Buffy yelped. She was on her feet and scooping up her clothes. Just as Wesley’s foot hit the top stair, Buffy used her ring and vanished, along with the sleeping bag. Spike wished she wasn’t so sensitive; he would’ve enjoyed seeing the expression on Wesley’s face. Spike tugged on his jeans as the other man descended the steps.
“Have you seen...I'm something at a loss of what to call her,” Wesley said.
“My girl,” Spike said.
“Right. I went into my girl's room and she wasn't there, thought perhaps she might be here,” Wesley said, pointedly.
“You went into her room?” Spike asked.
Spike started pacing, wishing he could throw the fact that he'd spent the night with Buffy in the Watcher's face. A smug smile puckered Wesley's lips and he clasped his hands behind his back.
“Buffy may not have told you, but she and I were once very intimate friends,” Wesley said.
“She never mentioned that when I was puttin' it to her,” Spike said.
“Charming. So Spike, I'm assuming that's a nickname. My neighbors had a dog called Spike. Had to put it down after it bit one of the children,” Wesley said. Wesley said his name as though it tasted like spoiled milk.
“Not really a dog person myself,” Spike said.
“Not really a person at all, are you, Spike?” Wesley asked.
“That’s not how I feel.”
Something passed over Wesley's face, something like sympathy. It was gone nearly as fast as it appeared.
“What was it like, when you changed?”
“Painful,” Spike said.
Wesley crossed his arms in front of him and rested his hand on his chin.
“That's interesting. Many accounts from survivors said there was an attendant euphoria with the bite,” Wesley said.
Spike let out a dry laugh. He could hear Buffy's pulse drumming in his ear.
“She ripped my throat open with her teeth and then my organs shut down. I felt myself die. Then I woke up in my own grave. We skipped right over the euphoria and straight into the mind-numbing agony,” Spike said.
“Yes, well, I hope to talk to you at length about your transformation, once I have my notebook handy,” Wesley said.
“Can't wait,” Spike said, bitterly.
Wesley swiveled as though he were heading back upstairs, when he stopped.
“When you see her, tell her I have some things I'd like to talk to her about,” Wesley said.
“Would've thought you heard everything you needed to know last night,” Spike said, his anger getting the better of his sense.
Wesley's eyes flickered, but he was otherwise unreadable.
“Oh, you didn't think I heard that did you, the way you tried to have a go before she put you in your place,” Spike said.
A smile crept across Wesley's lips.
“The Watcher's council keeps extremely extensive , detailed, statistical data on your kind, Spike, which means I know exactly how far you can see in the dark and what you can hear in a quiet house. I just don't care.”
Then Wesley alighted the stair, searching for a woman who was right in front of him.
**
As soon as Wesley was gone, Buffy pulled Spike into a kiss. Her eyes were glossy and sad as she looked into him.
“You never told me about the dying part, that you could feel everything,” Buffy said.
“Didn’t want to upset you,” he said.
“I should’ve never let you go that night,” she said.
“Doesn’t matter now, nothing matters now but being together,” Spike said.
Buffy hugged him, burying her face in his neck.
“I love you,” she whispered, before she left. Though he couldn’t see her any longer, Spike could hear the furry thump of her bunny slippers on the ground.
**
Her scent was all over him, driving Spike crazy. He listened to the movements in the house, to Buffy sneaking into the bathroom, the creak of the faucet and the rushing water of the shower. Spike wished he could be with her, not just for the opportunity to see her wet and soapy. He sensed Wesley lurking about.
The Watcher didn't confront her about her whereabouts until she was safely dried and dressed. Buffy was combing her hair; Spike could hear the movement of the teeth against her blonde strands and smelled the uptick in adrenaline when she'd hit a tangle.
“Where've you been, darling?” Wesley asked.
“You know me, scuffling with a vampire all night,” she said with a giggle.
“Must've been tough to keep you occupied until two-thirty in the afternoon,” Wesley said.
“I kind of passed out after I destroyed him,” Buffy said.
“Were you injured?”
“Just a little achy, how are you feeling?”
“Like my skull was cracked from the inside by a bottle of Maker’s Mark,” Wesley said.
“Sorry they didn’t have that scotch you like at the State Store, you could have had a classier hangover,” Buffy said.
“The Council doesn’t pay you enough to buy that, darling. Besides, you shouldn’t encourage me. Would you like something to eat, or are you going to have a lie down?”
“I think I’ll try to sleep before patrol tonight,” Buffy said.
“It might make you sleep easier to know that by the time you wake up, I’ll be able to tell you with certainty if Angel’s actually dead. There’s an incantation that should do the trick. I’ve also been doing research on our Lacy problem. So far I haven’t turned up anything,” Wesley said.
“That’s good, then, right? No Lacy curse, no Lacy problem,” Buffy said.
“Possibly, or it could be very bad, as in obscure. I’ll keep looking. By the way, I thought tonight we might fetch Spike’s sister,” Wesley said.
“I’ll call her and see if she’s ready to come back. But Wes, I think it’s better if just Spike and I go,” Buffy said.
“I’m not going to leave you alone with that thing,” Wesley said.
“He’s not…he’s not a threat to me. Besides, you’ve left me alone to deal with the vampires for the past nine months, Wes, what’s a couple hours?” Buffy asked.
Her words silenced Wesley.
“Right then,” Wesley said, curtly.
After he heard Buffy get into bed, Spike fell asleep soon after, feeling completely wrecked but entirely whole for the first time in years.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
This is a short chapter, I posted a longer one yesterday. If you haven't read that, do go back so this will make sense. I'm going to try to post this story more quickly as we near the end.
Chapter End Notes:
The line about "puttin' it to her," was from Angel. I don't remember the episode, just that Spike kicked Angel's ass for a cup of Mountain Dew. No really, he did.