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Chapter 24 – Forgetting the Unforgettable


Keeping an eye out for Angelus, Buffy idly admired the art that was displayed throughout the museum. Frustrated that she didn’t have an earpiece to hear what the other agents might have known about the situation, she raised her champagne glass to her lips. “No sign of him,” she murmured into the microscopic microphone in her bracelet. Taking a sip from her glass, she stared at the contemporary piece of art.

Turning around to view a different painting, Buffy froze when she saw Spike with a striking woman across the room.

“Oh my God,” she murmured, feeling sickened at the site of him laughing and talking with another woman.

Nearly trembling as she fought the tears in her eyes, Buffy turned and walked into a different room, searching for the restroom, hoping to hide and get her thoughts in order.

Remembering her original intention for being at the museum, she brought the glass up to her lips again. “The plan has been compromised. Abort for the night.”

Turning off the feed, she began searching the room for the nearest exit.

“Lookie lookie what I found.”

Tensing at the smug voice behind her that sent Buffy in a déjà vu tailspin, she slowly turned around, glaring at Spike.

“Fancy meeting you here, pet. On another undercover assignment?” he asked, looking around the room before motioning to his date to stay where she was.

“What are you doing here, Spike?” she asked, gripping her glass, trying to refrain from throwing her drink in his face.

“What does it look like?” he replied, gesturing around the building. “Looking at the priceless pieces of art that the good people of the museum are so happy to show us.”

Rolling her eyes at the sarcasm, Buffy slowly turned toward him, setting her glass down on a table as she offered him a blinding smile. “Well, it’s been so nice talking to you,” she said, the hostility practically dripping from her sweet tone of voice. “But if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll have more fun jumping under a bus.”

Turning to walk away, knowing that the plan would be blown to hell if Angelus saw her talking to Spike, she groaned when he fell into step beside her.

“Leave me alone, Spike. I’m not asking.”

“Oh, it’s an order, then, is it?” he replied, grabbing her elbow in a bruising hold, jerking her down a hallway and into a storage room.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked, pulling her arm out of his grasp.

“What are you doing here, Buffy?” he asked, his voice taking on a serious tone as he looked at her.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“What are you doing here?” he repeated in a low voice.

“None of your business,” she replied, moving to walk around him. Eyes widening in indignation when he slammed his hands to the wall on either side of her, blocking her in, Buffy turned toward him, clenching her jaw in frustration. “Move,” she whispered, the sparks practically shooting from her eyes.

“Or what?”

“Do you really want to test that?” she asked softly, taking a deep breath to control her emotions.

“Maybe I do,” he murmured, looking her up and down.

Raising an eyebrow and giving a slight shrug, she easily threw a punch at his jaw, more to prove a point than to cause any damage as his head reeled to the side. Buffy swallowed, seeing the rage on his face when he turned toward her.

Knowing that she would never be able to beat him in a fair fight- and not having anything to use as a blunt weapon for an unfair fight- she decided to do the one thing she knew she could do to win.

“You wanna hit me?” she asked softly, seeing his eyes darken even more. “Do it.”

The words seemed to make the situation more real, causing Spike to pause in whatever retaliation he was considering.

“Come on, Spike,” she murmured, looking up at him with a gaze that once held so much hope for him. “You think I deserve it… hit me.”

Seeing him falter, her shoulders nearly sagged in relief seconds before he grabbed her arms, shoving her more forcefully into the wall. Wincing when the back of her head hit the flat surface, she looked up at him with a glare.

“I’m not asking again,” he growled. “What are you doing here?”

“None of your business,” she said, gritting her teeth to shove him out of the way. She gasped when he pinned her more forcefully to the wall, his entire body pressing against hers.

“Is it Angelus?” he asked, dropping the mask for a moment, showing his true concern for her.

“Spike, don’t ask me this,” she whispered, shaking her head to avoid looking at him.

“Stay away from him, Buffy,” he said in a warning tone. “It’s not worth getting yourself killed to try and catch him.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she said, struggling against him, her eyes widening when she realized the effect that her movements had on him.

Closing her eyes to catch her breath for a moment, she was shocked to reopen them and see Spike’s worried gaze in front of her. “Is it the same operation you tried to pull on me?” he asked, tilting his head, closing off his emotions to her.

“Spike…”

“Tell me, Buffy.”

“I don’t know,” she cried, trembling against him as her overwrought emotions found an outlet. “I don’t know anymore…I don’t know what I’m doing or how everything just got so off-track. All I know is…”

She trailed off, looking into his eyes for a moment, seeing her mirrored emotions in his gaze and allowing herself to forget about everything one last time.

“…All I know is that I miss you so much,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes when he let go of her arms and took a step back, shocked at her words.

“Don’t do this,” he said, a hard edge in his voice. “Don’t try and play this game again- I’m not falling for it.”

Blinking back the tears as she took in a shaky breath, looking at the floor, Buffy nervously tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, silently composing herself.

“Right,” she said softly, nodding as she tried to calm herself down. “I forgot… You already got what you wanted, right?” Not giving him a chance to respond, she shook her head. “I have a job to do,” she whispered, walking toward the door, stopping when she felt his hand on her arm.

“Was that all I was?” he asked. “A job?”

Her stomach tightened as she looked up at him, seeing the need in his eyes. Not thinking about the consequences of her actions, she stepped closer to him, her hands pulling him down to her for a passionate kiss.

Stunned for a moment, Spike tried to fight every instinct he had, finally giving in as he lifted her into his arms. Pinning her against the wall for a second time, his hand moved up to her face, stroking the soft skin of her cheek while her hands threaded through his hair, holding him close to her. Feeling her tongue brush along his lip, he eagerly parted his lips, allowing her the access she obviously wanted.

Her body relaxed against his, letting everything fade into obscurity for a few moments. Moaning softly when Spike slowly separated from her, Buffy pressed her forehead to his, feeling his breath against her face as they both struggled for air.

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way,” she whispered, almost talking to herself. “I wasn’t supposed to find someone and then…”

Trailing off as she fought the tears in her eyes, Buffy’s chin trembled.

Pulling back slightly, Spike cupped her face in his hands, looking deep into her eyes. “What was real?” he asked, needing to know her answer.

Staring up at him for a moment, Buffy tried to figure out the answer to that question.

“I was happy,” she finally whispered, closing her eyes against her emotions. “You made me forget… everything,” she said softly, trembling when she realized what she’d just said and where she was. Looking around the room, she took a deep breath. “But we were too different.”

“And we’re exactly the same,” Spike countered, staring at her until she turned back to look at him. “That’s why we fit.”

“I need to go,” she murmured, trying to pull away from him, stopping when he held her tight.

“It is Angelus, isn’t it?”

Not bothering to answer, she looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand.

“And are you going to let him help you ‘forget’?” he asked, a bitter note in his voice.

“Spike-”

“Answer me,” he said, clenching his jaw and gripping her arms.

“How can you even ask me that?” she whispered, finally managing to pull away from him. “Do you really think that what we had was for a job? That the other night was because I was getting information? It might have been what you were after, but for me… it was solace,” she said, letting a few tears slip free. “And if you think that I would…” Trailing off, she quickly walked toward the door, pausing long enough to turn around and look at him one last time. “You don’t know me at all.”





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