When Buffy woke up the next morning, she was surprised to see that Spike wasn’t lying beside her. She yawned as she stood up, slowly walking into the kitchen and smiling when the aroma of brewing coffee reached her.
“My hero,” she said as she snuck up on Spike and wrapped her arms around his back. “Good morning.”
“Morning, luv,” he replied, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “I know coffee isn’t terribly British, but I figured you probably would prefer it over tea.”
“Much appreciated,” she said, leaning back against a counter and looking down. “Should I be worried about meeting up with Drusilla? I feel like I should be on my guard or something, but then again, this is just business and I should be professional about everything.”
“Don’t show her your claws until she shows hers,” he advised, looking at her. “Dru can be vicious, but when it comes to her art, she’s very serious. I don’t think she’d jeopardize making money from her work- just see how things go.”
“Okay,” Buffy said, nodding as she walked to his refrigerator.
“And if she pisses you off, let me know,” he replied, walking up behind her and pressing a series of light kisses to her shoulders. “I don’t want her to put you in a bad situation.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, turning around to face him.
“What happened between Dru and I in the past is done and over with- if she mentions stuff that happened before you and I met and tries to make it seem like she had every right to cheat on me, don’t believe her,” he said, cupping her cheeks in his hands. “She’s just bitter that I left her for Los Angeles and to have a better job. She never exactly got a big break in life and despises me for leaving her here.”
“You really think I’d believe something she says over what you’ve told me?” Buffy asked, jokingly smacking his chest. “Come on, Spike- I know better than that. Besides, I know she’s not the smartest apple on the tree because she’s dating one of the most pathetic men I’ve ever known.” She paused, her eyes widening. “You don’t think Xander will be there, do you? Or that it’ll be a tag-team effort to hurt me?”
“Pet, I wouldn’t be so nervous- I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Spike said soothingly, even though he was having the same doubts that she was. “And if anything happens, you can call my cell phone and I’ll swoop in to rescue you.”
“Yep, you really are my hero,” she said, kissing his cheek before walking away, letting herself into the bathroom and closing the door.
Spike looked at his coffeemaker and sighed, running a hand over his face.
If Dru does anything to hurt Buffy, I’ll kill the bint, he thought. I care about Buffy, and the last thing I want is to lose her.
* * * * *
Spike walked Buffy to the restaurant she had arranged to meet Drusilla in and wished her luck before kissing her and returning to his apartment, inwardly praying that everything would go alright.
Buffy smoothed out her skirt as she saw Drusilla waiting near the host’s stand, looking around impatiently. She took a calming breath before approaching the brunette woman, pasting a smile on her face.
“Drusilla Adams?” Buffy asked, extending a hand when Drusilla looked at her. “I’m Buffy Summers. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Welcome to London,” Drusilla replied, shaking her hand. “You’re running late.”
“Sorry about that- I had some trouble finding the place,” Buffy lied, images of Spike and her kissing in his kitchen before they left running through her head. “Shall we have a seat?”
“We’re ready,” Drusilla said to the hostess, who had been watching them.
Moments later, both women sat at a booth and opened their menus, minutes of silence ensuing as they chose what they wanted to order for lunch.
After their waiter took their drink orders, Drusilla looked at Buffy appraisingly before raising an eyebrow when Buffy frowned at her.
“Is something the matter?” Buffy asked, feeling slightly unsettled by how the other woman was studying her.
“You know, I knew I’d seen you before when you walked in,” she replied. “You’re the woman I saw with my William at the airport yesterday.”
The color drained from Buffy’s face as Drusilla smirked, tapping her long fingernails against the top of their table.
“So, tell me, Buffy,” Drusilla began after hesitating for a while. “Did you really come here for my artwork, or did you come here for him? Because if you think he’s actually worth a trip overseas, you’re either very naïve or incredibly daft.”
“I don’t see how my relationship with Spike should matter,” Buffy said, trying to stay calm despite the anger that was beginning to form inside of her. “Let’s discuss my gallery featuring your work, especially since that’s why we arranged this meeting in the first place.”
“I’m just trying to get to know you first,” Drusilla replied. “I mean, if you’re going to sell my art, I think it’s my right to know who I’ll be dealing with, don’t you?”
“I don’t think it’s your right to ask about my relationship with your ex-boyfriend,” Buffy said, crossing her arms. “You don’t hear me asking about you and Xander, do you?”
“How do you know about Xander?” Drusilla asked, surprised.
“Because your boyfriend and I ran into each other on our flight yesterday,” Buffy answered. “And he and I used to date.”
“He told me he saw an ex-girlfriend on his plane,” Drusilla said. “But I didn’t know it was you- he omitted telling me a name.” She began to study Buffy again. “I think I can see why he left you- you’re not all that attractive. I think hours spent in the sun are aging you a bit quickly.”
“I think hours spent in the dark are starting to make you look translucent,” Buffy shot back, her resolve beginning to fade. “And I was the one who broke it off with Xander, not the other way around.” She leaned across the table, her eyes locking with the other woman’s. “Did he tell you why? That he was sleeping with my roommate?”
“You must not have been good enough in bed for him,” Drusilla replied dismissively. “Which would explain why you’re dating a guy like William- he’s one of the worst lovers I’ve ever known. Tell me, have you two shagged? I’d hope he’s improved a bit since we broke up.”
“It’s none of your business,” Buffy said sternly, standing up. “And speaking of business, I don’t think I want to sell your art at my gallery. Peddle your mediocre work somewhere else because as far as I’m concerned, you’re not worth my time.”
Before Drusilla could respond, Buffy stormed out of the restaurant, calling Spike’s cell phone from a payphone and restraining herself from returning inside and doing something she’d regret.
* * * * *
“I’m sorry she’s such a bitch,” Spike said sadly as he opened the door of his apartment twenty minutes later, letting both he and Buffy inside.
“It’s not your fault,” Buffy replied quietly. “I should’ve called off the meeting as soon as you told me about her. It would’ve saved me from having to deal with her.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Spike asked, watching as she walked to his couch and sat down, kicking off her shoes before lying down.
“No, I’m fine,” she answered, sighing. “Would it be okay if I call Anya? I’ll pay the long-distance charges.”
“That’s not necessary, pet,” he replied, beginning to make two mugs of hot chocolate. “Go ahead and call her.”
Buffy grabbed his cordless phone and dialed her friend’s number, happy when she heard Anya answer the phone on the other line.
“You’ve reached Anya, the dominatrix of pain,” the other woman said, yawning. “How may I help you?”
“Please tell me you don’t always answer the phone like that,” Buffy said, making a face.
“Only when my Caller ID shows a foreign number and it’s incredibly late at night,” Anya replied. “Or super early in the morning- whichever way you want to look at it.”
“Sorry, I forgot about the time difference,” Buffy said apologetically. “I just wanted to check in quickly and see how the gallery is.”
“How did the meeting go today?” Anya asked, ignoring Buffy’s question.
“Horrible,” she answered, frowning at the subject change. “It’s a long story- one that I’ll tell you later- but I didn’t end up offering Drusilla Adams a contract. How is the gallery?”
“Well, you see… your mom came in yesterday,” Anya said sheepishly, pausing for a moment. “She said something about wanting to check the money situation in your absence since she thought you weren’t being honest with her.”
Uh oh.
“Seems she was right,” Anya continued. “She told me that the gallery’s in even worse financial shape than we both thought.”
“I didn’t tell you two about some minor problems- there’s nothing to worry about,” Buffy said, knowing that what she was saying wasn’t close to being true.
“Problems that are leaving the gallery in debt?” Anya asked sharply. “We’re talking about a couple of thousand dollars here- this isn’t some ‘minor’ matter.”
“We’ll worry about it when I come home,” Buffy replied. “I’m not wasting more money by calling long-distance to discuss it.”
“Your mom mentioned closing the gallery, Buffy,” Anya said forlornly. “If things don’t get better around here, it’ll shut down and we’ll both be out of jobs.”
“It won’t get that bad,” Buffy replied, trying to keep the tears that were forming in her eyes at bay. “I promise.”
“I hope you’re right,” Anya said. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Bye,” Buffy said, hanging up the phone and feeling her eyes begin to water more as Spike appeared in front of her, holding a mug of hot chocolate.
“What’s wrong, luv?” he asked, becoming concerned as tears rolled down her cheeks. “It’s not the hot chocolate, is it?” She managed a weak smile as she wiped off her cheeks, taking the mug from him.
“Today sucks,” she murmured, looking down.
“Want to talk about it?” he asked, sitting beside her and running his hand over her hair.
“Want to kiss it and make it better?” she asked jokingly, her eyes widening when she realized what she had said. “I didn’t...”
“Is that really what you want?” he asked, noticing the emotions that crossed her features.
“I don’t know,” she answered, averting her eyes from his. “Maybe.”
“Then let Spike make it better for you,” he replied, taking her mug and setting it on the coffee table in front of the couch before leaning over to kiss her, surprised when she crawled onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. He broke away a minute later, looking into her eyes to gauge what she was feeling. “Luv-”
“Make today better, Spike,” she whispered, her chest heaving for breath. “Please?”
Before she could ask him again or have second thoughts, he stood up and took her hand in his, pulling her up and leading her down the hallway and into his bedroom.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing this fic, along with anyone who read/reviewed my New Year's ficlet this weekend! Now that the holidays are over, updates should be more frequent. I hope you enjoy this chapter;)