Spike kept his word, which was the most unnerving thing of all. When he had said he’d leave her alone for now, Buffy had thought he meant just that one conversation. But he was leaving her alone…really alone. For the next few days, everything was purely professional. He went to San Diego with Angelus, he gave her assignments, he bantered lightly with everyone. It’s not as if he ignored her, really, he just…treated her like an employee. Which is what she wanted, right? To just be another employee.
An employee secretly trying to gather information to stick him in jail for life, proclaiming her loyalty but really planning to betray him. An employee who was having extremely intense sex dreams about him every night, which certainly made sharing a bed with Gunn uncomfortable….but…an employee.
“Earth to Buffy?” Fred teased, snapping the other woman out of her thoughts.
“Oh, sorry,” Buffy laughed. The two were eating lunch out on the patio, and in the middle of a discussion about their college days, she had completely zoned out. Again. “I’m just someplace that’s else.”
“Yeah, you have been for a few days. Do want to talk about it?”
“Oh, thanks, but that’s okay,” she smiled. “I’m just space case-y. No real reason.”
“Are you sure? Is it Gunn?”
Buffy felt a pang of guilt, but shook her head. “No, no, really, it’s nothing.”
Fred clearly didn’t believe her, but continued on describing her days as a Texas sorority girl. Buffy did her best to pay attention, smiling and laughing at the appropriate moments, but was glad when the conversation was cut short due to a meeting Fred had to get to.
Her solitude was short lived, however, when Xander came out with a boisterous, “Hello Duchess of Buffonia!”
She laughed at his energy and beckoned him to join her. “What’s with the good mood, Xander?”
“Life is treating me well, what can I say,” he smiled happily, attempting to steal a chip off of her plate and earning himself a smack on the wrist. “And how are you?”
“Going a little stir crazy, I’m hoping I can get Gunn to take me out tonight, he’s been working so much I haven’t seen him at all.” In reality, the two really needed to go see Giles, it had been too long since they’d updated him on the events of their mission.
“That man,” Xander shook his head. “Needs to have his head examined. If you were my girlfriend I’d take you out every night. And there would be whipped cream. And outfits. Am I crossing the line at all?”
“No,” Buffy giggled. “You’re like me, your foot likes to live in your mouth.”
“Indeed it does,” Xander said, then paused before switching the tone of the conversation. “Look, Buffy, I want to warn you about something.” She glanced at him sharply and he waved his hands in front of him, “No, not anything bad. Well, not really bad. Sort of badness---“
“Okay, got the point, not a big bad, a little bad.”
“Yeah, look, I just want you to be careful,” he finally said slowly. “Things seem to be getting a little heated, I guess, and, well, I like you, Buffy, I think you’re good people, and I don’t want you to get into trouble. Any more so than you’re already in. So I’m just giving you a little heads up, keep your eyes open. Capiche?”
“What do you mean? Tell me more,” She pressed, just as Angelus walked out onto the patio. Xander shot her a look before greeting the man.
“Xander,” Angel said gruffly, “I think Forrest and Caleb could use your help out front.” Xander nodded and left, giving Buffy another meaningful look over Angel’s shoulder.
“How are you?” Buffy asked politely as Angel stared at her appreciatively. Despite being perfectly covered up in black jeans and a loose green top, his gaze made her almost feel naked, and not in a sexy way.
“I’m swell,” He sighed, moving to sit next to her, just a little too close. “A little stressed, though. It’s such a burden trying to get everything all figured out here, Spike has all his files and everything in such a mess.”
“That’s too bad.”
“It is,” he said, then moved a bit closer so their sides were pressed together. “The deal we’re working on is pretty damn important, and I don’t think Spike has the stones for it.”
“What’s the deal about?” Buffy asked in what she hoped was an innocent way.
He stared at her intently, and she started to wonder if her attempt at fact-finding was a serious misstep when he just smiled at her patronizingly and ignored her query. “You know, I’ve been wanting to talk to you again. I had a nice time when I saw you at the party and since then our meetings haven’t been nearly…personal enough.”
“It was a nice party,” Buffy said in a non-committal tone.
“Oh, it wasn’t, really,” he scoffed. “Pretty low-end. You should come out to New York, I could show you a real party.” When Buffy was silent, he said, “You don’t like me very much, do you?”
“I don’t really know you, Mr. Angelus,” she said.
“Well, I can think of ways we could correct that problem.” His hand started to head for her knee.
She stood quickly to avoid any more contact. “That’s flattering, sir, but I’m just here to do my job.”
“Your job is for me, sweetheart,” he leered.
“I really don’t think so.”
“What, you think you work for Spike?” He laughed cruelly. “Spike is my bitch, Buffy. Spike does only what I tell him, or at least he’s supposed to. And if you think you have to do what he says, that means you do what I say too.” He reached out to grab her, and again she evaded his grasp.
“I rather think not.”
“You’re so spunky. I like it.”
“Is Gunn here?” Buffy asked as if she hadn’t even heard him.
“Gunn’s taking care of Dru for the day,” he smiled. “Driving her around.”
“I should call him,” Buffy said. “Have a nice day, Mr. Angelus. I’ll see you soon.” She spun around and left him alone, an annoyed look on his face.
From his window above Spike was watching. He’d almost come down to interfere when that bastard tried to put his hands on his girl, but he should have known she could take care of herself.
Even if it was Gunn she’d used as an excuse, and not him.
“Something seriously big is going to go down, G,” Gunn said. Once he and Buffy had escaped their respective jobs, they’d called and arranged to meet their boss in West Hollywood, at a secluded warehouse owned by one of Giles’s contacts.
“Do you have any idea what?” Giles asked, looking through the pages of notes Buffy had scribbled out about her recent work.
He shook his head. “It’s just all these little things adding up. The guys who’ve worked for Angelus for years say he’s all on edge, and he’s rarely like that. And despite the fact that he specifically requested that I work for him, I feel like I’m being kept out of the loop on a lot of stuff. Like, I’m just there to report back to Spike what I see. Because every time I get back, Spike grills me.”
“About what, specifically?”
“Just where did I go, what did I do, who did Angelus meet with, how’s the deal with Walsh coming, except I know the big things he wants to know about are things I don’t get to be there for, get it? And every time before I leave, he repeats his spiel about how my loyalty is to him.”
Buffy chipped in, “Plus, Xander gave me this freaky cryptic warning today about being careful, he seems to think something big is happening too.”
“Well, I would say their conflict is no longer strictly personal, then,” Giles mused. “Do you think the situation has become too dangerous---“
“No,” Buffy interrupted firmly. “It’s not like anything bad has happened recently, this is the perfect opportunity for us to get the information we need.”
Giles smiled at her. “I figured you’d say that, you’re never one to back down from challenge. And you agree, Charles? It isn’t too dangerous?”
Gunn nodded enthusiastically. “We can handle it, of course.”
“Good,” Giles said. “But I hope we can meet again fairly quickly, I worry when I don’t hear from you two for a long while.”
Gunn and Buffy agreed, and then their meeting was interrupted by a chirping cell phone.
“Oh, that’s me,” Gunn said, pulling the phone out of his jacket pocked. “Yeah?” He answered gruffly. “Now?...No, of course it’s no problem…Great, thanks. Be right there.” He hung up and sighed. “That was Forrest, Angelus wants me somewhere about ten minutes ago, wants me to meet him at the house. Said it shouldn’t take long, though.”
Buffy grabbed her purse and gave Giles a quick hug, “We’ll make sure to call you within a few days,” she promised, and the pair took off.
Gunn pulled up to the house, got out of the truck and immediately jumped into an SUV with Forrest, who was waiting impatiently. Buffy waved and watched them leave, before turning to head inside.
The house was uncharacteristically quiet, and after a quick survey of the downstairs and the kitchen, Buffy realized both Xander and Fred were gone. She started fixing herself a snack, but she then heard a loud thud from inside Spike’s office, gave into her curiosity and went to investigate.
“Buffy,” Spike slurred in surprise as she stepped through the door to his office. He lifted his glass and raised it to her before downing the remaining dark contents. “Cheers, pet,” he said bitterly, and wiped the back of one hand across his mouth.
The room was a war zone, papers and files and disks everywhere, and there was one empty liquor bottle and one freshly opened one sitting on Spike’s desk. He looked a mess, with rumpled clothes and hair, and it was clear from the look on his face he was not a happy drunk.
“Spike, what the hell are you doing?” she asked.
“Playing cricket,” he snorted. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Getting drunk alone in your office?” She supplied. “But, whatever, it’s none of my business.”
“It’s not! You are right, it bloody well is not,” he said, standing up and wavering slightly on unsteady legs. “But you should stay, have a drink. We could talk. But you won’t, oh no, you want nothing to do with big bad Spike.”
“Go to bed,” she said. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“I’m a man, baby,” he leered. “As I’m sure you remember. I can hold my liquor no problem.”
“Yeah, a real manly way to deal with your problems is to get wasted at eight at night.”
“You know I’m a man! A bad, rude man.”
It would have been funny if it wasn’t so pathetic.
“Look, Spike, get a grip. Whatever’s going on, get over it. Spank your inner moppet, whatever.” Buffy manage to ignore the incredibly strong desire to run over there, gather him up in her arms, and tell him that whatever was wrong, she would make it better.
“It’s all going to hell,” he muttered sadly as she turned to go, the desperate misery in his voice halting her in her tracks. “Just like me. I’m just trying to do the right thing, no one will let me. It gets all fucked up. Like with you.”
“Let’s not do this,” Buffy pleaded as she tried to avoid looking into his anguished gaze.
“Do what?” He whined, grabbing the bottle and pouring himself another drink. “Talk about us?”
“There isn’t an us,” she managed to force out as she watched him down another shot.
“Bollocks, you know there is,” he said. “I don’t know why you’re fighting it, us, if it’s really because of that git you’re sleeping with or if it’s something else. Maybe you don’t trust me, but I can be a good man, Buffy, I can. I am. You don’t want me now but I can wait, I’ve been waiting. And I will wait, Buffy. For a really, really, really long time.” At the end of his little rambling speech, he wobbled and fell forward against his desk, then let out a low bark of frustration.
“Sleep it off, Spike,” Buffy said, and left, masterfully hiding the affect his words had on her.
Spike stared at the bottle in his hand then tossed it aside, and dropped his head in his hands while letting out a frustrated shout.
[Reviews - 468]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 4476 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +
Author's Chapter Notes:
So, wow, I’m apparently not very bright, and just figured out that you can respond to reviews! I feel like a brat for not doing this before. From here on out I’ll try and reply to all your reviews, because certainly if you take the time to tell me what you think of my story (and seriously, your comments make me feel all warm and fuzzy), I can take the time to thank you all personally! I really intended to wait until tomorrow to post this update, but at this point I'm doing whatever I can to avoid writing a term paper. So, enjoy the fruits of my procrastination! (Blahblahblah rights to the Buffyverse not owned by me.)