Incensed that Spike had left before she was ready for him to go, Buffy was leaning against the door, still seething, when someone knocked. “Did he come back?” she hoped, twisting around to take a peek through the peep hole. Although she’d be forced to deny it, all Buffy felt was disappointment when she saw Riley on the other side of the door.
“Hey!” she said, as cheerily as she could as she opened the door. “What’s going on?”
“Hi, Buffy,” Riley said, obviously delighted to see her. “I came by to say I’m sorry for bailing on you last night. I would have told you today, but I couldn’t seem to find you anywhere on campus.”
“I didn’t make it to campus today,” Buffy said. “I had someone…something I had to take care of. I guess the day just got away from me. You know, busy, busy, busy.”
Buffy saw Riley glance past her into the house, making it apparent he wanted her to ask him in. However, entertaining Riley was very low on Buffy’s list of priorities just then--somewhere below cleaning out the refrigerator.
Riley reached up to touch Buffy’s cheek. He was making with the puppy dogs eyes that used to make her all melty, and while Buffy noticed the effort, she felt nothing.
“How about now?” Riley asked, unaware his secret weapon was failing him.
“What?” Buffy said, honestly confused.
“Are you busy now?”
“Busy? Uh, well, no not exactly.” Buffy shook her head, glanced behind her at Dawn and then beckoned Riley to follow her out onto the porch, nearly closing the door behind her. Once outside, Buffy stood on her tip toes to whisper into Riley’s ear. “It’s Dawn,” she said. “She’s been alone with Mom a lot, and I really need to spend some time with her. But I don’t want her to know that I’m making a point of staying home with her. She might balk, you know, if I come on all big sister all of a sudden. But she needs me. I can tell. So I guess I am busy.”
Riley shrugged, “I understand,” he said, though disappointment was written on his face.
“Thanks,” Buffy said, genuinely appreciative that he’d believed her story. “I should get back in there. You know, for the chick flicks, and the popcorn, and catching up on sister stuff.”
“Okay,” Riley said, forcing a smile. “Will I see you tomorrow?”
“Sure,” Buffy replied, already inching toward the door. “I should be at all my classes. I’ll look for you in the quad at noon, okay?”
Riley trailed her to the door, leaning down to kiss her gently on the lips. “Yeah, I’ll find you in the quad.”
Buffy took a deep breath. All she could think was how different one kiss could be from another. There were kisses that could practically curl her hair and others that did absolutely nothing. She tried not to think about the source of the hair curling variety. “Goodnight,” she said managing a fake smile.
“Yeah, goodnight, Buffy. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Riley was already turning to go down the porch steps when he stopped and twisted back around to look at her. “By the way, who was leaving just before I got here?”
“Leaving?” Buffy said, slightly panicked that he’d recognized Spike.
“Yeah, some guy was coming down your walk when I turned the corner.”
“Oh, right!” Buffy said, pretending to remember. “That was a friend of Dawn’s. He just came by to say hi. He was leaving.”
“If he’s a friend of Dawn’s, then why were you saying goodbye to him and not Dawn?”
Buffy’s eyes narrowed. “Because I saw him to the door? What is this? Are you spying on me now?”
“What do you mean? Who else has been spying on you?”
“Nobody… I mean, never mind. Were you spying?”
“No! I just saw him, that’s all,” Riley replied, holding his hands up in the universal sign for surrender. “Can’t your boyfriend even ask about some guy leaving your house?”
Buffy never liked being cornered, not by a vampire, and even less so by Riley. “Yeah, you can ask,” she said, her voice tight. “And you can accept my answer. If you really are my boyfriend, you need to keep your jealous suspicions under control. I already have plenty of people looking over my shoulder, Riley. I really don’t need anybody else asking me to explain myself.” Leveling Riley with a defiant glare, she made it clear the conversation was over. “Now I’ve really gotta go. Goodnight.” Buffy disappeared into her house before Riley could say another word. His body slumped with defeat as he walked down the porch steps and away from Buffy's house.
Dawn looked up at her from the couch. “What was that all about?” she asked, remote control in hand.
Buffy sighed. “Just more evidence that I’m no good at being a normal girlfriend.”
Dawn smiled. “Buffy, you really need to give up on the whole ‘normal’ thing. You’re not normal now, and you’ll never be normal. Now spill! I want to know what you’ve been up to with Spike. The whole matching outfits and omelet thing has me wigged!”
Buffy dropped onto the couch next to Dawn and grabbed the remote control. “Okay, but can I just give you the CliffsNotes version for now?” she asked, slouching into the couch cushions. “If you’ll let me find something to watch, you can ask me all the questions you want during the commercials.”
Anxious as she was to hear every detail, Dawn could see her sister was both physically and emotionally drained. “Sure, Buff,” she said. “You can give me the outline. But I’m warning you, I’m probably going to have a lot more than twenty questions.”
******
By the time Buffy had finished giving Dawn a strategically edited overview of her day, Spike was leaving Willie’s. The denizens of the demon bar were barely tolerant of the turncoat vampire, but Spike felt safe enough to down a pint of relatively fresh O negative while keeping to himself in a corner. Restoring his corpse to a more lifelike condition in a demon establishment also gave him a chance to overhear news of the Hellmouth’s darker activities. Now that he knew Buffy required a bit more of the rough and tumble to keep her toned, he resolved to confide in her as he learned of threats they might meet together. It was not exactly dinner and a movie, but Spike was willing to settle for any activity that would throw him together with Buffy.
Plus, the element of violence made it that much more fun.
Full of blood and armed with useful information about the movements of his former comrades in evil, Spike headed to his crypt. There was no time to waste as he had several chores to perform to be ready for his appointment with Buffy the next day. Luckily for him, vampire speed and strength could be used for anything, even housework.
Within a couple hours, Spike had removed, repaired, or replaced all the furnishings he’d previously tried so hard to destroy, returning the upper level of his crypt to an orderly, if still austere state. Below ground, Spike changed his sheets for yet another set of red satin and gathered up his laundry, including Buffy’s clothing. Upon his arrival at the crypt hours earlier, he’d soaked her soiled top and pants in a bucket of cold water, and now as he wrung the pink tinted water from her clothes, Spike was pleased to see that most of the blood was already gone. Adding these damp items to his bundle, Spike left the crypt for the second time that night, making his way to the all-night laundromat where the attendant had learned to ask no questions of the handsome blond with pale skin.
*****
Meanwhile back at 1630 Revello Drive, Dawn and Buffy were watching The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood--with Dawn peppering Buffy with questions at every commercial break. Buffy kept her word and managed to be a good sport about answering, but she couldn’t help wincing when the Meow Mix music began. “What did he think of your outfit?” Dawn asked, punching the button on the remote to mute the obnoxious jingle.
“What did Spike think of my outfit?” Buffy asked, rolling her eyes. “I just told you, they’re his clothes. He said he thought I looked good in them.”
“No, dummy, not Spike,” Dawn said. “Riley. What did Riley think of it?”
Buffy scowled for a second. “He didn’t think anything. At least he didn’t say anything about it.”
“What? He’s all Mr. Suspicious about who’s leaving the house, but he doesn’t even notice that you’re wearing another man’s shirt and pants?” Dawn asked, incredulous. “You know I’ve never like him that much, but I didn’t know he was so far from being the brightest crayon in the box!”
“Hey!” Buffy said, yanking on Dawn’s hair without much force. “That’s not very nice!” But at the same time, she couldn’t help thinking Spike would have never failed to notice what she had been wearing. Of course, he’d also be able to smell whose clothes they were, so it wasn’t really a fair comparison, not to mention a little eew! But the kissage, that was a very different story. It could be argued Spike should be at a distinct disadvantage in that department, what with lacking a heartbeat and all. Yet there was no point pretending Spike’s kisses weren’t vastly superior to Riley's.
This line of thinking brought Buffy’s thoughts, abruptly, to the moments just prior to when she passed out earlier in the day. Since regaining consciousness, Buffy hadn’t had an opportunity to replay the memory. Setting aside the light-headedness and loud pulsing in her ears attributable to hunger and dehydration, Buffy concentrated on the last ten seconds before blacking out. Isolating the memory in this way, she quickly realized her reaction had begun before Spike’s lips ever touched hers.
It had begun when he asked, “Would it be alright if I kissed you now?” His voice, low and husky, vibrated right through her. His eyes fixed on hers, the clear blue darkening as she returned his gaze. She must have nodded her assent, because she didn’t remember saying anything. She couldn’t have spoken anyway. Then his lips met hers, simultaneously firm and yielding. So gentle and yet still demanding. How did he do that? And there was the taste… Buffy whimpered softly at the memory.
“Hello? Buffy, are you in there?”
Buffy snapped back to reality at the sound of Dawn’s voice. “Huh?”
“Are you all right, Buff?” Dawn looked worried. “Are you in pain? You had this weird look on your face…”
“No, no pain, Dawnie,” she replied, sitting up straight and rubbing her eyes. “I’m just tired. Really, really tired. I think I’ll just go to bed.”
“Yeah, Buff, you go on up. You look beat. I’ll clean up our snacks.”
Buffy gave Dawn a crooked smile as she stood. “Thanks, Dawn. Did I ever tell you you’re a great sister?”
“Hmmm, not in a while. Maybe this would be a good time to tell you about something I borrowed…”
“No, please don’t,” Buffy said, quickly crossing the room to the staircase. “I don’t want to think about anything right now but getting into bed. Goodnight!”
Dawn laughed at her rapidly retreating sister. “Okay, goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let the vampires bite!”
Buffy had to smile as she climbed the stairs to her room.
******
With his laundry done and the crypt’s décor restored to normal, Spike made a quick circuit of the Sunnydale cemeteries to keep the fledglings from causing any problems. Returning at last to Restfield, he perched on a tombstone for a smoke, tapping his foot and fidgeting as he took one drag after another.
Finally, crushing the butt into the grass as he did, he rose and started for his crypt, only to stop again, shaking his head. “Ah, bloody hell, who do I think I’m kidding?” he asked aloud. “I’ll just stroll by to see that the bit and big sis are all tucked in. I’m like a bleeding nanny is what I am!” Ducking quickly into the crypt, he emerged a moment later with a small bundle and strode across the moonlit cemetery in the direction of 1630 Revello Drive.
Tbc…….
A/N: See, Riley didn't even get inside the house! I'm not nearly as evil to him as some fan fiction authors, but now that he's made his obligatory appearance don't expect to see much more of him! I hope you like where I left it. I'm personally looking forward to writing the next chapter to see what happens next!! Please review. I've said it before and I'll probably say it again, I love reviews!!