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Chapter 34

Buffy giggled as Spike carried her through the doors of the Hyperion in the pre-dawn hours. They would have both preferred staying in bed at the other hotel, but if they hadn’t gotten moving before sunrise, they would have been stuck there until sunset. Buffy couldn’t seem to remember why that was a bad thing anymore.

The fact was, Buffy had never felt so good in her life. Her whole body tingled and was sore. Half the reason Spike was carrying her was because she wasn’t sure how reliably her legs worked. If pre-claim sex had been great, post –claim sex was beyond description. Having a lover who could predict her every physical need was incredible. He’d switched back and forth from torturing her by keeping her on the edge of an orgasm to making her cum over and over again.

And then they were through the door and Angel was sitting there on the ottoman wearing the sort of scowl it took a hundred years to perfect.

She could feel the delight in Spike, and it hurt her. She knew that their relationship was deep, true, real and not just some way to get back at Angel. But it was also a way to get back at Angel. Buffy felt small, insignificant. Just another battlefield in the century long war between two alpha males.

“Told you not to wait up, mate,” Spike dug at Angel.

“Vampire, remember? It’s not my bed-time yet.”

Buffy squirmed against Spike, so he’d let her down. He did without taking his eyes off of Angel. He was completely unaware of her discomfort. He hadn’t forgotten about her, just shifted focus so that she wasn’t the center of his universe anymore. It was strange and a little scary, realizing how much deeper the claim she had on Spike was than the one he had on her. He could feel her physically; know what her body felt, needed. But she had developed a direct line to his emotions.

Then Angel sprung to his feet, growling as golden eyes swept over both of them.

“You claimed her.”

It was the quietness of Angel’s voice that scared Buffy the most. Yelling she could deal with. Calm and quiet were harbingers of the very not good.

“That’s right,” Spike said with equal cool.

But Buffy knew better. She could feel the flurry of emotions under Spike’s calm demeanor. She knew he hadn’t thought of this. He hadn’t been thinking of Angel last night anymore than she had. For which she was glad. Glad that it really had been just about the two of them.

She squeezed Spike’s hand to let him know she was there with him. She knew how important that was to him. The combination of the physical contact, and the fact that she was actively trying to read him pulled her even deeper into his thoughts.

This was familiar to him; he pushed, struggled against the bonds. Took what Angel said wasn’t his, and then they fought. This was as much a routine for them as asking her how her day had been was for her mom. It was the part that came next that chilled Buffy. Spike was terrified because it always ended the same way. Angel always won. And this time he felt that if he lost, then that would be it. It really mattered this time. She wasn’t sure why.

Did he really think it would matter to her who won? That she cared which was the tougher vampire?

“Don’t worry, Buffy,” Angel told her. “I won’t let what he’s done to you last.”

She looked at both men in confusion. “What are you talking about? Okay, first off, he didn’t do anything to me. Well he did. But nothing I didn't literally ask for. Secondly I can take care of myself. Thirdly, there’s nothing you can do anyway. The claim's permanent. Lifelong deal.”

A horrid thought struck Buffy. He’s going to try and kill Spike right here in front of me. Of course she would never let that happen, but still, what right did Angel have to try and kill her boyfriend?

“Actually, it’s not. Not necessarily,” Angel said ominously.

“What’s he talking about?” Buffy asked Spike, turning to him for comfort.

“Sorry pet, I never thought. . . it never occurred to me to tell you. It’s even rarer than the claim itself, but another vampire can challenge for the claim - take it over.”

“What? What kind of caveman logic is that? Well I won’t let you,” she told Angel.

Now she understood Spike’s terror, why he had to win. To lose would be to lose her. No way was she letting Angel claim her. With Spike it was this sweet way of letting him in, sharing her life with him. But with Angel it would be like being stalked 24/7. For one thing, she’d never be able to have sex again, never even touch herself, cause he’d feel all of it. He'd be in her bedroom for the rest of her life.

“You don’t have a choice,” Angel told her as he leapt at Spike.

Spike shoved her out of the way. She hit the floor, but years of training caused her to roll to her feet. She spun around to see the most brutal battle she’d ever witnessed. Spike had finally vamped, and he and Angel tore at each other.

She cursed under her breath. She was a little afraid to get between the two vampires, even if there had been room. If she got too close, and Spike hit her by accident, the chip would go off, and that would leave him vulnerable to Angel. The worst part was that Spike had already made his mistake. She had fought with and against both men. She knew their strengths and weaknesses - maybe better than they did.

Spike had let Angel get in too close. As they grappled with each other the larger man could use his size and strength to greater advantage. If Spike could get some distance between them he would have a much better chance, but rage had consumed him. He was so desperate not to lose this time that he was attacking with his heart, not his head. In some cases that could work for you, Buffy knew. But mostly it was a mistake. Spike was the cleverer fighter, but he was relying too much on the demon. Worse, Spike didn’t believe he could win. He would be defeated by his own fatalism, if nothing else.

As the two demons beat each other relentlessly, Buffy longed to step in. To stop it. It was pointless. Yet she was scared that if she did, it would do too much harm to Spike. She wanted him to win - not for her, but for him. This once, she wanted him to best Angel.

Angel had his arm around Spike’s neck in a chokehold. Of course Spike didn’t need to breathe but still, it made it difficult for the younger vampire to move. Spike sent an elbow into Angel’s stomach, loosening Angel’s hold on him. Buffy all but cheered, thinking that maybe things were turning around. Then Angel simply threw himself at the smaller man, using his size and weight to crush him.

Spike hit the floor face first, Angel on top pinning him down. Angel yanked the collar of Spike’s shirt ripping it open and Buffy could hear buttons hit the floor. She didn’t need to see Angel start to lean forward to know what he was going to do, to know what would make him winner and transfer the claim. They were vampires after all.

Spike yelled and beat impotently against the floor trying to throw his attacker off of him. Buffy never gave him the chance. The stakes were finally too high and too personal for her to be able to give a damn about his male pride.

Angel roared in triumph as his head began to descend to the tender flesh of his opponent’s neck. Instead, it connected with the toe of Buffy’s shoe. His head snapped back as he sailed back into the counter, and for a moment Buffy thought maybe she’d gone too far and broken Angel’s neck. But then she saw him moving as he started to get to his feet.

She moved to help Spike up. He snarled at her, but she ignored it. She’d deal with his shame latter; right now she had to make it clear to Angel that he could never try this again.

“Buffy,” Angel growled at her, “Stay out of this.”

“You’re kidding, right? Hello this is my life here, too. And just so we’re clear, if you had won, if you took my claim, then I’d drop out of school, give up slaying move in with Spike, and do nothing but fuck him all day long so you’d have to feel him touching me all the time.”

To her great relief, Angel didn’t call her bluff but stormed off. Luckily the idea of such a mystical threesome sickened him as much as it did her. She pulled Spike’s arm around her neck to help support him and take him upstairs so she could see to his injuries.

Spike snarled and pulled away from her, refusing her help. She was annoyed but not really surprised. She knew she needed to patch up his ego just as much as his body. So she followed.

Buffy followed him down the less used corridors of the hotel. She assumed he was trying to get as far from Angel as possible considering the sun had gone up during their fight. Finally he chose a run down room that was covered in dust, and lacking in solid furniture. She was about to follow him in when he slammed the door in her face.

She was angry, but she fought it. She could feel his pain calling her through the doorway. All the doubt, the insecurity, the belief that he wasn’t as good as Angel filled her. She gritted her teeth, counted to ten, and then opened the door.

He was laying on the floor curled into a fetal position, his back to her. His body rocked softly as he cried. She wanted to run to him, hold him, and tell him that it was all okay. That it didn’t matter. But that was the wrong instinct and she knew it. She had to build him back up. Make him feel like the Big Bad again. Not someone who needed her protection.

“Get up,” she told him.

She could feel his surprise and his hurt; he’d expected her pity. When he didn’t move, she gently kicked him in the back.

“I said get up.” She kept her voice firm.

Slowly he unwound himself and turned till he was sitting facing her, his face streaked with dust and tears. He had reverted to his human features and looked all the world like a little lost boy. The need to comfort him hit her again and she found herself moved and kind of turned on by it. But she couldn’t indulge her own fantasies right now.

“Why did you lose?” she asked him.

“I tried. . .” he whined.

“Not good enough,” she cut him off. She hated doing this; it was breaking her heart, especially because she could tell he thought that he’d failed her. That he wasn’t good enough for her. Still, she found the inner bitch and clung to it. “Why did you lose?”

“Because I’m not as strong as he is, not as big. Haven’t been around as long. He’s my grand-sire - he’s going to win. That’s just the way things are.”

“No, that’s not it. You’re right. He is stronger, and he is bigger. Well, most of him is.” She let herself flirt for that one moment. If she was going to build up his ego, she might as well work on all of it. Not to mention it was true. “But you know what, he’s bigger than me and I can beat him, and I’m stronger than you, but you’re still a match for me. As for age, I’m only nineteen which puts me way younger than most of the vampires I’ve slain.”

“So why don’t you tell me then? You’ve got all the answers! You’re the all knowing Slayer!” he snapped at her.

She sighed, and had the sudden urge to take off and clean her glasses, even though she didn’t wear any.

“That’s right. I’m the Slayer and I know you, both of you, and how you fight. That should have been, maybe not a cakewalk, but you should have won. He’s stronger but you’re faster, more creative, and better trained.” She suddenly got sidetracked, “Where’d you learn how to fight anyway? Not from him.” She shook her head realizing that was a story for another time. “The point is, you should have won, but you didn’t. Why?”

“Because he always does,” Spike snarled at her. He got to his feet and begun pacing. His control had slipped, and his features were demonic again. “He always wins. Always gets everything. Everything I want, everything that should be mine, he takes it - even when he really doesn’t want it. Just wants to prove that I have nothing. That I’m not good enough.”

“You’re right.” He spun around to face her, angry and hurt all at once. “That’s why you lost. Because you expected to.” She finally let her voice soften. “However much you wanted to win, you didn’t believe you could. Until you start to believe in yourself, Angel’s always going to be able to hurt you like this. To take things from you. Well, not me, cause I won’t let him. Oh, and by the way stupid, since you didn’t seem to notice, I chose you in there.”

That brought Spike up short. A look of utter surprise crossed his face as he replayed the events of the morning in his head.

“You did,” he said with something approaching awe. He reached out to touch her face. “You chose me over him.” He said the words slowly, as if he couldn’t believe he was saying them, much less that they were true. Then he let out a big whooping noise, and lifted her up into the air and spun her around. Until a cracked rib gave way and he nearly dropped her.

She laughed at his antics.

“Now let’s get you cleaned up, okay baby?” she asked.

“Anything you want,” he told her, holding her tight.





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