Cravings
ByAnessa Ramsey
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Buffy, Season 7 through 'End of Days'. Buffy's back at the house, but did not have that little interlude with Spike or the conversation about it later. No Spuffiness here; Four years past X-Men (the first movie) cause Rogue is 20.
Pairing: Spike/RogueFeedback: Absolutely! Good or bad, let me know. No flames.
Distribution: Want. Take. Have. Just drop me a line to let me know where it's going.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon. Everything X-men belongs to Marvel.
Authors Note: I finally gave Rogue an exact age in the story. I'm setting this after the first movie and not taking the second one into account because I have yet to see it (I really want to!) because I've been so busy with work and taking care of my grandmother which is one of the reasons why this chapter has been so long in coming. I hope you enjoy it and I hope to have another chapter out soon. I've pretty much decided where I'm going with the story so it should be easier for me to crank it out.
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I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair.
Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets.
Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day
I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps.
I hunger for your sweet laugh,
your hands the color of savage harvest,
hunger for the pales stones of your fingernails,
I want to eat your skin like a whole almond.
I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body,
the sovereign nose of your arrogant face,
I want to eat the fleeting shade of your lashes,
and I pace around hungry, sniffing the twilight,
hunting for you, for your hot heart,
Like a puma in the barrens of Quitratue.
~ From '100 Love Sonnets' by Pablo Neruda
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Spike was bored. He was in the basement again, avoiding all the angst and drama that seemed to fill the Summers house. Buffy had been beaten badly by the preacher and Faith took charge of the Potentials. Nothing like putting a psychotic rebellious young woman in charge of a bunch of hormonally unbalanced teenage girls. That didn't go to well obviously, as indicated by the fact that half the potentials were lying up in the living room almost charred to death. The bomb had injured Faith the worst and she was lying up in Willow's room trying to get better. Buffy was back in charge after getting the Scythe from the vineyard. He didn't care about that though. All he wanted was to see Rogue. Except that wasn't possible. She was trying to pacify her friends long enough to get them to listen to her. He just hoped that she succeeded.
Rogue was ready to kill Logan. He wouldn't listen to her. At all. Every time she started to open her mouth he would cut her off without even glancing her way. Storm sat quietly on the bed, not helping her, just smirking slightly at the way Logan was prowling around the room while he lectured. It was enough to make her want to scream with frustration. She had to end this soon. She shot to her feet from the chair she was sitting in. "Logan would you shut that mouth of yours for two seconds so I could talk!" she screamed, getting right up in his face. "If you don't I'll touch you long enough to drain your energy that way I can speak without you pacing like a crazy idiot."
Logan growled, angry at having his tirade interrupted. "He's a monster Rogue," the mutant known as Wolverine growled.
"Two words Logan…Pot and Kettle. Normal humans say the exact same thing about us. It doesn't always make it true.
"He's a vampire."
"You think I don't know this? He told me the first time I met him. You don't exactly see any bite marks do you? I know what he is. He's told me who he was, what he's done. I'm not blind and I'm certainly not going into this relationship expecting forever from him. I know that when I leave here, he's not coming with me. He has his soul and he needs to be here to fight. It's who he is and he can't change that. Just like I can't change the fact that I'm a mutant and my fight is with the X-Men back in Westchester. So please, just lay off while I'm here." She looked down, her courage dissipating. "You have no idea what it's like to not be able to touch people. You hug Storm and have even stolen a kiss or two from Jean. You won't admit it, but you even want Jubilee. And you have her. You can touch her hair or her skin and feel how soft it is. You can taste her lips when you kiss and know that she tastes like strawberries because I know it's her favorite flavor of lipgloss. You know that she loves when you bite her earlobes because I've seen you do it. You really aren't as sneaky as you think. Have either of you ever thought of going to your room?" She shook her head. "The point is that you can know these things about her because you can touch her. I haven't had that in almost five years, Logan. Do you have any idea how good it feels to be able to touch him and taste him? My hands itch all the time now because I can't wait for the next time my skin comes in contact with his. Do you understand?"
Logan couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Little Rogue who had once stowed away on his trailer was all grown up and she was in love. Sure, she'd never mentioned the word, but he could see it. She'd fallen in love with a vampire. Her taste in men kept getting worse. "I don't have to like it," he growled. That was all the concession she would get from him.
Rogue giggled happily. "Thank you, Logan."
"I don't have to like him either."
"No, you don't. Besides, he'll be staying when we leave."
"I wouldn't be too sure on that sugar. He did not have the look of a man who planned to let you out of his sight for very long." Rogue tried to suppress a smile at the thought but it escaped and Logan grimaced. "Just try not to be too hurt if he does decide to stay. As for what's going on, we'll take care of finding the new mutants and making sure that Magneto doesn't get to them first."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Thank you, Logan." She turned and ran out the door, wanting to see Spike as soon as possible.
"That was pretty decent of you."
Logan growled. "She's happy. I want her to stay that way until we go."
Rogue smoothed her hair down and nervously tapped on the door. She'd never actually been inside the house and was curious as to who Spike lived with besides the slayer and her sister. When a young girl opened the door, she was surprised. It wasn't the slayer's sister. "Not another one," the girl groaned as she walked away.
"She's not a potential," Dawn informed the girl as she walked up to Marie. "Hey, he's downstairs. Come on in, I'll get him." Her words were warm and friendly. As she stood there she could feel Buffy's gaze on her and she knew that the slayer didn't like her. She didn't quite know why though. It's not as if they'd spent any time together. A few minutes later Spike was bursting through the basement door into the kitchen wearing only a pair of black jeans. When he saw Rogue standing by the front door looking around nervously he walked right up to her, cupped her cheeks in his hands and kissed her.
It seemed as if the world had stopped for Rogue. He made her forget everything but the feel of him. She stepped closer, pressing her body to his and absorbed the low moan that slipped from his lips into her mouth. They had no idea that they were being observed by a bunch of Potentials and most of the original Scooby gang.
"Wow," Rona whispered, watching as Rogue's hands wandered over Spike's chest, the rough fabric of her gloves causing him to pull her closer, grasping her hips tightly and holding her to him.
"Double wow," Vi breathed softly.
"Think they'll have sex right in front of us?" another girl asked as bluntly as Anya would have put it.
"No. Buffy looks like she's gonna pop at the seams if it doesn't end soon," Kennedy whispered. She glanced at Willow who was by her side. "Should we stop this? Buffy's gonna kill whoever that is."
Willow glanced at her long time friend and her eyes widened. Buffy's knuckles were white and clenched by her sides. Xander and Dawn were watching too. Before anyone could even think to move, Buffy was advancing toward the couple kissing, still lost in their own world.
She pulled Spike away from Rogue and landed a punch right on his nose. Blood spurted out and dripped on the floor. "Aaargh!" Spike roared. "What the bloody hell was that for?" Spike went to launch himself at her, roaring with rage, but Giles held him back. He shoved Spike into a chair, threw a rag at him and said, "Sit".
"Was that really necessary?" he asked Buffy. She didn't respond. Her eyes were on Spike who was letting himself be tended to by Rogue. The auburn haired beauty was gently dabbing at his nose with the rag Giles had provided. When Buffy still didn't answer him, he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.
She batted his hands away. "What are you doing?"
"Getting your bloody attention! You need to focus. Punching him like that was out of line Buffy."
"That's just a little hypocritical of you considering that you're the one who arranged to have him killed not long ago. After all, he's just a vampire."
The words were bitter and filled with malice. Giles knew that there was no way to win this argument with her so he ignored the question. "What has you more upset Buffy, the fact that he is obviously involved with someone or the fact that he isn't worshiping you anymore?"
It was her turn to grimace. Giles was right. She knew it. Admitting it out loud was another story entirely. She was angry that he was involved with someone, but she was more upset by the fact that he didn't look at her or pine for her the way he once did. He didn't wait for a crumb of affection or a small gesture of friendship. He wasn't hers anymore. He got his soul for her and it didn't seem to matter to him now. He wanted Rogue. She didn't say a word, ignored the stares of her friends and the potentials, walked toward the door, grabbed her jacket and was gone.
Faith came in the door just after Buffy left. "What was up with B? She looked wicked mad." No one said anything and Faith caught a glimpse of Rogue and Spike talking softly in the dining room. "So that's what's got her panties in a twist."
Xander snorted. It was funny, even if it was Spike that Buffy was upset over. Dawn silenced him with a look and he sighed, his grin fading from his lips. She was getting to be too much like her sister.
Spike stood up and Rogue clasped his hand. He put the rag on the table. "'M takin' Marie out. Don't wait up. Oh and tell the slayer that I owe her one." He disappeared downstairs to put on a shirt and his duster, then led Rogue out the door. He didn't realize how many questions he left unanswered in the people who currently inhabited the Summers' home.
"How weird was that?" Vi asked.
Everyone ignored her. "Buffy's not taking this well," Xander said.
"Thank you for the insight Mr. States-the-Obvious. I think we realized that when she clocked Spike for kissing Marie."
"Speaking of Marie, who is she?"
Everyone shrugged. "Don't know. We just met her the other day. I think Buffy knows but she hasn't told us." The disappointment could be heard in Willow's voice.
"Can we trust her?"
"I don't think that's a problem. I've gotten pretty good at reading auras. Tara used to …" Willow trailed off. Kennedy squeezed her arm and smiled at her reassuringly. "Anyway, she taught me pretty well and I didn't see anything bad. Her aura was mostly pink, but there were tinges of black and green. She's been tainted by darkness at some point, but I don't think it was her own doing. It was something that was done to her. The green means jealousy and I think that was pretty much directed at Buffy." She debated about telling them the next part and Giles noted her hesitation.
"What is it Willow?"
"Something about her is different. Off. It's like she's not completely human. I can almost sense it."
Giles watched her carefully. He knew that since her magic trip she'd become more aware of things, but he hadn't known the magnitude to which it extended.
"Did you sense anything evil?"
"No. Nothing. Just lots of love. She has it bad."
"For Spike?" The idea was incredulous to Giles.
"Yeah. And he's not far from returning the feeling. The second he touched her his aura turned gold. Normally it's sort of a mixture of black and dull gold, symbolizing both his soul and demon. But when she touches him, it's like the demon and the soul agree that she's for them. His aura got so bright I could hardly look at it. It looked like he was standing in the sun."
"And when Buffy's near?"
"No real change except a slight flicker of gold. His feelings for her are gone. It's kind of ironic that without a soul he could love her but with one he can't."
"Yes, ironic," Giles murmured, wondering how this was going to affect his slayer, the dynamic of the group, and her ability to focus on the coming apocalypse. If all she could see was Spike they were going to be in big trouble.