Part V - Wandering Minds Want to Know
She woke up around noon. It took her another twenty minutes to get the motivation to move from the warmth and comfort of her bed. For some reason she just didn't feel like moving. When she finally did manage to rise, she got up, put on some work clothes and tried to get into cleaning mode. It wasn't that the place was bad, but it would get that way if things weren't maintained. She sat down and ate a small breakfast while she thought up a game plan to tackle the chores. She decided that it would be best to start at the top and work her way down since she had a houseguest. She figured that by the time she got to the basement it would probably be very close to sunset. If not past depending on how many interruptions she had between now and then. She hoped not too many. She also hoped that Spike would be careful and not come upstairs if he heard the voices of the Scooby gang. She wasn't prepared to explain to everyone why she was letting Spike stay in her basement. In fact, she herself wasn't quite sure why she was letting the vampire stay with her.
She went upstairs, turned on her stereo and started her cleaning. She started in her room and slowly worked her way down the hall. All in all it wasn't that bad. When she was done upstairs, she turned off her stereo and went downstairs. She cleaned the living room, the bathroom and ended up in the kitchen. That was when Buffy stopped by. It was about four p.m. Willow's mind raced as she let her friend in trying to remember if Spike had left anything out where Buffy could find it. She was glad to find out that he hadn't. Still she was nervous, afterall, Buffy was the Slayer - she knew vampires and worst of all she knew Spike. Things could have gotten really hairy if Buffy had seen something to tip her off that Spike was downstairs in the basement of Willow's house sleeping.
**
"What's the matter Will, you seem distracted."
"There was a message from my parents on the machine when I got back from the Magic Box last night. They're not coming back in three weeks like they planned. There's another convention so it'll be six weeks before I get to see them again." Willow sighed. Okay so that wasn't the entire truth, but it was a large portion of it, so it wasn't exactly a lie now was it?
"Oh Will, I'm so sorry." Buffy said as she hugged her friend.
"I know that I should be used to them being gone all the time, but I'm not. Sure most of the time I'm in class or I'm helping you out and I don't notice it. But since I came here to try to get my work done in peace and quiet I've noticed just how empty this place really is. Besides, I would like to see my parents sometime in my life - you know?"
"Yeah. Hey great idea, why don't you come stay at my place. Mom absolutely loves you and Dawnie won't mind."
"Maybe. I'll have to see what my class work is going to be like."
"Okay Wills, no problem. Just drop by if you want. Well gotta go meet Riley."
"Woo date?"
"Nah, sparring."
"With you two isn't that the same thing?" Buffy just shrugged and laughed then hugged her friend goodbye before bounding out the door.
Willow finished her work on the above ground areas of the house just before sunset. It was then that she decided that she deserved a break, besides she was getting hungry. She fixed herself a nice salad and sat down on the couch to watch tv. There wasn't anything good on, but that was nothing new. Willow settled on watching the news while she waited for Spike to rise and shine.
**
Spike roused not too long after the sun had set. He opened his eyes and lay there a moment, taking in the sounds of the house. He wanted to make sure that Red was home alone before he went upstairs. No need to alert any of the Scoobies to his presence in Willow's home until it could no longer be avoided - right? Right. He could hear the telly and nothing else so he figured it was safe. He got up and began to climb the stairs. At first he was trying to be stealthy then he remembered how the stairs were squeaky and gave up on trying to be quiet. Willow smiled as she heard the heavy footfalls on the stairs. Finally Spike was up, she'd have someone to talk to and she could clean the basement.
"Evenin' luv." He said coolly.
"Hi Spike."
"My haven't we been the busy little bee. All I can smell is cleaners." Spike mused as he wrinkled his nose at the heavy cleaner scent that accosted his senses.
"Well if I don't keep up the housework the place will turn into a pig sty and my mother will flip. She's a neat freak. It can really get to you after a while. Now that you're up I can finish cleaning."
"You're going to clean the basement?"
"Of course. I mean you can't just do half the job."
"Besides if I don't finish this now, it will only leave me more work to do later and I don't want to have to think about it."
"Point taken luv." With that Willow rose and walked downstairs. It was then that Spike remembered the mug he'd left on top of the small microwave. He walked downstairs to tell Willow to leave it be. There she was bustling about picking up things. It was then that she picked up his towel. She was so engrossed in cleaning that she didn't even know that Spike was there.
"I don't remember leaving a towel out down here." Willow said her voice puzzled. It was then that she looked to the stairs and saw Spike and then the familiar smell of his cologne wafted up to her...
"Oh my..." Willow said as she dropped the towel like it was on fire.
"It won't bite you luv, it's just a towel." Spike laughed. Under his breath he added, "however, I might."
"What was that Spike?" Willow said sharply. She thought she heard him say that he might bite her.
"Nothin' luv."
"You said you might bite me didn't you? Well there will be no... biting me of any kind... None at all..." She said her voice startled. Then to herself she added... "bite how?" She must have said it somewhat out loud because Spike cocked his head to the side, a sly smile playing on his lips.
"Oh in a purely playful way of course luv." He purred. Willow blushed and backed up falling onto the couch. She was stammering and muttering incoherently. Spike huffed and chided himself for doing that to Red, but he couldn't help himself. It was starting to sink in that he indeed liked Willow, and as much as he tried to squelch that he couldn't, so he might as well have fun with it.
Obviously with her 'bite how?' comment she was at least interested in him somewhat. Why else would the little red head make such a comment? Spike slowly walked over to Willow. She looked up at him and looked back down.
"I'm sorry luv, I shouldn't have said either of those things. My original intent was to tell you to leave the mug on top of the microwave alone. You'll be happier if you don't mess with it. If you want, I'll finish up down here and you can... calm down ...bury your head in your pillow... plot my demise, whatever you'd like." He said with a smile. Willow laughed weakly at that last comment.
"I - I'll be fine. J-just pick up your towel and throw it in the washer okay?" she said, her voice thin.
"Sure thing luv. Sorry about that."
"It's... fine Spike, I - I'll get over it... someday." Spike quirked an eyebrow and then turned and picked up his towel and threw it in the washer. He also stopped and put his mug inside the microwave so Willow wouldn't have to look in it. He didn't want to come down here to find that Red had fainted. That wouldn't be very good. It might be a little too tempting, and that could get him staked.
"Well, if you don't want my help, I guess I'll go find something to do upstairs." Spike said, sounding slightly disappointed that his offer wasn't being taken.
"Thanks for the offer Spike, but I think I need to be alone right now." Willow sighed.
"Understood." Spike said as he turned and went back upstairs.
**
As soon as Spike was gone, Willow sank back into the sofa. She was suddenly very exhausted... "I don't think that I can keep this up much longer... He has to find a new crypt or something. I just...Grr." Willow sighed. She closed her eyes for a moment... She was back on the beach. She was sitting on an outcropping of rocks. Then she felt cool hands cover her eyes. The person behind her whispered low near her ear.
"Care to dance with a devil in the pale moonlight luv?" The low British voice inquired. The dream Willow smiled and tilted her head to the side. She felt cool breath on her neck, then lips as soft as dandelion down, then she felt a small sting and a slow burn. The dream Willow smiled a dreamy smile and sank back into the man behind her and looked to him... It was Spike. Real Willow opened her eyes startled. "No... I'm not... I can't be.... Not Spike..." She groaned and rose. She tried to busy herself cleaning. She didn't want to think about what all this meant.
**
Spike was restless; he'd just done something very stupid. Perhaps he should try harder to find another place to stay, afterall, he couldn't stay here forever. Oh how he could... He wandered around the living room looking for something to distract himself with. He walked over to the stereo and looked through all of the music. He wasn't surprised to find a lot of sappy, pop-ish music. There wasn't anything near what he was used to listening to. He decided to look through the movies. There were some all right ones, but none of them really floated his boat. He decided to just go lair hunting instead. To get out of the house of the woman that was haunting him day and night. To get away from the smell of her, the taste of her, to get away from all of it before it drove him insane. He walked over to the basement door and opened it.
"Hey Red?" He called.
"What Spike?"
"I'm going lair hunting, be back in a bit. You got class tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"What time?"
"Afternoon."
"You gonna be up a while then?"
"Yeah."
"So how long you going to be up?"
"No later than one am Spike."
"Be back by midnight then."
"Whatever."
"See ya later Red."
"Bye Spike." Spike left and headed for the cemetery. He'd look there first, besides there might be some demon ass for him to kick. Then he'd head for the warehouse district. By then it would be time to get back to Red's house. He walked out the front door and shut it behind himself.
**
Willow relaxed as she heard the door click shut. She ran upstairs and locked it. She was done with the basement, now it was time to clean herself. She went up to her room and peeled off her work clothes and stepped under the spray of hot water. It felt soooooo good. She needed it after all of the cleaning and all of the tortures that her mind had been putting her through. She felt icky...why of all people did it have to be Spike? Was it just because Tara was gone and Spike was here? Or was it something else entirely? She shook her head trying to clear it of all of those nasty thoughts... to no avail.
**
Spike walked through the cemetery looking for a new crypt. He saw the rubble of his old one and decided to see if any of his stuff had survived. Much to his surprise, a few of his cds were still intact as well as his favorite crimson silk shirt. He had also gotten to kick some newbie vampire ass. He was surprised that he hadn't run into the Slayer... She must be off elsewhere and good thing, he didn't want to deal with her at the moment. The cemetery was a bust there weren't any good crypts that he could turn into a lair. He checked his watch, it was eleven o'clock, there wasn't enough time to go check out the warehouse district if he wanted to get to Red's before she went to sleep. He cruised by the local Seven Eleven to pick up some cigarettes. A flash of green and purple caught his eye as he neared the register. The store had lavender, much to his surprise, he decided to pick some up as an apology to Red. He shouldn't have made that comment. Bloody stupid he was. He took his things and headed back to Red's.
**
He got there and found that the door was locked. He knocked on it and stood on the porch feeling like a penny waiting for change. He prayed the Slayer didn't walk by, it was likely to get him beat up and he didn't feel like having his nose broken again... Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Red came to the door. She didn't look pleased to see him. He produced the plant from behind his back...
"Peace offering?"
"Is that Lavender?"
"Yeah s'right."
"How did you know that I liked lavender and where did you find some at this time of night?"
"You're a witch, I figured you'd like the stuff... A witch I knew back in the old days was fond of the stuff as well. And you'd never believe me if I told you where I got it. Don't worry, I didn't steal it."
"Thanks." Willow said as she stepped aside to allow Spike to get into the house. After he was in, she shut the door and locked it. Willow walked into the kitchen and put the plant in the sink to water it... She then put it up on the windowsill above the sink.
"It'll get plenty of light there." She said. She was practically beaming, she was really happy about the little plant. Willow didn't think that Spike could be capable of kind acts, nor could she believe that he remembered something from his 'old days'.
She woke up around noon. It took her another twenty minutes to get the motivation to move from the warmth and comfort of her bed. For some reason she just didn't feel like moving. When she finally did manage to rise, she got up, put on some work clothes and tried to get into cleaning mode. It wasn't that the place was bad, but it would get that way if things weren't maintained. She sat down and ate a small breakfast while she thought up a game plan to tackle the chores. She decided that it would be best to start at the top and work her way down since she had a houseguest. She figured that by the time she got to the basement it would probably be very close to sunset. If not past depending on how many interruptions she had between now and then. She hoped not too many. She also hoped that Spike would be careful and not come upstairs if he heard the voices of the Scooby gang. She wasn't prepared to explain to everyone why she was letting Spike stay in her basement. In fact, she herself wasn't quite sure why she was letting the vampire stay with her.
She went upstairs, turned on her stereo and started her cleaning. She started in her room and slowly worked her way down the hall. All in all it wasn't that bad. When she was done upstairs, she turned off her stereo and went downstairs. She cleaned the living room, the bathroom and ended up in the kitchen. That was when Buffy stopped by. It was about four p.m. Willow's mind raced as she let her friend in trying to remember if Spike had left anything out where Buffy could find it. She was glad to find out that he hadn't. Still she was nervous, afterall, Buffy was the Slayer - she knew vampires and worst of all she knew Spike. Things could have gotten really hairy if Buffy had seen something to tip her off that Spike was downstairs in the basement of Willow's house sleeping.
**
"What's the matter Will, you seem distracted."
"There was a message from my parents on the machine when I got back from the Magic Box last night. They're not coming back in three weeks like they planned. There's another convention so it'll be six weeks before I get to see them again." Willow sighed. Okay so that wasn't the entire truth, but it was a large portion of it, so it wasn't exactly a lie now was it?
"Oh Will, I'm so sorry." Buffy said as she hugged her friend.
"I know that I should be used to them being gone all the time, but I'm not. Sure most of the time I'm in class or I'm helping you out and I don't notice it. But since I came here to try to get my work done in peace and quiet I've noticed just how empty this place really is. Besides, I would like to see my parents sometime in my life - you know?"
"Yeah. Hey great idea, why don't you come stay at my place. Mom absolutely loves you and Dawnie won't mind."
"Maybe. I'll have to see what my class work is going to be like."
"Okay Wills, no problem. Just drop by if you want. Well gotta go meet Riley."
"Woo date?"
"Nah, sparring."
"With you two isn't that the same thing?" Buffy just shrugged and laughed then hugged her friend goodbye before bounding out the door.
Willow finished her work on the above ground areas of the house just before sunset. It was then that she decided that she deserved a break, besides she was getting hungry. She fixed herself a nice salad and sat down on the couch to watch tv. There wasn't anything good on, but that was nothing new. Willow settled on watching the news while she waited for Spike to rise and shine.
**
Spike roused not too long after the sun had set. He opened his eyes and lay there a moment, taking in the sounds of the house. He wanted to make sure that Red was home alone before he went upstairs. No need to alert any of the Scoobies to his presence in Willow's home until it could no longer be avoided - right? Right. He could hear the telly and nothing else so he figured it was safe. He got up and began to climb the stairs. At first he was trying to be stealthy then he remembered how the stairs were squeaky and gave up on trying to be quiet. Willow smiled as she heard the heavy footfalls on the stairs. Finally Spike was up, she'd have someone to talk to and she could clean the basement.
"Evenin' luv." He said coolly.
"Hi Spike."
"My haven't we been the busy little bee. All I can smell is cleaners." Spike mused as he wrinkled his nose at the heavy cleaner scent that accosted his senses.
"Well if I don't keep up the housework the place will turn into a pig sty and my mother will flip. She's a neat freak. It can really get to you after a while. Now that you're up I can finish cleaning."
"You're going to clean the basement?"
"Of course. I mean you can't just do half the job."
"Besides if I don't finish this now, it will only leave me more work to do later and I don't want to have to think about it."
"Point taken luv." With that Willow rose and walked downstairs. It was then that Spike remembered the mug he'd left on top of the small microwave. He walked downstairs to tell Willow to leave it be. There she was bustling about picking up things. It was then that she picked up his towel. She was so engrossed in cleaning that she didn't even know that Spike was there.
"I don't remember leaving a towel out down here." Willow said her voice puzzled. It was then that she looked to the stairs and saw Spike and then the familiar smell of his cologne wafted up to her...
"Oh my..." Willow said as she dropped the towel like it was on fire.
"It won't bite you luv, it's just a towel." Spike laughed. Under his breath he added, "however, I might."
"What was that Spike?" Willow said sharply. She thought she heard him say that he might bite her.
"Nothin' luv."
"You said you might bite me didn't you? Well there will be no... biting me of any kind... None at all..." She said her voice startled. Then to herself she added... "bite how?" She must have said it somewhat out loud because Spike cocked his head to the side, a sly smile playing on his lips.
"Oh in a purely playful way of course luv." He purred. Willow blushed and backed up falling onto the couch. She was stammering and muttering incoherently. Spike huffed and chided himself for doing that to Red, but he couldn't help himself. It was starting to sink in that he indeed liked Willow, and as much as he tried to squelch that he couldn't, so he might as well have fun with it.
Obviously with her 'bite how?' comment she was at least interested in him somewhat. Why else would the little red head make such a comment? Spike slowly walked over to Willow. She looked up at him and looked back down.
"I'm sorry luv, I shouldn't have said either of those things. My original intent was to tell you to leave the mug on top of the microwave alone. You'll be happier if you don't mess with it. If you want, I'll finish up down here and you can... calm down ...bury your head in your pillow... plot my demise, whatever you'd like." He said with a smile. Willow laughed weakly at that last comment.
"I - I'll be fine. J-just pick up your towel and throw it in the washer okay?" she said, her voice thin.
"Sure thing luv. Sorry about that."
"It's... fine Spike, I - I'll get over it... someday." Spike quirked an eyebrow and then turned and picked up his towel and threw it in the washer. He also stopped and put his mug inside the microwave so Willow wouldn't have to look in it. He didn't want to come down here to find that Red had fainted. That wouldn't be very good. It might be a little too tempting, and that could get him staked.
"Well, if you don't want my help, I guess I'll go find something to do upstairs." Spike said, sounding slightly disappointed that his offer wasn't being taken.
"Thanks for the offer Spike, but I think I need to be alone right now." Willow sighed.
"Understood." Spike said as he turned and went back upstairs.
**
As soon as Spike was gone, Willow sank back into the sofa. She was suddenly very exhausted... "I don't think that I can keep this up much longer... He has to find a new crypt or something. I just...Grr." Willow sighed. She closed her eyes for a moment... She was back on the beach. She was sitting on an outcropping of rocks. Then she felt cool hands cover her eyes. The person behind her whispered low near her ear.
"Care to dance with a devil in the pale moonlight luv?" The low British voice inquired. The dream Willow smiled and tilted her head to the side. She felt cool breath on her neck, then lips as soft as dandelion down, then she felt a small sting and a slow burn. The dream Willow smiled a dreamy smile and sank back into the man behind her and looked to him... It was Spike. Real Willow opened her eyes startled. "No... I'm not... I can't be.... Not Spike..." She groaned and rose. She tried to busy herself cleaning. She didn't want to think about what all this meant.
**
Spike was restless; he'd just done something very stupid. Perhaps he should try harder to find another place to stay, afterall, he couldn't stay here forever. Oh how he could... He wandered around the living room looking for something to distract himself with. He walked over to the stereo and looked through all of the music. He wasn't surprised to find a lot of sappy, pop-ish music. There wasn't anything near what he was used to listening to. He decided to look through the movies. There were some all right ones, but none of them really floated his boat. He decided to just go lair hunting instead. To get out of the house of the woman that was haunting him day and night. To get away from the smell of her, the taste of her, to get away from all of it before it drove him insane. He walked over to the basement door and opened it.
"Hey Red?" He called.
"What Spike?"
"I'm going lair hunting, be back in a bit. You got class tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"What time?"
"Afternoon."
"You gonna be up a while then?"
"Yeah."
"So how long you going to be up?"
"No later than one am Spike."
"Be back by midnight then."
"Whatever."
"See ya later Red."
"Bye Spike." Spike left and headed for the cemetery. He'd look there first, besides there might be some demon ass for him to kick. Then he'd head for the warehouse district. By then it would be time to get back to Red's house. He walked out the front door and shut it behind himself.
**
Willow relaxed as she heard the door click shut. She ran upstairs and locked it. She was done with the basement, now it was time to clean herself. She went up to her room and peeled off her work clothes and stepped under the spray of hot water. It felt soooooo good. She needed it after all of the cleaning and all of the tortures that her mind had been putting her through. She felt icky...why of all people did it have to be Spike? Was it just because Tara was gone and Spike was here? Or was it something else entirely? She shook her head trying to clear it of all of those nasty thoughts... to no avail.
**
Spike walked through the cemetery looking for a new crypt. He saw the rubble of his old one and decided to see if any of his stuff had survived. Much to his surprise, a few of his cds were still intact as well as his favorite crimson silk shirt. He had also gotten to kick some newbie vampire ass. He was surprised that he hadn't run into the Slayer... She must be off elsewhere and good thing, he didn't want to deal with her at the moment. The cemetery was a bust there weren't any good crypts that he could turn into a lair. He checked his watch, it was eleven o'clock, there wasn't enough time to go check out the warehouse district if he wanted to get to Red's before she went to sleep. He cruised by the local Seven Eleven to pick up some cigarettes. A flash of green and purple caught his eye as he neared the register. The store had lavender, much to his surprise, he decided to pick some up as an apology to Red. He shouldn't have made that comment. Bloody stupid he was. He took his things and headed back to Red's.
**
He got there and found that the door was locked. He knocked on it and stood on the porch feeling like a penny waiting for change. He prayed the Slayer didn't walk by, it was likely to get him beat up and he didn't feel like having his nose broken again... Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Red came to the door. She didn't look pleased to see him. He produced the plant from behind his back...
"Peace offering?"
"Is that Lavender?"
"Yeah s'right."
"How did you know that I liked lavender and where did you find some at this time of night?"
"You're a witch, I figured you'd like the stuff... A witch I knew back in the old days was fond of the stuff as well. And you'd never believe me if I told you where I got it. Don't worry, I didn't steal it."
"Thanks." Willow said as she stepped aside to allow Spike to get into the house. After he was in, she shut the door and locked it. Willow walked into the kitchen and put the plant in the sink to water it... She then put it up on the windowsill above the sink.
"It'll get plenty of light there." She said. She was practically beaming, she was really happy about the little plant. Willow didn't think that Spike could be capable of kind acts, nor could she believe that he remembered something from his 'old days'.