"You're a dope and a bonehead and you're... shirty." Buffy tells him.
"Have you gone completely carrot-top?" Spike asks, still with a puzzled look on his face.
Buffy holds up the Scythe. "Do you see this?" she shakes it at him, "This may actually help me fight my war. This might be the key to everything, and the reason I'm holding it... is because of you. Because of the strength you gave me last night. Look, I am tired of defensiveness and... and... and weird mixed signals. You know what, I have faith for that. Let's just get to the truth here, okay?" Buffy continued, "I don't know how you felt about last night, but I will not..."
"Terrified." Spike admits quietly as he looks away and stuffs his hands into the pockets of his duster.
"Of what?" Buffy asks gently.
Spike looks at her. "Last night was..." He takes a deep breath then sighs. "God, I'm such a jerk, I can't do this." He whispers, his throat constricted.
"Spike." Buffy urges him to go on.
"It was the best night of my life." Spike swallows and looks at Buffy intently. "If you poke fun at me, you bloody well better use that Scythe, cause I couldn't bear it. It may not mean much to you, but." Spike gets out, sounding close to tears.
"I just told you it did," Buffy says softly.
Spike gives a little laugh and a rueful smile. "Yeah, I heard you say it, but. I've lived for sodding ever, Buffy; I've done everything. Done things with you I can't spell, but I've never... been close, to anyone, least of all you... until last night. All I did was... hold you, watch you sleep, and it was the best night of my life. So yeah. I'm terrified."
Buffy looks at him for a moment and realizes it's time to stop playing games and tell him about the epiphany she had. "You don't have to be."
His head tilts slightly, "Were you there with me?"
Buffy smiles, "I was."
"What does that mean?" Spike is suddenly scared that this is when his nose will get broken.
When Buffy finally answers, it isn't at all what Spike expected her to say. "Last year, you were right; I did feel something for you, but I was so screwed up I decided to take everything that I couldn't handle out on you. Then the incident in the bathroom happened and I tried to convince myself that I'd never felt anything for you but hatred. Then, I saw you at the school, all making with the crazy, and... What I had tried to deny came back. Boy, did it come back! But despite that, I left you there and tried to convince myself you deserved it and that I didn't care. Then you showed me you really had changed and it wasn't all an act."
Buffy stops and takes a deep breath as her gaze drops to Spike's chest. "I'd decided to wait until we stopped The First to sit down and really talk and decide what we wanted to do. I know I feel something for you, Spike, but don't exactly know what and don't exactly have the time to work it out." Buffy glances up at Spike and smiles at his hopeful expression."I'd be willing to give it a chance... If you want."
Spike's hopeful smile changes to a frown as he sees something over her shoulder. She turns to find out what he's looking at.
"Angel."
Buffy says. Spike looks at Buffy and then glares at Angel. "I'll leave you two alone then."
He turns to the door and has his hands on the knob, ready to leave, when Buffy stops him with "Spike, wait. Please dont go." Spike stills and nods slightly and she turns to Angel. "Can you come downstairs? We really need to talk." She realizes she has to tell Angel the truth and at the same time let Spike know that just because Angel showed up, it makes no difference to their relationship.
Angel nods and Buffy starts for the basement, grabbing Spike's coat sleeve on her way by and pulling him behind her. Angel follows, slightly puzzled, but doesn't say anything until they reach the bottom of the stairs.
"Whats wrong, Buffy?" Angel asks.
Buffy takes a deep breath and wraps her arm around Spike's. Spike and Angel are wearing identical expressions of surprise when Buffy says "Ok, Angel, I have something to tell you and I need you to accept it. Spike and I are...kind of together."
Without giving either vampire a chance to react, she quicky continues. "I've told you for two reasons. First, so that you know there's no chance for you and I anymore; and second, so Spike knows that you being here makes no difference. I meant what I said upstairs... about giving him a chance." Angel opens his mouth and Buffy holds up her hand. "No matter how this turns out, I'm still going to give him the chance I should have last year." She glances shyly over at Spike then looks back at Angel. "I'm hoping that maybe, in time, he'll be able to forgive me enough to maybe trust me again."
Spike reaches out and gently turns Buffy's head to face him. "Pet, I forgave you for everything a long time ago."
Angel wants to argue; he really wants to, but he doesn't. He realizes that after walking away from Buffy at graduation, he has no right to. He forces his feelings down and turns to Spike. "I don't like this, William, not at all," Angel says, "but Buffy's obviously made up her mind, and we both know how stubborn she is."
That earns him a smack on the arm from Buffy. He smirks at her and continues. "I'm trusting you to look after her. If you don't, what I'll do to you will make the very worst thing Angelus ever did to you seem like tickling."
Buffy smacks Angel on the arm again. "Don't you threaten him ! Why are you here, anyway, Angel?"
"Willow told me about the battle when she came to re-soul me," Angel tells her. He reaches into the inside pocket of his coat. "I've brought something to help." He holds up a large crystal surrounded by a webbing of fine silver that's dangling from a long, silver chain. "I'm not exactly sure what it does, but it's supposed to help. I'm the only one who can wear it, though."
Buffy nods and holds up the Scythe. "Okay. I've got to go right now and find out about this, then we'll worry about the Liberace necklace."
Spike smirks. "Do you want us to come as backup?"
Buffy nods. "Why don't you go grab some weapons in case Crazy Preacher Guy shows up?"
Spike starts up the stairs, followed by Buffy and Angel. "Maybe along the way you can fill me in on how the two of you got together." Angel suggested. Buffy glances nervously up the stairs at the back of Spike's coat. She then nods, saying, "Sure, Angel."
Fully armed, they leave the house and walk quickly down the street. Buffy is quiet for a moment, trying to figure out where to start the story. She casts a sideways glance at Spike, walking quietly beside her, and he smiles shyly. It reminds her of how he looked the night she climbed out of her grave and she decides that's as good a place as any to start.
She speaks softly, telling Angel how empty she felt, how disconnected she was from her friends and Dawn, and how Spike was the only person she could stand to be around because he didn't expect her to act like everything was peachy with a side of keen.
Spike leans toward her, just enough to brush their arms together, offering his strength as she continues. She tells the story of the night they brought the house down, the fight and the harsh words, how she left him the following morning stranded in the rubble, all bloody and bruised. Her face heats in shame as she tells Angel about her abusive behavior toward Spike after that. How she beat on him, belittled his feelings for her, used him to make her feel.
She stops talking suddenly, fearful of recounting the bathroom incident. She knows Spike still feels guilty about that, it's what prompted him to travel halfway around the world in search of his soul after all - and she doesn't want Angel to go on the offensive and attack Spike over something that she knows was her fault as well.
Spike knows what part of their history comes next and he can sense her apprehension. He shifts the battle axe he's carrying to his other hand and reaches for her fingers, giving them a small squeeze. "It's alright, pet. Go on and tell him." She looks over at him with a grateful smile, not letting go of his hand, and takes a deep breath. Angel's expression turns dark as she tells him about Spike attacking her in the bathroom and she puts her hand on his arm when he slows to a stop and turns to face Spike. "Leave him alone, Angel. I'm not done." Angel nods tightly and continues walking. She explains how she feels that she was complicit in the attack, how her poor treatment of Spike had driven him to it and how he traveled all the way to Africa to get his soul.
She fills him in on what happened after Spike turned up in the basement of the school, the voices talking to him, making him kill. She explains about getting Spike's chip out, how Wood and Giles plotted to get rid of him, and how everyone but Spike turned on her and kicked her out of her own house. Then she continues with how Spike found her in the abandoned house and stayed with her all night, giving her the strength to keep going and to go after Caleb and get the Scythe. "And that's pretty much when you turned up," Buffy finishes up, "I'd only been home for a little while."
They stop in front of the tomb, Buffy pulls the door open and steps in slowly, letting her eyes adjust to the low light provided by several torches on the walls. A crumpled heap lies on the floor in the middle of the room. It's an old woman, her neck obviously broken. "Looks like Caleb got here first."
Buffy is startled when Angel suddenly goes hurtling past her, crashing into the wall with a sickening thump. She spins, clutching the Scythe tight in her fist and glares at Caleb standing in the doorway, a smug look on his face. He chuckles darkly, "Well, if it ain't the prodigal Slayer. You ready to die, girly?"
Buffy grins at Spike. "You ready?" He nods and the fight's on. It floats around the small tomb, punches and kicks, swipes of Buffy's Scythe and Spike's axe, bodies thrown against the walls and crashing into the floor. Angel regains his footing and moves up behind Caleb, who is squaring off with Buffy. He signals to Spike, who's pulling himself out of a pile of broken crates, and they move to either side of Caleb. Each one takes an arm and spins away just as Buffy swings the Scythe, splitting Caleb in two. Buffy grimaces at the squelchy sound of half a preacher hitting the floor as the other half lands on the pile of crates and slowly slides down. "Okay, hey, that was gross. Effective, but gross." Spike and Angel share an amused look as Buffy shudders. "Ew. Let's get out of here !"