Not Long to Wait
Ch 2 – Black Rose
"How d'you know that name? Who are you?" His head whipped up and he pushed the hair off his face, his eyes wide as he gaped at the woman standing in front of him. She was tall… almost as tall as him… and thin, with long, thick, jet-black hair that fell to just below her waist. She was wearing heavy makeup, her eyes outlined in black and her lips stained a deep, dried-blood maroon. Her flimsy, green silk tank top left most of her stomach bare under a fitted jean jacket. Between the hem of the tank top and the waistband of a pair of low rise jeans that she must have been poured into was a tattoo of a black rose. The leafy, thorny stem trailed across her abdomen, curling around her belly button, and ended in an open bloom of petals just above her hip bone. He looked her up and down again then sniffed loudly, his eyes widening even more as he stood up straight and whispered, "Niblet?"
She smiled and stepped closer to him. "Yeah."
"What're you doin' here?"
She reached out and pulled him into a fierce hug, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight. He stood stiffly for a moment then gently wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck. She placed a gentle kiss to his ear and whispered, "I missed you." He clutched her tighter and she could feel his tears as he started sobbing quietly against her. She held him and murmured quietly under her breath, not really saying anything as she tried to soothe him with the sound of her voice. After a while he took a few deep breaths then stepped back and wiped his face with his sleeve. She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. "What happened to you, Spike? Why'd you leave?"
He frowned and laughed bitterly, "Your sis didn't tell you? What I did to her?"
"She told me."
He backed up against the wall and dropped his gaze to the ground with a resigned sigh, "Knew this day would come eventually." He took a deep breath and said quietly, "Get on with it then."
She tilted her head in confusion, "Get on with what?"
He looked up at her through the hair that had fallen over his face again. "The stakin'. You're here to avenge her honor, yeah? End the evil demon that tried to rape your sister?"
She shook her head, "I'm not here to dust you, Spike. Buffy told me all the horrible things she did to you that drove you to act like that. How she'd beat the living shit out of you just to make herself 'feel.' How she used your love for her to make you do things. How she treated you like a fuck toy then threw you away when she was done."
Spike ran his hands through his hair and sighed angrily, "She told you all that? Bloody hell… why? You were just a kid, Bit. You shouldn't have had to hear those things."
Dawn crossed her arms over her chest and screwed her face into a scowl. "I knew most of it already, Spike. I knew you two were having sex and she was just using you as her own vampire dildo. She was still hung up on trying to have a normal life and a vampire boyfriend didn't fit her mold, but normal guys couldn't handle the Slayer crap. So she kept you as her dirty little secret because you could handle her strength and then she could pretend for everyone else that she was Miss Normal Girl. I didn't know about the beatings, though. I did remember how you were always covered in bruises, but I thought you'd gotten them fighting demons. When she told me where they'd really come from, I punched her right square in the nose and told her if she ever laid a hand on you again I'd beat the shit out of her."
He goggled at her, "You punched… then threatened… the Slayer… over me?"
She grinned, "Damn right I did."
He tilted his head, "Why?"
She lifted her chin and looked at him defiantly, "Because I love you, Spike. I always have."
His mouth dropped open and he just stood there, gaping at her. She stepped close and placed her fingers on his chin, gently closing his mouth as she laid her other hand on his chest and leaned in, brushing his lips with hers. He whipped his head back and stared at her in astonishment for a moment then slowly brought his hands up to tangle in her hair. He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply, probing her mouth with his tongue until she had to pull back to catch her breath. "Wow, you can kiss! Must be the whole not needing to breathe thing."
He smiled and pulled her back to him, kissing gently along her jaw and down her neck. He licked across her pulse point and she gasped then slid her hands under his shirt and scraped her nails lightly across his chest. He moaned and leaned his head back against the wall, lost in pleasure as she kissed his neck and nibbled gently on his throat. She trailed her hands over his hard stomach and slid one down to rub over the hard bulge in his jeans. He growled and his hips bucked toward her, then he froze and jerked his hands away like they'd touched holy water. He stepped away from her with wide, guilty eyes, panting slightly as he shook his head. She reached out tentatively and gently touched his arm, "What's wrong, Spike?"
He flinched away then backed down the sidewalk, looking at the ground as he mumbled, "Can't, Bit. I'm evil. Dirty. Can't do this with you… not after what I did. Don't deserve it… don't deserve you… Filthy, disgustin' things like me can't love and don't deserve to be loved… I know that now." He raised his head just enough for her to see the tears forming in his eyes then turned and started walking quickly up the street.
She watched him walk away then snarled and viciously punched the building. *Fucking Buffy! Stupid bitch screwed him up good and proper.* She leaned her head against the cool brick and breathed slowly for a few minutes then raised her head and pulled her unmarked hand out of the hole. Shaking the dust off, she turned and set off after him.