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"Ah, the fumigation party," Willow said watching as another girl got a free drink for catching a cockroach.

"Hmm?" a distracted Buffy said.

"It's an annual tradition. The closing of the Bronze for a few days to nuke the cockroaches?"

"Oh," said Buffy, not really paying any attention.

"It's a lot of fun. . . What's it like where YOU are?"

Buffy looked up and smiled, "I'm. . . sorry, I was just. . . thinking about things. . ."

"So, we're talking about a guy?"

"Not exactly a guy. For us to have a conversation about a guy, there'd have to be a guy for us to have a conversation about. Is that a sentence?"

Willow smiled, "You lack a guy."

"I do. Which is fine with me, most of the time, but. . ."

"What about Spike?"

"Spike? I can just see him in a relationship. 'Hi, honey, you're in grave danger. I'll see you next month. Plus that scar he's got, he told me his ex gave it to him. Doesn't really make him sound like good boyfriend material."

"He's not around much, it's true."

"When he is around. . . " Buffy began, dreamily, "it's like the lights dim everywhere else. You know how it's like that with some guys?"

"Oh, yeah!" said Willow as she looked over to watch Xander dancing.

After a brief confrontation with Cordelia, Xander made his way over to the two daydreaming girls.

"Boy, that Cordelia is a regular breath of vile air. What are you vixens up to?" he asked.

"Just sitting here, watching our barren lives pass us by," said Willow, "Oh, look, a cockroach."

Buffy lifted her eyes to look but then started staring at the table again.

"Whoa, well, let's stop this crazy whirligig of fun! I'm dizzy!" Xander said.

"Alright, now I'm infecting those nearest and dear to me. I'm gonna call it a night," said Buffy, getting up.

"Oh, don't go." said Willow

"Uh, yeah! It's early! We could, um, dance," offered Xander

"Rain check? Good night." Buffy said, as she left.

Buffy made her way out of the Bronze looking bummed. As she passed the stairs she didn't notice Spike watching her go. For a moment she thought she sensed something and turned to look right where he had been, but no one was there. So she headed home.

As she walked home she felt like someone was watching. She looked behind her, but again nothing was there. As she walked passed an alley however, she heard a noise.

"It's late, I'm tired, and I don't wanna play games. Show yourself," Buffy told the shadows.

A vampire roared and dropped down onto the sidewalk behind her. She reached into her coat pocket to pull out a stake, spinning so as to face her attacker, but another vampire appeared and grabbed her arm.

"Wuh!" she cried out, surprised.

A third vampire came out of the alley and grabbed her other arm.

"Ooo! Okay, okay, nice. . ." Buffy started.

They pulled her into the alley and up against a fence. The first one approached her menacingly.

"Okay, okay. . ." Buffy said, "Look, I really don't wanna fight all three of you. . . unless I have to."

With that she kicked him in the crotch, elbowed the third, and tried to punch the second. He blocked her swing and thrust his knee into her gut, slamming her into the fence. The other two recovered and grabbed her again.

The second one slowly approached her. The look in his eyes scared Buffy and she struggled to get away. But the vampire came up to Buffy, grabbed her head and moved in to bite.

Just when she thought she'd had it, Spike appeared behind him, grabbed him by the hair and pulled him off of her.

"Three against one, not the best of odds Slayer," Spike said punching the vampire he'd grabbed.

Buffy ignored him. Instead she used the two vampires holding onto her arms as support, she kicked up with both feet and hits them both in the face. One of them grabbed her again and held her against the fence while Spike continued to fight the other two.

Then one of them pulled a piece of iron bar off of a window.

"Look out!" Buffy warned.

Spike turned around, only to be sliced in the chest with the bar.

Buffy shoved an open palm into her assailant's chin, pushing him off of her, punched him once in the gut and then slammed both fists into his head. Spike was bent over in pain and was about to be stabbed again. Buffy quickly kicked his attacker in the face, and he fell back away from Spike.

"Run!" Buffy ordered, as she helped Spike to his feet. She lead him to her house, the three vampires still chasing them. "Get in! C'mon!" she said as she opened the door.

She rushed inside, Spike right behind her. Buffy slammed the door on one of the vampire's hands. He struggled a moment then pulled his hand back out. She shut the door and locked it. The vampire looked in through the glass while another one looked in through the window.

"It's alright. A vampire can't come in unless it's invited." Spike said.

"I've heard that before, but I've never put it to the test." She leaned on the door then she noticed his wound. "Oh. . . I'll go get some bandages, just. . . take your coat and your shirt off."

He followed her into the kitchen and took off his duster and t-shirt. Oh wow, thought Buffy. That's a nice chest. That's a really nice chest. She was terrified that she was blushing as she brought the first aid kit over, after all, if she bandaged him up she would be touching him.

"I was lucky you came along. How did you happen to come along?"

"I was following you."

"Stalker much? Not that I didn't have a feeling you were. So why where you following me?"

Before he could answer, Buffy heard the front door open. She quickly went to intercept her mother, and check on the three vampires they had left outside. She pulled her mom into the house.

"Hi. What are you doing?" asked her mother

"There's a lot of weird people outside at night. . ." Her mother started toward the kitchen, Buffy tried to slow her down. ". . .I just feel better with you safe and sound inside. You must be beat.

"I am. We're a little gallery. You have no idea how much-"

Buffy interrupted, "Well, then why don't you go upstairs and get into bed, and I can bring you some hot tea?"

"That's sweet," then she looked at her daughter suspiciously, "What'd you do?"

"Can't a daughter just be concerned about her mother?"

Spike entered behind Buffy. "Joyce?" he asked.

"Spike? What are you doing here?" Joyce asked.

"Joyce, I had no idea you had a daughter. Though I certainly see that she takes after you. I'm a tutor, I've been helping Buffy with her history."

"Really, that's wonderful. It's not Buffy's strongest subject."

"Um, how do you guys know each other?" Buffy asked.

"Spike comes by the gallery just before closing all the time. He knows a remarkable amount about native art for a college student. Well since you are here can I get you something? Some hot chocolate?"

That was the point at which Buffy's mind just stopped working. Her mother was making hot chocolate for Spike? Her mom liked Spike? Spike was the ultimate, guy you don't bring home to meet your mom, yet her mom seemed to really like him. She even gave him little marshmallows when he asked for them.

For about half an hour her mom and Spike discussed the gallery's newest collection. Then her mom said, "Oh dear. I've used up all your studying time. I'm gonna go to bed, and, uh, Buffy?"

"I'll say good night and do the same," Buffy answered as her mother started up the stairs.

"It was nice to see you again. I'm glad to know that Buffy has someone helping her with her history."

After her mom went up stairs, Buffy held open the door and said, "Good night! We'll hook up soon and do that study thing."

She closed the door which Spike had been standing behind, and they both quietly walked up the stairs to Buffy's room.

"Look, Slayer, I don't want to fall out of your mom's good graces," then he added as an after thought, "or get you in any trouble. . ."

"And I don't wanna get you dead. They could still be out there. Although what's with the thing with my mom?"

"Figured I'd be bound to run into her sooner or later. So I thought I'd set myself up with a nice cover story about being an art history student at UC Sunnydale. Would you rather I didn't get along with your mum?"

"No, it's just. . . creepy." Buffy moved in front of her bed and started at it. "So, uh. . . two of us, one bed. That doesn't work," she looked at him, "Um, why don't you take the bed? Y'know, you're wounded. . ."

"I'll take the floor."

"Uh, no, that's not. . ."

"Trust me Slayer," he smiled and said, "I've had worse."

"Okay. Um, then why don't you check and see if the Fang Gang is still loitering and, um, keep your back turned while I change?"

Spike went over to the window to look while Buffy changed. "I don't see them," he said.

"Y'know, I'm the Chosen One, it's my job to fight guys like that. What's your excuse?"

"I have really bad taste in women." Buffy was glad he couldn't see her wince right then. Not that he'd given her any real reason to think that he was interested in her, other than the stalking.

"Like the ex who marked the spot?"

"Yeah, she's a real loon that one."

"I'm not sure how that all leads to fighting the forces of darkness."

"It's a long story, started when a bitchy brunette broke my heart. I ran into a dark alley and met another pretty brunette of the undead variety. . ."

"And you got away, and couldn't stop trying to fight the bad things in the night." she finished, as she turned around and placed a hand on his shoulder so he would know that it was all right for him to turn around.

He just looked at her for several minutes. She could see the conflict rolling through his eyes, she didn't speak, didn't move, afraid to scare him out of whatever it was he was thinking of telling her.

"I didn't," he said at last.

"Didn't fight?"

"Didn't get away."

"That's silly. She was a vamp right? She would have killed you. That's what they do."

He took her hands in his, and sat her down on the bed, then he kneeled in front of her, looking her in the eyes. "I didn't live," He took her right hand and placed it over his heart.

"No," she whispered. His hands were so cold. She couldn't feel a heart beat. He wasn't breathing. His skin was so pale. How could she not have noticed all this before she wondered? Maybe he'd just been turned. She hadn't seen him in a few days. And yet he looked at her with those blue eyes, and he didn't seem evil, or dead. Instead he looked scared and hurt. "When did this happen?" She knew she should be reaching for a stake, or the cross she kept under her pillow.

"About 120 years ago, give or take."

"Do I have to kill you now?" It seemed such a stupid thing to say, but she didn't understand any of this. He didn't look threatening. He could have easily killed her before now. Instead he was helping her. And why was he telling her this? She felt so stupid for not knowing, but obviously she'd been too blinded by his good looks, if he'd kept quiet she might never have known.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't, Slayer. I'm not going to hurt you, or anyone else human."

"That. . . You don't make any sense. You can't be a vampire. Vampires attack people, eat them. They don't sit and have conversations and they certainly don't sit in your kitchen and have hot chocolate with your mom."

He put his hand on her face, and leaned in to kiss her. She knew she should back up, that she should pull away. But she couldn't. She had wanted this too many times and she still couldn't accept that he was a vampire.

His lips brushed hers. Without thinking she leaned in to his kiss and closed her eyes. His lips trapped her lower lip for a minute. Then she found herself opening her mouth so that her tongue could taste him. Her tongue ran over his satiny bottom lip, then his tongue was inside her mouth exploring her. Her hands went to his face, her tongue slipped into his mouth and he sucked on it drawing her deeper in.

Suddenly he pulled back away from her, "Sorry, I didn't mean to take that quite so far. I just needed a way to coax the demon out."

Confused, and desperate to get back to the kissing she opened her eyes and found herself staring not into blue eyes, but gold.

She jerked backward grabbing the cross from behind her and held it in front of her. He flinched and backed up.

"I'll just be going then," he said turning toward the window.

He really was a vampire, she thought. I've just been kissed by a vampire. I've just had the most amazing kiss of my life, and it was a vampire. None of it made any sense.

"Stop. You're not leaving until you explain what's going on. Or is your master plan to confuse me to death."

He turned back. He shook his head and the bumps, the fangs, and the golden eyes were gone. "Remember when I said I had bad taste in women?" she nodded, "A hundred years ago I decided to have a gypsy girl for a snack. Her clan got real angry about it, and they cursed me. Gave me back my soul."

Buffy's eyes went wide. "I'm not sure how that's curse."

"Before the soul, I was like any other vampire. I existed for the bloodshed, the pain, the violence. Loved it, exalted in it. I know, I remember every moment, every victim, every scream. And I care. That's my curse Slayer."

She stood up and put her hand on his face this time. She turned his head so that he was forced to look her in the eye. Studying him like this she understood. She understood why she hadn't realized he was a vampire. It wasn't his good looks that had distracted her, it was his eyes. The soul that resided behind them was plain to see.

She turned her back on him, pulled the comforter off the top of the bed, and handed it to him. "Here. Sleep tight." she said.

"Slayer, you don't un-" she put her hands to his lips to silence him.

"I do. You've done bad things, I get that. But if you were evil, I would have known. I'm the Slayer remember. Since I arrived in this town I've had nothing but dreams warning me of the Master. I'm going to have to fight him sooner or later. But I haven't had a single dream about you, and right now, you seem like the best person to help me defeat him. So I'm not sending you outside to get killed by those three vampires, and I'm not staking you myself. So go to sleep okay?"

He nodded, looking at her amazed. Then he lay down on the floor with the comforter.

She got into bed and turned off the light. "Spike?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you snore?"

"Don't know. You're just going to have to find out the hard way."





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