Chapter Ten
Spike had been in the office since eight and Angel still had not shown up. It wasn't like him to be late to work, especially when he said he had matters of grave importance to discuss. 'Stupid Ponce probably forgot all about it.' Spike told himself as he stood up from his desk and decided to see what was keeping his partner from showing himself at the office. He pressed the button on the elevator which would take him to Angels room, and waited patiently for the doors to open.
It seemed like hours before he finally got to Angels room, the door was surprisingly unlocked and it made him wonder if he was 'occupied' but he figured it would be a good laugh if he could walk in on him and some chick in the buff, even if he couldn't sleep with the girl, he could still find comfort with her. It had been a while since Angel had been fun, since Buffy had died the stupid Pouf had done nothing much mope around in his tears. He was useless to the company lately but after he returned from wherever it was that he went, he seemed to be in better spirits.
He opened the door and made his way into the bedroom, preparing himself for whatever it was that he was going to see. Although when he got there, he definitely wasn't ready to see his ex- girlfriend in her ex-boyfriends arms. He stood there and watched them for a few minutes, still confused as to how she was even there, she had died after all. Then he began to recall that Angel's mood had picked up since his escapade, the wanker must have known she was alive after all and didn't want him to know, what else could have accounted for the better mood and now the late morning. He grew angry, Angel had no right to keep this from him, and he was entitled to know Buffy was alive just as much as he was, maybe more as he was the last to be with her.
"What the bloody hell is going on in here?" He demanded, watching as they woke up. He saw Angel spring up first, unsure of his surroundings and then glance from him to the clock. Spike could feel the anger inside of him brewing, although he had moved on thinking she was dead, the fact that she had kept herself hidden from him but chose to reveal herself to Angel stung. He heard Angel groan.
"Well? What's going on?"
"Spike it's nothing really." Angel responded looking at him as seriously as he could.
Who was he trying to fool? Spike knew very well that it was more than nothing, that Buffy in Angel's arms meant that the world was coming to an end or something because those two just don't get together for anything, especially after everything that they had been through. What angered him the most was that the two had made a promise to each other to move on, to forget her. Although he should have known all along that this was coming, he spent nights watching Angel drink because of Buffy's death, it shouldn't have surprised him that at the first sign of her being alive that he would go after her and steal her away.
"You never were a good liar, you poncey arse." His eyes moved to Buffy, 'God she was beautiful' he said to himself trying hard not to keep staring at her. She was always beautiful, even in the morning. It made him miss feeling her against himself, being with her, kissing her lips. "I demand to know what is going on here."
"Spike really it's nothing." Buffy said, sitting up in the bed. To Spike's satisfaction he watched as she got out of the bed and made her way over towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him. "It's been a long time." She said against his neck.
He still couldn't believe that she was here, that her arms were around him, embracing him. Angel shot him a look that told him to back off and he shot him smirk, a little friendly competition over a girl never harmed anyone. He gained a little pleasure watching Angel snarl at him, and at the fact that she hadn't even said anything to him since he had woken the two up. 'Maybe things are looking good for me after all,' he told himself as she pulled away to look at him.
"It has been a long time pet. How is this possible?" Buffy turned and looked at Angel first. He wasn't sure what she was asking him, did she want time alone with Spike because if she did there was no way in hell he was going to let that happen, he had done a lot of stupid things in life but there was no way he was going to let Spike work his 'magic' on Buffy again, especially after he had waited so long for her to come back into his life and now that he had this chance he wasn't going to let her go without a fight.
"Giles had been tracking me and he got to me just in time. I was lucky, if he had been only a few minutes later there is absolutely no way that I could be standing here right now. Angel came to see Giles and he only found out last night that I was alive. I came to ask for help, I need to kill the Immortal before he goes and kills more people. I thought that he was good, I so desperately wanted to believe it but in the end he was using me to get to the two of you. When he didn't get you, he thought that I would be the next best thing, I mean I guess he had planned to try and kill me all along but I was just really the bait that he said he loved. Giles has been trying to find him but our resources are limited. I know that Angel has so many more at his disposal and with your past with the Immortal I thought that he, you, the two of you, might be able to help me because I can't do this alone." Angel watched her intensely, worried that she might start to cry again but this time she was able to maintain her composure.
"Why Angel? Why didn't you come to me first?" Spike asked, it was obvious that he was hurt, she could hear it in his voice.
"Angel and I… Our past is different. I can't make you understand it. But last night nothing happened," She turned to look at Angel standing on the other side of the room, his face showing the signs of anguish that always seemed to appear when talk about the two of them came up in conversation or thought. "Nothing can happen. I needed a place to stay and Angel offered me his room. When I had a nightmare he woke me up and I asked him to stay with me so he did. It was nothing more. I'm only here to solve this problem and then I'm leaving. I have other places I need to go and people that I need to protect. I need to go take a shower and get dressed, we can talk about this later." She said and turned away and made her way to the bathroom leaving Angel and Spike standing there.
"You really are a selfish sod you know that, you bloody wanker." Spike spat angrily at Angel.
"You know what Billy Idol, I'd shut up if I were you. I had her first and I'll have her last. You were something she had to fill the void until she was ready for me again. Besides you only wanted her because you couldn't have her."
"I had her more than you, you stupid ponce." Spike responded. They realized that this wasn't the first time that this had been said in conversation between them.
It was just after the amulet that Angel had given Buffy before Sunnydale had collapsed back into the Hell dimension was retrieved and Spike came back to life. Angel had been telling Fred that the amulet was something that he had given Buffy to use before fighting when Spike began to question about Buffy's whereabouts.
"Buffy! Is she..?" Spike questioned.
"She is okay." He responded.
"Where… Where is she?"
"Europe, last I heard from her."
"Wanna see her… I wanna talk to her." Spike stated, watching the look on Angel's face turn.
"That's gonna be tough."
"You can't keep her from me!" He shouted.
"She's not mine to keep… Our yours!"
"Says you! You have no idea what we had!" Spike retorted.
"You never had her." Angel could feel his jealously building, he didn't want to hear about Spikes relationship with the only woman that he had ever truly loved.
"More than you…"
They sighed and looked at each other. They couldn't work together if they were always going to be fighting over who she wanted more. It wasn't up to them, they couldn't tell her who to be with, it was possible that she didn't even want to be with either of them anymore. What really mattered was fighting the Immortal and making sure that she stayed safe. It meant that they would have to put their feelings about her away, or at least make the other think that they had, and work as a team.
"Alright forehead, we'll figure it out later." Spike said, turned, and walked out the door, "But don't even think that I'm going to let her go without a fight."
"It's not going to be much of a fight Peroxide. Just accept it. She and I were meant to be together and it kills you to know that. Why do you think that she came to me? She told me last night never to leave her." He watched as Spike walked away, waving his hand in the air to dismiss what he was saying. "Just thought you should know what you are getting yourself into mate. You're over her already, you should just keep it that way before you start trying to get her back. Don't put yourself through this when you know that it's only going to hurt you in the end." Angel watched him leave the room hoping that his words reached him and he understood just how complicated his relationship with Buffy was.
Spike knew that when it came to the end that Buffy would choose Angel, he had known it from the beginning, even told them that it would be like that years ago…
"You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love until it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other until it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood… Blood screaming inside of you until it works its will."
He knew that he should let her go, that he should let Angel have her because in the end she would choose him, it was the way it was meant to be, but he also knew that Buffy cared about him too and he sure as hell still cared about her. It would be stupid to just give up, what if he did have a chance, even if it was just a tiny one, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't at least try. He'd spent years trying to become a team with Angel and even if Buffy tore that down for a bit, in the end it would work out it was supposed to, that he knew for a fact.
A/N: Okay I'm addicted and I hate doing school work, especially at the end of term when all I want is summer break and for papers and finals to cease! Anyways here is a new chapter. There might be another tomorrow if I finish the Kafta novel (halfway through!). Please continue leaving feedback because I love to know what you all think.