"NO, what part of this is not sinking in? N. O, Not happening, no
way!" Well... Buffy seemed really opposed to something as Xander wandered
through the door to Giles' home.
"Buffy, please listen to reason... You can not do this on your
own..." Poor Giles... ever the voice of reason, to bad Buffy's voice is
louder than reason.
"NO," she looked firmly at Giles. "NO," she glared at Willow in
annoyance, and then she turned on Xander and in climax to her argument
screamed "NO!"
"Yeeeaaa!" Xander jumped back, spilling a bag of salt and vinegar
chips all over himself. "OK, OK, I hadn't even asked you about the table
top dancing yet."
Everyone's eyes turned to Xander, his eyes turned to the floor and
there was silence throughout the house of Giles. Willow was the brave soul
to pipe up first.
"Buffy... we know how much you don't like him... we don't have any
big like for him either... but he's the only one strong enough to help you!
You have to get him to help... for Dawn...?" Willow had used the only trick
she could think of. Cruel and heartless as she felt at that moment,
dangling Dawns safety in front of Buffy was the only way to get her to see
reason.
Buffy slumped into a chair in defeat. She knew they were right of
course; she just hated to admit it. It wasn't cool for the slayer to be
wrong.
"Fine... But I don't know how we're going to convince him... He's
opposed to anything that even resembles work... and this is going to be
hard." she was, of course, trying to talk herself around the problem. They
wont see my point of view on the grounds he's a dick, I'll convince them on
the grounds that he's a LAZY dick who wont help.
"Buffy.... ordinarily I'd never suggest it but... Perhaps you
could..." Giles hands were weaving in the air the way they do when he
REALLY doesn't want to finish the sentence he started. "It is for the
safety of the Key... the safety of Dawn..."
Buffy could not even look at him "You want me to... to FLIRT with
him??? No. Oh no, never, not happening, no!"
Everyone looked at her expectantly... there was no getting around it,
they needed his help and the only way he'd give it was if she... flirted...
she couldn't even bring herself to think what else he might demand. She
stood and growled angrily as she gathered her things and headed out into
the rapidly darkening night.
"Fine... FINE... but your paying for my Therapy!" she yelled over her
shoulder.
Xander looked around and blinked a little... this was all very
strange and he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it when someone got
around to explaining it to him.
"OK... OK what is it that I have missed here?"
Willow looked at Giles, then at Tara, then back at Giles. No one
spoke, and once again it was up to Willow to use the weapon no one else in
the room had. An intimate knowledge of the person being manipulated, and
the best way to control them.
"Well... see, we found this spell, it'll separate the key part of
Dawn, from the Dawn part... then we can hide a much smaller thingy, or just
keep it on Buffy at all times, and... Well it's going to require a lot of
energy, so Tara and I can't do it, it'd kill us..."
Xander looked at Willow in that way he always did when he kinda got
the general idea of stuff, but didn't really see where the problem
occurred.
"OK... so Buffy has to do the spell because she's the chosen one.
Where is the problem?" He was very confused, not unusual; he never really
understood what was going on.
"Well... the spell requires at least two people. So we need someone
else strong enough to perform it and we need him now. Tonight! So... Buffy
has to go talk Spike into helping her.." Willow braced herself for Xander
going of the deep end.
"Oh... so where is the huge problem? I mean, yeah we don't like him
but, if we're helping Dawny then..." His face was blank, he had no idea.
"Xander... performing a spell of this caliber is a very intimate
thing. Buffy and Spike are going to have to work as a unit and... Well it's
just a very personal thing."
Of course Xander still didn't understand. But that's OK, he didn't
need to, he went back to eating his chips, most of which he salvaged from
the floor.
Buffy grumbled to herself the entire way, this was NOT what she had in mind when she and Giles set the Witch twins to researching anything that could help. Of course, if she could get the Key out of Dawn and make it something small, something she could keep on her, things would be so much easier. She sighed, Spike was not the perfect partner for something like this, but in the very spirit of movie timing, the spell had to be done now, full moon and all that. She stopped in front of Spikes Crypt door. She always hated arriving, she felt the need to knock, but didn't want to give him that much respect. Of course, seeing she was trying to butter him up, she should probably be polite. She knocked gently. "Who is it?" Came the grumpy sounding English accented reply. Buffy didn't wait for an answer; she opened the door and went inside. Spike was sitting in his ratty old brown chair watching some crappy soap on the TV. "Well it's a start... you knocked. Next lesson, how to wait for an invite" Quipped the bleach blond vamp who lounged rather lazily in the chair, for some reason he was wearing boxers and nothing else. His incredibly pale body stretched out and surprisingly muscular all over. "I'm in a hurry..." she looked down, GOD she hated having to do this "I... I need your help," she mumbled to her shoes. Spike looked a little taken a back and simply looked up at her with those huge blue eyes of his. "Come again?" He said with a raised eyebrow. "I... I need you to help me. I need you to help me help Dawn." she was shifting her weight on her feet and looking rather nervous. Spike couldn't help feeling for her then, she looked so alone. Of course this was a wonderful opportunity to rub it in her face. She... the Slayer, asking SPIKE for help. At the mention of Dawns name however, he rethought the jokes on the tip of his tongue. Dawn was one subject it was not good to joke about with Buffy, not when her safety was an issue. "Doin' what exactly pet...?" he asked, completely aware that if it involved dieing he'd probably go regardless. "A spell... to separate her from the Key... So she'll be safe, the Key will just be my responsibility." she said, unable to bring her eyes up to face him. "Why me... why YOU for that matter... why are the little witches doin' it?" He was already moving around, picking out clean pants and a clean shirt and struggling into them. "They aren't strong enough... It'd kill them... I'm the slayer and you..." "I'm dead..." he finished for her. Spike finished tugging his shoes on and looked down at the Blond slayer. She'd always been shorter than him, but somehow today she felt it. "Will you help me? I... I can give you something you want in return..." She was trying to be coy, maybe if she laid this on real thick, she wouldn't have to touch him till after the spell, at which point she wouldn't touch him at all. Was he smart enough to demand an upfront payment? Spike raised an eyebrow; he'd been doing that a lot tonight. Was she implying what he thought she was implying? No way! It didn't matter! He didn't want anything from her that way! He growled in utter frustration and with speed only a Vampire (and perhaps the slayer) could master, he had her against the wall, her arms pinned above her head by his hands. "What exactly is it your offering here Slayer?" she growled at her. "... What you want..." she took a deep breath and stretched her neck forward, nuzzling her face gently against his neck. Oh boy... all that stuff about not wanting it from her unless she wanted to... it sounded really weak in Spikes mind right then. The warm breath of the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen was gently caressing the skin of his neck and he really did not want to stop her... But this wasn't what he wanted. He wanted candles and music and the perfect moment with Buffy there because she wanted... no because she needed to be. Because she loved him back. "No!" he almost spat the word as he pushed himself away from the wall and began stalking around the crypt angrily. "You wont help me?" she sounded desperate, pleading. Oh God how much he just wanted to let her convince him. He stopped his angry pacing and looked her in the eyes. His were angry and more than a little hurt. She thought she saw his shoulders shaking, but didn't dare say anything at this point. "Of course I'll help you, you little twit!" he growled angrily. He stalked back to her and again pinned her against the wall, this time only with his body, his hands on either side of her head supporting his weight on the wall. "I will not be bribed by you... not like this... I don't want to do anything with you... not when you're doing it to get my help." He gazed down into her eyes and was fairly sure he'd just blown his only chance of ever feeling her skin... tasting her lips or holding her in his arms without a fight. He had principals... who'd have thought it. Now of course, that he had done the right thing, it was time to regret it, to regret not stealing a single kiss when it was offered. Buffy was shocked beyond anything and couldn't seem to move. He was so angry with her. She honestly thought he'd be overjoyed. That he'd take her token affections for a night and do as she asked. She never expected him to behave this way... the way a man might when offered something he wanted so much in such an unsavory manner. "Thank you" she managed timidly after some time. Spike looked down at her and was ever so tempted to steal a kiss... just one little kiss. In the mood Buffy was in, maybe she wouldn't hit him for it. He slowly lent his head down until his mouth was almost touching hers, he could taste her breath, and then she said the one thing that stopped him in his track... "So... you... you changed your mind... you want me to... I mean you want you're... payment." Spike growled angrily and pushed away from the wall, he grabbed his coat and glared at Buffy's small frame. "Let's go Slayer." He said, holding the door open for her. Buffy walked out of the crypt feeling rather bad about the whole thing. She'd counted on making the noble sacrifice for her sister and all that trash. That way she'd come out of this a hero and owe Spike nothing at all for his help. Seemed it wasn't going to work out that way. Once they reached the summers residence, Buffy opened the door and started to wander up the stairs, until she heard a rather annoyed clearing of an undead throat behind her. Spike was standing at the door. "Oh... Sorry... Come in Spike" Mumbled Buffy Spike moved through the door, seemingly relieved to once again be allowed entry to the Summers household. He'd always liked it here. Mrs. Summers made great hot chocolate with little Marshmallow thingies in it. He always did like Mrs. Summers, she was a lovely lady. "Ummm the spell book is in my bag, will you start setting up please? I wanna use the bathroom" Mumbled Buffy as they passed her room. She gave him her bag and wandered to the bathroom. Spike sat on the edge of Buffy's bed and started flipping through the book till he found what looked like the Spell, he speed read over it and nearly dropped it to the floor. "Umm... Buffy?" he called. "Yeah?" "Have you actually READ this spell and what's involved?" "Willow explained it to me, but no I haven't actually read the text, why, is it in Chinese or something?" She asked coming out of the bathroom with her hair tied back and a freshly washed face. "No no, it's in English... I think you might want to read over it though... like now." He seemed very very nervous. Buffy took the book and started reading and, sure enough, she found the part that had sent Spike into a spinner. She to nearly dropped the book. The passage went something like this.
Because of the enormous power needed to work this spell, clothing can not be worn inside the circle, whilst Skin is protected from this kind of energy, fabrics of almost any kind would be burnt from the skin possibly doing damage to the caster depending on the material. It is best not to risk it
"Oh... oh my...I... Ummm" Buffy just looked at the book, then at Spike. She had not seen this coming at all! Why hadn't Willow warned her? "I take it spells off then Pet?" Spike asked as cheerfully as he could manage. Buffy looked down at the photo of Dawn she had for the spell. Dawn was with Willow and Tara right now so they could look after her while Buffy did the spell. She had to protect her sister... If she got the key out of her then Dawn would be perfectly safe from Glory. "No... I mean... if you'll still help me. I need to get the Key out of Dawn... so she'll be safe..." Spike smiled softly and nodded, He understood that just fine. He liked the little girl anyway. She loved listening to him tell stories about gory battles and all the things he'd done in his rather long unlife. "OK... well, we can get everything set up first, no need to get nuddy till we're ready." He said as light heartedly as he could. He was a little worried about the kinds of things that could rather easily... well... pop up. Seeing that they were both going to have no clothes on and it wasn't abnormal for they're to be popage on his part while she was covered neck to knee. "OK... Willow showed me how to set it up, Ummm will you run downstairs and get the herby bundle out of the fridge?" She asked as she started arranging things on the floor. "Sure thing pet" Spike was more than happy to get out of the room. This was not what he'd had in mind at all and he was a little worried about how it would turn out. He sat on a chair in the Kitchen for a little while, thinking hard about Angelus in a bikini and Xander naked, anything he could think of to make the burning in his pants go away. This is not a good idea. Finally, when he was relatively sure he'd controlled himself, he got the bundle of herbs from the fridge and bounded back up the stairs. At the doorway to Buffy's room he nearly fell backwards losing his bundle of herbs! Buffy was carefully pouring white sand in a perfect circle she'd marked out on the floor. Of course that didn't interest Spike at that moment, what had him so of balance was the fact that she was mostly naked. Sure she had her underwear and Bra on but that did little to cover what Spike believed to be the most beautiful body in the universe. "Oh.. Ahem... I mean... Got 'em?" He held out the herbs weakly and Buffy blushed. It was an all round uncomfortable situation. "OK... well, can you crumble them into that bowl over there and then, I guess... you should probably take those off and we'll get started..." She gestured vaguely to his clothes and went back to arranging everything inside the circle. The picture of Dawn she placed in the center lovingly. Spike went about the crumbling of the herbs with rather shaky hands and tried incredibly hard not to look over his shoulder at the blond slayer who was wandering around in her underwear. "Umm Spike. How do you raise energy in a circle? The book says to do it but it doesn't say how?" "Wouldn't know Pet, Don't do spells, I just kill things" Great... first wisecrack he'd managed all night and it was NOT getting him anywhere. "Oh, it's OK, Willow left us a little note. Oh..." she reads over it a few times "Thanks a lot Will... this tells me nothing." "What does it say Pet?" "Basically that once we're inside the circle and everything is happening the right way for the people doing the work will present it's self. She says common ones are singing and dancing... Great. I don't do either of those very well..." Spike grinned and took her hand, spinning her around in a move that died somewhere in the early 70's. Once he let her go to giggle herself silly he closed his eyes and began to sing... "Witchey WOMAN!" And so on (song cut short because Author doesn't know it all. If someone can send me more I'll add it.) Buffy collapsed in a fit of giggles on the floor that almost brought her to tears. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. As long as they both managed to keep it relatively light hearted and didn't phase each other out... this could be OK. It was all for Dawn. Just remember that and try not to look at Spikes naked body! "Everything ready then Pet? Now we've covered that at least I can do both the things that may be required?" Buffy laughed at him and nodded, she then stood and stepped over the ring of sand into the magic circle as Spike shrugged out of his shirt and tugged his black top over his head. He then looked at his pants, then at Buffy. "You sure you don't wanna find someone else to do this?" He asked softly, well aware of exactly how odd this was going to be. "There isn't time Spike... there is no one else." She took a deep breath and reached behind her to fiddle with her bra hookie thingies. She hated those; she much preferred ones that hooked in the front. Spike laughed a little and reached over with one hand and a flick of the wrist had the Bra undone. "You did that to fast..." she almost accused. "I'm over 100 years old, when I started out I had to undo corsets!" He laughed as his jeans got kicked off, leaving him in only his boxers; they had little count duckulas on them. "Very cute." Said Buffy looking at the Boxers "They suit you." There was a lot of tension in the room as Buffy lit the candles, Spike turned out the light and stepped into the circle. Buffy took a deep breath, Spike did to even though he didn't need it and they both slid their final garments off and tossed them out of the circle. The first thing Buffy noticed was exactly how much she wanted to sneak a peak. She wasn't sure why she should feel the need or even why she was interested, that human curiosity thing probably. She desperately wanted to know... well... you know. Exactly how Spike rated in the size department. The second thing she noticed was that Spike, rather unexpectedly, was not staring at her naked body. He was looking her in the eyes. Saying Spike didn't want to look would be a lie. He REALLY wanted to look, he wanted to look more than just about anything. But at that moment, he thought that it was enough to see her face, her hair tumbled freely down over her shoulders and from this angle he could tell she didn't have a top on but not much else. That was beautiful enough for now... time to sneak peaks later. "Well... We should get started on this. Ummm, do you wanna cast the circle or should I?" Asked Buffy. "Well... I assume you've been told what to so, I'll just do what you tell me." That made sense, why didn't she think of that? Stupid naked body, why did she care? She had a nice body. I didn't matter! Right. With that thought she walked the circle like Willow had shown her and said the words in the weird language that didn't really mean anything. Willow had explained that she could do it in English, but if all she was readying were syllables and sounds, instead of words, she'd be less likely to trip over her tongue. Made sense in theory. As Buffy spoke, a white circle appeared, it shone and the light filled the room. Buffy felt all tingly and once the circle was cast, the air inside it was slightly electric. Spike was sitting cross-legged where she had pointed him and was watching her quietly. She sat next to him and smiled faintly. "OK... Now we need to sprinkle the herby stuff over Dawns photo." she said handing Spike the bowl. They took a hand full each and, chanting what Willow had given them, sprinkled the foul smelling stuff over Dawns photo. Buffy laid a silver locket on a chain over the top and then they sprinkled a little more herby stuff. Then came the chanting, repetitious syllables that really didn't mean anything to either of the chanters. It was getting close to the time when that energy raising would have to be done and nether of them had any idea what they were going to do about it.
In Willow and Tara's room, Willow was going over the spell hoping Buffy and Spike were doing OK. She smiled up at Tara and leaned back against the wall. "What do you think Buffy and Spike will do to raise the energy?" She asked quietly. "The only thing a man and a woman ever do for a spell that powerful. Really they should have had a whole coven of people that strong but we couldn't get that in time" Answered the blond witch without looking up from her book. "Ummm Tara what do you mean..." Willow had an incredibly bad feeling about that answer. "Oh, once the spell starts it'll just all flow together. The spell uses them not the other way around. They'll have sex." Tara... she always said things in that quiet confident manner now. "Oh NO!" Cried Willow as she dived for the phone. "What... what did I say?" Tara asked quietly.
Outside the circle, the phone was ringing, but neither the Bleached vamp nor the small blond slayer could hear it through the fizzle of electricity in the air. Buffy wasn't really sure what was happening to her. Her skin felt all tingly and alive, like it was burning but not in a bad way, and then she looked over at Spike, she knew his skin was always cold, maybe if she touched him the fire would go away. It wasn't a bad fire, but it was making it hard to concentrate on the spell... She needed to finish the spell. Spike was looking right back at Buffy, he to was having a strange tingly feeling, which was made even odder by the fact that his body hadn't really 'tingled' since he was alive. He was enjoying the experience but he was fairly sure there was something he still had to do... RIGHT the spell... but he didn't know what to do next. Before he could turn to ask Buffy what came next, he felt her small hand on his shoulder. It felt incredibly hot against his cold skin, and for some reason, that was a really good thing. Coolness spread up through Buffy's arm and she smiled softly at Spikes inquiring eyes when he turned to look at her. She wanted to thank him, because he was cooling her down, but for some reason, she didn't really feel the need to say anything, she reached out with the other hand and lay it on his chest gently so the same cool feeling would spread up that arm too. At the feeling of her hand on his chest, the words flitted out of Spikes head. Somehow he vaguely heard a voice, a young frantic sounding voice, but it was far away and he wasn't really interested enough to strain. "Buffy! Buffy don't start the ritual! We'll find another way! If you do, you'll have sex with Spike!" Came from Buffy's answering machine. Nether of them heard though. Spike's skin tingled with a hot burning sensation when Buffy was touching him, and he really liked that feeling. He reached out and brushed Buffy's hair off her shoulder gently enjoying the burning in his fingertips where they touched her shoulder. The air around them was fizzing and crackling now, if they had been looking, they would have seen small blue sparks of pure energy flitting about them. Not many, but it was a start. "Buffy I..." began the vampire, but he couldn't for the life of him remember what it was he was trying to say. "Spike... Your cold..." Was all Buffy managed in reply. Somehow, without communicating at all, they moved together, both kneeling, Buffy's arms went around Spike's neck, his around her waist and they leaned against one another, each soothed by the contrasting skin of the other. Spike gently pushed Buffy's hair away from her ear and pressed his cheek against her's to whisper in her ear. "What's happening Slayer...?" he asked softly, one of his hands sinking down from her waist of it's own accord to rest lightly on her perfect ass. "I don't know... Mmmm " she purred quietly in his ear, seemingly unworried about anything. Spike's other hand tangled it's self in her hair and he tilted her head back gently, and gazed into her eyes with his cold blue ones for a moment before leaning in and pressing his cold lips to her hot ones. The sparks that moved through the circle went faster, glowed brighter and there were more of them than before. It wasn't enough to have his skin against her, she was getting hotter and she needed him to get rid of it. Spike rocked back until he was sitting and Buffy settled herself on his lap facing him, their mouths still locked ever so gently. Buffy was the first to moan, to break the slightly fizzling silence of the circle; it was then that the feeling in the magic space changed. Up until that point, it had been about feeling, becoming cooler or warmer as their bodies demanded, but with Buffy's moan, Spike saw, in sharp focus, that his Goddess was in his arms. She was kissing him, wanting him. Buffy felt the change as well. Her fingers moved up to bury themselves in his bleached hair and her kiss became more passionate. In turn the sparks that filled the circle became charged, they flailed around bouncing of the ring of light that surrounded them. When Buffy began to rock against Spike's growing erection, he slipped a hand between them to find her heat. His fingertips found it and carefully pushed their way inside, the heat was incredible against his cold hands. Buffy felt a searing cold move through her and cried out in the pleasure of it, she moved against the fingers until, quite by accident, Spikes fingertip brushed against her clit. Spike was in raptures as Buffy threw herself against his fingers, when he found what he was looking for; he rubbed it, at first gently, then faster and harder as Buffy became more and more vocal about her pleasure. "Buffy.... I love you..." gasped Spike as Buffy's hands left his neck, trailed down his chest and found the now hard pole of flesh that jutted up between them. "Mmmm..." was all Buffy seemed able to manage. Rising slightly, Buffy wriggled forward and very slowly began to slide Spike inside her. Spike felt the indescribable heat sinking around him and nearly lost control of himself. The urge to just grip her shoulders and thrust into her was overwhelming but he wanted it to last, wanted to be in her forever. The sparks around them were flying furiously through the space they were allowed. The energy inside the circle was pressing at its confines, screaming to be released. The hard coolness entering her was making Buffy groan, her arms moved back up around Spike's neck and she held on tightly as she began to move around him, his hands on her hips guided her up and down. Nether of the writhing bodies inside the circle knew or cared what was going on outside it. All memory of the spell and its purpose was gone from their minds. "B... Buffy..." gasped Spike, no longer able to put of the inevitable... He felt a surge inside him and lowered his head to Buffy's neck, resting his forehead against her shoulder as he drove into her one last time. Buffy had no breath to answer him as her own pleasure over took her. The raw energy rushed through them both, throwing Spikes head back, a beam or white light exploded from their union and burst the bubble of the circle, sending the spell flying out into the night.
Dawn sat upright in bead and screamed, blood seeped from her nose and she could not stop shaking. She couldn't remember her nightmare, but something was gone... missing from her and she felt it's loss most keenly. In moments Willow and Tara were there however, their arms around her as she tried to catch her breath. "Did it work? Do you feel different?" asked Willow in a worried voice. Dawn could only nod, still terribly shaken, Willow looked at Tara over Dawns' head. Buffy was not going to be happy about what she had to do. At least it worked.
Buffy was breathing hard when she woke, her head resting on the naked shoulder of the bleach blond vampire. She tried to remember what had happened but everything was blurry. Spike was just beginning to come around to, his lips up against Buffy's ear. When Buffy tried to move she gasped, Spike being still inside her she would have fallen back if she'd had the strength, and if Spikes arms had not been gently holding her to him. "Mmmm Buffy? Did it work...?" asked the still half unconscious man beneath her. "I... I think so... Spike... help me move" She stammered out, the memories of what had happened slowly dawning on her poor tired brain. Spike grunted and started to push Buffy of, and then he two realized the situation and everything hit him in a sudden rush. He groaned and lifted Buffy gently off him and shuffled back. "Oh God Buffy... I'm so sorry...I didn't..." "It wasn't your fault" she cut him off "I am going to have a talk with Willow though..." There was evidence of a growl in Buffy's voice. Spike stood and stepped over the circle of sandy stuff looking for his clothes. He tugged on his boxers and got Buffy's underwear for her. "Here..." he said softly and politely turned his back while she dressed, for all the difference it made now. When the phone began to ring, Spike answered, as Buffy was in the bathroom cleaning herself up. "Hello?" "Spike! I think it worked! You didn't... I mean... you and Buffy... there was no... Was there?" Babbled Willows voice on the other end of the line. "... Thank you for the warning Willow... I'm fairly sure Buffy is unimpressed... She's in the bathroom cleaning herself up right now." "OH!! Oh... We're sorry... we didn't know... is she... is she OK?" "I think so Pet... I'm fine to by the way..." "Of course you are... I mean... I didn't think you'd mind it... I mean..." "Willow! Whatever you may think of me... I do NOT want to 'take' Buffy; I don't want to rape her I don't want to have sex with her whilst compelled by a spell! Do you understand? I want... I want candles... well we had candles... but I want music and mood lighting and more to the point a CONCENTING Buffy, not a drugged, spaced out or crazy one." "...I'm sorry..." came the meek reply after a long pause. "I'm ready... is that Willow?" Came Buffy's weak voice from the doorway. "Yeah it is... you wanna talk to her pet?" "No... I don't think so. I'm not stable enough to talk to her right now. Is Dawn OK?" "She's fine Pet." "Good... get rid of her please." "OK... Buffy and I have things to clean up Red, we'll talk tomorrow I guess." He said back into the phone. "Tell Buffy I'm sorry... I didn't know until it was to late..." "Will do red." Spike turned back to the girl in the doorway who seemed very small to him somehow, maybe because she looked so upset, like she'd been betrayed. He wanted to move over to her, to take her in his arms. But that was the problem, there had been too much of that already. "Do you want me to go Buffy...?" he asked softly, her name tasted odd to his lips, he was so used to calling her Slayer, he just couldn't bring himself to do it right then. "No no, you are not getting out of helping to clean up the mess!" They both laughed and moved into the circle again, Buffy bent over to pick up the locket and fell backwards with a cry "SHIT!" "What??? What is it Pet?" Spike bounded over to her. In her hand she held the locket, no longer one but two. Both in the shape of half a heart, they even had separate chains. The powers that be had a sense of humor it seemed. "I guess... I guess you're meant to take half... it's not like you can't look after it." Buffy handed him his half and he struggled with it until it sat comfortably around his neck. Buffy struggled with her's too but in the end Spike had to help her, her hands were shaking to badly. Spike smiled softly at her when he was done and cautiously wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Friends...?" he asked. "Friends... for now" said Buffy softly, there was a hint of a mischievous smile on her face and Spike was take a-back. "What's that meant to mean?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Buffy didn't answer, she just went about cleaning the circle and handed Spike the dust buster to get up the sandy stuff that made the circle. He watched her work for a moment with a baffled look. "No really... what... are you teasing me?" Poor guy... he sounded so desperate.
Buffy grumbled to herself the entire way, this was NOT what she had in mind when she and Giles set the Witch twins to researching anything that could help. Of course, if she could get the Key out of Dawn and make it something small, something she could keep on her, things would be so much easier. She sighed, Spike was not the perfect partner for something like this, but in the very spirit of movie timing, the spell had to be done now, full moon and all that. She stopped in front of Spikes Crypt door. She always hated arriving, she felt the need to knock, but didn't want to give him that much respect. Of course, seeing she was trying to butter him up, she should probably be polite. She knocked gently. "Who is it?" Came the grumpy sounding English accented reply. Buffy didn't wait for an answer; she opened the door and went inside. Spike was sitting in his ratty old brown chair watching some crappy soap on the TV. "Well it's a start... you knocked. Next lesson, how to wait for an invite" Quipped the bleach blond vamp who lounged rather lazily in the chair, for some reason he was wearing boxers and nothing else. His incredibly pale body stretched out and surprisingly muscular all over. "I'm in a hurry..." she looked down, GOD she hated having to do this "I... I need your help," she mumbled to her shoes. Spike looked a little taken a back and simply looked up at her with those huge blue eyes of his. "Come again?" He said with a raised eyebrow. "I... I need you to help me. I need you to help me help Dawn." she was shifting her weight on her feet and looking rather nervous. Spike couldn't help feeling for her then, she looked so alone. Of course this was a wonderful opportunity to rub it in her face. She... the Slayer, asking SPIKE for help. At the mention of Dawns name however, he rethought the jokes on the tip of his tongue. Dawn was one subject it was not good to joke about with Buffy, not when her safety was an issue. "Doin' what exactly pet...?" he asked, completely aware that if it involved dieing he'd probably go regardless. "A spell... to separate her from the Key... So she'll be safe, the Key will just be my responsibility." she said, unable to bring her eyes up to face him. "Why me... why YOU for that matter... why are the little witches doin' it?" He was already moving around, picking out clean pants and a clean shirt and struggling into them. "They aren't strong enough... It'd kill them... I'm the slayer and you..." "I'm dead..." he finished for her. Spike finished tugging his shoes on and looked down at the Blond slayer. She'd always been shorter than him, but somehow today she felt it. "Will you help me? I... I can give you something you want in return..." She was trying to be coy, maybe if she laid this on real thick, she wouldn't have to touch him till after the spell, at which point she wouldn't touch him at all. Was he smart enough to demand an upfront payment? Spike raised an eyebrow; he'd been doing that a lot tonight. Was she implying what he thought she was implying? No way! It didn't matter! He didn't want anything from her that way! He growled in utter frustration and with speed only a Vampire (and perhaps the slayer) could master, he had her against the wall, her arms pinned above her head by his hands. "What exactly is it your offering here Slayer?" she growled at her. "... What you want..." she took a deep breath and stretched her neck forward, nuzzling her face gently against his neck. Oh boy... all that stuff about not wanting it from her unless she wanted to... it sounded really weak in Spikes mind right then. The warm breath of the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen was gently caressing the skin of his neck and he really did not want to stop her... But this wasn't what he wanted. He wanted candles and music and the perfect moment with Buffy there because she wanted... no because she needed to be. Because she loved him back. "No!" he almost spat the word as he pushed himself away from the wall and began stalking around the crypt angrily. "You wont help me?" she sounded desperate, pleading. Oh God how much he just wanted to let her convince him. He stopped his angry pacing and looked her in the eyes. His were angry and more than a little hurt. She thought she saw his shoulders shaking, but didn't dare say anything at this point. "Of course I'll help you, you little twit!" he growled angrily. He stalked back to her and again pinned her against the wall, this time only with his body, his hands on either side of her head supporting his weight on the wall. "I will not be bribed by you... not like this... I don't want to do anything with you... not when you're doing it to get my help." He gazed down into her eyes and was fairly sure he'd just blown his only chance of ever feeling her skin... tasting her lips or holding her in his arms without a fight. He had principals... who'd have thought it. Now of course, that he had done the right thing, it was time to regret it, to regret not stealing a single kiss when it was offered. Buffy was shocked beyond anything and couldn't seem to move. He was so angry with her. She honestly thought he'd be overjoyed. That he'd take her token affections for a night and do as she asked. She never expected him to behave this way... the way a man might when offered something he wanted so much in such an unsavory manner. "Thank you" she managed timidly after some time. Spike looked down at her and was ever so tempted to steal a kiss... just one little kiss. In the mood Buffy was in, maybe she wouldn't hit him for it. He slowly lent his head down until his mouth was almost touching hers, he could taste her breath, and then she said the one thing that stopped him in his track... "So... you... you changed your mind... you want me to... I mean you want you're... payment." Spike growled angrily and pushed away from the wall, he grabbed his coat and glared at Buffy's small frame. "Let's go Slayer." He said, holding the door open for her. Buffy walked out of the crypt feeling rather bad about the whole thing. She'd counted on making the noble sacrifice for her sister and all that trash. That way she'd come out of this a hero and owe Spike nothing at all for his help. Seemed it wasn't going to work out that way. Once they reached the summers residence, Buffy opened the door and started to wander up the stairs, until she heard a rather annoyed clearing of an undead throat behind her. Spike was standing at the door. "Oh... Sorry... Come in Spike" Mumbled Buffy Spike moved through the door, seemingly relieved to once again be allowed entry to the Summers household. He'd always liked it here. Mrs. Summers made great hot chocolate with little Marshmallow thingies in it. He always did like Mrs. Summers, she was a lovely lady. "Ummm the spell book is in my bag, will you start setting up please? I wanna use the bathroom" Mumbled Buffy as they passed her room. She gave him her bag and wandered to the bathroom. Spike sat on the edge of Buffy's bed and started flipping through the book till he found what looked like the Spell, he speed read over it and nearly dropped it to the floor. "Umm... Buffy?" he called. "Yeah?" "Have you actually READ this spell and what's involved?" "Willow explained it to me, but no I haven't actually read the text, why, is it in Chinese or something?" She asked coming out of the bathroom with her hair tied back and a freshly washed face. "No no, it's in English... I think you might want to read over it though... like now." He seemed very very nervous. Buffy took the book and started reading and, sure enough, she found the part that had sent Spike into a spinner. She to nearly dropped the book. The passage went something like this.
Because of the enormous power needed to work this spell, clothing can not be worn inside the circle, whilst Skin is protected from this kind of energy, fabrics of almost any kind would be burnt from the skin possibly doing damage to the caster depending on the material. It is best not to risk it
"Oh... oh my...I... Ummm" Buffy just looked at the book, then at Spike. She had not seen this coming at all! Why hadn't Willow warned her? "I take it spells off then Pet?" Spike asked as cheerfully as he could manage. Buffy looked down at the photo of Dawn she had for the spell. Dawn was with Willow and Tara right now so they could look after her while Buffy did the spell. She had to protect her sister... If she got the key out of her then Dawn would be perfectly safe from Glory. "No... I mean... if you'll still help me. I need to get the Key out of Dawn... so she'll be safe..." Spike smiled softly and nodded, He understood that just fine. He liked the little girl anyway. She loved listening to him tell stories about gory battles and all the things he'd done in his rather long unlife. "OK... well, we can get everything set up first, no need to get nuddy till we're ready." He said as light heartedly as he could. He was a little worried about the kinds of things that could rather easily... well... pop up. Seeing that they were both going to have no clothes on and it wasn't abnormal for they're to be popage on his part while she was covered neck to knee. "OK... Willow showed me how to set it up, Ummm will you run downstairs and get the herby bundle out of the fridge?" She asked as she started arranging things on the floor. "Sure thing pet" Spike was more than happy to get out of the room. This was not what he'd had in mind at all and he was a little worried about how it would turn out. He sat on a chair in the Kitchen for a little while, thinking hard about Angelus in a bikini and Xander naked, anything he could think of to make the burning in his pants go away. This is not a good idea. Finally, when he was relatively sure he'd controlled himself, he got the bundle of herbs from the fridge and bounded back up the stairs. At the doorway to Buffy's room he nearly fell backwards losing his bundle of herbs! Buffy was carefully pouring white sand in a perfect circle she'd marked out on the floor. Of course that didn't interest Spike at that moment, what had him so of balance was the fact that she was mostly naked. Sure she had her underwear and Bra on but that did little to cover what Spike believed to be the most beautiful body in the universe. "Oh.. Ahem... I mean... Got 'em?" He held out the herbs weakly and Buffy blushed. It was an all round uncomfortable situation. "OK... well, can you crumble them into that bowl over there and then, I guess... you should probably take those off and we'll get started..." She gestured vaguely to his clothes and went back to arranging everything inside the circle. The picture of Dawn she placed in the center lovingly. Spike went about the crumbling of the herbs with rather shaky hands and tried incredibly hard not to look over his shoulder at the blond slayer who was wandering around in her underwear. "Umm Spike. How do you raise energy in a circle? The book says to do it but it doesn't say how?" "Wouldn't know Pet, Don't do spells, I just kill things" Great... first wisecrack he'd managed all night and it was NOT getting him anywhere. "Oh, it's OK, Willow left us a little note. Oh..." she reads over it a few times "Thanks a lot Will... this tells me nothing." "What does it say Pet?" "Basically that once we're inside the circle and everything is happening the right way for the people doing the work will present it's self. She says common ones are singing and dancing... Great. I don't do either of those very well..." Spike grinned and took her hand, spinning her around in a move that died somewhere in the early 70's. Once he let her go to giggle herself silly he closed his eyes and began to sing... "Witchey WOMAN!" And so on (song cut short because Author doesn't know it all. If someone can send me more I'll add it.) Buffy collapsed in a fit of giggles on the floor that almost brought her to tears. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. As long as they both managed to keep it relatively light hearted and didn't phase each other out... this could be OK. It was all for Dawn. Just remember that and try not to look at Spikes naked body! "Everything ready then Pet? Now we've covered that at least I can do both the things that may be required?" Buffy laughed at him and nodded, she then stood and stepped over the ring of sand into the magic circle as Spike shrugged out of his shirt and tugged his black top over his head. He then looked at his pants, then at Buffy. "You sure you don't wanna find someone else to do this?" He asked softly, well aware of exactly how odd this was going to be. "There isn't time Spike... there is no one else." She took a deep breath and reached behind her to fiddle with her bra hookie thingies. She hated those; she much preferred ones that hooked in the front. Spike laughed a little and reached over with one hand and a flick of the wrist had the Bra undone. "You did that to fast..." she almost accused. "I'm over 100 years old, when I started out I had to undo corsets!" He laughed as his jeans got kicked off, leaving him in only his boxers; they had little count duckulas on them. "Very cute." Said Buffy looking at the Boxers "They suit you." There was a lot of tension in the room as Buffy lit the candles, Spike turned out the light and stepped into the circle. Buffy took a deep breath, Spike did to even though he didn't need it and they both slid their final garments off and tossed them out of the circle. The first thing Buffy noticed was exactly how much she wanted to sneak a peak. She wasn't sure why she should feel the need or even why she was interested, that human curiosity thing probably. She desperately wanted to know... well... you know. Exactly how Spike rated in the size department. The second thing she noticed was that Spike, rather unexpectedly, was not staring at her naked body. He was looking her in the eyes. Saying Spike didn't want to look would be a lie. He REALLY wanted to look, he wanted to look more than just about anything. But at that moment, he thought that it was enough to see her face, her hair tumbled freely down over her shoulders and from this angle he could tell she didn't have a top on but not much else. That was beautiful enough for now... time to sneak peaks later. "Well... We should get started on this. Ummm, do you wanna cast the circle or should I?" Asked Buffy. "Well... I assume you've been told what to so, I'll just do what you tell me." That made sense, why didn't she think of that? Stupid naked body, why did she care? She had a nice body. I didn't matter! Right. With that thought she walked the circle like Willow had shown her and said the words in the weird language that didn't really mean anything. Willow had explained that she could do it in English, but if all she was readying were syllables and sounds, instead of words, she'd be less likely to trip over her tongue. Made sense in theory. As Buffy spoke, a white circle appeared, it shone and the light filled the room. Buffy felt all tingly and once the circle was cast, the air inside it was slightly electric. Spike was sitting cross-legged where she had pointed him and was watching her quietly. She sat next to him and smiled faintly. "OK... Now we need to sprinkle the herby stuff over Dawns photo." she said handing Spike the bowl. They took a hand full each and, chanting what Willow had given them, sprinkled the foul smelling stuff over Dawns photo. Buffy laid a silver locket on a chain over the top and then they sprinkled a little more herby stuff. Then came the chanting, repetitious syllables that really didn't mean anything to either of the chanters. It was getting close to the time when that energy raising would have to be done and nether of them had any idea what they were going to do about it.
In Willow and Tara's room, Willow was going over the spell hoping Buffy and Spike were doing OK. She smiled up at Tara and leaned back against the wall. "What do you think Buffy and Spike will do to raise the energy?" She asked quietly. "The only thing a man and a woman ever do for a spell that powerful. Really they should have had a whole coven of people that strong but we couldn't get that in time" Answered the blond witch without looking up from her book. "Ummm Tara what do you mean..." Willow had an incredibly bad feeling about that answer. "Oh, once the spell starts it'll just all flow together. The spell uses them not the other way around. They'll have sex." Tara... she always said things in that quiet confident manner now. "Oh NO!" Cried Willow as she dived for the phone. "What... what did I say?" Tara asked quietly.
Outside the circle, the phone was ringing, but neither the Bleached vamp nor the small blond slayer could hear it through the fizzle of electricity in the air. Buffy wasn't really sure what was happening to her. Her skin felt all tingly and alive, like it was burning but not in a bad way, and then she looked over at Spike, she knew his skin was always cold, maybe if she touched him the fire would go away. It wasn't a bad fire, but it was making it hard to concentrate on the spell... She needed to finish the spell. Spike was looking right back at Buffy, he to was having a strange tingly feeling, which was made even odder by the fact that his body hadn't really 'tingled' since he was alive. He was enjoying the experience but he was fairly sure there was something he still had to do... RIGHT the spell... but he didn't know what to do next. Before he could turn to ask Buffy what came next, he felt her small hand on his shoulder. It felt incredibly hot against his cold skin, and for some reason, that was a really good thing. Coolness spread up through Buffy's arm and she smiled softly at Spikes inquiring eyes when he turned to look at her. She wanted to thank him, because he was cooling her down, but for some reason, she didn't really feel the need to say anything, she reached out with the other hand and lay it on his chest gently so the same cool feeling would spread up that arm too. At the feeling of her hand on his chest, the words flitted out of Spikes head. Somehow he vaguely heard a voice, a young frantic sounding voice, but it was far away and he wasn't really interested enough to strain. "Buffy! Buffy don't start the ritual! We'll find another way! If you do, you'll have sex with Spike!" Came from Buffy's answering machine. Nether of them heard though. Spike's skin tingled with a hot burning sensation when Buffy was touching him, and he really liked that feeling. He reached out and brushed Buffy's hair off her shoulder gently enjoying the burning in his fingertips where they touched her shoulder. The air around them was fizzing and crackling now, if they had been looking, they would have seen small blue sparks of pure energy flitting about them. Not many, but it was a start. "Buffy I..." began the vampire, but he couldn't for the life of him remember what it was he was trying to say. "Spike... Your cold..." Was all Buffy managed in reply. Somehow, without communicating at all, they moved together, both kneeling, Buffy's arms went around Spike's neck, his around her waist and they leaned against one another, each soothed by the contrasting skin of the other. Spike gently pushed Buffy's hair away from her ear and pressed his cheek against her's to whisper in her ear. "What's happening Slayer...?" he asked softly, one of his hands sinking down from her waist of it's own accord to rest lightly on her perfect ass. "I don't know... Mmmm " she purred quietly in his ear, seemingly unworried about anything. Spike's other hand tangled it's self in her hair and he tilted her head back gently, and gazed into her eyes with his cold blue ones for a moment before leaning in and pressing his cold lips to her hot ones. The sparks that moved through the circle went faster, glowed brighter and there were more of them than before. It wasn't enough to have his skin against her, she was getting hotter and she needed him to get rid of it. Spike rocked back until he was sitting and Buffy settled herself on his lap facing him, their mouths still locked ever so gently. Buffy was the first to moan, to break the slightly fizzling silence of the circle; it was then that the feeling in the magic space changed. Up until that point, it had been about feeling, becoming cooler or warmer as their bodies demanded, but with Buffy's moan, Spike saw, in sharp focus, that his Goddess was in his arms. She was kissing him, wanting him. Buffy felt the change as well. Her fingers moved up to bury themselves in his bleached hair and her kiss became more passionate. In turn the sparks that filled the circle became charged, they flailed around bouncing of the ring of light that surrounded them. When Buffy began to rock against Spike's growing erection, he slipped a hand between them to find her heat. His fingertips found it and carefully pushed their way inside, the heat was incredible against his cold hands. Buffy felt a searing cold move through her and cried out in the pleasure of it, she moved against the fingers until, quite by accident, Spikes fingertip brushed against her clit. Spike was in raptures as Buffy threw herself against his fingers, when he found what he was looking for; he rubbed it, at first gently, then faster and harder as Buffy became more and more vocal about her pleasure. "Buffy.... I love you..." gasped Spike as Buffy's hands left his neck, trailed down his chest and found the now hard pole of flesh that jutted up between them. "Mmmm..." was all Buffy seemed able to manage. Rising slightly, Buffy wriggled forward and very slowly began to slide Spike inside her. Spike felt the indescribable heat sinking around him and nearly lost control of himself. The urge to just grip her shoulders and thrust into her was overwhelming but he wanted it to last, wanted to be in her forever. The sparks around them were flying furiously through the space they were allowed. The energy inside the circle was pressing at its confines, screaming to be released. The hard coolness entering her was making Buffy groan, her arms moved back up around Spike's neck and she held on tightly as she began to move around him, his hands on her hips guided her up and down. Nether of the writhing bodies inside the circle knew or cared what was going on outside it. All memory of the spell and its purpose was gone from their minds. "B... Buffy..." gasped Spike, no longer able to put of the inevitable... He felt a surge inside him and lowered his head to Buffy's neck, resting his forehead against her shoulder as he drove into her one last time. Buffy had no breath to answer him as her own pleasure over took her. The raw energy rushed through them both, throwing Spikes head back, a beam or white light exploded from their union and burst the bubble of the circle, sending the spell flying out into the night.
Dawn sat upright in bead and screamed, blood seeped from her nose and she could not stop shaking. She couldn't remember her nightmare, but something was gone... missing from her and she felt it's loss most keenly. In moments Willow and Tara were there however, their arms around her as she tried to catch her breath. "Did it work? Do you feel different?" asked Willow in a worried voice. Dawn could only nod, still terribly shaken, Willow looked at Tara over Dawns' head. Buffy was not going to be happy about what she had to do. At least it worked.
Buffy was breathing hard when she woke, her head resting on the naked shoulder of the bleach blond vampire. She tried to remember what had happened but everything was blurry. Spike was just beginning to come around to, his lips up against Buffy's ear. When Buffy tried to move she gasped, Spike being still inside her she would have fallen back if she'd had the strength, and if Spikes arms had not been gently holding her to him. "Mmmm Buffy? Did it work...?" asked the still half unconscious man beneath her. "I... I think so... Spike... help me move" She stammered out, the memories of what had happened slowly dawning on her poor tired brain. Spike grunted and started to push Buffy of, and then he two realized the situation and everything hit him in a sudden rush. He groaned and lifted Buffy gently off him and shuffled back. "Oh God Buffy... I'm so sorry...I didn't..." "It wasn't your fault" she cut him off "I am going to have a talk with Willow though..." There was evidence of a growl in Buffy's voice. Spike stood and stepped over the circle of sandy stuff looking for his clothes. He tugged on his boxers and got Buffy's underwear for her. "Here..." he said softly and politely turned his back while she dressed, for all the difference it made now. When the phone began to ring, Spike answered, as Buffy was in the bathroom cleaning herself up. "Hello?" "Spike! I think it worked! You didn't... I mean... you and Buffy... there was no... Was there?" Babbled Willows voice on the other end of the line. "... Thank you for the warning Willow... I'm fairly sure Buffy is unimpressed... She's in the bathroom cleaning herself up right now." "OH!! Oh... We're sorry... we didn't know... is she... is she OK?" "I think so Pet... I'm fine to by the way..." "Of course you are... I mean... I didn't think you'd mind it... I mean..." "Willow! Whatever you may think of me... I do NOT want to 'take' Buffy; I don't want to rape her I don't want to have sex with her whilst compelled by a spell! Do you understand? I want... I want candles... well we had candles... but I want music and mood lighting and more to the point a CONCENTING Buffy, not a drugged, spaced out or crazy one." "...I'm sorry..." came the meek reply after a long pause. "I'm ready... is that Willow?" Came Buffy's weak voice from the doorway. "Yeah it is... you wanna talk to her pet?" "No... I don't think so. I'm not stable enough to talk to her right now. Is Dawn OK?" "She's fine Pet." "Good... get rid of her please." "OK... Buffy and I have things to clean up Red, we'll talk tomorrow I guess." He said back into the phone. "Tell Buffy I'm sorry... I didn't know until it was to late..." "Will do red." Spike turned back to the girl in the doorway who seemed very small to him somehow, maybe because she looked so upset, like she'd been betrayed. He wanted to move over to her, to take her in his arms. But that was the problem, there had been too much of that already. "Do you want me to go Buffy...?" he asked softly, her name tasted odd to his lips, he was so used to calling her Slayer, he just couldn't bring himself to do it right then. "No no, you are not getting out of helping to clean up the mess!" They both laughed and moved into the circle again, Buffy bent over to pick up the locket and fell backwards with a cry "SHIT!" "What??? What is it Pet?" Spike bounded over to her. In her hand she held the locket, no longer one but two. Both in the shape of half a heart, they even had separate chains. The powers that be had a sense of humor it seemed. "I guess... I guess you're meant to take half... it's not like you can't look after it." Buffy handed him his half and he struggled with it until it sat comfortably around his neck. Buffy struggled with her's too but in the end Spike had to help her, her hands were shaking to badly. Spike smiled softly at her when he was done and cautiously wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Friends...?" he asked. "Friends... for now" said Buffy softly, there was a hint of a mischievous smile on her face and Spike was take a-back. "What's that meant to mean?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Buffy didn't answer, she just went about cleaning the circle and handed Spike the dust buster to get up the sandy stuff that made the circle. He watched her work for a moment with a baffled look. "No really... what... are you teasing me?" Poor guy... he sounded so desperate.