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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to guest, JO, IamGhost, shelly and cordykitten for reviewing last chapter. And thanks to Mabel Marsters for betaing.
”Okay, we’re here. I’m just gonna turn the light on.” Buffy reached for the switch on the wall, and the next moment, the room was bathed in light.

“You know, that won’t make much of a difference for me.”

Buffy glanced at Spike who was standing next to her in the small bathroom with his arm around her shoulders to support himself. He didn’t sound bitter, though, and she realized it was the first time he had referred to his blindness without resentment. She decided it had to be a good sign.

She tried to keep her voice light as she responded, “Yeah, well, I figured at least one of us should be able to watch where we’re going. There’s been enough injuries between the two of us over the last couple of days to last a lifetime.”

Spike let out a snort. “Us? Last time I checked, I was the one who got my ass kicked, not you.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Buffy helped him over to the bathtub and made him sit down while she turned the faucet on. “I think I bruised my fist on Rowan’s face pretty bad.” He snickered at that, and it hit Buffy just how much she had missed that sound. “And, um, I kinda punched Angel as well.”

His smile faded, and when he spoke, he sounded regretful. “Think you could do it again, so I could at least listen? Hate to have missed that.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Stop it. Angel’s been really helpful lately, and you know it.”

Spike shrugged. “Sure. Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy his pain.” A sound of amusement escaped her. “Speaking of the poof, what did he have to say?”

“What? When?” Buffy’s voice turned innocent as she rummaged through the bathroom cabinet, smiling in triumph when she found a large bottle of bath oil.

He let out a patient sigh. “Angel. You talked to him on the phone, less than five minutes ago. What did he say?”

“You know, these have to come off.” Buffy tugged gently at the edge of his blood-stained t-shirt. Then she removed the lid from the bottle and sniffed the contents. “Oh, and Angel told me he already stopped by your place and picked up some stuff for you, he just forgot to bring them up. They’re in a bag down in the lobby. And, um...”

“What?” Spike suddenly sounded suspicious. Starting to pull the black shirt over his head, he grimaced when his ribs once again protested. Still, the pain wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been before he had tasted Buffy’s blood.

“Here, let me do that.” Not giving him the chance to object, Buffy carefully helped him to remove the shirt. Her eyes ran over his upper body and she was pleased to notice that most of the cuts and bruises were already fading. Spike had been right; her blood was really powerful. Of course, the mending of his broken bones would take a little longer.

She gasped in surprise when he suddenly – with one swift move – managed to pull her tank top off, wincing when she heard it tearing by the seams. “Spike!”

“Sorry, luv. Get you a new one.” Despite his words, Spike didn’t sound apologetic at all; if anything, he seemed extremely proud of himself. As he reached for the edge of her sweat pants, Buffy immediately swatted his hand away. When he actually pouted, she couldn’t help but giggle.

“I’ll do it myself, thank you very much. No need to destroy all my clothes.” Buffy quickly let her pants drop to the floor before putting her hand under the water to make sure it wasn’t too hot. Not missing his sullen expression, she shook her head in amusement. It suddenly occurred to her that they had been having a conversation about Angel, and that Spike had managed to distract her completely.

“About Angel...” she started, ignoring his groan. “He also asked me if he should bring you some more blood. I told him it wasn’t necessary.” She held her breath.

Spike frowned, clearly forgetting that she was standing in front of him practically naked. Had he not been blind, Buffy would have been deeply offended. “Then how am I... oh.” He stopped as understanding hit him. “Buffy, I don’t think-“

“Uh-uh!” she firmly cut him off. “Don’t start with me, Spike. You already promised.”

“I know, but...” He tried to reason with her. “Look, I know I agreed to drink from you again. But I can’t just have your blood and nothing else. Hate to say this, luv, but I’m still weak. Could never ask you to give me that much.”

Buffy sighed. “You’re not asking. I already told you – I’m okay with this. You won’t need that much of my blood anyway, just a few sips here and there. And besides...” Her cheeks turned slightly red. “I kinda liked it when you bit me.”

He tensed up, and at first she thought her words had upset him. Then he smirked. “Turn you on, did it?”

“No. Maybe.” Buffy glanced at him. “Is that normal?”

Spike shrugged. “Yes, and no. Wouldn’t be the same with just any vampire, so don’t you get any ideas.” He said the last part with a teasing note in his voice.

She scoffed at him. “Good thing you told me, ‘cause I was just about to go find some random vamp out in the street and ask him to bite me, just for the thrill of it.”

“It happens, you know. Normal people paying vampires to feed from them, just ‘cause it makes ‘em hot.” Spike wrinkled his nose as Buffy poured a large amount of the sweet scented liquid into the water. “What the bleedin’ hell’s that? ‘M not getting in there if I’m gonna smell like a soddin’ fruit basket.”

“Hey, this is not a girly bath oil,” Buffy protested. “The bottle is all blue... with some pink splotches, but that’s beside the point. It’s totally...” she searched her mind for the right word, “unisex!” Seeing how he didn’t look convinced, she continued in a sad voice, “Honey, don’t you want me to smell nice?”

“Happen to like the way you smell right now, don’t need any of that.” He pulled her down on his lap and nuzzled her neck.

“Aww, that’s so sweet. Kinda gross when you think about it, but still very sweet.” Buffy smiled, happily slipping her arms around Spike’s neck and leaning into his embrace. She closed her eyes as he started tracing soft kisses down her collarbone, allowing herself to relax completely in his arms, which turned out to be a mistake.

As he removed his right hand from the edge of the bathtub and wrapped his arms around Buffy, Spike suddenly felt himself slipping and – unable to steady himself in time – let out a yelp of surprise as he managed to cause both of them to tumble backwards down into the water.

Gasping for air, Buffy struggled to untangle herself from him, the panic evident in her voice when she finally managed to speak. “Oh my God, Spike, are you okay?!” Her hands ran desperately over his body to check for damage.

Spike felt a dull ache at the back of his head and some pain in his ribs, but it didn’t stop him from seeing the hilarity in the situation. He only wished he could have seen Buffy’s face when she hit the water. The thought alone was priceless and he couldn’t keep from howling with laughter.

At first Buffy just stared at him like he had grown a second head, then, when she finally started to realize that he wasn’t suffering any brain damage from hitting his head against the hard side of the tub, she slapped him furiously on the arm. “It’s not funny, you jerk! You could’ve gotten seriously hurt!” Her words only made him laugh harder, and she scowled at him.

Finally he sobered up, his face turning apologetic. “Sorry, pet. But seriously, think I’d survive twenty-four hours with a hell-beast set on torturing me to death, and then get back to you, only to let an evil bathtub do me in?” She let out a snort, but didn’t comment. He hesitated a little. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He didn’t have to see her face to know that she was sulking.

He reached out blindly to stroke her cheek. “Don’t be like that, luv. We were supposed to end up in here anyway, yeah?” She couldn’t deny that.

“You still have your jeans on,” Buffy pointed out, still a little upset at him for not taking her concern about his wellbeing more seriously.

Spike grimaced. “Yeah. They’ll be a bitch to get off now.” He curled his tongue behind his teeth as an idea occurred to him. “Wouldn’t back down from a challenge, would you pet?”

Buffy watched him in astonishment. “How come you’re in such a good mood all of the sudden?” When he frowned, she hurried to add, “Not that I’m complaining or anything. It’s nice to see you happy. Even when it’s on my expense.”

The tone of her voice told him that she was not really mad anymore. Spike took the opportunity to pull her back into his arms. “Got you all wet, did I?”

“You did.” She couldn’t help but giggle. “What are you going to do about it?”

Shrugging, he let his tongue run gently over the bite marks at her neck before catching her lips with his, pleased when she immediately responded to the kiss. Finally he pulled back a little, mumbling, “Have a few ideas...”


TBC





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