Hello everyone! I wanted to take a moment to welcome all the new readers. Thank you all for taking the time to read TMS and specially to those who write reviews and tell me what they think about the chapters, I love to read them all!
So here we go, Spike's back and he needs help. How will Ally deal with it?
Hope you enjoy it!
Lee out.
P.S: I might take a bit long to upload in the future, as I'm now writing two fics (You'll Never Walk Alone) and I still have to rewatch the rest of the episodes in season 7, the whole season 4 of Angel and the whole season 3 of Supernatural. AAAAANDDD my sisters are coming next Saturday and will therefore have less time to write, but I'll try to keep it as regular as possible! Sorry if I can't manage to upload twice in a week, but I'll try to at least do it once!
Dawn had assaulted her with questions about Spike the moment she crossed the threshold of the Summers house. Buffy was up and about, stopping when she caught sight of her, only to huff and turn around in annoyance.
Back to the old times, it seemed.
"What did he tell you?" The teen inquired as she served some orange juice for the other brunette.
"Not much. He's... not well. There are some things I want to talk to him about later. I've taken him back to the high school and will stay with him this morning, see if he needs anything. I'll buy some pig's blood for him afterwards, when everyone's in class and there's little chance of anyone finding me with a bag of blood in school corridors."
"He's lost his marbles." Buffy piped in as she came into the kitchen with a basket full of dirty clothes, only glancing at them before she went down the stairs to the basement.
"You and I will chat later." Ally informed her aggressively, even if she couldn't see the blonde. She was pretty sure Buffy had heard her.
Dawn glanced from the door to the basement to her middle sister, frowning as she realized something was going on. "Something wrong between you two?"
"We fought again." The junior Slayer sighed, pouring some cereal into her bowl. "Don't worry, we'll work it out."
"I got worried when you didn't come back with Buff. You've been out all night long. Getting... reacquainted or nasty deal?" Dawn smirked lightly at the first option, making her sister roll her eyes. Hormonal teens.
"Uhm... no nasty deal, per se, but... it was complicated."
"Did he... tell you anything special?" The teen tilted her head curiously, trying to play down her eagerness to find out more about their night.
Ally frowned. Did Dawn know? "Special like what?"
"Like... I don't know... what he's been doing... or a gift?"
The eldest of the pair leaned forward over the counter, lowering her voice to a whisper. "What do you know?"
"Nothing!" She shook her head way too energetically for a sixteen year old first thing in the morning.
"Dawn..." Ally warned, narrowing her eyes threateningly.
"It's just... he told me, before he left." She finally admitted, biting on her lower lip nervously. She knew she shouldn't know about the proposal before Ally, while the other was worried for a completely different reason.
Ally huffed and let her head fall into her hands, closing her eyes tiredly. "Don't tell anyone, please. Not yet. I want to talk to him first."
"What did you say?" Dawn asked, lowering her voice as she shoot cautious glances to the door.
"That I didn't need it. Now, eat your breakfast, Dawn. We'll have time to gossip later. I'm tired and in dire need of coffee." Ally ended the conversation as she got up and grabbed a couple pieces of bread while brewing some coffee. She had ten minutes to shower, change clothes and be back down by the time Xander arrived.
He was sitting down in between some crates when she went down to the basement. Not far from the metal door, but at least outside of it.
"Hey." She greeted softly, a light smile finding its way to her lips as she approached him.
He lifted his gaze from the floor to watch her sit beside him, following her movements. His face still showed signs of the pain he'd been fighting all night, the burn within him that didn't seem to lessen. And yet, he was lucid enough to recognize her and see her, actually understand who he was looking at, as he laid his head on her shoulder when she was settled. The Slayer didn't hesitate to wrap he arms around him, her hands gently caressing him in silent comfort.
They sat there for a couple hours before she left the basement to go to the butcher's, buy some blood and come back as fast as possible.
By the time she made it down the stairs, he was waiting for her, pacing near the banister, only stopping when he caught sight of her.
"Here. I've brought you something to drink... eat." She held the bag out for him, sitting on a nearby wooden box while he had his meal.
He turned his back on her while he drank, most probably not wanting her to see that part of him. It didn't really bother him before, as long as he was drinking from a mug. It was like he could pretend the substance to be hot chocolate. The packets from the butchery didn't do as good a job at hiding what it really was he needed to eat.
Once it was all gone and he was sitting beside her, she thought it was the best moment to tackle the issue of him getting a freaking soul .
"Did you want it?" She questioned, her hand slowly covering his.
"Want what?" He frowned at her, unsure of what she was talking about.
"Your soul. Did you want it? Or was it just because you thought I deserved someone with a soul?"
He refused to answer, turning his head to look anywhere but at her, making her sigh and tighten her hold on his hand.
"Guess I should've told you this long ago..." She breathed deeply. His head tilted, his ears ready to catch every single one of her words even as he stared at the wall across from them. "I told you about my ex, from L.A., right? He was the one that saved me from being killed the night my parents died. He was the one who trained me, and gave me a home, the one who prepared me to be a Potential... I think I told Riley this, but... just in case. He's a vampire. He had a soul. He was cursed by gypsies like a hundred years ago and... What?" He'd turned to face her so quickly she was surprised he hadn't gotten whiplash.
"Angelus? Your ex is Angelus?" He growled, standing up to tower over her.
She simply stared at him, wide eyed. Hell, she knew Angel was kinda famous, but... "You know him?"
"He's my grandsire!"
Well, talk about coincidences. "No shit."
"You were with that poof? That 's your ex?" His features were the epitome of fury, his nostrils flaring as his eyes sparked, blue turning to ice.
"Yeah."
"Always Angelus, had to be him. Had to have her first. Always took what's mine. Always had it first." He spun on his heel, walking away for a few steps before going back to the stunned Slayer.
"Hey. Hey." She was losing him again, he was going back to that dark place with voices once more. Striding forward, she grabbed his hands, which had been going up to his head and held them down. "Let me finish. You can shout and complain about it all you want later. Heck, I'm feeling like I've banged a grandpa and his grandson, and that's really creepy." She lead him back to their previous seat and forced him to settle down once more. "Listen to me. It might be more effective now that I know you know him." She paused and tried to think of how to start again. "Angel has a soul, as you seem to know really well. There was a little incident on my second year living with him, where... well, Angelus came back. And let me tell you, soulless Angel and soulless Spike, as different as day and night."
"He hurt you?" He hissed, his hands wrapping around her wrists almost painfully. She welcomed it, knowing he was paying attention to her, and not to whatever was inside his head.
"Nah. Others, yeah, but... not me. But the thing is, I know a soulless vampire, a true killer, one so evil there's nothing but darkness inside." She knelt in front of him, her hands falling to his thighs and rubbing reassuringly. "And I know you. With and without your soul. You're light, baby. You're so human, even without that part that people say makes us human. You love and feel so much..." She giggled, thinking back to his reactions when watching Passions. "Even with his soul, Angel was darker. You are light. So bright. So warm." She cupped his cheek with her hand, the vampire leaning into it unwittingly.
Her face lit up when he reached over and pulled her to him by the back of her head, making her stand from her knelt position as his lips covered hers, soft and gentle at first, bruising and passionate later.
That was her Spike.
She responded with equal fervour, climbing into his lap and grabbing his face in between her hands, his hands finding their way to her waist as they used to long ago.
It had been so long...
Later that day, with swollen lips and wrinkled clothes, Ally finally got off her lover's lap, trying to get her hair decent looking before going back to pick her sister's up.
"I'll come back tomorrow, alright? If you need anything, and I mean anything, come find me. Anytime." She leaned down to kiss him one last time without letting herself lose track of time and smiled as she stepped away from him. "See you soon."
She turned around, ready to run upstairs, yet his voice made her pause.
"You do know Angel is Buffy's ex, right?"
Her dumbstruck face was answer enough for him, who gulped down and backed away, further into the maze that was the basement.
Ally stalked through the high school corridors, drawing the attention of slackers and some students with free periods to herself, although she made a great job of ignoring them. She had one target in mind, and she was not going to stop until she found it.
Her trusty military boots made a dry thumping noise as she advanced on her objective, her hands turning into fists and her breathing deep, carefully controlled. Too controlled.
The blonde new counsellor near the coffee machine on the lounge turned at hearing her approach, her face scrunching up in bewilderment at catching her death glare. She was so in trouble.
Without a word, Ally grabbed Buffy's arm and dragged her to an empty classroom, somewhere they could talk in private, never uttering a word on the way.
"What's going on, Alls?" The blonde inquired as her sister pushed her into the room and shut the door behind her.
"You're such a hypocrite, Buffy!" The brunette burst, advancing on the senior Slayer with as much fury as she could muster.
"What have I done now?"
"Your ex is a vampire!"
She blinked at the brunette, thrown off by the subject of their argument. Where was that coming from? "Who told you that? Spike?"
"Of course he did. How dare you judge my relationship with Spike and judge him when you had your own fangy-love?"
"Angel was good! He had a soul!"
"So does Spike now!"
Buffy's jaw dropped and her eyes widened, astounded.
Captain Peroxide had a soul. He'd gone and gotten himself a soul.
"What?" She squeaked, too shocked to control her voice, letting herself slump onto one of the desks behind her.
"And you know what? Spike without a soul is a thousand times better than Angelus could ever be. For god's sake, he's better than Mr. Tall, Dark and Broody with a soul! Angel sulks, and grumbles and is a grumpy dude with the ethics so grey they border on dark-demony-side. How dare you treat him like you have all this time, after being with Angel? Had I known that sooner, I'd have kicked your ass so hard you wouldn't be able to sit for weeks."
"Wait, you know Angel?" The blonde's eyes narrowed, getting hard and hurt at once.
"He's my ex too."
"What do you...? Your ex? Angel is your ex?" Buffy's voice turned into something akin a snarl, her hands clenching on the desk, the wood making groaning noises. It wouldn't take much more to break it.
"Yes, Angel. He's the guy that helped me after the deal with my parents. He trained me, brooded, made me a Potential, brooded some more, complained I shouldn't be slaying, and then bang! We got together for a few months." The brunette started pacing in front of her sister, fast and heated, rolling her eyes at the memories. "Then he decided that the good side was too good for him and sent me away. That's the kind of guy you think is better than Spike. Spike changed without having a soul. He went looking for it. No one had to curse him to stop him from being evil. Chip? That doesn't change what's inside. He changed, and you still treat him like he's dirt." As the anger threatened to overtake her, Ally halted, breathing deeply, before facing Buffy once again. "Spike's got a soul now, so I expect you to not treat him as your punching bag as much as you did before, because, god help me, Buffy, I'm not going to hold back on returning every single hit."
