Disclaimer: I don't own any of these wonderful characters, and am just borrowing them temporarily. This little story was born out of five days straight home by myself, a little bit of chocolate, and a few hours of listening to Faure's Piano Quartets, so please don't sue me.
A/N: Okay, here's a new fic for you to chew on. It's a series of vignettes about a dream that Buffy had during BotN. Kind of a reflection on Buffy and Spike's relationship. Kind of inspired by Avril Lavigne's 'I'm With You.' Yes, I am aware the first vignette is kind of short, but I promise the others will be longer. I will be posting about every other day, because these are pretty short and fun to write.
Buffy was patrolling. It was, after all, her job. She was the One Girl in all the world chosen to fight vampires, demons, and whatever else the Hellmouth could throw her way. She was deadly, with the precision of a natural predator, and the strength and speed of those she hunted. So why was she so darn tired?
Buffy spotted movement in the graveyard she had chosen that night to patrol, and gripped her stake tightly. A newly risen vamp came strolling her way, vampire visage out for all to see, and dirt from his grave site clinging to his brown hair. Buffy felt mildly sorry for him, having had her own grave-digging experiences. He ignored her as he walked by with a stupid expression on his face and Buffy's sympathy disappeared. Hey, Buffy thought, insulted, you don't get to ignore me! She delivered a blow to his side and the vamp grunted in pain. "Slayer," he finally noticed. She high-kicked his head, then rushed forward and staked him neatly with a freshly whittled stake. The vamp clutched his chest in agony. He looked Buffy in the eyes and choked out, "Why?"
Why? Buffy thought, that was a new one. She shrugged, picked up her stake, and continued patrolling. She put her hands behind her back and idly wondered why it was so quiet tonight. Suddenly, cold hands grabbed hers and pulled her around. Buffy almost kicked free when she realized it was Spike. "You need to wake up, Buffy," he said, and it almost sounded as though Dawn were speaking rather than him. "Wake up!" This time Buffy was sure Dawn had said it. She turned her head, but Dawn wasn't there.
"You're dreaming, love," Spike said softly, his eyes watching Buffy intently. He now sounded like himself. "Am I?" she asked. "I must be if you're here. Has the First done anything to you?" she asked fearfully. "Doesn't matter," Spike said, "You won't be able to find me." "We've got to find you soon," Buffy said. "I've been fighting for you," he said with a sudden passion. "You're the reason I can go on. You believe in me, and that's all that matters, Buffy," The hope in his eyes almost hurt the Slayer. He had absolute faith in her, and she could only hope she wouldn't let him down. "I do believe in you," Buffy said, "and maybe I've been fighting for you, too." He was awed. "In this place, you can speak only knowledge and truth," Spike said, "So what you say must be the truth....I'm waking up, so I have to leave. I love you, Buffy." With that, he disappeared in a golden mist.
Buffy went on patrolling, head still spinning from her conversation with Spike. She walked along, looking down at the ground, lost in thought. He loves me, Buffy thought. She knew it in her subconscious, but whenever he said it, the words made her feel happy, but mostly confused. Why, she thought, does he love me? I used to say that he was just fooling himself, that he couldn't sort out what was real from what wasn't, but now I don't know what to think. Everything was so confusing now. And am I really fighting for Spike? It was an odd thought, but ultimately Spike had drawn strength from it, and it nourished her as well.
Buffy looked up from her contemplations when she heard a rustle in the bushes. The sound made her feel vaguely uneasy. She crept closer and stuck her hand into the vegetation, where it found what felt like a head of hair. Buffy jumped in surprise, and delivered a sharp kick to whatever was inside. The thing that rolled out was black and had just enough time to jump out of the way when Buffy launched a punch. Then she realized it was Angel. "Buffy," he said, obviously thrown. "This is really not how I planned to meet you."
~TBC~