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"He's beautiful isn' he?"

"He is." Buffy refused to meet her intruder's gaze, his presence shooting tingles through her body as he stepped farther into the stables, murmuring her response.

"Thought we were going loose him. It was a bit touch and go for a while there, but old Faithful came through in the end."

His voice held a tenderness to it that she had never heard before that gave her pause.

As if the mare knew that she was being talked about she walked forward to the edges of her pen, head stretching out and reaching for Spike's waiting palm. He laid his hand flat on her forehead as she let out a whine, closing her eyes and pushing back against him.

"Do all your horses have symbolic names?" Buffy asked as she stood, leaving Percy to sleep resting against the fence.

"No." Spike smirked, walking past Buffy and down a few pens. "Hercules over here is the most timid animal you'll ever meet."

"Kind of a misnomer then." Buffy smiled, walking towards the pen Spike stood in front of to see a very large grey horse standing at its center. "A name to strike fear as soon as you see him?"

By his size and girth she surmised that Hercules was a draft horse, his name completely fitting to his size, but not in temperament at all. His main purpose would have most likely been to help pull along carriages and carts.

"Never met a horse more scared of his own bloody shadow." Spike let out a smiling scoff.

He was hesitant in his movements, a trait which Buffy found very uncharacteristic that had her on edge. His stance was stiff and awkward as he turned to face her.

He's nervous!


Buffy refused to meet Spike's eyes, her heart was hammering away in her chest too afraid to speak first. She tried mentally preparing herself, waiting for him to open his mouth and break the uncomfortable silence that they had fallen into. She was not at all sure she was ready to listen to a word of what he had to say, still angry at the consequences of their actions. He had signed her death warrant and that was something she didn't know if she could ever forgive him for.

They had both been backed into a very dangerous corner with no other options left and now because of their actions she was going to die a slow and painful death.

Death by stab wound.

"I-"

"What are you doing here?" Her hands shook as she tucked a few stray hairs behind her ears and finally met his eyes, not able to read what she saw there.

"I know you need time-"

"I do! I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that my lifespan suddenly just got a little bit shorter-" Her anger flooded out, un-contained.

"I know that-"

"Do you?" Buffy growled, startling Hercules who jumped slightly in his pen. She lowered her voice. "I never asked for this." She glared accusingly, knowing partly that neither had he. "Now I'm stuck here in this freezing castle awaiting my impending painful death to occur. Death by stab wound might I remind you and yes, I know we didn't have much of a choice with other ways to break your crazy ex's hold over me, but I'm still not ok with the decision and the consequences of our actions."

"Did you suddenly forget that we're bound together forever?" Spike growled at the mention of Drusilla, not being able to stop the automatic response to his sires name. His eyes laid purchase on the fresh bite mark on her neck and his demon instantly calmed, humming at the thought of reminding her that she was his forever.

"N-no." Buffy's hand slipped up to cover the mark as she stammered under his stare. Her fingers tingled as soon as she touched the bite, a sensation and feeling coming over her whole body that had her nearly crumbling under its intensity.

What the hell was that?

"Do you really think that I'd let anything happen to you?" Spike's voice lightened as his face softened, taking the few steps forward that had separated them.

"No." Buffy whispered again, hearing and feeling the sincerity and conviction in his words.

"I might not know you very well pet, but I've seen your strength. I've seen your will and determination and I refuse to let some half shredded piece of parchment determine my fate let alone yours." His demon was restless within, so close to her now, but unable to touch her. "Whatever the future holds, you can bet your bloody beautiful arse that I'll be fighting by your side."

"I'm scared."

She'd said it.

She had finally admitted what she was really feeling and it terrified her.

Tears welled in Buffy's eyes and fell from her cheeks as she finally voiced what she had been trying to and failed at bottling up all morning. She had been in such a panic earlier, waking up to find a destroyed room and a bloodied mess of her mate and herself. Then, after having laid eyes on the parchment that predicted her impending death, her panic had turned to rage. Rage then turned to hatred and blame and then to fear. Fear that she then tried to force down, bottling it away with all other emotions to put on the brave face while she spent time with Tara.

All the while an undercurrent of fear running turbulent within her.

"I know, pet." Spike took that last step forward and brushed the tears from her cheeks. "I could feel it all morning."

She too had felt him throughout the morning, not knowing exactly what he was thinking, but flashes of emotions would catch her unawares. It had taken a while; sitting alone in Tara's room, to force him out and block the feelings she was getting through their bond. She didn't want to know how he was feeling, her own anger and fear too fresh on the surface to care for anything else. Spike however, had not closed the link to her and from the look on his face had felt it all.

Ever so slowly he stepped forward and pulled her into his embrace, arms closing around her waist to rest in the small of her back. It was a shy and hesitant hug, both unsure of what the other would do in response. Slowly, Buffy allowed herself to relax, letting her head fall against his chest as his arms moved up her back to embrace her in a tight hug. For the moment protecting her in his tight grip.

"I'm not ready to die, yet."

"I won't let you." Spike placed a kiss on her head, squeezing tight before whispering in her ear. "Whatever fate you're destined to suffer, you can rest assured tha' I'll be by your side to endure it along with you."

His words created a fresh set of tears. They were barely friends, a newly mated pair and yet Buffy knew he spoke the truth. She opened the connection she had slammed shut and felt with her whole being that he was being sincere. She tried to push aside her anger and resignation towards him and the situation they had gotten themselves into and to just be in the moment. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, the scent of the stables assaulting her senses as his strong grip encased her. For a fleeting moment it felt like she was a little girl again, back in her own stables within the arms of her father as he hugged away her fears and doubts.

Offering her strength and courage when she had none for herself.

The moment was quick to pass as the smell of tobacco on Spikes clothes hit her as well as the human warmth his body did not offer.

"What are you even doing here? Why-how did you even get here? It's daylight outside." She pulled out of Spike's arms, the moment gone. With rough hands she wiped the rest of the tears from her cheeks.

"You don' think I don' know how to get around my own castle without stepping out into the sunlight?" Spike raised an eyebrow in question, his demeanor changing, face hardening again as the air in the room shifted. Buffy once again closing herself off from their connection.

"Of course." Buffy rolled her eyes, shaking her head and folding her arms across her chest.

"I came because Giles and I may have found something."

"Oh." She couldn't read the look on Spike's face, but it had her curious.

"It's more of a theory really, but we both thought you might like to look through it with us?" He motioned towards the doors and held out an arm in a sweeping motion that she follow him.

"I must be a mess-" She tried flattening her hair back and wiping the wet from her cheeks, stopping and blushing under Spikes whispered admission.

"You look beautiful."

"Hardly." It was a nervous laugh if any, shuffling her feet and refusing to meet his gaze.

"Red nosed, pink flushing cheeks. You're a picture of health to me."

"Splotchy crying eyes and messy hair? I'm a real catch." Her breath caught in her throat as she finally looked up to see the way he was staring at her.

Adoration.

"You're perfect."

Buffy couldn't stop the butterflies that fluttered about in her stomach. No one had ever looked at her like the way he was before, eyes taking in her every form. He'd seen the scars that littered her back, had seen the terrible destruction on her hip and even now as she nibbled on her lips in nervousness, the pale scar that went across her face to her lips, he was still entranced.

How could a demon look at her with so much emotion when all she knew from firsthand experience was how capable they were of delivering only pain?

"There's some warmth to be found in the cold. You need only look for it."

She was broken from her thoughts when he spoke again, a lightness to his voice that he seldom let shine though.

"Come on, he's waiting and the old man gets cranky when I make him wait."

"You shouldn't be so mean."

"Mean she says! Ha!"

She followed him through the stables to a side door which lead to an underground tunnel. She knew that their fleeting moments of joking and banter would soon end, but for the briefest of moments she tried with all her might to see him other than the creature he was and to see him as just a man.

Just a man, who had been led into an arrangement with a woman that he barely knew. Into a situation that would change both of their lives. For better or for worse.





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