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 3
Buffy watched Riley leave the magic shop, closing the door behind
him. She sighed softly, confusion clouding her mind.
"Well… what did he want now?" Anya asked bluntly.
"Ahn..." Xander sighed, wishing she wasn't so direct sometimes.
Actually, wishing she wasn't so direct all the time.
"What DID he want?" Dawn asked, looking disturbed, her arms
crossed defensively.
"To talk," Buffy answered simply. She knew she couldn't
lie to the Scoobies. "He wants us to have a second chance."
"Oh? Well... what did you...um, say?" Giles asked, removing
his glasses. He rubbed at his tired eyes. Buffy didn't need
all this confusion in her life right now.
She sighed. "I told him I'd think about it."
"We're with you whatever you decide Buffy..." Willow smiled,
trying to be supportive.
Dawn snorted, looking miffed. "Spike was right."
"Whaddya mean Dawnie?" Buffy frowned.
"He knew why Riley was back. He knew he'd want to try
and get back together with you," Dawn revealed.
"Well, it doesn't really matter what Spike thinks Dawn..." Buffy
lied. It mattered, it mattered a lot. She wasn't sure why it
did, though.
"Of course not. He only risked his hide for us time and
again. He was there for the whole Glory thing. Where was Riley
then?!" Dawn defended Spike. Buffy just watched the girl. She
knew she had a soft spot for the vampire, and part of her couldn't blame
Dawn. In the time she had been gone, Dawn and Spike had latched on to each
other. They'd needed to.
"Yeah, and well he did bring you flowers when Joyce passed.
He was there then..." Xander revealed. "Wow, am I defending Spike?
How's that for giving junior dead boy a chance?" he huffed, amazed.
"He bought me flowers?" Buffy asked. She never knew.
"Yeah he did. They were kinda dying and stuff, but it's
the thought that counts!" Willow said in her chipper voice.
"Yeah Riley wasn't there for you then, either," Dawn pointed
out.
"Riley also never made a robot of me to use for..." Buffy paused
not wanting to go down that road. "Or… chained me up with Drusilla,
willing to kill her to prove his sick, perverse aspect of love..." She
was tired of everyone picking on Riley, even if they were defending Spike
for a change.
"He also didn't promise to die fighting to help you,"
Tara added, remaining out of it till now. She'd grown to appreciate
the vamp and she thought Buffy had as well.
"And kept the fact that I was the Key a secret after a major
beating from the bitch," Dawn added with fury.
"Hey... watch the language..." Buffy scolded. "And I know
this! I was the first person to jump on the Spike's an okay…vamp...demon...guy...
bandwagon, remember? But you don't need to trash Riley either. It
was MY fault he left anyway..."
"Wait, it WAS your fault? I thought it was the fact he
was getting vampire suck happys that did it..." Xander interrupted
Anya by making a swift cutting motion across his neck. "What?" she asked,
cocking her head to the side regarding her fiancé, confused. The
first time she'd heard this story, Riley and Buffy had broken up because
he was getting suck jobs. Apparently now, Buffy was admitting that she'd
done something to drive him away?
Buffy shook her head, tired, getting angry and more confused.
"Yeah, well, the vampire thing was partially my fault. I think. And hey,
just cuz Spike's not a potential boyfriend doesn't mean I don't value his
opinion," she added, though not quite sure why she had felt the need to
emphasize that. "Look guys, for whatever reasons Riley left, he's
back now because he wants to give us a second chance, and Riley's as close
to normal a man I'll ever get for a boyfriend. I'm not gonna pass
up thinking about giving something I know was good for me a second chance.
Everyone makes mistakes, right? Everyone deserves a second chance..."
"He'll just break your heart Buffy..." Dawn frowned.
*And Spike wouldn't??* She thought. He was a vampire,
someone she shouldn't be with. She groaned, her head beginning to
ache. Why was she even thinking of Spike that way?! He just
wanted to defend her from being hurt... as a friend…
"It's been broken before Dawnie. I'll live if it happens
again..." she shrugged. Like it was just that simple…
"Whatever you say Buffy..." Dawn was angry with her sister.
Couldn't she see how much Spike cared for her? Dawn saw the way he
wept over Buffy's lifeless body the day she was killed. She saw the
torment and torture in the vamp's dull eyes. He felt guilty for Buffy's
death, and not protecting her and Buffy as he had promised. Dawn
didn't hold it against him. He did everything he could. He
even became a temporary slayer in the days after her death. And most
of all? He'd been a destroyed man without Buffy there. Why could
no one see him as more than just a vampire, as more than just the monster
he wasn't? Dawn thought
Buffy was finally seeing past the demon. Spike told
her the short conversation he had with Buffy at the house, the night of
her death, about treating him like a man. Dawn jumped up, stalking
over to a spot to read books to be alone. Why couldn't Riley just
stay away?!
Buffy shook her head. "Why is she so against Riley?
She used to like him..."
"Spike means a lot to her Buffy... She saw how hurt he
appeared when you told him to leave. She's angry, she'll be fine..."
Willow whispered so Dawn wouldn't hear. Buffy groaned, her headache thumping.
She just wanted to go home and sleep on everything, but she had been short
with Spike before and something was digging at her heart, telling her to
go see him. It was telling her she needed to speak with him.
"I've gotta take care of something… Will, Tara, can you take Dawn
home for me and keep an eye on her till I get back?"
"Sure," Tara smiled. "It'll give us a chance to let Dawn
unload some feelings and maybe she won't be so angry when you get home..."
"Yeah, we'll take care of her," Willow smiled, knowing where
her best friend was headed. Part of her was glad she was going to
see Spike. Another part was frightened of what may happen between
her, Spike and Riley.
"See you guys later," Buffy grabbed her short, knee length,
brown leather jacket.
Spike, weaponless and injured, was having a great night.
He reached out with his good hand, grabbing a vamp, which had lunged at
him, and flipped it over his knee onto the ground. Smashing a boot down
onto its throat, he gave a sharp jerk to the left with his ankle and its
neck snapped, causing the fledging to howl in pain. The older vampire knew
it wouldn't kill the git, but hearing screams were always good for a few
chuckles. Grabbing his closest adversary by the back of the head, he used
all of his strength to drive the vamp through a nearby headstone. There
was a bone splitting crack, and the fledging fell unconscious upon impact.
Dodging another flying leap from one of his attackers, Spike grabbed him
midair and pushed him to the ground savagely, kicking it in the head once
for good measure. It hissed in pain and writhed as he jumped around it
to face the others.
He almost wished he had a stake now, or at least his ax.
As much as he loved a bloody brawl, he didn't fancy leaving the kiddies
alive and kicking. Dodging the left right combination of one of the remaining
two vampires, he wondered what a suitable death would be. He leapt and
rolled out of the way when the second vampire tried to lash out at him
with a spiked chain that it had picked up from one of its fallen comrades.
Then, William the bloody got a wonderful idea. Spinning to face chain vamp
and his buddy, he crouched low in preparation. As the demon let lose with
another whip-like attack, Spike stuck his arm out and let the chain coil
around it, before giving a sharp yank. As the surprised vamp surged forward
from the strength of Spike's pull, the master vampire drew back that same
arm and punched hard. The spiked end of the chain pierced the throat of
his adversary, causing it to let out a gurgled noise of pain and fall to
the floor, clutching its shattered neck. The second fledging, surprised
now, stayed back, not sure what to do all by itself. Shrugging mentally,
Spike looked at the vamp on the floor, mace like spikes embedded halfway
through its neck. He bent down, unwrapped a length of chain from around
his arm and circled it around the gagging Vampire's throat, giving a sharp
pull and a twist. There was a snapping sound and his enemy turned to dust
beneath him as he wrenched its head off with the help of the cold metal
line.
He looked up, very self satisfied, at the last standing
vamp, who was circling nervously. Spike gave a push and the chain loosened
from his arm and fell off of him completely. He saw the younger demon look
to his fallen ax, and even let him run towards it and grab it. He didn't
even laugh when the scared little thing whirled on him with it, holding
it in a defensive position, warning him to get back, or he'd "slice you
like a Christmas ham". The master vampire couldn't help it upon hearing
the threat at that point. He had tried to hold it in out of courtesy earlier,
but now, it was just too damn much. He laughed. He was so looking forward
to this fight… or scuffle rather…
And then Spike sighed when the vamp holding the ax crumbled
to dust. Buffy stepped from behind the still swirling ashes, catching the
ax before it hit the floor and swiftly beheading the unconscious vamp whose
neck Spike had broken. She tossed him the ax, giving him a look that bade
him take care of the last one, and fast. Catching the weapon, Spike raised
it over his head and brought it crashing down on the vamp that he had thrown
into the tombstone. It disintegrated upon impact. He watched the body float
to the ground, gathering in a pile at his feet. Not that he hadn't seen
that a hundred times before, he just didn't really want to accept the fact
that Buffy was standing here, and more likely than not, ready to break
his undead heart with her good news. After he couldn't prolong it any further,
he faced her, and the two looked at each other rather warily. Spike raised
a single eyebrow at the slayer's intrusion to his fight. "Can I help you,
Slayer?"
She was all business, counting the piles of dust that
were scattered around them. "You could have been killed."
"I was having fun."
She glared at him, brushing vamp dust off of her jacket.
Pocketing her stake, Buffy closed some of the distance between them, hating
the feeling she got when facing him like this, alone. "You're hurt," she
stated, biting back her retort upon seeing the blood that stained his cheek
and bottom lip. She made as if to touch his face, but drew her hand back
sharply at the last minute. She looked at the hand a second, as if it had
attempted a terrible crime, and finished it off by sticking it into her
pocket rather hastily. "You should have just killed them right away, Spike."
He resisted the urge to look incredulous and merely cocked
his head in a half shrug, half, "go to hell" gesture. "Thought I'd have
some kicks first, luv. Was gettin' to the killin' part. " As if that explained
it all, he turned around and started walking back towards his crypt without
another word.
"So let me get this straight, you were going to kill them
AFTER they broke you?" she called after him, lengthening her stride to
catch up with him. They weren't done talking, after all. And she wouldn't
let him just walk away like this. Especially since she was so annoyed,
having seen him take on that group of vamps all by himself without a weapon,
and enjoying every minute of it, on top of all that. What if the idiot
had gotten himself killed? Did he know what his recklessness would do to
her? It wasn't just about him anymore. He had friends. He had… she stopped,
realizing that he had gotten ahead of her again. "Spike, stop."
He turned around suddenly, and she almost crashed into
him. The vamp studied her, really wanting to be angry with her right now.
But, looking at her standing here with him, and having her want to talk
to him allowed some of the fury to fizzle out. He was only slightly annoyed,
for the most part. "How'd it go with White Bread?" he asked, after an uncomfortable
silence. He tried to sound casual. Tilting his head downward, like
he normally did, he waited for an explanation, and really wished he could
have a cigarette right about now.
She sighed, seeing the intense scrutiny she was under.
It infuriated her, how she could burn under his gaze like this. "Riley…well,
he, he wanted to get back together."
The vampire's eyes flared rage and indignation for a second,
but he willed himself calm. If he had learned anything from the humans,
it was when to not say anything that might get him staked. So he bit his
tongue, and thought of something constructive to say. It didn't have to
be nice; it just had to be something that wasn't anything like what he
was actually thinking right now. Because, he was thinking about ripping
Riley's intestines out and hanging him with his own internal organs. "Congrats,
Slayer," he said after a while, in clipped, even tones. He really
couldn't think of anything else to say.
Her eyes narrowed. What did he think of her? That she
was so desperate and lonely that she would hop at the chance to be with
the first guy that popped into her life? With Riley again? Though it was
a definite possibility, she wouldn't deny that, it didn't mean that she
had to accept just because he was her only option at the time. Why had
peroxide boy damned her so fast, anyway? "Are you even going to LET me
talk?" she asked him, seeing that he had taken her silence as a definitive
yes.
This time, both eyebrows quirked upward. "So talk."
"God, I don't even know why I have to explain this to
you," she muttered. "I didn't say yes."
The vampire was almost elated at the news, but he knew
better than to get his hopes up about certain things. And, he heard the
'but' in her tone. "But…what?"
She sighed. "I didn't say no, either. I said I'd
think about it."
"Oh." He turned around and started walking again.
She didn't believe this. "That's it?! I come to talk to
you, tell you what's going on in my life, and you say, "oh"?!" she shouted
after him, growing angrier with each passing second.
"Go think, then Slayer," Spike replied over his shoulder,
trying his damndest to not whirl around and try to convince her to forget
about the ole Cap'n. He tried to rationalize that she needed to decide
this on her own, with as little interference from him as possible. He knew
that if she thought she could be happy with Soldier boy, then she should
go for it. Any happiness the Slayer could find during her short life was
precious. With that thought, Spike suddenly realized he was turning into
his sodding poof grandsire with each passing second. Disgusted with himself,
he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, just to be defiant. He was still
the Big Bad, after all.
She watched him go, dumbfounded. No reaction? No anger?
No cursing Riley's name and lineage? Just… 'oh'? She was surprised how
hurt she was at his indifference. Fine. If he wanted to be like that, she
would humor him. What did she care what he thought in the first place,
right? This was ultimately, her decision. In fact, it had nothing to do
with Spike. He was just a friend, whom she THOUGHT should have the courtesy
of an explanation. Spinning around, she stormed off into the night, in
the opposite direction the vamp was headed. Fine.
TBC...
