A/N : Another of my short Spuffy fics that came from re-watching Season 6...hope you enjoy it, all reviews are more than welcome!
Title : As You Were - As It Should Have Been
Author : Ultrawoman
Rating : PG-13
Spoilers : general spoilers for Spike/Buffy storylines, but mostly [obviously] spoilers for 'As You Were'
Summary : Title is self-explanatory - Spuffy, of course.
Disclaimer : Characters belong to Joss and the episode As You Were belongs to it's very clever writers - none of it's mine [though I wish that Spike was ;)]
As You Were - As It Should Have Been
Buffy sat bolt upright, startled and shocked by Riley's entrance. Her ex-boyfriend had just found her in bed with a demon, she felt sick, but she was actually surprised that she didn't feel worse. She was, however, embarrassed at her lack of clothing and hurriedly moved to dress as Spike and Riley shot insults back and forth.
She ignored them mostly, until the soldier made it obvious he thought Spike was the vamp selling the Suvolte eggs. How could Spike do that? Sure, he was bad but was he really that bad? And that stupid?
When Agent Finn punched Spike in the face, sending him reeling back, Buffy decided she'd seen and heard enough.
"Riley, wait outside" she ordered.
Spike looked a little smug as Riley floundered, unable to find words.
"But, Buffy, I, he..."
She rolled her eyes, taking Riley by the arm and dragging him over to the other side of the crypt.
"Wait outside the door" she told him in a harsh whisper, "I'll find out what's going on and I'll deal with it. If I need you I'll yell" she added, knowing she wouldn't but hoping that her words might actually make him leave. Shooting a final deadly glance at Spike, Riley begrudgingly went outside into the night.
The vampire smirked at how whipped the soldier boy was, before remembering Buffy could wrap him around her little finger just as easily if not more so.
"Buffy, I..." he began as she walked back over to him, but she interrupted, her voice stern.
"Spike, for once, I want the truth" Buffy pointed a finger at him as she spoke "Is it true what he said, about the eggs?"
The vampire hated the fact he'd been caught doing yet another thing his Slayer wouldn't approve of, but he'd promised himself he wouldn't lie to her anymore. He closed his eyes and sighed before pointing toward the trapdoor.
"Down there" he admitted.
Buffy glanced where he pointed and then walked over and went down the ladder to the lower level, Spike following behind her. At the bottom, in the lower level of the crypt, she found the demon eggs.
"Oh Spike" she sighed, why did he always have to pull stunts like this?
"Get them out of here" she instructed and Spike looked surprised and confused by her order.
"What?"
"Just get rid of them" she turned to look at him as she spoke "now" she emphasised "I don't care how, just do it and I'll deal with Riley"
Spike nodded, mutely, moving forward toward the Sevolti eggs while Buffy climbed back up the ladder. She planned to tell Riley the truth but also to convince him to let her deal with Spike.
"You were right" Buffy said to Riley as she exited the crypt, closing the door behind her "he is the Doctor, but, like I said, I'll deal with it"
"That's fine with me if that's what you want but...Buffy" the soldier faltered on his words "I'm under instruction to take the Doctor out - do you want me to do that?"
"Do I want you to..." Buffy went wide eyed at the thought "Riley, I'm sleeping with him" she said, unnecessarily "I'm sleeping with Spike"
"I had kind of noticed that" he said quietly, looking away "and I'm not gonna ask why, I just..."
"I'll tell you why" she interrupted "I love him"
"What?" Riley gaped, unable to believe what he was hearing, if Buffy was honest she could hardly believe she'd just said it, but it was true.
"He doesn't even know that yet" she laughed humourlessly "I've barely admitted it to myself but y'know it's about time I told him" she glanced at the closed door she had just exited and realised she really should tell him, now more than ever.
"Is this because of Sam?" Riley broke her train of thought, and Buffy was confused.
"What?"
"Jealousy" her ex said simply before going on to explain "I'm married, I've moved on, you feel bad that you haven't so you're...doing things with him, pretending you have feelings for him..."
His words were cut off by a punch in the face, he reeled backwards as Buffy's fist hit him straight in the nose.
"How dare you!" she seethed "All you did was make me see how little I ever cared for you and how much I really love the man in there!" she pointed toward the crypt.
"He's not a man" Riley sneered, holding his hand to his nose as blood started to trickle from it "he's a thing, a monster!"
"No!" the Slayer yelled, before calming down enough to explain "He loves me, he cares for me, he's always there when I need him. Riley, he's been letting me use him just so he can be close to me, and I know it's killing him, because it's killing me too" she sighed. "I hurt him over and over and he let's me do it, because he loves me so much...but I don't want to hurt him anymore, I just wanna be with him, because I realise now just how much I love him too" she ended much more quietly than she started and Riley was shocked to realise she meant every word.
"You're crazy" he shook his head in disbelief and Buffy knew he was probably right.
"Maybe I am" she admitted "but that's not your concern" she turned back toward the door as if to go into the crypt, but she turned straight back before going inside. "Do what you do best Riley and leave. Take our wife and disappear, because God knows I don't want you here"
As the Slayer headed back into the crypt, Spike was just emerging from the lower level.
"You get rid of those eggs?" she asked him as he reached the top of the ladder and climbed up.
"Yeah, all gone" he nodded "What about the Soldier Boy?"
"He's gone too" she told him "Hopefully for good this time" she added, more quietly.
"Thought you'd be pleased to have him back" said Spike bitterly, they stood a few feet apart across the room from one another. Buffy looked down at her feet and then up at Spike.
"He's married"
"Ouch - that had to hurt" he sympathised. He loved Buffy and he didn't want to see her go off with anybody, especially an idiot like Riley Finn, but he also couldn't bear to see her hurt.
"Hurt less than I thought it would actually" she admitted, before silence reigned in the crypt.
"Slayer, about the eggs..." Spike started to explain coming a step closer toward her. She interrupted him and surprised him by saying;
"Spike, it's no big"
He looked at her questioningly and she sighed.
"It's what you do, crazy scams and everything, I should kind of expect it" she smiled, before shaking her head "Anyway, that's not important...what's important is us"
"Us?" he echoed the word, not sure what she was getting at.
"Yeah" Buffy drew out the word, before taking a deep breath and explaining what she meant "Spike, Riley being here, threatening you, it made me so angry, I mean, he had no right to push you around, but I'd already started to think about it and now I know..."
"Look, Slayer, if this is what I think it is..." Spike interrupted, fearful of the words that would follow, her telling him it was over.
"I've been using you, Spike, but not anymore" she shook her head as she said it and he cringed, thinking he knew what was coming "I want us to start over because...I love you"
That was the last thing the vampire had expected to hear.
"Captain Cardboard must have hit me harder than I thought" he said, astonished by her words, he put his hand to his head "I'm hallucinating"
"Spike, I'm serious" Buffy snapped, annoyed he would make light of what she was telling him.
"So am I" he said, taking another step forward, the gap between them just a couple of feet now "This can't be real" he looked at the floor and Buffy moved toward him, closing the gap completely. She bought her hand up to his face and made him look at her.
"I love you" she repeated "it is for real. For God sakes, what do I have to do?" she laughed lightly "Offer to stake my ex to prove it? Because I really don't think that's my style..." she smiled, and he did too, remembering his own attempts to convince her of his love. Offering to stake Dru was a big deal for him, but he could see now how ridiculous he had been.
"You are serious?" he started to believe it now.
"Deadly" she assured him, pushing a piece of stray hair from his forehead.
"You know I love you too, so much" he said, looking straight into her eyes.
"I know" she nodded, returning his gaze "and I'm sorry I didn't realise sooner"
"Doesn't matter, Slayer...Buffy" he amended, using her real name for once. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, and she hugged him back "I've waited a long time but I'd have waited longer if I had too" he pulled back to see her face again "You have no idea what it means to me"
"I think I do" she smiled, somewhat suggestively "but why don't you show me anyway..."
~*~*~ THE END ~*~*~