TITLE: "Stone by Stone" Chapter One - Castle Walls
AUTHOR: Elise D.
FEEDBACK: Gimme gimme. Just be gentle, or at least constructive.
SUMMARY: Season
Seven, Buffy and Spike exploration. Building up stone by stone.
SPOILERS:
Spoiler free, do I get a cookie?
RATING: PG-13.
DISCLAIMER: Nobody buys me good
presents, so I steal other peoples.
---
"NO! For the last time, Anyanka, no! Leave it be, already" cried Spike in frustration. The former demon simply huffed. There was just no getting through to her, was there?
"A little wrestling? A little grunting, a little pain? It'll be enjoyable for me at least, I'm sure," said Anya, although the whining way in which she said "pain" seriously disturbed Spike to his very core.
"No. Not going to happen. Not ever. Just let it go. Now. I'm not interested!" begged the exasperated vampire.
"All I'm saying is, it would be fun. And if Buffy caught sight of the touching, she might get jealous, you could reconcile, and everybody would be satisfied!" she countered with a nod, agreeing with the brilliance of her own idea.
Spike sighed. This was getting ridiculous. For the past two hours she'd been nagging him. All he wanted was a quiet beer, was that too much to ask?
"Anya sweetness, the answer is no. I am not thumb wrestling with you. Surely there's someone else you can partner up with?"
Anya's face fell. Oh lovely, now what's he done? He thought it was innocent enough; unless she and the whelp were really into some truly freakish sex play, back in the day. He shuddered at the thought.
"Tara. She...I...we thumb wrestled. I thought it would be fun, to play it again. It always was fun, and it would have been..." Anya was at a loss for words, the pain of losing Tara, still fresh in her mind.
"...fun?" Supplied Spike. He gently patted Anya's shoulder, knowing full well how much pain the death of Tara had hurt her. Demons weren't immune to grief; he of all people should know that. And Tara and Anya were in it together. They were two significant others, watching the Scoobies from the outside. He knew that too, and that's when it hit him. He was bloody amazing when he tried.
"I do recall Tara having a thing for a thumb tussle. In point of fact, if I'm remembering correctly, a certain former key was often her opponent. Wouldn't be the craziest of ideas to approach the niblet, would it?"
Anya's face brightened considerably at the suggestion.
"Yes! Dawn! Dawn and I could thumb wrestle, and I could trounce her in honor of Tara. It would be fitting, in a way, don't you think?"
"Umm, yeah. Dead fittin', you're right as usual," replied the somewhat unnerved vampire. Never let it be said that he didn't have patience. He had all the patience of a bloody saint. Stupid, soddin...
"Soul?" said Anya, shaking Spike from his mini-brood.
"Eh, what? Sorry luv, I must have missed that last part," said Spike, eliciting an exasperated huff from Anya.
"I said when are you going to tell us all just how you got your soul? I'm sure it must make an interesting tale, with the cross continent traveling and the insanity and everything. Must be a doozy of a story. Maybe we could order pizza? And make popcorn."
"Oi! I'm not flipping Pay-Per-View. It was personal, and private, and basically none of your bloody business."
"Fine. Have it your way. Just stay Mr. Brooding Man, who's becoming a carbon copy of another souled vampire. See if I give a rat's patooty. I mean, if you don't care what the others are saying..." Anya trailed off, knowing full well she could bait him.
Spike just fiddled with the edges of his beer mat, trying to look nonchalant, and failing miserably.
"Well, I don't care. It's personal, and I'm not really in the sharing mood." He muttered, earning a patronizing nod from Anya.
"But, what have they been saying exactly? Just for curiosity's sake, of course."
"Of course," said Anya, patting his hand gently. "Well, there are lots of theories as to what really happened to you. For example, Xander thinks you got cursed, much in the way of Angel, and are simply covering because you will never have sex again, and therefore will never be revealed as a liar. Kennedy thinks you bought it with the goods acquired during your murderous days, and simply exchanged it in some shady demonic dealings..."
"And?" needled Spike, knowing full well that she was holding back.
"Well, and Giles thinks it was simply as you said. A few simple trials and bam, or "soul!" as it were. Only he thinks your hardships are a severe over-exaggeration, and you're, and I'm quoting now "spouting lies in some feeble attempt to be considered the dogs bollocks."" Anya frowned as she relayed Giles' drunken rambling. "And why on God's Green Earth would the genitalia of a canine be considered a good thing?"
"Right," said Spike as he got up from his seat and threw a few dollars on the table. "Round up the troops, we're having story time at Buffy's in an hour. Be there, or be left in the dark."
Spike looked around the room expectantly. The young potentials stared at him with a combined look of fear and awe; Xander had been too busy concentrating on not looking at Anya, and visa versa. Willow had that damn look on her face. The one that made him worry she'd forcibly wrap him in a blanket and sing lullabies. But it was nice, so he'd given her a little smile that she happily returned. Giles stared off into space, a furrowed brow and absence of glasses indicating that he'd managed to give the watcher some food for thought, while Dawn passed tissues to the sniveling Andrew. None of it mattered. None of them mattered. The one person he wanted to get a reaction from had studiously stared at her feet, not daring to make eye contact with her former lover. Fabulous.
"That was the most noble, and wonderful thing I have ever heard," announced Andrew with a sniffle, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Yeah, pretty cool. I'm proud of you Spike," agreed Dawn with a smile, causing Spike to smile sheepishly.
"I hate bugs, especially crawlin' on me. 'Orrible," contributed Molly with a shudder. Spike chuckled internally. It's always nice when you can still cause young girls to get nightmares, even if it is over acts of moral valence.
The crowd finally dispersed, and he received an unexpected nod from Xander. Well, it was as close as he'd ever get to a handshake, and that suited Spike just fine. They have an understanding, and the acknowledgement from Harris probably meant more than he realized. The slayers just ogled him as he headed for the kitchen. It was a little strange, but he added an extra wiggle in his walk, just to goad the schoolgirls on. Well, soul or not, he's still a little evil.
He stopped short as he entered the kitchen, the door swinging silently behind him. She was there. Buffy. Standing over the sink, staring into nothing. He didn't know whether he should say anything, or just leave her in peace, but she made that decision for him.
"That was hell of a tale, Spike," she noted, her eyes never leaving their vigil of the garden outside.
Spike shrugged. A silent response, but she heard it none the less.
"So the moral of the story is what? Hit rock bottom, and get some human nature? Run away and gain a soul?"
"Buffy..." Spike tried to interject, but her shoulders tensed in protest.
"No, Spike. Just...I know what it means. It means that a soulless demon is capable of love, and will go to the ends of the earth to prove it. Blah dee blah, I get it. A vampire will forcibly seek out a soul to make the woman he loves happy."
"You say it like it's a bad thing, love."
"Well, considering the girl in question has been loved by two vamps, it's not the best news she's heard all week, no." She turned to face him, her face a picture of pain and torment. The sight left Spike speechless.
"You did it. He couldn't. What does that say? About me, about him, about you?" she asks with earnest eyes, silently begging him to rationalize the torment inside her.
"Well, it says I'm a bloody glutton for punishment, probably," he replied, trying to lighten the mood and ease her pain. It didn't work though, and she shook her head before making her way to the back door.
"Yeah Spike, it does." He tried to approach her, but she waved him off, the emotions she's suppressing showing obvious signs of breaking through her thin shell. "No, just...don't, okay? I...I just can't right now," and just like that she's gone, the back door slamming loudly behind her.
Spike sighed, and rubbed his eyes. Well, that didn't go exactly as expected. Not even close. Stupid poetic notions of his, no wonder he was always disappointed in life. He turned to head back into the living room and the obvious grilling that would come from Ripper, but he didn't have to go far.
"Well, Spike," said Giles; standing in the spot that he had overheard the entire conversation from. "You really loused that one up but good, didn't you?"