CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Home Sweet Home
It wasn't too late when Buffy got in from patrolling. Things had been pretty quiet on the demon front that night. She wondered if maybe they were all strung out from celebrating the holidays. Did demons celebrate New Year's? She had to remember to ask Spike. She would have asked him already if he'd met her on patrol as he said he would. She'd looked for him, but he hadn't shown. And she was more then a little ticked off about it.
When she walked into the house she found Willow and Dawn watching television. It looked like some old Alfred Hitchcock movie in black and white. They both gave her a perfunctory hello.
"Dawn, what are you doing up?" Buffy said. "You should be in bed. It's a school night."
"Just a few minutes more." Dawn said.
"It's almost over," Willow put in without looking away from the screen.
"Not too many more minutes," Buffy said, heading for the kitchen to look for a snack. There was still plenty of food left over from New Year's. She pulled out a bowl of macaroni salad and some cold cuts, loaded some on a plate, and sat down at the counter island for a post-slay snack.
By then, the movie Willow and Dawn had been watching was over. Willow stayed glued to the screen to see the credits and watch the news. Dawn came out to the kitchen to join her sister.
"So, how was slaying tonight?" Dawn asked.
"Oh, nothing special. Pretty quiet really." Buffy speared the last few macaroni on her plate and shoved them into her mouth.
"So . . . I didn't get to ask you before you went out on patrol. What did you think of Zachary?"
"He seems nice," Buffy said with a judicious nod. "I like him."
"Yeah, he's cool." A dreamy teenaged smile spread over Dawn's lips and she swooned over the counter island.
"He seems to like you a lot."
"I think so. And he's really good in school. So, he can be lots of help to me in studying."
"Fine. Just remember the rules."
"Oh, I will. But I expect he'll be over for lots of study dates."
"Not tomorrow. We're all going on this big meeting downtown with these demon types. I don't want you hanging out here all alone with him."
"And what do you think we're gonna do?"
"Nothing. That's why he's not coming over."
"Thursday then?" Dawn asked, bobbing up and down. "Would that be OK?"
"Thursday is fine."
It was just at this point that Spike walked in from the livingroom carrying a medium sized paper sack. "So!" he said. "You beat me home, Slayer."
Buffy cringed slightly at the word home. Was this Spike's home now, she wondered? Exactly what had she gotten herself into?
"Shouldn't you be in bed, Nibblet," Spike said.
"Shesh!" Dawn said. "It's not THAT late."
"Yes, it is," Buffy agreed. "Get! Or Zachary's not coming over on Thursday either."
Another pouty face passed over Dawn's face. But she didn't argue.
"Good night, Niblet," Spike said.
"Good night," Dawn said, flapping away in her bedroom slippers.
"You're getting good at this mother stuff," Spike said, trying to give Buffy a peck on the cheek.
"And where were you?" Buffy said, pulling away.
"Got caught up a bit longer at Willy's, that's all. I looked for you at the cemetery. But I sensed you'd already been there and gone. Place was quiet tonight. Not hopping as usual with a lot of nasties."
"Don't tell me you were playing kitten poker again."
"Just a round or two. Hardly ever happen from now on, I promise, Luv. Figure I'm a family man now and have responsibilities."
Buffy rolled her eyes.
Spike started unpacking his brown paper sack into the refrigerator. It was several bags of blood.
"Oh no!" Buffy said. "You're NOT leaving all that lying out in the open in the refrigerator where everyone can see it. Dawn's new friend might see, take one look, and run screaming out into the street."
"Can't have that. Don't worry. I'll leave them in the sack tucked away where they won't be noticed." Spike piled all but one of the blood bags back into the brown paper and stuffed them well out of the way in the refrigerator. Then he went rooting around in the cabinets for a mug. He chose one with a wide yellow smiley face on it.
Buffy watched him as he emptied the reserved bag of blood into the mug and slipped it into the microwave to heat it. Then he took off his duster and hung it casually over the chair next to her. Spike looked relaxed and at home. It was a very domestic scene really, except for the fact that he was a vampire prepping a cup of blood for his dinner.
I can't believe I'm doing this, Buffy thought to herself as she watched him. What have I gotten myself into?
The bell on the microwave sounded and Spike pulled it out. He moved to sit next to Buffy but she waved him away. "Oh no! Take that thing away from me, I don't want to see you drink it."
"Why?" Spike asked. "It's not the first time." But he obediently sat a comfortable distance away from her.
"Maybe not. But it's still disgusting." She shook her head. "I don't know what it is I see in you."
"Actually, I think the same thing about you sometimes, Slayer. You're not the easiest person to live with either."
Buffy sent Spike a nasty look.
"Oh, don't give me that. When all is said and done, my late evening snack is neater then yours. Just one cup is all I need to clean up. Look, see how you've got macaroni and mayo all over the place."
"Do not!" Buffy remonstrated. But there was no denying it was true. She unobtrusively tried to hide a stray macaroni under the edge of her plate.
"No need to tidy for me, Luv. I don't care. But you shouldn't go talking." Spike finished drinking and carried his cup to the sink. "See," he said, turning on the water and giving his cup a scrub. "Quick clean- up." He stuck the cup into the crowded drainer.
Buffy grumbled under her breath and gathered her dish after surreptitiously gathering up the lost macaroni with a napkin. She tossed the napkin in the garbage and started washing her dish in the sink, eyeing Spike as he stood next to her through narrow eyes.
As usual, Spike ignored her attitude and used the fact that her hands were busy to his advantage. He wrapped himself around her back, kissing her neck as he ran his hands up and down her hips. "You didn't tell me how patrol went tonight," he said in a low voice."
"It was quiet," she answered, leaning back into him.
She put the clean plate down in the sink. And Spike turned off the water.
"Time for bed?" he asked.
"Hey!" Willow called coming in from the livingroom. "On the news just now, they were talking about yet another fire on Lindemann."
"Another one," Buffy said, pulling away from Spike.
"Yeah. I'm really kinda glad we're looking into this. I just had this feeling of things not being right. You know?"
"Well, the little Nazari demon seemed very happy about our coming to talk to the Shadows tomorrow night," Spike said leaning back against the sink. "He was bowing all over the place."
"What are the Shadow demons like?" Willow asked. "I saw some pictures. But how do they act?"
"I've only met a couple of them in underground tunnels. They're quiet and rather aloof, from what I've seen. Most people take 'em for ghosts when they see 'em. Fire demons are aloof too, but they're more talkative when you confront 'em. And they growl a lot too. Tomorrow, Slayer, I think you and Anya should take the lead. She probably has more experience with the Shadows then I do. Willow and Tara can keep a watch out behind you, ready to throw up some magic if we need it. And Harris and I will follow next, in case we need muscle in going out the way we came in."
"Sounds like a plan," Willow agreed.
Buffy frowned. She wasn't happy about Spike having so many plans. Unfortunately, this one made sense. So she couldn't really disagree with it. Having someone in her life who suggested plans whether she liked it or not was going to take some getting used to.
Spike pushed off the sink and planted himself against Buffy again. "What do you say, Slayer?" he asked. The question might only have been in reference to the Shadow meeting. But there was a secondary question as well in the way he was subtly rubbing against her.
"It sounds like a good plan," she admitted.
"Good. Then we'll be turning in now," Spike said.
"OK," Willow said. "Good night."
"Good night," Buffy said.
Willow smiled as she watched Buffy and Spike go. What busy bunnies they were. She wondered how much sleep they actually got during the night. They were deep into that phase where new lovers can't keep their hands off each other. It made her really lonely for Tara. Her own bed was so cold and empty. She was hoping that joining Rack's coven would fill up some of the void.
"You know," Buffy said after she and Spike were out in the livingroom. "You don't have to have so many ideas."
"You mean, my battle plan? Sorry, Luv. I was basically telling you that I think Anya's more qualified to judge this Shadow thing then I am. I'm better off bringing up the rear with Harris. If you have another plan, I'm all ears."
There was no way she could argue with his logic. She just wasn't comfortable with him as a full member of the team yet. She continued grumbling to herself as she went upstairs and turned into her bedroom. He followed after her and closed the door as she switched on the light. She was about to make some further arguments when he zapped to her side with vampire speed.
"I've got some other ideas too," Spike said provocatively, cornering her against her bureau. "Wanna hear?"
"No!" Buffy said. And with a growl she pushed him back across the room and onto her bed. Slowly she advanced towards him. "As it turns out, I've got a few ideas of my own. I hope you're up to it. Cos it was a slow slaying night and I've got a lot of excess energy. And since we can't make that much noise, it's just gonna take all that much longer." And with that she pounced on him and roughly started pulling off his clothes, her only words from then on a series of low growls.
There were still quite a few things that Buffy had to come to terms with in their relationship. But this was one thing, about which she had no complaints.
Home Sweet Home
It wasn't too late when Buffy got in from patrolling. Things had been pretty quiet on the demon front that night. She wondered if maybe they were all strung out from celebrating the holidays. Did demons celebrate New Year's? She had to remember to ask Spike. She would have asked him already if he'd met her on patrol as he said he would. She'd looked for him, but he hadn't shown. And she was more then a little ticked off about it.
When she walked into the house she found Willow and Dawn watching television. It looked like some old Alfred Hitchcock movie in black and white. They both gave her a perfunctory hello.
"Dawn, what are you doing up?" Buffy said. "You should be in bed. It's a school night."
"Just a few minutes more." Dawn said.
"It's almost over," Willow put in without looking away from the screen.
"Not too many more minutes," Buffy said, heading for the kitchen to look for a snack. There was still plenty of food left over from New Year's. She pulled out a bowl of macaroni salad and some cold cuts, loaded some on a plate, and sat down at the counter island for a post-slay snack.
By then, the movie Willow and Dawn had been watching was over. Willow stayed glued to the screen to see the credits and watch the news. Dawn came out to the kitchen to join her sister.
"So, how was slaying tonight?" Dawn asked.
"Oh, nothing special. Pretty quiet really." Buffy speared the last few macaroni on her plate and shoved them into her mouth.
"So . . . I didn't get to ask you before you went out on patrol. What did you think of Zachary?"
"He seems nice," Buffy said with a judicious nod. "I like him."
"Yeah, he's cool." A dreamy teenaged smile spread over Dawn's lips and she swooned over the counter island.
"He seems to like you a lot."
"I think so. And he's really good in school. So, he can be lots of help to me in studying."
"Fine. Just remember the rules."
"Oh, I will. But I expect he'll be over for lots of study dates."
"Not tomorrow. We're all going on this big meeting downtown with these demon types. I don't want you hanging out here all alone with him."
"And what do you think we're gonna do?"
"Nothing. That's why he's not coming over."
"Thursday then?" Dawn asked, bobbing up and down. "Would that be OK?"
"Thursday is fine."
It was just at this point that Spike walked in from the livingroom carrying a medium sized paper sack. "So!" he said. "You beat me home, Slayer."
Buffy cringed slightly at the word home. Was this Spike's home now, she wondered? Exactly what had she gotten herself into?
"Shouldn't you be in bed, Nibblet," Spike said.
"Shesh!" Dawn said. "It's not THAT late."
"Yes, it is," Buffy agreed. "Get! Or Zachary's not coming over on Thursday either."
Another pouty face passed over Dawn's face. But she didn't argue.
"Good night, Niblet," Spike said.
"Good night," Dawn said, flapping away in her bedroom slippers.
"You're getting good at this mother stuff," Spike said, trying to give Buffy a peck on the cheek.
"And where were you?" Buffy said, pulling away.
"Got caught up a bit longer at Willy's, that's all. I looked for you at the cemetery. But I sensed you'd already been there and gone. Place was quiet tonight. Not hopping as usual with a lot of nasties."
"Don't tell me you were playing kitten poker again."
"Just a round or two. Hardly ever happen from now on, I promise, Luv. Figure I'm a family man now and have responsibilities."
Buffy rolled her eyes.
Spike started unpacking his brown paper sack into the refrigerator. It was several bags of blood.
"Oh no!" Buffy said. "You're NOT leaving all that lying out in the open in the refrigerator where everyone can see it. Dawn's new friend might see, take one look, and run screaming out into the street."
"Can't have that. Don't worry. I'll leave them in the sack tucked away where they won't be noticed." Spike piled all but one of the blood bags back into the brown paper and stuffed them well out of the way in the refrigerator. Then he went rooting around in the cabinets for a mug. He chose one with a wide yellow smiley face on it.
Buffy watched him as he emptied the reserved bag of blood into the mug and slipped it into the microwave to heat it. Then he took off his duster and hung it casually over the chair next to her. Spike looked relaxed and at home. It was a very domestic scene really, except for the fact that he was a vampire prepping a cup of blood for his dinner.
I can't believe I'm doing this, Buffy thought to herself as she watched him. What have I gotten myself into?
The bell on the microwave sounded and Spike pulled it out. He moved to sit next to Buffy but she waved him away. "Oh no! Take that thing away from me, I don't want to see you drink it."
"Why?" Spike asked. "It's not the first time." But he obediently sat a comfortable distance away from her.
"Maybe not. But it's still disgusting." She shook her head. "I don't know what it is I see in you."
"Actually, I think the same thing about you sometimes, Slayer. You're not the easiest person to live with either."
Buffy sent Spike a nasty look.
"Oh, don't give me that. When all is said and done, my late evening snack is neater then yours. Just one cup is all I need to clean up. Look, see how you've got macaroni and mayo all over the place."
"Do not!" Buffy remonstrated. But there was no denying it was true. She unobtrusively tried to hide a stray macaroni under the edge of her plate.
"No need to tidy for me, Luv. I don't care. But you shouldn't go talking." Spike finished drinking and carried his cup to the sink. "See," he said, turning on the water and giving his cup a scrub. "Quick clean- up." He stuck the cup into the crowded drainer.
Buffy grumbled under her breath and gathered her dish after surreptitiously gathering up the lost macaroni with a napkin. She tossed the napkin in the garbage and started washing her dish in the sink, eyeing Spike as he stood next to her through narrow eyes.
As usual, Spike ignored her attitude and used the fact that her hands were busy to his advantage. He wrapped himself around her back, kissing her neck as he ran his hands up and down her hips. "You didn't tell me how patrol went tonight," he said in a low voice."
"It was quiet," she answered, leaning back into him.
She put the clean plate down in the sink. And Spike turned off the water.
"Time for bed?" he asked.
"Hey!" Willow called coming in from the livingroom. "On the news just now, they were talking about yet another fire on Lindemann."
"Another one," Buffy said, pulling away from Spike.
"Yeah. I'm really kinda glad we're looking into this. I just had this feeling of things not being right. You know?"
"Well, the little Nazari demon seemed very happy about our coming to talk to the Shadows tomorrow night," Spike said leaning back against the sink. "He was bowing all over the place."
"What are the Shadow demons like?" Willow asked. "I saw some pictures. But how do they act?"
"I've only met a couple of them in underground tunnels. They're quiet and rather aloof, from what I've seen. Most people take 'em for ghosts when they see 'em. Fire demons are aloof too, but they're more talkative when you confront 'em. And they growl a lot too. Tomorrow, Slayer, I think you and Anya should take the lead. She probably has more experience with the Shadows then I do. Willow and Tara can keep a watch out behind you, ready to throw up some magic if we need it. And Harris and I will follow next, in case we need muscle in going out the way we came in."
"Sounds like a plan," Willow agreed.
Buffy frowned. She wasn't happy about Spike having so many plans. Unfortunately, this one made sense. So she couldn't really disagree with it. Having someone in her life who suggested plans whether she liked it or not was going to take some getting used to.
Spike pushed off the sink and planted himself against Buffy again. "What do you say, Slayer?" he asked. The question might only have been in reference to the Shadow meeting. But there was a secondary question as well in the way he was subtly rubbing against her.
"It sounds like a good plan," she admitted.
"Good. Then we'll be turning in now," Spike said.
"OK," Willow said. "Good night."
"Good night," Buffy said.
Willow smiled as she watched Buffy and Spike go. What busy bunnies they were. She wondered how much sleep they actually got during the night. They were deep into that phase where new lovers can't keep their hands off each other. It made her really lonely for Tara. Her own bed was so cold and empty. She was hoping that joining Rack's coven would fill up some of the void.
"You know," Buffy said after she and Spike were out in the livingroom. "You don't have to have so many ideas."
"You mean, my battle plan? Sorry, Luv. I was basically telling you that I think Anya's more qualified to judge this Shadow thing then I am. I'm better off bringing up the rear with Harris. If you have another plan, I'm all ears."
There was no way she could argue with his logic. She just wasn't comfortable with him as a full member of the team yet. She continued grumbling to herself as she went upstairs and turned into her bedroom. He followed after her and closed the door as she switched on the light. She was about to make some further arguments when he zapped to her side with vampire speed.
"I've got some other ideas too," Spike said provocatively, cornering her against her bureau. "Wanna hear?"
"No!" Buffy said. And with a growl she pushed him back across the room and onto her bed. Slowly she advanced towards him. "As it turns out, I've got a few ideas of my own. I hope you're up to it. Cos it was a slow slaying night and I've got a lot of excess energy. And since we can't make that much noise, it's just gonna take all that much longer." And with that she pounced on him and roughly started pulling off his clothes, her only words from then on a series of low growls.
There were still quite a few things that Buffy had to come to terms with in their relationship. But this was one thing, about which she had no complaints.