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Betad by seapealsh and dawnofme
Chapter Two

This is a good day.

Buffy smiled at her reflection in the store windows she passed as she walked in the mall. Such a good day in fact that she almost felt like a normal girl. She'd just blown all her accrued allowance on a serious shopping spree and now laden with bags of all shapes and sizes, she was heading for home. Her one regret was that she hadn't saved enough for cab fare, but those sandals were just too much of a bargain to leave on the shelf.

Strolling along in a daydream, she suddenly found herself hitting a solid body.

"Ouf!"

The bags flew in all directions and only a pair of strong hands grabbing her arms kept her from falling.

"Hey! I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

Buffy looked up and into the most amazing eyes that she had ever seen. She'd never before seen ones such a pale grey.

"Um…yes… I'm fine." She struggled to compose herself, anxiously touching her hair and hoping that it was still tidy. "And since I'm sure that it was me who bumped into you, then it should be me apologising." Oh, my God! He is gorgeous!

"No harm done. Here, let me get those bags for you," said the owner of the eyes, bending and gathering them up.

Buffy let her gaze travel over his muscular frame. His stonewashed jeans were so pale as to be almost white and the unzipped leather jacket showed enticing glimpses of his washboard abs. She gave a little sigh. He was so seriously hot that she didn't even think that going bare-chested was posey or lame. Somehow he managed to make it look right.

"Huh? What? Sorry!" Buffy blushed furiously as she realised that she'd been so taken with staring that she hadn't heard him speak.

The man's mouth quirked with amusement. "I was just wondering if I could buy you a cup of coffee? I'm Thomas, by the way – Thomas Raith.

He smiled at her and she swore her knees began to feel weak. At this rate, I'll be drooling!

Surreptitiously, she checked the corners of her mouth for any outward evidence of drooling.

"I'd love one. Thank you, Thomas. I'm Buffy Summers."

Buffy tried to take back her bags, but he insisted on carrying them for her.

Tall. Great looking. Polite. What more could a girl ask for? Buffy had to grind her teeth together to make sure she didn't grin like an idiot as she strolled beside him to a nearby coffee shop.

Once seated, and Thomas had settled Buffy's bags on a spare chair, they began to chat amiably.

"It looks like you have had a good day." Thomas inclined his head towards Buffy's purchases. She really is a pretty little thing. What luck for her to bump into me.

"Yeah, well…girls – shopping, they kind of go hand in hand, I guess."

Buffy smiled at him.

Thomas chuckled.

Buffy nearly melted.

Thomas was well aware of the effect he had on women – on men too, unfortunately, if he didn't concentrate hard. His thoughts strayed momentarily to Spike as Buffy babbled on. He shuddered inwardly at the thought of having to drink blood. As he gazed at the girl opposite, Thomas thought it so much better to be able to feed like this.

Though this little bit of flirting was only like having a light snack. If he wanted a main course then he had to make love. Like that's an unpleasant thing to have to do. Not! He didn't even have to kill the victim; he could just leave them, quite literally, well shagged out, as Spike would say. It was only if he went for the whole three-course meal that the way Thomas fed would kill them. He was very careful not to let his Hunger – as he thought of it – get too demanding. Hence the constant snacking between meals, like now.

Eventually, Buffy looked at her watch, and her eyes widened when she saw that an hour and thirty minutes had passed.

Standing up, she said, "Um…Thomas, it was really nice to meet you, and thanks for the coffee—"

"And the cake."

"And the cake," she said with a smile, "but I've got to go."

"That's a shame." Thomas gazed deep into her eyes. "The pleasure was all mine."

He got out of his seat and before she could reach for her bags, he put his hand on her arm and leaned forwards to kiss her softly on the lips. Buffy closed her eyes and kissed him back with no inhibitions, pushing her tongue against his teeth until he allowed her to deepen the kiss.

If she'd kept her eyes open, she would have noticed his eyes went several shades paler as they kissed.

"Who knows, perhaps we'll meet again," said Thomas, when he broke the kiss and helped her pick up her bags.

"I could give you my number – I'm sure I've got a pen in my purse." Buffy flushed. Did I really just say that? I've only known him five minutes – well ninety minutes!

"I'm a great believer in fate. If we're meant to meet again, we will." He kissed her cheek and watched as she walked a little unsteadily away. Damn, that girl is fit! It would be easy to lose control around her.

He strode out of the mall and glanced up at the darkening sky.

"Time to go cheer up Spike."

*~*~*~*

This time when Thomas knocked on Spike's door, he didn't wait for an answer and just walked right on in, carrying the overnight bag he'd retrieved from his car. Spike was exactly where he'd left him, slumped in the armchair. The TV was still blaring but Spike's eyes were glazed over.

"Hey, Spike! Come on, it's time to go out," said Thomas cheerfully.

"Piss off."

Grinning, Thomas walked closer to Spike. He dropped his voice an octave or two. "Don't be like that. Aren't you going to show me the sights of Sunnydale?"

Spike glanced up and felt his resolve weakening. "It has been ages since I've been out properly," he said as he stood up.

Thomas smiled at him.

Spike's resolve disappeared completely.

"I'll just go and get my coat, yeah?" He gazed into Thomas's eyes. Spike tilted his head, licked his lips, and reaching out he ran a hand down Thomas's torso until it came to rest against his groin. "Or we could stay in?"

Oops! Too much wattage! Thomas broke eye contact and took a step away from Spike.

Spike shook his head rapidly. "Hey!" He jabbed a finger towards Thomas. "You can stop with the sodding come hither vibes, you git! I'm not interested in blokes."

"Nor am I." Thomas smirked shamelessly. "I was just trying to persuade you to come out and overdid it a little. Sorry."

"You do that again and I'll bite you, even though your weird blood tastes like shite." Spike glared at him, his eyes showing amber for a second.

"Okay. Okay." Thomas held his hands out. "Just stop being so miserable and come out with me."

"Alright. Just give me a minute."

Glancing around the crypt, Thomas said, "Is there anywhere I can change?"

"Christ." Spike sighed and rolled his eyes. He'd forgotten how vain Thomas could be. "Go downstairs." He nodded to the hole in the floor.

Thomas sauntered over to the ladder and disappeared from view.

This is all I need; going out on the town with a bloke who can make himself irresistible to anyone he chooses to. Even if he didn't try, he's still too bloody good looking.

Thomas reappeared wearing a pair of white jeans, an ice blue shirt open to halfway, showing his perfectly sculpted chest, and had topped off the ensemble with a white leather jacket. He looked gorgeous and he knew it.

Spike regarded him sourly, glancing down at his own black jeans, black t-shirt, and scuffed black boots. With a low growl, he grabbed a red shirt from the back of the chair and put it on leaving it unfastened. On top of this he added his beloved duster. He hated the fact that Thomas made him feel like William again. It wasn't Thomas's fault, but Spike now remembered why he'd never taken him up on his offer of staying with him. Being near Thomas pissed him off. He had it all. The looks. The money. And the best vampiric life possible.

Sodding git.

"So where are we heading?" asked Thomas.

"Well, there's Willy's Bar. All the demons hang out there."

"I was thinking of something a little less demony." Thomas wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"In that case, we've got to go to the Bronze."

"The Bronze it is. I'll drive."

"It's not far."

"It's not about the journey, Spike. It's about arriving in style." Thomas smiled, flashing his perfect white teeth. He put an arm around Spike's shoulder. "Come on. You really need to chill out."

"Okay. I suppose you've got something brand new without a roof?" Spike grinned, deciding that a night on the town with his old mate might help keep his mind off a certain slayer.

*~*~*~*

Spike had to admit that Thomas had style. Pulling up outside the Bronze in Thomas's sporty car turned more than a few heads. Every girl in the queue watched as the two handsome vampires climbed out of the car. Spike might have been feeling less confident than usual about his looks but the girls were staring at him with just as much desire as Thomas.

They made a striking pair, the black-clad white haired man, a head shorter than the tall dark haired one wearing white. Neither Thomas nor Spike would have been pleased to know that the boyfriends of the drooling girls all decided that the pair was gay.

In deference to Spike, Thomas kept a strong rein on his ability to make himself desirable, not wanting to bruise his friend's delicate ego. He still had to find out exactly what was bothering him and preventing him from hunting. Thomas had been shocked to find cartons of pig's blood in Spike's refrigerator.

The two of them were propping up the bar and swapping stories of past conquests, when Spike felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Fangless, I thought you'd decided not to come here anymore since I haven't seen you for ages."

Spike spun around. "Boy, get your hand off me."

"Or what?" Xander said with a sneer. "I mean, it's not like you can bite me. Hell, you can't even hit me!" He'd had a couple of beers so was feeling bold. "So do you want to take this outside or are you going to shut up?"

Spike glared at Xander, raging inside at the injustice of the neutering by microchip that the Initiative had inflicted on him."

"Are you not going to introduce me?" said Thomas smoothly.

Casting a bewildered glance at Thomas, Spike wondered why he'd want to be introduced to a git like this. Then he caught the look Thomas gave him and started to grin. This'll be fun.

"Sorry, mate. That's very rude of me. Thomas, this is Xander Harris. Xander, this is my old friend, Thomas Raith.

"Huh! If he's a friend of yours, I don't want an introduction, thanks." Xander began to turn away.

"Sure you do," said Thomas, his grey eyes meeting Xander's brown.

Man! That guy is so hot! Xander's eyes widened at the thought. Where'd that come from? He felt a moment's panic but just couldn't look away. Despite himself, he stepped closer and could feel his body react to the man's presence.

Spike leaned back on the bar and chuckled quietly. Oh, yeah. This is fun.

Thomas leaned closer to Xander, ducking his head to avoid the kiss that Xander tried to plant on his mouth.

"Shall we go somewhere more private?" Thomas whispered, his breath tickling the boy's ear.

"Yes, oh, God, yes!"

Thomas winked at Spike and mouthed 'be back in a minute' before putting an arm around Xander's shoulder and leading him away.

*~*~*~*

Spike scanned the crowd in the club. If the boy was here, then the chances were that Buffy would be too. He spotted her the instant she walked in. His unbeating heart clenched and he swore it managed to pump out one beat before it was still once more. He could see her looking to see if her friends were there yet. Her eyes met his and Spike tried not to be hurt by the way she rolled them when she saw him. To his surprise, she walked towards him.

"Hey, Spike."

"Uh…hi, Buffy," said Spike, a little taken aback that her greeting hadn't been swiftly followed by 'what are you doing here' or the ever popular 'get out, Spike'.

"Are you going to buy me a drink or do I have to buy my own?" She smiled up at him and hitched her butt onto a barstool.

"'Course I'll buy you a drink. What do you want?"

"A Coke, please."

"Not sure that constitutes a drink, pet. Don't you want something stronger? A shot of something in it maybe?"

"No way! I don't need alcohol to have a good time. Just the Coke, please."

A small part of her wondered why she was being so nice to Spike, but she'd been feeling mellow since she'd been shopping. Although Spike was a nuisance, she couldn't deny that she found him attractive. Just a shame he had to be a pain in the ass evil vampire. But with the chip…technically he could even be called a white hat now, with all the demons he was killing…

Spike turned around and got the barkeep's attention.

"A Coke and a double JD, please, mate."

He planned on making the most of this friendly Buffy while it lasted.

TBC



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