It was after midnight when Buffy’s plane landed at the Los Angeles airport. Thankfully, she had prearranged to pickup at sporty rental car upon her arrival in order to make it the rest of the way to Sunnydale. However, it was times like this when she desperately regretted selling her car when she settled down in Manhattan, figuring that it would just be easier to walk, take a cab or subway than trying to locate a parking spot. Grabbing her two suitcases off the turnstile, Buffy made her way across the airport and got her rental car.
By the time she made it to Sunnydale it was nearing four in the morning and Buffy figured that it was too late to try and do anything for now. Winding her way through the empty streets, she found herself parked across the way from the Slayers house. The soft light from a window on the second floor signaling that either Spike was still awake or had not yet made it home from patrolling. Putting the car in park and turning off the engine, Buffy sat in the dark and watched his house. The faint rays of morning were just beginning to peak over the horizon when she spotted a figure walking along the sidewalk. Slinking down in her seat, Buffy watched as Spike made his way around the corner and up the steps to his front porch. When he stopped and turned, looking in her direction, Buffy slid further down in her seat, not ready to give away her presence just yet. All in all, at that particular moment Buffy was satisfied just knowing that Spike had safely returned home from that evening’s patrol. For now, she was mesmerized by his beauty; the sharp cheekbones, arctic blue eyes and luscious lips. Power radiated from the Slayer even as he stood still, rigid on the front porch and visually searched the area for trouble.
The tales tell signs of a vampire presence crept up Spike’s neck, leaving a faint trail of goose bumps along his skin. Standing on the darkened front porch, Spike focused his attention on his surroundings and slowly scanned the area. After checking his surroundings twice, Spike shrugged his shoulders and unlocked the door; glancing back outside briefly before crossing the threshold. Spike trudged up the stairs with heavy shoulders, exhausted from patrolling. Lately, it seemed as though his nightly extracurricular activities combined with his daytime school schedule was wearing him out faster than normal. Add to that the few hours a day that he managed to squeeze in time to visit Dru or his friends, made for a very cranky Slayer. Quietly easing open his bedroom door, careful to not wake his father, Spike stripped off his clothes and crawled into bed; fast asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Outside, Buffy waited patiently for all of the lights to go off in the house before cranking the car and heading across town to the home she had left behind. Pulling into the driveway on Crawford Street, Buffy was pleased to find that the mansion appeared to be empty. To be on the safe side, she let her demon surface and listened for any activity from inside the house. Not registering any extra heartbeats or the usual noises that came from an occupied residence, Buffy grabbed her bags and headed into the house. One look inside the vacant home proved that it had been a very long time since anyone had stayed at there and Buffy briefly wondered were Xander and Willow had disappeared to. A slight twinge of regret flooded Buffy as her demon ached for its sires, but her more rational human side knew that leaving them had been the best thing to do at the time. If they had ever found out about her growing feelings for Spike, Willow and Xander would have been enraged. Buffy knew they would have never let Spike live, possibly inflicting the same amount of torture upon his body that they would have given to her. Although Spike was considered to be somewhat of a “Super-being”, Buffy felt sure that he would not be able to withstand days or possibly weeks of torture at the hands of two Master Vampires; not the way she could. In the end, his body would have succumbed to the pain and blood loss; slipping away into a gruesome death.
Buffy quickly searched each and every room for signs of occupants before taking her bags into the bedroom she had once occupied. Remnants of candles were still perched on the heavy wrought iron pedestals scattered around the room; melted stumps with wax dribbling down the sides. Fishing around in one of the drawers of the antique armoire, Buffy triumphantly produced a crumbled box of matches which she promptly used to light several candles; casting a faint, romantic hue through the room. Shedding her clothes, Buffy eagerly crawled into the four poster canopy bed and snuggled below the crimson colored bedding, instantly slipping into a restless slumber.
When she awoke later that afternoon, she could sense the sun had just begun to settle below the horizon. Getting out of the bed, she sleepily stumbled across the room towards the bathroom and prayed that the water still worked. Reaching into the shower, Buffy turned the nozzle and sighed in relief as a stream of water spurt out. She darted into the bedroom and grabbed her toiletries from a suitcase before returning to the shower and stepping inside. Although the water was ice cold, Buffy paid the temperature no attention and proceeded to wash her hair.
A little while later, Buffy emerged from the bathroom dressed and ready to go out for the evening. Her shinning blonde locks fell just past her shoulders with a slight curl to the ends, smoky charcoal shadow lined her emerald green eyes and her lips were stained berry red. Since she had decided to go to the Bronze, being the weekend Buffy figured it was her best chance at finding Spike, she had opted for her newest dress. Oriental style with no sleeves and a slightly raised collar, the satiny material hugged her curves and fell to the tops of her thighs. Blood red in color with black dragons plastered across the material, shiny silver threads traced the edges. Figuring there was a good chance she might get into some type of scuffle, Buffy decided to wear black lycra boy cut underwear instead of her usual thongs, since the sides of the dress were slit about three inches up the leg. Completing the outfit were her knee high motorcycle boots with silver buckles running up the outer sides. With a quick smile into the mirror to her nonexistent reflection, Buffy grabbed her car keys and headed out the door.
Spike was bored. Earlier in the week, he had promised everyone that he would take a night off from patrolling and come to the Bronze with them. Now, he was crammed into a booth with Drusilla, Angel, Gunn and Fred; bored and uncomfortable. Thankfully, the bartenders at the local club weren’t too bright and rarely checked anyone’s proof of age, so there was at least plenty of liquor at the table. Tipping back his glass, Spike frowned when he noticed it was empty. Leaning closer to Drusilla, he whispered in her ear that he needed a refill and for her to move to let him out of the booth. Ever the accommodating girlfriend, the raven haired beauty placed a kiss on his nose and announced that she would go for him. Spike watched as she sashayed across the dance floor and thought for the millionth time how much easier his life would be if he could just fall in love with Drusilla.
About an hour and several drinks later, Spike was feeling no pain as he lounged in the booth with Gunn. Angel was busy making a fool out of himself on the dance floor with the girls, who seemed to be enjoying the silly way the hulking brunette was dancing. Leaning his head back against the black vinyl, Spike closed his eyes as he desperately tried to get the room to stop spinning and wondered how in the hell he would get home later. When he heard Gunn rambling on about some chick, he opened his eyes and looked at his friend.
“Man!” Gunn proclaimed a bit too loud due to the liquor in his system. “That is one fine ass woman that just walked through the door!”
“I’ll be the judge of that, mate!” Spike announced drunkenly as he craned his neck around to see the girl in question. Spike tried to focus his sights on what appeared to be a blonde girl wearing a red dress. The room was still spinning and his vision was blurred, so he decided to shut one eye and try to focus harder. Finally his eyes decided to work with him instead of against him and Spike was able to see the vision before him. His breath hitched in his chest and his heart hammered wildly against his ribs as his mind screamed her name. Dumbfounded and slightly frightened, he whispered, “Buffy?!”
TBC...
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks so very much for all of the wonderful reviews! Two chapters in two days...that's what happens when Muse likes all the attention she's been getting!