleep well last night?”

“Yeah,” she answered as he started his car. “Did you?”

“Yep,” he said, smiling as he reversed down the driveway. “Had a dream about you.” She smiled and looked at him, intrigued.

“Did you really?” she asked, tilting her head. “And what exactly happened in this dream?”

“You’d blush if I told you,” he replied, laughing, and she looked outside again. “But you look really sexy when you blush, so I’ll tell you.” She put her hand up to stop him.

“No, please don’t,” she said quickly. “I don’t want to know.”

“Fine,” he said, shrugging. “But let me just say that dream-Buffy was one hell of a ride.” She plugged her ears, humming loudly, and he chuckled. “Oh, come on- wouldn’t you rather be a sex kitten than a frigid prude?”

“What? No,” she said before sighing and looking down. “Yes, I’d rather be a sex kitten.” She giggled and looked at him. “A randy sex kitten who could shag your brains out.” He groaned and closed his eyes for a moment at the imagery. “Spike! Pole!” He quickly swerved before he could jump a curb and hit a light-pole. “Sorry! I should know better than to distract you with something like that.”

“But at least I’d die with a nice thought in my head,” he said, smirking as he continued to drive towards school.

* * * * *

Before lunch, Buffy went to her locker to grab her bagged lunch, only to be stopped by Spike in the hallway.

“Is something wrong?” she asked as she continued to walk, stopping in front of her locker.

“I was thinking maybe we could eat together today,” he replied, and she looked at him, surprised.

“Why?” she asked as she narrowed her eyes. “Are you setting me up for a fall or something? Or are your friends going to mess with me?”

“No,” he answered, leaning back against the locker beside hers. “I was thinking we could eat outside. It’s a nice day out.”

“And you need a smoking break,” she said, smiling softly as he nodded vigorously.

“It’s been a long day so far,” he replied. “So, up for it?”

“Sure,” she said. “Have your lunch with you?” she asked, waiting until he nodded. “Alright, just one minute.” She opened her locker, grabbed her lunch, and shut her locker again before following him outside towards one of the picnic tables scattered on one of the lawns. They sat across from one another and opened their lunches. “So, how’d the first half of today go, besides it being long?”

“Had a test,” he answered, shrugging. “Didn’t study. Too busy with you last night.” She smiled and opened her diet soda. “But I guess it hasn’t been that bad.” He pulled his lighter out of his pocket before grabbing his cigarettes.

“So, what’s on my task list today?” she asked curiously, taking a sip of her soda. He blew out a stream of smoke and shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “How about washing my car? She looks pretty dirty when the sun hits her just right.”

“Okay,” Buffy said, nodding. “It’s a nice enough day out to wash it, I guess.”

“In a smashing little bikini, maybe?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. She smiled.

“What will I get out of it if I do?” she asked, grabbing her sandwich.

“A tan?” he suggested, and she giggled. “Maybe I’ll even help you.”

“That’s just because you want to be close to me when I’m that scantily clad,” she replied before frowning. “And I bet you’re going to try to get me wet, aren’t you?” He grinned.

“It’s always my mission, luv,” he replied suggestively. “I’d love to get you wet.” She quickly blushed and ducked her head. “God, I love that.”

* * * * *

After school, Willow walked with Buffy to her locker so they could catch up.

“So, how’s it going with Spike?” Willow asked as Buffy opened her locker. “Is he getting nicer?”

“Yeah, I think we squared away some things, so it’s getting better,” Buffy said. “A squabble here and there, but all in all, it could really be worse.”

“Good,” Willow said. “I’m glad he’s easing off a little.” Buffy nodded, putting away her textbooks.

“So, how’s it going with Oz?” she asked curiously. “Are you two on the train to wriggly town?”

“What?” Willow asked, her eyes widening as she blushed crimson. “No! Not at all. There will be no…wriggling.” Buffy giggled and shook her head. “I have morals, you know.”

“Fine, fine,” Buffy said, closing her locker. “But you’re going to date him after this week, right?” Willow nodded, smiling excitedly. “Good. He’s a great guy.” Willow saw Spike approaching and smiled.

“Yeah, Oz is great,” she agreed. “So is Spike.” He smiled at her, stopping to stand behind Buffy so she couldn’t see him.

“Yeah, he’s a handful,” Buffy said, and Spike chuckled. She whirled around and looked at him, surprised to see him there.

“If you want ‘a handful’ of me, pet, just ask,” he said, smirking when she blushed. “Ready to go home?”

“Yeah,” Buffy said, nodding. “See you tomorrow, Will.” Willow nodded and watched the two blondes walk away.

‘If anyone’s on the train to wriggly town, it’s those two,’ she thought before walking to her locker.

Chapter 16 – Sexy Suds


Looking at herself in the mirror, Buffy almost rolled her eyes at her reflection.

“I must be insane,” she said, taking in her white string bikini. “Sane girls wouldn’t have brought a swimsuit to their enemy’s house…of course, he’s not really my enemy anymore and when he has a pool that you can benefit from after washing his car…stop talking to yourself, Summers. You really are insane.”

Walking out of the bathroom, she quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her midsection, unwilling to show off anymore skin than she had to on her way outside.

Slipping past Spike’s bedroom unseen, Buffy made her way downstairs and through to the back of the house. Reaching the sliding glass door, she was nearly outside when she heard the familiar voice.

“Thought you’d slip out, did you, pet?”

“What?” she asked, turning around with an innocent expression. “Of course not. Just wanted to get a head start on the heavy labor, that’s all.”

“You’re not going to fool me with that girl next door look, Summers. Feeling a little shy?”

“Shy? Me?” she asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “Never.”

Spike’s eyes widened when he found himself holding the towel that had been wrapped around her, leaving her in nothing but a few scraps of cloth. Feeling his cock grow painfully hard as she turned and confidently walked out the door, Spike watched as her hips tantalizing swayed back and forth.

Buffy continued to walk down the curving path to the car, which Spike had so thoughtfully pulled to the back of the house, next to the water hose. She could practically feel him smiling as she reached down to grab the bucket on her way to the water spigot on the side of the pool-house.

“Anyone ever tell you, you’re a tease?” he called after her.

“No, but I remember a certain blonde menace calling me a minx,” Buffy yelled back with a grin.

Not willing to miss this show, Spike walked out the back door and down to the car, barely holding back a moan when she leaned over to pick up the filled bucket. Licking his lips before biting his bottom lip, he let his gaze peruse her body as the sun warmed both of them.

“You just gonna stand there and watch?” she asked, throwing a glance over her shoulder and seeing the lust-filled look he was giving her.

“Don’t have anything better to do,” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the car.

“Well,” she said, making sure to draw out the word as she bent over to pick up the garden hose. “If you’re going to do nothing but stand by and try and catch a show, I may as well get one of my own.”

Spike’s brows barely had a chance to furrow before a stream of water hit him in the chest, splattering water droplets all over him and soaking his t-shirt. Looking down in shock when the water stopped, he vaguely heard Buffy begin giggling. “Now you’ve done it,” he said, looking up at her with a devilish expression before stripping off his shirt. “This means war, Summers.”

Throwing his shirt at her, Buffy squealed as the cold fabric slapped against her heated skin.

“Spike!” she shrieked as it fell to the ground. “You didn’t have to…”

Trailing off when she saw Spike bend over, her mouth went dry as she watched his glistening muscles flex before her eyes widened as she realized what he was doing.

“Spike, don’t you dare!” she cried, holding the nozzle of the hose as if it was a gun, feeling her heart begin to race as he stalked toward her with the bucket of water. “I’m sorry, okay?” she continued.

“You know…it’s funny, Summers. You don’t sound sorry at all…just a little bit desperate.”

Running around the car, Buffy sent a spray of water in his direction before giggling as he chased after her. Stopping with a sudden jerk of her arm, she quickly looked over her shoulder, feeling her heart race when she saw the hose hooked under the tire.

“Buffy.”

Hearing her whispered name, she didn’t have time to think as she turned back around, gasping when a blast of water hit her in the chest as Spike emptied half the bucket on her. Holding her arms out to her sides as she felt the rivulets running along her skin, the proud look on Spike’s face didn’t go unnoticed.

Setting the bucket down at his feet, he slowly stalked toward her, using the opportunity of her still being in shock to pin her against the car with one arm on each side of her body.

“Knew I’d love you all wet, sweetheart,” he murmured, bending low to let his tongue trail along her collarbone, gathering up the moisture on her skin.

“Spike,” she whispered, waiting until he looked up at her before wrapping her arms around his neck and crushing her lips to his. Pulling away after a minute, Buffy looked up at him, breathing heavily as she stared into his eyes. “I should really get started,” she continued, slipping under his arm and grabbing the sponge off the ground.

Spike stayed where he was for a solid minute. What was left of the blood in his brain was wondering where the warm, pliant body had gone. The part of his brain that had rushed south with his blood, was making itself rapidly known that she wouldn’t get out of this that easily.

Turning to look at her, Spike bit his tongue to keep from moaning as she stretched her body along the hood of the car. Watching as she used the sponge to scrub the paint, he slowly walked over to her, pressing his erection against her lower back and smiling when she immediately froze.

“Wh-what are you doing?” she asked, standing up a little straighter when she felt his hand wrap around her waist. Closing his eyes as his fingertips drifted along her flat stomach, Spike felt his jaw clench when her hips slowly arched toward his hand, seeking out his touch.

“I know what I’m doing,” he whispered, kissing along the line of her neck. “I just don’t know what you’re doing to me.”

Letting her head fall back to his shoulder, Buffy felt her breathing accelerate when his fingers ran over the triangle of fabric that barely offered any coverage. “What do you mean?” she asked, closing her eyes as her stomach clenched in anticipation.

“Never felt this way before,” he murmured, leaving a soft bite on her shoulder.

Hearing the sound of the zipper on his jeans being lowered, the last thing Buffy expected was for her body to automatically arch against his. Her heart was slamming in her chest in expectation of what was to come. Feeling his hands brush her swimsuit out of the way, she slowly leaned forward and braced her hands against the hood of the car, causing Spike to grow impossibly hard at the simple act of acceptance.

Closing her eyes as his cock searched for her entrance, Buffy arched her hips toward him, gasping when she felt him practically slam into her. Gripping the front of the car and bending over a little more to allow him better access, Buffy cried out in pleasure when Spike nearly pulled out of her, only to thrust into her again.

Feeling her body trembling in his arms as she stood up a little straighter, Spike held her close for a moment, letting each of them enjoy the simple rocking motions of their hips moving together before he began to lengthen his thrusts, sending another shiver of lust racing through her body

“Harder,” she gasped.

Nearly coming from the simple request, Spike gripped her hips firmly in his hands, plunging into her with renewed force. Listening to her soft cries and whimpers of pleasure, he could feel himself losing control and knew he wouldn’t last much longer.

Reaching around with one hand, he trailed his fingertips along her body until he was gently stroking her clit. Adding more pressure when he felt her body shake and her inner muscles begin to clench around him, Spike practically slammed into her as his fingers caused a vibration to spiral through her.

Falling forward with the force of her orgasm, Spike continued his ministrations until she felt a more powerful climax overwhelm her.

Watching as she bent over his car, Spike felt the intensity of his orgasm crash into him, feeling as if his cock was exploding as he emptied himself within her welcoming body.

Swallowing heavily as she came back down to earth, Buffy refrained from jumping up as she let her eyes close for a moment.

‘What have I done?’

When Spike felt her tense up, he ran his left hand slowly down her back, which only caused her to jolt.

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly, genuinely concerned that maybe he had hurt her somehow. She nodded slightly, unable to respond verbally, still freaked out from what had just happened.

‘I just had sex…on the hood of a car…with Spike,’ she thought, trying to regulate her breathing as panic set in. ‘Unprotected sex with Spike on the hood of his car. Oh my god.’

“Luv, talk to me,” he said, worried.

“I’d like to move,” she replied. “This position is really uncomfortable.”

He pulled out of her slowly, even though his body hated the loss of contact. Whether or not she was willing to admit it, her body missed his just as much.

“Thanks.” She straightened out her bikini and kept her back to him, not willing to look at him.

‘That’ll just make things worse,’ she thought. ‘Then again, things are already ridiculously bad.’ She heard him pull the zipper up on his jeans and take a deep breath.

“I’m going to go inside,” she said quietly, moving away from him. He raised an eyebrow and quickly grabbed her arm, stopping her. She looked down, still afraid to meet his gaze.

“What’s wrong, Buffy?” he asked, running his hand over her hair.

“I…should clean up,” she said, looking at the house as he studied her.

“You can’t just walk away from this because you’re afraid to talk about it,” he said, figuring out what was going on in her head. “This isn’t just something you can push aside because talking about it doesn’t suit you.”

“I know,” she admitted, looking at him and seeing the hurt and confusion in his eyes. “I just can’t do this right now.”

“Go get cleaned up, then,” he said. “We can talk about it later.” She looked at him graciously before quickly going towards the sliding door in back and letting herself inside. He watched her sadly and sighed.

‘This is just bloody brilliant,’ he thought. ‘You shag her on your car- how romantic, you stupid wanker.’ He trudged towards the house, wishing he could do it all over.

* * * * *

As soon as Buffy got inside, she ran upstairs and into the bathroom, instantly taking off her bikini and getting in the shower, the water washing away every trace of him on her. Not only that, but it was also disguising the tears that began to fall from her eyes. She had never been more confused in her life and couldn’t believe that she had let it happen.

‘What were you thinking, Summers?’ she asked herself, running her hands over her eyes. ‘Just because your body wanted him doesn’t mean your heart did. Or, for that matter, your conscience. I mean, the guy in question is Spike. Spike. The guy who has belittled and hurt you since the day you met him.’ She sighed. ‘But he’s not that guy anymore. At least, not all of the time. He can actually be nice…when he wants to be.’ She groaned in frustration and raised an eyebrow when she heard a knock on the door.

“Can I come in, pet?” Spike asked, standing in front of the door and hoping she’d say yes.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” she replied, shutting off the water and wrapping a towel around her body. When she realized the only clothing she had in the room was her bikini, she frowned.

‘I don’t really want to put that back on,’ she thought. ‘Guess I’ll just make a beeline to my room and get dressed.’ She paused. ‘While he’s not in the room.’ She ran a brush quickly through her hair before opening the door and looking at him. He had put on a t-shirt and a different pair of jeans after cleaning up in the bathroom on the first floor. The nervousness in his eyes made her expression soften a little.

“Can we talk now?” he asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

‘He looks like a scared little boy,’ she thought. ‘And incredibly insecure.’ She frowned and looked down. ‘This is all my fault, isn’t it?’

“I want to get dressed first,” she replied, exiting the bathroom and walking to the guest room. Before she could shut the door for her privacy, he walked in and closed it behind him. “Can I please get dressed alone?”

“Buffy…”

He trailed off with a frown as she looked at him.

“Spike,” she replied. “Please.” He nodded and left the room, closing the door and standing beside it, leaning against the wall.

“Will you just answer one question?” he asked, running a hand through his hair.

“What?” she asked, quickly sliding on her clothing and pulling her hair into a ponytail.

“Do you regret it?” he asked, and she looked at the door, taking a deep breath.

“I honestly don’t know,” she answered, walking to the door and opening it. They looked at one another, and it was obvious to Buffy that Spike didn’t regret it at all.

‘He wanted it to happen more than I did,’ she thought. Before Spike could say anything, they heard the front door open downstairs. ‘Anne must be home.’

“Hello, kids,” she called upstairs. “I’m home early and thought maybe we could go out to dinner.”

“Actually, I think I’m going to go home to check in on my mom,” Buffy said, looking at Spike for a moment, which she instantly regretted. The hurt she saw made her feel even worse about the situation. “I’m sorry.” She walked down the hallway and downstairs, seeing Anne in the living room. “But thanks for the offer.”

“You’re more than welcome, dear,” Anne replied, looking through the stack of mail. “I hope your mother is doing well.” Buffy nodded and walked to the door, leaving. Anne noticed that something seemed off with the younger girl and watched her walk down the sidewalk quickly, her arms wrapped around herself.

‘I wonder what that’s all about,’ she thought.

Spike clenched his jaw and punched the wall after he heard the door close behind Buffy. Anne heard a thump upstairs and stood at the bottom of the stairwell, worried.

“Is everything alright, William?” she asked. He held back the tears that were beginning to form in his eyes.

“No.”

* * * * *

Quietly slipping inside the house after midnight, Buffy was starting to regret coming back at all. She could have just as easily met up with Spike at school and resumed her ‘slave duties’ for the last two days of the week before everything went back to normal.

Or as normal as it could get, considering she’d just had sex with the man she’d told herself that she would never let touch her.

‘What were you thinking?’ she silently asked herself as she shut the door behind her. ‘You know how he affects you when you’re in that state of mind, and you still didn’t do anything. It was on the hood of his car, for crying out loud.’

Tiptoeing up the stairs, Buffy made a face when one of them creaked just before she reached the landing. Closing her eyes for a moment, she listened to the soft sounds of the house settling, reassuring herself that Anne and Spike were both asleep. She wouldn’t have to see him until breakfast, and if there was any type of higher power, it would make sure that Anne was there to mediate…or referee, if the case called for it.

Walking into her room, she let the door shut with a soft click behind her, letting her head fall back against the flat surface as her eyes closed, relishing the fact that she’d made it undetected.

“Took you long enough.”

Nearly jumping out of her skin at the sound of his soft voice in the darkened room, Buffy fumbled along the wall for the light switch. Squinting when the bright light illuminated the room, she felt her jaw tighten as she looked at Spike resting comfortably on her bed. His legs were kicked out in front of him and his hands were folded on his stomach, making Buffy more irritated at the fact that he looked so much at home on her bed.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“My house, pet,” he said in a calm tone.

“So, you just decided to hang out in my room for the night?”

“When your room is my guest room, yeah,” he replied, tilting his head to study her. “How’s your mum?”

Meeting his gaze and seeing the honest concern behind the expression, Buffy briefly closed her eyes as she nodded. “She’s good. She’s gone back to work, so it was just a cold last week. Nothing to worry about.”

“I’m glad,” he said, giving her a soft smile.

“Thanks.”

Watching as he got up from the bed and walked over to her, Buffy felt her heartbeat speed up when he came to stand right in front of her. “I want to talk.”

“Figured that much,” she muttered. “I didn’t think you were camping out in here just for the sake of it.”

“I’m serious, Buffy,” he said softly.

“What do you want to talk about?” she asked with a heavy sigh.

“Us.”

“There is no ‘us’,” she replied, immediately feeling guilty for her callous statement as she saw the wounded look in his eyes. “Look, today…it was fun. But Spike, that’s all it was.”

Wishing that there was an easier way to get her point across as she watched him turn away from her to hide the hurt expression on his face, Buffy clenched her hands into fists, resisting the urge to reach out to him and offer what comfort she could.

“Maybe I should have listened to Liam,” he said in a tone that made Buffy flinch.

“Angel? Why?”

“When he told me you weren’t worth a second go,” Spike clarified, turning toward her with a hardened expression. “I always assumed he meant in the bedroom, but since I now know that’s not true, I never thought that he was meaning a relationship with you.”

Tightening her lips to stave off the tears that sprung to her eyes, Buffy took a deep breath before replying. “I guess you’ll never know, since we were never in a relationship.” Watching Spike’s eyes narrow, she continued, “And you know what? We never will be.”

Pushing past him, Buffy tightened her jaw when Spike grabbed her arm.

“Let me go,” she said through gritted teeth. “You got what you want, now let me go!”

Pulling her arm free, Buffy stood her ground, staring at him as he took a deep breath to calm his emotions.

“And do you mind telling me what it is that I want that I got?”

“You name it,” she replied with a shrug. “You’ve been making comments and innuendos all week. We had sex. You got your wish…you went slumming it for a while. You happy?”

“Do you honestly think that’s what I wanted out of this?” he asked in frustration.

“You tell me,” she said softly.

“No!” he cried. “That never crossed my mind. Never!”

Breaking eye contact with him, Buffy looked at the floor, closing her eyes before the tears spilled over. “Can’t we just…”

“What?” Spike asked, the irritation evident in his voice.

“I don’t know,” she said, running her hands through her hair.

“What do you want?” he asked in exasperation, restraining himself from the urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her.

“What do I want? I want things to go back to normal between us before everything else got in the way,” she replied, looking up and watching his expression harden.

“That’s what you want?” he asked in a menacing tone, tilting his head to study her. “Fine.”

“What do you mean, ‘fine’?” she asked, turning toward him as he walked toward the door.

“I mean what I said- fine,” he replied, narrowing his eyes. “You want everything back to normal? Then I recall you having a few more days of slave duty before you’re set free, Summers.”

Feeling a lump form in her throat as Spike gave her another look before walking out the door, she finally let her tears escape that had been screaming for freedom since she’d walked away from him that afternoon.

Chapter 18 – Another Crack at Normalcy


The drive to school the next morning was absolute torture for both of them. Spike wanted so badly to talk to her and make her see that things could be good between them if she’d just give him a chance to prove it. On the other hand, there was a war raging in Buffy’s head, trying to figure out if she really wanted things to be normal again or if she should give Spike a shot.

‘It’s not like you’ve got much to lose,’ she thought. ‘You already slept with him, and he still wants you- that’s a good sign right there. But can you really take another heartbreak? Or handle being with him? This week has been difficult enough- is dating him worth it?’

Spike pulled up in the academy’s parking lot and took a deep breath before looking at her.

“Ready to carry my bag all day?” he asked, and she nodded, taking it from him and getting out of the car. He watched her for a moment and frowned.

‘This isn’t right,’ he thought. ‘I don’t want it to be like this.’ He got out of the car and locked the doors. ‘But this is how she wants it, so I’ll play along until she wants it to change again.’

They walked inside, silent, and Buffy followed him to his locker, grabbing all of the books he’d need and putting them in his backpack. He watched her sad expression and frowned.

‘Why do I always fall for the stubborn ones?’ he thought, crossing his arms. ‘Oh, right- because I like a challenge.’ She closed his locker and looked at him.

“Can I go put my lunch away and say hi to Willow?” she asked quietly, and he nodded, taking his backpack from her. “I thought I was supposed to carry it.”

“Go ahead,” he replied. “I don’t mind if you’re gone for a few minutes.” She raised an eyebrow, and he gave her a small smile. “It’s fine, Buffy. Say hi to Red for me.”

“Thanks,” she said, walking away quickly and going towards her locker. He watched her, tilting his head, and sighed.

‘It was never supposed to be like this,’ he thought.

* * * * *

When it was time for lunch, Buffy got everything she needed for the afternoon before following Spike to the cafeteria. She put his stuff down at his table and raised an eyebrow when Cordelia sat down two seats away from him, with Doyle sitting in the vacant spot soon after.

“Going to join us today?” Cordelia asked, smiling. “It’s always nice to have another girl around.”

“It’s up to you,” Spike said, shrugging. “You can go sit with your friends if you want. I know you don’t get to see them too often during the day.”

‘Why is he being nice today?’ she thought. ‘Isn’t he still upset with me?’

“Actually, I think I’ll sit here,” she said. Doyle stood up and moved to sit on the other side of Cordelia so that the two girls could sit together. “Thanks.” He nodded, smiling.

“So, how’s it going with you and Spike?” Cordelia asked. Buffy grabbed her soda can out of her bag.

“It’s going fine,” Buffy replied quietly. Cordelia raised an eyebrow and looked at Spike.

“Yeah, it’s going well,” Spike said, noticing that Buffy couldn’t open the can. He took it from her and popped it open before giving it back to her. She gave him a small smile and sipped her soda.

“Good,” Cordelia replied. “I’d hate to see the five hundred you spent not be worth it.”

“It went to charity,” Spike said, frowning. “I’d say it’s worth it.” She shrugged. “No?”

“I could’ve had a nice shopping spree with that much,” she said. “But to each his own.”

“I don’t regret bidding how much I did,” he replied. “Besides, I think I got a good deal out of it.” Buffy looked at him, confused. “It’s nice having someone around who helps out.” She studied him for a moment before looking down. “How about your situation? Doyle treating you alright?”

“Yep,” Cordelia replied. “He’s been an absolute doll. When I broke a nail the other day, he paid for me to get a manicure at one of the nicest salons in town.” Doyle smiled as Spike chuckled.

“Yeah, that’s Doyle for you,” he said. “He understands a fashion crisis like no one else.” Even Buffy giggled at that, and he smiled at her.

‘It’s a baby step,’ Spike thought. ‘But I can get this to work. We can make this work.’

* * * * *

After school, Willow met Buffy at her locker, frowning.

“You didn’t eat lunch with us today,” Willow said. “Did I do something wrong?”

“If you had, would I have talked to you during class before?” Buffy asked, smiling softly.

“Probably not,” Willow mumbled. “But what’s the deal, then? Are you going to be a fixture at their table now?”

“Cordelia asked me to join them today,” Buffy replied, shrugging. “I felt bad for her.” Willow looked confused. “She was the only girl there today, and I can’t imagine having to sit with those guys that long and not having someone to talk to.”

“So it’s not going to be a permanent thing?” Willow asked. “You’re not abandoning me for the popular crowd?”

“You know I wouldn’t do that,” Buffy said, closing her locker. “Not even if my life depended on it. We’re best friends, Will- you don’t just walk away from that.” Willow smiled and nodded. “So, did I miss any gossip at lunch?”

“Not really,” she answered. “I just missed you.”

“I’m sorry,” Buffy said sincerely. “I promise to make it up to you.”

“It’s okay, really,” Willow replied, following Buffy towards the front doors of the school. “Besides, it’s not like I never see you at school or talk to you outside of lunchtime.” They both saw Spike approaching and looked at one another. “Are things still going okay between you two?”

“I guess,” Buffy said, looking down. “I don’t really know.” Spike came to stand in front of the two girls.

“Hello, Red,” he said, smiling. “Ready to go home, Summers?”

“Yeah,” she answered. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Willow.” Her friend nodded and watched the two walk outside. She could feel that something was different between them but couldn’t figure out what it was. When she finally realized it, she froze, her eyes widening.

‘She jumped on the train, didn’t she?’ Willow thought.

Chapter 19 – Proving Who’s Boss


Buffy hesitantly followed Spike into the Bronze later that night. She was surprised that he even wanted her tagging along, but she soon realized he probably just wanted someone to get his drinks for him.

Smoothing out her black skirt and red tank top as Spike searched the interior for his friends, a bored expression crossed Buffy’s face in anticipation of the night ahead of her. She liked Cordelia and Doyle, but she would much rather be home with her mom, curled up on the couch and watching an old Fred Astaire movie.

“Want to sit alone?” Spike asked, drawing her attention back to him.

“Me? By myself?” she asked, gesturing to herself as he gave her a soft smile.

“You and me, pet. Not you by yourself.”

“Oh…um…that’s okay. I know you want to be with your friends.”

‘Rather be alone with you,’ he thought but wisely didn’t say anything, unwilling to scare her off. At any rate, he hesitantly placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her through the crowd to his friends.

Fighting the shiver that was threatening to run through her when she felt his fingertips ‘accidentally’ slip beneath her shirt and graze the small of her back, Buffy felt a sense of loss when he moved his hand away, smoothing her shirt back into place and stepping away from her.

It was going to be a long night.

* * * * *

“I think I’m going to get a refill,” Buffy said, holding up her cup as she carefully slid off the tall chair an hour later.

“I can get it for you,” Spike said, making a move to stand before Buffy shook her head.

“No, that’s okay,” she replied, feeling a little shocked that he offered but trying to give him a grateful smile. “I’ll be right back.”

Walking through the club, Buffy almost felt as if she was going to be swallowed by the crowd. ‘It’s Thursday night,’ she thought to herself. ‘Why is it so busy?’

Finally maneuvering her way to the bar, she took a seat at the end, waiting for the bartender to notice her.

“You’ve been avoiding me this week.”

Closing her eyes at the sound of the familiar voice that would be forever etched in her memory, Buffy slowly turned the stool, looking up at her ex-boyfriend.

“I avoid you every week,” she replied, tilting her head to the side and letting her blonde hair spill over her shoulder as she leveled him with a cold look.

“Now, that’s not fair,” Angel said, sitting down next to her with a smile that used to turn her to jelly. “Can’t we just have a nice, civilized chat like two…lovers?”

“What? You want to get back together now?” she asked with a disbelieving smirk.

“In the physical sense? Sure. Why not?” Angel replied with a shrug. “We were pretty good together.”

“Really?” Buffy said with a raised eyebrow. “Thought I wasn’t worth a second go,” she continued, using the words that Spike had so thoughtlessly told her the night before.

Angel’s eyes widened as he looked at her. “Who told you that?”

Closing her eyes and shaking her head, Buffy tried to refrain from laughing as she realized that she’d actually thought she’d been in love with this man. “So, you’ve told that to more than one person?”

“What? No,” he said quickly, shaking his head as she turned to look at him.

“Then you don’t need to know who told me.”

Seeing that he’d dug his own grave, Angel sighed. “It was just locker room talk. You know how it is.”

“Yeah,” Buffy replied. “I do. And I know you, Angel. Which is why what we did, we will never do again.”

Abandoning her cup on the bar, she quickly hopped off her seat and threaded her way through the crowd again, sighing as she got further away from him.

‘How could I think I loved him?’ she asked herself. ‘How could I think that he actually cared about me?’ Looking over at Spike as she slowly approached, Buffy briefly closed her eyes. ‘And is it worth the risk to fall for something that could be an illusion?’

Sitting down at the table and giving everyone a soft smile, Buffy saw Spike’s eyes fall on her before his eyebrows drew together. “Thought you were getting a drink, pet.”

“Um…yeah, the line was too long.”

Raising an eyebrow, Spike glanced over at Doyle and Cordy and saw they were talking between themselves. “That right?” he asked, sitting back in his chair before turning to look at the bar. “Has nothing to do with the fact that your lover boy was over there talking to you?”

“Adding ‘spying’ to your list of talents?”

“Not spying,” he clarified, letting his jaw tick in a show of frustration. “Was worried about you and I looked around. Not my fault you and Captain Forehead were flirting at the bar.”

“There was no flirting,” she said with a sigh. “He was being his usual annoying self.”

Watching the subtle lines in his face relax as he offered her a small smile, Buffy tore her eyes away, feeling uncomfortable with the warm feeling running through her.

‘Don’t fall for him,’ she thought to herself. ‘He’s like the rest of them- he only wants one thing from you.’

But what happens when he’s already gotten it?

* * * * *

Cordelia nudged Buffy about ten minutes later when Spike and Doyle stood up and walked over to the bar.

“Can you believe we’re done with this tomorrow?” she asked, smiling. “I’ll be so happy when I don’t have to answer to Doyle anymore.” Buffy laughed.

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” she replied. “But I thought you were getting along really well with him.”

“He’s a sweetheart, yeah,” Cordelia said, nodding. “But I can only tolerate having to be on call for someone so much.” Buffy nodded, looking at the crowd of people dancing. “What about you and Spike? You’re living with him, aren’t you?”

“Tonight’s my last night,” she replied, sighing. “It’ll be nice to be in the comfort of my own bed tomorrow night and to be back home with my mom.”

“I think you two would make a good couple,” Cordelia said, and Buffy raised an eyebrow, looking at the brunette. “I mean, it’s obvious that he digs you.”

“What’re you talking about?” Buffy asked, hoping Cordelia didn’t know anything.

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you, Buffy,” she replied, smiling softly. “I think he’d kiss the ground you walk on if you’d give him the chance,” she continued, watching as the other girl looked down. “You have feelings for him, too, don’t you?”

“I don’t know,” Buffy answered quietly. “He’s been getting nicer to me and all, but I don’t know how I feel about him.”

“Do you like him more than Angel?” Cordelia asked, and Buffy nodded. “You really dislike Liam that much?”

“Yep,” Buffy answered. “He’s such a jerk.” Cordelia nodded and smirked.

“Well, if you really want him to get the message that it’s over, you could go intervene,” she said, and Buffy raised an eyebrow. Cordelia motioned for Buffy to turn around, and when she did, she saw Angel and Spike standing at the bar, talking animatedly about something. Buffy quickly stood up and made her way to the bar, stopping to stand beside Spike. He looked at her, the fire in his eyes going away when he took in her nervous form.

“Hello again, Buff,” Angel said, smiling at her. She glared at him before leaning into Spike’s side. He looked at her, confused, before realizing that she was trying to irritate Angel.

‘And who am I to stop her?’ he thought, amused, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her against him. She kept herself from stiffening up and settled into him.

“Don’t tell me you two are seriously together,” Angel said, looking between the two of them. Spike grinned and kissed her temple softly.

“Got a problem with it?” he asked, looking at the taller teen.

“She’s mine, Spike,” Angel replied sternly, clenching his fists. “She could never be yours.”

“You don’t own me, Angel,” Buffy replied sharply. “And I will never be yours again. You had a shot and failed. I would never allow myself to sink to your level again.”

“And you think he’s better for you?” Angel asked, glaring at Spike. Spike took a step forward, but Buffy held him back.

“I know he’s better for me,” she said, and Spike looked at her, slightly surprised. “I’d rather be with him than you any day.”

“Is that a compliment?” Spike asked quietly, and she smiled softly.

“You could never truly have her,” Angel said, and both blondes looked at him. “I’ve had more of her than you- a person doesn’t just forget that.”

“I’ve already written off what happened between us,” Buffy said, shrugging. “And you may think you’ve had me more, but I know better…and it was better with Spike.” Seeing Spike grinning proudly out of the corner of her eye, Buffy smiled as Angel’s jaw dropped.

“You two… slept together?” Angel asked, practically growling.

“Yep,” Spike answered happily. “You were wrong about her, you know. She’s definitely worth a second go.” Angel’s eyes widened before he looked at Buffy.

“He’s the one who told you I said that?” he asked, and she nodded. “And you believe him?”

“Yep,” she said, nodding. “Because I trust him.” Spike held her closer to him and looked at her with a soft expression on his face. “Just leave us alone, Angel. It’s never going to happen with us. Not again.” He turned on his heel and pushed his way through the crowd before leaving the building.

“You know, everyone’s going to find out we slept together now,” Spike said quietly. “That’s news that will spread quickly, and Angel’s smart enough to know that.” She looked up at him and sighed.

“I don’t even care,” she replied, shrugging. “Besides, how many people even consider him trust-worthy? Angel will come up with any gossip, even if it’s fake, just to make himself look cool. I highly doubt anyone’s going to believe him.”

“And what if they do?” he asked, running his hand over her bare shoulder.

“Then we’ll deal with it when the time comes,” she replied. He smiled softly and looked into her eyes. “We should probably head home soon so I can do the last of my chores for you. As of 3 o’clock tomorrow, I’m no longer bound to you.” He frowned and looked down as she continued, “I’ve served my week as your own personal slave, and it’s time for me to return to my normal lifestyle.” He nodded and sighed.

“You’re right,” he said. “We should go home. We’ve got school tomorrow, anyway.” She sensed the hurt in his voice and frowned. “Come on, Goldilocks- this place is getting too hot as it is.” She nodded and followed him out of the club, going to his car. “I’m sorry if things were really that bad this week.” She looked at him before opening her car door.

“Me, too,” she said quietly, getting in on her side.

Chapter 20 – The ‘T’ Word


Quietly walking into Spike’s house, Buffy bit her lip when his hand found its way to hers, holding tight as he led her up the stairs. She knew what he wanted out of this, but she didn’t know if she could give it to him. At least, not right now.

“Spike,” she whispered when they reached the landing.

“What is it, pet?” he asked, tilting his head to study her.

“About tonight…”

“You were just putting on a show for Angel,” he filled in, trying to give her a smile even though his stomach was tightening as he prepared for her rejection.

“Partly,” she whispered, looking down at the floor. “But, it’s just…”

“Come on,” Spike said, tugging on her hand and pulling her toward his bedroom. “We can talk in here.”

Following him into the room, Buffy let her hand slip from his grasp as he turned to shut the door. Each felt an immediate sense of loss as they were separated.

“Alright,” he said, turning to face her and trying to keep his expression neutral. “This mean we can talk now?”

“Uh oh,” Buffy said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. “The ‘T’ word. That never leads to one of our better conversations.”

Spike chuckled before walking over to the bed and sitting down. His smile slowly faded as he studied her suddenly serious expression, watching as she hugged her arms around her body and looked up at the ceiling.

“How do you feel about me?” she finally asked, her voice laced with insecurity.

“I like you,” he said, trying to convey the honesty in his tone.

“Like me, as in- want to sleep with me a few times, or-”

“Like you as in like you,” he replied, trying to make her understand.

“Oh,” she said softly, her eyes widening in slight surprise.

“Come here,” he said softly, holding out a hand to her. Seeing her resistance, Spike gave her an easy smile. “Trust me, luv. Not going to push you into anything- just come here.”

Closing the distance between them, Buffy hesitantly let him pull her toward the bed. Swallowing a gasp as his arms banded around her waist, she giggled when he continued to sit on the bed and propped his chin up on her stomach.

“Tell me about you,” he whispered, smiling when her hands ran through his hair, loosening the hold of the gel and letting the curls spring free.

“What about me?” she asked, her eyes never leaving the movement of her hands as Spike closed his eyes in contentment.

“Anything,” he replied, resting his head more comfortably against her as Buffy continued running her hands through his hair.

“I don’t know what you want to know,” she said in a quiet voice, smiling down at him when he pulled back to look at her, letting his hands comfortably rest on her hips.

“Come here,” he said, moving back on the bed. Seeing the panicked expression cross her face, Spike chuckled. “Are we going to have to go through this every time I ask you to get close to me?”

“Maybe,” she murmured with a smile playing on her lips.

Spike inwardly breathed a sigh of relief when she moved closer to him, climbing on the bed and slowly moving to lie down next to him.

Eagerly opening his arms for her to rest against him, Spike closed his eyes as she rested her head against his shoulder and let her hand trail along his stomach.

“What happened to your father?” he asked after a moment, running his hand through her hair.

Buffy swallowed the lump in her throat, closing her eyes for a moment. “He left,” she whispered, drawing strength from him as she relaxed in his arms. “The classic story. Cheated on my mom for years, left us alone all the time, going on so-called ‘business trips’. He’s somewhere in Europe now…living the cliché.”

“I’m sorry,” Spike whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“I always said that I would never turn into my mom,” she murmured in a choked voice. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Your mum’s a tough lady. Strong, capable…there are worse things.”

“I don’t mean the way she is now,” Buffy said softly. “I mean the way she was…before. She never stood up to him. She never had the willpower to ask him to stop. And she knew,” she whispered with a nod of confirmation. “She knew, every single time that he said he had to work late or had a business trip…she knew what was happening. And she didn’t do a thing to stop it. I don’t ever want to be like that. I don’t want to invest my heart in someone just to let him hurt me.”

“Invest it in the right person…and he won’t,” Spike whispered, pulling her close.

“Right, because there are just so many stand-up guys out there,” she replied with a laugh.

“There’s a few,” he said softly. “You just have to scratch the surface a little. Get past the exterior, and there are a couple of decent blokes left in the world.”

“Like you?” she asked, trying to keep the skepticism out of her voice.

“Like me.”

“You like playing the field a little too much, Spike,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve seen the way you act with the girls at school. They practically line up for you to use them. Who’s to say your opinion won’t change? You could turn into the kind of guy that you’re so much against right now. It’s just not worth it,” she trailed off in a whisper.

“I will never do that to you, Buffy.”

“Yeah,” she murmured. “You say that now, but what else would you say? ‘I promise to be good to you now, but a few years down the road, don’t expect me to be faithful’. I’m sure my dad said the same thing at some point in time- leaving out the last part, of course.”

“You listen to me,” he said, sitting up and pulling her with him. “If there was ever a chance I would hurt you like that, I would leave. I wouldn’t put anyone through that kind of pain. It’s not worth it,” he continued, shaking his head. “It’s not worth something that, when it all boils down to it, is just a moment in time. Just a moment of sexual gratification with a stranger. A fraction of a second out of a lifetime could destroy everything. Your father was an idiot. To leave someone like your mum- to leave a life filled with happiness with the two women who should mean more to him than anything- just so he could try and recapture his glory days is ridiculous.”

Listening to his quiet declaration, Buffy felt tears sting her eyes as a smile pulled at her lips. “Thank you,” she whispered, tilting her head to brush her lips against his.

“For what?” he asked, looking at her with a hopeful expression.

“For being you. The real you.”

Chapter 21 – Time to Spill


When Buffy woke up the next morning, she smiled softly at the feel of Spike’s body against hers. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at him, facing her with a content smile as he continued to sleep. Carefully detangling herself from his arms, she managed to get out of bed without waking him, leaving the room and walking down to the kitchen, ready to make him breakfast.

‘It’s my last morning- might as well give it a shot,’ she thought, smiling when she saw Anne already in the room, making waffles.

“Good morning,” she said, sitting down on a seat.

“Good morning,” Anne replied, smiling warmly. “I’m happy to know you were here last night.” Buffy raised an eyebrow, confused. “You weren’t in your room.” Buffy felt herself begin to blush.

“I was in William’s room,” she said quietly, looking down. “We stayed up talking all night, and I guess I must’ve fallen asleep.” Anne nodded, beginning to make another waffle.

“Well, I’m just glad that you two lasted the week and were civil,” she said. “I’m happy things seemed to work out for you both.” Anne opened the refrigerator and pulled out syrup.

“I was going to try making breakfast today,” Buffy said, looking at Anne again. “Do you think maybe you could teach me how to be a good cook?”

“Working with food is an art, dear,” Anne replied. “It requires creativity, perseverance, and time.”

“I think I can handle that,” Buffy said, smiling. Anne laughed and motioned for Buffy to walk over to her.

“Let’s see what we can do, then,” Anne said. “And, if worse comes to worse, we’ll just give William whatever doesn’t turn out right.” Both women laughed as they began to work together.

* * * * *

Buffy walked into Spike’s room about a half an hour later, holding a tray filled with food. Spike was sitting up in bed, running his hands through his hair to smooth it down. He smiled softly as she came in and sat beside him.

“Good morning, pet,” he said quietly. She smiled and put the tray on his lap. “All of this is for me?”

“Yep,” she said proudly. “I made it all.” He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “I’m serious! Your mom helped me a lot, but technically, this is all my creation.”

“Well, it’s a vast improvement from day one,” he replied, chuckling, and she grinned. “Have you eaten anything yet?”

“A waffle that went wonky,” she answered, shrugging. “And some cereal. I’m set.”

“Thank you for doing this, Buffy,” he replied, and she nodded, standing up. “Where are you going? Leaving me in bed all alone twice in an hour, pet?”

“Have to get ready for school,” she answered. “I’ll meet you downstairs when I’m ready to leave.” She walked to the door and stopped when she heard him say her name, turning to look back at him.

“Thank you for last night,” he said, tilting his head. “It was nice to actually talk about things and not get in an argument. You let me into your life, and that meant a lot.” She smiled softly.

“You let me into your life, too,” she said, motioning around. “I’m happy that things worked out the way they did, Spike. I had a good time here, even if I had to be ordered around by you.” She winked at him and walked across the hall, to her room. He smiled as he heard her close her door before sighing.

‘I just hope this doesn’t all end after today,’ he thought before looking down at the tray of food. ‘I’ve got one hell of a girl, don’t I?’

* * * * *

After arriving at school, Buffy headed to her locker and saw Faith in the hallway.

“Hey, B,” Faith said, smiling. Buffy noticed that Andrew wasn’t around.

“Hi, Faith,” she replied, opening her locker. “Where’s your master?”

“In the computer lab,” she answered, shrugging. “Wanted to tell his buddies about how I deflowered him.” Buffy raised an eyebrow.

“Does the term ‘deflowered’ appeal to guys, too?” she asked, thinking out loud. Faith shrugged as both girls giggled. “Well, I’m happy things went well between you two.”

‘What about you and Spike?” Faith asked curiously, leaning back on a locker. “Did you two get bouncy, too?” Buffy shook her head, grabbing some textbooks. “That’s not what I heard.” Buffy frowned and looked at her. “The word on the street is that you two went all kinds of naughty.”

“What?” Buffy asked, her eyes widening. “‘Word on the street’?”

“Angel’s been telling everyone he’s seen that it’s true, it seems,” Faith said, smiling. “I would bet almost half of the school knows by now.” Buffy blushed and quickly closed her locker. “Don’t sweat it, B. I think everyone supports it. I mean, you two were the poster-children for agonizing sexual tension. I’m glad you threw it down for him.” Buffy’s eyes widened as she quickly turned and began to walk away. “Fine, we’ll talk later, blondie. And I want details!”

Buffy walked to her first class of the day and sat down in her desk, noticing that everyone around her kept looking at her and smirking. She ran her hands through her hair and stared down at her desk.

‘I should’ve known this would happen,’ she thought. ‘You should never have told Angel. Bad idea, on a very long list.’

Willow suddenly appeared in the doorway and waved for Buffy to join her out in the hallway. She stood up and left the classroom before Willow grabbed her arm and pulled her into the girls’ bathroom.

“You so had sex with Spike,” Willow said, grinning, and Buffy nodded, looking down. “Why didn’t you tell me? I’m your best friend! You tell best friends these kind of things.” She paused. “Right?”

“I just didn’t know how you’d react,” Buffy said quietly. “I didn’t want anyone to know in the first place, but stupid me blabbed it to Angel last night at the Bronze in a quest to get him to lay off.” She looked at the redhead. “Who told you?”

“I heard it in the hallway before,” she said. “Which only confirmed my suspicious.” Buffy raised an eyebrow. “I’m not blind, Buffy- I was picking up on some things yesterday.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Buffy sighed quietly.

“Well, you can tell me now,” Willow said, smirking. “I want all of the details, so you had better spill.”

“We’ve got class in five minutes,” Buffy replied.

“Oh well,” Willow said. “I can miss one class this year.” Buffy giggled and sat on the edge of a sink. “You don’t have to give me graphic details- a brief overview would be fine.”

“Well, Spike wanted me to wash his car,” Buffy began to explain. “So, as his slave, I obediently went to wash his car, and he joined me soon after.” Willow held her hand up to stop her friend. “What?”

“Wait, did you two have sex in his car?” she asked, frowning when Buffy grinned.

“More like on his car,” she corrected, and Willow blushed. “Sure you want to hear all of this?” She shook her head and quickly left the bathroom, the sound of Buffy’s laughter following her down the hallway.

Chapter 22 – A Fresh Start


Biting her lip as Spike pulled in front of her apartment complex, Buffy looked up at the building with apprehension, staring at the dilapidated siding as she tried not to think of what came next.

This was it.

Her moment that signified freedom.

Then why did she feel so lonely?

Neither said a word as they continued to stare out the windshield, contemplating what happened next.

“So…” Spike trailed off, tapping his hands against the steering wheel.

“So…” Buffy replied with a slight smile, turning to face him and seeing the softening of his eyes as he looked at her.

“Mind if I come up for a minute?” he asked.

“You sure that’s what you want?” she replied with an uneasy feeling. “I mean-”

“Buffy,” Spike said, cutting her off, reaching over to gently cup her cheek in his hand. “It doesn’t matter to me where you live or how much money you have. You don’t have to do anything to impress me, except being yourself…and I know you don’t have a problem showing me your true colors.”

Seeing the smile on his face, Buffy giggled, relaxing against his touch before nodding. “You can come in, Spike.”

Pulling her closer and leaving a lingering kiss on her forehead before slowly pulling away. “Thanks, pet.”

* * * * *

Relieved to see Joyce Summers walking around the small kitchen and putting away dishes, Spike breathed out a heavy sigh that she did appear to be better. Smiling at the older woman when she turned around and gave him a radiant smile of her own, he couldn’t help but feel his heart tighten when Buffy crossed the room and hugged her mother.

“How’ve you been, Spike?” Joyce asked, still holding onto her daughter as she spoke to him.

“I’ve been well, Joyce,” he replied with a nod. “Your girl has been taking excellent care of me…most of the time,” he added, giving her a bright smile when Buffy turned on him with narrowed eyes.

“That’s what she’s best at,” her mother said, lovingly running her hand over Buffy’s hair.

“Spike’s going to stay over a little bit, if that’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay,” Joyce replied. “I’ll be in the living room if you need me.”

Arching an eyebrow as Buffy took his hand and led him to her bedroom, Spike waited until she shut the door before speaking. “Your mum has as much trust in us as…well…my mum.”

“Yeah, she’s great,” Buffy said, sitting down on the bed as Spike set her duffel bag on the floor, which he had insisted on carrying. “And she can also hear everything that goes on in here. The walls are paper thin.”

“I see,” Spike said with a nod of understanding, smiling when she picked up a stuffed pig and clutched it to her chest. “And who’s that?” he asked, sitting down and looking at the smoosh-faced animal.

“Mr. Gordo,” she replied, holding him out for Spike’s inspection. “A gift from my mom after my dad left. She said he would keep me safe from anything. Guess I should have brought him with me this week, huh?” she asked with a smile.

“You saying you don’t feel safe with me, pet?” he asked, leaning forward and nuzzling her neck, chuckling when he found a stuffed pig shoved between them as if it was a barrier.

“Not when you’re in a mood like this,” she replied, edging away from him as he tossed the pig out of the way and leaned toward her.

“Don’t want much, sweetheart,” he murmured, smiling as she shivered against him. “Just a kiss. Can you give me that?”

Preparing for the rejection that he knew might be coming, Spike nearly sat up so she wouldn’t feel nervous. His eyes widened before closing when he felt her lips on his before he could even fully comprehend what was happening. Wrapping his arms around her waist, Spike nearly moaned as Buffy’s tongue gently caressed his before reaching up and grabbing the lapels of his duster, pulling him more forcefully toward her.

Letting his hands trail along her arms, Spike moved them higher until they threaded through her hair, holding her to him as he refused to let her get away.

Clutching at his duster, Buffy’s hands slowly loosened their grip, sliding beneath his coat and feeling the strong muscles of his chest, separated by the thin layer of fabric.

Pulling away after a moment, Spike took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, trying to control his raging emotions…and arousal.

“Something wrong?” Buffy asked nervously.

Hearing the tremor in her voice, Spike cupped her cheek in his hand, running his thumb along her skin as he shook his head. “No. I just don’t think you want to do this with your mum so close.”

Blushing at the mention of what almost happened, Buffy looked down at her lap, wondering what was happening between them.

“What is this, luv?”

Looking up in surprise that he had vocalized her thoughts, Buffy’s lips parted as she tried to think of an answer.

“I’m not trying to pressure you,” he said softly. “I’m just wondering.”

“I-I don’t know,” she whispered, glancing down at her comforter before looking up into his eyes again. “What do you want out of this?” she asked in uncertainty.

Hesitating for a moment, Spike met her gaze with his own. “A date,” he said with a smile.

“A date?” she replied, raising an eyebrow in question.

“You asked what I wanted…that’s what I want.”

“When?” she asked with a smile playing on her lips.

“Tomorrow night?” he asked, suddenly feeling like shy, little William again, waiting to be rejected when asking a girl on a date.

“That sounds great,” she replied with an easy smile. Seeing that he was nervous, Buffy leaned forward and brushed her lips against his in a tender kiss before pulling away with a soft smile. “Pick me up at seven?”

Deciding it would be better to leave on a high note before he shoved his foot in his mouth, Spike stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets as he nodded. “That sounds great, pet,” he said with a smile. “See you then.”

Chapter 23 – Pre-Date Jitters


Buffy spent the following evening getting ready for her date with Spike. She didn’t know why, but she kept having bouts of nervous jitters.

‘Hold it together, Summers,’ she thought as she began to curl her hair. ‘It’s not like you don’t know him…and that you haven’t kissed him before…fallen asleep in the same bed as him…had sex with him…’

“Everything alright?” Joyce asked as she watched Buffy from the doorway. Buffy nodded quickly and looked in the mirror in front of her. “So, are you officially dating Spike now?”

“I don’t know,” Buffy answered. “We haven’t really discussed it.”

“Well, I happen to think he’s a nice boy,” Joyce replied. “I’m not too keen on his nickname, but I suppose it fits his image a bit. Although, the rebellious thing is just a façade, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Buffy answered, smiling softly. “He’s a big fluffy puppy otherwise.” Joyce laughed quietly and sighed. “Is everything okay with you?”

“I’m fine,” Joyce said. “I’m just growing to realize that you’re an adult, sweetheart. You can make your own decisions and do whatever you’d like. I guess I’m beginning to feel old, is all.” Buffy smiled and looked at her mother.

“You may be old, but you haven’t aged a bit,” Buffy said, winking. Joyce came into the room and kissed her daughter’s forehead.

“Thank you,” she replied. “And I know I’m old, but I don’t want to be a grandmother just yet.” Buffy’s eyes widened before she giggled. “Buffy-”

“I don’t plan on having kids for a very long time,” she said, and Joyce smiled softly.

“Does Spike know that?” she asked, and Buffy made a face.

“Mom,” she said in a warning tone, and Joyce laughed.

“Just making sure,” she said, heading for the door. “I hope you have a good time tonight. It’s nice to see you be happy.” Buffy smiled as Joyce walked away before looking at a clock.

‘It’s six already?’ she thought, beginning to panic. ‘I’m not even close to being ready!’ She began to curl her hair as fast as she could, in the process burning one of her fingers on the metal barrel of the curling iron.

“Ouch!” she said quietly, looking at her finger. “Slow down, Buffy- tonight’s going to be fine. Stop obsessing over how you look. You could look absolutely hideous and it wouldn’t matter…probably.”

“Giving yourself a pep talk?” Joyce asked from the kitchen, hearing every word Buffy was saying.

“What? No,” Buffy said quickly before frowning. “Fine, you caught me. I’m wigging out over a date.”

“I wouldn’t worry, dear,” Joyce said. “It’s obvious he really likes you.” Buffy smiled as she looked in the mirror.

“Yeah, it is,” she said quietly before sighing.

* * * * *

On the other side of town, Spike was running gel through his hair as he looked into a mirror, trying to calm down both his unruly hair and his nerves.

‘I don’t understand why you’re so bloody anxious,’ he thought. ‘You like her, she likes you, and it’s not as if you two don’t each other.’ He grinned. ‘In the biblical sense of the word, even.’

Anne watched Spike in the bathroom as she stood in the hallway.

“You look nice, William,” she said. “I’m sure Buffy will appreciate all of the trouble you’re putting yourself through to smooth down those curls you dislike so much.” He shot his mom a look before sighing. “She likes you no matter how you look, dear.” He nodded and took a deep breath. “Although, I’m sure she’s obsessing over her appearance right now just as much as you are.”

“I don’t see why,” he replied. “She looks beautiful no matter what.”

“And you’re handsome no matter what,” Anne said. “Besides, I like your hair curly.”

“So does Buffy,” he said before frowning and beginning to tousle his hair a bit so it was back to its natural curly state. Anne smiled.

“Perfect,” she replied. “Now, where are you taking her?”

“I was thinking of taking her to that new Italian restaurant in town,” he said. “Italian food is romantic, right?”

“So you’re looking for romance?” Anne asked with a warm smile, and Spike shrugged. “You two make a very lovely couple.”

“I like to think so,” he replied. “Hopefully she agrees.”

“I’m sure she does,” Anne said before handing Spike money. He raised an eyebrow as he took it from her. “Make sure she has a nice time tonight.” He grinned.

“Thanks, Mum,” he said before giving her a hug.

“Whatever I can do to ensure you’ll stay with a girl who’ll tame your wild ways,” she said, winking at him before walking away. He smirked and put the money in his pocket.

‘I just want to make her happy,’ he thought. ‘And prove that this thing we have might be worthy of continuing.’

* * * * *

When both Buffy and Joyce heard a knock on their door, Buffy began taking several deep breaths, slightly settling her nerves. Spike appeared suddenly, holding two red roses. Buffy smiled as he handed one to her and then to Joyce. Joyce looked at it with a surprised expression.

“Thank you, Spike,” she said, giving him a warm smile. “That’s very sweet of you.”

“He’s a sweet guy,” Buffy said, smiling at him before giving her mom her rose. “Can you put this in a vase for me?”

“Sure,” Joyce said. “You two go out and have fun.” Spike smiled at Joyce before taking Buffy’s hand in his.

“I’ll be sure to have her home early,” he said, and Joyce laughed.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, and Buffy raised an eyebrow. “Besides, it’s easier to get in the building when the sun is out.” Buffy giggled and led Spike to the door.

“Bye, Joyce,” he said, smiling at the older woman before the two teens left.

‘I wish my mom was as cool as I am,’ Joyce thought before sitting down on the couch and turning on the TV.

As soon as Buffy closed the door behind them, she leaned up to kiss his cheek.

“Thank you for the rose, Spike,” she said. “And for giving one to my mom. I can’t remember the last time she received a flower.” She paused and frowned jokingly. “Unless you’re trying to go for my mom instead, which just isn’t right. I’m not really a fan of the whole Mrs. Robinson thing.” He chuckled and kissed her temple.

“I’ll settle for the younger model,” he said before grinning at her. “Ready to go out, princess?”

“Ready for anything,” she answered, smirking.

Chapter 24 – Doing Things Right


Holding Spike’s hand as they walked out of the theater, Buffy looked down at their intertwined hands and smiled softly.

It was so simple.

How could something as effortless as touching another person in the least intimate place be so…intimate?

“What’s going through that mind of yours, pet?” Spike asked, tugging on her hand and pulling her close to kiss her temple.

“Lots of things,” she murmured, briefly closing her eyes as his lips made contact. “Wondering how we got here, for starters.”

“Yeah,” Spike agreed with a smile. “If somebody told me a week ago that I couldn’t live without you, I probably would have laughed in their face.”

Feeling Buffy stop, he turned to face her with a puzzled expression. His eyes widened a moment later when he realized what he said.

“Not that it would be such a bad thing,” he added quickly. “Not that it is, the laughing. I just meant-”

“You can’t live without me?” she asked softly, looking into his eyes with a surprised smile.

Letting his shoulders relax at the question, Spike shut his eyes in relief before opening them to see her standing in front of him expectantly. “You know I can’t,” he whispered, brushing the hair off her shoulders.

“Because I do your laundry and cook for you or because you want to be with me?” she asked skeptically.

“Because I want to be with you,” he said with a grin. “And let’s face it, pet, the laundry is a little lacking.”

Wincing when she smacked him on the shoulder, Spike chuckled after a moment, pulling on her hand. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

* * * * *

“Wow,” Buffy murmured, mesmerized by the sight before her. Leaning into Spike as they looked over the bluffs as the waves crashed along the beach, she relaxed against his chest, smiling when his arms wrapped around her waist. “This is amazing.”

“Glad you think so,” he said softly, brushing his lips over her neck.

Shivering in the warm night air, she sighed when he held her closer to him.

“How’d you find it?” she whispered, feeling soothed by the combination of his lips and the never-ending movement of the ocean.

“Used to come up here a lot,” he replied, resting his chin in the crook of her neck. “After my Da’ died.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, turning toward him as he offered her a grateful smile.

“It’s alright. I don’t want to say I’m over it, because I guess I never will be, but…it helped…coming here.”

“I get that,” she murmured, closing her eyes as she leaned into his chest. “Want to go for a walk?”

“Yeah,” he whispered, feeling himself getting choked up as he thought of his father. “Let’s go.”

Holding Buffy’s hand as they slowly made their way down to the beach, Spike admired the woman in front of him. How could he have thought she was anything other than amazing?

Slowly walking toward the water, each marveled how much they felt at home with the other.

Pulling Buffy down to the sand, Spike eagerly held her to him, kissing the top of her head as she rested against him. “So what happens now?” he asked softly.

“Any number of things,” she replied after a moment. “For example- we could go our separate ways.” Smiling when he tensed up behind her, Buffy continued, “Or there’s the ever-popular dating, and even though I might be a little partial, I think we’re doing a damn good job of it.” Glancing over her shoulder to look at him, she barely had a chance to see the smile on his face before his lips were brushing against hers in a tender kiss. “And that leads me to option number three,” she said, feeling a little out of breath. “We could spend months groping in the backseat of your car and making out whenever we get a chance.”

“Liking this plan,” Spike said with an obvious smile in his voice as he kissed along her neck and shoulder.

“Then you’ll love the next one,” Buffy said, turning around in his arms and straddling his waist. She shivered when he rested his hands on her hips. “Care to do this right, Mr. Lawson?”

“You’re serious?” he asked in disbelief.

“Well,” she replied, cocking her head to the side and looking up at the sky as if she was seriously considering it before turning her attention back to him. “As memorable as our first time was…I have the sudden urge to do it right.”

“I’m not exactly an expert, pet, but I thought we did it pretty right the first time,” Spike said with a smirk.

“Not interested?” Buffy asked, moving to stand up. “Alright…”

Trailing off with a squeal as she found herself laying on her back in the soft sand, she let her eyes close when she felt Spike’s body cover hers.

“Oh, I’m definitely interested,” he said with a growl in his voice.

Gasping when his hands moved along her body, slowly pulling off her clothes, Buffy pushed his duster down his arms, smiling when he shrugged it off and spread it out as a blanket, letting her lay back on it.

Shivering when the cool leather came in contact with her heated skin, Buffy eagerly tugged at his shirt, letting a purely feminine smile play on her lips when he nearly ripped it in his hurry to remove it, exposing the smooth muscles of his chest.

Crushing his mouth to hers, Spike felt his entire body tense as she pulled him on top of her, working on his belt buckle. Unable to wait for him to remove the rest of his clothes, she reached between them, positioning him at her entrance and trembling as he entered her with a slow thrust.

Dropping his head to her shoulder when their hips met, Spike closed his eyes at the sensations that were running through him. Pulling back to look into her eyes as their bodies slowly moved together, he gently caressed her cheek, letting a smile cross his face as she gasped when he rolled his hips against hers.

He wanted to say it. He wanted to tell her exactly what she meant to him…or what she could mean to him, but he couldn’t. He knew it was too soon for declarations of love, but he also knew that he was falling hard and fast.

Brushing his lips against hers and trying to convey his emotions through the simple act as her movements became more frantic, Spike felt relief course through him when she kissed him back with equal passion.

Never letting their lips separate when he felt her muscles begin to grasp his cock, Spike plunged into her. Swallowing her cry of pleasure as he pushed her over the edge, he quickly followed, squeezing his eyes shut when his own climax overwhelmed him.

Catching himself from falling forward onto her, he rolled them until they were lying face to face. Caressing her cheek with one hand, they continued the soft kisses until they had to pull away breathlessly. Looking into her eyes, he could feel the words practically choking him, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them out loud. Not yet.

Seeing the confusion and indecision on his face, Buffy smiled as she reached for his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I know.”

Chapter 25 – Love Doesn’t Cost a Thing… Sometimes


Five Years Later


“I love you, Mr. Lawson,” Buffy said as she looked at the man sitting beside her. He leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss.

“I love you, too, Mrs. Lawson,” he replied, grinning at her. “I can’t believe we just got married.” She nodded, smiling. “Can’t say I ever thought I’d see the day when you’d walk down an aisle to me, practically glowing in a virginal white dress.” He leaned over to her ear to whisper, “Although, you’re definitely not a virgin.” She laughed and smiled as she sipped some champagne before looking at the people sitting down at circular tables in the large room, all eating their dinners. “I’m happy the wedding went off without a hitch.”

“And the reception seems to be fairing nicely, too,” she added, looking down at her meal. “I’m still too excited to eat.” He chuckled quietly and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“I am,” he replied. “But not for food.” She looked at him as he wiggled his eyebrows, smirking. She playfully slapped his arm. “Hey! That’s spousal abuse now, pet.” She giggled and kissed him.

“I’ll quench your hunger, but not right now,” she replied. “We’ve got an awesome honeymoon suite waiting for us after this is over.”

“So I have to wait until sometime after midnight?” he asked, pouting when she nodded. “Fine, I’ll wait, but you owe me.”

“Oh, I think I can give you a pretty good reward for being patient,” she said, winking at him. Willow stood up beside her before going to grab a microphone. “Uh oh- I think she’s going to get speechy.”

“Everyone please quiet down,” Willow said, surprised when people almost immediately obeyed. She fought back a wave of nausea as she looked at everyone in the crowd, looking back at her.

‘You’re the maid of honor, Rosenberg- hold it together,’ she thought. ‘You can do this! You’ve been working on this speech for a very long time- don’t mess it up now.’

“Well, Buffy, Spike, you’re married now,” Willow said, smiling as everyone cheered and applauded. “I’ve been waiting for this day for years, and now that it’s here, it’s almost surreal. It almost feels as if I’ve married my sister off and gained a brother out of all of this.” Spike smiled at her, and Buffy began to tear up a little. “Well, before I get sappy or anything, I just want to remind everyone of how all of this began.” Spike leaned over to Buffy’s ear.

“She’s not going to recap all of our history, is she?” he asked quietly, and Buffy frowned.

“Why? Have a problem with that?” she asked, sniffling, and Spike saw a tear escape her eye, despite the smile she was sporting. He kissed her softly and wiped off her cheek.

“Not at all,” he replied before focusing on Willow again.

“I remember the first day Buffy met Spike,” Willow said, laughing. “More specifically, I remember all of the negative comments Buffy made about him.” Spike chuckled and wrapped his arm more tightly around his wife. “Not surprisingly, the two didn’t get along for quite some time. Not until a certain auction.” Buffy giggled as several of their friends in the audience laughed. “Now, I know I personally was surprised when Spike won Buffy as his slave for a week, and imagine my surprise when I heard how much he bid.”

“It was well worth it,” Spike said quietly, and Buffy smiled.

“A small price to pay to fall in love, eh?” she joked, and he kissed her temple.

“I remember thinking that the two would spend the entire week fighting and that some blood would be spilled, but apparently, that wasn’t entirely the case,” Willow continued. “And it was soon after that when their relationship became public.” Willow smiled as she looked at Buffy. “Aren’t you happy I convinced you to be a part of the auction?”

Buffy nodded vigorously, causing many people around her to laugh.

“When graduation rolled around, I admit I was skeptical of them lasting, but they both were determined to stick by one another. And two years ago, when you came home to our apartment and told me you were engaged to Spike, I can’t remember ever being happier in my entire life.” Willow paused and turned to look at Oz, sitting at the head table beside Spike. “Well, up until that point, at least. I think getting engaged myself trumped your engagement announcement.”

The newlyweds both laughed as Oz grinned at Willow.

“And now it’s your wedding day, you two. I’m not surprised that you decided to become his wife, Buffy, after doing his cooking and cleaning for a week as his slave.” Joyce and Anne laughed, sitting beside one another at a table in front of their children. “I can honestly say, from the bottom of my heart, that I’m abysmally happy for you both. You are perfect for one another, and I’m so grateful for you, Spike, because you’re making my surrogate sister obnoxiously happy.” Buffy cuddled into Spike’s side as she rested her head on his shoulder. “I love you both, and I wish you all of the luck in the world.” She held up her champagne flute, along with everyone else in the room. “Congratulations!”

Buffy and Spike kissed among applause before clinking their glasses together and drinking their champagne. Willow walked over to the table and hugged both of them.

“Excellent speech, Will,” Buffy said, and Spike nodded in agreement. “I can’t wait to give my speech at your wedding in a couple of months.”

“Going to make me cry?” Willow asked, and Buffy grinned.

“Just to return the favor,” she said. Spike stood up and extended a hand to Buffy as the first song of the night began to play.

“May I have this dance, Mrs. Lawson?” he asked, and she put her hand on his before getting up and letting him lead her to the dance-floor. He wrapped his arms around her waist while hers went around his neck. They ignored all of the camera flashes and voices around them as they locked eyes, smiling at one another. “I love you, Buffy. You’ve been the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

“Yeah, I think I was quite a steal for five hundred dollars,” she joked, leaning up to kiss him. “I love you, too, Master.”

“Save that for our honeymoon, princess,” he said, winking at her. “Thank you for all of this, luv.”

“Thanks belong to you, too,” she said, smiling softly. “Did you ever think we’d come this far?”

“Not in my wildest dreams,” he answered honestly. “But I’m so happy we did.”


THE END