Discovering that Riley was one of the commandos they were looking for while trying to save the voices and hearts of the citizens of Sunnydale squashed their already floundering relationship. Buffy was beginning to seriously wonder if she was simply not cut out for the whole relationship deal. She had no choice but to acknowledge that her man choosing abilities sucked. Her normal guy, the boring—born in Iowa to a farming couple—guy she found to help her get away from the supernatural evil that was her daily life was actually part of a covert military torture lab. Still, she had to admit that their “dating” had made it easier for her to sneak in and take the whole place down. They’d found things in that lab that would give them all nightmares for awhile, but she’d done her job. The initiative was no more. Her bitchy psych professor had been involved in some way and had been replaced with a slightly more friendly adjunct. She wasn’t sure it helped her grade any.
But it was Christmas now and Buffy was glad to be spending a few days at home with her mom. That her home time now including seeing Spike was a minor annoyance, but one that she was determined to ignore. She was moderately surprised not to find the vampire sitting at the table for dinner, but didn’t begin to find his absence suspicious until early evening.
“Mom? Have you seen Spike today?” She tried to keep her tone casual.
“No I haven’t, honey. Why?”
Buffy frowned. “He’s been too quiet. He’s probably snuck off somewhere to cause trouble.”
Joyce nearly rolled her eyes. “I’m sure that’s not the case.”
“Right.” She stood up and headed towards the basement door.
“Try to be nice, dear. It’s Christmas.”
Buffy marched down the steps with a determined air. She absolutely expected to find Spike missing or in the very least doing something annoying. Instead, she found him reading a selection from one of the large stack of books her mother had brought home for him from the library.
“Why are you hiding?”
Spike shrugged and laid his book down. “I’m not.” He watched Buffy arch an eyebrow in response and sighed. “I just figured I’d make myself scarce. You know, let you and your mum have a bit of Christmas.”
Her eyes widened slightly as she realized what he was saying. She’d spent the whole day thinking that he was up to something and he’d only been trying to let her have a nice Christmas. She felt her cheeks warm with embarrassment. “Oh.”
“Yeah.” He gave her a little smile. “Go on. Go sing carols or something. I’ll stay out of the way.”
“You…you don’t have to. I mean, if you want to come get blood from the fridge or…” Buffy trailed off before sighing and taking a step closer. Without questioning the urge, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Merry Christmas, Spike.” She turned and left before he could respond.
The next morning she found a thin hardbound journal on the floor outside her bedroom. She whimpered before she even picked it up. It was an offering. Her mother had told her about the writing, and Buffy knew without even opening the cover that Spike had decided it was time to share. Gingerly, she bent and picked it up. A part of her was tempted to pretend she hadn’t noticed it, but she didn’t think that would really make it go away. It was her own fault; she knew that she had encouraged him the previous night. That had not been her intention. She had simply been feeling the Christmas Spirit. He’d tried to let her have a nice holiday and she’d felt grateful. Now, she wished she’d never even gone downstairs to check on him.
Joyce found her several moments later, still standing in her doorway staring at the book’s cover. “Oh.” She winced slightly. “Did he…”
“It was on the floor here. Is it what I think it is?”
Joyce nodded. “Honestly, I didn’t expect him to give it you. I wonder what made him…” She shrugged. “Christmas, I guess.”
Buffy blushed in answer to her mother’s unfinished question; she knew exactly what had made him leave the book for her. “What am I supposed to do? I thought he’d be done with this by now.”
“Well, you have to be firm. You can’t give him any reason to believe that you will change your mind.”
Buffy nodded. She’d already failed that plan. “Right.”
Joyce sighed and reached over to touch the book. “Try to be gentle though.”
“Firm but gentle?”
Joyce smiled at Buffy’s overwhelmed expression. “I know. It’s just…most of us will go our whole lives without anyone ever writing us a single poem. He wrote you a whole book. As gestures go, that is…” She blinked heavily as she trailed off.
“He’s a vampire, mom. Remember? Creepy. Blood drinking. Usually wants to kill me.”
“I know what William is, dear. Just try to remember he is also a man.”
Sighing, Buffy placed the book on her bedside table before following her mother downstairs for breakfast.
Giving her the book had been an unexpectedly bold move. Five days later, Spike was still surprised that he’d worked up the nerve. He was even more surprised that she hadn’t returned it.
That was his nightmare. He could see it clear as day. Buffy would be laughing as she dropped his words on the floor beside him, belittling the emotions that made him what he was, he’d plead for her to give him a chance and she’d only look at him with scorn.
But that hadn’t happened and each day that passed helped him clarify an entirely different scenario. Instead, he now pictured her reading his words with a secret smile. He imagined his book being kept on her bedside table so that she could lie back and let the more sensual passages wash over her.
Sitting in the living room, he could hear her stomping about her bedroom. He knew that she was getting ready to leave, that she would be meeting her friends to celebrate the New Year at the depressing little club they frequented downtown. He decided to go up and say goodnight.
“Hello, pet.” He leaned against her doorframe as though it was a casual encounter. He noted her surprise for just a moment before she hid it behind mock boredom. He also noted her attire. She was wearing his favorite colors, though barely enough of them to meet the most liberal take on public indecency laws. His demon howled with arousal from seeing so much skin and jealously at the thought of her dancing in front of other men in the outfit. He struggled to keep his warring emotions off his face. “You look nice.”
Buffy sighed. “What do you want, Spike? I’m kind of busy.”
He stepped slowly into her room and let the scents and sights sink in. “What do I want?” He was considering the many responses to her question when he saw it. His book was lying on her bedside table. His heart soared and his cock hardened. “You know what I want.” He grinned as he moved closer.
“Spike?” Buffy’s eyes widened as she watched him slink across her room.
He waited until he was close enough to feel her breath on his neck before he whispered. “You kissed me.”
“I…It was Christmas. I was just trying to be nice. It didn’t mean—”
“It’s my turn.” He didn’t give her a chance to run. He cupped her head in his palms and pulled her mouth to his. She was too startled to pull away at first and he took advantage, pressing his tongue between her lips and moaning at the taste of her. He walked her backwards until she was pressed against the wall and slid into place against her. It had been a month since their short lived engagement, but her body still felt like home. Her nipples hardened against his chest and he growled softly. “God, Buffy. I love you. I want you so much.”
She gasped and shoved him aside with a touch of slayer strength. “Stop.” Her breath came in pants. “I don’t want you.”
Spike grinned. She kept his book by her bed; he knew it had to mean something. “I think you do, pet. I think you know that we are going to be bloody fantastic together.”
“It was a spell. We are never going to happen, Spike.”
He stepped into the doorway and paused. “Yeah, it will. But I’ll give you a bit more time to get used to the idea.” He winked before walking away.
[Reviews - 24]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 1808 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +
Author's Chapter Notes:
I'm going to post a couple of chapters from this fic today. This is the first new one in a while. I hope you like it.
Chapter End Notes:
Thoughts?