Chapter 24: Unchained

Spike

"They're late," Drusilla complained. She tapped her nails on the hood of the Watcher's car and watched the school with the intensity of a fox hunting a rabbit. Spike leaned against the car next to her. Peaches, the Watcher and whoever else they had with them hadn't poked their heads out of the building in more than five minutes, at the door nearest to them or anywhere else. They'd likely retreated back into the sanctum sanctorum of the high school library. Drusilla, however, insisted on waiting.

"We could have a hunt, pet," Spike tried. "You like that."

Drusilla shook her head. "They'll come to us. They've been invited."

Spike sighed. "Right." More waiting then. Not like that was something he was unfamiliar with as of late, but he was bloody tired of it.

The door nearest to the parking lot finally opened again. Angel and the Slayer walked towards them.

"About time," Spike said. "We've been here for ages."

The Slayer glared at him. "And now it's time to leave."

"No, no, no." Drusilla jumped down from the car and landed lightly on her feet. "We'll not leave 'til we can have pie."

The Slayer looked as if she might try to tear them apart with her bare hands. Some thanks that was for helping her get her boyfriend back.

"Apple first," Drusilla said. "Apple pie, then cherry, then apple again. Would you like that, Spike?"

Spike pressed a kiss to Drusilla's cheek. "Absolutely, my sweet."

The Slayer and Angel looked at each other. The night was silent for a moment before the faint whining of a siren began.

"What do you want?" Angel asked.

"You know what we want," Spike said.

Angel bared his teeth. "Lucy is mine, William."

Spike growled. Like hell Lucy was Angel's. Spike was her sire, she was his.

"God, can you not?" the Slayer said. "I don't know what's worse, the testosterone poisoning or the treating people like trading cards."

There was a slight tugging in his chest and Spike fought to keep a grin from splitting his face.

"I vote trading cards," Lucy said. "That's really dehumanizing."

The looks on the Slayer's and Angel's faces were too perfect. Spike couldn't stop himself from laughing.

Lucy walked towards them, clutching a book to her chest with one arm. She stopped next to Spike, smirked, and turned to face Angel and the Slayer. "Then again, none of us are really human here, are we?"

"You were supposed to stay with Giles," the Slayer said.

In almost the same second, Angel demanded, "What did you do?"

Lucy tossed the book she was holding at the Slayer, who caught it before it could hit her in the face. "A little bibbidi-bobbidi-boo. I knocked them out. Page one hundred ninety-five. I might have put a little too much power into it. You should probably check that they're still breathing."

The Slayer clenched her jaw. Her gaze jumped from Lucy to Angel and back. "You need to be gone by the time everyone's awake," she said in a low voice.

Spike held up one hand. "Scout's honour, Slayer."

The Slayer glared at him again. Then she turned and marched back to the school. Angel didn't follow her. Apparently the Slayer hadn't gotten round to replacing the leash Angelus had slipped.

"Let's go, Lucy," Angel said.

"Nope." A dazzling smile flashed across Lucy's face before being smothered by a blank mask. "You're not my sire. Did you really think I forgot about the whole torture thing?"

Angel didn't say anything.

"You did," Lucy said with a single, derisive laugh. "As much as you want to pretend it's not true, you were there. That gets your friendship card revoked. Trying to be my sire? Not gonna happen."

"Lucy, I..." Angel sighed. He looked at Spike. "Look after them."

"Of course." Spike bared his teeth in a cross between a snarl and a grin, both threatening. "Better than you ever could."

Angel hesitated for a moment. Spike knew that Angelus would have proven his dominance after such an insult. He could practically feel Angel wrestling with the need to bash his face in, but of course the soul wouldn't let him. After giving them one more sappy look, Angel turned and walked away.

Spike didn't wait until Angel was gone before gathering Lucy into his arms and kissing her thoroughly. She clung to him so tightly that it seemed impossible that she would ever let go. Eventually she did, but only so that she could loop one arm around him and the other around Drusilla. The resulting group hug was entirely unbecoming of the master vampires of Sunnydale, but Spike didn't care. They could just kill anyone who was watching anyway.

"What do we do now?" Lucy asked once they broke apart.

Spike grinned. "Whatever the bloody hell we want."

Lucy looked shyly up at him through her eyelashes. "Well, Angelus certainly did a good job inflicting torture and trauma." She looked him directly in the eye and smirked. "How can we top it?"

Spike had a few ideas.

Drusilla giggled and clapped her hands. "We'll have such fun!" She joined hands with Spike and Lucy. "Come along, there'll be no sweets if dinner catches us."

Lucy made her first kill that night. It was a thing of beauty. She played the little lost girl and led a man into a blind alley where she set upon him with such ferocity that Spike heard bones breaking. She dropped the body a few moments after his last heart beat and smiled at Spike and Drusilla. Her mouth and chin were red with blood.

"Was that good?" Lucy asked. "Can I do it again?"

Spike kissed the blood from her lips. "As much as you want," he promised. "Every night from now till forever."

"My turn," Drusilla said. She looked Lucy in the eye. "Which naughty little lamb will it be?"

Lucy gazed into Drusilla's eyes for a few seconds. "The blonde in the green dress at the Bronze. The one with glasses."

Spike raised an eyebrow. It sounded like...No. They couldn't be choosing people out of Drusilla's visions to kill. Could they?

Lucy looked at him with shining eyes. "Of course we are. Come on, Spike, let's play."

Spike rolled over. He opened his eyes when all he felt was empty sheets. Lucy had been joking about needing a bigger bed. He'd only not be touching her or Drusilla if both of them had already gotten up.

As he'd known they would be, Drusilla and Lucy were already awake. Drusilla was sitting in front of her vanity with her eyes closed so that Lucy could draw on her eyeliner. The girls had gone on a shopping trip the night before and both of them were wearing new outfits that left very little to the imagination. He took the time to admire the picture they made. The red ribbon lacing up the front of Drusilla's dress was mirrored on the back of Lucy's corset, eye-catching against the black garment. Drusilla had a matching ribbon in her hair.

"Exciting plans for tonight?" Spike asked.

Lucy exchanged the eyeliner for a tube of lipstick. "We're going to crash the swim team's party. Do you want to come?"

Drusilla opened her eyes and looked at Spike for a second before her gaze drifted up towards the ceiling. "Sharks come out at night."

"We'd best not go swimming then," Spike said. He got out of bed and pulled on the T-shirt that had been thrown over the back of Drusilla's chair. "Will we be having a massacre?" He could go for a good bit of slaughter.

Lucy looked thoughtful as she painted Drusilla's lips a dark maroon colour. "Play it by ear?"

Spike smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

Lucy finished Drusilla's makeup with one last swipe of lipstick. Drusilla stood and smoothed her silky red dress. Then, without a word to Spike or Lucy, she disappeared up the stairs.

"Dalton's brought breakfast," Lucy murmured. "Drusilla's claiming it. It won't be enough for all of us."

Spike plucked the lipstick tube from Lucy's fingers. "Well, let's get you all made up and you can get a bite on the way if you're feeling peckish."

"Sounds like a plan." Lucy met his gaze briefly before looking away. "Spike...Do you love me?"

Spike was only surprised for a second, but a second seemed to be long enough for Lucy to catch it. Her face fell. Words didn't feel like enough to fix that, so instead Spike thought as clearly as he could. He loved her. He was surprised that she'd had to ask. He loved her, differently from how he loved Drusilla, but still love. She was his, now and forever.

Lucy's entire body relaxed. "I had a nightmare. You won't leave me."

"Never," Spike promised. He chose a different tube of lipstick. "Come on, give us a smile."

Lucy managed a small smile that Spike painted blood red.

They arrived at the party with much less blood than Spike expected. He and Lucy had barely been given time to drain a shopkeeper locking up for the night before Drusilla dragged them away and skipped giddily to the beach, where the party was already in full swing. Spike eyed the dark water, idly wondering if Drusilla's words about sharks had been literal.

"Buffy and her friends are here," Lucy said. Her eyes roved over the group of mostly teenagers. "Oh, there's Devon! I'm going to go say hi. Don't eat anyone."

Drusilla took Spike's hand as Lucy headed further down the beach. "Let's dance, Spike."

They moved closer to the boombox that someone was using to play an unfortunate pop song and joined the small group on the makeshift dance floor. Sand slid out from under their feet, turning the waltz that Drusilla had chosen into something that more closely resembled the dancing going on around them. They kept it going for a few songs and then Drusilla stopped and walked away in the middle of a step, leaving Spike to follow after her. They weaved between groups of people, most of who smelled well on their way to getting drunk. That could be something to look into later. It had been a while since Spike had alcohol with his blood.

On the other side of the party, Lucy was standing next to a familiar dark-haired boy wearing an unimpressive leather jacket and facing off against the Slayer and Red.

"...embracing the Mistress of Pain look, huh?" the Slayer was saying.

"I like the new look," the boy at Lucy's side said. He turned to Lucy. "You've got a sort of goth aesthetic going. It works for you."

Lucy smiled. "Thanks, Dev."

Drusilla appeared at Lucy's side and spoke softly in her ear. "Are you trying to make us jealous?"

Lucy looked at her. "Don't you like being jealous?"

Drusilla leaned in to place a soft kiss on Lucy's lips. "I like chains."

"I don't." Lucy growled low in her throat. "Unless you're offering to wear them."

The Slayer and Red blushed.

Spike chuckled and went to join the party. He put his arms over Drusilla's and Lucy's shoulders. "Are you making plans without me?"

Lucy looked amused. "Don't worry, you can watch."

"Is anyone else uncomfortable? Because I'm uncomfortable, really, very uncomfortable. Like, really uncomfortable. How are you not uncomfortable?" Red's last question was directed at Dev.

Dev shrugged. "I've had to deal with Soul talking dirty to Sam since they started dating. It's funnier when Sam's the only one blushing."

Lucy laughed. "Good for Soul. And I know I've said it already, but it's about time."

"Yeah, those two..." Dev shook his head. "I guess it was worse for you because they were thinking about each other all the time, right?"

"About ninety percent of the time," Lucy said.

The Slayer cleared her throat. "As interesting as this is, you," she looked at Lucy, "need to leave before Xander gets back and tries to stake you."

The Slayer actually seemed worried about that, though if the worry was for her friend or for Lucy, Spike couldn't tell. He decided to concentrate on the only people there he cared about. The boy wouldn't be a real threat, the Slayer would and she would defend her friends.

"Be seeing you then, Slayer," Spike said. He and Drusilla walked away, with Lucy following after them after she'd said her goodbyes. "So, girls, where to next?"

Drusilla and Lucy looked at each other. "Well," Lucy said. "We could go to UC Sunnydale and break up the little operation that Sunday chick has going on, assuming she doesn't submit."

Spike nodded. "Been meaning to do that." Not that having absolute control over all the vampires in Sunnydale wouldn't be useful, it was just going to be a lot of work to get started and there were other things that were so much more fun.

"Or we could go home and you can watch me and Dru take each other's clothes off." Lucy shot him a mischievous smile. "I'm sure we can make it as interesting as you're imagining."

Well, that was a lofty promise.

"Or we can do both," Lucy said.

"Both?" Spike said. "Both."

"Both is good," Drusilla said. "All play and no work makes kittens lose stars."

"I think you're mixing metaphors, Dru." Lucy ran a few steps ahead and then turned around to face them, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Come on, nihilistic undead bitches aren't going to break their own fingers."

"Why do I get the feeling you've had more than the one run-in with Little Miss Sunshine?" Spike wondered aloud.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Because I have. I so want to dust her, but she could be useful."

Sunday did run a well-oiled operation, for a nihilistic undead bitch.

"You can play enforcer, kitten," Spike said with a grin. "Try not to break her too much."

They left Sunday minus one minion and plus two broken legs and other assorted injuries. It had taken a while to get through to her, but she'd finally agreed that it would be to her benefit to let Spike, Drusilla and Lucy have first pick of the loot her gang collected every September. The standard forty percent payout had been upped to sixty percent when Lucy had to get started on her legs. Sunday was tougher than the average suckhouse vamp. Her little gang was their first big gain since Spike had charbroiled the Annoying One.

When the Slayer marched into the factory the next night, Spike just sighed. He'd expected this to happen sooner or later when they'd decided not to pack up and move house. He'd lost that argument due to some definition of fairness that Drusilla and Lucy both agreed on and he wasn't going to dwell on it. He put down the papers Lucy and Dalton were explaining to him and turned to face the Slayer head on.

"You do realize this is a private residence?" Spike asked sarcastically.

The Slayer scoffed. "You're nesting in an abandoned warehouse."

Spike crossed his arms. "And there's no shortage of them, so you can scope out another for your Barbie dream home."

"Okay, quip-fu match over. I'm calling it before you burn the building down," Lucy said. She got up from the table and stood next to Spike. "We didn't do anything to Dodd, Buffy. If it was a vampire that killed him, they weren't one of ours. Also, skinning people? Not really a vampire thing."

The Slayer blinked. "Do you mind-read people all the time now?"

Lucy nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."

"That's creepy," the Slayer said.

It was useful, actually. Between Lucy and Drusilla there wasn't much they wouldn't know about.

Drusilla's light steps came up behind them. She rested her chin on Spike's shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Pretty little Slayer. Would you ever kill? Little sister would. You'll have three."

"I take it back," the Slayer muttered. "You're not the creepy one here."

Spike growled at her and the Slayer shot a glare back at him. Drusilla giggled.

Lucy crossed her arms. "Was there anything else?"

"Only this." The Slayer took a white and purple envelope out of her jacket and held it out towards Lucy. "Arrived today. Mom wanted me to give it to you."

Lucy stepped close enough to the Slayer to pluck the envelope from her fingers before retreating. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," the Slayer said.

A look that Spike couldn't read passed between Lucy and the Slayer. Then the Slayer left the factory without another word. Spike turned his head to look at Lucy and saw that she was eyeing the envelope with trepidation.

"Who's it from?" Spike asked.

Lucy made a squeaking sound before clearing her throat. "NYU. I already got my acceptance. I don't know why they're sending another letter."

"That's the school you're so keen to go to, right?" When Lucy nodded, Spike said, "Well, open it."

Lucy took a deep breath and slit the envelope open. Her eyes moved quickly, then slowly as she read the letter inside.

"Will we have cake?" Drusilla asked.

"I don't know, Dru." Lucy looked up from her letter. "They're offering me a scholarship. It wouldn't pay for everything, but..."

"But?" Spike prompted after she'd trailed off and showed no sign of speaking again any time soon.

"My parents would be proud." Lucy shook her head and put the letter back in the envelope. "Never mind that. We have work to do. Dalton and I are going to prove that buying blood will increase manpower, and you are going to agree."

Spike did agree, after several back and forth arguments, and he commented that Lucy had become awfully entrepreneurial as of late. Lucy muttered that everyone had to have a hobby before disappearing behind one of the books on blood magic that Spike had stolen while looking for a way to help Drusilla.

Later that night, when Drusilla and Lucy had gone out for a midnight snack, Spike sought out Dalton in the office he'd given him after Angelus had left. Dalton had been loyal during that entire episode and he'd deserved to be rewarded for it.

Dalton was sitting at his desk, absorbed in a book that looked like it might have been older than he was. He jumped when Spike cleared his throat. "Master Spike! How can I help you?"

Spike placed Lucy's scholarship letter on the desk. "Do you know if this place has night classes?"

"Devon told me that the swim team was turning into fish people," Lucy said.

Spike looked up from the book he was reading to the bed where Drusilla and Lucy were holding hands and had a daisy floating between them. Both of his girls had their eyes fixed on the flower. He didn't know how Lucy was able to split her attention between magic and speaking without the daisy falling or bursting into flames, but he welcomed the conversation. Total silence in the factory during the day got boring.

"The Slayer stopped it, I suppose," Spike said. "When did you see Dev?"

"Last night, when we were at the Bronze." Lucy smiled. "You were flirting with dinner. B-positive?"

"O-positive." Spike watched as the daisy became covered in a rime of ice and then slowly went clear and colourless. "Your boy does know you're evil now?"

"He's Devon," Lucy said, as if that was enough of an answer. And for her it probably was. She did know the boy well.

"Hush," Drusilla ordered. "Watch."

The ice daisy spun slowly in the air. It rose above their heads, still spinning, and burst into a shower of fluffy snowflakes.

Lucy laughed. She and Drusilla came together in an embrace as they turned their faces upwards to watch the snowfall. Their eyes sparkled.

"It's beautiful, Dru," Lucy said.

Drusilla looked over at Spike and stretched a hand out towards him. The invitation was clear. Spike put down his book and went to join them.

A/n: I would like to reiterate that I know nothing about how US colleges work. Nothing.

-Cynder2013