Title: Grave Flower
Author: Bianca Masiello
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, FX, UPN, Mutant Enemy, blah blah. we know the drill.
Walking slow along the path She dare not turn or look back The child like moon's eerie glow The light a place she dare not go May all the dark things hide and cower As she walks the path with her grave flower -Bianca Masiello
Synopsis: Set at the end of Sleeper, what if Spike had gone through with the First's plans? Touch of AU: Tara's alive, and Xand and Anya got hitched. Spuffy but tasteful in a dark way.
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Slayer's Hunt
He flexed his fingers and closed them around her hand again. She didn't smile, just listened to the world around her. He knew she'd been in the sewers before; hell, he'd been down here with her. She'd never been this alert. Listening, watching. She was learning so much.
"Penny for your thoughts, love." Spike said calmly.
She glanced at him, "The Initiative caves are around here, somewhere."
"What would you want to go there for." He asked, memories flooding his head. Unpleasant bright lights and doctors. Being caged.
"I dono, to remember. It's like, seeing everything, but from the wrong side. Backwards? Maybe," she paused. "Plus I know lots of homeless kids that stay there,"
"Pet," he started. He didn't quite understand what she was saying. She squeezed his hand.
"I'm hungry," a wire grin crossed her face. Spike took an unnecessary breath, content, but internally irked. She would hunt, people. Buffy, the Slayer, would hunt down helpless kids and kill them, drink them. Was he ready to watch her do that, knowing how wrong it really was. But he wasn't sure if he could ask her to drink pig's blood from the butcher's shop. He even hated it.
His silence was crawling under her skin. She wished she could read his mind, understand what he was thinking. Or he could just say what he's thinking. The soul. She really didn't have to ask. She knew what that soul had done to him. She was so thankful for it when she was alive; it allowed them to be together. But now? She hated what it did to him. Changed him. What a pair they could make if Spike could just feed, kill, return to his old ways.
But he couldn't. Not as long as he had his soul. And that damn chip. One of which, she realized, she could take care of.
She glanced up ahead to see a rat crawling along the dry ledge. Buffy glanced at Spike once; he was lost in his own thoughts. So she slipped her hand out of his. This jarred him from whatever world he was in. Spike watched in absolute awe.
Buffy's face changed, her gold eyes easily adjusted better to the dark lighting of the tunnels. She walked up to the wall and inched closer to. he finally saw the rat. She wouldn't, would she? For him, to be his. A part of him twisted with enchantment and love.
She'd caught the creature with little effort, sat down on the ledge, and held it up to her mouth.
"No." he said sternly. Buffy paused. She lowered the rat and looked at him. Spike was standing right in front of her. Bewilderment in her demon eyes, her mouth ajar, with her two fangs just visible under her upper lip as she looked up at him.
"Spike," she started to protest, trying to explain. He understood. The bleached vamp reached down and took the rat from her. He gently set it down on the ledge beside her and watched it scamper, terrified, away. She had made her point.
He knelt down on the dry tunnel floor and placed his hands on her knees. "Buffy, I love you, more than I can say." He started, "You don't have to prove anything to me." He said in his soft British accent. She placed her hands on top of his. Spike looked up at her. There was understanding in her hazel eyes.
"I know. And I hate that you can't feed, wont kill. I'm not going to lie." She said. Spike looked off to the left, partly embarrassed, mostly angry. Buffy placed a hand on the side of his face and turned him to face her. "But that doesn't mean that I can't love you,"
He wanted to believe. It was so easy to accept a lie than face the truth. If she really meant that, if she could ever love him, she'd have to accept that he wasn't like her. The rat had proved that she was willing to play along, but how long would it last? How long till she needed the kill, and he couldn't come with her?
He closed his eyelids and gritted his teeth slightly. "Where," he opened his blue eyes, "Are the Initiative tunnels?"
She smiled brightly with delight.
Because Spike knew to keep her, he'd have to accept the fact that she wasn't like him. And he was willing to watch.
------
The black punching bag swung wildly back and forth. She stopped it at the right with a jab and turned around just to get it going again with an angry powerhouse round kick. She started in again with a series of punches and hooks.
Giles had sent her to the training room a little over an hour ago. Maybe to get her out of the way. Her mind wandered back to the thought she had, about be their constant reminder.
"Buffy use to do the same thing when she was angry." Dawn said. Lindsey turned to see her standing in the training room, near the knives wall. Lindsey stayed quiet. At the sight of the girl, Lindsey felt her troubles returning, but turned it against the bag once more.
"Have you contacted the Council with a course of action?" She asked. Dawn was a little taken aback by the question.
"Lindsey, um, we do things a little differently here." Dawn started, her voice was still monotone. The aftermath of pain. "I know that the Council scares the potentials into obedience or whatever, but they don't own you." She stopped punching, it was her turn to be surprised.
"I'd heard that the Slayer was something of a livewire." Lindsey confirmed. Since that was the first thing Lindsey had said that didn't involve the Council or had more than three words, Dawn noticed her light English accent for the first time.
Dawn frowned, "Yea, a couple years back, she even quit them all together. It was really amazing." She said proudly. She liked thinking fondly of her sister.
"Quit? That's daring. And they let her?" Lindsey's voice showed that she was curious.
"Buffy didn't give them much of a choice." Dawn half smiled. Lindsey walked towards Dawn, unwrapping her hands.
"Is it true she was in love with a vampire?" Lindsey asked so softly Dawn barely heard her. Lindsey wasn't sure where her place was yet, so she didn't know if it was her authority to ask such questions.
"Angel, yeah." Dawn smiled remembering. Then it hit her. "Oh god, Angel."
She looked up, "What?" Lindsey questioned.
"He doesn't know." She whispered. Lindsey frowned too.
They both exited the training room together. The group had picked them selves up and were all sitting around the table. Lindsey glanced at all of their faces before stopping next to Dawn beside Giles.
"Anything?" Dawn asked in a whisper. Anya looked up, then shook her head no.
Giles shifted in his seat, "We should search the area above the sewers where you encountered Spike's childe," They agreed.
"Someone should call Angel," Dawn said. Willow and Xander looked up at this.
"Oh man, he's not going to take this well." Xander frowned. "And Angel mad? Not so pretty,"
Giles spoke up, "Maybe we shouldn't inform him of Spike's invol."
"He's going to ask how she died. Are you going to lie to him?" Willow asked, her voice was deep.
"Well, no. I suppose not." Giles grimaced.
"I'll do anything I can to help," Lindsey said full heartedly. "I'll kill Spike, I swear to you."
They all looked at the brave young girl. She was no more than Buffy's age when she realized she was the Chosen One. Fifteen maybe. Xander half expected Dawn to resent the girl, for taking Buffy's place. But no one could take Buffy's place here. Lindsey was something else, and no one hated her for it.
"Hoffman Terrace it is, then?" Tara spoke up.
------
They walked in the shadows of the complex. Her face was drenched in dark silhouettes of stair cases and walls. He was beside her, glancing around, weary of the place, but knowing that it was over. The Initiative stood a hollow building of what it once was.
She took his hand and stopped him from walking further. "Wait over there, ok?" she asked. Spike turned to her with disappointment on his face.
"I thought," he started, whispering. Buffy sighed, she glanced away then back at him.
"I know that you don't even like the thought of me killing, and as much as I'd love to share my first with you, I can't. Not with you watching, now that you have a soul." She said.
Something unexpected happened. Spike grabbed both her shoulders and slammed her against the wall behind them. He growled deep and angry. She was shocked, but it quickly turned to amusement.
His eyes were glowing as he starred into her. "Even things with souls can kill," he pinned her tight. She let her head rest against the wall for a brief moment.
She was fast, faster than he'd expected. She grabbed his wrists and spun him, his body slamming against the same wall not a foot away. She had him restrained. Her strength was growing.
"Not if they're you, sweetie," she laughed. Buffy stood on her tip toes and kissed his fore head. The chip. She let got of his wrists and backed away slowly. Spike relaxed against the wall. Buffy turned and walked away down the hall. "I'll be right back," she called to him.
As soon as she was out of sight, Buffy took off running. She spotted what she'd been looking for. The phone was resting on a wall beside one of the glass cages.
"Show time," she smiled.
------
Author: Bianca Masiello
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, FX, UPN, Mutant Enemy, blah blah. we know the drill.
Walking slow along the path She dare not turn or look back The child like moon's eerie glow The light a place she dare not go May all the dark things hide and cower As she walks the path with her grave flower -Bianca Masiello
Synopsis: Set at the end of Sleeper, what if Spike had gone through with the First's plans? Touch of AU: Tara's alive, and Xand and Anya got hitched. Spuffy but tasteful in a dark way.
------
Slayer's Hunt
He flexed his fingers and closed them around her hand again. She didn't smile, just listened to the world around her. He knew she'd been in the sewers before; hell, he'd been down here with her. She'd never been this alert. Listening, watching. She was learning so much.
"Penny for your thoughts, love." Spike said calmly.
She glanced at him, "The Initiative caves are around here, somewhere."
"What would you want to go there for." He asked, memories flooding his head. Unpleasant bright lights and doctors. Being caged.
"I dono, to remember. It's like, seeing everything, but from the wrong side. Backwards? Maybe," she paused. "Plus I know lots of homeless kids that stay there,"
"Pet," he started. He didn't quite understand what she was saying. She squeezed his hand.
"I'm hungry," a wire grin crossed her face. Spike took an unnecessary breath, content, but internally irked. She would hunt, people. Buffy, the Slayer, would hunt down helpless kids and kill them, drink them. Was he ready to watch her do that, knowing how wrong it really was. But he wasn't sure if he could ask her to drink pig's blood from the butcher's shop. He even hated it.
His silence was crawling under her skin. She wished she could read his mind, understand what he was thinking. Or he could just say what he's thinking. The soul. She really didn't have to ask. She knew what that soul had done to him. She was so thankful for it when she was alive; it allowed them to be together. But now? She hated what it did to him. Changed him. What a pair they could make if Spike could just feed, kill, return to his old ways.
But he couldn't. Not as long as he had his soul. And that damn chip. One of which, she realized, she could take care of.
She glanced up ahead to see a rat crawling along the dry ledge. Buffy glanced at Spike once; he was lost in his own thoughts. So she slipped her hand out of his. This jarred him from whatever world he was in. Spike watched in absolute awe.
Buffy's face changed, her gold eyes easily adjusted better to the dark lighting of the tunnels. She walked up to the wall and inched closer to. he finally saw the rat. She wouldn't, would she? For him, to be his. A part of him twisted with enchantment and love.
She'd caught the creature with little effort, sat down on the ledge, and held it up to her mouth.
"No." he said sternly. Buffy paused. She lowered the rat and looked at him. Spike was standing right in front of her. Bewilderment in her demon eyes, her mouth ajar, with her two fangs just visible under her upper lip as she looked up at him.
"Spike," she started to protest, trying to explain. He understood. The bleached vamp reached down and took the rat from her. He gently set it down on the ledge beside her and watched it scamper, terrified, away. She had made her point.
He knelt down on the dry tunnel floor and placed his hands on her knees. "Buffy, I love you, more than I can say." He started, "You don't have to prove anything to me." He said in his soft British accent. She placed her hands on top of his. Spike looked up at her. There was understanding in her hazel eyes.
"I know. And I hate that you can't feed, wont kill. I'm not going to lie." She said. Spike looked off to the left, partly embarrassed, mostly angry. Buffy placed a hand on the side of his face and turned him to face her. "But that doesn't mean that I can't love you,"
He wanted to believe. It was so easy to accept a lie than face the truth. If she really meant that, if she could ever love him, she'd have to accept that he wasn't like her. The rat had proved that she was willing to play along, but how long would it last? How long till she needed the kill, and he couldn't come with her?
He closed his eyelids and gritted his teeth slightly. "Where," he opened his blue eyes, "Are the Initiative tunnels?"
She smiled brightly with delight.
Because Spike knew to keep her, he'd have to accept the fact that she wasn't like him. And he was willing to watch.
------
The black punching bag swung wildly back and forth. She stopped it at the right with a jab and turned around just to get it going again with an angry powerhouse round kick. She started in again with a series of punches and hooks.
Giles had sent her to the training room a little over an hour ago. Maybe to get her out of the way. Her mind wandered back to the thought she had, about be their constant reminder.
"Buffy use to do the same thing when she was angry." Dawn said. Lindsey turned to see her standing in the training room, near the knives wall. Lindsey stayed quiet. At the sight of the girl, Lindsey felt her troubles returning, but turned it against the bag once more.
"Have you contacted the Council with a course of action?" She asked. Dawn was a little taken aback by the question.
"Lindsey, um, we do things a little differently here." Dawn started, her voice was still monotone. The aftermath of pain. "I know that the Council scares the potentials into obedience or whatever, but they don't own you." She stopped punching, it was her turn to be surprised.
"I'd heard that the Slayer was something of a livewire." Lindsey confirmed. Since that was the first thing Lindsey had said that didn't involve the Council or had more than three words, Dawn noticed her light English accent for the first time.
Dawn frowned, "Yea, a couple years back, she even quit them all together. It was really amazing." She said proudly. She liked thinking fondly of her sister.
"Quit? That's daring. And they let her?" Lindsey's voice showed that she was curious.
"Buffy didn't give them much of a choice." Dawn half smiled. Lindsey walked towards Dawn, unwrapping her hands.
"Is it true she was in love with a vampire?" Lindsey asked so softly Dawn barely heard her. Lindsey wasn't sure where her place was yet, so she didn't know if it was her authority to ask such questions.
"Angel, yeah." Dawn smiled remembering. Then it hit her. "Oh god, Angel."
She looked up, "What?" Lindsey questioned.
"He doesn't know." She whispered. Lindsey frowned too.
They both exited the training room together. The group had picked them selves up and were all sitting around the table. Lindsey glanced at all of their faces before stopping next to Dawn beside Giles.
"Anything?" Dawn asked in a whisper. Anya looked up, then shook her head no.
Giles shifted in his seat, "We should search the area above the sewers where you encountered Spike's childe," They agreed.
"Someone should call Angel," Dawn said. Willow and Xander looked up at this.
"Oh man, he's not going to take this well." Xander frowned. "And Angel mad? Not so pretty,"
Giles spoke up, "Maybe we shouldn't inform him of Spike's invol."
"He's going to ask how she died. Are you going to lie to him?" Willow asked, her voice was deep.
"Well, no. I suppose not." Giles grimaced.
"I'll do anything I can to help," Lindsey said full heartedly. "I'll kill Spike, I swear to you."
They all looked at the brave young girl. She was no more than Buffy's age when she realized she was the Chosen One. Fifteen maybe. Xander half expected Dawn to resent the girl, for taking Buffy's place. But no one could take Buffy's place here. Lindsey was something else, and no one hated her for it.
"Hoffman Terrace it is, then?" Tara spoke up.
------
They walked in the shadows of the complex. Her face was drenched in dark silhouettes of stair cases and walls. He was beside her, glancing around, weary of the place, but knowing that it was over. The Initiative stood a hollow building of what it once was.
She took his hand and stopped him from walking further. "Wait over there, ok?" she asked. Spike turned to her with disappointment on his face.
"I thought," he started, whispering. Buffy sighed, she glanced away then back at him.
"I know that you don't even like the thought of me killing, and as much as I'd love to share my first with you, I can't. Not with you watching, now that you have a soul." She said.
Something unexpected happened. Spike grabbed both her shoulders and slammed her against the wall behind them. He growled deep and angry. She was shocked, but it quickly turned to amusement.
His eyes were glowing as he starred into her. "Even things with souls can kill," he pinned her tight. She let her head rest against the wall for a brief moment.
She was fast, faster than he'd expected. She grabbed his wrists and spun him, his body slamming against the same wall not a foot away. She had him restrained. Her strength was growing.
"Not if they're you, sweetie," she laughed. Buffy stood on her tip toes and kissed his fore head. The chip. She let got of his wrists and backed away slowly. Spike relaxed against the wall. Buffy turned and walked away down the hall. "I'll be right back," she called to him.
As soon as she was out of sight, Buffy took off running. She spotted what she'd been looking for. The phone was resting on a wall beside one of the glass cages.
"Show time," she smiled.
------
