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.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you to everyone who left reviews for the last chapter- we're glad everyone enjoyed it so much! There is Spuffyness in the near future, we promise:)