Disclaimer: All characters and places, etc... belong to Joss and all those lovely people involved with making our fav tv show. We only chose to borrow these characters for a bit to do what we enjoy doing. All that we own is our lovely plot! No copyright infrigment is intended in any way shape or form.
With that out of the way...
Title: Imitor Vita Pro Amor (Imitating Life For Love)
Authors: Peroxide Pest and Nocturne Wytche, AKA Celeste and Debbie
Spoilers: All Seasons
Dedications: Well, I'd like to say thanks to all those wonderful S/B writers out there that have inspired me and my sister to come outta our shells and see what y'all think of our lil fics. We'd probably like to thank each other for putting up with each other and the sort, and of course for being so good at writing together, you can barely tell where one of us begins and one ends. Also, to our sister, Keren, who still loves Angel, we forgive you :P Lea, thanks for all the help and support, blessed be sister.
Summary: A few unsuspected visitors come back to good ol' SunnyD and cause some more havoc in our favorite slayer's life. She must also decide where her feelings for Spike lay. A run in with a demon changes things for Spike. S/B
Rated: R just to be safe
Imitor Vita Pro Amor
Part 2
Spike glared, growling low in his throat at Riley as the young
man appeared before them in the full light of the store. The vampire's
anger boiled deep within him and he knew he was going to explode at time.
The second he saw the look of utter shock and hurt on Buffy's face when
Finn had appeared drove him over the edge. "Who the hell do you think
you are?! You think you can just toy with her with her some bloody
more?! You think you can just come and go as you please?! Angel,
the second wave, that's all you are! You stay the HELL away
from Buffy, she doesn't need you going around messin' with her life, you
bloody wanker!" Spike spat out, his anger growing furiously. "I say...we
have a go at it, you and me... I'll rip your arms off!"
"Last I checked Spike, you were still… chipped..." Riley smiled,
smug.
"I'll bleed you dry anyway...The pain be worth it... you lousy..."
he hissed, fangs emerging.
"Spike!" Buffy shouted, cutting him off. "Please..."
"So what are you now, Spike? Buffy's watch dog?" Riley
crossed his arms. Spike snarled, stepping forward.
"Spike, no!" Buffy gripped his arm. "Spike, please… go
home..."
At the sound of pleading in her voice, his game face instantly
melted away. Deep blue, human eyes searched Buffy's for an explanation.
"Why?" And there he saw it, her slight frown at him, the accelerated
pulse of her heart, the uncertainty. His heart ached at the realization
that she was taking Finn's side. Now that White Bread was back, she
obviously didn't need him anymore. He raged inside. "Right
then... I see how it is, Slayer..." he knocked over a small statue in anger.
"Hey! You'll have to pay for that!" Anya shouted.
"Bugger off... " Spike growled, stomping towards the door.
Xander grabbed Anya's arm, giving her a look to calm down.
He actually felt bad for the guy…vamp…thing... Spike.
"Spike! Wait!" Dawn called, going after him.
Buffy continued staring at Riley. She'd talk to Spike
later. Right now she needed to talk to Riley. "Why did you
come back Riley?" Buffy asked, her eyes beginning to water. She cursed
herself and strengthened her resolve, forcefully telling herself she would
not let this boy make her cry. Again.
"Is there someplace we can talk, alone?" Riley asked.
"Spike wait!!" Dawn called, chasing after the pissed off vampire.
"Nibblet, go home its dangerous out here," Spike stalked down
the street.
"I wanna talk to you, Spike!" Dawn grabbed his arm, spinning
him around. The look in his eyes made her frown. He looked
angry, which wasn't new for Spike, but now, now he looked genuinely hurt,
as well.
"Buffy didn't mean to hurt you, she knows you just wanna protect
her from Riley," Dawn sighed. "We all know how much you care about
her Spike. We're on your side, really, we are."
Spike calmed a little. "Thanks Little Bit, but it doesn't
matter." He slipped a cigarette from his pocket. "She doesn't
need me when Riley is here."
"She does need you! We need you. She's just shocked, you know?
You gotta give her a minute to pull herself together and figure stuff out!"
Dawn explained. "Please… come back inside."
"Can't... I'm sorry, but I can't go back. Go on
back before you worry big sis," Spike turned and lit his cigarette, walking
away. Dawn sighed, frowning. It wasn't fair. She turned around
and headed back to the shop. Why did Riley have to come back?!
"So..." Buffy paused, sitting on the couch in the training room.
"How you been?"
"Good..." Riley sat beside her. "How about you?"
She nodded silently, lowering her gaze. "Well...
I'm better now." Her mind reflected on everything that had happened since
he left.
He eyed her carefully. "I... I'm sorry that I left so...
abruptly."
She nodded. "It's okay..."
"How's your mom?" he asked, trying to make light.
"Dead," she replied shortly.
His eyes widened. "Oh, Buffy..." He frowned. "I'm
so sorry..."
"Yeah," she sighed, her mind going over everything that happened.
"I wish I could've been there for you," Riley frowned.
"I had plenty of support... Will, Giles, Xander…Dawnie, Tara..."
Buffy rattled off.
"Spike." Riley added.
Buffy studied his face; already knowing what he said was true
and unable to hide it. "Yeah, and Spike..." she paused. "He...he's
been a good friend. He tried to save Dawn and me from Glory."
"Tried?" Riley asked, confused.
"Yeah..." Buffy brushed back a strand of her hair. "He
risked his life...or well...undead life...for us." She wasn't sure
she was ready to tell Riley about her 'death'.
"So, you and Spike..." he started.
"Don't..." Buffy chuckled. "No. We're just friends." she
sighed, making a note to go see him as soon as she finished talking to
Riley. She needed to explain a few things. She bit her lip,
wondering why she felt the urge to explain anything at all to Spike.
He is just a friend, after all. She looked up at Riley. "Now,
you still haven't answered my question…" she changed the subject.
"What are you doing here?"
He shifted on the couch so he could look at her. "Buffy,
I…I missed you."
She immediately looked downward. "Funny way of showing
it, Riley," she said, quietly. "I mean, no phone calls, no letters, nothing.
You just went… poof."
He sighed. "I know. I thought that if I tried to forget
about you that the hurt would go away, and I'd be able to move on. It didn't
work." He laughed to himself. "Every time I told myself I wasn't going
to call, or wasn't going to write, I just kept on thinking about you for
hours after that. After our last mission, I just left. I couldn't stand
it anymore. I had to see you, I had to let you know I still… that I still
love you."
She should have felt flattered at his admission. She should
have blushed, should have moved closer to him on the couch, taken his hands
in hers, or something. That was what her brain said she should do, anyway.
This man loves you. He came back after you hurt each other so badly, because
he couldn't stand the thought of not being with you. You have a second
chance, now. But she didn't move, didn't blush, didn't do anything but
force a smile. Him coming back just made things so complicated.
He had that earnest, hopeful look in his eye, a sorrowful
puppy. And her heart didn't have it in her to just put him down. "That's
really sweet Riley…"
He heard the underlying tone in her voice, and took her
hands in his larger ones before she could say another word. "I know, it'll
be tough, and I know, this makes things complicated. But, if you're willing
to, I'll wait for as long as you need me to, to sort things out. But please…think
about it. About us."
She looked up, gently withdrawing her hands from his.
"Thank you."
He pulled a card out of his back pocket. "This is where
I'm staying, with some friends. Call me when you're ready to talk, okay?"
Buffy took the card, slipped it between her fingers, and
looked at it. She recognized the name by the address, more of his ex commando
buddies. "All right."
He smiled, gentle. "I think, we can make this work," he
said softly, cupping her face with one hand and stroking her cheek. "We'll
be good together, Buffy. We'll be even better than before" He kissed her
forehead and got up off the couch, heading towards the door. She watched
him go in silence, suddenly dreading what his return might bring. Why did
he have to make things so complicated?
Spike sat watching TV in his crypt, flipping the channels
idly and not really watching what was going on on the screen. He had switched
the blasted telly on to see if it would calm him down some, but it obviously
wasn't working. All he could see was Cap'n America coming back into Buffy's
life, chest puffed and arms on his hips, hair slicked back and all super-man
looking. It made him sick. If it had been Angel it might have been easier
for him. He could hit Angel, after all, pound Peaches into oblivion like
a punching bag and not feel guilty about the mental pain of killing a human.
He supposed if he killed Angel, he'd have to worry a little about how it
would hurt Buffy, and in turn, have him endure a greater pain than the
chip, his guilt. He contemplated his shotgun and Riley one more time, but
realized Buffy might not appreciate him shooting her ex for her, either.
Absently, he wondered if he would remain just her ex, for long. The look
on the pup's face had told him all he wanted to know and more, of Commando
Boy's intentions. He wanted her back. He needed her, because he knew he
was nothing without her.
Would Buffy just jump back into White Bread's arms? Would
they get their bleedin' happy ending now, start over, and all that crap?
He knew that she deserved every bit of happiness the powers that be granted
her, but he really didn't think she'd be able to find it with the Soldier.
She might think otherwise of course. She might be willing to have another
go at loving him, because he represented everything she had wanted in her
life. Normalcy, humanity. He was the poster boy fore regular Joe-ville.
Why shouldn't she go back to him then, to be a happy girl with her happy
boy instead of creating death with her hands as the Slayer? Even for just
a while, she could just be Buffy, the girl, maybe make a little life, in
spite of all the death. Why shouldn't she run to Cap'n Cardboard's arms?
He wanted her to be happy; God and everyone else knew that she, of all
people deserved it.
But in the process, she might just break his undead heart.
He sipped at the beer on his table, not really tasting the bitter liquid.
Look at him, brooding like a soddin' ponce. Brooding like his damned Grandsire.
Furious, he slammed the off button on the universal remote Dawn and the
gang had chipped in to buy him, and the television blacked out and went
dead, leaving him in complete silence. What he needed, he decided, was
a good fight, a tough kill, and maybe even some minor injuries, to deal
with his frustration. Leaping up, he grabbed his duster and one of his
favorite axes before bounding out the door. Villain baddies of Sunnyhell
beware, Spike was extremely brassed off.
He walked around his own cemetery for a spell, but realized
before too long, that he had scared off all the potential demons and vamps
from here long ago, right after Buffy had died. He remembered sweeping
the entire area that night, killed everything non human in his path. The
details were hazy, but he remembered the sounds, the screams, the pleading,
the crunch of bones and the squirt of blood. It had been therapeutic then,
too. It had satisfied his need for something to do with his hands, other
than realize how badly he had failed Buffy and Dawn. He needed to do something
that she might approve of, to wash himself of his failure to keep his promise.
So he had massacred every group of evil doing Demons he could find that
first week, until word was out amongst the underground was that Spike was
not to be messed with if one wanted to stay alive, or in some cases, undead.
He still remembered washing demon bits out of his hair, green, yellow,
orange, red, blue, gray, black.
The most satisfying kill had to have been Doc. The little
bugger had survived the fall from the tower, and scurried off in search
of safety. Spike had found him three weeks after the incident at the tower,
via Willy, and the former master vampire had ripped him into so many pieces
that the wretch couldn't pull himself together again if he tried. Then
he pulled out a gallon of kerosene and had himself a good demon barbeque.
It hadn't helped much with the pain of losing Buffy, but Doc's screams
of agony had made him forget about that hurt for a little while, and that
was all he had wanted in the first place, anyway. At the time, it hadn't
mattered how short the respite from the suffering had been, as long as
there was some respite.
He headed off in the direction of the cemetery across
town, taking the main road, after finishing his rounds near his crypt.
Maybe he'd run into a group of the biggest, ugliest, strongest demons he
could find and have a go with all of them. He needed a REALLY good fight,
right now. He spun his ax in a lazy arc, parallel to his body, which
was really more a force of habit than a show of skill, and he listened
the entire time. He sensed a group of humans nearing, and quickly covered
the ax with his duster. It would do no good to frighten the locals with
his impressive weaponry, and he really didn't know if he wanted to hear
their bloody annoying screams right now. A group of college kids walked
nearby him on the sidewalk, the girls giggling and hanging off of each
other in the way that college kids sometimes did. The two boys with them
rolled their eyes, but held the girls' hands anyway and let them giggle
and talk. One of the girls eyed Spike appreciatively, until the boy pulled
her back slightly, and Spike smiled at her, taking care to use the sexiest
grin imaginable. It did the trick and she turned very red in the cheek.
Her boyfriend shoved her ahead of him, and glared at Spike. The vampire
just shrugged back at the boy, cocky grin saying that it wasn't his fault
he was so damn good looking.
Walking on, Spike wondered why he could drive every Mary,
Jane, and Julie that walked by crazy with a simple smile, but not get anything
but nervous around Buffy. It wasn't very "Big Bad" like. He sighed as he
reached the cemetery and slid the ax back from under his duster. Time for
some entertainment. Time to get his mind off of Buffy. Time to kill something.
Or hopefully, a lot of somethings.
Spike entered the cemetery, desperate for a good kill. His chin
was set determinedly, as he strode down the grassy lanes of the dark cemetery.
His eyes scanned his surroundings, and he breathed in the smell of the
air, hoping to pick up some demonic scent. After a moment, his heightened
senses found, and consequently, latched onto something, his eyes lighting
up and his lips spreading into a wry, half-smile. He chuckled, with
anticipation. "Time for some demon thrashing..." he said in a singsong
voice. He listened again, cocking his head to the side, as if the
wind were whispering its secrets into his ear. He sighed in slight disappointment.
He only sensed vampires. Young, stupid vampires. He had been hoping
for some big, gruesome demons to battle, something 7 feet tall with arms
like tree trunks and a body covered in razor sharp edges. But he supposed
his kind would do in a pinch. Maybe they'd be tougher than the ones
that had frequented his own cemetery. He stepped deeper into the
shadows cast amongst the moonlight and the graves, hearing the slight commotion.
A growl broke the silence and a snarl hissed in
his ear, causing him to stop moving. "Well if it isn't Spike the neutered
vampire..." a vamp mocked, as the entire group turned to look at him, hearing
his bold approach. He hadn't even bothered to sneak up on them. He didn't
need to. "Spike, the vampire slayer's pet vamp. You're worse
than a little harmless puppy..." the vamp hissed. The others chuckled,
all gathered around a certain fresh grave, obviously waiting for a companion.
Spike smirked. Probably a girl. These blocks looked like they needed one.
Spike was nonplussed by the insolent vampire's "witty repartee"
and he let the young one continue his verbal assault. "You make me
sick. I remember when you'd kill a vamp for turning soft. Now
look at you. At the slayer's beck and call... You're a disgrace
to all vampires!! Hunting your own kind... What kind
of demon are you?" he continued to mock. "The slayer must really
give it to you good for you to hunt down your own kind…" he goaded.
Spike snorted with disgust. He turned his
head, as if he was ignoring the vamp's gibes and nodded his head to himself
slightly, mentally ticking off the ways in which he should kill the loathsome
little rat. After a second, he made his decision, and turned back
to the chattering vampire. The vampire stopped his tirade, seeing the look
in Spike's eyes, a look of something old, something powerful. In that moment,
he transformed before the eyes of his kind, and once again became William
the Bloody, a legend in ferocity and ruthlessness, not the Slayer's vampire
squeak toy. In one quick, swift motion, Spike hefted his ax easily in an
up down arc across, lopping the vamp's head off, along with some of its
shoulder. The head hit the ground with a thump. "That's
no way to speak about a lady you bloody ...headless... wanker!" he ground
out, shouting at the headless body. The body went limp and
hit the ground, turning to dust. Spike could take blows against his
reputation, because in truth, they seemed pretty accurate. But he would
not tolerate that sort of talk about Buffy. That girl had been through
too much for too long to have her name tarnished like that, especially
by the likes of this lot.
Spike, satisfied with his handy work, rolled his shoulders backwards
and then forwards, loosening up. And the best part was, he was just
getting started. He sprung around, pouncing like a cat down
the aisle of graves, eyeing the vampires that had spread out and faded
into the dark a little since the guillotine act on their leader.
"Step right up and see how well you can do against the Slayer's pet puppy
kiddies, if you think you can..." He lurched forward fluidly, a light,
anticipatory bounce in his step, searching for any shadows in the bushes.
"When I find each of you, 'm gonna rip you your arms off and bash your
bloody brains in with 'em before I stake what's left of your broken, bleedin'
bodies!!!"
No sooner had he spoken, two vampire jumped out from behind,
tackling Spike to the floor. His ax flew from his grip and
skidded some distance away as he and the two younger vamps hit the floor
with a thud. He managed to get to his feet before his attackers.
"Come on you sorry excuses for demons!! I'll rip you both into snack
size pieces!" he waved them on. It was finally starting to get interesting.
The vamps looked at each other, then one threw a kick into Spike's ribs,
causing him to stumble backwards. The other jumped at him, hoping
to tackle him again, but Spike grabbed him by his shirt, and flung him
into a tombstone.
His partner clutched Spike by the wrist, twisting it till
the bone inside snapped. Then he kicked at his ribs again.
Spike howled in pain from his broken wrist, but still grinned
like a mad man at the rush fighting gave him. His eyes lit up, sparkling
with blue fire.
The attacking vampire stared at his elder with confusion in his
demon eyes. Were all Masters this insane?
Spike chuckled at the whelp's expression. "Looks like
'll be having a good night after all..." The pain in his arm was searing,
yet it all felt good at the same time. It made him forget about his frustration
and his pain. It emphasized the anger that swelled within him, and gave
him a vertex to focus it on. "I'm gonna break every bone in your
body..." he threatened, cheerily.
"You talk a lot of crap for someone who's all-alone against
us all..." the wrist-breaker laughed, as two more vampires appeared, ready
to fight the vampire who killed his own.
A second vamp approached an unsuspecting Spike from behind.
He gave thrust his elbow in Spike's spinal cord ruthlessly, sending him
to his knees. He then proceeded to kick at the vampire with disgust.
The other vamps flocked in, all grinning down at the fallen
Spike. Spike coughed up some blood. He blinked his eyes closed.
The vamp had broken a rib or two. His smile still could not be marred.
These guys thought they had the upper hand, but they forgot who they were
dealing with... He was William the Bloody... a legend, to be feared
for ages to come, whether it be in the hearts of humans or demons or both,
it didn't matter. He was Spike, and he hadn't even just begun to fight.
TBC...
