A/N : Thanx to everyone who left reviews on the previous chapter. This is my longest chapter so far but I had a lot I wanted to get in and I really couldn't split it into two chapters, so be prepared for a very long Spuffy chapter. I apologise if there are any mistakes in this but I don't have a beta for this fic. If you like this, please don't forget to leave a review and tell me - thankyou!
(For disclaimer, etc - see chapter 1)
Chapter 6
Spike came in the front door and headed straight for his room, assuming his mother was already in bed. He quite fancied a cigarette so he quietly opened the bedroom window and grabbed the hidden packet from under his bed. His mum would kill him if she found out he smoked, and he knew it, so he kept the habit hidden, either smoking when he was out of the house or if he fancied one when he was at home he'd make sure his mother was out or busy and sit by the open window.
Spike took a cigarette from the box along with his lighter and sat on the sill, hanging half out of the window as he lit up. He put the cigarette to his lips and then breathed the smoke out into the blackness of the night. The moon was almost full and shone brightly in the sky along with many sparkling stars. If he wasn't usually so un-emotional, Spike might have thought it was romantic.
Suddenly a sound broke the idyllic peacefulness of the night and Spike glanced over to the source of the noise. He saw another window open, a way along from his own. A leg appeared followed by another and it was soon obvious the figure coming out of the upstairs window was Buffy.
'What the bloody hell is she doing?' Spike thought to himself as Buffy expertly climbed down the outside of her house and landed with a soft thump as her feet hit the ground. She made it down too easily for this to be the first time she'd done such a thing, but why was she doing it? Spike was curious. Holding his cigarette carefully between his lips, he swung both his legs out of the window and managed to scramble down to the ground, making sure he grabbed the leather jacket he had shed just moments before.
Staying a reasonable distance behind the girl, Spike followed Buffy through the darkness of Sunnydale for several minutes.
'Well, this isn't what I was expecting' Spike thought to himself as the girl turned a corner and crept into a graveyard. He continued to follow, ducking behind trees and tombstones so as not to be seen. Perhaps she was just visiting someone's grave but why sneak out in the middle of the night to do it? Buffy already behaved suspiciously and things were getting more and more strange, Spike was determined to know what her secret was.
Suddenly, Buffy swung around and Spike only just made it behind a large tree before she saw him.
"Let's make this quick and painful" she said and the young man peered around the tree to see two men standing opposite Buffy, "painful for *you*" she amended as she began to kick and punch in the direction of the two strangers. Spike couldn't see their faces at first and was about to run from his hiding place to lend a hand, but as Buffy flipped the 'man' nearest the tree, Spike saw that it wasn't a man at all. The top of it's face was ridged and lumpy and fangs stuck out from it's mouth. It was deathly pale and had an evil yellow gleam in it's eyes.
Spike didn't have time to take in what he'd seen and shock rooted him to the spot as Buffy pulled a wooden stake from her back pocket and plunged it through the creatures heart.
Spike watched, astounded, as the creature disappeared, leaving just dust behind as Buffy turned her attention to the second. It had come up behind her as she dealt with it's accomplice but she swung around before it had even touched her as if she had sensed it's presence. A sharp kick to the face knocked it flying and a stake was soon through it's heart, the remnant dust of the creature falling to the ground with the first.
Buffy brushed the dust from her hands, put the stake back in her pocket and continued to walk through the cemetery as Spike blinked hard, trying to make sense of what he'd seen. Then it occurred to him. The creatures; yellow eyes, fangs, pale skin and lumpy faces, and a stake through the heart to kill them. They were vampires. Now he understood Buffy's secret.
He hurried from his hiding place and followed Buffy down the path. he grabbed at her arm as he caught up to her but that was a big mistake.
Buffy twisted her arm to grab his as his hand caught her. She knocked Spike to the ground, flipping him flat on his back and landing on top of him. She sat straddling him, whipping a stake from her pocket again and raising it above his chest, before realising he was not a demon at all, it was just...
"Spike?" she gasped, breathing heavily from her earlier fight and the struggle just now.
"Slayer?" he guessed, also breathing rapidly, partly from her attack on him but also as a consequence of the position they were currently in.
"What?" Buffy's eyes went wide as she realised he seemed to know her secret. Her raised arms dropped down in shock and the stake passed gently past Spike's chest where it had been aimed. He smirked annoyingly.
"Lucky I'm not a vampire, ain't it?"
Buffy looked down and then up at his eyes, which was a big mistake she realised as she felt lost in them for a brief moment.
"Oh God..." she said suddenly realising where she was and what she was doing. She rolled off of Spike and got to her feet, offering him a hand up too. They both brushed their clothes off and neither was sure what to say next.
"What are you doing out here?" Buffy said suddenly, hoping he didn't know as much as he seemed to.
"Well I could ask you the same thing" he said, tilting his head at her " 'cept I think I know already. You're the slayer, right?"
Buffy just stared for a second before putting a confused yet defiant look on her face.
"I don't know what you're taking about" she huffed "You're delusional"
She turned to walk away but he dared to grab her arm as she turned again, hoping that now she knew it was him, he might stay on his feet.
"Buffy! You're in a graveyard, past midnight, putting lumps of would through the undead" he exclaimed "now how exactly would you explain that if not with the words 'I am the Slayer'?"
She looked at him carefully and realised he was right. There was no way she could deny it if he'd seen her kill those vampires.
"How do you know about the Slayer?" she wanted to know and Spike looked uncomfortable. He let go of her arm and turned away.
"Does it matter?" he mumbled.
"Yes!" she said incredulously. How could he think it didn't matter?
"I read about it in a book" he sighed in annoyance at having to explain himself "when I was a kid. I found it in the closet in the spare room, I was about ten or something" he explained as he walked and Buffy followed intrigued "It was all about demons and vampires and this Chosen One called the Slayer" he stopped and sat down on a bench and Buffy followed suit, taking a seat beside him "I was gonna ask my mum about it but I wasn't s'posed to be in that room and she'd have gone crazy if she'd have known I'd been in there..." he trailed off, all the time looking away.
"So, you're Mom knows about the Slayer too?" Buffy asked "I mean, it was her book?"
"I dunno" Spike shrugged, leaning his elbows on his knees and looking at the ground "wondered if maybe it was my dad's..." he mumbled.
"Well, maybe we should ask Giles about it" the blonde girl suggested, standing up and walking in front of him "he's actually my Watcher" she explained "he could probably figure out who your father was..."
"Now wait a minute" Spike interrupted, jumping up from the bench "why?"
"Why what?" the girl frowned in confusion as Spike paced.
"Why does it matter who my father was?" he stopped suddenly and asked her with an angry side to his voice.
"Maybe you have a destiny Spike, like I do" she explained "Your father, he might be somebody important in the world of vamps and demons, maybe you are too. If we could find out who he was..."
"I don't want to know!" he yelled over her words, drowning her out completely "I don't want to talk about my bloody father!"
With that, he stormed off, out of the graveyard and back the way they had come. Buffy was shocked by his outburst but soon got over it and hurried after him.
"What's the matter with you?!" she asked as she caught up to him, spinning him around to face her. He tried not to look at her as he could feel the tears forming in his eyes.
"I don't want to know him, okay?!" he shouted "He obviously didn't want to know me"
"I thought you said he didn't know you existed?" Buffy said, confused.
"He didn't" Spike admitted, his volume dropping "he doesn't, I just..." he trailed off, still looking away. Buffy brought her hand up to his face and made him look at her, just in time to see the tears escape and run down his cheeks.
"Spike..." she spoke softly "I'm sorry"
She moved her hand away, suddenly realising what she was doing and any 'moment' that might have been starting was broken.
"Not really your fault, pet" Spike sighed, rubbing his face with the back of his hand "Touchy subject is all"
There was silence and they started to walk back home. Buffy couldn't bear the oppressive quiet so she tried to think of something to say.
"Y'know my Dad left too" she said, eventually "My parents got a divorce"
"Doesn't sound like much fun" the young man beside her replied.
"Nope, not at all" she sighed "but I mean, I don't hate him - I can't cos he's my Dad"
"I know what you mean" Spike admitted "God I'm an idiot, I try to act like the big man and look at me now" he laughed humourlessly at himself, wiping away one last stray tear.
"Getting upset about stuff like that doesn't make you any less of a man, Spike" Buffy told him, hoping to help but he just got defensive.
"What do you know?!" he said, somewhat angrily.
"Plenty" Buffy told him, as she stopped walking, and he turned to look at her properly "Haven't you heard? Supreme knowledge comes free with the Slayer strength" she smirked and was pleased to see she'd managed to get a small smile out of him "Oh, thing is, I need you to keep it a secret" she hurriedly added "Willow and Xander know and obviously Giles but no-one else can know"
"That you're the Slayer? Sure, I won't tell" he promised "So long as you don't blab about my 'emotional moment' tonight" he said, air quotes included.
"Okay, it's a deal" the girl nodded as they started to walk again.
The silence returned and this time it was Spike's turn to break it.
"Why'd you hate me?" he asked her, watching the stone he was kicking along the ground.
"I don't *hate* you exactly" she told him, almost feeling guilty for the way she'd treated him, especially since she'd seen him cry tonight.
"But you don't like me, from the minute you first met me I knew you didn't" he pointed out "Why?" he asked again and Buffy found herself unable to form a proper answer. Right at that moment there was nothing she didn't like about him. In fact back there when he'd had what he called his 'emotional moment' she could quite happily have reached up and...no Buffy, don't go there! She scolded herself, inwardly.
"Because, well, I don't know, I..." she rambled and Spike smirked at her.
"Inarticulacy come free with the Slayer strength too, luv?"
"That's why!" she exploded, flinging her arms in the air for emphasis, continuing to walk as Spike stopped.
"What?" he asked genuinely confused by her outburst and she turned back to face him.
"The sarcasm!" she said loudly before beginning to count off his more annoying points on her fingers "The comments, the smirk, the attitude, not to mention, the all over black, the staring, the fact that my sister thinks you're God's gift and you seem inclined to agree..."
"Woah, easy Slayer, I get it" he interrupted, trying to take in all that she'd just said. He really liked this girl and this was what she thought of him "Can't believe there's so much to hate about me" he sounded decidedly sulky about it as he walked straight past Buffy.
"I never said hate" she pointed out, starting to wonder if she'd gone too far with her little outburst "besides" she continued, falling into step with him again "I've only known you a day so my opinion doesn't count for much" she shrugged "...seems like longer than just a day though" she thought aloud, startling herself.
Spike looked at her strangely and the nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, for me too" he smiled slightly and Buffy found herself smiling back, glad to see him happier than he had been earlier.
"Well, maybe we knew each other in a past life or something" she suggested and Spike laughed.
"You believe in that stuff?"
"I dunno" Buffy shrugged her shoulders again, "I believe in vampires and demons and stuff so, who's to say people don't get reincarnated too. If I come back I don't want to be the Slayer next time" she admitted, starting to wonder why she was telling some strange guy she hardly knew all these thoughts she had.
"What would you rather be?" he was curious to know and Buffy's answer spilled out of her mouth before she'd even considered to implications.
"Ice skater" she announced, before suddenly realising what she'd done "I can't believe I just told you that" she looked away, blushing.
"Too late now, pet" Spike smiled "Besides, not a bad idea, bet you'd look good in a leotard"
She looked dangerously at him and he wondered if he'd gone too far. He didn't fancy being flipped again, although the landing position from last time hadn't been so bad...
"I don't think I should ask your opinion of what I should come back as" he said, quickly.
"Probably not a good idea" Buffy agreed, smiling widely, before suddenly realising their little 'getting to know you' conversation was about to end as they reached the back of their houses again.
"Well, looks like we're home" she sighed, looking up at her window.
"Yeah" Spike nodded "Buffy?"
"What?" she turned from looking at her house to looking directly at him.
"Y'know we were sharing secrets before? Can I share one more with you?" he asked her, looking uncomfortable.
"Depends" she said looking dubiously at him.
"On what?" he wondered aloud.
"Am I gonna like it?" she checked and he smiled at her.
"I hope so, but you have to close your eyes"
Buffy laughed out loud.
"You're kidding right? I've seen that trick"
"Buffy" he sighed in annoyance "if I do anything you don't like you can use your Slayer powers and beat me to a pulp afterwards, okay, luv?" he declared, wondering what he was getting himself into. He had a fifty-fifty chance of getting his backside kicked very soon, but he thought it would be worth the risk.
"It's a deal" Buffy nodded, giving in and closing her eyes.
She felt Spike's body get closer to her and his hands gripped her waist as he lowered his head and covered her lips with his. For a moment, Buffy thought about pushing him off but it didn't take long for her to change her mind. Her arms wound around his neck pulling him closer as she responded to his kiss, wondering why on earth she was doing this, but thoroughly enjoying it anyway.
TBC
