Playing House

Chapter 1

AN: Takes place early 6th season, maybe after Tabula Rasa if it really matters to the readers.  This is based loosely on an RPG I did with Amy (ChocoholicGirl) and changed to fit better into canon for the fic, though at the same time not to be taken TOO seriously, okay? This is for fun even if every second isn't a laugh riot and there are bits of angst here and there. And thanks to my betas for their help with this.




Buffy dusted her hands off on her pants as she walked through the door. Patrol had been pretty routine. Couple fledges. The annoying bleached one had thankfully been absent. She should have been worried by that, but chose to be relieved as she closed the front door behind her. The house was dark at this late hour. She crept through the darkness towards the kitchen groaning at the ache of her muscles.

She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and headed upstairs slowly to take a shower before turning in for the night. As she headed down the hall, she noticed a light coming from under Dawn's door. She figured the teen was up late studying or doing her homework. She would give Dawn a bit more time to finish up she decided and hobbled to the bathroom.

A long scalding hot shower helped with her muscle aches as well as the lingering vamp dust. She felt a bit more relaxed as she emerged later in a Victoria's Secret robe that matched her green eyes. She headed for Dawn's room to check in on her and get her to go to bed. Maybe she should be pleased, though, that for once maybe her sister could be taking her schoolwork seriously.

She opened the door and started to say something but froze at the sight that greeted her. A brunette head and a bleached one leaning close, backs to the door, sitting on her bed, talking to each other in hushed tones.

A growl proceeded the yanking of lean black clad shoulders up roughly. Buffy was dragging him out the door as Dawn yelled in surprise and then anger. The slayer dragged the bleached menace down the stairs and towards the front door. She was a bit surprised he was putting up no fight as he was manhandled. He was tossed out the door like a bag of trash. She stood blocking his re-entry and dusting her hands off with a frown.

"Buffy... why is Dawn crying?" Willow asked from the stairs. "Is something wrong?"

"Found Spike in Dawn's room just now when I went to see why she was still up at this time of night. Did you let him in?" she looked back at her best friend. She held out her hand to keep Spike back as he got to his feet again.

"Yeah... but thought he had left a long time ago. I wouldn't have left them unsupervised if I had known." The redhead wrung her hands worried her friend would be mad with her.

"Oi! Was helpin' Bit out with her homework!" The vampire in question said defensively. "What are you yammerin' 'bout? Don' need no bloody supervision 'round Nibblet. Just stayed a bit later than I meant t'. Lost track of time. Not a bloody crime!"

Buffy pushed him away from the door again and looked at Willow over her shoulder. "Might be best if for now we dis-invite him from the house and keep an eye on Dawn so she doesn't invite him back in without my say."

"Buffy..." he started towards her again.

Willow hurriedly pointed. "S-say invitation revoked."

"Invitation revoked!"

Spike came up against the barrier inches from Buffy. He looked down at her stunned and reached his hands out to place them on the invisible wall. He started to say something then growled and started stepping back away from it. "Right then." He turned to go. "Tell Nibblet good night for me." He looked back at her from the bottom of the steps. "Hope she does me proud an' gives you hell for this, Slayer. Don' know what I got t' do t' get you t' trust me anymore."

He lit up as he headed down the street still muttering curses about blonde, uptight slayers with to-die-for asses.

Buffy sighed and slumped against the doorframe. There was a hand on her shoulder and she looked back at Willow with a tired face. "If it's dark out, need someone to be here so Dawn can't just let him back in without us knowing."

The witch nodded solemnly. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something about the scene that just played out before her, but closed it again. They could talk about it tomorrow when they were all rested and nerves were calmed. "I'll go check on Dawn, make sure she didn't run away or is packing a bag to do so. She most likely won't want to see you right now."

Buffy nodded and watched her walk upstairs. She looked out into the night for a few more moments before closing the door. Tomorrow she could figure out if it had been worry for her sister or some slight jealousy at their closeness that had made her toss Spike out on his ass. Maybe even both. But tomorrow. Tomorrow she and Willow could sit down over coffee after they got Dawn off to school. Right now she just needed her bed and Mr. Gordo.

*****

The next morning Buffy hid in her bedroom until there was a soft knock on her door. She figured Dawn was of course going to still be mad at her and was going to avoid a stand off in the kitchen downstairs. She got up and tugged on a pair of jeans and a shirt before opening it to Willow's nervous smile.

"Hey, figured you were up and hiding in here," she said and motioned over her shoulder. "Dawn left. The coast is clear and I made us some of the good gourmet coffee so we can have some talk time. You know... if that's okay."

The blonde slayer nodded and followed her downstairs to the kitchen. She sat at the table and Willow brought them two steaming mugs of fragrant coffee. She sat down and cradled her mug between her hands while Buffy lifted hers to inhale the scent then blow on it daintily.

"Last night... as much as I hate to admit it... Spike had a point," Willow finally said quietly. "I didn't want to say it at the time and be all undermine-y, but yeah. He hasn't given us any trouble in a long while, but you still treat him like some big bad at times." She held up a hand before Buffy could argue. "I still agree it was irresponsible of either of them to be in her room alone at that time of night... actually morning... and was all figuring the dis-invite was like a timeout... but you are eventually going to let him come back... right?" She looked up at Buffy worriedly, their friendship already tenuous and strained. They were just getting comfortable around each other and she didn't want to drive them apart again.

"Maybe... when I cool down a bit." She frowned behind her mug. "I didn't want to think about it too much last night while I was upset. Would have kept me up all night..." It had, actually, but she wasn't going to admit that she had spent all night thinking about Spike.

She didn't need to admit it, though; Willow could tell her friend had gotten little sleep. But, she wouldn't call her on it if she didn't want to talk about that.

"Might as well admit it, though, and get it out..." She shook her head. "Right afterwards, I realized that while yes, the main reason I tossed him out was because I didn't like him coming and going as he pleased, and being here with Dawn that late unsupervised... might have been a bit jealous when I thought they were getting all cozy." She frowned intensely at her mug.

"Jealous?" Willow's mind raced as several things ran through her mind at once. She took a long drink to sort it out before speaking again. "Buffy, that's ridiculous... her and Spike? They're just friends. He thinks of her as a baby sister as far as I've seen. Was close to your mom so when you died he took it upon himself to do right by her and look after you guys, and then you died so he got really protective of Dawn. He didn't want to lose her, too."

"I know... but they look so cozy together... and that's not the sort of jealous I am. It's jealous at him getting so close to her. She treats me like some big ogre she has to put up with, but at the same time would rather get all comfy with an evil vampire." She huffed and gulped down some coffee. It was times when she got like this that she got all bitter about the fact that Dawn wasn't even her real sister... something that would normally appall her. If anyone else said that to her, it would get them a broken nose and a black eye.

"Oh, I thought you were all jealous because you liked Spike and thought he liked her better or something."

"Ugh! No!" Buffy sputtered and nearly made the world record for distance of coffee spit across the room. She pouted at the insult after wiping her chin. "That is so far from it. Couldn't not like him more."

Has she never heard of 'the lady doth protest too much'? The redheaded witch thought to herself with a small smile. "I just thought, well never mind..." she sighed and swirled her coffee. "Dawn does love you and care for you, would fight for you as fiercely as you would fight for her. She's a teenager, she's supposed to be all angst-y and rebellious. She'll eventually mature someday." She offered a small smile.

"So don't like him. Never ever." Buffy grumbled to herself as she went to take her mug to the sink. She frowned at the window. Okay, so she had make out sessions with the bleached menace once in awhile, but she was just bored or something. Bored and lonely. Sexually frustrated even because she hadn't had a date in a good long while.

She turned back to Willow. "I need to go run some errands. I'll be back later."

Willow nodded. "Okay... I have... Tara's coming over to get some stuff she forgot." She looked down at her hands with a sigh. She would have preferred Buffy be there when Tara came as support, but at the same time... if they were alone, maybe she could get Tara to talk to her about this... She shook her head to herself and headed upstairs slowly.

Buffy watched her go, chewing her lip, then headed out the door and made her way towards Spike's crypt. She pushed the door open without knocking and barged right on in. She was frozen in her tracks with wide eyes when for the second time in twenty-four hours she opened the door to a shocking sight. There in front of her was a nude Spike with his taught little backside facing her. Her eyes were riveted to his gluts as they flexed.

"Oi! Learn t' knock, Slayer!" He turned around towards her to stand there boldly, not bothering to cover himself at all. He stood there with a relaxed pose; the only thing belying the nonchalant pose was the twitching of his member as he looked her over.

"Well that answers the debate on whether you're really male," she tilted her head and blinked as she studied him. Man, he was big! Bigger than Angel or Riley easily. She blushed when she realized she was staring at his package. "Do you just go around naked all day long? Waiting for your one outfit to wash?"

"Did you brake int' my home just t' insult me some more an' continue t' treat me like slime?" He asked tiredly.

"Not really," she shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans and nudged the door closed with her hip. "Was going to try the mature talking thing..." She shifted embarrassedly. "Can you at least put on some undies or do the two handed hold thing?"

"Think I need two hands, luv?" He smirked and cocked his head. "Is the sight of me makin' you all hot an' bothered?" He ran his hands down his chest and abs, over the front of his thighs, thrusting forward slightly to show off for her benefit.

She rolled her eyes and turned back towards the door. "Shoulda known maturity was beyond you..."

He hurried over and took her arm. "No, don' go. Sorry, Buffy... couldn' help a bit of fun. The look on your face..." He chuckled. "Totally deserve it too after what you did last night." He pulled her deeper into the room and sat her on the stone sarcophagus. "Wait here, will get decent now that I had my fun."

He went down the stairs out of sight and she looked around with a sigh. She needed to use this time to collect her thoughts on what she wanted to say to him. She had thought it over briefly on the way here, but at the sight of him completely nude all thoughts had went flying out of her head except for a few yummy images that she would never admit to. Never ever.

She looked up as Spike returned in leather pants only.

"Better, luv?" He arched a scarred brow at her and looped his thumbs in the pockets, fingers splayed over the front of his pants, which did not help her get her mind off his delicious naked body. "Now what was it you wanted t' talk t' me about?"

She swallowed and dragged her frazzled green eyes back up to his smug face. She frowned. If she wasn't trying to be mature Buffy at the moment, she would go knock that look off his face. "Well obviously about last night. And this whole thing with me and you and Dawn."

"Look really, pet, we were workin' on the Bit's history homework. She uses me as a bit of a tutor seein' as I lived through much of what she's learnin'. Last track of time, I swear."

"Fine, I believe you, but that doesn't change my mind about the dis-invite. You've been sort of grounded for the time being. One of you should have kept track of time, and you being the adult... or supposed adult... should have made sure she didn't stay up all night chatting it away with you when she needed to get to bed and get rest." She braced her hands on the cool stone beside her thighs. "Willow agrees about this short time out."

"Look..." he shifted and looked at her with a frown. He started pacing, "I care 'bout the Bit an' wouldn' hurt her. Yeah, wasn' good of me t' keep her up, but it was nice t' feel needed an' wanted. Only person who makes me feel like that. Great big pain in the ass t' the rest of you."

She swallowed and slid off the sarcophagus. She stood in front of him, stopping his pacing effectively. "You are needed and wanted. Like Willow pointed out to me back in the kitchen like the good friend she is, you have been there for me and Dawn since mom died. When I died you went even further to take care of Dawn like she was your own family. I should have made sure to thank you for that before now." She crossed her arms. "And since you got that chip you've been a big help with the whole fighting baddies thing and will admit you are a big help on patrol."

He smiled faintly. "Thanks for sayin' that pet, but don' need t' lie for my benefit."

She growled and stamped her foot. "I am trying to be all with the nice here, the least you could do is accept it and not accuse me of lying."

"Right, I'm a bad rude man," he grinned.

"Anyways..." she rolled her eyes at him and stepped away. "Figured part of me is just all jealous of you and her, and before you say the same thing Willow did, it's not of her being all on you, kay?" She frowned. "It's of you getting all close to her when she acts all nasty towards me most of the time."

"Ah... well, she loves you pet. Don' take her teenage angst personally."

"Okay, so I spilled my beans to you. You're still all off limits from my house for now." She rubbed the back of her neck and looked around. "And eventually she'll forgive me for tossing you out. We can hope." She bit her lip and went to move past him towards the door.

His arm went out and caught her around the waist to stop her. He tilted his head to look down at her face with a small smile. "Weren' jealous of Nibblet at least a small bit? Wanted Spike sittin' on your bed all cozy like?"

She rolled her eyes at him and pushed at him. "Get over yourself, that can't be further from the land of truth."

"Oh really? I seem t' remember a certain blonde slayer bein' an eager partner in our little make out sessions," he tugged her back.

"I'm pretending you're someone else to get through it."

He gave a growl and his eyes flashed gold. "The bloody hell you were!"

He pushed her against the wall and kissed her roughly. He pinned her hips with his own and cupped her breast with one hand while the other buried in her hair. He ground into her, showing her just how much she affected him.

She returned the kiss a brief few moments before pulling away. "You can't just shove me against a wall and kiss me silly to get your way all the time." She frowned up at him.

"It sure helps," he chuckled and nipped at her neck. "Just provin' t' you that it's no one else you're thinkin' 'bout when I kiss you, pet."

She pushed him back. "Fine. You got me. Doesn't really change anything. Only that maybe I should stop making out in dark corners with bad guys I should be staking." She started to walk around him towards the door. "And I will tell you if and when I decide you get Dawn privileges again. If I catch her running off to see you here behind my back, I'll chain you both up."

*****

Buffy walked back into her house that afternoon and headed for the kitchen. She hurriedly smoothed her hair and straightened her shirt. Willow was coming in the back door and her eyes lit up, but Dawn was right behind her. The teen frowned at her sister, looking her over and getting angrier. She was not stupid and she knew what that whole disheveled look meant along with the fact Willow told her Buffy had been gone most of the day.

"Oh, so it's not okay for me to do homework with him all innocently, but it's okay for you to go out and get a booty call while I'm at school?" Dawn growled at her and stomped upstairs.

Buffy turned towards Willow with a sigh. "I went to tell him about what me and you talked about, and I remember trying to leave after that... but it went downhill after that, I guess." She scratched at the back of her neck and blushed slightly. "I just don't know what happens to me where he's concerned."

"Well, I have a good idea on what happens, but will keep it to myself," the Wiccan smiled slightly and moved past her. "I'll try and smooth it over with Dawn. You might want to take a shower."

Buffy watched her walk off and nodded to herself. She heaved a big sigh before heading upstairs to do just that. The scalding hot spray helped to relax her to forget some of her worries and the flowery aromas relaxed her. She wrapped herself in a robe and head back to her room with a sigh. She was at the closet looking for something clean to change into when Dawn came storming in.

"Willow told me what you said about me," She glared and put her hands on her hips.

Buffy blinked back at her slightly confused. "Huh?" She clutched the towel to her so there was no flashing of the wet body parts to her sister.

"Said you were all jealous of me and Spike." She lifted her chin. "Said I treated you badly. I hated you and all that." She swallowed. "Well you know what, I do. I hate that mom died and you thought you could take her place. Be all mommy Buffy instead of my sister. I hate that you let Willow and her girlfriend have lesbian fun time in mom's bed. And you chased Giles away and you let yourself die, and Spike took care of me since you weren't there, but you still treat him bad. Except for when you use him for a little fun and pretend you aren't doing anything. We all know, Buffy!"

"Dawn, I-"

"Just stop it. You're not mom and you're not the ruler of the universe. Just stay out of my life." She turned and slammed the door.

Buffy stared at it with a horror stricken face. She sat down on the bed and swallowed. Her eyes went around the room unseeing, glancing out the window for a moment before looking down at her hands. She buried her face in them and started to cry. Dawn was right. She just ruined everything. Hadn't been able to cope since they brought her back. Been all distant and seriously on automatic. Only time she felt anything was when she was slaying. Maybe a spark or two when Spike was kissing her, but so not ready to go there.

She got up and shoved some clothes into a bag. She threw in a few other essentials and then headed downstairs past Dawn's tightly shut room. She didn't see Willow and went to leave a note for them telling them she was moving out. She wasn't sure if it was just for a while until she sorted things out or a permanent gig. She would get a job and do the adult thing. Willow could have her room if Dawn really had a problem with Willow staying in Mom's old room.

With that she threw her bag over her shoulder and hurried out the front door without looking back. She'd probably get a hotel room for the next couple days while she looked for a job and a decent apartment. She wondered if as soon as she was gone Dawn would take the chance to invite Spike right back in, glad the wicked sister was out of the way so she could hang out with her buddy.

tbc...

Chapter 2

AN: Thanks to my betas for their help with this.



A Little Over A Month Later


Elizabeth Williams, or Beth as everyone called her, left the nice Italian restaurant after her shift was over. She wanted nothing more than to head back to her tiny apartment. Relax and get some much needed rest. But no, she at least had to do some patrolling first... even if the town was low on the action. There was hardly ever anything for a slayer to do, not that she was complaining. It was nice not living on a Hellmouth. If the baddies came all this way, they might as well make the short trip the rest of the way to Sunnydale; so, they usually did. Some decided on little pit stops, though, and that's when she was able to get her slayage on.

She undid the red scarf tied around her neck, part of the restaurant uniform, and stuffed it in the pocket of her black slacks. With that off, she was able to at least undo the top few buttons of her blouse, get a bit more comfortable than the stuffy outfit usually allowed. Next she undid the tight bun her now dark brown hair was in, letting the loose curls bounce free down her back and finger combing it out. Much better.

The town was quiet as usual and she was nearly done, glad to finally be heading back soon.

Turning to head back towards her apartment, she stumbled as the heel on her cheap shoe snapped off. Bound to happen sooner or later, the kind of mileage she was putting on the things... it was actually the second pair she had broken since she had been there. She bent to slip them off to walk the rest of the way back to her apartment barefoot, but froze as she was straightening. That tingle. Figures they would come at the worst possible moment. Gah.

She finished straightening then turned around. Her eyes went up and up. My god he was a big one... This was giving her the worries, but she never backed down from a fight when there was a chance she would make it out alive. She stayed where she was and let him come towards her. He wore a smirk the whole time. Really, there was no reason for him to expect that he had run into the slayer in this tiny town.

When he was close enough for her liking, she dashed forward in a blur of motion to take him off guard with her attack. They fought and she thought to herself, he was good but no other vampire ever compared to Spike. The dancing they did. She shook her head and tried to rid it of those thoughts. Bad thoughts. Too distracting. Sure enough, she took a sucker punch to the jaw and fell backwards.

Grr... stupid Spike... always causing me trouble... she thought to herself as she pushed herself up and dusted off her skinned hands on her pants. Her feet were fairing worse, cut up by the glass, tiny stones, and other such things on the ground.

She ignored the pain and dove into the fight again with abandon. All she needed was something to use for staking him since she couldn't very well bring a stake to the restaurant with her... She ducked a blow and glanced around as she did so, grinning when she caught sight of a tree off to the side with a broken branch sticking straight out towards them. She pummeled him, getting him to where she wanted, then brought up her foot to kick him hard. He went sprawling into the tree with the broken branch sticking through his chest. He had a moment to register shock before exploding into dust.

She dusted off her hands with an accomplished smile then turned to head home, but nearly walked into the chest plate of someone new. She tilted her head back and found herself looking up at a very large and very ugly demon.

"Good god, don't I ever get a break?" She muttered exhaustedly.

"Actually, I sent that guy along as a distraction and to tire you out a bit." The demon said in amusement before cocking back his fist to slam it into her face, sending her to the ground with a cry of pain.

She barely got her elbow under her when next his heavy boot smashed into her ribs and she rolled across the ground, scraping up her arms even more. This was not looking very good. She winced and went to sit up quickly before he kicked her again, brushing messy curls out of her face.

"You wouldn't, by chance, be willing to call a time out, would you?" she gave a nervous chuckle as he advanced on her. He growled and she rolled her eyes with a sigh, starting to push herself up. "No, didn't think so..."

She got to her feet and he was already lunging at her before she could get her bearings. She spun to kick him in the gut, but he grabbed her leg to use it to swing her away like a doll. A tree luckily broke her fall and she grunted in pain. This was sooo not looking good. Her eyes rolled upwards as the demon towered over her, and then moved to lift her up again for more punishment.

That was until an arrow exploded through his shoulder. He reared back and roared in pain, spinning to see who was responsible. He began tussling with a person that Buffy couldn't see, what with the dark and the quickness of their moves as they moved out of her field of vision. It didn't help that the other person was probably dwarfed by the large demon that kept blocking her savior from view.

She started to lower her head, relieved for the time being that it didn't look like she was going to die. That feeling was short lived as someone knelt by her head and she jerked in alarm.

"Shhh, we're here to help you," a familiar voice said.

"Cordelia!?" She lifted her head quickly to look at the other woman. "What... what are you doing here?"

Cordelia looked just as shocked. "Could ask you the same thing." She glanced Buffy over as she helped her old comrade up. "Wow, you certainly did change the Barbie girl look."

"One, it's personal. Two, the outfit is the remains of my uniform for my waitressing job, and three... you say that as if it were an insult to the way I looked before." The slayer planted her hands on her hips, shifting on her throbbing feet.

"Look little miss unappreciative-"

"Girls! Girls!" Wesley stepped between them and held up his hands. "Now, we are all adults and can try to be civil here."

"Okay..." They both said in unison and looked away.

"So I mean, it was good luck you were here to save my butt, but why were you here?" Buffy looked back to Wesley and lifted her brows. "And I can assume the guy doing away with the demon must be Angel?"

"Yes, it is," he nodded. "Cordelia had a vision of a demon attacking a young woman and we were able to track it here. It was fast and with your change of appearance, she understandably didn't know it was you in her vision."

She glanced towards Cordelia. "Vision?"

Cordelia nodded and turned to watch Angel as he headed their way after finishing off the demon. He rested the ax on his shoulder and looked at Buffy, brows shooting up.

"Buffy..."

"In the flesh... that you saved... again..." she spread her arms.

"So you've been here the whole time? You didn't really go far, did you," the corner of Angel's mouth lifted. "And you look... nice." His eyes drifted over her.

"Yeah, even covered in dirt and bruises..." she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Yeah, I've been here. My intention wasn't to go to the other side of the world and I'm close enough that if there's a major apocalypse or something I can go running back. How do you know about any of this, though?"

"Willow called me the night you ran off after finding your note on the counter. Wanted me to keep an eye out in case you came to LA again or at least passed through." He took a step forward. "You really should go back or at least give them a call. They're really worried about you, Buffy."

She frowned and started to back away from him slowly. "Look, I'm sorry they dragged you into this and thank you for saving my butt again, but it's really none of your business. Please stay out of it and don't tell them where I am. I'll... I'll just run again if you do." She lifted her chin stubbornly.

"Fine, I won't... but on one condition."

"What?"

"You call them yourself. You don't have to tell them where you are or anything, just let them know you're okay."

She frowned at the ground and scuffed her foot for a moment, wincing at the pain from the cuts on the bottom, before looking up at him from under her lashes. "Fine. I... I really got to get back now, though. He really laid into me and I need to see what damage he did to me then get some rest. Got another shift at the restaurant again tomorrow, too." She turned to limp off in a hurry before they could stop her.

*****

"Beth" showed up for work the next day, uniform immaculate again after an emergency trip to the all night Laundromat. She hobbled around on her still sore feet; slayer healing wasn't THAT fast. Her mind was only half on her work as it dwelled on the events of the night before and their ramifications.

Angel might tell her friends anyways... They didn't know where she lived; at least they hadn't followed her close enough for her to have sensed him. Maybe the other two had? Maybe he did after a little time... she was sure she had left a blood trail even the youngest of fledges could follow... Or even find where she worked because they would probably easily assume she worked at a nice restaurant from the look of her uniform. It was such a small town that there were little choices for where she probably worked.

So, if it was likely he would squeal on her, and likely he could find her or tip them off on where to find her, should she start making plans to get the hell out of dodge?

She sighed and turned to take some dishes to the back, but stumbled at a stab of pain. She dropped them and startled out of her thoughts as she quickly bent to gather them up. Then there was the tingle and she jerked, dropping the glass again. She forgot it and lifted her head to look around in alarm.

Her eyes went to the door and locked with the azure gaze of the man who had just entered. She swallowed hard.

Spike.

So Angel did rat her out. She knew it.

Either that or Spike had astonishing luck. Or she had astonishing bad luck...

Her money was on the Angel ratage, though.

His eyes locked with hers as he spotted her and he began prowling in her direction purposefully. She stood quickly and looked at the waiter that had come over to help her.

She licked her lips nervously, "I... I'm not feeling well and I... I cut my hand cleaning up..."

Without further explanation, she turned and fled towards the kitchens, ignoring the pain in her feet. Her heart was hammering and she kept glancing over her shoulder as she hurried out the back door into the alley behind the restaurant. Maybe she could make it to her apartment through the back streets even quicker and get back before he caught up to her. Maybe.

She felt the tingling that said he was catching up and took off running down the alley to put as much space between them as she could get. Adrenaline helped her run through the pain. She knew Spike and he wouldn't give up just because she obviously did not want to talk to him. Stupid stubborn man thing...

Coming around a corner, a figure dropped from above and right into her path. The bleached vampire growled at her in warning and she stopped, getting the message to not turn and run again. So instead, she stood there trying to catch her breath while shifting on her feet. Spike straightened, still vamped out.

"You ran from me?" His lips curled and he tilted his head.

She pressed her lips together and looked away with a frown.

He stalked closer to her. "Look at me, Slayer." When she still stubbornly refused to, he took her chin and brought it around to face him. "When have you ever run from me... well... since I got the chip?"

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at that. "Well, obviously not because I'm scared of you... you are the least scary vamp ever."

"Oi! No! That's almost as bad as insultin' my bits an' bobs!"

"Well now that you mention it..." her eyes rolled downward pointedly.

"OI!" He roared and nearly shook her, instead pressing her into the wall and grinding into her. "Does that feel like a wee one t' you?!"

Her eyes were wide in shock and she forced herself not to actually look down again, thus embarrassing herself any more. She just stared with brows raised, thinking this was the worst moment for him to be making a pass at her.

"Besides... not the least scary... Angel is! You've seen the bloody poofter... when he's in game face he's cross-eyed for cryin' out loud. He looks like an even bigger wanker!" He threw up his hands.

"Does everything you say lead to a stab at Angel?" She rolled her eyes again.

"Hopefully."

"Just get off me already."

"No."

She frowned. "What do you mean 'no'?" her voice broke slightly. "You can't just-"

He held up a hand to stop her as he stiffened, nose working then he quickly picked her up to sit her on a crate nearby. He lifted her feet, removing her shoes to inspect her feet. Running had reopened some of the gashes and he had smelled the blood.

"What happened t' your feet, pet?" His face shifted back to normal as he looked up into her eyes.

"My shoe broke last night and I had to fight the vamp and the demon all barefooted." She explained tiredly. "I figure Angel told you all about that when he called you to rat me out. I'm sorta surprised he called you, though."

"He didn'. He called Red an' they sent me 'cause, as we just saw, you can' run from me an' I'm the only one as strong as you in case you got physical." He picked her up and began carrying her down the alley. "Though, I seriously doubted you would have tried t' hurt the white hats, no matter how bloody annoyin' they are."

"What are you doing?" she struggled a bit, groaning as it just made her bump the random bruises over her body.

"Bein' a gentleman an' carryin' you t' your place, you dense bird. Now just stay still, you're only hurtin' yourself more." He gave her an exasperated look as he shifted her in his arms to get her comfortable again. "We can' stay in the alley anyways. The smell of your blood is goin' t' start attractin' vamps."

"It already attracted one and that's bad enough," she made a face.

"I'll drop you, slayer." He warned sharply.

"How do you know where I live anyway?" Her nose wrinkled as she answered herself. "The icky smell thing again, huh?"

"Yeah, the 'icky smell thing'..." he replied dryly. "Now just relax an' let the big bad vampire take care of you."

He got to her apartment and paused to let her open the door then carried her inside once she muttered an invitation. He set her down on the futon and looked around the Spartan-like one room apartment. The only section walled off was the bathroom. There were kitchen appliances in the corner near the door. Besides the futon, there was a television on a cheap little end table and a lamp.

He knelt in front of her and lifted her feet again to look at them, then started massaging them gently. "Now, we got t' have a talk here, pet. You need t' come back t' Sunnydale. I don' know what happened t' make you run off, they weren' exactly keepin' me in the loop, but I'm sure there's a way t' work it out, yeah?"

She pressed her lips together and frowned down at him, her annoyance helping her ignore the feeling of his hands and what it was doing to her. "I'm surprised they even want me back," she snapped. "They were the ones who had the problem and my leaving should've pleased them..."

"Didn' please me..." he muttered and lowered his head, concentrating hard on her feet.

Her brows went up then she rolled her eyes and glanced away. "Oh yeah, no more slayer-shaped booty calls..."

"Bloody hell!" His head shot up again and his hands squeezed her feet a bit harder than he meant to. "Is that all you think I care about, Slayer?"

"Isn't it?" She winced at the manhandling of her foot and tried to pull them away in fear of him twisting them off in a fit of pique. "I mean evil vampire with a chip can't go get his kill on... so instead he drinks and finds pretty girls to hassle?"

He growled at her and grabbed her feet back, jerking her towards him by her legs. He leaned his face close to hers and snarled, "If I just wanted a pretty chit for a bit of a slap an' tickle, then would have given up on a bloody annoyin' bint like you a long time ago, believe me. The crumbs you throw me are the only things that make it worth chasin' you. An' was a slap in the face that you ran without a soddin' word of good-bye t' me. Lumpin' me in with those wankers..."

She stared at him, frozen and unsure of what to do. "I... I didn't think you'd care..." She chewed on her lip then lifted her chin. "Doesn't matter, though. I still don't want to go back. Dawn hates me and the others resent me for not being so appreciative about them inconsiderately ripping me from heaven."

"Nibblet doesn' hate you. She needs you an' so do the others." He finally could resist no longer and leaned in the extra inch or two to capture her lips. "I need you."

"Spike..." her brows drew together. "But I can't seem to do anything right by her. And my friends, the fact that I couldn't even die in peace just proves how they rely on me for everything and then by the same turn, blame me for everything. Well, unless they can pin it on you..." she looked at him and shrugged apologetically. "I relied on Giles too much and he left. They rely on me too much and I left."

"So this is payback for them bringin' you back?" He tilted his head.

"No! If they really need me, I'll come back. I'm not abandoning them." She shook her head and looked away, "I just need a break. Is that so hard to comprehend?"

His face softened and he fingered one of her soft curls. "Definitely deserve a vacation, pet. Doubt they would deny you that if they could... but there's a difference between that an' what you did."

"I know..." She pouted slightly. "But still... I don't think I'm ready to go back to all that. It's not like before. They're trying to pretend it is, but it isn't... and I'm tired of pretending for them and pretending to be happy-go-lucky Buffy. I just... I'm not sure I'm up to any of it anymore and I wasn't doing so hot as it was. Dawn probably hates me even more now after I ran..."

He caught her by her upper arms, shaking her until she looked at him again. "Dawn doesn' hate you! She's a teenager goin' through a rough time an' has the ragin' hormones. She loves you an' anythin' she said she didn' mean an' was said in the heat of the moment. She loves you and she'd fight for you as fiercely as you would, an' did, for her. You haven' seen the way she's been since you left... cryin' an' regrettin' what she did, blamin' herself... wastin' away, she is."

"She is?" Her chin quivered.

"So you'll come back?" His hands gripped her slightly tighter, looking at her expectantly.

"I... well, I... I want to come make sure she's okay and stuff... but still, I can't stay there. They'll know where I am this time and can get in contact with me. I want my space for a bit, from them all." He started to look away self-consciously and she got the message, reaching out to touch him lightly. "Not you. You're the only one I don't have to pretend around."

"Thanks, pet." His eyes lit up then he quickly acted nonchalant. "Maybe there's a compromise... This place is not much an' you deserve much more than this. You're comin' t' stay with me. Can be close in case the others need you, easy t' keep in touch with, an' I can keep a good eye on you."

"Oh, your crypt is better than this?" Her eyes rolled and she started to get up.

He stood quickly in front of her. "No. Would get a proper place for us. Got a good bit of money stashed away over in England that I never really touch. 'Sposed t' be for emergencies, but gettin' us a nice place is important an' I'll have the money wired over here. You don' need t' work even, jus' patrol an' rest. Do whatever you want, pet."

"You're serious about this..." She blinked at him shocked.

"Bloody right I am! You won' even have t' lift a finger if you don' want t'. I just want t' take care of you, any way you'll let me."

She bit her lower lip. "I don't know... not sure Dawn would like that much.... not sure the others would like that either. Could make things even worse."

"Right then, an' if they told you they were okay with it?" He took out his cell phone and held it out to her. He lifted a brow as he looked down at her, challenging her. "C'mon an' call them."

"You got a cell?" She looked down at it, but didn't take it. "You probably have it programmed to the most annoying ring tone you could find, knowing you."

"Just take it, bloody annoyin' chit..." He thrust it into her hand.

Buffy looked down at the phone with a sigh and went to start dialing, but it chose that moment to burst to life. It vibrated and started playing the chorus to Rebel Yell quite loudly. She dropped it in alarm, sending it clattering to the ground where it bounced around seemingly to its own music. She gave him a look at his choice of music then bent to pick it up.

She pressed the talk button and Willow said quickly, "Spike! Did you find her? Is she okay?"

"It's HER, Will." the slayer chuckled. "I'm fine and he's here with me. I'm sorry for making you worry like that. I just... I was pretty upset and I just needed to get away for awhile."

"Dawn's really sorry... she didn't mean to chase you off. She keeps telling us she didn't mean anything she said and is so sorry for her outburst," She paused, "We're just glad you're okay, though. Are... you coming home?" She asked tentatively.

"That's what we're discussing at the moment. We were hoping you could help us settle this," Buffy looked up at Spike then continued, "I... don't want to come back to the way things were before I left and continue to live like that. Spike offered an alternative... he wants me to go live with him. For some reason I'm almost entertaining the idea, but I know you guys wouldn't like that. Especially Xander. And Dawn would probably get even madder with me..."

"If that's what you really want... I mean, if you really want to live with him then it's okay with me and I'm sure Dawn will be thrilled you two made up. She wasn't jealous of you both. Sure, she had a small crush on him for a bit, but really, she wanted you both to be happy and didn't like the way you treated him. That actually goes doubly for me, you know. And, well, you can tell Xander to buzz off, because he can't tell you who to live with. Anya will help me gang up on him for sure." She paused. "As for taking care of Dawn, well... I've been doing a good job of it so far with the help of Spike and Tara. I think I like doing the motherly thing."

"Tara? So you two made up?"

"Yeah..." She could tell the witch was blushing slightly. "So, with the lack of problems from us about the living together, does that mean you'll be coming home?"

Buffy smiled and looked at Spike with a sigh, knowing he heard every word. "Thanks, Will. I guess I can give it a try. I'll see you soon, night." She handed him back his phone. "Look, I'm still not all sure about this, but I seem to be the last one to think this is where we were headed. So, I'll at least give it a try. No promises on it being permanent, though. Okay? And there's definitely going to be ground rules."

"That's 'nough for me, luv," he smiled widely and pulled her close. "Will do you right, I swear on it." He brushed some brown locks from her face and sighed, "You ruined your lovely blonde hair... loved it so..."

"You missed my hair?" She wrinkled her nose up at him.

"Missed every soddin' bit of you, pet," he kissed her hard and ran his hands over her body as he pushed her back down onto the futon.


tbc...

Chapter 3

AN: Thanks to my betas -Jessica, Tami, and Aribelle- for their help.


Buffy sat on the counter in her now old apartment, looking around the empty room and sighing. Spike was downstairs talking to the landlord about last minute tasks such as forwarding numbers and addresses. He had handled it all himself. She still had the thought of just jumping up and running away flitting through her head. She bit her lip and glanced towards the door, bracing her arms like she might just do it.

Spike returned at just that moment, though, as if he could sense her mutinous thoughts. "Ready t' go, pet?" He held out his hand to her. "Let's go home."

She hopped off the counter and went to him quietly. It was time to say goodbye to her freedom. She shook her head slightly and caught herself. She had agreed to this of her own free will; he hadn't put a gun to her head and forced her to agree. If she didn't like living with him, she was free to leave and go back to whatever she wanted. That was their agreement.

Really... living with him couldn't be that bad, could it? He seemed pretty devoted to her, even if his attempts to please her were misguided at times. Well... they would see, she guessed.

He took her smaller hand in his and tugged her after him gently, closing the door behind them. Downstairs, his car waited and he got her seated in the passenger seat before going around to the driver's side. He drove off and she leaned her head back against the seat, happy to just drive along in silence. She wasn't sure she had much to say at the moment anyway. He didn't look eager to strike up a conversation, either. Probably scared it would dissolve into a fight and she would call this off before it had even begun.

Before too long, they were back in Sunnydale and he thankfully resisted running over the sign again. He was cruising down main street towards the apartment building where "home" was now located. He had taken her with him to pick out the place, almost like they were some couple picking out their first place. Well, technically they were, but she was still in denial somewhere about the whole couple thing. They were... business partners? She rolled her eyes to herself.

They entered the apartment and Buffy set her overnight bag on the floor next to the door as Spike turned on the lights. It was all she had left to move into the new apartment besides her own self. Last night, she had spent the night at her old apartment, though he said he didn't see a reason to with the new apartment ready and all her things moved into it. She just wanted one last night alone as she didn't see getting another one for a long time. She glanced at Spike worriedly. A very long time.

He scooped up her bag, oblivious to her thoughts, and carried it towards the bedroom with her following a bit slower. It was big, as she remembered, with a very large, comfy bed in the center of it all now. She raised a brow at it then looked up at him.

"Have I put on that much weight with my patrolling less and not training to need such a large bed?" She joked and slapped a hand on the back of her jeans.

"That's so, for now, we can have our space an' when you decide I get Buffy touchin' rights we got room t' play." A wicked smile played on his lip as he looked her over appreciatively, lingering at the swell of her ass where her hand rested.

She frowned at him. "What? I thought we got three rooms so that we could each get our own room." She stepped away from him, mind racing at the images that were going through her head. Confusion reigned. Her breath hitched in her throat at the idea of sharing a bed with him. No, this was not in the world of good. How could she have not thought of covering 'no sleeping in my bed' in the list of rules?? Probably because she had thought it was a given.

"We each get a room, but share a bedroom. Mine is goin' t' be used for my office an' figured you could have a room t' be alone when you're tired of me... or train if you think it's got 'nough room." He lifted his shoulders and his fingers twitched for a smoke, but he had promised her he wouldn't smoke inside. Actually, he had also promised to try and eventually stop altogether. If she was going to be such a bloody harpy, he would just go downstairs to the alley or up to the roof to smoke all he wanted.

"But shouldn't you have asked me before you assumed that?" She asked backing away a little bit more.

"I thought you did understand!" He looked down at her confused as well. "I nearly got us a place with only one bloody room, but I thought you would want some sort of room for trainin' or bein' alone. An' didn' see any two room places at the time, so got this place an' figured I could have myself a personal room too for an office or somethin' else adult like."

"You're starting to ramble as bad as me." She commented dryly. "Just goes to show you that you've been spending too much time around me as it is."

"Never as bad as you," he joked and then sighed. "Like I said, luv, it's plenty big so that there's plenty of personal space when we sleep. I won' try anythin' at all. You decide if an' when I even get some cuddlin' rights. Sleep with clothes on an' everythin' if that'll make you feel better."

"Can't I just go sleep on the couch?"

He averted his face before she could see the hurt in his eyes. He growled, "No need, you really don' want t' share a bed then I'll take the couch." He grabbed a pillow off the bed and headed into the living room muttering under his breath.

She stood there looking at the door for a moment, almost going after him to apologize for overreacting, but didn't. He shouldn't have assumed she would share a bed with him. He at least should have asked to make sure it was okay first, she might have agreed... but the assuming made her think he had ideas about them still that were more than where she was willing to go at the moment. It was like the first time Spike had told her he loved her and then later when she saw his Wall O' Buffy. She had just got that weird sensation again.

So she grabbed her robe from the closet and headed into the bathroom for a shower. Peace could be made with him when she was finished. The scalding hot water poured over her back and she stood there, trying to relax as she inhaled the nice aromas. She showered slowly, putting off going out there a bit to give her time to compose herself. She wasn't good at this sort of thing... especially with Spike.

She walked into the living room later to find him watching some horror movie on television. He was stretched out with the pillow tucked under his head. He ignored her even as she stood at the end of the couch staring and waiting to get his attention.

"Spike," she finally said to try to get him to look up at her.

"You need t' eat, slayer. Why don' you call an' order pizza. Get me some of those spicy Buffalo wings they got." He still didn't look at her.

She was getting really irked by his pouting and tried something she thought would definitely get his attention. She jerked open her robe and stood there flashing her nude body at him. Something she thought he would never pass up a chance to see.

"Better call before it gets too late for them t' deliver it," he told her without looking her way even a glance.

She jerked her robe closed with a growl and stomped over to the phone to call the pizza place. After she ordered, she went into the bedroom to sit and grumble to herself about stupid male vampires with bleach for brains.

After not too long, there was a knock on the door and she went out to answer it. Spike still hadn't moved at all. He held up a hand with a wad of cash in it for her to pay with. She ignored him and went straight for the door. A pasty, pimply faced delivery boy stood on the other side with the pizza carrying bag in front of him. He looked at Buffy appreciatively in her robe.

"Um, that'll be 14.50," he said and licked his lips.

"Oh dear me," she opened her robe. "Don't seem to have any cash on me... maybe there is some other way I could compensate you." She smiled at him and batted her baby greens.

"Oh my," he gasped, eyes wide, and started to shift the pizza carrier restlessly.

He froze at the growl from behind Buffy, though, and she rolled her eyes. Well, mission accomplished, at least. She got his attention finally. Well, he could just deal with it, and hopefully she would keep his attention long enough to talk with him. One could hope. Things like this tended to blow up in her face.

She thumbed over her shoulder and looked at the delivery guy with a pretty pout. "On second thought, you should probably go. My boyfriend over there is really possessive, and he's a vampire with a delivery boy fetish. So if he doesn't hurt you, he's going to fuck you six ways to Sunday." She shifted slightly so the delivery guy could see Spike, who she knew was glaring at them with his game face on.

The delivery let out a frightened squeak and dropped the pizza carrier before taking off back down the hall towards the elevators, but she knew he was going to opt for running down the stairs for a quicker escape.

The petite blonde slayer tied her robe closed again then bent to pick up the pizza carrier and carry it inside. She set it on the table with a chuckle, "Got us free pizza and wings." Opening the carrier revealed twice as much food as what they ordered. "And someone else's order, too."

She looked up and Spike was right beside her, glaring down at her angrily. Grr face was gone at least. Backing away cautiously seemed like a very good idea and that was what she did, him not giving an inch as he moved with her. She kept backing up until her backside hit the countertop of the island. She froze right there, looking up at him with wide eyes. Angry vampire, not at all of the good.

He pinned her to the counter, hands fencing her in by bracing on each side of her on the counter top. "What were you bloody playin' at there, Buffy?" He growled. "Think I can' afford nosh for us, can' support us like I promised? Or just tryin' t' get me killed when that ponce goes t' run his bloody mouth off t' someone 'bout what he saw here? Might even get YOU hurt too if someone comes here with bad intentions! Did you ever bleedin' think of that, ya dense bint?"

She looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes. "I... just thought it would be funny to mess with him... and I was mad at you for ignoring me..." She bit her lower lip and shrunk away from him, ashamed with her actions when put like that.

He wrapped his arms around her and gathered her close, burying his nose in her hair. "Don' look at me like that, luv. Can' take that look. Would never hurt you. Not ever again, anyway. Not on purpose. Please forgive me for scarin' you, Buffy, an' for the bedroom fiasco. We can work somethin' out if you really don' want t' share with me."

She blinked at his chest, a bit surprised at the sudden mood swings. She didn't want to complain when it looked to be going in her favour. Finally, she tilted her head back to look up at him. "Okay, sorry here too for the prank and for going a bit spazzy at the bed situation. If you had asked I probably would have agreed, but the assuming had me all swirly in the head for a few moments... probably wondering what else you might be assuming about me."

He gave a relieved smile. "No more assumin'. Promise." He stepped back so he could drop to his knees and take her hand. "Elizabeth Anne Summers, will you do me the honor of sharin' a rather large bed with me. I promise t' keep my hands t' myself unless you specifically ask for those hands' services. An' not get creeped out if I watch you sleep a bit. Can' help myself there, pet. You're so lovely an' peaceful lookin'."

She rolled her eyes with a smile. "Fine. And you can watch... just none of the creepy sketching or picture taking. Or peeking under the blanket." She nodded.

He chuckled and hugged her waist, nuzzling her flat stomach. "Anythin' you want, slayer, but no peekin' under my blanket either." He wiggled his brows.

"You're such a pig, Spike," she swatted at him then tried to step back out of the odd embrace. She didn't want to think of where he was nuzzling. So close to... Bad thoughts, Buffy, bad thoughts. She took a deep breath and turned to go get a piece of pizza, knowing his eyes were still following. Always following. She felt self-conscious now, only in the skimpy robe, so she forgot the pizza for a moment in lieu of going back to the bedroom to change.

*****

The next day, Buffy was avoiding Spike by sitting in the empty room he told her she could do anything with and trying to think of what to do with it. A training room did sound like a good idea, actually. Wouldn't have to go all the way to the Magick Box to work out where she would have to put up with the others... Anya asking if Spike had given her orgasms yet, Xander making snide remarks... Yeah, very much of the good to have a training room in the apartment. So she had a couple fitness magazines spread out in front of her as she thought on how to do this.

Spike would probably be able to help... but that would defeat the purpose of her avoiding him.

She hadn't actually made him sleep on the couch, not after what she pulled and the way he had apologized and stuff. It just didn't seem right to do that to him. So there was no way to avoid him while sleeping in the same bed, either.

With a sigh, she stood and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder before walking out of the small room. Spike was sprawled on the couch watching television, surprisingly giving her her space for some reason. Probably the same as in the car, afraid that if he pushed her she would flip out and call it off. If it hadn't worked to her advantage so far, she would have made herself have a talk with him about this.

"Hey, I could use your opinion on something," she sat in front of him on the coffee table and held out one of the magazines.

He glanced down at the magazine and the blonde that was displayed on the page with some of the equipment. "Yeah, I prefer you blonde."

She rolled her eyes and hit him with the magazine. "That's not what I was talking about, you pig." She chuckled and jabbed a finger at the page. "The room is so small, that the trade off seems to be I can get machines but wouldn't have much space to spar or tumble... but I could have that space if I just got some light equipment like weights and a punching bag... you know?" She tilted her head, "So I guess I need help deciding which would be better?"

"Well, your slayer metabolism keeps you pretty fit, so hardly see the reason for exercise machines." He looked her over, eyes lingering a little longer than was decent then looked up at her face. "Though, could always spar and tumble out here. Does that help, luv?"

"I suppose..." she lifted a brow then looked back down at the magazine.

He reached out and pulled the tie from her hair so that the dark waves fell around her. Her brows drew together in confusion as to what he was up to. His hands bunched in her hair and drew her closer, causing her eyes to get wide and brows to shoot up. Was someone... in the mood? This is Spike, Buffy... He's always in the mood. She rolled her eyes mentally.

"You goin' t' change your hair back t' the pretty goldilocks I love so much?" He tilted his head and gave a playful pout.

"Never. Just to drive you batty," she stuck out her tongue.

He smirked milliseconds before his mouth was on hers, capturing the offending tongue in a heated kiss. He drew her closer as he purred at the delicious taste that was pure Buffy. There was nothing better in the world as far as he was concerned. He growled into her mouth when the moment was ruined by a knocking at the door. If it hadn't been that he cared for the person on the other side, he would have maimed anyone else for interrupting them.

"It's the Nibblet," he pulled back and let Buffy get up to go answer it.

Buffy still looked a bit fazed by the kiss as she opened the door to Dawn and Willow. "Hey guys."

"We come baring house... well, apartment warming presents," Willow held up her gift bag.

Buffy moved to let them enter, "The others not coming?"

"Tara has classes and Anya's busy with the shop..."

"And Xander? Does he even know?" She closed the door and looked at her friend with brow arched.

"Well, yeah... technically..."

"Technically?" She motioned towards the kitchen area and headed in that direction after they nodded.

"We put a spin on it to keep him from flipping out," Willow winced and followed after her. "We said you got an apartment in town that Spike is paying for."

Dawn bounced along. "We didn't lie. And, he didn't ask if it was Spike's place too since he was paying. Anya got it, though. So much smarter than we give her credit for." She leaned against the island counter and looked her sister over. "Like the new look. If you get to be the brunette, can I be the blonde? Or, you know, dye it purple?"

"No." Buffy shook her head and bent over to grab a few sodas from the fridge. "The only dying I allow you to do is the highlights now and then."

"Hair Nazi..." she muttered as she took her soda from Buffy with a pout.

Buffy rolled her eyes at her sister and handed Willow a soda as well before heading back to the living room. She sat in the chair furthest from Spike while Dawn had no problem plopping down beside him. Willow handed Buffy her gift with a big smile, either oblivious to the byplay or ignoring it.

Buffy shifted in her seat then reached into the bag to pull out the contents. A couple charms came out into her hand and she looked up at Willow. "Magic? I thought-"

"No," Willow held up her hands. "Tara did it for me. They're for protection for the apartment from evil... though, we had to rework it a bit because of... well... Spike..." She chewed her lip and looked at the vampire apologetically. "But uh, yeah, you hang them over the doors and they'll help with the stuff that doesn't need an invite."

"Thank you," Buffy smiled and leaned forward to hug her.

Dawn thrust a box at her next. "That's for both you and Spike," she grinned widely.

Buffy was a bit worried at that grin and opened the box then lifted out the skimpiest black and red lacy negligee. Her jaw dropped and her eyes nearly burst from her head. She looked at her sister in horror then at Spike, then Willow. "You... you let her buy something like this?" She squeaked out.

Willow lifted a shoulder. "She must have done it while she was at the mall with her friends." She shot the teenager a disapproving look, "She told me it was a new robe."

"Well... it comes with one..." Dawn wiggled her brows.

"Dawn! This is just..." Buffy shook her head and gulped for air. She dropped the box and glared at her sister. "Me and Spike are NOT sleeping together!" She blinked and Spike's brows shot up. "Well technically we are... sharing a very LARGE bed... but... but... we're NOT BOINKING!!" She got up and stomped off into bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Spike got up, looking towards the bedroom for a moment then looking down at Dawn with disparagement as well. "That wasn' nice of you, Bit."

Dawn just smiled up at him innocently and batted her eyes.

Willow rolled her eyes. "We'll just get going. Hang the charms above the doors and believe me, Dawn will get the lecture a la Willow when we get home." She took Dawn by the arm who was sputtering at the thought of punishment as she was dragged towards the door.


tbc...