A/N: This one is suuuuuper short but I felt like it was needed.

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Spike stumbled between the headstones as he made his way home, a bottle of whisky clutched in his hand. He was bloody miserable and mildly drunk. He'd been at the demon bar and it spoke volumes to how much he'd drank given his inebriated state. It took a lot to get him drunk. He wasn't quite sure what the bloody hell had happened. Kat had patched him up and she'd slept at his place. That was days ago and he'd barely seen her since. The first two days he hadn't seen her at all, she hadn't even been at the meetings. He was worried but Buffy told him she just wasn't feeling well. When he'd considered going to see her, maybe bring her something to cheer her up, Tara had told him maybe it was best to let her rest as if she could read his bloody mind. The third day she'd been at the shop and he'd been expecting their normal banter and talks. Instead he got the cold shoulder or some biting remarks. It was like it was back before they were friends and he had no idea just what he'd done to deserve it. He did plenty of bad things, but he'd poured over everything that could have possibly caused her mood switch and he'd come up empty handed. So now he was depressed.

As he meandered his way home, he barely noticed a blur of ginger making her way over.

"Hey, Spike!" Willow smiled. He stopped and glanced to her, eyes lazily looking around.

"Out patrollin' on your own?" He asked, sounding mildly annoyed.

"Oh... no. Xander's around here… somewhere," she looked around before she shot him an amused smile.

"What's with the sad face?" She prodded softly. He heaved a weary sigh before he slumped onto a knocked over gravestone.

"I'm love's bitch again, is what," he huffed bitterly. She blinked at him for a moment before she crouched in front of him.

"You wanna talk about it?" She asked sympathetically. He'd always liked Red, she was a good person and a mighty fine witch.

"I'm in love with someone but I know it'll never happen. Thing is… I made my peace with that, yeah? Knew I wasn't good enough, might never be. But now she's pullin' away like she's realized she's better than me. Like she can see now how worthless I am. Hurts, it does," he lamented before taking a large pull from the bottle.

"You're not worthless, Spike," Willow argued. He gave her a look but she shook her head.

"Sure you've done bad things. Some… very bad things. But you're different now. You're one of us. You're a good guy and any girl would be lucky to have you," she said firmly. He didn't really believe her but he appreciated the effort.

"Love can be tricky sometimes. But if it's meant to be then it'll happen. Fate always finds a way," she explained. He snorted before taking another long drink.

"Right…" he muttered disbelievingly.

"I'm serious. Take Kat for example. And… and don't tell anyone 'cause me and Tara are the only ones who know, but we did a spell for her. For her and some guy. Turns out they have a connection. Basically a soulmate. But she freaked. I mean she totally looked like she'd seen a ghost and ran outta the shop like a bat out of hell. But despite her reaction, it's meant to be. So it'll find a way to happen," Willow went on with herself but Spike could hear ringing in his ears.

She had a soulmate. Well that was fantastic, wasn't it? He wasn't exactly in the running for that, was he, when he didn't have a sodding soul. It felt like someone punched a hole right through his chest and ripped his heart right out. That was it then, she wasn't meant for him no matter what he felt for her.

"Willow! A little help!" Xander called out from somewhere nearby. She hopped up from where she sat.

"Duty calls," she grinned, brandishing her stake. She gave him a friendly tap on the shoulder before she scurried off. Spike felt the heartache and anger getting stronger and suddenly, the bottle in his hand shattered with how hard he'd been squeezing it. The glass embedded into his skin but he felt nothing but the blind pain in his chest. He was a fool to think he'd ever have a chance. Maybe it was a good thing she'd started to pull away then. It was clear now she'd found her person and had no use for him anymore. It stung like a bitch but at least he now knew where he stood. He was beneath her. A realization so biting that he wished he wasn't chipped so he could go out on a killing spree. Fuck love. Fuck it all and fuck Kat. He didn't need her anyway.

Kat felt like she was on autopilot as she climbed into bed. She felt awful treating Spike this way now, especially armed with the knowledge that he loved her. She could see the hurt all over him. But she had no choice. She needed to cut the cord now before it hurt too much later. She was about to lay down when a soft knock sounded at her door and it cracked open, revealing Buffy.

"Hey, you got a minute?" She asked with a little smile. Kat nodded, scooting over so Buffy could come and sit with her. She was curious about what she wanted.

"So…" Buffy started once she was sitting on the bed.

"So?" Kat asked, raising a brow at her amused.

"You and Spike have been acting weird lately. Or more like you're acting weird. Kinda like how you used to be with him. Did he do something wrong? Do I need to kick his ass?" Buffy asked jokingly. Kat didn't laugh though. She didn't even smile and Buffy frowned.

"I have feelings for him," Kat bit out, ripping it off like a bandaid. Everything was already ass upwards anyway. Buffy burst out laughing at her.

"Duh, tell me something I don't know. So you got a little crush? He is a kinda hot," she shrugged.

"It's not a crush, Buff. I think I love him," Kat sighed. Buffy went silent as she stared at her for a moment.

"Oh…" she muttered.

Kat told her everything. Told her about her dream and about the cards. About the spell Tara and Willow did, about how they were kind of soulmates. She told her why she'd been shutting Spike out and how miserable it was making her. She missed him.

"Wow. That's a lot… I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner," Buffy muttered with a look. Kat shrugged at her.

"I know it's hard… relationships. And a vampire no less, trust me, it can be hard work and mine had a soul. A precarious one but he had one no less," Buffy mused.

"It's not even the lack of soul that bothers me. It's just… after last time… I don't wanna get hurt again. I don't want to lose him," Kat said sadly. Buffy put her arm around her and held her close.

"But you're gonna lose him if you keep being mean to him," she pointed out.

"Yeah but it's on my terms," Kat explained lamely.

"I've never been his biggest fan, but he's proved himself to me. When he got you back from that hell dimension and then what he did for Dawn. He's not a bad guy, not anymore. And he cares about you, anyone can see it. I think you should follow your heart," Buffy said softly. Kat was taken aback by the blessing she just received. She felt a wave of reassurance wash over her. She hadn't realized how much of her tension was due to worrying about Buffy's reaction to her connection to Spike. Not knowing if she'd kill him or hate her for it. It was a strange sense of peace that blanketed her at her cousin's encouragement. Part of her wanted to go and find Spike but she mentally slapped herself. Just because Buffy approved didn't mean it was a good idea. She was still terrified. Still not ready for any kind of relationship. It was best to keep him at arm's length for now. If he ended up hating her then so be it. At least she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.

"Thanks, Buff," Kat murmured softly. Buffy moved so she could flash her a blinding smile.

"Of course. I'm always in your corner, Kat, no matter what. Whatever you chose, I'll back you up," she smiled warmly. Kat couldn't help but smile back even though she knew in the grand scheme of things it wouldn't change anything. It was just nice knowing how much Buffy loved her.