Angelus entered the factory, whistling under his breath. Today was a great day! Soon, the Slayer would be right where he wanted her; within his very grasp. If there was one thing he knew about the blond teenager, it was her absolute adoration of anything chocolate. Angelus had big, big plans for Buffy's love of chocolate. They would be the cause of her final downfall.
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"So, tell us, what you got?" Willow asked. She was sitting at the library table with Cordelia while Buffy tipped the delivery man. The three of them had gotten together to discuss their Valentine's Day plans. Each of them had a problem with their 'man'. Willow's guy was shy, Cordelia's guy was geeky, and Buffy's guy was an asshole.
"It's chocolates," Buffy answered and started to drool. She placed the box on the table before she grabbed the envelope off the top. She ripped the note open eagerly. As her eyes flew over the words, she started to tear up. "It says it's from Grandma Bennett."
"I thought your grandma died during the summer?" Willow studied the beautiful gold gilt paper.
"She did." Buffy smiled sadly. Her favorite grandmother had died while she was visiting her father over the summer before. It had been tradition since Buffy was a little girl for her grandmother to send her a big box of chocolates. "Maybe she already had this all worked out before she died."
"Well, let's open it and see what you got," Cordelia ordered. She leaned forward to examine the gold wrapped present that Buffy was hurriedly unwrapping. When she saw the logo of one of the more expensive chocolatiers in the world, Cordelia's jaw dropped. "Your grandmother buys you five pounds of Godiva chocolate? That's $600."
"Grandma believed in two things above all else," Buffy said softly. "Quality above quantity and sharing with friends."
"I'm one of your friends, right?" Cordelia eyed the now open box of candy. She licked her lips in anticipation because she adored chocolate, the more expensive the better. She grinned at Willow when Buffy offered them both a choice of sweets.
The girls continued to nibble on the candy and gossip until they each started to feel a little funny. A deep need to mate grew within each female. Way deep down inside something primal awakened. For the Slayer the feeling was much more intense than that of her companions. Buffy's conscious mind squirmed when the visage of a certain evil peroxide blond vampire flashed through her mind.
"I gotta go," Willow blurted out while she stood up. She rushed towards the library door without waiting for Buffy or Cordelia to comment.
"Me, too," Cordelia said, almost too casually. "I'm gonna go find the Xan-man and give him a ride to remember."
"Um, yeah," Buffy muttered vaguely. "I gotta go find a certain pain in the ass vampire, myself."
"Angelus will kill you," Cordelia exclaimed. She was shaken out of her own trance long enough to stare at the glazed-eyed Slayer. Cordelia felt like she had to give Buffy a warning since the blond girl had shared her expensive chocolates with her. "That is so not a good idea, Buffy. Not if you're feeling anything like what I'm feeling."
"Ewwww, as if," Buffy sneered. "I'm thinkin' something leaner and meaner."
"Um, okay." Cordelia snagged another chocolate before she wandered out of the library.
Buffy shrugged at Cordelia's light dismissal, her mind already moving on to other things. How does one go about seducing an vampire, anyway? She glanced around the library until her eyes fell onto some of Giles' Watcher books. Oooo, maybe the vampire books know something? Buffy grabbed the books before she hurried out of the library. She was a Slayer on a mission, and no Watcher was going to interfere.
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Buffy waited until she saw Angelus, Drusilla and the minions leave the factory for the evening. She licked her dry lips as she thought about her quarry still housed inside the building. The Council's books were a bit vague about vampire courtship, but the Slayer had carefully studied the steps while she tried to figure out how to twist them to fit her situation. However, Buffy was still nibbling on the chocolates, and she was becoming closer to the primal Slayer with every bite. She went over her 'offerings' in her mind.
Blood. Check. Plenty of it running through her veins.
Head and heart of an enemy. Check. That task was easier said than done, Buffy found out. Spike tended to kill off his enemies quite easily on his own. She shifted the weight of the backpack that contained the head and heart.
Something pretty. Check. Well, almost check. Buffy fingered the scroll in her pocket that contained the information on a mystical gem that was supposed to give vampires protection from the things that usually harmed them.
Extra incentive. Check. Buffy took a moment to stroke the head of the battle axe she had taken from Spike's enemy when she killed him. She hoped the blond vampire liked her gifts.
Buffy quietly entered the factory. She felt one with with her Slayer side for the first time since she had been called, making it easier for her to home in on her prey. She snuck through the rooms until she came to the last one where she eased the door open to stare at the half naked vampire sprawled on the bed. Guilt shot through Buffy when she saw the burn marks that graced his otherwise beautiful face. One other little tidbit of information she had come across while looking at Giles' books was the fact that her blood had healing powers for injured vampires.
"Come to stake the crippled, defenseless vamp, pet?" Spike's weary voice echoed through the room. Normally he would have spit out a nasty insult towards the intruding Slayer, but on this particular day he was still recovering from his Sire's rejection of his Valentine's Day gift.
"No." Buffy slipped into the room and locked the door behind her. "Brought you gifts, then we mate."
"What? Are you completely daft, Slayer?" The injured vampire struggled to sit up. "Even if I was so inclined to 'mate' with you, there's the little fact I'm not up to performing since you dropped that organ on me."
"Brought gifts," Buffy repeated in the hopes of enticing Spike to at least hear out her full proposal.
Spike's eyebrow rose in speculation when the blond girl removed her trench coat to reveal that the Slayer was as close to being naked as humanly possible. The silk nightie she wore was sheer enough to leave nothing to the vampire's imagination. He chuckled darkly, all the while thinking to himself that this might just be the perfect opportunity to bag his third slayer. "Why don't you come over here and give my presents then, luv?"
"Okay," Buffy chirped. She dropped her trench coat and backpack on the floor before she made her way across the room to the bed where Spike resided. She gave a small humphing noise when he grabbed her hand and jerked her down into his lap. Buffy settled herself against the vampire. Her arms looped around his shoulders, and her legs encircled his waist. She turned her head to the side to expose the naked expanse of her neck, and she recited word for word part of the oath she found in the Council's book, "I give thee a gift of blood to prove my ability to provide for you."
Spike stared at the Slayer with stunned suspicion. When the little blond bint entered the room talking about 'mating', he had thought she wanted a wild time between the sheets before they tried to kill each other. Now he was sure that wasn't the case at all. Ninety-eight years ago, Spike himself had started the same courtship rituals with Drusilla, and while she accepted the first offering of Slayer's blood, she had rejected the others.
"Gift not good enough?" Buffy said sadly. She didn't realize that the vampire's silence came from astonishment, not rejection. She struggled to get away from Spike, only to have him tighten his grip.
"Never said that, pet," Spike growled. "Ya jus' surprised me is all." His mind quickly assessed the situation. He came to the conclusion that having the Slayer bound to him would not only give him many interesting privileges as her mate to let him control the Hellmouth, but it would brass his grandsire off big time.
Buffy sighed at Spike's words while she relaxed into his embrace again. She laid her heated cheek against his cool shoulder, and she waited for his acceptance of her first offering. Buffy tangled her fingers in the short hair on the back of Spike's head while she sighed at how it felt trapped between her fingers. She lazily licked his collarbone.
Spike tightened his grip on Buffy's hips as he pulled her closer. He was amazed at how perfectly they fit together. Her soft feminine curves molded to the harder planes of his body. He delighted in the shiver of fear, or maybe it was anticipation, that shook the Slayer's body when the faint grinding of bones heralded the arrival of his demonic visage. Spike buried his face in the curve of Buffy's neck where he licked her sweet, salty skin before he sank his fangs into her flesh. He moaned in bliss as the heated, potent Slayer blood flowed over his tongue. It was at that moment that the master vampire tasted the dark magic in her blood.
Buffy gasped in pleasure when Spike snarled against her skin. He seemed upset, and she wondered what she had done wrong. However, he only pulled her closer while he continued to sup on her blood. Between her legs, where she was pressed tightly against his cock, she could feel how her blood was healing him. Where before the vampire was soft from nerve damage, now he was hard and engorged with arousal.
Spike felt the damaged nerves in his spinal cord start to mend. He was sure it would be painful, if not for the blood rushing down his throat. Before Buffy could weaken too much, the blond vampire pulled away from her neck, and he licked the bite mark clean before he growled, "I accept your gift of provision. You belong to me, Slayer."
"Yours," Buffy whispered. She was filled with joy at the vampire's words. "More gifts?" She was eager to show Spike how serious she was to show her devotion and desire to be his mate.
"Show me, pet." Spike released the Slayer's body, and he leaned back against the cool sheets of his bed. After Buffy hopped up to retrieve her coat and backpack, the vampire took the time to flex the newly healed muscles in his legs and feet. His eyes widened in astonishment when the Slayer pulled a clear, plastic sack out of her backpack. Inside the bag was the head and heart of a Far'nick demon. Spike looked a little closer, and he realized that it was the same demon that had attempted to impede his journey through the Sunnydale sewers before the organ accident.
Buffy proudly held the bag out to Spike. She saw the surprise in Spike's eyes, and she was pleased that he recognized her gift. She gave him a feral grin before she started the next part of the mating ritual. "I give thee the head and heart of an enemy to prove I can protect you."
"I accept your gift of protection. You belong to me, Slayer." Spike felt the words slip from his lips even as he continued to stare at the offering. Far'nick demons look humanoid, except for their green, scaly skin, and they tend to congregate in sewers due to the fact that they breathe methane gas.
"Yours. No pretties, no time." Buffy pulled the scroll out of her coat pocket, and she handed it to Spike. "I give thee riches to prove I can provide for you." She sat back to wait for his reaction.
Spike opened the scroll to study the words, and his jaw literally dropped in shock. He looked up from the paper to study a maniacally grinning Buffy. "Is this for real, Buffy?" He couldn't believe that he was reading the scroll right. He'd heard about the Amara treasure and the fabled gem within it, but this was more proof that it wasn't just a fairytale.
"Yep, you like?"
"Oh, luv, like doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling." Spike tossed the paper down on the bed, and he pulled Buffy to him for their very first kiss. He loved how she sighed and relaxed against him. Spike released the Slayer's lips, and he whispered, "I accept your gift of provision. You belong to me, Buffy."
"Yours. One more?" Buffy traced one finger down Spike jawline. "I give thee weapons to prove I can protect you. Ugly had pretty axe." She giggled. "Manly axe. Ugly not manly. Spike is manly with or without weapons."
"I accept your gift of protection. You belong to me, Buffy."
"Yours. We mate now?" Buffy wiggled around on the vampire's lap.
"Fuck, yeah." With that, Spike laid the blond girl back and commenced with the mating.
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Angelus stormed into the factory carrying an extremely distraught Drusilla in his arms. He dumped her on their shared bed before he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe the blood off his cheek. Thirty minutes before while feeding on a stray teenager outside the Bronze, the dark-haired vampiress had gone beserk. While Angelus had tried to calm her down, her long talons had scraped deeply into his face.
"Naughty sunlight taking my toys. Doesn't she know mommy doesn't like to share," Drusilla rambled from her spot on the bed.
"What are you going on about?" Angelus was distracted by the fact that he hadn't seen the Slayer yet that night. Where the hell is that little bitch at?
"It's all your fault, Daddy," Drusilla screeched. She leapt off the bed, claws extended. "Your games went too far!"
"Get a hold of yourself, Drusilla." Angelus grabbed the vampiress' wrists. "My games never go too far. If you don't settle down, I'll throw you in with roller boy."
"Your fault he found the sunshine."
"He's dust? Well, isn't this our lucky day." Angelus smirked evilly. "Once the Slayer shows up we'll have a celebration." He had to catch Drusilla when she suddenly went limp in his arms.
"All your fault, Daddy," Drusilla whimpered. "Dirty gypsy girls and shiny souls. You left me. Now my dark prince dances in the sunshine, and I'm alone."
"You're not alone," Angelus whispered. "I'll always be with you, darling." He cuddled the distraught vampiress close.
"No, you won't." Tears slipped from Drusilla's eyes. "You are dust in the wind to me." She pulled away from Angelus, and she set about the room gathering her belongings. Drusilla picked up her favorite doll before she turned back to her Sire. "Miss Edith tried to tell me, but I refused to listen. The sunshine took my daddy and my dark prince, and I must hurry along before I'm taken, too."
"Oh, stop the twaddle, Dru," Angelus growled in disgust. "Spike's dust and soon I'll have the Slayer right where I want her; dead beneath my feet."
"What ever gave you the impression I was dusted, Gramps?"
Angelus' eyes widened at the sight of his bleached blond grandchilde leaning casually against the doorjamb of the room. Then, the elder vampire's eyes narrowed in speculation. There was something different about Spike. Not only was he out of the wheelchair with the scars on his face healed, there was a look of smug defiance on the vampire's face. It was almost as if he knew something that Angelus didn't.
"What did you do to tweak her tail feathers, Angelus?" Spike crossed his arms over his chest. He looked relaxed and sated, but there was an underlying tension in his pose.
"Daddy's been playing a dangerous game, my Spike." Drusilla finished putting her things into a suitcase. "He made things happen too soon, and now it's time to pay the piper." She picked up her bags before she danced over to the blond vampire, and she stood in front of him while she studied him. "No pretty stone growling and glowing. No twirling, sparkling lights giving nasty girls their just rewards. No grandmummy to be my pride and joy. No burning baby fish for my Spike."
"What are you talking about, poodle?" Spike sighed. He tried to wrap his brain around what his Sire was trying to tell him.
Drusilla leaned in to kiss the blond vampire on the lips, and then she raked his face with her claws. "You taste of life, instead of ashes, my dark prince. Live long and prosper." She squeezed past Spike, danced out of the factory, and disappeared into the night.
Spike shook his head at the Star Trek reference. Dru always did have a crush on Mr. Spock. He turned his attention to his broody grandsire.
"This is your fault, Spike," Angelus roared. He stepped towards the younger vampire. "You did something to Drusilla, didn't you? Didn't like that she rejected your paltry little gift earlier so you mojoed her, didn't you?"
"You don't listen very well, do you, you soddin' poofter?" Spike's body went on alert when Angelus started to invade his space. "You think I didn't taste that dark magic in the Slayer's blood? I'm not some stupid fledge anymore. I know what you did."
"Slayer's blood?" Angelus shouted. His hand shot out to grab Spike by the throat, but the dark-haired vampire came up empty handed. He whirled around to find that somehow the other man had gotten behind him. "That bitch was mine to kill! You'll pay for this, William."
"Never said I killed her, now did I?" Spike grinned maniacally. "I merely accepted her gift of provision."
"You did what?" the dark haired vampire hissed in disbelief. This was totally unacceptable. Buffy was his. No little upstart had the right to take what didn't belong to him.
"I accepted, you birk," Spike snickered. "I might be undead, but I'm not stupid. She gave me four gifts; two of provision and two of protection."
"You'll pay for this," Angelus vowed softly. He advanced on the smaller vampire.
"I don't think so, mate." Spike pulled the collar of his duster down to show off the bite marks on his neck. "I don't think you want to go brassin' the little woman off, Peaches. Now you skulk around and brood, I've got a date with my mate."
Angelus roared in anger, and he flung himself at Spike. However, the younger vampire, still juiced up on Slayer blood, easily avoided being caught. Angelus was surprised when he found himself slammed into the far wall with a snarling Spike at his back. He could even feel the stake digging into his back. He struggled to get away from the blond vampire, but he found that he was unable to unbalance the now healed Spike.
"I'm not gonna kill you, Angelus, because that's the Slayer's job," Spike hissed. He backed away from the other vampire, and he put the stake in his duster pocket. "I'm movin' out. I'd say it's been fun, but I'd be lyin'." The blond vampire left the room, and then, he too, disappeared from the factory.
Angelus stood there shaking with anger for a full ten minutes. Then he went in search of the minion responsible for the delivery of the altered chocolates. He was even angrier when he discovered that the delivery went as planned and that the Slayer taken possession of the candy hours before. She was supposed to come to me! She belongs to me. Damned witch fucked the whole thing up. Angelus left the factory intent on searching the high school library for any remaining candy.
Ten minutes later, Angelus entered the library at the school. Getting into the school had been easy enough. The only person there to get in his way had been the principal, who was now dead at the front door. Angelus glanced around the room, and he spotted the almost empty box of candy sitting on the table in the center of the room. He approached the table, picked up the box, and carefully sniffed the contents. Angelus decided it smelled normal. He picked a piece up to pop in his mouth, quickly followed by a second piece. The longer he chewed, the funnier he felt. When he swallowed the chocolate, he realized he was turning to dust from the inside out. It was then that he remembered the witch's warning as he had left her shop.
Thees ees dangerous to vampire, mon. Made wit garleek and holy water, it is. Don't eat eet yo'self, mon. Fire bad, vampire pretty.
Angelus let out an anguished scream just before his entire body turned to ash. Just as his dust settled onto the floor a voice sounded from the inner office.
"Did you hear that, Ripper?"
"It's nothing, my hot little gypsy girl. Come back and give me some lovin'."
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Spike nervously knocked on the front door of Buffy's home. He hoped that her mother didn't have her axe handy. The blond vampire clutched the balloons in his right hand, and he shuffled his feet. After a few moments, he heard the Slayer shout out to her mother that she would answer the door. The door flung open to show a happily smiling Slayer.
"Come in, Spike."
Author's Chapter Notes:
Betaed by Tasha
Chapter End Notes:
AN: Yes, I have posted this elsewhere before, under my own penname!!!