8 hours later: 7:30 am Tuesday
Buffy awoke feeling so tired but better. She was bored as she glanced over seeing Spike sleeping beside her. He apparently had been awake at one point since he was wearing a shirt and pants. She brushed a blond lock from his face that was quickly turning brown from the lack of dyeing. She knew her highlights were fading as well so perhaps they could have a hair dying party soon. She sighed as she climbed out of bed anxious to burn some energy. Spike rolled over and whispered, “Morning pet. How are you feeling?”
Buffy shrugged, “Not 100% but I want to go to the basement to train a bit today. Want to spar together? It would be great practice for you and good exercise for me.”
Spike frowned brushing his hand over her forehead and noticing she was indeed cool but her face still looked pale and tired. He decided not to answer and would base it on after she looked after she had fed, “Hungry?”
She grinned and nodded as she slipped out of the nightshirt to find some clothes. He climbed out of bed stretching slightly as he wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back whispering, “I need to find clothes.”
Spike grinned leaning over her to pull out a red short skirt and a white see through shirt. Buffy frowned but agreed. She was feeling better and she wouldn’t see anyone she knew anyway. She wiggled on some lacy white underwear and bra and put on the skirt and top as Spike stood watching her in amazement. His eyes were lusted over and she slapped his arm hard but not at her full strength yet as she grinned, “Stop that! I’m hungry! You need to make me waffles.”
Spike laughed, “Demanding little bint aren’t you?”
She put on her innocent smile look as she wiggled past him brushing her bottom against his erection as she walked by. He shouted, “Hey!”
She giggled and raced down the stairs with Spike close behind her. Since she was still not 100% he caught up to her and twirled her around the kitchen as she laughed hysterically shouting, “Put me down, I’ll be sick.”
He held her close to him letting her slide down his chest to rest her feet on the floor as she placed a kiss on his lips. He returned the kiss until she broke it off needing air and the first thing out of her mouth was, “Feed me waffles?”
He laughed and pushed her away slightly, “Get me eggs, find me oil, and milk luv and I’ll make you your bloody waffles.”
She smiled getting her way as she collected the items he needed and sat on the stool to watch him make waffles. She heard a whimpering noise as around the corner came a puppy that was golden brown. She gasped as Spike grinned, “Meet Sunshine. Angel so nicely dropped him off for us last night to care for.”
Buffy blinked as Spike handed her the tag that had been around the dog’s neck. She read it frowning, “So he just like dropped it off? Alive and well?”
Spike nodded, “Oh with a little guillotine set up so that when someone opened the door they would behead the thing.”
Buffy gasped and picked up the puppy giving it a little hug, “You are one lucky little puppy, Sunshine. What was mom feeding you?”
Spike turned around admitting, “I don’t know but dogs seem to like meat products.”
Buffy nodded as she opened up the fridge to find a bowl containing what appeared to be mashed up meat. She grinned thinking her mom must have done that for dog food and she wandered through the house finding in the living room a tiny bowl almost empty which had water in it and a plate that had been definitely licked clean. She grinned dipping out a little of the meat on the plate and put the puppy down letting him eat as she refilled his water dish. She licked her lips towards Spike watching as Spike sang loudly some song she didn’t recognize until about 4 waffles later, she went into the living room to find a movie or something for them to watch.
Ten minutes later, they were sitting together side by side on the living room sofa, munching on waffles watching cartoons laughing at Bugs Bunny and Daffy fighting over Rabbit Season or Duck Season trying to convince Elmer to shoot the opposite party.
2 hours later: 9:30 am Tuesday
Buffy raced down the stairs feeling much better after taking a short hour nap on Spike’s shoulder during the cartoons after breakfast. She grinned as she stretched out her muscles before sparring with Spike. Spike’s eyes glazed over as she watched as she spread her legs resting one of them on the cot that was downstairs to stretch out her leg muscles. He shook his head thinking that he had to gain control of himself before they started to spar. This could be dangerous otherwise.
He stretched out his muscles a little running in place, feeling so grateful to the blond slayer in front of him who had given her blood to heal him. Buffy had a huge grin on her face as she turned towards him taking a fighting position as she shouted, “Ready?”
He nodded taking a fighting position and gestured with a slight bow, “Ladies first.”
She rushed him as he flipped her over on her back as she shouted, “Hey I wasn’t ready yet.”
Spike laughed, “If you weren’t ready don’t run at me like you are!”
She brushed off her legs and stood up taking deep breaths as she started to throw punches he dodged. Sometimes they would get a shot in knocking the other one back but they were mostly matched. They threw each other around, kicked and punched each other; neither caring nor worrying about the results knowing the other could indeed take it. Buffy felt her muscles strain against the battle and Spike felt his adrenaline pumping. They were keeping score and so far they were 3 for Spike, 2 for Buffy as they were pretty closely matched but Buffy was getting tired faster than Spike.
Finally Spike pinned her on the ground and she wiggled under him and tried to hide a yawn. He frowned, “I’m sorry luv. I wasn’t watching how long we had been at it. Fighting for almost 2 hours when sick isn’t good. Man I’m such a ponce. Let’s get you back to sleep.”
Buffy didn’t fuss as he lifted her into his arms carrying her up the stairs where she was sleeping before she even hit the bed.
2 and half hours later: 12 pm Tuesday
Spike kissed Buffy on the nose whispering, “Rise and Shine luv. It’s lunch time!”
Buffy yawned and stretched her arms over her head and took a whiff of the delicious smelling grilled cheese and tomato soup. She eyed the juice and he grinned, “Course I remembered.”
She was so hungry she started eating before Spike had even managed to sit down with his blood. She finished half her sandwich and half her soup before she even spoke up, “Thank you for taking such good care of me. How is it that an evil soulless vampire can take such good care of me a human slayer?”
Spike growled, “You still think of me as a soulless evil vampire? Sure I’m evil, sure I’m soulless but that’s the only thing on your mind about me? I take care of you, make sure you are healthy and good, hell I even killed two vampires that were sneaking around the house last night and all you can think about is the fact I’m soulless and evil? Bloody Hell!”
He walked out of the room and down the stairs totally pissed off mumbling, “Sodding bint doesn’t appreciate anything I do. All I want to do is love her and love her well and she wants to focus on how I do so without a soul. She didn’t even thank me for the soup and sandwich. I wasn’t really expecting a thank you but I was at least expecting her to be grateful….”
He kicked the sofa that slammed against the wall, ignoring the puppy that had come into the room at the loud noise. He did frown though knowing he was about to do some serious damage to the house. Instead he got up and raced down the stairs and started slamming his fist into the cloth covering the right wall that Buffy had covered earlier for sparring. He slammed his fist into it again and again ignoring the pain and blood that filled the air. He was just so mad he couldn’t take it.
Spike kicked the wall and then slammed his other fist into it cursing and shouting, “Damn ungrateful bitch!”
He didn’t hear the door open and Buffy come down the stairs. She stood back and gasped at the sight in front of her. His hands were raw and open covered in blood that was dripping down to the basement floor creating a puddle. He had split his own lip somehow and he looked wild. He was vamped out from either the anger or the pain, she wasn’t sure which and he looked like a wild bloodsucking vampire and she knew it was her fault.
She crept up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder as he whirled around with his bloody fists clinched. She whispered softly as tears rolled down her cheeks, “I’m sorry. I just…I’ve been taught that soulless equals evil and evil equals slayable and that slayable equals demons and vampires. You aren’t like that and my mind doesn’t know where to put you. You take good care of me, you nurse me back to health, cuddle me at night, wash my body with baths, make love to me in amazing ways and yet you are supposed to be everything I hate.”
The tears were really falling down as she swayed lightly on her feet, “I don’t know what to do with that information; I don’t know what to do with you. Do you still love Dru? Do you still care for Dru? Will you really be able to save me from Angelus or will he win and I’ll be turned into an evil vampire? If I am I hope I’m like you and still care about people but say I turn out like him. My head is spinning, I don’t feel good and I hurt the only person who loves me.”
She collapsed on the floor in bitter tears that racked through her whole body. Spike stared at her not knowing what to do. Part of him wanted to rush to her side and kiss her making it all better and the other part of him hurt. His heart was breaking and he was hurt but he knew his William side would win out. He let out a deep breath as she picked her up and carried her upstairs ignoring the blood that was getting over her clothes. He sat her in his lap as she sniffled and he turned on the shower knowing with his blood over both of them, they would need it.
Buffy stopped crying clinging to him as though he were her anchor. When the water was hot he stripped her off her clothes and stood up stripping himself of clothes and pulled her into the shower with him closing his eyes as she swayed against him still sniffling from her earlier tears. He didn’t want to talk, didn’t want to hear anything more she had to say, he just simply wanted to hold her and block out the world.
Buffy was right, she was a human slayer and he was a blood-sucking vampire and both were put on this world to destroy each other and yet he loved her. He couldn’t tell her that. She wouldn’t return it and he knew it deep down inside. He knew when she was feeling 100% he would have to challenge Angelus and then would take Dru away as agreed making sure she was safe before he left on his own to leave her be the slayer. It was probably what she wanted. She wanted freedom not to be bonded to another vampire.
He sighed as she felt her shiver so he turned off the water and stepped out of the tub grabbing one of the two towels that sat on the shelf and wrapped it around her wrapping one about himself. He dried off himself as she did the same with herself. He let her walk into the bedroom and she slipped some shorts and a shirt on ignoring underwear and a bra and he simply slipped on a shirt and a pair of pants that Xander had bought for him and pulled her close as he rubbed her back as she fell asleep completely exhausted after crying.
Spike laid thinking for another hour after that trying to make sense of the world and what craziness had been brought to his life and hers. She was 17 and was dealing with a lot of hard issues. When he was 17, he was worried about graduating not about who to kill and who not to kill. He kissed her head tenderly slipping out of bed to go watch Passions to get his mind off things.