She stopped a few feet away from the couch. “Spike? Are you okay?”
He seemed to snap out of it. “Yeah, sure. Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.”
Buffy snorted. “Yeah, because you were being so loud.” Then she frowned. “Actually, you did wake me. By not being there. I missed you.” She pouted a little.
Spike smiled at that. Then he reached out his hand towards her, and she immediately took it, letting him pull her down on the couch next to him. “Sorry, luv, I just couldn’t sleep. There’s some coffee in the kitchen if you want. Are you hungry? I can make you some breakfast”
She considered it for a moment, then shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m not hungry. Maybe later.” Then she took a deep breath. “We really need to talk.”
He had known it would be coming to this. But that didn’t mean he was looking forward to it. “That we do.” He gave her an innocent look. “So, what do you wanna talk about?”
Buffy stared at him in disbelief. “Tell me you’re kidding.”
Spike sighed. “Look, why don’t you just tell me what you wanna know, and I’ll do my best to answer. I don’t know if I can make you understand, but…” He became quiet, then shrugged.
She was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. I want you to tell me about Drusilla.”
“A message for all passengers: Flight 681, leaving for Los Angeles with destination London, will be taking off in five minutes, I repeat: Flight 681, destination London will be taking off in five minutes. All passengers…”
Giles had been sitting in the terminal at the Sunnydale airport, reading, when the announcement about his flight was declared. He closed the book, and put it into the pocket of his jacket. Getting up with a sigh, he started towards the gate. Then he stopped, just as he was about to enter.
People behind him started grumbling and muttering. The flight attendant gave him a look of impatience. “Sir, if you’re going to be on this plane, I’m gonna need to see your ticket.”
Giles had the ticket in his hand, but he didn’t give it to her. He gave the young woman an apologetic look, as he stepped out of the line. “I’m terribly sorry, but I’m not going. Excuse me.” With his mind finally made up, he turned around, and went back.
“Drusilla was…” Spike hesitated. “You have to understand... it’s kinda complicated.” Buffy didn’t say anything, just waited for him to go on. “Right, here goes…” He stopped, not sure of how to begin. “Things weren’t always…For a while, everything was really great. Then…” He sighed. “Let’s just say that her idea of pleasure was a bit different than mine.”
“I’ve been bad, Spike. I deserve to be punished.”
“No.”
“Yes! Do it! Hurt me!”
He suddenly didn’t want to look Buffy in the eyes. “I refused at first, of course, said I wouldn’t do it. So she went to someone else.”
“Hey, Willie! Here to watch the show?”
“I’m sorry, sweet William. But I need someone to take care of me.”
Buffy stared at him now, eyes wide. “Angel.”
Spike nodded. “I don’t know if the ponce actually cared about her, or if he just got off on having someone depending on him. Anyway, she promised that it wouldn’t happen again, and I believed her. I was a fool.”
“Spike, I’ve done something bad. My Angel was here today.”
“Bloody hell, Dru, not again! Why are you doing this to me?! You promised…”
“I know. Your princess needs to be taught a lesson, so she won’t misbehave again.”
“Forget it, I’m not doing it.”
“What are you so afraid of? That you might enjoy it?”
Buffy swallowed. “Did you?”
“No!” He looked away. “Not at first.”
“That’s it, Spike, fuck me harder! Now, do it!” He hit her, which caused her to gasp for air, then laugh. “Yes! Feel that, Spike? Feel how wet I am? It’s all because of you, baby!”
He didn’t dare looking at Buffy, not wanting to see the disgusted look in her eyes. “I told myself, over and over, that it wouldn’t happen again. But she could be very persistent when she wanted something.”
“Punish me, Spike!”
“No.”
“Yes! I know you want to do it, hit me! Do it!”
“But…” Buffy closed her eyes, suddenly feeling sick. “If you hated it so much, why didn’t you just leave?”
Spike snorted. “Yeah, right. Like I didn’t try.”
“Come on, Dru, open the bleedin’ door! Oh God, what did you do?! Dru, no, don’t do this, wake up, look at me! Dru!!”
Buffy gasped in shock. “Oh God, she tried to…” She reached for his hand, but he got up, starting to pace the room.
“I realized later that she’d just been playing me, she didn’t take nearly enough pills, but how the bloody hell was I suppose to have known that at the time?!”
“I’m so sorry, Spike. But you said you’d leave me. I can’t live without you, I need you. Promise me you’ll never leave me!”
“I won’t.”
Buffy wiped away a few tears, forcing back a sob. “This is just too…” She inhaled, shakily. “I don’t know what to… How do you expect me to react at all this?”
Spike finally looked at her, a mixture of fear and exhaustion on his face. “I don’t know, Buffy. Why don’t you tell me?” She just looked at him, blankly. “How do you feel about me now?”
TBC