~*~ Chapter 15 - Acceptance ~*~
The two vampires went together downstairs in the kitchen. Cordelia and Fred had set the table, complete with food and blood. They all sat around it.
“I need to talk to Wesley,” Buffy said. “Is he coming tomorrow?”
The atmosphere, which was already a little tense, worsened.
“Wesley isn’t working for us anymore,” Angel answered. “But if you need to see him, I’ll give you his phone number. You can call him tonight.”
“Thanks, that would be nice.”
“Why do you need Wesley for?” asked Cordelia with her usual discretion.
Buffy hesitated, gave Spike a questioning look as he nodded.
“Might as well tell them, pet.”
“We think that Spike is becoming…human.”
Silence fell upon and all eyes turned to Spike, who shifted in his chair uneasily.
“Human? What do you mean, human?” Angel finally asked.
Spike rolled his eyes. Like there could be a hundred of bloody different explanations of what human means.
“Human as in his heart is beating, he breathes, he sneezes, he even has to go to…”
“S’alright, love, I think he got the picture,” Spike interrupted her.
“But…how did this happen?” Cordelia asked.
“That’s what we don’t know. And we’re not even sure…that’s why I wanted to see Wesley. Giles talked to him already, and he mentioned some prophecy about a vampire with a soul becoming human.”
Angel and Cordelia looked at each other.
“The Prophecies of Aberjian.”
“The Shanshu,” Cordelia whispered.
“The what now?”
“The Prophecies of Aberjian. I stole it a few years ago during a little visit to Wolfram & Hart, the law firm we are fighting. It said that the vampire with a soul, once he fulfilled his destiny, will Shanshu, which means become human.”
Angel had said that in a neutral tone. Cordelia, however, was looking suddenly very distressed.
“But that prophecy is about you, Angel, right?” she asked, looking from Spike to his grand sire.
Angel stared in his mug of blood. “Well, the prophecy mentioned a vampire with a soul, not my name specifically. And it looks like I’m not the only souled vampire anymore.”
“No, but you were the first! You’ve got some sort of priority, right? I mean, no offense, Spike, but this can’t be…Angel deserves it.”
“Spike deserves it too,” Buffy said softly.
She understood Cordelia’s reaction, now that she knew the bond existing between Angel and her. And even if she didn’t want to rob Angel from his prophecy, she couldn’t help but thinking of all the things it implied for Spike and her if this was the explanation.
Spike raised his hand. “Alright, before we all jump to conclusions, here, why don’t we wait for Watcher junior to enlighten us some more? I have no intention of stealing Angel’s prophecy,” he said, echoing Buffy’s thought. “And I’m still technically a vampire. Still fangy, still no reflection, still drinking blood…I guess,” he added with a disgusted look to his mug.
“But you eat real food,” Fred said, pointing to the remnants of his dinner.
“True. And I barely drink blood anymore, to be honest. Then again, I always enjoyed food before. At the Bronze, they used to have those flower-shaped onions…”
“Off topic, honey,” Buffy whispered.
Cordelia was looking at Angel, worry filling her eyes. Under the table, Angel caught her hand and squeezed it gently.
“I’m going to call Wesley tonight,” he said calmly, not betraying what he was feeling. “I’ll ask him to go once more through the Aberjian while we’re gone. See if he can find some other clues. He’s already researching…something else for me.”
“Good idea,” Spike said, standing up. “In the meantime, I suggest we get some rest. We have a long journey tomorrow.”
He could see as well that Cordelia was very upset by the news. And he had noticed the little flicker of hope in Buffy’s eyes. He wouldn’t stand it if that hope was crushed once more.
“I don’t want to steal Angel’s bloody prophecy from him” Spike repeated once they were in their room.
“Me neither. But if it happens, you won’t have stolen anything. It’s a prophecy. And you asked for your soul, remember? Angel got cursed with it. Not that it changes anything in the end. You both deserve it.”
She wouldn’t admit it, but deep inside she thought that Spike deserved it more than Angel. Angel had chose to do good after being cursed with his soul. Spike had chose to do good from his own will, and then had asked for a soul. Because he thought it would help him to be a better man.
Not that she didn’t want Angel to become human again. A few years ago, that was one of the things she had dreamed about the most. So she understood perfectly the pain she had seen in Cordelia’s eyes.
She brushed her teeth before joining Spike under the sheets. She nestled against him. One of the many good points of his probably regaining humanity was his much warmer body temperature.
“I can’t wait to see Dawn,” she whispered in the crook of his neck.
“Me too, pet. And I can’t wait to meet her charming boyfriend either,” he said in a snarky tone.
“You promised to behave,” she reminded him.
“Well, that depends on Poof Jr. And how he treated my girl.”
“I wonder if he seduced her with the same lame pick up line you used with me.”
“What lame pick up line?” he asked in an offended tone.
“You’ll find out on Saturday. I’ll kill you,” she said, trying to reproduce his male voice and his accent, and failing horribly.
“That wasn’t a pick up line. I did really intend to kill you back then. Bad luck got in the way. Oh, and your mum with an axe as well.”
She laughed at the memory. “True. And a few months later she was drinking cocoa with you in her kitchen.”
“A nice lady she was,” Spike approved.
“I’m sure she would be happy for me. For both of us.”
She put a caressing hand on his chest, still amazed at the feeling of his beating heart.
“What if I lose my strength?” he suddenly asked out of the blue.
She looked at him. “Lose your strength?”
“Yes, if I become human. I’ll lose all the vampiric abilities, my strength being one of its advantages.”
“You still seem to have it for now. You beat the crap out of that Guzlar demon the other night.”
“Sure, I’m still strong now. But what will happen then?”
“I guess we’ll see about that when it actually happens,” she said, and she could feel he was not satisfied.
She rose on her elbow. “Spike…will you regret not being a vampire anymore?”
He sighed. “Honestly…I don’t know, pet. I mean it’s a wonderful thing to become human again, because of all the possibilities it opens for us…but there are other things I’ll probably miss, yes. Won’t you miss your time as a Slayer once it’s done?”
“You mean will I miss saving the world every week, patrolling in cemeteries every night and going back home covered in demon goo? I think…no.”
She smiled. “But yes, there’s probably some things that I’ll miss,” she admitted.
“Imagine all the tales we will be able to tell our grand-children.”
“Spike, we agreed…”
“I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry. It’s just…that’s probably the main reason why I would definitely choose human over vampire.”
She yawned and put her head back on his chest.
“We should try to sleep,” he whispered. “We have a long journey tomorrow.”
“Ok,” she said, tracing little kisses on his shoulder and chest.
“I won’t be able to sleep if you do that,” he said, and she chuckled.
She whispered in his ear, “That’s the point,” and understanding what her naughty intentions were, he obligingly complied.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“Did you reach Wesley?”
Angel turned around from his position by the window and looked at Cordelia.
“Not yet.”
She walked into his room and stopped a few feet from him. He could see she had been crying.
“Cordelia…”
He closed the distance between them and took her in his arms. She held on tightly to him.
“It’ll be alright,” he whispered in her hair. “It always does.”
She just nodded, afraid that if she talked she would start to cry again.
“I want to stay with you tonight,” she said softly.
Most of the time they avoided sleeping in the same bed. The temptation was too dangerous. But tonight, she really needed to feel close to him, and so did he.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dawn was staring at the papers she was holding, the papers that made her officially the heiress of $ 25.000.
They were in bed, and Connor was reading a magazine Nick had lent him. He turned his head to watch her. “Are you memorizing it?” he finally asked.
She put the papers on the night table and snuggled next to him. “No. I was just thinking that I would give anything to see her, instead of those papers. You know, I used to love going to work because I knew she would be there, and we would talk. Now it’s not the same. It’s hard.”
Connor put down his magazine and took her in his arms. “I’m sorry, chali. If only there was something I could do…”
“Just be here with me makes it better already,” she said, kissing him.
They made love gently and slowly, and Dawn’s sorrows eased a little.
But the feeling of emptiness remained.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Buffy opened her eyes, checked the alarm clock. Still early. It was that time in the morning when it’s nice to be awake, because you know there’s still a few hours to go before having to get up and face the real world, and you can snuggle under the cover. The big bonus for her being the loving vampire holding her tightly from behind.
With a smile, she positioned herself comfortably against his strong body.
Just before a big wave of nausea hit her. “Oh God.”
Thanks to Slayer speed, she made it to the bathroom in time.
Spike followed immediately, holding her forehead and massaging her back while she was emptying her stomach. When she was done, she sat back on the floor.
Spike wet a towel and wiped it gently on her face.
“Thanks,’ she whispered, a little out of breath.
“Are you alright?” he asked, worry creating a frown on his forehead.
She nodded. “Yeah. I don’t think my stomach and Cordelia’s cooking are very mixy things, though.”
Her face was regaining some colors already. He helped her getting back on her feet and she leaned against his chest. He lifted her in his arms and brought her back to the bed, putting her between the covers before joining her.
He put a hand on her stomach, rubbing it gently.
“That feels good,” she whispered, putting her face in the crook of his neck, where he always smelled yummi.
“Just rest some more, my sweet. I’ll let you know when it’s time to get up.”
She peacefully fell back to sleep, enclosed in the safety of his arms.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“What should I do? Yell at her or hug her?”
Spike finished to button his shirt and smiled at Buffy. She was packing the few things they had used. She looked fresh, all the previous morning sickness forgotten.
He came to her and stroked her hair. “Go with the hug, sweetheart. You both need it, I think.”
“I can always use a hug, especially when you’re around,” she said, putting her arms around his neck. He pressed his lips softly to hers, dropping his hands to her back and bottom in a slow massage. She let a small sigh of pleasure escape.
The door was open but they didn’t notice Angel at the threshold. The older vampire stood there silently for a minute, unsure of what to do. A part of him wanted to make his presence known and break the intimacy he was witnessing. That little part of him that couldn’t bear to see Buffy in the arms of another man. But the other part, the one that had moved on for a long time now, was almost fascinated by the love that irradiated from the two beings kissing tenderly in the middle of the room.
He finally cleared his throat while giving a slight knock on the door. “Morning,” he said pretending he had just arrived.
Buffy and Spike separated from each other, but Spike’s hand stayed firmly on her waist.
“Hey Angel,” said Buffy, trying to regain focus.
“We have…there’s this case we have to take care of before leaving. Cordelia and Fred will be staying here. Feel free to do whatever you want. We’ll leave as soon as the sun set.”
“Ok, thanks. We’ll keep ourselves busy,” she said, and blushed when Spike raised
his eyebrow with a smirk.
“Right. See you later, then.”
Angel gone, Buffy gave Spike a slap on the arm. “You and your twisted mind!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They decided to take Angel’s car and left right after sunset.
They had decided to drive until one hour before dawn and stopped in a small motel for the day, so Angel and Spike could rest. Both girls had slept a little bit in the car, and were dying for a coffee. They spotted a vending machine and sat on the bench next to it.
Cordelia watched the mixture in her cup with disgust. “Urgh! And here I thought nothing could top Angel’s coffee in badness.”
She drank it nonetheless, throwing the empty cup in the trashcan next to them.
“So…you really have this thing for vampires, huh?” Cordelia asked.
Buffy smiled. “Only two of them. And you must admit they are the special kind.”
“Oh yeah. I tried to resist at first, you know. When I realized I had strong feelings for him. When Darla came back pregnant…I was really hurt. That’s how I knew. Then a lot of things happened, with Wesley, then Connor…and just when we had the chance to really talk, fate separated us. Since we came back, things were finally looking good. Of course, there’s the curse, so we never got…intimate, but we were ready to wait. Because of the prophecy.”
“I’m sorry,” Buffy said, not knowing exactly how to react.
“I’m not blaming anyone,” the brunette added. “But it’s hard to accept.”
“Cordelia, believe me, I understand what you’re going through.”
“I know. That’s why I’m telling you. And, well, we don’t know yet if that’s the explanation.” She laughed softly. “I remember in high school, how I thought you were incredibly stupid to fall in love with a vampire, especially one you couldn’t even…you know.”
“I guess that makes you an incredibly stupid person too, then,” Buffy replied with an ironic smile.
“Exactly. And you know what? I don’t care. And it’s not stupidity.”
They shared a knowing look. “It’s just love.”
TBC...
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