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Chapter Three

She heard him laughing as he got out “his” cup and warmed up some blood from the fridge. Just as the microwave beeped, Buffy heard the sound of a large vehicle roaring into the driveway. “Spike,” she said urgently. “Riley’s here. Get out of sight, now!”

Grumbling the whole time about “wankers” and “tin soldiers”, Spike went down the basement stairs and took his blood over to the laundry area. He hopped up on the drier and started to drink while using his vampire hearing to follow what was happening upstairs.

He heard the slamming of the front door and Riley’s voice demanding, “Where is he? I want to talk to him.”

“I guess he left,” said Buffy innocently. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Riley stopped glaring around the room and slumped down in the chair with a sigh.

“Buffy,” he started tentatively, “I don’t mean to question your mom’s judgment, but doesn’t she realize Spike is a vampire? He can’t be trusted. Even with the chip he’s evil, and vicious and….” He stopped as Buffy held up her hand.

“Riley, have you forgotten who stayed by me for hours last week, fighting off other vampires and demons to keep me safe until you got there? I trust Spike, my mother and Dawn like him and we’ve known him a lot longer than you have. To you, he’s just Hostile Seventeen. To us he’s a… a person. Maybe not everyone’s favorite person all the time, but someone we know and someone we can rely on to take care of the Summers girls – whichever one of us it is.”

In the basement, Spike almost choked on his blood at hearing her stand up for him like that. He would have sworn his cold body felt warmth all though it from her words.

“All right. I get that your mother likes him. That’s just her nature to be trusting and friendly. And I get that Dawn likes him. She’s young and he’s got that whole bad-boy thing going for him. Easy to see why a teenager might think she had a crush on him. But you! Buffy, you kill his kind. You know what he is, what he’s capable of. How can you possibly even want to be in the same room with him without killing him?”

From the basement, Spike was listening carefully to Buffy’s response.

Buffy smiled briefly, “Oh, I want to kill him on a regular basis. Just ask Giles! But I don’t because I can’t.”

“You can’t?”

“It wouldn’t be right. He can’t fight back, so it wouldn’t be any fun.”

“Fun? Fighting Spike is fun?”

“Well, it used to be. He’s the best I’ve ever come up against. We’re very evenly matched, you know,” she said brightly

Something about the look on Riley’s face stopped her before she could say anything else complementary about the vampire.

“Maybe you can’t kill him, but I can,” he growled out. “He can’t have gone very far.”

“Riley, did you hear nothing I said? Spike is a good fighter; he helps me against demons and vamps, and whatever the hell this skany new badness is. My mother and sister like him. He protects them for me. I need him right now. And,” she met his eyes firmly, “he’s my friend. As much as Willow or Xander or….”

She glared at him defiantly and eventually he looked away and muttered, “All right, but he’d better stay out of my way. And away from you!” he added. “It makes me crazy to think he’s spending so much time around you – and touching you – You have to stop letting him touch you! It’s just not right.”

Buffy colored guiltily as she said, “He only touches me when he needs to help me get somewhere.” Ok, not really a lie. I kissed him, not vice versa, so technically HE wasn’t touching me. She hoped Riley wouldn’t notice the warm flush she felt on her face as she remembered the kiss in the hospital. “You sound like you’re jealous, for pity’s sake!”

“I’m not jealous!” he declared indignantly. “I’d have to think he was worth worrying
about to be jealous of him. But it does seem to me sometimes that your little gang of friends
and this whole Slayer thing is more important to you than I am. And now a vampire seems to be part of the group too. It’s just too weird.”

Buffy just gaped at Riley with her mouth open. She wasn’t sure how to respond to what was obviously the idea that he should be more important than her Slayer duties. To avoid more arguing, she settled for mildly commenting that she and the Scoobies had been fighting evil together for a long time and things like surviving the occasional apocalypse tended to bring people close.

Riley didn’t look particularly convinced, but grumbled something about having to get back to the base. He leaned in to kiss her and Buffy found herself comparing his quick dry kiss with the bone melting one she shared with Spike. Bad, Buffy. Bad, bad! She scolded herself as she tried to kiss back with enthusiasm. Riley slid his hand down her back and commented, “I’ll be glad when that cast is off and we can….”

Buffy smiled at him and said, “Yes, me too. I miss you.”

From the basement there was the sound of breaking crockery – as though someone might have thrown a cup against the wall.

“What was that?” Riley straightened up and looked around.

“What was what? I didn’t hear anything.” Buffy mentally cursed the impulsive creature in the basement as she looked innocently at Riley.

“I thought I heard –“ He peered into the kitchen but saw nothing so he reluctantly started toward the door. “Better lock this door,” he said. “You don’t know who or what might come in.”

“Ok,” she said as she waved at him. “I’ll be fine. Bye”

With a final suspicious look around the room, Riley finally went out the door and pulled it shut behind him.

Buffy sank back on her pillows and breathed out vigorously. “What am I doing?” she wondered out loud. “Lying to Riley, kissing Spike. This is becoming way too complicated.”

As the sound of Riley’s vehicle died away in the distance, a contrite face appeared in the kitchen doorway. “I broke my cup, pet. I’m sorry. I’ll clean it up if you tell me where the broom and dust pan are.”

“So I heard.” She glared at him. “And so did Riley. Just when I had him convinced you weren’t here anymore. Do you have a death wish?”

“I said I was sorry,” he growled. “I just got a little – disturbed – and it flew out of my hand.”

Buffy studied him for a minute, wondering if she should make it clear that he had no right to be disturbed by anything Riley and she said or did, but finally concluded it would be easier to just ignore the whole thing and pretend she had no idea why he threw the cup.

She told him where the broom was and flicked the TV back on.

After he cleaned up the broken cup, Spike asked her if she was hungry and wanted him to fix dinner.

“You can cook?” she gaped at him.

“Well, no, not exactly. But your mum left some frozen dinners and I know how to use a microwave,” he huffed at her.

“Whew, for a minute there I thought I REALLY didn’t know you.” She exhaled in relief and look up in time to catch him staring at her.

“What?” she demanded.

“Nothing, Slayer, nothing at all.” He went into the kitchen and started banging things around much more than was probably necessary to microwave a frozen meal.

As the evening wore on, they settled into a companionable silence, interrupted by the occasional comment about whatever TV show was on. Spike made some popcorn and when he came back in with the bowl it just seemed to make sense for him to join her on the couch where they could both reach it instead of going back to the easy chair. Buffy slid over slightly and curled her un-cast covered leg up under her. That shifted her weight and made her lean toward Spike. She tried several times to prop herself up with her injured arm. But she couldn’t get the right spot. Finally, Spike said, “Here, pet,” and slid over so that she could use his shoulder for support. Buffy leaned into him and said, “Oh, that’s perfect. Don’t move.”

Spike snarked, “Don’t get used to it, Slayer. Not a bloody piece of furniture, you know.” But he smiled to himself and inside he was thinking, I’ll stay here as long as you want me.

Buffy just sniffed at him and cuddled closer, putting her head on his shoulder and resting her free hand on his bicep. Without realizing what she was doing, she began to absently move her fingers up and down, stroking his arm and enjoying the feel of the cool muscle under her hand.

The touch of her warm fingers and their rhythmic stroking was having a less than soothing effect on the vampire. He was grateful that he didn’t need to breathe and that his heart didn’t beat, because he knew if he did there would be no hiding his increasing arousal. As it was, he shifted uncomfortably and hoped Buffy couldn’t see the growing bulge in his jeans. He tried not to groan – not even sure if it would be a groan of pleasure at her touch or of pain at the frustration he was feeling. At some point, Buffy noticed that he was sitting incredibly still even for a vampire, and that he wasn’t nearly as relaxed as she was feeling. A quick glance at his tight face made her notice what she was doing with her hand and she reluctantly let go of his bicep and tried to sit up.

“S’wrong, pet?” he asked, as she pulled away, feeling relieved and chagrined at the same time.

“Nothing, I just…” She felt him shift away from her and saw the tell tale swelling along his thigh. She realized why he had been so still and was embarrassed and a little thrilled. I did that just by rubbing his arm? Wow.

Spike squirmed around, trying to relieve the pressure without being obvious about it. He looked so uncomfortable, Buffy couldn’t help but giggle at him and he realized she had figured out the source of his discomfort.

“Think it’s funny, do you?” he growled, adjusting himself now that there was no reason to hide his problem.

“I’m sorry, Spike. Really I am, but you looked so, so ..” She couldn’t finish her sentence and just rolled on the couch giggling.

The thunderous look on his face was gradually replaced with a reluctant grin and eventually he joined her in laughter. “Wouldn’t think somebody my age could get so excited by a skinny little chit like you snuggling up to him, would you?”

“I’m really sorry, Spike,” she gasped as her giggles stopped. “I wasn’t thinking and your arm was there and I was so comfortable and relaxed….”

He interrupted her quickly, “Not your fault, love. 's me. I just can’t be around you without wanting you. It’s like a disease. Don’t ever be afraid to lean on me because of that.”

“But you looked so uncomfortable; and I don’t want to…”

“Nobody ever died from a hard-on.” He smiled at her. “Even if it sometimes feels like you could. Come on, love, lean back over here, “ he said as he put his arm around her and pulled her over against him. “Just keep those busy little hands still, huh?”

Buffy flushed bright pink and folded her good hand under the cast. “That’s me – hands off Buffy. No more touchy, I promise.”

They settled back down to finish watching the movie, but neither one had any idea what was going on the TV screen.





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