“You’re a vampire right?” Buffy asked, pulling her punch mid-swing.
“Yeah, I thought you knew that pet. What with the fighting and all.” Spike said a little stunned by the chit’s sudden action. They’d been fighting the last five minutes, neither one getting the upper hand and it was by far one of the most enjoyable fights he’d had. Which was why he was a bit impatient to get back to it. “So now that’s all cleared up luv, wanna start round two?”
“I was kinda hoping we could talk.” Even as the words left her mouth Buffy was nearly certain she had lost her mind. Then she remembered the week she had and decided that desperate times call for desperate measures.
“Me vampire, you Slayer…talkin’s not part of the program.”
“That’s exactly why I want to talk to you. You’ve got the whole Master vampire thing working for you and that means you’re not a half-wit like all the fledges I’ve staked tonight.” Buffy said taking a step away but not relaxing her battle stance. She wasn’t a complete idiot. Taking a deep breath, fully aware of the fact she was playing in some serious traffic she decided to get to the point. “I’ve had a REALLY bad week and if I have to sit through one more intervention I swear I’m going to lose my mind!”
“I think it’s a little late, pet.” Spike said with a slight snort. This chit had obviously slipped her bloomin’ gourd but since it wasn’t exactly a hardship looking at her, he could be patient a bit longer. She was tiny like a pixie, with soft golden hair and big green eyes and seeing as how he’d been without female companionship for a good while it wasn‘t all that terrible being alone with such a beautiful girl.
‘She smells of jasmine and power, with an angel’s face and a predators grace. Her skin as golden as the unforgiving sun, is as luminescent as…’
Ruthlessly shoving down his inner William mid-sonnet, Spike told himself he was just allowing this so he could kill her when she least expected it. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact she was such a lovely little thing. “Well out with it then. It’s obvious you’re not going to be worth fighting until you talk about whatever maggot worked its way into that head of yours.”
Eww…Buffy thought making an unpleasant face at the imagery his words had invoked. “See I broke up with my boyfriend, someone all my friends weren’t all that fond of to begin with and they won’t leave me alone about it. It doesn’t help that he’s gone all stalker on me, following me around like a lost puppy. I mean if he had put that much effort into the relationship to begin with, I wouldn’t have dumped him. Naturally he thinks I have no idea he’s doing it but hello, Slayer here, I know when vamps are sneaking around in the damn shadows.”
He had toned out the moment she started talking about relationship issues but her last words captured his entire attention. “You were dating a vampire?”
“Yeah, why else did you think I wanted your opinion? Cause let me say it’s not hair tips, the whole Billy Idol look is so 1980.” Buffy said crassly, despite the fact the violently bright shade seemed to suit him. What with his pale white skin, deep blue eyes and those cheekbones…those were good cheekbones to have.
Blinking Buffy suddenly realized she was checking out the evil vampire she was supposed to be killing and mentally told herself to put her hormones in check. Bad guys who may or may not be evil were one thing but she had no doubt that the vamp in front of her was definitely evil. It didn’t matter that he was definitely drool worthy; with that tight black t-shirt stretched taunt against his obvious toned abs….STOP! He’s evil, evil can’t be yummy, she berated herself, no more checking out the bad guy. “Umm…he’s like two-hundred and something, kinda broody so maybe you’ve heard of him. Angelus…well it’s actually Angel now because of his soul and all.”
“Let me get this straight pet, the sodden Slayer not only shacked up with the bloody Scourge of Europe but dumped him?” Spike asked, knowing that if he had a working heart it would have skipped a beat. He knew that the sodden soul had taken Angelus off his kibble but he never expected his grandsire to stoop so low as to snog the Slayer. Even if she was one of the most beautiful chits he’d ever laid eyes on, he added almost absently.
“Yep, but we weren’t shacked up.” Buffy admitted with a slight pout. “We had this really amazing spark at first but then he turned out to be kind of a prude. I mean it’s not like I wanted him to throw me up against the wall and have his way with me but I didn’t even get groped. No groping, his hands were always on my shoulders or waist and that’s just wrong. I mean I thought vampires were supposed to be all sexy and sensual cause well, demon chock full of naughty impulses. But no, my human ex-boyfriend was more of an animal than Angel.”
Spike felt his cock twitch in response to her blunt yet innocent phrasing and swallowed audibly before the full impact of what she said hit him. Unable to help himself, he started to laugh.
Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a chilling look. “Why is the idea of making out with me so funny? I’m not exactly a super-model but it’s not like I am a total bow-wow either.”
“Sorry luv, I’m laughing at Peaches playing monk when he had such a nummy treat panting for his attention.” Spike blinked when he realized he had just apologized to the bloody Slayer of all things but when she sent him a dazzling smile it was awfully hard to feel bad about it.
“For a moment there I was starting to think my sex-appeal was wasted on the undead.” Buffy said half seriously. She knew she was pretty in that wholesome girl next door kind of way but since running afoul of the perfect and always stunning Cordelia Chase she had been having major self-image issues. Issues which Angel’s lack of smoochiness had unfortunately made worse.
Hoping for a little confidence boost, Buffy gave him a serious look. “But how do I know you're not just saying that because I’m the Slayer. I may have not read the stupid handbook but I know my blood is damn tasty. I mean if I wasn’t the Slayer would you even bite me or would you go find someone a little more…well womanly?”
Unable to help himself he gaped at her. Normally, atleast in his vast experience with the opposite sex, beautiful girls like her were usually bitches convinced they were superior to everyone who wasn’t in vogue. His first instinct was to leer at her scornfully, certain that she was just trying to make him admit he was attracted to her so she could mock him but then he noticed something.
Earlier when she had first approached him, her eyes were filled with self-confidence and he could practically feel her strength washing over him like the swelling tides. But looking at her now, he could see he wasn’t talking to the Slayer but a young girl who wore her heart on her sleeve. That show of humanity should have disgusted him, made his demon sneer at the weakness of his opponent but it didn’t. His beast was oddly soothed by the air of fragility surrounding her like a misty cloud of conflicting emotions.
William, the more gentler and softer side of his being was quick to provide him with an answer to that mystifying question. ‘Only the strongest of beings can fully embrace the weakest of emotions. It strengthens them because they admit the lesser qualities of humanity exist within them instead of hiding behind an show of arrogance. It is truly an admirable trait, one that we have never possessed in either incarnation.’
With both sides of his being for once in complete agreement Spike found that he was helpless to leave her in such a vulnerable state. “If you weren‘t the sodden Slayer I‘d want to turn you. You’re not only beautiful but also an intriguing mystery that would take centuries to unravel completely. He’s beneath you luv, don’t waste another minute doubting yourself cause of him. And I should know seeing as how he‘s my grandsire and all.”
His admission soothed her ravaged pride but it also triggered a memory. “You’re…William the Bloody and your sire was Drucilla.” She said recalling the names she had read when she and Willow had secretly researched Angel’s past in the Watchers diaries. It also made her remember that he had atleast two Slayers to his credit, further proving she was under way to much pressure.
Here she was standing in a deserted cemetary with a slayer of Slayer's, talking about life and relationships...nope everything was pretty much completely normal. In bizarro world, Buffy thought but still not making a move to renew the fight.
Why bother, she rationalized, she'd already gone this far she might as well see how it all plays out.
“That bastard actually had the nerve to talk about her…about us!” Spike yelled at her, unintentionally slipping into his game face. He had always hated his grandsire but he had always given him the respect that was his due. He was the kind of demon all demons wanted to become, he wanted to become but that didn't mean he liked the bastard. Some things could never be forgotten or forgiven and the fact that the souled and nancy boy version had dared to speak of them, infurated him. “I’ll use his guts for garters. I’ll spend weeks paying him back for daring to utter her name!”
“Calm down, he didn’t tell me.” Buffy said forcing herself to not respond to the violence of his movements. “I read about you two in the Watcher’s diaries. I’m…I’m sorry about what he did to her. She was your sister right?”
“Yeah.” Spike said calming down somewhat. He could tell from her tone that her apology was sincere and once again he couldn’t help wondering how a Slayer could be so understanding. The two he killed in the past were all about the job, little more than bloody robots, fighting the good fight and all but this one, this one girl was different.
She had some spark, some inner fire that her predecessors had lacked and according to the talk, she was more feared as well. This girl was definitely special, which reminded him of another girl. “Dru was always special, she just seemed to glow but he took care of that quick enough. He broke her he did and he was still the only thing the chit could think about. Her precious Daddy. He never cared about her…she was just a toy to him, a conquest.”
And he had been her final gift to her, Spike thought bitterly. Angelus had killed their mother, their aunts and cousins, taking out their entire family tree one right after another. He had been at university and by the time he received word it was to late to save his precious sister…or himself. The girl he’d met that night wasn’t his dear sweet sister anymore but a monster. Yet the thought of leaving her alone in the dark world she now roamed seemed even more monstrous. He’d failed to protect her in life, so he joined her in death only to fail her again a little more than a century later.
Seeing the pain in his eyes, Buffy reacted on instinct and stepped forward to lay her hand on his arm. “You know it’s late and we can always do this whole fight to the death thing tomorrow. I mean even the people are asleep right now; so it’s not like you can do anything worth being staked for anyway. So you wanna come to my house, maybe have some hot chocolate and watch the late, late movie?”
“You in the habit of inviting strange vampires into your house, luv?” Spike asked responding the light tone of her voice.
“Please I’m the Slayer, you get all Grr and I’ll stake you tonight instead of tomorrow.” Buffy said with a bright smile. It was completely obvious she had finally cracked up but for some reason she felt some odd sort of connection to Spike. Something about him clouded her memory and made her forget he was a soulless killer who wanted nothing more than to drink her dry. If she didn’t know better she’d swear she’d met him before but since he was like two hundred years old that wasn’t very likely. But it wasn’t like the world would end if she staked him tomorrow instead of tonight and since he’d be at her place it wouldn’t get anyone killed. So she couldn’t see the harm in a temporary truce. “So you to afraid to hang out with the Slayer or are you coming?”
“That depends pet, do you have any of those tiny little marsh mellows?” He asked with a genuine smile. It riled him to be making nice with his enemy but he was evil, so he was suppose to defy conventionality. Plus an all access pass into the Slayer’s home would come in handy when he snuck into her room tomorrow night, when she’d be all weak and defenseless. Yep, he could definitely hold off on killing the chit one bloody night just lower her defenses and such. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact he felt something less than murderous for her…nope not at all, he told himself.