A/N: Thanks to everybody who reviewed! Sorry this took a while longer than
I said, but I'm ill. *grumble* I tried to drag my laptop up to my bed so I
could work and 'rest' at the same time, but my Mum caught me and
confiscated it. I only got it back today when I promised to stop watching
Buffy endlessly if she gave it me back. She doesn't seem to think being ill
is any excuse to watch ever single episode I own (as in, every single
episode there is) one after the other for 3 days solid. Don't know why!
Lol.
Thanks also to the 5 million reviewers who told me that the language wasn't German, but Dutch. *blushes* I don't speak either language, but it had Ich in it, and that's German, right? Anyway, it's fixed now, so thanks to everyone who pointed it out!
**********
Buffy sipped her drink lazily, not taking much notice of the bustle around her. She had come to the Bronze, hoping for a nice, normal night out. The minute she had got there, however, all she had wanted to do was go home. Xander and Anya were on the dance floor, dancing crazily to the band, who, Buffy noted, weren't very good. Willow was sitting next to her, but was busy moping. Amy had mysteriously died the night before, as she had discovered that afternoon. Buffy almost felt guilty, but then remembered what would have happened if she hadn't died 'accidentally'. She really didn't want to have Amy living in her house. That girl gave her the creeps.
The thing that was depressing Buffy the most, though, was the fact that Spike had stayed home to look after Dawn. If she was going to be depressed, he could at least be there so that she would have someone to take it out on.
After a moment, she got to her feet.
"Where're you going, Buff? The night's only just started."
"Sorry, Will, but I'm gonna take a raincheck. Not really in the mood for the Bronze scene tonight."
"Okay, go. I'll be alright by myself."
"Xander and Anya are here."
"Yeah, but they don't look like they're going to stop dancing anytime soon, and there's no way I'm dancing with them."
"Right. 'Night, Will."
"'Night, Buff."
*******
Spike sat on the couch, smoking. Buffy didn't like him smoking in her house, but she wasn't here to stop him. The Bit had gone to bed, so it was just him and the telly. Normally a good thing, but tonight, not so much. There was nothing good on, and he couldn't watch the tape until Buffy came back. So he was smoking. So stake him. It wasn't like he'd never done something wrong before.
He took another drag, then stopped, sensing someone coming up the drive. Shit, he thought. Buffy.
Looking around, he tried to find somewhere to put out his cigarette. Finally, he settled on the fruit bowl. By the time she found the ashes, he'd be long gone.
He slouched back on the couch just as Buffy opened the door.
"Back so soon, luv."
"Yeah. It was so. . ." she stopped, and looked around, sniffing. "Have you been *smoking* in here?"
Deciding there was no point in lying, Spike said, "Well, yeah. Wanna make something of it?"
"How many times have I told you not to smoke it here?"
"A far few, I'd wager."
Buffy dug around in a draw, and pulled out an air freshener. She handed it to him, and said, "Now, you can go round and spray this everywhere you've been with that thing."
"Turning into a right little housewife, aren't you, Slayer," he said, but he went around the house spraying that awful stuff anyway. Personally, he thought smoke smelled better than Citrus Fresh, but it was her house. He just spent most of his unlife here.
When he'd finished, he went back into the living room to find Buffy collapsed on the couch, the remote in her hand.
"So, I'm guess we're watching the videos again."
"Yep."
Spike sat down next to her, and said, "So what're you waiting for, luv."
"Oh, right." She pressed play, and watched as the episode started.
They were cleaning out the house, getting rid of anything to do with magic. Which probably meant that they wouldn't have anything left in the house once they'd finished. Spike smiled to himself and slouched down into the soft material.
"Any reminder of, of what it is that she's trying to stay away from, you know, could cause her to. . . give in to temptation."
"Hey, that's my lighter!"
"And that would be bad."
"What are you doing? Why are you throwing away my lighter?"
"What are you looking at me for? It's not like I did it yet."
"Bloody special is that lighter. Got it in the seventies. Not gonna let you just chuck it, now am I?"
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Spike." It was just a lighter. She didn't know why he was making such a fuss. If it was *that* old, he definitely needed a new one.
"Right then, Slayer, I'll just chuck Mr Gordo away next time I see him."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Would too!"
"Would not!"
"Would too!"
"Not!"
"Too!"
"Not!"
"Too!"
"Too!"
"Not!"
"Ha!" Buffy said triumphantly. "Gotcha!"
"You do realise that was beyond childish, pet?"
"Don't care."
Spike just shook his head, and turned back to the TV.
The nerds were testing out some new machine gun type thing. He glanced at Buffy, and she frowned.
"If they've made themselves a decent weapon, we could end up with a serious problem."
She leaned forward slightly as Warren aimed the gun, pulled the trigger, and turned the chair. . . invisible?
"Oh my God! An invisibility ray? That's their world conquering weapon?!"
"It could be dangerous, luv."
"How?"
"Well. . . they could turn. . . um. . . fine then!"
"Yeah! You're right! They're unstoppable!"
Spike just hit her on the arm.
"Ow!"
"I didn't hit you very hard."
"Yeah, but, super-strength!"
"What? You mean the super strength which isn't as strong as yours?"
"But still!"
Spike shook his head in dismay, and turned back to the screen.
"Spike! Spike! Are you ignoring me? Spike!!!"
********
"I'm scared. What if we get caught?"
"No way, we'll be invisible. Plus their security's gotten lax."
Buffy frowned slightly. What were they going to do? Whatever it was, it sounded dangerous.
When they walked around the corner, however, she burst out laughing.
"Their master plan is to sneak into the spa?! God, they've done some stupid things, but this. . ." she broke off as she bent over double from laughing.
She gained her composure in time to see herself get hit by a stray beam from the ray. She then instantly turned invisible.
"Cool!"
*******
"I am the ghost of fashion victims past. Studded caps? Not a good idea?"
"Scaring the public, are we now, Slayer?" Spike said with a smirk. "What happened to you being all good, an' all?"
"I am being good. I mean, I was saving her from herself! Studded caps? Can you say over?!"
"Not telling you off, pet, just wondering."
"You know what else is over?" She said with a grin to rival his. "The whole Billy Idol look."
"Hey! This is *not* the Billy Idol look! He nicked the look from me!"
"Why would anyone want to take *that* look. Especially a vampire. How do you even sneak up on your victims with hair that bright? I'm surprised it doesn't glow in the dark." She burst into a fresh wave of giggles, and collapsed sideways to spread out over the whole couch.
"What now, luv?"
"I'm just seeing you with glow in the dark hair. It's kinda cool."
Spike glanced at the screen to see what he assumed was Buffy stealing a policeman's cart.
"Stealing, now, is it? You sink lower every day, pet."
"Do not!"
"I'm not falling for that one again."
Buffy just stuck her tongue out at him.
*********
Buffy frowned as Xander started moving through Spike's crypt. This was worrying. What happened if he found them together? Not a good thought. Which prompted her to think about another problem. When *was* she to tell Xander about the two of them. Willow knew, and she was pretty sure Dawn had figured it out too. Anya wouldn't care. The only thing Buffy was worried about with her was the inevitable discussion about what it was like to sleep with the undead, but that was nothing compared to how Xander would react. Sighing, she excepted the fact that there were going to be arguments. And probably quite big ones.
She was brought out of her thoughts by Spike's loud laugh. Jumping, she looked at the screen to see him, well, moving under the covers, with Xander watching in horror. A small giggle escaped her. She couldn't help it. Xander's face was just so funny.
"What are you doing?"
"What am I. . . what does it look like I'm doing, you nit? I'm exercising, aren't I?"
"Exercising. Naked. In bed."
"Git," Spike said bitterly.
"Spike!"
"What? He is! You're invisible, he saw us together that morning, and he comes into my crypt, *without knocking*, and sees me doing that, and he *still* doesn't put two and two together?!"
"Well, there's still no excuse for name calling."
"So what do you call what you do to me?"
"Abusive nicknaming."
"Right, Slayer."
"The only reason you're here is because you're not here."
"Right. Of course, as usual there's something wrong with Buffy. She came back all wrong."
Buffy hung her head sadly. She hadn't told him, but what Spike had said in that episode had been preying on her mind. Why could he hit her?
Spike turned to see tears forming in the Slayer's eyes.
"Buffy, what's wrong?"
Buffy shook her head, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "It's just. . . the things you said, about me being a demon. I. . . it upset me a bit, that's all."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know."
Spike took Buffy in his arms and held her close. "Look, I'm sorry, luv, okay? I didn't mean to upset you. I was just upset. Well, I think I was upset, it hasn't happened yet. But, there could be loads of reasons why it isn't working on you. Maybe it's cos of your Slayer ability got it all confused. Being a Slayer's not exactly human, is it?"
"But it's not just humans, is it? It's all living things. I mean, you can't even pick flowers."
"Hey! Yes I can! Who told you that? Was it the Bit?! I can too pick flowers!"
"Sure, Spike. Why would you want to, anyway? I thought Big Bad's don't do that sort of thing."
If Spike could've blushed, she was sure he would have then. "I don't. It's the principle of the thing."
"Right, Spike."
"I don't!"
"Sure, Spike. Whatever you say." ***********
A/N: Please review!!! Please! I've got First Date coming up as the new episode this week, and I've been told it's painful to watch. Buffy and Wood?! *is sick* Yuk! Sorry anyone who ships them! Anyway, I'm obviously going to be depressed come Thursday night when it's on, and an unhappy writer is a slow writer, so please review to keep me happy!
Thanks also to the 5 million reviewers who told me that the language wasn't German, but Dutch. *blushes* I don't speak either language, but it had Ich in it, and that's German, right? Anyway, it's fixed now, so thanks to everyone who pointed it out!
**********
Buffy sipped her drink lazily, not taking much notice of the bustle around her. She had come to the Bronze, hoping for a nice, normal night out. The minute she had got there, however, all she had wanted to do was go home. Xander and Anya were on the dance floor, dancing crazily to the band, who, Buffy noted, weren't very good. Willow was sitting next to her, but was busy moping. Amy had mysteriously died the night before, as she had discovered that afternoon. Buffy almost felt guilty, but then remembered what would have happened if she hadn't died 'accidentally'. She really didn't want to have Amy living in her house. That girl gave her the creeps.
The thing that was depressing Buffy the most, though, was the fact that Spike had stayed home to look after Dawn. If she was going to be depressed, he could at least be there so that she would have someone to take it out on.
After a moment, she got to her feet.
"Where're you going, Buff? The night's only just started."
"Sorry, Will, but I'm gonna take a raincheck. Not really in the mood for the Bronze scene tonight."
"Okay, go. I'll be alright by myself."
"Xander and Anya are here."
"Yeah, but they don't look like they're going to stop dancing anytime soon, and there's no way I'm dancing with them."
"Right. 'Night, Will."
"'Night, Buff."
*******
Spike sat on the couch, smoking. Buffy didn't like him smoking in her house, but she wasn't here to stop him. The Bit had gone to bed, so it was just him and the telly. Normally a good thing, but tonight, not so much. There was nothing good on, and he couldn't watch the tape until Buffy came back. So he was smoking. So stake him. It wasn't like he'd never done something wrong before.
He took another drag, then stopped, sensing someone coming up the drive. Shit, he thought. Buffy.
Looking around, he tried to find somewhere to put out his cigarette. Finally, he settled on the fruit bowl. By the time she found the ashes, he'd be long gone.
He slouched back on the couch just as Buffy opened the door.
"Back so soon, luv."
"Yeah. It was so. . ." she stopped, and looked around, sniffing. "Have you been *smoking* in here?"
Deciding there was no point in lying, Spike said, "Well, yeah. Wanna make something of it?"
"How many times have I told you not to smoke it here?"
"A far few, I'd wager."
Buffy dug around in a draw, and pulled out an air freshener. She handed it to him, and said, "Now, you can go round and spray this everywhere you've been with that thing."
"Turning into a right little housewife, aren't you, Slayer," he said, but he went around the house spraying that awful stuff anyway. Personally, he thought smoke smelled better than Citrus Fresh, but it was her house. He just spent most of his unlife here.
When he'd finished, he went back into the living room to find Buffy collapsed on the couch, the remote in her hand.
"So, I'm guess we're watching the videos again."
"Yep."
Spike sat down next to her, and said, "So what're you waiting for, luv."
"Oh, right." She pressed play, and watched as the episode started.
They were cleaning out the house, getting rid of anything to do with magic. Which probably meant that they wouldn't have anything left in the house once they'd finished. Spike smiled to himself and slouched down into the soft material.
"Any reminder of, of what it is that she's trying to stay away from, you know, could cause her to. . . give in to temptation."
"Hey, that's my lighter!"
"And that would be bad."
"What are you doing? Why are you throwing away my lighter?"
"What are you looking at me for? It's not like I did it yet."
"Bloody special is that lighter. Got it in the seventies. Not gonna let you just chuck it, now am I?"
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Spike." It was just a lighter. She didn't know why he was making such a fuss. If it was *that* old, he definitely needed a new one.
"Right then, Slayer, I'll just chuck Mr Gordo away next time I see him."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Would too!"
"Would not!"
"Would too!"
"Not!"
"Too!"
"Not!"
"Too!"
"Too!"
"Not!"
"Ha!" Buffy said triumphantly. "Gotcha!"
"You do realise that was beyond childish, pet?"
"Don't care."
Spike just shook his head, and turned back to the TV.
The nerds were testing out some new machine gun type thing. He glanced at Buffy, and she frowned.
"If they've made themselves a decent weapon, we could end up with a serious problem."
She leaned forward slightly as Warren aimed the gun, pulled the trigger, and turned the chair. . . invisible?
"Oh my God! An invisibility ray? That's their world conquering weapon?!"
"It could be dangerous, luv."
"How?"
"Well. . . they could turn. . . um. . . fine then!"
"Yeah! You're right! They're unstoppable!"
Spike just hit her on the arm.
"Ow!"
"I didn't hit you very hard."
"Yeah, but, super-strength!"
"What? You mean the super strength which isn't as strong as yours?"
"But still!"
Spike shook his head in dismay, and turned back to the screen.
"Spike! Spike! Are you ignoring me? Spike!!!"
********
"I'm scared. What if we get caught?"
"No way, we'll be invisible. Plus their security's gotten lax."
Buffy frowned slightly. What were they going to do? Whatever it was, it sounded dangerous.
When they walked around the corner, however, she burst out laughing.
"Their master plan is to sneak into the spa?! God, they've done some stupid things, but this. . ." she broke off as she bent over double from laughing.
She gained her composure in time to see herself get hit by a stray beam from the ray. She then instantly turned invisible.
"Cool!"
*******
"I am the ghost of fashion victims past. Studded caps? Not a good idea?"
"Scaring the public, are we now, Slayer?" Spike said with a smirk. "What happened to you being all good, an' all?"
"I am being good. I mean, I was saving her from herself! Studded caps? Can you say over?!"
"Not telling you off, pet, just wondering."
"You know what else is over?" She said with a grin to rival his. "The whole Billy Idol look."
"Hey! This is *not* the Billy Idol look! He nicked the look from me!"
"Why would anyone want to take *that* look. Especially a vampire. How do you even sneak up on your victims with hair that bright? I'm surprised it doesn't glow in the dark." She burst into a fresh wave of giggles, and collapsed sideways to spread out over the whole couch.
"What now, luv?"
"I'm just seeing you with glow in the dark hair. It's kinda cool."
Spike glanced at the screen to see what he assumed was Buffy stealing a policeman's cart.
"Stealing, now, is it? You sink lower every day, pet."
"Do not!"
"I'm not falling for that one again."
Buffy just stuck her tongue out at him.
*********
Buffy frowned as Xander started moving through Spike's crypt. This was worrying. What happened if he found them together? Not a good thought. Which prompted her to think about another problem. When *was* she to tell Xander about the two of them. Willow knew, and she was pretty sure Dawn had figured it out too. Anya wouldn't care. The only thing Buffy was worried about with her was the inevitable discussion about what it was like to sleep with the undead, but that was nothing compared to how Xander would react. Sighing, she excepted the fact that there were going to be arguments. And probably quite big ones.
She was brought out of her thoughts by Spike's loud laugh. Jumping, she looked at the screen to see him, well, moving under the covers, with Xander watching in horror. A small giggle escaped her. She couldn't help it. Xander's face was just so funny.
"What are you doing?"
"What am I. . . what does it look like I'm doing, you nit? I'm exercising, aren't I?"
"Exercising. Naked. In bed."
"Git," Spike said bitterly.
"Spike!"
"What? He is! You're invisible, he saw us together that morning, and he comes into my crypt, *without knocking*, and sees me doing that, and he *still* doesn't put two and two together?!"
"Well, there's still no excuse for name calling."
"So what do you call what you do to me?"
"Abusive nicknaming."
"Right, Slayer."
"The only reason you're here is because you're not here."
"Right. Of course, as usual there's something wrong with Buffy. She came back all wrong."
Buffy hung her head sadly. She hadn't told him, but what Spike had said in that episode had been preying on her mind. Why could he hit her?
Spike turned to see tears forming in the Slayer's eyes.
"Buffy, what's wrong?"
Buffy shook her head, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "It's just. . . the things you said, about me being a demon. I. . . it upset me a bit, that's all."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know."
Spike took Buffy in his arms and held her close. "Look, I'm sorry, luv, okay? I didn't mean to upset you. I was just upset. Well, I think I was upset, it hasn't happened yet. But, there could be loads of reasons why it isn't working on you. Maybe it's cos of your Slayer ability got it all confused. Being a Slayer's not exactly human, is it?"
"But it's not just humans, is it? It's all living things. I mean, you can't even pick flowers."
"Hey! Yes I can! Who told you that? Was it the Bit?! I can too pick flowers!"
"Sure, Spike. Why would you want to, anyway? I thought Big Bad's don't do that sort of thing."
If Spike could've blushed, she was sure he would have then. "I don't. It's the principle of the thing."
"Right, Spike."
"I don't!"
"Sure, Spike. Whatever you say." ***********
A/N: Please review!!! Please! I've got First Date coming up as the new episode this week, and I've been told it's painful to watch. Buffy and Wood?! *is sick* Yuk! Sorry anyone who ships them! Anyway, I'm obviously going to be depressed come Thursday night when it's on, and an unhappy writer is a slow writer, so please review to keep me happy!
