Title: Love on the High Seas: "Hell of Hells"
Rating: R for mature content
Fandoms/Characters/Couples: AtS/BtVS' Spike and OC Kyna Chan
Spoilers: Oz's fate
Summary: A brief peek into Spike's thoughts during a rough time. It's an early fic set before the start of the LotHS series.
Disclaimer: Spike, Willow, and Oz are © & TM their respective owners and are used without permission. Kyna Chan is © & TM Pirate Turner and may not be used without reason. No copyright infringement is intended, and no monetary profit is made from this story.

He grew weary sometimes, a lot of the time really, weary of living in the world known as the other Hell, weary of all the headaches and traumas and dramas that came into his life. They never seemed to end, and they made him tireder than any Vampire should be. They made him consider dusting himself at times. But then he would look at her and he would see her smile. Sometimes he wasn't sure if it was real. Often, really, he believed she faked it just for him. But her smile always made him smile, and he would go to her and they would smile together. Smile and laugh and dance the lover's dance.

Spike shook his head. Now was no time for his poet's mind to come bubbling out, yet it came unbidden nonetheless. He never called upon it these days. It just showed up sometimes. Like tonight. Tonight when they had suffered such a severe blow at the hands of their enemies. Tonight when he was again drowning his sorrows in solace and a bottle of blood as Kyna walked the ship and made her Captain's rounds. Tonight when . . .

"William." Her voice was soft, barely audible, just a mere breath really, but still he heard her. He paused the bottle on its way to his lips and turned to look back at her. She was smiling that smile, and in that smile and her almond eyes, he lost all his worries and forgot all his cares. He set the bottle down on the railing and moved to take her into his arms. His arms enfolded her, and her smile brightened as she gazed into his eyes. Only her smile and the light in her eyes could even outshine the full moon in all her beauty.

"Willow's asleep at last," she told him. "Oz is gone, but we will not lose her. At least, I do not think we will." Her words told him that her smile tonight was forced just for him, but that realization only served to make him determined to make her smile real. He caressed her cheek lovingly, tilted her chin, and gazed into her eyes for a full minute before taking a sip from the nectar of her lips. He kissed her again slowly and once more still slowly. Then, taking her by the hand, he led her toward their cabin. She had made his woes vanish with but a smile; now it was his turn to erase her cares. By the time the sun rose, he vowed, he would have made her happy for she was all that mattered to him, truly mattered in this Hell of Hells, this world of nightmares, this plane called Earth.

The End