[Reviews - 49]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 1989 times

- Text Size +




Author's Chapter Notes:
This has been waiting for posting for a while now... Here it is finally.
"Take that you stupid, drooling, badly dressed, sorry excuse of a vampire! Being dead doesn´t mean you can´t take care of yourself, does it?!" Buffy kicked the vampire's legs under him, taking her stake in hand when an amused voice reached her ears.


"Kitten, will you stake the poor guy already? You´ve hurt his feelings enough, I think."


She kept the vampire on the ground with a foot on his chest, not bothering to turn her head towards the owner of that voice. "Spike, since when do you worry about big A´s minions?" She brought her arm down, staked the vampire and straightened up right after, swiping vamp dust from her jeans, where it always seemed to stick, smirking at Spike. She couldn´t believe she’d just made a joke about Angelus. Not long ago, even a small mention of him would have made her tear up. Whatever the reason for the change was, Buffy wasn´t complaining.


Spike walked closer, laughing. He didn't mind having some fun with the Slayer when it involved ridiculing Angelus. "By all means, go ahead and stake them; they´re all morons anyway. I just think your bantering is wasted on them. They probably don´t get even half of it." He sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "Good minions are so hard to find and, since they have his blood in them, they tend to be even more stupid."


Spike's antics amused her a lot. Not that she was enjoying his company—of course not. It was just some post-slayage thing, finding things funny. Yeah, that was it. "I bet. How are you? They haven´t found out you´re healed, have they?"


Spike never would've expected her to ask that, to be genuinely interested in his well-being. He had a slightly awed expression on his face, before he shook it off. "Thanks for asking, Slayer, and no, they don´t know. They are bound to find out soon, though. We just need to choose the when and how."


His use of "we" felt important to Buffy for some reason. It reminded her that she wasn´t alone and that Spike let her take part in making the decisions. He didn´t think she was some stupid kid who needed to be guided all the time, like Angel had made her feel. Spike treated her like the Slayer she was, a warrior capable of forming her own future. That future involved staking Spike at some point, but she wasn't thinking about that. "We´ll have to give it some thought. Come on, let´s go. I want to get inside so we won't be seen together."


They started walking towards the cabin side by side, both feeling a bit awkward; they weren't friends, but right at that moment they weren't enemies, either.


Spike kicked away small stones with the toes of his boots while he walked and finally managed to say something when the silence stretched too long for his liking. "I was going to go straight there, but I saw you fighting and just had to watch and listen. Your puns are getting better every week, luv."


No-one had ever called her particularly funny. People mostly laughed at her jokes if they got them, which wasn't very often. Then they laughed at her, when she misspelled words, couldn't remember names correctly, or understood things the wrong way. Spike seemed to think she was funny, though, and it bothered her somehow. Why did her mortal enemy find something in her that all the others didn't? "Thank you. I aim to please. Mostly just myself, 'cause the vamps usually don't get the joke before they're gone."


"I think their sense of humor is just different than yours. For some reason, I've kept mine. Or, more like, developed one..." He really hadn't been the most funny or fun-loving young man when he’d still been alive.


They walked the rest of the way to the cabin in silence and got in through the window, to settle in two old but still fairly comfy chairs.


It was Buffy who spoke first, looking very unsure of how to say what she wanted. "I want to ask you something you may find offending, but please try not to flip out, okay?"


Spike had no idea what she was talking about, but acquiesced anyway. "I suppose I can try, yes. What is it, then?"


Buffy drew in a deep breath and lifted her gaze to look him in the eye. "I know you were badly injured when..." She paused, not wanting to say it out loud, not wanting to remind Spike of what she'd done to him. She suspected it would get him offended more easily.


Spike didn't seem to feel that way, and just finished her sentence. "When you dropped a church organ on me. I remember; I was there. Good fight, that. You almost got me."


She winced. "Yeah, when I did that. And I know you were in a wheelchair for a longish time." She sighed and shook her head a bit. "Why is this so hard? I did what I had to do, what was my job... Anyway, my point is, you haven't done much since that. I mean hunting, fighting." She hoped Spike would guess what she meant without her actually having to say it.


He looked angry, but not quite as angry as she’d thought he would be. He did get up, however, and stood in front of her, scowling. "You mean to say I'm weak. Is that it?"


"No, that's not it. Well, maybe it is. Only a bit, though, and in a good way", she rushed to add, then realized those weren’t the right words to say either. "No, not in a good way... I just mean that you haven't really done much, fight-wise. That might be bad, ‘cause we're heading towards a big fight, I think, and in a big fight you have to be on the top of your game, or you get killed." She looked at Spike, trying to find out if he was going to get mad at her or not. She really hoped it was the latter. It wouldn’t be good if he decided to storm out now.


Her babbling actually made his anger almost vanish. She was more worried for him than insulting him. How could he be angry about that? He had to give her a bit of a hard time, however, so he wouldn't appear too soft. "I'll let you know my game is just fine! Maybe I haven't done that much, but I have experience. Much more than you, little girl."


Spike didn't sound all that upset in her opinion, which was of the good. Now she only had to get him to agree with what she had in mind. "You do; I know that. But you could use my help. It would help me, too. I train with a really good guy, but he's still human. I can't use my full strength with him. With you, I could. We would just spar together, sometimes. If you want to, that is?"


Would he like to fight the Slayer? Hell yeah! It wasn´t the right time to fight to the death, but it would give him the much needed workout. More than that: it would be fun!


"Sure, I´ll spar with you. I think it is secluded enough out here to do some training. But first we have some serious topics to suss out." He sat back down, finding a comfortable position in the battered chair.


Relieved because he hadn't made a big thing of it, Buffy gave him a small smile. "I know we have. I just wanted to ask. You don´t have to do it, you know. But if we do fight, you have my word that I won´t go for the kill." That was the one thing she wanted to make clear. "I´m not too proud to admit that I need you, and killing you would kind of mess with that."


Spike could see that she really meant it. He was pretty good at reading people, and there were no signs of her trying to trick him. "I believe you."


"I don´t know how the Powers work, and if someone else would save the word if I failed, but they picked me for a reason. Maybe I´m supposed to find my way now, grow up and learn more about this world and how it works."


Bugger! That girl could make him feel lower than low for wanting to kill her! Here she was: all brave and idealistic, eager to fight till the end, willing to trust the enemy even if it could cost her her own life, to save the world. That was when the thought of not killing her first entered his mind, but was crushed as soon as he detected it. He wasn't going to get all soft for anyone, least of all the fucking Slayer! He had to play along, however; he needed her, for now. "I won´t go for the kill, either. I trust you to keep your word. I said it the other day: I tend to keep my word, and now you have it again. I´m not sure what will happen in the future, but as long as we work together I won´t try to kill or harm you."


She smiled again, happy that they had an agreement. "That's very decent of you. Very un-vampire like. Far from the usual Grr, argh, kill, maim, guts and gore."


He smiled back—an amused smile. Her way of speaking was ditzy blond at one moment and all cunning Slayer the other. "Helping a Slayer in becoming even more powerful and gaining allies is rather far from my usual agenda but, what the hell, I´m man enough to dance to my own tune."


"You dance? And sing? I would pay good money to see that. William the Bloody shaking his tush while women scream his name," Buffy said with a laugh. She still couldn´t explain where this finding-things-funny-while-being-in-deep-trouble thing had come from, but didn't fight against it.


"Oi! Quit laughing at me! You know what I meant. Silly bint..." He really wasn't angry and he was having trouble trying not to laugh with her.


Buffy hiccuped and managed to stop laughing. "Sorry. The mental image was just downright hilarious."


Spike rolled his eyes. "Now, if you´ve had your fun, I know what Angelus is up to. Want to know?"


And just like that she was serious, all the mirth gone. "You know I do. Tell me. All of it."


　

tbc


Chapter End Notes:
This chapter was becoming way too long, so I had to divide it in two. That's why the cliffhanger, I didn't plan that on purpose.



You must login (register) to review.