A/N: I just want to thank everyone who's taken the time to read this story so far!
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The next night, Kat and Spike were bathed in the warm glow of the moon as they patrolled the cemetery. With still no headway on the Glory situation, they still had to carry on as normal. It had been quiet, the pair sharing their usual banter or just swapping stories to pass the time. A hand shot out of the dirt and they both stilled, Spike twirling the stake around in his hand with a smirk as he got ready for a fight. Kat, who was casually munching on a chocolate bar, decided to step back, perching atop of an old worn out bench. The vampire dug his way out of his resting place and Spike punched him right away.
"Ow! Dude, I only just woke up," the new vampire whined, making Kat snort to herself. Spike and the vamp exchanged a few blows. Spike was older and far more powerful, but a freshly turned and hungry vampire was nothing to mess with. Especially when they had the appetising carrot of a human dangled right in front of them.
"Oh! Don't help," Spike called out to her sarcastically.
"Nah, I think I'll watch the show," she grinned, chomping down on her chocolate bar. Spike shot her a dirty look and the other vampire got a kick in to Spike's gut. He groaned as he stumbled back, growling before he lunged and shoved the stake through the vampire's chest. He exploded into dust and Spike huffed, stomping over to her. She shoved her now empty chocolate wrapper in her jacket pocket. She wasn't a litterer.
"We make a good team," Kat smirked wryly, her long lashes fluttering at him.
"Sure we do. What exactly do you bring to the team again?" He snarked. It wasn't serious, though. His blue eyes were shining with mischief as he looked down at where she sat.
"Witty banter and a pretty face?" She snorted with a shrug. He chuckled, grabbing her hand and yanking her to her feet. She found herself light-headed from their close proximity and how his scent seemed to envelop her. It was really getting hard to ignore her growing feelings. Damn her hormones.
"Can't argue with you there," he smirked. Her cheeks flushed pink, a stupid smile gracing her face that she tried to hide before he figured out her crush and never spoke to her again. Spike opened his mouth to say something but never got the chance.
"Spike? Spikey, is that you? I've been looking for you everywhere!" A whiny voice floated through the darkness of the cemetery. Soon enough, Harmony in all her fluffy pink glory came strutting over. She stopped, eyes narrowed as she spied Kat with him, their hands still joined. Kat hadn't even realised until Harmony did, but Spike didn't seem to be letting go.
"Katherine," Harmony muttered curtly, holding her head high.
"Harmony," Kat replied, her tone laced with amusement. Despite this, her free hand still clutched her own stake tighter. Harmony wasn't the sharpest tool in the box but she was still a vampire after all.
"What are you doin' here, Harm?" Spike sighed. He sounded so done with her but his familiarity of the nickname sent a wave of envy through Kat's entire body. She needed to get a grip.
"I told you, we need to talk about us," Harmony frowned. Kat couldn't blame her completely. She'd fallen under Spike's spell too, apparently and hadn't even noticed until it was too late.
"There is no us. I told you I'm not interested in a bloody reunion. Leave me alone," he muttered with squinted eyes. Harmony rolled her eyes before they landed back on Kat and Spike's still joined hands.
"Ohhh. Of course. I should have known you'd moved on already. And with a human? Come on, Spike," she snorted patronisingly. Kat pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing a little. Of course, she and Spike weren't actually together. She wasn't that lucky. But maybe this was the solution to his problem. If Harmony thought he'd moved on then she would move on too.
"Don't be jealous just because I satisfy him like no one else has," Kat smirked deviously. She let go of Spike's hand, the bleach blonde looking down at her confused for a moment before she wrapped her arms around his middle, her head resting on his chest. He got the message pretty quickly as his arm wound around her too and he shot Harmony a bright smile.
"No hard feelings, Harm," he shrugged. Kat looked up at him, her arms still around him as he continued.
"Can't help who we fall in love with," he murmured tenderly. His eyes were warm and soft as he gazed down at Kat, his hand coming up to stroke her cheek. Her stomach flip-flopped around on her like a fish out of water. She had to remind herself he was just acting. And he was damn good at it.
"He's just gonna hurt you, you know?" Harmony scoffed. Kat tore her eyes from Spike to look at her.
"He's just gonna break your heart. That's what he does. He reels you in, makes you think he cares. Then BAM! Next thing you know, he's kicking you out and making you cry. He's bad news. He's not a good guy and he never will be. If he didn't have that chip in his head right now, you'd already be dead," she glowered.
"That's enough," Spike growled, eyes flashing with menace. His arm dropped from Kat as he stood taller and Kat shook her head.
"Just because it didn't work out for you two, it doesn't make him a bad guy. He is a good guy and I'm not gonna stand here and let you speak about him like that," Kat warned, a sudden protective urge flaring inside of her.
"You don't get it, you wouldn't. He doesn't even have a soul. There's nothing inside of him. He gets infatuated, but it's not real love. He doesn't know how to love! And then he gets bored and doesn't care how much it hurts you," Harmony ranted, her arms flailing around.
"Then why are you here, Harmony? If you think he's not capable of love, why bother coming back?" Kat asked tensely, her brow raised. Harmony looked thoughtful for a moment before she laughed.
"You know what? You're so right! I shouldn't be here. Chasing after someone who will never be able to care about me," she murmured as if she'd just had a grand epiphany. She turned to look at Spike then, who was just watching her carefully.
"You don't deserve me, you never did. Goodbye, Spike," she said resolutely, turning on her heel and walking away.
Once she was gone, Kat turned to look at Spike. His jaw was set as he glared at nothing and Kat wasn't sure what he was thinking. A weird dread set in her stomach as she started to wonder if Spike still cared about her. Maybe he was acting like he didn't but now he seemed bothered. Was there more than meets the eye between the unlikely couple?
"Are you okay?" Kat asked hesitantly after a tense moment of silence. They were still just standing there. He turned to look at her then, his face tense.
"She's right," he muttered, shaking his head.
"About what?" Kat asked.
"All of it. I'm not good for anyone. I don't have a soul, how can I feel love? Maybe she's right. I just get infatuated with people and then it stops. Maybe I don't know how to love. Maybe I do just have nothin' on the inside," he lamented. For someone who once wanted to be known as the big bad, he seemed perturbed by the realisation.
"That's bullshit," Kat said firmly. Spike blinked at her dumbly for a moment.
"Bullshit?" He echoed slowly.
"Yeah, bullshit. So you don't have a soul, that doesn't mean anything. People with souls can be evil. You do know how to feel love, Spike. You've always been different from the others. When Angel got turned, the first thing he did was massacre his family. You? You wanted to turn your mom so she could be free from sickness and be with you forever. And then there was Dru. You loved her, you were loyal to her. You took care of her for a hell of a long time. So yeah, it's bullshit. You can feel love. You have and you will. You're different, and it's not a bad thing. It shows the depth of your heart that you can love without a soul," Kat implored. It was hardly the conversation she expected to have after they got rid of Harmony. She wasn't sure why he was so upset about the whole thing. She meant her words, though. Spike was different. She'd always known it. He was somehow capable of love even without his soul. Spike stared at her like he'd just discovered gold and she worried if she'd said the wrong thing.
"You really believe that?" He asked after a long stretch of silence.
"Wouldn't say it if I didn't," she said honestly. He stepped closer to her, a hand darting out and tucking some of her hair behind her ear. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it but it felt like the air around them shifted. He leaned in closer and her stomach tied itself in knots. Was he going to kiss her or was her imagination really running away with itself?
"Hey, guys! What are you doing here?" Xander's voice broke the moment and Kat felt confusion and disappointment take hold as Spike quickly took a step back. She had no idea if they'd just shared a moment or if she was reading into everything too much.
"Patrolling, what does it look like?" Spike asked harshly, shooting Xander a withering look.
"But we're patrolling. Why are you patrolling?" Anya asked, confused.
"Giles must have mixed things up. He's so overworked lately," Kat murmured with a frown. It was a simple mistake but not the kind that Giles made often. Xander went to speak but Spike beat him to it.
"Right then. No use in four of us out here, so we'll head off then. Already had enough action for one night," Spike muttered tensely. He didn't wait for a reply before he started skulking off and Kat's brow furrowed. Did she make things weird with them now? With all of her soft words? Did he know she was getting feelings for him? Did she just blow their entire friendship? A million depressing thoughts flew through her head as she gave Xander and Anya a small wave and caught up with Spike. He wasn't going in the direction of his crypt, but instead her home. He was a gentleman like that. Even if she had ruined things between them he'd still walk her home.
The walk home was tense and weird and she hated it. They kept in pace but he also kept some distance between them. She started internally panicking that she'd done something wrong. She hoped she hadn't been so transparent about her feelings that he knew. That was just embarrassing.
"I'm sorry… if I made it weird or whatever, with all the things I said," she spoke up when they were almost at her house. The silence with them was insufferable, she felt ready to crawl out of her own skin.
"You didn't," he replied quietly. And that was all he said. It wasn't particularly reassuring. The rest of the way home she beat herself up, going over all the things she said and coming up with reasons why she shouldn't have said it.
"Goodnight," she murmured awkwardly, moving to go up the porch steps. His hand darted out and snatched her wrist though and she turned to look at him.
"Thank you," he said softly. The confused look on her face must have been obvious as he elaborated.
"It's been… a long time since anyone made me feel that way. Human. A good man. Joyce was the last person to make me feel like I wasn't a bad guy," he continued.
"You wanted to be seen as a bad guy," she pointed out, remembering all the drama and theatrics he pulled to make sure everyone knew he was evil. She would have thought someone making him feel human or good was the last thing he wanted.
"People change," he murmured, giving her one last look before he turned and walked off into the night. She watched his back for a moment, his vague last words lingering in the air before she walked inside. She knew he'd changed. She'd seen it. Seen him go from a menace to someone who was trying to do better. To do good. She was just glad he was seeing it now too.