Author's Chapter Notes:
Don't own the characters, I know! Just playing with them.
Let me just say that I surprised myself when I wrote this, I don't usually do canon but this one bugged me after it came out of the blue. Anyway I don't have much experience writing spike/buffy so I hope it turns out ok. Of course, reviews are very much appreciated.

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"Ooooh right there!"

"Here, Slayer? Or here?" Spike applied pressure where she'd vaguely indicated. He was rewarded with another moan and a slight trashing from Buffy.

"There, there..." she moaned wantonly and arched her back.

"Like this, Slayer?" Spike leered, tongue curling behind his teeth as he pressed down more firmly.

"Oh yes yes yes," she chanted. Her breath came up in hitches and pants, her face flushed and contorted in pleasure. "Need... more... of...those...talented hands... of... yours!"

"Talented hands, huh?" Spike replied, stroking firmly with his 'talented' digits. "I can think of a few more ways to use this talented hands of mine, Slayer. Care to find out?"

"You're a pig, Spike," she gasped out, glaring at him unsuccessfully while the rest of her was singing in pleasure. She was in heaven, and Spike was the cause of it. She sighed again, while Spike ran his fingers to and fro, and applied different types of pressure.

"Nuh uh, Slayer. That the way to talk to me? You ought to play nice," Spike teased back, stopping what he was doing immediately. Buffy's eyes widened comically.

"Why are you stopping? No stopping! Stopping bad!" She wiggled around, hoping to seek more contact and pressure. Spike held her firmly in his grip and grinned lecherously at her.

"Then say the magic word," he prompted, eyes locking with hers.

"What magic word? Acradebabra? No? Lumos! Nope either. Wingardium Leviosa!" Buffy giggled at that one, her hand immediately came up to cover her mouth to hide her mirth. Spike glared at her, but soon burst into hysterical laughter as well. "Looks to me, pet, like your mom didn't teach you manners to be a proper lady."

He pressed down hard again and Buffy stopped laughing, all jokes forgotten. She moaned headily and arched into his touch further... need more... he was drawing back and she was trying to struggle with him to seek more contact but he would have none of it.

"Now now, Slayer. Play nice. What's the magic word?" Spike said again, holding her at bay. Bloody bint was quite powerful but for the past half hour or so, he'd managed to reduce her into a mass of quivering jelly from just his touch... kneading, pressing, stroking until she mewled in pleasure and melted into a mass of pliant Buffy. Pliant Buffy is good.

Buffy could no longer stand his games, so she just gave him what he wanted, just to feel him doing that to her again. "Please Spike, please..."

"Good girl," he murmured, leaning down to kiss her, his tongue darting out to lick her lips. Without warning he started up again, applying pressure in oh, just the right place, Buffy thought incoherently.

"That feel good, Slayer?" Spike asked, his hands oily and gliding smoothly over her skin.

"Uh huh," she replied mindlessly.

They were on the couch, Buffy lying on most of it, while Spike sat on the arm rest, deliciously topless with just jeans with its top button undone. Wearing only her underwear, she sighed contentedly, her foot in Spike's hand while he kneaded the sore pad of her feet. A bottle of lavender massage oil lay nearby, and once in a while Spike would swipe some of those and re-lubricate her. He'd found out over the past half hour that her sensitive and sore places were her heels, her toes and her ankles. Her calves were slightly sore too. "Don't know why you have to work at that place, pet. It's obviously not good for your health."

"What health? They're just my feet!" Buffy protested.

"Yeah, and they're aching. Bloody place is a food chain, for crying out loud and they can't afford to buy their employees some chairs?" Spike muttered crossly, but tenderly took care of her right foot. He was rubbing her heels in slow circular motion, and the sensation was causing Buffy's eyes to roll to the back of her head and mewl in delight.

"It's my job. I need that job, Spike... nothing is free and Dawn needs to eat..."

"Bloody hell, Summers, you know I would've helped you," Spike replied, looking into her eyes exasperatedly.

"No Spike," Buffy replied firmly, that look back into her eyes. She wasn't one to accept help from Spike. She had once hated him but now, now things were different. After she'd been torn from heaven he was all that she had to keep her anchored here. His love for her had viled her, but now... he sort of grew on her. Buffy felt uneasy about that feeling. He was a killer, chipped but soulless.

"Why not? Tell me one good reason why not?" Spike challenged. He'd stopped his ministrations on her foot and was looking at her intensely.

Buffy shrugged. "Just because."

"Just because? Because you're still ashamed of me? Because you didn't want to rely on me? Hell Buffy, I would've gladly taken your place when you jumped off that tower but I guess you still think it's wrong that a soulless creature would help you, huh?"

Buffy looked up sharply. "This is different."

"Different how? It's ok that we're shagging but when it comes to me helping you out financially it's wrong?"

"Watch it Spike. This is not called reflexology for no reason. You can test just how good my reflex is if you continue."

Spike closed his mouth, glaring at her. They stared at each other for a long time, each not wanting to back down. Finally his eyes softened as he gazed at her, his finger running absently up and down the pad of her foot. "Buffy..."

"No Spike, don't go there. Please," she begged. Spike looked at her, saw the woman he'd fallen helplessly in love with and whatever she wanted, he would give, god he would give her the whole sodding milky way if she wanted. It tore at him that what he wanted to talk to her about was about helping her but she didn't want to talk about it. Still in denial land.

Spike said nothing more, but his eyes spoke volumes. He continued to stroke her foot, rubbing her cute little toes now. Her nails were unpainted, and he wondered vaguely if she had time lately to pamper herself. Stubborn bint was only breaking down before his eyes, she had so much going on, experienced so much suffering and could tell no one of it. She was a strong warrior, in and out and Spike couldn't help being proud of that fact, even though it meant his Slayer had to suffer so much. His Slayer. His Buffy.

Buffy stared at him, knowing what he wanted to say but didn't. She couldn't... couldn't deal with coming out, coming clean about her feelings with Spike.

Feelings. What were her feelings for him, exactly? He'd ceased to become her nemesis but he wasn't her love either. He was still a bloody thorn to her side yet he was the one she turned to when she couldn't take it anymore. And now he was tending to her foot... so tenderly she wanted to weep. He was being the perfect boyfriend, and she... couldn't. She didn't know why, but she couldn't. Not another relationship with another vampire. Angel proved the theory so well, after all. But Spike wasn't Angel. He was nothing like him, but his love for her had been so real, so strong Buffy couldn't help being sucked in and let him take care of her.

He had been taking care of her all this while. He'd given her sexual pleasure, making her forget about being torn out of heaven, about mom, about Dawn. But letting him helping her out financially was really too much.

But why, really? He'd asked a very good question. Why did him helping her out financially was so hard to take? Was it because it seemed so domestic, so... boyfriend? So... husband-y? Was it really that bad, letting him take care of her? God knows how tired she was. She longed for a companion, an equal, a partner... but after all that had happened she found it hard to fall in love with him, with anyone, really. But could she? Looking at him now, watching him... it was easy to get lost in this. He could prove to be different.

"Maybe one day, Spike," Buffy finally spoke out, so quietly if not for Spike's vampire hearing he would't have caught it. "Not now, because... I'm not ready, but maybe one day."

They settled into a comfortable silence this time, him still tending to her sore feet, and Spike couldn't help but let a small smile tug the corner of his lips and look into her eyes, see that promise there. Maybe one day. He was content with that crumb. Because it was Buffy.

Because it was Buffy.

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Love it? Hate it? Let me know! And yes, this is only one-shot, I don't have any more ideas to continue this, unless it struck me out of the blue again. :)





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