Khloe's eyes slowly fluttered open, as she let out a low groan, feeling pain shooting through her skull. She went to push herself upright, but a hand gently pushed her back down onto the bed. Bed? Khloe looked around her surroundings to find she was in Faith's motel room, the girl in question looking down at her, worry clear on her face.
"Hey" Khloe exclaimed, rubbing her head, as Faith gave her a small smile.
"Hey yourself" Faith replied.
"Are you okay?" Khloe inquired, only remembering bits and pieces of what had happened before she passed out.
"I'm not the one who's been unconscious for the past ten hours" Faith stated, watching Khloe's eyes widened.
"Seriously? What happened?" Khloe frowned.
"You saved us. You grabbed Mrs Post and did your thing. She's gone. So's the gauntlet" Faith explained, as Khloe looked relieved.
"I guess there's a silver lining to everything, huh?" Khloe scoffed.
"How're you feeling?" Faith asked, watching Khloe shrug, as she slowly sat herself up, so she was leaning against the wall.
"I've got a banging headache" Khloe admitted, scrunching her eyes shut, her brow furrowed in pain.
She was surprised when she felt a soft hand touching her cheek, her eyes shooting open to see Faith's eyes full of concern. Khloe's heart sped up a little at this action, feeling Faith's thumb brushing slowly against her cheek.
"You…protected me. No one's ever done that before" Faith told her, a vulnerable expression on her face.
"You're my friend. I wouldn't let anyone hurt you" Khloe insisted, watching Faith bite her lip.
"Is that all I am? A friend?" Faith inquired, dropping her hand onto her lap.
"What do you mean?" Khloe asked, nervously.
"Mrs Post…she said some things to me. About you and I" Faith confessed, as Khloe let out a long sigh.
"Mrs Post was full of shit" Khloe mumbled, making Faith chuckle.
"That's true. But I think there were a few things she was right about" Faith went on, as Khloe's forehead wrinkled.
"Like what?" Khloe inquired, confused.
"She said that we were too close. That you'd make me vulnerable…that you liked me as more than a friend" Faith explained, as Khloe averted her eyes to her lap.
"Faith, you don't need to-" Khloe began, but the other girl quickly cut her off.
"There was one thing she didn't realise though…" Faith trailed off, reaching out to place her hand over Khloe's hand.
"I like you too" Faith admitted, her voice thick with nerves.
Before Khloe knew what was happening, Faith's lips came crashing into hers, the Slayer's hand trailing through her hair to pull her closer. Khloe was quick to respond, wrapping her own arms around Faith's shoulders, deepening the kiss. Faith was soon pushing her onto her back, her tongue slipping in between Khloe's lips, while her hands trailed down her waist. The two pulled away a few moments later, Khloe opening her eyes to find a genuine smile on Faith's face. They let their foreheads rest against each other's, both trying to catch their breath, their hearts still pounding.
"I've wanted to do that since I met you" Faith admitted, biting her lip after the words came out.
"I sure as hell wouldn't have said no" Khloe grinned, leaning forward to press a quick kiss to her lips.
"I don't…I don't know how to deal with feeling this way" Faith mumbled, nervously.
"We can take it slow, yeah?" Khloe suggested, as Faith nodded.
"But not too slow" Faith teased, smiling as she kissed her again.
A few hours later, Khloe had finally convinced Faith that she was up to walking back to her own motel room, wanting to get a change of clothes. The Slayer opened the motel door for her, coming to stand in the doorway and wrapping her arms around her waist, pulling Khloe into a quick kiss before she left. Khloe was grinning as she pulled away, deciding she would definitely be going to back to Faith's once she was changed. She eventually forced herself to walk away from Faith, her skin flushed, and with a skip in her step. For the first time in months, she really felt happy.
Unbeknownst to Khloe, this kiss had been witnessed by someone who's heart had dropped at the sight. Well, not that he had much of a working heart these days. Spike's jaw was tense as he watched Khloe let herself back into her motel room, debating on what to do. When he had come back to Sunnydale he was hoping she would receive him with open arms…but it seemed like she had already found his replacement. With his hands balled into fists, Spike began to storm towards the motel room, ready to give her a piece of his mind. If it wasn't bad enough that Drusilla had abandoned him, now Khloe too? He placed his hand on the doorknob, gripping it tightly, planning to rip open the door…but he never did. He stood there for a few seconds, crushing the doorknob in his hand before ripping his hand back. He had left her. Spike wasn't an idiot, he knew there was a chance she might have moved on. He leaned forward to peak through her window, just able to see past a gap in the curtains to see Khloe standing in front of the mirror with a broad smile on her face. She had changed out of the clothes she had just been wearing, now opting for a much tighter tank top, which Spike let his eyes roam over. Had she smiled like that when she was with him? With a shake of his head, Spike turned on his heel and began to march away, muttering to himself. When she was with him? They had one kiss, and clearly, it didn't seem like it had meant much to her.
The next day, Khloe was feeling strange…everything seemed to be going well for once. Almost too well. She and Faith had spent the whole previous day together, and now she had gone to school to get her SAT results and found out she had done surprisingly well. Not on par with Cordelia or Buffy, but still well enough that she had options. With the amount of school she had missed, it was a shock to the system. Just as she was looking at all the colleges she could go to, she realised something. Faith was planning to stay in Sunnydale, the girl obviously loved slaying and there was nowhere better to hunt vampires. Did she really want to leave Faith behind when they were just realising their feelings? Not that Faith still seemed certain with how she really felt, practically begging Khloe to keep their new relationship a secret. Khloe wasn't sure if the other girl was embarrassed about liking a girl…or liking her? With her head so full of conflicting thoughts, it took her far longer than usual to realise someone was following her. Trying to find out if she was just being paranoid, she came to a sudden halt, hearing the footsteps behind her stop too. Whipping her head around, she saw the street behind her was completely empty and frowned. Picking up her speed, Khloe took a quick left, hurrying into an alleyway and hiding behind the wall, waiting to see if she was imaging things. When a familiar blond almost collided with her a few seconds later, she had her answer.
"Spike?" Khloe gaped; her eyes wide as she backed up a few steps.
"Hello, pet" Spike smirked, looking just as he had the last time she had seen him.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Khloe exclaimed, making Spike scoff.
"Careful, love. I know your angry but- " Spike began, but Khloe quickly cut him off.
"Angry?! You selfish, cruel, borderline braindead prick!" Khloe yelled, shoving him so hard in the chest he stumbled backwards.
"Still as feisty as ever I see" Spike grinned, as Khloe shook her head ruefully.
"Actually, you know what?...I don't care why you're here. Just leave me out of it" Khloe exclaimed, going to walk past him.
Spike's hand instantly reached out to wrap around her wrist, his eyes softening a little under her angry gaze. Maybe he had underestimated just how pissed she was.
"I came back for you, Khloe" Spike admitted, watching a frown grow on her face.
"Came back for me?...You fucking left me, Spike! Five months and nothing! Not one word…you just forgot about me!" Khloe shouted, pulling her arm away from his grip.
"Of course, I didn't. I made you a promise, remember?" Spike stated, reaching out to brush some of her hair behind her ear.
"A promise which you broke the moment you left town" Khloe retorted, as Spike opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again when he didn't know what to say.
"…I'm here now. Doesn't that mean something?" Spike insisted, watching as Khloe realised something.
"Where's Dru?" Khloe asked as Spike looked down to his feet.
"She's gone. She left me" He confessed, as Khloe scoffed harshly.
"When?" Khloe inquired, crossing her arms.
"Does it really matter?" Spike muttered as Khloe's jaw tensed.
"When did she leave you, Spike?" Khloe repeated.
"…A couple of weeks ago" Spike admitted.
"Wow, just when I thought you couldn't stoop any lower…you came back here to collect your backup prize just because Dru's had enough of you?" Khloe exclaimed as Spike shook his head.
"It's not like that" Spike insisted.
"It's exactly like that, Spike! You're just too bloody deluded to see it!" Khloe pointed out, as even Spike knew it was true.
"I can make it up to you-" Spike started, but Khloe stopped him.
"I don't want you to. I…I don't want you anymore" Khloe replied, watching hurt flash across Spike's face for just a second, before he hid it.
"Because of that girl?" Spike suggested, crossing his arms.
"What do you…have you been watching me?!" Khloe gaped, dumbfounded.
"As if! I have much better things to do with my time I'll have you know!" Spike told her, defensively.
"I'm not playing this game anymore, Spike. Just leave me alone" Khloe announced, with a shake of head, turning around.
"You can't just walk away. This game isn't over until I say it's over" Spike told her, as she took a few steps forward until their faces were just inches away from each other.
"…Then have fun playing with yourself" Khloe replied, with a smug smirk, before turning on her heel and walking away.
"What's up with you?" Faith questioned, stopping the push up's she had been doing on her motel floor.
"Huh? Nothing…nothing's wrong" Khloe shrugged, from where she was lying on Faith's bed, staring up at the ceiling.
"Maybe you should tell that to your freaky powers" Faith stated, indicating to where the lights had been getting brighter for the last few seconds, as the lightbulb in Faith's lamp suddenly exploded.
"I just have a lot on my mind. SAT results and all that" Khloe mumbled, as Faith crawled onto the bed.
"You're a really bad liar, you know?" Faith teased, coming to lie beside her.
"I'll bear it in mind" Khloe chuckled, feeling Faith's hand slowly intertwining their fingers together.
"I'm not really good with talking about feelings but…I'd make an exception for you," Faith told her, lying on her side so she could face her, as Khloe bit her lip.
"…It's about Spike" Khloe admitted, watching Faith frown.
"The blond bloodsucker?" Faith questioned, as Khloe nodded slowly.
"So, turns out he's back in Sunnydale-" She began, but Faith stopped her before she could go any further.
"Wait, he's in town?! Why the hell didn't you say anything?" Faith asked, accusingly.
"I'm sure it was just a passing visit. I pushed him to the kerb. He's probably running after the next naïve girl he can find" Khloe mumbled, as Faith sat upright.
"He's a vampire, Khloe. Why are you still protecting him?" Faith insisted, with a shake of her head.
"I'm not" Khloe scoffed.
"Then you should have let me slay him. It's kind of my job, remember" Faith pointed out.
"Well, you haven't staked Angel yet" Khloe retorted, as Faith pushed herself up from the bed.
"I haven't because I know Buffy's still in love with him…are you still in love with Spike?" Faith inquired, watching Khloe's eyes widen.
"What? Of course not! That's…completely ridiculous. He's a backstabbing bloodsucker like you said. I couldn't care less" Khloe went on, but Faith didn't seem convinced.
"For someone who doesn't care, you're certainly denying it a lot" Faith huffed, before storming towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Khloe sighed, as Faith ripped the door open.
"To make sure this asshole really has left town" Faith exclaimed, before slamming the door shut so hard it almost came off its hinges.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Khloe couldn't have been wrong about Spike's true intentions. He had gone to the magic shop to try to find something to win Khloe back…or Dru…or maybe to just put himself out of his misery, when Willow walked in. She had been muttering something about a love potion, which seemed like fate to Spike. He soon kidnapped both the red-head and one of Buffy's other friends, Xander, knocking the latter out. Bringing them both to the factory, he put his plan in place. He was going to get Khloe back by the end of the night.
"You can do it, right? You can make her want me again?" Spike asked Willow, who bit her lip.
"I…I can try" Willow stuttered, as Spike's jaw tensed.
"You'll do more than bloody try! Or your little friend over there gets his throat ripped out" Spike warned, watching Willow turn even paler.
"Okay, okay! I'll do it!" Willow panicked.
"God, how the hell did I end up here? Everything was so simple before this place. It was just me and Dru…now she doesn't even want me anymore!" Spike growled, taking a long swig of his drink.
"W-what happened?" Willow questioned, thinking she should keep the vampire talking.
"Things had been off ever since we left this town. She kept saying I'd gone soft…that it was because of Khloe. I mean me soft? Please!" Spike growled, smashing the bottle into a bedpost, making Willow jump.
"She broke up with you?" Willow guessed as Spike nodded sadly, coming to sit on the bed next to her.
"Over such a silly bloody thing. We were making love, and she was doing this thing with her tongue where-" Spike began, as Willow cut him off.
"I don't think I want to know" Willow mumbled, now turning a greener colour.
"Anyways I sort of…called out Khloe's name. And she got in such a hissy fit about it. Next thing I know, she's on a park bench making out with a chaos demon!" Spike went on.
"Wait…it's Khloe you want this love spell for?" Willow frowned.
"Well duh! Are all witches as stupid as you?" Spike scoffed, watching Willow grit her teeth.
"I don't think you'd need a spell for what you want" Willow murmured under her breath, only just loud enough for Spike to hear.
"What does that mean?" Spike asked.
"She's been all sad and mopey since you left. Really…heartbroken. I don't know why…but she missed you a lot" Willow admitted, as Spike's eyes went wide.
"She has?" Spike questioned; his voice soft.
"Maybe if just talked to her-" Willow began, as Spike suddenly stood up.
"That's it! I force her to meet me by threatening to kill you two, and then when I don't she'll see what a great guy I am and admit how she really feels" Spike announced, as Willow let out a long sigh.
Khloe had managed to convince Faith to let it go after arguing for almost an hour, leaving them both watching TV in her motel room, a rare tension in the air. Khloe frowned when her landline began to ring, and picked it up, wondering who would be calling her.
"I've got a proposition for you, love" Spike announced, as Khloe's eyes widened.
"Just do us both a favour and forget about me, Spike. I'm hanging up now" Khloe told him, Faith's eyes snapping up to hers.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you…not if you want to see little Willow or Xander again" Spike warned, as Khloe pinched the bridge of her nose.
"What have you done now?" Khloe sighed.
"Meet me at the magic shop in twenty minutes, or those two become my new blood bags. Your choice" Spike said, as she could practically hear the smirk in his voice before he hung up.
"Looks like I'm going out" Khloe mumbled.
"Great, let's go then. I'll get my stake" Faith nodded, as Khloe gave her a look.
"Woah, woah. Wait a second. You can't just…kill him" Khloe insisted, as Faith raised an eyebrow.
"Slayer. Vampire. Dead Vampire. It's as simple as that, Khloe" Faith retorted, walking towards the door.
"Faith, please. I can convince him to leave, okay? You don't have to do this" Khloe told her, watching Faith's jaw tense.
"And when he leaves then what? Have you thought about all the bodies he'll leave in his wake? He's a monster!" Faith went on.
"I know, okay? I know what he is. But…that doesn't mean I want to see him dead" Khloe admitted.
"Give me a reason not to kill him then" Faith replied, crossing her arms.
"…I might not feel the same way I used to, but I still care about him. I can't stop that. Just as much as I can't stop how I feel about you" Khloe explained, as Faith looked conflicted.
"I'm still coming with you. If he makes one wrong move, he's ash" Faith told her, as Khloe nodded quickly.
"Thank you" Khloe said, with a small smile, leaning forward to press a chaste kiss to her lips.
"Hello, sweetheart" Spike grinned, as he wrenched open the door to the magic shop, seeing Khloe walking towards him.
"You want to talk…so talk" Khloe exclaimed; her lips set in a fine line.
"Sure. But first, you tell your girlfriend to come out of the shadows…or is she too much of a coward?" Spike called out, smirking when the brunette from the day before stormed over to them, from where she had been hiding behind a nearby wall.
"You want to say that again, blondie?" Faith spat out, taking the stake out of her jacket.
"Well, aren't you two cute? Makes me want to heave" Spike murmured, as the two girls came to stand close to each other.
"Where's Willow and Xander?" Khloe inquired.
"Safe. For now. But you'll never find them if you stake me, so why don't you put that away, Xena" Spike exclaimed, looking to Faith.
"You know, you're not really what I was expecting…not exactly menacing, are you?" Faith goaded, putting her stake away nonetheless.
"She's mouthy, ain't she? No wonder you like her" Spike suggested, turning his attention back to Khloe.
"Just tell me what you want, Spike" Khloe insisted, as Spike gave her a look.
"I want you to admit that you still have feelings for me…say that and I'll leave you alone and Buffy's buddy's go free" Spike explained, as Khloe quirked an eyebrow.
"That makes literally no sense" Khloe stated.
"Neither does a vampire without a soul caring about a high schooler but here we are" Spike complained, placing his hands inside his leather jacket pockets.
"And what if I don't tell you what you want?" Khloe replied as Spike shrugged.
"I guess I'll just stick around here then...and Buffy's chums starve to death" Spike informed her.
"Why couldn't you just stay away?" Khloe sighed, feeling conflicted.
"As history has shown, I've always had a hard time staying away from you, pet" Spike confessed, taking a step closer to her, as Khloe felt her heart speed up a little.
"Uh-uh...one more step and you get slayed" Faith insisted, placing her hand back on her stake.
"Slayed? What does...you're screwing a Slayer?" Spike gaped at Khloe, who merely shrugged in response.
"...You'll really leave if I just say it?" Khloe asked, watching Spike nod.
He watched her bite her lip, her eyes darting between Spike and Faith, as he realised something. The reason why she was against just admitting something so simple.
"You're not sure you want me to go, are you?" Spike asked, his eyes wide, watching hurt flash over Faith's face.
"Well, isn't this touching!" A voice announced as the threesome turned around to see a large group of vampire's strolling towards them.
"Oh for God's sake..." Khloe trailed off, wondering what the hell Spike had gotten her into now.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Big things happening in this chapter, Faith and Khloe got together and Spike returned! I'm still holding out for the Spike/Khloe endgame though, don't worry. Please leave a review:)
bethisabear: Thank you, I hope you liked this chapter!
Guest: Aw, thank you:)