Title : Replica
Author : Harmony
Rating : PG-13
Summary : Spike dislikes Kane. Kane dislikes Spike. Buffy likes them both.
Feedback : It is my oxygen.
Author Notes : Kane is named "Kane" for a reason. All will be revealed later. Not this chapter but later.
---
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"What did you think of the new guy in our Slayer's life?"
Spike cast a sideways glance at Xander. Well, if anyone could back up his new found hatred of Kane, then it was Xander - King of Buffy Boyfriend Bashing.
"You know what? I kinda liked him" Xander said after a long pause, before giggling.
Spike sniffed, and pretended he wasn't terribly disappointed, even if it was inebriation behind Xander's words. It seemed everyone thought Kane was just perfect. Willow hadn't stopped smiling all night. Buffy had spent the entire night trying not to upset Spike too much, but he'd caught snippets of girly conversation, with such sickening words as "totally hot" and "Kind and gentle". Even Dawn, his little niblet, had sat at Kane's feet like a little puppy, enchanted with the new guy.
Xander had just been interested in the drinking game Spike had invented, when Kane had gone to play the nice new boyfriend for a while. It involved downing a shot of vodka for every losing hand of Blackjack. Spike figured Xander was looking to get horribly drunk, in a dumb attempt at blocking his problems out.
So now, Xander was veering off to the side as he walked, and he swayed a little between steps. Spike was quite sober, having won most games. Disappointingly sober, actually. A drunken haze sounded like a nice place to be.
"Is that the copious amounts of vodka talking, or do you actually like someone who's dating your precious Buffy?" Spike asked, staring out into the inky black cemetery.
"What did you call Buffy?" Xander stopped, and raised his fist shakily, preparing for a fight.
"Oh please. You could barely manage to get your coat on. Now you're gonna beat me up?" Xander's fist dropped to his side, and Spike rolled his eyes "Besides, I didn't call her anything"
"I wanna go to sleep. Think I'll get bited if I sleep here?" Xander indicated the wet grass, and bent down as if to flop onto the ground.
"You're an idiot. I should leave you here. Who taught you to play cards? Who taught you to twist on 18? Why am I still talking to you like you aren't ratfaced?" Spike bent over and pulled Xander to his feet, muttering curses under his breath
"Cos you love me?" Xander suggested. Spike froze and shuddered dramatically as he hoisted Xander's arm over his shoulder, so he could at least drag him.
"You say that again, mate, and we're going to have issues"
---
Buffy's heart leapt into her throat and then down into her stomach and finally settled with pounding her chest when he kissed her.
This was the first time they'd pressed lips, as Willow might say, and it wasn't as bad as she'd imagined it.
She'd imagined it being so bad, that she had to run away and cry in her bedroom, or that he'd be the one running away.
Or that when they did kiss, there would be nothing behind it whatsoever, and it was all just the dizziness of a new relationship making them think they were falling in love.
The worst thought she'd had was that Spike would come strolling along, and that he'd get that heartbroken look on his face.
But this wasn't bad. Spike was nowhere in sight, and it wasn't awful, and there was something behind it. It was better than Scott Hope, better than Parker...better than Riley, better than anyone.
Except her two vampires, who were pretty much untouchable when it came to this kissing business.
Buffy jolted back to reality and realised she was still kissing Kane, and she was thinking about Spike and Angel and that couldn't be good.
"Mmm, we have to get back to work" Buffy murmured, eyeing the growing line of customers.
"Nah, we have a few more minutes" Kane encouraged, raising his eyebrow, enticingly.
"But David keeps staring in at us, like a great big zombie pervert. It's gross...especially when he happens to be carrying a bucket of old grease" Buffy shivered, and retrieved her hat from the bench.
"Oh, well, I'll rip his eyes out...no problem" Kane said, with a mock growl. Buffy stared at him. If back had been turned, or her eyes had been closed, she'd have thought Spike had said it.
"Easy, boy. Come on. Doublemeat customers awaiting" Buffy pulled at the orange sleeved arm of her boyfriend. He got up, but spun her round, and Buffy found her back against the cold metal locker. And he was kissing her again.
Buffy realised then, that she'd sealed her fate. She was well and truly torn between two men now. Even when she had been seeing Spike, and had no intentions of "cheating" on him, she'd had small warm fuzzies about the funny cute guy who worked at the Doublemeat with her. And he'd been there for her, with a large soda, when he caught her crying in the locker room the day she broke up with Spike.
It wasn't like she was feeling these things on rebound. Because she'd felt smaller mini versions of them before. When she was with Kane...he made her laugh, and made her happy. The similarities to Spike...well, maybe she did like him for that originally. But she barely noticed now, and he was just Kane to her. She often found herself staring at him, and getting lost, when he was doing something as everyday as cooking fries.
Was it possible to love two people at the same time, to almost the same extents, but in completely different ways?
Was she cheating on Kane? Was she cheating on Spike? Was she cheating herself? This thinking about love business was making her brain hurt. Was the line of customers shortening?
Screw the customers, she thought, but her hand's journey towards the brown and bleach blonde hair was frozen by someone clearing their throat dramatically.
"Buffy, when you've finished, maybe you want to start serving someone who is actually a paying customer" Lorraine, the manager, fixed Buffy with an amused stare "Kane, you're on grill"
Buffy smiled back weakly, and disentangled herself from Kane, who pulled his hat on.
"Great!" Kane said enthusiastically, before rolling his eyes at Buffy.
David, coworker from hell, who liked to talk about frogs, and made a habit of pretending to spit in every single burger he wrapped, wandered into the locker room for his break, as Buffy and Kane left.
Buffy's skin crawled whenever David walked by her, or talked to her. Kane was unfortunate enough to spend a lot of time working with him on the grill, cleaning grease, and he'd told Buffy that David asked questions about Buffy constantly, when she was out of earshot.
Maybe he was a demon. Or worse...what if he had a crush on her?!
Buffy tucked that disturbing thought away and bid a small goodbye, happy grilling to Kane, with a little wave.
"Welcome to the Doublemeat Palace. What can I get you?" Buffy asked, cheerfully. Her forced happy demeanour dropped when she looked up to see Spike smirking at her. He had a habit of doing this. Turning up during her shift. He knew exactly when she'd be serving customers. He hadn't done it for about two weeks now. Well, ever since she broke up with him. So it WAS a surprise to see him.
"Just off break?" Spike asked, staring around Buffy at Kane, who was oblivious to his presence.
"Yeah. What are you doing here?" Buffy asked, trying to sound good natured, when really, she hated him turning up...seeing her in her ridiculous outfit.
"Well, actually coming to get food, believe it or not" Spike laughed, staring up at the menu.
"Don't you drink blood anymore?" Buffy teased, before looking down at the pictures on her till "Get the Doublemeat special"
"Yeah...one of, uh, them then. Thought I'd try something a little different with my spicy O-neg tonight" Spike said, staring once again at Kane.
Buffy keyed it in, and Spike held out the money, pleasantly surprised she didn't even ask him what drink he wanted and whether he wanted large or regular fries. She knew apparently.
"On the house" Buffy smiled, before she turned around and shouted towards the grill "Kane! Can we get some more Doublemeat specials?"
"Coming up!" Kane shouted in response, glimpsing up, and raising his eyebrow at Spike.
"I have to say...I'm pleased he looks embarassingly bad in his uniform" Spike said, tucking his money back into his pocket.
"Oh shut up" Buffy looked down at her own orange atrocity "It's called having a job"
"You shouldn't be working here. I have money. I told you a million times. It'll kill you" Spike tapped his fingers on the counter, as Buffy put a lid on his drink, and rolled the top of the brown Doublemeat Palace bag.
"Spike, I won't take money from you, because it's not your responsibility" Buffy said, making it clear she was fed up with having this conversation every single time work came up.
"Well, as the insane vampire who's in love with you, I want the responsibility" Spike said. Buffy glared at him, as Kane made his way over.
"Hi Spike" he said, eyeing the brown bag "Hungry?"
"Yeah. Okay, I'll be going" Spike said, grabbing his drink, and waving over his shoulder.
"Is it just me, or does he have attitude problems?" Kane said, shaking his head.
Buffy watched the bleached hair disappear out of sight, and shrugged.
"No, he just doesn't like hanging about in fast food joints. Can't say I blame him" she sighed, realising for the first time, that Sophie was handling customers alone.
"Well, he stuck around long enough when I wasn't here" Kane sniffed.
"He was waiting for his burger" Buffy muttered, stepping back up to the till, fake smile plastered in place.
---
"I'm gonna go home, take a shower, and then I'm gonna drink my depressing job away at the Bronze" Kane took another of his seemingly endless supply of misnamed bowling shirts, out of his locker, before pulling off his orange and white work shirt. Buffy glanced sideways at his chest, and exhaled as he put his faithful black vest on "Are you going to join me for intoxicating beverages?"
Buffy changed her own shirt, still feeling a little shy in front of him, but popped her head out of the neck hole to see him concentrating a little too hard on fixing his hair.
"Yeah. What time?"
Kane looked up at the clock on the wall, and clicked his tongue.
"About 9:00?" he finally asked.
"Okay" Buffy took a brush out of her locker and ran it through her hair a few times, before twisting it up and clipping it.
"Invite Dawn and Willow too. I mean, if they want to hang out. Don't force them. That's just evil" Kane deadpanned
Buffy smiled, and pulled her coat on.
"I'll ask them" She promised
"Buffy?" Kane looked towards her, and immediately dropped his eyes to his hands when she looked back
"Yes?"
"I like you...I mean, really. Huge amounts of like...or love. Bloody Hell. I'm royally screwing this up" Kane coughed, and cleared his throat at the same time. Buffy wondered if she should say anything, but instead she just kept quiet and let him talk "I love you, and it sounds silly, because we've only been dating for a week and a bit. But we've worked together for ages now"
Buffy nodded, and found that even if she wanted to speak, she doubted she could.
"Hmm" A small noise that really meant nothing came from the back of Buffy's throat.
"And you are a bright and shiny thing in my life. Like a really good flashlight in a dark basement, with spiders in it, and a rat that lives in the corner" Kane finished, glad to have it off his chest.
"Umm, wow" Buffy said, trying not to look too ecstatically happy.
"Certainly. Important to have gotten it out in the open, I think" Kane said, stammering.
"Certainly" Buffy imitated.
"Okay, so now you know, and now we can just be normal again. I'm sorry to have put you on the spot like that" Kane nodded, and hoisted his bag onto his shoulder, and moved forward to kiss her cheek, and get out of there, possibly running, as quickly as possible. Buffy moved just in time, and he found himself deeply engrossed in much more than a quick kiss.
---
Spike violently stabbed at the buttons of the remote. There was nothing on. Nothing. TV was useless. His human food tasted like rubber, and he thought someone, probably Kane, had spit in his burger.
With a growl, he threw the remote at the wall, and leant back in his chair.
What the hell was Buffy doing to him?
Unbeknownst to her, he'd witnessed most of the off duty snogging, going on in the locker room. Not that he was spying, but customers got a pretty good view of the room when the door was open.
So he was now in an irrationally bad mood with her, that had dulled when she'd been nice to him when she served him, but had come back with a vengeance when lover boy got involved.
What was with that guys hair anyway? Spike had no reflection, and even he managed to keep his roots dyed, according to Willow, who happily informed him that "he was so bleached that he looked like a vampire beacon".
Feeling slightly happier about having better hair than his rival, Spike grinned and focused on ways to take his mind off the niggling visuals of Kane's lips being far to close to his Buffy.
It was violence, or cigarettes. And he was all out of smokes.
He pulled his duster on, and went to his weapons cabinet. Something sharp, pointy and multi-pronged would be good, but he'd broken his last one.
Grinning devilishly, Spike pulled out a battleaxe and a one of his old railroad spikes. This'd have to do.
---
Buffy spun a stake on her forefinger, and threw it in the air, before catching it at the pointed tip. Where was all the action tonight? It was as if a tornado had swept through the cemeteries, and no demon life was left.
Buffy shrugged and continued walking. She came to a halt when she saw the tornado in action in the distance. Spike was taking on three, no, four polgara demons... and he was winning.
Buffy winced as she heard the woosh of the battleaxe stop when it hit the neck of a demon. The head came clean off, and rolled along the floor. Spike didn't even stop swinging the axe, and made a large gash in the abdomen of the Polgara that had just jumped from a tombstone.
Impressed, but majorly wigged by the axe happy vampire, Buffy halved the distance between them, and stopped to watch.
Spike threw the battleaxe to the ground, and twisted the neck of the injured demon, before taking the railroad spike from his pocket, and gesturing at the two floored demons.
Buffy watched him dance on his toes, as the skewer shot out of the wrist of the first Polgara demon to stand. Using the spike as a club, Spike swung it down and broke the skewer, and drove the blunt end of the metal into the stomach of the demon. The remaining Polgara ran at Spike, and released the pointed bone skewer into the vampire's side.
Buffy ran to his aid, but stopped a foot away when Spike simply stiffened, and broke the bone off. He yanked it out of his side, teeth clenched and used it to impale the last demon.
Panting heavily, but unnecessarily, Spike threw the bone down, and touched the hole in his side. He rolled his eyes when his fingers came away red.
"Are you alright?" Buffy asked.
Spike apparently hadn't noticed her, because he jumped ever so slightly.
"Yup, fine" Spike smiled slightly and removed his axe from the grass "Flesh wound"
"I wasn't talking about the gaping hole in your side, actually. What's with the Malcolm McDowell ultra violence? You were nuts" Buffy looked down at the four demon bodies and winced.
Spike shrugged and began to walk back to his crypt, looking completely unhurt.
Buffy watched him walk for a moment, and ran to catch up with him.
"Spike?"
"What?"
"What's wrong with you?"
"I just got skewered. It's actually quite painful. I'm going into my nice crypt, with a bottle of whisky, and I'm going to rest" Spike turned and faced her "Bugger off"
Buffy stared at his back as he stepped into his home.
"I don't understand what I did-" Buffy's words were cut short by the crypt door slamming shut.
Spike flopped into his armchair, and pulled his t-shirt off. The wound was clean anyway. Nothing that would cause problems. Nothing that wouldn't heal.
He could sense Buffy outside the door. But he wasn't in the mood to listen to her tonight.
Spike pulled a bottle from behind a cushion, unscrewed the cap and tipped it back down his throat.
He grimaced at the burning sensation, and got to his feet. Buffy was still there.
"Sod her" he muttered to himself.
With a little difficulty, Spike made his way down the ladder, and located the first aid kit. Haphazardly, he wrapped his abdomen with a thick bandage. It had already stopped bleeding.
Drinking the last of the whisky, Spike lay on top of the covers, and sighed. He rested his right forearm on his forehead, and stared at the canopy about his newly fixed bed. Clem had helped him find a new four poster, and move it in. And he'd been alone in it every night since the night Buffy had broken up with him. With his free hand, he retrieved his book from the nightstand, and began to read.
"Spike?" Buffy's head appeared at the opening of the lower level, and Spike lifted his head.
"I'm actually trying to relax, so my original statement stands. Bugger off"
"Can I just talk to you?"
"No"
"I'm coming down"
Without waiting for an answer, Buffy's feet appeared at the top rung. Then her legs and her hips and finally her face.
She jumped off the last step, and Buffy looked up and down at the new oak bed, with a white silk canopy.
"This is nice. Where'd you get it?" she stepped to the bed, and touched the material.
"Something tells me you aren't here to talk upholstery" Spike said, moving his forearm to behind his head.
"No. I want to know what went on back there"
"I was fighting demons. It's all I'm good for nowadays"
"Huh"
"Huh what, Slayer?"
"Huh, as in Huh, I guess you really like getting the shit kicked out of you" Buffy turned and faced him
"Can't see where you're headed with this, luv" Spike replied, eyeing her suspiciously.
"I'm saying why patrol alone? You know I've been looking for those four. You knew they were about. Why patrol alone?" Buffy was aware she sounded a bit like an angry Giles, and like she was Spike's watcher.
"I attacked them" Spike said simply.
"Yeah, well, wait for me next - you attacked them?!" Buffy said, disbelieving.
"Mmmm hmm"
"You could've been killed" Buffy said, quietly.
"Coulda. Didn't" Spike said, still trying to be angry with her, and failing when he saw how upset she was.
"You're an idiot" Buffy whispered
"How so?"
"I just told you...you could've been killed"
"And you're so big with the caring. Besides, I was a little pissed off. Needed to relieve some tension"
"I do care" Buffy muttered
The room fell quiet, as Buffy stood at the end of the bed, and Spike sat up. Buffy swallowed as the sheet fell off his chest.
"Okay, well, same thing, without the dumb not caring line" Spike responded.
"Are you angry with me?" Buffy asked, bottom lip quivering ever so slightly. Her eyes began to tear up. Spike noticed this, and shook his head vigorously.
"Well, not now"
"But you were?"
"A little"
"Why?"
"Because you're dating a moron, and not me"
"You're a moron too"
"Yeah, but I'm the better moron"
"I do care"
Spike narrowed his eyes, and nodded
"You said that already" he said, slowly. Buffy nodded back
"I know, but you need to know, so you don't do anything THAT stupid again"
"I won't do it again. Sorry I scared you" Spike smiled "I like you worrying about me"
"Well I don't like worrying about you" Buffy began to play with the silk again.
"You don't like loving me either" Spike asked. Buffy's head raised slowly and she met his eyes. His eyebrow was raised in challenge "Do you?"
"You came to that conclusion how exactly?" Buffy said with a definite shake in her voice.
"I just...did. About 5 minutes ago actually"
Buffy nodded. Then shrugged. Then nodded again. And finally shook her head.
"I don't know how you expect me to respond to that" Buffy said, feeling like the tornado was about to run wild again. Instead, Spike laughed and shrugged.
"No...me neither really" he sighed "But it's important that we both know now, I guess"
Buffy stepped a little closer to Spike, but kept a safe "no touching" distance
"Both know what? I haven't admitted anything yet"
Spike stuck his tongue out between his teeth, and then chewed his lip.
"No. But you haven't run screaming, or denied it either. Make it easy on yourself, pet. Stop pissing about with Burger boy, and get yourself out of that nasty emotional hole you keep digging yourself into" Spike gave a small genuine smile. Buffy roughly swiped at a tear that ran down her face.
"It's not that simple..."
"Yeah and why not?"
"Cos I'm in love with you..." Buffy looked up through her eyelashes "...and Kane"
Spike eyed her skeptically for a moment, before realising she was deadly serious.
This was some mess she'd gotten into...but she hadn't stayed long enough to let him help her out. The crypt door slammed above him, and Spike flopped back onto the bed.
Author : Harmony
Rating : PG-13
Summary : Spike dislikes Kane. Kane dislikes Spike. Buffy likes them both.
Feedback : It is my oxygen.
Author Notes : Kane is named "Kane" for a reason. All will be revealed later. Not this chapter but later.
---
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"What did you think of the new guy in our Slayer's life?"
Spike cast a sideways glance at Xander. Well, if anyone could back up his new found hatred of Kane, then it was Xander - King of Buffy Boyfriend Bashing.
"You know what? I kinda liked him" Xander said after a long pause, before giggling.
Spike sniffed, and pretended he wasn't terribly disappointed, even if it was inebriation behind Xander's words. It seemed everyone thought Kane was just perfect. Willow hadn't stopped smiling all night. Buffy had spent the entire night trying not to upset Spike too much, but he'd caught snippets of girly conversation, with such sickening words as "totally hot" and "Kind and gentle". Even Dawn, his little niblet, had sat at Kane's feet like a little puppy, enchanted with the new guy.
Xander had just been interested in the drinking game Spike had invented, when Kane had gone to play the nice new boyfriend for a while. It involved downing a shot of vodka for every losing hand of Blackjack. Spike figured Xander was looking to get horribly drunk, in a dumb attempt at blocking his problems out.
So now, Xander was veering off to the side as he walked, and he swayed a little between steps. Spike was quite sober, having won most games. Disappointingly sober, actually. A drunken haze sounded like a nice place to be.
"Is that the copious amounts of vodka talking, or do you actually like someone who's dating your precious Buffy?" Spike asked, staring out into the inky black cemetery.
"What did you call Buffy?" Xander stopped, and raised his fist shakily, preparing for a fight.
"Oh please. You could barely manage to get your coat on. Now you're gonna beat me up?" Xander's fist dropped to his side, and Spike rolled his eyes "Besides, I didn't call her anything"
"I wanna go to sleep. Think I'll get bited if I sleep here?" Xander indicated the wet grass, and bent down as if to flop onto the ground.
"You're an idiot. I should leave you here. Who taught you to play cards? Who taught you to twist on 18? Why am I still talking to you like you aren't ratfaced?" Spike bent over and pulled Xander to his feet, muttering curses under his breath
"Cos you love me?" Xander suggested. Spike froze and shuddered dramatically as he hoisted Xander's arm over his shoulder, so he could at least drag him.
"You say that again, mate, and we're going to have issues"
---
Buffy's heart leapt into her throat and then down into her stomach and finally settled with pounding her chest when he kissed her.
This was the first time they'd pressed lips, as Willow might say, and it wasn't as bad as she'd imagined it.
She'd imagined it being so bad, that she had to run away and cry in her bedroom, or that he'd be the one running away.
Or that when they did kiss, there would be nothing behind it whatsoever, and it was all just the dizziness of a new relationship making them think they were falling in love.
The worst thought she'd had was that Spike would come strolling along, and that he'd get that heartbroken look on his face.
But this wasn't bad. Spike was nowhere in sight, and it wasn't awful, and there was something behind it. It was better than Scott Hope, better than Parker...better than Riley, better than anyone.
Except her two vampires, who were pretty much untouchable when it came to this kissing business.
Buffy jolted back to reality and realised she was still kissing Kane, and she was thinking about Spike and Angel and that couldn't be good.
"Mmm, we have to get back to work" Buffy murmured, eyeing the growing line of customers.
"Nah, we have a few more minutes" Kane encouraged, raising his eyebrow, enticingly.
"But David keeps staring in at us, like a great big zombie pervert. It's gross...especially when he happens to be carrying a bucket of old grease" Buffy shivered, and retrieved her hat from the bench.
"Oh, well, I'll rip his eyes out...no problem" Kane said, with a mock growl. Buffy stared at him. If back had been turned, or her eyes had been closed, she'd have thought Spike had said it.
"Easy, boy. Come on. Doublemeat customers awaiting" Buffy pulled at the orange sleeved arm of her boyfriend. He got up, but spun her round, and Buffy found her back against the cold metal locker. And he was kissing her again.
Buffy realised then, that she'd sealed her fate. She was well and truly torn between two men now. Even when she had been seeing Spike, and had no intentions of "cheating" on him, she'd had small warm fuzzies about the funny cute guy who worked at the Doublemeat with her. And he'd been there for her, with a large soda, when he caught her crying in the locker room the day she broke up with Spike.
It wasn't like she was feeling these things on rebound. Because she'd felt smaller mini versions of them before. When she was with Kane...he made her laugh, and made her happy. The similarities to Spike...well, maybe she did like him for that originally. But she barely noticed now, and he was just Kane to her. She often found herself staring at him, and getting lost, when he was doing something as everyday as cooking fries.
Was it possible to love two people at the same time, to almost the same extents, but in completely different ways?
Was she cheating on Kane? Was she cheating on Spike? Was she cheating herself? This thinking about love business was making her brain hurt. Was the line of customers shortening?
Screw the customers, she thought, but her hand's journey towards the brown and bleach blonde hair was frozen by someone clearing their throat dramatically.
"Buffy, when you've finished, maybe you want to start serving someone who is actually a paying customer" Lorraine, the manager, fixed Buffy with an amused stare "Kane, you're on grill"
Buffy smiled back weakly, and disentangled herself from Kane, who pulled his hat on.
"Great!" Kane said enthusiastically, before rolling his eyes at Buffy.
David, coworker from hell, who liked to talk about frogs, and made a habit of pretending to spit in every single burger he wrapped, wandered into the locker room for his break, as Buffy and Kane left.
Buffy's skin crawled whenever David walked by her, or talked to her. Kane was unfortunate enough to spend a lot of time working with him on the grill, cleaning grease, and he'd told Buffy that David asked questions about Buffy constantly, when she was out of earshot.
Maybe he was a demon. Or worse...what if he had a crush on her?!
Buffy tucked that disturbing thought away and bid a small goodbye, happy grilling to Kane, with a little wave.
"Welcome to the Doublemeat Palace. What can I get you?" Buffy asked, cheerfully. Her forced happy demeanour dropped when she looked up to see Spike smirking at her. He had a habit of doing this. Turning up during her shift. He knew exactly when she'd be serving customers. He hadn't done it for about two weeks now. Well, ever since she broke up with him. So it WAS a surprise to see him.
"Just off break?" Spike asked, staring around Buffy at Kane, who was oblivious to his presence.
"Yeah. What are you doing here?" Buffy asked, trying to sound good natured, when really, she hated him turning up...seeing her in her ridiculous outfit.
"Well, actually coming to get food, believe it or not" Spike laughed, staring up at the menu.
"Don't you drink blood anymore?" Buffy teased, before looking down at the pictures on her till "Get the Doublemeat special"
"Yeah...one of, uh, them then. Thought I'd try something a little different with my spicy O-neg tonight" Spike said, staring once again at Kane.
Buffy keyed it in, and Spike held out the money, pleasantly surprised she didn't even ask him what drink he wanted and whether he wanted large or regular fries. She knew apparently.
"On the house" Buffy smiled, before she turned around and shouted towards the grill "Kane! Can we get some more Doublemeat specials?"
"Coming up!" Kane shouted in response, glimpsing up, and raising his eyebrow at Spike.
"I have to say...I'm pleased he looks embarassingly bad in his uniform" Spike said, tucking his money back into his pocket.
"Oh shut up" Buffy looked down at her own orange atrocity "It's called having a job"
"You shouldn't be working here. I have money. I told you a million times. It'll kill you" Spike tapped his fingers on the counter, as Buffy put a lid on his drink, and rolled the top of the brown Doublemeat Palace bag.
"Spike, I won't take money from you, because it's not your responsibility" Buffy said, making it clear she was fed up with having this conversation every single time work came up.
"Well, as the insane vampire who's in love with you, I want the responsibility" Spike said. Buffy glared at him, as Kane made his way over.
"Hi Spike" he said, eyeing the brown bag "Hungry?"
"Yeah. Okay, I'll be going" Spike said, grabbing his drink, and waving over his shoulder.
"Is it just me, or does he have attitude problems?" Kane said, shaking his head.
Buffy watched the bleached hair disappear out of sight, and shrugged.
"No, he just doesn't like hanging about in fast food joints. Can't say I blame him" she sighed, realising for the first time, that Sophie was handling customers alone.
"Well, he stuck around long enough when I wasn't here" Kane sniffed.
"He was waiting for his burger" Buffy muttered, stepping back up to the till, fake smile plastered in place.
---
"I'm gonna go home, take a shower, and then I'm gonna drink my depressing job away at the Bronze" Kane took another of his seemingly endless supply of misnamed bowling shirts, out of his locker, before pulling off his orange and white work shirt. Buffy glanced sideways at his chest, and exhaled as he put his faithful black vest on "Are you going to join me for intoxicating beverages?"
Buffy changed her own shirt, still feeling a little shy in front of him, but popped her head out of the neck hole to see him concentrating a little too hard on fixing his hair.
"Yeah. What time?"
Kane looked up at the clock on the wall, and clicked his tongue.
"About 9:00?" he finally asked.
"Okay" Buffy took a brush out of her locker and ran it through her hair a few times, before twisting it up and clipping it.
"Invite Dawn and Willow too. I mean, if they want to hang out. Don't force them. That's just evil" Kane deadpanned
Buffy smiled, and pulled her coat on.
"I'll ask them" She promised
"Buffy?" Kane looked towards her, and immediately dropped his eyes to his hands when she looked back
"Yes?"
"I like you...I mean, really. Huge amounts of like...or love. Bloody Hell. I'm royally screwing this up" Kane coughed, and cleared his throat at the same time. Buffy wondered if she should say anything, but instead she just kept quiet and let him talk "I love you, and it sounds silly, because we've only been dating for a week and a bit. But we've worked together for ages now"
Buffy nodded, and found that even if she wanted to speak, she doubted she could.
"Hmm" A small noise that really meant nothing came from the back of Buffy's throat.
"And you are a bright and shiny thing in my life. Like a really good flashlight in a dark basement, with spiders in it, and a rat that lives in the corner" Kane finished, glad to have it off his chest.
"Umm, wow" Buffy said, trying not to look too ecstatically happy.
"Certainly. Important to have gotten it out in the open, I think" Kane said, stammering.
"Certainly" Buffy imitated.
"Okay, so now you know, and now we can just be normal again. I'm sorry to have put you on the spot like that" Kane nodded, and hoisted his bag onto his shoulder, and moved forward to kiss her cheek, and get out of there, possibly running, as quickly as possible. Buffy moved just in time, and he found himself deeply engrossed in much more than a quick kiss.
---
Spike violently stabbed at the buttons of the remote. There was nothing on. Nothing. TV was useless. His human food tasted like rubber, and he thought someone, probably Kane, had spit in his burger.
With a growl, he threw the remote at the wall, and leant back in his chair.
What the hell was Buffy doing to him?
Unbeknownst to her, he'd witnessed most of the off duty snogging, going on in the locker room. Not that he was spying, but customers got a pretty good view of the room when the door was open.
So he was now in an irrationally bad mood with her, that had dulled when she'd been nice to him when she served him, but had come back with a vengeance when lover boy got involved.
What was with that guys hair anyway? Spike had no reflection, and even he managed to keep his roots dyed, according to Willow, who happily informed him that "he was so bleached that he looked like a vampire beacon".
Feeling slightly happier about having better hair than his rival, Spike grinned and focused on ways to take his mind off the niggling visuals of Kane's lips being far to close to his Buffy.
It was violence, or cigarettes. And he was all out of smokes.
He pulled his duster on, and went to his weapons cabinet. Something sharp, pointy and multi-pronged would be good, but he'd broken his last one.
Grinning devilishly, Spike pulled out a battleaxe and a one of his old railroad spikes. This'd have to do.
---
Buffy spun a stake on her forefinger, and threw it in the air, before catching it at the pointed tip. Where was all the action tonight? It was as if a tornado had swept through the cemeteries, and no demon life was left.
Buffy shrugged and continued walking. She came to a halt when she saw the tornado in action in the distance. Spike was taking on three, no, four polgara demons... and he was winning.
Buffy winced as she heard the woosh of the battleaxe stop when it hit the neck of a demon. The head came clean off, and rolled along the floor. Spike didn't even stop swinging the axe, and made a large gash in the abdomen of the Polgara that had just jumped from a tombstone.
Impressed, but majorly wigged by the axe happy vampire, Buffy halved the distance between them, and stopped to watch.
Spike threw the battleaxe to the ground, and twisted the neck of the injured demon, before taking the railroad spike from his pocket, and gesturing at the two floored demons.
Buffy watched him dance on his toes, as the skewer shot out of the wrist of the first Polgara demon to stand. Using the spike as a club, Spike swung it down and broke the skewer, and drove the blunt end of the metal into the stomach of the demon. The remaining Polgara ran at Spike, and released the pointed bone skewer into the vampire's side.
Buffy ran to his aid, but stopped a foot away when Spike simply stiffened, and broke the bone off. He yanked it out of his side, teeth clenched and used it to impale the last demon.
Panting heavily, but unnecessarily, Spike threw the bone down, and touched the hole in his side. He rolled his eyes when his fingers came away red.
"Are you alright?" Buffy asked.
Spike apparently hadn't noticed her, because he jumped ever so slightly.
"Yup, fine" Spike smiled slightly and removed his axe from the grass "Flesh wound"
"I wasn't talking about the gaping hole in your side, actually. What's with the Malcolm McDowell ultra violence? You were nuts" Buffy looked down at the four demon bodies and winced.
Spike shrugged and began to walk back to his crypt, looking completely unhurt.
Buffy watched him walk for a moment, and ran to catch up with him.
"Spike?"
"What?"
"What's wrong with you?"
"I just got skewered. It's actually quite painful. I'm going into my nice crypt, with a bottle of whisky, and I'm going to rest" Spike turned and faced her "Bugger off"
Buffy stared at his back as he stepped into his home.
"I don't understand what I did-" Buffy's words were cut short by the crypt door slamming shut.
Spike flopped into his armchair, and pulled his t-shirt off. The wound was clean anyway. Nothing that would cause problems. Nothing that wouldn't heal.
He could sense Buffy outside the door. But he wasn't in the mood to listen to her tonight.
Spike pulled a bottle from behind a cushion, unscrewed the cap and tipped it back down his throat.
He grimaced at the burning sensation, and got to his feet. Buffy was still there.
"Sod her" he muttered to himself.
With a little difficulty, Spike made his way down the ladder, and located the first aid kit. Haphazardly, he wrapped his abdomen with a thick bandage. It had already stopped bleeding.
Drinking the last of the whisky, Spike lay on top of the covers, and sighed. He rested his right forearm on his forehead, and stared at the canopy about his newly fixed bed. Clem had helped him find a new four poster, and move it in. And he'd been alone in it every night since the night Buffy had broken up with him. With his free hand, he retrieved his book from the nightstand, and began to read.
"Spike?" Buffy's head appeared at the opening of the lower level, and Spike lifted his head.
"I'm actually trying to relax, so my original statement stands. Bugger off"
"Can I just talk to you?"
"No"
"I'm coming down"
Without waiting for an answer, Buffy's feet appeared at the top rung. Then her legs and her hips and finally her face.
She jumped off the last step, and Buffy looked up and down at the new oak bed, with a white silk canopy.
"This is nice. Where'd you get it?" she stepped to the bed, and touched the material.
"Something tells me you aren't here to talk upholstery" Spike said, moving his forearm to behind his head.
"No. I want to know what went on back there"
"I was fighting demons. It's all I'm good for nowadays"
"Huh"
"Huh what, Slayer?"
"Huh, as in Huh, I guess you really like getting the shit kicked out of you" Buffy turned and faced him
"Can't see where you're headed with this, luv" Spike replied, eyeing her suspiciously.
"I'm saying why patrol alone? You know I've been looking for those four. You knew they were about. Why patrol alone?" Buffy was aware she sounded a bit like an angry Giles, and like she was Spike's watcher.
"I attacked them" Spike said simply.
"Yeah, well, wait for me next - you attacked them?!" Buffy said, disbelieving.
"Mmmm hmm"
"You could've been killed" Buffy said, quietly.
"Coulda. Didn't" Spike said, still trying to be angry with her, and failing when he saw how upset she was.
"You're an idiot" Buffy whispered
"How so?"
"I just told you...you could've been killed"
"And you're so big with the caring. Besides, I was a little pissed off. Needed to relieve some tension"
"I do care" Buffy muttered
The room fell quiet, as Buffy stood at the end of the bed, and Spike sat up. Buffy swallowed as the sheet fell off his chest.
"Okay, well, same thing, without the dumb not caring line" Spike responded.
"Are you angry with me?" Buffy asked, bottom lip quivering ever so slightly. Her eyes began to tear up. Spike noticed this, and shook his head vigorously.
"Well, not now"
"But you were?"
"A little"
"Why?"
"Because you're dating a moron, and not me"
"You're a moron too"
"Yeah, but I'm the better moron"
"I do care"
Spike narrowed his eyes, and nodded
"You said that already" he said, slowly. Buffy nodded back
"I know, but you need to know, so you don't do anything THAT stupid again"
"I won't do it again. Sorry I scared you" Spike smiled "I like you worrying about me"
"Well I don't like worrying about you" Buffy began to play with the silk again.
"You don't like loving me either" Spike asked. Buffy's head raised slowly and she met his eyes. His eyebrow was raised in challenge "Do you?"
"You came to that conclusion how exactly?" Buffy said with a definite shake in her voice.
"I just...did. About 5 minutes ago actually"
Buffy nodded. Then shrugged. Then nodded again. And finally shook her head.
"I don't know how you expect me to respond to that" Buffy said, feeling like the tornado was about to run wild again. Instead, Spike laughed and shrugged.
"No...me neither really" he sighed "But it's important that we both know now, I guess"
Buffy stepped a little closer to Spike, but kept a safe "no touching" distance
"Both know what? I haven't admitted anything yet"
Spike stuck his tongue out between his teeth, and then chewed his lip.
"No. But you haven't run screaming, or denied it either. Make it easy on yourself, pet. Stop pissing about with Burger boy, and get yourself out of that nasty emotional hole you keep digging yourself into" Spike gave a small genuine smile. Buffy roughly swiped at a tear that ran down her face.
"It's not that simple..."
"Yeah and why not?"
"Cos I'm in love with you..." Buffy looked up through her eyelashes "...and Kane"
Spike eyed her skeptically for a moment, before realising she was deadly serious.
This was some mess she'd gotten into...but she hadn't stayed long enough to let him help her out. The crypt door slammed above him, and Spike flopped back onto the bed.