Lost in Mystic Creek

Chapter 10

The 'L' Word

Spike rolled over onto his stomach. He felt extremely naked in that bare living room with no sheets or anything to cover himself with. If Buffy hadn't been so pushy, they would have waited for the furniture truck to get there and then…do whatever needed. But none of this had taken any of Buffy's energy, apparently, because she was up and searching in seconds. Spike raised an eyebrow at her naked body walking across the room.

"Ow!" She shrieked. "Did not know that that nail was there." Buffy jumped up and down.

"Nice view from down here, luv," Spike smirked, sitting up.

Buffy sent him a glare that was barely noticeable in the dark room. "Shut up. This is all your fault. You couldn't slow your horny ass down until we got in the house, 'had to start it all the way from the car."

Spike rolled his eyes and slipped on his boxers. "Yeah, right. You wish. Who was it that almost broke the new doorknob by opening it without a key?" He stood up, walking over to where she was, and wrapping his arms around her waist. "Now, I don't blame you for having needs, pet, but I honestly could've done without the bruising."

She ignored him and pulled away, exploring the house even more. "This place is extremely creepy."

"You picked it," He stated, completely at ease. He watched her struggle to put on her shorts and T-Shirt. "I would've been good with traveling all over Europe, fueling the fire, you know, the usual."

Buffy sighed, finally finding a way to slip on her shirt without falling down or putting it on backwards. "I need to settle down. You should be the number one person who knows that."

"Uh-huh," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders as a way to finally get her to stand still. He dropped a kiss on her temple and moved to find a way to his pants also.

By the time he was done getting changed, Buffy was upstairs.

"This bedroom is too small!" She yelled from their new room.

Spike smirked to himself. "You mean with all the activity that's going to be happening up there? Anything's going to be small."

Buffy stomped down the stairs only to find Spike looking out the window interestedly. "I just noticed, it's day out. How are you supposed to help out the movers?" She asked, tapping on his shoulder. He didn't budge, looking at something out the window that apparently interested him.

"I'm not. You've got enough slayer strength for the two of us, luv." He turned back to her and kissed her pouty lips. "Besides, unless you want to wake up to a big pile of dust in the morning, I don't think it's a good idea, me going out in the sunlight and all."

"Fine. We'll make them do all the work. But you're giving them a huge tip."

Spike looked at her with a non-believing look. "Is it my fault I'm a vamp, then? Call up Drusilla and make her pay."

By the time he finished his sentence, Buffy was in the kitchen. He could barely keep track of her. "Drusilla's dead," she said casually, walking back into the living room.

He put his hand to his chest, looking at her with wide eyes. "She's bloody dead? When in the hell were you planning on telling me this?"

"Oh," her green eyes squinted. "are you planning on crying her a river? 'Last time I heard you speak her name, I didn't think, with the tone in your voice, that you were still madly in love with her."

"When did this happen?" Spike asked, now interested. After all, he had spent decades with that vamp and at this moment, it seemed pretty big, since she was dead and all. "Buffy," he groaned, seeing as her attention wasn't on him, but on the ceiling. "What in the bleeding hell are you doing?"

"I'm checking out this ceiling…'looks like it's about to come down on us."

He rolled his eyes. "How'd you find this out?"

Buffy looked back at Spike and sighed. "You mean about Drusilla? Angel called and told me that she was unfortunately staked in Venice when she was drunk on her ass with some potential victim. 'Guess she waited too long and a slayer somewhere just…poof. Killed her." With a casual shrug of the shoulders, she smiled at him. "Look at you. You're freaking out."

"I'm not freaking out," he replied. "I mean…I'm just saying…after all of those years of close calls, she loses her undead life to some slayer? Yeah, 'knew her life was going downhill after she left me for that poor excuse of a demon."

Buffy widened her eyes. "Jealous much?"

"I'm not jealous."

"Uh-huh," she grinned, taking his hand and leading him to the dark kitchen. "Look at this! This is not workable! I mean, look at this counter…it looks like if I slam you against it once, it'll go down."

Spike blinked. "See how warped you are...'next time anyone asks, it's not my imagination." He smirked, though, and sat on the counter, right in front of her. "I love you and your warped soul, though."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Jeez. Can't we get through a morning without cliché lines please?"

"Say it," he said, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her into the space between his legs. "Come on…I know you want to say it. So, just say it."

"Spike…" She started.

"Come on. You'll feel better. Just say it." He brushed some locks of blonde hairs out of her eyes. "Buffy," he smiled. "I love you."

Buffy sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Iloveyou," she said quickly, squirming out of his grip and going to inspect the fridge. Spike just watched her with a goofy grin.

They had spent the entire day moving furniture around the house, and they were honestly exhausted by the end of the day. But, as nighttime was the only time that Spike could get out, they went for it and decided on a walk around the street.

"This won't work for when I patrol," Buffy complained. "There's no vampire slayage possibility. Not enough room to…kick butt."

"Okay." Spike sighed, squeezing her hand. "You've been picking at this place since we got here. How can you possibly hate this place so much?" He asked, honestly confused with her actions.

"I don't…hate it," Buffy said slowly. "It's just that I'm not getting great vibes from the place."

"Oh, please, luv," he replied, rolling his eyes. "One week in this three-person town and you'll fall head over heels with it. Don't worry 'bout the vibe."

"I guess so," she stated in a doubtful tone. "So, you actually like it?"

Spike grinned, looking around at the houses. They all looked exactly the same. "It's not bad. I could actually picture myself growing old here."

Buffy sent him a glare. "You don't grow old." Suddenly, just out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man and a woman heading towards them. Buffy instinctively got a hold of him and pulled him into a stray alley that was full of garbage cans.

"You're so cheesy," they heard a young woman's voice. "You know what, though? I like this better than the dinner."

"That's because I keep messing up on the dinners. I'm sorry, Bella."

Before Buffy got the chance to hear more of the conversation, she felt Spike's hand on her stomach. When she looked up at him, she saw him leaning down to kiss her. Taking the opportunity of some alone time, she captured him in a kiss and deepened it instantly, as always. They stood there for a while, just kissing and exploring each other in the dark, but it slowly grew later, and Buffy grew more tired.

"Oh my god," she said, as they walked down the street once again. "I feel like I could drop dead any minute."

"Please, don't. I've got something interesting planned out when we get home," he responded, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Buffy slapped his shoulder, harder than she meant to. "Jeez. Can you be more of a guy?"

Spike chuckled. "Well, I hope so, since I'm a guy and all."

"Damn it! James Mariano, get your ass home now!"

They turned their heads to see whom it was that was making the noise. There was an average height man with black hair. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed, to be honest. And the person he was screaming at was just half a person, a small kid running around in Scooby-Doo pajamas in the front lawn.

Buffy widened her eyes, laughing slightly.

"Good luck, man," Spike muttered under his breath.

"Daddy! NOOOOO!!!" The kid yelled at the top of his lungs, running around fiercely through the yard. "The mooooonster! He's gonna get me!"

Buffy stopped Spike from walking on, still smiling at the kid. "He's adorable." Spike rolled his eyes. "Look at that," she said fondly.

At this point, another brown haired woman had come out of the same house and was trying to chase the little boy. The house across the street lit up and suddenly, another brown haired woman came out to help. They all looked extremely silly trying to catch the boy, but it only made Buffy smile even wider.

"Come on, pet," he told her, urging her to walk with him down the sidewalk and towards their house.

Buffy wrapped an arm around him, snuggling into him closer. "I'm happy we're here, Spike. I'm sorry if I've been Ms. Sour Puss all day long."

He kissed her hair. "I like you either way."

"That's good to know," she said as they walked into their new house.

Kate placed her sunglasses over her eyes and pulled her hair up, ready for her daily walk. She felt very exposed ever since James had come up to their house and called her a 'fugitive'. She closed her eyes, letting the steady hum of the breeze soothe her as she ran down the street. She had taken on the tradition of running every day to get some exercise in her daily routine, and because it did her good to be away from Sawyer just an hour out of the day. They would kill each other if she just sat there staring at him all day.

After a few minutes, she found herself growing tired. She doubled over, holding her stomach as her legs cramped up. She heard someone run up behind her.

She turned around, panting, and saw a blonde woman with sparkling green eyes looking at her in a state of concern.

"Hi?" Kate said, not meaning it to sound like a question.

The woman smiled and waved. "Are you okay over here?" Kate nodded, trying to look reassuring. "I mean, you sure didn't look it."

Kate shook her head, not being able to catch her breath. "Yeah…just a bit…you know…tired…"

"I'm Buffy," she extended her hand. "Do you live on this street? I just moved in."

Nodding her head at this information, Kate shook her hand. Suddenly, a part of her body told her to lie. Lie your brains out, her insides screamed. Everyone knew her name, and they knew all of it. She was a fugitive in the end. "I'm Jen. I live here too."

"Oh, it's great to meet you," Buffy said, looking earnest.

Kate stood up straight, her stomach fluttering with guilt. "Me too. 'Guess I'll see you around." Then she turned on her heel and started running, ignoring the steady ache in her legs and the horrible feeling in her gut.